gk digest lic aao exam 2016 exam

8/18/2019 GK Digest LIC AAO Exam 2016 Exam

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GK DIGEST for LIC AAO 2016 ExamDear readers,

This GK Digest is a complete docket of important news and events that occurred in last 5 months (SeptemberFebruary 2016). The GK Digest is important and relevant for all competitive exams like - LIC AAO 2016 Exam,Railway Recruitment 2016 Exam, SSC CGL 2016, Insurance and UPSC Exams.

Banking, Economics & Financial News

RBI in the News

1. RBI Keeps interest rate unchanged - On 2nd February 2016, the Reserve Bank of India in its 6 th bi – monthly policyreview , key policy interest rates were kept unchanged on the basis of an assessment of the current and evolving

macroeconomic situation in the country. Current Policy & Reserve Rates: 1.Repo Rate 6.75% (unchanged)2.Reverse Repo 5.75% (unchanged)

3.CRR(Cash Reserve ratio) 4.00% (unchanged)4.SLR (Statutory Liquidity Ratio) 21.50% (unchanged)5.MSF (Marginal Standing Facility) 7.75% (changed)6.Bank Rate 7.75% (changed)

Basis points - ‘one’ Basis Point is a unit equivalent to 0.01% i.e. 1/100th of a percent.

2. Raghuram Rajan conferred with the Central Banker of the Year Award 2016 - The Reserve Bank of India Governor, Dr.Raghuram Rajan conferred with the Central Banker of the Year Award (Global and Asia Pacific) for 2016 by The Banker, monthly publication of the Financial Times Group focussing on banking.

3. Urjit Patel reappointed as RBI deputy governor for 3 years - The Government of India re-appointed Dr. Urjit R. Patel asthe Deputy Governorof the Reserve Bank of India, for a further period of three years.He is the fourth deputy governor, the other three being HR Khan, R Gandhi and SS Mundra .

4. Reserve Bank of India increased its shareholding in National Housing Bank by contributing Rs 1,000 crore towards thpaid capital, thereby increasing its shareholding in theNHB from Rs 450 crore to Rs 1,450 crore.

5. RBI seeks additional ₹26k cr for PSU banks - The RBI has sought an additional ₹26,000 crore from the government by2018 for capital infusion into Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) banks for implementing Basel-III norms in the banks. The

government has already pledged ₹70,000 crore for the purpose by the end of FY19. 6. RBI Governor Dr Raghuram Rajan elected as Vice-Chairman on BIS Board - With this, he became the first Indian to be

elected to this position in the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). Note: At present, Jens Weidmann is the Chairman of the Board of Directors. He is also the head of Bundesbank, theGerman banking regulator.

7. RBI imposes Rs 1 crore fines on State Bank of Travancore - Reserve Bank has imposed a penalty of Rs. 1 crore on anSBI associate bank, State Bank of Travancore, for violation of some of its instructions.

8. Deepak Singhal appointed Executive Director of Reserve Bank of India - The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) appointedDeepak Singhal as the Executive Director (ED). He replaced K K Vohra who will now look after the Deposit Insurance andCredit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC).


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9. RBI proposed marginal cost of funds methodology to calculate Base Rate – The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) proposed a new methodology to calculate Base Rate (Base Rate). It is based on marginalcost of funds methodology. The new methodology is aimed at bringing uniformity among BRs of banks so that they willbe more sensitive to any changes in policy rates of the RBI like Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR), Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR),etc.Under the proposed methodology , the components of Base Rate will include cost of funds, negative carry on CRR/SLR,un-allocable overhead costs and average return on net worth. It will be effective from 1 April 2016.

Base Rate • It is defined as the minimum interest rate of a bank below which it is not viable to lend. • It was introduced on 1 July 2010 by the RBI.• It replaced the benchmark prime len ding rate (BPLR), the interest rate which commercial banks charged their mostcredit worthy customer.

10. Banks are free to fix interest rates on gold deposit scheme: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed banks to fix theirown interest rates on gold deposits under the Gold Monetisation Scheme.Key points – (i) As per the RBI guidelines, Banks are free to set interest rate such as principal and interest on the deposit denominatedin gold.(ii) Designated banks will accept gold deposits under the – Short Term Bank Deposit (1-3 years), Medium (5-7 years) andLong term (12-15 years) Government Deposit Schemes.(iii) Short term bank deposits will be applicable cash reserve ratio (CRR) and statutory liquidity ratio (SLR).(iv) There is no bar for maximum gold deposit but the minimum deposit at one time should be raw gold equivalent to 3grams of 995 fineness standard.(v) The raw gold should be in the form of coins, bars, jewellery excluding stones and other metals Individual banks willdetermine the provision for premature withdrawal subject to a minimum lock-in period and along with the penalty.

11. RBI declared Priority Sector Lending norms for Regional Rural Banks

Key points of the norms:(i) Priority Sector Lending (PSL) target was increased to 75 percent of total outstanding from the existing 60 percent.(ii) The revised target will be effective from 1 January 2016.(iii) Medium enterprises , social infrastructure and renewable energy were included under PSL category.(iv) Agri-Loans: Loans to individual farmers, for the purpose of PSL, was increased to 50 lakh rupees from the present 10lakh rupees against pledge/ hypothecation of agricultural produce (including warehouse receipts) for a period notexceeding 12 months.(v) Aggregate limit loan was doubled to 2 crore rupees per borrower in the case of loans, among others, to corporatefarmers, farme rs’ producers organisations/ companies of individual farmers, farmers partnership firms/ co -operativesengaged in agriculture and allied activities.(vi) Housing Loans: The RBI has lowered the quantum of loans that will qualify as PSL. Against the earlier limit of 25lakh rupees, loans to individuals up to 20 lakh rupees only are considered as PSL as per revised guidelines.

Note: As on March 2015, there were 56 RRBs operating in the country with a network of 20059 branches. They cover 644notified districts in 26 states and the Union Territory of Puducherry.

12. RBI formed Financial Inclusion Fund with 2000 crore rupees corpus : The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) formed a singleFinancial Inclusion Fund (FIF) with a corpus of 2000 crore rupees . The fund was formed by merging the FinancialInclusion Fund (FIF) and Financial Inclusion Technology Fund (FITF). This fund will support the developmental andpromotional activities covered under the financial inclusion initiatives.


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13. RBI to Issue Rs. 500, Rs. 1000 Bank Notes with Enhanced Features - The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will issue Rs. 500and Rs. 1,000 bank notes with additional features to aid the visually impaired in identification. To help visually impairedperson in easy identification of bank notes, RBI decided to add two more features in Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 bank notes.

14. RBI to issue Rs 5 coin on golden jubilee of 1965 Indo-Pak war - The Reserve Bank of India will shortly put intocirculation Rs 5 coins to commemorate golden jubilee of Indo-Pak War 1965. "The coins will be legal tender as provided inThe Coinage Act 2011.

15. RBI granted 'in-principle' approval to set up Small Finance Banks & Payment Banks –

Small Finance Banks – The purpose of the small banks will be to provide a whole suite of basic banking productssuch as deposits and supply of credit, but in a limited area of operation. The aim of small banks is to increase financialinclusion in the country. The small bank shall be registered as a public limited company under the Companies Act,2013 .

Committee on Small Banks - Usha Thorat RBI granted 'in-principle' approval to the 10 applicants to set up Small Finance Banks .

Names of selected applicantsAu Financiers (India) Ltd., Jaipur

Capital Local Area Bank Ltd., Jalandhar Disha Microfin Private Ltd., Ahmedabad Equitas Holdings P Limited, Chennai ESAF Microfinance and Investments Private Ltd.,Chennai

Janalakshmi Financial Services Private Limited,

Bengaluru RGVN (North East) Microfinance LimitedGuwahati Suryoday Micro Finance Private Ltd., Navi MumbaiUjjivan Financial Services Private Ltd., BengaluruUtkarsh Micro Finance Private Ltd., Varanasi

The “in -principle” approval granted will be valid for 18 months to enable the applicants to comply with therequirements under the Guidelines and fulfill other conditions as may be stipulated by the RBI. Eligibility - Resident individuals with 10 years of experience in banking and finance, companies and Societies will beeligible as promoters to set up small banks.

Key points Capital requirement - The minimum paid-up capital requirement for small banks is Rs. 100 crore . As per the guidelines, the promoters' initial minimum contribution will be at least 40 % of the minimum capital, to be

locked in for a period of 5 years. Small banks will offer both deposits as well as loan products. They cannot set up subsidiaries to undertake non-banking financial services activities. The maximum loan size and investment limit exposure to single/group borrowers/issuers would be restricted to 15

per cent of total capital funds. Loans and advances of up to Rs 25 lakhs, primarily to micro enterprises, should constitute at least 50 per cent of the

loan portfolio. For the first three years, 25 per cent of branches should be in unbanked rural areas. The foreign shareholding in the bank would be as per the extant FDI policy. For the initial three years, prior approval will be required for branch expansion.

Payment Banks – The main objective of payment banks is to increase financial inclusion in the country via a primaryfocus on domestic payments services by providing small savings accounts. Payments banks will be used only fortransaction and deposits purposes. Unlike small banks, payments banks cannot lend money.

Committee on Payment Banks - Dr. Nachiket Mor RBI granted 'in-principle' approval to 11 Payment Banks applicants.


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List of 11 Payment Banks applicants -

1. Aditya Birla Nuvo Limited2. Airtel M Commerce Services Limited3. Cholamandalam Distribution Services Limited4. Department of Posts5. Fino PayTech Limited6. National Securities Depository Limited – Director G.

V. Nageswara Rao

7. Reliance Industries Limited - Joint ventured with SBI8. Sun Pharma - Dilip Shanghvi, Managing Director o

Sun Pharmaceuticals.9. Paytm – Founder of Vijay Shekhar Sharma10. Tech Mahindra Limited11. Vodafone m-pesa Limited

Key Points: Capital requirement - The minimum paid-up capital requirement for payments banks is Rs. 100 crore . The Reserve Bank grants a license for commencement of banking business under Section 22(1) of the Banking

Regulation Act, 1949. RBI's “in -principle” nod will be valid for a period of 18 months , during which time the applicants have to comply with

the requirements under the Guidelines and fulfill the other conditions as may be stipulated by the Reserve bank. As per the guidelines, the promoters' initial minimum contribution will be at least 40 % of the minimum capital, to be

locked in for a period of 5 years . The payments bank will need to invest 75 percent of its funds in government securities. Payments banks can open small savings accounts and accept deposits of up to Rs.1 lakh per individual customer and

provide remittance services. Hence, the balance at the close of business on any day should not exceed Rs.1 lakh percustomer. Payments banks can issue debit cards but they are not eligible to provide credit card facilities . Payments Banks are allowed to set up their own ATMs (automated teller machines). Payments banks will have to invest in government securities with a maturity of up to 1 year .

Difference between Small & Payment Banks –

(i) Small banks can accept all types of deposits like a commercial bank ( savings, current, fixed deposits, recurringdeposits etc) on the other hand

Payment banks can take deposits only on current & savings account. These cannot offer credit cards, NRI account, &time deposits( FD & RD).

(ii) Small banks cannot give depositors money as loan to others ( big industries) , but for small area of operation.Payment banks cannot give loans but can invest in G securities ( as most of the depositors are poor people. so, bankscannot take a risk).

(iii) For small banks - - - NBFC's , any individual with 10 years of experience in banking can apply for licenses.For payment banks - - - Indian post, telecom companies can apply for licenses.

(iv) Target for small banks are MSME's, business man.For Payment banks, poor people.

16. RBI extends deadline to exchange pre-2005 notes to June 30, 2016 - Reserve Bank extended the deadline for

exchanging pre-2005 currency notes of various denominations, including Rs 500 and Rs 1,000, by another six months toJune 30, 2016 from earlier date December 31, 2015.


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Government approves conversion of MUDRA into bank – Government of India recently converted MUDRA Ltd into MUDRA Bank. MUDRA Bank thus created is a wholly-owned

subsidiary of SIDBI, which will be known as MUDRA (SIDBI) Bank . Along with this, a Credit Guarantee Fund for MUDRA Units (CGFMU) will also be set up. In the Budget of 2015-16,

Credit Guarantee Fund has been allocated with funds worth Rs 3000 Crore . As per budget 2015-16, MUDRA Bank is to be set up with refinance corpus of Rs 20,000 Crore.

Functions / Roles of Mudra Ltd – The major role of MUDRA Ltd would be in refinancing and developing Micro Enterprises. It will provide funds to Non-corporate small business sector. It will also partner with State/Regional level financial intermediaries to provide finance to small/micro business

enterprises. MUDRA Bank will not be the regulator of the micro finance institutions. (As RBI as a regulator for the MFIs registered

as the non-banking finance companies)

MUDRA loans are available in three categories – For small business

Loans up to Rs. 50000 / – is available under the ‘ Shishu’ category Loans beyond Rs. 50,000 and up to 5 lakh under the ‘ Kishor’ category Loans beyond Rs. 5 lakh and up to Rs. 10 lakh under the ’Tarun’ category Note : Maximum Loan Mudra Bank can grant is Rs. 10 lakh.

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank launched by Chinese President Chinese President Xi Jinping officially launched Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in Beijing. The opening

ceremony of AIIB is attended by representatives of 57 member countries.

Key Facts - With authorised capital of $100 billion and subscribed capital of $50 billion , Beijing-based AIIB will invest in sectors

including energy, transportation, urban construction, and logistics as well as education and healthcare. The bank was formally established in Beijing on December 25, 2015. The headquarter of AIIB is located in Beijing, China . Chairman - Chinese Finance Minister, Lou Jiwei , First President of AIIB-China’s former Finance Minister, Jin Liqun In all 57 countrie s have joined as founding members, while the US and Japan have stayed out. Largest shareholders of AIIB – China – 30.34%, India - , 8.52%, Russia - 6.66% Their voting shares of – China - 26.06%, India - 7.5 %, Russia - 5.92 %. Based on the shareholding, India is expected to get the Vice- President’s post . The AIIB will work together with multilateral development banks, including the World Bank and the Asian

Development Bank, to facilitate Asian infrastructure construction and sustainable development. India elected to new AIIB Bank’s First Board - Dinesh Sharma , Additional Secretary of Ministry of Finance electedto the 12-member board.

Union Finance Minister of India Arun Jaitley is the designated governor of the AIIB from the country.


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SBI Bank in News –

1. SBI launches FlexiPay Home Loan Scheme forProfessionals - State Bank of India introduced a newhome loan scheme ‘SBI FlexiPay Home Loan’ for youngworking professionals/executives. Under the scheme , borrowers will get higher loan

amount compared to their loan eligibility undernormal home loan schemes and they will also havethe option of step-up monthly repayments.

2. SBI opens first branch in South Korea - India’slargest lender State Bank of India (SBI) today said ithas opened its first branch in Seoul, South Korea.

SBI is second Indian bank after Indian OverseasBank to have branch in South Korea. SBI already had arepresentative office in Seoul.

3. SBI Launches First Dedicated Branch For StartupsInCube - The State Bank of India, has launched firstexclusive startup bank branch – SBI InCube inBangalore . It is a specialised branch to understandand address banking needs of startups.

4. SBI Card launches SimplyCLICK credit card for onlineshopping - in association with seven partners includingAmazon India, BookMyShow and Cleartrip.

ICICI Bank in News –

1.

ICICI Bank opens its first branch in South Africa -ICICI Bank inaugurated its first full service branch atSandton in Johannesburg becoming the first Indianprivate sector bank to open a branch in the Africancontinent.

2. ICICI Bank has launched ‘ Smart Vault’ first of its kindfully automated digital locker facility in India.

3. ICICI Bank has launched ‘ ICICI Bank Saral-RuralHousing Loan ’ Scheme for weaker sections of society.

Housing loan will be provided at the ICICI Bank BaseRate (known as I-Base) which is currently at 9.70%.4. ICICI Bank launched its first branch in China

India's largest private sector bank, ICICI bank haslaunched its first branch in Shanghai, China, which wasinaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Other Banking & Financial News -

5. India gets more voting rights in IMF reforms - International Monetary Fund’s (IMF’s) long -

pending 2010 Quota and Governance Reformshave finally become effective and came into effecton 27 January 2016.

India’s voting rights increased by - 0.3% fromthe current 2.3% to 2.6%.

China’s voting rights increased by - 2.2% fromcurrent 3.8% to 6 %.

China will have the 3rd largest IMF quota andvoting share after the US and Japan .

6. Govt revises down 2014/15 GDP growth to 7.2%y/y - Government revised down its annual economicgrowth for the fiscal year that ended in March 2015 to7.2 percent from 7.3 percent reported earlier.

7. HDFC Bank to sell loans to non-customers through ATMs .

8. TranServ launches India’s first social mobile walletUdio - TranServ, a leading digital payments company,has launched India’s 1st Social Mobile Wallet, Udio.

Udio Wallet integrates a social, community-drivenaspect with anytime, anywhere accessibility to digitalP2P (peer-to-peer) transactions via its secure andseamless payment structure, creating a ubiquitousecosystem for both consumers and brands.

9. India to be fastest growing economy at 7.3% in2016 : United Nations.

10. Tech Mahindra launches contactless wallet‘MoboMoney’ - Tech Mahindra has announced thelaunch of ‘MoboMoney’, a first of its kind ‘Tap N Pay’contactless digital payment solution for the Indianmasses.MoboMoney is a prepaid wallet issued in the form of aNFC (Near Field Communication) contactless tag thatcould be used to ‘Tap N Pay’ for goods and services.

11. YES Bank commits $5 bn for climate action in India- YES Bank, India’s fifth -largest private sector bank, hasannounced mobilisation of $5 billion towards itscommitment to climate finance in India.

12. Banks need $140 billion to comply with Basel IIInorms by FY19: Fitch


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Indian Banks will need about $140 billion to ensurefull compliance with the Basel III norms by 2018-19,Fitch Ratings said.

13. SBT launches new initiative for faster relea se ofwages under MGNREGS - State Bank of Travancore(SBT) has launched an electronic fund managementsystem for direct and faster release of wages under the

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural EmploymentGuarantee Scheme. This scheme has been introduced in the country

for the first time and Kerala has been chosen forthe pilot project.

System (NeFMS) will enable direct and immediatecredit of wages into the accounts of the 21 lakhbeneficiaries (90% women) of MNREGS in alldistricts of Kerala. Out of the above, about 50% ofthe beneficiaries maintain accounts with SBT.

14. BankBazaar.com launches ‘One Loan Two Homes’program - BankBazaar.com, an online financialmarketplace, has launched a new ‘One Loan TwoHomes’ program to help the flood -affected citizens ofChennai.

15. ADB to fund $840-m corridor between Vizag,Chennai - The Asian Development Bank will extend a$625 million loan to the proposed $840 millionVisakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor.

16. China’s Yuan included in IMF’s SDR Basket – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) decided toinclude the Chinese Yuan in the basket of its elitereserve currencies which is used to calculate the valueof the special drawing rights (SDRs). Note: The Yuan, also known as the Renminbi , willjoin the US dollar, euro, Japanese yen and Britishpound next year from October 2016. About Special Drawing Rights (SDR) SDRs are supplementary foreign exchange reserveassets defined and maintained by the InternationalMonetary Fund (IMF). Their value is based on a basketof key international currencies reviewed by the IMF

every five years.Note: (i) SDR basket help countries defend against exchangerate fluctuations. After inclusion of the Yuan, the SDRwill consist of five currencies viz., US dollar (41.73percent weightage), euro (30.93), pound sterling(8.09), Japanese yen (8.33) and Chinese Yuan (10.92percent).(ii) The weightage assigned to each currency in theSDR basket are adjusted to take into account their

current share in international trade and nationalforeign exchange reserves.Why IMF Include Yuan in SDR Basket?(i) China is the world’s second largest economy and itsshare in global trade is rising.(ii) The inclusion of the Renminbi will enhance theattractiveness of the SDR by diversifying the basket

and making it more representative.(iii) Due to various steps taken by the Chinese officialslike relaxing controls on foreign institutional investorsbuying Chinese securities, easing restrictions oninterest rates and the exchange rate, allowing capital toflow freely into and out of the just-launched ShanghaiFree Trade Zone and efforts to develop China’s moneyand bond market.(iv) China now has five offshore Yuan trading centresviz., Hong Kong, London, Singapore, Taiwan andSydney.(v) In 2013, the Yuan overtook the e uro as the world’ssecond-most used currency in traditional tradefinance.(vi) Recently, HSBC estimated that the amount ofbonds denominated in Yuan sold outside China hasdoubled each year since 2008.

17. Singapore replaced Mauritius as top source of FDIinto IndiaSingapore replaced Mauritius as top source of ForeignDirect Investment (FDI) into India during April-September of 2015-16 financial year.Note: As per the data, between 15 April and 15September 2015, India received 43096 crore rupees asFDI from Singapore. In the same period FDI fromMauritius was 23490 crore rupees.

18. Arvind Subramanian-led panel recommendedstandard rate for GST at 17-18 % -The Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian ledpanel submitted its report on Possible Tax rates underGoods and Services Tax (GST) to Finance Minister ArunJaitley.

The commission recommended standard rate for GSTat 17 to 18 percent , the rate at which most productswould likely be taxed.

19. ONGC joined World Bank’s Zero Routine Flaring by2030 InitiativeThe Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited joinedZero Routine Flaring by 2030 Initiative of the WorldBank on the sidelines of Conference of Parties-21(COP-21) of UNFCCC in Paris.Note: With this joining, ONGC has become the firstoil company from India to join the global initiativ


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that is aimed at curbing routine gas flaring at oilproduction sites around the world by 2030.

20. Farhan Akhtar appointed new brand ambassador ofIndusInd Bank .

21. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has been chosen as'Finance Minister of the Year , Asia' by London-basedpublication Emerging Markets.

22. EPFO raises maximum insurance cover to Rs 6 lakh- Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO)substantially increased the maximum amount assuredunder its Employees' Deposit Linked InsuranceScheme (EDLI) to Rs 6 lakh from the existing Rs 3.6lakh.

23. Cabinet allows 100 per cent FDI under automaticroute for white label ATMs operations, a move that isaimed at promoting financial inclusion.

24. Axis Bank launched “ LIME app” , a mobile phoneapplication offering wallet, shopping, payments andbanking facilities.

25. Gujarat tops in ease of doing business in India :Gujarat has been placed to top position in WorldBank’s first ever ranking of States on the ease of doingbusiness in India.Top 5 States : Gujarat (71.14%), Andhra Pradesh(70.12%), Jharkhand (63.09%), Chhattisgarh (62.45%)and Madhya Pradesh (62.00%).

26. ADB (Asian Development Ban k) lowered India’sGrowth Forecast for 2016 from 7.8% to 7.4%

27. Union Government has decided to set up a BankBoard Bureau (BBB) to monitor key performanceindicators of two dozen public sector banks (PSBs)It was announced by Union Finance Minister ArunJailtley as part of a seven-pronged revamp plan forPSBs dubbed as Indradhanush (rainbow) plan.Key points – (i) Bank Board Bureau (BBB) will start the functioningfrom next financial year i.e. from 1st April 2016 and

the selection of its member will start in the next sixmonths.(ii) It will replace existing system Appointments Boardin which appointments for top level jobs at PSBs aremade by an appointments committee led by theReserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor.(iii) Composition : The BBB will be a bod y of ’emine

professionals and shall consist of only one governmentofficial. It will be six members body with at least 3former bankers, 2 professionals and secretary,department of financial services representinggovernment.(iv) The board will give recommendations forappointment of full-time Directors as well as non-Executive Chairman of PSBs.

28. Axis Bank has launched the first Contactless Debit,Credit and Multi-Currency Forex Card in associatiowith VISA payWave in the country.

29. Meghalaya achieves 100% financial inclusionunder Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna.

30. New Bank Note Paper Line unit inaugurated byFinance Minister Arun Jaitely in HoshangabadMadhya Pradesh .

31. World Bank has approved an additional loan of 650million dollars for India’s Eastern Dedicated FreigCorridor (DFC) Project. DFC Project aims at the fasterdelivery of goods between the northern and easternparts of the country.

32. Axis Bank launched Ping Pay service for instant

money transfer : With the help of this service, Axibank customer can transfer or ask for cash, throughvarious social media channels like Whatsapp,Facebook, Twitter, Email list and phone contact list.The transaction limit is at Rs50,000 per day.

India’s GDP growth rate projected by different organisations for FY16

1. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) – 7.4%2. United Nation – 7.5%3. World Bank – 7.8%

4. IMF – 7.3% 5. ADB (Asian Development Bank) – 7.4%6. Central Statistics Organisation (CSO) – 7.6%


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CURRENT AFFAIRS

New Appointments/ National

New Delhi Police Chief – Alok Kumar Verma New Chairman of Chairman of The Energy and

Resources Institute (TERI) - Ashok Chawla. Hereplaces B V Sreekantan.

New Secretary of Department of Industrial Policy andPromotion (DIPP) - Ramesh Abhishek

New Executive Vice-Chairman of The Energy andResources Institute (TERI) - Rajendra K Pachauri

New Chief Justice of Bombay High Court - JusticeDhirendra Hiralal Waghela

New DG of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) - ArchanaRamasundaram Note: She became the first woman to head a

paramilitary force. New DG of CRPF - K. Durga Prasad. New DG of BSF - K.K. Sharma. New Census Commissioner of India – Sailesh. He

replaces C Chandramauli. Achyuta Samanta elected as General President of

105th Indian Science Congress New Chairman of Internet and Mobile Association of

India (IAMAI) – Kunal Shah. New Chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes

(CBDT) - Atulesh Jindal. He replaces A K Jain.

New Mumbai Police Commissioner - DattaPadsalgikar. He succeeds Ahmed Javed, who wasappointed as Ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

New Chief Commissioner for Persons withDisabilities - Kamlesh Kumar Pandey.

New Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) ofNational Thermal Power Corporation ( NTPC) Limited.- Gurdeep Singh

New Telecom Secretary – J. S. Deepak. He replacRakesh Garg.

New CEO of NITI Aayog - Amitabh Kant. He replacSindhushree Khullar.

New CMD of BHEL - Atul Sobti New DG of Police of Uttar Pradesh - Javed Ahmed New CEO of Wipro - Abid Ali Neemuchwala. New ambassador of Incredible India campaign -

Amitabh Bachchan New Chairman of Competition Commission of India -

Devender Kumar Sikri New DG of National Centre for Good Governance -

Dr Gyanendra D Bandgaiyan

Sam Pitroda appointed Technical Advisor to Odishagovernment New CEO of Flipkart - Binny Bansal New Tata SIA Airlines Chairman - Bhaskar Bhat .

replaced Prasad Menon New MD & CEO of Tata Motors Ltd - Guen

Butschek New MD of Corporation Bank - J K Garg New Chief Minister of Bihar - Nitish Kumar.

Senior JDU leader Nitish Kumar was sworn-in as ChiefMinister of Bihar for the fifth time .

New Chief Information Commissioner - R K MathHe succeeds Vijai Sharma.

New Chief Justice of India - Justice Tirath Singh (TThakur sworn in as 43rd Chief Justice of India. succeeded incumbent Justice H L Dattu.

New President of FICCI - Harshavardhan Neotia. Hsucceeds Jyotsna Suri.

New Lokayukta Appointed New Lokayukta of Uttar Pradesh – Sanjay Mishra.

New Lokayukta of Delhi - Justice Reva Khetrapa

Ambassador (Envoy)

New Australia’s Envoy to India - Harinder Sidhu New Indian Ambassador to Mexico - Muktesh Kumar Pardeshi. New Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia – Ahmed Javed (Mumbai Police Commissioner) New Indian ambassador to Pakistan - Gautam Bambawale. He replaced TCA Raghavan. New Indian ambassador to United Kingdom - Navtej Sarna. He succeeded Ranjan Mathai. New Indian ambassador to China - Vijay Gokhale . He replaces Ashok Kantha.


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Governor of States of India -

1. Jammu & Kashmir – N.N. Vohra (Narinder NathVohra)

2. Arunachal Pradesh - J P Rajkhowa3. Manipur - V Shanmuganthan gets additional charge of

Manipur. Present Governor of Manipur Syed Ahmedpassed away.

4. Tripura - Keshari Nath Tripathi.5. Bihar – Ram Nath Kovind.

6. Uttar Pradesh – Ram Naik7. Himachal Pradesh - Acharya Dev Vrat.8. Arunachal Pradesh - J P Rakkhowa9. Meghalaya - V Shanmuganthan10. Mizoram - Nirbhay Sharma11. Jharkhand - Draupadi Murmu.

She is the first woman Governor of Jharkhand

Appointments/ International

Prime Minister

New PM of Burkina Faso's - Paul Kaba Thieba New PM of Georgia - Giorgi Kvirikashvili New PM of Canada - Justin Trudeau ( second

youngest prime minister to serve Canada )

New PM of Nepal – KP Sharma. New PM of Greece - Alexis Tsipras

New PM of Egypt - Sherif Ismail. New Pm of Australia - Malcolm Turnbull.

President 1st female President of Taiwan - Tsai Ing-wen New President of Portugal - Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa New President of Argentina - Mauricio Macri Blanco

He succeeded Cristina Elisabet Fernandez de Kirchner New President of Nepa l - Bidhya Devi Bhandari

She is the first women president of Nepal. New President of Tanzania - John Pombe Magufuli First Female Vice – President of Tanzania - Samia

Suluhu

Others Appointment

New Vice – President of Asian InfrastructureInvestment Bank ( AIIB) - DJ Pandian

Saroj Kumar Jha appointed as Senior Director inWorld Bank.

New Director of the United Nations InformationCentre (UNIC) - Tamar Hahn

New Chairman of General Motors - Mary Barra. Shesucceeds Tim Solso.

Indian-born Harjit Sajjan sworn-in as DefenceMinister of Canada

He succeeded Conservative Defence Minister JasonKenney.

New Goodwill Ambassador for the UN children’sagency, UNICEF - Novak Djokovic.

New CEO of Google - Sundar Pichai. New India’s permanent representative in the UN

Syed Akbaruddin. He replaces Asoke Mukerji.


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International Meets & Summits

Summits held/to be held in India

1. 103rd Indian Science Congress held in Mysuru,Karnataka –

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the103rd edition of the Indian Science Congress (ISC)in Mysuru, Karnataka.

The theme of this edition of the Congress is“Science and Technology for IndigenousDevelopment in India.”

2. 14th Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas (PBD) held in NewDelhi.

3. 10 th World Hindi Conference held in – Bhopal,

Madhya Pradesh.Theme of the Conference is “Hindi Jagat: Vistar avmsambhavnai”.

International

1. World Economic Forum 2016 meeting held inDavos, Switzerland. The official theme of the 2016 meeting is

“Mastering the Fourth Industrial Revolution ”.

2. 15 th G -20 Summit 2015 – Antalya, Turkey Women G20 Summit 2015 – Istanbul, Turkey The focus of the W20 is to enhance the role of

women in business. Gulden Turktan was appointed as the first

president of the group. She is one of the founders and President of the

Women Entrepreneurs' Association in Turkey(KAGIDER), and is currently a member of itsExecutive Board.

16 th G -20 Summit 2016 - China 17 th G -20 Summit 2017 - Germany G20 Members: Argentina, Australia, Brazil,

Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia,Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, SouthAfrica, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom,the United States of America and European Union.

3. 7 th BRICS Summit 2015 – Ufa, Russia. Theme of the summit - BRICS Partnership – a

Powerful Factor of Global Development . 8th BRICS summit 2016 - New Delhi, India Note: BRICS nations include - Brazil, Russia,

India, China and South Africa.

4. Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit2015 held in – Ufa, Russia Note: India and Pakistan to become full member of

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) by2016.

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation – Head off– Beijing, China

Member’s countries - China, Russia, KazakhstaKyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

5. 41 st G7 Summit 2015 - Elmau, Germany. Theme the summit - Think Ahead. Act Together.Note:G 7 nations include - Canada, France, Germany, ItalJapan, U.K., US, and the European Commission (ECEC is a permanently welcome participant in allmeetings and decision-making since 1981.

Future Summits to be held in – The 42nd G7 Summit 2016 – Japan The 43rd G7 Summit 2017 – Italy The 44th G7 Summit 2018 – Canada

6. 19 th SAARC Summit 2016 - Islamabad, Pakistan.Note : 18 th SAARC Summit held in Kathmandu, Nepin 2014. .

7. 4 th Nuclear security summit 2016 – United States.


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India ranking in various sectors –

1. India largest recipient of World Bank loans over 70years According to the Bank’s lending report, India is the

largest recipient of loans from the World Bank,amounting to $102.1 billion, between 1945 and

2015 (as on July 21, 2015). India is followed by Brazil ($58.8 billion), China($55.6 billion), Mexico ($54 billion) and Indonesia($50.5 billion).

2. India ranks first in business optimism: Report India ranks first in business optimism, according

to Grant Thornton International Business Report,a quarterly global survey of 2,580 businessleaders across 36 nations.

India was followed by Ireland (88%) and thePhilippines (84%).

3. India home to 2.36 lakh millionaires: report

According to the Asia Pacific 2016 Wealth Report,by New World Wealth, India was ranked amongthe top five Asia-Pacific countries in terms of thenumber of high net worth individuals (HNWIs).

India is home to the fourth largest populationof millionaires in the Asia-Pacific region, with2.36 lakh such high net worth individuals, whileJapan topped the list with 12.60 lakh people .

China ranked second with 654,000 HNWIs and Australia was at the third place had 290,000.

4. India among top 5 most promising marketsglobally –

According to the annual Global CEO survey ofconsultancy giant PwC, India has emerged as oneof the five most promising markets for businessesglobally as it offers one of the best opportunitiesfor both domestic as well as global companies.

The top five markets considered as mostimportant for overall growth prospects by therespondents are USA, China, Germany, the UKand India.

5. India ranks 97th on Forbes’ best countries forbusiness list – • India ranked 97th out of 144 nations, on Forbes’

annual list of the best countries for business in 2015,

scoring poorly on metrics like trade and monetaryfreedom and tackling challenges like corruption andviolence.Note: Denmark topped the list of the 144 nations on the

Best Countries of Business in 2015 list by Forbes. The US ranked 22nd continuing a six-year descentsince 2009 when it had ranked second overall.

The United Kingdom ranked at no. 10, Japan at No23.

Germany ranked 18th and China ranked 94. 6. India ranked 130 out of 189 in ease of doing

business: World Bank The 2016 report titled, Measuring Regulatory

Quality and Efficiency says that more than 60percent of World’s Economies improved thebusiness rules in 2015

Note: The report ranked Singapore as first onease of doing business while Eritrea has beranked last at 189th position.

Top 5 countries - Singapore (1), New Zealan(2); Denmark (3); Republic of Korea (4); HongKong SAR, China (5);

7. India is World’s largest remittance recipient:World Bank

World Bank announced that India is the World’slargest remittance recipient. It was revealed inthe Migration and Development Brief thatconveyed recent trends in remittance flows andmigration across the world.

As per the report, remittances to India areprojected to increase by 2.5 percent in 2015, wellabove the 0.6 percent increase in 2014.

8. India becomes world’s 7th most valued nationbrand: Report

India was placed at 7th position in world’s mostvaluable nation brands report among the 100assessed nations. It was revealed in recentlyreleased annual report compiled by BrandFinance.

Top 7 countries: United States, China, Germany,United Kingdom, Japan, France and India.


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India’ s rank in different indexes

1. Consumer Confidence Index 2016 – 1 st India maintains top spot in Consumer ConfidenceIndex. India was followed by the Philippines, Indonesiaand Thailand.

2. US Chamber Intellectual Property index –

India is placed at a poor second last position at37/38 in the US Chamber of Commerce’s latest IPindex.

Venezuela finished last and United States rankedfirst in the annual index.

3. 2015 Corruption Perceptions Index – 76 th .(Denmark is the world’s least corrupt country ).

4. Global Talent Competitiveness Index – 89 th (Switzerland topped the list)

5. World Human Development Index 2015 – 130 (Norwaytops the list)

6. Global Competitiveness Index 2015 – 55

Note: Switzerland, Singapore and the US are at the topof the Global Competitiveness Index, which profiles140 economies.

7. Investor Protection Index – 8th 8. Environmental Democracy Index 2015 – 24

Note: The index is topped by Lithuania at the firstposition, Latvia at the second and Russia at the thirdposition.

9. World Press freedom Index 2015 – 136 Note: Finland on the first position followed by Norwayand Denmark.

10. FM Global Resilience Index 2015 – 119 ( Norwtopped the index.)

11. World Hunger List 2015 - India tops in World HungerList.

12. World Happiness index 2015 – 117 Note: Switzerland topped the index and followed byIceland, Denmark, Norway and Canada.Syria ranked last (158), making it the least happycountry in the world.

Important Committees

1. Kamlesh Chandra Committee - to examine the wagestructure, service conditions of the Gramin Dak Sevaks(GDS) in the Department of Posts (DoP).

2. Adam Lewis Panel - to safeguard integrity inInternational tennis.

3. Shyam Benegal Committee - to look into revamp thefilm certification nuances by Central Board of FilmCensors (CBFC).

4. RM Lodha Committee - on the IPL betting scandal.5. Dr T K Viswanathan Committee - on Bankruptacy

Law Reforms6. A P Shah committee - to look into the dispute

between Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited(ONGC) and Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) onKrishna Godavari (KG) gas fields.

7. L Narasimha Reddy Committee - to look into theimplementation of One Rank One Pension (OROP)scheme for the ex-servicemen.

8. Arvind Subramanian Committee - on Possible Trates under Goods and Services Tax (GST)

9. MB Shah Committee - on Black Money10. RV Easwar Committee - to simplify the provisions o

the Income Tax Act, 1961.11. T Haque committee - NITI Aayog constituted T Haqu

Expert Group on Land Leasing12. R Gandhi committee - recommended conversion o

Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs) with business size of20,000 crore rupees or more into regular banks.

13. Deepak Mohanty committee – to frame action plan ofinancial inclusion.

14. A P Shah committee – A high level committee on thcontroversial issue of payment of Minimum AlternateTax (MAT) by foreign institutional investors.

15. Vijay Kelkar committee: on Revisiting aRevitalizing the Public Private Partnership (PPP)Model of Infrastructure Development.

16. AK Bhargava committee: to look into the issues o"Net neutrality".


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National News

1. Mysuru India’s cleanest city among 73 cities – Msuru has emerged as the cleanest city for the

second year in a row while Chandigarh,Tiruchirapalli , the New Delhi MunicipalCouncil and Visakhapatnam make up the top five.

The other in the dirty list included Dhanbad, Asansol, Patna, Meerut, Raipur, Ghaziabad,Jamshedpur , Kalyan Dombivilli and Itanagar.

Top 5 cleanest cities in India1. Mysuru 2. Chandigarh3. Tiruchirapalli 4 . New Delhi Municipal Council5. Visakhapatnam

2. India sets target to eliminate malaria by 2030 - India has set a target to eliminate malaria disease

by 2030 and will allocate infrastructure and

financial resources towards this task. Launching the National Framework for MalariaElimination (NFME) 2016-2030, which outlinesIndia’s strategy for elimination of the disease by2030.

3. Vizag to be first major port to run on solar energy – Vizag port in Andhra Pradesh is set to run its

entire operations on solar power from nextmonth thus it will be the first to run operations onsolar energy.

VPT, which has recently commissioned 2MW

solar power plants with in investment of ₹60crore, will be adding another 8 MW capacity inabout a month from now.

4. Gujarat to have India’s first disabled -friendlybeach –

Gujarat has launched its latest project on makingbeaches more inclusive for the disabled. TheTithal beach in Valsad district is all set to becomethe first disabled-friendly beach in India.

The Tithal Beach is the most popular tourist spotin Gujarat with an average of thousand visitors ona weekly basis. People with disability weremissing out on the experience, as it is an arduoustask to negotiate a wheelchair on sand.

5. Maharashtra tops Internet readiness index: report Maharashtra has emerged as the top ranking

state in terms of the overall Internet readinessindex, followed by Karnataka, Gujarat,Telengana and Tamil Nadu , according to areport released by the Internet and MobileAssociation of India (IAMAI).

Among the smaller states , Delhi has emergedas the topmost state in terms of Internetreadiness index, followed by Puducherry andGoa.

Among the Union Territories , Chandigarh isranked at the top in terms of Internet readinessindex.

6. India records highest Milk production worldwideIndia has retained its position as the world’s highestmilk producing country.

7. National Deworming Day observed on 10 th February .

8. IRCTC awarded national innovation award -IRCTC’s new version of the Next Generation e -Ticketing System (NGET) was awarded gold nationalaward for e-governance 2015-16 in the category of“Innovative Use of ICT by Central Government PSUs”.

9. National Arogya Fair-2016 held at Dehradun inUttarakhand.

10. Govt approves over Rs 4,087 crore aid to sevendrought-hit states – Government approved centralassistance of over Rs 4,087 crore to seven statesaffected by drought.

The committee approved over Rs 1177 crore forRajasthan, 17,73 crore for Tamil Nadu, Rs 280crore for Andhra Pradesh, 337 crore for

Jharkhand, 332 crore for Assam, 170 crore forHimachal Pradesh and Rs 16 crore for Nagaland.

11. Abu Dhabi Crown Prince arrives in India - CrownPrince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commanderof UAE armed forces Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayad AlNahayan arrived India.

12. India’s first aviation park to open in Gujarat – India is set to open its first ever aviation park in

Gujarat which will include an airstrip, trainingschool, helipad and space for setting up smallmanufacturing units among others.

13. IIT – M tie up with Nokia for rural net connectivity -The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M), hastied up with Nokia for three years to create technologysolutions which, in turn, will help enhance broadbandconnectivity in rural India.

14. National Organic Farming Research Institute to beset up in Sikkim – The Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers

Welfare decided to set up the National OrganicFarming Research Institute in Sikkim.


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The setting up of the institute is of primaryimportance for Sikkim as it was declared as thefirst organic farming State in the country inJanuary 2016 by the Prime Minister NarendraModi.

15. India’s first fully solar-powered educationalinstitute opened in Puducherry .

16. CSIR launched India’s first ayurvedic anti -diabeticdrug – BGR-34

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research(CSIR) launched the country’s first anti -diabeticayurvedic drug for type two Diabetes mellitus.

The drug was launched by Senior PrincipalScientist, CSIR-NBRI, Dr A K S Rawat in at afunction in Kozhikode, Kerala.

The drug BGR-34 is developed jointly by NationalBotanical Research Institute (NBRI) and CentralInstitute for Medicinal and Aromatic Plants(CIMAP), the Lucknow-based research units ofCSIR.

17. India Develops World’s First Zika Vaccine Bharat Biotech, Hyderabad based vaccines and

bio-therapeutic manufacturer, claimed to haveachieved a breakthrough in developing a vaccineto fight the dreaded mosquito-borne Zika virus,which causes serious birth defects in children.

Note: Zika virus is spread by mosquitoes of theAedes genus, which can breed in a pool of water

as small as a bottle cap and usually bite during theday. The mosquito-transmitted infection isrelated to Dengue, Yellow Fever and West Nilevirus.

18. TCS becomes world’s most powerful IT Servicesbrand –

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India’s top ITservices and consulting company said that it hasbeen rated as the world’s most powerful brand inIT Services by Brand Finance, the world’s leadingbrand valuation firm.

TCS emerged as the IT services industry’s mostpowerful brand with a score of 78.3 points – earning it an AA+ rating.

Across all industries, Disney was rated as themost powerful brand and Apple as the mostvaluable brand for 2016 .

19. India becomes world’s largest exporter of Rice - India has overtaken Thailand as the world’s largest

rice exporter in 2015, shipping 10.23 million

tonnes in the year 2015 as compared to Thailand’s 9.8 million tons.

Vietnam was ranked third largest rice exporterwith 6.4 million tonnes.

In terms of imports, China remains the numberone importer of rice.

20. Govt. releases list of 20 smart cities – The Union government announced the names of

the first 20 urban areas that will be developed assmart cities.

Budget of Rs 50,802 crores has been proposed inselected smart cities and towns during the five-year period.

There are five capital cities among the 20 smartcities chosen which are as follows – 1. Bhubaneswar 2. Pune 3. Jaipur4. Surat 5 . Kochi 6. Ahmedaba7. Jabalpur 8. Vishakapatnam 9. Sholap10 . Davangere 11 . Indore12. New Delhi (New Delhi municipal council area)13. Coimbatore 14 . Kakinada15. Belagavi 16. Udaipur17 . Guwahati 18. Chennai19. Ludhiana 20. Bhopal

21. India Celebrates 67th Republic Day - India celebrates its 67th Republic Day with

President Francois Hollande as the chief guest It was the fifth time a French president has been

chief guest, the biggest honour India can bestow ona foreign leader.

Army dogs march after 26 years in R-day. First time an All-women stunt contingent - For the

first time, all women CRPF contingent performedat Republic Day parade. They showed theirmotorcycle stunts.

French army first foreign contingentparticipate at R – day - Soldiers of French Army35th Infantry Regiment , which was Led by Lt CPaul created history by marching down the

Rajpath during the Republic Day parade, becomingthe first foreign military contingent to take part inthe celebrations.

22. India’s fi rst blind friendly train flagged off fromMysuru to Varanasi. Note : The Mysuru-Varanasi Express will be the first in

the country where all reserved coaches haveembedded Braille signage.


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Mysore Railway station is the first blind friendlystation.

23. Prime Minister Narendra Modi becomes the secondmost followed Indian on Twitter . His following of17.4 million stands close to Amitabh Bachan, who has18.9 million followers. Shah Rukh Khan takes the thirdspot with his 17,351,100 followers.

24. Google Launches First Public Wifi Service in India Google, in partnership with Indian Railways,

launched its first free high-speed public WiFiservice in the country at the Mumbai CentralRailway Station.

The service will be made available next inAllahabad, Patna, Jaipur, and Ranchi.

25. Andhra Pradesh tops in implementing MGNREGAfor 2014-15 - Andhra Pradesh has topped in thecountry in implementing the Mahatma Gandhi NationalRural Employment Guarantee Act for the 2014-2015 incategory of transparency and accountability.

26. India’s largest and tallest tricolour hoisted at Ranchi,Jharkhand.

27. In Maharashtra , the first Solar Power operated Mini-Water Supply Plant in the state has beencommissioned in Hingna village of Mouda Taluka inNagpur district.

28. 11th World Hindi Day observed on 10 January 29. Coca Cola to launch dairy drinks in India - Coca-Cola

beverage giant announced that it will launch milk –

based beverages under the brand name “ Vio”. 30. The Government signed an 80million US dollar loanagreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to continue improving infrastructure in Agartala and Aizwal.

31. IRCTC announces new rule for online ticketbooking - Railway Ministry announced a new rule forbooking of online tickets through the IRCTC website,further reducing the maximum number of ticketbookings allowed by an individual user to 6 from thecurrent 10 in a month.

32. Govt bans zero duty import of capital goods forpower plants - The government today banned duty-free import of capital goods for power generation andtransmission projects under the EPCG Scheme.The Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) schemeallows import of capital goods for pre-production,production and post-production at zero Custom duty.

33. Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur is the world’sbest hotel –

According to travel website TripAdvisor, UmaidBhawan Palace in Jodhpur is the world’s best hotelof 2016.Top 5 hotels for 2016 according to TripAdvisormembers:

Umaid Bhawan Palace Jodhpur – Jodhpur, India Shinta Mani Resort – Siem Reap, Cambodia Bellevue Syrene – Sorrento, Italy Hanoi La Siesta Hotel & Spa – Hanoi, Vietnam Achtis Hotel – Afitos, Greece

34. Kerala becomes 1st state to achieve 100% primaryeducation - This has been achieved through theprimary education equivalency drive of the stateliteracy mission — Athulyam .

35. PayPal ties-up with Shopmatic for cross-bordertransactions - Digital payments firm PayPal has tied upwith ecommerce platform solutions providerShopmatic to enable its merchants to expand theirsales globally. This is PayPal’s first tie-up with anIndian partner.

36. Central Institute for Research on Buffaloes (CIRB)Hisar becomes India’s second centre to produce acloned buffalo ‘Cirb Gaurav’.

37. Telangana become the first State in the country tointroduce compulsory gender education at thegraduate level.Note: In this regard, state government has introducedbilingual textbook titled ‘ Towards a World of Equals’

on a pilot basis in engineering colleges. Theseengineering colleges are affiliated to the JawaharlalNehru Technological University (JNTU-Hyderabad).

38. Sikkim becomes India’s first organic state. Sikkimhas become India’s first fully organic state byimplementing organic practices on around 75,000hectares of agricultural land.

39. Govt. of India signs loan agreement with WB forwatershed project The government signed a loan agreement with the

World Bank for the Rs 2,142 Crore Neeranchal

National Watershed Project, which is expected increase the productivity of agriculture in thecountry.

The project to be implemented by the Ministry Rural Development over a six-year period from2016 to 2021 will support the Pradhan MantriKrishi Sinchayi Yojana in hydrology and watermanagement, agricultural production systems,capacity building and monitoring and evaluation.


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The loan credit will support the watershedactivities of the Pradhan Mantri Krishi SinchayeeYojana (PMKSY) in selected sites in 9 states. Thesestates are Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh,Telangana, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Maharashtra,Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Rajasthan.

40. MP state govt. inks MoU with IFC for World’s

largest Solar Plant The Madhya Pradesh government has inked a pact

with International Finance Corporation (IFC),member of the World Bank Group, to set up theworld’s largest solar energy plant with a capa cityof 750 MW.

The Rewa Ultra-Mega Solar Power Project will beset up in Gurh tehsil of Rewa district over an areaof 1,500 hectares at an estimated cost of Rs 4,500crore.

41. BHEL commissioned the second 660 MW supercritical unit of Lalitpur Super Thermal PowerProject (STPP) in Uttar Pradesh.Note : Last month, BHEL has successfullycommissioned the first unit of 3×660 MW PrayagrajSuper Thermal Power Project (STPP) at Bara inAllahabad district of Uttar Pradesh.

42. World Bank to fund a zoo in Andhra Pradesh - In Andhra Pradesh for the first time World Bank

will be funding a zoo. Hudhud-ravaged Indira Gandhi Zoological Park in

Visakhapatnam will be funded seven milliondollars for restoration and development as aworld-class international ecological park by theWorld Bank.

43. Somnath Temple to invest in Gold MonetisationScheme - Somnath Temple Trust is all set to becomefirst temple from Gujarat to deposit its idle gold in theGold Monetization Scheme.

44. India’s first radio taxi service for the Lesbian GayBisexual Transgender (LGBT) community, WingsRainbow, was flagged off in Mumbai.

45. Mumbai, Delhi figure in world’s top -30 ‘supercities’ – Two Indian cities — Delhi and Mumbai — have

made it to a top- 30 list of the world’s mostpowerful, productive and connected cities.

India’s financial capital Mumbai has been ranked22n d while the national capital Delhi is placed at24th .

The list is topped by Tokyo , which along withNew York, London and Paris , make the top four

‘super cities’ These four were the destination ofover 50 per cent of all foreign capital invested inthe Global Top 30 cities.

46. Arunima Sinha , the amputee mountaineer who set arecord by climbing the Mount Everest , has addanother feather in her cap by conquering Mount Aconcagua in Argentina.

47. Friendship bus service between India-Nepalresumes - A friendship bus service between India andNepal was flagged off via Champawat district inUttarakhand after a gap of 27 years.

48. Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs to merge withMEA – Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the long-awaited merger of the Ministry of Overseas IndianAffairs (MOIA) with the Ministry of External Affair(MEA).

49. Ministry of Railways flagged off first double deckerGoa-Mumbai trainRailways Minister Suresh Prabhu flagged off the firstGoa to Mumbai double-decker Shatabdi train throughvideo conference from Panaji, Goa.The fully air-conditioned double-decker train is thefirst-of-its-kind in India.

50. First India International Science Festival began IIT-Delhi

51. Union Government approved setting up of 6 newIITsThe Union Cabinet approved setting up of six newIndian Institutes of Technology (IITs) in AndhPradesh, Chhatisgarh, Goa, Jammu, Kerala andKarnataka.

52. Union Finance Ministry launched E-Sahyog PilotProject to facilitate TaxpayersThe Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley launched thee-Sahyog pilot project of the Income-Tax Departmentto facilitate taxpayers by reducing their need tophysically appear before tax authorities.

53. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has laid t

foundation stone of fourth terminal of country’slargest container port – Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trus(JNPT) in Mumbai .

54. The World Bank approved a 1.5 billion US dollaloan for the ambitious Clean India Campaign (SwachhBharat Mission).The loan was granted to support the government in itsefforts to ensure all citizens in rural areas have accessto improved sanitation and end the practice of opendefecation by 2019.


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55. Hetero became first Indian company to receiveDGCI’s approval for hepatitis C drug Hyderabad-based Hetero Drugs announced that itreceived the approval of Drug Controller General ofIndia (DCGI) to launch fixed-dose combination therapyLedipasvir-Sofosbuvir. The product will be availableunder the brand name Ledisof in India.

With this approval, Hetero became the firstcompany in the country to get approval from DGCIto launch hepatitis C medicines.

56. Asia’s biggest telescope Multi-Application SolarTelescope (MAST) inaugurated at the Udaipur SolarObservatory in Rajasthan.

57. Union Cabinet gives nod to 3 new AIIMS -3 AIIMS will be established at Nagpur (MaharashtraManglagiri (Andhra Pradesh) and Kalyani in WBengal.

International News -

1. Sindh becomes first Pakistan province to adoptHindu Marriage Bill Pakistan’s Sindh Assembly passed the Hindu

Marriage Bill making the province the first in thecountry to allow the minority community toregister their marriages, amid calls from a leadingHindu group to remove a controversial clause inthe landmark bill.

The bill fixes the minimum age of marriage at 18.2. World’s largest concentrated solar plant opened

in Morocco - The Noor Ouarzazate Solar Complex , world’s

largest solar power plant opened in the Souss-Massa-Drâa area in Morocco .

The plant holds the capacity to produce enoughenergy to power over one million homes by 2018and reduce carbon emissions by an estimated760000 tons per year.

3. France became first country in the world to bansupermarket food waste

The French Senate unanimously passed a law toban large food stores from throwing away foodthat is approaching its expiration date.

The National Assembly, France’s otherlegislative chamber, had unanimously voted onthe same measures in December 2015.

4. India become the second largest smartphonemarket - India has surpassed the US to become the

largest smartphone market in the world afterChina, by number of units sold, as the availabilityof 4G handsets fueled demand, a new report hasrevealed.

5. India becomes Associate Member of EMBO India officially became the Associate Member

State of European Molecular Biology Organisation(EMBO).

India is second country outside the Europeanregion to be an Associate Member State of EMBO.First one being Singapore which had signed suchagreement with European Molecular BiologyConference (EMBC) in 2015.

Note: EMBO is a professional organization of life

scientists in Europe, which was founded in1964 and its head office located at Heidelberg,

Germany. It promotes research in life science andenables international exchange of scientificinformation between scientists.

6. World Cancer Day observed on 4 th February 2016.The day was observed with year’s theme – We can. can.

7. WHO declares Zika virus outbreak asInternational Emergency The World Health Organisation (WHO) has

declared an international public health

emergency over the explosive spread of themosquito-borne Zika virus.

WHO has predicted that around four millionpeople may be infected with Zika virus in theAmericas (South and North America).

Zika virus is a mosquito-borne virus transmittedby Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.

It is close cousin of other other vector-bornediseases like Dengue, Chikungunya and YellowFever transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes .


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The virus was first identified in 1947 in Uganda and its name has been derived from Zika Forest.

8. Vietnam inaugurated the world’s longest three -rope cable car system in Lao Cai province . With atotal length of 6,292.5 metres, the system wasrecognized by the Guinness World Records as theworld’s longest three -rope cable car route, and also

the world’s biggest height gap between its departureand arrival stations of 1,410 metres.

9. Vietnam lifted ban on import of Indian groundnut.10. Priyanka Chopra to present at the Oscars -

Bolywood actress Priyanka Chopra is all set topresent at the upcoming 88th Academy Awards. Priyanka becomes the sole representative of India atthis year’s Oscar ceremony. The country’s officialentry in the best foreign film category for the Oscars2016, ‘Court’ could not make it to the final five.

11. Alphabet becomes The Most Valuable PublicCompany in the World – Google’s parent company Alphabet surpassed

Apple to become the most valuable U.S. tradedcompany in the world.

Alphabet became the most valuable publicly-traded company in the world — coming in at amarket cap $558 billion after jumping about 8%after the company reported its fourth-quarterearnings, and passing Apple, which sits at amarket cap of $535 billion .

12. Denmark is the world’s least corrupt country.Denmark has emerged as the least corrupt country inthe world for a fourth consecutive year, according tothe non-governmental organisation TransparencyInternational. Finland and Sweden ranked second and third

respectively on the 2015 CorruptionPerceptions Index, while North Korea andSomalia were named the most corrupt out of 196nations.

India rank at 76th spot on the list.

13. Bill Gates is the richest person on earth - Accordingto new Wealth- X data on the world’s 50 richest people– Bill Gates is the richest person in the world with anet worth of $87.4 billion.The 5 Richest People in the World1. Bill Gates 2. Amancio Ortega 3. WarrenBuffett 4 . Jeff Bezos 5. David Koch

14. Germany the ‘best country in the world’ . Germanyis the best country in the world, according to new

analysis unveiled at the World Economic Forum inDavos. The first-ever Best Countries report awarded

Germany the top spot “in part because of strong economy, world influence and its focus onkey global issues, such as the migrant crisis andeurozone unity.

The top 5 countries in the world Germany Canada United Kingdom United States Sweden Australia

Best place to start a career China Germany U.S.

Best place to start a business Thailand Malaysia Philippines

Best place to invest in India Singapore Vietnam

15. Denmark named world’s best country for womenDenmark is the best country in the world for womento live in, according to a survey conducted byAmerican media company US News and WorldReport.List of Top 5 countries - Denmark, Sweden, Canadthe Netherlands and Australia

16. PM Modi Second most popular world leader on FB- Prime Minister Narendra Modi has become thesecond most popular leader on the social networkingwebsite Facebook. PM Narendra Modi has over 31million fans on his personal Narendra Modi page.Note : US President Barack Obama is the mostpopular leader in the world . The US President hover 46 million likes on his Facebook page.

17. World’s largest blue star sapphire discovered in SriLanka.

18. China’s country code domain “.cn” becomes world’

largest - China’s country code domain ‘.cn’ has become the world’s most commonly used in theinternet with 16.36 million users, surpassingGermany’s ‘.de’ domain.

19. Nepal elected as UNICEF’s executive board termmember for 2016-2018 - Nepal has been elected tthe UNICEF Executive Board, representing the groupof Asia-Pacific countries for the term 2016-2018.Nepal’s Ambassador and Permanent Representativeto the UN Durga Prasad Bhattarai, has also beenunanimously elected as Vice-President to the Bureau


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of the Executive Board, according to Nepal’sPermanent Mission to the UN in New York.

20. 2016 to be China – India Tourism Year: China - TheChina National Tourism Administration (CNTA) hasannounced 2016 as the ‘China – India Tourism Year’in India.

21. Indra Nooyi becomes Yale’s biggest alumni donor

- Indra Nooyi, the Indian-born PepsiCo Chairperson &CEO, has become the Yale School of Management’sbiggest alumni donor with a ‘landmark gift’ to endowthe deanship at her alma mater.

22. UN launched 2016 International Year of PulsesUnder the slogan ‘nutritious seeds for a sustainablefuture,’ the United Nations, led by its Food andAgriculture Organization (FAO), launched the 2016International Year of Pulses. The aim is to raise awareness about the proteinpower and health benefits of all kinds of dried beansand peas, boost their production and trade, and

encourage new and smarter uses throughout the foodchain.

23. Philippines became first Asian country to approveworld’s first -ever dengue vaccinePhilippines became the first Asian country to approvethe sale of the world’s first -ever dengue vaccine,Dengvaxia .The Philippines’ Food and Drug Administrationapproved the dengue vaccine for the prevention ofdisease caused by all four dengue types in individualsfrom 9 to 45 years old living in endemic areas.Note:

(i) Earlier Dengvaxia, manufactured by Frenchpharmaceutical giant Sanofi, secured its firstregulatory approval in Mexico. (ii) Sanofi is a French multinational pharmaceuticalcompany headquartered in Paris, France.

24. Zimbabwe adopt Chinese Yuan as legal currencyafter debt cancellationZimbabwe has announced that it will adopt theChinese currency as legal tender. The announcementcame after China cancelled $40-million (U.S.) inZimbabwean debt earlier this week.

25. List of Fortune 500 Indian companies 2015announced Indian Oil Corporation has retained its position

on the top spot for the sixth consecutive yearwhich is followed by Reliance Industries in the listof Fortune 500 Indian companies 2015.

IOC tops the chart with an annual revenue of Rs4,51,911 crore, while Mukesh Ambani- led RIL’sfull-year revenue is Rs 3,82,565 crore.

List of Top 5 Indian companies – (i) IOC (ii) Reliance Industries Ltd. (iii) Tata Motors (iv) SBI

(v) Bharat Petroleum

26. PM Narendra Modi inaugurates new building of Afghanistan Parliament in Kabul

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated thenew building of Afghanistan Parliament in thecapital city Kabul built by India.

It was inaugurated during Narendra Modi’s firstofficial visit to Afghanistan after becoming PrimeMinister.

He also named one block of Parliament as AtalBlock after former Prime Minister Atal BihariVajpayee.

Prime Minister also handed over 4 Mi-25 attackhelicopters to Afghanistan Air Force symbolisinga shift in India’s position on supplying ‘offensive’equipment.

27. India to build Naval Base on Seychelles IslandSeychelles government allowed India to build its firstNaval Base on the Assumption Island in the Indi

Ocean region (IOR) as a joint project between bothcountries.Note: India’s first Naval Base project has acquiredsignificance following China acquiring its first Africannaval base in Djibouti (near Horn of Africa) inNovember 2014.

28. TIME Magazine named German Chancellor Merkelas 2015 ‘Person of the Year’ German Chancellor Angela Merkel was named as2015 Person of the Year by Time Magazine. Themagazine cited her role in Europe’s crisis overmigration and Greek debt.

29. World Trade Organisation (WTO) approved Afghanistan’s membership terms to join as 164thmember

30. 1st December: World AIDS Day The theme for year 2015 is ‘ Getting to zero, End AIDS by 2030‘.

31. Google officially becomes Alphabet Inc.Internet Search engine giant Google has officially hasconverted into new parent company Alphabet Inc.

32. Mexico Government approves world’s 1st Denguefever vaccine named Dengvaxia Note: Dengvaxia has been manufactured by Frenchpharmaceutical manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur.

33. Myanmar launched its first UNESCO BiosphReserve Inle Lake

34. Myanmar inaugurated Yangon Stock Exchange35. Myanmar inaugurated a new stock exchange, nam

Yangon Stock Exchange (YSX), with plans for companies to start trading in March 2016.

36. UNESCO designated Varanasi and Jaipur asmembers of Creative Cities Network Varanasi and Jaipur made it to the network in thecategories, City of Music and City of Crafts and FolkArt respectively.


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37. 10 November: World Science Day for Peace andDevelopment The theme for 2015 is Science for a SustainableFuture.

38. Forbes list of World's Most Powerful People 2015released1. Russian President Vladimir Putin2. German Chancellor Angela Merkel3. US President Barack Obama9. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi

39. Punjabi became third most common language, afterEnglish and French in Parliament of Canada

40. Nepal signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)with China in order to ease fuel crisis in the countryby importing all kinds of fuel.

41. Luxembourg became the 10th country to ratifyArticles of Agreement (AoA) of Asian InfrastructureInvestment Bank

42. PM Narendra Modi is world's 13th most influential

person: BloombergNote: The list of 50 most influential people is toppedby Federal Reserve chairperson Janet Yellen ,followed by Chinese President Xi Jinping on thesecond position with Apple CEO Tim Cookoccupying the third slot.

43. Germany offers India 2 billion euros for solar energyprojects and clean energy corridor.

44. Cow becomes national animal of Nepal Theme 2015 - Social Protection and Agriculture’.

45. 11 October : International Day of Girl Child2015 theme: ‘The Power of the Adolescent GirlVision for 2030’.

46. World Egg Day - 9 October 2015 47. September 21: International Day of Peace

The theme for the year 2015 is Partnerships foPeace- Dignity for All.

48. India to be world’s most populous country by2022: UN: According to the report, India will surpassChina to become the most populous nation in theworld by 2022.

49. World’s first malaria vaccination approved: shot, called RTS,S or Mosquirix , would be the firlicensed human vaccine against a parasitic diseaseand could help prevent millions of cases of malaria incountries that use it. The vaccine was developed byBritish drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) ipartnership with the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative.

50. Bangladesh b ecame first country to receive fundsfrom UN for Solar Home Systems.

News around the States

Andhra Pradesh

1. AP Govt. launched Giriputrika Kalyana PathakamScheme for tribal people - The Andhra PradeshGovernment launched Giriputrika Kalyana PathakamScheme to support the tribal women in their quest forlivelihood. It is designed to provide a onetime financialassistance of 50000 rupees to each tribal woman whogets married.

2. AP Govt. signed MoU with Microsoft India ontechnology initiatives Government of Andhra Pradesh signed a

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with

Microsoft India on a range of technology initiatives. The purpose of the MoU is to improve use ofinformation and communication technologies,drive digital inclusion and provide IT-baseddecentralised citizen services.

3. Country’s first underwater tunnel to be come u p in Andhra Pradesh

India’s first underwater tunnel to be come up inAndhra Pradesh.

The proposed riverfront capital city of AndhraPradesh is all set to get an underwater tunnel inriver Krishna.

As per the detailed master plan for the upcomingcapital Amaravati, the transparent road tunnel will

connect the administrative capital withVijayawada.4. Four new Greenfield Airports to come up in Andhra

Pradesh & Gujarat -The Centre has given its clearance for four greenfieldairports — three in Andhra Pradesh and aninternational airport at Dholera in Gujarat . Three of the total four greenfield airports will be

set up in Andhra Pradesh. Bhogapuram, a townaround 40 kilometre from Andhra Pradesh’scapital Visakhapatnam, will host one such airport.

Two other airports will come up in Kurnool and

Nellore districts in Andhra Pradesh.5. Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd , BHEL hascommissioned a 520-MW coal-based thermal powerunit in Andhra Pradesh.

6. Andhra Pradesh became the first state of India tojoin the Union Governmen t’s Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY) .The scheme aims at reviving debt-stressed powerdistribution companies.Other states to join UDAY scheme are Jharkhand(second state) and Rajasthan (third state).


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7. Andhra Pradesh launches e-Pragati scheme to bring allgovernment services under one roof .

Arunachal Pradesh1. President rule imposed in Arunachal Pradesh.

Assam – 1. PM inaugurates petrochemical plant in Dibrugarh –

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated theBrahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Limited (BCPL)at Lepetkata, Assam.

It is the first ever petro-chemical plant located inthe entire North-Eastern region of Indian. It hasbeen built at cost of 10000-crore rupees and shallbe producing raw material for manufacturingplastic

Bihar – 1. Bihar Cabinet approved 35 % reservation for

women in govt. jobs - The Bihar Cabinet formallyapproved 35 percent reservation for women in all

government jobs in the state. The 35 percentreservation for women will be applicable to in allgovernment jobs including reserved and unreservedcategory.

2. Toilets made mandatory to contest Panchayat polls inBihar.

Himachal Pradesh –

1. The Nati folk dance of Kullu district of HimachalPradesh listed in the Guinness Book of World Recordsas the largest folk dance in the world.

2. Himachal Pradesh has become the first state in thecountry to start Rotavirus vaccination project underthe Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP).

Haryana –

1. 30th Surajkund International Crafts Mela started atFaridabad. This year Telangana will be the ThemeState, which is showcasing its unique culture and richheritage and the two focus countries are China andJapan.

2. Haryana bagged Skoch Order-of-Merit nationalaward for implementation of six e-Governance and ITinitiatives in the state.

Jammu & Kashmir – Governor’s Rule imposed in Jammu and

Kashmir - Narinder Nath Vohra is the currentgovernor of the Indian state of Jammu andKashmir.

Jharkhand – 1. Jharkhand first state to sign up for UDAY reforms.2. Jharkhand Government inaugurated land bank web

portal . Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Dainaugurated the state’s land bank web portal,jharbhoom.nic.in, that will help investors know land-related information.

Kerala – 1. Perumanna Grama Panchayat in Kozhikode district

of Kerala has become the first Panchayat in the State,to declare its own water policy.

2. Kerala Govt declares state as "Digital State" - KerGovernment has declared state totally digital, thusbecoming first state in the country to achieve it.

3. Kerala Government inaugurated a 12 MW solar powerproject at Cochin International Airport . Note: With this project, Cochin airport became thefirst airport in India to run on solar power . Thisproject is estimated to generate approximately 50000units of electricity daily. Through this project, the

airport will technically become grid power neutral.

Madhya Pradesh – 1. 1st Mega Food Park (MFP) of Madhya Pradesh

inaugurated at Panwa village in Kasarwad tehsil ofKhargone district.

2. Madhya Pradesh Government declared 33 percent quota for women in government jobs

3. Madhya Pradesh Government launches M-Shiksha-Mitra mobile app for teachers

4. Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL)commissioned a 500 MW coal-based power plant unit

at Vindhyachal Super Thermal Power Station (STPS) inVindhyanagar, Singrauli district of Madhya Pradesh.5. Shree Singaji Thermal Power Plant (600 MW) launched

in Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh.

Odisha – 1. Now free education to SC/ST students under

“ Anwesha ” - The state government of Odisha haslaunched a scheme named “ Anwesha ” which aims provide free education to scheduled caste andscheduled tribe students from remote areas in urbanarea public schools. As per the scheme, 5 thousand children would beenrolled in class-I every year. At present around 3.5lakh SC and ST students are availing the residentialfacility in the state.

2. Tata Steel has commissioned the first phase of iintegrated steel plant at Kalinganagar steel plant inJajpur district of Odisha


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Rajasthan – 1. Rajasthan has become the first state in the country

to submit State Annual Action Plan under Atal Missionfor Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation(AMRUT).

Tamil Nadu –

1. Tamil Nadu’s first Global Investors Summit (TNGIM2015) held in Chennai.

2. World Bank offers $400 million loan to the Tamil Nadugovernment for its Sustainable Urban DevelopmentProject.

Telangana

1. Kakatiya thermal plant commissioned inTelangana - The 600-MW Kakatiya thermal power plant

commissioned at Bhoopalapally in Warangal

district of the State. This is the first major power plant to becommissioned after the formation of the new Stateof Telangana in June 2014.

2. e-Vahan Bima Scheme launched by Telangana StateGovt.

Government of Telangana launched e-Vahan BimaScheme to issue motor insurance policy in digitalform in the state.

With the launch of this scheme, Telangana becamethe first state in the country to legally accept motorvehicle insurance policy in digital form.

Uttar Pradesh – 1. Union Government launched Ganga Gram at Village

Puth in Hapur district of Uttar Pradesh (UP). Underthe scheme, 1600 villages of UP situated along thebanks of river Ganga will be developed.

2. 3. BHEL commissions Prayagraj power project unit in

Uttar Pradesh State-run Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL)

has commissioned a 660 MW unit of PrayagrajSuper Thermal Power Project at Bara town inAllahabad district of Uttar Pradesh.

This is the first supercritical thermal unit to becommissioned in the state to achieve capacityaddition on attaining full load.

It is Greenfield thermal power project is owned

by Prayagraj Power Generation Company Limited(PPGCL), a subsidiary company of JaiprakashPower Ventures Limited.

4. UP launches helpline number for journalists withnumber 1880.

Important Agreements/ MoU Signed/ Deals: India & Abroad

1. India seeks investment from UAE in energy sectorUAE’s Adnoc to store crude oil in India Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) has

agreed to store crude oil in India’s maidenstrategic storage and give two-thirds of the oil to itfor free.

India is building underground storages inVisakhapatnam and Mangalore and Padur inKarnataka to store about 5.33 million tonnes ofcrude oil to guard against global price shocks andsupply disruptions.

2. India & France ink 14 pacts - India and France have singed 14 pacts for

enhancing the bilateral cooperation variousfields including defence, space, railways,education etc.

Some important signed Agreements are Defence : MoU on purchase of 36 Rafale Aircrafts. Space : Implementation Arrangement between

ISRO and CNES on hosting Argos-4 Payloadonboard Oceansat-3 satellite of India.

Railways : Joint Venture Shareholding Agreementbetween Indian Railways and Alstom forproduction of 800 electric locomotives inMadhepura plant in Bihar.

Education: MoU between IIT Mumbai and ThaleSystemes Aeroportes for Industry Sponsored Ph.D(Doctorate) Fellowship.

Airbus Group & Mahindra to manufacturehelicopters - As part of ‘Make in India’ initiativean agreement was signed between Airbus Groupand Mahindra to manufacture helicopters.

To develop 3 smart cities of India this includesChandigarh, Nagpur and Puducherry.

3. India and Armenia signed Protocol amendi ng theIndia-Armenia Double Taxation Avoidance Conventionin New Delhi.

4. Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) has signed cyber security agreement with itscounterparts in Malaysia, Singapore and Japan .

5. India to provide 300 MW to Nepal in 18 months -India agreed to supply 300 MW of electricity to energy-


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starved Nepal in the next one-and- a-half year as thetwo sides decided to expedite construction of cross-border transmission lines and boost bilateralcooperation including in power trade.

6. India exported six metro train coaches to Australia - According to the Union Ministry of Shipping, India hasexported six metro coaches to Australia from Mumbai

port. The shipment was made as part of a deal withAustralian government to export 450 made-in-Indiacoaches in two and a half year period.

7. India and Afghanistan have signed an agreement forvisa-free travel for diplomatic passport holders ofthe two countries.

8. India and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) entered into a partnership toexplore the environment of Ladakh under NASA’sSpaceward Bound programme .Under the partnership, a team of scientists from NASA,the Mars society Australia and the Birbal SahniInstitute of Palaeobotany, Lucknow will undertake anexpedition to Ladakh in August 2016.

9. India and Japan inked three agreements forcooperation in Railway Sector Note:(i) India and Japan signed a Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU) on cooperation and assistance inthe Mumbai – Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Project(Bullet Train project).(ii) Both the countries also entered into twocomprehensive technological cooperation agreementsfor modernization and upgradation of Indian Railways.

10. India, France launched International Solar Alliance. will function from the National Institute of SolarEnergy in India, Gurgaon.

Obituaries / Person Died

National

1. Aurobindo Mukherjee - Veteran film director2. Nida Fazli - Noted Urdu Poet and well known

Bollywood lyricist 3. Sudhir Tailang - Noted Political cartoonist4. S S Tarapore - Former deputy governor of the Reserve

Bank of India (RBI) and a noted economist5. Intizar Hussain - Veteran Urdu writer, novelist,

columnist and poet6. Balram Jhakar Yadav - Former Lok Sabha speaker7. O N V Kurup - Malayalam’s renowned poet &

Jnanpith-winner

gk digest lic aao exam 2016 exam

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