Daily Current Affairs - 27th June 2015, Saturday

1. U.S legalizes gay marriages in all 50 states of the country

(i) The US Supreme court, on Friday, in an historic ruling legalised same sex
marriages, holding that gay people can marry in all the 50 states of US.
(ii) The court ruled that US constitution's guarantees of due process and equal
protection under the law means that states cannot ban same sex marriages.
(iii) This move has come as a great triumph for the American Gay Rights
Movement.
2. India tops the index on baseline profitability
(i) A ranking based on an index for baseline profitability (BPI), which indicates the
attractiveness of various countries of the world for foreign investors, has placed
India first, among 110 other countries.
(ii) The ranking is based on an index for baseline profitability (BPI) which
assumes that three factors affect the ultimate success of a foreign investment
i.e. how much the value of an asset grows, the preservation of that value while
the asset is owned and the ease of repatriation of proceeds from selling the
asset.
(iii) In the year 2014, Hong kong was ranked first as per the BPI.
3. Minimum export price for onion steeply hiked by the Govt.
(i) The Government of India has steeply hiked the minimum export price (MEP)
for onion by previous 175 US dollars per tonne to present 425 US dollars per
tonne.
(ii) The Government took this step to ensure adequate domestic supply and
contain price rise.
(iii) Directorate General of Foreign Trade, in a notification informed that the new
MEP, rates below which no exports are allowed will be applicable with immediate
effect.
4.

Italy initiated international arbitration against India

(i) The Italian Government on Friday said that it had initiated International
arbitration proceedings in the case of two Italian marines facing trial in India, for
the killing of two fishermen in 2012.
(ii) This unilateral move comes after the failure of direct negotiations between
the Indian Government and Italian Government, which have resulted in strained
diplomatic relations between the two countries.
(iii) The point of debate contention being, India insists that the fate of the two
marines be resolved by its courts because its citizens were shot in its territorial

waters and the Italian Government insists that since the killing occurred in
International waters off Southern India, it should be dealt with under the UN
Convention on the Law of the Sea.

5. Myanmar MP's voted to retain army's veto powers over constitutional

change
(i) Dealing a heavy blow to the Presidentship hopes of Aung San Suu Kyi, majority
of members of Myanmar parliament have voted to retain Army's veto powers
over constitutional change.
(ii) Though the bill received a majority of MP's votes, not the 75 per cent needed
to pass.
(iii) Ms. Suu Kyi's, National League of Democracy is expected to see big gains
against the ruling in party in the elections due in autumn.
6. Indigenously designed LCH completes hot weather flight trails
(i) The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) indigenously designed and
developed Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) successfully completed the hot
weather trails on Friday.
(ii) The combat helicopter had completed cold weather flight testing in February
2015.
(iii) The helicopter is designed to carry out dedicated combat roles such as Air
Defence, anti-tank, scout and support combat search/rescue missions.

Daily Current Affairs - 28th and 29th June 2015, Sunday and Monday
1.Greek debt crisis impacts world markets
(i) The Greece debt crisis has impacted the world markets, with the benchmark
BSE Sensex slipping 535 points and the NSE Nifty sliding below the 8,300 mark in
opening trade today on across-the-board selling by participants.
(ii) All the indices across different sectors reflected negative terrain, led by
realty, capital goods and banking with losses up to 3.16 per cent. The Asian
markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 1.41 per cent and Japan's Nikkei
slumped 1.78 per cent.
(iii)With Greece risking default, long queues at the ATM's were observed after the
Government decided to shut banks and impose capital control measures.
2. The US secretary of the State to seal the Iran Nuclear Accord

(i) The US secretary of state John Kerry on Saturday was set to seal a historic
deal with Iran, which would curb its nuclear programme in exchange of removal
of sanctions imposed on it.
(ii) The Iranian and The United States Foreign Minister met at Vienna, both sides
are yet to agree on the speed and scope of lifting sanctions, ways in which Iran
will reduce its low-enriched uranium stockpiles and access of UN inspectors to
sites and Iranian nuclear scientist among others things.
(iii) The six world powers and Iran are working together to reach an agreement to
curb Iran's Nuclear Program in exchange of relief of economic sanctions that has
crippled Iranian economy.
3. Doordarshan (DD) launches Sanskrit News Programme
(i) Doordarshan on Sunday launched a weekly news programme in Sanskrit
named "Varttavali".
(ii) The news programme focuses on events from around the world in terms of
news, features and discussions entirely conducted in Sanskrit language.
4. To boost Pharma Industry Govt. to set up a 500 Crore Rupee venture
capital
(i) The Government of India, with a view to extend cheaper loans to domestic
pharma industry and boost their growth, plans to set up a 500 crore rupee
venture capital fund.
(ii) The Government has decided to take steps such as working on various
proposals, including single window clearance for drug approvals, to rejuvenate
the local pharma sector and make medicines more affordable.
(iii) These steps were suggested by a task force formed by the Department of
Pharmaceuticals in a report submitted to Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister
Ananth Kumar.
5. United Bank of India tops the list of PSU with highest bad loans
(i) According to the data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to the
Finance Ministry, United Bank of India's 21.5 per cent assets are either bad or
have been restructured to save them from turning non-performing assets (NPAs).
(ii) Other banks with high amount of gross NPA and restructured loan includes
Central Bank of India (21.30 per cent), Indian Overseas Bank (19.40 per cent),
Punjab & Sind Bank (18.74 per cent) and Punjab National Bank with 17.94 per
cent as on March 2015.
(iii) The problem of rising bad loans have been a cause of concern for both RBI
and the Government, with both working on steps to deal with it.
6. Shuttler pair Jwala and Ashwini win Canada open women doubles

(i) Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa won the Canada open women's doubles
title scoring a 21-19, 21-16 against the Dutch pair of Eefje Muskens and Selena
Piek at Calgary, Canada.
(ii) The Indian pair dominated the second game and raced to a 5-0 lead before
going from 10-6 to 15-6 up. The Dutch pair fighting back, won 9 points straight
and tie the game at 15-15 but Jwala and Ashwini won 6 of the next 7 points to
win the title.

Daily Current Affairs - 30th June 2015, Tuesday

1. Greek PM urges voters to reject creditors demand in snap
referendum over debt crisis
(i) Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras urged voters to reject creditors' demands
ahead of the snap referendum in Greece on the question of bailout and to vote
'No', whereas EU leaders have pleaded for a 'Yes'.
(ii) Greek PM, Alexis Tsipras, on Monday, said a clear vote against austerity would
help Greece negotiate a better settlement to the crisis. The PM hinted strongly
that he would resign if the result of the referendum was a "yes" vote.
(iii) Greece bailout expires today, with the deadline to repay the amount of 1.6
billion Euro to the International Monetary Fund. a 1.6 bn Euro to the International
Monetary Fund. EU chief has on other hand urged Greeks to vote "Yes" as a "No"
vote would be a no to Europe.
2. Burundi holds elections despite strings of Grenade attacks (i) Voting
continued in both the capital Bujumbura and at some provincial centres ahead of
Monday's parliamentary and local elections in Burundi.
(ii) Burundi faces worst crisis since its civil war ended nine years ago. UN
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called for the elections to be delayed after
the opposition said they would not take part in the same.
3. First draft of Nepal Constitutions presented in the Parliament
(i) In a major development, Nepal's drafting committee presented the first draft
of the Nepal constitution in Parliament on Monday, which if passed would
recognise the country as "secular, inclusive and multi-ethnic" for the first time in
its history.
(ii) The draft will be presented to the full 601- member Constituent Assembly
(CA) for deliberation.
(iii) The constitution of Nepal has adopted the parliamentary system of
governance where executive powers will be vested in the Prime Minister, who will
be elected from the Parliament through majority votes.
4. Bombay High Court gives relief to Nestle India

(i) The Bombay High court on Tuesday allowed Nestle India company to export
Maggi noodles.
(ii) The Swiss based company sought a Judicial Review of the Indian food safety
regulator order to ban the sale of nine variants of instant noodles citing health
issue. This news came as a relief to the company.
5. Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Arvind Panagariya : 'India's growth rate
expected to accelerate to 8 per cent'
(i) Arvind Panagariya said that India's growth rate is expected to accelerate to 8
per cent in the current financial year and the economy will surpass USD 3 trillion
marks in less than 5 years.
(ii) Niti Aayog Chief further added that India may also account for much bigger
share in global exports notwithstanding the global economic conditions.
6. NASA: 30th June this year is one second longer
(i) According to NASA, June 30th this year will be officially a second longer as ab
extra second or 'leap' second will be added to the day.
(ii) It further clarified that, "Earth's rotation is gradually slowing down a bit, so
leap seconds are a way to account for that. The world is preparing to add a leap
second to synchronise the world's clocks with the Earth's rotation.
(iii) Today's leap second will be only the fourth to be added since.

Daily Current Affairs - 1st, 2nd and 3rd July 2015, Wednesday, Thursday
and Friday
1. Maharashtra Government to de-recognise Madrasas not teaching
formal subjects
(i) The Maharashtra state Government declared that those students from
Madrasas not teaching Maths, Science and Social Sciences will be considered
out-of -school.
(ii) The government assured that madrasas however won't be de-recognised and
their grants will continue.
(iii) According to official data, there are about 1,889 madrasas in Maharashtra,
imparting education to over 1.48 lakh students.
2. Arun Jaitley releases the Socio-Economic Caste Census 2011
(i) The Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley released socio-economic caste census
2011 on Friday and he further said that the data released will be helpful in better
targeting the government policies.

(ii) This is the first such Census released after 1932 and contains various details
with regard to specific regions, communities and economic groups and measures
the progress of households in India.
3. Raghuram Rajan - Global Economy is in recovery mode
(i) Addressing the press in Chennai, Raghuram Rajan said that India's direct
exposure to Greece is very limited and that Indian economy is picking up with
rise of the capital investments.
(ii) Maintaining that India may not have any direct impact from the Greek crisis,
he said that due to its bearing on foreign exchange, it may have an indirect
impact.
Investors will start differentiating between different nations and realise the
strength of India, he added.
4. IMF - Greece needs 36 billion euros to stabilise its finances
(i) IMF on Friday said that Greece needs 50 billion more euros (USD 55 billion)
over the next three years, including 36 billion euros from EU lenders, to stabilise
its finances even under existing creditor plans.
(ii) In a new report on Greece's financing needs, the International Monetary Fund
also cut the country's economic growth prospects for this year to zero per cent
from 2.5 per cent forecast in April.
5. UN declares Level-3 emergence in Yemen
(i) In the Central City of Taez, Yemen pro-government forces launched a manhunt
for 1,200 escaped prisoners. Both Aden and Taez have seen heavy fighting as
loyalists of exiled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi battle to repel Shiite Houthi
rebels with the support of a Saudi-led air war launched in March.
(ii) Taking the humanitarian conditions under cosnideration, the United Nations
declared Yemen a level-3 emergency, the highest on its scale.
(iii) It further warned that a dengue fever outbreak in Aden was rapidly
spreading. Aden, a city of more than 1 million people, is facing shortages of food,
fuel and medical supplies.
6. Ebola - Two new cases reported in Libya
(i) In a new report, two new cases of Ebola have been recorded in Liberia on
Wednesday, nearly two months since the West African Country worst hit by Ebola
was declared Ebola-free.
(ii) A local doctor said officials had not ruled out the possibility of transmission
from an animal. In past outbreaks, humans have been infected by eating monkey
flesh.

(iii) The epidemic had killed more than 4,800 Liberians before the WHO declared
the country Ebola-free on May 9, 42 days after the last confirmed case was
buried. Liberia's neighbours Guinea and Sierra Leone are both battling the
outbreak, which has killed more than 11,000 people.
7. 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck off at Solomon Islands
(i) A 5.8-magnitude earthquake struck off the Solomon Islands early on
Thursday.
(ii) The Solomons are part of the Pacific "Ring of Fire", a zone of tectonic activity
known for its frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
8. US and Cuba to reopen embassies
(i) The United States will soon turn its interests section into a full-fledged
embassy in Havana with the visit of US secretary of State John Kerry letter this
summer.
(ii) US President Barack Obama and Cuban counterpart Raul Castro exchanged
letters on Wednesday stating that diplomatic relations will be restored on July
20.
(iii) The relations between two countries had snapped since early 1960s when
the US broke linksand imposed a trade embargo with the Communist island. But
US and Cuba agreed to normalise relations at the end of 2014 with the country's
two leaders holding historic talks in April.
9. Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis reach second round at Wimbledon
(i) Top seeds Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza safely moved into the second round
of Wimbledon on Thursday.
(ii) It was a clear victory over Zarina Diyas and Zheng Saisai of Kazakhstan and
China, as Hingis and Mirza scored 6-2, 6-2 after 68 minutes.
(iii) India to take on Belgium in Hockey World League
10. India is to take on host Belgium in the men's semi final in the World
Hockey League today.
(i) Indian women team managed to beat Italy with 5-4 score via penalty shoot
out keeping their Rio Olympic dream alive.
(ii) In men's hockey match, India will face one of its toughest tests in defence
when they square off against Belgians. This match will test India's ability to
defend against theBelgian strikes.

Daily Current Affairs - 4th and 5th July 2015, Saturday and Sunday
1. State ministers to tackle food inflation

(i) The Union Government has called a meeting with all state food ministers with
the view to tackle the problem of food inflation and to discuss de-hoarding
measures. It is also to discuss the implementation of Food Security Act among
other things.
(ii) According to the central government, the prices of potatoes, tomatoes and
edible oil are currently under control, while there has been a rise in the rate of
onions.
(iii) The government has ruled out any effect on the prices of wheat, rice or sugar
due to any changes in monsoon pattern but still looking at ways to control
potential price rise.
2. C.D.Balaji appointed as new Aeronautical Development Agency
(ADA) Chief
(i) Commodore C.D. Balaji (Retd.) outstanding Scientist took charges as the
Director of Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and Programme Director of
the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) on Friday.
(ii) He succeeds P.S. Subramanyam, distinguished Scientist, who superannuated
on June 30.
(iii) ADA, based in Bengaluru, is the premier multi-agency body spearheading the
development of combat aircraft for the Air Force and the Navy - among them the
LCA and the proposed Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft AMCA.
3. UNHRC adopts resolution on Palestine
(i) India for the first time abstained from voting on a resolution on Palestine
adopted at the UN rights body that calls for accountability by parties involved in
last year's conflict in Gaza.
(ii) The resolution on, "ensuring accountability and justice for all violations of
international law in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem"
was adopted at the UN Human Rights Council with 41 votes in favour, five
abstentions and one vote against the resolution.
(iii) India maintained that it supported the Palestinian cause despite its vote,
others who abstained include Ethiopia, Kenya, Macedonia and Paraguay. EU
together came in full support and US was the only country who voted against it.
4. State of emergency declared in Tunisia
(i) A state of emergency is declared in Tunisia after 38 tourists, mainly Britons,
who died in an attack in the resort city of Sousse.
(ii) The state of emergency will be in place for a renewable period of 30 days.
Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi, said that "exceptional measures" were
needed to tackle the situation.

(iii)The state of emergency gives security forces more powers and limits the right
of public assembly.
5. Ex- Chief Justice of India Sabharwal passes away
(i) Former Chief Justice of India Yogesh Kumar Sabharwal passed away in Delhi on
Friday evening.
(ii) He had been the Chief Justice of India (CJI) from November 1, 2005 to January
13, 2007.
(iii) He will be remembered for his major judgement, such as the one that
slammed the UPA Government for imposing President's rule in Bihar in 2005, also
for directing states to infuse reforms in police departments which functioned
under archaic laws or for passing a judgement that curbed the tendency of
successive governments to put laws under the Ninth Schedule of Constitution to
bar their judicial scrutiny among other landmark judgements.
5. Indian Women's Hockey Team beat Japan with 1-0 to finish fifth in
Semi finals
(i) Indian Women's Hockey team has defeated Japan 1-0 to finish fifth in the
World League semifinals.
(ii) This victory has enhanced India's claim to Olympic qualification after a gap of
36 years.
6. India fails to reach Hockey World League Finals
(i) In the semi-finals Belgium beat India by 4-0, thwarting India's plans for
winning the Hockey World League.
(ii) However the loss in semi-finals,will not have any adverse impact on India's
Rio Olympics dream as it has already qualified for the same.

Daily Current Affairs - 9th July 2015, Thursday

1. Myanmar to go for polls on 8th November
(i) Myanmar will hold its first open General Elections in 25 years on 8th
November 2015. It is seen as a crucial step towards achieving full democracy.
(ii) Reforms in the country have been underway since 2010 when the military
rule was replaced by a civilian government backed by military.
2. India and the United States sign agreement to share tax information
(i) India and the United States signed an inter governmental agreement to
implement the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) with a view to
promote transparency between the two countries on tax matters.

(ii) The agreement was signed by Revenue Secretary Shaktikanta Das from India
and US Ambassador to India Richard Verma, on July 9..
(iii) It is expected that the exchange of information on automatic basis regarding
offshore accounts under FATCA would deter tax offenders, improve tax
transparency and eventually bring in higher equity into the direct tax regime,
which is necessary for a healthy economy.
3. 17 people went missing in the Aegean Sea after a boat sank
(i) At least 17 people are missing after a boat carrying migrants sank in the
Aegean sea on July 7.
(ii) Though the nationalities of the migrants are not known, Greek and Turkish
rescue efforts have saved 16 of the 37 migrants believed to be on board when
the boat sunk between the Greek islands of Farmakonisi and Agathonisi.
4. Rajasthan may adopt Maharashtra's flagship water conservation and
integrated water management scheme
(i) Impressed with the progress of Maharashtra's Jalyukta Shivar Abhiyan,
Rajasthan may soon adopt the state's flagship water conservation and integrated
water management scheme.
(ii) Rajasthan's Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje sent a delegation comprising a
minister and senior bureaucrat to tour Maharashtra and learn about the project.
(iii) The delegation includes Shreeram Vedire, chairman of River Basin and Water
Resource Corporation, Shrimant Pande, principal secretary to Rural Development
department, Anand Kumar, secretary to Panchayat Raj department, Amitabh
Sharma, secretary to Water resource department, EGS Commissioner Rohit
Kumar, Somesh Mathur, chief engineer of Water Resource and other officials.
5. Wimbledon - Djokovic to Gasquet and Federer against Murray
(i) World number one Novak Dojokovic, number two Roger Federer and number
three Andy Murray have entered the semi finals of the men's singles at
Wimbledon.
(ii) Stanislas Wawrinka, who is ranked fourth in the world was defeated by 21st
seed Richard Gasquet of France in the quarter finals.
(iii) In the match played at London last night, defending champion Dojokovic
proceeded to the semi finals as he defeated 9th seed Marin Cilic of Croatia in
straight sets 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

Daily Current Affairs - 10th, 11th and 12th July 2015, Friday, Saturday
and Sunday
1. India gets full membership of SCO

(i) India accepted full membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation

(SCO), an international alliance of countries like China, Russia, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan as members.
(ii) Along with India, Pakistan was accepted as a permanent member.
(iii) India, which had an observer status for the past 10 years, will technically
become a member by 2016.
2. Indigenously made Akash inducted into Indian Air Force
(i)The Akash Missile System, developed by Navratna Defence PSU Bharat
Electronics Ltd. (BEL) was inducted into the Indian air force at a ceremony held at
the Gwalior Air Force base on July 10.
(ii) S K Sharma Chairman & Managing Director, BEL, handed over the key of the
weapon system to the Defence Minister Mr Manohar Parrikar, who in turn handed
it over to the Air Chief Marshal and Chief of the Air Staff Arup Raha, Dr S
Christopher, Director General of DRDO.
(iii) Akash thus is a commendable feat of the government's 'Make in India'
initiative.
3. SBT NRI Family Card launched by SBI
(i) The State Bank of Travancore (SBT) launched the 'SBT NRI Family Card', an
exclusive card targeting non-resident Indians.
(ii) It was launched by Jeevandas Narayan, MD of SBT at a function in
Thiruvananthapuram.
(iii) It enables a card holder in India to receive remittance from an NRI by way of
periodic recharging through the NRI's internet banking account.
4. Exim Bank of India and New Development Bank ink an MoU
(i) The Export - Import Bank of India has signed a multilateral agreement to
cooperate with New Development Bank (NDB) promoted by the BRICS nations -Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, which will be operationalised by
2016.
(ii) As per NDB's press release, the agreement was signed between Exim Bank of
India's Chairman and Managing Director Yaduvendra Mathur and chairpersons or
presidents of other member development banks of BRICS in Ufa, Russia during
the BRICS Summit 2015.
(iii) The MoU aims at sharing of knowledge, information and best practices,
capacity building of personnel including project development skills, promotion of
joint events, research, development of effective and sustainable financing
solutions for projects of mutual interest.
5. IMF predicts India's Growth at 7.5%

(i) The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its World Economic Outlook Update
has said that India will be the world's fastest growing economy for the second
consecutive year in 2016 at 7.5 per cent even as it decreased its current year
global economy growth forecast to 3.3 per cent.
(ii) India's growth forecast is higher than China's 6.8 per cent.
6. Indirect tax revenue rises 37.5%
(i) Indirect tax collections that include excise, customs and service taxes, grew
37.5% from April-June this year.
(ii) Even in the last fiscal, indirect tax revenues grew 37.5% in the first quarter.
(iii) Analysts believe that the government has achieved approximately 20 % of its
budgeted target for indirect tax collections in the first three months of the fiscal
year itself.
7. Northeast to get 8 postal ATMs
(i) The Department of Post will soon launch 8 ATMs in the Northeast region.
(ii) Chief Post Master General of Northeast circle, Smita Kumari said in Shillong on
July 9 that 15 more locations are under the process of getting ATMs.
(iii) The DoP has a network of around 1.55 lakh post offices out of which 2,920
are in the Northeast circle at present.
8. UNESCO adds 24 new sites in the World Heritage Sites list
(i) UNESCO's World Heritage Committee concluded its annual meeting in Bonn,
Germany, after adding 24 new sites to the list.
(ii) Of the total 30 sites that were examined this year, 24 sites were granted
world heritage status for their outstanding universal value. Thus, the total
number of world heritage sites is 1,031.
(iii) The newly added sites are:
* Blue and John Crow Mountains (Jamaica).
* Tusi Sites (China),
* Christiansfeld, a Moravian Church Settlement (Denmark).
* Par Force Hunting Landscape in North Zealand (Denmark).
* Climats, terroirs of Burgundy (France)
* Champagne Hillsides, Houses and Cellars (France)
* Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus District with Chilehaus (Germany)

* Susa (Iran)
* Cultural Landscape of Maymand (Iran)
* Necropolis of Beth She'arim-a Landmark of Jewish Revival (Israel).
* Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedral Churches of Cefal and Monreale (Italy)
* Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining (Japan)
* Baptism Site "Bethany Beyond the Jordan" (Al-Maghtas, Jordan)
* Baekje Historic Areas (South Korea)
* Aqueduct of Padre Tembleque Hydraulic System (Mexico)
* Great Burkhan Khaldun Mountain and its surrounding sacred landscape
(Mongolia)
* Rjukan-Notodden Industrial Heritage Site (Norway)
* Rock Art in the Hail Region (Saudi Arabia)
* Singapore Botanical Gardens (Singapore)
* Ephesus (Turkey)
* Diyarbakir Fortress and Hevsel Gardens Cultural Landscape (Turkey)
* Fray Bentos Industrial Landscape (Uruguay)
* The Forth Bridge (United Kingdom and Northern Ireland)
* San Antonio Missions (United States)
9. Sania Mirza is the first Indian woman to win the women's doubles
Grand Slam trophy
(i) Sania Mirza with her Swiss partner Martina Hingis made history on July 10. The
former became the first Indian woman to win women's doubles Grand Slam
trophy.
(ii) Mirza and Hingis battled past the second-seeded Russian team of Ekaterina
Makarova and Elena Vesnina scoring 5-7 7-6 (4) 7-5 in a thrilling match.
(iii) The trophy is another first for Sania. She became India's first woman player
to win a Grand Slam when she won the Australian Open with compatriot Mahesh
Bhupathi in 2009. She later added the French Open title (2012 with Bhupathi)
and US Open title (2014 with Bruno Soares) to her mixed doubles collection and
now a women's doubles Grand Slam trophy in 2015.

Daily Current Affairs - 15th and 16th July 2015, Wednesday and
Thursday
1. RBI organises the Deepak Mohanty committee
(i) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has constituted a committee to review the
existing financial inclusion policy and work out a five-year measurable action
plan for the same.
(ii) The RBI Executive Director, Deepak Mohanty, will chair the committee.
(iii) The committee will articulate policies and the institutional framework for
financial literacy and consumer protection. It will also study mechanisms to
financially aid households and small businesses, especially in rural areas,
through group-based credit delivery mechanisms, among other activities.

2.Tata Advanced Systems and Boeing to collaborate in aerospace and

defence manufacturing
(i) Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) signed an agreement with Boeing to
join forces in aerospace, defence manufacturing and potential integrated
systems development opportunities, including unmanned aerial vehicles.
(ii) The agreement was signed by Shelley Lavender, president of Boeing Military
Aircraft, and Sukaran Singh, MD and CEO of TASL..
(iii) TASL already has a contract to manufacture aerostructures for Boeing's CH 47 Chinook and AH - 6i helicopters.
3. One of the five PPP rail lines launched in Gujarat
(i) Government of India launched the Gandhidham - Tuna - Tekra rail line, built
under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) systems in the Indian Railways. It was
commissioned on 14th July 2015.
(ii) The new line between Gandhidham and Tuna -Tekra port is built by Kandla
Port Trust under "participative models for rail connectivity and capacity
augmentation."
(iii) The total length of the line is 17.02 km and the project costs about Rs.185
crore.
4. Government introduces the foreign investment composite cap
(i) Union Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley on July 16 announced that all FIIs, NRIs
and other foreign investments will be clubbed. It will be constituted as a
composite cap.

(ii) At present there are different caps for investment categories like FDI, FII and
NRIs. Thus, this step aims to simplify the FDI policy, attract more foreign
investments and enhance ease of conducting business in India.
iii) The ministry has proposed a composite foreign investment cap (FDI + FPI (FII,
QFI) + NRI + FVCI) in sectors including agriculture, airports, retail, e-commerce,
asset reconstruction companies, tea, mining, broadcasting, media, banking,
commodity exchanges and insurance.
Note: Foreign institutional investor (FII), foreign direct investment (FDI), foreign
portfolio investment (FPI), qualified foreign investor (QFI), non-resident Indian
(NRI), foreign venture capital investor (FVCI).
4. National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana
(HRIDAY) launched at Amritsar
(i) The National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY)
was launched on July 14 for 12 cities including Amritsar where the launch took
place.
(ii) The government has sanctioned Rs. 69.31 crore as 100% grant for Amritsar
city.
5. Professor Kamal Bawa elected to Royal Society of London
(i) Professor Kamal Bawa along with 2 other Indian -origin scientists were elected
as Fellows and Foreign Members of Royal Society of London.
(ii) Biology professor K Bawa, physicist Ajay Sood and molecular biologist John
Kuriyan were inducted into the society on July 10.
(iii) The 450-year-old society elects eminent scientists from England and the
Commonwealth countries.
6. World Youth Skills Day observed
(i) Every year, July 15th is celebrated as World Youth Skills Day all over the world.
(ii) To mark this day, the government launched the Skill India initiative with the
aim of making India the 'human resource capital' of the world. The programme
was projected as the government's 'war against poverty'.
(iii) With this programme, the government aims to equip over 40 crore people
with adequate skills by 2022.
7. Joan Sebastian, renowned Mexician musician passes away
(i) Well known Mexican musician Joan Sebastian passed away on 13th July, after
fighting bone cancer over a decade.
(ii) He was one of the most recorded and top selling contemporary artists of all
the times.

(iii) In his singing career, he had 22 hits on Billboard's Hot Latin Songs chart,
including seven top 10s. On the Regional Mexican Airplay chart, he charted 32
songs - the third most for a solo act - with four of those hitting No. 1.
8. Awards in news
(a) Make in India initiative bagged the Frost and Sullivan 2015 Awards
-Frost and Sullivan, USA today presented the 2015 Asia - Pacific Economic
Development Innovation: Policy and Program Implementation Excellence Award
in Manufacturing to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion for the
Make in India initiative on 14th July 2015.
(b) Golden Peacock Award - The Krishanpatnam Port in Andhra Pradesh
received the Peacock environment management award on July 13 for its
achievements in the field of environment. The award was presented by Union
Minister of State for Environment Prakash Javadekar to C Sasidhar, MD of
Krishnapatnam Port at the 17th World Congress on Environment Management
held in New Delhi.
(c) Annual PetroFed Oil and Gas Industry Awards - Some of the important
awardees include:
* Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL) - Leading Oil and Gas Corporate of the year
award
* Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) - Exploration & Production Company of the
Year
* Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) -Refinery of the Year award.
* Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) -The Oil & Gas Pipeline Transportation
Company of the Year' award
* Indian Oil Corp (IOC) - 'Human Resources Management Company of the Year'
award
* Ritu Mathur - The 'Woman Executive of the Year' award (Team Leader, Aviation
HR, BPCL)

Daily Current Affairs - 17th and 18th July 2015, Friday and Saturday
1. European Union approves 7.16 billion euro loan to Greece
(i) 28 member states of the European Union (EU) have agreed to lend an
emergency loan to Greece to help the country prevent an immediate default.
(ii) The short-term loan of 7.16 billion euros will come from European Financial
Stabilisation Mechanism (EFSM), an emergency funding programme, which relies
on funds raised on the markets and guaranteed by the European Commission
using the budget of the EU as collateral.

2. India and Canada agree to co-operate in civil aviation

(i) The Union Cabinet approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between
India and Canada in the field of civil aviation on July 16th, 2015.
(ii) Some of the important features of the MoU are:
* A platform will be formalised for exchange of views to foster economic
cooperation and sharing of technical experience between the two countries in
the field of civil aviation.
* Cooperation programme for safety of aircraft operations and related issues will
be developed. This will provide the Directorate General of Civil Aviation with upto-date knowledge about best international practices and latest International
Civil Aviation Organisation's safety oversight programme requirements.
* Indian firms would also benefit from the technical know-how of Canadian
companies. In turn, Canadian firms could gain from access to India's fast
developing civil aviation industry.
3. DoT releases Net Neutrality report
(i) On July 18, the Department of Telecommunication (DoT), released the Net
neutrality report. The panel led by AK Bhargava has recommended core
principles to be adhered to by the concerned entities.
(ii) The committee stated that 'over-the-top services' such as WhatsApp, Viber,
Skype, YouTube, etc should be actively encouraged. Citing Facebook's
Internet.org, the committee said that content and application providers (like
Facebook) cannot be permitted to act as gatekeepers, "even if it is for a public
purpose".
(iii) Net neutrality advocates equal treatment of all Internet traffic without
prioritising a company or entity based on payment for content or service
providers such as telecom companies.

4. Central Bank of Sri Lanka, RBI ink Currency Swap Agreement

(i) RBI has signed a Special Currency Swap Agreement with the Central Bank of
Sri Lanka, which would allow the latter to draw up to $1.1 billion.
(ii) The amount can be drawn for a maximum period of six months. This step is in
addition to the existing Framework on Currency Swap Arrangement for the
SAARC member countries.
(iii) In March 2015, the RBI had signed a Currency Swap Agreement with the
same bank for $400 million under the existing SAARC Currency Swap Framework
within the overall limit of $2 billion.
5. Neeraj Kumar appointed as security advisor for 2016 World T20

(i) Former Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar has been appointed as the
Chief Advisor of the Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) of BCCI for the
Twenty20 World Cup to be hosted in 2016 in India.
(ii) During the IPL matches Kumar had served in the BCCI's anti- corruption unit
for a year.
6. FlipKart appointed Eric Lange as the VP of Product Management
(i) FlipKart, India's largest e-commerce firm has hired former Yahoo Inc. executive
Eric Lange as the vice-president of product management for its customer
experience division.
(ii) Lange has previously worked in Yahoo, Google and Microsoft. He was also the
founder and CEO of 'Flicket.tv' - a video content provider.
7. India retains 2nd position in ICC ODI
(i) The Indian Cricket team managed to retain the second spot in the ODI ranking
list after finishing as semifinalist in the recently-concluded ICC Cricket World Cup.
(ii) With 116 points, India stands six points behind world champion Australia,
which has 122 rating points to its credit. India is followed by South Africa (112),
Sri Lanka (108), New Zealand (107), England (101), Pakistan (95).
8. F1 driver Jules Bianchi passes away
(i) Formula 1 driver Jules Bianchi, after battling for nine months, succumbed to
severe head injuries that he suffered in the car crash at the Japanese Grand Prix.
(ii) The 25-year-old French motorsport star was hospitalised following the car
accident in October.
(iii) Jules Bianchi played for Marussia, which now is known as Manor F1.
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Daily Current Affairs - 19th and 20th July 2015, Sunday and Monday
1. India signs a Financing Agreement worth 250 million US dollars with
World Bank
(i) India and World Bank on July 16th, signed a Financing Agreement worth 250
million US dollars with the view to assist Andhra Pradesh Disaster Recovery
Project.

(ii) The agreement was signed by Joint Secretary, Department of Economic

Affairs in Union Government S Selvakumar and Country Director (India) of World
Bank Onno Ruhl on behalf of World Bank.
(iii) The Project which will help the state enhance its capacity to respond
promptly and effectively in times of crisis.
2.India and Myanmar issue joint statement on the first meeting of the
India Myanmar joint consultative commission
(i) A joint statement issues by India and Myanmar announced that they would
deepen their defence cooperation.
(ii) A joint consultative commission, lead by the Foreign Minister of both the
countries in New Delhi announced of a Defence Program which will see India help
the Burmese Army and Navy modernise
(iii) Myanmar has been an important country for India since the 'Look East
Policy', which now is re-crafted as the, 'Act East Policy' and Defence cooperation
between India and Myanmar has improved since the political reforms undertaken
by the President Thein Sein, which has seen Myanmar become less reliant on
China.
3. July 18th - Nelson Mandela Day observed globally
(i) Every year on 18th July, the date of birth of Nelson Mandela, the UN and
international community observes Nelson Mandela International Day.
(ii) It was in November 2009, the UN General Assembly declared Nelson Mandela
international day. The UN resolution A/RES/64/13 recognises his values and his
dedication to the service of humanity, in the fields of conflict resolution, race
relations, the promotion and protection of human rights, reconciliation, gender
equality and the rights of children among other contributions.
4. Shubham Jaglan wins World Junior Golf Championship
(i) Shubham Jaglan beat Australia's Jeffrey Yu Guan by one stroke to win the
World Junior Golf Championship in California on Sunday.
(ii) The 10-year-old golf player scored a total of 7-under 179 in three days of play
at the Fountain course in Welk resort.
5. Davis Cup - India beat New Zealand 3-2
(i) India's Yuki Bhambri defeated Micheal Venus of New Zealand by 6-2, 6-2, 6-3
in the deciding match of the Asia Oceania Group I tie in Christchurch on Sunday.
(ii) With this India clinched the Asia Oceania group I tie with a 3-2 score line.
(iii) Earlier India's Somdev Devvarman beat Marcus Daniell of New Zealand 6-4,
6-4, 6-4 on Sunday to level India's Asia Oceania Davis Cup Group I tie against
New Zealand 2-2 and send it to a deciding fifth rubber.

6. Ashes 2015 - Australia beat England by 405 runs

(i) England slipped to catastrophic defeat by 405 runs against Australia, allowing
Australia to level the series by 1-1.
(ii) The defeat by 405 runs is the fourth highest suffered by England in terms of
runs.

Daily Current Affairs - 21st July 2015, Tuesday

1. UNSC endorses the Iran deal
(i) The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on July 20, unanimously adopted a
resolution promoting the landmark nuclear deal between Iran and the six world
powers, namely China, France, Russia, UK, USA and Germany.
(ii) This agreement effects a progressive and conditional lifting of sanctions
crippling Iran's economy. In return, Iran will curtail its nuclear activities.
(iii) UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon welcomed this step and said it will ensure
the enforcement of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on Iran's nuclear
programme.
2. BRICS Bank opens doors in China
(i) The News Development Bank (NDB), conceptualised by the BRICS countries
including India, formally began operations in its headquarters in Shanghai on July
21.
(ii) NDB has been set up to finance infrastructure projects in emerging
economies. It will have initial capital of USD 50 billion, which will be expanded to
USD 100 billion within the next couple of years.
(iii) NDB is set to act as a counterbalance to western-led financial institutions like
the World Bank and the IMF by providing funds for development projects in BRICS
countries.
3. BCCI's four-member panel to work on recommendations of Justice
Lodha Committee
(i) The BCCI's working group headed by IPL Chairman Rajeev Shukla to have four
panel members, namely former Indian cricket team captain Saurav Ganguly,
BCCI Secretary Anurag Thakur, BCCI's Treasurer Aniruddh Chaudhary and BCCI's
legal adviser U N Banerjee.
(ii) The panel will not only study implications of Justice Lodha Committee report
but also draw up a roadmap for IPL 9.
(ii) It will give its recommendations in 6 weeks' time after talking to stakeholders
and consulting legal experts.

4. Parmarthy Shankar wins Grand Prix World Press Cartoon Awards

2014
(i) Parmarthy Shankar, a prominent cartoonist in a Telugu daily - 'Sakshi' has
bagged the Grand Prix World Press cartoon 2014 Award for his sketch of Nelson
Mandela.
(ii) Shankar received the award at Cascais, Portugal on July 11, 2015, by World
Press Cartoon Director Antonio Antunes.
(iii) The award-winning sketch was drawn by him post the death of the iconic
South African anti-apartheid leader, Nelson Mandela, in December 2013.
Shankar's caricature has been displayed at a World Press Cartoon exhibition at
Cascais along with top 50 works by other cartoonists in 2014.
5. NASA's 'New Horizons' probe reveals mountains on Pluto
(i) Scientists presented new images from NASA's 'New Horizons' probe during its
historic fly by the planet. The images revealed that Pluto has ice mountains,
which are as high as those in the Rockies in western North America.
(ii) The team has also named the prominent heart-shaped region on Pluto after
the world's discoverer Clyde Tombaugh.
(iii) The images showed signs of geological activity on Pluto. First close-up image
of Pluto's surface showed a terrain that had been resurfaced by some geological
process - such as volcanism - within the last 100 million years.
6. New appointments - Public and Private Sector
(a) Hero Motors group, which includes flagship company Hero Cycles, elevated
Pankaj Munjal as CMD. He succeds O P Munjal who will now serve in the position
of Chairman Emeritus.
(b) Bhanu Pratap Sharma has been appointed as the Chairperson of Food Safety
and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). Sharma is an IAS officer of 1981 batch
from Bihar cadre. FSSAI is a statutory body created for establishing scientific
standards of food and to regulate their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale
and import to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food for human
consumption.

Daily Current Affairs - 22nd July 2015, Wednesday

1. The union Government extended Interest Subvention to all PSB's,
Private Sector commercial Banks and RRB's
(i) The union cabinet, keeping in view, the uncertainty of rains and its impact on
farmers has decided to extend the subsidy offered on interest rates to farmers
for 2015-16 and increase the budget allocation for interest subvention.

(ii) The cabinet decided to increase the allocation for this year to Rs.18,110
crore, Rs.15,778 crore of which will be used to subsidise loans given by state-run
banks. The remaining amount will be used by National Bank for Agriculture and
Rural Development (Nabard) to refinance loans given by regional rural banks and
cooperative banks.
2. Scientific Study attributes Radiative impact of volcanic aerosol in
lowermost stratosphere for slowing global warming
(i) A study published by a team of international researchers which was published
in the Journal Nature Communications in July 2015, has attributed the slowing
down of global warming to the Radiative impact of volcanic aerosol in the
lowermost stratosphere.
(ii) The scientist said the volcanic aerosols have acted as a natural umbrella for
the last decade, helping to slow down global temperature increase from
greenhouse gases.
3. India and Singapore sign key agreement to boost Maritime
Cooperation
(i)India and Singapore, signed an agreement on sharing white-shipping
information to enhance maritime cooperation between the two navies today.
(ii) Indian Navy Chief Admiral R K Dhowan held talks with top official in Singapore
Navy where he signed a Technical Agreement (TA) on sharing white-shipping
information, which will enhance maritime information sharing between the two
navies.
(iii) White-shipping refers to commercial shipping information about movement of
cargo ships.
4. BCCI announced venues for ICC T20 WC 2016
(i) The Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the venues for
the Men and Women ICC World Twenty-20, 2016. The matches will be held from
March 11 to April 3, 2016, across eight cities.
(ii) Matches will take place across Bengaluru, Chennai, Dharamsala, Mohali,
Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi and Kolkata, and Kolkata's Eden Gardens will host
the finals.
(iii) One of the semi-finals will be held in Mumbai, the other might be held in
Delhi. In case, the semi-final is not held in Delhi then it will host a marquee
match like India versus Pakistan.
5. Maurice Obstfeld appointed as Chief Economist at IMF
(i) Maurice Obstfeld has been appointed as the new chief at the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) succeeding Olivier Blanchard.

(ii) Maurice Obstfeld has both exceptional academic and professional experience
as a professor at the University of California, Berkeley and as an adviser in
Barack Obama's Council of Economic Advisers.
(iii) In addition, he is known for his popular textbook which he wrote in
association with Kenneth Rogoff of Harvard University-"Foundations of
International Macroeconomics" which continues to serve as a foundational book
for students pursuing Masters Macroeconomic studies.

6. Ananth Narayanan appointed as CEO of Myntra

(i) Ananth Narayanan, Former McKinsey director was appointed as the CEO of
Myntra, a fashion store owned by flipKart.
(ii) He is to succeed Myntra's co-founder Mukesh Bansal and shall assume charge
from its October 2015.