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Dec 1, 2015

1) The United Nations (UN) Climate

Change Conference or the 21st United
Nations Conference of the Parties
(COP21) started at Paris on 30
November 2015. This ambitious and
historic conference aims to unite around
150 nations for a single agreement on
tackling climate change. What is one of
the most important proposed targets for
this conference? To cap the rate of
global warming at 2 degrees Celsius

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Explanation: COP21 aims to cap the

rate of global warming at 2 degrees
Celsius, as compared to the current 2.5
to 3.76 degrees Celsius. This will be
done by, among other things, reducing
dependence on fossil fuels and shifting
towards cleaner energies such as wind
or solar power.

However, scientists say even a 2

degrees Celsius rise in global
temperature will mean faster melting
of glaciers and polar ice caps and a
corresponding rise in sea level that
will gobble up land.

Last year, the global carbon

emissions were the highest ever.
China is considered the biggest
polluter, followed by the US, the
European Union, India, Russia and
Japan.

2) During COP21, the UN Climate

Change Conference in Paris, 21
countries including India launched an
ambitious initiative to double their clean
energy research and development
budget over the next five years as part
of global efforts to tackle climate
change. What is the name of this
mission under which the countries
pledged $20 billion to promote clean
technologies? Mission Innovation
Explanation: Under Mission
Innovation each participating country
will seek to double its governmental
and/or state-directed clean energy
research and development investment
over five years.

The countries participating in the

new initiative include: Australia,

Brazil, Canada, Chile, China,

Denmark, France, Germany, India,
Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico,
Norway, Republic of Korea, Saudi
Arabia, Sweden, the United
Kingdom (including Northern
Ireland), the United Arab Emirates
(UAE), and the United States of
America (USA).
In addition to 21 countries that
launched the initiative, other
countries will be encouraged to join
in the future.
The formal announcement of
Mission Innovation was made
during COP21 at a meeting
attended by US President Barack
Obama, Prime Minister Narendra
Modi and French President Francois
Hollande along with other leaders.
(Photo Courtesy: MissionInnovation.net)

Explanation: The Inactivated Polio

Vaccine (IPV), in injectable form, was
launched under the National
Immunization Programme (NIP) on 30
November 2015. The launch of IPV
marks a shift in addressing vaccine
derived poliovirus cases. IPV, which
uses killed polio viruses, will be used
alongside the oral polio vaccine (OPV).
With its launch India is trying to push for
the so-called endgame polio mission.

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3) India launched which polio vaccine on

30 November 2015 with the ambitious
objective of pushing for completely
ending polio menace from the country?
Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV)

The IPV uses killed polio viruses

and when used in combination with
OPV can quickly boost immunity
against poliovirus and offer double
protection. Till date, India, like many
other countries, has been relying on
an OPV campaign-style programme
several times a year to keep the
naturally-occurring wild polioviruses
at bay.
For now, immunization using IPV
will be restricted to Bihar,
Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Madhya
Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and West
Bengal. In the first quarter of 2016,
it will be expanded to the other
Northern and Northeastern States
and in the second quarter, will
encompass the five southern States
and Maharashtra.
It is worth mentioning that no new
cases of polio have been reported in
India for around 5 years now.

4) What was the GDP growth rate of the

Indian economy during the second
quarter (July-September) of 2015-16, as
disclosed in the data released by the
Central Statistics Office (CSO) on 30
November 2015? 7.4%
Explanation: Indias Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) growth rate for the threemonth period ended 30 September 2015
stood at 7.4% as compared with 7% in
the previous quarter (April-June 2015)
and 8.4% in the same quarter last year.
Growth is thus tracking as per RBIs
trajectory of between 7-7.5% for the full
year.

thus became title holders of this

prestigious tennis team title after a gap
of 79 years? Great Britain
Explanation: Andy Murray led Great
Britain to its first Davis Cup title since
1936 after defeating hosts Belgium by 31 in the finals played at Ghent. In the
first reverse-singles on 29 November,
Murray defeated Belgiums David Goffin
by 6-3, 7-5, 6-3 to give his country a
great tennis gift. Earlier Andy had
partnered his elder brother Jamie
Murray to victory in the doubles on 28
November.

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Manufacturing growth during the

quarter was 9.3%, against 7.2% in
the previous quarter. The
agricultural sector grew 2.2%,
against 1.9%.
With these figures being disclosed,
there is likely to be a downward
revision in official GDP growth
estimates for the full financial year
2015-16.

5) Which country won the Davis Cup

title for 2015 on 29 November 2015 and

Belgium had hosted Britain in the

final from 27 to 29 November 2015
in a repeat of their 1904 final when
the Britons won 5-0 at Wimbledon.
Belgium had reached its first Davis
Cup final since 1904 when in
September 2015 they had defeated
Argentina by 3-2. On the other hand
Britain had defeated arch-rivals
Australia 3-2 in the semis.
Davis Cup is the most prestigious
mens team tennis championship
and is often called the World Cup
of tennis. It is run by the
International Tennis Federation
(ITF) and is contested annually
between teams from competing
countries in a knock-out format.

ahead of world champion Lewis

Hamilton. This was Rosbergs sixth title
win of the year.

6) Mercedes Lewis Hamilton (Great

Britain) officially won the Formula One
(F1) championship for 2015 with the
conclusion of the final race of year on 29
November 2015. He however, was
unable to win this last F1 Grand Prix,
the Abu Dhabi GP. Who won this race?
Nico Rosberg

But Hamilton still secured his third

drivers title as he had taken an
unassailable lead at last months
United States Grand Prix. Hamilton
won 10 titles during the year.
Ferraris Sebastian Vettel
(Germany) finished at third spot.

Explanation: Lewis Hamiltons

teammate Nico Rosberg won the
season-closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
with Hamilton finishing second. Rosberg
thus ended his 2015 season in triumph
when he completed a hat-trick of
victories in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

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Dec 2, 2015

1) In an important development in the

field of global solar energy scenario,

India launched an international solar

alliance at the ongoing UN Climate
Summit (COP21) at Paris on 30
November 2015. What is the name of
this global solar alliance which seeks to
mobilize public finance from richer
countries to help deliver universal global
energy access? International
Agency for Solar Technologies and
Applications (IASTA)

Explanation: The International Agency

for Solar Technologies and Applications
(IASTA) was launched by Indian Prime
Minister Narendra Modi along with the
French president, Franois Hollande, at
the Paris COP21 climate summit. This
alliance comprises of over 120 countries
with the primary aim to spread cheap
solar technology across the globe with
pooled policy knowledge.

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The idea behind the establishment

of IASTA is that larger markets and
bigger volumes will lead to lower
costs, making it possible to spur
demand.
IASTA will have its headquarters in
India. The Indian government is
investing an initial $30m in setting
up its headquarters in India. The
eventual goal is to raise $400m from
membership fees, and international
agencies.
Companies involved in the project
include Areva, Engie, Enel, HSBC
France and Tata Steel.
It is worth mentioning that India has
emerged as the natural leader for
this alliance, with its ambitious
targets to install 175GW of
renewable energy by 2022.

2) In a victory for Beijings campaign for

recognition as a global economic power,
the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
admitted Chinas Yuan into its
benchmark currency basket on 30
November 2015. With this Yuan will be
added to the Special Drawing Rights
(SDR) basket alongside the dollar, euro,
pound sterling and yen. When Yuan will
be officially added to the SDR basket to
get reserve currency status? October
2016
Explanation: The Yuan (also known as
the Renminbi) will have a 10.92% share
in the SDR basket and will officially be
included in it from October 2016. This
development is being seen as an
important milestone in Chinas
integration into global finances and a
nod to the progress it has made with
reforms.

To meet the IMFs criteria, Beijing

has undertaken a flurry of reforms in
recent months, including better
access for foreigners to Chinese
currency markets, more frequent
debt issuance and expanded Yuan
trading hours.
To be included in the SDR basket,
the Yuan had to meet the criteria to

be freely usable, or widely used to

make international payments and
widely traded in foreign exchange
markets, a yardstick it missed at the
last review in 2010.

3) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

released its 5th bi-monthly policy review
on 1 December 2015 in which it chose
to keep the all-important Repo Rate
unchanged at 6.75%. The RBI made an
important disclosure about repo rate cut
benefits transmitted to borrowers by the
banks. What disclosure is this? Banks
transmitted only 0.60% of 1.25% repo
rate cut benefits to borrowers
Explanation: It is worth mentioning that
the RBI has slashed the repo rate
cumulatively by 125 basis points since
the beginning of calendar year 2015.
But it disclosed that the banks
transmitted just 60 points of the 125
point benefit to its borrowers.

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However, the series of rate cuts by

the RBI since January seem to have
had the desired impact, with GDP
growth rising to 7.4% in the second
quarter (July-September) against
7% in the previous quarter. This
apparently allowed RBI to take a
breather and keep the Repo Rate
unchanged.

4) First-of-its-kind on-demand twowheeler taxi service was launched in

which city from 1 November 2015?
Gurgaon
Explanation: The on-demand twowheeler taxi service in Gurgaon was
launched by M-taxi, a two-wheeler taxi
service provider, which had acquired
permit for the service from the Haryana
government to start its operations.

Thus Gurgaon became the first city

in India which has a legalised taxi
system. Bike taxis are better
equipped to deal with congestion,
traffic, and last mile connectivity,
which are the three major problems
that Indian cities are struggling to
cope with. This type of service
already exists in countries like
Thailand, Indonesia, and China
M-Taxis pricing starts at Rs. 25 for
the first three kilometres, and Rs. 5
for every subsequent kilometre.
Another two-wheeler taxi service,
Baxi, has also got permission from
the Haryana government to start its
operations.

5) Which film won the prestigious

Golden Peacock award in the
46th International Film Festival of India
(IFFI 2015), that concluded on 30
November 2015 at Goa? Embrace
of Serpent (Colombia)
Explanation: Colombian film Embrace
of Serpent (Al Abrazo de la Serpiente)
was declared the best film of IFFI 2015.
It was awarded the prestigious Golden
Peacock award which carries a sum of
Rs. 40 lakh besides the citation.

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The best director award went to

Peter Greenaway for Eisenstein.
French actor Vincent Lindon was
adjudged Best Actor for his role in
The Measure of a Man.
Best Actress award was shared by
five actresses Gunes Sensoy,

Doga Doguslu, Tugba Sunguroglu,

Elit Iscan and Ilyada Akdogan for
their roles in Turkish film Mustang.
Russian filmmaker Nikita Mikhalkov
was given the Lifetime Achievement
Award. Director Goran
Radovavovics Enclave was
conferred the Special Mention
Award for focusing on ethnic conflict
in Kosovo and Julia Vargas directed
film Sealed Cargo was awarded
the Special Jury Award.
The only Indian name in the
winners list was that of Bengali
filmmaker Kaushik Ganguly, who
was given the inaugural ICFT
UNESCO Fellini Medal for his
movie Cinemawala.
IFFI 2015 was held from 20 to 30
November 2015 at Goa, which is
the permanent venue for this event.

Dec 3, 2015

1) The North Atlantic Treaty

Organization (NATO) invited which
Balkan-group country to join it on 2
December 2015, a development which
was highly criticized by Russia?
Montenegro

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Explanation: The small country of

Montenegro came to limelight on 2
December as Foreign Minister Igor
Luksic strode into the conference hall of
NATO at its headquarters in Brussels to
loud applause from his peers.
Montenegro was thus officially invited to
join NATO, which will be its first
expansion since 2009.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry

said the decision to invite
Montenegro was not directed at
Russia. Russia opposes any NATO
extension to former communist
areas of eastern and southeastern
Europe as it is part of an east-west
struggle for influence over former

Soviet satellites that is at the centre

of the crisis in Ukraine.
NATO foreign ministers broke off
practical cooperation with Russia in
April last year after Moscow
annexed Ukraines Crimea
peninsula and sparked the conflict
in eastern Ukraine that has killed
more than 8,000 people.
The last expansion of NATO was
done in 2009 when Albania and
Croatia were inducted into the
organisation to take its membership
to 28. NATO is the most prominent
intergovernmental military
organisation that was formed in
1949. It is led by the US and has
member countries across North
America and Europe.

2) What is the primary objective of

Global Initiative of Academic Networks
(GIAN) that was launched on 1
November 2015 by the HRD Ministry?
To improve the quality of higher

education through international

collaboration
Explanation: Global Initiative of
Academic Networks (GIAN) aims at
bringing high quality academicians to
participate in delivering courses in
Indian institutions. It is an initiative of the
Human Resource Development (HRD)
Ministry that was flagged-off at IIT
Kharagpur by Union HRD Ministry Smriti
Irani.

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Under GIAN, international

academicians of international repute
will impart short-term high-end
courses in various knowledge fields.
These courses will be undertaken in
Indian institutes and will not be
limited to IITs and other such
national institutes.
IIT Kharagpur has been made the
nodal institution of GIAN initiative
and the inaugural courses have also
been made available in the institute.
These courses will have a creditbased approach.
The inaugural course on
Orthopaedic Biomechanics:
Implants and Biomaterials will be
undertaken by professor Nico
Verdonschot from Netherlands who
is a leading international figure in
the field of computer modelling of
orthopedic bio -mechanics.

3) Which state has emerged as the

biggest economy within Indian states as
disclosed in a latest report released
during December 2015 by credit rating
agency Brickwork Ratings?
Maharashtra
Explanation: Brickworks fourth edition
of a nationwide multi-state research to
analyze finances of all the Indian states
was released on 1 December 2015. This
report rated Maharashtra as the biggest
economy within India at Rs 16.87 lakh
crore in terms of gross state domestic
product (GSDP). It is followed by Tamil
Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.

The report mentioned the fact that

Maharashtra earns approximately
70% of its total receipts through tax
revenues, which is the highest
among the bigger states. In this
aspect it is followed by Gujarat and
Tamil Nadu.
The manufacturing sector in Gujarat
and Maharashtra accounted for
27.26% and 25.18% of GSDP
respectively in 2014-15. Other
states with higher manufacturing
sector share were Tamil Nadu
(19.1%), Jharkhand (18.8%) and
Haryana (18.1%).
Karnataka leads in the growth of
services sector, largely due to the
growth in the IT/BPO/ KPO sector,
followed by Tamil Nadu,
Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.

The three fastest-growing states

were Bihar at 17.06 per cent, MP
(16.86%) and Goa (16.43%). The
laggards were Telangana at 5.3%,
Punjab (10.16%), Rajasthan (11%).
Meanwhile, at a national level,
Indias GDP growth rate at 7.3% in
2015 exceeded that of China, which
grew at 6.9%.

4) Tata Group on 2 December 2015

announced signing up an alliance with a
Chinese bank to provide it with a host of
banking services. What is the name of
this bank? Industrial and Commercial
Bank of China Ltd (ICBC)

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Explanation: Under the alliance, ICBC

will provide the Tata group with
financing products, global cash
management, consulting, international
trade finance business, investment
banking, foreign exchange, derivatives
trading, and other global financial
services. The services will be provided
to Tata Group in locations including
India, China, the United States and
Europe.

ICBC is a state-owned Chinese

multinational banking company. It is
the largest bank in the world by total
assets and by market capitalization.

5) Which automobile company unveiled

its new car Zica on 2 December 2015?
Tata Motors
Explanation: Zica is the name of Tata
Motors entry-level hatchback that was
unveiled in Goa by the company on 2
December. This car is likely to make its
debut before the Auto Expo 2016 kicks
in.

This cars engine features two

driving modes (City and Eco). Its
the first car from the Tata Motors
portfolio to feature variable valve
timing.
Tata Motors is expected to price
Zica at a very competitive price. It
is the newest car in Tata stable after
Bolt and Zest.

Dec 4, 2015
been made available Chennai airport at
every 15 minutes interval.

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1) Which naval air base situated near

Chennai came to limelight on 3
December 2015 after it was chosen as
the base to operate limited number of
commercial flights to help stranded
passengers? Rajali naval air station
(Arakkonam)
Explanation: The Rajali naval air
station in Arakkonam is around 60 km
from Chennai. It was chosen as the
base for operating limited number of
commercial flights after successful testlanding of an Airbus A320 with
passengers on 2 December. From 4
December Arakkonam naval base is
operating six flights each over the next
two days. Shuttle train services have

Rajali naval air station (officially

known as INS Rajali) is an Indian
naval air station located at
Arakkonam, some 60 kms away
from Chennai. It operates under the
Eastern Naval Command of the
Indian Navy, and has the longest
military runway in Asia.
The Chennai airport has been shut
till 6 December due to flooding.

2) Justice Tirath Singh Thakur took over

as the new Chief Justice of India on 3
December 2015. He is ..Chief
Justice of India 43rd

Explanation: Justice Tirath Singh

Thakur (Justice T.S. Thakur) was
administered the oath as the 43rd Chief
Justice of India by the President on 3
December 2015 at a function held at the
Rashtrapati Bhawan. He took over from
incumbent Justice H.L. Dattu who
retired a day earlier on 2 December.

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He was the senior-most judge in the

Supreme Court till his elevation as
the CJI and had headed the bench
which had delivered the verdict to
reform cricket controlling body BCCI
in the wake of allegations of betting
and spot-fixing scandal in the IPL.
He will have the tenure as CJI for a
little over one year and would retire
on 4 January 2017.

3) Who was unanimously elected

Speaker of the Bihar Legislative
Assembly on 2 December 2015? Vijay
Kumar Choudhary
Explanation: Vijay Kumar Choudhary is
a senior leader of the JD (U) and has
been a close associate of Chief Minister
Nitish Kumar. He thus became the
16th Speaker and 14th person to hold the
position of the Speaker of Bihar
Assembly.

Choudhary represents the

Sarairanjan assembly segment in
Samastipur.

4) Veteran industrialist and former

parliamentarian MAM Ramaswamy, who
passed away on 2 December 2015, was
associated with which industrial house?
Chettinad Group
Explanation: Apart from being a noted
industrialist and former parliamentarian,
84-year old MAM Ramaswamy was also
the last King of Chettinad in Tamil Nadu.
He was heading the Chettinad Group as
its Chairman till his death. The group
has diverse interests in cement, granite
and engineering among others. He
represented Karnataka in the Rajya
Sabha from 2004 to 2010.

He belonged to the Nattukottai

Chettiar community, also known as
The Rajah Family in the Tamil
fraternity. He had very important
role in transforming the Annamalai
University (in Chidambaram), that
was founded by his family in 1929.
He was of the most famous
professional horse-racer in India

and had the record of over 600

Classics in his name. He also had
interests in sports administration.
He was the president of the Indian
Hockey Federation and it was
during his stewardship in 1975,
India won its World Cup hockey
championship.
MAM Ramaswamy, however, had
bitter relations with his adopted son
MAMR Muthiah. In 2014
Ramaswamy was eased out from
the board of Chettinad Cement by
Muthiah-led group.

5) Insurance major Sun Life will

increase its stake in Birla Sun Life
Insurance (BSLI) to 49% from 26% as
announced by Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd
(ABNL) on 3 December 2015. Sun Life
is a leading insurance service provider
of which country? Canada

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Explanation: BSLI is one of the leading

private life insurance players in India,
with the new business premium market
share of 7.9% for the half year ended 30
September 2015.

With this stake sale Aditya Birla

Nuvo Ltd (ABNL), the majority
stake-holder in the company will
have the remaining 51% stake in
the enterprise. The transaction is
expected to close by the end of
financial year 2015-16, subject to

the customary closing conditions

and the requisite statutory and
regulatory approvals in India and
Canada.
The 23% stake sale will fetch ABNL
Rs. 1,664 crore, valuing BSLI at Rs.
7,235 crore.

6) The Hindu one of Indias oldest

existing daily newspapers, was not
published from its headquarters
Chennai for the first time since 1878 on
2 December 2015. Why? Because its
workers could not reach its plant due
to harrowing rains and its aftermaths
in the city
Explanation: The 2 December 2015
edition of The Hindu was not available
for Chennaiyans as its workers could
not access the dailys press situated at
Maraimalainagar township on the
outskirts of Chennai city.

Hence, it was just the first day in

reputed dailys 137-year long history
that it was not published. However
the edition of 3 December 2015 was
made available as was done
regularly.
Chennai is passing through the
worst rains in last 137 years. The
army has been deployed to rescue

thousands of stranded people after

days of heavy rains. Flights from the
citys airport have been indefinitely
suspended after flood waters
entered the runway and tarmac
areas on 2 December. Over 300
persons have been killed in the
floods in the state.

Dec 5, 2015

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1) The govt. committee on the proposed

goods and services tax (GST) has
suggested how much standard rate of
GST as disclosed on 4 December
2015? 16.9-17.9%

services under the new indirect tax

regime.
The committee also recommended
that 1% tax proposed to be levied
on the inter-state trade of goods to
help the manufacturing states be
done away with. This is one of the
major demands of the Congress.
The committee recommended other
rates, with the lowest rate for goods
at 12% and the highest rate at 40%.
The highest rate is for demerit
goods such as alcohol.

Explanation: The governmentconstituted committee on GST headed

by Arvind Subramanian, the Chief
Economic Advisor (CEA), submitted its
report to Union Finance Minister Arun
Jaitley on 4 December 2015.

The committee recommended that

the standard GST rate be in the
range of 16.9-17.9%. The standard
rate would apply to most goods and

2) The Bureau of Indian Standards Bill,

2015 (BIS Bill, 2015) was adopted by
voice vote by the Lok Sabha on 3
December 2015. What is the main
objective of this Bill? To extend the

ambit of the Bureau of Indian

Standards (BIS) by including
services, processes and products
under it and making it a globally
recognized body
Explanation: BIS Bill, 2015 proposes to
make BIS a national standards body,
introduce mandatory hallmarking of
precious metal, prevent misuse of
standard marks and provide for recall of
ISI marked products not conforming to
relevant standards.

It is worth mentioning that the BIS is

not formally recognised as a
national standards body of the
country, though it has been
representing India in various
international bodies. The passing of
this Bill by the Parliament would
thus enable BIS to formally
represent India abroad.
BIS works under the aegis of
Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food
& Public Distribution. It was
incorporated in 1986 through the
Bureau of Indian Standards Act,
1986.

joining a global alliance with three other

global taxi aggregators to come up with
a single integrated app to take on Uber.
This ambitious global alliance has been
promoted by which two entities who are
common investors in these firms?
Softbank and Alibaba
Explanation: Ola announced forming
an alliance with Chinas Didi Kuaidi, USbased Lyft and Southeast Asias
GrabTaxi to offer seamless access to
cabs on their apps in these countries.
These four taxi aggregators (Ola, Didi
Kuaidi, Lyft and GrabTaxi) will introduce
a single integrated app that will allow the
partners to leverage each others
technology, local market knowledge and
business resources.

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3) Ola Indias largest app-based taxi

aggregator, on 4 December announced

The main objective of this alliance is

to strongly take on Uber, their
biggest rival globally. Uber
pioneered the asset-light taxi-hailing
app concept. It has drawn
investments of $8.21 billion since its
inception, but its value is double that
of the combined value of the
alliance at $51 billion.
This global alliance has been
promoted by Japans SoftBank and
Chinas leading online marketplace
Alibaba. SoftBank, which counts
Ola as one of its largest portfolio
companies in India, has also
invested in GrabTaxi and Didi
Kuaidi, while Chinese e-commerce

giant Alibaba has invested in Didi

Kuaidi and Lyft.

and head left it abruptly. He then

arrived with his wife, armed, and
opened fire on the party-goers.
They then left the spot by an SUV
The couple was later killed by police
after gunfire was exchanged with
them while in their vehicle. The
reason behind the shooting was still
unknown.

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(Photo Courtesy : USAtoday.com

AP)
4) Which city of California State in the
United States came to news on 2
December 2015 for a deadly massshooting incident involving a couple of
Pakistani origin in which 14 people were
killed? San Bernardino

5) During December 2015 which public

sector bank received its Boards
approval to raise funds by diluting
government stake to 52% from the
current 65%? Dena Bank

Explanation: Syed Rizwan Farook and

Tashfeen Malik, the US-based couple of
Pakistani origin, shot and killed 14
people and injured 21 others at the
Inland Regional Center in San
Bernardino on 2 December 2015. This
shooting incident was the deadliest in
the U.S. since the 2012 Sandy Hook
Elementary School, Connecticut
shooting.

Explanation: Dena Banks board of

directors gave the nod for capital-raising
plans at its meeting on 3 December
2015. Besides the stake dilution, the
bank also plans to raise capital through
additional tier-I bonds of up to Rs. 1,500
crore in one or more tranches in one or
more instruments. Additionally, it will
also raise capital through tier-II bonds of
up to Rs. 1,000 crore.

Syed Farook was serving as a

health inspector in the San
Bernardino County Department of
Public Health. The shooting spree
took place at a holiday party for
employees of the Department being
held at an auditorium. Farook had
attended the party as an employee

Last year, the government allowed

public sector banks to reduce their
stake to 52% in order to meet
capital requirements as per the
Basel-III norms. Basel norms,
tailored for Indian banks, mandate a

minimum capital adequacy ratio of

9%.
The law requires that government
holding in public sector banks at any
point cannot fall below 51% in order
to maintain its public sector
character.

Dec 6-7, 2015

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1) Indian mens hockey team created

history by winning the bronze medal at
the FIH Hockey World League Final on
6 December 2015 as they claimed their
first medal at a major FIH event after 33
years. Which team they defeated in the
play-off match? Netherlands
Explanation: India avenged their 3-1
defeat to Netherlands in pool games to
come out victorious in the third-place
playoff in the FIH Hockey World League
Finals played at Raipur. India came
back from a 2-0 deficit to stun the world
No.2.

The match was tied at 5-5 at the

end of regular time (60 minutes) and
the match was decided by penalty
shoot-out. India defeated the
Netherlands 3-2 in the penalties to
win a historic bronze medal. Indian
goalkeeper Sreejesh played
important role in this win making
three brilliant saves.

2) Which team won the FIH Hockey

World League title for 2015 on 6
December 2015? Australia
Explanation: World champions
Australia defeated Belgium by 2-1 to win
the prestigious FIH Hockey World
League title 2015 on 6 December 2015.

With this win they stamped their

authority in mens hockey.

Australia, who finished fourth in the

last edition of the tournament two
years back, showed why they are
considered as the most consistent
team in world hockey. Australian
team took control of the match from
the word go to dominate the world
number seven Belgians.

counterpart Nasir Janjua held a four

hour meeting in Bangkok on 6
December. The decision to hold the
talks came after Prime Minister
Narendra Modi met his Pakistani
counterpart Nawaz Sharif on the
sidelines of the UN Climate Change
Summit in Paris on 30 November 2015.

-Belgium had defeated hosts Indian in

the semi-finals to reach the finals while
Australia pipped the Netherlands.

The tournament was played from 28

November to 6 December 2015 at
the Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel
Stadium in Raipur (Chhattishgarh).

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19 CURRENT AFFAIRS

3) In an important development in IndiaPakistan relations, the National Security

Advisor-level talks between the two
countries were

held on 6
December 2015. These talks were held
at which city? Bangkok
Explanation: Indian National Security
Advisor Ajit Doval and his Pakistani

Discussions covered peace and

security, terrorism, Jammu and
Kashmir, and others including
tranquility over the Line of Control,
as was disclosed by the Ministry of
External Affairs (MEA).
NSA-level talks were scheduled
earlier this year when the two Prime
Ministers had met for a bilateral
summit in Russias Ufa on the
sidelines of a convention. But the
meeting fell through at the last
minute over a proposed meeting
between Pakistans then National
Security Advisor Sartaj Aziz and the
Kashmiri separatists.

(Photo Courtesy : MEA of India)

4) What is the name of the Karnataka

village that came to limelight as it
became Indias first smokeless village

during December 2015?

Vyachakurahalli
Explanation: Vyachakurahalli village (in
Gauribidanur taluk of Chikkaballapur
district) in Karnataka came to limelight
as it was officially declared as Indias
first smokeless village. This village is
around 77 km from Karnataka capital
Bengaluru. This came to reality as all
the households in the village gained
access to LPG connections. Altogether
274 households in the village have this
facility.

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20 CURRENT AFFAIRS

This became possible as Indian Oil

Corporation (IOC) piloted the
Mission Smokeless village project.
For over four decades, firewood had
been the only fuel for the most of
the villages women. Hence cooking
was an ordeal for womenfolk with
bouts of cough caused by the sootfilled air in the blackened kitchens.
Now, the kitchens have got swanky
steel gas stoves and red cylinders.
On 4 December 2015 the Union
petroleum ministry officially declared
Vyachakurahalli as Indias first
smokeless village, owing to its
conversion from conventional fuel to
LPG.

5) Which South American country on 5

December 2015 claimed to have found
the shipwreck of a storied Spanish
galleon laden with gold and precious
stones, which is said to be the most
valuable treasure that has been found in
the history of humanity? Colombia
Explanation: Colombian President
Juan Manuel Santos made this
announcement from the northern port
city of Cartagena, close to where
experts made the hugely valuable find.

The Spanish ship San Jose was

sunk in June 1708 near the Islas del
Rosario, off Colombias Caribbean
coast, during combat with British
ships attempting to take its cargo,
part of the War of Spanish
Succession. It was the main ship in
a treasure fleet carrying gold, silver
and other valuable items from
Spains American colonies to King
Philip V. Only a handful of the ships
crew of 600 survived when the San
Jose sank.
This ship was found on 27
November 2015 by a team of
Colombian and foreign researchers,

including a veteran of the group that

discovered the wreck of the Titanic
in 1985. The discovery of this ship
ended over 300-year old mystery
surrounding the ship.

6) Indias Kidambi Srikanth lost in the

mens singles final of Yonex Indonesian
Masters BWF Grand Prix Gold
tournament on 6 December 2015. Who
won the final against him? Tommy
Sugiarto (Indonesia)
Explanation: Second-seeded Tommy
Sugiarto won the mens singles final of
Indonesian Masters BWF Grand Prix
Gold as he defeated top seeded
Kidambi Srikanth (India) by 17-21, 2113, 24- 22 in a tense final at Maland
(Indonesia) on 6 December 2015.

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21 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Sugiarto thus won the gold medal

while Kidambi Srikanth had to
contend with the silver.
The 2015 Indonesian Masters
Grand Prix Gold was the 20th Grand
Prix tournament of the 2015 BWF
Grand Prix circuit.

7) The French car giant Renault will

return to Formula 1 of 2016 session as a
constructor, as announced by the
company management during
December 2015. It will replace which F1
team from the circuit? Lotus
Explanation: Renault sold the team to
investment group Genii Capital at the
end of 2009 after deciding to quit as a
constructor but remained involved as an
engine builder. The company will now
make a comeback in 2016 session as a
constructor.

Renault has won four world drivers

titles, two as Benetton with Michael
Schumacher in 1994 and 1995, and
two as Renault with Fernando
Alonso in 2005 and 2006.

Dec 8, 2015

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22 CURRENT AFFAIRS

1) India won a historic Test series

against South Africa as the hosts
romped home with a whopping 337 runs
victory in the fourth and final Test match
at Delhis Feroz Shah Kotla on 7
December 2015. With this win India won
the four match series by 3-0 following
wins at Mohali and Nagpur. Who was
adjudged Player of the Series for this
historic series win? R. Ashwin
Explanation: Indian off-spinner R.
Ashwin took 31 wickets during the
series to emerge as the main destroyer
of South African attack. He had four 5wicket hauls in the series.

Ajinkya Rahane, who became the

fifth Indian batsman to score
centuries in both innings of a test
match, was adjudged Player of the
Match.
Indias Test series win was a sweet
revenge against visitors who had

earlier claimed both T20 and ODI

series. The 4-match test series was
known as Freedom Series. India
scored emphatic wins at Mohali (by
108 runs), Nagpur (by 124 runs)
and finally at Delhi (by 337 runs) to
humiliate South Africans. The
second Test at Bangalore was
washed out.
The 3-0 series win also enabled
India to climb upto No. 2 from fourth
place in the ICC Test rankings.
However, despite this huge loss,
South Africa retained their number 1
position. (Photo Courtesy :
firstpost.com)

2) Which country replaced Mauritius to

become the largest source of Foreign
Direct Investments (FDI) into India
during the first half of the current fiscal,
as disclosed by the Department of
Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP)
during December 2015? Singapore
Explanation: According to data from
the Department of Industrial Policy and
Promotion (DIPP), during AprilSeptember 2015, India has attracted
$6.69 billion (Rs 43,096 crore) FDI from
Singapore while from Mauritius, it
received $3.66 billion (Rs 23,490 crore).

In the last one year, the FDI inflow from

Singapore has more than doubled from
levels of $2.41 billion.

It is worth mentioning that the

Double Taxation Avoidance
Agreement (DTAA) with Singapore
incorporates Limit-of-Benefit (LoB)
clause, which has provided comfort
to foreign investors based there
to invest in India. This has triggered
more FDI inflows from Singapore.
Overall, Singapore accounted for
15% of the total FDI India received
during April 2000 and September
2015, while Mauritius share stood
at a commanding 34% during the
same period.

entrepreneur Salman Khan. It is a notfor-profit platform with over 30 million

users worldwide.

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23 CURRENT AFFAIRS

3) On 6 December 2015 Tata Trust

entered into 5-year partnership
agreement with which free online
education initiative for making localised
content accessible to students across
the country? Khan Academy
Explanation: Khan Academy is one of
the worlds largest free online education
initiatives and has been established by
Silicon Valley-based education

A former hedge fund analyst,

Salman Khan had started tutoring
his cousins as a hobby before
turning the idea of providing free
online education into a full-time
mission in 2009.
Khan Academy has now entered
into partnership with Tata Trust, led
by Chairman Ratan Tata. While
Khan Academys English content is
already available on YouTube,
through the partnership with Tata
Trusts, the Academy plans to make
it more relevant for Indian students
in two stages.
The first stage will involve
developing an android app and a
technology platform that enables a
seamless user experience across
desktop and mobile. The second
stage will involve moving into
vernacular languages such as
Marathi and Bengali, targeting rural
areas.

5) The 8th edition of the Indo-Russian

joint naval exercise commenced in the
Bay of Bengal, off the coast of Andhra
Pradesh, from 7 December 2015. This
bi-annual exercise is known by which
name? INDRA
4) Chinese capital Beijing came to news
on 7 December 2015. Why? It issued
its first ever red alert for pollution
Explanation: Chinas capital Beijing on
7 December issued its first ever red
alert for pollution, as the city
government warned that Beijing would
be shrouded in heavy smog from 8
December until 10 December.

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24 CURRENT AFFAIRS

In an online statement, the Beijing

city government ordered all outdoor
construction work to stop on red
alert days, besides urging schools
to close. The move comes as U.N.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
warned a Paris summit of nearly
200 nations against a climate
catastrophe, urging governments to
reach a strong deal to limit global
warming.
It is worth mentioning that Chinas
leadership has vowed to crack down
on environmental degradation,
including the air pollution that
blankets many major cities,
following decades of unbridled
economic growth.

Explanation: INDRA is the name given

to the bi-annual naval exercise held
between India and Russia. The
8th edition of INDRA is being held off the
coast of Andhra Pradesh in the Bay of
Bengal from 7 December to 12
December 2015.

Indian Navy has delegated three

combat ships (a frigate, a destroyer
and a submarine) and one logistics
ship (a fuel tanker), four planes and
helicopters for the exercise while
Russia is being represented by a
guided missile cruiser, a destroyer,
a fuel tanker and a salvage tug. The
exercise will primarily practice the
protection of surface ships from
submarines and fire against surface
and air targets.
The first edition of INDRA was held
in year 2003 when nine Russian
warships took part in first such joint
naval exercise with the Indian Navy.

Dec 9, 2015

1) Indian Parliament on 7 December

2015 passed an amendment bill that
permits the filing of cases at the place
where a cheque is presented for
clearance and not the place of issue in
cases pertaining to cheque bouncing.
What is the name of this bill?
Negotiable Instruments
(Amendment) Bill, 2015

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25 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Explanation: The Negotiable

Instruments (Amendment) Bill, 2015
was passed by the Lok Sabha in the
monsoon session. The bill was finally
passed by the Parliament on 7
December as it was passed by the
Rajya Sabha.

The bill seeks to overturn a

Supreme Court ruling which said
cases have to be initiated where the
cheque-issuing branch was located.
It also provides that cases of
cheque bouncing can now be filed
only in a court that has jurisdiction
over the bank branch of the payee.

If a complaint against a person

issuing a bounced cheque has been
filed in the court with the appropriate
jurisdiction, then all subsequent
complaints against that person will
be filed in the same court. The
changes in the Negotiable
Instruments Act will have
implications for over 1.8 million
cheque bounce cases pending in
various courts.

2) Which are the two new interim

franchises in the Indian Premier League
(IPL) that will replace the suspended
teams of Chennai Super Kings and
Rajasthan Royals, as announced by the
BCCI on 8 December 2015? Pune
and Rajkot
Explanation: Pune and Rajkot
franchises will this replace CSK and RR
for a period of two years. The Pune
franchise was bought by Kolkata-based
business tycoon Sanjiv Goenkas
company New Rising, while the Rajkot
bid was won by Intex Mobiles.

While Sanjiv Goenka will shell out

Rs. 10 crore per year to the BCCI,
Intex Mobiles will pay Rs. 16 crore
for the two-year deal.
The teams were sold through the
reverse bidding process for which
the base price was set at Rs 40
crore and bidders had to quote an
amount less than that. The lowest
bidder was given the franchises.

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26 CURRENT AFFAIRS

3) In a blow to Congress party, a Delhi

court on 8 December 2015 directed
Congress president Sonia Gandhi and
her son and party Vice-President Rahul
Gandhi to appear in person on 19
December in the National Herald case.
This case, associated with the nowdefunct National Herald newspaper has
been filed by which leader? Dr.
Subramanian Swamy
Explanation: BJP leader Dr.
Subramanian Swamy, had knocked the
courts door raising questions over
acquisition of a company that published
the now-defunct National Herald
newspaper to which Congress gave a
loan of over Rs 90 crore. Swami was

then the President of the erstwhile

Janata Party.

It was alleged that Sonia Gandhi

and Rahul Gandhi had floated a
Section 25 company called Young
Indian, which acquired Associated
Journals, founded by late
Jawaharlal Nehru, that published
the National Herald and Quami
Awaz.

4) In a major setback to President

Nicolas Maduro, the opposition won the
National Assembly elections with a
comfortable majority in Venezuela as
announced by the National Electoral
Council on 7 December 2015. This
overturned the nearly two decades of
dominance of the Socialists. What is the
name of the opposition alliance which
emerged victorious in these elections?
Democratic Unity Roundtable
Explanation: Democratic Unity
Roundtable (better known by its
Venezuelan acronym MUD) is an
alliance of all opposition streams that
was formed in 2008 to unify against the

ruling United Socialist Party of

Venezuela (PSUV).

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27 CURRENT AFFAIRS

The opposition Democratic Unity

Roundtable won 112 of the total 167
seats in Venezuelan the National
Assembly, while President Maduros
ruling PSUV got just 55 seats. It is
the worst-ever defeat for the leftist
movement founded by former leader
Hugo Chavez in 1999.
The loss in National Assembly will,
however, pose no direct threat to
Maduros Presidency. But the win
would allow the opposition to pass
laws allowing the release of political
prisoners and to reverse
appointments to senior legal
positions made by the current
government.
However, under Venezuelas
presidential system the PSUV will
still be a powerful force, as it
controls many municipalities. The
next presidential election is due in
April 2019.

that headed out to sea for the first time

on 7 December 2015? USS Zumwalt
Explanation: USS Zumwalt is the name
of the newest and the largest destroyer
ship ever made for the U.S. Navy. It is
183 meter tall and weighs almost 15,000
tons. On 7 December this giant ship
departed from shipbuilder Bath Iron
Works in Maine to the open Atlantic
Ocean through the winding Kennebec
River for undergoing sea trials.

USS Zumwalt is named after former

US naval officer Elmo Russell
Zumwalt, Jr. The huge ship is a
guided missile destroyer having
incredible stealth capabilities.
Advanced automation will allow the
warship to operate with a much
smaller crew size than current
destroyers. It will ultimately cost
$4.4 billion to the US exchequer.
Bath Iron Works will be testing the
ships performance and making
tweaks this winter. The goal is to
deliver it to the Navy sometime next
year (2016).

6) What is the name of the controversial

Lokayukta of Karnataka who finally
resigned from his post on 8 December
2015? Y. Bhaskar Rao
5) What is the name of the largest
destroyer ever built for the U.S. Navy

Explanation: Y Bhaskar Rao, the

Lokayukta (or the anti-graft

ombudsman) of the state of Karnataka

was in news for an alleged extortion
racket in his office that involved his son.
He was on a long leave since July 2015
after his son Ashwin Rao was arrested
by the Special Investigation Team (SIT)
in connection with the case.

impeachment motion against him by

the state Assembly after the
opposition parties of the state
petitioned the Karnataka Assembly
Speaker K. Thimmappa to initiate
the process for his removal on 17
November 2015.

He had become the first-ever

Lokayukta in the country to have an

Dec 10-11, 2015

project. Japans International
Cooperation Agency (JICA) had
completed a feasibility study in July on
the 505-km (315-mile) MumbaiAhmedabad corridor offering to cut
travel time to two hours from the current
seven to eight hours.

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28 CURRENT AFFAIRS

1) Union Cabinet on 10 December 2015

gave its clearance to the Japanese
proposal to build countrys first bullet
train line, which will be one of Indias
biggest foreign investments in its
infrastructure sector. What is the
estimated value of this project? $14.7
billion
Explanation: The $14.7 billion project
will link financial capital Mumbai with
Ahmedabad through an ultra-modern
bullet train network. Japan had offered
to finance 80% of the cost of this

The Cabinets decision ahead of

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo
Abes visit beginning on 11 January
2015 gave Japan an early lead over
China, which is also bidding to build
high-speed rail lines across the
country.
However, official announcement of
the project will be done during
Shinzo Abes visit.

reported in Delhi governments Delhi

Statistical Hand Book, 2015. What is
Delhis per capita income according to
this Hand Book? Rs. 2,40,849

2) Who was named as TIME magazines

Person of the Year for 2015 as
announced by the magazine on 9
December 2015? Angela
Merkel (German Chancellor)
Explanation: Angela Merkel was
chosen for this prestigious annual
honour for her role in Europes crises
over migration and Greek debt.

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29 CURRENT AFFAIRS

61-year Merkel thus joined an

eclectic list of former winners,
including Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin,
Mahatma Gandhi, Winston Churchill
and Richard Nixon. She is only the
fourth woman since 1927 to be
named an individual winner outright
and the first in 29 years. The other
individual women to win were Wallis
Simpson (1936), Queen Elizabeth II
(1952) and Corazon Aquino (1986).
Islamic State (IS) leader Abu Bakr
al-Baghdadi was named runner-up
and third place went to US
presidential hopeful Donald Trump.

3) Delhi has the highest per capita

income in India during 2014-15 as

Explanation: Delhi governments Delhi

Statistical Hand Book, 2015 was
released on 9 December 2015. It
mentioned that Delhis per capita
income in 2014-15 rose 13.5% to Rs
2,40,849 from Rs 2.12 lakh in the
previous year.

Puducherry recorded the second

highest per capita income in the
country at Rs 1,75,006, followed by
Haryana at Rs 1,47,076 during
2014-15.

4) Countrys first anti-piracy police unit is

being established in which state that will
monitor online piracy of films?
Telangana
Explanation: Telangana Intellectual
Property Crime Unit (TIPCU) is the
name of countrys first-of-its-kind antipiracy police that is being established in
the state of Telangana. It is expected to
start work in the next few months. It will

have representatives from cyber-crime

police, state IT ministry, internet service
providers, the Telugu film industry, legal
experts and financial experts.

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30 CURRENT AFFAIRS

TIPCU is modeled on Londons

Police Intellectual Property Crime
Unit (PIPCU) and is being seen as
critical for the Telugu film market,
which is the second-largest in South
India after the Tamil film industry.
Every year, 1,500-2,000 films are
produced in India, losing up to 30%
of their business to piracy. The
industry has long been demanding
government intervention in this
area. The government also loses a
sizable chunk of tax revenue to
piracy.

5) What is the name of the mechanism

being set up by the Union Govt. with the
objective of supporting all aspects of
start-up businesses and other selfemployment activities, as disclosed by
the government on 9 December 2015?
Self-Employment and Talent
Utilisation (SETU)
Explanation: Self-Employment and
Talent Utilisation (SETU) is the name
given to the mechanism being
established by the Ministry for Skill
Development. It will primarily support all
aspects of start-up businesses and
other self- employment activities.

6) The reports of a potential merger of

which two chemical and agriculture
giants (valuing nearly $130 billion)
resulted in biggest daily gain in seven
years in these scripts on 9 December
2015? Dow Chemical and DuPont
Explanation: The reports of the
potential merger of chemicals titans
Dow Chemical and DuPont resulted in a
flurry of activities in the financial markets
on 9 December. The Wall Street Journal
first reported this news on 8 December.
According to the reports the proposed
tie-up would merge two agricultural
chemicals businesses and fold in
DuPonts seeds business.

In agriculture, DuPont sells about

one-third of the corn and soybean
seeds planted in the United States,
while Dow has about five percent.
As far as India is concerned, this
proposed merger will create a Rs
11,600-crore speciality chemicals
giant in India that will take on the
likes of BASF in chemicals and
Syngenta and Monsanto in
agrochemicals.

Dec 12, 2015

education qualifications for those
contesting panchayat polls.

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1) The Supreme Court on 10 December

2015 upheld the validity of a law
enacted by a state government
pertaining barring the illiterate from
contesting panchayat polls in the state.
This SC order may pave the way for
introduction of minimum education as a
prerequisite for contesting polls at
various levels. Which states law was
upheld in this order? Haryana
Explanation: On 10 December a bench
of the Supreme Court dismissed a batch
of petitions challenging the validity of the
Haryana Panchayati Raj (Amendment)
Act, 2015. The Act requires that general
candidates must have passed Class X
examination while women and Dalit
candidates need to have cleared Class
VIII. Dalit women candidates must clear
Class V.

Apart from Haryana, Rajasthan is

the only other state to fix minimum

2) A planeload of Syrian refugees

arrived in which country, which has
pledged to resettle 25,000 Syrian
refugees by the end of February 2016?
Canada
Explanation: A Canadian military
aircraft carrying 163 Syrian refugees
arrived in Toronto on 10 December
2015 where they were greeted by Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau. The arrival of
these refugees came amid an intense
debate in the West over what to do with
people fleeing violence in the Middle
East. Canadas welcoming stands in
stark contrast to the U.S.

All 10 of Canadas provincial

premiers support taking in the
refugees and members of the
opposition, including the
Conservative party, attended the
welcoming. It is worth mentioning
that PM Trudeau is pushing forward

with his pledge to resettle 25,000

Syrian refugees by the end of
February.
Canadas commitment reflects the
change in government after
Octobers election. Former
Conservative Canadian Prime
Minister Stephen Harper, who lost
the October election to Trudeau,
had declined to resettle more Syrian
refugees.

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32 CURRENT AFFAIRS

3) In an important decision given on 11

December 2105, the Competition
Appellate Tribunal (CAT) set aside the
Rs. 6,316.59 crore penalty imposed on
11 cement firms by the Competition
Commission of India (CCI) on
cartelisation charges. When CCI had
passed this order against the cement
firms? June 2012
Explanation: The CCI had passed the
orders after an investigation into
complaints, including from Builders
Association of India (BAI) against
alleged price cartelisation among
cement firms. On 20 June 2012, the CCI
comprising the Chairperson and six
Members passed two orders and
declared that the appellants had acted
in violation and imposed cumulative
penalty of Rs. 6,316.59 crore.

In a major verdict, the CAT set the

penalty order imposed on these

cement firms by the CCI. It also

allowed the cement manufacturers
to withdraw the 10% penalty amount
already deposited with the CCI,
which has been asked to pass a
fresh order within three months.
The CCIs penalty against cement
manufacturers has been one of the
biggest imposed so far by the
regulator and the CATs verdict in
this case may have repercussions
for other cases also where CCI has
imposed hefty penalties.
The 11 cement firms involved in this
case are ACC, Ambuja Cements,
Binani Cements, Century Textiles
Ltd, India Cements, JK Cements,
Lafarge India, Madras Cements,
Ultratech, JP Associates and Shree
Cements.

4) What is the name of the

autobiography of NCP founder Sharad
Pawars autobiography that was
released by Prime Minister Narendra
Modi on 10 December 2015? On My
Terms: From the Grassroots to the
Corridors of Power
Explanation: On My Terms: From the
Grassroots to the Corridors of Power

is the name of the autobiography of

NCP leader Sharad Pawar. It was
released on 10 December 2015 on the
occasion of his 75th birthday, for which a
huge gathering of political leaders
assembled at Delhis Vigyan Bhawan.

The autobiography was formally

released by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi. Through this
autobiographical book, Pawar offers
the inside story of numerous
political events in which he was
involved.

5) The U.S. Administration recently

updated its technology transfer policy
associated with which major defence
cooperation agreement with India as
disclosed on 10 December 2015?
Gas-turbine engine technology
transfer

Explanation: The United States has

updated its policy on gas-turbine engine
technology transfer to India, as
disclosed in a statement issued on 10
December. It was issued on the
occasion of Union Defence Minister
Manohar Parrikars visit to Washington.
He was informed of this decision by US
Defense Secretary Ash Carter.

This move is expected to lead to

expanded cooperation in production
and design of jet-engine
components between US and India.
The United States has become one
of the main sources of weapons for
the Indian military, and under Prime
Minister Narendra Modis Make-inIndia programme has offered joint
development and production of
military technologies.

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33 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Dec 13-14, 2015

1) A historic climate agreement was

adopted unanimously at the UN Climate

Change Summit (COP21) in Paris on 12

December 2015 with 196 countries
adopting a goal of well below 2 degrees
C for temperature rise, and instituting a
regime of financing of developing
economies to help make the transition.
This agreement is scheduled to come
into effect from which year? 2020

Explanation: The main objective of this

historic agreement is to achieve a
legally binding, international agreement
to keep average global temperatures no
more than 2C above pre-industrial
temperatures.

The COP21 agreement was

achieved on 12 December 2015
after two weeks of talks and an
intensive three days of convergence
negotiations at the UN Climate
Change Summit in Paris. The
Summit had started on 30
November 2015.
The agreement is scheduled to go
into effect from 2020 while first
global evaluation of the
implementation of the agreement is
to take place in 2023, and thereafter
every five years to help all
countries. Pledges by countries with
an end date of 2025 or 2030 will
need to be updated by 2020, and
enhanced action every five years
thereafter.

2) Which African country declared itself

an Islamic republic on 12 December
2015? Gambia
Explanation: Gambian President Yahya
Jammeh declared his Muslim-majority
country an Islamic republic on 12
December 2015. He made this
announcement on state TV saying the
move marks a break with the colonial
past.

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Main features of COP21 Agreement

It confirmed the key objective of

containing mean global temperature
rise well below 2 degrees Celsius
and to endeavour to limit it to 1.5
degrees.
The agreement takes into account
the differentiation and responsibility
of developing countries, and their

respective capacities in light of

national circumstances.
The agreement approved a
provision of $100 billion per year as
a floor by 2020 to help developing
nations.
There is provision for adaptation to
climate change. Apart from this
there will be collective stocktaking
every five years of national actions
and consideration of steps if efforts
are insufficient for the objective set.

Some 90% of Gambians are

Muslim. Countrys relations with the
West have soured recently with
President Jammeh withdrawing his
country from the Commonwealth in
2013, describing the organisation as
neo-colonial.

thousands of onion, cotton and

sugarcane farmers across
Maharashtra.

3) Noted economist agriculturist,

politician, prolific journalist and wellknown farmer leader Sharad A. Joshi
passed away at the age of 81 in Pune
on 12 December 2015. He had founded
which famous farmers organisation in
Maharashtra? Shetkari Sanghatana
Explanation: Sharad Anantrao Joshi
was a multi-dimensional personality with
extensive leaning towards the problems
of farmers and agricultural sector. He
was also a Member of the Parliament of
India representing Maharashtra in the
Rajya Sabha. He was one of the tallest
leaders to grace Maharashtras politics
during the 1980s.

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35 CURRENT AFFAIRS

He came into his own when he

founded Shetkari Sanghatana
the pan-Maharashtra farmers
organisation with the catchy slogan
Freedom of access to markets and
to Technology. The organisation
served as a template for future
famers outfits in challenging the
ruling classes and bargaining higher
remunerative prices for farmers.
Joshis movement soon became a
clarion call, taking up the cause of

4) Which countrys embassy in

Afghanistan was site of a Taliban
suicide attack on 11 December 2015
resulting in the death of six security
officers and three Taliban fighters?
Spain
Explanation: A suicide attack on a
guest house attached to the Spanish
embassy in Kabul took place in the
evening of 11 December 2015. This
attack took place in a heavily protected
part of Kabul close to several embassies
and government buildings.

Three Taliban militants involved in

the attack were killed. Two Spanish
security officers and four Afghan
police were also killed in the attack.
The Taliban claimed responsibility
for the attack.

5) Union Govt. imposed anti-dumping

duties on which commoditys imports
from China, the European Union and the

United States on 11 December 2015

with the objective of protecting the
interests of local producers? Stainless
Steel
Explanation: On 11 December India
imposed import duties for five years on
some stainless steel imports from
China, the European Union and the
United States. Imports from South
Korea, South Africa, Taiwan and
Thailand will also be taxed. This was
done primarily to protect local
companies suffering from unfair
competition.

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36 CURRENT AFFAIRS

The anti-dumping duties, on coldrolled flat stainless steel products,

ranged from 4.6% to 57.4%. It is
worth mentioning that the govt. had
imposed a 20% import tax on some
other steel products in September
2015. But this failed to contain
losses for Indian steel companies
struggling to compete due to debts
and high raw material costs.
Firms including the Steel Authority
of India, JSW Steel and Essar Steel
have in recent months complained
that surging imports are squeezing
profit margins. They are lobbying
the government to impose duties on
a wider range of products to protect
their market share.

6) What is the name of the woman

cyclist who made history by becoming
the first female cyclist from India to be
ranked as high as fourth in the world as
per the latest World Elite UCI Women
Ranking? Deborah Herold
Explanation: 20-year old Deborah
Herold hails from Andaman and
Nicobar. She was trained at the Sports
Authority of India (SAI) centre in
Andaman during her initial days. Four
years ago, she shifted to Delhi for
training at the Indira Gandhi Stadium.

Deborah Herold was ranked World

No. 4 in the World Elite Union
Cycliste Internationale (UCI)
Women Ranking. UCI is the worlds
governing body for the sport of
bicycle racing. With this, she
became the highest rank female
cyclist from India till date.
Deborah got this ranking after she
collected 211 points in the 500m
time trials at the Track Asia Cup
held at Indira Gandhi Stadium
Complex in Delhi this November.
She won a gold medal in the
womens elite sprint event beating
South Koreas Cho Sun Young.

It was because of her success that

the Indian team has now reached
the 13thposition in world rankings.

Dec 15, 2015

1) What is Indias rank on the Human

Development Index (HDI) for 2015 that
was released on 14 December 2015?
130th

Guatemala and Tajikistan, even

Iraq. But it is marginally above the
South Asian countries average
score of 0.607.
But on gender development index
(GDI), with a value of 0.795, India
ranks behind Bangladesh (0.917),
Namibia, Guatemala, even
Tajikistan.
Norway topped the 2015 HDI
ranking, followed by Australia,
Switzerland and Denmark.

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37 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Explanation: The 2015 edition of the

Global Human Development Report was
released by the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) on 14
December 2015. India was placed at
130th place in the index thus gaining one
place from its 131st place during 2014.
2015 HDI ranking is based on data from
188 countries.

Indias score in HDI is 0.609 and it

thus stood well below the average
score of 0.630 for countries in the
medium human development group.
India stands higher than neighbours
Bangladesh and Pakistan but lower
than countries like Namibia,

2) In an important development, the

ground-breaking ceremony of the 1800kilometre-long TAPI gas pipeline project
was held at the ancient city of Mary in
Turkmenistan on 13 December 2015.
This ambitious project for supplying gas
from Turkmenistan involves which other

three countries? Afghanistan,

Pakistan and India
Explanation: TAPI stands for
Turkmenistan (T), Afghanistan (A),
Pakistan (P) and India (I). The TAPI
project will comprise of around 1,800 km
long pipeline that will supply gas from
energy rich regions of Turkmenistan to
Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. The
total cost of the project is $7.6 billion.

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38 CURRENT AFFAIRS

The ground-breaking ceremony of

the project was held at Mary, an
ancient desert-city of Turkmenistan,
around 311 km from the capital
Ashgabat. Indian Vice-president
Hamid Ansari, Pakistani Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif, Afghan
President Ashraf Ghani and
Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly
Berdimuhamedow took part in the
ceremony.
The TAPI pipeline will have a
capacity to carry 90 million standard
cubic metres a day (mmscmd) gas
for a 30-year period. India and
Pakistan would get 38 mmscmd
each, while the remaining 14
mmscmd will be supplied to
Afghanistan.
This ambitious project is expected
to be operationalised by December
2019.

3) The Union Govt. on 14 December

2015 constituted a committee to look
into the implementation of One Rank
One Pension (OROP) scheme for the
Ex-Servicemen. Who is heading this
committee? Justice L Narasimha
Reddy
Explanation: Justice L Narasimha
Reddy, retired Chief Justice of Patna
High Court, will head the Judicial
Committee which will look into the
implementation of One Rank One
Pension (OROP) scheme for the ExServicemen.

The committee will primarily look

into measures for the removal of
anomalies that may arise in the
implementation of the OROP as
notified by the Government on 07
November 2015.
The Committee will make its
recommendation within six months
of the date of its constitution. In
making its recommendations, the
Committee shall take into account
the financial impact of its
recommendations.

4) What is the name of the first-ever

dengue vaccine that was approved by
the Mexican government recently?
Dengvaxia
Explanation: Dengvaxia is the name
of the first-ever vaccine for dengue. It
has been developed by global
healthcare leader Sanofi and has been
tested on 29,000 patients all over the
world.

Sanofi has claimed that Dengvaxia

aims to alleviate dengue cases from
individuals between nine to 45 years
old. Back in 2014, the World Health
Organization (WHO) had also noted
that the said vaccine had a 60.8%
effectiveness rate against the four
types of dengue.
Dengue is a disease that spreads
through mosquito bites and
approximately 390 million people
annually are said to be infected by it
in Latin America, Asia and Africa.

5) Jack Ma-led Alibaba Group Holding

Ltd will acquire which iconic Hong Kongbased English-language newspaper, as
reported on 14 December 2015?
South China Morning Post
Explanation: According to a filing made
to the Hong Kong stock exchange on 14
December, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd
will acquire the South China Morning
Post and other media assets of SCMP
Group Ltd for $266 million. This all-cash
deal will thus transfer control of the 112year-old English language newspaper
from Malaysian tycoon Robert Kuok to
Chinese billionaire Jack Ma.

South China Morning Post is Hong

Kongs

leading

English-language

newspaper. It reports on issues and

topics that are considered sensitive
in

mainland

China,

where

the

websites of several international

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39 CURRENT AFFAIRS

media are blocked.

Dec 16, 2015

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40 CURRENT AFFAIRS

1) 34 Islamic countries agreed to form

an Islamic military alliance to fight
terrorism as announced on 14
December 2015. Which country is
leading this alliance, which will primarily
target the Islamic State? Saudi
Arabia
Explanation: At a rare news conference
held on 14 December, Saudi Deputy
Crown Prince and Defence Minister
Mohammed bin Salman announced that
the new Islamic military coalition will
work to counter the Sunni extremist
Islamic State (IS) group and develop
mechanisms for working with other
countries and international bodies to
support international counterterrorism
efforts.

This alliance will have a joint

operations centre based in Saudi
Arabias capital, Riyadh.
The coalition includes nations with
large and established armies such
as Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt as

well as war-torn countries with

embattled militaries such as Libya
and Yemen. African nations that
have suffered terrorist attacks such
as Mali, Chad, Somalia and Nigeria
are also members. Other Gulf Arab
countries such as Kuwait, Qatar and
the United Arab Emirates are also in
the coalition, though notably absent
from the list is Saudi Arabias
neighbour, Oman.
Saudi Arabias regional rival, Shiite
Iran, is not part of the coalition.
Saudi Arabia is currently leading a
military intervention in Yemen
against Shiite Houthi rebels and is
part of the U.S.-led coalition against
the IS.
The list of 34 members: Saudi
Arabia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Benin,
Chad, Comoros, Cote dIvoire,
Djibouti, Egypt, Gabon, Guinea,
Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya,
Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Morocco,
Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan,
the Palestinians, Qatar, Senegal,
Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan,
Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab
Emirates and Yemen.

2) Which country confirmed a new flag

(called Silver Fern) as a possible
challenge to oust the countrys current
flag on 15 December 2015? New
Zealand
Explanation: On 15 December New
Zealand confirmed the black, white and
blue design, called Silver Fern, to
become countrys possible new flag,
after the final votes were counted in a
referendum for the same. About 1.5
million votes were cast in the
referendum, with a voter turnout of 49%.

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41 CURRENT AFFAIRS

In the referendum New Zealanders

were asked to choose which of the
final five designs they preferred. A
similar design in red and blue came
in a close second. Both flags were
designed by architect Kyle
Lockwood.
The winning design features a silver
fern and red stars on a black and
blue background. The winning
design has similarities to the current
flag but ditches the British Union
Jack in favour of the fern, which has
become a national symbol and is
worn by many sports teams. The
new design will now go head-tohead against the current flag in a
national vote in March 2016.

3) Russian spacecraft Soyuz was

launched for the International Space
Station (ISS) on 15 December 2015 with
three new crew members. Later the
capsule of the spacecraft docked
successfully with the orbiting laboratory.
What are the names of the three
astronauts sent to ISS through this
launch? Yuri
Malenchenko (Russia), Timothy
Kopra (USA) and Timothy
Peake (Britain)
Explanation: The Soyuz spacecraft
with a new crew onboard was launched
to the International Space Station (ISS)
from the space launch facility of
Kazakhstan on 15 December. The crew
included Russian cosmonaut Yuri
Malenchenko, NASA astronaut Timothy
Kopra (US) and European Space
Agencys Timothy Peake (Britain).

The mission is to spend six months

aboard the space station. Already
aboard are Russians Sergey Volkov
and Mikhail Korniyenko, along with
American Scott Kelly. The latter two
have been on the space station

since March and are on a year-long

mission.
ISS is the largest artificial body in
orbit and is inhabited by crews for
carrying out scientific experiments.
It was launched on 2000 and since
then has been continuously
occupied by humans.

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4) Beverage major Coca Cola recently

said it will have to shut down some
factories in India if the government
accepts a proposal to impose sin tax as
proposed under the provisions of GST.
On 15 December 2015 top Coca Cola
officials met Chief Economic Advisor
Arvind Subramanian, who headed the
panel on GST. How much tax has been
proposed on aerated beverages under
GST? 40%
Explanation: Chief Economic Advisor
(CEA) Arvind Subramanian had
recommended a 40% sin tax on
aerated drinks under the proposed
Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime,
clubbing it with other items such as
paan masala and tobacco. After this
beverage major Coca Cola had issued a
statement that the huge 40% tax would
leave the company with no option but to
shut down its factories. It was the first
major case of a big company raising red
flag against any provision of the
proposed GST.

The Arvind Subramanian-led

committee had recommended a sin
tax be applied to luxury cars,
aerated beverages, paan masala,
and tobacco and tobacco products
(for the states).

5) What is the name of the person of

Indian origin who was re-appointed as
the Finance Minister of South Africa?
Pravin Gordhan
Explanation: South African President
Jacob Zuma re-appointed Pravin
Gordhan, an experienced minister of
Indian origin, as countrys Finance
Minister on 14 December 2015.
Gordhan thus replaced the little-known
David van Rooyen who had only been in
the job since 10 December.

Before this Zuma had sacked

previous Finance Minister Nhlanhla
Nene in a widely-criticised move
that sent the rand to record lows
and caused the stock market to
tumble. The developments come
amid concern over South Africas
struggling economy.
Gordhan was widely respected
when he served as South Africas
finance minister from 2009 until
2014.

Dec 17, 2015

1) Union Finance Ministry on 16

December 2015 made it mandatory to
quote PAN (permanent account
number) for all transactions in excess of
Rs.2 lakh, regardless of the mode of
payment, to curb black money. This
guideline will come into effect from
which date? 1 January 2016
Explanation: The new rule, to come
into effect from 1 January 2016 will
cover purchases of all goods or
services, such as say gold jewellery or
furniture. This includes all payments
made through cash, cheques or debit or
credit cards.

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In the case of immovable property,

where quoting PAN is currently
required for transactions of Rs.5
lakh, the government has decided to
raise the monetary limits to Rs.10
lakh.
As far as one-time payment of hotel
or restaurant bills is concerned, the
Finance Ministry raised the

monetary limit to Rs.50,000 from the

present limit of Rs. 25,000.
The limit is being raised to Rs.1 lakh
from Rs. 50,000 for purchase or
sale of shares of an unlisted
company.
However, opening of a no-frills bank
account, such as a Jan Dhan
account, will not require PAN.

2) The Supreme Court, in an unusual

order, on 16 December 2015 invoked its
constitutional powers and appointed
Justice Virendra Singh as Lokayukta of
Uttar Pradesh after the State
government failed to comply with its
directives. It used which Article of the
Indian Constitution to give this order?
Article 142
Explanation: In an embarrassment for
the Samajwadi Party (SP) government
in Uttar Pradesh, the Bench of the
Supreme Court appointed former High
Court judge, Justice Virendra Singh, as
Lokayukta of Uttar Pradesh on 16
December 2015. For doing so the bench

examined a list of nominees and

ordered the appointment under Article
142 of the Indian Constitution.

The bench was hearing the pleas

filed by Mahendra Kumar Jain and
lawyer Radhakant Tripathi seeking
a direction to the State to appoint
the Lokayukta at the earliest in
pursuance of the Supreme Court
orders.
The bench regretted that its several
orders have not been heeded to by
the Constitutional functionaries
the Chief Minister, the leader of
opposition and the Chief Justice of
the Allahabad High Court.

Explanation: It is worth mentioning that

senior advocate Harish Salve had
submitted in the Supreme Court that
30% of Delhis vehicular population was
diesel-run and the number of vehicles
as a whole had increased by 97% since
2000. He also said that every third child
in Delhi suffered from respiratory
disorders and pollution mostly affected
children and the elderly.

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44 CURRENT AFFAIRS

3) The Supreme Court gave two

important pertaining to usage of diesel
vehicles in New Delhi and NCR on 16
December 2015. What are these? a) It
ordered a ban on registration of
diesel-run passenger vehicles of over
2000cc engine capacity in New Delhi
and NCR till 1 March 2016 and b) It
banned commercial vehicles
registered before 2005 from entering
Delhi

The Supreme Court acted tough

and ordered a ban on registration of
diesel-run passenger vehicles of
over 2000cc engine capacity in New
Delhi and NCR till 1 March 2016
and also banned commercial
vehicles registered before 2005
from entering Delhi. The SC also
ordered all taxis in Delhi be
converted to CNG.
Apart from this the SC doubled the
Environment Compensation Cess
(ECC) to be levied on commercial
vehicles entering Delhi. Light
commercial vehicles would have to
pay Rs. 1400 instead of Rs. 700
and the heavy ones Rs. 2600, up
from Rs. 1300.

4) Indian Space Research Organisation

(ISRO) on 16 December 215
successfully launched the PSLV-C29
rocket into the space that carried with it
6 satellites of a South-East Asian

country. These satellites will be used to

help the country gather information on
disaster monitoring and urban planning.
These satellites belong to which
country? Singapore
Explanation: ISRO launched its PSLVC29 (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle)
rocket from its Sriharikota spaceport in
Andhra Pradesh on 16 December 2015.
This rocket carried with it 6 satellites of
Singapore that can capture images of
Singapore once every 100 minutes and
tracks threats in the sea and air as well
as natural disaster across the region.

5) The World Bank approved how much

loan for Indias Clean India Campaign,
as disclosed by the bank on 15
December 2015? $1.5 billion
Explanation: World Banks $1.5 billion
loan will be used to support the Indian
Government in its efforts to ensure all
citizens in rural areas have access to
improved sanitation and end the
practice of open defecation by 2019.

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The 6 satellites were launched one

after another, 30 seconds apart, to
avoid collision and set a distance of
about 20 kilometres between them.
Of the six satellites, TeLEOS-1 is
the primary satellite weighing 400
kgs whereas the other five satellites
include two micro-satellites and
three nano-satellites. TeLEOS-1 is
the first Singapore commercial earth
observation satellite.
One special feature of these
Singapore satellites is that, for the
first time, they will orbit around the
equator and gather data that will
benefit those in the equatorial
region. The satellites will be able to
produce information at a much
higher frequency.

The loan will be used for Swachh

Bharat Mission (SBM) Support
Operation Project. The Ministry of
Drinking Water and Sanitation
(MDWS) will play the overseeing
and coordinating role for the
programme and support the
participating states.
Funds will also be used to develop
the capacity of MDWS in program
management, advocacy, monitoring
and evaluation.

6) Who took as the new Member Traffic

in the Railway Board on 15 December
2015? Mohammad Jamshed
Explanation: Mohammad Jamshed has
held several important assignments in
the Ministry of Railways, having being
associated with the Northern, Eastern

and Central Railways. Some important

designations held by him include
Additional Member Railway Board, Chief
Operations Manager, Chief Vigilance
Officer, Chief Safety Officer, Divisional
Railway Manager, and Executive
Director Railway Board.

During his posting as Additional

Member Railway Board, he was
Chairman of the Committee on
Traffic Optimisation set up by Union
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu.

Dec 18, 2015

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1) The US Federal Reserve raised

interest rates by 0.25 percentage points
on 16 December 2015. This was the first
interest rate increase by the Fed since
which year? Since 2006
Explanation: The increase in interest
rate by Federal Reserve, the central
bank of the United States was on the
expected lines. The Feds benchmark
interest rate has been pegged at 0-0.25
per cent since December 2008. The last
time the Fed actually raised rates was
June 2006.

The move is likely to cause ripples

around the world, and could
increase pressure on the UK to
raise rates. It could also mean

higher borrowing costs for

developing economies, many of
which are already seeing slow
growth.
There are concerns that a rise will
compound that slowdown, as higher
rates in the US could strengthen the
dollar, the currency in which many
countries and companies borrow.

2) The process to elect the next

Secretary General of the United Nations
Organisation (UNO) was kicked off
during December 2015. The Security
Council and General Assembly made
which unprecedented call to member

states pertaining to this? They called

member states to recommend woman
candidates for this post
Explanation: In a first, UN Security
Council President for December U.S.
envoy Samantha Power and General
Assembly President Mogens Lykketoft
circulated a letter on 14 December 2015
to the 193 UN members soliciting
names of candidates for the next UN
chief and vowing to make the process
more transparent and inclusive. The two
also made a special emphasis on the
need for member states to nominate
women candidates for the job of the
worlds top diplomat.

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47 CURRENT AFFAIRS

No woman has served as Secretary

General in the 70 years that the UN
has been in existence. Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon has served
two five-year terms and his tenure
as UN Chief will end next year.

3) President Pranab Mukherjee will be

on a 14-day Southern Sojourn from 18
to 31 December 2015. Under this visit,
the President will take part in numerous

programmes in Telangana, Andhra

Pradesh and Karnataka. He will stay at
which official retreat of the President of
India during the visit? Rashtrapati
Nilayam, Secuderabad (Telangana)
Explanation: Rashtrapati Nilayam is the
official south retreat of the President of
India. It is situated in Bolarum
(Secunderabad) in the state of
Telangana. The President stays here for
at least once a year and conducts
official business.

Rashtrapati Nilayam was originally

known as Residency House and
was constructed in 1860 by Nizam
Nazir-ud-Dowla. Later it became the
country house of the British
Resident at Secunderabad.
After the Hyderabad states
annexation in 1948, it became
Presidents retreat and used as
Southern Sojourn.

4) Which private sector aviation

company created history when it
became the first-ever aviation company
to enter the top-50 most valuable
companies in terms of market

capitalization (m-cap) on the BSE?

InterGlobe Aviation
Explanation: InterGlobe Aviation, which
operates IndiGo brand of airline,
created history of sorts when it entered
into the list of the top-50 most valuable
companies in terms of market
capitalization (m-cap) as far as its listing
in the BSE is concerned. It stood at
47th place in overall m-cap ranking on
the BSE with m-cap of Rs. 42,684 crore
as on 15 December 2015.

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The company climbed 11 positions

in the m-cap pecking order since its
debut on the bourses on 10
November 2015. The company had
raised Rs 3,009 crore though the
initial public offering (IPO) by
issuing shares at price of Rs 765
per share.
InterGlobe Aviation Limited
operates IndiGo Indias largest
passenger airline with 33.9% and
37.4% market share of domestic
passenger volume for financial year
2015-16.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)
led the list with m-cap of Rs.
465,230 crore, followed by Reliance
Industries (Rs. 316,115 crore),
HDFC Bank (Rs. 266,718 crore),
ITC (Rs. 259,127 crore) and Infosys
(Rs. 247,358 crore).

5) Rating agency ICRA on 16 December

2015 downgraded which PSU banks
long-term ratings to stable from
positive? United Bank of India
Explanation: The long-term ratings of
Kolkata-based United Bank of India
were constrained primarily due to its
weak asset quality and low profitability
due to high credit provisioning.

Its return on assets was 0.19 per

cent in the first half of 2015-16. The
level of weak assets remains
elevated. But, there has been
gradual improvement in asset
quality. The gross non-performing
assets declined to 8.9 per cent in
September 2015 against 12.03 per
cent a year ago.

6) Formation of a new film, television

and digital content creation company
was announced Anil Ambani-owned
Reliance Entertainment and acclaimed
Hollywood director Steven Spielbergs
DreamWorks Studios on 17 December
2015. What is the name of this venture?
Amblin Partners
Explanation: Amblin Partners is the
name of the new film, television and

digital content venture that has been

floated jointly by Anil Ambani-owned
Reliance Entertainment and acclaimed
Hollywood director Steven Spielbergs
DreamWorks Studios. Participant Media
led by Jeff Skoll and Entertainment One
(eOne), a leading US-based media
company, are also part of the joint
venture.

This venture will develop and

produce films using Amblin,

DreamWorks Pictures and

Participant banners as well as
Amblin Television, a long-time
leader in quality programming.
DreamWorks Studios and
Participant Media have collaborated
on many Academy Awardnominated films such as Lincoln
and The Help as well as the
critically-acclaimed The HundredFoot Journey, and the recently
released Bridge of Spies.

Dec 19, 2015

will be computed based on banks
marginal cost of borrowing, or
incremental cost of funds, rather than
the average cost of funds that banks
have used so far.

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49 CURRENT AFFAIRS

1) On 17 December 2015, the Reserve

Bank of India (RBI) asked banks to
review their lending rates frequently,
and reflect changes in their cost of
borrowing in view of the new lending
rate regime to be implemented next
year. This regime will come into effect
from which date? 1 April 2016
Explanation: The new lending rate
regime is called Marginal Cost of
Funds-based Lending Rate and it will
come into effect from 1 April 2016.
Under this new regime, the lending rates

The reason for introducing this

system is to force banks to pass on
rate benefits to customers. Since
January 2015, the central bank has
lowered its policy rate by 125 basis
points, but banks lowered their
lending rates by only about 60 basis
points.
On the other hand, deposit rates
have been slashed by more than
100 basis points, indicating that the
incremental cost of funds has
actually fallen more than what
banks have passed on to their
customers.

3) Who was appointed as the new Chief

Information Commissioner (CIC) by the
Union Government on 18 December
2015? R.K. Mathur

2) Which country was on 17 December

2015 inducted as the newest and
164th member of the World Trade
Organisation (WTO)? Afghanistan
Explanation: The World Trade
Organisation (WTO) on 17 November
2015 formally approved Afghanistans
membership at its 10th ministerial
conference in the Kenyan capital
Nairobi. It thus became the
164th member of WTO, the global trade
body engaged in promoting multilateral
trade all over the world.

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50 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Afghanistan is the 36th least

developed country (LDC) to join the
WTO after 11 years of negotiations.
The country expects to reap the
benefits of the WTO membership for
its post-conflict reconstruction.

Explanation: Former Defence

Secretary R.K. Mathur was appointed as
Chief Information Commissioner (CIC),
thus breaking away from the convention
of appointing the head from among the
serving Information Commissioners. The
post had fallen vacant after Vijai Sharma
completed his tenure on 1 December
2015.

62-year old R.K. Mathur will have

tenure of about three years, till he
attains the age of 65 years. Mathur,
a retired IAS officer of Tripura
cadre, was made Defence
Secretary for a fixed two-year term
on 28 May 2013. He had been
Secretary in Ministry of Micro, Small
and Medium Enterprises, and
Defence Production and Supplies.

4) Mumbais iconic Marine Drive

completed how many years on 18
December 2015, for which a special

postcard was launched to

commemorate the occasion? 100
years
Explanation: Marine Drive is the unofficial name of the 4.3 km long Cshaped road in South Mumbai that links
Nariman Point to Malabar Hill and
Babulnath area. The road came into
existence on 18 December 1915 while it
was fully completed in 1920. The official
name of the road is Netaji Subhash
Chandra Road, though it is used very
rarely.

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Marine Drive is also known as the

Queens Necklace because, if
viewed at night from an elevated
point anywhere along the drive, the
street lights resemble a string of
pearls in a necklace.
To mark the occasion a special
postcard featuring this iconic road
was launched informally by
residents of this area.

5) The minority shareholders of Maruti

Suzuki on 17 December 2015 voted in
favour of a contract manufacturing
agreement between Maruti and Suzuki.
Under this agreement, a new
manufacturing plant will be established,
which will be parent company Suzukis
its first car manufacturing plant in India.
This plant will be established at?
Hansalpur (Gujarat)

Explanation: Under the agreement

Suzuki, the parent Japanese company
of Maruti Suzuki Limited, will establish a
1.5 million unit per annum plant in
Gujarats Hansalpur (near Mehsana).
This will thus be the first car plant of
Suzuki in India.

The plant will be managed by a new

subsidiary of Suzuki called Suzuki
Motor Gujarat Private Ltd., while the
cars manufactured in the plant will
be sold to Maruti on no-profit, noloss basis. Maruti will market the
cars and will pay royalty to Suzuki
for products from Gujarat like it does
now for products from the two
plants.
Maruti currently has two facilities
in Gurgaon and in Manesar, which
together manufacture 15.5 lakh
cars.

6) The 50th Annual Conference of the

Directors General of Police (DGPs) and
Inspector General of Police (IGP) of all
States and Union Territories was
inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra
Modi on 18 December 2015. This 3-day
Conference is being held at which
place? Dhordo (Kutch, Gujarat)
Explanation: Dhordo is a small village
in the beautiful Rann of Kutch in Gujarat
near the India-Pakistan border. It is

around 80 kilometers from district

headquarters Bhuj.

Among issues related to internal

security, the top police officers of
the country will discuss ways to
thwart attempts by Islamic State to
spread its base in the country.
Due to the security perceptions due
to this Conference, a no-fly zone
was imposed around Rann of Kutch

and nearby areas from 18

December and it will continue till 20
December when the Conference
culminates.

This annual conference was held in

Delhi every year till 2013. Last year,
in November, for the first time since
its inception in 1920, the conference
was organised outside Delhi and
held in Guwahati, Assam.

Dec 20-21, 2015

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1) Which country lifted a 40-year-old

ban on export of crude oil on 19
December 2015? The United States
Explanation: The US administration on
19 December 2015 lifted the ban on the
export of US crude oil, a policy enacted
during the 1970s. The ban was lifted as
President Barack Obama signed into
law the $1.8 trillion spending package
and tax bill for the current fiscal ending
on 30 September 2016.

The move was welcomed by the

industry, while pro- environmental
groups were critical of it. The
industry feels that crude exports will
result in job creation, economic
growth, new revenues and
prosperity. While diplomatic circle
hopes that it will result in enhanced
energy security for the country and
its allies. However, proenvironmental groups felt the move
would prove harmful for
environment as well as US industry.
In the 1970s America banned
crude-oil exports in an effort to
stabilize domestic prices.

2) The 2015 Indian Super League (ISL)

for football, which is Indias most
prestigious professional football league,
was won by which team on 20
December 2015? Chennaiyin FC
Explanation: Chennaiyin FC won their
maiden ISL title as they defeated hosts
Goa FC by 3-2 in a dramatic final at the
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium at Fatorda
(Goa) on 20 December 2015.

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FC Goa were on the brink of

winning the Indian Super League
(ISL) season 2 title but an own goal
from goalkeeper Kattimani and a
90th minute strike from Stiven
Mendoza broke the home teams
heart and gave Chennaiyin FC a 3-2
win in the final and their first ISL
crown.
Stiven Mendoza emerged as the
highest scorer of 2015 ISL with 12
goals.
This was the second edition of ISL.
The first edition of ISL was won by
Atletico de Kolkata in 2014.
(Photo Courtesy : ISL)

3) The 10th Ministerial Conference of the

World Trade Organization (WTO)
concluded on 19 December 2015 with
some landmark agreements on a series
of trade initiatives. This WTO
Conference was held at Nairobi
(Kenya)
Explanation: The WTOs Tenth
Ministerial Conference was held in
Nairobi, Kenya, from 15 to 19 December
2015, the first such meeting hosted by
an African nation. The Conference was
chaired by Kenyas Cabinet Secretary
for Foreign Affairs and International
Trade, Amina Mohamed.
Before conclusion of the Conference,
six ministerial decisions on agriculture,
cotton and issues related to leastdeveloped countries were released.
These included a commitment to abolish
export subsidies for farm exports, which
Director-General Roberto Azevdo
hailed as the most significant outcome
on agriculture in the organizations 20year history.

However, the talks ended without

any commitment on rich countries
being asked to check their domestic
subsidies. India expressed its
disappointment over non-

reaffirmation to conclude 14-yearold Doha Round pacts.

4) Which African country was formally

included as a member of the WTO at its
10thMinisterial Conference? Liberia
Explanation: Liberia was acceded to
WTO 8 years after it applied for WTO
membership. Liberian President Ellen
Johnson Sirleaf, was present at the
ceremony to mark the occasion. She
said accession to the WTO marks
another turning point in Liberian history
and an important step towards meeting
Liberias aspirations for the growth and
development of our people.

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Apart from Liberia, Afghanistan was

also included in the organisation
earlier.

Explanation: Mireia Lalaguna Royo, the

23-year old professional model from
Barcelona (Spain) won the 2015 Miss
World beauty pageant in Sanya (China)
on 19 December. Mireia is a
Pharmacology degree holder and
intends to do an MA in Nutrition. The
victory marked the first-ever win for a
Spanish contestant.

Sofia Nikitchuk of Russia was the

runner-up and Indonesias Maria
Harfanti took third place in the final
following a lengthy competition
featuring 114 women. Each had
won the right to represent their
country in a series of local and
regional competitions. Miss India
couldnt make into last 10.
The pageant also had a major
controversy. Miss Canada, Chineseborn Anastasia Lin, was banned by
China for speaking up about human
rights abuses, and was neatly left
out of the show. Lin is an outspoken
critic of Chinese religious policy and
a follower of the Falun Gong
meditation practice, which was
outlawed by China in 1999.

Miss World also awarded the

following sub contest titles:
5) Who won the Miss World title for
2015 which concluded at Sanya (China)
on 19 December 2015? Mireia
Lalaguna Royo (Spain)

Miss Multimedia Philippines

Miss Top Model Spain
Sports Champion Namibia
Miss Talented Guyana
Beauty with a Purpose Indonesia

6) Indian professional boxer Vijender

Singh won the third consecutive bout of
his career as he knocked-out his
Bulgarian opponent on 19 December
2015. What is the name of this
Bulgarian boxer who had warned
Vijender of a big defeat before the bout?
Samet Hyuseinov
Explanation: The third bout of Vijender
Singhs professional career was held on
19 December 2015 at the Manchester
Arena (UK) against Bulgarian boxer
Samet Hyuseinov. Vijender took little
time to finish the contest as the six-

round bout was over inside the first two

gongs with a technical knock-out.

In the build-up to the fight, Samet

had bragged about his power and
dismissed Vijenders illustrious
record at amateur boxing. The
Bulgarian also warned the Indian
fans that the contest will be a onesided affair.

This bout was expected to be a

tough one for Vijender, as it will be
his first six-round contest, unlike the
four-round bouts in his first two
matches.

Dec 22-23, 2015

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released in the gangrape-cum-murder

case of December 2012. What is the
main objective of this bill? It will lower
the age for trial from 18 years

1) Indian Parliament passed the

Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of
Children) Bill on 22 December 2015 as
the bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha
on this day. The much-anticipated and
controversial Bill was passed against
the backdrop of a juvenile convict being

Explanation: The Juvenile Justice

(Care and Protection of Children) Bill,
which provides for lowering the age for
trial from 18 years, was passed by
Rajya Sabha with a voice vote on 22
December 2015 after a walkout by Left
parties.

The bill had been passed earlier by

the Lok Sabha and the bill will now
be sent to the President for
ratification. However, this bill will not

affect the juvenile offender involved

in the gangrape case.

2) Which entity became the first in the

country to tie up with e-Mudhra, the
government licensed certifying authority
to introduce eSign? Axis Bank
Explanation: Axis Bank, Indias thirdlargest private sector lender, has
partnered with digital security company
eMudhra for the eSign service. Under
the eSign Service, individuals with
Aadhaar numbers will be able to digitally
sign documents to submit to the bank
online. Axis Bank thus became the first
organization in the country to sign up for
this service.

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The service rides on Aadhaar

authentication and generates the
digital signature automatically. The
generated signature is legally valid
and secure.
At present, a customer has to
submit a hard copy of the
application form signed along with
copies of relevant documents to
apply and avail of any product or
service of a bank. The Reserve

Bank of India (RBI) mandates banks

to acquire basic information of the
customer along with proofs for
identity, domicile, etc., under knowyour-customer (KYC) norms.
e-Mudhra, a leading digital security
company, had launched the eSign
service earlier in July 2015.

3) Ten personnel of the Border Security

Force (BSF) were killed as a Beechcraft
aircraft crashed near the Indira Gandhi
International Airport (IGIA) in Delhi just
after take-off on 22 December 2015.
This aircraft was bound for Ranchi
Explanation: This BSF aircraft had
taken-off for Ranchi at around 9:45 am
and crashed just a few minutes later.
The aircraft was on its way back and
approaching the airports runway 10
from the Dwarka side when it suddenly
lost radio contact with the ATC. The
plane crashed at the airports outer
periphery boundary wall.

The flight was going to Ranchi with

10 BSF personnel on board,
including Pilots BP Bhatt and
Rajesh Shriram, Deputy
Commandant D. Kumar, Inspector
RP Yadav and SN Sharma, Sub
Inspector Ravindra Kumar, Sunder
Singh and Chotte Lal, Assistant Sub
Inspector DP Chouhan and
Constable K Rawat.

The plane had senior technicians

who were flying to Ranchi to repair
a helicopter. Talks in Dhaka
between the BSF and its
Bangladesh counterpart were put off
because of the crash.

dramatically lower the cost of space

flight.

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4) Elon Musks SpaceX successfully

landed the first stage of its Falcon 9
rocket at its landing base in Florida on
21 December 2015, thus creating a new
history in space launches. What is
special about this launch? This was
largest reusable rocket launched into
orbit which returned safely to the
Earth later
Explanation: Typically, rocket boosters
are used once, burning up or crashing
into the ocean after liftoff. But Elon
Musk, the billionaire co-founder of
PayPal and Tesla, and Jeffrey Bezos,
the founder of Amazon.com who has his
own space company, have been
working on creating reusable rockets
that land vertically by using their engine
thrust. If they are able to recover rockets
and fly them again and again, it would

During November 2015 Bezos Blue

Origin flew a rocket to the edge of
space, and landed it in a remote
swath of West Texas. But the flight
of Musks SpaceX rocket involved a
much more powerful rocket and was
much more complicated feat than
Bezos.
It is worth mentioning that SpaceXs
similar mission involving a Falcon 9
rocket in June 2015 was miserable
failure with the rocket blowing up
mid-way. The launch of 21
December used an upgraded
Falcon-9 rocket.

5) Union Government took a big step

towards putting in place an effective
legal framework for insolvency
resolution in a time-bound manner. This
was done with introduction of the
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2015
in the Rajya Sabha on 21 December
2015. What is the main objective of this
Code? It fixes a time limit of 180
days (extendable by a further 90
days) for completion of the corporate
insolvency-resolution process
Explanation: The current insolvencyresolution process in India is tedious
and delay-ridden and it takes anywhere
between five and 15 years for lenders to

recover money in the event of corporate

default. As on date, there is no single
law in India that deals with insolvency
and bankruptcy.

For making insolvency resolution

swifter, the government introduced
the Insolvency and Bankruptcy
Code 2015 which seeks to amend
as many as 12 existing laws,
including the Companies Act 2013,
the Income-Tax Act, and the
Payment and Settlement Systems
Act 2007. Insolvency professionals
will assist in the resolution,
liquidation and bankruptcy
proceedings envisaged in the code.

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6) Which European country rejected

same-sex marriage in the country in a
referendum held in the country on 20
December 2015? Slovenia
Explanation: About 63.4% of voters of
Slovenia rejected the law in a
referendum that would have given
same-sex couples the right to marry and
adopt children in its second vote on gay
rights in four years.

It is worth mentioning that in March

2015 the Slovenian Parliament had
passed a law that gave same sex
couples the right to marry and adopt
children but the measures have not
been enforced because a civil

society group appealed to the top

court, calling for a referendum.
A number of EU states have legally
recognised same-sex marriages,
including Britain, France and Spain,
but the issue remains contentious in
many other EU states.

7) Who won the Miss Universe title for

2015 that was held at the AXIS Theater,
Las Vegas (USA) on 20 December
2015? Pia Wurtzbach (Philippines)
Explanation: Miss Universe 2015 was
the 64th edition of the Miss Universe
pageant. Pia Wurtzbach of the
Philippines won the title while
Colombias Ariadna Gutirrez was first
runner up and the third runner up title
went to Olivia Jordan of the USA.

This was the first edition of the Miss

Universe pageant under the new
owners, WME/IMG and was the first
to be aired by Fox and Azteca. The
show was marred when host Steve
Harvey mistakenly announced
Ariadna Gutirrez from Colombia as
Miss Universe 2015, even though it

had been decided by the judges that

Pia Wurtzbach from the Philippines
had won.

Indias Urvashi Rautela couldnt

make it into top 15.

Dec 24, 2015

1) What is the name of the first

indigenously designed and built warship
of the Indian Navy that was
decommissioned in Mumbai on 23
December 2015? INS Godavari

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Explanation: INS Godavari, built by

Mazagon Dock Limited in Mumbai, was
the first indigenously designed and built
guided-missile frigate of the Indian
Navy. It was the lead ship of her class
and was commissioned into the Indian
Navy on 10 December 1983.

Over the past three decades, INS

Godavari has been successfully
deployed in numerous operations
including Operation Jupiter 1988
(Sri Lanka), Operation Shield and
Operation Bolster 1994 (deinduction of Indian Army from
Somalia) and Patrol of Gulf of Aden

(PoG) 2009 and 2011 (anti-piracy

operations in the Gulf of Aden). It
came into limelight in an operation
called Operation Cactus in 1988,
in which India successfully thwarted
a coup against Maldivian
Government.
After 32 years of service, she was
decommissioned on 23 December
2015. In 2014, a naval review board
had decided to decommission INS
Godavari due to high maintenance
costs and obsolete technology.

2) Indian Railways on 23 December

2015 tied up with which private sector
bank to sell rail tickets through its
applications? ICICI Bank
Explanation: ICICI Bank, Indias largest
private sector bank, will soon
introduce the facility to book rail tickets
on its mobile banking application and
prepaid digital wallet. On 23 December

the bank tied up with Railways eticketing platform Indian Railway

Catering and Tourism Corporation
(IRCTC) to sell rail tickets through its
applications.

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It is the first time that IRCTC has

tied up with a banking entity to sell
tickets through the various
applications of the bank.
Users will have to first register on
the website of IRCTC, where it
primarily sells rail tickets, and then
do a one-time registration on the
banks website to avail of the facility.
The facility is not limited to ICICI
customers as any other banks
customer can also use the facility.
The payments for the purchases
can be made using the online
banking facility, debit or credit card
of any bank.

3) Who was named ICC Cricketer of

the Year award for 2015 and thus won
the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy, as
announced by the International Cricket
Council (ICC) on 23 December 2015?
Steve Smith (Australia)

Explanation: Australian batsman and

present captain Steve Smith was named
the ICC Cricketer of the Year award for
2015 by the ICC in a list released by it
on 23 December. Smith also won ICC
Test Cricketer of the Year award while
South African batting maestro AB De
Villiers was named ICC ODI Cricketer of
the Year.
The full list of ICC Award 2015:
ICC Cricketer of the Year (Sir
Garfield Sobers Trophy) Steve Smith
(Australia)
ICC Test Cricketer of the Year
Steve Smith (Australia)
ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year AB
de Villiers (South Africa)
ICC Womens ODI Cricketer of the
Year Meg Lanning (Australia)
ICC Womens T20 Cricketer of the
Year Stafanie Taylor (West Indies)
ICC T20 Performance of the Year
Faf du Plessis (South Africa) (119, 56
balls, 114, 56 2nd T20I vs. West
Indies, 11 January 2015, Johannesburg)
ICC Emerging Cricketer of the
Year Josh Hazlewood (Australia)
ICC Associate/Affiliate Cricketer of
the Year Khurram Khan (UAE)
ICC Spirit of Cricket Award
Brendon McCullum (New Zealand)
ICC Umpire of the Year (David
Shepherd Trophy) Richard
Kettleborough (England)

4) Leading automakers of the India

Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors and
Maruti Suzuki recently joined hands to
invest as well as develop components
and systems for electric and hybrid
vehicles. This initiative became reality
after Union Governments FAME India
scheme, which was launched in April
2015. FAME stands for Faster
Adoption and Manufacturing of
Hybrid and Electric Vehicles
Explanation: FAME or Faster Adoption
and Manufacturing of Hybrid and
Electric Vehicles in India scheme
envisages Rs. 795 crore in incentives
for two years as part of the first phase of
the National Electric Mobility Mission
Plan. This scheme offers cash
incentives for those who want to buy
hybrid and electric vehicles.

5) FMCG major Hindustan Unilever Ltd

(HUL) during December 2015 signed an
agreement with which group to acquire
its flagship brand Indulekha for Rs. 330
crore?- Mosons Group
Explanation: Mosons Group is the
owner of Indulekha and Vayodha
brands. Indulekha was first launched in
2009 as a premium ayurvedic hair oil.
Over the years, Indulekha Bringha Oil
has carved out a niche for itself
supported by endorsements and
sustained investments in brand-building.

According to the scheme, the

customer buying any form of hybrid
or electric vehicle will get the
incentive in terms of lower cost,
while the manufacturer can claim
the incentive from the government.

The brand, with a strong presence

across Kerala, Tamil Nadu and
Karnataka and a recent foray into
Maharashtra, had a turnover of
Rs.100 crores and an EBITDA
margin of around 30% for the year

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ending March 2015.

Dec 25, 2015

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1) The first cable-stayed bridge of north

India was inaugurated by Defence
Minister Manohar Parrikar on 24
December 2015. The bridge that will
provide close connectivity between the
three states of Jammu and Kashmir,
Himachal Pradesh and Punjab, is
situated at which place? Basholi
(Kathua, JK)
Explanation: This cable stayed-bridge
is built on River Ravi at Basholi in
Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Basohli Bridge is fourth of its kind in
India. The other three cable-stayed
bridges are Hooghly Bridge at Kolkata,
Naini Bridge in Allahabad and Rajiv
Gandhi Sea Link in Mumbai.

The work on this 592 m long cablestay bridge was started in

September 2011 on the demand of
people of Basohli where over 22
villages were submerged in water
and evacuated to other places after

the construction of Ranjit Sagar

dam.
It is a joint venture of Border Roads
Organization (BRO), IRCON (a
Railway Company) and SP Singla
Construction group.

2) What is the new deadline for

exchanging pre-2005 currency notes as
announced by the Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) on 23 December 2015? 30
June 2016
Explanation: The RBI on 23 December
once again extended the date for
exchanging pre-2005 currency notes
with new ones to 30 June 2016 from 31
December 2015. This is the fifth time
RBI extended the deadline that started
in January 2014. The old notes, of
Mahatma Gandhi series, will continue to
remain legal tenders.

Earlier, the exchange was facilitated

through any bank branches, but
from 1 January 2016, only a few

designated branches will accept the

old notes for exchange.
The pre-2005 currency notes are
being exchanged as new notes
have better security features and it
is a standard international practice
not to have currency notes from
multiple series in simultaneous
circulation.

ranked fifth with an annual revenue

of Rs. 2,40,367 crore. It had
grabbed the third spot in last years
ranking.
The list, which has been compiled
by global business magazine
Fortunes Indian edition since 2010,
said the total revenue of firms has
grown a merely 2.7% and profits fell
5.9% compared with 2014.

3) Which public-sector undertaking

maintained its top spot in the List of
Fortune 500 Indian companies (2015)
for sixth consecutive time, as disclosed
in the list released on 24 December
2015? Indian Oil Corporation (IOC)
Explanation: Indian Oil Corporation
(IOC) topped the Fortune 500 List of
Indian companies for 2015 with an
annual revenue of Rs. 4,51,911 crore.
This was the sixth consecutive time that
IOC grabbed the top spot.

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Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance

Industries Limited (RIL) was second
in the list with full-year revenue of
Rs. 3,82,565 crore. Tata Motors
with a revenue of Rs. 2,67,025 crore
jumped to third slot from last years
fifth place by replacing Bharat
Petroleum (BPCL). State Bank of
India (SBI) moved to fourth position
with an annual revenue of Rs.
2,57,289 crore, from sixth rank in
2014. Bharat Petroleum (BPCL) is

4) What is the name of the asteroid that

passed by Earth on 24 December 2015
and which came to news as some fake
reports claimed that it will pose a threat
to Earth? 2003 SD220
Explanation: Asteroid 2003 SD220 was
its closest distance from Earth on
Christmas Eve (24 December 2015) at
about 10.6 million kilometers. Despite its
closest approach it was not visible to the
naked eye.

Despite its small size (only about

1.24 miles, or 2 kilometers wide)
and its vast distance from Earth,
certain articles and news reports
claimed that the asteroid will pose a
threat to the Earth. NASA rubbished

such claims and cleared that

asteroid 2003 SD220 was at a very
safe distance from our planet.

5) What is the name of Malaysias first

Islamic airline that was launched by an
Indian couple on 23 December 2015?
Rayani Air

Explanation: Rayani Air is the name of

Malaysias first Islamic airline that offers
Shariah compliant services including
prayers before take-off, no on-flight
serving of alcohol or meals with pork
and a strict dress code for female flight
attendants.

It was launched by its Indian origin

couple Ravi Alagendrran and his
wife Karthiyani Govindan who
promoted the airline.

Rayani Airs fleet has two Boeing

737-400 aircraft with a capacity of
188 passengers each.

Dec 26-27, 2015

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spread over 5000 acres? Raiwind

Palace

1) Prime Minister Narendra Modi

stunned the diplomatic circle, his
opponents and even his party members
by undertaking a surprise visit to
Pakistan and meeting Pakistani Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif on 25 December
2015. This impromptu meeting was held
at Sharifs residence near Lahore. What
is the name this sprawling palace

Explanation: Raiwind Palace came to

news after Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and his Pakistani
counterpart Nawaz Sharif held their
informal meeting here on 25 December.
Modi had made a surprise visit to
Pakistan while on his way from
Afghanistan to India.

The visit was Modis first visit to

Pakistan, and the first trip by an
Indian prime minister to the country
in 11 years.
Raiwind Palace is situated in the
small town of Jati Umrah on the

outskirts of Lahore. This palace is

spread over a 5000 acre estate.
This palace is the palace of the
Sharif family which has huge
business interests in various
sectors. The palace was also
hosting the wedding ceremony of
Nawaz Sharifs grand-daughter
during Modis visit.

completion deadlines at least 3

times since 2011.
The new Parliament building is
located across from the now-ruined
Darul Aman Palace, the nowgutted palace of King Amanullah
Khan. It is worth mentioning that at
a time it was proposed to covert
Darul Aman Palace into
Afghanistans new Parliament. But
the plan was shelved due to
financial constraints and attacks on
the palace by the Taliban.

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2) Which countrys new Parliament

complex, built by India, was inaugurated
on 25 December 2015? Afghanistan
Explanation: Afghanistans new
parliament building was dedicated to the
nation on 25 December 2015 the
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and the
Indian PM Narendra Modi. This
inauguration function was held on the
occasion of Modis state visit to
Afghanistan.

This complex has been built by

financial and technical assistance
from India and has cost
approximately Rs. 710 crore.
The parliament building, which was
started in 2009, had missed its

3) Which IT entity launched its mobile

wallet called MoboMoney during
December 2015? Tech Mahindra Ltd
Explanation: Software services
company Tech Mahindra Ltd, which is
among the 11 firms to get a payments
bank licence, on 23 December 2015
launched a mobile wallet called
MoboMoney.

MoboMoney will allow consumers

to complete online as well as offline
transactions, including payments at
grocery stores, tea vendors and

restaurants that accept only cash.

The company claims the platform
allows transactions as low as Rs.1.
MoboMoney is run with the help of
near-field communication (NFC)
technology, where merchants and
customers are issued NFC tags.
While the merchants would need a
point of sale (POS) device or a
NFC-enabled smartphone for the
transaction, the customer would just
need the NFC tag at the time of
purchase.
Tech Mahindra claimed that it is
Indias first commercial rollout of a
contact-less payment wallet.

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4) The Central-Govt.-run All India

Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in
Delhi on 25 December 2015 launched
an appointments system which aims to
reduce the waiting period from an
average of six hours to two. This project
has been implemented by which
entities? National Informatics Centre
(NIC) and Tata Consultancy Services
Ltd (TCS)
Explanation: The new appointments
system developed and implemented by
the governments National Informatics
Centre and software services firm Tata
Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) has
been envisaged to make AIIMSs outpatient department (OPD) more patientfriendly.

While the National Informatics

Centre developed the integration
software, TCS helped complete the
system by developing processes for
crowd management. The project
was envisaged in 2014 to improve
accountability and transparency at
AIIMSs OPD, making it more
patient-friendly.
AIIMS is facing tremendous
hardships in managing the ever
growing number of OPD patients it
receives from almost all parts of the
country. It is expected that the new
system will reduce the long queues
outside its OPD.

5) Veteran Hindi actress Sadhana

passed away on 25 December 2015 at
the age of 74. Mera Saaya, Wo Kaun
Thi and Hum Dono were some of her
most famous films. What is the name of
her debut film which started her journey
to stardom? Love in Simla (1960)
Explanation: In Love in Simla
Sadhana starred opposite Joy
Mukherjee. This was also the film
through which she introduced her iconic

Hasina, Asli-Naqli, Mere

Mehboob, Mera Saaya and Woh
Kaun Thi.

hairstyle popularly known as Sadhana

Cut.

Her full name was Sadhana

Shivdasani. Some of her
memorable films include Love in
Simla, Hum Dono, Ek Musafir Ek

Sadhana was one of the highest

paid actresses of Hindi film industry
during 60s and 70s.

Dec 28-29, 2015

Explanation: The committee (titled
Medium-Term path on Financial
Inclusion) was constituted in July 2015
with the objective of working out a
medium-term (five-year) measurable
action plan for financial inclusion. It was
chaired by Deepak Mohanty, RBI
executive director.
Important Recommendations of the
Deepak Mohanty Committee:

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1) The RBI committee on pushing

Financial Inclusion submitted its report
on 28 December 2015. The committee
recommended a slew of measures,
including a special deposit scheme for
the girl child, government-to-person
social cash transfer, and opening
interest-free windows (Islamic banking)
by banks. Who headed this committee?
Deepak Mohanty (Executive Director,
RBI)

Banks have to step up account

opening for women
Union Govt. should consider a
welfare scheme (Sukanya Shiksha)
for promoting financial inclusion of
women that can be jointly funded by
the Central and State governments
Need for better use of the mobile
banking facility for Government-toPerson (G2P) payments, and this
would push government in its
financial inclusion drive
A unique biometric identifier such as
Aadhaar be linked to each individual
credit account and the information

should be shared with credit

information companies
Commercial banks in India must be
enabled to open specialised
interest-free windows (primarily for
Islamic banking) with simple
products
The committee pressed for
digitisation of land records to
increase formal credit to all agrarian
segments

2) The Iraqi Government claimed to

have liberated which important Iraqi city
from the Islamic State (IS) on 28
December 2015? Ramadi
Explanation: Iraqi Army Spokesman
Brig Gen Yahya Rasul on 28 December
claimed the forces had achieved an
epic victory in the city of Ramadi and
that the Iraqi flag had been raised over
the government complex in the city.

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Ramadi is situated around 90 km

west of Baghdad. The operation to
recapture Ramadi was started in
early November 2015.
Ramadis recapture would mark a
major reversal for the jihadist group.
The jihadists had seized it in May
2015, in an embarrassing defeat for
the army.
However, some reports indicated
there are still pockets of resistance

in the city and that the IS militants

still controlled parts of the city.

3) The three day-Iranshah Utsav of the

dwindling Parsi community concluded
on 27 December 2015 at which historic
town associated with the Indian Parsi
community? Udavada (Gujarat)
Explanation: The tiny Udavada village
in South Gujarat coast is the most
prominent place for Parsi community
where Parsis landed in India in
8thcentury escaping prosecution in their
native Iran. The town is near Valsad and
the countrys first Atash Behram, which
is the holiest and the oldest Parsi temple
or agiary in the country.

The Parsis have made considerable

contributions to the history and
development of India, all the more
remarkable considering their small
numbers.
Iranshah Utsav was participation
of over 3,000 Parsis from all over
the world. The patriarch of Indias
one of the largest conglomerate
Tata group, Ratan Tata was

felicitated at the event as an Icon of

Success and received a standing
ovation from the audience. Union
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley
addressed the gathering.
It is worth mentioning that the Parsi
community is facing a severe
problem of dwindling population.
Demographic trends project that by
the year 2020 the Parsis will
number only 23,000 (less than
0.002% of the 2001 population of
India

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4) In a decision to restrict subsidy only

to those who need it, the Ministry of
Petroleum and Natural Gas on 28
December 2015 announced that the
benefit of subsidised LPG will not be
given to a consumer whose annual
taxable income is more than Rs. 10 lakh
in the previous financial year. This ruling
will apply from 1 January 2016
Explanation: According to this
announcement, the LPG subsidy will
also not be given if the consumers
spouse has an annual taxable income of
more than Rs. 10 lakh.

While it is not known how many

LPG customers fall in the highest
income bracket, data from a
parliamentary committee shows that
in 2011-12, there were 20 lakh

taxpayers in the highest income tax

bracket.
According to data available on the
Ministry of Petroleum & Natural
Gas website, a total of Rs. 24,431
crore of subsidy has been
transferred to consumers bank
accounts till date.

5) Which team won the inaugural edition

of the Pro Wrestling League (PWL) that
concluded on 27 December 2015?
Revanta Mumbai Garuda
Explanation: Mumbai Garuda
outclassed Haryana Hammers 7-2 in the
finals held in Delhis Indira Gandhi
Indoor Stadium on 27 December 2015
to clinch the inaugural Pro Wrestling
League title. Down 1-2, Mumbai Garuda
won their next four bouts on the trot to
claim the trophy after the seventh match
itself.

PWL is the initiative of of

ProSportify owned by Kartikeya
Sharma and Wrestling Federation of
India (WFI). The inaugural edition of
PWL was held from 10 to 27
December 2015. Six franchisee
teams took part in this edition a)

Bengaluru Yodhas, b) Haryana

Hammers, c) Mangalayatan
University Dilli Veer, d) Punjab
Royals, e) Uttar Pradesh Warriors
and f) Revanta Mumbai Garuda.
Nigerian Odunayo Adekuoroye
(Revanta Mumbai Garuda) was
declared woman wrestler of the
series while Narsingh Yadav of
Bengluru Yodhas was adjudged
man wrestler of the series.

6) What is the name of the Congress

journal that came into controversy on 28
December 2015 after an article in it
questioned partys biggest icon
Jawaharlal Nehru and also made
controversial comments on party
President Sonia Gandhi? Congress
Darshan
Explanation: Congress Darshan is the
mouthpiece of the Mumbai Congress.
The December 2015 edition (Hindi) of

the journal published some scathing

comments on former Prime Minister and
partys biggest icon Jawaharlal Nehru as
well as Sonia Gandhi. The article in the
journal mentioned that if Jawaharlal
Nehru had taken into account the views
of Sardar Patel, the Kashmir situation
would not have come to what it is today.

Congress Darshan also made

personal statements on the earlier
life of Sonia Gandhi. The article
referred to the allegation that
Sonias father was a member of the
Italian fascists that lost to the
Russians in the World War.
The Congress party sacked Sudhir
Joshi the content editor of the
journal for these controversial
comments.
The controversy also forced its
editor and Congress leader Sanjay
Nirupam to order an inquiry even as
he claimed he was unaware of the
content.

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Dec 30, 2015

1) The Winter Session of the Parliament
ended during December 2015 thus
bringing an end to the Parliamentary
sessions of year 2015. What important
fact emerged from the conduct of the
two houses of Parliament during the
year, which happened for the first time

in the parliamentary history of the

country? For the first time in the Lok
Sabha emerged as the more
productive session in a year as
compared to the Rajya Sabha
Explanation: According to the data
disclosed by legislative research
organization PRS, Lok Sabha (lower
house of parliament) performed better
than the Rajya Sabha (upper house) in
the year 2015. This thus was the first
time after 1952, when the first elected
government was formed in India, that
the Lok Sabha was more productive
than the Rajya Sabha.

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This was primarily due to the

majority of the ruling Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) in the lower
house. With more than 50%
members belonging to the ruling
BJP in the lower house 282 out of
543, and 48 BJP members out of
250 in the Rajya Sabha, this trend is
evident.
The budget session was the most
productive, and the monsoon
session the least.

2) Which state won its maiden Vijay

Hazare Trophy after winning the 201415 tournament final on 28 December
2015? Gujarat
Explanation: Captain Parthiv Patels
polished 105 helped Gujarat hammer
former champions Delhi by 139 runs
and capture their maiden Vijay Hazare
Trophy in the final played at the M
Chinnaswamy stadium (Bengaluru) on
28 December 2015.

Patel powered Gujarat to 273 for

nine before their medium pacers R
P Singh (4/42) and Jasprit Bumrah
(5/28) brought the star-studded
Delhi batting to its knees, dismissing
the 2013-13 winners for 134 in 32.3
overs.
Vijay Hazare Trophy is the most
prestigious domestic one-day
tournament of the country. It has
been named after the famous Indian
cricketer Vijay Hazare and was
started in 2002-03 as a limitedovers domestic competition
involving state teams from the Ranji
Trophy circuit.

With 4 overall titles, Tamil Nadu is

the most successful team in this
tournament.

3) Guinea was declared free of Ebola on

29 December 2015 after more than
2,500 people died from the virus in this
West African country. Which is the only
country that now awaits a countdown for
the end of the epidemic? Liberia

4) Who was named as the new Chief

Executive Officer (CEO) of the NITI
Aayog by the Union Govt. on 29
December 2015? Amitabh Kant
Explanation: Industry Secretary
Amitabh Kant was entrusted with the
additional responsibility of CEO of NITI
Aayog by the Prime Minister-led
Appointments Committee of the Cabinet
(ACC) on 29 December.

Explanation: Liberia has lost more than

4,800 people to Ebola, but if all goes
well it will be declared virus-free in
January 2016. The country was
declared Ebola-free in May and
September 2015, but each time new
cases emerged.

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On the other hand Ebola killed more

than 2,500 people in Guinea and a
further 4,000 in Sierra Leone. The
disease has had an enormous
social and economic impact on
Guinea. According to the UN, 6,220
Guinean children have lost one or
both parents to Ebola.
Sierra Leone was declared free of
Ebola in November 2015.
A country is declared Ebola-free 42
days after the recovery or death of
the final patient and if there are no
new infections.

He will replace Sindhushree Khullar,

whose extended tenure comes to
end on 31 December 2015. Amitabh
Kant is a Kerala-cadre IAS officer
and is expected to retire in March
2016.

5) Which movie recently became the

fastest movie to pass the $1 billion mark
in global box office sales, as announced
on 27 December 2015? Star Wars:
The Force Awakens
Explanation: The statement released
by US production house Disney on 27
December mentioned that the movie
Star Wars: The Force Awakens posted
an estimated $545 million in ticket sales
in North America and $546 million
internationally just 12 days after it first
hit screens.

It thus broke the record of Jurassic

World which took 13 days to reach
the milestone.

The highly anticipated seventh

installment of the blockbuster series
has received mostly glowing
reviews, and is being credited with
breathing new life into the
Hollywood franchise launched by
creator George Lucas in 1977.
James Camerons Avatar is the
top-grossing film of all time having
grossed nearly $2.8 billion globally.

6) What is the name of the Mizoram

footballer who recently became the
youngest ever goal-scorer for India in an
international match? Lallianzuala
Chhangte
Explanation: 18-year old Lallianzuala
Chhangte made his name into history
books as he scored two goals in Indias
4-1 thrashing of Nepal in the SAFF Cup
on 27 December 2015.

He

thus

went

past

Baichung

Bhutias record as the youngest

ever

goal-scorer

incidentally

also

for

India.

became

He
the

youngest player to represent India.

Dec 31, 2015

Explanation: Raghuveer Chaudhari,
thus became the 56th writer overall and
fourth Gujarati literary artist to receive
the prestigious award. His most noted
works include novels Amruta and
Uparvas.

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1) On 29 December 2015 Raghuveer

Chaudhari was selected for conferment
of Jnanpith Award for 2015, considered
Indias highest literary award. Chaudhari
is an eminent writer in which language?
Gujarati

He received the Sahitya Akademi

Award (1977) for his novel trilogy
Uparvas.
Gujarati writers who have won the
award before Chaudhari are poet
Umashankar Joshi (1967), novelist
Pannalal Patel (1985) and poet
Rajendra Shah (2001).

Jnanpith Award is considered the

highest literary award in India. It
was instituted in 1961 while first
award was given in 1965 to G.
Sankara Kurup (Malayalam writer).
It is presented by the Bharatiya
Jnanpith, a trust founded by the
Sahu Jain family, the publishers of
the newspaper The Times of India.

arriving by both land and sea had

reached more than 1,006,000.

3) What is the name of the latest longrange surface-to-air missile of the Indian
Navy that was successfully tested on 30
December 2015 from onboard INS
Kolkata- Barack-8
2) The refugees and migrants in Europe
reached which milestone mark recently,
as disclosed by the UNHCR on 30
December 2015? 1 million
Explanation: The UNHCR disclosed
that more than one million refugees and
migrants have reached Europe by sea
since the start of 2015. The present
migrant crisis is Europes worst since
World War Two.

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More than 80% of the over 1 million

migrants arrived in Greece, with the
majority landing on Lesbos Island.
Highest number of migrants is from
Syria, followed by Afghanistan.
It is worth mentioning that on 21
December 2015 the International
Organization for Migration (IOM)
said the total number of migrants

Explanation: Barack-8 is the latest

long-range surface-to-air missile
(LRSAM) that has been developed by
the Indian Navy jointly with DRDO,
Israels Elta Systems, Rafael (France)
and other companies. This test was
conducted from onboard INS Kolkata in
the Arabian Sea on 29 and 30
December 2015.

Two Barack-8 missiles were

launched on high speed aerial
targets on the two days and the
targets were hit successfully. With
this successful test the Indian Navy
achieved a significant milestone in
enhancing its anti-missile defence
capability.

4) What was Indias rank in World

Banks Ease of Doing Business global
list 2016 of 189 countries that was
released during December 2015?
130th
Explanation: India jumped four places
from 2014 to occupy 130th place in the
list. It was the steepest rise seen by the
country in recent years. The rise in the
2016 ranking was primarily on account
of improvement in two areas ease of
starting a business and securing an
electricity connection.

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However, India still lags behind

Nepal (99) and Sri Lanka (107) with
Bhutan (71) claiming the highest
spot in South Asia.
Singapore retained the top spot in
the rankings, followed by New
Zealand, Denmark and South
Korea. While Chinas ranking
improved from 90th to 84th, Pakistan
fell 10 positions to 138th from
128th last year.

5) Former Chief of Indian Army and

former diplomat General O.P. Malhotra

passed away on 29 December 2015.

Gen. Malhotra had resigned as
Governor of which state in 1991?
Punjab
Explanation: General O.P. Malhotra
was the 13th Chief of Army Staff from
1978 to 1981 and was Punjab Governor
and Administrator of Chandigarh from
1990 to 1991. He was Governor of
Punjab at a time when militancy was at
its peak in that state. He resigned from
his post in protest when the Assembly
elections in Punjab were postponed by
the Election Commission without giving
notice.

After the elections were deferred,

Gen. Malhotra said he had been
through three wars, but never felt as
defeated as he felt after the poll
panel deferred the elections.
He also remained Indian
Ambassador to Indonesia from 1981
to 1984.

6) Kargil: Turning the Tide is the name

of the new book launched on 29

December 2015 that narrates first-hand

narrative of the operations of 8 Mountain
Division, which was tasked to evict the
infiltrators from the Drass-Mushkoh
Sector during Operation Vijay of 1999.
Who is the author of this gripping book?
Lieutenant General Mohinder Puri

This book by Lt. Gen. Puri provides

gripping accounts from the battle
front during the 1999 Kargil war
between India and Pakistan. It
captures the emotions and
sentiments of a soldier, the
apprehensions and fears of the
leaders, and finally the joy and
ecstasy of victory.

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Explanation: Lieutenant General

Mohinder Puri, who headed the 8
Mountain Division, was responsible for
spearheading the Armys offensive in
the Kargil sector which restored the
sanctity of the Line of Control by

capturing Tololing, Tiger Hill and Point

4875.

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