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August 1, 2015

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1) Which city became the first city

in Olympic history to be awarded
both summer and winter Games
after it was awarded the hosting of
the 2022 Winter Olympics on 31
July 2015? Beijing
Explanation: Beijing was chosen
by the International Olympic
Committee (IOC) to host the 2022
Winter Olympics in a secret ballot
held at a convention centre in Kuala
Lumpur (Malaysia) on 31 July 2015.
It thus became the first city to be
awarded both Summer and Winter
Games. Beijing had hosted the
Summer Olympics in 2008 and will
now host the Winter Olympics in
2022. The Chinese capital beat
Almaty, Kazakhstan in a secret

ballot of 85 IOC members. Despite

concerns about a lack of natural
snow in the citys distant
mountains, and protests from
human rights groups, Beijing had
been the clear favourite to win the
vote after it successfully hosted the
2008 Summer Olympics. South
Koreas Pyeongchang will host the
2018 Winter Games and Tokyo the
2020 Summer Olympics.

2) Which multi-national bank is to

acquire Indian retail brokerage firm
Sharekhan Limited as announced
on 30 July 2015? BNP Paribas
SA
Explanation: BNP Paribas SA is
the leading French bank with
worldwide presence. Currently, BNP
Paribas has a presence in India
through Geojit BNP Paribas in it

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holds a stake of about 33%.

Sharekhan was set up in 2000 by
Mumbai-based entrepreneur Shripal
Morakhia whose family has been in
the equity broking business for
decades. Till March 2007, the
Morakhia family owned a 43.58%
stake in the brokerage. Over the
years, this holding was sold to PE
investors. It is primarily engaged in
retail brokerage operations in India
with facilities like online trading for
investors. BNP Paribas will acquire
Sharekhan in entirety by paying Rs.
2,200 crore. The purchase will
reinforce BNP Paribass retail
broking operations in India where it
offers corporate and retail banking,
investment banking and wealth
management. Existing shareholders
in Sharekhan- the Rohatyn Group
Llc., Baring Private Equity Asia,
IDFC Ltd and Samara Capital, have
been looking to exit their
investment in Sharekhan for the
past year.

3) Which entity on 30 July 2015

acquired the title sponsorship rights
for Indias domestic and
international cricket matches at
home from the BCCI for a period of
four years? Paytm
Explanation: One97
Communications, owners of
countrys leading mobile wallet
company Paytm acquired the title
sponsorship rights from the BCCI
with a bid price of Rs 203.28 crore.
The decision to award the rights to
Paytm till 2019 was taken at the
BCCIs marketing committee
meeting. The base price per match
was Rupees 1.68 crore and the final
price comes to Rs 2.42 crore per
match. The amount per match is
Rs. 40 lakh more than what
Micromax, who was the only
bidders in the 2014-15 season,
gave the BCCI last year. From now
on, the domestic Ranji competition
will be known as the Paytm Ranji
Trophy.

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4) General Motors (GM) recently

announced plans to invest $1 billion
in India by 2020. These
investments will be made in
companys Talegaon plant in
Maharashtra, where it will expand
the production capacity from
1,30,000 to 2,20,000 units per year
by 2025. On the other hand GM will
close its first-ever plant in India
which has been going through
losses. This first plant is located at
which place? Halol (Gujarat)
Explanation: GM is Indias eighth
largest carmaker that forayed in
Indian auto market in 1996 and
established its first plant at Halol,
Gujarat. Second plant was
established at Talegaon
(Maharashtra) in 2010 and the
company has invested $1 billion in
India up till now. The company has
decided to close its Halol facility by
2016 due to labour unrest and
operational losses, which has a
manufacturing capacity of 1,10,000
units per year. First labour strike to
place in 2010 lasted for 3 days and
second in 2011 that lasted for six
weeks. GM is now focusing on
Talegaon due to its good
infrastructure and favourable

ecosystem for production and is

also aiming to export 30% by 2025.
5) What is the name of the mobile
banking app of Kotak Mahindra
Bank (KMB), which was launched
during July 2015 primarily for unbanked regions? Kotak
Bharat
Explanation:Kotak Bharat is the
inclusive digital banking app
launched by KMB that is primarily
targetted to benefit customers in
the under-banked and un-banked
regions, who can access its services
in their preferred language. One
major benefit of this app is that it
requires no internet connectivity.
The app is Android-based. It works
on the existing SMS banking
keyword process platform. The
customers could download the app
on their registered mobile number
without any separate registration
process. Besides, the app facilitates
other value added propositions,
including recharging mobile/DTH
services, linking Aadhaar number to
the account, finding Kotak ATMs &
branches, applying for Pradhan
Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana,
Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima

Yojana etc. It was first launched in

Lucknow in July 2015 as it is the
most prominent Hindi belt centre
for KMB.

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6) Which automobile group

replaced Japanese auto giant
Toyota to emerge as the worlds
largest-selling vehicle maker in the
first half of 2015? Volkswagen
(Germany)
Explanation: It was for the first
time that Volkswagen overtook
Toyota in global vehicle sales. It
sold 5.04 million cars between
January and June 2015, which is
slightly more than the 5.02 million
sold by Toyota during the same
period. Volkswagen has long aimed
to beat Toyota and has done so
three years ahead of its 2018
target. Its success has been
propelled by soaring sales in China,
a market that now accounts for a
third of its total, as well as a
recovery in Europe. General Motors
held the global sales crown for

more than seven decades until

being surpassed by Toyota in 2008.
Volkswagen owns numerous
leading auto brands in its stable like
Audi, Porsche, Skoda, etc. apart
from the Volkswagen brand.
7) Afghan Taliban on 30 July 2015
confirmed the death of their leader
Mullah Mohammad Omar. Who was
announced as the new leader of the
Taliban? Mullah Akhtar
Mansoor
Explanation: Mullah Akhtar
Mansoor was elected as the new
leader of Afghan Taliban by the
seven-member Shurathat met in
the Pakistani city of Quetta on 30
July 2015. Mansoor is considered
close to the Pakistani authorities
and his election could further divide
an already-fractured Taliban as he
is believed to have links to opposing
councils within the movement. The
Taliban is believed to have
splintered under pressure to enter
into peace talks with the Afghan
government after almost 14 years
of war. It is worth mentioning that
the reclusive Taliban leader Mullah
Omar was declared dead by the
Afghanistan government on 29 July,

thus ending years of fierce

speculation over his whereabouts.
Government confirmed that Omar,
who had not been seen in public
since 2001 and had been reported
dead several times before, died two
years ago in Pakistan. This was
later confirmed by Afghan Taliban
also.

Explanation: Sir Peter OSullevan

was a former racing commentator
associated with the BBC. He was
one of the most respected figures
in British racing arena and was
known simply as The Voice
throughout five decades at the
microphone. He was associated
with some of the most famous
moments in British racing history.

8) Sir Peter OSullevan who passed

away during July 2015 at the age of
97, was an iconic British
commentator associated with which
sport? Horse Racing

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August 2, 2015

1) In a landmark development,
India and Bangladesh at one

minute after midnight of 1 August

2015 started the process of
swapping border enclaves to settle
the stateless people. These people
were stranded for over six decades
along the poorly defined border
between the two countries. In this
historic event, the two countries
transferred exactly how many such
enclaves? 162

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Page

Explanation: There are 111 Indian

enclaves in Bangladesh and 51
Bangladeshi enclaves in India which
were exchanged pursuant to the
Land Boundary Agreement of 1974
and Protocol and Instruments of
Ratification of 2011 which were
exchanged during Prime Minister
Narendra Modis visit to Bangladesh
on 6-7 June 2015. This historic
boundary transfer is thus bringing
to end one of the worlds most
difficult border disputes that had
kept thousands of people in
stateless limbo for almost 68 years.
Enclave residents on both sides of
the border can now enjoy the
benefits of nationality of India or
Bangladesh and access civic
services, education, health-care and
other facilities provided by the two
governments to their respective
nationals. Both governments have
worked together to facilitate
trouble-free movement of these
residents before the stipulated date
of 30 November 2015.

2) Union Govt. has earmarked how

much fund for countrys public
sector banks (PSBs) over a period
of four years as announced by the
Finance Ministry on 1 August 2015?
Rs. 70,000 crore
Explanation: Public sector banks
are undergoing a difficult phase due
to burgeoning amount of bad debts.
The basic purpose of capital
infusion is to adequately capitalise
all the banks to keep a safe buffer
over and above the minimum
norms of Basel III. Basel III is a set
of guidelines for a more resilient
banking system, focusing on four
vital banking parameters capital,
leverage, funding, and liquidity. The
first instalment of Rs. 25,000 crore
has been marked for this fiscal.
Having provided Rs. 7,940 crore in
this years Budget, the Finance
Ministry has sought Parliamentary
nod for an additional capital
infusion of Rs. 12,010 crore through
a supplementary demand for
grants. The remaining Rs. 5,000
crore will be provided in the second
supplementary demand later this
year. The second instalment of Rs.
25,000 crore will be in 2016-17,
followed by Rs. 10,000 crore each

in the third (2017-18), and fourth

(2018-19) instalments.

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3) By notifying the policy on 31

July 2015, which state became the
first in India to adopt a unique
Witness Protection Programme so
as to ensure protection of an
eyewitness in crucial cases?
Delhi
Explanation: In a first such
initiative in India, the Delhi
Government on 31 July notified a
policy to bring in a witness
protection programme to ensure
protection of witnesses in crucial
cases. The policy titled The Delhi
Witness Protection Scheme,
envisages categorisation of
witnesses, creation of witness
protection fund, types of protection
and procedure for processing such
request by the competent
authority. In 2013, the Delhi High
court had directed the government

to frame a witness protection policy

to provide guidelines and principles
which the police, prosecution and
executive agencies will have to
follow. According to the Delhi Govt.
India has no comprehensive
witness protection programme, and
on many occasions, key witnesses
in criminal cases have faced several
hurdles during legal deliberations.

4) Two Arab countries recently

proposed to work together to
create a joint Arab military force
with the objective of ensuring
stability in the region. Which
countries are these? Egypt and
Saudi Arabia
Explanation: The proposal to
create a joint Arab military force
was muted after a meeting
between Egyptian President Abdel
Fattah el-Sisi and Saudi Defence
Minister and Deputy Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman held on 30
July 2015 at Egyptian capital Cairo.
Relations between the two

countries have warmed since the

2013 ouster of President Mohamed
Morsi, with Saudi Arabia offering
billions in aid to Egypt. Saudi Arabia
has emerged as a key supporter of
Egypt since Morsis ouster, offering
$4 billion to help kick-start an
economy battered by years of
political turmoil.

5) Who was elected as the new

Chairman of the Life Insurance
Council, the apex industry body of
insurers in India, on 1 August
2015? S K Roy, Chairman LIC

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Explanation: Roy will head the

three-member Executive Committee

(EC), a key body of the Council, for

a period of three years. The
election was held among the 24
members of the Council at Mumbai.
The three members of the EC
elected are Tarun Chugh (PNB
Met Life), Anup Rau (Reliance Life)
and Sandeep Ghosh (Bharti AXA).
Life Insurance Council is a forum
that connects the various
stakeholders of the sector. It
develops and coordinates all
discussions between the
Government, regulatory body and
the public. It has representatives
from the 24 insurance companies
currently operating in India.

August 3, 2015

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1) Which country on 1 August 2015

became the first-ever non-European
member of the European
Organisation for Nuclear Research,
better known as CERN? Pakistan
Explanation: Pakistan received a
huge boost for its nuclear
programme as it was formally
conferred the associate
membership of CERN on 1 August
2015. This became possible
following completion of required
internal ratification process by it.
Pakistan thus became the first
member of CERN among Asian
countries and the first nonEuropean member of this
prestigious organization. The
associate membership will open a

new era of cooperation that will

strengthen the long-term
partnership between CERN and the
Pakistani scientific community.
Pakistan can now participate in the
governance of CERN, by attending
meetings of its council. The
membership will allow the countrys
scientists to become members of
the CERN staff and participate in its
training and career-development
programmes. The cooperation
between Pakistan and CERN rooted
back to signing of a cooperation
agreement in 1994. After Pakistan
sought membership back in 2013,
CERN sent its task force to evaluate
the countrys science and
technology base and industrial
capabilities in early 2014.

2) Which country became the latest

and the 206th member of the

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Olympic family after the

International Olympic Committee
(IOC) approved its inclusion?
South Sudan
Explanation: South Sudan was
inducted as the latest member of
the International Olympic
Committee (IOC) on 1 August 2015
at committees ongoing annual
meet at Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia).
The significance of its inclusion is
that this was done despite the
ongoing fighting in the South
Sudan. With the country now
officially part of the IOC, it can send
a team to next years Rio summer
Olympics who can compete under
its own flag. Thousands have been
killed and more than 2.2 million
displaced since fighting broke out in
December 2013 between President
Salva Kiirs government and rebels
commanded by Riek Machar. South
Sudans marathon runner Guor
Marial competed at the London
2012 Olympics but did so under the
Olympic flag after refusing to run
for Sudan and with South Sudan
not yet an IOC member at the time.
South Sudan is officially the
206th member of the IOC.

3) What is the name of the cyclone

that resulted in heavy rains in West
Bengal, Manipur, Odisha and other
Eastern states of the country on 1-2
August 2015? Cyclone Komen
Explanation: Cyclone Komen
had made landfall in Bangladesh on
31 July 2015. It later entered India
as a depression and resulted in
heavy rains and floods in the
eastern and north eastern states of
the country. West Bengal, Manipur
and Odisha were the worst affected
states. The weakening of the storm
did not translated into
commensurate relief in precipitation
even as the depression moved
further west. More than seven lakh
people were affected across these
states.
4) The new simplified Guidelines

Governing Adoption of Children

2015 notified by the Central
Government on 17th July 2015 came
into effect from 1 August 2015.

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What is the name of the fully

revamped IT application for the
purpose of adoption of children,
that was also pressed into
operation from the same day?
CARINGS (Child Adoption
Resource Information &
Guidance System)
Explanation: The completely
revamped CARINGS will facilitate
the adoption of maximum number
of adoptable children and ensure a
smoother adoption process by
curbing undue delays. For hasslefree adoption, CARINGS will contain
a centralized data bank of
adoptable children and Prospective
Adoptive Parents (PAPs). On the
other hand the new guidelines in
adoption are intend to provide for
more effective regulation for
adoption of orphan, abandoned and
surrendered children and would
bring more transparency and
efficiency in the adoption system.
With the new guidelines, it would
become possible for PAPs to track
the status of their application
making the entire system more
user-friendly.

5) Which naval harbour on 1

August 2015 became the first in the
country to get the Integrated
Underwater Harbour Defence and
Surveillance System (IUHDSS), an
automated system capable of
detecting, identifying, tracking and
generating warning for surface and
underwater threats? Kochi
(Kerala)
Explanation: IUHDSS is a stateof-the-art naval defence system
which will enable operators to
foresee, and respond to, surface
and sub-surface threats to vital
assets along the harbour and
warships in the quay. It was
commissioned by Vice-Admiral Sunil
Lanba, Flag Officer Commanding-inChief of the Southern Naval
Command, on 31 July 2015. The
system, comprising a cluster of
coastal surveillance radars, highpower underwater sensors and
diver detection sonars, was
designed by Israeli Aerospace
Industries (IAI) ELTA. Besides
Kochi, naval harbours at Mumbai,
Visakhapatnam and Port Blair are
slated to be equipped with the
system as a force protection
measure.

of rural households two decades

ago to 15% in 2011-12.

6) Data from the 68th round of the

National Sample Survey (NSS) on
fuel used for cooking and lighting
was released recently. According to
this data, what percentage of rural
population in the country still used
firewood for cooking in 2011-12?
67.3%

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13 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Explanation: The data relate to a

survey conducted by the NSSO on a
nationally representative sample
during 2011-12. It disclosed that
the use of firewood for cooking has
declined only very slowly over the
years in rural India, the numbers
show, going from 78.2% of all rural
households in 1993-94 to 67.3% in
2011-12. LPG use in rural
households has grown relatively
fast, from fewer than two per cent

7) Which state had the highest use

of LPG among rural households
during 2011-12, as disclosed in the
recently released data from the
68th round of the National Sample
Survey (NSS) on fuel used for
cooking and lighting? Tamil Nadu
Explanation: The NSSO data
revealed that over a third rural
population of Tamil Nadu used LPG
for cooking in 2011-12. It was
followed by Kerala and Punjab. The
use of LPG was least in
Chhattisgarh (1.5% of households)
followed by Jharkhand (2.9%) and
Odisha (3.9%).

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August 4, 2015

1) A path-breaking peace treaty

was signed between the Union
Govt. and the Naga rebels led by
the National Socialist Council of
Nagalim-IM (NSCN-IM) on 3 August
2015. The treaty was signed by
Thuingaleng Muivah, General
Secretary of the NSCN-IM in
presence of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi. This treaty thus
brings to end the ongoing peace
talks between the Naga rebels and
the Union Government. These talks
had started in which year? 1997
Explanation: The treaty is
expected to bring under control the
decades-old insurgency problem in
the North-East. An important point
included in the treaty is pertaining

to integration of all contiguous

Naga-inhabited areas, that was
unanimously endorsed a five-point
resolution passed by the Nagaland
legislative assembly on 27 July
2015. The insurgency in Nagaland
began within years of Indias
independence from Britain in 1947,
with tribal leaders from the region
that was part of the undivided
Assam saying the area was never
part of India. It is often regarded as
the worlds longest running
insurgency. Numerous union
governments had tried to resolve
the issue to bring normalcy in the
area. The NSCN-IM began peace
talks with the central government in
1997 after agreeing to a ceasefire.
The talks ran into problems over
the NSCN-IMs demands for a
separate flag and Greater Nagaland
that envisages bringing all Nagainhabited areas under one
administrative umbrella.
Thuingaleng Muivah is one of key

leaders who had spearheaded the

rebel movement in Nagaland and
leads the NSCN-IM.

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2) Union Govt. on 3 August 2015

stepped back from the controversy
surrounding the draft Indian
Financial Code (IFC) as it disowned
the draft. It was disowned as the
government felt that do not reflect
the governments views. What is
the main controversy associated
with this draft? It seeks to
dilute the RBIs powers to
regulate the foreign exchange
and government bond markets
and set monetary policy
Explanation: The draft Indian
Financial Code (IFC) had
proposed the setting up of a
Monetary Policy Committee that will
set interest rates. According to the
draft Indian Financial Code (IFC),
the Centre will appoint four out of
seven members of this proposed
Committee that will take decisions
by majority vote. It proposes The

draft also proposed to strip the RBI

Governors veto over monetary
policy decisions. It also proposed to
take away from the RBI the role of
regulation of the foreign exchange
and the government securities
markets, which in turn will reduce
its leeway in managing the impact
of capital flows. These proposals
have received sharp criticism from a
range of former RBI officials and
financial sector experts.

3) Indias oldest mutual fund house

UTI Mutual Fund recently
achieved what major milestone
pertaining to its mutual fund
assets? Its asset base crossed
the one lakh crore rupees mark
recently
Explanation: The total assets
under UTI Mutual Fund attained an
asset base of over Rs. one lakh
crore with about one crore investor
accounts. It is worth mentioning
that the total asset under the
control of Indian mutual fund
companies is around 4.5 lakh crore.
UTI Mutual Fund is being run by

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the UTI Asset Management

Company (UTI AMC). UTI AMC was
carved out of the erstwhile Unit
Trust of India as a mutual fund in
February 2003 and is promoted by
the four of the largest public sector
financial institutions as sponsors
SBI, LIC, Bank of Baroda and
Punjab National Bank. These four
each hold 18.5% stake in UTI AMC,
while US-based fund house T Rowe
Price has acquired a 26% stake.
UTI AMC is also looking to launch
an Initial Public Offer (IPO) to
become the countrys first asset
management company to go public.

4) In what is seen as a first step

towards greater engagement with
the region, India will host the heads
of 14 island nations at the Forum
for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation
(FIPIC) on 21 August 2015. This
important event will be hosted at
which city as reported on 3 August
2015? Jaipur (Rajasthan)

Explanation: The hosting of the

Forum for India-Pacific Islands
Cooperation (FIPIC) at India is
important from an economic and
geostrategic standpoint. The
upcoming summit in Jaipur is
expected to pave the way for
agreements in agriculture, food
processing, fisheries, solar energy,
e-networks for coordination in
telemedicine and tele-education,
space cooperation and climate
change, all of which were
mentioned as areas of potential
cooperation by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi during his visit to Fiji
in 2014. Even as New Delhi has
begun charting out a plan for
forging bilateral and regional ties
with these island nations, China has
significantly expanded its foothold
in the region, from increasing
business and trade ties to setting
up diplomatic missions in each of
these countries.
5) The newest and the 18th Indian
Institute of Technology (IIT) of the
country was opened on 3 August
2015 with a total of 117 students.
This IIT is in which city?
Palakkad (Kerala)

Explanation: IIT Palakkad is

Keralas first IIT and is presently
lodged in a temporary campus. It
thus became the fourth IIT in south
India after IIT institutes in Chennai
(Madras), Hyderabad and Tirupati.
Admissions have been made at IIT
Palakkad for four streams of B.Tech
namely computer science &

engineering, electrical engineering,

civil engineering and mechanical
engineering. The main campus is to
come up in a 500 acre plot of land
in Palakkad.

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August 5, 2015

1) 193 members of the United

Nations (UN) on 2 August 2015
reached the consensus on the
document that will constitute the

new sustainable development

agenda. This agenda will be
adopted by world leaders at the
Sustainable Development Summit in
New York in September 2015. What
is the primary aim of the 17
Sustainable Development Goals
that form the crux of the new
sustainable development agenda?
End Poverty, Promote
Prosperity and Peoples wellbeing while protecting the
Environment by year 2030
Explanation: The new sustainable
development agenda builds on the
success of the Millennium

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18 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Development Goals, which helped

more than 700 million people
escape poverty. The 8
Millennium Development Goals,
adopted in 2000, aimed at an array
of issues that included slashing
poverty, hunger, disease, gender
inequality, and access to water and
sanitation by 2015. It is worth
mentioning that it has taken more
than two years of negotiations to
reach the new sustainable
development agenda and has
involved unprecedented
participation of civil society as well
as UN member nations. The five
Ps, People, Planet, Prosperity,
Peace, and Partnership, capture the
broad scope of the agenda. The
Sustainable Development Summit
will be held between 25 and 27
September 2015 to formally adopt
the outcome document of the new
sustainable agenda.

2) Raghuram Rajan, the Governor

of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
on 4 August 2015 presented the

3rd Bi-monthly Monetary Policy

Statement for 2015-15. As was
widely expected he kept the major
rates unchanged. What are the
major monetary rates of the RBI at
present?
Policy Repo Rate under the
liquidity adjustment facility
(LAF) unchanged at 7.25%
Consequently, the Reverse
Repo Rate under the LAF
unchanged at 6.25%
Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) of
scheduled banks unchanged at
4.0%
Marginal Standing Facility
(MSF) rate and the Bank Rate
unchanged at 8.25%
Explanation: Since January 2015,
the RBI has cut the Repo Rate
thrice cumulatively by 75 basis
points, with the last cut of 25 basis
points being on 2 June 2015. RBIs
inflation projections for JanuaryMarch 2016 stood lower by about
0.2%. On the other hand it retained
growth target at 7.6% for 2015-16.

after dark or vehicle-checks in the

night.

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3) Which Indian police force is

slated to be the first in the country
to introduce Taser guns and other
non-lethal arms that will allow them
to work without endangering lives?
Delhi Police
Explanation: The Delhi Police
received the first lot of five Tasers
Taser X2 priced at Rs. 1 lakh each,
on 4 August 2015. With this Delhi
Police became the first law
enforcement agency in the country
to get access to this high-tech gun.
Taser guns would help the police
nab suspects by incapacitating
them, or stunning them,
temporarily by administering
electric shock. When fired, this nonlethal weapon releases electromagnetic pulse that will paralyze
the central nervous system of the
suspect, leaving the person in a
foetal position on the ground for
almost 15 seconds. To begin with,
Tasers would be used during VIP
security and for chasing a suspect

4) What is the name of the 13-day

culture & cuisine festival that was
inaugurated on 3 August 2015 in
New Delhi, being organized as a
part of Independence Day
celebrations? Bharat Parv
Explanation: Bharat Parv
features state centric food festivals
along with cultural performances at
prominent locations in Delhi in
coordination with the Ministry of
Culture, Delhi Tourism, NDMC &
several other agencies. It was
inaugurated on 3 August 2015 by
Dr. Mahesh Sharma, the Minister of
State for Culture (Independent
Charge) and Tourism (Independent
Charge). The festival will culminate
on 13 August 2015.

5) The sports of Flying Disc

(Frisbee) recently came to news.
Why? Sports based on flying

disc have been given official

recognition by the
International Olympic
Committee (IOC)

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20 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Explanation: The IOC on 2 August

2015 gave its official recognition to
the numerous sports based on
flying disc (popularly known as
Frisbee). This recognition was
granted at IOCs session as Kuala
Lumpur (Malaysia). This included
the sports of Ultimate Frisbee.
Disc-based games are played in
some 58 countries around the world
by thousands of athletes while the
World Flying Disc
Federation (WFDF) is the
international body of various sports
based on flying disc such as
Ultimate Frisbee, Disc Golf and
Freestyle.

6) According to film trade data

disclosed on 3 August 2015, S.S.
Rajamoulis magnum opus movie

Baahubali, that hit thousands of

screens on 10 July 2015 in three
languages, has raced past the Rs.
500-crore mark. It thus became the
first south Indian movie to achieve
this feat. Which two Hindi movies
have grossed over Rs. 500 crore, as
disclosed in film trade data?
Dhoom 3 (2013) and PK
(2014)
Explanation: Baahubali, which
was originally made in Telugu and
dubbed into Hindi and Tamil, has
garnered over Rs. 500 crore since
its release on 10 July 2015. It thus
joined the select league of two
Hindi films Dhoom 3 and PK,
both Aamir Khan starrers.
Baahubali has Prabhas and Rana
Daggubati together with Anushka
Shetty and Tamannaah Bhatia in
the lead. It is said to be most
expensive Indian film and has
earned praise for its special effects
and sheer scale of production.

August 6, 2015

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1) Which anniversary of the

dropping of first atomic bomb on
the Japanese city of Hiroshima is
being observed on 6 August 2015?
70th
Explanation: Exactly 70 years
ago, on 6 August 1945, the worlds
first atomic bomb was dropped by a
US bomber plane on Hiroshima.
This nuclear bomb, nick-named
Little Boy by the US Air Force,
wiped out the city centre of
Hiroshima and killed 140,000
people by the years end. This was
the deadliest war killing in human
history. Later three days later a
nuclear bomb was dropped in

another Japanese city Nagasaki on

9 August 1945. This bomb, nicknamed Fat Man killed over 70,000
people. World War II ended two
weeks later, when Japan
surrendered. The Americans said
they took the drastic step to put an
early end to World War II and save
the lives of hundreds of thousands
of US soldiers. Americas atomic
attacks on Japan started a nuclear
arms race which almost bought the
world to the brink of destruction.
Later several steps were taken to
put an end to the proliferation of
nuclear arms worldwide. Since the
end of World War II, the U.S. and
Japan have reconciled their
differences, and the two countries
have moved on to cooperate on
major issues, along with other
countries in the region.

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22 CURRENT AFFAIRS

2) In a bizarre accident involving

two trains of the Indian Railway, at
least 29 passengers were killed and
over 300 injured when two trains
were derailed over a railway bridge
in Harda district of Madhya Pradesh
in the night of 4 August 2015.
These trains derailed on the bridge
over the swollen Machal River.
Which trains were involved in this
accident? Kamayani
Express (Between Mumbai and
Varanasi) and Janata
Express(between Rajendra Nagar
and Mumbai)
Explanation: This accident took
place at around 11 pm on 4 August
2015 when 10 bogies of Varanasibound Kamayani Express and seven
bogies plus engine of Mumbaibound Janata Express derailed on
the bridge over the swollen Machak
River in Harda district of MP. The
site of the accident is between
Khirkiya and Harda stations, about
160 km from Bhopal. Making a suo
motu statement on the accident in
Parliament on 5 August 2015,
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said
track washout due to a swollen
Machak river led to the derailment
of the two trains.

3) Indias biggest telescope MultiApplication Solar Telescope (MAST)

was inaugurated on 4 August 2015.
MAST would help in the study of
movements of stars and sun even
in day time. It has been installed at
which place? Udaipur
(Rajasthan)
Explanation: MAST has been
installed at the Udaipur Solar
Observatory, where it is surrounded
by water to keep temperature
pleasant. Besides providing 3-D
images of solar activities like solar
blast and solar flares, MAST could
help in vital studies about other
planetary movements. Authorised
by the Ministry of Science and
Technology, MAST has been funded
by the Department of Space. So far
Rs. 26 crore has been spent on the
project. The Physical Research
Laboratory (PRL) of Ahmedabad will
take care of the project. It was
inaugurated by Prof. U.R. Rao, the

Chairman of the governing council

of PRL, Ahmedabad.

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23 CURRENT AFFAIRS

4) Which renowned temple of the

country came to news recently for
opening up a Demat account to
accept donations from devotees in
the form of shares and securities?
Tirumala Venkateshwara
Temple or Tirupati Balaji Temple
(Andhra Pradesh)
Explanation: Tirumala
Venkateswara Temple, also known
as Tirupati Balaji, is considered to
be one of Indias richest temples
and receives multi crore of rupees,
precious metals and stock
certificates in donations every year.
To do away with the hassle of
physical stock certificates and
facilitate donation from devotees,
the temple recently opened up a
Demat account with Stock Holding
Corporation of India Limited
(SHCIL). Demat or dematerialised
account is needed for electronically
keeping shares and securities.

5) What is the name of the science

and innovation museum opened in
the Rashtrapati Bhavan campus,
which was inaugurated by President
Pranab Mukherjee on 4 August
2015? Navachara Kaksh
Explanation: Navachara Kaksh,
which means room of new ideas,
has been established in the
premises of the Rashtrapati
Bhavan, the official residence of the
President of India. It was
inaugurated by President Pranab
Mukherjee on 4 August. The
museum aims to spark curiosity
about technology among children
visiting the Presidential Estate. It
has been established with the
assistance of the chip-maker Intel
while many of the innovations are
by Indian students. Intel will
manage operations till the
Rashtrapati Bhavan takes over.
Visitors can click a 3-D selfie with
the Rashtrapati Bhavan as the
backdrop and get the picture

delivered by e-mail to their

accounts. Some unique attractions
in Navachara Kaksh includes
a robotic dog that does yoga, a 3-D
printer and a piano that can be
played without touching the keys.
The museum will be open to visitors
on Fridays and weekends as part of
the Rashtrapati Bhavan tour.

6) What is the name of the new

crossover vehicle launched by
Maruti Suzuki on 5 August 2015?
S-Cross

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24 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Explanation: S-Cross is a
crossover vehicle between a sportutility vehicle (SUV) and a sedan.

The base diesel model of the SCross has been priced at Rs. 8.34
lakh and will be sold through a new
network of showrooms for premium
models named Nexa. Maruti
Suzuki is Indias largest car
company but it is lagging behind
many of the new entrants like Ford
and Renault with new models in the
fast-growing SUV segment. Maruti
has set a target of nearly doubling
its annual sales to 2 million vehicles
by 2020, when analysts expect
India will become the worlds thirdlargest auto market with sales of
more than 5 million vehicles despite
sluggishness in recent years.

August 7, 2015

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25 CURRENT AFFAIRS

1) In a landmark development for

Egypt and international trade, Egypt
unveiled a new addition to the
iconic Suez Canal on 6 August
2015. The 6 billion project of
upgrading the Canal by adding a
new waterway, took just a year to
complete, as against the original
time-frame of 36 months. This new
waterway thus became the third on
the Suez Canal, which acts as the
fastest link between Asia and
Europe. Suez Canal connects which
two oceanic bodies? The Red
Sea and the Mediterranean Sea
Explanation: Suez Canal is an
artificial sea-level waterway in
Egypt that was built in 1869 to
connect the Red Sea and the
Mediterranean Sea and thus
decreasing the distance between
the East and the West

exponentially. It is still the fastest

link between Asia and Europe and
accounts for around 7% of global
seaborne trade. Its long been a
principle source of state revenue for
Egypt. The latest waterway in the
canal is the third one in its history
and involved building a 35 km
bypass along the 193 km long canal
and deepening it so as to allow
ships to travel in different directions
simultaneously along that stretch.
The Suez Canal Authority (SCA),
which headed this project, predicts
that the renovations will double the
amount of ships per day crossing
the canal, increasing the revenue to
8.4 billion (its currently at 3.5
billion) by 2023. Expectations are
high and the project has become a
source of national pride for Egypt.
It is Egyptian President Abdel
Fattah el Sisis solution to the
countrys economic woes and the
loss in revenue from declining
tourism and foreign trade.

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26 CURRENT AFFAIRS

2) Malaysian Government on 6
August 2015 confirmed that a piece
of a wing that washed up on an
Indian Ocean island beach last
week was part of the wreckage of
Malaysian Airlines flight MH370,
which had mysteriously disappeared
during March 2014. Malaysia Prime
Minister Najib Razak confirmed this
in an early morning televised
address on 6 August 2015. The
wing of this aircraft was found on
which island of Indian Ocean?
Reunion Island
Explanation: The disappearance
of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370
is one of the biggest mysteries in
aviation history. This flight
disappeared on 8 March 2014 while
en route from Kuala Lumpur to
Beijing. The Boeing 777 was
minutes into its scheduled flight
when it disappeared from civil
radar. Millions of dollars worth of
hunt yielded no trace of the

disappeared flight. During July 2015

the fragment of an aircraft wing
was found on Indian Oceans
Reunion Island, which is under
control of France. Reunion Island is
situated east of Madagascar and is
known for its volcanoes and rainforests. The part of the found
aircraft wing was flown to mainland
France for investigations, where the
international team of experts
concluded that there were clear
signs that it belonged to flight
MH370. Later the Malaysian Govt.
also confirmed this and it thus
closes a chapter in one of the
biggest mysteries in aviation
history. But this discovery still gives
families of the 239 victims little clue
as to why this accident took place.

3) The Union Govt. recently

brought in what major liberalization
in the single-brand retail norms that
is now expected to give a big push
to single-brand retailers to operate

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27 CURRENT AFFAIRS

in the country? It Govt. allowed

single-brand retailers to
operate across multiple
platforms
Explanation: Union Govt. during
July 2015 allowed single-brand
retailers to operate across multiple
platforms. This means they will be
able to own their outlets as well as
extend their brand through
franchising. Several investment
proposals by Tommy Hilfiger, H&M,
Swarovski, Skechers, Nike and
Adidas were stuck in the pipeline as
they wanted to run companyowned direct retail outlets as well
as franchise outlets. Some of them
like Tommy Hilfiger wanted to have
a wholesale presence as well. In an
important clarification, the
government liberalized the foreign
direct investment (FDI) policy
on single-brand retail by stating
that non-resident entity/entities will
now be allowed to undertake
single-brand retail trading business
through one or more wholly owned
subsidiaries or joint ventures (JVs).

4) What major decision was taken

by the Union Cabinet to improve
the financial position of state-run
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited
(BSNL) on 5 August 2015? It
gave its in-principle approval
for hiving off BSNLs tower
assets into a separate company
Explanation: BSNL is going
through rough weather due to huge
accumulating losses. It has been
planning to monetize its huge tower
assets since the last couple of
years. BSNL has around 64,500
mobile towers, of which, more than
50,000 have optical fibre cable
connectivity. On 5 August, the
Union Cabinet gave its in-principle
approval to monetize BSNLs
telecom towers by carving a
separate unit from it. The new
tower unit is expected to have a
valuation of Rs 8,000-10,000 crore.
BSNL will have 100% stake in the
tower unit, which will be maintained
at arms length. The BSNL board

had approved the hiving off earlier.

This is part of the revival plan for
turning BSNL back into profits.

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5) The discovery that dopamine,

which is known as a happy
hormone, can also kill cancer
tumours, has put two Kolkata-born
scientists on the verge of one of the
most significant medical discoveries
ever. What are the names of these
scientists, whose pertaining
research on mice have been
successful? Partha Dasgupta
and Sujit Basu
Explanation: Partha Dasgupta is
an emeritus professor with
Chittaranjan National Cancer
Research Institute (Kolkata) and
Sujit Basu is a professor at Wexner
Medical Centre, Ohio State
University. The cancer-killing

property of dopamine was

discovered almost by accident,
when the two were carrying out
random tests to analyze the
hormone. Dopamine is a
neurotransmitter that helps
regulate movement and emotions.
The duo says it also starves
cancerous tumours of blood,
causing them to shrink and
eventually vanish. Tumour cells
multiply rapidly, making them swell
very fast. They concluded that if
the growth of blood vessels can be
checked, tumours will stop growing
and disappear. If human trials
succeed, cancer cure will get
significantly cheaper, as a chemo
course costs lakhs, while a vial of
dopamine comes for just Rs. 25.

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August 8, 2015

1) Prime Minister Narendra Modi

launched the first National
Handloom Day on 7 August 2015 at
Chennai. The observance of
National Handloom Day is expected
to not only provide an impetus to
Indias handloom industry but to
also serve to promote handloom as
a genuine international product of
good quality. What is the
significance of choosing 7 August
for National Handloom Day? It
was on 7 August in 1905 that
the formal proclamation of the
Swadeshi Movement was
made at a massive meeting in
the Calcutta Town hall
Explanation: The Swadeshi
Movement involved the revival of
domestic textile products and
production processes. On the

occasion of the first National

Handloom Day the Prime Minister
also conferred the Sant Kabir
awards and National awards for the
years 2012, 2013 and 2014 to
personalities associated with
handloom sector. He also launched
the India Handloom brand on this
occasion. Handloom weaving is one
of the largest economic activities in
India after agriculture, providing
direct and indirect employment to
more than 43 lakh weavers and
allied workers. The sector is
responsible for nearly 15% of cloth
production in the country and also
contributes to export earnings.
Around 95% of the worlds hand
woven fabric comes from India.

2) The 1000-page report on the

infamous Bhagalpur riots of 1989
was tabled in the Bihar Assembly

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30 CURRENT AFFAIRS

on 7 August 2015. The report is

based on the findings of retired
Bihar judge Justice NN Singh, who
investigated the riots. The report
sharply indicted the Congress state
government during that time for
abandoning its duty to control the
riots in which more than a thousand
people were killed. Who was the
Bihar Chief Minister during that
time? Satyendra Narayan Sinha
Explanation: The Bhagalpur riots
were triggered when a religious
Hindu procession was targeted by a
bomb. Mass killings followed in this
part of northeastern Bihar, ravaging
Bhagalpur and nearly 250 villages
around it. For weeks before the
riots, right wing Hindu groups had
organized a brick collection drive for
the proposed temple in Ayodhya in
Uttar Pradesh. With police escort,
Hindu activists were moving
through the city when bombs were
thrown at them. 11 policemen were
injured but nobody was killed. After
riots erupted it spread to Bhagalpur
city as well as around 250 villages
around it. Over 1,000 people were
killed and the army was called in.
The violence lasted nearly a month.
Three judges appointed to study

the riots and assign responsibility

blamed senior police officers and
administrative officials in a report
submitted in 1995. In 2005, the
Nitish Kumar government appointed
a new commission led by retired
Bihar judge Justice NN Singh to
relook into the incident. This
commissions report fully blamed
the then state government led by
Chief Minister Satyendra Narayan
Sinha for aggravation of the
situation.

3) What is the total forest cover in

India as per the recently released
India State of Forest Report-2013?
21.23%
Explanation: As per India State of
Forest Report 2013, the total
forest cover in the country is
697,898 square kilometers which is
21.23% of the total geographical
area of the country. There is a net
increase of 5871 square kilometers

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31 CURRENT AFFAIRS

in the forest cover of the country as

compared with India State of Forest
Report 2011. It is also a fact that
the density of population has
increased in the states of
Maharashtra, Karnataka,
Chhattisgarh, Odisha and
Jharkhand.

4) In its note pertaining to Prime

Minister Narendra Modis
forthcoming Independence Day
address to the nation, the Ministry
of Information and Broadcasting
(MIB) has sent a note about the
proposed emergency response
system (ERS) being established on
the lines of the 911 system of the
United States. Announcement of
this system is expected to find
prominent place in PMs state
address. What is the number of this
proposed ERS? 112
Explanation: The Union Govt. is
expected to showcase 112
emergency response system (ERS)
as the most advanced ERS system
in the world. According to the govt.,

this system will have similar or

better capabilities than the 911
emergency response system being
used in the United States. It will
have capacity to handle 10 lakh
calls daily, will have around 3,500
agents to attend to such calls and
special tablets will be fitted on one
lakh police vehicles by 2017 to
strengthen the ERS system. A 112
Nirbhaya helpline is also proposed
to respond to the needs of women
in distress and that it will be made
functional in the next financial year.
5) North Korean government on 7
August 2015 announced that it will
establish its own time zone from 15
August by pulling back its current
standard time by 30 minutes.
Currently, local time in both Koreas
and Japan are same and was set
when the then single Korea was
under Japanese colonial rule from
1910 to 1945. What was the reason
given by the government for this
change? To root out the legacy
of the Japanese colonial
occupation period
Explanation: North Korean
government announced that the
new time zone will be effective

from 15 August 2015, which is the

70th anniversary of Koreas
liberation from Japanese rule at the
end of the World War II. It is worth
mentioning that South Korea uses
the same time zone as Japan to
conform to international practice.
6) A research group at which
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)
of the country recently established
countrys first pilot test-bed to use
unused TV spectrum to provide
broadband Internet connectivity?
IIT Bombay (IITB)

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32 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Explanation: The ambitious

project taps unused frequencies
allocated to broadcasting and
exploits this white space spectrum
to provide broadband Internet
connectivity in rural areas. Under
this pilot project, the Wi-Fi hotspots
for testing Internet connectivity
have been deployed at a few
locations across the villages and

these are connected to the Khamloli

tower of Tata Teleservices using TV
band radios. The pilot test-bed has
been deployed by the IIT team in
seven villages Khamloli, Bahadoli,
Dhuktan, Ganje, Pargaon, Haloli
and Maswan spread over 30
sq.km in coastal Palghar district
about 80 km from Mumbai. To
access the Internet, the villagers
have been provided with low cost
Wi-Fi tablets by IITB and have
received the help of an NGO
(PUKAR) in educating the villagers
about the use of Internet. The
Department of Telecom (DoT) has
also granted an experimental
licence to IITB to conduct tests in
TVs UHF band.

August 9, 2015

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33 CURRENT AFFAIRS

1) What watershed event in the 64year old history of Indias biggest

pension fund the Employees
Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO)
took place during August 2015?
For the first time, EPFO started
investing in equities as an
asset class
Explanation: The Employees
Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO)
started investing in equities as an
asset class for the first-ever-time
from 6 August 2015. The EPFO
manages a corpus of Rs 8.5 lakh
crore, all of which was being
invested in fixed-income securities
until now. The state-run pension
fund, which has thus far stuck to
safer debt instruments, is looking to
ensure that it can preserve returns
to subscribers via this move. A
notification to this effect had been

issued by Labour Ministry based on

a finance ministry directive, which
called on EPFO to invest 5-15% of
its incremental corpus in equities.
EPFOs central board has decided to
stick to 5% this fiscal and decide on
raising this based on how things
pan out. For the last five years,
EPFO has been giving its
subscribers a return of 8.25-9.5%.
With the EPFO expected to receive
inflows of close to Rs. 1 lakh crore
this year, investment in equities is
pegged at Rs 5,000 crore. Some
funds are also expected to come in
from exempted trusts. This could
take the EPFO investment during
the year to Rs. 7,000-8,000 crore.
The idea of EPFO getting into
equities was first mooted in 2005
by U.K. Sinha, currently chairman of
the capital markets regulator SEBI.
2) Through which mutual fund the
newly initiated investment of EPFO
has been done initially in equities?
SBI Mutual Fund

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34 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Explanation: EPFOs investment in

equities is being routed through
exchange traded funds (ETFs)
managed by SBI Mutual Fund. To
start with, EPFO will invest 75% in
SBI Nifty ETF and 25% in SBI
Sensex ETF. It will also invest in
CPSE (central public sector
enterprise) ETFs as and when new
fund offers (NFOs) are announced
by the government. Transparency,
liquidity, diversification, flexibility
and cost effectiveness seen as the
advantages of investing in ETFs.

3) The NITI Aayog has started an

initiative to engage the states of the
Indian Union on six important
issues pertaining to governance and
finance. This includes the initiative
to prune their administrative
structure to improve their efficiency
and governance. What is the name
given to this ambitious initiative?
NIYATAM

Explanation: NIYATAM stands for

NITI Initiative to Yield Aspirational
Targets and Actionable Means. It is
a based on a word taken from the
Bhagwad Gita. At present, states
such as Uttar Pradesh have 56
government departments and an
equal number of ministers, apart
from the chief minister. Similarly
Bihar and Jharkhand have 44
government departments each
while Kerala has 46 government
departments. According to the plan
being worked out by the NITI
Aayog under its NIYATAM initiative,
each state should ideally have
about 20 departments. The Aayog
would work with states to this end,
starting with Kerala, Rajasthan,
Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh.
Meanwhile, as part of the NIYATAM
initiative, the NITI Aayog will also
work with states to rationalise the
number of schemes at both the
state level as well as those that are
centrally funded.

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4) Which city topped in the Swachh

Bharat Rankings of 476 cities in
India, in a survey conducted during
2014-15 by the Ministry of Urban
Development, results of which were
disclosed on 8 August 2015?
Mysuru (Mysore)
Explanation: Karnatakas Mysuru
(Mysore) topped the Swachh Bharat
Rankings of 476 cities in the
country with three more from the
state figuring in the top 10. The top
10 ranked cities in the city were
Mysuru, Thiruchirapalli (Tamil
Nadu), Navi Mumbai, Kochi
(Kerala), Hassan, Mandya and
Bengaluru (Karnataka),
Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala),
Halisahar (West Bengal) and
Gangtok (Sikkim). Damoh (Madhya
Pradesh) came at the bottom of
476, preceded by Bhind (MP),
Palwal and Bhiwani, both in
Haryana, Chittaurgarh (Rajasthan),
Bulandshahar (UP), Neemuch (MP),
Rewari(Haryana), Hindaun
(Rajasthan) and Sambalpur in
Odisha at 467th rank. The survey
conducted during 2014-15 was
commissioned by the Ministry of
Urban Development as required
under the National Sanitation Policy

of 2008. All the 476 Class-1 cities in

31 States and Union Territories,
each with a population of above
one lakh were surveyed for
assessing total sanitation practices
covering a set of parameters
including the extent of open
defecation, solid waste
management, sewage
management, waste water
treatment, drinking water quality,
surface water quality of water
bodies and mortality due to waterborne diseases etc.
5) Who were appointed as the new
Governors of Bihar and Himachal
Pradesh as announced on 8 August
2015? Ram Nath Kovind (Bihar)
and Acharya Dev Vrat (Himachal
Pradesh)
Explanation: The 69-year-old Ram
Nath Kovind, who had been a twotime Rajya Sabha member between
1994 and 2006, hails from Kanpur
(Uttar Pradesh). He had also been
BJP Scheduled Caste Morcha chief.
His appointment comes barely few
months ahead of the Assembly
elections due in Bihar. Till no West
Bengal Governor Keshri Nath
Tripathi was holding additional

charge of Bihar. Acharya Dev Vrat,

who was appointed new Governor
of Himachal Pradesh, will succeed
Kalyan Singh (Governor of
Rajasthan), who was holding the
additional charge of HP.
6) What is the name of the name
of the cyclonic typhoon that hit
Taiwan and entered Mainland China
on 8 August 2015? Typhoon
Soudelor

it made landfall in eastern Taiwan

in the early hours of 8 August 2015.
As a result thousands of trees were
uprooted, traffic lights and power
lines were snapped and at least 4
persons died in Taiwan. The
typhoon hit Fujian province on the
night of 8 August. Authorities in
southeast China had earlier ordered
the evacuation of about 158,000
people and ships back to port
ahead of the typhoon.

Explanation: According to
Taiwans Central Weather Bureau,
Typhoon Soudelor was packing
maximum sustained winds of 162
kilometers (100 miles) per hour as

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36 CURRENT AFFAIRS

August 10, 2015

9 August 2015 with holding of
numerous events across the
country to mark the special
occasion? 50thanniversary

1) Singapore observed which

anniversary of its independence on

Explanation: Singapore, the

modern island country, attained
independence on 9 August 1965
when it was ejected from the

37 CURRENT AFFAIRS
Page

Federation of Malaya amid social

unrest. Modern Singapore was
founded in 1819 by Sir Thomas
Stamford Raffles as a trading post
of the East India Company with
permission from the Johor
Sultanate. Later it came under
control of the British rule in 1824.
After gaining independence from
the British in 1963, Singapore
united with other former British
territories to form Malaysia
(Federation of Malaya). But it
gained independence from Malaysia
on 9 August 1965 after it was
expelled two years later through a
unanimous act of parliament. After
experiencing some turbulence in its
early years as a nation, Singapore
embarked on a path of
development and is has now
transformed itself into one of the
worlds wealthiest countries. Prime
Minister Lee Kuan Yew is
considered the father of modern
Singapore as his emphasis on rapid
economic growth, support for
business entrepreneurship,
limitations on internal democracy,
and close relationships with China
set the new nations policies for the
next half-century. But on countrys

50thanniversary, as the world marvel

at the islands leap from a poor
colonial port to a wealthy
metropolis, Singaporeans are also
grappling with a growing
resentment over political
restrictions, an influx of foreign
labour and rising cost of living.

2) Year-long birth centenary of

which famous Hindi writer,
playwright and actor was initiated
on 8 August 2015? Bhisham
Sahni
Explanation: Bhisham Sahni, the
author of bone-chilling novels such
as Tamas and Mayyadas Ki
Madi, was born on 8 August 1915
at Rawalpindi in Pakistan. He was
an academic, actor, speaker, writer,
playwright and social activist. The
love for literature and fervour for
social reform ran in the family,

38 CURRENT AFFAIRS
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followers of Arya Samaj. His elder

brother and famous actor Balraj
Sahni had taught at Shantiniketan
and Gandhijis Sevagram in
Wardha. He became associated
with the Indian National Congress
initially but passion for the cause of
the common man turned him to
Marxism. Bhisham Sahni authored
over a hundred short stories and
several novels (Kunto, Neeloo
Nilima Nilofar, Kadian,
Jharokhe, Basanti, etc) and
plays (Hanush, Madhavi, Kabira
Khada Bazar Mein, Alamgeer,
Muavze, etc), but his most
famous work remains Tamas, a
novel based on the riots of 1947
Partition of India which he
witnessed at Rawalpindi. He passed
away on 11 July 2003 at the age of
87. Union Ministry of Culture and
Sahitya Akademi are leading the
one-year long centenary
celebrations of this illustrious multifaceted personality.
3) In view of the forthcoming
festival of Raksha Bandhan, a
special enrolment drive is being
launched by participating banks and
insurance companies in the months

of August-September for enrolling

bank account holders in Pradhan
Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana
(PMSBY) and Pradhan Mantri
Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY).
What is the name given to this
special drive? Suraksha
Bandhan
Explanation: The Suraksha
Bandhan drive aims to take
forward the Governments objective
of creating a universal social
security system in the country. It is
targeted especially at the poor and
the under-privileged. Along with
PMSBY and PMJJBY, the envisaged
social security initiative also
includes the Atal Pension Yojana
(APY), launched along with the
above two insurance schemes,
which addresses the issue of old
age income security. Participating
banks supported by the
participating insurance companies
will work towards local outreach,
awareness building and enrolment
facilitation during this drive.

companys already announced joint

venture with the Adani Group.

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39 CURRENT AFFAIRS

4) Global electronic manufacturing

giant Foxconn, known for
manufacturing iPhones for Apple
Inc., on 8 August 2015 signed
agreement with which state
government for investing over US$
5 billion over the next five years?
Maharashtra
Explanation: As per the newly
signed MoU, Maharashtra
government will provide the
Taiwan-based Foxconn 1,500 acres
of land for its plant where the
company would invest US$ 5 billion
over the next five years. Foxconn is
expected to provide employment
opportunities to around 50,000
persons. The said facility will focus
on research and development as
well as manufacturing, and the
company has chosen the state for
being a financial centre, availability
of quality talent and softwarehardware integration facilities. The
MoU with the Maharashtra
Government is different from

5) Thomas Cook (India) Limited on

8 August 2015 announced acquiring
Kuoni Groups travel businesses in
India and Hong Kong for Rs. 535
crore. The deal includes outbound
travel brand SOTC and destination
management brand SITA. Which
India-born entrepreneur backs
Thomas Cook (India) Ltd.? Prem
Watsa
Explanation: In 2012, Prem
Watsa, Chairman and CEO of
Fairfax Financial Holdings, had
acquired a 77% stake in Thomas
Cook for Rs. 817 crore through
Fairbridge Capital, an affiliate of
Fairfax Financial Holdings. The deal
to acquire Kuoni Groups travel
businesses in India and Hong Kong
is the third acquisition by it in the
last two years. In 2013, it had
acquired Bengaluru-based HR and
IT services company Quess Corp.

Thomas Cooks footprint currently

extends to over 232 locations,
including 23 airport counters, in 95
cities across India, Mauritius and Sri
Lanka. Kuoni had entered India in
1996 by acquiring SOTC Tours, and
in 2000, it bought SITA World
Travels. But, this year, the Swiss
company made clear that it will exit
its travel business across the world
in a bid to focus on VFS Global. This
deal also does not include VFS
Global, which is Kuonis outsourcing
and technology services subsidiary
for governments and diplomatic
missions.

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40 CURRENT AFFAIRS

6) Which mutual fund house

acquired the asset management
business of Deutsche Bank in India
as announced on 7 August 2015?
Pramerica
Explanation: Pramerica Asset
Managers Private Limited is a
wholly-owned subsidiary of
Prudential Financial, Inc. of the US,
and is the asset management
company for Pramerica Mutual Fund
in India. Both Pramerica and asset
management business of Deutsche
Bank houses are focussed on liquid
and fixed income funds. As of 30

June 2015, Deutsche AMC had

assets of around Rs. 20,720 crore,
while Pramerica managed assets
worth Rs. 2,125 crore. The sale by
Deutsche Bank is the latest among
a slew of foreign asset managers
exiting the mutual fund business in
India, including Morgan Stanley
(acquired by HDFC AMC), ING (Birla
Sun Life), Daiwa (SBI) and
PineBridge (Kotak).

7) Which Indian-American diplomat

was recently confirmed as the U.S.
Ambassador to Sri Lanka and
Maldives and thus became the
second Indian-origin diplomat to be
posted to the South Asian region
after Richard Rahul Verma? Atul
Keshap
Explanation: 44-year old Atul
Keshap is a former official at the US
Embassy in India. His first
Ambassadorial posting (as U.S.
Ambassador to Sri Lanka and
Maldives) was confirmed by the
U.S. Senate during August 2015 to
make him the second diplomat of

Indian-origin to be posted to the

Asian region after Richard Rahul
Verma, who is US Ambassador to
India. Atuls father, Keshap Chander
Sen, who was from Punjab, was a
U.N. development economist
working in Nigeria where Keshap

was born in June, 1971. His

mother, Zoe Calvert, had been in
the U.S. Foreign Service when she
met and married Sen in London.

August 11-12, 2015

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41 CURRENT AFFAIRS

of the newly formed holding

company? Alphabet

1) Technology behemoth Google

announced a huge reorganization of
the company on 10 August 2015
under which the company will be
brought under a new holding
company. This holding company will
act as an umbrella organization for
all businesses of Google also
include Google as its fully owned
subsidiary. What will be the name

Explanation: In a surprising
announcement made on 10 August
2015 by Larry Page and Sergey
Brin, Googles co-founders, a radical
shake-up of the companys
corporate structure and
management will take place with
evolution of Alphabet a new
holding company whose largest
wholly owned subsidiary will be
Google. Under the re-organization,
Search, Advertising, Maps, YouTube
and the companys mobile
operating system Android will
remain under Google. The parent
company Alphabet will have
Google, maker of Internet-

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42 CURRENT AFFAIRS

connected devices for home Nest,

high-speed Internet service Fiber,
investment arms like Google
Ventures and Google Capital and
incubator projects like Google X,
which is developing self-driving cars
and delivery drones. All shares of
Google will automatically convert
into corresponding shares of
Alphabet, which will continue to
trade under the stock ticker
symbols GOOG and GOOGL. The
new structure is said to be similar
to Warren Buffetts Berkshire
Hathaway, which wholly owns a
number of diverse holdings and has
stakes in several others.

Google becomes a wholly-owned

subsidiary of the newly announced
holding company Alphabet.
Alphabet will have Larry Page as its
CEO and co-founder Sergey Brin as
President. Sundar Pichai has
emerged as the most prominent
and visible faces in Google recently
and he is seen as the strongest
manager in the company after Page
and Brin. He had joined Google in
2004 as its vice president of
product management, where he led
the team working on Googles
Chrome browser and operating
system. Born in Chennai, Pichai, did
his schooling from Padma Seshadri
Bala Bhavan. He received a B.Tech
from the Indian Institute of
Technology Kharagpur (IIT
Kharagpur) and holds an M.S. in
Engineering and Materials Science
from Stanford University and an
MBA from the Wharton School.

2) Who will head Google as its CEO

after Google will be brought under
a holding company with other
numerous companies, as
announced on 10 August 2015?
Sundar Pichai
Explanation: India-born Sundar
Pichai will be the CEO of Google as

3) What is the name of the mobile

app launched by Union Telecom

minister Ravi Shankar Prasad in

Bodh Gaya (Bihar) on 9 August
2015 which facilitates easy learning
of computers and Internet?
Disha

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43 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Explanation: Disha is the name

of the free mobile app that has
been prepared to spread digital
literacy through self-learning
modules. It is the newest tool in the
field of spreading computer literacy.
It is part of the Digital Saksharta
Abhiyan initiated by the Govt. of
India in August 2014 to promote
digital literacy across the country. A
Disha handbook was also
launched which has been designed
to ensure that anyone with little or
no digital literacy can also learn
using this book. On this occasion 10
Dalit women who got training under
the Digital Saksharta Abhiyan in
Bodh Gaya (Bihar) were also
felicitated.

4) In an important development in
Nepal, countrys four major parties
reached a landmark agreement on
the contentious issues of federalism
under the new constitution.
According to the reached
agreement, the country will be
divided into how many provinces?
Six
Explanation: Prime Minister
Koirala and top leaders of CPNUML, Nepali Congress, Unified CPNMaoist and Madhesi Peoples Rights
Forum Democratic (MPRFD)
reached the landmark agreement to
divide Nepal into six provinces,
each sharing its border with India.
Dividing the state was one of the
thorny issues of the new
constitution. With signing of the
agreement among the major parties
on the issue of federal model, the
constitution drafting has reached its
final phase. Although the political
parties have agreed on numbers
and boundaries of the federal units,
they have yet to agree on the
names of the federal units which
will be decided later on. In the
agreed model of federal structure,
all the six provinces have direct
access with Indian border.

Kathmandu, the capital district, lies

in province No. 2 and except this all
other provinces have three
geographical divisions, mountain
region, hilly region and southern
plains.

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44 CURRENT AFFAIRS

5) What is the name of the new

initiative launched by the Union
Environment Ministry on 10 August
2015 to bring students closer to
nature, by involving them in raising
of saplings in nurseries created in
schools? School Nursery
Yojana
Explanation: School Nursery
Yojana (SNY) was launched by
Union Environment Minister
(Independent Charge) Prakash
Javdekar. The underlying theme of
the School Nursery Yojana is to
plant a tree for sustainable future
and to make the nation clean and
green. Under the Yojana, students
will sow the seeds and grow
saplings in the school nursery, as
part of practical exercise for Biology

classes and extra-curricular

activities for students of other
streams. The students will also
carry out a tree census in their
school and the locality. SNY has
been initially launched in 1,000
schools this year. It will be
expanded to cover around 5,000
schools next year and to about
10,000 schools in the third year.
Under SNY, a school Nursery will
have a small space of a minimum of
100 sq. meter for preparing beds
for raising saplings and for nurseryrelated activities, including
preparing, planting a mixture of
good earth, soil and manure, filling
earthen pots and storage of seeds.
6) According to the latest report of
the Right to Education (RTE)
Forum, approximately how many
primary schools across the country
are managed by single teachers for
all the classes? Over 98,000
Explanation: This information
was given by the RTE Forum from
data enclosed in the 2013-14
reports of the District Information
System for Education (DISE). The
report puts the number of such
primary schools in the country at a

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45 CURRENT AFFAIRS

whopping 98,443 or 11.46% of the

total primary schools in the
government sector. Inadequate
number of teachers and lack of
rationalisation in postings are
among the prime culprits for the
grim scenario in the field of
education.

7) Chinese smartphone company

Xiaomi on 10 August 2015
announced its first manufacturing
unit in India at Andhra Pradesh.
Xiaomis first-ever Made in India
smartphone Redmi 2 Prime was
also launched on this occasion that
included Andhra Chief Minister N.
Chandrababu Naidu. This plant is
established at which place in AP?
Sri City
Explanation: Xiaomi is the leading
low-cost smartphone manufacturer
of China and is the third largest
smartphone maker in the World
after Samsung and Apple. It sells its

products under Mi brand and is

presently also rebranding itself as
Mi. The company has exclusively
partnered with Taiwan-based
Foxconn for its manufacturing
facility in Sri City (Andhra Pradesh).
It has similar tie-up in Brazil apart
from China, where Foxconn
manufacturers phones exclusively
for it at its exclusive plants. Andhra
Pradesh Chief Minister N.
Chandrababu Naidu also launched
Xiaomis first India-made phone
Redmi 2 Prime on the occasion,
which is being assembled in its Sri
City plant.
8) What important trend pertaining
to Indian industrial scenario was
reflected in a latest survey by the
Confederation of Indian Industrys
Associations Council (CII ASCON)
that was released on 8 August
2015? Indian economy is
witnessing some early signs of
survival
Explanation: Of the 93 sectors
surveyed in the latest survey of CII
ASCON, the proportion that
recorded excellent growth (faster
than 20 per cent) during the AprilJune quarter of 2015-16 was

higher, at 16.1%, than the 7.1% in

the corresponding quarter of the
last fiscal. The survey respondents
represented a wide range of sectors
comprising small, medium and large
enterprises and, in many cases,
accounted for around 70% of the
total industry output in their
respective sectors. The proportion
of sectors that reported a growth
rate of less than zero fell to 23.7%
from nearly 27% in the
corresponding quarter of the
previous year. However, the share
of sectors that witnessed a high

growth rate (of 10-20%) reduced

significantly to 9.7% from 14.3% a
year ago. The CII survey suggested
revival of stalled projects, debottlenecking of supply side
linkages and the easing of interest
rates as the most significant steps
to bolster growth.

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46 CURRENT AFFAIRS

August 13, 2015

on 11 August 2015. A day later
China further lowered its daily fix
of the Yuan. What is the primary
objective of this depreciation? To
make Yuans exchange rate
more market-oriented and
make Chinese exports cheaper
1) Chinas currency Yuans value
was devalued to its lowest rate
against the US dollar in almost
three years by Chinas central bank

Explanation: The Peoples Bank of

China (POBC) on 11 August
devalued the Yuan by 1.9% against
the US dollar. Later on 12 August

47 CURRENT AFFAIRS
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POBC further lowered its daily fix

of the Yuan to 6.3306 per US dollar,
a further decline of 1.6%. The
move is primarily aimed at making
the exchange rate of Yuan more
market-oriented. The move also
came just after weak economic data
was released by China, which is
worlds second largest economy. It
is worth mentioning that the United
States has in the past complained
that China uses its currency for
competitive advantage. Just a few
days back China reported a sharp
fall in exports and a slide in
producer prices to a near six-year
low in July 2015. Exports fell by
8.3% in July, far worse than
expected and the producer price
index was down 5.4% from a year
earlier. China has long kept tight
control of the value of Yuan on
concerns over financial volatility
and losing its policy control. With
this, international markets became
rife with rumours about China
wanting to exacerbate a currency
war.

2) What step was taken by the

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) after
Rupees value slid to almost 23month low on 12 August 2015? It
intervened by selling US dollars
through PSU banks
Explanation: The rupee weakened
to as much as 64.86 in the morning
of 12 August, which was its lowest
level since September 2013, when
the country was in the midst of its
worst currency turmoil since the
1991 balance of payment crisis. To
stop further decline in rupees
value, the RBI intervened by selling
dollars through state-owned banks.
The currencies of all emerging
Asian countries witnessed decline
after Chinas central bank allowed
the Yuan to drop for the second
straight day to a four-year trough.
This sparked fears of a global
currency war.

3) The Indian Space Research

Organisation (ISRO) fully

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48 CURRENT AFFAIRS

commissioned and started

commercial production of its
indigenous titanium sponge plant
on 10 August 2015. With the
commissioning of this plant, India
has become the seventh country in
the world producing titanium
sponge commercially. This titanium
sponge is situated at which place?
Chavara (Kerala)
Explanation: ISROs titanium
sponge is situated at Chavara in
Keralas Kollam district. It is worth
mentioning that titanium sponge is
used primarily for space and
defence applications. Properties like
high strength to weight ratio and
excellent corrosion resistance
makestitanium alloys useful for
liquid propellant tanks for launch
vehicles and satellites, gas
bottle/liners, inter tank structures
and interface rings for satellites.
This plant is the only integrated
plant in the world that undertakes
all activities right from mining of
titanium minerals to manufacturing
of aerospace grade titanium sponge
under one roof. ISRO took the
initiative for establishing this plant
in the country to meet the
requirements in strategic areas and

it is an initiative of ISROs Vikram

Sarabhai Space Centre
(Ahmedabad). While ISROs annual
requirement of titanium sponge for
space programme is approximately
200-300 metric tonnes, this plants
production capacity could be
enhanced up to 1,000 tonnes per
annum in the future.

4) According to the information

disclosed in a South Korean media
report, North Koreas vice premier
was executed by firing squad this
year. He was apparently executed
for showing discontent with the
policies of the countrys leader Kim
Jong Un. What was the name of
this North Korean vice premier?
Choe Yong Gon
Explanation: 63-year old Choe
Yong Gon had allegedly expressed
disagreement with Kims forestry
policies and had shown poor work

performance. South Koreas

Unification Ministry, which handles
the countrys ties with North Korea,
said in a text message received by
Reuters that Choe had not been
spotted in public for about eight
months, and that it was closely
monitoring the situation.Choe was
appointed vice-premier during
2014. He had worked on interKorean affairs in 2000s, leading the
Norths delegation in joint economic
cooperation committees with South
Korea between 2003 and 2005. His
execution thus marked another
death of a senior official in a series
of high-level purges since Kim Jong
Un took charge in late 2011.

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49 CURRENT AFFAIRS

5) State Bank of Indias net profits

for the first quarter of 2015-16 was
announced on 11 August 2015.
How much was it? Rs. 3,692
crore
Explanation: The net profits of
Indias largest commercial bank SBI
for quarter ended June 2015 stood
at Rs. 3,692 crore, up from Rs.
3,349 crore in the same year-ago
period, thus registering an increase
of 10.2%. Gross bad loans as a
percentage of total loans marginally

rose to 4.29% from 4.25% in the

previous quarter but were lower
than 4.9% reported a year earlier.
6) On 11 August 2015, Indian Govt.
signed a $ 308.40 million finance
agreement with the World Bank for
National Cyclone Risk Mitigation
Project-II (NCRMP-II). NCRMP-II is
associated with reducing
vulnerability to cyclone and other
hydro-meteorological hazards of
coastal communities in which six
states of the country? Goa,
Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala,
Maharashtra and West Bengal
Explanation: NCRMP-II is
implemented by the Ministry of
Home Affairs through National
Disaster Management Authority
(NDMA). It also seeks to increase
the capacity of the state entities to
effectively plan for and respond to
disasters. The primary beneficiaries
of NCRMP-II will be coastal
communities in six target states
benefitting from cyclone risk
mitigation infrastructure and early
warning systems. It has 4 basic
components a) Early Warning
Dissemination Systems; b) Cyclone
Risk Mitigation Infrastructure c)

Technical Assistance for MultiHazard Risk Management and d)

Project Management and
Implementation Support.

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50 CURRENT AFFAIRS

August 14-15, 2015

1) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

on 13 August 2015 paid a dividend
of nearly Rs. 66,000 crore to the
government. This was the highest
ever dividend paid by the RBI in its
80-year history. What are the main
sources of RBIs income?
Interest from Repo operations,
coupon payments for holding
govt. securities and interest
incomes on its holdings of
sovereign bonds

Explanation: It is worth
mentioning that the three main
sources of income of the RBI are
the coupon payments it gets on its
holding of government securities,
the interest it receives from banks
(which borrow money from it or
RBIs repo operations) and also
interest incomes on its holdings of
sovereign bonds like US Treasury
bills. Every year, after meeting its
expenses and keeping aside part of
its total profits, the RBI transfers a
substantial amount to the central
government exchequer. This years
dividend of over Rs. 66,000 crore is
22% more than it paid last year. On
a point to point basis, RBIs
dividend payment to the
government is up more than four
times in as many years. This huge
dividend payout is expected to ease
the governments finances, help
meet its fiscal deficit targets,

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51 CURRENT AFFAIRS

provide liquidity to the system so

that the rate of interest remains low
and also makes available funds for
the governments capital
expenditure, economists and bond
dealers said.

2) In a landmark development for

countrys banking sector, the Union
Government on 14 August 2015
announced appointment of two
executives from the private sector
to head public sector banks (PSU
banks). The move is part of a
strategy to professionalize bank
boards and improve the
performance of governmentcontrolled banks that account for
70% of the deposits and loans
extended by banks. Who are these
two executives? PS Jayakumar
(Bank of Baroda) and Rakesh
Sharma (Canara Bank)
Explanation: The Finance Ministry
on 14 August announced an
overhaul of public sector banks. It

signaled that the government would

not frown upon mergers and
acquisitions in the public sector
space. Apart from this, it, for the
first time since bank nationalization
in 1969, drafted executives from
the private sector to run two public
sector banks. These two executives
are PS Jayakumar (Bank of
Baroda) and Rakesh Sharma
(Canara Bank), both of whom are
from private sector. The reform
measures have been in the works
for a year. It began soon after the
arrest of Syndicate Bank chairman
and MD SK Jain on corruption
charges during August 2014 and
comes at a time when lenders are
reporting steep fall in profits due to
mounting non-performing loans.
The process included PM Narendra
Modi holding a first of its kind
interaction with bank chiefs, which
was followed up by individual
presentation by 22 banks to the
Finance Ministry.

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3) The Insurance Regulatory and

Development Authority of India
(IRDA) on 13 August 2015
announced what important policy
change for Indian banks? It
allowed banks to tie up with up
to 9 insurance companies
under the policy of open
architecture Bancassurance
policy
Explanation: As part of the new
Bancassurance guidelines, the IRDA
on 13 August 2015 allowed banks
to tie up with a maximum of nine
insurers from three segments- life,
nonlife and standalone health
insurers. While such a tie-up will
not be mandatory on the banks and
it has been left to them to take a
call on the number of tie-ups. Till
now banks were not allowed
to have insurance agency tie-ups
with more than one insurer.
Bancassurance is the system of
selling of insurance policies through
a bank, wherein bank acts as an
insurance agent. Thus banks
generate income additional revenue
and profits from this alternative
activity. It is worth mentioning that
the IRDA has been making efforts
to launch a policy of open

architecture bancassurance policy

but was unable to finalise the broad
features of the new policy as they
were not agreed by the various
stake holders of the insurance
industry.

4) O.P. Munjal, who passed away

on 13 August 2015, was the
founder and Chairman of which
noted business house? Hero
Cycles
Explanation: Om Prakash Munjal
(O.P. Munjal) was known as the
doyen of Indian cycle industry. He
along with his three brothers
Brijmohan Lall Munjal, Dayanand
Mujnal and Satyanand Munjal, had
started a bicycle spare parts
business in Amritsar in 1944. Later
after suffering setbacks due to
countrys partition in 1947, they
moved to Ludhiana and established
Hero Cycles, Indias first bicycle
manufacturing unit in 1956. Hero

Cycles today produces around

19000 bicycles per day and holds
the Guinness World Record for
producing highest number of
bicycles in the world in 1986. O.P.
Munjal led Hero Cycles group as its
Chairman till this year before he
handed companys reigns to son
Pankaj Munjal in July 2015.

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5) The appointment of Arun P

Sathe, elder brother of Lok Sabha
Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, recently
came into controversy after his
appointment as the member of
which entity? SEBI
Explanation: Senior advocate
Arun P Sathe, the elder brother of
Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra
Mahajan, was recently appointed on

the Board of market regulator SEBI.

Eyebrows were raised due to
political nature of this appointment.
Sathe, who is also said to have
been an RSS full-timer in the past
and had unsuccessfully fought Lok
Sabha elections as a BJP candidate
in 1989 from Mumbai North-West
against Congress Sunil Dutt. He
has been appointed a part-time
member of the Securities and
Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for
a period of three years. This
appointment came at a time when
a huge uproar has been witnessed
over alleged political considerations
in appointments made by the
government to various important
institutions, including on Film and
Television Institute of India (FTII).

August 16-17, 2015

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54 CURRENT AFFAIRS

1) Prime Minister Narendra Modi

announced a new campaign Startup India, Stand up India during his
Independence Day Address on the
occasion of Indias
69th Independence Day on 15
August 2015. Start-up India, Stand
up India is associated with which
issue? Promoting banks to
finance start-ups and offer
incentives to boost
entrepreneurship and job
creation
Explanation: Start-up India,
Stand up India was the main
theme of PMs Independence Day
address from the ramparts of the
historic Red Fort on 15 August.
According to the PM, the initiative

will encourage entrepreneurship

among the youth of India. Each of
the 1.25 lakh bank branches in the
country would encourage at least
one Dalit or tribal entrepreneur and
at least one woman entrepreneur.
Under this, in addition to existing
systems to facilitate start-ups, loans
would also be given to help people.
Start-up India, Stand up India is
expected to give a new dimension
to entrepreneurship and help set up
a network of start-ups in the
country.
2) What will be the new name of
the Agriculture Ministry as proposed
by the Prime Minister Narendra
Modi in his Independence Day
address to the nation on 15 August
2015? Agriculture and
Farmers Welfare Ministry
Explanation: With a view to take
care of the farming communitys
needs as well as the personal
problems faced by them, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi on 15
August announced that the seven-

55 CURRENT AFFAIRS
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decade old Agriculture Ministry will

be renamed as Agriculture and
Farmers Welfare Ministry.
Addressing the nation on the
69th Independence Day, the PM
stressed on the need to increase
agricultural productivity and said
the government is making efforts to
boost crop yields. Emphasising on
the welfare of farmers for overall
growth of the agri-sector, he said
the government will rename the
present Agriculture Ministry as
Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
Ministry. It is worth mentioning
that pre-independent India had a
combined Department of Revenue,
Agriculture and Commerce set up in
June 1871. In 1881, the
Department of Revenue and
Agriculture was reconstituted as
separate departments, but in 1923,
the departments of Education and
Health were combined with it to
form the Department of Education,
Health and Lands. In 1945, it was
trifurcated into three separate
departments of Agriculture,
Education and Health. The
Department of Agriculture was rededicated as the Ministry of
Agriculture in August 1947.

3) What is the name of the 7pronged strategy announced by the

Union Finance Ministry on 14
August 2015 that aims for
comprehensive revamp of public
sector banks of the country?
Indradhanush
Explanation: The 7-pronged
strategy rolled out to
comprehensively revamp the
functioning of PSU banks in the
country has been termed as
Indradhanush (rainbow). It
includes streamlining of
appointments, setting up of a Bank
Board Bureau (BBB) to scout for
heads of PSBs, recapitalisation
measures and facilitating easing of
non-performing assets (NPAs) to
help ensure improved credit. The
seven broad heads of the strategy
are appointments, establishment of
a Bank Board Bureau (BBB) to
scout for heads of PSBs,

recapitalisation measures and

facilitating easing of nonperforming assets (NPAs) to help
ensure improved credit. Under
Indradhanush strategy, a holding
company -bank investment
committe

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August 18, 2015

1) Indian Prime Minister Narendra

Modi on 17 August 2015 visited
which city of UAE which is worlds
first zero-carbon and car-free smart
city? Masdar
Explanation: Masdar is the worlds
first zero-carbon and car-free city.
It is around 17 km from the city of

Abu Dhabi. The city is designed by

British firm Foster and Partners and
will host the headquarters of the
International Renewable Energy
Agency (IRENA). Masdar City relies
completely on solar energy and
other renewable sources of energy.
The highlight of Indian Prime
Ministers tour was a demo ride in a
self-driving car part of Masdar citys
Private Rapid Transit or PRT. The
car (also called Podcar) runs on
lithium batteries powered by solar
energy and uses virtual software to
guide its journey. Narendra Modi
was on a 2-day official visit of the
UAE and became the first Indian

Prime Minister to visit the UAE in 34

years.

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57 CURRENT AFFAIRS

2) Which South-East Asian capital

on 17 August 2015 witnessed a
huge explosion resulting in the
death of over 20 people and over
100 injured? Bangkok
Explanation: Bangkok, the capital
of Thailand was struck by a huge
explosion in citys central area in
the evening of 17 August. The
bomb explosion took place at the
Rajprasong intersection, which was
the center of many contentious
political demonstrations in recent
years. This is near the enormously
popular Erawan Shrine belonging to
Lord Brahma. The bomb was
planted on a motorcycle. There was
no immediate claim of
responsibility. Thai forces are
fighting a low-level Muslim
insurgency in the predominantly
Buddhist countrys south, although
those rebels have rarely launched

attacks outside their ethnic Malay

heartland.

3) Which entity has been mandated

as the lead promoter of National
Agriculture Market (NAM), the
national e-market for agriculture
commodities, as announced by the
Department of Agriculture and
Cooperation (DAC) recently?
Small Farmers Agri Business
Consortium (SFAC)
Explanation: Small Farmers Agri
Business Consortium (SFAC) is a
registered society of DAC. It has
been mandated as the lead
promoter of Indias e-market for
agriculture commodities under the
umbrella of the National Agriculture
Market. SFAC will now select a
strategic partner through open
tender to develop, operate and
maintain the NAM e-platform. SFAC
will also implement the NAM with
budgetary grant support from DAC
and technical support by the
strategic partner. NAM is envisaged

as a pan-India electronic trading

portal, which seeks to primarily
network 585 Agriculture Produce
Market Committee (APMC) market
yards to create a national e-market
for agricultural commodities. In
addition, big private markets will
also be allowed access to the
software to enable better price
discovery.

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58 CURRENT AFFAIRS

4) Which Indian airline during

August 2015 signed a huge $26.55
billion order for purchasing 250
aircrafts from Europes Airbus
company, which is the largest ever
order (by volume) for Airbus?
IndiGo
Explanation: IndiGo is at present
Indias biggest airline by market
share. It had earlier placed a
provisional order for supply of 250
narrow-body A320neo aircrafts
from Airbus during October 2014.
The company on 15 August
confirmed that provisional order
with Airbus. This order worth

$26.55 billion is the largest supply

order for Airbus by volume, i.e., the
number of aircrafts to be supplied.
It is also the second-largest order
by value for Airbus. The deal also
makes IndiGo the largest airline
customer for the Airbus A320-family
of aircraft. The A320neo is the reengined and upgraded variant of
the A320 family of planes and
competes against Boeings
upgraded 737 Max in the narrow
body market segment.

5) Which Indian golfer created

history on 16 August 2015 by
becoming the first from the country
to finish inside the top-five of a
Major golf tournament? Anirban
Lahiri
Explanation: 28-year old Anirban
Lahiri scaled a new high for Indian
golf by becoming the first from the
country to finish inside the top-five
of a Major as he ended the
prestigious PGA Championships at

Wisconsin (USA) at fifth place. His

tied fifth place saw him improve on
the tied ninth finish in the PGA
Championships in 2008 by Jeev
Milkha Singh. The tournament was
won by Jason Day, who finally won
a Major, after nine top-10 finishes.
Branden Grace and Justin Rose
were third and fourth, while Lahiri
tied with Brooks Koepka for fifth
place.
6) Which State led in employment
generation in manufacturing sector
in the country in 2012-13,
according to an analysis done by
the Associated Chambers of
Commerce and Industry of India
(ASSOCHAM)? Tamil Nadu

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59 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Explanation: Tamil Nadu was the

leading State in employment
generation in the country,
generating as much as 15.2% of

countrys manufacturing sector jobs

during 2012-13. Among 20 States
that were part of the analysis, Tamil
Nadu and West Bengal recorded a
positive growth, while others saw a
significant decline. This was
disclosed in a report released by
ASSOCHAM on 14 August 2015.
Maharashtra and Gujarat generated
13.8% and 10.5% of the total
manufacturing sector jobs in 201213, just behind Tamil Nadu. Overall,
employment generation in 2012- 13
in the manufacturing sector
declined to 12.95 million from 13.4
million in 2011-12, registering a fall
of 3.6%.

August 19, 2015

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60 CURRENT AFFAIRS

1) What is the name of the mwallet (mobile wallet) application of

State Bank of India (SBI) that was
launched by Finance Minister Arun
Jaitley on 18 August 2015? SBI
Buddy
Explanation: SBI Buddy is the mwallet app of Indias largest banking
entity SBI that was launched on 18
August 2015. M-wallets are similar
to savings bank accounts that can
be accessed through mobile
phones. SBI Buddy app can be used
to send money to new and
registered customers, book for
movies, flights, hotels as well as for
shopping. It also has features like
reminders to settle dues, recharge
and pay bills instantly. It can be
accessed in 13 different Indian

languages and has been launched

in collaboration with Accenture and
MasterCard. With launch of SBI
Buddy, SBI will compete directly
with ICICI Banks Pocket, HDFC
Banks PayZapp and Paytm, a
market-place-cum payments
company. This move will help SBI
to enter the rapidly growing mobile
wallet business. It will also restrict
the abilities of several online market
places which are looking to erect
barriers through the app only sale.

2) Which High Court of the country

on 18 August 2015 gave a
landmark ruling that all government
servants, elected representatives,
members of judiciary and any other
persons who get any benefit or
salary from the state exchequer or
public fund should send their

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61 CURRENT AFFAIRS

children to primary schools run by

the state education board?
Allahabad High Court (Uttar
Pradesh)
Explanation: This landmark ruling
by the Allahabad High Court came
on petition filed by Umesh Kumar
Singh and others, who had
challenged the process of selection
of Associate Teachers for
government-run primary and junior
high schools in UP for the years
2013 and 2015. The court observed
that government servants would
ensure that state-run schools would
function well if they send their
children to such educational
institutions. Justice Sudhir Agarwal,
who passed the judgement, also
ruled that penal provisions be laid
down for those who violate the
order. An amount equal to the
school fees should be deposited by
officials and elected representatives
to the state exchequer, for every
child going to a private school
which is not maintained by the
state government. The court also
asked the Chief Secretary of the
Uttar Pradesh (UP) government to
take steps within six months so as
to make the aforesaid directions

applicable from the next academic

session and file a compliance report
thereafter.

3) What is the name of the first of

its kind fully automated digital
locker launched by ICICI Bank on
18 August 2015? Smart Vault
Explanation: ICICI Banks Smart
Vault is a unique locker service
which would be available to
customers even on weekends and
post banking hours. This locker is
equipped with multi-layer security
system, including biometric and PIN
authentication and debit cards,
among others. Customers can
access it without any intervention
by the branch staff. Smart Vault
uses robotic technology to access
the lockers from the safe vault and
enables customers to access their
lockers at any time of their
preference.

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4) What is the name given to

Googles Android mobile operating
systems next major update as
announced by Google on 17 August
2015? Android 6.0
Marshmallow
Explanation: Android 6.0
Marshmallow is the given to
Googles highly-popular Android
mobile operating system as
announced by Dave Burke,
Androids Vice President of
Engineering on 17 August. It is
worth mentioning that the moniker
for Android 6.0 version follows a
tradition of using sugary treats for
Android including Lollipop (5.0), Kit
Kat (4.4), Jellybean (4.1) and Ice
Cream Sandwich (4.0).
Marshmallow will be the latest
Android update after Lollipop. But
unlike Android Lollipop, which
released with a number of enticing
features, the Android 6.0

Marshmallow update is largely

aimed at delivering stability and
performance improvements.
However, the update will bring new
features like Android Pay, Tap on
Now, new app permissions model,
built-in support for fingerprint
scanner, as well as support for the
USB Type-C standard. The new
Android update also offers native
support for the 64-bit ARMv8
architecture.

5) President Pranab Mukherjees

wife and Indias First Lady passed
away on 18 August 2015. What was
her name? Suvra Mukherjee
Explanation: Apart from being the
wife of President Pranab Mukherjee,
75-year old Suvra Mukherjee was a
highly talented vocalist, painter and
writer. She was an ardent fan of
Indias national poet, Gurudev
Rabindranath Tagore. She was a
vocalist of Rabindra Sangeet and
performed in the poets dance-

dramas for long years not only in

different parts of India, but also in
Europe, Asia and Africa. She had
founded the Geetanjali Troupe,
whose mission is to propagate
Rabindranath Tagores philosophy
as expressed through his songs and
dance-dramas. She was the guiding
force behind all productions of the
troupe. She was suffering from
some complications and had
complained of respiratory problems
of-late.

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6) Indias most popular scooter

the Honda Activa, during August
2015 achieved what landmark
achievement to make its name in
countrys automobile history? It
became countrys first ever

scooter brand to cross sale

figure of 1 crore units
Explanation: Honda Activa set a
new record by crossing the one
crore unit sales landmark in India.
It also became the only scooter in
the country to hit this milestone.
Activa currently commands a 59%
share in the Indian scooter market
and over 2.1 million units of the
Activa range were sold in the last
financial year. Activa is the iconic
scooter brand of Honda Motorcycle
& Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. (HMSI Pvt.
Ltd.) and it was launched in the
country in 2001. In July 2015,
Honda became the first
manufacturer to sell more than 2.5
lakh scooters in a single month.

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August 20, 2015

1) In an important step for Indias

banking sector, the Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) on 19 August 2015
granted its in-principle approval to
setting up Payments Banks to 11
entities and individuals. The RBI
had received 41 applications for
payments banks by end of deadline
in February this year. Which are
these 11 entities and individuals to
get approval for payments bank?
1) Aditya Birla Nuvo, 2)Airtel
M Commerce Services, 3)
Cholamandalam Distribution
Services, 4) Department of
Posts, 5) Fino PayTech, 6)
National Securities Depository
Ltd (NSDL), 7) Reliance
Industries, 8) Tech Mahindra,
9) Vodafone m-pesa (Entities)
and 10) Dilip Shanghvi and 11)
Vijay S. Sharma (Individuals)

Explanation: The two individuals

to get RBIs approval Dilip
Shanghvi and Vijay S. Sharma, are
associated with Sun Pharma and
Paytm respectively. Payments
banks will be the entities which will
be mainly involved in remittance
services and will be allowed to
accept deposits up to Rs. 1 lakh but
cannot lend. They will only have to
deploy collected deposits in
government paper and bank
deposits. They can also issue debit
cards and offer internet banking but
will be not allowed to issue credit
cards. The Guidelines for Licensing
of Payments Banks were first issued
on 27 November 2014 after the
Union Budget 2014-2015 presented
on 10 July 2014 announced setting
up of differentiated banks. The
process for selecting the applicants
for payments banks was
undertaken by an External Advisory
Committee (EAC) under the
Chairmanship of Dr. Nachiket Mor,
Director, Central Board of the RBI.
The recommendations of the EAC
were an input to an Internal

Screening Committee (ISC),

consisting of the Governor and the
four Deputy Governors. This
Internal Screening Committee
prepared a final list of
recommendations for the
Committee of the Central Board
(CCB) of RBI, after independently
scrutinising all the applications.

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2) Who on 19 August 2015 was

selected as the new President of
the International Amateur Athletics
Federation (IAAF), the global
governing body for athletics?
Sebastian Coe (Britain)
Explanation: Sebastian Coe, the
former 1500 m Olympic champion
from Britain, was elected as the
new President of the IAAF on 19
August. He was elected at the
50th Congress of IAAF held at
Beijing (China). He defeated his
opponent Ukrainian pole vault
legend Sergey Bubka in a closely

contested election. Coe polled 115

votes to Bubkas 92. IAAFs 214
member federations took part in
the election, held just three days
before the 2015 World
Championships gets under way in
Beijing. Coe succeeded Lamine
Diack (Senegal), 82, who has been
in charge of IAAF for 16 years. His
initial term will be for four years.
Coe was the 1500 m Olympic gold
medallist in 1980 (Moscow) and
1984 (Los Angeles) Olympics.

3) Who became the first-ever

Indian to be chosen as one of the
members of the prestigious Council
of the IAAF, the global governing
body of athletics on 19 July 2015?
Adille Sumariwalla
Explanation: Adille Sumariwalla,
an Olympian 100m runner and
President of the Athletics
Federation of India (AFI), was
elected as one of the nine individual
members of the all-powerful IAAF

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66 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Council at the IAAFs 50th Congress

held at Beijing. He thus became the
first-ever elected member for IAAF
Council from India. It is worth
mentioning that former AFI and
Indian Olympic Association
President Suresh Kalmadi was also
earlier a member of the IAAF
Council from 2001 to 2013 but by
virtue of his being the chief of the
Asian Athletics Association (AAA)
and not through an election. Seats
are also reserved for chiefs of
continental athletics bodies at the
IAAF Council. But the
Commonwealth Games scamtainted Kalmadi lost his seat as an
ordinary member after he was
defeated in the AAA presidential
elections to Dahlan Al-Hamad of
Qatar in Pune in 2013.

4) Small Industries Development

Bank of India (SIDBI) on 18 August
2015 launched two new funds
primarily for small entrepreneurs
and start-ups. What are the names
of these funds? India
Aspiration Fund (IAF) and

SIDBI Make In India Loan For

Enterprises (SMILE)
Explanation: The two funds were
launched by Union Finance Minister
Arun Jaitley. The total corpus for
India Aspiration Fund (IAF) is Rs.
2,000 crore while the corpus for
SMILE fund is Rs. 10,000 crore. Life
Insurance Corporation (LIC) will be
a partner and a co-investor in these
funds. IAF is expected to catalyse
tens of thousands of crores of
equity investment in start-ups and
MSMEs. On the other hand, the
idea behind the launch of SMILE
scheme is to provide soft loans in
the nature of quasi-equity and term
loans on relatively soft terms to
MSMEs to meet the required debtequity ratio norm as also for
pursuing opportunities of growth by
existing MSMEs.

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5) The former Sri Lankan President

Mahinda Rajapaksas attempt to
make a political comeback suffered
a huge blow on 18 August 2015 as
parliamentary election results
showed a surge in support for his
rival and Prime Minster Ranil
Wickremesinghe. Wickremesinghe
was prime ministerial candidate for
which party? United National
Party (UNP)
Explanation: The UNP has
emerged as the single largest party
with 106 seats in the 225-member
legislature. Rajapaksa, who was
president of Sri Lanka for over nine
years till January this year, was the
United Peoples Freedom Alliance
(UPFA)s prime ministerial candidate
for elections held on 17 August
2015. Though the UNP has not
secured a simple majority, the
formation of the next government
with Wickremesinghe as Prime
Minister looks only a matter of
formality, given that several smaller
parties, including the Tamil National
Alliance, support him.
6) What is the name of the first
openly transgender White House

staff member, who was appointed

by President Barack Obama on 18
August 2015? Raffi FreedmanGurspan
Explanation: Raffi FreedmanGurspan came to news as she
became the first-ever transgender
White House staff member. She
was a former policy adviser at the
National Center for Transgender
Equality and will serve as an
outreach and recruitment director in
the White House Office of
Presidential Personnel. This is one
of several steps the Obama
administration has taken to show
support for the LGBT community.
Last year, he had signed executive
orders that banned federal
contractors from discriminating
against employees due to their
sexual orientation or gender
identity.

August 21, 2015

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1) What is the name of the first

dedicated portal for the benefit of
students seeking educational loans
that was launched during August
2015 by the Union Govt.? Vidya
Lakshmi
Explanation: Vidya Lakshmi
portal was launched on 15 August
2015 on the occasion of
69thIndependence Day. It is the first
of its kind portal providing single
window for students to access
information and make applications
for educational loans provided by
banks as also government
scholarships. The portal has been
developed and maintained by NSDL
e-Governance Infrastructure
Limited (NSDL e-Gov) under the

guidance of Department of
Financial Services in the finance
ministry, department of higher
education, ministry of human
resource development and Indian
Banks Association (IBA). While 5
PSU banks (SBI, IDBI Bank, Bank of
India, Canara Bank and Union Bank
of India) have integrated
themselves on the Vidya Lakshmi
portal initially, so far 13 banks have
registered their 22 educational loan
schemes on it.

2) The Union Govt. on 18 August

2015 announced that the Bharat
Stage-IV (BS-IV) emission norms
would become applicable in the rest
of the country from 1 April 2017.
The move from BS-III to -IV is
supposed to halve the particulate
matter from cars (0.0250 g per km)
and reduce pollution. When BS-IV

69 CURRENT AFFAIRS
Page

norm was first introduced in the

country? April 2010

the Union Govt. on 20 August

2015? Ashwani Lohani

Explanation: BS-IV was first

implemented from April 2010 in the
national capital region and Mumbai,
Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad,
Bengaluru, Hyderabad,
Secunderabad, Kanpur, Pune,
Surat, Agra, Lucknow and Solapur.
Twenty additional cities were added
from October 2014 and 30 more
cities were included from April
2015. It will be implemented in
Goa, Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana,
Odisha, Daman and Diu, Dadra and
Nagar Haveli and Andaman and
Nicobar Islands, districts of
Mumbai, Thane and Pune in
Maharashtra and four districts of
Gujarat from April 2016. On 18
August govt. also announced that
only passenger vehicles complying
with the BS-IV norms can be sold in
seven states from October 2015.

Explanation: Ashwani Lohani is an

Indian Railway Service officer of the
1980 batch and is currently serving
as Managing Director of the
Madhya Pradesh Tourism
Development Corporation (MPTDC).
He will succeed Rohit Nandan
whose three-year term ended last
year and who was on a one-year
extension till the government was
able to find a new chief for Air
India.

3) Who was appointed as the new

chief of national carrier Air India by

4) Just before the NSA-level talks

with Pakistan, Union Govt. on 20
August 2015 placed separatist
leaders of Kashmir under house
arrest and later released them.
These leaders were scheduled to
attend a reception in New Delhi on
23 August 2015 hosted by Pakistan
High Commission for its National
Security Advisor, Sartaj Aziz. Which

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70 CURRENT AFFAIRS

are these three prominent

separatists? Syed Ali Shah
Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq
and Yasin Malik
Explanation: While Syed Ali Shah
Geelani and Yasin Malik considered
hardliners, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq is
a moderate separatist. All three
leaders are associated with the
hardline and moderate factions of
the Hurriyat Conference. These
leaders had promptly accepted
Pakistans invitation to attend the
reception in New Delhi. On the
other hand, Indian Govt. was
critical of Pakistans move of
inviting separatists just before NSAlevel talks and thus trying to exploit
the events by turning them into a
tri-lateral negotiation, something
the government of India has always
resisted. A similar invitation was
extended by Pakistan in August
2014 when the Foreign Secretarylevel talks between the two
countries were around the corner.
The Indian
Govt. countered Pakistans
separatist-friendly gesture by calling
off the talks. On 20 August 2015,
The Jammu and Kashmir police
cordoned off the residences of

moderate separatist Mirwaiz Umar

Farooq and his hardline counterpart
Syed Ali Shah Geelani, rendering
them immobile. Yasin Malik was
also placed under house arrest.
Hours later they were released.
5) Former Goa Chief Minister
Digamber Kamats house was
raided by the Enforcement
Directorate on 20 August 2015. This
raid was carried out in an alleged
bribery case involving a US firm.
What is the name of this firm?
Louis Berger
Explanation: Former CM
Digamber Kamat is accused of
taking Rs 1.2 crore as bribe from
the US firm Louis Berger to favour
them in a water and sewage
project. The raids came a day after
a local court granted anticipatory
bail to Kamat. Another former
minister, Churchill Alemao, has
already been arrested for his
alleged role in the bribery scandal.

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6) Marathi historian Babasaheb

Purandare recently came to news.
Why? Maharashtra Govt.s
decision to confer the
prestigious Maharashtra
Bhushan award on him created
controversy with numerous
sections urging the govt. to
withdraw the award
Explanation: Babasaheb
Purandare is a well-known writer
and theatre personality from
Maharashtra, known for his ballads
and writing on Maratha warrior
Shivaji. He is well known for his
popular play on Shivaji, Jaanta
Raja. He was awarded the
prestigious Maharashtra Bhushan
award on 20 August 2015 at Raj
Bhawan in Mumbai. Maharashtra
Bhushan is the highest and
prestigious award presented
annually by the Maharashtra state
government since 1996 for
significant contribution in various
fields. But this conferring was
opposed by various parties and
bodies. Leaders of both the
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)

and Congress opposed the

governments decision to award
Babasaheb Purandare the
Maharashtra Bhushan Award saying
his portrayal of Shivaji is not based
on facts and has presented a
distorted picture, maligning the
image of Chhatrapati Shivaji, Jijabai
and Shahaji Raje.
7) Mrs Funnybones is the name of
the first book of which noted
personality whose column by the
same name is hugely popular?
Twinkle Khanna
Explanation: Actor-turned-writer
Twinkle Khanna on 19 August 2015
launched her first book Mrs
Funnybones. The book is a
commentary on society and trends.
The book is about how a modern
woman looks at India and how
India looks back at her.

August 22, 2015

included Fiji, Marshall Islands,
Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New
Guinea, Samoa, Tuvalu, Vanuatu,
Cook Islands, Kiribati, Micronesia,
Solomon Islands and Tonga. First
edition of FIPIC Summit was held in
2014 in Fiji.

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1) 2nd edition of the Forum for

India-Pacific Islands Cooperation
(FIPIC) Summit, which witnessed
participation of the heads of states
of 14 Pacific island nations, was
held in which Indian city on 21
August 2015? Jaipur
Explanation: With this Summit,
India has pushed for deeper
engagement with 14 resource-rich
island nations in a range of key
areas including trade and
investment. It is worth mentioning
that India is looking forward to
expand its footprint in the
strategically important South Pacific
region and the 2nd FIPIC Summit is
being seen as a step in the same
direction. The island nations who
participated in the FIPIC summit

2) India on 19 August 2015

removed which important country
from the list of countries put under
the restricted visa category or the
prior referral category (PRC) of
countries? Iran
Explanation: India sees Iran as a
key supporter in the wake of the
growing threats and influence of
Islamist terror groups such as the
Islamic State in Central Asia. India
has liberalised its visa policy for
Iran and struck it off the prior
referral category (PRC) of countries.

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73 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Three categories of visas

employment, conference, students
and research visa-were on the
restricted list till now. With this
India has also indicated that it
wants to reach out to Iran. The
decision also comes in wake of the
P5 + 1 (U.K, China, France, Russia,
U.S. and Germany) nations
clinching a nuclear agreement with
Iran during July 2015, thus easing
economic sanctions on it. On 19
August 2015 the Union Home
Ministry issued an order which said
Iran was no longer on the PRC list,
which has countries such as
Pakistan, Bangladesh and China.
The order means that Iranians can
easily apply for visas at Indian
consulate in Iran and each
application will not have to be
forwarded to the Intelligence
Bureau (IB) and Research and
Analysis Wing (RAW) for
verification.

3) Greek Prime Minister Alexis

Tsipras submitted his resignation to
the countrys president on 20
August 2015. Why? To facilitate
early elections and strengthen
his hold on power in snap
elections
Explanation: Tsipras submitted
his resignation to President
Prokopis Pavlopoulos and asked for
the earliest possible election date.
He is seeking to crush a rebellion in
his leftist Syriza party and seal
public support for the bailout
program that he had negotiated
with European leaders. Faced with
a near collapse of the Greek
financial system which threatened
the countrys future in the euro,
Tsipras was forced to accept the
creditors demands for yet more
austerity and economic reform. But
these were the very policies he had
promised to scrap when he was
elected in January 2015. But his
resignation further deepened
political uncertainty on the day
Greece began receiving funds under
its 86 billion-euro ($96 billion)
bailout program.

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4) In a first of its kind publicprivate partnership, Kishore Biyaniled Future Consumer Enterprise
Limited (FCEL) recently entered into
a partnership with which state
government to exclusively operate
5,000 fair price shops under the
public distribution system (PDS)?
Rajasthan
Explanation: The fair price shops
in Rajasthan will now be run under
the name Annapurna Bhandar
Yojna in which Kishore Biyani-led
Future Consumer Enterprise will
assist the state government. As part
of the agreement, FCEL will supply
consumable goods and will also be
responsible for turning the fair price
shops into a newer modern-retail
formats. This partnerships aims to
modernize the PDS in the state by
offering a range of consumer goods
at affordable prices through private
labels supplied by Future Group.
The shops will now stock products
such as oil, ghee, pulses, spices,
personal care products such as

soaps and shampoos. The move

could mean additional channel of
sales for Rs.1,089 crore. It is worth
mentioning that FCEL is a
sourcing-to-supermarket company
that is now aiming towards
becoming a manufacturer and
retailer of household goods through
a private label push.

5) Which country recently became

the fourth country after Russia,
Great Britain and China to have a
hotline (direct secure line of
communication) with the US
President? India
Explanation: The hotline between
Indian Prime Minister Narendra
Modi and US President Barack
Obama was established recently.
This was disclosed by Peter R.
Lavoy, special assistant to US
President and senior director for
South Asian Affairs at the National
Security Council of the White
House. With this India becomes
only the fourth country, after
Russia, Great Britain and China,

with which the US has a hotline. For

India this is the first hotline at the
level of head of state.

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6) Which new practice in training of

IAS officers has been put into effect
recently? The trainee IAS
officers will now serve as
assistant secretaries in
different Union ministries
before taking up postings in
their respective state cadres
Explanation: A new practice has
been put into effect as far as the
training of IAS officers is
concerned. According to this new
practice, IAS officers will serve as
assistant secretaries in different
Union ministries for grooming at the
Centre before they take up postings
in their respective state cadres. This
is a departure from the usual

practice of IAS officers starting their

career in the state cadres allocated
to them. In fact, they must serve
for nine years in the state cadre
before they become eligible for
their first central deputation. This is
expected to be a learning
experience for the young IAS
officers, who will get acquainted
with the functioning of the Union
government. They will get an
opportunity to interact with
functionaries and officials in the
central hierarchy. The three-month
exposure at the Centre is expected
to prepare them to handle
responsibilities when they move to
their respective state cadres. The
officers will report to their
respective state cadres soon after
completing their three-month
tenure here. Their 3-month
induction in Union ministries starts
from 22 August 2015.

August 23-24, 2015

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1) Which private bank became the

newest bank in India as it rolled out
its services in on 23 August 2015?
Bandhan Bank
Explanation: Bandhan Bank had
recently received its universal
banking licence a year after getting
a provisional licence from the
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in April
last year along with IDFC. On 23
August 2013 Bandhan Bank
unfurled its banking operations all
over the country thus triggering a
wave of financial inclusion. Union
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley
inaugurated the bank at a
ceremony held at Kolkatas Science
City Auditorium. Bandhan Bank
started its operations with a bang
with 501 branches spread across 22
states in the country. This is
possibly the highest number of

branches of any private bank in

India on the first day. Bandhan
Bank is the part of the Bandhan
Financial Services (BFS), Indias
largest micro finance institution
(MFI), which started its journey in
2001 when Chandra Sekhar Ghosh
quit his job to set up an institution
through which he hoped to help the
poor.
2) Till opening of Bandhan Bank on
23 August 2015, which was the last
entrant into Indias banking sector?
Yes Bank
Explanation: Yes Bank, which
started its operations in 2004, was
the last entrant in Indias banking
sector till Bandhan Bank, which
went into operations on 23 August.
Yes Bank is presently the fifthlargest private sector bank in India
after ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis
Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank.

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3) Usain Bolt of Jamaica produced

one of his greatest races ever to
retain the world 100m title at IAAF
World Championships at Beijings
Nest Stadium on 23 August 2015.
He thus defeated the clear favourite
Justin Gatlin (US) by one hundredth
of a second. What was Bolts timing
in this iconic race? 9.79 seconds
Explanation: Bolt completed the
race in 9.79 seconds as he came
past a faltering Gatlin at the death
to snatch victory by one hundredth
of a second. Gatlin finished the race
in 9.80 seconds. Canadas Andre de
Grasse and young American
Trayvon Bromell were both
awarded bronzes in 9.92 seconds.
With this run Bolt also put a
troubled build-up behind him to
beat two-time doper Justin Gatlin.
It is worth mentioning that Gatlin
had ran incredible heats and semifinal races to build-up a showdown
final with Bolt as he was seemingly
looking out of sorts.

4) Which team won the ProKabaddi League (PKL) title for 2015
on 23 August 2015? U Mumba
(Mumbai)
Explanation: U Mumba franchisee
won the STAR Sports ProKabaddi
Leagues second season as they
defeated Bengaluru Bulls
(Bengaluru) team in the finals by
36-30 on 23 August 2015. The final
was played at Mumbais National
Sports Club of India. This is the first
ProKabaddi League (PKL) title for U
Mumba. Telugu Titans beat Patna
Pirates 34-26 to finish third. The
first season of PKL was won by
Jaipur Pink Panthers (Jaipur) last
year.

4) What is the major

recommendation of the

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government-constituted committee
on Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT)
for foreign institutional investors
(FIIs) led by Justice A.P. Shah as
disclosed by Union Finance Minister
Arun Jaitley on 21 August 2015?
FIIs should be granted relief
on MAT for the period before 1
April 2015
Explanation: The governmentconstituted A.P. Shah Committee
has recommended that FIIs be
granted relief on Minimum Alternate
Tax (MAT) for the period before 1
April 2015. This comes as a major
relief for the FIIs. It is worth
mentioning that in 2012, the
Advance Authority Ruling (AAR),
Delhi, directed Castleton to pay
MAT in India on its book profits,
when the company transferred
shares from a Mauritius entity to
one in Singapore. Pertaining to this,
the income tax department had
sent notices to 68 FIIs, demanding
Rs. 602 crore as MAT dues for
earlier years. To resolve the issue,
the government had constituted a
commission headed by Law
Commission Chairman A P Shah.
The crux of the issue was whether
the government would waive MAT

prior to April 2015. From the

current financial year, MAT is
anyway not applicable to foreign
portfolio investors. It is expected
the government will accept the
committees suggestions and stop
demanding MAT from FPIs for the
period before 1 April.

6) Which Indian airport recently

became the first in the world to
operate completely on solar power?
Cochin International Airport
(Kochi)
Explanation: The 12 MWp solar
power-plant at Cochin International
Airport was inaugurated by Kerala
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on
20 August 2015. This solar power
plant comprises of 46,150 solar
panels and is laid across 45 acres
near the cargo complex of the
airport. With this, the airport will
have 50000 to 60000 units of
electricity per day to be consumed
for all its operational functions,

which technically makes the airport

absolutely power neutral. This
makes it the first airport in the
world to operate completely on
solar power. The plant was installed
by the Kolkata-based Vikram Solar
Pvt. Ltd.

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7) Scientists have rejected the

recent claims of lab-grown mini
human brain, as claimed by a
neuroscientist at Ohio State
University in Columbus. What is the
name of this neuroscientist?
Rene Anand
Explanation: Rene Anand a
neuroscientist at Ohio State
University in Columbus, has claimed
that his team has successfully
developed five-week-old fetal
human brain in the lab. This brain,
the size of a pencil eraser, was
complete with a cortex, midbrain
and brainstem in a dish,
comparable in maturity to that of a
fetus aged 5 weeks. The brain
development was started by Anand
and his colleague Susan McKay
started with human skin cells. The
development of human brain in lab
was seen as revolutionary
achievement in the area of human

science. However, a team of senior

scientists have raised doubts about
this development. The scientists felt
that although the team has indeed
grown some kind of miniature
collection of cells, or organoid, in
a dish, the structure isnt much like
a fetal brain. A senior scientist
Jurgen Knoblich argued that Anand
hasnt presented enough evidence
to show that his organoid really has
all the typical parts of a brain.
8) Global oil prices sank to which
low level during August 2015 for
the first time in more than six
years? Below $40 a barrel
Explanation: Oil plunged below
$40 a barrel in New York on 22
August 2015 as Chinese
manufacturing gauge sank to the
lowest level since the financial
crisis. The poor performance of
Chinas manufacturing sector
increased concern that demand will
wane in the country. Prices have
tumbled almost 35% since this
years peak in June 2015 as
producers maintain output even
after an oversupply pushed prices
into a bear market

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August 25, 2015

1) Major financial markets of the

world, including India, witnessed a
huge decline on 24 August 2015.
The BSE Sensex closed the day at
25,741.56, down 1,624.51 points.
The overall investors wealth,
measured in terms of total
valuation of all listed stocks, also
plunged nearly by Rs. 7 lakh crore.
What was the main reason for his
sharp fall? Slowing Chinese
economy and the devalued
Chinese currency Yuan
Explanation: The woes associated
with Chinese economy hit the
global financial markets. Global
markets crashed on 24 August
following weeks of reports

regarding Chinas low economic

growth as its consumption story
further faltered. This was in
addition to other irritants such as
Europes woes and a general
slowdown in economies across the
globe. In Indian capital markets,
the loss suffered by the 10 biggest
companies in terms of market
capitalisation was itself close to Rs.
2 lakh crore. This fall was the
biggest since 21 January 2008
when the Sensex crashed by
2,062.2 points. On the other hand
Indian rupee went down to 66.49,
plunging a whopping 66 paise,
which was their lowest level in
nearly two years.

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Page

2) The birth centenary celebration

of Rani Gaidinliu was inaugurated
by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on
24 August 2015. On this occasion a
commemorative coin was released
to recall Ranis contribution to
Indias freedom struggle. Rani
Gaidinliu was associated with which
India state? Nagaland

who had converted to Christianity

by the 1960s.

Explanation: Rani Gaidinliu (19151993) was a prominent political

leader of Nagaland who led a
famous revolt against the British.
She was part of the Heraka
religious movement that ultimately
turned into a political movement
seeking to drive out the British from
Manipur and the surrounding Naga
regions. She was arrested by the
British in 1932 at the age of 17 and
remained in various prisons till her
release in 1947 after Indias
Independence. An advocate of the
ancestral Naga religious practices,
she staunchly resisted the
conversion of Nagas to Christianity.
She died on 17 February 1993 at
the age of 78. Because of the
Heraka movements hostility
towards Christianity, Gaidinlius
heroics were not acknowledged
highly among the Nagas, most of

3) Union Govt. on 24 August 2015

divested 10% of its stake in which
public sector undertaking?
Indian Oil Corporation
Explanation: The governments
10% stake sale in Indian Oil
Corporation on 24 August was oversubscribed despite high market
turmoil. The stake sale received
bids for over 28.74 crore shares,
representing 1.18 times the 24.28
crore shares on offer. At the floor
price of Rs. 387 apiece, the sale of
24.28 crore shares would fetch
about Rs. 9,300 crore to the
exchequer, after considering 5%
discount being offered to retail
shareholders. This was the biggest
disinvestment of this fiscal, which
was however shunned by the retail
investors who picked up less than
one-fifth of the quota. The IOC

share sale is the fourth

disinvestment this fiscal but the
biggest in 2015-16 so far. The
government has already raised over
Rs. 3,300 crore through stake sales
in three PSUs (Rural Electrification
Corporation (Rs. 1,610), Power
Finance Corporation (Rs. 1,600
crore) and Dredging Corporation of
India (Rs. 145 crore) this fiscal. The
government is targeting to raise Rs.
69,500 crore from disinvestment in
the current fiscal.

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4) What is the name of the express

train of the Indian Railway that met
with a freak accident in the early
hours of 24 August 2015 when a
truck carrying a granite boulder
rammed into it killing six people?
Bangalore-Nanded Express
Explanation: Nanded (Karnataka)
bound Bangalore-Nanded express
train met with a freak accident in
the early hours of 24 August near
Madakasira village of Anantpur
district in Andhra Pradesh when a
truck carrying a granite boulder,
weighing several tonnes, rammed
into the train after its brakes failed.
The 6 dead included Venkatesh
Naik, the legislator from Devadurga

Assembly constituency of Raichur

district in Karnataka, who was
travelling to his constituency from
Bengaluru by the train.

5) Which state would host the

worlds largest 750 Mega Watts
(MW) solar power station as
announced on 23 August 2015?
Madhya Pradesh
Explanation: Madhya Pradeshs
Energy Minister Rajendra Shukla on
23 August announced that the
worlds largest solar power station
of 750 Mega Watts (MW) capacity
will be established in states Rewa
district. The state govt. will soon
invite global tenders for
commissioning the solar power
station to be spread over 1,500
hectares area at Bandwar region in
Gudh tehsil of Rewa district. The
plant is expected to start
generating solar energy by March
2017. The project, named Rewa
Ultra Mega Solar, will be a joint

venture of Solar Energy Corporation

of India and MP Urja Vikas Nigam,
wherein both parties have 50%
stake. At present, worlds largest
solar power project Ivanpah Solar
Power Facility of 392 MW, is at
Mojave Deserts in California, United
States.
6) What is the name of the cyclonic
storm that battered Japan on 24
August 2015 with wind speeds of
over 250 km/ hr. after large-scale
destruction in the Philippines?
Goni

winds on 24 August. Goni had

earlier killed least 15 people and
others missing in the northern
Philippines. Goni is the ninth of
about 20 storms and typhoons that
are expected to batter the
Philippines this year. Typhoon
Haiyan, one of the most ferocious
storms on record to hit land,
devastated large areas of the
central Philippines in November
2013, leaving more than 7,300
people dead or missing.

Explanation: Typhoon Goni lashed

the southern Japanese islands of
Okinawa with heavy rains and

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August 26-28, 2015

1) Union Govt. on 27 August 2015
announced the list of 98 cities and
towns selected under Smart Cities
Mission. Which state has been
allocated highest number of 13
cities in this coveted list? Uttar
Pradesh

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Page

Explanation: Uttar Pradesh has

the highest number of allocated
cities (13) in the Smart Cities
Mission as announced on 27 August
2015 by M. Venkaiah Naidu, the
Union Minister of Urban
development. However, only 12
cities have been shortlisted from
Uttar Pradesh against 13 cities
allocated to the state and one city
will be nominated later for which
there is a tussle between Meerut
and Raibareilly. Tamil Nadu has
been allocated 12 cities, followed
by 10 from Maharashtra and 7 from
Madhya Pradesh. Centre has
earmarked Rs. 48,000 crore for
development of 100 smart cities. All
Union Territories, including Delhi,
have found place in the list. Prime
Minister Narendra Modi had
launched the criteria and guidelines
for 100 smart cities to be selected
through city challenge competition
on 25 June 2015. In the first phase,
Centre has picked 20 cities and in
the next two years 40 cities each
will be selected for receiving Central
funding of Rs. 500 crore spread
over the next five years. Each smart
city will get a Central assistance

of Rs. 100 crore per year for five

years.
Click here for Complete List of 98
Smart Cities

2) Indian Space Research

Organisation (ISRO) on 27 August
2015 successfully placed which
communication satellite in orbit
through GSLV D-6 rocket? GSAT6
Explanation: GSAT-6 will provide
S-band communication services in
the country. It is aimed at primarily
benefiting the countrys strategic
users and other specific authorised
users. The cuboid-shaped satellite
with a mission life of nine years also
includes a first-of-its-kind S-Band
unfurlable antenna with a diameter
of six metre. This is the largest

antenna ISRO has ever made for a

satellite. It was also the 25th homemade communications satellite
launched by ISRO using the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch
Vehicle (GSLV) that uses an Indian
made cryogenic engine being tested
for the third time.

3) Union Govt. on 25 August 2015

released the religious census data
of 2011. What are the main
conclusions of this data?
Explanation:
Total population of the country
stood at 121.09 crore in 2011
Hindus constitute 79.8% (96.63
crore) of the population
Muslims constitute 14.2% (17.22
crore) of the population

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Christians constitute 2.3% (2.78

crore) of the population
Sikhs constitute 1.7%% (2.08
crore) of the population
Buddhists constitute 0.7% (0.84
crore) of the population
Jains constitute 0.4% (0.45
crore) of the population

The proportion of Hindu

population to total population
declined by 0.7 percentage point
(PP)
The proportion of Muslim
population to total population
increased by 0.8 PP
The share of Hindus in the
population has slipped below 80%
for the first time
Muslims are the only community
to register a growth in their share
of the population
The growth rate of Muslims is the
highest at 24.6%. Hindus follow
with a 16.8 per cent growth rate;
Christians come next with 15.5 per
cent. The growth rates of Sikhs,
Buddhists and Jains are less than
10 per cent.
However, the rate of increase for
Muslim community has reduced
from the previous decade, when
the Muslim share in the population
had increased by 1.73%
Christians are the only
community (among major religions)
in India that has more women
members than men

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4) Which public-sector financial

entity salvaged the 10% stake sale
of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) held
on 24 August 2015 by buying as
much as 86% shares on offer?
Life Insurance Corporation
(LIC)
Explanation: LICs purchase of
86% shares in IOCs stake sale is
significant because the day of
disinvestment (24 August) had
witnessed Indian share markets
biggest tumble in more than 6
years. With this purchase, LICs
stake in IOC rose to 11.11% from
2.52%. However, the extent of
LICs bailout to the Union Govt.
may revive debate in some quarters
over the governments divestment
plans and the extent to which sales
can continue to be heavily backed
by LIC and its quarter of a billion
customers. LIC, Indias biggest
investor, has in the past dug into its
pockets to prop up government

sales, buying up state banks and

government mining firms. It heavily
supported the sale of Coal India
(CIL) in January 2015 and the
disinvestment in SAIL last year. The
investments have sometimes
proved fruitful for LIC, with stock in
the State Bank of India, which was
invested in January 2014, up more
than 60%.

5) What is the name of the

interactive energy scenario building
tool that was launched by the NITI
Aayog on 27 August 2015 that aims
to explore a range of potential
future energy scenarios for India?
India Energy Security
Scenarios (IESS) 2047
Explanation: The tool aims to
explore a range of potential future
energy scenarios for India, for
diverse energy demand and supply
sectors leading up to 2047. It
explores Indias possible energy
scenarios across energy supply
sectors such as solar, wind, bio
fuels, oil, gas, coal and nuclear and
energy demand sectors such as
transport, industry, agriculture,
cooking and lighting appliances.

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The tool allows users to

interactively make energy choices,
and explore a range of outcomes
for the country-from carbon dioxide
emissions and import dependence
to land use. It was launched on 27
August 2015 by the NITI Aayog
Vice Chairman Arvind Panagariya
and the Minister of State
(Independent Charge) for
Environment and Forests, Prakash
Javadekar at a function held at
Federation House, New Delhi.

6) Which private-sector bank on 26

August 2015 launched Indias first
home loan backed by mortgage
guarantee that will allow consumers
to increase borrowing as well as the
paying tenure? ICICI Bank
Explanation: ICICI Bank launched
countrys first-ever mortgage
guarantee-backed home loan
named Extraa Home Loan. This
home loan product allows
consumers to increase borrowing by

5-20% and the tenure up to 67

years of age. Typically, banks do
not allow home loan tenures
beyond 60 years of age. ICICI Bank
is targeting the middle-aged salary
customer, the first-time home loan
borrower and the self-employed
customer with this product. This
loan scheme can help in meeting
the shortfall in loan for a fee if
there is a difference in the amount
needed by customer and the
amount sanctioned by the bank.
Main benefit of this product will be
that the customers can opt for
higher loan amount or longer
tenure while keeping the EMI same.
Since the risk for the additional
home loan would be borne by India
Mortgage Guarantee Corporation
(IMGC), it would not impact the
banks books.

7) Indian e-commerce giant

Flipkart on 25 August 2015
launched a new tool that blends
social-networking with shopping so
as to make online shopping a more
social affair. What is the name of
this tool? Ping

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Explanation: Flipkarts Ping is

designed as a fun new way to shop
with friends. With this 7-year old ecommerce entity is attempting to
make online shopping a more social
affair. Ping aims to transform
online shopping by allowing users
to talk to each other in real-time in
order to make decisions and decide
on what to buy. Users can drag and
drop products from Flipkart directly
into a conversation in the social
network. Shoppers can then share
the screen with friends to browse
together and make a purchase
decision. It is now available on
Flipkarts Android app, and requires
an invite.

8) The government of West Bengal

has recently initiated swift
documentation process for getting a
Geographical Indication (GI)
registration for the iconic Bengali

dessert rosogolla, better known as

rasgulla all over the country. This
has been done as another state has
claimed that the rosogolla was
actually born in that State. Which
state is this? Odisha
Explanation: Although West
Bengal is almost synonymous with
rosogolla (or rasgulla) Odisha has
sometimes back staked claim to
have invented the sweet years
ago, associating it with a centuriesold ritual of Lord Jagannath.
Odishas claims that the rosogolla
was actually born in that State got
louder, following the recent
Nabakalebera and the Rath Jaatra
festival. It is worth mentioning that
rosogolla, the syrupy sweet balls
made of cottage-cheese, has been
known to be invented by K.C. Das,
the famous sweetmeat maker of
Kolkata, some 100-years ago.

9) For the first time in the history

of weightlifting, an individual
international tournament will be
organised in India. The country will
host the Commonwealth Youth,
Junior and Senior Weightlifting

Championships. This championship

will be held in which city? Pune
Explanation: Pune (Maharashtra)
will host the Commonwealth Youth,
Junior and Senior Weightlifting
Championships. The championships
will be held from 11 to 15 October
2015. This would, thus, be the first

time the country will host an

individual international weightlifting
tournament.

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August 29, 2015

1) 50th anniversary of the 1965 war

with Pakistan was observed on 28
August 2015 with the country
paying rich tributes to the brave
soldiers of the Indian Union. Exactly
50 years back, on 28 August 1965,
India had captured which
strategically important pass from
Pakistan? Haji Pir pass (J&K)

Explanation: On 28 August 1965

a team of soldiers from the 1stPara,
led by the then Major Ranjit Dyal,
had captured the strategic Haji Pir
pass, which lies a few kilometres
beyond the present Line of Control
between India and Pakistan. The
capture was part of an offensive
strategy planned by the
legendary Lieutenant General
Harbaksh Singh, who was then the
Western Army commander. While
launching the final assault on the
pass on 28 August, the
paratroopers had to walk up 4,000
feet on foot. But India had handed
it back to Pakistan in 1966 as

agreed in the Tashkent Agreement

of 1966.

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2) During August 2015, the Union

Govt. launched a telemedicine
initiative for rural areas in
collaboration with Apollo Hospitals
under which people can consult
doctors through video link. What is
the name given to this initiative?
SEHAT
Explanation: SEHAT stands for
Social Endeavour for Health and
Telemedicine and it is the latest
health and IT initiative launched by
the Government of India on 25
August 2015 in association with
Apollo Hospitals. The SEHAT
initiative as of now plans to provide
telemedicine services in about
60,000 common service centres
(CSCs) wherein the medical staff of
Apollo Hospitals will communicate
and prescribe generic medicines
online. The CSCs will also provide

diagnostic services and promote

sale of generic drugs through
collaboration with Ministry of
Health, by setting up Jan
Aasudhi Stores. Since around 80%
of conditions do not require a
doctors physical presence
immediately, they can be dealt with
through telemedicine. Under the
service, people can visit CSCs and
fix an appointment for seeking
expert consultancy with a doctor.
The Apollo Group launched the first
telemedicine centre in the country
in 2000 at Aragonda (Andhra
Pradesh) which was inaugurated by
the former US president Bill Clinton.
Through this, the hospital has been
able to reach geographically remote
and inaccessible regions.

3) The Insurance Institute of India

(III) came to news during August
2015? Why? The institute
celebrated Diamond Jubilee (60
years) of its foundation

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Explanation: The Insurance

Institute of India (III) is an
insurance education society of
professionals established in 1955 in
Mumbai for the purpose of
imparting insurance education to
persons engaged or interested in
insurance. It is the topmost
professional institute in India
devoted solely to insurance-related
education. III observed its
60th anniversary (Diamond Jubilee)
on 26 August 2015. III was
formerly known as the J.C. Setalvad
Memorial Federation of Insurance
Institutes. In the last 60 years, the
Institute has grown into a
professional body serving the cause
of the Insurance Industry by
promoting insurance studies,
conducting examinations and
undertaking research.

4) Social networking site Facebook

achieved which milestone figure on
24 August, for which its founder
Mark Zuckerberg made an
announcement on 27 August 2015?

Over a billion people used

Facebook on a single day on 24
August
Explanation: Facebook achieved
this milestone for the first time in
its around 11-year existence.
According to the announcement
made by Mark Zuckerberg on 26
August The milestone was
reached on Monday (24 August),
when 1 in 7 people on Earth used
Facebook to connect with their
friends and family. It is worth
mentioning that Facebook has
nearly 1.5 billion users who log in at
least once a month, but this was
the most in a single day. The
company gained its billionth user in
October 2012. It was founded in
2004 by Zuckerberg while he was a
Harvard student.

5) Aurangzeb Road, one of Delhis

most elite addresses, will be
renamed after which personality, as

decided by the New Delhi Municipal

Corporation (NDMC) on 28 August
2015? Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam
Explanation: The decision was
taken by NDMC, in charge of
central Delhi, after an all-clear from
the Union Home Ministry. It is
worth mentioning that many rightwing politicians had innumerable
times demanded that the name
Aurangzeb Road should be
replaced as they perceive that
Aurangzeb was a ruthless killer. The
BJPs Mahesh Girri wrote to Prime

Minister Narendra Modi earlier in

August 2015 suggesting that
Aurangzeb Road should be named
after former President Dr. Kalam,
who died on 27 July 2015.
However, many also opposed the
move, saying that renaming a road
cannot change Indias history.
Aurangzeb, the sixth Mughal
Emperor, ruled over most of the
Indian subcontinent in the
17th century.

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August 30-31, 2015

8 months after it was constituted to
replace the Planning Commission.
According to this notification NITI
Aayog will have how many key
wings? Three

1) During August 2015 the Union

Govt. notified the complete
structure of the NITI Aayog, almost

Explanation: As per the official

order dated 14 August 2015, NITI
Aayog would have three key wings
called the Team India Hub, the
Knowledge and Innovation Hub and
the Flexi Pool. The said three wings

will be under the Chief Executive of

NITI Aayog. As per the order the
total number of posts for Team
India Hub, Knowledge and
Innovation Hub and Flexi Pool shall
be 146, 173 and 98 respectively.

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2) Sania Mirza was conferred the

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award at a
glittering ceremony held at the
Rashtrapati Bhawan on 29 August
2015. Along with her, 16
sportspersons and five coaches
were also honoured with National
Sports Awards on this occasion.
With this Sania Mirza became the
. tennis player to get the
Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Second
Explanation: The Rajiv Gandhi
Khel Ratna was instituted in 199192 as the highest award for
sportsperson in India. With Sania
Mirza being conferred with it, as
many as 28 sportsmen have been
awarded this prestigious award till
date. It was first conferred on

Vishwanathan Anand, the former

Chess world champion, in 1992.
Sania Mirza also became the second
tennis player after Leander Paes to
win the award. Apart from Rajiv
Gandhi Gandhi Khel Ratna award,
other national sports awards,
including the Arjuna Award and the
Dronacharya Award, were also
given on the occasion of National
Sports Day, the birth anniversary of
Indian hockey legend Major Dhyan
Chand.
List of all awardees:
Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna
Award: Sania Mirza (tennis)
Arjuna Award: P.R. Sreejesh
(hockey), Dipa Karmakar
(gymnastics), Jitu Rai (shooting),
Sandeep Kumar (archery), Mandeep
Jangra (boxing), Babita Kumari and
Bajrang (wrestling), Rohit Sharma
(cricket), K. Srikanth (badminton),
Swarn Singh (rowing), S. Satish
Kumar (weightlifting), Sanothoi
Devi (wushu), Sharath Gayakwad
(para-swimming), M.R. Poovamma
(athletics), Manjeet Chillar,
Abhilasha Mhatre (kabaddi), Anup
Kumar Yama (rollerskating).

Dronacharya Award: Naval Singh

(para-athletics), Anoop Singh
(wrestling), Harbans Singh
(athletics-lifetime), Swatantar Raj
Singh (boxing-lifetime), Nihar
Ameen (swimming-lifetime).
Dhyan Chand Award: Romeo
James (hockey), Shiv Prakash Misra
(tennis), T.P.P. Nair (volleyball).
Tenzing Norgay National
Adventure Awards
2014: Arunima Sinha (land), Jot
Singh (land), Paramvir Singh
(water), Satyendra Verma (air),
Satish Chander Sharma (lifetime).

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Maulana Abul Kalam Azad

Trophy: Punjabi University, Patiala.
Rashtriya Khel Protsahan
Puraskar: Directorate-General of
Military Training (identification and
nurturing of budding/young talent),
Coal India Limited (encouragement
of sports through corporate social
responsibility), Haryana Police
(employment of sportspersons and
sports welfare measures), Sports
Coaching Foundation, Hyderabad
(sports for development).

3) The first Shahi-Snan (royal

bath) of the ongoing Kumbh Mela
at Godavari River was held on 29
August 2015 on the occasion of
Shravan Purnima. This Kumbh
Mela is being held at which place?
Nasik (Maharashtra)
Explanation: On 29 August over 7
lakh devotees took bath in the first
main bathing ceremony of the
Singhasth Kumbh being organized
at Trimbakeshwar in Nashik. The
first Shahi-Snan witnessed the
royal processions of the three
akhadas of the Vaishnava sect,
comprising mahants and
mahamandleshwars atop vehicles,
horses and camels decorated with
flowers. The processions reach Ram
Kund on Godavari River where the
bathing ceremony was held.
Thousands of sadhus and mahants,
including Naga sadhus of the 10
akhadas of Shaiva sect, took the
royal bath at the Kushvarta Teerth.

4) What is the name of the tropical

storm that hit the Caribbean region
on 28 and 29 August 2015,
affecting numerous countries
including Dominican Republic and
Haiti? Erika

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Explanation: Tropical Storm Erika

hit Dominican Republic the most
with around 15 inches (38
centimeters) of rainfall recorded in
the island country. Dominica Prime
Minister Roosevelt Skerrit claimed
that the damage inflicted by the
storm set the country back 20
years. It killed at least 20 people
while 31 others were missing. Erika
carried enough force to knock out
power to more than 200,000 people
in Puerto Rico and cause more than
$16 million in damage to crops
there. It was on its way towards
Cuba and Florida (US) late on 30
August 2015.

5) Which important lunar activity

was observed on 29 August 2015,
with lunar enthusiasts from all over
the world witnessing this activity
with interest? Supermoon
Explanation: Supermoon, a term
coined by astrologer Richard Nolle
more than 30 years ago, is used to
describe a new or full moon that
coincides with the moon reaching
its closest point to Earth on its
orbit. According to astronomers, a
new or full moon has to come
within 224,834 miles of the Earth to
be considered a supermoon. A
supermoon occurs when its a new
or full moon, which closely
coincides with perigee the
Moons closest point to Earth in its
orbit. On a Supermoon day, the
moon typically looks around 14%
bigger than a normal day.

6) Indian womens hockey team

created history as it made its return

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to the Olympics after a long gap of

36 years. This became possible as it
qualified for next years Rio (Brazil)
Olympics on 28 August 2015. Which
country indirectly assisted India to
make it to the Games? England
Explanation: Indian womens
hockey team qualified for 2016 Rio
Olympics as England made it to the
final of the ongoing EuroHockey
Championships in London.
Englands semifinal victory over
Spain on 28 August, coming after
the Netherlands win over Germany
in the other semifinal in the
European Championships freed one
quota place as both the finalists
have already qualified for the
Olympic Games. India took the
quota place on the basis of its fifthplace finish in the womens Hockey
World League Semifinals in
Antwerp, Belgium last month.
Indian womens team now join nine
other teams, who have already
qualified for 2016 Rio Games
Korea as Asian Games champions,
Argentina as Pan Am Games
champions and Great Britain, China,
Germany, Netherlands, Australia,
New Zealand and the USA through
the Hockey World League Semi-

Finals. Indian womens hockey

team last featured in an Olympics in
the 1980 Moscow Games, where
they finished at a respectable fourth
position.

7) What is the name of the Sahitya

Akademi winner renowned Kannada
writer who was shot dead by two
unidentified assailants in Dharwad
in the morning of 30 August 2015?
M. M. Kalburgi
Explanation: M. M. Kalburgi was a
noted Kannada epigraphist and a
renowned scholar of the Vachana
literature. He was awarded the
Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi,
Karnataka State Sahitya Akademi,
Nrupatunga Award and the Pampa
Award among others. He was also a
former vice-chancellor of Kannada
University. He was shot dead for
unknown reasons by two assailants
in Dharwad on 30 August.

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