CURRENT AFFAIRS-JULY 2015(Capsule)
CURRENT
AFFAIRS-JULY 2015
- Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of
State (Independent Charge) for Commerce and Industry visited Malaysia.
- Ac per recommendations of 13th
Finance Commission, Only 9 of 29 Indian States were found eligible for
release of Performance Grants of Urban Local Bodies during 2014-15. These
nine states (Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh,
Telangana, Kerala, Haryana, Chattisgarh and Mizoram) were released
Performance Grant of Rs.457.91 crores.
- Reputation Institute's 2015
Country RepTrak (annual survey of reputations of 55 countries) -
- India’s reputation (33rd)
globally has improved, while that of its China (46th ) and Pakistan
(53rd) has reduced.
- As per the report, Canada is
most reputable nation in the world.
- Software Firm Microsoft will in
develop Smart MIDC (industrial colony) and support Digital Village in
Maharashtra.
- World Bank Report - The
State of Social Safety Nets 2015 -
- Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
Employment Gurantee Act (MGNREGA) is world’s largest public works
programme with 18.2 Crore beneficiaries
- Mid-day meal is largest school
feeding programme with around 10.5 Crore beneficiaries.
- Janani Suraksha Yojna is
largest social security programme with conditional cash transfers as its
has 7.8 Crore beneficiaries.
- Indira Gandhi National Old Age
Pension Scheme is the second-largest unconditional cash transfer social
security progamme in the world.
- 1 Jul - Canada Day. It marks
enactment of British North America Act, 1867 (Constitution Act) on July 1,
1867 that united three colonies into a single country called Canada within
the British Empire.
- 1 Jul - National Chartered
Accountants day and marks formation of Institute of Chartered Accountants
of India on July 1, 1946.
- 1 Jul - National Doctors' Day.
It marks the birth annversary of legendary physician and the second Chief
Minister of West Bengal, Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy.
- 10 July - National Day of
Bahamas. It marks Independence from the United Kingdom in 1973.
- 10-year old Shubham Jaglan won
IJGA World Stars of Junior Golf event in Las Vegas (USA).
- 11 July - National Day of
Mongolia. Also called Naadam Holiday, it marks establishment of
independence from China and Russia in 1921.
- 11 July - World Population Day.
Indian Population stood at over 127 Crores (Approx 17.3 % of World's
Population). Theme for 2015 isVulnerable Populations in Emergencies.
- 12 July - National Day of Sao
Tome and Principe (island nation in Gulf of Guinea). It marks Independence
from Portugal in 1975.
- 12 July - National Day of
Kiribati (island nation in the central Pacific Ocean). It marks
Independence from UK in 1979.
- 13 July - National Day of
Montenegro. It marks recognition as independent state at Congress of
Berlin in 1878.
- 14 July - National Day of
France (Also called Bastille Day). It marks beginning of French Revolution
with the Storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789.
- 14 July - Republic day of Iraq.
- 15 July, 2015 - First UN World
Youth Skills Day (WYSD) observed globally with theme Youth skills
for work and life in the post-2015 agenda.
- In India, Ministry of Skill
Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) launched SKILL INDIA Campaign,
Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikash Yojana (PMKVY), National Skill Development
Mission and National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
2015. A Model Skill Loan Scheme was also launched where loans
from 5000 rupees to 1.5 lakh rupees will be available to more than 34
lakh youth that seeks to attend skill development programmes in the next
five years.
- 16 July - Foundation day of
ICAR (Indian Council of Agricultural Research). It marks establishment of
ICAR on 16 July, 1929.
- 20 July - Independence day of
Colombia. It marks Declaration of independence from Spain in 1810.
- 21 July - National day of
Belgium. It marks Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld taking oath as first
king of Belgium in 1831.
- 22 July - Adoption day of
Indian Flag.
- 23 July - Birt Anniversary of
Freedom Fighters Chandra Shekhar Azad and lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak.
- 23 July - Indian National
Broadcasting Day. On this day in 1927, the Indian Broadcasting Company
started radio broadcasting from Bombay station.
- 23 July - National Day of
Egypt. It marks the Revolution Day in 1952.
- 26 July - Independence day of
Maldives. It marks gaining total independence from British on 26 July
1965.
- 26 July - Kargil Vijay Diwas.
It marks success of Operation Vijay on 26 July 1999. India successfully
took command of the high outposts during the Kargil war.
- 26 July - National Day of
Liberia. It marks independence from United States in 1847.
- 28 July - National Day of Peru.
It marks independence from Spain in 1821.
- 28 July - World Hepatitis Day.
Theme for 2015 is ‘Prevent hepatitis. Act now'.
- 29 July - World Tiger Day.
Tiger population in India is around 2,226 (more than 70 % of world's tiger
population).
- 2nd Sohra Marathon held in
Meghalaya. It is named after Cherrapunji’s historical name Sohra.
- 3 July - Independence Day of
Belarus.
- 30 July - World Day Against
Trafficking in Persons.
- 31 July - Martyrdom day of
Renowned Freedom Fighter Udham Singh.
- 4 July - Independence Day of
USA. It marks adoption of Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 from
British Empire.
- 4 July - Independence Day of
Rwanda. It marks Independence from Belgium in 1962.
- 5 July - Independence Day of
Algeria. It Marks Independence from France in 1962.
- 5 July - Independence Day of
Cape Verde. It Marks Independence from Portugal in 1975.
- 5 July - Independence Day of
Venezuela. It Marks Declaration of independence from Spain in 1811.
- 5th National Inter State Senior
Athletics Championships (Chennai).
- Kerala topped the
table with combined team score (both male and female) of 177.5
points among the 20 states participated. Tamil Nadu and Haryana were
second and third respectively.
- 6 July - Birth Anniversary of
politician and Freedom fighter Shyama Prasad Mukherjee.
- 6 July - Independence Day of Comoros.
It Marks Independence from France in 1975.
- 6 July - Independence Day of
Malawi. It Marks Independence from United Kingdom in 1964.
- 63rd National Senior Squash
Championships held in Kerala. Saurav Ghosal won in men's and Joshna
Chinappa won in women's Category.
- 7th BRICS Summit and SCO Meet
2015 (UFA(Russia)) -
- Theme for BRICS 7th Summit
- BRICS Partnership – a Powerful Factor of Global Development.
- Pakistan and India become
permanent members of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. SCO
Now has China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan,
Pakistan and India as its full members.
- India will be hosting the 8th
BRICS summit in 2016.
- Pakistan PM Formally invited
Indian PM Narendra Modi to attend SAARC 2016 Summit in Pakistan.
- Indian PM Narendra Modi
proposes ‘Das Kadam as Ten Steps for Future for BRICS nations
- Trade fair
- Railway Research Centre
- Cooperation among supreme
audit institutions
- Digital Initiative
- Agricultural Research Centre
- State/Local Government's
Forum
- Cooperation amongst cities in
field of Urbanisation
- BRICS Sports Council
- Annual Sports Meet
- BRICS film festival
- Green Signals: Ecology, Growth,
and Democracy in India has
been written by Jairam Ramesh.
- India Central Asia Relations:
The Economic Dimension has
been written by Amiya Chandra.
- Journey of a Curious Mind has been written by Jagannath Patnaik.
- Lord Jagannath has been authored by Prasnna Kumar Patsani.
- Government approved Scheme for Promotion of
National Agricultural Market through Agri-Tech Infrastructure Fund
(ATIF) under Department of Agriculture & Cooperation (DAC) .
It will be set up through Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium
(SFAC). Amount of Rs. 200 crore has been
earmarked for this scheme from 2015-16 to 2017-18.
- A K Bhargava committee report
on Net Neutrality has been submitted. It recommended adherence of core
principles of Net Neutrality, but also suggested few exceptions in the
interests of national security and businesses.
- Traffic management practices
may be allowed without any Improper (Paid or otherwise) Prioritization.
- India specific Net Neutrality
approach should be made by considering best international practices.
- Main goal of public policy in
context of Net Neutrality is achievement of developmental aims of the
country by facilitating Affordable Broadband access for all Indians.
- User rights on Internet need
to be ensured so that Telecom or Internet Service Providers do not
restrict the ability of the user to engage in any lawful activity.
- A Philippine company developed
a lamp named SALt (Sustainable Alternative Lighting) that runs on a
glass of water and two tablespoons of salt. This cost effective lamp burns
for eight hours at a time to lighten a room and can charge a smart-phone
through a USB cable.
- A Terrorist attack claiming 7
lives occured in Dinanagar town in Gurdaspur district of Punjab.
- A new species of cyprinid fish
named as Puntius Dolichopterus has been discovered in
Alappuzha district’s Kayamkulam city of Kerala.
- A new species of tiny butterfly
called Banded Tit discovered in Changlang district in Arunachal Pradesh.
- Agriculture Minister Radha
Mohan Singh launched Soil Health Card portal, Fertiliser Quality Control
System (FQCS) portal and Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) web Portals.
- Soil Health Card : For
registration of soil samples, recording test results of soil samples and
generation of Soil Health Card (SHC) along with fertilizer
recommendations.
- Fertilizer Quality Control
System Portal (FQCS) : This portal is developed for processing of
sample collection, testing and generation of analysis reports. The system
will automate most of manual activities and help in online tracking the
status of the sample.
- Participatory Guarantee System
- India Portal : This portal is a process of certifying organic
products which ensures agriculture production process in accordance with
the standards laid down for organic products and that desired quality has
been maintained.
- Ajay Mathur has been appointed
as director general of TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute) replacing
R K Pachauri.
- Alok Bhatnagar has been
appointed as new Naval Officer-in-charge of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry.
- Amelie Mauresmo (France), the
two-time Grand Slam winner has been inducted into International Tennis
Hall of Fame.
- Anand Krishnamurthy is
appointed as MD and CEO of Catholic Syrian Bank (CSB).
- Ananth Narayanan is appointed
as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Myntra (Flipkart-owned fashion store).
- Annual meeting of World
Heritage Committee held in Bonn (Germany). United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and UN Institute for
Training and Research (UNITAR) signed an agreement to protect cultural
heritage sites with latest geo-spatial technologies on this occasion.
- Anup K Pujari has been
appointed as secretary in Ministry of Micro. Small & Medium Enterprises.
- Ashish Bahuguna has been
appointed as Chairman of food safety regulator Food Safety and Standards
Authority of India (FSSAI), replacing K Chandramouli.
- Asia Region Commonwealth Youth
Ministers Meeting (AsR-CYMM) was held in New Delhi. Meeting was officially
opened by Sarbananda Sonowal, Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports of
India. All eight member countries from Commonwealth Asia region attended
the AsR-CYMM Meet.
- Automobile manufacturer Renault
India roped in actor Ranbir Kapoor as its brand ambassador.
- Axis Bank signed a USD
200-million loan agreement of seven-years with Asian Development Bank to
boost Axis Bank's agriculture sector lending activities.
- BHEL (Bharat Heavy Electricals
Limited) commissioned Sudan's largest power plant (4 units of 125 MW
each). The project uses crude oil from South Sudan as fuel and canal from
White Nile River is constructed to supply water. The project is funded by
the India's Credit of USD 350 million to Sudan.
- BSNL launched a pre-paid card
linked mobile wallet service that allows customers to transfer cash, pay
for services as well as withdraw cash of up to Rs 1 lakh.
- Balvender Kumar us appointed as
Secretary in Ministry of Mines.
- Beijing will host 2022 Winter
Olympics and Paralympics. The decision has been made at the 128th
International Olympics Commitee session in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia).
- Bharat Heavy Electronics
Limited (BHEL) signed three strategic agreements with Kazakhstan companies
to deepen its roots in Central Asia.
- MOU signed with JSU (JSU is
national power utility of Kazakhstan with a major share in Kazakh power
sector)
- MOU signed with KUS in energy
sector for design and construction of power plants.
- MOU signed with Kaznex Invest
for co-operation in executing projects in Kazakhstan.
- Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
is world’s wealthiest private foundation establlished by living ultra high
net worth (UHNW) individuals, according to a Wealth-X report. It has total
assets of USD 43.4 billion. Li Ka Shing Foundation of Hong Kong is second
(USD 8.1 billion) and Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation as third (USD 6.4
billion).
- Book - Early Hindu
Temples of Gujarat has been written by Varun Maira.
- Book - Kashmir The
Vajpayee Years has been written by A.S. Dulat and
released by Vice President Hamid Ansari.
- Book - R.D. Burman: The
Prince of Music has been written by Khagesh Dev Burman.
- Book - Locale, Everyday
Islam and Modernity has been authored by M. Raisur Rahman.
- Book 37 Bridges and
Other Stories has been authored by Pakistani author Aamer
Hussein.
- Book Uniki has
been written by Ch Vidyasagar Rao (Governor of Maharashtra).
- Book titled Ghosts of
Calcutta has been authored by Sebastian Ortiz.
- Book titled Modi’s
World: Expanding India’s Sphere of Influence has been written by
C Raja Mohan.
- Bureau of Energy Efficiency
(BEE) signed an Implementing Agency Agreement with REC Power Distribution
Company Ltd. (RECPDCL) for the operationalisation of Partial Risk
Guarantee Fund for Energy Efficiency (PRGFEE).
- C D Balaji is appointed as
Director of Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and Programme Director
of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA).
- C-DOT, the research and
development institute under department of telecommunications launched four
broadband products under Digital India initiative. The products are - long
distance Wi-Fi system, solar-powered Wi-Fi system, 100 Gbps optical fibre
cable (OFC) link and C-DOT’s next generation network (NGN) in MTNL
network.
- Cabinet Committee on Economic
Affairs (CCEA) approved creating an intra state power transmission system
in seven states (Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka,
Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan) at a cost of 8548 crore rupees.
Out of it, 40 % will be contributed by National Clean Energy Fund, 40% by
KfW (German Development Bank) loan and remaining 20 % as contribution by
States.
- Cabinet Committee on Economic
Affairs (CCEA) extended deadline for implementation of Crime and Criminals
Tracking network and Systems (CCTNS) project till March 2017 along with
approving additional five years phase for operation and maintenance of the
CCTNS up to March 2022.
- Canadian Naomi
Klein has won 36th edition of American Book Award 2015 for her
environmental work This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the
Climate. 14 others also have won the award including Marlon James,
Carlos Santana, Anne Waldman (lifetime achievement award).
- Cartooninst who created Archie,
Tom Moore passed away.
- Chile won Copa America cup 2015
(South America’s most prestigious football trophy) by defeating Argentina.
- China Nominated Former Finance
Minster of China Jin Liqun for post of first president of Asian
Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
- Chris Froome (UK) won
102nd Tour de France.
- Tour De France is one of
cycling's three Grand Tours - Tour de France, Giro
d'Italia and Vuelta a España.
- Competition Commission of India
(CCI) imposed a penalty of Rs 671 crore on four public sector insurance
companies - National Insurance, New India Insurance, Oriental Insurance
and United India insurance for indulging in anti-competitive practices by
rigging a tender of Kerala Government in 2009 for selecting insurance
provider for 'Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna'.
- Competition Commission of India
imposed penalty of 420.26 crore rupees on Hyundai Motors for involving in
anti-competitive practices in contravention of the Competition Act, 2002.
Other two companies under penalty are Mahindra Reva Electric Car
Company and Premier Limited.
- Conakry(capital of Republic of
Guinea) has beeen named as World Book Capital for 2017 by United Nations
Organization for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO).
- Conceptualised by P K
Muralidharan Raja, Indian Boxing Council (IBC) has been launched as
professional boxing body to tap the potential of professional boxing in
India.
- Corporation Bank
launched country’s first MUDRA (Micro Units Development and
Refinance Agency) card under Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana
(PMMY) on RuPay platform . The card will provide financing for
micro entrepreneurs. Shishu scheme provides loan up 50000
rupees, Kishore scheme will offer amount up to 5 lakh
rupees while Under Tarun scheme offers loan up to 10 lakh
rupees.
- Court of Arbitration for Sports
allowed Indian women athlete Dutee Chand to compete in women’s events. The
verdict was given by CAS chaired by Justice Annabelle Claire Bennett
(Federal Court of Australia). CAS also suspended the International
Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) regulation governing
eligibility of females with naturally-occurring Hyperandrogenism.
- Court of Arbitration for Sport
is an international body established to settle disputes related to
sports. Its headquarters is in Lausanne (Switzerland) and courts are
located in New York, Sydney and Lausanne.
- Cuba become first country to
successfully eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis.
- Cyclone Komen turned into a
cyclonic storm formed over Northern Bay of Bengal and expected to make
landfall on the coast of Odisha and West Bengal.
- Defence
Acquisition Council approved defence proposals of over 30000 crore rupees
for buying four P81 long-range maritime patrol aircrafts for Indian Navy
and to replace 50 year old vintage air defence guns of Indian Army.
- Department of Industrial Policy
and Promotion (DIPP) approved Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) and Japan
International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for their conceptual development
plan (CDP) report on Vizag Chennai Industrial Corridor (VCIC) and
Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (CBIC) respectively.
- Department of Industrial Policy
and Promotion (DIPP) approved creating India’s first defence industrial
park at Ottappalam (Kerala). It will have modern common infrastructure
facilities to attract component manufacturers in the defence industry.
- Deputy Prime Minister of
Turkmenistan, Baymyrat Hojamuhammedov visited India.
- Deputy Secretary of Supreme
National Security Council of Iran, Ameer Saeed Iravani visited India.
- Digital signatures certifying
firm eMudhra launched eSign services as
part of Digital India Vision. eSign is an online electronic signature
service to enable Aadhaar holders to digitally sign a document. It will
promote quick execution off tasks in paperless environment and crucial
documents can be kept safely in electronic firm.
- E-commerce firm Flipkart
launched India Art House as an online store offering
sellers a platform to promote regional products. Aim ofIndia Art
House is to bring products from over 7 Million Indian artisans
under one roof and offer them access to a customers across world.
- Ekram Ahmed, Chairman of
Bangladesh Public Service Commission visited India.
- Electronic Nose (E-Nose) has
been jointly developed by Nagpur-based National Environmental Engineering
Research Institute (NEERI) of CSIR and Centre for Development of Advanced
Computing (C-DAC). It will help monitor the surrounding environment to
sniff out dangerous gases.
- Eminent musician Vasundhara Komkali
died.
- Eminent physicist P. Hariharan
Passed away.
- Entertainment Network (India)
Ltd (ENIL) announced to acquire TV Today Network (TVTN) Radio Channel
104.8 Oye FM.
- Europe's Airbus Group and
India's Mahindra Group signed a deal to form a joint venture and become
india's first private manufacturer of helicopters.
- European Union approved a
short-term loan of 7.16 billion euros to Greece under European Financial
Stabilisation Mechanism (EFSM) to allow Greece to pay its huge debt to
European Central Bank (ECB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) till new
bailout plan is ratified.
- European Union banned marketing
of around 700 generic medicines manufactured by India's pharmaceutical
research company GVK Biosciences across 28 European Union member countries.
- Export-Import Bank of India
signed an agreement to cooperate with New Development Bank (NDB) along
with other member development banks of BRICS nations.
- Fast food chain KFC tied up
with IRCTC to start delivery system for passengers.
- Fazle Hasan Abed of Bangladesh
won World Food Prize2015 by World Food Prize Foundation for his
contributions towards reducing hunger in Bangladesh and 10 other countries
through his organisation BRAC. He created Bangladesh Rural Advancement
Committee (BRAC) in 1972 after independence war with Pakistan. BRAC
is largest non-governmental organisation in world employing over 1
Lakhpeople.
- Film Society of Jodhpur has
been given the Pritiman Sarkar Award 2014-15 for being best film society
in Northern Region for consequent fourth time by raising awareness and
film appreciation.
- Finance ministry announced
commencement of e-filing of income tax returns for 2015-16. This time,
need for additional details on taxpayers' foreign travel and dormant bank
accounts is abolished and ITR forms now have space for Aadhaar card
holders to provide their Unique Identification Numbers. A simpler ITR-2A
form is also introduced for those who own more than one residential
property, but do not have any capital gains.
- Finland's Matti Makkonen, known
as father of messaging service (SMS) technology passed away.
- First All Women Trans
Continental Road Expedition from Delhi to London has been flagged off.
Three woman participants are namely Nidhi Tiwari, Rashmi Koppar and
Soumaya Goel. They will reach United Kingdom in 55 days by covering 15000
kms via Myanmar, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Russia,
Ukraine, Poland, Czech Republic, Germany, Belgium and France with a single
vehicle.
- Food Standards Agency of United
Kingdom (UK) approved India Made Nestle's Maggi Noodles for Import in UK
as amount of lead in the product were within European Union permissible
levels.
- Forbes Asia's Fabulous 50 list
2015 -
- It is an annual list honoring
brightest stars in the Asia Pacific.
- China dominated the list with
25 Companies, India is second with 10 Companies while South Korea is
third with four companies.
- Tencent is Most valuable
company with worth of 176.5 billion USD. Lenovo is most profitable that
generated 46.3 billion USD revenue in 2014.
- Indian Companies in the list -
- HDFC Bank is at top of Indian
companies in the list with market capitalisation of 43 billion USD.
- Other Indian companies in the
list are- Aurobindo Pharma, HCL Technologies, Lupin, Motherson Sumi
Systems, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Tata Consultancy Services, Tata
Motors, Tech Mahindra and Titan.
- Former (11 th) President of
India A.P.J. Abdul Kalam (Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam) Passed
Away.He was a noted Aerospace scientist and also recepient of highly
coveted civil honors - Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan and Bharta Ratna.
- Former Chief Justice of India Y
K Sabharwal passed away.
- Former Delhi Police
Commissioner Neeraj Kumar has been appointed as Chief Advisor of Security
and anti corruption unit (ACSU) of BCCI for T20 World Cup 2016 to be hosted
by India.
- Former Indian cricketers
Hrishikesh Kantikar and Ajay Ratra retired from all forms of cricket.
- Former President A.P.J Abdul
Kalam launched Rashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan focused on developing spirit of
innovation and experimentation among students.
- Former South African
cricketer Clive Rice passed away. He was first
post-apartheid captain of South Africa cricket team that made historic
first tour to India in 1991.
- Fortune 500 Companies 2015 list
-
- Fortune 500 companies account
for 17 trillion USD market value and employ around 26.8 million people
worldwide.
- Retail giant Walmart is at the
top of List, Exxon Mobil is second and Chevron is at third place. Warren
Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway is at 4th and Apple is at 5th place.
- Indian companies in the Fortune
500 list
- Indian Oil (119th) is at the
top of Indian Companies with 74 Billion USD Revenye
- Other Indian Companies in
List are Reliance, Tata Motors, State Bank of India, Bharat Petroleum,
Hindustan Petroleum, and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).
- Four Indian-Americans have been
honoured with prestigious Great Immigrants, Pride of America award 2015.
These are - Preet Bharara, Rakesh Khurana, Madhulika Sikka and Abraham
Verghese.
- Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize
2015 -
- Grand - Thant Myint U
(Myammar)
- Academic - Ramachandra Guha
(India)
- Arts & Culture - Minh Hanh
(Vietnam)
- Ganga Ram Agarwal, an officer
of Indian Railway Services of Electrical Engineering has
been appointed as Secretary in Railway Board.
- Gen. U Min Aung Hlaing,
Commander-in-Chief of Myanmar Defence Services visited India.
- General Motors will invest over
USD 1 billion in India to strengthen its market here over the next five
years as part of Chevrolet's USD 5 Billion global growth investment
strategies.
- German driver Sebastian Vettel
won Hungarian Grand Prix F1 Race.
- Government announced that 14
States / Union Territories have achieved literacy rate of 80 %.
- Government appointed
international lawyer Rodrigo Oreamuno to arbitrate with UK telecom major
Vodafone's 20000 crore tax liability case.
- Government approved Pradhan
Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana scheme with outlay of Rs. 50,000
crore over five years (2015-16 to 2019-20). Allocation for the current
financial year is Rs. 5300 crore.
- Government approved
redevelopment of 400 major (‘A-1’ and ‘A’ category ) railway stations
across the country.
- Government at a Glance 2015
report by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) -
- India is second among 40
countries in terms of Confidence in National Government in 2014.
Switzerland is first and Norway third. Out of 1000 Indian citizens
surveyed, 730 answered positively to the question related to confidence
of citizens and businesses in government to do.
- Government authorized Central
Institute of Post Harvest Engineering and Technology (CIPHET-ICAR),
Ludhiana as 30th designated testing center for testing all types of Post
Harvesting Equipment and Machinery.
- Testing of machines at any
Farm Machinery Testing and Training Institutes (FMTTIs) or 30 designated
testing center is mandatory before supplying them to Government
assistance programmes.
- Government capped the subsidy
payout on kerosene at 12 rupees per litre.
- At present, kerosene is sold
at 14.96 rupees per litre against actual cost of 33.47 rupees. Difference
of 18.51 rupees per litre is under-recovery or revenue loss.
- Government has finalised the
formula for meeting this under-recovery, under which the Finance Ministry
will pay 12 rupees per litre in cash to state-owned fuel retailers from
the Budget and any unbridged gap between the retail selling price and
cost of production will be borne by upstream companies.
- For domestic cooking gas LPG,
government will fully bear the under-recovery.
- Budget 2015-16 has provided
22000 crore rupees for LPG subsidy and 8000 crore rupees on kerosene.
- Government constituted a Task
Force under H.R. Nagendra to deliberate on various
important issues concerning Ministry of AYUSH.
- Government decided to declare
7th August as National Handloom Day every year beginning from from 2015.
- Government decided to transfer
accounts of Central Freedom Fighter Pensioners from State Bank of India to
other authorized banks for disbursal of Central Freedom Fighter Pension
due to certain irregularities on the part of SBI.
- Government formed an expert
group under Chairmanship of Arvind Panagariya (Vice-Chairperson of NITI
AAYOG) to classify the Caste names returned in the Socio Economic and
Caste Census, 2011 (SECC).
- Government has decided to
infuse capital of Rs 20,000 crore in public sector banks by September
2015.
- Government has launched The
Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity TEEB-India Initiative
(TII) to highlight economic consequences of loss of biological
diversity and decline in ecosystem services.
- The Initiative is focussed on
three ecosystems- forests, inland wetlands and coastal and marine
ecosystems.
- TII has been implemented under
Indo-German Biodiversity Programme as technical cooperation with GIZ.
- Government issued
socio-economic and caste census (SECC) 2011 as a picture of rural India.
- One out of three families
living in villages is landless and depends on manual labour for
livelihood.
- State of education is poor in
rural as 23.52% rural families have no literate adult above 25 years.
- There are total 24.39 crore
households in the country, of which 17.91 crore live in villages. Of
these, 10.69 crore households are considered as deprived.
- Government launched National
Heritage Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) to preserve
and rejuvenate rich cultural heritage of the country. In initial phase, 12
heritage cities have been identified to be rejuvenated and developed at a
cost of 500 crore rupees.
- Government ruled 30th
September, 2015 as last date for declaraing undisclosed assets located
outside India and any taxes in respect of these foreign assets must be
paid by 31st December, 2015 under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign
Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015.
- Government sanctioned Rs.1,000
crore for a 15-km India-Bangladesh railway project.
- Grandmaster Abhijeet Gupta won
19th Commonwealth Chess Championship.
- Guinness Book of World Records
recognised a record for Madhya Pradesh on ‘World Hand washing Day’ on 15
October 2014 when more than 12 lakh 78 thousand students washed hands
simultaneously in 51 districts of Madhya Pradesh.
- Gujarat High constituted a
four-member panel to ensure basic amenities like housing and hospital for
labourers at Alang ship-breaking yard in Bhavnagar district.
- Gujarat became first Indian
state to make voting compulsory in Local body Polls. Gujarat government
also announced reservation of 50 % seats for women in municipal
corporations, municipalities, and village panchayats.
- H. E. U Wunna Maung Lwin,
Foreign Minister of Myanmar visited India.
- Haryana Government named
Parineeti Chopra as brand ambassador for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's
pet 'Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao' campaign.
- Haryana government launched 'Mhara
Gaon - Jagmag Gaon' scheme aimed at providing 24-hour power supply to
rural areas and improving electricity bill collections to reduce losses of
power utilities.
- Helena Ndume of Namibia and
Jorge Sampaio of Portugal have been awarded with first Nelson Rolihlahla
Mandela Prize by United Nations (UN). Helena Ndume is a female
ophthalmologist and has been awarded for treating eye-related illnesses in
Namibia. Jorge Sampaio is former president of Portugal and has been
awarded for his struggle for restoration of democracy in Portugal.
- Hellenic Parliament of Greece
approved European Union mandated austerity related legislative measures to
make way for Greece to tap into EU bailout funds.
- Hideaki Ohmura, Governor of
Aichi Prefecture of Japan visited India.
- Hockey India appointed Roelant
Oltmans of Netherlands as coach of Indian men’s national team.
- Hyderabad based ICRISAT
launched Green Phablet with price at $300 (~ Rs. 18,000) for farmers in
Telangana to send timely messages to the farmers. ICRISAT will maintain
servers and keep the information updated.
- ICAR - 87th Foundation Day
awards ceremony and National Conference of Krishi Vigyan Kendendras held
in Patna, (Bihar). PM Narendra Modi launched four new schemes of ICAR -
Farmer FIRST, Student READY, ARYA and Mera Gaon Mera Gaurav. He also
launched Rs. 76000 Crore Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana aimed
to provide continuous power supply to rural India. Note that Foundation
day of ICAR is on 16 July that marks creation of ICAR on 16 July, 1929.
- IDBI Bank and Mudra Bank signed
an agreement for refinancing of loans given to small enterprises. IDBI
Bank will offer loans up to 10 lakh to micro enterprises under Pradhan
Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) and Mudra Bank will provide refinance
assistance to IDBI bank for eligible sanctioned loan cases.
- INS Astravahini, indigenously
built Torpedo launch and recovery vessel (TLRV) has been decommissioned
after 31 years of service.
- ISRO and NASA are jointly
working on the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission
to codevelop and launch a dual frequency synthetic aperture radar
satellite.
- ISRO successfully launched
Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C28 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre
Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) with 5 United KingdomSatellites into a polar
Sun Synchronous Orbit. These satellites together weighed about 1440 kg at
lift-off which is heaviest ever commercial venture by ISRO.
- IT companies CSC and HCL signed
an agreement to form a banking software services company to provide
technology solutions to the banking industry.
- India USA signed a Memorandum
of Understanding (MoU) for Establishing PACESetter Fund to support Promoting
Energy Access Through Clean Energy (PEACE) track of the USA-India
Partnership to Advance Clean Energy (PACE).
- India and Asian Development
Bank (ADB) signed a $300 million loan to support National Urban Health
Mission (NUHM) aimed at improving health of urban Indians.
- India and Russia signed a
customs and liberalize business agreement to boost trade and remove
hindrances in commerce. Both countries also have fixed a target of US 30
billion dollars to be achieved by 2025.
- India and Singapore signed
Agreement on sharing white-shipping information to enhance maritime
cooperation during visit of Navy chief Admiral R K Dhowan to Singapore.
- India has overtaken US to
become world's third largest steel producer after China and Japan as
stated by Steel & Mines Minister, Narendra Singh Tomar. Target is to
achieve 300 million tonnes (MT) steel production in 10 years.
- India signed Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) with Canada in the field of Civil Aviation for
enhancing co-operation and technical knowledge in Civil Aviation.
- India signed Memorandum of
understanding with Georgia for cooperation in election management and
administration during visit of Tamar Zhvania, Chairperson of Central
Election Commission of gerogia to India.
- India successfully tested Nag anti-tank
guided missile, which can hit a target upto 7 kms, from a helicopter in
Jaisalmer (Rajasthan).
- India women cricket team
captain Mithali Raj became first Indian and second in world to complete
5000 runs in women's ODIs.
- India women’s hockey team
qualified for 2016 Rio Olympics after finishing 5th in 12 teams Hockey
World league championship.
- India won 4th South Asian
Basketball (SABA) Championship in Bengaluru by defeating Sri Lanka.
- India's Jewellery company Rajesh
Exports accquired Valcambi, the world’s largest gold refining
company for a deal of $400 million.
- India's Kalyani Group and
Israel's Rafael will jointly produce Spike Anti-Tank Guided Missiles
(ATGM) in India.
- India's Top PSUs and Awards
2015 by Dun and Bradstreet -
- Electrical and electronic
equipments - Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL)
- Consultancy Services:
Engineering & Tech - Engineers India limited (EIL)
- Fertilizers - Rashtriya
Chemicals and Fertilizers Limited (RCFL)
- Financial Institution, NBFC
and Financial Services - Power Finance Corporation (PFC)
- Transport Services - Container
Corporation of India (CONCOR)
- Power Generation - Nartional
Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC)
- Indian Actor Milind Soman won
Ironman title at a triathlon held in Zurich (Switzerland).
- The triathlon, organised by
World Triathalon Corporation includes a 3.8-km swim, 180.2-km cycle ride
and 42.2-km run to be completed in 16 hours by participants for an
Ironman title.
- Indian Air Chief Marshal Arup
Raha visited South Africa.
- Indian American Sunita
Viswanath has been named among 12 people honored as Champions of
Change by White House of USA for their efforts in protecting
environment and communities from effects of climate change.
- Indian Army Launched Operation
Shiva To provide security to devotees taking part in the 59-day-long annual
Amarnath Yatra in Jammu and Kashmir.
- Indian Cartoonist Pamarthy
Shankar won Grand Prix World Press Cartoon 2014 Award for sketching former
south africa leader Nelson Mandela.
- Indian Film-maker Benoy Behl
won Documentary Producer award at Madrid International Film Festival for
his documentary film Indian Roots of Tibetan Buddhism.
- Indian Filmmaker Vivek
Agnihotri's ‘Buddha in a Traffic Jam’ won Best Original Screenplay award
in Foreign Language Category at Madrid International Film Festival
(Spain).
- Indian Government extended
e-Tourist Visa scheme to China, Hong Kong and Macau, taking number of
countries covered under e-Tourist Visa scheme up from 74 to 77.
- Indian IT firm Infosys signed
an agreement with Deutsche Bank (Germany) to provide development,
maintenance, mobility, and Other IT services to Deutsche Bank Group.
- Indian Navy Chief RK Dhowan
visited Singapore and Thailand.
- Indian Railways's Operating
Ratio (O.R.) in 2014-15 has been 91.3 %, which better than Budgeted target
of 92.5 % and also better than the RE target of 91.8 %. This is also an
improvement over the Operating Ratio of 2013-14 which had closed at 93.6
%.
- Operating Ratio simply
indicates how much railway spends to earn a rupee. So lower the Operating
Ratio, means better financial health of the system.
- Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO) and Russian Federal Space Agency (ROSCOSMOS) signed a
Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation in exploration and use of
outer space for peaceful purposes. The agreement is meant for joint activities
in satellite navigation, launch vehicle development, remote sensing of
Earth and use of ground space infrastructure.
- Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO) is planning to provide space based systems for South
Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) member nations. It is
proposed to build a satellite for SAARC region with 12 Ku-band
transponders and launch using Indian Geostationary Launch Vehicle GSLV
Mk-II with approx cost 235 crores.
- A one-day conference on
“Satellite for SAARC Region and Space Technology Applications” was
organized by India in New Delhi.
- Pakistan desired further
discussions before giving its consent.
- The proposed satellite enables
applications and services to our neighbors in telecommunication and
broadcasting applications like Television, Direct-to-Home (DTH)
Tele-education, Telemedicine and Disaster Management Support.
- Indian artist Sayed Haider Raza
has been conferred with highest French Civilian Award Commandeur
de la Lgion dHonneur (the Legion of Honour).
- Indian hockey legend Major
Dhyan Chand will be conferred with the ‘Bharat Gaurav’ Lifetime Achivement
Award by NRI orgainsation Sanskriti Yuva Sangstha at the House of Commons
inside the British Parliament.
- Indian origin doctor Shiv Pande
has been awarded with honorary fellowship by University of Central
Lancashire of United Kingdom for his contribution to the community as a
general practitioner and medical educator.
- Indian shot-put Player Inderjit
Singh won Gold medal at the World University Games in Gwangju (South
Korea) with his throw of 20.27 meters. He become first Indian to win a
gold medal at the World University Games.
- Indian women’s wrestlers won
silver as they finished second in fifth Senior International Wrestling
Tournament (Cup of the President of Republic of Kazakhstan). Host
Kazakhstan won gold while Mangolia won bronze medal.
- Indian writer Anuradha Roy's
latest book on malaise of sexual abuse in India has been shortlisted for
the Man Booker Prize 2015.
- Indian-American Amitoj Chhabra
won Junior Title at US Powerlifting Association National Championships
2015.
- Indian-American Darshan Jain
has been selected for USA Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics
and Science Teaching.
- Indian-American R Paul Singh
has been selected for 2015 World Agriculture Prize laureate at annual
Global Confederation for Higher Education Associations for
Agriculture and Life Sciences (GCHERA) conference in Kaslik
(Lebanon).
- Indian-American biologist Kamal
Bawa has been elected to prestigious Royal Society of London for his work
in field of conservation science.
- Royal Society is a
self-governing fellowship established in London, of many of the world’s
most distinguished scientists from all areas of science, engineering, and
medicine.
- Indians Mishi Choudhary, Manish
Dahiya, Sanjay Vijayakumar and Aarti Wig are figured in Asia 21
Young Leaders Class of 2015 list byAsia Society for
its Asia 21 Network leadership development programme.
- India’s first air freight
station in private sector will be opened in Irungattukottai near Chennai
(Tamilnadu).
- Indigenous Visibility Measuring
System Developed by CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories (CSIR-NAL)
Bengaluru, DRISHTI has been implemented at Indira Gandhi International
Airport, New Delhi. DRISHTI Sophisticated Instruments are used for
reporting runway visual range, which is critical for safe landing and
take-off in poor visibility conditions.
- Indirect Tax Revenue
collections hiked from Rs.1,12,094 crore in April-June 2014 to Rs 1,53,980
in April-June 2015 (Increase of 37.4 %). Indirect taxes are Custom,
Central Excise and Service Tax.
- Information Technology
Secretary Ram Sewak Sharma has been appointed as chairman
of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
- Inshore patrol vessel Rani
Durgavati was inducted into the Indian Coast Guard.
- Internet and Mobile Association
of India (IAMAI) and Indian Council for Research on International Economic
relations (ICRIER) report -An Inquiry into the Impact of India’s App
Economy.
- Mobile application industry in
India will grow to 1964 crore rupees by 2016 from 974 crore rupees in
2014
- Mobile applications currently
employ approx 75000 people in India. It is estimated that employment in
this industry will be between 1.51 - 1.59 lakh by 2016.
- Iran and P5+1 countries (United
States, United Kingdom, Russia, China, France and Germany) agreement on
the Iran nuclear programme called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
(JCPA) or Vienna agreement.
- Under the agreement, Iran will
cut its stockpile of low-enriched uranium by 98% and will reduce by about
two-thirds the number of its centrifuges for at least fifteen years.
- For the next fifteen years,
Iran will not enrich uranium over 3.67% or build any new
uranium-enriching or heavy-water facilities.
- Uranium-enrichment activities
will be limited to a single facility using first-generation centrifuges
for ten years.
- To monitor and verify Iran's
compliance with the agreement, the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) will have regular access to all Iranian nuclear facilities.
- In return for verifiably
abiding by its commitments, Iran will receive relief from U.S., European
Union, and United Nations Security Council nuclear-related sanctions.
- Japan approved Defence White
Paper 2015. Japanese cabinet described security issues around Japan as increasingly
tough
- Japan demanded China to stop
construction of a new offshore platform that could be used for military
purposes in East China Sea (ECS).
- Japan criticized China for its
military spending, saying it is now 41 times higher than in 1989.
- It referred to test-firing of
a submarine-launched ballistic missile by North Korea , claiming it as a
threat to Japan's security.
- Japan committed help of 6.1
billion USD (750 billion Japanese Yen) Mekong Region countries (Cambodia,
Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam) in next three years during the
seventh Mekong-Japan Summit in Tokyo.
- Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya
(JNV) of Churachandpur in Manipur won 18th National Youth Parliament
Competition for Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas.
- Kalpataru Das, Member of
Parliament (Rajya Sabha) passed away.
- Kamlesh Patel has become first
British Asian to be appointed as Director of England and Wales Cricket
Board (ECB).
- Kerala Tourism won 2015 Pacific
Asia Travel Association (PATA) award in the ‘Heritage & Culture’
category for its Muziris Heritage Project.
- Kolkata (West Bengal) Based
Bandhan Bank appointed Ashok Kumar Lahiri as Chairman and Chandra Shekhar
Ghosh as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer.It will go for an
IPO (Initial Public Offreing) in 2018 and will start banking operations in
2015 with 630 branches opened across 22 states and 250 ATMs.
- Kotak Mahindra Bank launched
mobile banking app ‘Kotak Bharat’ aiming to provide mobile banking
services to customers in the rural and unbanked regions of India.
- Legendary music composer MS
Viswanathan passed away.
- Loan distributor Andromeda has
acquired apnapaisa.com, an online loan solutions Portal in a stock and
cash deal.
- Lower House of Japan’s
Parliament (Diet) approved 11 security-related bills to change
self-defence law that were being followed by Japan since World War -II.
The new Bill will enable Japanese military to potentially fight abroad for
the first time since World War II, termed asCollective self defense.
- Made by BEL, Supersonic
surface-to-air missile ‘Akash’ with range of 30 Kilometres has been
formally inducted into Indian Air Force
- Maharashtra Government passed
Guarantee of Public Services Bill, 2015 to empowers citizens to avail
their rights in stipulated time with less efforts and cost. Aim is to reduce
corruption and bring transparency and speed in delievery of public
services.
- Maharashtra approved Shyamaprasad
Mukherjee Jan Van Vikas Scheme aimed at development of villages
in buffer zones of tiger reserves and around them.
- Maharashtra government will add
14,400 MW power through renewable energy sources - 7,500 MW by solar
energy, 5,000 MW by wind and rest from industrial and domestic waste. Six
cities of Maharashtra have been chosen to be developed as solar cities -
Nagpur, Thane, Aurangabad, Kalyan-Dombivli, Shirdi and Nanded. The move is
inline with Central government's plan to develop 55 solar cities across
the country.
- Man Mohan Singh Rai has been
appointed as Vice-Chief of Indian Army. He will replace Philip Campose.
- Manipur Government constituted
a committee under state Law Minister Thoudam Debendra Singh to draft a
bill for protection of indigenous people of manipur.
- Manipur Legislative Assembly
withdrawn the Manipur Regulation of Visitors, Tenants and Migrant
Workers (MRVTMW) Bill, 2015 in a one-day special session as people were
doubtful about effectiveness of the Bill to protect indigenous communities
in Manipur.
- Manufacturers Association for
Information Technology (MAIT) and IMRB International report about
performance of the IT hardware market between April 2014 - March 2015.
- Sales of desktops and
notebooks shrank 4 % and 15 % respectively in urban India in 2014-15. In
rural India, sales of desktops grew 33 % and of notebooks 11 %.
- For smart phones and tablets,
revenue risen 88 % to more than 65815 crore rupees in 2014-15 from 34900
crores in 2013-14. Growth will continue in 2015-16 with smartphones
expected to grow 27 %, phablets 65 % and tablets 16 %.
- Overall size of Indian ICT
hardware market was pegged at 15.87 billion USD, up 23.98 % over 2013-14.
- Marine Products Export
Development Authority (MPEDA) launched two mobile apps to help farmers get
prices on shrimp and capture data on aquaculture through mobile (mKrishi).
- Shrimp price Information over
SMS by a missed call -
Throug this app, Price related information of Vannamei
shrimp(+91-8590100800) and BT shrimp (+91-8590200800) to farmers over SMS
on a missed call to given predetermined numbers.
- mKRISHI- Mobile App for
Aquaculture Operations - It
will be an easy tool for book keeping, advisory services and weather
informations.
- Maurice Obstfeld (USA) has been
appointed as Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton
of Britain won 2015 Birtish Grand Prix of Formula One.
- Mexico defeated Jamaica to win
CONCACAF Gold Cup regional football tournament for seventh time. The final
was played at Philadelphia (USA).
- Microsoft Corporation launched
free evaluation version of Windows 10 Enterprise edition for 190
countries.
- Microsoft announced plans to
introduce its White-Fi technology or TV White Space
Technology in India to provide better Internet connectivity and
boost to India's Digital India initiative.
- According to Microsoft, this
technology can provide free Wi-Fi connectivity to one-billion Indians who
don't have any net access. It will start with International Institute of
Information Technology (IIIT) Bangalore.
- Characteristics of White-Fi
technology -
- White-Fi technology uses the
unused spectrum in frequencies utilised for broadcasting of television
signals and use it for the internet. These unused spectrum spaces are
called White Space and thus it is also called TV White Space technology.
- The 200-300 MHz spectrum in
the white space can reach up to 10 km as compared to current Wi-Fi
technology that allows you a range of about 100 metres. The 200-300 MHz
spectrum currently belongs to Doordarshan TV channel and isn't used at
all.
- It can be run on solar power,
thus overcome power factor hindrance to internet connectivity.
- How it would aid Digital India
initiative -
- Under Digital India
initiative, the government will use national optic fibre network project
to deliver e-services across country. However, Reaching users will still
require wireless technology, mainly in far flung areas.
- Generally 200-600 MHz
frequency is used for TV channels to carry data. however, In India, 93 %
of this spectrum is not utilised. White-Fi will use this vacant spectrum
to provide connectivity.
- It can provide free
connectivity to large Indian population through wider coverage and
economical deployment and licence-free access.
- It is best suited for
low-income group segments that hesitate to go for costly internet plans
of commercial telecom providers.
- Minister of Civil Aviation P.
Ashok Gajapathi Raju launched GAGAN system (GPS AIDED GEO AUGMENTED
NAVIGATION) as third SBAS (Satellite Based Augmentation System) in world
after WAAS of USA and EGNOS of Europe. GAGAN is jointly developed by
Airport Authority of India (AAI) and Indian Space Research Organization.
It will support more accurate air routes, reduce costs and improve safety
in aviation along with benefits to agriculture, transportation, defence
services and disaster recovery.
- Minister of State (I/C)
Petroleum and Natural Gas Shri Dharmendra Pradhan visited Canada.
- Minister of State for Home
Affairs Shri Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary launched Centralized Delhi
Police Railway Helpline No.1512.
- Minister of State for Textiles
(I/C), Santosh Kumar Gangwar laid foundation stone for Apparel and Garment
Making Centre in Aizawl (Capital of Mizoram).
- Ministry of Agriculture and
Ministry of New and Renewable Energy introduced solar energy pumping
systems under Sub Mission on Agriculture Mechanization (SMAM)
implemented through State Governments to meet the demands of solar pumping
systems in irrigation.
- Ministry of Agriculture
introduced Sub Mission of Agricultural mechanization (SMAM) in 2014-15 to
accelerate growth of agricultural mechanization in India. Financial
Assistance for Procurement of Agriculture Machinery and Equipment is
provided under this scheme.
- Ministry of Home Affairs
extended ‘disturbed area’ status of Nagaland for one more year
(Till June 30, 2016).
- Ministry of Skill Development
and Entrepreneurship signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with
Ministry of Defence for partnership on skill development and
entrepreneurship.
- Ministry of Urban Development
approved Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Policy for
Delhi as part of Master Plan for Delhi - 2021. The policy aims to address
problems of pollution and shortage of homes for poor and middle class in
Delhi. TOD initiative is for low-carbon, high-density and compact living
spaces.
- Ministry of Youth Affairs and
Sports constituted Working Group under CK Mahajan for re-drafting National
Sports Development Code of India (NSDCI) to make it more relevant from
both sports governance and legal angles.
- Miss Oklahoma, Olivia Jordan,
won the 2015 Miss USA beauty pageant.
- Mobile marketplace and payments
site Paytm purchased title sponsorship rights of BCCI (Board of Control
for Cricket in India) for Rs. 203 crores.
- Mumbai Ranji cricketer Hiken
Shah has been suspended by the BCCI for being found guilty of breaching
Anti-Corruption Code.
- NASA unveiled a
boomerang-shaped aircraft that could possibly be first to take flight on
Mars. Named as Prandtl—m, it will be released at about 100,000
feet altitude to simulate flight conditions of the Martian atmosphere.
- NASA's New Horizons
space probemade closest approach to Pluto planet
as it flew 12600 km from the surface of the dwarf planet at an average
speed of 49750 kph. It is closest encounter of any space probe
with pluto.
- Nasa scientists announced
discovery of Kepler 452b, also known as 'Earth 2.0' as an
earth-like planet in our galaxy. A year on this planet is about 385 days,
only 20 days longer than a year on Earth. Kepler data analysis states that
it hosts life on its surface, or at least could have at some point in its
history.
- National Dairy Development
Board (NDDB) launched mobile application Pashu Poshan to
boost dairy farmers' income by raising milk yield and cutting feed cost.
- National Green Tribunal (NGT)
banned use of plastic bags in pilgrimage towns of Haridwar and Rishikesh
with of 5000 rupees for violations.
- Nelson Mandela International
Day was observed across on 18 July 2015 to honour the former South African
President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nelson Mandela (1918-2013).
- Nepal's Gadhimai Temple Trust
banned animal sacrifice during Gadhimai festival held once in every five
years.
- Nepal’s political parties
agreed to remove the word Secularism from the yet-to-be
framed new Constitution.
- New Development Bank (NDB), The
USD 100 billion bank sponsered by BRICS nations has been launched with its
headquarters in Beijing (China). India's K V Kamath will be bank's
president for five years.
- Nikkei Japanese media group
buys UKS' Financial Times owned by Pearson in a $1.3 billion Deal.
- Nobel Prize winner Peter Higgs
has won world’s oldest scientific prize, the Royal Society’s Copley Medal
for his contribution to particle physics and work on theory of the Higgs
boson that explains the origin of mass in elementary particles.
- Noted Indian HIV/AIDS
researcher and activist Suniti Solomon passed away.
- Noted Telugu playback singer
Vissamraju Ramakrishna passed away.
- Noted Urdu poet and critic
Bashar Navaaz passed away.
- Noted Urdu writer Bisheshar
Pradeep passed away.
- Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC)
will invest over USD 8.8 billion in its KG-basin oil and gas discoveries by 2018-19.
- PM
Narendra Modi Began His Official Visit to Five Central Asian Nations -
Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia.
- Uzbekistan Visit (July 6 -7, 2015)-
- PM Narendra Modi presented
President Islam Karimov a special reproduction of Khamsa-i-Khusrau by
the 13th century sufi poet Amir Khusrau.
- Joint Working Group on
Counter-Terrorism to be made to strengthen coordination between the law
enforcement agencies.
- Co-operation to be promoted
in defence, cyber-security, transport & communication,
telemedicine links connecting medical institutions in Uzbekistan and
India for medical consultations, Tourism and Cultural Cooperation.
- Kazakhstan Visit (July 8, 2015) -
- Agreements signed for
co-operation in Transfer of Sentenced Persons, Defence and Military –
Technical Cooperation, Physical Cultural and Sports, MoU on Technical
Cooperation in Railways and Long term contract for sale and purchase of
natural uranium concentrates.
- Indian PM Gifted a set of
books relating to religions born in India to Kazakh President Nursultan
Nazarbayev.
- India and Kazakhstan launched
first exploratory drilling at Satpayev oil block owned by India’s ONGC
Videsh Limited (OVL) and Kazakhstan company. This Oil Block has reserves
of 1.8 billion barrels crude oil and natural gas.
- Russia Visit (July 9-10, 2015) -
- PM Narendra Modi will attend
BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summits in Russia. BRICS
Meet will be held on July 8-9, 2015 in UFA.
- Turkmenistan Visit (July 10-11, 2015)
- PM Narendra Modi presented
TurkmenistanPresident Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov a handcrafted
horse saddle owing to Mr. Berdimuhamedov's passion for horse riding.
- PM Narendra Modi inaugurated
Yoga Centre, unveils bust of Mahatma Gandhi in Ashgabat (Capital).
- 7 Memorandum of Understanding
signed Between India and Turkmenistan -
- Supply
of Chemical Products between India's Rashtriya Chemicals and
Fertilizers Limited and Turkmenistan's Turkmenhimiya.
- Foreign
Service Institutes of India and Turkmenistan.
- Concermned
Ministries Of Youth Affairs And Sports of India and Turkmenistan.
- Science
And Technology.
- Yoga
and Traditional Medicine.
- Tourism.
- Defence.
- Kyrgyzstan (July 12, 2015)
- PM
Narendra Modi presented Kyrgyzstan President Almazbek
Atambayev a hand-knotted carpet of very fine grade wool
blended with silk.
- Agreements
Signed between India and Kyrgyzstan
S.No.
|
Agreement
|
Signatory from Indian Side
|
1
|
Agreement
on Defence Cooperation
|
Mr. Navtej
Sarna, Secretary (West),MEA
|
2
|
Memorandum
of Mutual Understanding and Cooperation in the field of Elections
|
Mr V.
Zutshi, Deputy Election Commissioner
|
3.
|
MoU
between Ministry of Economy of Kyrgyzstan and Bureau of Indian Standards
(BIS) on cooperation in the sphere of Standards.
|
Mr. Jayant
Khobragade, India’s Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan
|
4.
|
Agreement
on Cooperation in Culture
|
Mr. Navtej
Sarna, Secretary (West),MEA
|
- Tajikistan (July 13, 2015)
- PM
Narendra Modi presented President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, a
special miniature painting of tomb of the 17th century by Indian poet
Abdul Qadir Bedil who is regarded as one of greatest masters of Persian
poetry.
S.No
|
Agreement
|
Signatory from the Indian Side
|
1.
|
Programme of Cooperation (POC) between Ministries of Culture of India
and Tajikistan in the field of Culture for the years 2016-18
|
Secretary (West), MEA
|
2.
|
Exchange of Note Verbale (NV) on setting up of Computer Labs in 37
Schools in Tajikistan
|
Ambassador, Dushanbe
|
- PM Narendra Modi Visited
Kyrgyzstan during his visit to five Central Asian Countries and Russia.
S.No.
|
Agreement
|
Signatory from
Indian Side
|
1
|
Agreement
on Defence Cooperation
|
Mr. Navtej
Sarna, Secretary (West),MEA
|
2
|
Memorandum
of Mutual Understanding and Cooperation in the field of Elections
|
Mr V.
Zutshi, Deputy Election Commissioner
|
3.
|
MoU
between Ministry of Economy of Kyrgyzstan and Bureau of Indian Standards
(BIS) on cooperation in the sphere of Standards.
|
Mr. Jayant
Khobragade, India’s Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan
|
4.
|
Agreement
on Cooperation in Culture
|
Mr. Navtej
Sarna, Secretary (West),MEA
|
- 1. PM Narendra Modi presented
Kyrgyzstan President Almazbek Atambayev a hand-knotted
carpet of very fine grade wool blended with silk.
- Agreements Signed between India and Kyrgyzstan
- PM Narendra Modi launched Digital India Week to encourage people’s involvement and awareness about various initiatives launched under Digital India Programme launched in August 2014. Some salient points are -
- Department of Electronics
& Information Technology (DeitY) is implementing Digital India
Programme.
- Digital Locker System will Minimize usage of physical documents by enable
sharing documents Online.
- MyGov.in and its mobile app is a platform for citizen engagement in
governance.
- Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM)
Mobile app would help achieving goals of Swachh Bharat Mission.
- eSign framework would allow citizens to digitally sign a document
online using Aadhaar authentication.
- Online Registration System
(ORS) under the eHospital
application has been introduced
- National Scholarships
Portal will simplify scholarship
process of submission, verification, and disbursal of amount to end
beneficiary.
- Bharat Net is a high speed digital highway to connect all 2.5
lakh Gram Panchayats of country.
- BSNL introduced Next
Generation Network (NGN) to manage all types of internet
services efficiently.
- Electronics Development Fund
(EDF) Policy will promote Innovation and Development to create a
self-sustaining eco-system of Venture Funds.
- National Centre for Flexible
Electronics (NCFlexE) will promote research in Flexible Electronics.
- Centre of Excellence on
Internet on Things (IoT) is an initiative by Department of
Electronics & Information Technology (DeitY), ERNET and NASSCOM.
- PM Narendra Modi presented
President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, a special miniature painting of
tomb of the 17th century by Indian poet Abdul Qadir Bedil who is regarded
as one of greatest masters of Persian poetry.
S.No
|
Agreement
|
Signatory from the Indian Side
|
1.
|
Programme of Cooperation (POC) between Ministries of Culture of India
and Tajikistan in the field of Culture for the years 2016-18
|
Secretary (West), MEA
|
2.
|
Exchange of Note Verbale (NV) on setting up of Computer Labs in 37
Schools in Tajikistan
|
Ambassador, Dushanbe
|
- Pankaj Munjal has been
appointed as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Hero Motors Group.
- Patnitop Tunnel (Chenani-Nashri
Tunnel) in Udhampur district of Jammu and Kashmir will be India’s longest
road tunnel after its opening in 2016.
- PetroFed Oil & Gas Industry
Awards 2014 by Petroleum Federation of India. 12 awards were given in 11
categories for performance during 2013-14-
- Indian Oil Corporation (IOC)
won Leading Oil & Gas Corporate, Oil & Gas Marketing
Company and Human Resources ManagementCompany
awards.
- Bharat Petroleum won Best Innovator and Environmental Sustainability
Company of Year Awards.
- Oil and Natural Gas Corp won Exploration & Production Company and Project
Management Company awards.
- Hindustan Petroleum won Oil & Gas Pipeline Transportation Company.
- Innovator of the Year
(Individual category) was given to Gnana Kumaraswamy Batta (Oil India
Limited).
- Prashant Pathrabe is appointed
as Interim Director of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII).
- President Pranab Mukherjee
inaugurated ‘Nakshatra Vatika’ at his official Rashtrapati Nilayam
Gardens in Secunderabad (Telangana).
- President Pranab Mukherjee
nominated Richard Hay and George Baker as
members of the Anglo-Indian Community to the Lok Sabha.
- Prince Saud al-Faisal, former
foreign minister of Saudi Arabia (1975-2015) passed away. He was Longest
ever serving Foreign Minister of any country.
- Puducherry city has became
first nomination to be received by Urban Development Ministry for a Smart
City Mission. Government of Union Territory of Puducherry nominated its
capital city for inclusion in Union Government’s flagship 100 Smart Cities
Mission.
- Punjab government launched
state Portal ePMS (Electronic Projects Management System) to fast track
infrastructural development.
- Pushpa Kamal Dahal, former
Prime Minister of Nepal visited India.
- QS BRICS Universities rankings
-
- India's Indian Institute of
Science (IISc), Bengaluru attained fifth position and 31 Indian
institutions appeared in top 200 of the ranking.
- Top 10 BRICS Universities -
Rank
|
Overall
Score
|
University
|
Location
|
1 |
100.0
|
Tsinghua
University
|
China
|
2
|
97.0
|
Peking
University
|
China
|
3
|
93.4
|
Fudan
University
|
China
|
4
|
92.9
|
Lomonosov
Moscow State University
|
Russia
|
5
|
92.5
|
Indian
Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore
|
India
|
6
|
91.4
|
Shanghai
Jiao Tong University
|
China
|
6
|
91.4
|
University
of Science and Technology of China
|
China
|
8
|
87.6
|
Nanjing
University
|
China
|
9
|
86.3
|
Universidade
de São Paulo
|
Brazil
|
10
|
85.4
|
Beijing
Normal University
|
China
|
- RailTel Corporation (A PSU
Under Ministry of Railways) won 12th National Awards for Excellence in
Cost management 2014 by The Institute of Cost Accounts of India.
- Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu
inaugurated Integrated Security System (ISS) at 6 railway stations in
Mumbai (Maharashtra) - Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Dadar, Kurla,
Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, Kalyan and Thane.
- Railways inaugurated
broad-gauge railway-line between Gandhidham and Tuna-Tekra Port in Gujarat
. It is India’s first railway-line built at a cost of approx 185 crore
rupees with private sector participation under Non-Government Railway
(NGR) Policy 2012 of Indian Railways.
- Railways signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) with Odisha Government for Dasapalla-Bolangir segment
of Khurda Road-Bolangir Broad Gauge Railway Line on cost sharing basis.
- Rajasthan may implement
Maharashtra's 'Jal Yukt Shivar Abhiyan for water conservation
and Integrated water management scheme.
- Rajendra Srivastava has been
appointed as Dean of Indian School of Business (ISB).
- Rakesh Sahni is appointed as
Chairman of Narmada Valley Development Authority (NVDA).
- Ram Vilas Paswan (Minister of
Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution) launched Surakshit Khadya
Abhiyan as a countrywide campaign to create mass awareness and capacity
building for safe and hygienic food.
- Ramon Magsaysay Award 2015 -
- Winners -
- Sanjeev Chaturvedi (India)
- Anshu Gupta (India) - founder
of NGO Goonj
- Kyaw Thu (Myammar)
- Ligaya Fernando (Philippines)
- Kommaly Chanthavong (Laos)
- About the Award - Ramon Magsaysay Award is an annual award
established to perpetuate former Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay's
example of integrity in governance, courageous service to the people, and
pragmatic idealism within a democratic society.
- Reliance Group compant Reliance
Unmanned Systems signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Augur
Overseas Operation of Singapore to manufacture Aerostats and Airships in
India.
- Reliance Group’s Pipavav
Defence and Offshore Engineering signed an agreement with Russian
firm Zvyozdochka, JSC Ship Repairing Centre for Medium Refits and Life
Certification of 877 EKM Submarines in India.
- Renowned Urdu novelist from
Pakistan Abdullah Hussain passed away.
- Report by Power Reactor
Information System (PRIS) of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) -
- Thirty one countries including
India are generating electricity from nuclear source.
- India ranked at 12th position
in terms of power generation and 6th in terms of number of nuclear
reactors.
- Researchers Team led by CN
Sunil discovered two new plant species named Vellithumpa (silver
flower) and Eriocaulon manoharanii in Western Ghats in
Kerala.
- Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
directed banks to ensure that their overall direct lending to farmers
should not be less than average of last three years. It is
being done against concerns of government over adverse impact of any
reduction in direct credit to farmers due to adverse weather conditions.
- Reserve Bank of India
constituted a committee under RBI executive director Deepak Mohanty to
prepare a 5 year action plan to spread the reach of financial services
across country.
- Reserve Bank of India signed
currency swap agreement with Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBS) to strengthen
economic ties with Sri Lanka. Under this agreement, Sri Lankan bank can
draw up to 1.1 billion dollars for maximum 6 months.
- Reserve Bank of India will put
into circulation 10 rupees coins to commemorate International Day of Yoga
(June 21).
- Rita Chowdhury (Sahitya
Akademi Award-winning writer) has been appointed as Director of
National Book Trust.
- Russian Spacecraft Soyuz TMA
17M with three astronauts (Oleg Kononenko (Russiaa), Kjell Lindgren (USA)
and Kimiya Yui (Japan)) successfully launched towards International Space
Station.
- Russian cosmonaut Gennady
Padalka has set Guinness World Record for spending longest time
in space with total 804 days. He broke previous record of 803 days set by
set by Russian Sergei Krikalev.
- Russian oil firm Rosneft will
buy 49 % stake in Indian Company Essar Oil for USD 3.2 Billion (Approx
20000 Crore).
- S.S. Negi is appointed as
Director General (Forests) and Special Secretary in Ministry of
Environment, Forests & Climate Change.
- SK Jha, Chief Hydrographer to
the Government of India Visited Mauritius and atteneded Xth Indo –
Mauritius Joint Committee Meeting on Hydrography.
- Sanjeev Galande, a professor at
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune has been
selected for G D Birla award for Scientific Research 2014 for his research
in Epigenetics and Molecular Cell Biology.
- Sanjeev Nandan Sahai is
appointed as Home Secretary of Delhi.
- Satish Pillai is appointed as
Chief of credit information agency Credit Information Bureau India Ltd
(CIBIL).
- Scientists at National Dairy
Research Institute (Haryana) developed a technique to decrease cholesterol
level in Ghee up to 85 to 90 percent without affecting taste and quality
of the ghee.
- Securities and Exchange Board
of India (SEBI) cancelled Certificate of Registration of Sahara Mutual
Fund by stating that that the company is not fit and proper entity to
carry out the business of mutual funds.
- Shaktikanta Das, Revenue
Secretary of India and Richard Verma, USA Ambassador to
India signed Agreement to implement Foreign Account Tax Compliance
Act (FATCA) to promote tax matters related transparency.
- Sher Bahadur Deuba, former
Prime Minister of Nepal visited India.
- Simhastha Kumbh Mela, noted as
largest event of faith in the world, began in Nashik (Maharashtra). Kumbh
Mela is a mass Hindu pilgrimage of faith and held every third year at one
of the four places by rotation: Haridwar, Allahabad (Prayaga), Nashik and
Ujjain.
- Solar Impulse, the Solar
powered aeroplane landed in Hawaii after making 118 Hours duration and
7,200 km long flight across the Pacific from Japan.
- Sports Ministry formed a
Committee to study the status of SAI (Sports Authority of India) training
centers. Commitee is headed by Ashwini Nachappa and has 7 other expert
members.
- Sriram Kalyanaraman is
appointed as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of National
Housing Bank for five years.
- State Bank of India launched an
initiative to expedite home loans application process as 'Project
Tatkal'. It will enable processing of loan within 10 days of receipt
of application form and relevant documents.
- State Bank of India partnered
with online travel company MakeMyTrip.com to capitalise on online travel
Business and booming e-commerce ecosystems.
- State Bank of Travancore
launched ‘SBT NRI Family Card,’as a prepaid card for Non resident
Indians and their families.
- Supreme Court Committee under
R.M. Lodha suspended Indian Premier League (IPL) teams Chennai Super Kings
(CSK)and Rajasthan Royals (RR) from the League for two years on grounds of
fixing activities.
- Swati Maliwal has been
appointed as Chairperson of Delhi Commission for Women.
- Switzerland's Nestle has
appointed Suresh Narayanan as head of its Indian operations.
- T K Chand has been appointed as
chairman-cum-managing director (CMD) of National Aluminium Company (Nalco)
- Tamil Film 'Visaaranai' will be
first Tamil film to have a world premiere in competition section in
upcoming 72nd Venice International Film Festival (Italy).
- Tata Steel's West Bokaro division,
GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd and Krishnapatnam Port in Andhra
have been declared as winners of ‘Golden Peacock Environment Management
Award (GPEMA)’ 2015 for achievements in the field of environment
management at the 17th World Congress on Environment Management in Delhi.
- Telecom services provider Tata
Teleservices appointed Anuraag Srivastava as Chief Financial
Officer.
- UGC (University Grants
Commission) granted heritage status to 19 colleges and will provide
financial assistance to these colleges for conserving campuses and
specialised courses related to heritage.
- UN Security Council adopted
resolution 2231 (2015) to establish a monitoring system for
Iran’s nuclear programme. This resolution will clear path for
removal of all nuclear-related sanctions against Iran and will guarantee
that International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will continue to
verify Iran’s compliance with nuclear-related commitments under
the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
- US-based growth partnership
company, Frost and Sullivan presented Asia-Pacific Economic
Development Innovation: Policy and Program Implementation Excellence
Award 2015 in Manufacturing to India's department of industrial
policy and promotion for the 'Make in India' initiative.
- USA won 2015 FIFA Women’s World
Cup by defeating Japan in the final played in Canada.
- USA's National Aeronautics and
Space Administration (NASA) selected four astronauts for commercial
spaceflights to and from International Space Station. Astronauts are
- Robert Behnken, Eric Boe, Douglas Hurley and Sunita Williams.
- Union Cabinet approved
amendments proposed by Rajya Sabha Select Committee headed by Bhupender
Yadav on Goods and Services Tax (GST) Constitution Amendment Bill,
2014 -
- The Committee suggested that
compensation to the states should be made for 5 years instead of up to 5
years for any revenue loss due to introduction of GST.
- The Committee reccommended
that GST Rates of Banking Services should be minimum to ensure
international competitiveness. If possible, banking services could
be outside the purview of GST.
- Committee reccommended that
non government shareholding in GSTN should be limited to public sector
banks and financial institutions.
- Union Cabinet approved setting
up INR 20000 Crore Rupees National Investment and Infrastructure
Fund to support that stressed projects by infrastructure
companies.
- United Nations Security Council
was unable to adopt the resolution International Criminal Tribunal
for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 to establish an international
tribunal to prosecute persons responsible for the downing of Malaysia
Airlines flight MH17 on 17 July 2014 in Ukraine. The proposal failed after
Russia vetoed the proposal.
- If one of the Council's five
permanent members (China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, United States)
casts a negative vote on a resolution, the text cannot be adopted.
- United Nation’s ‘World
Population Prospects: The 2015 Revision’ Report -
- India will become most
populous nation in 2022 and will stay at top till 2100.
- India’s population will be
around 1.5 billion in 2030 and 1.7 billion in 2050.
- United States of America (USA)
designated Tunisia as 16th Major Non-NATO Ally (MNNA).
- MNNA status confers variety of
military and financial advantages that otherwise are not obtainable by
non-NATO countries. It was created in 1989 with section 2350a (Nunn
Amendment) added to Title 10 (Armed Forces) of US Code.
- MNNAs are Tunisia, Australia,
Egypt, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Jordan, New Zealand, Argentina,
Bahrain, Philippines, Thailand, Kuwait, Morocco, Pakistan, Afghanistan.
- Uruguayan soccer legend Alcides
Edgardo Ghiggia passed away.
- Uttar Pradesh State Road
Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) become first State transport corporation to
have a vehicle tracking system for inter-city buses to reduce accidents.
- Uttarakhand became first Indian
state to install earthquakes detection system (in capital Dehradun)
that can issue warnings 1-40 seconds before earthquakes of magnitude 5 or
more occur.
- Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) has
been included in UNESCO'ds Cities of Music under Creative
Cities Network. It has been chosen in the music category under
UNESCO's field of excellence plan.
- Wimbeldon Tennis 2015 -
- Men's Singles - Novak Djokovic
(Serbia) won wimbledon title for third time by defeating Roger Federer
(Switzerland).
- Female Singles - Serena
Williams (USA) beat Spain's Garbine Muguruza to win her Sixth Wimbledon
Title.
- Female Doubles - Sania Mirza (India)
- Martina Hingis (Switzerland) won by defeating Ekaterina Makarova and
Elena Vesnina (Both from Russia).
- Male Doubles - Jean Julien
Rojer (Netherlands) - Horia Tecau (Romania) won by defeating Jamie Murray
(Britain) - John Peers (Australia).
- Mixed Doubles - Leander Paes (India)
and Martina Hingis (Switzerland) won by defeating Alexander Peya
(Austria) and Timea Babos (Hungary).
- Boy's Doubles - Sumit Nagal (India)
and Nam Hoang Ly (Vietnam) won by defeating Reilly Opelka (USA) and Akira
Santillan (Japan).
- World Bank annual revised
classification of countries based on gross national income (GNI) per
capita based on World Bank Atlas method -
- In 1994, 56.1 %of the world’s
population (310 crore) lived in 64 low-income countries, in 2014, this
has come down to 8.5 %(61.3 crores) people, living in 31 countries.
- Classification of Income
Groups of Economies based on GNI (Gross National Income) Per Capita -
- Low-income => GNI per
capita less than 1045 USD
- Lower-middle income => GNI
between 1045 - 4125 USD
- Upper middle-income => GNI
per capita between 4126 - 12735 USD.
- High Income => GNI per
capita between 4126 - 12736 USD
- Bangladesh, Kenya, Myanmar and
Tajikistan moved from low income group to the lower-middle income
group.
- Mongolia and
Paraguay moved from lower middle-income to Upper Middle Income
Group.
- Argentina, Hungary, Seychelles
and Venezuela moved from upper middle to high income group
- Malawi has world’s lowest
reported GNI per capita at 250 USD
- Monaco has highest GNI Per
Capita of more than 100000 USD.
- India’s position -
- India’s GNI per capita
increased to 1610 USD, it is still in lower middle income category.
- In the pas seven years,
India’s GDP increased by 1 Trillion USD to reach total 2 trillion USD.
- World Bank approved $650
million as third loan for India's 1840 KM Long Eastern Dedicated Freight
Corridor that will help more efficient movement of goods between northern
and eastern parts (Ludhiana to Kolkata).
- World Bank approved US$ 250
million (Approx Rs. 1500 Crores) assistance to India for Andhra Pradesh
Disaster Recovery Project.
- World Health organisation (WHO)
Global Tobacco Epidemic Report 2015-
- Focus is
on R of MPOWER measures which stands for Raise
taxes on tobacco
- There has been notable
progress in global tobacco control since 2013 Report.
- Global population covered by
at least one MPOWER measure has increased from 2.3 billion to 2.8
billion.
- More than 40% of global
population have implemented at least one MPOWER measure while 49
countries (20% global population) are covered by 2 or more MPOWER
measures.
- MPOWER measure is a set of
measures introduced in 2008 by WHO to assist in meeting Conventions on
Tobacco Control -
- M: Monitor tobacco use and
prevention policies
- P: Protect people from
tobacco smoke
- O: Offer help to quit tobacco
use
- W: Warn about the dangers of
tobacco
- E: Enforce bans on tobacco
advertising, promotion and sponsorship
- R: Raise taxes on tobacco
- World Police & Fire Games
2015 (USA) -
- USA first with 1,777 Medals,
Canada second with 430 medals while India performed well with over 150
Medals (89 golds and 50 silvers)
- World Trade Organisation
approved membership of Kazakhstan as 162nd member.
- World Trade Organization
finalised a list of 201 information technology products to be freed from
import tariffs in a $1.3 trillion deal. The products include new
generation semi-conductors, GPS navigation, medical equipment and other
tools used in many industries. The aim is to support lower prices, create
more jobs and boost GDP growth around the world.
- World’s first malaria vaccine
called RTS,S or Mosquirix got approval
from European Medicines Agency for use on babies between 6 weeks - 17
months in Africa, that are at highest risk of mosquito-borne diseases.
- World’s largest flower Amorphophallus
Titanum bloomed for first time in 5 years at Jindai botanical
gardens in Tokyo (Japan).
- Yakub Memon, 1993 Mumbai serial
blasts lone death row convict has been executed as Supreme Court rejected
his plea in pre-dawn hearing.