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1 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Sep 1, 2015
on 31 August 2015, is thus a reversal of
commissions earlier stand on death
penalty. This was the 262nd report of the
Law Commission. It is worth mentioning
that in 1962, the Law Commission, in its
35th Report, had recommended retention
of death penalty. India is one of 59
countries where the death penalty is still
awarded by courts.
| Current Affairs | Current Affairs 2015 |
IAS | SBI | IBPS | Banking | Bank PO |
Banking Awareness | Daily Current
Affairs |

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2 CURRENT AFFAIRS

1) What is the most important

recommendation of the Law
Commission of India (LCI) pertaining to
death-penalty, as disclosed in its report
no. 262 that was released on 31 August
2015? It has recommended the
abolition of death penalty in all cases
except those related to terrorism and
waging war against India
Explanation: The Law Commission of
India, led by Justice Ajit Prakash Shah,
former Chief Justice of the Delhi High
Court, has recommended that death
penalty should be kept only for cases
pertaining to terror and war against the
country. A 272-page draft report of the
Law Commission, which was released

2) What is the name of the scheme for

online release of new LPG connections,
which was launched by Petroleum and
Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan
recently? Sahaj
Explanation: Sahaj is the name of the
scheme of the Ministry of Petroleum and
Natural Gas that facilitates online
release of new LPG connections,
through the portal mylpg.in to enable
customers to register for new LPG
connections online, as well as make on
line payments for the same. The
scheme was launched on 30 August
2015, initially in 13 cities Ahmedabad,
Bengaluru, Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar,
Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi,
Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai,

Patna and Pune. It will be launched all

over the country very shortly.

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3 CURRENT AFFAIRS

3) During August 2015 which High Court

of the country had declared Jain
communitys practice of Santhara as
illegal, which was stayed by the
Supreme Court on 31 August 2015?
Rajasthan High Court
Explanation: The Supreme Court on 31
August 2015 stayed the order passed by
Rajasthan High Court declaring
Santhara as illegal. The High Court, in
a judgment on 10 August 2015 had
declared the practice illegal and an
offence punishable under the Indian
Penal Code (IPC). Santhara is a Jain
custom of embracing voluntary death. It
involves practitioners taking an oath to
stop eating until they die of starvation.
According to Jains, this is a way to
purge oneself of bad karma and attain
moksha. After Rajasthan High Courts
order, the Jain country all over the
country had launched protest against
the order, stating that the judiciary is
trying to intervene in its pious religious
practices.
4) How many cities and towns of the
country have been identified by the

Union Govt. for implementation of its

ambitious Housing for All scheme
under which assistance of over Rs. 2
lakh crore would be provided over the
next six years for enabling two crore
urban poor own their own houses?
305
Explanation: 305 towns and cities
spread across nine states of the country
have been identified for implementation
of Housing for All scheme. The
selected cities and towns are in
Chhattisgarh (36 cities/towns), Gujarat
(30), Jammu and Kashmir (19),
Jharkhand (15), Kerala (15), Madhya
Pradesh (74), Odisha (42), Rajasthan
(40) and Telangana (34). Besides these
nines states, six more states have
signed Memorandum of Agreement
(MoA) with the Ministry committing them
to implement six mandatory reforms
essential for making the housing
mission in urban areas a success. It is
worth mentioning that under Housing
for All scheme, two crore houses are
targeted to be built for the poor in urban
areas by year 2022, coinciding with 75
years of Independence. Housing for All
scheme was launched as Pradhan
Mantri Awas Yojana by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on 25 June 2015.
5) Which district of Kerala is on its way
to be declared as the first total HIV/AIDS
literate district in the country?
Palakkad

Explanation: Keralas Palakkad district

would soon be declared as the first total
HIV/AIDS literate district in the country.
This was announced by district
panchayat president T.N. Kandamuthan
on 31 August 2015. To make the district
total HIV/AIDS literate district, a special
project titled Jyothirgamaya was
implemented with the cooperation of 91
gram panchayats and four municipalities
in the district. The project was to
educate people about AIDS and the
need to remove the stigma and
discrimination against its victims. Under
this project, workers of Asha,
Anganwadi and Kudumbasree had
distributed pamphlets in every
household, conducted awareness
classes, quiz contests and rallies.

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4 CURRENT AFFAIRS

6) Who was appointed as the new

Home Secretary on 31 August 2015?
Rajiv Mehrishi
Explanation: Rajiv Mehrishi, a 1978
batch IAS officer from Rajasthan cadre,
was appointed as the new Home
Secretary on 31 August 2015. He
replaced L.C. Goyal, who sought
premature voluntary retirement on the
same day, barely a few months after
being appointed to the post, and was

appointed as the Chairman and

Managing Director of India Trade
Promotion Organisation (ITPO). With
this Rajiv Mehrishi became the third
Home Secretary to be appointed by the
Modi government in the past one year.
Mehrishi was Secretary, Department of
Economic Affairs (Ministry of Finance)
till now.

7) Which country created history by

topping the medals tally at the 15th World
Championships of Athletics that
concluded on 30 August 2015 at
Beijing? Kenya
Explanation: This was the first time that
Kenya topped the medals tally at the
World Athletics Championships, which is
the most prestigious athletics event in
the world. With seven gold medals, six
silver and three bronze was at top spot
ahead of Jamaica (7 gold and 2 silver)
and the United States (6 gold and 6
silver). It was the best ever finish for
Kenya in World Championships as the
country once again performed
exceedingly well in its traditional
domains of middle- and long-distance
running with gold medals for David
Rudisha in the mens 800m, Vivian
Cheruiyot in the womens 10,000m and

Ezekiel Kemboi and Hyvin Jepkemoi

triumphing in the mens and womens
3,000m steeplechase respectively.
Kenyas final gold medal was won by
Asbel Kiprop in the 1500m.

Sep 2, 2015

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5 CURRENT AFFAIRS

1) The Reserve Bank of India on 31

August 2015 declared which two banks
of the country as Domestic Systemically
Important Banks (D-SIBs), which literally
means that these banks are so integral
to the national economy that their failure
would have to be prevented at any cost?
SBI and ICICI Bank
Explanation: While State Bank of India
(SBI) is the largest public sector bank
and the largest banking entity in the
country, ICICI Bank is the largest private
sector bank in the country. The two
banks were designated as Domestic
Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs)

by the RBI, meaning their collapse could

have a cascading impact on the entire
financial system and the economy. SBI
and ICICI have been so designated on
the basis of a systemic importance
score, arrived at after an analysis of the
banks size as a percentage of annual
Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Banks
with assets that exceed 2% of GDP will
be considered to be part of this class of
lenders. As of 30 June 2015, SBIs loan
book was worth Rs.12.8 trillion and
ICICIs loan book was close to Rs.4
trillion. The RBI had issued
the framework for dealing with Domestic
Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs)
on 22 July 2014. The D-SIB framework
requires the RBI to disclose the names
of banks designated as D-SIBs every
year in August starting from August
2015. The framework requires that DSIBs may be placed in four buckets
depending upon their Systemic
Importance Scores (SISs). Based on the
bucket in which a D-SIB is placed, an

additional common equity requirement

has to be applied to it, as mentioned in
the D-SIB framework. While SBI has
been kept in Bucket -3 category, ICICI
Bank has been placed in Bucket-1
category. In November 2011, the Basel
committee of the Bank for International
Settlements (BIS) announced a
framework for identifying global
systemically important banks and the
additional buffers that such banks need
to hold.

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6 CURRENT AFFAIRS

2) What important trend in household

financial savings during 2014-15 was
seen in the country as disclosed by the
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 1
September 2015? Financial savings
of households have successfully
reversed a 5-year long dipping trend
Explanation: Financial savings stands
for savings or investments done in
deposits, stocks, insurance, mutual
funds, pension funds and other such
instruments. According to the
preliminary estimates released by the
RBI on 1 September, the household
financial savings in the country have
successfully broken a five year trend

over which the share of financial savings

was seen dipping. Household financial
saving for 2014-15 placed at 7.5 % of
Indias national income as against 7.3%
in 2013-14. The gross domestic saving
rate declined for the second consecutive
year to 30% of national income. This
largely reflected the reduction in the
saving rate of households on account of
a decline in physical assets as well as in
valuables. On the other hand,
household financial saving gained from
returns turning attractive with the
moderation in inflation as well as the
pick-up in economic activity. An earlier
RBI study had noted that households
had to face persistently high inflation in
the midst of a weakening outlook for
employment and income growth, and
their preference for inflation hedges in
the form of gold and real estate led to a
decline in financial savings.

3) Global ratings agency Fitch, on 1

September 2015, downgraded which
PSU banks Viability Rating by one
notch to bb on account of the growing
risk to the banks capital position from
mounting stock of stressed assets?
Punjab National Bank (PNB)

7 CURRENT AFFAIRS
Page

Explanation: PNBs Viability Rating

(VR) was downgraded by one notch to
bb to reflect the growing risk to the
banks capital position from its mounting
stock of stressed assets, which has
risen at a faster rate than its capital
replenishment. On the other hand, Fitch
also warned IDBI Bank about
vulnerability to a downgrade due to rise
in the stressed asset ratio. Fitch
affirmed the Long Term Issuer Default
Rating (IDR) at BBB- for banks
including State Bank of India (SBI),
PNB, Canara Bank, IDBI Bank, ICICI
Bank, Bank of Baroda and its subsidiary
in New Zealand.

Museums, had on 31 August said that

the Temple of Bel had suffered a large
explosion, but that he believed most of
the site had remained intact. But a
satellite photo of the site confirmed that
the main structure of Temple of Bel has
been completed blown. IS has
previously targeted historical sites in
areas under its control in Iraq and Syria,
regarding their ancient temples and
sculptures as heretical. The sale of
looted antiquities is one of the groups
main sources of funding. It has also
been accused of destroying ancient
sites to gain publicity.

4) What is the name of the historic

temple in the ancient town of Palmyra in
Syria, the destruction of which by the
militants of the Islamic State (IS) was
confirmed by a satellite image released
by the United Nations (UN) on 1
September 2015? Temple of Bel

5) India won a historic Test series

against Sri Lanka as it defeated the
hosts by 117 runs in the third and final
test match played in Colombo on 1
September 2015. With this win India
ended a 22-year long wait for a Test
series win over Sri Lanka on their home
soil. Who had led India in the last Sri
Lankan Test series win 22-years ago?
Mohammad Azharuddin

Explanation: The Temple of Bel is

dedicated to the Palmyrene gods and
was one of the best-preserved parts of
the ancient city. It was destroyed by the
militants of the IS during August 2015.
Maamoun Abdul Karim, the head of the
Syrian Department of Antiquities and

Explanation: Indias last series success

in Sri Lanka came under Mohammad
Azharuddins captaincy in 1993 when
they won 1-0. India won this Test series
under the captaincy of new Test captain

Virat Kohli. Needing 386 runs to win the

final Test as well as the series, Sri
Lanka were bowled out for 268 after tea
on the fifth day at the Sinhalese Sports
Club in Colombo to hand the tourists a
2-1 series scoreline. India fought back
after losing the opening Test in Galle by
63 runs to win the second at the P. Sara
Oval in Colombo by 278 runs and then
took the enthralling final Test in the last
session of play. Ravichandra Ashwin,
who took 21 wickets in the series, was
adjudged Man of the Series.

6) Who was appointed as the new

Finance Secretary on 31 August 2015?
Ratan P. Watal

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8 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Explanation: Union Govt. on 31 August

designated Revenue Secretary Ratan
Watal as the new Finance Secretary. He
is a 1978-batch IAS officer of the
Andhra Pradesh cadre. On the other
hand Shaktikanta Das took charge as
the Secretary for Department of

Economic Affairs after Rajiv Mehrishi on

his last day in office was appointed
Home Secretary for a two-year tenure.
Financial Services Secretary Hasmukh
Adhia was appointed as the new
Revenue Secretary while Corporate
Affairs Secretary Anjuly Chib Duggal
took over from Adhia.
7) Who took over as the new Chairman
of the National Highways Authority of
India (NHAI) on 31 August 2015?
Raghav Chandra
Explanation: Raghav Chandra, the
former additional secretary and financial
advisor to the Department of Agriculture
& Cooperation, on 31 August assumed
his office as the head of the NHAI. An
IAS Officer of the 1982 batch Madhya
Pradesh Cadre, he has held important
positions in the Central Government and
the Government of Madhya Pradesh.

Sep 3, 2015
to adopt the new base rate methodology
as well as the spread guidelines. Banks
will have to submit a roadmap clearly
indicating the time frame for adopting
the new methodology within a period
of two months from the date of the final
circular. The central bank has sought
stakeholders feedback on or before 15
September 2015.

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9 CURRENT AFFAIRS

1) The Reserve Bank of India on 1

September 2015 issued draft guidelines
pertaining to interest rates and base
rates. In the draft, RBI has sought to
implement what new methodology for
interest rates of the banks? It has
prescribed a uniform method by
which banks have to arrive at the
interest rates for providing loans
Explanation: The new draft guidelines
RBI has proposed to encourage banks
to move to the so-called marginal-costof-funds-based determination of their
minimum lending rates. Using this
methodology, the base rates of banks
could soften a tad, going by the easy
liquidity in the banking system currently.
This could also reduce the lag between
changes in deposit rates and lending
rates. Thus banks could lose some of
their freedom to fix lending rates. The
RBI has proposed to fix 1 April 2016, for
implementing the new methodology.
This will give sufficient time to all banks

2) A huge one-day Bharat Bandh strike

was observed by almost all the 10 major
trade unions associated with the public
sector and a few private associations on
2 September 2015. Against what the
strike call was given? Against the
proposed amendments to various
labour legislations and the to protest
the alleged anti-labour policies of
the Narendra Modi government
Explanation: On 2 September over 13
lakh employees from the public, private
and foreign banks joined the nationwide
strike called by trade unions to protest
the alleged anti-labour policies of the

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10 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Narendra Modi government. Employees

and officers from 25 public sector banks,
11 private sector banks and nine foreign
banks were part of this strike. The call
for strike was given by 10 Central trade
unions. The trade unions have given the
strike call over a 12-point charter of
demands, including withdrawal of the
proposed anti-worker amendments in
labour laws and stopping the
disinvestment and privatisation of PSUs.
On the other hand bank unions
protested against the governments plan
to revamp the working of the public
sector banks.

3) Manipur witnessed huge violence on

31 August and 1 September 2015 after
a general strike called by the tribal
student organisations to protest against
the passage of three Bills in the state
Assembly. 8 persons died while over 30
persons were injured as the strike
turned violent. The tribal student groups
are protesting against which three Bills?
1) Protection of Manipur Peoples
Bill 2015, 2) Manipur Land Revenue
and Land Reforms (Seventh
Amendment) Bill 2015 and 3) Manipur
Shops and Establishments (Second
Amendment) Bill 2015

Explanation: The tribal student groups

claimed the Protection of Manipur
Peoples Bill, 2015 and the other two
amendment Bills would facilitate buying
of land by migrant workers in the State.
The issue of losing ones ancestral land
is a big issue in Manipur as the
indigenous population is getting
outnumbered due to inward migration
from neighbouring countries and other
parts of the country. While the ethnic
population is demanding imposition of
an Inner Line Permit (ILP), in line with a
few north-eastern States to restrict
outsiders, the government passed the
Bills prompting fresh clashes. As a
result violence erupted on 1 September
and spread across many districts.
Houses of many MLAs were set on fire.
In Chandel district houses of two MLAs
were torched, while in Ukhrul houses of
three MLAs were set ablaze. Houses of
six MLAs in Senapati district, three in
Tamenglong and six in Churachandpur
were vandalised.

4) Union Government on 2 September

2015 announced which landmark and
first-of-its-kind reform associated with oil
and natural sector? It announced

that it will now auction small oil and

gas fields to private firms

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11 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Explanation: In a huge reform for

countrys oil and gas sector, Union Oil
and Natural Gas Ministry on 2
September announced that it will, for the
first time, auction 69 small and marginal
oil and gas fields surrendered by staterun explorers like ONGC. The
government hopes to raise Rs. 70,000
crore from the sale. The government
expects private companies to boost
output from the areas that hold
resources of more than $10 billion.
India, the worlds No. 4 oil consumer,
meets only a fraction of its demand
through local sources and wants to
boost private and foreign participation in
its industry, dominated by state-run Oil
and Natural Gas Corp and Oil India and
privately-held Reliance Industries Ltd.
5) In order to enable seamless travel by
different metros and other transport
systems across the country, the Ministry
of Urban Development has come out
with a smart National Common Mobility
Card (NCMC) model which will be interoperable across different transport
systems in the country. Which payment
entity is being given the task of
establishing a robust payment system
for this proposed card initiative?
National Payments Corporation of
India (NPCI)

Explanation: The smart National

Common Mobility Card (NCMC) model
will primarily enable seamless travel by
different metros and other transport
systems across the country, besides
retail shopping and purchases. Globally,
there is no nationwide common card
except in Singapore wherein interoperability is confined to city only.
Hence the card based on NCMC model
is expected to address the deficiencies
associated with other cards being used
in Singapore and other countries. The
Ministry of Urban Development has
decided to task the National Payments
Corporation of India (NPCI) with
indigenous development and
management of clearing and settlement
of payments, simulating cards, terminals
and network, a support base of vendors
for providing certified tools, cards,
terminals and other services.

6) Google Inc. unveiled a redesign of its

iconic logo on 1 September 2015. The
new design spells Google in a sansserif typeface, similar to the one being
used by Googles newly created holding
company, Alphabet. With this Google
has done how many modifications in its
logo since it started its operations?
Five

Explanation: This was the fifth such

modification in its logo since the search
engine giant started its operations in
1998. The compact version of the logo,
used to identify most of its apps, bids
farewell to the little blue g icon and
replaces it with a uppercase G colored
in blue, red, yellow and green to match
the full logo.

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12 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Sep 4, 2015

1) Which railway zone became the first

zone of the Indian Railway to eliminate
all unmanned level crossings as
announced on 2 September 2015?
West-Central Railway (WCR) Zone
Explanation: The West-Central Railway
(WCR) Zone, with its headquarters at
Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh, became
the first-ever zone of the Indian Railway
to have eliminated all unmanned level
crossings. Out of total 118 unmanned

level crossings falling on West-Central

Railways as on 1 April 2014, 80 were
eliminated in the financial year 2014-15
and remaining 38 have been achieved
in current financial year by 31 August
2015. This was done by constructing 33
Limited Height Sub Ways (LHs) and
manning of 30 level crossings. This
achievement by The West-Central
Railway (WCR) Zone is a landmark
achievement in the annals of the Indian
Railway as unmanned railway crossings
continue to remain a deathtrap in India.
As many as 126 persons were killed in
accidents involving unmanned level
crossing in year 2014-15. Indian
Railway has over 30 thousand level

crossings out of which nearly 40% are

unmanned ones.

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13 CURRENT AFFAIRS

2) Which city became the first-ever city

from Africa to get the hosting rights of
the Commonwealth Games as
announced on 2 September 2015 for the
Commonwealth Games for 2022?
Durban (South Africa)
Explanation: South Africas Durban city
was confirmed as the host of the
Commonwealth Games 2022. This
announcement was made at the
Commonwealth Games Federation
(CGF) general assembly in Auckland
(New Zealand) on 2 September. Durban
was the only bidder for the games as
Canadas Edmonton city had withdrawn
its bid in February 2015 due to financial
reasons. The Games will be held from
18 to 30 July 2022. It will be the
22nd staging of the event, which is held
every four years. Athletes from more
than 50 countries, most of which are
former British colonies, compete in
these Games. The Commonwealth
Games was last held in 2014 in
Glasgow, with Australias Gold Coast
hosting the 2018 event.

3) What is the proposed date for merger

of the Forward Markets Commission
(FMC) with the Securities and Exchange
Board of India (SEBI), as notified by the
Union Govt. on 2 September 2015? 28
September 2015
Explanation: FMC is the erstwhile
regulator of the commodity derivatives
market. While presenting the budget for
2015-16, Union Finance Minister Arun
Jaitley had proposed the merger of FMC
with SEBI to strengthen the regulation of
the commodity markets. As this merger
comes into effect, the Forward
Contracts Regulation Act, 1952 will
automatically repealed and the
regulation of countrys commodity
derivatives market will shift to SEBI
under the Securities Contracts
Regulation Act, 1956.

4) Which city has for the first time

overtaken Mumbai in unsold housing
units and thus become the city with the
second-highest residential real estate
inventory overhang after the National
Capital Region (NCR)? Bengaluru
Explanation: With more than 84,000
unsold housing units by the end of the
second quarter (April-June) of 2015
Bengaluru has surpassed Mumbai for

the first time and is the second-highest

residential real estate inventory
overhang after the NCR. This was
disclosed by JLL India, a private entity
with interests in real estate information.

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14 CURRENT AFFAIRS

5) What is the new name of

Mount McKinley, the tallest mountain of
the United States, which was renamed
sometimes back? Denali
Explanation: During August 2015 the
Obama administration renamed Mount
McKinley as Denali, as it was originally
known by Alaska natives before it was
renamed to honour President William
McKinley. At 20,310 feet, Denali is not
only the USAs tallest mountain, its also
the tallest mountain in North America. It
is also worth mentioning that the U.S.
Geological Survey (USGS), in its latest
survey found that the mountain is now
10 feet shorter than its earlier measured
height of 20,320 feet, which was
measured using 1950s-era technology.
The USGS and several other federal
agencies and universities teamed up to
use a precise GPS measurement of the
peaks location.

6) The first spatially continuous map of

worldwide forest tree density was
prepared by a Yale University scholar
and his team was released recently.
What is the approximate number of
trees worldwide as disclosed by this
study? 3.04 trillion
Explanation: The study by T. W.
Crowther, the first author from Yale
University, Connecticut, U.S. and others
used nearly 4,30,000 ground-sourced
measurements of tree density from all
the continents except Antarctica to
generate a global map of forest trees.
Till date, scientists have relied on
satellite images to provide estimates of
global forest area. As a result, it was not
possible to know the number of trees.
The study was published in the Nature
journal. It disclosed that there are just
3.04 trillion trees in the world. Though
this number is higher than previous
estimate, the number of trees cut down
each year is a staggering 15.3 billion
and the global forest cover loss is
approximately 192,000 sq. km per year.
As a result, the global number of trees

has reduced by as much as 46% since

the start of human civilisation.

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15 CURRENT AFFAIRS

May 5-7, 2015

1) The Union Govt. on 5 September

2015 announced the acceptance of the
long-standing demand of one rank, one
pension (OROP) pertaining to the
pensions of ex-servicemen. OROP
would be implemented with effect from 1
July 2014, and would cost the
government Rs 18,000-22,000 crore this
year. However, numerous proposals of
the govt. were rejected by exservicemen, who have staged an almost
three-month-long public agitation for
their demand of OROP. Which major
proposal of the govt. was severely
criticized by the ex-servicemen?
About the exclusion from OROP of
those who took premature retirement
(PMR)

Explanation: In simple terms, OROP

implies uniform pension be paid to the
armed forces personnel retiring in the
same rank with the same length of
service, regardless of their date of
retirement. However, in its proposals,
the Union Govt. rejected the provisions
of OROP for personnel taking voluntary
retirement (VRS) premature retirement
(PMR). This proposal was severely
criticized by the ex-servicemen fraternity
and they said they will continue to hold
their protests against the govt. However,
later on 6 September 2015 Prime
Minister cleared the air from OROP
controversy by announcing that
servicemen who have taken early
retirement will be eligible to receive the
benefits of OROP. After this
announcement, the ex-servicemen who
were holding hunger protest for last 88
days called-off the hunger strike but said
they will continue with the stir till all their
demands were met by the Govt.
Key points of Union Govt.s OROP
grant

 OROP granted with effect from 1 July

2014
Arrears to be paid in four half-yearly
instalments
Widows of casualties to be paid in
single instalments
OROP will raise annual pension bill by
Rs. 8,000-10,000 crore
This amount will rise in tandem with
military salaries
Arrears will involve one-time payment
of Rs. 10,000-12,000 crore
Pensions to be equalised and
adjusted once every 5 years

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16 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Pensions to be average of maximum

& minimum in 2013

2) In a significant development in the

ongoing European migrant crisis, two
countries on 5 September 2015 opened
their borders to thousands of exhausted
refugees. Which are these two
countries? Germany and Austria
Explanation: On 5 September 2015,
both Germany and Austria threw open
their borders to thousands of refugees
as after days of confrontation and

chaos, Hungarys government deployed

over 100 buses overnight to take
thousands of refugees to the Austrian
frontier. From Austria these migrants
entered Germany, with over 1,000
arriving by special trains in Munich.
Hungary, the main entry point into
Europes borderless Schengen zone for
refugees, has earlier taken a hard line,
vowing to seal its southern frontier with
a new, high fence by 15 September. It is
worth mentioning that almost all the
migrants entering through Hungary have
shown their willingness to take refuge in
Germany. The migrant crisis of 2015
has become Europes most acute
refugee crisis since the Yugoslav wars
of the 1990s. The migrant crisis arose
through the rising number of refugees
and economic refugees, from areas
such as the Middle East and Africa
coming to the European Union across
the Mediterranean Sea and the Balkans,
and applying for asylum. Highest
number of migrants is from war-ravaged
Syria and followed by Eritrea and
Afghanistan.
3) A committee set up by the
government to rationalise distribution
incentives for financial products and
curb their mis-selling, has in its report
recommended flexible exits for financial
products and that profits from exit
charges not accrue to product providers.
Who headed this committee? Sumit
Bose, former Finance Secretary

Explanation: The report of the Sumit

Bose Committee has recommended that
the choice of withdrawal of all financial
products, except those pertaining to
pensions, should remain with the
investor. It clearly said that financial
products should have flexible exit
options and the cost of exit must be
limited. Currently, products such as unitlinked insurance plans (ULIPs) have a
lock-in period of at least five years. It
was increased from three years
following a spate of customer
complaints prior to September 2010,
when market volatility led to poor returns
for policyholders, who exited early.

Rs. 2,424 billion in 2012-13, it was Rs.

2,434 billion in 2014-15. This meant that
balance in these funds has barely
changed since 2013. The capital
requirements of a central bank can vary
considerably depending on a number of
factors, according to the annual report.
The annual report also showed that the
RBI had been transferring 99.9% of its
profits to the government, without
keeping any amount for itself. This is a
sharp increase from the 40-50% it had
transferred in the 2010-13 period. In the
financial year 2014-15, the RBI
transferred Rs.659 billion to the
government coffers, up from Rs.150
billion in 2010-11.

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5) Which noted international NGOs

Indian units licence to receive foreign
donations was cancelled by the Ministry
of Home Affairs (MHA) during
September 2015? Greenpeace India
4) The recently released RBI Annual
Report for 2014-15 had revealed that
the central banks Contingency funds,
used in case of unforeseen shocks,
have fallen to 8.4% of total assets. Apart
from this, for the last two years, the RBI
has made no transfers to its
Contingency Fund or its Asset
Development Fund. What is the
stipulated target for funding of RBIs
contingency funds? 12% of assets
Explanation: While the total in these
contingency funds of the RBI stood at

Explanation: The MHA cancelled the

registration of Greenpeace India under
the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act
(FCRA). This meant that the NGO, part
of an international network by the same
name, would not be able to receive any
kind of foreign donations from now on.
This order came on 2 September 2015
after the NGO was given a 180-day
notice to tender a reply to the MHA. It is
worth mentioning that on 10 April 2015,
the Union Govt. had suspended
Greenpeace Indias licence to receive

foreign donations, citing its

campaigning, protesting and lobbying
against government of Indias policies.
6) During September 2015 Barack
Obama achieved which distinction as
the President of the United States? He
became the first-ever sitting US
President to cross the Arctic Circle to
go to Alaska

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18 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Explanation: US President Barack

Obama on 3 September 2015 visited
Kotzebue, a town of some 3,000 people
in the Alaska Arctic. This visit marked
the first-ever visit of Alaska by a sitting
American President and thus crossing
the Arctic Circle. As Obama closed out a
three day tour of the state of Alaska
focused almost entirely on climate
change, he sought to show solidarity
with Alaska natives and rural Alaskans,
whose immense challenges are rarely in
the national spotlight. Some 100,000
Alaskans live in areas vulnerable to
melting permafrost, US government
estimates show.

around five years. Over the course of

his career, he had composed music for
over 100 Hindi films, including Chalte
Chalte, Baabul,Baghban, Kabhi
Khushi Kabhie Gham and Rajneeti.
Which recently released film includes
some of his last works as music
director? Welcome Back
Explanation: Aadesh Shrivastava was
a noted music composer and singer of
Indian music. Over the course of his
career, he had composed music for over
100 Hindi films. He was diagnosed with
Multiple myeloma (cancer of the plasma
cells) in December 2010 and went
through chemotherapy. His cancer had
relapsed for the 3rd time recently and he
passed away at Kokilaben Dhirubhai
Ambani Hospital & Medical Research
Institute in Mumbai. Former actress
Vijayta Pandit was her wife.

8) Wilfred De Souza, who passed away

on 4 September 2015, was a 3-time
Chief Minister of which state? Goa
7) Noted music director Aadesh
Shrivastava passed away in the early
hours of 5 September 2015 after
suffering with several bouts of cancer for

Explanation: He was Chief Minister of

Goa state for the first time from 18 May
1993 to 2 April 1994, for the second
time from 8 April 1994 to 23 November

1998 and for the third time from 29 July

1998 to 8 February 1999. He passed
away after suffering a heart attack on 4
September 2015. He was 88. He twice
served as the states Chief Minister from
Congress. He represented Goa Rajiv
Congress (a breakaway faction of Indian
National Congress) during his third
tenure.

Sep 8, 2015
meeting was held primarily to review
ongoing economic developments, the
respective growth prospects and recent
volatility in financial markets and its
underlying economic conditions.
Photo Courtesy : AP

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19 CURRENT AFFAIRS

1) The meeting of the Finance Ministers

and Central Bank Governors from the
Group of 20 (G20) was held at which
city on 4 and 5 September 2015?
Ankara (Turkey)
Explanation: G20 is the group of the
largest developing economies of the
world. G20 Finance Ministers and
Central Bank Governors Meeting was
held from 4 to 5 September 2015 at
Ankara. The meeting was attended by
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and
RBI Governor Raghram Rajan. The

2) On 6 September 2015 G20 launched

a new group with the objective to
empower women and to boost the role
of women in global economic growth.
What is the name given to this newly
formed group? W20
Explanation: W20 was formed as a
grouping of female leaders to work
toward empowering women and
ensuring their participation in economic
growth. It would work as an outreach
group and seek to promote gender
inclusiveness in economic growth

process by empowering women. Gulden

Turktan of Turkey was appointed as the
first President of W20. All G20 countries
are now expected nominate their
members for the grouping.

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3) National Reform Council, the council

appointed by Thailands military rulers,
on 6 September 2015 rejected a
controversial new constitution that was
drafted after last years coup. This newly
drafted constitution met strong
opposition on practically all sides of the
political divide. What will be the main
impact of this rejection on Thailands
road to democracy? This comes as
another setback for holding elections
in the country
Explanation: It is worth mentioning that
in 2014 the Thai army had ousted the
elected government of the country led
by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra
after months of unrest. Later a
committee was formed to draft a new
constitution for taking the country to new
path of democracy. It was expected that
a new election would be held in the
country by the end of 2016. However,

these hopes were dashed as the 247member National Reform Council on 6

September rejected the draft charter by
135 votes to 105, with seven
abstentions. Critics of the draft
constitution say it would erode the
power of political parties in favour of the
army and prevent a genuine democracy
from being established. Until a new
constitution can be drafted, the military
government retains its substantial
powers. It is worth mentioning that
Thailand has seen numerous different
constitutions since the end of the
absolute monarchy in 1932.
4) Which civic body of Mumbai city
came to news after it imposed a ban on
sale of meat during 8 days Paryushan
Parva, which witnesses observance
fasting by the Jain community? MiraBhayander Municipal Corporation
(MBMC)
Explanation: The Mira-Bhayander
Municipal Corporation (MBMC)
announced that slaughter of animals will
not be allowed under the MiraBhayander limits between 11
September and 18 September 2015.
The resolution was moved by BJP
corporaor Dinesh Jain, in which the BJP
got 29 votes in favour of the resolution,
while the ruling partys ally Shiv Sena
voted against it, along with the
Congress and NCP.

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5) Indian Railways is poised to enter into

an agreement with which entity to
facilitate getting images for mapping and
communications to introduce Wi-Fi
through the satellite system, as
announced on 6 September 2015?
ISRO
Explanation: Indian Railways will join
hands with ISRO to get online satellite
images for improving safety and
enhancing efficiency. The tie-up will
undertake a massive exercise of GIS
(geographical information systems)
mapping of the entire rail route and
assets including buildings, land,
workshops and other facilities in the
network using geospatial technology.
Geospatial technology involves GPS
(global positioning systems), GIS and
RS (remote sensing). Geospatial
services will be available from satelliteassisted navigational support through
the GPS aided geo-augmented
navigation (GAGAN) system of ISRO.
The agreement will facilitate getting
images and communications through
the satellite system. While the images
will help in mapping the area,
communications will enable the
introduction of Wi-Fi service in trains in
a larger way.
6) Who won the Italian F1 Grand Prix,
summit race of which was held on 6

September 2015 at the Monza Circuit?

Lewis Hamilton
Explanation: Reining F1 champion
Lewis Hamilton (Britain), who represents
Mercedes, won the Italian F1 Grand Prix
to win his seventh title of the year. With
this win he further cemented his position
as seasons leader with 53 points lead
over his teammate Nico Rosberg
(Germany). Ferraris Sebastian Vettel
(Germany) was third while Williams
Felipa Massa (Brazil) was third.
7) Which Sahitya Akademi award
winning Hindi writer came to news
during September 2015 as he
announced to return his award in protest
against the murder of Kannada scholar
and rationalist M.M. Kalburgi? Uday
Prakash
Explanation: Uday Prakash, a former
assistant professor at the Jawaharlal
Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi,
was awarded the Sahitya Akademi
award in 2010-11 for his collection of
short stories, Mohan Das. He told that
Prof. Kalburgis murder was part of a
series of attacks on and instances of
disrespect shown towards writers,
artists, thinkers and intellectuals. He will
return the award along with Rs. 1 lakh
cash prize given to him with the award.

Sep 9, 2015
after Rajasthan to fix educational and
other qualifications for the candidates
contesting PRI elections.

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1) Which state on 7 September 2015

became the second in the country after
Rajasthan to fix the minimum
educational qualification for elections to
the Panchayati Raj institutions?
Haryana
Explanation: The Haryana State
Assembly on 7 September 2015 passed
a bill the Haryana Panchayati Raj
(Amendment) Bill, 2015, for fixing the
minimum educational qualification for
elections to the Panchayati Raj
institutions. The Bill fixed, matriculation
as essential qualification for general
candidates contesting the Panchayat
elections while the qualification for the
women (general) and Scheduled Caste
candidate will be middle standard (VIII).
However, in case of a woman candidate
belonging to SC category contesting
election for the post of Panch, the
minimum qualification shall be V pass.
Haryana thus became the second State

2) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 8

September 2015 held a crucial meeting
with about 40 captains of industry and
leading economists at his residence on
8 September 2015. They deliberated on
recent developments in the global
economy and the opportunities it
presents for India. What was the titled
agenda of this meeting? Recent
Global Events Opportunities for
India
Explanation: This important meeting
was held at a time when markets around
the globe are turbulent due to a slowing
Chinese economy. The Sensex slipped
under 25,000 for the first time in 14
months a day before on 7 September.
Industry leaders like Mukesh Ambani of
Reliance Industries, Cyrus Mistry of
Tata Group, Gautam Adani of Adani
Group and Arundhati Bhattacharya of
SBI took part in this meeting. India Inc.
was also expected to bring up its
concerns about the slow pace of
reforms and weak GDP numbers. This
meeting resulted in a shoot up in Indian
capital markets as Prime Minister urged

the industry to believe in the India

growth story.

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3) North and South Korea on 8

September 2015 agreed to hold which
important event for citizens of both the
countries? To hold re-union of war
divided families of the two countries
Explanation: On 8 September, the two
Koreas agreed to hold reunions of
around 100 family members separated
by the Korean War in the early 1950s.
This reunion will be held from 20 to 26
October 2015 at the Diamond Mountain
resort in North Korea. The highly
emotional reunions were first held in
1988 and have not happened since
February 2014. Most applicants for
reunions are in their 70s or older and
desperate to see their loved ones before
they die. Many Koreans dont even
know whether relatives on the other side
of the border are still alive because their
governments mostly ban the exchange
of letters, phone calls or emails. About
22,500 Koreans had participated in brief
reunions 18,800 in person and the
others by video during a period of
detente. None were given a second
chance to meet their relatives, according
to South Koreas Red Cross. The two

Koreas remain divided along the worlds

most heavily fortified border since the
1950-53 Korean War ended with an
armistice, not a peace treaty.

4) According to a statement released by

the Northern Command of the Indian
Army on 7 September 2015, an Army
court martial recently confirmed the life
sentence to six of its personnel found
guilty in the Machil fake encounter case
that took place in Jammu & Kashmir.
The Army verdict came in December
2013, but remained unconfirmed so far
for procedural reasons. This incident
involving killing of three Kashmir youths
took place on 29 April 2010
Explanation: The Machil fake
encounter case pertains to the killing of
three Kashmiri youths Reyaz Ahmad,
Mohammad Shafi and Shahzad
Ahmadas by Army jawans on 29 April
2010 in the Machil sector of Kupwara
district on the ground that they were
foreign militants. However, a police
investigation found out that the dead
that the three youth were residents of
Nadihal Rafiabad of Baramulla district.

They were made to come to Machil by a

former special police officer, Bashir
Ahmad Lone, and his accomplices with
the offer of jobs and later handed over
to the Army personnel for Rs. 50,000
each. The six Army personnel found
guilty in the case and hence awarded
life sentence are Colonel Dinesh
Pathania, Captain Opendra, Havildar
Devender Kumar, Lance Naik Lakhmi,
Lance Naik Arun Kumar and rifleman
Abas Hussain. This is the first time Army
personnel are being punished for human
rights abuse in the Valley.

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5) What is the name of the Indian e-mail

tech start-up which helps people do
research inside their Gmail App, that
came to news as it won the regional
round of Seedstars World, a global startup competition recently? Strike
Explanation: The startup Strike was
co-founded in September 2014 by
Aishwarya Jain along with Akshay
Katyal, his former colleague at tech
company HackerEarth. The start-up has
developed a technology that provides
insights to users about people while
checking mails on mobile. For example
how they look like, where they work,
their social profiles and public updates.
It won a competition supported by the
Switzerland-based venture builder

Seedstars, which invests up to $1.5

million (Rs 9.9 crore) in start-ups in
emerging markets.

6) Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) will

sell the iconic bread and bakery brand
Modern to which company as
announced on 8 September 2015?
Nimman Foods Private Ltd
Explanation: HUL will transfer its bread
and bakery business under the brand
Modern for an undisclosed amount to
Nimman Foods Private Ltd. Nimman
Foods is an investee company of
Everstone Group. It is worth mentioning
that Modern brand was once part of
Modern Food Industries, a wholly owned
Central Government-owned PSU. It was
sold to HUL in January 2000 and was
the first privatisation of public sector unit
by the Government of India.

Sep 10, 2015

the water to find its way to the barrage.
The State is working on Polavaram multi
purpose project and the Pattiseema
project to link Godavari and Krishna
rivers. The linking of Godavari and
Krishna is being seen as a major help
for the delta region and drought-proofing
water-short Rayalaseema region of the
state.

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1) Andhra Pradesh Govt. on 9

September 2015 created history by
taking the first step to link two mighty
rivers of the state. This was done by
diverting the water of one river from
Tadepudi reservoir to facilitate supply to
the other river. Which are these two
rivers? Godavari and Krishna
Explanation: AP Govt. took first step to
link Godavari and Krishna rivers as
water from Godavari river was diverted
from Tadepudi reservoir to facilitate
supply to the Krishna river. This water
would later be supplied to the Delta
region. This move is seen as a major
step towards linking Godavari and
Krishna rivers. About 600 cusecs of
water from Godavari has been diverted
to Krishna. The water is being
evacuated from Tadepudi lift irrigation to
be diverted for supply into Prakasham
barrage. It will take a couple of days for

2) The forthcoming Assembly elections

in Bihar would he held in how many
stages as announced by the Election
Commission in its poll itinerary on 9
September 2015? Five stages
Explanation: Chief Election
Commissioner Nasim Zaidi announced
the election schedule for Bihar
Assembly elections in New Delhi on 9
September. The elections will be held in
5 stages on October 12, 16 and 20 and
November 1 and 5 while the results will
be announced on 8 November 2015.
Over 6 crore people are expected to
exercise their franchise in the polls. The
term of the 243-member Assembly ends
on 29 November 2015. After ruling the
State for 10 years, Chief Minister Nitish
Kumar is seeking a third term, this time
in alliance with the RJD and the
Congress after he walked out of NDA in

June, 2013 snapping 17-year-old ties

with the BJP.

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3) British monarch Queen Elizabeth II

on 9 September 2015 reached a major
milestone by becoming the longestreigning monarch in Britains history.
Whose record of staying at the throne
for 63 years and 7 months she
surpassed? Queen Victoria
Explanation: Queen Victoria (18191901), the great-great-grandmother of
Queen Elizabeth II, was on the throne
for 63 years and 7 months. On 9
September 2015, at around 17:30 local
time in Great Britain, Queen Elizabeth
surpassed this record of Queen Victoria
to become the longest-reigning British
monarch. She had occupied the throne
on 6 February 1952 after death of her
father King George VI. She was touring
a remote part of Kenya when news of
her fathers death arrived. Buckingham
Palace marked the event by releasing
an official photograph of the Queen
taken by Mary McCartney. 89-year-old
monarch has cut back on her
international travel and has lightened

her work load somewhat, but she still

carries out many royal duties.
4) In an important initiative, the Union
Govt. on 8 September 2015 set an
ambitious literacy target under the
Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY).
What is this target? To achieve 100%
literacy in villages adopted under the
Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana by
March 2016
Explanation: This announcement was
made by Union Human Resource
Development (HRD) Minister Smriti Irani
on 8 September. The announcement
came as President Pranab Mukherjee
regretted that India still lagged behind
some of its neighbours in achieving
100% literacy. He said this at the
International Literacy Day function
where Tamil Nadu was felicitated as the
best performing state by him. The HRD
Minister also disclosed that there are
410 districts where villages have
identified under the Sansad Adarsh
Gram Yojana. It is worth mentioning that
the President had said From 18% in
1951 to 72.5% in 2011, we are still
behind. Many of our sister developing
countries including those in South Asia
have almost 100 per cent literacy rate.

5) J. Manjula, the woman scientist of the

Defence Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO), came to news
recently. Why? She became the firstever woman Director General of
DRDO
Explanation: According to the
announcement made by DRDO on 9
September 2015, J. Manjula has been
named DRDOs first woman Director
General and has taken charge of the
Electronics & Communication Systems
cluster. Manjula, who is a DRDO
Outstanding Scientist, was Director of
the Defence Avionics Research
Establishment, Bengaluru, since July
2014. She took charge from K.D. Nayak.

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6) Which state on 8 September 2015

announced imposition of a complete ban
on manufacture and sale of gutka, pan
masala, and other similar products
containing tobacco? Haryana

Explanation: The Health Ministry of

Haryana state imposed this ban with
effect from 3 September 2015. Under
the pertaining order, the manufacturing,
storage, distribution and sale of gutka,
pan masala, flavoured or scented
tobacco, kharra and other similar
products containing tobacco have been
completely banned. Other products
containing tobacco which are available
in market are also included in it. The
Haryana Food and Drugs Administration
(FDA) has issued notification in this
regard, under which, sale and purchase
of tobacco products have been
prohibited for one year from 3
September. The ban also includes mix
of other ingredients such as heavy
metals and anti-caking agents, except to
the extent of specifically permitted
ingredients, silver leaf, binders, flavours,
scents and fragrances.

Sep 11, 2015

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1) Union Cabinet on 9 September 2015

announced the Gold Monetisation
Scheme under which gold in any form
can be deposited with banks for a period
of one to 15 years. What is the primary
objective of this scheme? To bring
out the huge amount of gold that is
being kept idly by Indians
Explanation: The Gold Monetisation
Scheme has been announced primarily
to bring an estimated 20,000 tonnes of
idle gold lying with Indian consumers
into the economy and also reduce
Indias dependence on gold imports.
Under it, Indians citizens would be able
to deposit gold in any form in the banks
for a period of one to 15 years. This gold
will earn interest and redemption will be
at the prevailing market value at the end
of the tenure of deposit. By taking
advantage of Gold Monetisation
Scheme, people can thus deposit idle

gold with authorised agencies and take

advantage of the price escalation of gold
as well as earn interest on the deposit.
The gold deposited with banks under
the monetisation scheme will be allowed
to be sold to jewellers in order to boost
domestic supply. However, the
government intends not to allow the
Gold Monetisation Scheme to become a
vehicle for converting black money into
white. The draft proposal of Gold
Monetisation Scheme was put up on 19
May 2015 while it was announced in the
Union Budget 2015-16 with the aim of
replacing both the existing Gold Deposit
and Gold Metal Loan Schemes.
2) What is the primary objective of the
Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme, which
was approved by the Union Cabinet on
9 September 2015? To rope in
customers looking to buy gold as an
investment
Explanation: Under the Sovereign Gold
Bond Scheme (SGBS) there will be no
need to buy actual or physical gold as
customers can buy gold bonds which
will be relatable to the weight of gold. It
is expected to attract people who look
for gold as a worthy investment option.
The bonds will be issued in
denominations of 5 grams, 10 grams, 50

grams and 100 grams for a term of five

years to seven years with a rate of
interest to be calculated on the value of
the metal at the time of investment.
However, there would be a cap of 500
grams that a person can purchase in a
year. Such bonds would be offered to
only Indian citizens and institutions.

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29 CURRENT AFFAIRS

3) Union Cabinet on 9 September 2015

came out with which important approval
for the telecom industry? It gave its
approval to the spectrum trading
guidelines which will allow telecom
companies to buy and sell spectrum
Explanation: The guidelines for
spectrum trading have been a much
anticipated for countrys telecom
industry. Under it, the idle spectrum with
one service provider will be allowed to
be transferred to the other service
provider who is facing spectrum crunch.
This is expected to help address the
problem of shortage of spectrum,
leading to better quality of services for
mobile phone users. However, the
ownership of the spectrum will remain
with the Government of India. This is
because the govt. gave the right of use
to operators through auction. Spectrum

trading would provide exit opportunity to

operators who have not been able to
build scale in India and have been
facing unprofitable operations by selling
off their spectrum. It would provide
bigger players who have congested
networks to buy new spectrum and
improve the quality of service for
customers.

4) The Union Cabinet announced which

new policy for white label ATM
operations in the country on 9
September 2015? It allowed 100%
FDI under the automatic route for
white label ATM operations
Explanation: White labeled ATMs are
set up by private non-bank companies
that own and operate their own brand of
ATMs. Till date, foreign investment in
while label ATM operations (WLAO),
was allowed through the government
approval route. This required some
processing time and projects were
delayed. The move to allow 100% FDI
under the automatic route for white label
ATM operations is expected to promote
financial inclusion in the country. This is
also expected to help in governments

objective of enhancing ATM networks in

semi-urban and rural areas.

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5) Which entity was presented the

Gandhi International Peace Prize for the
year 2014 by the President on 9
September 2015? Indian Space
Research Organization (ISRO)
Explanation: ISRO was awarded this
prize at a ceremony held at the
Rashtrapati Bhavan on 9 September.
ISRO was chosen for this prestigious
prize for its efforts improving the life of
the common man and remaining rooted
in its core mission of national
regeneration even as it achieved
unprecedented success in iconic
missions such as Mars mission and
PSLV. The award was received by
ISROs Chairman AS Kiran Kumar.
Gandhi International Peace Prize was
first awarded in 1995 on the occasion of
the 125th birth anniversary of Mahatma
Gandhi. The prestigious prize carries
Rs. 1 crore cash prize, a plaque and a
citation.

6) Global rating agency Standard &

Poors (S&P) downgraded which leading
Latin American countrys credit rating to
junk grade on 9 September 2015?
Brazil
Explanation: The downgrade of Brazils
credit rating from investment grade to
junk grade thus further hampered
President Dilma Rousseffs efforts to
regain investors trust and pull the
country out of recession. Brazil is the
largest economy of Latin America. It is
worth mentioning that Moodys Investors
Service had downgraded Brazil less
than a month ago to the brink of junk,
but said its investment grade was safe
for now. S&P said its decision was
based on the mounting political
problems that have muddled economic
policy. When Brazil first got the coveted
investment-grade stamp from S&P, after
decades of financial volatility, it was
considered a star among developing
nations. Once Rousseff took office in
2011, however, the economy began to
slow down sharply and last quarter it
officially entered a recession.

Sep 12, 2015

on the issue. In 2012, the General
Assembly approved the de facto
recognition of the sovereign state of
Palestine. That followed a failed bid by
the Palestinians to secure full U.N.
membership.

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1) The United Nations General

Assembly on 10 September 2015 gave
its approval to which countrys resolution
under which this countrys flag will fly at
the United Nations (UN) despite this
country not being a member of the UN?
Palestine
Explanation: The UN General
Assembly gave its overwhelming
approval to a Palestinian resolution
which permits the flag of Palestine to fly
at the UN Headquarters in New York.
There were 119 votes in favour out of
193 UN members while the United
States and Israel were among eight
countries that voted against the
Palestinian-drafted resolution. Palestine
described this as a major step toward
full UN membership. Most of the 28nation European Union were among the
45 nations that abstained from voting.
However, France and more than half a
dozen others voted in favour of the
Palestinian resolution after the EU split

2) 12th World Hindi Conference, which

was inaugurated by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on 10 September 2015,
is being held in which city? Bhopal
Explanation: The 3-day World Hindi
Conference (WHC) will conclude on 12
September 2015. The conference
primarily focuses on exploring the
possibilities of expanding the influence
of Hindi across the world. The main
feature of this conference is that with it
the WHC has returned to India after an
interval of 32 years. It is also the first
time that Madhya Pradesh is hosting
this premier event. While the first edition
of WHC was held in 1975 at Nagpur, the
last WHC to take place in India was the
3rd edition which took place in New Delhi
in 1983. The last WHC was held in
Johannesburg in 2012.

3) Union Cabinet approved the

constitution of a new Law Commission
on 9 September 2015. This will be which
edition of the Law Commission? 21st

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Explanation: The Law Commission is a

non-statutory body constituted by the
government from time to time primarily
for reviewing the effectiveness and
relevance of present laws. It was
originally constituted in 1955 and is reconstituted every three years. The
20th Law Commission was headed by
Justice A.P. Shah and its tenure had
ended on 31st August 2015. 21stLaw
Commission will also have 3-year tenure
and it came into effect from 1
September 2015. The Commission will
consist of a full-time chairperson and
four full-time members (including a
member-secretary) among others.
4) During September 2015, who was
appointed as the newest full time
member of NITI Aayog? Prof.
Ramesh Chand
Explanation: With his inclusion in the
NITI Aayog as a full-time member, Prof.
Ramesh Chand thus became the third
full-time member of this body. Prof.
Chand is also a member of a task force

on Agriculture Development of NITI

Aayog. Renowned economist Bibek
Debroy and V K Saraswat, the former
DRDO chief, are the other two full time
members of NITI Aayog. NITI Aayog,
which stands for National Institution for
Transforming India (NITI) Aayog, is
headed by economist Arvind Pangariya.
5) According to the information
disclosed by Lebanese sources and
confirmed by the U.S. officials, which
prominent country has recently joined
the ongoing war in Syria by backing
President Bashar al-Assads forces?
Russia
Explanation: It was confirmed on 9
September 2015 that Russian forces
have begun participating in military
operations in support of Syrian
government troops. Two U.S. officials
also confirmed that Russia has sent two
tank landing ships and additional aircraft
to Syria in the past day or so and has
deployed a small number of naval
infantry forces. However, the numbers
of Russians involved in the war so far
was very small and they are only
providing logistical support to Syrian
forces. The move comes at a time when
forces of President al-Assads
government have faced major setbacks
on the battlefield in a four-year-old multisided civil war that has killed 2,50,000
people and driven half of Syrias 23

million people from their homes. Russia

has been one of al-Assads main allies.

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6) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 11

September 2015 inaugurated a new
terminal of Chandigarh airport. This new
terminal will handle both domestic as
well as international flights and will be
operated and maintained by Chandigarh
International Airport Ltd (CHIAL). Which
two state governments have equal stake
in CHIAL? Punjab and Haryana
Explanation: The new terminal of
Chandigarh airport is part of the Rs. 939
crore project, which is expected to boost
the economic and industrial
development in Punjab, Haryana and
Himachal Pradesh. It will be operated
and maintained by Chandigarh
International Airport Ltd (CHIAL), a joint
venture between Airports Authority of
India (AAI) and the governments of
Punjab and Haryana. AAI has 51%
stake in the project while Punjab and
Haryana have 24.5% equity each.

Designed on the green building concept,

the terminal in Mohali (Punjab) is spread
over 53,000 sq. mts. and can handle
1,600 passengers, including 450
international travellers, during peak
time. Punjab had given 305 acres of
land at Jheorheri village in Mohali to AAI
in 2008 for setting up the new facility.
7) India Test captain Virat Kohli recently
acquired stake in which franchisee team
of Indian Premier Tennis League (IPTL)
to become a co-owner of it? UAE
Royals
Explanation: Virat Kohli became a coowner of UAE Royals, which is one of
the five franchisee teams of the Mahesh
Bhupathi promoted IPTL. UAE Royals
will be led by Swiss great Roger
Federer. Other franchisee teams in IPTL
are Indian Aces, Japan Warriors,
Philippine Mavericks and Singapore
Slammers. The UAE leg of the league
will be held from December 14 to 16 at
the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium.

Sept 13-14, 2015

Kaswa had exploded, killing most of its
occupants and those on the vicinity.
Kaswa allegedly had a licence to deal in
explosives used in mining operations.

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1) Over 90 persons were killed and

many injured when mining gelatin and
detonators stored in a house near a
restaurant exploded on 12 September
2015 in Jhabua district of Madhya
Pradesh. This accident took place in
which town of Jhabua district?
Petlawad
Explanation: Petlawad is a small town
in Madhya Pradeshs Jhabua district
with a population of over 15 thousand. It
came to news on 12 September 2015
for a huge blast that took place at
around 8:30 am in towns centre. Police
initially thought that the reason for this
blast was explosion in a cooking gas
cylinder in the restaurant. But later it
was confirmed that gelatin sticks kept in
the house of one Rajendra Kumar

2) In an important event in British

politics, who was elected as the new
leader of opposition Labour Party on 12
September 2015? Jeremy Corbyn
Explanation: Jeremy Corbyn is an
avowed socialist and Karl Marx admirer.
He defeated two former Labour
ministers, Yvette Cooper and Andy
Burnham, and Liz Kendall to get elected
as the leader of Britains main
opposition party Labour Party. His
election as Labour Party leader is
expected to throw more weight to the
proposed exit of Britain from the
European Union. Corbyn, a left winger

and parliamentary veteran with a long

history of voting against his own party,
triumphed on a message of promising to
increase government investment though
money-printing and re-nationalising vast
swathes of the economy.

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3) BJPs student wing Akhil Bharatiya

Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) swept Delhi
University Students Union (DUSU)
elections by bagging all four positions as
announced on 12 September 2015. The
ABVP won posts of president, vicepresident, secretary and joint secretary
by defeating Congress-affiliated
National Students Union of India
(NSUI). What is the name of the Aam
Aadmi Partys student entity, which
made its debut at the campus polls this
year and finished at third position?
Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti
(CYSS)
Explanation: Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh
Samiti (CYSS) is the newly formed
students entity of AAP behind which
AAP head and Delhi Chief Minister
Arvind Kejriwal had thrown his weight.
But it was unable to perform well.
Satender Awana was elected president
of DUSU while Sunny Dedha won vice

presidents post. Anjali Rana and

Chhattarpal Yadav were elected as
secretary and joint secretary
respectively. Last year too, ABVP had
swept the polls trouncing NSUI to bag
all four seats. DUSU is the
representative body of the students from
most colleges and faculties of the
varsity. The polls have been keenly
contested over decades and are seen
as a stepping stone to party politics.

4) Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien

Loong registered a landslide victory in
the general election held in the country
on 11 September 2015. His party
returned to the power with a massive
mandate for the 12th time since
Singapore attained independence. What
is the name of this ruling party which
has ruled Singapore since it attained
Independence some 50 years ago?
Peoples Action Party (PAP)
Explanation: The Peoples Action Party
(PAP) won an absolute majority of 83
seats in the 89-member Parliament. The
PAPs main rival the Workers Party,
ended up with just six seats, less than
the seven it held in the outgoing
parliament. A number of smaller parties

also ran. The PAP, which has been

ruling the city-state since independence
in 1965, got 69.86% of the popular vote,
an increase of almost 10 percentage
points from its share in 2011. The
victory thus again dashed hopes of a
two-party system emerging in
Singapore. This was the first general
election after the death of Lee Kuan
Yew, father of Prime Minister Lee.

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5) What was the special feature of the

US Open womens singles final that was
played on 12 September 2015 and was
won by Flavia Pennetta of Italy? It
was the first-ever all-Italian Grand
Slam womens final in the Open Era
Explanation: The 2015 US Open
womens singles was played between
Italys Roberta Vinci and her compatriot
Flavia Pennetta. Roberta Vinci had
shocked and ousted World No. 1
Serena Williams in the semi-final. In the
finals Flavia Pennetta defeated Vinci by
7-6 (7-4), 6-2 to win her maiden Grand
Slam singles title. At 33 years, Pennetta
became the oldest first-time Grand Slam
womens champion in the Open era.
The breakthrough win came in

Pennettas 49th Grand Slam appearance,

the most needed for any womens major
champion, two more than Frances
Marion Bartoli when she won at
Wimbledon in 2013. She however
announced her retirement from
international tennis after this win. Italian
Prime Minister Matteo Renzi was among
the spectators in Arthur Ashe Stadium
who watched this first all-Italian
womens Grand Slam final of the Open
Era.
6) Leander Paes and Martina Hingis
won the 2015 U.S. Open mixed doubles
title by defeating Sam Querrey and
Bethanie Mattek-Sands in the finals on
11 September 2015. This was
mixed doubles title of the year for
Paes and Hingis Third
Explanation: Leander Paes (India) and
Martina Hingis (Switzerland) defeated
American duo Sam Querrey and
Bethanie Mattek-Sands by 6-4, 3-6, 107 to add the US Open crown to their
wins at the Australian Open and
Wimbledon. They thus became the first
team since 1969 to win three Grand
Slam mixed doubles titles in the same
season. The only other team to win
three majors in the same year were
Marty Riessen and Margaret Court 46
years ago. 42-year old Paes has also
passed his former doubles partner,
Mahesh Bhupathi, as the most
successful mixed doubles champion in

the Open Era with nine Grand Slam

titles.

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7) World welterweight boxing champion

Floyd Mayweather, Jr. (US) ended his
illustrious boxing career on 12
September 2015 with a win over Andre
Berto to claim the 49th and final win of
his career. He thus ended 49-0 to match
the record of which heavyweight boxing
legend? Rocky Marciano

Explanation: Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

had announced that the bout with Andre
Berto will be his final fight and with an
emphatic win over Betro, Mayweather
ended his career with 49 wins and no
losses. He thus matched the record of
the legendary American boxer Rocky
Marciano, who had perfect record of 49
wins from similar number of professional
bouts with 43 knock-outs.

Sept 15, 2015

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38 CURRENT AFFAIRS

chaotic government then dumped Ms.

Gillard for Rudd just months before the
2013 election. Before Rudd was elected
in 2007, John Howard was in power for
almost 12 years.

1) Who was elected as the new Prime

Minister of Australia on 14 September
2015 after Tony Abbott was ousted from
power in an internal party ballot in the
ruling Liberal party? Malcolm Turnbull

2) World No.1 Novak Djokovic of Serbia

won the US Open mens singles title on
13 September 2015 by defeating his
arch-rival Roger Federer in the finals.
With this title win, Djokovic once again
broke Federers dream of his 18th Grand
Slam title. Djokovic has now won how
many singles Grand Slam titles? Ten

Explanation: Malcolm Turnbull, a

former Liberal Party leader and
Communications Minister, became
Australias fourth Prime Minister in just
over two years after Tony Abbott lost a
leadership ballot by members of his
party. The members of the ruling Liberal
Party voted 54 to 44 to replace Abbott
with Turnball. The change in leadership
continues an extraordinarily volatile
period in Australian politics. The Liberals
were elected in 2013 as a stable
alternative to the then-Labour
government. Labour came to power
under Kevin Rudd at elections in 2007,
only to dump him for his deputy Julia
Gillard in 2010 months ahead of
elections. The bitterly divided and

Explanation: Novak Djokovic clinched

his third Grand Slam title of 2015 and
10thcareer major with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4
triumph over Roger Federer, who was
the sentimental favourite. Djokovics 10
Grand Slam titles makes him level with
American Bill Tilden and just one shy of
Bjorn Borg (Sweden) and Rod Laver
(Australia) on the all-time list. Djokovic
has won the Australian Open and
Wimbledon titles this year. This was his
second US Open title to add to his 2011
triumph. On the other hand the defeat
shattered 34-year-old Federers bid to
become the oldest US Open champion
in 45 years and left him marooned on 17
Grand Slam titles, the last of which
came at Wimbledon in 2012.

dozen militants on its rolls. Many see it

as a warning to policymakers in both
Centre and State to wake up to the new
tide of local youths joining militancy, and
the dramatic indigenisation of militant
violence, which since the late 1990s
was dominated by LeT.

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3) Recent media reports have disclosed

that the supremacy of Lashkar-e-Taiba
(LeT) as the number one militant
organization in Kashmir has ended. An
indigenous organization, with almost all
members from Kashmir has replaced it.
Which organization is this? Hizbul
Mujahideen
Explanation: Recent media reports
disclosed that the indigenous Hizbul
Mujahideen, with almost all members
from Kashmir, is now back as the
number one militant group. It thus ended
the supremacy of Lashkar-e-Taiba
(LeT), which had a majority of members
from Pakistan. In the most dependable
estimates available from J&K police and
other sources, about 200 active militants
are operating in the State. Of them, over
80 are in Hizbul Mujahideen, while LeT
has about 60 members, of which 40 are
believed to be Pakistanis. Many other
militant groups have altogether vanished
or are on the fringe. Jaish-eMohammed, founded by Maulana
Masood Azhar, who was released in
1999 in Kandahar in exchange for
passengers of the hijacked IC 814
aircraft, is now down to less than a

4) What is the name given to the firstever bilateral naval exercise between
India and Australia that commenced
from 12 September 2015 at
Visakhapatnam? AUSINDEX-15
Explanation: AUSINDEX-15 is the
name given to the first bilateral naval
exercise being conducted off the east
coast of India from 12 September to 19
September 2015. The exercise focuses
on anti-submarine warfare as the two
countries look at deepening defence
cooperation especially in the Indian
Ocean. The Royal Australian Navy has
sent three ships for the exercise Sirius
(fleet tanker), Arunta (Anzac class
frigate), and (Collins class submarine)
while the Indian Navy is represented by
INS Shivalik (stealth frigate), INS
Ranvijay (guided missile destroyer) and
INS Shakti (fleet tanker). The exercise
also aims at strengthening professional
interaction, both in harbour and at sea
and would be a start for attaining
interoperability between the two navies.

5) Who was unanimously elected as the

new Chairman of the Press Trust of
India (PTI) on 14 September 2015?
Hormusji N Cama(Director, Bombay
Samachar)

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Explanation: Hormusji Cama is

associated with Bombay Samachar, a
daily, which is the oldest continuouslypublished newspaper in India from
1855. He succeeded Mahendra Mohan
Gupta, Chairman and Managing
Director of the Jagran Prakashan
Limited, the publisher of Dainik Jagran.
Riyad Mathew, Director of Malayala
Manorama Group was elected as the
new Vice Chairman of PTI. PTI is the
largest news agency in India and a
cooperative of more than 500 Indian
newspapers. It is the only news agency
in India which operates its own
communication satellite to broadcast
news and information.

September 2015 at Pangode Military

Station in Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala).
It was titled EKUVERIN 2015 and
comprised of 45 soldiers from the Bihar
Regiment of Indian Army and same
number of marines from the Maldivian
National Defence Force. It was the first
joint exercise involving an international
contingent to be conducted at
Thiruvananthapuram, which is being
developed as a Training Node by the
Indian Army. It is worth mentioning that
the joint Military Training Exercise
between Indian and the Maldives was
started in 2009 with the first edition
taking place in Belgaum (Karnataka).
The bilateral exercise is held annually,
alternately in India and Maldives, with
the aim of enhancing military
cooperation and interoperability
between defence forces of the two
countries.

6) The 6th Indo-Maldives joint Military

Training Exercise, which concluded on
13 September 2015, was held at which
place? Thiruvananthapuram

7) Which billionaire businessman came

to news for recently purchasing the
iconic Lincoln House in Mumbai for a
huge price of Rs. 750 crore? Cyrus
Poonawalla

Explanation: The sixth edition of IndoMaldives joint Military Training Exercise

was held from 31 August to 13

Explanation: Lincoln House is located

in the Breach Candy area of south
Mumbai, which was used to house the

US consulate. It is spread over an area

around 50,000 square feet. It was
recently purchased by Cyrus
Poonawalla, the billionaire chairman of
the Pune-based Serum Institute, for an
exorbitantly high price of Rs. 750 crore.
This deal also became the largest real
estate deal in the countrys financial
capital. The high-profile deal came
within a week of industrialist Kumar

Mangalam Birlas deal worth Rs 425

crore for buying Jatia House in the plush
Malabar Hill area.

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Sept 16, 2015

1) What important event pertaining to

Indias hopes of an expanded U.N.
Security Council (UNSC) took place at
the United Nations General Assembly
(UNGA) on 14 September 2015? The
UNGA adopted a resolution to use a
text as the basis for discussions on
the issue of reforms pertaining to the
Security Council

Explanation: While the U.N.s Intergovernmental negotiations (IGN) have

been under way since 2008, this is the
first time that a negotiating text
pertaining to reforms in the UN Security
Council and its expansion has being
accepted to begin talks, as opposed to
just statements and speeches. The
resolution primarily pertains to
equitable representation on and
increase in the membership of the
Security Council. However, the
resolution doesnt mean that Indias
dreams of a seat at the high table of the
U.N. are going to be realised
immediately, but it is a significant step
forward from years of ambiguity. Indias
Permanent Representative to the U.N.

Asoke Mukerji also elaborated that the

resolution had faced several hurdles
from P-5 countries like China, USA and
Russia, as well as from countries
opposed to India.

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2) The Pentagon, the headquarters for

U.S. defence establishment, recently set
up a first-ever country specific special
cell with the objective of speeding up its
defence ties with India. What is the
name of this first-of-its-kind cell?
India Rapid Reaction Cell (IRRC)
Explanation: India Rapid Reaction Cell
(IRRC) the first-ever country special
cell at Pentagon was established to
speed up United States defence ties
with India and accelerate the process of
co-development and co-production of hitech military equipment in the country. It
was established soon after Ashton
Carter assumed Pentagons leadership
role in February 2015. It is headed by
Keith Webster, Director, International
Cooperation Office of the Under
Secretary of Defence for Acquisition,
Technology and Logistics.
3) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on
14 September 2015 announced

canceling the certificate of registration of

which entity of the Sahara Group?
Sahara India Financial Corporation
Limited
Explanation: The registration certificate
of Sahara India Financial Corporation
Limited (SIFCL) to act as a non-banking
financial company (NBFC) was
cancelled effective 3 September 2015
under the RBI Act. Following this, SIFC
cannot transact the business of a nonbanking financial institution. It is worth
mentioning that in June 2008 the RBI
had banned the finance company from
accepting deposits. During its
investigations, RBI had found SIFCL
had continuously flouted know-yourcustomer norms, as well as those
relating to asset-liability management
and investments. SIFCL was registered
on December 1998, with an office in
Lucknow.

4) The World Bank on 14 September

2015 released the first ever ranking of
States on the Ease of Doing Business
in India. The rating assessed states over
a six-month period from January to June
2015 on the issue of implementation of

ease of doing business policy. Which

state topped this list? Gujarat

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43 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Explanation: Gujarat implemented

71.14% of the reforms, according to the
assessment. Andhra Pradesh came
second with a score of 70.12%,
Jharkhand third at 63.09%, Chhattisgarh
fourth with 62.45% and Madhya
Pradesh fifth with 62%. The largest
recipients of foreign investments,
Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, were
ranked eighth and twelfth with less than
50 per cent scores. The rankings reflect
the ease of doing business in these
States by the small and medium
enterprises rather than foreign investors.
It is worth mentioning that Chief
Secretaries of States participating in the
Make in India workshop inaugurated
by Prime Minister Modi in New Delhi
during December 2014 had finalised this
action plan on Ease of Doing
Business. It was decided later to
evaluate States to assess progress by
June 2015.

5) Which state govt. on 16 September

2015 announced making it mandatory

for all high rise buildings in the state to

have solar power generation facility?
Tamil Nadu
Explanation: This announcement was
made in the Tamil Nadu Assembly by
Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on 16
September. The rule would be
applicable to all group developments
(with more than eight dwelling units)
also. In effect, it will cover almost 90%
of residential and commercial
developments in cities like Chennai and
Coimbatore. Under it all new multistorey
buildings (more than four floors) will
have to establish solar power generation
facility. This is being seen as the first-ofits-kind initiative in urban solar power
plants. Last time the state government
came out with such a major
environment-friendly initiative in the
housing sector was in 2001 when
rainwater harvesting structures were
made mandatory for all buildings. The
state is also a pioneer in the renewable
energy sector with an installed wind
energy capacity of more than 8,000MW,
and has come out with a policy pushing
solar power generation.

Sept 17, 2015

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1) What is the main finding of the muchanticipated report on human rights

violations in Sri Lanka prepared by the
U.N. Human Rights Office (OHCHR),
which was released in Geneva on 16
September 2015? There were
horrific level of human rights
violations and abuses in Sri Lanka
between 2002 and 2011
Explanation: Human rights violations in
Sri Lanka during the LTTE war has been
a bothersome episode in Sri Lankas
road to peace and elimination of the
LTTE. In March 2014, the U.N. Human
Rights Council had adopted a resolution
on a comprehensive investigation into
alleged serious violations and abuses of
human rights and related crimes by both
parties in Sri Lanka during the period
between 2002 and 2011. The period
covers three events- a) the
commencement of a ceasefire

agreement between the Sri Lankan

government and the Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in February 2002,
b) he conclusion of the Eelam War in
May 2009 and c) the submission of final
report by the Lessons Learnt and
Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) in
November 2011. The LLRC was
established by the previous regime
headed by Mahinda Rajapaksa in May
2010. The OHCHR report has also
recommended the establishment of a
hybrid special court, integrating
international judges, prosecutors,
lawyers and investigators.

2) What is the name of the exhibition

that was started on 15 September 2015
at the India Gate lawns in New Delhi to
celebrate the Golden Jubilee of IndoPak War of 1965? Shauryanjali
Explanation: Shauryanjali has
recreated the battle scene in various
sectors beginning from Rann of Kutch to
the ceasefire and Tashkent Summit. It
has been presented as an ode to
splendid show of valour and sacrifice of
Indian Armed Forces personnel for

protecting the borders of the country.

The exhibition was inaugurated by
Union Defence Minister Manohar
Parrikar and Union Finance Minister
Arun Jaitley.

was revived during Atal Bihari

Vajpayees NDA government.
Photo Courtesy : Times of India
4) Which European country on 15
September 2015 declared state of
emergency in two of its counties in view
of the ongoing migrant crisis?
Hungary

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3) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister on 16

September 2015 released the water of
river Godavari into Krishna to mark the
formal linking of the two rivers. This
event was performed at which village
near Vijayawada? Ibrahimpatnam
Explanation: Andhra Pradesh
government claimed that the state is the
first in the country to formally link two
major rivers of the country. The govt.
also announced that the place of
confluence of the two rivers near
Ibrahimpatnam would be developed as
a tourism place. The linkage of Godavari
water with Krishna basin is being made
possible by the Pattiseema lift irrigation
scheme on Godavari river at Pattisam
village in West Godavari district. The
inter-linking of rivers has been on the
cards and on the drawing board for a
long time, from the days when eminent
engineer K L Rao was irrigation minister
in the Union Cabinet in 1950s. The plan

Explanation: The state of emergency

was declared in two southern counties
as tough new laws to stop migrants
entering illegally came into force in the
country. After the new Hungarian laws
came into effect at midnight, police
sealed a railway crossing point that had
been used by tens of thousands of
migrants. The state of emergency gives
police extra powers and would allow
troop deployments if parliament
approves. The EU is facing a huge influx
of migrants, many fleeing conflict and
poverty in countries including Syria.
More than 500,000 migrants had arrived
at the EUs borders this year, compared
with 280,000 in 2014. The vast majority
have come by boat across the
Mediterranean.

5) Which author of Indian author was

among the six writers short-listed for the
prestigious Man Booker Prize 2015, as
announced on 15 September 2015?
Sunjeev Sahota
Explanation: Sunjeev Sahota was
short-listed for his book The Year of the
Runaways, which centers around the
lives of three Indian men, one a Dalit
and a woman, all migrants from India.
34-year old Sahota has received
glowing reviews for the book. This is the
second year that the prize has been
open to writers of any nationality, writing
in English and published in the United
Kingdom. Till 2014, the Booker Prize
was open to authors only from the U.K.

and Commonwealth, Republic of Ireland

and Zimbabwe. The others whose
books have been short-listed are British
writer Tom McCarthy for his book Satin
Island, Anne Tyler (U.S.) for A Spool of
Blue Thread, Hanya Yanagihara (U.S.)
for A Little Life, Marlon James
(Jamaica) for A Brief History of Seven
Killings, and Chigozie Obioma (Nigeria)
for The Fishermen.

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Sept 18, 2015

1) Ushering another banking revolution
in the country, the Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) on 16 September 2015
accorded in-principal approval for 10
small finance banks. These banks will
focus on small geographies for
operations but with a strong capital
base. Which 10 entities were selected

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for these small banks? 1) Au

Financiers, 2) Capital Local Area
Bank, 3) Disha Microfin, 4) Equitas
Holdings, 5) ESAF Microfinance, 6)
Janalakshmi Financial Services, 7)
RGVN (North East) Microfinance, 8)
Suryoday Micro Finance, 9) Ujjivan
Financial Services and 10) Utkarsh
Micro Finance
Explanation: The selection of these
small banks was on the basis of the
recommendations from three different
committees, backed by a detailed case
study for each applicant, including that
by an External Advisory Committee
chaired by former deputy governor Usha
Thorat. An important factor was
proposed to reach into unbanked areas
and underserved sections of the
population. Draft guidelines for licensing
of small finance banks were released for
public comments on 17 July 2014 and
based on the comments, the final norms
for licensing of small finance banks were
issued on 27 November. Earlier, in 2009
a Committee on Financial Sector
Reforms under Raghuram Rajan, now
the RBI governor, had examined the
relevance of small banks in the Indian
context.

2) Nepals parliament overwhelmingly

approved countrys new constitution on
16 September 2015. The new
constitution was passed by 507 votes to
25 in the 601-member Constituent
Assembly. This is overall
..constitution enacted in the
country Fifth
Explanation: Nepal previously had four
constitutions enacted respectively in
1959, 1962, 1990 and 1999. It is worth
mentioning that Nepal was governed by
an interim constitution after the
monarchy was abolished in 2008. The
new constitution will see Nepal divided
into seven provinces but it angered
minority ethnic groups who fear
discrimination and sparked protests in
which 40 died. Hindu groups have also
been demonstrating, demanding that
Nepal be declared a Hindu state it
became a secular republic after the
monarchy was scrapped. The new
constitution will come into effect from 20
September 2015.

3) Which city would host the XIX Asian

Games 2022 as announced on 16
September 2015? Hangzhou (China)
Explanation: Hangzhou, the capital of
Chinas Zhejiang Province, was

announced as the host city of the 2022

Asian Games. The announcement was
made at the Olympic Council of Asia
(OCAs) 34th Congress held at
Ashkhabad (Turkmenistan). It was
the only candidate city for these games.
Hangzhou, the home base of Chinese
Internet giant Alibaba, will thus be the
third Chinese city to host the
Asian regional games, following Beijing
in 1990 and Guangzhou in 2010. South
Koreas Incheon held the last Asian
Games in 2014, while Indonesia will
play host in 2018.

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48 CURRENT AFFAIRS

4) Which South American country was

struck by an 8.3 magnitude earthquake
on 16 September 2015 resulting in
setting off of a small tsunami wave and
over one million people being
evacuated? Chile
Explanation: An earthquake measuring
8.3 on Richter scale hit Chilean central
region on 16 September. Over a million
people were evacuated after a tsunami
alert was issued for the entire Chilean
coast. However, the alert was later
lifted. At least 8 persons were killed in
the earthquake. In the coastal town of
Coquimbo, waves of 4.7m (15ft) hit the
shore. Tsunami waves also hit the coast
further north and south of the quakes
epicenter, with waves half a metre
higher than usual as far north as La
Punta. The quake was five times more
energetic than the one that devastated

Nepal back in April 2015. This was

Chiles third massive quake in five years
as the region all too frequently
experiences magnitude 8 events. As a
consequence, the building codes are
strict and generally well enforced.

5) Which West African country faced

military coup with the military officers
overthrowing the government on 17
September 2015? Burkina Faso
Explanation: Burkina Faso was
plunged into chaos as presidential
guards seized power in a coup, with
reports of more than 10 deaths amid
protests in the capital, Ouagadougou.
Gen. Gilbert Diendr took control of the
country, according to a military
spokesman. General Diendr is a
close ally of the former president, Blaise
Compaor, who was in power for 27
years until last fall. The crisis began in
the evening of 16 September, when
members of the Presidential Security
Regiment, known by its French initials,
R.S.P., stormed a cabinet meeting and
seized the interim president, Michel
Kafando and Prime Minister Isaac Zida.
Their transitional authority was due to
hand power to a new government after
elections on 11 October 2015. Burkina

Faso is one of the worlds poorest

countries. It was a former French colony
and gained independence in 1960.
6) The insurance benefit payable to
dependents of the members of the
Employees Provident Fund
Organisation (EPFO) was enhanced to
Rs. 6 lakh in a meeting of the Central
Board of Trustees of the EPFO held on
16 September 2015. What was the
present benefit limit for the same? Rs.
3.60 lakh

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49 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Explanation: The move to enhance the

insurance benefit payable to
dependents of the members of the
EPFO under the Employees Deposit
Linked Insurance Scheme, 1976, will
benefit four crore EPF contributing
members. The money is paid to
dependents on the death of subscribers
to the scheme. It was also decided to
remove the condition of continuous
employment of one year under the
current employer for eligibility to the
insurance scheme. Even a days
employment was enough to be eligible.

7) What is the name of the UPAappointed Director of Nehru Memorial

Museum and Library (NMML), who
recently resigned controversially from
the post and the resignation was
accepted on 17 September 2015 by the
Executive Council? Mahesh
Rangarajan
Explanation: Rangarajans resignation
came more than a week after Culture
Minister Mahesh Sharma criticized his
appointment illegal and unethical.
Sharma had raked up the appointment
of Rangarajan by the outgoing Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh just two days
before the Lok Sabha election results
were declared last year. The resignation
came in the midst of the Congress party
accusing the government of being
engaged in actions to belittle the legacy
of Jawaharlal Nehru by going for a
complete revamp of the cultural
institutions.

Sept 19, 2015

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50 CURRENT AFFAIRS

1) Prime Minister Narendra Modi

launched the ambitious Integrated
Power Development Scheme (IPDS) on
the occasion of his visit to Varanasi, his
Lok Sabha constituency, on 18
September 2015. What is the primary
objective of IPDS? To provide 247
power supply in urban areas
Explanation: Integrated Power
Development Scheme (IPDS) is one of
the flagship schemes of the Ministry of
Power and will be at the core attempt to
ensure 247 power for all. With the
demand for power growing manifold day
by day, the need for round the clock
availability of power has become more
and more relevant. IPDS aims to serve
this and make power outages a thing of
past. Rs. 45,000 crore will be spend on
the scheme which will involve
strengthening of sub-transmission
network, IT application, customer care

services, provisioning of solar panels

and the completion of the ongoing works
of Restructured Accelerated Power
Development and completion of the
Reforms Programme (RAPDRP). All
power distribution companies (discoms)
including private discoms and state
sower departments will be eligible for
financial assistance under this scheme.

2) The Union Environment Ministry

recently banned which drug for human
use with the primary objective to
conserve and protect vultures from
extinction? Diclofenac
Explanation: Diclofenac is a commonlyused anti-inflammatory drug. The Union
Environment Ministry requested the
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to
restrict the pack of Diclofenac for human
use in single dose only. This was done
in view the severity of the situation and
the need to conserve and protect

vultures from extinction. Earlier, in 2006,

the Government of India had imposed a
ban on the use of Diclofenac for
veterinary use, i.e., treating cattle. But
even after banning the use of the drug
for veterinary use, the multi-dose vials
available in the market for human use
were widely misused for veterinary
purpose. This, in turn, has a severe
impact on the population of vultures.
This drug is considered the chief cause
for the steep decline in the number of
vultures in recent years. The drug is
harmless to the cattle it is administered
to, but is fatal for the vultures, who
routinely feed on the carcass of dead
cattle. Studies have shown that the drug
causes kidney and liver failure in
vultures.

will be implemented by using the funds

generated by District Mineral
Foundations (DMFs). The Mines and
Minerals (Development & Regulation)
Amendment Act, 2015, mandated the
setting up of District Mineral
Foundations (DMFs) in all districts in the
country affected by mining related
operations. The objective of PMKKKY
scheme will be
(a) to implement various developmental
and welfare projects/programs in mining
affected areas that complement the
existing ongoing schemes/projects of
State and Central Government
(b) to minimize/mitigate the adverse
impacts, during and after mining, on the
environment, health and socioeconomics of people in mining districts
and

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51 CURRENT AFFAIRS

(c) to ensure long-term sustainable

livelihoods for the affected people in
mining areas.

3) What is the name of the new scheme

launched by the Union Govt. for the
welfare of people affected by mining
related operations on 17 September
2015? Pradhan Mantri Khanij
Kshetra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY)
Explanation: PMKKKY is a new
programme primarily meant to provide
for the welfare of areas and people
affected by mining related operations. It

4) The Election Commission of India

(ECI) recently came out with an
announcement regarding NOTA (None
of the Above) option on ballot papers
displayed on EVMs. What is it? ECI

has introduced a specific symbol for

NOTA

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52 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Explanation: The ECI has now

introduced a specific symbol, like other
election symbols, shown below, for
None of the Above (NOTA) option. This
has been done so as to facilitate easier
recognition of the NOTA option for the
voters in exercising their NOTA option.
This symbol will now appear in the last
panel on all EVMs and the others ballot
papers against the None of the Above
(NOTA) option at all elections to be held
from now onwards. It is worth
mentioning that the ECI had introduced
NOTA None of the Above option on
ballot papers displayed on EVMs and all
other ballot papers with effect from 11
October 2013, pursuant to Supreme
Courts Order dated 27 September
2013. The main objective of the NOTA
option is to enable electors who do not
wish to vote for any of the candidates to
exercise their right not to vote for any
candidate without violation of the
secrecy of their decision.
5) What was Indias rank in the Global
Innovation Index (GII) 2015 that was
released on 17 September 2015?
81st place out of 141 countries
Explanation: The GII is calculated on
the basis of how a country fares on
seven key parameters institutions,
human capital and research,
infrastructure, market sophistication,

business sophistication, knowledge and

technology outputs and creative outputs.
India was ranked at 81st place amongst
total 141 countries in the list. India was
thus well behind middle income
countries such as Brazil, China and
South Africa. But, in the Central and
Southern Asia region, it retains its top
stop in the regional ranking, followed by
Kazakhstan and Sri Lanka. Despite
falling five positions in the overall
rankings since 2014, India, along with
10 other developing countries, is now
categorised as innovation
outperformers. Globally, Switzerland,
followed by the United Kingdom,
Sweden, Netherlands and the US are
ranked as the most innovative countries
in the world.

6) Indian Railways has developed a new

design of Hybrid Vacuum Toilet that
combines the advantages of vacuum
toilets and those of bio-toilets. This toilet
is a first ever system of its kind to have
been developed and built by any railway
system in the world. The trial-run of this
new toilet has been started in which
express train? Dibrugarh Rajdhani

Explanation: The trial-run of the newly

developed Hybrid Vacuum Toilet has
been started recently in a coach of the
Dibrugarh Rajdhani. Development Cell
of the Railway Board has come up with
this new design that consists of a
custom designed Vacuum toilet adapted
from a commercially available vacuum
toilet that is used in aircrafts. It
evacuates its discharge into a
biodigester tank which is now
successfully proven in the biotoilets of
Indian Railways. The biodigester tank is

fitted underneath the coach and

contains anaerobic bacteria that convert
human fecal matter into water and small
amount of gases before discharging the
same on the ground/track.

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Sept 20-21, 2015

1) What history was created in Nepal as

it adopted its new Constitution on 20
September 2015? It is the first full
democratic Constitution in Nepals
history and Nepali citizens became
sovereign in the true sense
Explanation: It is worth mentioning that
Nepal previously had four constitutions
enacted respectively in 1959, 1962,
1990 and 1999. But all these
constitutions were made at the rulers

disposal and overshadowed by the

interests of the monarchy and the army.
The new constitution, which took more
than seven years to draft, was
overwhelmingly endorsed in the
Constitutional Assembly, a constitutionmaking body comprised of 601 elected
lawmakers. Nepal was declared a
secular state in 2006 after the end of
decade-long civil war between Maoist
insurgents and the state that claimed
nearly 16,000 lives. A Constituent
Assembly was elected in 2008 after the
abolishment of the countrys 240-yearold Hindu monarchy. The lawmakers
from Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and
UCPN- Maoist supported the draft
constitution. The voting was boycotted
by smaller opposition parties. As many

as 25 lawmakers belonging to pro-Hindu

and pro-monarchist Rastriya Prajatantra
Party Nepal cast their vote against the
bill. The smaller opposition parties
representing the Madhesi and Tharu
indigenous groups have been the most
vocal opponents of the new constitution,
and the past few weeks have seen
violent protests and multiple resultant
deaths. On 20 September, this new
constitution came into effect as
President Ram Baran Yadav announced
the promulgation of new constitution.
Some main features of Nepali
Constitution:
The constitution defines Nepal as a
secular country, despite widespread
protests for it to be declared a Hindu
state.
The constitution is the first in Asia to
specifically protect the rights of lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgender
communities. The state and the judiciary
are prohibited from discriminating
against sexual and gender minorities.

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54 CURRENT AFFAIRS

The constitution splits Nepal into 7

federal provinces
According to this constitution, the
rhododendron is the national flower of
Nepal, and the cow remains the national
animal after seeing off a charge from
several lawmakers proposing the onehorned rhino.

2) In a landmark development, the West

Bengal Government declassified the 64
files associated with Netaji Subhash
Chandra Bose. These classified files
containing around thirteen thousand
pages will be made accessible to the
public from 21 September 2015. These
controversial classified files were kept
for last 70 years in glass cascades in
which museum? Kolkata Police
Museum
Explanation: The files containing
12,744 pages were declassified by West
Bengal government in Kolkata in
presence of the family members of
Subhash Chandra Bose on 18
September 2015. The family members
have been demanding that information
on Bose, who went missing mysteriously
70 years ago, be made public. Subhas
Chandra Bose, Netaji to his followers,
was a Congress leader and twice
elected its president. He quit the
Congress before Independence over
differences with Jawaharlal Nehru and
Mahatma Gandhi and launched an
organised military resistance against the

British after raising the Indian National

Army. Netaji was said to have died of
third degree burns on 18 August 1945,
two years before India won freedom,
after his plane crashed in Taiwan. His
family and followers never believed that
he died in that crash. Many believe the
files could hold the key to the mystery of
Netajis disappearance in 1945.

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55 CURRENT AFFAIRS

3) Japans Parliament on 19 September

2015 passed which contentious security
bill which resulted in a huge debate on
the issue and protests by the opposition
parties? The bill which allows
Japans military to fight abroad for
the first time since World War II
Explanation: The bill that was passed
by the Japanese Parliament on 19
September loosens post-World War II
constraints on use of force by the
military to its own self-defence only. The
bill was passed by the more powerful
lower house in July 2015 while the
upper house passed in on 19
September thus turning the bill into a
law. Passing of this bill could see
Japanese troops fight abroad for the first

time in 70 years. The law will allow the

military to defend Japans allies even
when the country isnt under attack,
work more closely with the U.S. and
others. They will also be able participate
more fully in international peacekeeping.
4) The State Govt. of Assam recently
offered safe passage to separatist
leader Paresh Baruah to visit his ailing
mother. Baruah is associated with which
anti-talks faction of Assam, against
whom the Interpol has issued red corner
notice? United Liberation Front of
Assam (ULFA)
Explanation: Separatist leader, Baruah,
who is wanted in a number of cases, is
said to be shuttling between Taga in
Myanmar and Yunnan province in west
China. As per available records,
Baruahs cadres have been involved in
seven incidents of crime in Assam this
year. They have killed five civilians too.
On Indias request, the Interpol has
issued a red corner notice against him.
Baruahs mother, Miliki Baruah, has
been suffering from age-related ailments
and lives in Dibrugarh district of Assam
with her two other sons. The Assam
Govt. on 18 September 2015
government offered safe passage to
Paresh Baruah to visit his mother.

played at Delhis RK Khanna Stadium.

What is the impact of this defeat for
India? India has been pushed again
to the Asian-Oceania group
5) Which senior advocate of the
Supreme Court associated with the Aam
Aadmi Party (AAP) resigned from all
posts of the party on 19 September
2015? HS Phoolka

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56 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Explanation: AAP leader and senior

advocate HS Phoolka on 19 September
announced his resignation from all party
posts. He said that he wants to devote
undivided attention to the anti-Sikh
riots cases which are at a crucial
juncture. He also said that he had
discussed the issue of resigning from
the party with AAP founder and Delhi
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

6) Czech Republic defeated India 3-1 in

the Davis Cup World Group playoff tie
on 20 September 2015, which was

Explanation: India lost the tie by 1-3 to

Czech Republic as Czech no. 1 Jiri
Vesely defeated Indian no. 1 Yuki
Bhambri by 6-3, 7-5, 6-2 to give his
country an unassailable lead. The
defeat means that India will remain in
the Asia-Oceania Group 1 for next
years competition while the top seeds
and three-time Champions Czech
Republic regained their place in the
elite-16 nation World Group. The
doubles loss for the fancied Leander
Paes and Rohan Bopanna a day earlier
on 19 September severely hurt Indias
chances in the tie. For India, the lone
win of the tie was brought by Somdev
Devvarman, who had defeated Jiri
Vesely in the first round. India was trying
to re-enter the World Group for the first
time since March 2011 when they had
lost to Serbia 1-4 in the first round.

Sept 22, 2015

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1) Which city is starting to observe a

car-free day every Tuesday starting 22
September 2015 under which people
will be encouraged to use alternative
modes of transport 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.?
Gurgaon
Explanation: From 22 September
Haryanas Gurgaon city will observe carfree day every Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7
p.m. to encourage people to use
alternative modes of transport. The idea
is to give an experience of car-free
streets to the people and persuade them
to use sustainable modes of transport.
The Municipal Council of Gurgaon
(MCG) and a private company
Shuttl.com have agreed to provide
shuttle services on car-free days at
major metro stations like HUDA City
Centre, Sikanderpur, IndusInd Cyber
City and Kapashera border for the major
IT hubs. Though the whole city will
celebrate the initiative, four major
corridors DLF Cyber City, Cyber Park

area, Golf Course Road and Electronic

City in Udyog Vihar-IV have been
identified to focus on the campaign. As
per estimates, 60,000-65,000 cars ply
on Netaji Subhash Marg, Cyber City,
Golf Course Road and the Udyog ViharIV every day. It will save an average of
2.6 kg of greenhouse gas emissions per
person per day. The decision to observe
Tuesdays as car-free day was taken at
meeting held earlier on 15 September. It
involved all important stakeholders
involved in the initiative Haryana
Urban Development Authority (HUDA),
the Municipal Council of Gurgaon
(MCG), the Gurgaon Police and the
Deputy Commissioner of Gurgaon.

2) Jagmohan Dalmiya, the President of

the Board of Control for Cricket in India
(BCCI), passed away at a private
hospital in Kolkata on 20 September
2015. He is known as the person who
understood the potential of India
becoming commercially a global

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58 CURRENT AFFAIRS

powerhouse of cricket. In which year he

took the first designation in the BCCI, as
its treasurer? 1983
Explanation: Although Jagmohan
Dalmiya joined the BCCI in 1979, he
took first official designation in the entity
in 1983 as its treasurer. In 1997, he was
elected unanimously as the president of
the International Cricket Council (ICC).
In 2001, he defeated AC Muttiah to
become the BCCI president. However,
he was suspended from the BCCI in
2006 and also ousted from his home
association, the Cricket Association of
Bengal (CAB). Dalmiya won a long legal
battle and then again got his place in
CAB. In March 2015, he was again
elected BCCI President in the shadow of
the IPL spot-fixing scandal. He was
associated with Kolkata-based MN
Dalmiya Constructions, a construction
major established by his father. He will
forever be remembered as the man who
made Indian cricket a self-sufficient
entity and engineered a shift of power
base from its spiritual home at Lords to
Kolkatas Eden Gardens. He was given
a state funeral by the West Bengal Govt.
on 21 September 2015 with his body
kept for more than two hours Eden
Gardens.

3) The draft of the New Encryption

Policy was issued by the Department of
Electronics and Information Technology
recently. This policy pertains to
messaging services like WhatsApp,
Viber, Line, Google Chat, Yahoo
messenger etc. What is the most
important proposal in the draft? All
messages must be mandatorily
stored for 90 days
Explanation: The draft of the New
Encryption Policy clearly states that
every message sent through messaging
services like WhatsApp, Viber, Line,
Google Chat, Yahoo messenger, SMS,
Email or any such service must be
mandatorily stored in plain text format
for 90 days and made available on
demand to security agencies. Failure to
store and produce on demand the
encrypted messages sent from any
mobile device or computer includes
legal action and imprisonment. The
policy also wants everyone to hand over
their encryption keys to the
Government. The proposed policy would
apply to everyone including government
departments, academic institutions,
citizens and for all kind of
communications, be it official or
personal. Generally, all the modern
messaging services come with high
level of encryption and many a time
security agencies find it hard to intercept
these messages. The draft proposes to
introduce the New Encryption Policy

under section 84 A of Information

Technology Act 2000. This section was
introduced through amendment in 2008.

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4) Greek voters returned Alexis Tsipras

to power with a comfortable win for his
Syriza party in the snap election held on
20 September 2015. The snap election
was called after Syriza lost its majority in
August 2015 as some of his MPs
defected in protest at the signing of an
unpopular new financial bailout deal with
international creditors. These leaders
had formed their own new party which,
however, failed to enter countrys
Parliament. What is the name of this
party? Popular Unity Party
Explanation: Alexis Tsipras Syriza won
just over 35%, slightly down on its
previous result. It won 145 seats out of a
total of 300 seats in the Greek
parliament. That is again short of a
majority, but Syriza will form a coalition
with the nationalist Independent Greeks.
Conservative New Democracy won 28%
with 75 seats. The far-right Golden
Dawn, which is set to be the third
biggest party, won 7% of the vote
compared with 6.3% in the election in
January when Tsipras was first elected.

But the biggest disappointment was for

the Popular Unity Party, which was
formed by Syrizas MPs, who had
defected from the party protesting
against Tsipras policies. These
elections were called in August, when
his party split over his reversal on the 86
billion euro bailout, which he had
accepted despite having won a
referendum mandate to reject similar
terms.

5) A National Disaster Response Force

(NDRF) team on 21 September 2015
managed to successfully evacuate two
labourers from a tunnel in Himachal
Pradesh in which they were trapped for
last 9 days. This tunnel situated in
Bilaspur is part of which expressway
project? Kiratpur-Manali
expressway road project
Explanation: A disaster had struck the
1.2 km-long proposed tunnel of the
Kiratpur-Manali expressway road project
on 12 September 2015 when a part of it
caved-in, thus trapping three labourers
engaged in the project. The 3 men were
stuck in the tunnel for over 200 hours
while all efforts, led by an NDRF team,

were made to rescue them. A vertical

shaft of 42 metres beneath the ground
was dug to rescue the workers. The two
trapped workers Mani Ram and Satish
Tomar were in regular touch with the
rescuers through a microphone linked
with a webcam. They were also
provided eatables through an opening.
However, the whereabouts of the third
worker, Hirdya Ram, are not known yet.
6) Ferraris Sebastian Vettel (Germany)
won the Singapore Formula 1 Grand
Prix with style on 20 September 2015.
What important fact was there for
defending champion and this years
championship leader Lewis Hamilton in
this race? He suffered his first
retirement of the year in this race

before eventually being told to retire.

This was the first time in the year that
Hamilton was unable to finish the race.
While former F1 champion Vettel won
the race in dominant style, Hamiltons
Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg cut
Hamiltons championship lead to 41
points by finishing fourth. Red Bulls
Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) finished
second while Ferraris Kimi Raikkonen
finished third. There are 150 points still
available for the season in the remaining
six races.

Explanation: F1 champion Hamilton

(UK) suffered a loss of power while
running fourth, dropping down the field

Sept 23, 2015

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Goods and Services Tax (GST)?

Infosys

1) Which IT company was recently

awarded the contract for building the
interface for implementing the proposed

Explanation: The Goods and Services

Tax Network (GSTN), which was set up
to provide IT infrastructure and services
to the centre and state governments, tax
payers and other stakeholders for rolling
out GST, has awarded the contract
worth Rs. 1,380 crore to Infosys to build
the system and maintain it for five years

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after becoming operational. Infosys was

awarded the contract even as the
possibility of implementing the GST
beginning next fiscal seems bleak.
Infosys will now build the IT interface for
implementing the GST, which will make
the country a single market by doing
away with cascading effects of multiple
levies that will help the taxpayers in core
functions such as registration, filing of
return and payment of tax. It will also
connect database of states with the
centre and provide information
technology infrastructure for seamless
implementation.

2) A day after the draft proposal of the

National Encryption Policy was released
the Information Technology Ministry
withdrew the proposal on 22 September
2015 in view of the public outcry against
it. Why the govt. hastily withdrew these
proposals? After it was observed
that the proposed National
Encryption Policy could impact
freedom of social media and
individual users
Explanation: The draft proposal of the
National Encryption Policy had, in
addition to some other controversial

points, had mentioned that all users and

businesses would need to save their
messages for 90 days, and make them
available to the government on demand.
Experts had flagged that the language
of the draft proposal was loose enough
to apply to apps and services like
WhatsApp, which has over 70 million
users in India. It could also severely
impact freedom to users of social media.
In view of this, the IT Ministry stressed
that social media would not be regulated
by a new National Encryption Policy.

3) The Union Cabinet on 22 September

2015 cleared the purchase of two
helicopter makes from Boeing Co. of the
United States. Which two helicopters
are these? Apache and Chinook
Explanation: Under the deal India will
purchase 22 Apache attack and 15
heavy lift Chinook helicopters from
Boeing. The total cost of this deal is
$2.5 billion. This deal thus gave further
boost to the strengthening ties between
India and the US. India seeks to replace
the militarys ageing Soviet-origin
choppers with these helicopters.

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4) Why share prices of worlds largest

auto company Volkswagen AG plunged
on 21-22 September 2015 resulting in
huge erosion in its market
capitalization? Because the
company recently admitted it had
rigged emissions tests of dieselpowered vehicles in the United States
Explanation: Germany-based
Volkswagen AG (VW) is the largest auto
company in the world with some leading
brands such as Audi, Bentley, Bugatti,
Lamborghini, Porsche, Volkswagen,
Skoda and SEAT under its belt. The
company came under controversy after
the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) disclosed that the
company used software that deceived
regulators measuring toxic emissions.
US authorities announced further probe
in the matter and VW could face
penalties of up to $18 billion. German
officials, alarmed at the potential
damage the scandal could inflict on its
car industry, urged VW to fully clear up
the matter and said it would investigate
whether emissions data had also been
falsified in Europe. With this
controversy, the shares of VW fell
18.6% to close at 132.20 euros, wiping
some 14 billion euros ($15.6 billion) off
its market cap on 21 September.

5) Microsoft Corp. began the worldwide

release of which new Office suite from
22 September 2015? Office 2016
Explanation: Office 2016 is the latest
addition to Microsofts cloud-based
subscription service Office 365. Office
2016 brings new versions of desktop
apps for Windows including Word,
PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook and Access
and allows people to collaborate and
work together. The new Office 2016
apps are available in 40 languages and
require Windows 7 or later versions.
Starting 22 September, Office 365
subscribers can choose to download the
new Office 2016 apps as part of their
subscription.

6) Which country created history by

entering the finals of the Davis Cup for
the first time in last 111 years?
Belgium

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Explanation: Belgium reached its first

Davis Cup final since 1904 on 20
September 2015 as Steve Darcis
defeated Federico Delbonis in the
decisive fifth match against Argentina to
win 3-2. Darcis, who lost his opening
singles match and was defeated in
doubles as Argentina built a 2-1 lead,
finally grabbed a point with a 6-4, 2-6, 75, 7-6 (3) win at the Forest National in
Brussels. Argentina, which has never
won the Davis Cup, was looking for a
fifth final in the team competition. On the
other hand Britain defeated arch-rivals
Australia 3-1 to reach their first Davis
Cup final since 1978. Britain last won
the prestigious tennis team title way
back in 1936. Belgium will now host
Britain in the final from 27 to 29
November 2015 in a repeat of their 1904
final when the Britons won 5-0 at
Wimbledon.

7) American actress Viola Davis came

to limelight on 20 September 2015.
Why? She became the first AfricanAmerican to win the Best Actress
Emmy award
Explanation: Viola Davis made history
on 20 September by becoming the first
African-American to win the leading
actress (Best Actress) Emmy award.
She won this award for her role of a
defense lawyer in the drama series
How to Get Away with Murder. On the
other hand Game of Thrones broke
Emmy history by picking up record
breaking 12 awards at the ceremony
held in Los Angeles on 20 September.
Emmy Award is the most prestigious
award associated with the television
industry.

Sept 24, 2015

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1) Which state government on 22

September 2015 passed first-of-its-kind
of legislative bill that provides 14%
reservation for economically backward
classes (EBCs)? Rajasthan
Explanation: The 14% reservation for
economically backward classes (EBCs)
was provided through the Rajasthan
Economically Backward Classes
(Reservation of Seats in Educational
Institutes in the State and of
Appointments and Posts in Services
under the State) Bill 2015. According to
this bill, criterion for reservation in the
EBC category will be purely economic
and not caste-based, enabling the poor
among upper castes to be eligible for
quotas in government jobs and
educational institutions. Apart from the
bill to provide 14% reservation for EBCs,
the Rajasthan Assembly also passed
another bill that provides 5% reservation
quota for Gujjars and some other

communities under special backward

classes (SBC). With passing of these
two bills, the total reservation quota in
Rajasthan neared 68%, thus surpassing
the 50% limit set by the Supreme Court.
But the state government plans to ask
Parliament to include the Rajasthan
quota formula in the Ninth Schedule of
the Constitution for it to pass judicial
scrutiny. States such as Tamil Nadu
already have quotas beyond 50%, but
are included in the Ninth Schedule.

2) The Securities and Exchange Board

of India (SEBI) on 22 September 2015
imposed the biggest-ever fine of Rs.
7,269.5 crore on which construction and
real entity entity for illegal and fraudulent
mobilisation of funds from the public?
PACL
Explanation: In its order of 22
September, the SEBI said that PACL
made huge illegal mobilisation of
money, leading to consequent profit to
the tune of over Rs. 2,423 crore in a
short span of less than one year. It said
that there cannot be a better case than
this which deserves the maximum

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penalty and imposed penalty of Rs.

7,269.5 crore on PACL. This is the
biggest-ever fine imposed by SEBI on
any single entity. The penalty follows
another order by SEBI last year (2014)
wherein PACL was asked to refund Rs
49,100 crore it had collected through
illicit schemes over a 15-year period.
SEBIs probe had revealed that PACL
and its four directors Tarlochan Singh,
Sukhdev Singh, Gurmeet Singh and
Subrata Bhattacharya, had mobilised
funds from the general public through
illicit collective investment schemes
including in the name of purchase and
development of agriculture land. The
company was running a land purchase
scheme, where it was raising money
from public to buy land. In the guise of
selling agricultural land, it collected Rs.
49,100 crore from 5.85 crore customers
over a period of 15 years by promising
them that the investments in the
schemes of the company are highly
profitable. This is the biggest-ever
amount, as also the largest number of
investors, so far involved in a case
found to be running illegal money
pooling scheme.

3) What is the name of the CEO of

FSSAI, Indias food safety watchdog,
who was the man behind the ban of
global giant Nestles popular noodle
brand Maggi and who on 22 September
2015 was shifted as an official in the
NITI Aayog? Yudhvir Singh Malik
Explanation: Yudhvir Singh Malik, a
1983 batch IAS officer of Haryana
cadre, was appointed to the post of
Chief Executive Officer in Food Safety
and Standards Authority of India
(FSSAI) under Health and Family
Welfare Ministry, during September
2014. It was during Maliks tenure that
samples of Maggi noodle were
subjected to lab tests which found that
it contained added Monosodium
Glutamate (MSG) and lead in excess of
the permissible limit. FSSAI had on 5
June 2015 banned Maggi noodles, a
step that has had a level of global
resonance. On 22 September he was
shifted to the newly created post of
Additional Secretary in the NITI Aayog.

4) Which Bayern Munich footballer

created history by scoring five goals in
nine minutes in a Bundesliga match on
22 September 2015? Robert
Lewandowski

Explanation: Robert Lewandowski

(Poland) created a footballing history for
the German football league (Bundesliga)
as he scored record five goals in nine
minutes to give his team Bayern Munich
a 5-1 win over Wolfsburg. It is worth
mentioning that the visitors Wolfsburg
were leading 1-0 when Lewandowski
was sent as a substitute. He scored his
five goals in just around nine minutes,
including a hat-trick in just 3 minutes
and 19 seconds, to completely change
the complexion of the match. His haul
was the first time a player has come off
the bench to score five goals in a
Bundesliga game.

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5) Which country is hosting the ongoing

8th Rugby World Cup in which 20
countries are participating? England
Explanation: The 8th edition of the
Rugby World Cup is being held in
England. England was chosen the host
of this event during July 2009, when it
defeated the rival bids from Italy, Japan
and South Africa. The matches are held
at 13 venues spread across England.
The final will be played in Londons
Twickenham Stadium. The 20 nations
participating in the Rugby World Cup

2015 are England, Scotland, Wales,

Ireland, Italy, Romania, Georgia,
France, Japan, South Africa, Namibia,
Argentina, Canada, United States,
Uruguay, Australia, Fiji, New Zealand,
Samoa and Tonga.

6) Which photo-sharing website recently

surpassed micro-blogging site Twitter in
terms of users as disclosed on 23
September 2015? Instagram
Explanation: Facebook-owned popular
photo-sharing website Instagram added
100 million new users in the past nine
months and thus surpassed the microblogging site Twitter which currently has
316 million monthly active users.
Instagram now has over 400 million
active users, out of which more than
75% live outside US. Of Instagrams 100
million newest members, more than half
live in Europe, Asia, Brazil, Japan and
Indonesia. More than 80 million photos
are shared on the service every day, up
from 70 million in June 2015.

Sept 25, 2015

1,426 pilgrims were killed in a huge
stampede in Mecca.

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1) In the worst Hajj tragedies in recent

years, more than 700 persons were
killed and hundreds other were injured
in a stampede outside the holy city of
Mecca during the annual Hajj pilgrimage
in Saudi Arabia on 24 September 2015.
This stampede took place at which
place near Mecca? Mina
Explanation: The crush happened in
Mina, a large valley about three miles
from
Mecca. Mina houses more than 160,000
tents where worshippers spend the night
during the annual pilgrimage of Hajj.
The crush happened on Street 204, one
of the two main arteries leading through
the camp at Mina to Jamarat, where
pilgrims ritually stone the devil by hurling
pebbles at three large pillars. About 2
million people are taking part in this
years hajj, which began on 22
September. The worst haj-related
tragedy had taken place in 1990 when

2) Which film was on 23 September

2015 chosen as Indias official entry for
2016 Oscar Awards? Court, Marathi
film
Explanation: Chaitanya Tamhanes
critically acclaimed Marathi film Court
was on 23 September selected as
Indias official entry to the Best Foreign
Language category of the 2016
Academy Awards (Oscars 2016). This
film was selected from a shortlist of 30
films by a Film Federation of India (FFI)
jury headed by film-maker Amol
Palekar. It narrates story of the trial of
an ageing folk singer accused of
performing an inflammatory song that
may have incited a sewage worker to
commit suicide in a manhole to expose
the flaws of the Indian judicial system.
Court thus became the third Marathi
film after Sandeep Sawants Shwaas
(Breath) in 2004, and Paresh Mokashis

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Harishchandrachi Factory
(Harischandras Factory) made on the
life of Dadasaheb Phalke in 2009, to be
selected as Indias entry to the Academy
Awards. The film won two coveted
awards the Horizons award for Best
Film which carries a 100,000 $ cash
prize and the Lion of the Future award
for a Debut Film at the Venice
International Film festival in 2014 among
others.

3) The NITI
Aayogs Committee of Chief Ministers
on Swachh Bharat Mission, on 23
September 2015 suggested levying
cess on telecom services, petrol and
minerals like coal and iron ore to fund
the cleanliness programme. The
committee also pressed for enhancing
the viability gap funding and tax
exemptions to enable faster execution of
the programme besides asking for
separate tariff for waste-to-energy
projects. Who is heading this
committee? N. Chandrababu Naidu,
AP Chief Minister
Explanation: The Committee of Chief
Ministers on Swachh Bharat is a subgroup established with the objective of
giving push to the Swachh Bharat
Mission in the states. It is headed by

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister. The

meeting of the committee was held on
23 September where it asked the NITI
Aayog to prepare a report on the its
recommendations within ten days
following which it would be submitted to
Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The
committee also recommended that the
government should extend an aid of Rs.
15,000 per toilet. Pitching for these
sops, Naidu told the meeting that the
cess is necessary to mobilise the
required money in the next five years for
the Swachh Bharat Mission.

4) Telecom operator
Uninor on 23 September 2015 changed
its name to Telenor, the name of its
Norway-based parent company. This
became possible as the Indian partner
in the venture has completely exited
from the operations. What is the name
of this Indian partner? Unitech
Wireless
Explanation: The Norway-based
Telenor entered India through a joint
venture with Unitech Wireless, which
was branded as Uninor. Unitech
completely exited from the operations
during 2014, with the Telenor group
increasing its stake in the Indian entity
to 100%. The Telenor group has mobile
operations in 13 markets in the Nordic

region, Central and Eastern Europe and

in Asia. Telenor India operates in six
circles Andhra Pradesh, Bihar,
Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh
East and West and ranks fourth in
revenue and customer market share. It
has also changed its tagline to Ab life
full paisa vasool from Sabse Sasta.

lower levels of harmful gases in official

tests than on the roads. The crisis
escalated on 22 September when
Volkswagen revealed it had found
significant emissions discrepancies in
11 million diesel vehicles worldwide.
The companys stock price has crashed,
causing big losses for investors.
6) Google recently allowed which new
features in its Gmail service? Block
and Unsubscribe features

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5) What is the
name of the Chief Executive Officer
(CEO) of Volkswagen, who on 23
September 2015 resigned from the post
in the wake of the recently surfaced
scandal over falsified emissions tests
involving the company? Martin
Winterkorn
Explanation: 68-year old Martin
Winterkorn was CEO of Germany-based
Volkswagen AG for the last 8 years. The
company, which also owns the Audi and
Porsche brands, had just achieved
Winterkorns long-standing goal of
overtaking Toyota to become the
biggest automaker three years ahead of
target. But his position became
increasingly precarious since the
scandal broke on 18 September 2015
when U.S. regulators said the company
had deliberately programmed some 50
0,000 diesel-powered vehicles to emit

Explanation: Using the new features,

users can block specific email
addresses in Gmail on the web and later
on Android mobile operating system. In
June 2015, Google had introduced the
Undo option that allows users to cancel
delivery of an email within 30 seconds of
hitting the send button, helping them
avoid misdirected or inappropriate
emails. Gmail is one of the most popular
email services with more than 900
million users globally.
7) American sportsman Yogi Berra, who
passed away on 22 September 2015,
was a legend associated with which
sports? Baseball
Explanation: Yogi Berra was one of
baseballs greatest catchers and
characters. He was the mainstay of 10
Yankees championship teams and later
became a famous baseball manager.
He was 90.

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Sept 26, 2015

1) The 193 member states of the United

Nations on 25 September 2015 adopted
new Sustainable Development Goals to
replace the expiring Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs). These
goals were adopted at the start of the
UN Sustainable Development Summit in
New York. How many overall goals are
there in Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs)? 17 broad goals and 169
specific targets
Explanation: The new goals primarily
expect to reduce world poverty, improve
health and education and quell climate
change. These new Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) are
expected to be achieved by year 2030.

The goals are estimated to cost the

world between $3.5 trillion and $5 trillion
a year between 2016 and the end of
2030. They replace the eight Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) adopted at
a UN summit in 2000, and which expire
at the end of 2015. The earlier
Millennium Development Goals relied
more on wealthy nations helping poorer
ones, and were devised by people
working for then-U.N. Secretary-General
Kofi Annan. It is worth mentioning here
that despite significant progress, the
only one of those MDGs achieved
before this year was halving the number
of people living in extreme poverty. That
was due primarily to economic growth in
China.
2) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on
24 September 2015 notified new norms
pertaining to change in ownership of
borrowing entities. These new norms
allow banks to upgrade credit facilities
extended to borrowing entities upon a
change in ownership, so long as the
ownership has been changed outside
Strategic Debt Restructuring Scheme.
What will be the benefit of this change
for the banks? This change will give
banks more flexibility to bring in a
change in ownership of borrowing
entities which are under stress

Explanation: The move would also

enhance banks ability to bring in a
change in ownership of borrowing
entities which are under stress primarily
due to operational/ managerial
inefficiencies despite substantial
sacrifices made by the lending banks.
However, the new norm come with an
important condition the banks should
clearly establish that the acquirer does
not belong to the existing promoter
group. Further, the new promoter should
have acquired at least 51% of the paid
up equity capital of the borrower
company.

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3) The Finance Ministry on 24

September 2015 announced which new
and important exemption on the
Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT)? It
announced MAT exemption to foreign
companies with no permanent
establishment (PE) in India with
effect from assessment year 2001-02
Explanation: This means companies
not having a permanent establishment
or place of business in India would not
come under MAT with effect from April
2001. With this exemption the Finance
Ministry thus cleared more air from the
issue of Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT)
on foreign portfolio investors (FPIs).

This is also expected to come as a big

relief for Mauritius-based Castleton from
the Supreme Court so far as MAT is
concerned. Apart from this, the MAT will
also not apply on a foreign company
belonging to a country having a double
tax avoidance agreement (DTAA). The
ministry will propose an amendment
with retrospective effect to Section II5
JB of the Income Tax Act, in this regard.
The move came after Finance Minister
Arun Jaitley had promised investors at a
gathering some days back that pending
tax disputes would be resolved soon.

4) What is Union Govt.s disbursement

target for micro and marginal
businesses under MUDRA scheme by
the end of the current fiscal, as
announced by Union Finance Minister
Arun Jaitley on 25 September 2015?
Rs. 1.22 lakh crore
Explanation: MUDRA has been
established as a subsidiary of SIDBI
with an initial corpus of Rs 5,000 crore
to provide capital to all banks seeking
refinancing of small business loans
under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana
(PMMY). The Finance Minister also
informed that as much as Rs. 24,000
crore has been disbursed under the
scheme to about 37 lakh small

entrepreneurs. PMMY loans fall into

three categories Shishu (up to Rs
50,000), Kishore (Rs 50,000-Rs 5 lakh)
and Tarun (Rs 5-10 lakh).

complete information on air activities in

the region and facilitate real-time
transport of data, images and voice
amongst aircraft, satellites and ground
stations.
6) What is the new name for
internet.org, the internet access
enabling platform headed by Facebook,
as announced on 24 September 2015?
Free Basics by Facebook

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5) The Union Cabinet on 23 September

2015 cleared the proposal for a nearly
Rs. 8,000-crore project for IAFs
Integrated Air Command and Control
System (IACCS). What will be the main
benefit of IACCS? It will help in
integrating all ground and air sensors
to get a composite air situation
picture of the country
Explanation: Once the Integrated Air
Command and Control System (IACCS)
gets established in the country, the Air
Headquarters of the IAF will get a
composite air situation picture since it
will be integrating Air Force, Army,
Naval and civilian radars. The IAF
currently has five sector headquarters
(nodes) of communication and the plan
is to have four more, besides
establishment of 10 sub-nodes and upgradation of the entire system. The new
IACCS will be set up and integrated with
the existing ground and air sensors and
air defence systems so as to get

Explanation: Free Basics by

Facebook is the new name given to the
internet.org initiative which includes
the provision of free basic Internet
services apart from other projects such
as enhancing connectivity. It is worth
mentioning that internet.org had come
under criticism that it had violated the
concept of net neutrality.

7) Who will succeed late Jagmohan

Dalmiya as the president of Cricket
Association of Bengal (CAB) as
announced by West Bengal Chief
Minister Mamata Banerjee on 24
September 2015? Sourav Ganguly
Explanation: Sourav Ganguly is the
former India cricket captain. He is
currently the joint-secretary of CAB. He
has served in this role for 14 months.

According to the announcement,

Jagmohan Dalmiyas son Abhishek will
also be given prominent position in
CAB.
8) Who was conferred with the 24th Vyas
Samman on 22 September 2015? Dr.
Kamal Kishore Goenka

Premchand ki Kahaniyon ka Kaal

Kramanusaar Adhyayan. It is a critical
analysis of the work Hindi literatures
doyen Munshi Premchand. Vyas
Samman has been given by the K.K.
Birla Foundation every year since 1991.

Explanation: Dr. Kamal Kishore

Goenka was awarded the prestigious
Vyas Sammans 24th edition at a
ceremony held on 22 September. He
received this award for his work

Sept 27-28, 2015

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bids for permanent seats in the

United Nations Security Council
(UNSC)

1) The Group of Four (G4) Summit took

place on 26 September 2015 after
almost a decade. What is the primary
objective of G4, which involves Japan,
Germany, India and Brazil as its
members? G4 was formed with the
objective of supporting each others

Explanation: Japan, Germany, India

and Brazil are the third, fourth, seventh
and eighth biggest economies,
respectively. In terms of population,
India is the second biggest, Brazil 5th,
Japan 10th and Germany 16th biggest in
the world. Unlike the G7, where the
common denominator is the economy
and long-term political motives, the G4s
primary aim is the permanent member
seats on the UNSC. Their economic and
political influence has grown significantly
in the last decades, reaching a scope

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comparable to the permanent members

(P5). However, the G4s bids are often
opposed by Uniting for Consensus
movement, and particularly their
economic competitors or political rivals.
The G4 Summit 2015 took place on 26
September 2015 at New Yorks Waldorf
Astoria Hotel and was attended by
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff,
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
The leaders emphasized that the G4
countries are legitimate candidates for
permanent membership in an expanded
and reformed Security Council and
supported one anothers candidature.

Chambers, Microsofts Satya Nadella

and Googles Sundar Pichai on the
occasion of the Digital India dinner
held at San Jose, California on 26
September. The large concentration of
high-technology engineering, computer,
and microprocessor companies around
San Jose has led the area to be known
as Silicon Valley. Prime Ministers
pitch to the gathering of tech elites was
his promise to take India up to the next
stage of its development, a vision that
he intended to achieve through policy
campaigns such as Digital India and
Make in India. Placing the entire digital
campaign in context he said it was
possible to rapidly transform the lives of
people on margins and touch the lives of
the weakest, farthest and the poorest
citizen of India as also change the way
our nation will live and work. Earlier
Modi visited the Tesla Motors plant to
see the inventions on renewable energy
made by the makers of trend-setting
electric cars.

2) The Digital India dinner in the

honour of Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modi was hosted at which city
of California on 26 September 2015,
which was attended, among others,
India-born Satya Nadella and Google
CEO Sundar Pichai? San Jose
Explanation: Prime Minister Narendra
Modi met the worlds top tech chiefs,
including Adobes Shantanu Narayen,
Qualcomms Paul Jacobs, Ciscos John

3) Which leaders year-long Birth

Centenary Celebrations were initiated
by the Union Govt. from 25 September
2015 on the occasion of his 99th Birth

Anniversary? Pandit Deen Dayal

Upadhyay
Explanation: Pandit Deen Dayal
Upadhyay was one of the most
important leaders of the erstwhile
Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the precursor of
the present Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP). He is known for his alternative
model of governance and politics which
he had proposed by integrating some
concepts of nationalist Hinduism. He
was closely associated with the
Rashtriya Swamsevak Sangh (RSS),
being its lifelong Pracharak. He was
also instrumental in starting RSS weekly
Panchjanya and a nationalist monthly
Rashtra-Dharma. He was assassinated
on 11 February 1968 at Mughalsarai in
UP, while travelling in a train. The Birth
Centenary Celebrations of Deen Dayal
Upadhyay began on 25 September with
the inauguration of the photo exhibition
on him in New Delhi.

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4) Who was appointed as the new CEO

of the Volkswagen Group, the auto
major caught in an emission cheating
scandal? Matthias Mueller
Explanation: 62-year old Matthias
Mueller was till now the chairman of
Porsche AG, one of the associated
companies of the Volkswagen Group.
Mueller will continue to act as chairman
of Porsche AG until a successor is
found. Volkswagen is presently in
difficult times since the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

on 18 September had revealed that
Volkswagen had installed illegal
software to falsify emission tests,
allowing its diesel cars to produce up to
40 times more pollution than allowed.
After this controversy, CEO Martin
Winterkorn had announced his
resignation after remaining as i
Volkswagens CEO for 8 years.

5) Which Indian player won the IBSF

World Billiards Championship in
Adelaide (Australia) on 27 September
2015 to take his world title count to 14?
Pankaj Advani
Explanation: Pankaj Advani, who is
Indias most successful cueist, on 27
September, added another feather to his
cap by winning the IBSF World Billiards
Championship as he defeated
Singapores Peter Gilchrist in the final
by 1168 points at Adelaide. Advani has
stamped his authority in billiards at the
world level for a few years now. After
annihilating Englands Mike Russell in
the final of 2012 edition of the Time
format, Advani went on to win twin titles
in both Point and Time formats in 2014.

5) Dr. Syed Ahmad, who passed away

at a hospital in Mumbai on 27
September 2015, was Governor of
which state? Manipur

Governor on 16 May 2015. Prior to this

he was the Governor of Jharkhand for
more than 3 years. He was a senior
leader of the Congress from
Maharashtra. He passed away at
Mumbais Lilavati Hospital.

Explanation: 75-year old Dr. Syed

Ahmad was the 16th Governor of
Manipur. He was sworn in as states

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