Mid Monthly Current Affairs Magazine

December, 2015

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Finance/Industry/Economy/Banking
RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan kept the key policy rate
unchanged but affirmed the Central Banks commitment to
ease it as and when room is available, saying inflation is
likely to perform better than expected. Accordingly, the
repo rate at which the Reserve Bank lends to the system
will continue at 6.75 per cent. The cash reserve ratio (CRR)
or the amount of deposits banks park with RBI has also
been unchanged at 4 per cent. The status quo was widely
expected. Though the RBI Governor noted that secondquarter GDP numbers indicate early signs of recovery, he
chose to stick to the earlier projection of 7.4 per cent for
the fiscal with a marginal downward bias.

Types

Current Rate

Repo

6.75% (Unchanged)

Reverse
Repo

5.75 %

Bank rate

7.75%

MSF

7.75%

CRR

4% (UNCHANGED)

SLR

21.50%

International Monetary Fund (IMF) on 30 November 2015 included China's Yuan into its elite
reserve currency basket. Yuan's entry into the basket takes effect from 1 October 2016. Yuan
also known as the Chinese Renminbi (RMB) was included in the basket after it met the existing
criteria for its inclusion. The action was taken after the executive board at IMF completed the
regular five-yearly review of the basket of currencies that make up the Special Drawing Right
(SDR). Yuan will be a freely usable currency and will be included in the SDR basket as a fifth
currency, along with the US Dollar, Euro, Japanese Yen and British Pound. Launching the new SDR
basket on 1 October 2016 will provide sufficient lead time for the Fund, its members and other
SDR users to adjust to these changes.

Country's third largest private sector lender Axis Bank has launched a 'display variant' debit card
which does away with the hassles of generating one time password (OTP) over SMS while
transacting. The card, which is being made available for high-value NRE customers, has an
embedded EMV chip, a display screen and a touch-sensitive button which helps generating the
OTP on the card itself.

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.

Maharashtra is the biggest economy within India at Rs 16.87 lakh crore in terms of gross state
domestic product (GSDP), according to the latest report by credit rating agency Brickwork
Ratings. The state is followed by Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.

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Wipro, India's third largest Information technology services company has signed an agreement
with German-based Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg (LBBW) to acquire cellent AG for 73.5
million Euros (about Rs 517 crore or $77 million).

Tata group holding firm, Tata Sons and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) have
formed a long-term partnership, under which ICBC will become a strategic banking partner to the
Tata group.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) kept its economic growth forecast for India unchanged at
7.4 per cent for the current financial year and 7.8 per cent for the next fiscal.

Online commerce giant Flipkart has acquired a strategic minority stake in navigation and tracking
solutions provider MapmyIndia to strengthen its supply chain management.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 3 December 2015 announced revised Priority Sector Lending
(PSL) norms for Regional Rural Banks (RRBs). Among other things, 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. The PSL norms have been revised considering the growing
significance of RRBs in pursuit of financial inclusion agenda As on March 2015, there were 56
RRBs operating in the country with a network of 20059 branches. They cover 644 notified districts
in 26 states and the Union Territory of Puducherry.
Medium enterprises, social infrastructure and renewable energy were included under PSL
category.

Delhi Assembly on 3 November 2015 passed the Members of the Legislative Assembly of the
National Capital Territory of Delhi (Salaries, Allowances, Pension, etc) (Amendment) Bill, 2015.
The bill seeks around 400 percent hike in the salaries of the MLAs. The Bill is based on the
recommendations of three-member PDT Achary panel.

With a view to bring all relevant information regarding health insurance policies at one place,
IRDAI launched a portal 'Registry of Hospitals in Network of Insurers' (Rohini).

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The Direct Benefit Transfer of LPG or PAHAL scheme, has been acknowledged by the Guinness
Book of World records as the largest cash transfer programme in terms of number of
households. The scheme won the achievement on June 30 when it crossed 12.57 crore
households. As on December 3, 14.62 crore households are part of the scheme. As on April 1,
2015, there were 18.19 crore registered LPG consumers and 14.85 crore active consumers
implying a gap of 3.34 crore connections that were either duplicate, fake or inactive accounts
and have now been blocked under PAHAL.

Singapore replaced Mauritius as top source of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into India during
April-September of 2015-16 financial year. An announcement in this regard was made by the
Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion of Ministry of Commerce and industry in the first
week of December 2015.

The Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian led panel on 4 December 2015 submitted its
report on Possible Tax rates under Goods and Services Tax (GST) to Finance Minister Arun
Jaitley. The commission recommended standard rate for GST at 17 to 18 percent, the rate at
which most products would likely be taxed. The Committee has suggested doing away with a
proposal to levy a one percent inter-state tax on transfer of good. Revenue Neutral Rate (RNR)
proposed at 15-15.5% (Union and states combined). Include petroleum and alcohol in GST
regime.

Rajya Sabha on 7 December 2015 passed the Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill, 2015.
The Bill provides for filing of cheque bounce cases at the place where a cheque is presented for
clearance and not the place of issue. It amends the Act to state that cases of bouncing of cheques
can be filed only in a court in whose jurisdiction the bank branch of the payee (person who
receives the cheque) lies. If a complaint against a person issuing a cheque has been filed in the
court with the appropriate jurisdiction, then all subsequent complaints against that person will
be filed in the same court.

The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited on 7 December 2015 joined Zero Routine Flaring
by 2030 Initiative of the World Bank on the sidelines of Conference of Parties-21 (COP-21) of
UNFCCC in Paris. With this joining, ONGC has become the first oil company from India to join
the global initiative that is aimed at curbing routine gas flaring at oil production sites around the
world by 2030.

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Indias National Stock Exchange (NSE) has entered into an agreement with London Stock
Exchange Group (LSEG) to ensure close collaboration between the two bourses for setting up a
research centre.

The government has established a mechanism to be known as SETU (SelfEmployment and

Talent Utilisation) under NITI Aayog to support all aspects of startup businesses and other
self-employment activities, particularly in technologydriven areas.

Software market in India is expected to grow at 12.8 per cent to reach $5.3 billion in 2016,
research firm Gartner said.

Goldman Sachs pegs India's GDP growth at 7.9% in FY17

Yes Bank Limited on 8 December 2015 announced to mobilize 5 billion US dollars from 2015 to
2020 for climate action through lending, investing and raising capital towards mitigation,
adaptation and resilience. The announcement was made on the occasion of COP 21 climate
summit in Paris.

Luxembourg on 8 December 2015 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).

The Union Cabinet on 9 December 2015 approved a 4000 crore rupees proposal for introducing
measures to encourage Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Industry in India. The proposal will give a
big boost to the shipbuilding and ship repair industry and will facilitate the Make in India initiative
of the Union Government.

Multilateral lending agency Asian Development Bank will provide $1 billion loan to central
transmission utility Power Grid Corp for renewable energy transmission and grid expansion in
India.

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Union Government on 10 December 2015 slashed the Minimum Export Price (MEP) of onions to
400 US dollars per tonne from 700 dollars a tonne. The decision to slash the MEP on Onions was
taken at a meeting chaired by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

Union Government on 14 December, 2015 appointed Justice L. Narasimha Reddy, former Chief
Justice of Patna High Court to head the one-man judicial committee, which will look into the
implementation of One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme.

IT major Infosys has invested USD 3 million in U.S.-based wearable device startup firm WHOOP
to pick up a minority shareholding in the company.

Rajasthan has become the first state to submit smart city plan to the Urban Development
Ministry.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that to counter domestic black money, the Centre will make it
mandatory to furnish PAN (Permanent Account Number) for cash dealings above 2 lakh. The
Revenue Secretary, Hasmukh Adhia, said later in the evening that the Finance Ministry has
changed the reporting requirements of PAN, making it mandatory for all transactions of over 2
lakh effective January 1, 2016.

Starting from the New Year, quoting of PAN will be mandatory for all transactions of
immovable property of over 10 lakh, from the earlier threshold of 5 lakh.
It will also be required for all term deposits of over 50,000 in not only banks but also in
co-operative banks, post offices, nidhis, and non-banking finance companies.
Further, PAN will also be mandatory for opening an account (except basic account) in any
bank, including cooperative banks.
Cash payments to settle hotel bills and for foreign travel, such as purchase of tickets or
buying foreign exchange of over 50,000, will also require quoting of PAN, the earlier limit
was 25,000.
Opening of demat accounts, buying shares of listed companies which are worth more
than 1 lakh, or purchasing debentures, RBI bonds, life insurance policies, and mutual
funds of over 50,000 will also require PAN.

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Marking its debut in the Indian solar industry post its investment announcement of $20 billion,
Japans SoftBank won its first 350 Mw solar power project in Andhra Pradesh through its joint
venture company - SBG Cleantech. SBG Cleantech bid the lowest tariff of Rs 4.63 per unit to win
the entire tendered capacity of 350 Mw. This is the lowest bid in this year for solar power. Last
month, US SunEdison won 500 Mw solar power park in Andhra Pradesh at the same tariff rate.
SoftBank tied up with Foxconn and Bharti Enterprises in June this year to invest in the Indian
solar energy sector committing a whooping $20 billion.

Tech Mahindra and Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd, part of the Mahindra Group, on 14 December
2015 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.

The Maharashtra government on 11 December 2015 constituted a task force for setting up an
International Financial Service Centre (IFSC) in Mumbai. The task force will be headed by Union
Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha.

World Bank Group and FIRST Initiative on 14 December 2015 launched Principles for Public Credit
Guarantee Schemes (CGSs). The principles provide a generally accepted set of good practices that
can serve as a global reference for the design, execution and evaluation of public CGSs that serve
small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

India
The Union Government on 30 November 2015 launched the injectable Inactivated Polio Vaccine
(IPV) as part of its commitment to the Global Polio Endgame Strategy. It is part of next step in
India's universal immunization programme to fight against polio in the country. The first phase
this vaccine will be introduced in six states, viz Assam, Gujarat, Punjab, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh,
and Uttar Pradesh.

India and France on 30 November 2015 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). The alliance also invited all
countries located fully or partly between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn to join the group. It
will function from the National Institute of Solar Energy in India, Gurgaon.

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In a major leap forward for Telangana in the aerospace sector, Minister for IT K.T. Rama Rao, top
executives of Boeing India and Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) have announced setting
up of a facility on the outskirts of the city to make the fuselage for Apache helicopters.

President Pranab Mukherjee on 1 December 2015 gave assent to Factories (Amendment) Bill,
2015 of Maharashtra. Among other things, the bill amends Section 66(1)(c) of the Factories Act,
1948 that restricts women from working at a factory between 7 PM and 6 AM. Workers to be
eligible for paid leave after working for 90 days in a year instead of the existing 240 days or more.

Idea Cellular, Aditya Birla Group's telecom company, signed a memorandum of understanding
with Akshaya Patra Foundation in Odisha for providing mid-day meals to school students in the
state.

The Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) and climate change department (CCD) has
awarded an environment clearance to the proposed Dholera airport in Ahmedabad district.

The Union Cabinet on 2 December 2015 approved setting up of six new Indian Institutes of
Technology (IITs) in Andhra Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, Goa, Jammu, Kerala and Karnataka.

The Union Cabinet on 2 December 2015 approved the signing of the agreement between India
and Iran on visa facilitation for Diplomatic, Official/Service and Ordinary passport holders.

Himachal Pradesh on 3 December 2015 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.
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.

The first India International Science Festival (IISF) began on 4 December 2015 at IIT-Delhi.

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National Textile Corporation (NTC) Limited on 3 December 2015 signed a Memorandum of

Understanding (MoU) with Transparency International India (TII) for adopting Integrity Pact (IP).
With this signing, NTC became the 51st Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) and 49th Central PSU to
sign a MoU with TII.

The Lok Sabha on 3 December 2015 passed the Bureau of Indian Standards Bill, 2015 to establish
the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) as a National Standards Body. The bill seeks to establish
harmonious development of standardization and assessment and quality assurance of goods,
processes and services.

Union Minister of Finance, Arun Jaitley, and Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment,
Thaawarchand Gehlot, on 3 December 2015 launched Accessible India Campaign or Sugamya
Bharat Abhiyan. Accessible India Campaign is a nationwide campaign that aims at enabling
persons with disabilities to gain universal access, equal opportunity for development,
independent living and participation in all aspects of life in an inclusive society.

The Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar on 4 November 2015 released the India State
of Forest Report (ISFR) 2015. The report states that Indias forest and tree cover has been
increased by 5081 sq km. The total forest and tree cover is 79.42 million hectare, which is 24.16
percent of the total geographical area. While the total forest cover of the country has increased
by 3775 sq km, the tree cover has gone up by 1306 sq km.

India has the "dubious honour" of being the second most ignorant nation in the world after
Mexico, according to a survey which posed questions on issues like inequality, non-religious
population, female employment and internet access. The survey conducted by Ipsos MORI, a
London-based market research firm, polled 25,000 people from 33 countries and found that
while people "over-estimate what we worry about", a lot of major issues are underestimated.

Tata Trusts announced it will be supporting US-based non-profit Khan Academy to provide free
online education to Indians through one of the biggest open-access online platforms.

Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu on 6 December 2015 flagged off the first Goa to Mumbai
doubledecker Shatabdi train through video conference from Panaji, Goa. The fully airconditioned double-decker train is the first-of-its-kind in India.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 6 December 2015 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.

The public sector Cochin Shipyard Ltd has 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.

India on 4 December 2015 received its first uranium consignment of about 2730 tonnes from
Canada. The uranium is shipped to India for the countrys nuclear power reactors. The
consignment consists of uranium mined and milled at Cameco's McArthur River and Key Lake
operations in northern Saskatchewan.

Andhra Pradesh on 5 December 2015 became the first state of India to join the Union
Governments Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY). The scheme aims at reviving debtstressed power distribution companies.

Indo-Russia bilateral maritime exercise Indra Navy 2015 commenced on 7 December 2015 in
Vishakhapatanam. The exercise epitomises the strategic relationship between the two nations.
The 8th edition of Indra Navy was conducted in the Bay of Bengal till 12 December 2015.

India on 7 December 2015 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.

The Union Ministry of Textiles, Union Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME)
and National Textile Corporation (NTC) on 8 December 2015 signed Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) to set up a Technology Centre (Tool Room) at Kanpur.

Hyderabad-based Hetero Drugs on 8 December 2015 announced that it received the approval of
Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) to launch fixed-dose combination therapy Ledipasvir-

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Sofosbuvir. The product will be available under the brand name Ledisof in India. With this
approval, Hetero became the first company in the country to get approval from DGCI to launch
hepatitis C medicines.

Delhi Government on 4 December 2015 announced vehicle rationing scheme to curb air pollution
in the city. A decision in this regard was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister
Arvind Kejriwal. The primary objective of the initiative is to halve the vehicular population in the
city and thereby to bring pollution levels under control. In the first phase of the scheme, vehicles
with odd and even number plates would be allowed to run on alternate days between 1 January
and 15 January 2016 in the capital city. While the odd-numbered vehicles will ply on odd dates,
the even-numbered vehicles would ply on even dates.

Singapores Changi Airport Group will soon start managing Ahmedabad and Jaipur airports,
opening up airport management operations for a foreign player for the first time in the country.
The group will be managing the terminal operations and parking at the two airports.

India launched six Singaporean satellites weighing a total of around 625 kg on the evening of
December 16th through its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket. The major luggage for
the PSLV rocket was the earth observation satellite called TeLEOS, weighing around 400 kg. ISRO
flew the 'core alone' variant of the PSLV rocket. The rocket did not have the strap on boosters,
its standard feature.

India and United Kingdom on 9 December 2015 launched a joint initiative 2016: UK-INDIA Year
of Education and Research in New Delhi. It was launched by visiting Secretary of State, Business
Innovation and Skill of the UK Sajid Javid along with Human Resource Development (HRD)
minister Smriti Irani.

Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research declared National Data
Recovery Centre for telemedicine.

The Supreme Court on 9 December 2015 asked the Union Government to operationalise the
Organised Crimes Investigating Agency (OCIA) by 1 December 2016. OICA will probe human
trafficking cases across the nation.

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India ranks 135 among 147 nations on women empowerment as per United Nation's Human
Development Index, Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi said.

Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) and O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) have signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to facilitate collaboration between emerging research
universities in South Asia for teaching, academic and research activities.

India and Japan on 12 December 2015 exchanged 16 bilateral documents including agreement
on civil nuclear energy cooperation. The documents were exchanged in New Delhi during the
state visit of Prime Minister of Japan to India.
Besides, both the sides issued Joint Statement on India and Japan Vision 2025: Special Strategic
and Global Partnership Working Together for Peace and Prosperity of the Indo-Pacific Region and
the World.
Following is the list of documents exchanged:
1. Agreement on Civil Nuclear Cooperation: Memorandum concerning the Agreement
on Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy
2. Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) on High Speed Railways: Between Mumbai and
Ahmedabad with financial and technical assistance from Japan
3. Agreement concerning transfer of Defence Equipment and Technology Cooperation
4. Agreement concerning security measures for the protection of classified military
information
5. Agreement on Amendment Protocol of Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement
6. MoC between Ministry of Railways and MLIT on Technological Cooperation in Rail
Sector
7. MoU on technological cooperation between Research Designs and Standards
Organization (RDSO) and Japan Railway Technical Research Institute (JRTRI)
8. Letter of Intent on the Strategic International Cooperative Program between
Department of Science and Technology of India and the Japan Science and Technology
Agency
9. Letter of Intent toward establishing a young researchers exchange program between
the DST, India and the Japan Society for the promotion of Science
10. MoC on Medical Products Regulation Dialogue and Cooperation Framework
11. MoC in the field of Education
12. Statement of Intent between NITI Aayog and Institute of Energy Economics, Japan
(IEEJ)
13. MoU on cooperation between State Government of Andhra Pradesh and Toyama
Prefecture

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14. MoU between State Government of Kerala and Lake Nakaumi, Lake Shinji & Mt.
Daisen area Mayors Association
15. MoU between Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA) and National
Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS)
16. MoC in the field of forests and forestry

India and Japan on 12 December 2015 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on

cooperation and assistance in the Mumbai Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Project (Bullet Train
project).
Both the countries on 11 December 2015 also entered into two comprehensive technological
cooperation agreements for modernization and upgradation of Indian Railways.
MoU on cooperation and assistance in the Mumbai Ahmedabad HSR Project

Japan offered an assistance of over 79000 crore rupees for the project.
The loan is for a period of 50 years with a moratorium of 15 years, at an interest rate of
0.1 percent.
The project is a 508 Kilometer railway line costing a total of 97636 crore rupees.
The project will be implemented in a period of seven years.
Shinkansen Technology will be adopted for the project.
The cooperation of Japan will be fixed on transfer of technology and Make in India.
Japan will assist India in training of personnel for HSR.

Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) between Ministry of Railways and MLIT, Japan on

technological cooperation

Any other areas jointly determined by both Sides within the scope of this MoC

MoU on technological cooperation between RDSO and Railway Technical Research Institute
Japan

The main directions of cooperation between the parties will be the development of railrelated technical cooperation in which the parties may have mutual interest, performance
of consultation and other services.

The Union Government on 12 December 2015 signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)

and documentation for establishing three Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIITs) at
Ranchi, Nagpur and Pune. These IIITs are operated on a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) mode
with participation of State Government and Industry, apart from the Union Government.

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Losar, the biggest Tibetan Buddhist Festival began on 12 December 2015 in Ladakh region of
Jammu and Kashmir. The festival marks the beginning of New Year for Buddhists.

National Commission for Safai Karamcharis presented its Annual Report 2014-15 to the Union
Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Thawar Chand Gehlot on 11 December 2015.

Two Indian cities, Varanasi and Jaipur, on 11 December 2015 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. India had applied for the first time to UNESCO in
these categories in 2015.

Union Government on 14 December 2015 requested the states and Union Territories (UT) to start
Operation SmileII from 1 January 2016. The operation will end on 31 January 2016.

Report/Lists/Indexes
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) on 30 November 2015 released the Measuring
the Information Society Report 2015. It was launched on the first day of the World
Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Symposium (WTIS) 2015 in Hiroshima, Japan.
Top 5 countries with higher ICT development are South Korea (1), Denmark (2), Iceland (3), the
UK (4) and Sweden (5). Compared to its 125th rank in 2010, India was placed at the 131st
position in the overall ranking with 2.69 IDI score. In terms of IDI access and IDI use categories
India was placed at the 135th position.

UNICEF, UNAIDS and partners on 30 November 2015 released a report on prevalence of HIV/AIDS
in AsiaPacific region. It was entitled Adolescents: Under the Radar in the Asia-Pacific AIDS
Response and was being released to mark the World AIDS Day observed on 1 December 2015.
In 2012, while HIV prevalence in the age group younger than 25 years old was 3.5 percent, it was
4.9 percent among above 25 years age population. In India, 40 per cent of the estimated 3 million
females in the sex industry are under 18, with 17 per cent under 15.

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India ranks fourth in black money outflows with a whopping USD 51 billion siphoned out of the
country per annum between 2004 and 2013, a US-based think-tank's report said. Notably India's
defence budget is less than USD 50 billion. China tops the list with USD 139 billion average
outflow of illicit finances per annum, followed by Russia (USD 104 billion per annum) and Mexico
(USD 52.8 billion per annum), according to the annual report released by Global Financial
Integrity (GFI), a Washington-based research and advisory organisation.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) on 8 December 2015
released Handbook of Statistics 2015. The annual publication provided a collection of statistics
and indicators relevant to the analysis of international trade, investment and development for
2014.

Asian Development Bank (ADB) on 8 December 2015 released a report entitled Asian Economic
Integration Report 2015: How Can Special Economic Zones Catalyze Economic Development?
The report examined current trends in trade, finance, migration, remittances and other economic
activities in the region, with a special chapter on the role of special economic zones (SEZs).

Shah Rukh Khan has regained his position as India's top-earning celebrity with estimated
earnings of Rs 257.5 crore this year, pushing Salman Khan to the second position in the latest
Forbes list. Shah Rukh had lost his top rank to 'friend and archrival' Salman last year and had
slipped to the third position, Forbes said in its annual India Celebrity List for 2015.

Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare J P Nadda on 10 December 2015 released the India
Health Report: Nutrition 2015. The report by Transform Nutrition consortium offers a critical
analysis of the current situation with nutrition at the national and state levels in India.

Quick Estimates of Index of Industrial Production (IIP) and Use-Based Index with the base year
2004-05 for the month of October 2015 were released on 11 December 2015. It was released by
Central Statistics Office (CSO) of the Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
IIP for October 2015 stood at 181.3, which is 9.8% higher as compared to the level in October
2014. In September 2015 (month-on-month), IIP growth rate stood at 3.6 percent.

Indias ranking on Human Development Index (HDI) rose by a notch in 2014 to 130th from
131st a year earlier according to the 2015 edition of the Global Human Development report,

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released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). From 2009 to 2014, the
country moved six positions up in the HDI ranking.
Norway was ranked 1 with 0.944 HDI in 2014 followed by Australia and Switzerland.
Niger was ranked last at 188th with 0.348 HDI in 2014.

World Bank in December 2015 released a report entitled Shock Waves: Managing the Impacts of
Climate Change on Poverty. The report examines the two-way relation (interplay) between
climate change and poverty and concludes that climate change is one of the primary contributing
factors for growing poverty scenario across the world.

Appointments
India
1. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur sworn in as 43rd Chief Justice of India
2. AK Jain appointed Chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes
3. Kaher Kazem appointed General Motors India head
4. Ola appointed Joy Bandekar as Corporate President
5. Sanjeev Mohanty takes over as Jabong CEO
6. FreeCharge appoints Anshul Kheterpal as CFO
7. Prakash Kumar Singh takes charge as SAIL Chairman
8. ABB India appoints Sanjeev Sharma as MD
9. Mumbai Police Commissioner Ahmad Javed appointed as Ambassador to Saudi Arabia
10. NIIT Tech appoints Amit Kumar Garg as CFO
World
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Roch Marc Christian Kabore elected president of Burkina Faso

Dr Henk Bekedam named new WHO representative to India
Sir Venkatraman Ramakrishnan assumed Presidency of the Royal Society
Indian-American Dr Vijay M Rao named as Chairperson of RSNA
Kapil Chopra, President, The Oberoi Group, has been appointed as the Chairman of World
Travel & Tourism Council, India Initiative (WTTCII) for 2016
6. Mauricio Macri Blanco sworn in as President of Argentina

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Resignations
1. Chief Information Commissioner Vijai Sharma completed his tenure
2. Latvias first female Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma announced her resignation on 7
December 2015.

Sports News
ICC Test Team of the Year 2015: David Warner, Alastair Cook (captain), Kane Williamson,
Younis Khan, Steven Smith, Joe Root, Sarfraz Ahmed (wicketkeeper), Stuart Broad, Trent Boult,
Yasir Shah, Josh Hazlewood, Ravichandran Ashwin
ICC ODI Team of the Year 2015: Tillakaratne Dilshan, Hashim Amla, Kumar Sangakkara
(wicketkeeper) AB de Villiers (captain), Steven Smith, Ross Taylor, Trent Boult, Mohammed
Shami, Mitchell Starc, Mustafizur Rahman, Imran Tahir, Joe Root.

Indias Thakur Anoop Singh on 28 November 2015 won gold medal in the 7th WBPF World
Bodybuilding and Physique Championships. He won the medal in the fitness physique
category.

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan became a co-owner of the International Premier Tennis League
(IPTL) team OUE Singapore Slammers.

The November edition of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Rankings was released on 3 December
2015. In the final rankings of 2015, While Belgium topped the list, Indian team jumped six
places to reach the 166th spot. In the October 2015 edition, India was at the 172nd position
due to five consecutive defeats in 2018 World Cup qualifiers.

India on 7 December 2015 won the four-match Test series against South Africa 3-0. In the
fourth and final match played at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi, India defeated South Africa by 337
runs. Man of the Series: Ravichandran Ashwin for his brilliant bowling in the entire series.

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Australia on 6 December 2015 defeated Belgium by 2-1 to win 2014-2015 Mens Hockey World
League Final, which was held at Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel Stadium, Raipur. India defeated
world number two and defending champions Netherlands by 3-2 in the penalty shootout, and
clinched the bronze medal in the tournament.

Maharashtra on 6 December 2015 defeated Punjab to win the 2015 National Wheelchair
Basketball Championship.

Pune and Rajkot on 8 December 2015 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). CSK and RR are facing two-year suspensions which were imposed by
the Supreme Court-mandated RM

Chinas Chen Long and all England and World champion Carolina Marin on 7 December 2015
bagged the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Male and Female Player of the Year Awards
respectively in Dubai.

Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma on 9 December 2015 became the co-owner of the Pro Wrestling
League team, UP Warriors. The team includes celebrated Indian wrestlers like Sushil Kumar and
Joginder Kumar.

Bengaluru Yodhas, the JSW Group owned franchise in the Pro Wrestling League, has
announced India's Test captain Virat Kohli as the co-owner of the team.

Afghanistan cricket team has shifted its home base from Sharjah to the UPCA stadium in
NOIDA where they will play their matches and practice after a MoU was signed in this regard.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced an exciting new global partnership with
OPPO, a leading mobile telephone device companies, on a four-year deal which runs from 2016
until 2020.

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Former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene on 9 December 2015 was awarded with an
honorary life membership of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).

Orgnaising committee of 12th South Asian Games (OC-SAG) on 13 December 2014 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 in the South Asian region. On the other hand,
the logo has eight petals representing the countries participating in the mega event.

Japanese shuttlers Kento Momota and Nozomi Okuhara on 13 December 2015 won Men's
singles and Womens singles title respectively at the BWF World Superseries finals held at the
Hamdan Sports Complex, Dubai.

Vijay Kumar on 13 December 2015 won the centre fire pistol gold in the 59th National shooting
championship at the Dr Karni Singh Range in Tughlakabad in New Delhi. The 15 day event began
on 1 December 2015.

Keralas Elizabeth Susan Koshy on 11 December 2015 won the Women's 50m Rifle 3 Positions
Gold at the 59th National Shooting Championships held at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting range in
New Delhi.

Indian cyclist Deborah Herold on 11 December 2015 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).

IPL 2016 Auction

Team Pune

M.S. Dhoni (Rs. 12.5 crore)

Ajinkya Rahane (Rs. 9.5 crore)
Ravichandran Ashwin (Rs. 7.5 crore)
Steven Smith (Rs. 5.5 crore)
Faf du Plessis (Rs. 4 crore)

Team Rajkot

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Suresh Raina (Rs. 12.5 crore)

Ravindra Jadeja (Rs. 9.5 crore)
Brendon McCullum (Rs. 7.5 crore)
James Faulkner (Rs. 5.5 crore)
Dwayne Bravo (Rs. 4 crore)

Apurvi Chandela gave a firm indication that her Rio preparations were on the right track when
she won the Women's 10M Air Rifle event on the last day of the 59th National Shooting
Championship.

Serena Williams is Sports Illustrateds Sportsperson of the Year the first female athlete
honoured on her own by the magazine in more than 30 years.

Rory McIlroy has been voted European Tours Player-of-the-Year for 2015, winning the award
for the third time in the past four seasons.

Days
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

World AIDS Day observed on 1st December

International Day for the Abolition of Slavery Observed on 2nd December
International Day of Persons with Disabilities observed 3rd December
44th Navy Day observed on 4 December
International Volunteer Day observed on 5 December
Armed Forces Flag Day was observed on 7 December
International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of Victims of Crime of Genocide
observed on 9 December
8. International Anti-Corruption Day observed on 9 December
9. Human Rights Day observed on 10 December

Books & Authors

On My Terms: From the Grassroots to the Corridors of Power, an autobiography of Sharad
Pawar was released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 10 December 2015.

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Awards & Honors

Hinduja Brothers on 29 November 2015 were honoured with the prestigious Lifetime
Achievement Award at the annual Asian Business Leadership Forum (ABLF) Series in Dubai.
Polish professional footballer Robert Lewandowskis nine-minute, five-goal haul for German
Football Club Bayern Munich against Wolfsburg was officially recognised on 30 November 2015
by Guinness World Record.

Internationally co-produced adventure drama film Embrace of the Serpent on 30 November

2015 was awarded with the Golden Peacock Award for the Best Film at the 46th International
Film Festival of India (IFFI), Goa.
The ICFT UNESCO Fellini Medal was awarded to Kaushik Gangulys Cinemawala that focuses
on the sad state of single screen cinema halls in West Bengal.
Renowned violinist Lakshminarayana Subramaniam will be honoured with the Sangeet Samman
at the ITC Sangeet Sammelan 2015 beginning on 4 December 2015 at the Victoria Memorial Hall,
Kolkata.
The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) was on 1 December 2015 awarded with the E-India
Award for adopting technology to serve the public better and using resources efficiently through
mobile applications.

Pulin Kumar, Group Senior Legal and Compliance Director of Adidas India, on 26 November 2015
was conferred with the Indian National Bar Association's (INBA) General Counsel of the year 2015
- Retail Award in New Delhi.
Punjabi film "The Fourth Direction" was honoured with the Best Film Award here at the 26th
Singapore International Film Festival.
Time magazine named German Chancellor Angela Merkel its "Person of the Year 2015", saying
her leadership has helped preserve and promote an open, borderless Europe in the face of

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economic turmoil and an ongoing refugee crisis.

Two Indians have won the Queen's Young Leaders award in the UK for their exceptional work
in transforming the lives of others and making a lasting difference in their communities. Kartik
Sawhney, 21, and Neha Swain, 28 from India are among 60 others who won the Queen's Young
Leaders award 2016 which will be presented by the British monarch at a gala ceremony in
Buckingham Palace in June next year. Neha, a youth facilitator and co-founder of NGO Rubaroo
provides an inclusive space for young people, irrespective of their socio-economic background,
to develop their leadership skills through interactive workshops.

Frank Islam, an Indian-American entrepreneur and philanthropist, will be conferred with Uttar
Pradesh Ratna Award on 4 January 2016 at the inaugural UP Pravasi Diwas in Agra.
Naseeruddin Shah honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award at Dubai International Film
Festival

Salman Rushdie receives Mailer Prize for lifetime achievement

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was conferred with an honorary doctorate in International
Relations by Jawaharlal Nehru University for Japan's role in India's economic development.

Legendary actor Dilip Kumar conferred with Padma Vibhushan

Indian-origin writer J M Sali won 2015 South East Asian Write Award for Singapore
Wipro won 2015 Aegis Graham Bell Award for innovation in IoT
Renowned Israeli-US violinist Itzhak Perlman on 14 December 2015 was announced as the 2016
Genesis Prize Laureate for his accomplishments as a musician, teacher and advocate for people
with disabilities.

The West Bengal Government on 14 December 2015 honoured music composer Bappi Lahiri and
singer Kumar Sanu with Lifetime Achievement Awards.

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The United Nations (UN) Chief Ban Ki-moon along with the agencies of the UN system on 30
November 2015 launched initiative titled Anticipate, Absorb, Reshape to build climate
resilience in the worlds most vulnerable countries.

China's first domestically developed electricity-powered aircraft known as RX1E was on 4

December 2015 approved for production by Civil Aviation Administration of China. RX1E electric
light-sport aircraft was developed by Shenyang Aerospace University and it will be China's first
manned electric light aircraft.

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)
on 6 December 2015.

In a major breakthrough, researchers at Columbia Engineering have harnessed the molecular

machinery of living systems to power an integrated circuit. They achieved this by integrating a
conventional solid-state complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) integrated circuit
with an artificial lipid bilayer membrane containing adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-powered ion
pumps.

Authorities in Chinese capital Beijing on 7 December 2015 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.

World's 1st anti-dengue vaccine 'Dengvaxia' approved in Mexico

The prestigious Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Banglore on 9 December 2015 bagged a US
military contract for research and development on solar powered micro-grid.

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Myanmar on 9 December 2015 inaugurated a new stock exchange, named Yangon Stock
Exchange (YSX), with plans for six companies to start trading in March 2016.

The United Nations agencies and partners on 9 December 2015 launched the Sahel
humanitarian appeal for 2016. The purpose of the initiative is to mobilise international support
to tackle triple crisis of poverty, insecurity and climate change that plagues the Sahel region in
Africa.

Myanmar on 11 December 2015 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.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd on 11 December 2015 announced that it has agreed to buy the 112year old English newspaper South China Morning Post (SCMP) for an undisclosed amount.

Merriam-Webster declares ism as word of the year for 2015.

Obituaries
Veteran CPI leader and former MP Ramashraya Prasad Singh died
Yossi Sarid, a former Israeli government minister who was among the most vocal to advocate
Israeli territorial concessions to resolve the conflict with the Palestinians, has died at age 75
Renowned agro-economist and farmers leader Sharad Joshi died

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