CURRENT AFFIARS 20151. 2014 has been ranked as Earths hottest year since 1880 as per analyses done by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Global average temperature for 2014 was 1.24F (or 0.69C) warmer than the 20th-century average.2. Government launched two schemes to support the Scheduled Castes (SC). NamedVenture Capital Fund for Scheduled CastesandGreen Business scheme. Venture Capital Fund- Financial assistance of 15 Crore rupees for 6 years will be provided to 30 SC entrepreneurs in a year. Initial capital is 200 crore rupees Green Business - loan for up to 1 lakh rupees at concessional interest rate will be provided to Scheduled Castes for activities such as e-rickshaw, Solar Pump and Solar energy powered implements, poly house etc.3. India - China trade deficit increased to 37.8 billion USD in 2014. Although the bilateral trade was increased to 70.59 USD (Hike of 7.9 %).3. India China Trade was USD 73.9 billion in 2011, 66.57 billion in 2012, 65.57 billion in 2013 and 65.49 billion USD in 2013.3. Chinas export to India in 2014 was 54.2 billion USD and Indias exports to China was 16.4 billion USD. The trade target of India China was 100 billion USD for 2014.1. Indian Government'sJan Dhan Yojanahas been included in Guinness Book of World Records for Opening of About 11.5 Crore Bank Accounts in short span of About five months. It makes way for government's ambitious plan to transfer annual subsidy directly to bank accounts of more than 15 crore beneficiaries to remove system leakages.1. PM Narendra Modi launchedSukanya Samridhi Yojanasmall deposit scheme for girl child underBeti Bachao Beti Padhaocampaign. It will ensure equitable share to a girl child in resources and savings of a family and will enable parents to open bank accounts of girls who are under 10 years of age with an interest rate of 9.1 %.1. 12 January - National youth day (birthday of Swami Vivekanand).1. 15 January - Army Day (India).1. 18th National Conference on e-Governance held in Gujarat with ThemeConference was Digital Governance - New Frontiers.1. 19 Jan - National Investigation Agency Foundation day.1. 20th Law Commission of India headed by A P Shah submitted 253rd reportCommercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts and Commercial Courts Bill, 2015.1. 21st screen awards -. Actor - Shahid Kapoor (Haider). Actress - Priyanka Chopra (Mary Kom). Film - Queen. Director - Vikas Bahl (Queen). Lifetime Achievement Award - Hema Malini 24 January - National Girl Child Day. 26 Jan - Indian Republic Day. 30 Jan - World Laprosy Day. 4 Jan - Louis Braille Day, he was the inventor of braille, a system of reading and writing used by people who are blind or visually impaired. 72nd Golden Globe Award. Drama1. Picture - Boyhood1. Actor - Eddie Redmayne1. Actress - Julianne Moore. Musical / Comedy2. Picture - The Grand Budapest Hotel2. Actor - Michael Keaton2. Actress - Amy Adams. Supporting Actor -J. K. Simmons. Supporting Actress -Patricia Arquette. Director- Richard Linklater 76th Senior Table Tennis Championship 2015 - Soumyajit Ghosh won in Male and Mouma Das won in Female Category. 9 Jan - Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (Mahatama Gandhi Returned to India from south africa on this day). A few Good men and the angry seahas been written by Nitin Sathe on the tenth anniversary of Tsunami Tragedy. Atal Bihari Vajpayee Srajan aur Mulyankanhas been written by Pritam Singh. Defence Research and Development Organisationgot approval for building a missile launch testing facility at a site near to Krishna Delta Complex in Andhra Pradesh. The is a nesting site of Olive Ridley turtles which is an endangered species. Neither a Hawk nor a Doveis written by Pakistan's Ex-Foreign Minister Khurshid M Kasuri. Rajesh Khanna : Kuch to Log Khengehas been written by Yasir Usman. Raksha Bluvaccine was launched by Indian Immunologicals Limited (IIL), (Telangana) To counter the bluetongue disease. Relbanksissued list of 66 largest banks in the world by market Capitalization.25. India's HDFC was ranked 45th with 41.58 USD Market Capitalization. SBI was ranked 51st with 36.40 USD and ICICI was 55th with 33.42 USD Market Cap.25. Wells Fargo & Co. of US is first with market cap of 284.39 Billion USD and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) of China is second with market cap of 269.70 Billion USD.1. Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saudis named as new King of Saudi Arabia after KingAbdullah bin Abdulazizpassed away.1. The Lunchboxhas been nominated for British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards 2015 under non-English best film category. The film is the only Indian film to be nominated for 2015 BAFTA Awards.1. Tipu Sultan : A Crussader for Changehas been written by B Sheikh Ali.1. Vande Mataramhas been written by Prabodh Kumar Mishra.1. A.K. Mittal has been appointed as Chairman of Railway Board replacing Arunendra Kumar.1. Actor Amitabh Bachchan has been presented with Social Media Person of Year 2015 award by Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI).1. Alexis Tsipras is appointed as Prime Minister of Greece after his party SYRIZA won the Greek General Elections.1. Amitabh Bachchan has been conferred with the second Yash Chopra Memorial Award.1. An advanced Electronic Warfare (EW) suite made by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) was successfully tested on Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas-PV1.1. Andhra Pradesh Government decided to file a defamation case against State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH) as SBH Freezed Accounts of Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education (APSCHE) amounting to 25 crore rupees.. The accounts of APSCHE were frozen after Telangana State Council of Higher Education (TSCHE) sent a letter to various banks asking them to freeze the accounts of APSCHE as it accused APSCHE of illegally capturing off money that was to be shared between the two states. Andhra Pradesh government constituted Fourth State Finance Commission under the Chairmanship of M L Kantha Rao. Andhra Pradesh government launched 17 Skill Development Centres (SDC) for training and honing skills of youth and help them select the course at the time of entering college and provide source of information for employment. Andhra Pradesh government signed a pact with International Crop Research Institute for Semi-arid Tropics (ICRISAT) to provide assistance in making agriculture sustainable and profitable. Andy Murray (Scotland) won ATP World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi after Serbian Novak Djokovic withdrew from finals due to illness. Anupam Shrivastava is appointed as Chief Managing Director of BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited). Arvind Panagariya has been appointed as Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog that replaced Planning Commission. Sindhushree Khullar has been appointed as CEO of NITI Aayog. As per IMF (International Monetary Fund) Report -42. India's GDP Growth Rate in 2016 will be 6.5 %, It will surpass China's Expected growth rate of 6.3 % in 2016.1. India VS China GDP Growth Rates -YearIndiaChina

201357.8

20145.87.4

20156.36.8

2016 (Expected)6.56.3

1. As per recent Reports, Number of Tigers in India has risen by 30% up to 2226 from 1706 in 2010. Nearly 70% of world's Tigers are in India. Karnataka has most number of tigers (406) followed by Uttarakhand (340) and Madhya Pradesh (308).1. As per a recent report by Assam's Tocklai Tea Research Institute (TTRI), Assam has the potential to produce Purple Tea which is believed to be health rich and is currently grown in Kenya Only.1. As per a recent report by ICC, India will Host the Twenty-20 cricket world cup in 2016 and England will host the ODI world cup in 2019.1. Ashok Prasad has been appointed as new special secretary of home ministry's crucial internal security division.1. Australia's Trade and Investment Minister Andrew Robb Visited India.1. Australias national airline Qantas has been named as the worlds safest airline by AirlineRatings.com.1. Avijit Ghosh appointed as CMD of Heavy Engineering Corporation.1. Ayonika Paul (Railways) and Annu Raj Singh (Maharashtra) won Gold in 4th Gun for Glory Shooting Championship.1. Baba Ramdev is named as state brand ambassador for Haryana Government.1. Beji Caid Essebsi has been appointed as President of Tunisia.1. Bengaluru FC won the federation cup Football by beating Dempo FC.1. Bhagabatpur Crocodile Project in Sunderbans (West Bengal) has been given as fresh start with help of renowned experts in herpetology and best global practices in crocodile conservation to increase the number of saltwater crocodiles.1. In past few years, project did not see a significant increase in the number of salt-water crocodiles. The eggs to hatching ratio also declined to 40 per 100 eggs collected.1. Bibek Debroy is appointed as a Member of NITI Aayog.1. BookThe Indian Parliament A Critical Appraisalhas been written by Sudha Pai and Avinash Kumar.1. Boxing India has been recognised as governing body for representing boxing in India.1. British government honored Indian Fauja Singh by prestigious British Empire medal for being world's oldest marathon runner1. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved proposal of HDFC Bank to raise the foreign holding limit to 74 % (From 73.2 Currently). It will enable inflow of around 10000 crore rupees into the country from overseas investors.CCEA also approved proposal of Drug Maker Lupin's proposal of raising foreign holding up to 49%.1. Central Banking Awards 2015 announced by the Central Banking Publications-1. Governor of the Year Award:Raghuram Rajan, RBI Governor1. Central Bank of the Year award:The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ)1. Lifetime Achievement Award:Jacques de Larosiere former Governor of the Banque de France (19871993)1. Economics in Central Banking (inaugural award):Claudio Borio, head of the monetary and economic department at the Bank for International Settlements1. China Successfully tested ICBM DF-41 (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile) with Over 12000 KM Range.1. China's submersible Jiaolong started exploration for active hydrothermal vent for first time in southwestern Indian Ocean.1. Chinese nuclear physicist Yu Min was was given the State Preeminent Science and Technology Award 2014 by Chinese President Xi Jinping for his research in nuclear weapons since 1960s.1. Committee headed by Shanta Kumar submitted report on restructuring of Food Corporation of India (FCI) and suggested to focus procurement on eastern belt and hand over procurement of wheat and rice to six States - Punjab, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Odisha.1. Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and China's e-commerce firm Alibaba signed an agreement to provide global platform to Indian small and medium enterprises (SMEs).1. Deep Kumar Upadhyay is appointed as Nepal's ambassador to India.1. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar commissioned four Indian Coast Guard (ICG) patrolling and interception vessels in Goa. These are two fast patrol vessels - ICG Amogh and ICG Amey and two interceptor boats Charlie 413 and Charlie 414.1. Devender Singh Ahluwalia has been appointed as Director (Finance) of National Minerals Development Corporation (NMDC).1. Dinesh Oraon of Bharatiya Janata Party has been elected as Speaker of Jharkhand Legislative Assembly1. Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) imposed penalty of 100 crore rupees on Riddhi Siddhi Bullion Limited (RSBL) for violation of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) norms.1. Divya Prakash Sinha appointed as Security Secretary in the Union Cabinet Secretariat.1. Dubais 55-storey tall Maze Tower has been listed in Guinness World Record as worlds largest vertical maze.1. Ease of Business Report by Forbes -1. India has been ranked at 93rd place in 143 Countries.1. Denmark at top, followed by Hongkong.1. Eminent Indian-American entrepreneur and philanthropist, Frank Islam, has been honored by prestigious Martin Luther King Jr Award for his efforts in international service and civil engagement.1. European Union decided to lift a seven-month-long ban on the import of mangoes from India on account of health concerns.1. Evans Paul Assumed Office as 18th Prime Minister of Haiti (Caribbean country).1. Famous Cartoonist R K Laxman Passed Away.1. Famous Greek SingerDemis Roussospassed away.1. Famous Malayalam Actor Mala Aravindan passed away.1. Famous mobile messaging application WhatsApp launched a new service for sending messages from a Web browser.1. Filmmaker Pahlaj Nihalani has been appointed as Chairman of Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).1. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Vsited Davos (Switzerland).1. Foreign direct investment (FDI) into India declined by over 6 % in November 2014 to USD 1.53 billion as compared to USD 1.63 billion FDI In November 2013. However, for the April-November period of the ongoing fiscal, FDI grew by 22 per cent to USD 18.88 billion as against USD 15.45 billion in the same period a fiscal before, according to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion data.1. Former Dutch Hockey team coach Paul van Ass is appointed as head Coach of Indian men's hockey team.1. French weekly magazine Charlie Hebdos Paris office was attacked by Terrorists reportedly due to the aggressive history of Charlie Hebdo and Publishing of Cartoons of Islamic Prophet Mohammed.1. Global Talent Competitiveness Index By INSEAD Business School and Human Capital Leadership Institiute of Singapore -1. Switzerland Topped The List, Followed by Singapore and Luxembourrg.1. India Got 78th Place in the List with Yemen at Last.1. Googles CEO Larry Page has named as the business person of the year for 2014 by Fortune magazine.1. Government Scrapped Planning Commission (Formed in 1950) and created National Institute of Transforming India (NITI) Aayog.1. Government accepted recommendations of M P Bezbaruah committee to look into concerns of people of the the North East states living in other parts of the country.1. Government allowed fertiliser firms to produce 100 % Neem-Coated Urea to boost income of farmers and reducing subsidy bill by up to 6500 crore rupees.1. Neem coated urea0. Neem coated urea works as insecticide. It costs 5 % more than the cost of normal urea which is about 260 rupees per tonne.0. It will reduce ground andsoil pollution, increase crop yields and will lower cost for the farmers.0. It reduces nitrogen loss by more than 10 % thereby gaining a net savings of 13.5 rupees per bag for farmers.1. Government announced to re-issue One Rupee Note after two decades of outage.1. Government appointed M Sathiyavathy as First Women Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).1. Government approved mandatory packaging of sugar and foodgrains in jute material to minimum extent of up to 90 per cent of production as a major boost to jute sector.1. Government approved to set up India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) in Tamil Nadu1. Government divested 10 % Stake in Maharatna Coal India Limited (CIL). With this, governments share in CIL came down to 79.65 %. Government divested 63.16 crores shares (10 %) of CIL through offer for sale (OFS) at a floor price of 358 rupees per share and got an amount of 22557.63 crore rupees through the disinvestment.1. Government launched Website, Logo, Vision and Mission of National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL). Site - www.nhidcl.com Logo: Building Infrastructure - Building the Nation.1. Government launched women safety mobile app calledHimmat.1. Government reconstituted Empowered Committee for setting up of Semiconductor Wafer Fabrication (FAB) manufacturing facilities in the country under NITI Aayog member V K Saraswat.1. Government reconstituted Pollution Control Board Working Group to simplify procedures to get consent certificates and categorisation of industries. The Working Group comprising of 11 members will be headed by Ayi Vaman N Acharya.1. Government released commemorative coin to mark 175th birth anniversary of Jamsetji Tata.1. Gujarat Government launched Taluka (Tehsil) Planning Atlas (TPA) to enable local administration for taking decisions about the regional development through precise information about current status of various facilities and schemes.1. Gujarat Technological University (GTU) launched e-Raksha Research Centre to fight cybercrime to curb cybercrimes. Centre will encourage research and enhance capability to provide solution for issues related to cyber security.1. Hanumanthu Purushotham is appointed as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of National Research Development Corporation (NRDC).1. Harishankar Brahma is appointed as 19th Chief Election Commissioner of India.1. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Chairman R.K. Tyagi has been conferred with JGBS-Top Rankers' Excellence Award for CEO of 2014.1. Hockey Player Jaswant Singh Rajput passed away, he was part of Indian hockey team that won gold medal in 1948 London and 1952 Helsinki Olympics.1. Hyderabad (Telangana) will hostWorld Congress on Information Technologyin 2018 with themeFuture of enterprises.1. ICICI Bank launched Digital Village Project in Akodara Village of Gujarat to provide various services from cashless banking to digitised school teaching with themes - cashless, comprehensive and connected.1. ICICI Bank launched Indias firstcontactlessdebit and credit cards usingNear Field Technologyenabling payments by just waving the card near merchant terminals instead of swiping them1. Idukki district of Kerala became first district in India to have complete rural broadband coverage after it was linked to the National Optic Fiber Network.1. In the sixth Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy Statement 2014-15, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced cut in REPO rate of .25%.Now the REPO rate has come down to 7.75%. Accordingly, Reverse Repo rate has come down to 6.75%, Bank rate to 8.75% and Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate to 8.75%. Note that CRR (Cash Reserve Ratio) is unchanged at 4% and SLR (Statutory Liquidity Ratio) is unchanged at 23%.1. India provided 7 Crore rupees Assistance to Nepal for Nepal's Iodine Deficiency Disorder Control Programme (IDDCP) for goitre control across the country.1. Goitre is swelling of neck or larynx due to enlargement of thyroid gland (thyromegaly) due to its functioning properly.1. India will host the 42nd World Bridge Championships in Chennai.1. India will provide 60 million USD Line of Credit (LoC) to Guyana for its road infrastructure projects.1. India's First CNG Train Started Between Rewarti and Rohtak in Haryana.1. India's First international institute dedicated to music is to be opened in Kerala.1. India's National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Black Business Council of South Africa for developing youth enterprises and empower the marginalized group in South Africa through NSIC's Rapid Incubation Programme.1. India's State Bank of India (SBI) signed a 100 million Euro loan agreement with European Investment Bank (EIB).1. India's Trade deficit (Imports - Exports) declined to ten month low of 9.43 billion USd in December 2014 mainly due to fall down of global oil prices and fall of demand for gold.Importsdeclined by 4.8 % to 34.8 billion USD in December 2014 as compared to 36.6 billion USD dollars in December 2013.Exportsfell by 3.8 % to 25.4 billion USD.1. Indian Badminton Player Saina Nehwal won womens singles of Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold Badminton Tournament 2015 after defeateing Carolina Marin of Spain in Lucknow (India).1. Indian Jasjit Ahluwalia has been appointed as Dean of School of Public Health at the Rutgers University in the US.1. Indian Nihal Singh Agar has been honored by Order of Australia for his service to the Hindu community in Australia and fostering cross-cultural co-operation with a focus on medical education.1. Indian Novelist Vikram Chandra is named among the finalists for National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) Awards of US for his non-fiction workGeek Sublime: The Beauty of Code, the Code of Beauty.1. Indian Origin writer Sumona Sinha has been awarded French academy award for her contribution to French language and literature.1. Indian Person Atul Khare has been appointed as United Nations Under-Secretary General.1. Indian open water swimmer Bhakti Sharma set a world record by swimming 1.4 miles in 52 minutes in one degree temperature in the Antarctic Ocean. 24-year old Bhakti is the first Asian girl and youngest in the world to do this.1. Indias Mars Orbiter programme team has won the 2015 Space Pioneer Award in the science and engineering category from the US based National Space Society (NSS).1. Indo-Russian Musical Festival ZimaFest 2015 has been hosted by Goa.1. International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) launched GreenPHABLET for small farmers to help them purchase inputs at lower price, get a better price for their produce, and link them to markets.1. International Hindi Conference will be held in New Jersey (USA) in April 2015 with themeExpanding World of Hindi: Possibilities and Challenges.1. International Hockey Federation (FIH) Player of the Year 2014-1. Men - Mark Knowles (Australia)1. Women - Ellen Hoog (Netherland)1. International Labour Organisation (ILO) released a report titled World Employment and Social Outlook - Trends 2015 -1. The report stated that unemployment will rise in the coming years to more than 212 million in 2019 as compared to 201 million currently.1. Jammu and Kashmir has been selected for National Award for e-Governance for the best district-level initiative in Citizen-Centric Service Delivery through ICT.1. Jan 10 - World Hindi Day.1. Japan announced to provide an Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) loan of 2620 crore rupees to India.1. Japan approved largest budget ever for 2015 of total 814 Billion USD. The defence budget was also enhanced to an all time high of 43 Billion USD.1. Jiji Thomson resigned as Director General of Sports Authority of India (SAI).1. Justice Narayanan Nadar Paul Vasanthakumar is appointed as new Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir High Court.1. K Durga Prasad is appointed as the Special Director General of CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force).1. Kalyan Singh has been appointed as 20th Governor of Rajasthan.1. Kalyan Singh has been appointed as Governor of Himachal Pradesh. He is also the governor of Rajasthan.1. Kanagasabapathy J Sripavan is appointed as 44th Chief Justice of Sri Lanka.1. Kaptan Singh Solanki has been appointed as New Governor of Punjab. He is also the governor of Haryana.1. Kiran Bhai Vadodaria has been elected as President of the Indian Newspaper Society (INS) for 2014-2015.1. Kiran Kumar Alur Seelin has been appointed as new chief of ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization).1. Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic on won 2015 Presidential elections of Croatia and she will be croatia's First Female President.1. Krishna Chaudhary is appointed as Director General (DG) of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).1. Legendary social activist and freedom fighter Ghelubhai Naik passed away.1. Libby Lane has been named as Church of Englands first female bishop.1. Lithunia Joined as 19th Member of The Eurozone.1. M K Goel has been appointed as Chairman of PFC (Power Finance Corporation).1. M Satyawati has been appointed as First Female Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).1. M.Y.S.Prasad, director of Satish Dhawan Space Centre, has been awarded the Vikram Sarabhai Memorial Award for 2014-2015 by the Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA).1. Maharashtra government announced to observe September 17 as Industries Day.1. Maharashtra government launched online Facility for filling Right to Information (RTI) application.1. Major Mukund Varadarajan and Naik Neeraj Singh Posthumously Awarded Ashok Chakra during the 66th Republic day celebrations.1. Ministry for Social Justice & Empowerment launched national toll free helpline (1800-11-0031) to assist the alcoholic and drug dependent persons.1. Ministry of Defence Awards of the 2015 Republic Day Parade -1. Services -Brigade of Guards Regiment and Sikh Regiment jointly judged as best marching contingents.1. Para-Military Forces -Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) contingent1. Tableaux Category-First position won by Maharashtra, which depicted the pilgrimage to Pandharpur. Jharkhand tableau on Maluti Temples was second best and Karnataka Tableau was third (based on Channapatna Toys).1. Competitive category of school children items-Daang Dance of Gujarat by West Zone Cultural Centre, Udaipur (Rajasthan). Mithripala Sirisena won 2015 Presidential Elections of Sri Lanka. He will be 7th President of Sri Lanka. Modibo Keita has been named as New Prime Minister of Mali by President Ibrahim Boubacar Keta. Music composer Shekhar sen is appointed as Chairman of the Sangeet Natak Akademi (SNA) replacing Leela Samson. NGO Pratham released 10th Annual Status of Education Report (ASER 2014). New antibioticTeixobactinhas been discovered by a team of scientists from Northeastern University in Massachusetts. This antibiotic is capable of fighting infections that kill several people each year. Noted Hindi Writer Kamal Kishore Goenka has been honored by the Vyas Samman 2014 for his Research Work 'Premchand Ki Kahaniyon ka Kaalkramanusar Adhdhyan'. Oil & Natural Gas Corporation won 10th Savio Cup All India Basketball tournament by defeating Indian Overseas Bank. P Krishnamurthy is appointed as Private Secretary of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. PM Narendra Modi Inaugerated 102nd session of Indian Science Congress (ISC) at University of Mumbai. PM Narendra Modi inaugurated Dandi Kutir museum in Gandhinagar, Gujarat during the 13th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas (PBD). to mark the 100th anniversary of MK Gandhi's return to India from South Africa. A Commemorative Postal stamp was also released on this occasion. PM Narendra Modi presented National Bravery Awards 2014 to 24 awardees. Pachim Bekeli Village of Assam has been adopted by Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh under Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojna (SAGY). He represents Assam in the Rajya Sabha. Padam Awards 2015 - Total 104 Padma Awards have been conferred this year (9 Padma Vibhushan, 20 Padma Bhushan and 75 Padma Shri)1. Padma Vibhushan1. S. No.Name of the AwardeeDisciplineState/Domicile

1.Shri L. K. AdvaniPublic AffairsGujarat

2.Shri Amitabh BachchanArtMaharashtra

3.Shri Prakash Singh BadalPublic AffairsPunjab

4.Dr. D. Veerendra HeggadeSocial WorkKarnataka

5.Shri Mohammad Yusuf Khan alias Dilip KumarArtMaharashtra

6.Shri Jagadguru Ramanandacharya Swami RambhadracharyaOthersUttar Pradesh

7.Prof. Malur Ramaswamy SrinivasanScience and EngineeringTamil Nadu

8.Shri Kottayan K. VenugopalPublic AffairsDelhi

9.Shri Karim Al Hussaini Aga Khan (Foreigner)Trade and IndustryFrance/UK

1. Padma Bhushan1. S. No.Name of the AwardeeDisciplineState/Domicile

1.Shri Jahnu BaruaArtAssam

2.Dr. Vijay BhatkarScience and EngineeringMaharashtra

3.Shri Swapan DasguptaLiterature and EducationDelhi

4.Swami Satyamitranand GiriOthersUttar Pradesh

5.Shri N. GopalaswamiCivil ServiceTamil Nadu

6.Dr. Subhash C. KashyapPublic AffairsDelhi

7.Dr. (Pandit) Gokulotsavji MaharajArtMadhya Pradesh

8.Dr. Ambrish MithalMedicineDelhi

9.Smt. Sudha RagunathanArtTamil Nadu

10.Shri Harish SalvePublic AffairsDelhi

11.Dr. Ashok SethMedicineDelhi

12.Shri Rajat SharmaLiterature and EducationDelhi

13.Shri SatpalSportsDelhi

14.Shri Shivakumara SwamiOthersKarnataka

15.Dr. Kharag Singh ValdiyaScience and EngineeringKarnataka

16.Prof. Manjul Bhargava(NRI/PIO)Science and EngineeringUSA

17.Shri David Frawley (Vamadeva)(Foreigner)OthersUSA

18.Shri Bill Gates(Foreigner)Social WorkUSA

19.Ms. Melinda Gates(Foreigner)Social WorkUSA

20.Shri Saichiro Misumi(Foreigner)OthersJapan

1. Padma ShriS. No.Name of the AwardeeDisciplineState/Domicile

1.Dr. Manjula AnaganiMedicineTelangana

2.Shri S. ArunanScience and EngineeringKarnataka

3.Ms. Kanyakumari AvasaralaArtTamil Nadu

4.Dr. Bettina Sharada BaumerLiterature and EducationJammu and Kashmir

5.Shri Naresh BediArtDelhi

6.Shri Ashok BhagatSocial WorkJharkhand

7.Shri Sanjay Leela BhansaliArtMaharashtra

8.Dr. Lakshmi Nandan BoraLiterature and EducationAssam

9.Dr. Gyan ChaturvediLiterature and EducationMadhya Pradesh

10.Prof. (Dr.) Yogesh Kumar ChawlaMedicineChandigarh

11.Smt. Jayakumari ChikkalaMedicineDelhi

12.Shri Bibek DebroyLiterature and EducationDelhi

13.Dr. Sarungbam Bimola Kumari DeviMedicineManipur

14.Dr. Ashok GulatiPublic AffairsDelhi

15.Dr. Randeep GuleriaMedicineDelhi

16.Dr. K. P. HaridasMedicineKerala

17.Shri Rahul JainArtDelhi

18.Shri Ravindra JainArtMaharashtra

19.Dr. Sunil JogiLiterature and EducationDelhi

20.Shri Prasoon JoshiArtMaharashtra

21.Dr. Prafulla KarArtOdisha

22.Ms. Saba AnjumSportsChhattisgarh

23.Smt. Ushakiran KhanLiterature and EducationBihar

24.Dr. Rajesh KotechaMedicineRajasthan

25.Prof. Alka KriplaniMedicineDelhi

26.Dr. Harsh KumarMedicineDelhi

27.Shri Narayana Purushothama MallayaLiterature and EducationKerala

28.Shri Lambert MascarenhasLiterature and EducationGoa

29.Dr. (Mrs.) Janak Palta McGilliganSocial WorkMadhya Pradesh

30.Shri Veerendra Raj MehtaSocial WorkDelhi

31.Shri Tarak MehtaArtGujarat

32.Shri Neil Herbert NongkynrihArtMeghalaya

33.Shri Chewang NorphelOthersJammu and Kashmir

34.Shri T. V. Mohandas PaiTrade and IndustryKarnataka

35.Dr.Tejas PatelMedicineGujarat

36.Shri Jadav Molai PeyangOthersAssam

37.Smt. Bimla PoddarOtherUttar Pradesh

38.Dr. N. PrabhakarScience and EngineeringDelhi

39.Dr. PrahaladaScience and EngineeringMaharashtra

40.Dr. Narendra PrasadMedicineBihar

41.Shri Ram Bahadur RaiLiterature and EducationDelhi

42.Ms. Mithali RajSportsTelangana

43.Shri P. V. RajaramanCivil ServiceTamil Nadu

44.Prof. J. S. RajputLiterature and EducationUttar Pradesh

45.Shri Kota Srinivasa RaoArtAndhra Pradesh

46.Prof. Bimal RoyLiterature and EducationWest Bengal

47.Shri Shekhar SenArtMaharashtra

48.Shri Gunvant ShahLiterature and EducationGujarat

49.Shri Brahmdev Sharma (Bhaiji)Literature and EducationDelhi

50.Shri Manu SharmaLiterature and EducationUttar Pradesh

51.Prof. Yog Raj SharmaMedicineDelhi

52.Shri Vasant ShastriScience and EngineeringKarnataka

53.Shri S. K. ShivkumarScience and EngineeringKarnataka

54.Ms. P. V. SindhuSportsTelangana

55.Shri Sardara SinghSportsHaryana

56.Ms. Arunima SinhaSportsUttar Pradesh

57.Shri Mahesh Raj SoniArtRajasthan

58.Dr.Nikhil TandonMedicineDelhi

59.Shri H. Thegtse RinpocheSocial WorkArunachal Pradesh

60.Dr.Hargovind Laxmishanker TrivediMedicineGujarat

61.Shri Huang Baosheng(Foreigner)OthersChina

62.Prof. Jacques Blamont(Foreigner)Science and EngineeringFrance

63.Late Shri Syedna Mohammad Burhanuddin(Posthumous)OthersMaharashtra

64.Shri Jean-Claude Carriere(Foreigner)Literature and EducationFrance

65.Dr. Nandrajan Raj Chetty(NRI/PIO)Trade and IndustryUSA

66.Shri George L. Hart(Foreigner)OthersUSA

67.Jagat Guru Amrta Suryananda Maha Raja(NRI/PIO)OthersPortugal

68.Late Shri Meetha Lal Mehta (Posthumous)Social WorkRajasthan

69.Ms. Tripti Mukherjee(NRI/PIO)ArtUSA

70.Dr. Dattatreyudu Nori(NRI/PIO)MedicineUSA

71.Dr. Raghu Rama Pillarisetti(NRI/PIO)MedicineUSA

72.Dr. Saumitra Rawat(NRI/PIO)MedicineUK

73.Prof. Annette Schmiedchen(Foreigner)Literature and EducationGermany

74.Late Shri Pran Kumar Sharma alias Pran(Posthumous)ArtDelhi

75.Late Shri R. Vasudevan(Posthumous)Civil ServiceTamil Nadu

Pakistan Parliament passed 21st Constitution Amendment Bill 2015 and the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill 2015 to make way for establishment of military courts in the country. Pankaj Advani won his seventh National Billiards Championship in Kolkata after defeateding Dhruv Sitwala. Paulina Vega of Colombia has been named as winner of Miss Universe 2015 beauty pageant held in Miami (USA). People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) announced to create India's first fenced elephant sanctuary within Bannerghatta Biological Park in Karnataka to allow elephants to move around freely within the secure area. Periyar Tiger Reserve, spread over 925 sq.km. in Kerala, has won the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) biennial award for encouraging local public participation in managing the reserve. Poet Arundhathi Subramaniam has been given the first Khushwant Singh Memorial Prize for her workWhen God is a Travellerat Jaipur Literature Festival. Poland Won the Hopman Cup of Tennis after beating USA in Australia. Pope Francis Declared 17th Century Indian Priest and Missionary Joseph Vaz as Saint in Sri Lanka. Popov Ivan of Russia won 7th Chennai International Open Grandmaster Chess title. Portugese Footballer who plays for Real Madrid Club, Cristiano Ronaldo won the 2014 FIFA Ballon dOr award for the best footballer of the year in the world. Prabhu Nath Dwivedi has been named as winner of Sahitya Akademi Award for Sanskrit, 2014 for his short stories collection - Kanakalochanaha. President signed bill for creating new system of appointment of judges to Supreme and High Courts by forming National Judicial Appointment Commission (NJAC) to replace collegium system of appointing judges to higher judiciary by six-member panel comprising Chief Justice of India, two Supreme Court judges, Law Minister and 2 eminent persons. President rule was imposed in Jammu and Kashmir (J &K) on the recommendation of the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir N N Vohra due to deadlock over the formation of the new government. Note that Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election were held in five phases in December 2014. In the Assembly election, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won 28 seats, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 25 and National Congress (NC) won 15 seats. Prime Minister of Bhutan Lyonchhen Tshering Tobgay visited India with his spouse Aum Tashi Doma, Foreign Minister Rinzin Dorji and Economic Affairs Minister Norbu Wangchuk. RBI Relaxed Know Your Customers (KYC) rules for Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) due to difficulties being faced by NBFCs in getting KYC documents at frequent intervals. Now, the KYC exercise will be required to be done -1. High-risk individuals and entities - Every 2 years1. Medium risk individuals and entities - Every 8 years1. Low risk individuals and entities - Every 10 years1. RBI allowed Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs)/Registered Foreign Portfolios Investors (RFPIs) to buy up to 49 % of paid-up capital of Bajaj Corp Ltd under Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS).1. Renowned Indian RTI activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal has been given the Giraffe Hero award 2015 by a US-based NGO The Giraffe Heroes Project for his bravery in utilising Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005 for public good despite challenges.1. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) constituted a Committee under RBI Deputy Governor R Gandhi, to re-examine appropriate set of businesses and licensing terms for Urban Cooperative Banks (UCB).1. The eight-member committee will be chaired by R Gandhi, the Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India.1. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for Supervisory Cooperation and Exchange of Supervisory Information with Brazils Central Bank, Banco Central do Brasil (BCB).1. Reserve Bank of India lifted ban on carrying bank notes of Indian Rs 1000 and 500 to Nepal and Bhutan.1. Ruhakana Rugunda is appointed as New (10th) Prime Minister of Uganda.1. Russian President Vladimir Putin approved foreign soldiers to serve in Russian Military for at least five years.1. S Jaishankar has been appointed as new Foreign Secretary of India replacing Sujata Singh.1. S Shrikrishna won National Sub-Junior Billiards title berating Ishpreet Singh Chadha of Maharashtra.1. Samsung India Electronics and NMDC (National Mineral Development Corporation) have been awarded the Golden Peacock Award for Corporate Social Responsibility 2014 for its initiatives for childrens education and skill development.1. Scientists of UK's University of Southampton are planning to grow lettuce on Mars in 2018 under ProjectLettuceOnMars.1. Sean Abbott of Australia has been named as Bradman Young Cricketer for the Year 2015.1. Sikkim government signed Memorandum of Understanding with Netherlands and Thailand for development of floriculture.1. Sindhushree Khullar has been appointed as First CEO of NITI Aayog and Arvind Panagariya has been appointed as Vice Chairman.1. SnoopSnitch Android app launched in Chaos Computer Congress annual meeting in Germany. The app can detect International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) catchers so as to inform a person that someone is spying on him.1. Social Media Site Twitter Buys ZipDial, Its First Acquisition of an Indian Company in a 35 Million USD Deal.1. South Africas cricketer AB de Villiers hit fastest century in One-Day International (ODI) cricket in Just 31 Balls against West Indies.1. South American Country Venezuela entered recession with shrinking economic growth and Recession Jumping upto 63%.1. Spanish writer Javier Moro's Book 'The Red Sari' - biography of Congress President Sonia Gandhi released in India.1. Sport Education Development Australia (SEDA) and India's Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Limited (IL-FS) signed an Memorandum of Understanding during Australian Minister for Trade and Investment Andrew Robb's Visit to India.1. Sri Lankan cricketer Kumar Sangakkara became fastest cricketer to score 12000 Test runs.1. Stephen Constantine has been appointed as head coach of Indian mens football team.1. Steve Easterbrook has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Famous Fast Food Chain McDonalds Corporation.1. Surendra Kumar Sinha has been appointed as First Hindu Chief Justice of Bangladesh.1. Sutirtha Bhattacharya took charge as Chairman and Managing Director of Coal India Limited.1. SwitzerlandTennis Player Roger Federer claimed his 1000th ATP career win at the Brisbane International by defeating Canadian Milos Raonic. It was 1000th win and 83rd title of his career.1. Sydney International Tennis tournament1. Men's Singles - Viktor Troicki of Serbia won by defeating Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan.1. Women's Singles - Cetra Kvitova of Czech Republic won by defeating Karolina Pliskova of Czech Republic.1. Women's Doubles - Sania Mirza and Bethanie Mattek-Sands of US won by beating Americans Abigail Spears and Raquel Kops-Jones. The Fifth General Assembly of IRENA (International Renewable Energy Association) held in Abu Dhabi (UAE). Thomas Kurian Is appointed as New President of Oracle Corporation. Trends in Global Carbon Di-Oxide Emission Report 20141. US will host an international Anti-terror Summit in Washington in February 2015 to prevent terrorism.1. USA President Barack Obama Arrived in India for attending Celebrations and Parade of India's 66th Republic day.1. USA based Apple Inc recorded profit of 18 billion USD dollar in 2014 which is Highest ever profit earned by any company in the corporate world.1. Apple sold 74.5 million iPhones in quarter ending December 2014.1. Revenue of the Apple Inc rose to 74.6 billion USD in 2014 from 57.6 billion USD in 2013.1. Apple now has a cash pile up of 178 billion USD which is enough to buy IBM or the equivalent to pay 556 USD to every American.1. The success of Apple may be attributed to -3. Apple's partnership in China with China Mobile Limited3. Larger screen size of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.3. Doubling of sales of iPhone in Singapore and Brazil and Significant rise in India as well.1. United Nation (UN) Secretary-GeneralBan Ki-moonappointed Indian sociologist Saraswathi Menon in a Panel for reviewing peace building activities.1. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) released Global Investment Trend Monitor Report to provide global investments trend in 2014 and prospects of global investments in 2015.1. Global Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows declined by 8 % in 2014 to 1.26 trillion USD due to fragility of global economy, geopolitical risks and Political Uncertainities.1. Report in context of India. FDI flow in India in 2014 increased to 35 billion USD (26 % Up) with maximum growth in the services sector.. Maximum growth in FDI in India was in services sector especially in electricity, gas, water, waste management and information and communication. This is one of the highest in recent years, though in 2008 FDI peaked in India with 47 billion dollars followed by 35.6 billion dollar in 2009 Top five FDI recipients countries in 2014. China is largest recipient of FDI with 3 % Increase. China replaced US that attracted largest FDI since 1980.. Rankings of Highest FDI Attracting Countries -2. China with 128 billion USD2. Hong Kong with 111 billion USD2. The United States with 86 billion USD2. Singapore with 81 billion USD2. Brazil with 62 billion USD United Nations World Economic Situation and Prospectus Report 2015 - India 's GDP growth will rise to 5.9 % in 2014-2015 and 6.3 % in 2016, recovery is credited to key reforms by the new Government led by PM Narendra Modi. Economic growth in South Asia will pick up from 4.9 % in 2014 to 5.4 % in 2015 and 5.7 % in 2016. Global economy is expected to grow at 3.1 % in 2015 and 3.3 % in 2016, compared with growth of 2.6 % in 2014. The WESP report is produced at the beginning of each year by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the five UN regional commissions and the World Tourism Organisation ( UNWTO).. Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2015 was inaugurated in Gandhinagar, Gujarat to be held from 11th to 13th January 2015.. Vistara airline, a joint venture of Tata-SIA, started its flight operation in India with first flight from Delhi to Mumbai.. Weightlifter Jimjang Deru of Arunachal Pradesh created national record in weightlifting by lifting 238 kilograms in 56 kilograms category during 10th Youth National Weightlifting Championships in Haryana.. Wing Commander Puja Thakur became first lady officer to lead Inter-Service Guard of Honour with theme - "Nari Shakti".. World Bank Group released bi-annual Global Economic Prospects (GEP) Report, 2015. - Economic growth of India estimated at 5.6 % in 2014, will improve to 6.4 % in 2015 and 7 % in 2016. Global economy grew by 2.6 % in 2014 and is expected to grow by 3 % in 2015, 3.3 % in 2016 and 3.2 % in 2017. USA has growth above 2.4 % in 2014, expected to grow at 3.2 % in 2015 and 3 % in 2016. Chinas growth is expected to come down to 7.1 % in 2015, 7 % in 2016 and 6.9 % in 2017.. World bank released a report namedHeights: Social Inclusion and Sustainable Development in Himachal Pradeshto mark significant growth over the past decades for Himachal Pradesh.highlights of the Reportare - Per capita income in Himachal Pradesh is second highest in India despite 90 % of its residents live in rural areas. Education and share of women in the workforce is also appreciable. Himachal Pradesh is first in India to have banned use of plastic bags and has set heights in becoming free of defecation in open. Poverty is one-third the national average. Rural poverty decline four times to 85. % in 2011 from 36.8 % in 199394. Yash Pal Singhal has been appointed as new Director General of Police (DGP) of Haryana. Yes bank signed a $200 Million Loan Agreement with th Asian Development Bank for promoting financial inclusion in rural areas an advancing loans to women self help groups..