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CURRENT AFFAIRS
NATIONAL EVENTS
NATIONAL JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS
COMMISSION BILL

The President Pranab Mukherjee on 31 December, 2014

signed National Judicial Appointments Commission Bill,
2014. With this, National Judicial Appointments Commission
Act, 2014 has come into effect.

The Bill also called the 121st Constitutional Amendment

Bill, 2014 will set up National Judicial Appointments
Commission (NJAC) replacing collegiums system to appoint
judges of higher judiciary.
MAIN FEATURES OF THE NJAC ACT, 2014

It gives NJAC a Constitutional status for appointment of

judges to the Supreme Court and the High Courts.

It also gives the executive an equal role in the appointment

of judges to the highest judiciary, as a constitutional body.

It specifies amendments to Articles 124 (2) and 217 (1) that

deals with the appointment of judges in the Supreme Court
and the High Courts, respectively.

Now the judges in the Supreme Court and the High Courts
will be appointed by the President in consultation with the
NJAC.

Once the NJAC is in place then Union government has to

intimate NJAC within 30 day about the vacancies in the
Supreme Court and the High Courts. Vacancies to come up
within the next six months should also be intimated to the
commission in advance.
COMPOSITION OF NJAC

The NJAC has the Chief Justice of India as Chairperson and

two senior-most judges of the Supreme Court as members,
apart from the Union Law Minister and two eminent
personalities, one of whom would be nominated from among
the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes, minorities, the
Other Backward Classes or women.

NITI AAYOG REPLACES PLANNING COMMISSION

Union Government on 1 January 2015 set up the National

Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog. NITI Aayog
that replaced the 65 year old Planning Commission will be
headed by Prime Minister. It will have a governing council

comprising Chief Ministers of all the states and Lt. Governors

of Union Territories. Apart from this, the NITI Aayog will
also have a Vice-Chairperson and a Chief Executive Officer
(fixed tenure, in the rank of Secretary to the Government of
India), who will be appointed by the Prime Minister.
The Aayog has been tasked with a role of formulating policies
and direction for the government and serving as a thinktank, it will provide a national agenda for Prime Minister
and Chief Ministers. It will also provide relevant strategic
and technical advice across the spectrum of key elements of
policy, like economic matters of national and international
importance.

FUNCTIONS THAT WILL BE UNDERTAKEN BY THE

NITI AAYOG

It will develop mechanisms for formulation of credible plans

to the village level and aggregate these progressively at
higher levels of government
Special attention will be given to the sections of the society
that may be at risk of not benefitting adequately from
economic progress
It will also create a knowledge, innovation and
entrepreneurial support system through a collaborative
community of national and international experts,
practitioners and partners
It will offer a platform for resolution of inter-sectoral and
inter-departmental issues in order to accelerate the
implementation of the development agenda
It will also monitor and evaluate the implementation of
programmes, and focus on technology upgradation and
capacity building.

OTHER MEMBERS OF THE NITI AAYOG WILL BE

Experts, specialists and practitioners with relevant domain
knowledge as special invitees nominated by the Prime Minister

Members - Full-time

Part-time members: Maximum of 2 from leading universities

research organisations and other relevant institutions in an exofficio capacity. Part time members will be on a rotational
basis.

Ex Officio members: Maximum of 4 members of the Union

Council of Ministers to be nominated by the Prime Minister.

Secretariat as deemed necessary.

UNION GOVERNMENT ALIGNED FDIPOLICY

WITH NIC 2008

Union Government on 5 January, 2015 aligned the Foreign

Direct Investment (FDI) policy with the upgraded National
Industrial Classification (NIC) - 2008. This was done with
an aim to improve the ease of doing business. The code will
classify business activities and allow the industry to seek
policy approvals for specific activities.
Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) said
that the action has been undertaken to map the activities of
the Consolidated FDI Policy, 2014 with the National
Industrial Classification, 2008.
In India all economic activities are classified in accordance
to NIC code and classification is necessary for seeking
industrial licenses and submitting industrial entrepreneurs'
memorandum. DIPP, functional under the Ministry of
Commerce and Industry, is the nodal agency on FDI policy.
This agency compiles all policies related to India's FDI
regime into a single document to make it simple and easy
for investors to understand.

INDO-US DEAL

Barack Obama, the president of the United States, was invited

to India as a chief guest for the Indian Republic Day parade
on 26th, January, 2015. On this occasion several important
deals of importance saw light.
Defence: developing cooperation through the Defence Trade
and Technology Initiative,
Counter-terrorism: cooperating on anti-terrorism and
homeland security,
Economic ties: through increased trade and investment,
especially in infrastructure,
Climate change and clean energy: the two countries are
developing aPartnership to Advance Clean Energy, in
addition to nuclear.
But the nuclear deal was the big one. When India developed
their own atomic weapons in the 1970s, the relationship
between America and India became rocky, to say the least.
But nuclear energy is a huge part of India's energy future, as
a way to bring hundreds of millions of people up into the
middle class without increasing the use of coal. Therefore,
it was in the best interest of both countries to find a way to
address the nuclear issues.
PILLARS OF (INDO-US) DEAL
1. Energy and Climate Change
2. Education and Development
3. Economy
4. Trade and Agriculture
5. Science and Technology and Health and Innovation.
Civil Nuclear cooperation
Defence cooperation
Counter terrorism and internal security
People to People ties

Cultural cooperation

HARI SHANKAR BRAHMA IS NEW CHIEF

ELECTION COMMISSIONER

Hari Shankar Bramha was appointed as the new Chief

Election Commissioner (CEC) by President Pranab
Mukherjee on 15 January, 2016. Brahma, the senior-most
Election Commissioner in the Election Commission of India
succeeds V.S. Sampath.
Sampath demitted the office on 15 January, 2015 after
attaining the age of 65, the upper age limit under the
Constitution for holding the post. He will have a small tenure
of three months till 19 April 2015, when he turns 65, the
upper age limit for the post.
He is a 1975 IAS officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre
He hails from Assam and has served as the former Union
power secretary
He was appointed as an Election Commissioner on 25 August
2010
After J.M. Lyngdoh, Brahma is the second officer from
northeast to be appointed to this post.
Election Commission of India is a permanent Constitutional
Body. It was established in accordance with the Constitution
on 25 January, 1950.

ARVIND KEJRIWAL SWORN IN AS 8TH CM OF

DELHI
Arvind Kejriwal was sworn-in as 8th Chief Minister of Delhi on
14th February. In 2015Delhi Assembly elections, AAP staged a
historic victory by sweeping 67 of the 70 seats. This will be Arvind
Kejriwal's second term as Delhi Chief Minister. Earlier in February
2014, he had resigned after running a 49-day government with
the support of Congress.

MUFTI MOHAMMED SAYEED IS THE CHIEF

MINISTER OF J&K

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader Mufti Mohammed

Sayeed on 1 March, 2015 was sworn in as the 12th Chief
Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. This is the second time
that Sayeed will be heading a coalition government in the
state. Earlier in 2002, he led a PDP-Congress alliance
government and was Chief Minister for three years. Nirmal
Singh of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was made the Deputy
Chief Minister of the state. This is the first time that BJP has
become a part of the government in Jammu and Kashmir
after PDP and BJP agreed to form a coalition government
as no party secured an absolute majority in the J&K
Assembly elections in December 2014.

RAILWAY BUDGET 2015-16

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on 26 February 2015

presented his maiden Rail Budget 2015-16 in the Lok Sabha.
This was also the second rail budget of the Narendra Modiled NDA government.
BUDGET ESTIMATES FOR 2015-16

Passenger earnings growth pegged at 16.7 percent and target

budgeted at 50175 crore rupees
Freight traffic is pegged at an all time high incremental traffic

of 85 million tonnes, anticipating a healthier growth in the

core sector of economy
Goods earnings proposed at 121423 crore rupees which
includes rationalisation of rates, commodity classification
and distance slabs
Other coaching and sundries are projected at 4612 crore
rupees and 7318 crore rupees respectively
Gross Traffic Receipts estimated at 183578 crore rupees, a
growth of 15.3 percent
Ordinary Working Expenses proposed to grow at 9.6 percent
over RE 2014-15. Traction fuel bill is anticipated to shrink
further
Lease charges, interest component of the current and
previous market borrowings are pegged at a growth of 21
percent
Appropriation to Pension Fund is proposed at 35260 crore
rupees and appropriation to DRF at 8100 crore rupees
Appropriation of 7616 crore rupees is proposed to be made
to Capital Fund for payment of principal component of lease
charges to IRFC

PLAN OUTLAY 2015-16

Gross Budgetary Support of 40000 crore rupees for the

Railway's annual Plan
Total Plan Outlay is 100011 crore rupees, an increase of 52
percent over RE 2014-15
1645.60 crore rupees has also been provided as Railway's
share of diesel cess from the Central Road Fund
Market borrowing under Extra Budgetary Resources (EBR)
projected at 17655 crore rupees, an increase of about 46.5
percent
Balance Plan outlay includes 17793 crore rupees from
Internal Resources and 5781 crore rupees from PPP
A new financing approach to expand EBR has been
projected. This EBR, presently named EBR (Institutional
Finance) is projected at 17136 crore rupees and is aimed at
accelerating completion of capacity augmentation projects.

FOLLOWING ARE THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE RAILWAY

BUDGET 2015-16:

No hike in passenger fares

No new trains announced
Freight rate for cement, coal, others hiked by up to 10%
Investment of Rs. 8.50 lakh cr envisaged in five years
Buttons, coin vending machines for railway tickets
e-catering to select meals from an array of choices
24X7 helpline for passenger security problems
Surveillance cameras in suburban coaches for woman safety
More General class coaches to be added
SMS alert service for passengers to be expanded
On-board entertainment on select Shatabdi trains
Hike daily passenger carrying capacity from 21mn to 30mn
200 more stations to come under Adarsh Station scheme

Wi-Fi connectivity at B category stations

A new department to keep stations, trains clean
Operating ratio to improve to 88.5% in 2015-16
Speed in 9 railway corridors to be increased from 110 kmph
and 130 kmph to 160 and 200 kmph
Collision Avoidance System to be installed on select routes
Proposed 77 new projects covering 9,400 km of doubling
works.

UNION BUDGET 2015-16

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented Union Budget

2015-16 in the Parliament. It was the first full year Budget
of the NDA government under leadership of Prime Minister
of Narendra Modi and the second budget of Arun Jaitley as
Finance Minister.
MAJOR AREAS

Fiscal deficit seen at 3.9% of GDP in 2015-16, committed

to meeting medium term fiscal deficit target of 3%.

GDP growth seen between 8% and 8.5% this year.

Consumer inflation to remain close to 5% by March, more

room for monetary policy easing.

No change in individual income tax rates and slabs, overall

deduction benefits to individual taxpayers hiked to Rs 4.44
lakh a year.

Disinvestment target set at Rs 41,000 crore for 2015-16.

Exemption on health insurance premium hiked from Rs

15,000 to Rs 25,000. For senior citizens it is hiked to Rs
30,000.

Service tax rate hiked to 14% from 12.36%.

To implement Goods and Services Tax by April 2016.

Wealth tax abolished. To be replaced by surcharge of 2% on

income of Rs 1 crore and above. Move to fetch govt Rs
9,000 cr against Rs 1,008 currently mobilised under wealth
tax.

Corporate tax rate to be reduced from 30% to 25% over

four years; deductions and exemptions to be rationalised.

GAAR deferred by two years would apply prospectively

from April 1, 2017

A new benami transaction bill to be introduced to tackle

domestic black money; enforcement agencies empowered
to attach assets held abroad illegally; Undisclosed income
to be taxed at maximum marginal rate, deductions and
exemptions for such income won't be allowed; 10 years
rigorous imprisonment for concealing foreign assets.
PROVISIONS
Taxation

No change in the Tax slab on personal income.

Wealth tax abolished.

Additional 2% surcharge for the super-rich with income more

than Rs. 1 crore.

For next 4 years, corporate tax has been reduced to 25 per

cent from present 30 per cent.

Service tax increased to14 per cent.

Apart from CSR, 100% tax exemption for contribution to

Swachch Bharat Abhiyan.

4
New Projects

5 more AIIMSs in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Tamil Nadu,

Himachal Pradesh, Bihar and Assam.

IIT in Karnataka. While, the Indian School of Mines in

Dhanbad, Jharkhand will be converted into IIT.

2 more IIMs in Jammu and Kashmir and Andhra Pradesh.

Post-Graduation institutes of Horticulture in Amritsar,

Punjab.

University of Disability Studies will be established in Kerala.

In Arunachal Pradesh, Centre of film production, animation

and gaming will come up.

For Infrastructure sector Rs. 70,000 crores allocated.

Projects in rail road and irrigation bonds will be tax free.

Infrastructure development through PPP model will be

revitalised and government will bear majority of the risk.

Atal Innovation Mission will be established to draw on

expertise of researchers and entrepreneurs to foster scientific
innovations.

For this mission Rs. 150 crore allocated.

5 ultra-mega power projects each of 4000MW proposed by

Government
Defence

2, 46,726 crore allocated for Defence. It is 9.87 per cent

greater than last year.

Make in India campaign will take into consideration for

speedy manufacturing of Defence equipment.
Welfare Schemes and New Programmes

Under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, six crore toilets across

the country will be built.

By 2020, housing for all.

MGNREGA will get MGNREGA of Rs. 5,000 crore. It is

highest allocation to this scheme.

To improve quality of life of common man, GST and JAM

trinity (Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhaar and Mobile) will be
launched.

To encourage first generation SC/ST entrepreneurs, MUDRA

bank will provide finance.

Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) will be further be expanded

to 10.3 crore from 1 crore.

Government will contribute 50% of the premium limited to

Rs. 1,000 a year for the Atal Pension Yojana.

9,000 crore unclaimed funds in PPF/EPF will be used for

Senior Citizens Fund.

For all Indian, government will create universal social

security system.

For electric cars production Rs. 75 crore allocated.

Renewable energy target for 2022: 60K MW in wind; 10K

MW in biomass, 100K MW in solar and 5K MW in small
hydro plants.

Under the new tourism scheme, development of churches

and convents in old Goa; Hampi, Elephanta caves, ,
Jallianwala Bagh, Forests of Rajasthan, Leh palace, Varanasi

Qutb Shahi tombs at Hyderabad.

Visa on Arrival (VoA) facility to be increased for 150
countries from present 43 countries.
As an alternative to purchasing gold, Sovereign Gold Bond
will be launched.
In order to facilitate depositors of gold to earn interest and
jewellers to obtain loans on their metal accounts new scheme
will be launched.
Forward Markets Commission (FMC) will be merged with
the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). Under
SARFAESI Act 2002, NBFCs registered with the RBI having
asset size of Rs 500 crore and above to be considered as
financial institution for mid-corporate businesses and fund
SME.
For Rural Infrastructure Development Bank, Rs. 25,000
crore allocated.
To support Micro Irrigation Programme, Rs. 5,300 crore
allocated.

INTERNATIONAL EVENTS
THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES CLOSED
EMBASSY IN YEMEN

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on 14 February, 2015 has

closed its embassy in Yemen and evacuated staff over security
concerns after a Shiite militia seized power.

The UAE followed Saudi Arabia, the United States,

Germany, Britain, France and Italy in shutting their missions
in the Yemeni capital Sanaa. France, Germany and Italy
closed their Embassy on 13 February 2015.

The security situation in Yemen deteriorated after the Shia

Houthis undermined the legitimate authority and the political
transition based on the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
initiative and results of the UN Security Council-backed
national dialogue.

The Shiite Houthi militia dissolved Yemen's government and

parliament on 6 February 2015 after seizing the presidential
palace and key government buildings.
The US and UK cooperation in Combating Cyber Threats

The US President Barack Obama and UK Prime Minister

David Cameron announced cooperative measures in
combating cyber threats. Both the countries announced the
measures during the bilateral summit between the two
countries held in Washington DC, US on 16 January 2015.

The measures include better threat information sharing and

the creation of a new joint cyber task force.

The measure on better threat information sharing will bring

together Internet security experts from the Government
Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) and Security
Service MI5 of the UK and the National Security Agency

(NSA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the

US.

MAITHRIPALA SIRISENA NEW PRESIDENT OF

SRI LANKA

Mithripala Sirisena, Health Minister in Rajapaksa

government, won the 2015 Presidential Elections of Sri
Lanka.
The winning of Sirisena is seen by many as advantage to
India as during the Rajapaksa rule; he had opposed the
infrastructure related contracts between the island nation and
China. Moreover, he has announced to scrap many of the
contracts between Sri Lanka and China including a new city
proposed to be built on reclaimed land off Colombo at a
cost of 1.5 billion US dollars. However, if moderation in
Tamil Nadu is not observed, the new government could
become a plaything in the hands of the Buddhist clergy.

AWARDS AND HONOURS

WORLD'S MOST VALUABLE INDIVIDUAL AWARD

MH370 FLIGHT DISAPPEARANCE AN ACCIDENT

The Malaysian government on 29 January, 2015 officially

declared the disappearance of Malaysian Airline flight
MH370 an accident and said that there were no survivors.
With this announcement, the way for the airline to pay
compensation to victims' relatives was cleared. But the search
for the plane will continue.
The Beijing-bound Boeing 777 aircraft carrying 239
passengers and crew on board disappeared en route from
Kuala Lumpur on 8 March 2014. Since disappearance,
neither the plane nor its whereabouts were found despite a
massive international search in the southern Indian Ocean.

G-20 DECIDED TO SET UP GLOBAL

INFRASTRUCTURE HUB

The G20 leaders decided to set up a global infrastructure

hub to help reduce barriers to investment and improve
information sharing for channelising funds into the sector.
Located in Sydney, the hub will contribute to developing a
knowledge-sharing platform and network between
governments, the private sector, development banks and
other international organisations. The B20, a grouping of
business leaders of G20 nations, have estimated that the hub
could help unlock an additional $2 trillion in global
infrastructure capacity by 2030. India's infrastructure sector
will require an estimated $1 trillion in 12th Plan period
ending 2017 and half of it is expected to come from the
private sector.

SAUDI ARABIA KING ABDULLAH BIN

ABDULAZIZ DIED

Saudi Arabia King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz passed away on

23 January 2015 following a brief illness. He was 90. After
the death of Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, his brother and Crown
Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was named as the new
king.

5
The new crown prince is Muqrin bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
Both Salman and Muqrin are younger brothers of Abdullah.
Abdullah was born in Riyadh in 1924 and was one among
the dozens of sons of Saudi Arabia's founder, King AbdulAziz Al Saud.
He was selected as crown prince in 1982 on the day his
half-brother Fahd ascended the throne. He became de facto
ruler in 1995 when a stroke incapacitated Fahd.

Hifikepunye Pohamba, outgoing Namibian President has

won the world's most valuable individual award- Mo Ibrahim
prize for African leadership for year 2014.
Pohamba was born in 1935 in Namibia and was a former
rebel who fought for his country's independence. He has
served as Namibian President two terms. For first time he
was elected in 2004 and again in 2009. Now, he is due to be
succeeded by elected President Hage Geingob.
This prize is given each year to an elected leader who has
governed well, raised living standards and then left office.
It is named after Mo Ibrahim, a British-Sudanese mobile
communications entrepreneur and philanthropist who had
made billions of fortune from investing in Africa.
Mo Ibrahim had launched this prize in 2007 to encourage
African leaders to leave power peacefully.
It is the world's most valuable individual award and carries
monetary award of 5 million dollar and also $ 200,000 a
year for life. The inaugural prize was awarded to Joaquim
Chissano, former president of Mozambique.

MISS UNIVERSE 2015

Colombia's Paulina Vega was crowned 63rd Miss Universe

after beating out contenders from the United States, Ukraine,
Jamaica and Netherlands. Miss USA Nia Sanchez from Las
Vegas was named a runner-up, along with Miss Ukraine
Diana Harkusha.
She is granddaughter of celebrated Colombian singer Gastn
Vega.
Currently, she is a student of business from the northern
Colombia city of Barranquilla.
Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that
is run by the Miss Universe Organisation.
Along with the Miss World and Miss Earth contests, Miss
Universe is one of the three largest beauty pageants in the
world and one of the most anticipated beauty pageants
worldwide. It was founded in 1952 by the California clothing
company Pacific Mills.

PADMA AWARDS 2015

Padma Awards, the country's highest civilian awards, are conferred

6
in three Categories viz. Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. This years list comprises 9 Padma Vibhushan, 20 Padma
Bhushan and 75 Padma Shri Awardees. Among these awardees 17 are women and equal number are in category of foreigners, NRIs,
PIOs. While, 4 are posthumous awardees. The Awards are given in various disciplines- art, social work, public affairs, science and
engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc.

PADMA VIBHUSHAN AWARDS

It is the second highest civilian award. It is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service.
Sr. No.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Name of the Awardee

L. K. Advani
Amitabh Bachchan
Prakash Singh Badal
Dr.D.Veerendra Heggade
Dilip Kumar
Swami Rambhadracharya
Prof. Malur Ramaswarr Srinivasan
Shri Kottayan K. Venugopal
Karim Al Hussaini Aga Khan (Foreigner)

Discipine
Public Affairs
Art
Public Affairs
Social Work
Art
Others
Science & Engineering
Public Affairs
Trade & Industry

State/Domicile
Gujarat
Maharashtra
Punjab
Karnataka
Maharashtra
Uttar Pradesh
Tamil Nadu
Delhi
France/UK

PADMA BHUSHAN AWARDS

It is the third highest civilian award. It is awarded for distinguished service of high order.
Sr. No.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.

Name of the Awardee

Jahnu Barua
Dr. Vijay Bhatkar
Swapan Dasgupta
Swami Satyamitranand Giri
N. Gopalaswami
Dr. Subhash C. Kashyap
Dr. (Pandit) Gokulotsavji Maharaj
Dr. Ambrish Mithal
Sudha Ragunathan
Harish Salve Public
Dr. Ashok Seth
Rajat Sharma
Satpal
Shivakumara Swami
Dr. Kharag Singh Valdiya
Prof. Manjul Bhargava(NRI/PIO)

17.
David Frawley (Vamadeva)(Foreigner)
Others USA
18.
Bill Gates(Foreigner)
Social Work
USA
19.
Melinda Gates (Foreigner)
Social Work
USA
20.
Saichiro Misumi(Foreigner)
Others Japan

SAHITYA AKADEMI AWARD 2014

Eminent Sanskrit scholar Prabhu Nath Dwivedi has been

conferred with prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award 2014 for
Sanskrit language.
He was chosen for his work Kanakalochanaha- a collection
of 16 short-stories based upon various social issues eroding
the system. His book was selected by a three-member jury

Discipine
Art
Science & Engineering
Literature & Education
Others
Civil Service
Public Affairs
Art
Medicine
Art
Affairs
Medicine
Literature & Education
Sports
Others
Science & Engineering
Science & Engineering

State/Domicile
Assam
Maharashtra
Delhi
Uttar Pradesh
Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Madhya Pradesh
Delhi
Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Delhi
Karnataka
Karnataka
USA

of the Sahitya Akademi. Mr Diwedi is Sanskrit teacher and

has been teaching in various universities for more than three decades.
Sahitya Akademi Award is conferred on writers of outstanding
works in one of the twenty-four major Indian languages.

VIJAY KUMAR WON THE GOLD AT THE 35TH

NATIONAL GAMES

Vijay Kumar on 3 February 2015 won the Gold in 25 metre

centre fire pistol event under men's category in shooting
competitions of the 35th National Games in Kerala.
He won the Gold with a total score of 583 and finished with
a clear seven-point lead over Silver medalist Samresh Jung
(Himachal Pradesh) with a score of 576. Pemba Tamang
won the Bronze with a score of 575.

SERENA WILLIAMS WON WOMEN'S SINGLE

TITLE OF AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2015

Serena Williams on 31 January 2015 won the women's single

title of Australian Open of Tennis. In the summit clash, the
world number one American defeated Maria Sharapova, the
world number two from Russia 6-3, 7-6(5) in Melbourne,
Australia.
With this win, 33- years and 127 days old Williams became
the oldest winner of the Australian Women's title in the Open
era.

PANKAJ ADVANI WON NATIONAL BILLIARDS

TITLE

Pankaj Advani on 17 January 2015 won National Billiards

Championship at the Bengal Rowing Club in Kolkata. He
defeated his PSPB mate Dhruv Sitwala 5-0.

SANIA MIRZA, BETHANIE MATTEK-SANDS

WON WOMEN'S DOUBLES TITLE OF SYDNEY
INTERNATIONAL

Sania Mirza and her partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the

US on 16 January 2015 won the women's doubles title of
the Sydney International Tennis Tournament.
The unseeded Indo-American pair defeated top-seeded
Americans Abigail Spears and Raquel Kops-Jones 6-3, 6-3
in the summit clash played in Sydney. With this win, the duo
earned 470 ranking points each and split 39000 US Dollar
as prize money.
This was the fifth WTA title for Sania and Bethanie together,
while it was the first title of the season for Sania. This was
23rd career title for Sania.

SPORTS & GAMES

JAGMOHAN DALMIYA IS NEW BCCI PRESIDENT
Jagmohan Dalmiya on 2 March, 2015 was unanimously elected
as the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)
at Annual General meeting held in Chennai.Himachal Pradesh
Cricket Association Chief Anurag Thakur was elected as Secretary
of BCCI while Jharkhand State Cricket Association Chief
Amitabha Choudhary was elected as Joint Secretary and Haryana's
Anirudh Choudhary was named as its Treasurer.Dalmiya had
served BCCI as its President between 2001 and 2004. He also
served as the President of International Cricket Council (ICC)
between 1997 and 2000.

35TH NATIONAL GAMES

The 35th National Games were held in Kerala from 31 January,
2015 to 14 February 2015. The National Games saw 33 discipline
of sport and was held at 30 venues spread over seven districts of
the state. This was the first time that the National Games were
held in more than one district.
THE TOP FIVE POSITIONS IN MEDAL TALLY
Services
Kerala
Haryana

Gold
91
54
40

Silver
33
48
40

Bronze
35
60
27

Total
159
162
107

Maharashtra
Punjab

30
27

43
34

50
32

123
93

ICC CRICKET WORLD CUP

The ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 started on 12 February,

2015 with inaugural ceremonies held in Melbourne, Australia
and Christchurch, New Zealand.
Australia and New Zealand are co-hosting 2015 Cricket
World Cup that will see 49 matches spread over 43 days.
The World Cup will see 14 cricketing nations playing against
each others to win the cup. The participant teams are India,
Australia, New Zealand, England, South Africa, Sri Lanka,
Pakistan, Bangladesh, West Indies, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan,
Ireland, Scotland andUnited Arab Emirates.
The finals will be played on 29 March 2015 a Melbourne,
Australia.

FIRST BATSMAN TO HIT DOUBLE CENTURY IN

WORLD CUP HISTORY
West Indies opener batsman Chris Gayle created history by
becoming the first batsman to score a double century in the World
Cup. He made this record by scoring 215 runs off just 147 balls in
a Pool-B match against Zimbabwe held at Manuka Oval stadium
in Canberra, Australia. Gayle's record score comprised of 10 fours
and 16 sixes that helped West Indies score 372 runs during the
match. His fastest double century in One-Day Internationals (ODIs)
also broke the previous record which was held by Indian batsman
Virender Sehwag.

2015 AUSTRALIAN OPEN MIXED DOUBLES TITLE

Leander Paes and his Swiss teammate Martina Hingis have won
2015 Australian Open mixed doubles title. In the final they defeated
Canadian-French team of Daniel Nestor and Kristina Mladenovic,
in straight sets, 6-4 and 6-3. This is their first Grand Slam of the
season. With this win Leander Paes clinched his 15th Grand Slam
title.

AB DE VILLIERS HITS FASTEST CENTURY IN ODIS

South African cricketer AB de Villiers has hit the fastest

century and half-century in one-day internationals (ODI).
He achieved the feat in second match as part of the 5-match
ODI series against West Indies. Overall in this match, AB
de Villiers made 149 off 44 balls.
He made the century in just 31 balls and broke earlier record
of New Zealand's Corey Anderson who had hit the century
in 36 balls in 2013-14.
He also made fastest half-century, off 16 balls breaking Sri
Lankan cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya's previous record who
had made half-century in 17 balls.
His innings included 16 sixes. It equalled the previous record
set by India's Rohit Sharma against Australia in Bangalore
in 2013/14.

ECONOMIC SCENARIO
UNION GOVERNMENT AND RBI SIGN
AGREEMENT TO KEEP INFLATION BELOW 6%

Union Government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

have signed an agreement on Monetary Policy Framework

in order to move towards the RBI Governor Raghuram

Rajan's view of inflation targeting.
Presently, Union Government and RBI give inflation
estimates and do not set targets. But as per this agreement
government has set a target for RBI to bring down inflation
below 6 per cent by January 2016.
4 per cent for financial year and all subsequent years with
band of +/- 2 percent.

SIX INDIAN WOMEN AMONG FORBES' 50

'POWER BUSINESSWOMEN' 2015

Six Indian women entrepreneurs and businesswomen have

been named by Forbes magazine as among the 50 'Power
Businesswomen' from Asia.
Indians included in the list are:

Arundhati Bhattacharya- Chairperson of State Bank of

India (SBI). Forbes list referred her as the first lady of
Indian banking and as chair of the Indian behemoth
with 225 million customers.

Chanda Kochchar- MD & CEO of ICICI Bank. Forbes

list referred her as India's second-most-powerful banker
after Bhattacharya

Akhila Srinivasan- MD of Shriram Capital.

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw- Chairman & MD of Biocon.

Shikha Sharma- CEO of Axis Bank.

Usha Sangwan- MD of Life Insurance Corporation of

India (LIC)

KOTAK-ING VYSYA BANK MERGER

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has given its

approval to proposed Rs 15,000-crore merger deal between
Kotak Mahindra Bank and ING Vysya Bank.
CCI in its approval mentioned that this merger is not likely
to have an appreciable adverse effect on competition in India.
The CCI also has 0bserved that the ING Vysya does not
have significant market share in any of the relevant markets
and there is presence of large players in these markets. So it
will act as a competitive constraint to the parties.
This approval is considered as important step for merging
of two banks to form new entity.
This merger will make Kotak Mahindra Bank fourth-largest
private bank in India in terms of total business. The biggest
three private banks are ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis
Bank.

UNION GOVERNMENT TO INFUSE RS. 6,990

CRORE IN NINE PSBS

Union Government is planning to infuse Rs. 6,990 crore in

9 Public Sector Banks (PSB's) for enhancing their capital
and meeting the global risk norms. In this regard,

Government has allocated Rs.11,200 crore in the Union

Budget 2014-15, for the first tranche of capital infusion in
these banks.
Capital infusion in PSBs was decided on the basis of the
performance of the bank. In this case efficiency parameters
for all PSBs for last three years were put together. PSBs
which were above the average, were considered for capital
infusion.
Two parameters were chosen to find efficiency parameters
of all PSBs. They were weighted average of return on assets
(ROA) and return on equity (ROE) during the last financial
year.
9 PSBs are: State Bank of India (Rs 2,970 crore), Bank of
Baroda (Rs 1,260 crore), Punjab National Bank (Rs 870
crore), Canara Bank (Rs 570 crore), Syndicate Bank (Rs
460 crore), Allahabad Bank (Rs 320 crore), Indian Bank
(Rs 280 crore), Dena Bank (Rs 140 crore) and Andhra Bank
(Rs 120 crore).

INDIA'S GROWTH TO REACH 6.3 PER CENT IN

2016

According to the United Nations World Economic Situation

and Prospects (WESP) 2015 report, India's growth in terms
of GDP is expected to reach 5.9 per cent in 2015 and 6.3 per
cent in 2016.
India's growth recovery is partly the result of improved
market sentiment after the new government took office in
the second quarter of 2014 and had announced plans to
reform the bureaucracy, labour laws and public subsidies.

DEFENCE
DAC GIVES NOD TO MCMV PROJECT

March 1, 2015 Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) on 28

February 2015 gave approval for afresh Mine Counter
Measure Vessel (MCMV) project worth over Rs 32,000
crore.
This decision was taken by DAC meeting chaired by Defence
Minister Manohar Parrikar.
MCMV project will built specialized vessels for the Indian
Navy as per make in India policy at Goa Shipyard Limited
(GSL) in collaboration with a foreign manufacturer.
These ships will weigh around 600 to 1,000 tonnes and will
be used to dismantle antiship mines. DAC also gave approval
for buying one C-130J medium transport aircraft for the
Indina Air Force (IAF) at a cost of Rs. 530 crore
This aircraft will replace a C-130 J which had crashed in
2014 near Gwalior. Buying 38 more Pilatus trainer aircraft
form Switzerland a cost of Rs. 1,500 crore. These trainer
aircraft will train IAF fighter pilots.
It should be noted that DAC is the apex body for clearing
defence procurement proposals forwarded by the Indian
Army, Navy and Air Force.