Lic aao-2016-capsule-

LIC AAO CAPSULE -2016
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Presents
Dear BA"ians,
We bring to you most eagerly awaited LIC AAO CAPSULE to give a kick start to your preparation. We know most of you feel
energised the moment the capsule comes into your access, so here it is.
This capsule is a compilation of last 2 months worth of GK and Current Affairs i.e December and January and along with GK the till
the 10th of February covered in an exhaustive manner.
Since this is an insurance related Exam, we do not ant you to leave any stone unturned, so have covered the Insurance portion
aswell
A separate Banking related Capsule will be up this week only to add to this Blast of Knowledge.
The remaining days of February will be covered in our other weekly Tonic and Hindu review initiatives
So brace yourself to update your self and become Exam ready soon!.
Good luck!

INSURANCE SECTOR IN NEWS
S. No News
1. LIC offered a ‘New Year gift’ to the public in the form of a limited-premium, non-linked and with-profit endowment
assurance plan ‘Jeevan Labh’. The highlight of the plan is that premium is payable for a limited period while risk is
covered for the whole policy term. The plan is available from ages 8 to 59 years with a choice of policy term of 16, 21
and 25 years and premium-paying terms of 10,15 and 16 years. The maximum age at maturity is 75 years.
Minimum basic sum assured is ₹2 lakh with maximum basic sum assured having no limit.
2. LICs New Plan Jeevan Pragati
This is a non-linked, with-profits Endowment Assurance plan. The main feature of this Jeevan Pragathi plan is the ‘sum
assured on death’ (part of death benefit) automatically increases after every five years during the term of the policy.
Key Features & Eligibility Conditions of LIC Jeevan Pragati Plan
Minimum Basic Sum Assured (payable on maturity) : Rs. 1,50,000/-
Maximum Basic Sum Assured : No Limit (Maturity Sum Assured shall be in multiple of Rs. 10,000/- only)
Minimum Policy Term : 12 years
Maximum Policy Term : 20 years
Minimum Age at entry for Life Assured : 12 years (completed)
Maximum Entry Age : 45 years (nearer birthday)
Maximum Age at Maturity for Life Assured : 65 years
Minimum Accident Benefit Sum Assured is Rs 10,000
Maximum Accident Benefit Sum Assured is an amount equal to the Basic Sum Assured subject to the maximum of Rs 1 cr.
Minimum entry age for the rider is 18 years.
3. LICs JEEVAN SHIKHAR Plan
LIC’s Jeevan Shikhar is a participating, non-linked, saving cum protection single premium plan wherein the risk cover is
ten times of Tabular Single Premium.The proposer will have an option to choose the Maturity Sum Assured. The premium
payable shall depend on the chosen amount of Maturity Sum Assured and age at entry of the life assured. The plan will be
open for sale for a maximum period of 120 days from the date of launch.
ELIGIBILITY CONDITIONS AND OTHER RESTRICTIONS:
Minimum Entry Age : 6 years (completed)
Maximum Entry Age : 45 years (nearer birthday)
Sum Assured on Death : 10 times of tabular single premium
Minimum Maturity Sum Assured : Rs. 100,000/-
Maximum Maturity Sum Assured : No Limit (Maturity Sum Assured shall be in multiple of Rs. 20,000/- only.)
Policy Term : 15 years
Premium payment mode : Single premium only
Date of commencement of risk: In case the age at entry of the Life assured is less than 8 years, the risk under this plan will
commence from one day before the policy anniversary coinciding with or immediately following the age of 8 years.
For those aged 8 years or more at entry, risk will commence immediately from the date of acceptance of risk.
4. Insurance sector is likely to attract FDI of over Rs 12,000 crore in 2016 as more than a dozen foreign companies plan to
raise their stake in private sector insurance joint venture this year, industry body Assocham said. The investment push
has come as a result of liberalisation of foreign investment ceiling from 26 per cent to 49 per cent last year through the
passage of Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill.
5. Private sector India First Life Insurance, a joint venture between Bank of Baroda, Andhra Bank and Legal and General of
the UK, entered into pension sector with launch of a 9 percent guaranteed retirement plan. IndiaFirst Guaranteed
Retirement Plan is a non-linked, participating, endowment, deferred pension plan. This plan is for customers who are
conscious to plan for their retirement and want to remain financially young, IndiaFirst Life Insurance Managing Director
and CEO R M Vishakha said.
6. Standalone health insurance company Apollo Munich announced its partnership with Axis Bank for offering bank
customers customised insurance policies.
7. Dena Bank said that it has tied up with SBI Life Insurance Company to provide Group Life Insurance coverage to its
housing loan borrowers under the 'Dena Grihaswami Suraksha Yojana'. Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU),
insurance cover will be given to all housing loan borrowers at a very low premium, Dena Bank said.
8. French insurer AXA has raised its holdings in Indian insurance joint ventures with Bharti Enterprises to 49 per cent.
9. AIA group said it will raise stake in the life insurance venture with Tata group to 49 per cent from the existing 26 per cent.
AIA will increase shareholding in Tata AIA Life Insurance Company, a joint venture company formed by Tata Sons and
AIA, from the current level of 26 per cent to 49 per cent through the purchase of a 23 per cent stake in the company.
10. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) said the existing micro insurance products will
continue to be on offer till March 31, 2016.
11. German reinsurer Munich Re would buy an additional 23.27 per cent stake in Apollo Munich Health Insurance Co from its
joint venture partner Apollo Hospitals Group India for Rs 164 crore ($24.18 million). The deal increases Munich Re's
holding in Apollo Munich to nearly 48.75 per cent, with 51.1 per cent held by Apollo Hospitals, and the rest by employees.

12. Mahindra Insurance Brokers Ltd. (MIBL) has been appraised and rated at Maturity Level 3 of the People Capability
Maturity Model (People-CMM), thus becoming the first insurance broking company globally to achieve this international
benchmark. MIBL joins the league of top companies practising People-CMM such as Accenture, Computer Sciences
Corporation, Wipro, CMC, Mahindra Mahindra Financial Services Ltd., Tata Consultancy Services, LT Infotech, etc.
13. Government has extended RuPay card usage condition to 90 days for a claim under an in-built accident insurance cover in
case of RuPay Classic cardholders with effect from November 25, 2015. Under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY),
RuPay Debit Card, with an in-built accident insurance cover of Rs 1 lakh, is provided to account holders. About 16.54
crore RuPay cards have been issued so far under PMJDY.
INDIAN ECONOMY NEWS
S. No News
1. The deposits in accounts opened under the government’s flagship financial inclusion programme under Pradhan Mantri
Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) have crossed the Rs. 30,000 crore mark. According to the recent updates on Jan. 20, 20.38 crore
bank accounts were opened under the PMJDY. These bank accounts had deposits of Rs. 30,638.29 crore (about $4.5
billion).
2. The World Bank will be the anchor investor in the new Railway Development Fund, which would be used to fund the
modernisation of Indian Railways, according to the Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu.
3. Pension fund regulatory body PFRDA has started using PAN instead of Aadhaar for validation of new customers who can
now be registered online under the National Pension System (NPS) scheme.
4. The World Bank approved a 1.5 billion US dollar loan for the ambitious Clean India Campaign (Swachh Bharat Mission).
The loan was granted to support the 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.
5. International Monetary Fund (IMF) included China's Yuan into its elite reserve currency basket. Yuan's entry into the
basket takes effect from 1 October 2016.
6. Chief Economic Advisor Dr Arvind Subramanian led Committee has recommended standard rate for Goods and Services
Tax (GST) at 17 to 18 per cent. He also recommended the Revenue-neutral rate of 15 to 15.5 per cent.
7. Singapore replaced Mauritius as top source of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into India during April-September of
2015-16 financial year.
8. Prime Minister Narendra Modi released two commemorative coins of 125 rupees and 10 rupees, as part of the 125th birth
anniversary year celebrations of Dr. Babasaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar.
9. Cabinet approved Rs 8,000- crore funds that will stand guarantee for loans to new ventures and also announced ‘Stand up
India’ scheme for credit facilities to SC, ST and women entrepreneurs at lower rates. While the Rs 3,000 crore MUDRA
Credit Guarantee Fund (CGF) will act as hedge against default of Rs 50,000 to Rs 10 lakh loan extended to small
entrepreneurs, the Rs 5,000 crore Stand Up India CGF will stand guarantee for Rs 10 lakh to Rs 1 crore loans to be
provided to least 2.5 lakh SC/ST and women.
10. India Post, which was among the eleven applicants to have received approval from RBI for payment banks in August, will
start its service by March 2017.
11. According to a report, India’s current account deficit may narrow to 0.5 per cent of GDP in 2016 from 0.7 per cent in 2015
owing to lower commodity prices, particularly oil.
12. The Central Board of Direct Taxes clarified that quoting of PAN will be required for transactions of an amount exceeding
Rs. 2 lakh regardless of the mode of payment.
13. The country’s foreign exchange reserves were at $350.4 billion as on January 1, 2016.
RBI IN NEWS
1. RBI received complaints about notes of Rs 1,000 denomination without the security thread being in circulation and has asked
banks not to issue them in case these are found. These notes were printed by Currency Note Press, Nashik, on the paper
(without security thread) supplied by Security Paper Mill (Hoshangabad).
2. RBI has asked the lenders to open more brick and mortar branches in villages with no banking facilities and with a population
of more than 5,000. It has asked banks to submit a roadmap on how many branches they will be opening by 31 March 2017.
3. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) created a dedicated helpline (Email) for start-ups in India in order to offer assistance on
Forex matters to them for undertaking cross-border transactions within the ambit of the regulatory framework.
4. The Reserve Bank of India extended the deadline for exchanging pre-2005 currency notes of various denominations by
another six months to 30 June 2016.
5. India’s central bank The Reserve Bank of India has invited applications for “Payment System Innovation Awards” to encourage
innovative solutions in the field of Payment and Settlement System.
6. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released the final guidelines on computing interest rates on advances based on the Marginal
Cost of Funds Methodology. The guidelines will come into effect from 1 April 2016. All rupee loans sanctioned and credit limits
renewed with effect from 1 April 2016 will be priced with reference to the Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rate (MCLR)

which will be the internal benchmark for such purposes.
7. The Supreme Court held that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is liable to disclose information about the banks and financial
institutions for their action against the loan defaulters including industrialists under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005.
8. The Reserve Bank of India has cancelled the certificate of registration of 56 non-banking finance companies (NBFCs),
including ABNL, Future Ventures India and Bajaj Finserve.
9. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced the revised Priority Sector Lending (PSL) norms for Regional Rural Banks (RRBs).
In this, the PSL target was increased to 75 percent of total outstanding from the existing 60 percent. The revised target will be
effective from 1 January 2016.
10. The Reserve Bank has signed an agreement with the UK’s Prudential Regulation Authority and Financial Conduct Authority for
supervisory cooperation and exchange of information.
BANKS IN NEWS
SBI
1. It launched its wealth management offering and inaugurated
a dedicated branch for start-ups.
The wealth management service is named as 'Exclusif' is
targeted at the fast-growing affluent segment in the country.
'SBI InCube' is the branch for start-ups that would offer
advisory services to the budding entrepreneurs under one
roof.
2. State Bank of Travancore (SBT) has teamed up with the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) to provide customers of the
state utility online facility for remittance of electricity charges.
3. The ‘MUDRA' loan for women entrepreneurs or Boutique
Finance for Women Entrepreneurs is a special loan scheme
under Prime Minister MUDRA Yojana – has been launched by
SBI for catering to the financial needs of women
entrepreneurs.
Loans are being provided at a concessional rate of interest.
Loans up to Rs. 10 lakh will be provided under the scheme
without any collateral security. A maximum loan amount of
Rs. 50 lakh can be availed under the scheme.
4. State Bank of India (SBI) to raise up to Rs 15,000 crore from
various means, including public offer and overseas issuance
of shares, in the next 14 months i.e. by March 2017. The fund
raised will help the bank to meet global risk norms, Basel III,
which will kick in from March 2019.
5. SBI said that it has secured a $500 million loan from
Korean EXIM Bank to help fund companies from the East
Asian nation setting up units in India.
6. SBI is planning to monetise non-core assets and list some of
its subsidiaries to meet capital needs as well as global risk
norms, Basel III, which will start from March 2019.
7. SBI has raised Rs4,000 crore by issuing tier-II bonds on
private placement basis under the Basel-III norms.
ICICI Bank
1. The private sector lender, ICICI Bank which has entered into a tie-up with IRCTC, said the ‘novelty’ of this facility is that
customers of any bank can use this service. This is the first time any bank is offering railway tickets for sale from its
website, that too for customers of all banks.
2. ICICI Bank will partner FINO PayTech to foray into the
payments bank space.
The ICICI Group, with about 16 per cent stake in FINO
Paytech, a business correspondent, is the largest domestic
shareholder.
BANKS IN NEWS
S.No Name of Bank News/Schemes Other Points
1. Dharwad HQ
Karnataka Vikas
Grameen Bank (KVGB)
Set up a separate cell for monitoring progress
under all the government-sponsored
schemes.
Chairman: Ashok Reddy
2. Iran’s leading banks will open branches in India to energise commercial ties between New Delhi and Tehran.
3. Andhra Bank Launched Immediate Payment Service (IMPS)
across all its branches in association with the
National Payments Corporation of India
(NPCI).
The service makes payments possible within
fraction of seconds with all the standards and
integrity maintained for security.
4.. Axis Bank Launched a 'display variant' debit card which
does away with the hassles of generating one
time password (OTP) over SMS while
transacting.
The card has an embedded EMV chip, a
display screen and a touch-sensitive button
which helps generating the OTP on the card
itself.
5. Tata Sons Ltd and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC) have formed a long-term partnership, under
which ICBC will become a strategic banking partner to the Tata group.
6. Quickrupee, a portal to help SMEs get bank loans founded by Jyotsna and HD Sheriff. It has tied up with 16 bankers (mostly

private banks and NBFCs) and will sign more banks in the coming time.
7. The Department of Posts (DoP) plans to open 1,000 ATMs and bring all 25,000 departmental post offices under core
banking system by March this year.
8. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has collaborated with CSC e-Governance Services India to launch
Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS) at locations where CSC eGov has been acting as Business Correspondent of
banks. This system facilitates disbursement of government entitlements like NREGA, social security pension, Handicapped
Old Age Pension etc of any Central or State Government bodies, using Aadhaar and authentication thereof as supported by
UIDAI
9. The government said the Credit Guarantee Fund for loans disbursed under the Pradhan Mantri Micro Units Development
Refinance Agency (MUDRA) Yojana would be able to guarantee loans of over Rs.one lakh crore as it gave its approval to
convert MUDRA into a bank. The government expects the fund to be able to guarantee loans worth more than Rs.one lakh
crore over the next three years of micro and small units
NEW APPOINTMENTS(INDIA)
S. No Newly Appointed Post
1. Mamta Binani President of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI).
2. Amitabh Bachchan & Priyanka Chopra Apointed as 'Incredible India' brand ambassadors.
3. Noted environmentalist Ravi Chellam Executive Director of Greenpeace India. Note: He succeeds Samit Aich.
4. Atulesh Jindal Chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). Jindal will succeed A K Jain.
5. Amit Shah President of BJP Party.
6. Alice Vaidyan Chairman and Managing Director of General Insurance Corporation of India
7. Gurdeep Singh Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of NTPC Ltd
8. Justice Sanjay Mishra Lokayukta of Uttar Pradesh.
9. KK Jalan Secretary, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME)
10. Shobhana K Pattanayak Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare
11. Avinash K Srivastava Secretary, Ministry of Food Processing Industries
12. Vinod Agrawal Secretary, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of
Social Justice and Empowerment
13. Shyam S Agarwal Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs
14. JS Deepak Telecom Secretary
15. Muktesh Kumar Pardeshi India’s Ambassador to Mexico.
16. Kamlesh Kumar Pandey Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities (CCPD)
17. Datta Padsalgikar Commissioner of Police of Mumbai
18. Ashish Saraf VP - Industry Development, Strategic Partnerships and Offsets in Airbus Group.
19. Binny Bansal Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Flipkart
20. R Shivakumar Chairman of Assocham Karnataka Regional Council
21. Dinesh Sharma 12-member board of directors in Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
22. Rostow Ravanan CEO and Managing Director,Mindtree
23. Guenter Butschek Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Tata Motors' Group.
24. D.K.Hota CMD of Defence PSU BEML Ltd
25. Shekhar Saran Chairman-cum-Managing Director of Central Mine Planning & Design Institute
Ltd.
26. Abidali Neemuchwala CEO, Wipro
27. Atul Sobti Chairman and Managing Director (CMD),Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL)
28. Akshay Kothari Country Manager for India, LinkedIn. Note: Kothari replaces Nishant Rao
29. Sailesh Registrar General and Census Commissioner.
30. Amitabh Kant Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NITI Aayog.
31. Devender Kumar Sikri Chairman of fair-trade regulator Competition Commission of India (CCI)
32. Kunal Shah Chairman, Industry body Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI)
33. AB Khare Chairman and Managing Director ,Madras Fertilzers
34. Dr Achyuta Samanta General President of the 105th Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA)
35. Satyanarayan Gangaram Pitroda Technology Advisor to the Odisha Government
36. Pavan Kapoor India's ambassador to Israel
37. Bhanumurthy B M Chief Operating Officer (COO) and President, Wipro
38. Dr Urjit R Patel Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI), for a second three-year term.
39. Pawan Kumar Agarwal Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India
(FSSAI).

40. Gautam H Bambawale High Commissioner of India to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
41. Farhan Akhtar Amway India’s Brand Ambassador to promote Nutrilite range of the products
42. Karan Adani CEO of Adani Ports and SEZ (APSEZ)
43. Dr Gyanendra D Bandgaiyan Director General of the National Centre for Good Governance
44. Jeff Williams Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Apple Inc
45. R.K. Mathur Chief Information Commissioner (CIC)
46. Reva Khetrapal Delhi's new Lokayukta
47. Lalit Modi President of the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA)
48. Ahmad Javed Ambassador to Saudi Arabia
49. Prakash Kumar Singh Chairman, SAIL
50. Kapil Chopra Chairman of World Travel & Tourism Council
51. Udai Kumar MD & CEO, Metropolitan Stock Exchange (formerly MCX Stock Exchange)
52. Sanjeev Sharma Managing Director,ABB India Ltd
53. Justice Tirath Singh (TS) Thakur 43rd Chief Justice of India (CJI)
54. Indian-American Dr Vijay M Rao Chairperson, Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) Board of Directors
55. Vijay Kumar Chaudhary Speaker of the Bihar Legislative Assembly.
56. Kaher Kazem General Motors(India) President and Managing Director of India operations,
57. Sachin Tendulkar Brand Ambassador for the disease awareness campaign 'Changing Diabetes'
58. Pavan Kapoor India’ ambassador Israel, where he will succeed Jaideep Sarkar.
59. Lieutenant General Suresh Sharma 24th Director General Border Roads (DGBR)
60. RK Singh Bhadauria Deputy Chief of the Air Staff
NEW APPOINTMENTS (WORLD)
S. No Newly Appointed Post
1. Pavel Filip Prime Minister, Moldova
2. Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa President of Portugal
3. Leslie Berland Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of Twitter In
4. Tsai Ing-wen Taiwan President
5. Tamal Chaudhuri General Manager, for HaloSource Inc.’s India operations
6. Mary Barra Chairman of General Motors (GM) Board of Directors
7. Filippo Grandi UN High Commissioner for Refugees
8. Sanjay Pradhan Head, The Open Government Partnership (OGP)
9. Pravin Gordhan South Africa’s Finance Minister
10. Sir Venkatraman Ramakrishnan Presidency of the Royal Society in London.
11. Paul Kagame Rwanda President
12. James Michel Seychelles President
13. Louise Richardson First woman vice-chancellor in the 900-year history of the University of Oxford.
14. Paul Kaba Thieba Prime Minister of Burkina Faso
15. Giorgi Kvirikashvili Prime Minister of Georgia
NATION IN NEWS (INDIA)
S. No News
1. PM Narendra Modi along with the President of France François Hollande laid the foundation stone of the International Solar
Alliance (ISA) headquarters in National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) in Gwalpahari, Gurgaon.
2. India has overtaken Thailand as the world’s largest rice exporter in the year 2015 by shipping (exporting) 10.23 million
tonnes of rice.
3. Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu inaugurated implementation of E-enabled Track Management System
(TMS) and Mobile Application of TMS on Indian Railway at Rail Bhawan in New Delhi. These initiatives will bring efficiency
and effectiveness in management practices.
4. Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has announced that India’s grid-connected solar power generation capacity
has crossed the 5,000 Mega Watt (MW) mark. ii. Presently, Government has set an ambitious plan to achieve 175 Giga Watt
(GW) of power generation capacity from renewable sources by 2022. It includes 100 GW from solar and 60 GW from wind.
5. The World Bank has decided to extend an assistance of 20 million US dollar to help reconstruct the Indira Gandhi Zoological
Park (IGZP), which got devastated during cyclone Hudhud in October 2014, in Visakhapatnam.
6. India-Nepal Bus Service resumed after a gap of 27 years. The service was suspended 27 years ago in the wake of the Indo-
Nepal Trade and Transit Treaty. The service runs between Kanchanpur in Nepal, which is close to Banbasa border in

Champavat district of Uttarakhand, and Anand Vihar ISBT in Delhi.
7. Sterlite Grid set a new benchmark by commissioning the Transmission Project to Rajasthan Atomic Power Project (RAPP)
ahead of schedule under the Tariff Based Competitive Bidding (TBCB) incentive regime. RAPP is the first power
transmission line to be been commissioned ahead of schedule since the implementation of TBCB scheme.
8. In order to avoid duplication of work and to improve efficiency, the government merged the Ministry of Overseas Indian
Affairs (MOIA) with the Ministry of External Affairs.
9. As a major initiative towards fast track implementation of Namami Gange Programme the first company of Ganga Task force
Battalion was deployed at Garhmukteshwar.
10. The Union Government allowed the conduct of the traditional bull-taming sports, Jallikattu, in Tamil Nadu. The ban on the
sports was lifted few days before the traditional harvest festival will begin in Tamil Nadu.
11. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has launched an online initiative to seek suggestions from LPG consumers across
the country, which will help in providing efficient and friendly service. Two online discussion forums : Citizen-Friendly
Services and Increasing LPG Coverage in the Country were launched and are available on myGov.in and mylpg.in
12. President Pranab Mukherjee promulgated the Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Ordinance, 2016 to make
amendments to the Enemy Property Act, 1968. These amendments will help is dealing with the loopholes of the Enemy
Property Act, 1968 and ensure that the enemy properties that have been vested in the Custodian remain so and they do not
revert back to the enemy subject or enemy firm.
13. The Union Minister of Human Resource Development Zubin Irani launched the 6th All India Survey on Higher Education
(AISHE) in New Delhi. The survey covers all the Higher Education (HE) institutions of the country including Universities,
Colleges and Stand-Alone institutions from 2010-11 to 2014-15. The major findings of the AISHE 2014-15 included increase
in overall enrolment from 27.5 million in 2010-11 to 33.3 million in 2014-15.
14. Rajya Sabha passed the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2015. The Bill permits juveniles between the
ages of 16-18 years to be tried as adults for heinous offences. Also, any 16-18 year old, who commits a lesser (serious)
offence, may be tried as an adult only if he is apprehended after the age of 21 years.
15. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) gave its approval for implementation of an umbrella scheme for integrated
development and management of fisheries. The scheme will be implemented at an outlay of 3000 crore rupees, for a period
of five years.
16. Union Government has announced to link LPG subsidy to income of consumers in order to ensure that the subsidy benefits
go to the targeted group. Henceforth, the LPG subsidy will not be available to LPG consumers if the consumer or his/her
spouse has taxable income of more than ten lakh rupees.
17. Union Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) has introduced e-office, an initiative which will help provide
efficient services to the people by digitizing more than 12,000 files. It was formally launched by WCD Minister Maneka
Sanjay Gandhi in New Delhi on the lines with the spirit of Good Governance initiative of Union Government.
18. The Cabinet approved the formation of joint venture companies with various state governments to mobilise resources for
undertaking rail infrastructure projects. The initial paid-up capital of the Ministry of Railways will be limited to Rs. 50 crore
for each state. The joint venture companies would be formed with equity participation from the Ministry of Railways and
the state governments concerned. Each joint venture will have an initial paid-up capital of Rs. 100 crore.
19. As per new Forest report India’s forest cover increased by 5,081 sq. km between 2013 and 2015. The forest cover is
7,01,673 sq. km, which is 21.34% of the geographical area of the country. Natural forests contribute around 95 per cent of
the total forest cover of the country.
20. India and United Kingdom launched a joint initiative 2016: UK-INDIA Year of Education and Research in New Delhi.
21. India and France launched the International Solar Alliance in Paris. The alliance was launched jointly by PM Narendra Modi
and French President Francois Hollande during the United Nations climate change conference (COP21).
22. The Union Cabinet approved setting up of six new Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) in Andhra Pradesh, Chhatisgarh,
Goa, Jammu, Kerala and Karnataka.
23. India launched the Indian Long Term Ecological Observatories (I-LTEO) programme to scientifically monitor eight different
biomes (natural landscapes) across the country. The initiative was launched on the sidelines of the Conference of Parties-21
(COP-21) of UNFCCC in Paris.
24. Gurib-Fakim, the first woman President of Mauritius, who is a distinguished scientist, was on a three-day visit to India.
25. India 2nd Largest Fruit Producer In World After China.
26. India and Syria held wide-ranging talks, focusing largely on the situation in the war-torn country and the UN-backed peace
process aimed at ending the strife that has claimed lives of over 2.5 lakh people in the last five years. Syrian deputy prime
minister Walid al-Muallem, during the talks with external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, appreciated India for its support
to the people of Syria and its position in finding a solution to the civil war.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
S. No Country/Continent in
News
Related to
1. Somalia Agreed on Election Model outlined by the Mogadishu Declaration. The declaration calls for the

electoral process in Somalia to establish a new, bicameral Federal Parliament in 2016, based on
inclusivity and representation.
2. Yale School of
Management
Indra Nooyi becomes ‘most generous graduate’ of Yale School of Management as she gifted an
undisclosed amount to her alma mater, becoming the school’s biggest alumni donor.
3. Liberia Becomes Ebola epidemic free according to World Health Organisation (WHO).
4. China China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), in which India and 56 countries
have joined as founding members, was formally opened by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
5. France French President Francois Hollande has declared “a state of economic emergency” and says it’s
time to redefine France’s economic and social model.
6. Sri Lanks Sri Lankan parliament began a process to formulate a new constitution with Prime Minister
Ranil Wickremesinghe presenting a resolution to set up Constitutional Assembly of all members
for the purpose.
7. Nepal Elected to the UNICEF executive board, representing the group of Asia-Pacific countries for the
term 2016-2018.
8. Iraq Miss Iraq beauty pageant held for the first time since 1972. Note: Shaymaa Qasim Abdelrahman
was crowned Miss Iraq.
9. Nepal Government of Nepal has decided to amend the Constitution to address two key demands of
agitating Madhesis regarding proportional representation and constituency delimitation.
10. Philippines The first Asian country to approve the sale of the world's first-ever dengue vaccine, Dengvaxia.
11. Zimbabwe Zimbabwe's Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa announced that the country has planned to
adopt the Chinese Yuan as legal tender.
12. Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s cabinet approved 5.05 trillion yen ($41.8 billion) in defence
spending for the next fiscal year starting in April, with the focus on strengthening protection of a
string of southern islands that stretch from Japan’s mainland to waters near Taiwan.
13. Bangladesh Bangladesh's state-run Atomic Energy Commission signed a deal with Russia to set up two
nuclear power plants, each with 1,200 MW capacity, an investment totalling $12.65 billion.
14. Pakistan The World Bank approved an additional financial assistance to Pakistan of $35 million to
support improved management, planning and development of water resources in the Indus
River Basin in Pakistan.
15. China China’s National People's Congress Standing Committee, country’s top law making body gave its
approval to amending One Couple, One Child Policy. The amended policy will lift the restrictions
on couples from having only one child.
16. Republic of Guinea The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the end of Ebola virus transmission in the
Republic of Guinea.
17. University of South
Florida (USF)
The University of South Florida (USF) announced a postgraduate fellowship in the name of
former president Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam to support accomplished and talented Indian students
looking to study abroad.
18. Saudi Arabia Launched Islamic Military Coalition, a new military alliance of 34 nations mainly Muslim nations
to fight terrorism.
19. Iran International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has ended its 12-year investigation into concerns
that Iran might be developing nuclear weapons. IAEA Board of Governors passed a resolution
ending its long-running inquiry against Iran but allowing inspectors to continue to police the
country’s nuclear programme.
20. Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabian voters voted to elect women in at least 18 municipal council seats. This was a
historic local elections in Saudi Arabia in which women were allowed to vote and run for office
for the first time.
21. Turkmenistan Construction work on the TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India) Gas Pipeline project
started in Turkmenistan.
22. Myanmar Launched its first UNSECO Biosphere Reserve Inle Lake in Shan state. The Inle Lake was
designated as UNESCO Biosphere reserve in Paris in June 2015.
23. Luxembourg Became the 10th country to ratify the Articles of Agreement (AoA) that will lay the legal
framework for the China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
24. New Zealand Formally become a member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
25. Brazil Economy contracted by 1.7 percent during July-September 2015 compared to April-June period
in 2015. It was Brazil's third consecutive quarter of contraction starting from January 2015 and
thus, making it the country's longest recession since the 1930s.
26. Gambia Gambia’s President has declared the country an Islamic republic, saying he decided this because
Islam is the religion of the majority of its citizens.
27. China Granted a license for production of first manned two seater electric aircraft RX1E known as

RX1E by the Civil Aviation Administration of China.
It has been designed by Shenyang Aerospace University and Liaoning General Aviation Academy
in northeastern Liaoning province.
28. Australia Federal Parliament has passed Australian Citizenship Amendment (Allegiance to Australia) Bill,
2015 to strip citizenship of convicted persons on terrorism charges.
29. Pakistan & Sri Lanka Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz sharif was on a three-day state visit to Sri Lanka in January
2016. In Colombo he met Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena and his Sri Lankan
counterpart Ranil Wickremesinghe and discussed bilateral issues. Pakistan sealed a landmark
deal to sell JF-17 Thunder fighter jets to Sri Lanka as the two countries signed eight agreements
to boost cooperation in areas like trade promotion, and science and technology besides
combating money laundering and terror financing.
30. China The top organ of China’s Parliament, National People’s Congress Standing Committee adopted
the country first counter-terrorism law
31. Beijing Issued its first-ever red alert on air pollution ordering schools to close due to hazardous air
quality. Red alert is the highest possible state of caution.
32. China China’s country code domain ‘.cn’ has become the worlds most commonly used in the internet
with 16.36 million users, surpassing Germany’s ‘.de’ domain.
33. Spain Ruling conservative People’s Party (PP) of Spain led Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy won the
2015 general election of the country.
OBITUARIES (NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL)
S. No Person Died Profession/Famous In?
1. Aroon Tikekar Senior journalist and scholar
2. Mrinalini Sarabhai Eminent danseuse & wife of the late Dr Vikram Sarabhai, father of
India’s space programme.
3. Ettore Scola Italian director
4. Nirmala Gajwani Former Deputy Speaker of Gujarat Assembly and Social Activist
5. Pandit Shankar Ghosh Eminent Tabla player
6. Kalpana National award-winning actress
7. Marvin Minsky The pioneer of artificial intelligence
8. Abe Vigoda Actor known for his work in The Godfather
9. General Kotikalapudi Venkata Krishna Rao Former Army Chief
10. Rajesh Vivek Upadhyay Bollywood actor
11. Alan Rickman Actor
12. Ventrapragada Rama Rao Veteran BJP leader and former Sikkim Governor
13. Lakshman Rao Mohite alias Geethapriya Renowned film-maker
14. Yasutaro Koide The world’s oldest man at the age of 112
15. Glenn Frey Afounding member and guitarist of the Eagles
16. Sarosh Homi Kapadia Ex-Chief Justice of India
17. Mufti Mohammad Sayeed Jammu and Kashmir Ex-Chief Minister
18. Labhshankar Thakar Noted Gujarati writer and poet
19. Ravindra Kalia Noted Hindi writer and journalist
20. David Bowie British singer
21. Maria Teresa de Filippis First woman to compete in a world championship F1 Grand Prix
22. Sadhana Yesteryear Hindi film actress
23. V S Malimath Former Chief Justice of Karnataka and Kerala High Courts Justice
24. Haskell Wexler Oscar-winning cinematographer
25. George Clayton Johnson Popular science-fiction writer
26. Ian Fraser Lemmy Kilmister Founding member and singer in the British band Motorhead
27. Subir Sen Veteran singer
28. General Om Prakash Malhotra. Former Punjab Governor and ex-Chief of Army
29. Peter Dickinson British Novelist
30. Chatla Sriramulu Noted writer and theatre artiste
31. Sharad Anantrao Joshi Renowned Agro-Economist and Veteran Leader of farmers
32. Ustad Sabri Khan Renowned sarangi player
33. Eldar Ryazanov Russian film Director
34. MAM Ramaswamy Industrialist, Founder of Chettinad Group, Former parliamentarian

35. Anil Ganguly Noted filmmaker
36. Haskell Wexler Influential Oscar-winning cinematrographer
37.
AWARDS
S. No Awards Winner
1. Technical Achievement Award from Oscar for his contribution
to cinema
Rahul Thakkar
2. World's best hotel at the Travellers' Choice award Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur, Rajasthan
3. National Award for e-Governance 2015-16 for its Universal
Account Number programme
The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation
4. Padma Vibhushan Awards Actor Rajinikanth, Media baron Ramoji Rao, former J&K
Governor Jagmohan and spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi
Shankar
5. Yash Chopra Memorial Award Veteran Bollywood actress Rekha
6. Honoured with the highest civilian honour, the Order of
Australia.
Sajeev Koshy
7. Honoured with the Order of Australia Chennupati Jagadish and Jay Chandra
8. 8th Human Rights Award by Amnesty International Germany. Henri Tiphagne
9. Allan Border Medal for 2016 Australian batsman David Warner
10. 2016 William E. Colby Award. Nisid Hajari for his book, Midnight’s Furies: The Deadly
Legacy of India’s Partition
11. Prince Mahidol Award 2015 Professor Morton Mower and Sir Michael Marmot
12. K Veeramani Award for Social Justice 2015 Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar
13. V Shantaram Lifetime Achievement Award Veteran wildlife filmmaker Naresh Bedi
14. 2015 Harikrishna Devsare Baalsahitya Award Balkrishna Garg
15. Ballon d'Or award for world's best player for fifth time Lionel Messi
16. Neerja Bhanot Award Subhashini Vasanth
17. Lorenzo Natali Media Prize for 2015 in Asia and the Pacific
mateur category
Delhi-based writer Ankita Anand
18. Prof MV Pylee Award for the Distinguished Academician of
India.
Dr Jancy James, the first woman Vice Chancellor of
Kerala
19. Received a Knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II Harpal Singh Kumar, Indian-origin cancer research
expert
20. 2015 eASIA Award under Trade Facilitation category Drug Authentication and Verification Application
(DAVA) project of The Department of Commerce
21. 2015 Sangita Kalanidhi Award south Indian classical vocalists Sanjay Subrahmanyam
22. Britain's Costa Book Awards 2015 British writer Kate Atkinson
23. The Banker magazine's Global and Asia-Pacific Central Bank
Governor of the Year 2015
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan
24. Prime Minister’s Trophy for being the ‘Best Performing
Integrated Steel Plant’ in the country for the performance year
2013 – 2014.
Tata Steel
25. Miss Universe 2015 Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach
26. Miss World 2015 Miss Spain Mireia Lalaguna Royo
27. National Medal of Science 2015 of United States (US) Indian American professor Rakesh K Jain
28. 2015 Col. CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award Sayeed Kirmani
29. 'Export Quality Excellence' award for the 11th time in a row. Pump manufacturing major CRI Pumps
30. Globe Soccer Awards 2015 conferred
The Globe Soccer on 27 December 2015 presented the sixth
edition of Globe Soccer Awards 2015 to the winners at a
ceremony held in Dubai, UAE.
•Best Player of the Year - Lionel Messi
•Best President of the Year - Josep Maria Bartomeu
•Best Media Attraction in Football - F.C. Barcelona
•Best Coach of the Year - Marc Wilmots
•Best Agent of the Year - Jorge Mendes
•Best Referee of the Year - Ravshan Irmatov
•Best Academy of the Year – Benfica
 Best Club of the Year - F.C. Barcelona
31. 51st Jnanpith award Eminent Gujarati litterateur Raghuveer Chaudhary
32. Garwood Award for ‘Outstanding Global Leader in Open
Innovation’ from UC Berkeley-Haas School of Business
President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee
33. 2016 Genesis Prize Laureate for his accomplishments as a Renowned Israeli-US violinist Itzhak Perlman

musician, teacher and advocate for people with disabilities.
34. West Bengal Government’s Lifetime Achievement Awards Bappi Lahiri and singer Kumar Sanu
35. South East Asian Write Award for Singapore Indian-origin Tamil writer Jamaludeen Mohamed Sali
36. Mailer Prize for lifetime achievement India-born author Salman Rushdie
37. 2015 Aegis Graham Bell Award for developing a solution for
the Internet of Things (IoT).
Wipro
38. Lifetime achievement award at the Dubai International Film
Festival (DIFF)
Veteran Bollywood actor Naseeruddin Shah
39. 2016 Queen's Young Leaders award in the United Kingdom Two Indians, Kartik Sawhney and Neha Swain
40. 2015 Person of the Year German Chancellor Angela Merkel
41. Uttar Pradesh Ratna Award Frank Islam, an Indian-American entrepreneur and
philanthropist
42. E-India Award for adopting technology to serve the public
better
The Delhi Development Authority (DDA)
43. Sangeet Samman at the ITC Sangeet Sammelan Renowned violinist Lakshminarayana Subramaniam
44. Indian National Bar Association's (INBA) General Counsel of
the year 2015 - Retail Award
Pulin Kumar, Group Senior Legal and Compliance
Director of Adidas India
45. Harikrishna Devsare Baal Sahitya Award 2015 Veteran poet Balkrishna Garg
46. Miss Iraq 2015 Shaima Qassem Abdulrahman
47. National Payments Excellence Awards 2015 Corporation Bank bagged three awards
48. Sangita Kalanidhi Award 2015 Sanjay Subrahmanyam, a renowed South-Indian
classical vocalist
49. ‘Favourite Actress in a New TV series’ award at the People’s
Choice Awards 2016 in Los Angeles
Priyanka Chopra
SPORTS NEWS
CRICKET
a) Uttar Pradesh won its maiden Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy with a
38-run win over two- time champions Baroda in the final played
at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
b) India won the first T20 Asia cup cricket for Blind. In the final
clash, India defeated Pakistan by 44 runs.
c) The West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul announced
his retirement from international cricket almost 22 years after
making his debut.
d) Indian Test captain Virat Kohli was named ‘Cricketer of the
Year’, while Mithali Raj was picked for the M.A. Chidambaram
Trophy for the best women’s cricketer.
d) Former India player and Bengal captain Laxmi Ratan Shukla
announced his retirement from cricket.
e) The Supreme Court-appointed Lodha Committee
recommended sweeping reforms for the controversy-ridden BCCI,
suggesting a bar on ministers from occupying positions, putting a
cap on the age and tenure of the office-bearers and legalising
betting.
f) Australia withdrew from the Under-19 World Cup
Tournament in Bangladesh. It pulled-out citing security reasons.
g) The ICC and MoneyGram International announced an eight-
year deal which confirms MoneyGram as an event partner for ICC
events from 2016-2023.
h) Kane Williamson became the first cricketer from New
Zealand to top the International Cricket Council’s (ICC’s) Test
rankings.
i) New Zealand cricket captain Brendon McCullum announced
retirement from all forms of international cricket.
j) Sri Lankan wicketkeeper Kusal Perera is facing the prospect
of a four-year ban after his B sample tested positive for a
banned substance.
k) Gujarat clinched the Vijay Hazare Cricket Trophy. It is the first
time that Gujarat won the trophy.
l) Former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene was awarded
with an honorary life membership of the Marylebone Cricket
Club (MCC).
m) Pune and Rajkot became the interim franchises in the Indian
Premier League (IPL) till 2017. The will take place of the
suspended teams of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan
Royals (RR).
n) Pranav Dhanawade, a 15-year old boy from Mumbai became
first cricketer ever to score 1000 runs in an innings. With this
he became the world’s highest individual scorer in all forms of
cricket.
o) Australia became First Team to Score 1000 Individual
Centuries.
p) Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) imposed a life
time ban on Haryana off-spinner bowler Ajit Chandila
considering his involvement in the IPL spot-fixing scandal 2013.
q) Pakistan Opener Imran Farhat on 27 January 2016 retired
from international cricket.

TENNIS
a) Sania Mirza and her Swiss partner Martina Hingis won the
2016 Australian Open title of tennis in the women’s doubles
category.
b) Angelique Kerber became the first German to win a Grand Slam
when she upset world number one Serena Williams 6-4 3-6 6-4 to
clinch the Australian Open 2016.
c) World Number One Novak Djokovic won the Australian Open
Men’s Singles title. In the final played at Melbourne, the Serbian
defeated Andy Murray of Britain in straight sets 6-1, 7-5, 7-6.
d) The Russian Tennis Federation announced that former World
No.1 tennis player Marat Safin joined the International Tennis
Hall of Fame.
e) Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis’ awe-inspiring run continued
unabated as they lifted their second trophy of the season with
the WTA Apia International title.
f) Stanislas Wawrinka won the Chennai Open title. In the summit
clash at the Nungambakkam tennis stadium of Chennai, he
defeated Croatian Borna Coric 6-3, 7-5.
g) Andy Murray of the UK received the 2015 BBC Sports
Personality of the Year award in London.
 h) Serena Williams is Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the
Year-the first female athlete honoured on her own by the
magazine in more than 30 years.
i) World number one Novak Djokovic (Servia) claimed his first
title of the year with an impressive win over Rafael Nadal
(Spain) in the Qatar Open.
j) India’a Sania Mirza and her Swiss partner Martina Hingis broke
a 22-year-old world record by winning their 29th women’s
doubles match in a row.
k) Tennis’s governing bodies on 27 January 2016 constituted the Adam Lewis headed Independent Review Panel (IRP) to safeguard
integrity in tennis.
GRAND PRIX
 a) Sahara Force India Academy racer Jehan Daruvala won one of New Zealand's most prestigious events, the Lady Wigram Trophy. It
was Daruvala’s maiden victory in Formula cars.
ATHLETICS
 a) Shiva Keshavan grabbed a silver medal in the 18th edition of the Asian Luge Championship held in Nagano, Japan. The first place
was claimed by defending champion Hidenari Kanayama of Japan.
FOOTBALL
a) Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan was bestowed honorary
life membership of Kolkata’s soccer outfit Mohammedan
Sporting.
b) David Beckham was presented with the Danny Kaye
Humanitarian Leadership Award at the sixth biennial UNICEF Ball
in Los Angeles.
c) India won of the South Asian Football Federation Cup (SAFF)
championships by defeating Afghanistan at Trivandrum
International Stadium of Kerala.
d) Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney has been voted 2015
England Player of the Year for the fourth time.
e) Bengaluru FC (BFC) midfielder Eugeneson Lyngdoh and
striker Bala Devi named the 2015 All India Football Federation
(AIFF) Player-of-the-Year and woman Footballer-of-the-Year
respectively.
f) Chennaiyin FC was crowned as the champions of the 2nd Indian
Super League (ISL) Football tournament. In the final played at the
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda, Goa, Chennaiyin defeated
the hosts FC Goa, 3-2.
g) FC Barcelona won the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup by
defeating Argentina’s River Plate. The final match was held at
the International Stadium in Yokohama, Japan.
h) FIFA’s Independent Ethics Committee banned Sepp Blatter,
Michel Platini from football for 8 years.
i) International Tennis Federation (ITF) announced
winners of 2015 World Champions.
Men’s World Champion - Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
Women’s World Champion - Serena Williams (the USA)
Men’s Doubles World Champions - Jean-Julien Rojer
(Netherlands) & Horia Tecau (Romania)
Women’s Doubles World Champions - Martina Hingis
(Switzerland) & Sania Mirza (India)
ITF Junior World Champions - Dalma Galfi (Hungary) &
Taylor Fritz (the USA)
ITF Wheelchair World Champions - Jiske Griffioen
(Netherlands) & Shingo Kunieda (Japan)
j) Polish professional footballer Robert Lewandowski’s nine-
minute, five-goal haul for German Football Club Bayern Munich
against Wolfsburg was officially recognised by Guinness World
Record.
SHOOTING
a) Indian shooter Apurvi Chandela broke the world record on
way to winning gold in the women's 10 metre air rifle event at
the Swedish Cup Grand Prix. Chandela shot 211.2 in the event to
surpass the feat of Chinese Olympic gold medallist Yi Siling, who
held the record with 211.
b) Apurvi Chandela from Rajasthan has won a Gold medal in the
59th National Shooting Championship in Delhi.
 c) Vijay Kumar won the centre fire pistol gold in the 59th
National shooting championship at the Dr Karni Singh Range in
d) Kerala’s Elizabeth Susan Koshy won the Women's 50m Rifle 3
Positions Gold at the 59th National Shooting Championships held

Tughlakabad in New Delhi. at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting range in New Delhi.
BADMINTON
a) India’s P.V. Sindhu clinched the Malaysia Masters Grand Prix
Gold title after defeating Scotland’s Kristy Gilmour in straight
games in the final in Penang.
 b) Ace Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth won the Men's Singles
title of the Syed Modi International Badminton Championships
2016.
c) Delhi Acers emerged victorious over Mumbai Rockets by 4-3
in the summit clash to clinch the Premier Badminton League
(PBL) title.
d) Japanese shuttlers Kento Momota and Nozomi Okuhara won
Men's singles and Women’s singles title respectively at the BWF
World Superseries at the Hamdan Sports Complex, Dubai.
e) China’s Chen Long and all England and World champion
Carolina Marin bagged the Badminton World Federation (BWF)
Male and Female Player of the Year Awards respectively in
Dubai.
HOCKEY
a) The International Hockey Federation (FIH) announced
the winners of its Hockey Stars awards for 2015. The
Netherlands' Robert Van der Horst and Lidewij Welten won
the men's and women's FIH Player of the Year awards
2015.
• Goalkeeper of the year (Women) - Joyce Sombroek (The
Netherlands)
• Goalkeeper of the year (Men) - David Harte (Ireland)
• Rising Star of the Year (Women) - Lily Owsley (Great
Britain)
• Rising Star of the Year (Men) - Chrisopher Rühr
(Germany)
b) Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) won the 26th Lal Bahadur
Shastri Hockey tournament.The ONGC defeated Indian Railways 3-0 in
the final match held at the Shivaji Stadium in New Delhi.
c) Sweden's Bjorn Isberg appointed as the Tournament
Director of Coal India Hockey India League (HIL), the
premier league for hockey in India.
d) Australia defeated Belgium by 2-1 to win 2014-2015 Men’s Hockey
World League Final at Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel Stadium, Raipur.
GOLF
a) The Philippines' Miguel Tabuena was voted as the Hilton
Asian Tour Golfer of Month for December 2015. Tabuena
won the award ahead of Thailand's Phachara Khongwatmai
and India's Himmat Rai.
b) India’s star golfer Anirban Lahiri has won the coveted Order of
Merit crown of Asian Tour for year 2015.
Other SPORTS NEWS
S. No Sports News
1. Table Tennis Japan's Izumo Takuto and Hong Kong's Zhu Chengzhu became champions in the boys' and girls'
categories in the 11Even Sports 2015 ITTF World Junior Circuit Finals
2. Rowing Punjab’s Navneet Kaur won two gold medals in the 34th Senior National Rowing Championship at
Hussainsagar Lake, Hyderabad.
3. Moto GP Brazilian racing driver Pietro Fittipaldi clinched the 2015-16 MRF Challenge Formula 2000 at
Madras Motor Racing Track in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu.
4. Snooker Aditya Mehta won the 83rd Senior National Snooker Championship in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.
5. Snooker Ronnie O'Sullivan won his sixth Snooker Masters title after defeating Barry Hawkins 10-1 in the
final at the Alexandra Palace in London.
6. Chess World champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway won the Qatar Masters Open chess tournament, billed
as the strongest Open in history.
7. Squash India’s Abhay Singh won the Under-19 Singapore Squash Open. In the final of the Old Chang Kee
Singapore Open, he defeated second seed Alwin Chai of Malaysia.
8. Weightlifting Rakhi Haldar and Kavita Devi bagged gold in their respective weight categories in the Senior
National Weightlifting Championships held in Patiala, Punjab.
9. Miscellaneous Cricketer Rohit Sharma along with Graphic India, UK-based ISM Komix and Cornerstone Sport set
to launch a new environmental superhero team called 'Hyper Tygers’. The digital comic will be
free to read on all devices from February 1.
10. South Asian Games
2016
Orgnaising committee of 12th South Asian Games (OC-SAG) unveiled mascot of the games and
logo at ITA Cultural Center Machkhowa in Guwahati, Assam. The mascot Tikhor is a one horned
rhino and is the brand ambassador of the games carries the message of peace, stability, amity and
progress.

11. Cycling Indian cyclist Deborah Herold became the first Indian female cyclist to be ranked fourth in the
World Elite Women Ranking for the 500m time trial event. The ranking was issued by cycling
world body International Cycling Union (UCI).
12. Bodybuilding India’s Thakur Anoop Singh won gold medal in the 7th WBPF World Bodybuilding and Physique
Championships.
13. Snooker Ronnie O’Sullivan eased to win the Dafabet Masters title 2016. He defeated Barry Hawkins.
14. International referee from India, Ashok Kumar was selected for officiating in the Rio Olympics 2016. This is the first time
in the in the Indian wrestling history that a referee from India will be officiating at the Olympic Games.
Matthew Mitcham, the Australian Olympic diving gold medalist, announced his retirement from the sport on 28 January
2016.
SPORTS VENUES RECENTLY ANNOUNCED
S.no Sport Event Venue Other Points
1. 2021 World Aquatics
Championships
Japanese city of Fukuoka The Qatari capital Doha will host the
2023 event.
DEFENCE NEWS (India & World)
S. No Which Defence Force/ Body/
Initiative?
News
1. India’s Aircraft Tejas Country’s own fighter aircraft light combat aircraft (LCA), Tejas, took part in the three-
day Bahrain International Airshow.
2. Mi-25 gunship helicopters 3 Mi-25 gunship helicopters supplied by India are to officially join the Afghan Air Force.
3. Indian Reserve Battalions
(IRBs)
The Union Cabinet has approved proposal of raising of 17 Indian Reserve Battalions
(IRBs) in Jammu & Kashmir and 4 Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected states. 17 IRBs
includes 5 battalions in J&K, 4 in Chhattisgarh, 3 each in Jharkhand and Odisha and 2 in
Maharashtra.
4. Surface-to-air Akash missile India test fired its indigenously-built surface-to-air Akash missile from Integrated Test
Range (ITR) at Chandipuri in Odisha.
5. Defence Research and
Development Organisation
DRDO successfully test-fired Nag anti-tank missile at the Mahajan Field Firing Range in
Rajasthan.
6. ‘Sahayog-Kaijin 2016’ 15th edition of bilateral exercise by the Indian Coast Guard and its Japanese counterpart
titled ‘Sahayog-Kaijin 2016’ begun off the coast of Chennai, Tamil Nadu in the Bay of
Bengal.
7. ITBP A freshly-trained contingent of 500 women personnel will become the first 'mahila'
squad to be deployed in high-altitude posts along the India-China border. The squad was
commissioned into the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP)
8. LRSAM Long Range Surface-to-Air Missile (LRSAM), the missile co-developed by India and
Israel, was successfully test-fired on the Western Sea Board. The missile was developed
by the DRDL, Hyderabad in collaboration with Israel Aerospace Industries.
9. Pinaka II Amament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE) successfully test-fired
Pinaka II multi barrel rocket launcher (MBRL) System. The three-day long user assisted
trials were conducted at Pokhran in Rajasthan.
10. Shakti-2016 India and France started their eight-day counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency joint
exercise Shakti-2016 in Rajasthan. This is the third edition in the series of bilateral
exercises.
11. INS Kadmatt Anti-submarine warfare (ASW) corvette INS Kadmatt commissioned in the Indian Navy
at naval dockyard in Visakhapatnam by Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral R K Dhowan.
12. Reservation for women in
CAPF
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has approved 33% reservation for women in
Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) at constable-level positions. There will be 33%
reservation for women at constable-level posts in Central Reserve Police Force and
Central Industrial Security Force, and 14-15% reservation at the constable level in
border guarding forces i.e. Border Security Force, Sashastra Seema Bal and Indo Tibetan
Border Police.
13. 26th January Parade The French soldiers march down the Rajpath on Republic Day along with Indian troops
in the presence of President Francois Hollande. Hollande was the Chief Guest for 26
January 2016 celebrations.
14. Indian Navy Service (INS)
Godavari
India’s first indigenously designed and built warship Indian Navy Service (INS) Godavari
decommissioned in Naval Dockyard Mumbai.

15. First Naval Base Seychelles government allowed India to build its first Naval Base on the Assumption
Island in the Indian Ocean region (IOR) as a joint project between both countries.
16. Astra Indigenously developed Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air missile, Astra, successfully
test fired. The test was conducted by the Indian Air Force off the coast of Odisha near the
Integrated Test Range (ITR), Balasore.
17. Barak 8 The Navy successfully test-fired the nearly 70 KM range Surface to Air Missile Barak 8
from INS Kolkata, paving the way for installation of the system, developed jointly by
India and Israel, on board country’s frontline warships.
18. Manufacture 200 Kamov
226T light helicopters
Russian firm Rostech State Corporation has tied up with India's Hindustan Aeronautics
Limited (HAL) to manufacture 200 Kamov 226T light helicopters. The new fleet of
Kamovs will replace the ageing Cheetah and Chetak helicopters.
19. Defence Acquisition Council
(DAC)
The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approved the purchase of Russian advance S-400
Triumf Air Defence Missile Systems from Russia at an estimated cost of 40000 crore
rupees.
20. Combined Commanders
Conference
Combined Commanders Conference, an annual tri-services event chaired by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi was held on board INS Vikramaditya about 50 kms off Kochi
coast. This is the first time when the conference was held outside New Delhi.
21. Shaheen-IA Pakistan successfully tested the nuclear-capable Shaheen-IA ballistic missile with a
range of 900 km. The test of the missile was aimed at re-validating several design and
technical parameters of the weapon system.
22. The torpedo defence system,
Maareech
A fully indigenous decoy system, that can divert underwater torpedo attacks on ships
and submarines, has been developed by Visakhapatnam-based Naval Science and
Technological Laboratory (NSTL). The torpedo defence system, Maareech, was recently
inducted into the Indian Navy.
23. Fast Patrol Vessels The public sector Cochin Shipyard Ltd launched the nineteenth of the 20 Fast Patrol
Vessels being built for Indian Coast Guard. The vessel was named “ICGS Atulya” and
launched by Hema Subramaniam, wife of Commodore K. Subramaniam, Chairman &
Managing Director, CSL.
24. Indra Navy 2015 Indo-Russia bilateral maritime exercise Indra Navy 2015 commenced in
Vishakhapatanam. The exercise epitomises the strategic relationship between the two
nations. The 8th edition of Indra Navy conducted in the Bay of Bengal till 12 December
2015.
25. Indian Navy The fifth ship of Indian Navy's LCU MK IV project, was launched at Garden Reach
Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd (GRSE) in Kolkata. LCU L-55 is the fifth vessel in the
series of eight Landing Craft Utility Ships being designed and built by GRSE for the
Indian Navy.
26. Agreement Reliance Defence Limited and Russian AlmazAntey, have decided to work jointly on the
entire range of AD Missile and Radar Systems that are required for Indian defence
forces.
27. Nuclear-capable Submarine
‘INS-Rahav’
Israel got delivery of its fifth German-built submarine, an advanced Dolphin-class vessel.
The new arrival is named ‘Rahav’ after a biblical sea monster.
STATE IN NEWS (INDIA)
S. No News
1. Union Government sanctioned 33000 crore rupees for the development of infrastructure projects in Tamilnadu. With this,
the total amount sanctioned was raised to 50000 crore rupees.
2. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) signed an interim consultancy agreement with Kerala Rapid Transit Ltd (KRTL)
for the Rs. 6,728-crore 'light metro' in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode.
3. Google India and Indian Railways’ telecom arm RailTel launched free Rail Wire Public Wi-Fi service for railway passengers
at the Mumbai Central Station. With this, Mumbai Central has become the first railway station in India to have free high-
speed Wi-Fi Internet facility.
4. Manipal Hospitals Bangalore becomes the first centre in Karnataka for conducting the MRCP practical assessment of
examination skills (PACES) mock exam in collaboration with UK-based Royal College of Physicians Federation.
5. President Pranab Mukherjee on 26 January 2016 approved the Union Cabinet’s recommendation for the imposition of
President’s rule on Arunachal Pradesh.
6. Uttar Pradesh became the fourth state to join the Centre’s scheme to revive state electricity distribution utilities.
7. Lt Governor of Puducherry AK Singh launched the MITRA mobile application to ensure safety and security of women in the
Union Territory. The app was launched in the presence of the Chief Minister N Rangasamy in Puducherry.
8. Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar launched Goa e-Suvidha Portal, an online project tracking mechanism to fast track

projects. It aims at resolving a variety of issues in setting up infrastructure and other large projects , both in the public and
private sectors, with targeted investment between ₹50 crore and ₹1,000 crore.
9. The Asian Development Bank extend a $625 million loan to the proposed $840 million Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial
Corridor.
10. Telangana became the first State in India to introduce compulsory gender education at the graduate level.
11. Vice President Hamid Ansari declared Kerala as the first state in the country to attain 'Total Primary Education', and
described the achievement as 'historic.'
12. Sikkim has become India's first fully organic state by converting around 75,000 hectares of agricultural land into
sustainable cultivation.
13. The 40th edition of the International Kolkata Book Fair – the world’s largest non-trade fair – is all set to bring to life a slice
of history.
14. Telangana become first state to accept e-motor insurance policies. The e-Vahan Bima, an electronic motor insurance policy
issued in digital form with Quick Response (QR) code, has been formally launched by the Minister for IT, K T Ramarao.
15. Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das inaugurated the state's land bank web portal, jharbhoom.nic.in, that will help
investors know land-related information.
16. State election commissioner (SEC) Ashok Kumar Chauhan announced that toilets will be mandatory requirement for
eligibility to contest panchayat elections. This declaration means that no one can contest the Bihar panchayat elections
scheduled in 2016 without having a toilet at their home.
17. Wattan Ko Jano, an initiative being carried out by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs in coordination with the Jammu and
Kashmir (J&K) Government. The initiative came in news after more than 240 youth in the age-group of 15 to 24 from J&K
met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.
18. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the chief guest at the National Conference on Sustainable Agriculture and Farmers’
Welfare being held in Gangtok. The conference is being held in Sikkim.
19. Human Resource Minister Smriti Irani inaugurated the 43rd edition of the New Delhi World Book Fair which commenced
here with China as the guest of honour country and a theme presentation of the cultural heritage of India.
20. The West Bengal Government cleared the proposal for setting up five new districts in the state. These five new districts
will increase the number of districts of West Bengal to 25.
21. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar approved much anticipated Patna Metro Rail project's proposal. The state government
will now send the proposal for the union government's clearance.
22. Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the Lucknow Metro Rail Project Phase-1 A. To be
developed at an expenditure of 6928 crore rupees, the project will cover a length of 22.878 km with 22 stations.
23. The Basohali town which is located in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir was in news as the Union Defence Minister
Manohar Parrikar dedicated the first cable-stayed bridge of North India to the nation. The 592-metre bridge was
constructed over river Ravi on Dunera- Basohli-Bhadharwah road.
24. Bihar government banned 15-year-old diesel vehicles from plying in the Capital, Patna. The decision was taken in view of
increasing pollution.
25. Government of Andhra Pradesh signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Microsoft India on a range of
technology initiatives.
26. State-run Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has commissioned a 660 MW unit of Prayagraj Super Thermal Power
Project at Bara town in Allahabad district of Uttar Pradesh.
27. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the All-India conference of Directors General of Police (AICDGPs) at Dhordo in
white Rann of Kutch region near Bhuj, Gujarat.
28. Mumbai’s iconic boulevard Marine Drive, also popularly called the Queen’s Necklace, completed 100 years, and residents
of the city’s western waterfront flagged off the centenary celebrations with a postcard showcasing the crescent-shaped
bay off the Arabian Sea.
29. Prime Minister Narendra Modi recalled nationalist leader Shyamji Krishna Varma as the first “non-Brahmin” to have
received a “degree of Pandit” in Varanasi.
30. Out of the total 60 Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) of the Arunachal Pradesh Assembly, 33 members passed a
resolution to remove the Speaker Nabam Rebia.
31. Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) announced the launch of the Phase-2 development, which will be
focused on International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) to be set up in GIFT SEZ.
32. National Green Tribunal (NGT) has ordered ban on registration of new diesel-run vehicles in Delhi to curb the growing
menace of air pollution in the capital city. This ruling was given by NGT bench headed by Chairperson Justice Swatanter
Kumar.
33. Losar, the biggest Tibetan Buddhist Festival began in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir. The festival marks the
beginning of New Year for Buddhists.
34. Two Indian cities, Varanasi and Jaipur, have made it to the Creative City Network of the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for the first time ever. Varanasi and Jaipur made it to the network in the
categories, City of Music and City of Crafts and Folk Art respectively.

35. Himachal Pradesh became the first state of India to launch Rotavirus vaccination project. The vaccine will help in
controlling the child mortality rate (under five years of age) due to diarrhoea.
36. Uttar Pradesh Government has launched International festival on Birds in a bid to promote state as an international bird-
watching destination. The first-of-its-kind festival was inaugurated by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav at the National
Chambal Sanctuary (NCS).
37. The Andhra Pradesh government has conveyed its in-principle decision to the Ministry of Power of joining UDAY (Ujwal
Discom Assurance Yojana) scheme.
38. The Maharashtra legislature has become the first in the country to launch an online mechanism for its members to send
questions and move different motions in the House.
39. Rajasthan Government along with its power distribution companies (DISCOMS) has signed a MoU to join UDAY (Ujwal
Discom Assurance Yojana) Scheme. State DISCOMS part of this MoU are Jaipur Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (JVNL),
Jodhpur Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (JVVNL) and Ajmer Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (AVNL).
40. The European Investment Bank (EIB) has cleared a euro 450 million loan to the Lucknow Metro Rail project, the first ever
loan by the European lending agency for a Metro rail project in the country.
41. Pollution in Lucknow touched a new high and the UP capital emerged as the most polluted city in the country.
42. The Union petroleum ministry has officially declared in Vyachakurahalli, Karnataka as India’s first smokeless village,
owing to its conversion from conventional fuel to LPG.
43. Haryana Tourism is getting a power couple boost, what with Dharmendra and Hema Malini being roped in as their new
ambassadors.
44. The Union Government has ranked e-governance project of Punjab as number 1 among all states in the country. While
Madhya Pradesh ranked second, Uttar Pradesh was adjudged third in the country.
45. Tripura announce Yoga mandatory for students from Class I-VIII from the new academic session beginning January 1.
Tripura is the second state after Gujarat to make yoga compulsory in schools.
46. Haryana chief minister Monohar Lal Khattar was on a two-nation visit to Japan and China. At the first leg of his tour he
reached Tokyo in Japan. Here he attended an investment seminar organised by Indian Embassy. At the second leg of his
tour he arrived Beijing . Some MoUs—mostly investment-related were signed during his visit. Mr. Lal’s visit is part of a
growing decentralization of Sino-Indian ties, where Indian States and Chinese provinces were imparting considerable
influence on foreign policy.
47. The Union Minister of State (independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel,
Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh inaugurated the Hall of Nuclear Power in New
Delhi.
48. Union government’s prestigious Krishi Karman Award was conferred on Madhya Pradesh for 4th consecutive year.
49. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs carried out an initiative named ‘Watan ko Jano’ in coordination with Jammu and
Kashmir government. More than 240 youth in the age-group of 15 to 24 from J&K met with Prime Minister Modi in Delhi.
50. India’s grid-connected solar power generation capacity has crossed the 5,000 MW mark, with Rajasthan on top with
1,264.35 MW capacity followed by Gujarat.
51. The Government of Haryana in association with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is all set to unfold ‘The
Happening Haryana Global Investors’ Summit 2016’ slated to be held at Gurgaon on March 7 and 8, 2016.
52. After two years of dithering, Uttar Pradesh is implementing the food security law from the New Year’s Day. While 24
districts, mostly in western UP, will roll out the scheme, the remaining 51 districts will join the bandwagon on March 1.
53. Lalu Prasad is set to be re-elected president of the Rashtriya Janata Dal for the ninth consecutive time.
54. Government of Andhra Pradesh signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Microsoft India on a range of
technology initiatives. The MoU was signed after a meeting between the Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and
Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella in Hyderabad.
55. Delhi recorded the highest per capita income among all states in the country at Rs 2,40,849 during financial year 2014-15,
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.
56. Israel and Andhra Pradesh Government during a joint working group meeting discuss ways to enhance cooperation in
agriculture, animal husbandry, fisheries, urban water management and HLS.
57. The Maharashtra legislature has become the first in the country to launch an online mechanism for its members to send
questions and move different motions in the House.
OPERATIONS LAUNCHED FOR SAFETY
S.No Operation Name Important Point
1. Operation Green Hunt An all-out offensive by India’s paramilitary forces and the state's forces against the
Naxalites
2. Operation Smile-II from 1
January 2016.
During this operation, all children residing in shelter homes, platforms, bus stands,
roads, religious places, etc. are to be screened by trained police personnel.

News Related to Stock Exchange
1. Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Ltd has launched a new service for algorithm trading test facility for investors on its
derivatives and equity platform. The new service has been launched in partnership with Mumbai based Symphony Fintech
Solutions Pvt Ltd and is free-of-cost for market participant.
2. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) released the first report of the Alternative Investment Policy Advisory
Committee (AIPAC) for comments from the stakeholders. The 21-member committee was constituted by the SEBI, under
the chairmanship of N R Narayan Murthy, to suggest measures for development of the alternative investment funds (AIFs)
and startup eco-system in the country.
3. The National Stock Exchange (NSE) has launched three separate indices on three corporate houses of India viz. Tata,
Aditya Birla and Mahindra Group. The first of its kind three separate indices based on corporate houses have been
designed to reflect the performance of companies belonging to the respective corporate group. Each of three indices will
comprise all the companies of the respective business group.
4. Myanmar inaugurated a new stock exchange, named Yangon Stock Exchange (YSX), with plans for six companies to start
trading in March 2016. The Stock Exchange will be open only to Myanmar companies and investors and will eventually
allow foreigners to invest in Myanmar shares.
RECENTLY FIRST IN INDIA
1. Sr. No. News
1. India’s largest tricolour was hoisted atop the tallest pole at Pahari Mandir in Ranchi, by Defence Minister Manohar
Parrikar. It is world’s largest and the highest hoisted Indian flag. It measures 66 feet in height and 99 feet in width in the
proper ratio 2:3. It was hoisted on pole with height of 293 feet. It weighs 80 kg.
2. India’s digital payment startup company TranServ has launched country’s first Social Mobile Wallet named Udio. The
digital wallet seeks to address the gap between real and virtual modes of payment as it has more social experience.
3. Aparna Kumar, IPS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, became India's first civil servant to scale Mount Vinson Massif, the
highest peak in the Antarctica.
4. Union Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari inaugurated the River Information System (RIS) - the first of its kind in India - to
facilitate safe and accurate navigation on National Waterway-1 (the Ganga River).
5. India’s biggest Wildlife Rescue Centre named as Gorewada Zoo and Wildlife Rescue Centre has been commissioned at
Gorewada near Nagpur, Maharashtra. The centre was inaugurated by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in
presence of State Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar.
LIST/RANKING ANNOUNCED
S. No List Name Important Points Other Points
1. Global index of talent
competitiveness
India has slipped 11 places to rank 89th. The list is topped by Switzerland.
2. 2015 Human Development Index
(HDI) in the South Asia Region.
India ranked 130 in the list. Sri Lanka tops in 2015 HDI in South Asia
Region & was ranked 73.
3. The World Bank released a
report titled World Development
Report 2016: Digital Dividends
in Washington DC, the USA.
The report explored the impact of the
internet, mobile phones, and related
technologies on economic development
across the world including India.
In relation to India, the authors of the
report appreciated the Aadhaar scheme
as it saved 1 billion US dollars by
bringing down corruption.
4. The World Tourism Organization
(UNWTO) released the World
Tourism Barometer, which
reviewed trends in tourism at
the regional and global level for
2015 and enumerated prospects
for 2016.
As per the publication, international
tourist arrivals grew by 4.4 percent in
2015 to reach a total of 1184 million in
2015.
5. Forbes released the 2016 30
Under 30 List featuring 600 men
and women who achieved
remarkable professional success
before attaining 30 years of age.
The list includes John Boyega
(Hollywood & Entertainment category),
Shawn Mendes (Music), Emerson Spartz
(Media) among others.
Indian-origin people figured in the list
are,
Ritesh Agarwal, OYO Rooms CEO
Karishma Shah, Alphabet’s Google X
Divya Nettimi, Viking Global Investors
Nisha Chittal, MSNBC
Ashish Patel, NowThis Media
Saagar Govil, CEO of Cemtrex
6. The Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries
As per the report, oil and gas, combined,
are expected to supply around 53

(OPEC) released the 2015 OPEC
World Oil Outlook (WOO).
percent of the global energy demand by
2040.
7. The United Nations Human
Development Report 2015
India ranked 130 out of 188 countries in
terms of Human Development Index
The list is topped by Norway.
8. Forbes’ annual list of the best
countries for business in 2015
India has ranked a low 97th out of 144
nations, behind Kazakhastan and Ghana
Denmark topped the list of the 144
nations on the Best Countries of
Business.
9. Global Corruption Index India is place at 76th out of 168 countries Denmark ranked number 1
10. Global Talent Competitiveness
Index (GTCI) 2015-16
India slipped to rank 89th Topped by Switzerland
CURRENT SUMMITS HELD (INTERNATIONAL)
S.no Summits Location Other Detail
1. New Mangalore Port Trust
(NMPT), in association with
Mysore Chamber of Commerce
and Industry and Nanjangud
Industries Association,
organized a trade meet
Mysore, Karnataka The purpose of the meet was to interact with
importers and exporters of Karnataka, especially
from the Mysore-Nanjangud region, where a
large volume of container cargo is generated.
2. World Economic Forum (WEF) Davos, Switzerland
3. 19th National Conference on e-
Governance
Nagpur, Maharashtra
4. ‘Nypunyam International Skill
Summit and Skill Fiesta 2016’
Kerala
5. The 2016 Constro exhibition Pune It will focus on the Smart City concept.
6. The 22nd edition of
Confederate of Indian Industry
(CII) Partnership Summit -
cum-Sunrise Andhra Pradesh
Investment Summit
Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
7. Conference of Quadrilateral
Coordination Group (QCG) on
Afghan Peace and
Reconciliation
Islamabad The conference was participated representatives
from Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and the US.
8. The annual Indian Science
Congress (ISC) at on Sunday.
University of Mysore campus in
Karnataka
Theme of this edition (103rd) of the ISC is
"Science & Technology for Indigenous
Development in India".
9. 11th International Conference
of media experts and
communication specialists
from around the world
The Global Communication
Association (GCA), Mysuru
10. The 14th Pravasi Bharatiya
Diwas
New Delhi.
11. 88th annual conference of
Nikhil Bharat Banga Sahitya
Sammelan
Ranchi, Jharkhand
12. 10th World Trade
Organisation (WTO)
Ministerial Conference
Nairobi, Kenya
13. 18th Session of the India-Iran
Joint Commission Meeting
(JCM)
New Delhi
14. 2nd World Internet Conference Wuzen in China
15. Conference of the Parties 21 (COP 21) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) held
in
Paris
16. 9th International Fire & Security Exhibition and Conference (IFSEC) India Expo 2015 was held at New Delhi
17. India-Laos Conference In New Delhi
18. First India International Science Festival (IISF) in IIT-Delhi

19. Biz Bridge Meet Held in Kolkata
20. Forum of China-Africa
Cooperation Summit 2015
Johannesburg, South Africa Chinese president Xi Jinping and his South
African counterpart Jacob Zuma co-chaired it.
21. Shanghai Cooperation
Organisation (SCO) 2015
summit
Zhengzhou, China India’s minister of state for external affairs V.K.
Singh represented India in this summit
22. Heart of Asia Conference Islamabad, Pakistan
23. 16th India-Russia Annual
Summit
in Moscow
24. Arab-India Cooperation Forum
Meet
Bahraini capital Manama External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj
represented India
25. 10th World Trade
Organisation (WTO)
Ministerial Conference
Nairobi, Kenya
26. 2nd World Internet Conference Wuzen in China
27. BRICS media summit China’s Xinhua
28. 10th East Asia Summit (EAS) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
29. World Robot Olympiad (WRO) Doha, Qatar
IMPORTANT DAYS OBSERVED RECENTLY
S. No Date Day
1. 6th National Voters’ Day 25 January.
2. 67th India’s Republic Day 26 January 2016 . President of France Francois Hollande was the
Chief Guest at 67th Republic Day parade.
3. 150th birth anniversary of Lala Lajpat Rai 28th January 2016
4. International Day of Commemoration in
memory of the victims of the Holocaust
27 January
5. Anti-Leprosy Day 30 January
6. National Youth Day 12 January
7. 11th World Hindi Day 10 January
8. National Mathematics Day 22 December
9. 30th National Consumers Right Day 24 December
10. The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution to observe 5 November every year as World Tsunami
Awareness Day
11. Good Governance Day 25 December
12. International Migrants Day 18 December
13. Vijay Diwas 16 December
14. Human Rights Day 10 December
15. International Day for the Abolition of Slavery 2 December
16. 44th Navy Day 4 December
17. International Volunteer Day (IVD) 5 December
18. World Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome
(AIDS) Day
1 December
19. International Day for the Abolition of Slavery 2 December
20. 118th Birth Anniversary of Netaji Subhash
Chandra Bose / National Day of Patriotism /
Desh Prem Divas
23 January
21. National Girl Child Day 24 January:
BOOKS & AUTHORS PART 1
Book Author Book Author
Go Set a Watchman Harper Lee The Z Factor: My Journey as the
Wrong Man at the Right Time
Autobiography of Subhash
Chandra
“MARU BHARAT SARU
BHARAT “(My India Noble
India)
Jain Acharya
Ratnasundersuriswarji
Maharaj
Nathuram Godse - The Story of an
Assassin
Anup Ashok Sardesai

The Bose Brothers and
Indian Independence – An
Insider’s Account
Madhuri Bose Jawaharlal Nehru and The Indian
Polity in Perspective
Edited by Prof Alexander .
On My Terms: From the
Grassroots to the Corridors
of Power
Autobiography of
Sharad Pawar
Dial D for Don Neeraj Kumar
Gujarat Behind The Curtain R.B. Sreekumar
A is for Arsenic: The Poisons
of Agatha Christie
Kathryn Harkup Swimmer Among the Stars Kanishk Tharoor
The Girls on the Train Paula Howkins The New Xenophobia Tablish Khair
The Peshwa Ram Sivasankaran Purifying the Land of the Pure Farahnaz Ispahani
Azad Bachpan Ki Aur Kailash Satyarthi A Strangeness in My Mind: A
Novel
Orhan Pamuk
Anything but Khamosh
(Bharathi S.
Pradhan/Shatrughan Sinha)
Autobiography of
actor-MP Shatrughan
Sinha
Original Spin: Downing Street
And The Press In Victorian
Britain
Paul Brighton
Concorde: The Rise and Fall
of the Supersonic Airliner:
Jonathan Glancey Through Orphaned Eyes Ajay Singh
The Life Negroni Leigh and Nargess
Banks
Children of Monsters: An Inquiry
into Sons and Daughters of
Dictators
Jay Nordlinger
The Spirits Richard Godwin My Gita Devdutt Pattanaik
Rebellious Spirits: Ruth Ball This Unquiet Land Barkha Dutt
The China Pakistan Axis Andrew Small
Weeping Britannia: Portrait
of a Nation of Tears
Thomas Dixon Kissinger 1923-1968: The
Idealist
Niall Ferguson
Second Thoughts Navtej Sarna This Unquiet Land Barkha Dutt
Rebooting India Nandan Nilekani Pimps Shashank Gupta
Of Bridges Among Us Neeru Iyer Cross Justice James Patterson
The Brothers Bihari Sankarshan Thakur Democrats and Dissenters Ramachandra Guha
Reckless Sidney Sheldon Professor Porsche’s Wars Karl Ludvigsen
The Secret Sanctuary Stephan Alter Murder House James Patterson & David Ellis
One Point Two Billion Mahesh Rao The Guilty-Going Back Home Can
Kill you
David Baldacci
ISRO/NASA/Other Space Organization in News
1. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched the Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System
(IRNSS) 1-E satellite. The satellite will provide navigation, tracking and mapping services to the Indian sub continent.
This is the fifth of the IRNSS constellation. It was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SHAR), Sriharikota in
Andhra Pradesh on-board the PSLV-C31. The 'XL' configuration of PSLV was used for this mission.
2. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) successfully launched SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from California’s
Vandenberg Air Force Base in the USA The rocket carried the ocean monitoring satellite Jason-3 on board. The satellite
will examine the topography of the ocean floor to help study effects of climate change or human-induced changes on the
ocean.
3. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) announced discovery and assignment of elements with
atomic numbers 113, 115, 117 and 118.
4. American aerospace company SpaceX achieved the historic feat of successfully launching and landing Falcon 9 rocket. The
Falcon 9 rocket was successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida carrying 11 satellites to low-Earth orbit and was
also successfully landed after 10 minutes to the Earth.
5. China launched the Dark Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) Satellite to shed light on mysterious dark matter. It was the
country's first space telescope and launched on a Long March 2-D rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.
6. China successfully launched Gaofen-4 Earth observation satellite toward a geostationary orbit from the Xichang Satellite
The Satellite was launched aboard a Long March-3B carrier rocket.
7. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched 6 satellites of Singapore into Space. The satellites were
launched using the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C29 from the first launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre
(SDSC) at Sriharikotta in Andhra Pradesh.
8. GAIL (India) Limited in collaboration with National Remote Sensing Centre, a unit of Indian Space Research Organization

(ISRO), has launched a surveillance geo-portal – ‘Bhuvan-GAIL Portal’ – that utilises space technology for its pipeline
safety application.
9. A United Launch Alliance Atlas V (401 configuration) rocket carrying the OA-4 Cygnus cargo spacecraft with much
needed supplies blasted off towards the International Space Station (ISS). The rocket lifted off from Space Launch
Complex 41, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station after three days of delay due to poor weather.
10. A total of five minor planets were named after top Chinese scientists, including the country’s first Nobel laureate scientist
Tu Youyou. The naming was suggested by the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
(CAS) and approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) Minor Planet Centre (MPC).
COMMITTEES IN NEWS
S.No Committee Headed by
1. Commission for Backward Classes was reconstituted by
Andhra Pradesh Government
It will be two member commission with Justice KL Manjunath,
(Retd.) as its Chairman .
2. Committee to to hasten the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-
Speed Rail Corridor
Under Arvind Panagariya, Vice-Chairman of the NITI Aayog
3. Committee to simplify the provisions of Income-tax Act,
1961.
Justice R V Easwar (Retd)
4. Committee to examine the wage structure, service
conditions of the Gramin Dak Sevaks (GDS) in the
Department of Posts (DoP)
Headed by Kamlesh Chandra, Retired Member of Postal
Services Board.
5. Committee on Censor Board revamp Headed by noted film-maker Shyam Benegal
6. One-member commission of inquiry on Delhi and District
Cricket Association (DDCA) scam
Headed by former Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium
7. Committee on Revisiting and Revitalising Public Private
Partnership (PPP) Model
Headed by former Finance Secretary Vijay Kelkar
8. Committee on Medium-term Path on Financial Inclusion Headed by RBI Executive Director Deepak Mohanty.
9. Committee to look into the dispute between Oil and
Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) and Reliance
Industries Limited (RIL) on Krishna Godavari (KG) gas
fields
Headed by the Chairman of the 20th Law Commission of India
Justice (retd) Ajit Prakash Shah.
10. Maharashtra government constituted a task force for
setting up an International Financial Service Centre
(IFSC) in Mumbai
Headed by Union Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha.
11. Judicial Committee to look into the implementation of
One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme for the ex-
servicemen.
Headed by Justice L Narasimha Reddy, retired Chief Justice of
Patna High Court.
12. Commission looking into the allegations against the
Robert Vadra land deals
Headed by Justice S.N. Dhingra (Retd)
13. Shyam Benegal committee Actor Kamal Hassan and Director Gautam Ghosh was
included
14. Alternative Investment Policy Advisory Committee
(AIPAC) for comments from the stakeholders
Under the chairmanship of N R Narayan Murthy
BUSINESS NEWS (NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL)
S.No Companies News related to
1. Cognizant Technology Solutions United States (US) based Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTS) has acquired
cloud-based computing firm KBACE Technologies.
2. Three major Indian IT
companies Infosys, Tata
Consultancy Services and Wipro
Joined US President Barack Obama's ambitious 'computer science for all' initiative
as part of a public-private collaboration, pledging thousands of dollars in grants.
3. Illumina, the world’s largest
DNA sequencing company
Announced the launch of the startup named GRAIL to develop blood-based cancer
tests. The company was launched in association with Microsoft co-founder Bill
Gates, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezo’s venture fund Bezos Expeditions and Arch Venture
Partners.
4. Lenovo To launch new smartphone under Google’s Project Tango.
5. Paytm Acquired Shifu for $8 million (about Rs 53.2 crore), a move that will enable the
digital payments company to offer more personalised user experience.
6. Nokia Corporation Completed the regulatory formalities for acquiring the French telecom equipment

company Alca-Lucent. The deal, worth 15.6 billion euro, was signed in 2014 and
later approved by the European Commission.
7. Reliance Capital Asset
Management
Competition Commission of India (CCI) gave its approval to Reliance Capital Asset
Management's proposed acquisition of Goldman Sachs' mutual fund business in
India for 243 crore rupees.
8. Quikr Announced acquisition of the property search website Commonfloor.com for an
undisclosed amount in a majority stock-swap transaction.
9. Taxi-hailing app Uber Announced a new start-up mentorship programme in the country in partnership
with Invest India called ‘uberEXCHANGE’.
10. Oil and Natural Gas Company
Limited
Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) gave its approval for investment of
5000 crore rupees by Oil and Natural Gas Company Limited (ONGC) into the equity
share capital of ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) by conversion of existing loan of
equivalent amount into equity.
11. Idea Cellular Became the third mobile operator in India to launch 4G services in India.
12. Tech Mahindra Launched first of its kind ‘Tap N Pay’ contactless digital payment wallet
MoboMoney for the Indian masses.
13. Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (RJIL)
or Reliance Jio
Launched 4G telecom service. It was launched at the Reliance Corporate Park in
Navy Mumbai to mark the birth anniversary of Dhirubhai Ambani, founder of the
Reliance Industries Limited (RIL).
14. Tech Mahindra and Mahindra
and Mahindra Ltd, part of the
Mahindra Group
Acquired Italian car designer Pininfarina SpA for 165 million US dollars in an all-
cash deal. Pininfarina is well-known for designing cars for Ferrari, Maserati, Rolls-
Royce and Cadillac.
15. Hyderabad-based Hetero Drugs Received the approval of Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) to launch fixed-
dose combination therapy Ledipasvir-Sofosbuvir. The product will be available
under the brand name Ledisof in India.
16. YouTube Opens first video production studio in India along with Subhash Ghai-owned film
school Whistling Woods International.
17. Godrej Acquired 51 per cent stake in home decor and personal accessories brand India
Circus, which will increase its footprint in the lifestyle space.
18. Vedanta Named Samir Cairae as CEO of Metals division.
19. Bharti Airtel Acquired the balance 26 per cent stake in Augere Wireless, which holds 4G
spectrum in Madhya Pradesh
20. Amway’s first manufacturing
facility
Set up the factory at SIPCOT Industrial Park in Nilakottai, Dindigul district, on 50
acres.
21. Indian Oil Corporation has maintained its numero uno position followed by Reliance Industries in terms of revenue for
the sixth consecutive year in the list of Fortune 500 Indian companies 2015.
22. Tata Motors has entered the top-50 league of the world’s biggest companies in terms of their R&D investments, topped by
German automaker Volskwagen. Tata Motors has moved up from 104th position last year to 49th now .
23. The Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Entertainment and acclaimed Hollywood director Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks
announced formation of Amblin Partners-a new film, television and digital content creation company. Participant Media
led by Jeff Skoll and Entertainment One (eOne), a leading US-based media company, are also part of the joint venture. The
firms have raised $500 million debt for the venture.
24. LIC HFL LIC Housing Finance Ltd (LIC HFL) will acquire 19.3 per cent shares of LIC Nomura
Mutual Fund Asset Management Company for Rs27 crores.
AGREEMENTS (INDIA/WORLD)
S. No Related to Agreement signed between? Other Points
1. Memorandum of understanding
(MoU) for a skill training
programme for the youth in the
state.
Maharashtra Government with Tata
Trust
Tata Trust will train around one lakh
youths in the state in order to make
them employable.
2. MoU on Cooperation in governance
reforms
Between India and United Kingdom The MoU seeks to extend bilateral
cooperation in public administration
and governance reforms.
3. Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) on cooperation in the
exploration and use of outer space
for peaceful purposes
Indian Space Research Organization
(ISRO) and Kuwait Institute of Scientific
Research (KISR)
It will allow use of data from Indian
Remote Sensing (IRS) satellites by KISR
for initiating a few research and
application projects.
4. Memorandum of Understanding Union Ministry of Skill Development

(MoU) to develop and implement
National Action Plan for Skill
Development in Telecom Sector
and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) with
Department of Telecommunication
(DoT)
5. Cyber security agreements Indian Computer Emergency Response
Team (CERT-In) signed cybersecurity
agreement with Malaysia, Singapore
and Japan.
6. MoU to join UDAY Scheme Rajasthan Government along with its
power distribution companies
(DISCOMS)
State DISCOMS part of this MoU are
Jaipur Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited
(JVNL), Jodhpur Vidyut Vitran Nigam
Limited (JVVNL) and Ajmer Vidyut
Vitran Nigam Limited (AVNL).
7. Protocol to amend the existing
Double Taxation Avoidance
Convention (DTAC) to curb
instances of tax evasion
India and Armenia
8. $80-million loan agreement Asian Development Bank (ADB) has
signed with the Centre to help continue
improving infrastructure in the two
North-Eastern cities of Agartala and
Aizawl.
9. Two agreements covering new
aircraft orders and a
comprehensive civil aviation co-
operation package.
Iran and Airbus The agreement includes purchase of
118 new Airbus aircrafts.
10. Two bilateral Advance Pricing
Agreements (APAs)
The Central Board of Direct Taxes
(CBDT) with United Kingdom
This is a significant step towards
providing a stable and predictable tax
regime.
11. Partnership to explore the
environment of Ladakh under
NASA’s Spaceward Bound
programme
India and the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration (NASA)
12. MoU envisages investment of
around 38500 crore rupees to take
up various projects at
Visakhapatnam
Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL),
the corporate entity of Visakhapatnam
Steel Plant signed with Andhra Pradesh
government.
13. MoU to set up a world class naval
facility in Andhra Pradesh
Reliance Defence Ltd, a unit of Anil
Ambani led Reliance Infrastructure Ltd
with Andhra Pradesh Government
14. Loan agreement for the Neeranchal
National Watershed Project.
Union Government with World Bank
15. Four MOUs to collaborate in urban
planning, skill development, clean
energy and food processing.
Madhya Pradesh (MP) Government
with Singapore
16. Online marketplace Flipkart has tied up with auto major Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd to exclusively launch newest SUV-
KUV100.
17. To conduct an enterprise survey of
manufacturing firms
The National Institution for
Transforming India (NITI) Aayog
collaborated with the IDFC Bank Ltd.
Objective of the Survey is to assess the
business regulatory environment in
each State and Union Territories (UTs)
and identify policy and regulatory
hurdles faced by businesses in the
States/UTs.
18. Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) for promotion of exports
Exim Bank of India and the Government
of Andhra Pradesh
19. $50-million credit agreement for
the aimed at helping young people
from minority communities
complete their education and
improve their employment
opportunities named Nai Manzil
Union government and the World Bank

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