Daily GK Update - 1st May 2015

1. Canara Bank ties up with Life Insurance ii . The Finance Mi nistry is considering easy 6. Dr. Pramod Patil and Dr. Ananda Kumar
Corporation ta xa tion form whi ch an assessee can do won 2015 Whitley Awards for wildlife
i . Cana ra Bank has entered into a things himself and does not ha ve to run to conservation
memora ndum of unders tanding wi th Life va rious advisers . i . Two Indians ha ve been awa rded with the
Insura nce Corpora tion of India for offering iii. As i t s tands , the new ITR forms , incl uding pres ti gious Whi tley Awa rds for their
the Pradhan Ma ntri Jeevan Jyoti Bi ma Yojana the ITR-1 and ITR-2, requi re an assessee to contribution to wildlife conserva tion.
insurance cover to all i ts eligible cus tomers . furnish the number of bank a ccounts held by ii . Dr Ananda Kumar, a conserva tionist from
ii . The bank has also pa rtnered wi th the the indi vi dual. India, was a wa rded the pri ze, in honour of
Uni ted India Insurance Company for offering his work using innova ti ve communica tion
the Pradhan Ma ntri Suraksha Bi ma Yojana 4. Reform implementation to determine s ys tems to enable huma n-elepha nt
insurance cover. rating upgrade coexis tence in southern India.
iii. According to the MoU, LIC will offer a life i . India s soverei gn ra ting will depend on iii. Another winner of the Whitley Awa rd,
cover of 2 lakh in case of dea th of the insured implementa tion of policies by its leaders to dubbed 'Green Os car' is Dr Pramod Pa til. He
person a t a nominal premium of 330 per improve the business envi ronment for the has been awa rded for his work to protect the
annum. pri va te sector and for i nfras tructure growth i coni c grea t Indian busta rd in the Thar
i v. All sa vings bank a ccount holders i n age a ccording to ra ting agency Moodys . Desert.
group of 18 to 50 yea rs can a vail themselves
of product.

2. BARC India TV viewership rating

i . Broadcas t Audience Resea rch Council
(BARC) India, launched two yea rs a go to
measure and assess TV viewers hip i n India, i v. HRH The Pri ncess Royal presented the
has announced i ts fi rs t data for week 16 of awa rds and ea ch of them recei ving a Whitley
2015. pri ze worth 35,000 a t a ceremony in
ii . Moodys , whi ch has gi ven the lowest
ii . As per BARC da ta , Sta r Plus was the leading London.
inves tment grade ra ting to India , named
Hi ndi general entertainment cha nnel (GEC) in regula tory complexity a nd weak social and
the Hindi-spea king ma rkets (HSM), Zee 7. Seychelles becomes 161st member of
physi cal infras tructure as challenges before
emerged as a s trong pla yer in the regional World Trade Organisation
the country.
channels such as Ma ra thi and Telugu, Aa j Tak i . Seychelles, an a rchipelago of 90000
iii. Lower global commodity pri ces support
was the leader i n Hindi news (HSM) and inhabi tants beca me the 161s t member of the
Indias growth and balance of pa yments, but
Times Now led in the English News ca tegory World Tra de Organiza tion (WTO). It is one of
i ts banking s ys tem would pose sovereign
(All India ). the s mallest na tions among the WTO
risks over the medium term i f asset quality
members .
and capi talisation levels do not improve.
ii . This approval by WTO ended Seychelles
20-yea r long wai t to become a member of
5. India extends e-tourist visa scheme to 31
WTO since i t had applied for WTO
more countries
members hip in Ma y 1995.
iii. Seychelles also became the 33rd
iii. BARC India will moni tor 12,000 sample government to a ccede to the rules-based
mul tilateral trading s ys tem through Article
households using a s tra tified random
XII negotia tions since the WTO was
sampling technique. This will go up to 20,000
reporting homes. es tablished in 1995.
i v. It should be noted tha t the Protocol of
i v. BARC India was set up as a collabora tion
Accession was signed by former Seychelles
between advertisers and the TV broadcas ters i . India will provide e-touris t visa to 31 more
to replace TAM (Television Audience Minis ter of Tra de, Finance and Inves tment
countries , i ncluding France and Ca nada,
Pierre Laporte and WTO Di rector General
Measurement) media research data . enabling the ci ti zens of these na tions easy
(DG) Roberto Azevedo.
entry to the country.
3. Extremely simplified income tax return ii . The e-touris t visa had been launched in
form November las t yea r for 45 countries from
i . An extremel y si mplified income ta x nine designa ted Indian ai rports.
return form will soon replace the iii. Wi th the la test a ddi tion, the total number
controversial 14-page ITR tha t sought of countries under this s cheme will go up to
informa tion like all bank a ccounts and 76. By the end of current financial year
forei gn trip details. Government intends to exte nd the s cheme
to 150 countries .
Daily GK Updates - 2nd May 2015
1. John Kerry's visit to Sri Lanka ii . It is the fi rst ti me in a decade tha t a U.S.
i . U.S. Secreta ry of State John Kerry a rri ved in secreta ry of s ta te has visi ted Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka to offer support for newl y elected iii. Kerry will dis cuss U.S. interest in
President Mai thripala Si risena a fter years of expa nding trade and investment wi th Sri
tensions with the former government of Lanka.
President Ma hinda Ra japaksa over human i v. Sri Lanka exports roughl y $2.5 billion in
ri ghts . goods, mostl y textiles, to the Uni ted Sta tes a
yea r. i . The a rmy is set to get an a rtillery boost
wi th a proposal being moved to raise si x new
2. Tata Power, L&T to supply mobile artillery
regiments of the i ndigenous Pina ka Mul ti -
system to the Army

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Launcher Rocket Sys tem (MLRS), a Faasos , Baskin Robbi ns and Ammi s Bi rya ni.
formidable s ystem designed to annihilate 4. Buenos Aires is worlds bookstore capital
enemy ta rgets wi th a blanket of precisely i . The ci ty has more bookstores per capita 6. Nitin Gadkari Dedicates to the Nation
guided rockets . than any other ma jor ci ty in the worl d, Two Major Highway Projects in the North
ii . Ta ta Power and La rsen & Toubro (L&T) will a ccording to a recent s tudy by the World East
get a major sha re of the Rs 1,950-crore Ci ties Cul tural Forum, an organiza tion that i . Union Mi nister of Road Transport and
contra ct tha t is to be approved by the works to promote cul ture. Hi ghwa ys Shri Ni tin Gadka ri toda y dedi cated
defence ministry as they a re the prima ry ii . Wi th a popula tion of 2.8 million people to the na tion two major Highwa y projects in
ma nufacturers of the mobile a rtillery s ys tem, wi thin the ci ty limi ts, there are 25 bookstores the North Eas t a t a function nea r Shillong.
along wi th s tate -run Bha ra t Ea rth Movers for every 100,000 people, putting Buenos ii . The projects considerabl y ease the tra vel
(BEML). Ai res fa r above other world cities like from Guwaha ti towa rds Shillong and other
iii. From the exis ting capa ci ty of 1,000 London, Pa ris, Madrid, Mos cow and New pa rts of the North Eas t. These include
rockets a yea r, the government has York. The closest is Hong Kong, whi ch has 22 Shillong Bypass and four laning of Joraba t-
sanctioned an increase to 5,000 rockets books tores per 100,000 people. Ba ra pani Section of NH-40.
annually. iii. The Shillong Bypass connects NH 40 and
5. Goldman Sachs invests in Foodpanda NH 44 (New NH 6) and will deconges t the
3. CRPF to adopt village in earthquake-hit i . Mobile food deli very app Foodpanda on tra ffi c in the ci ty of Shillong from trucks and
Nepal Fri da y announced raising of fresh funds to hea vy vehi cles coming from or moving
i . pa ra -mili ta ry force CRPF has deci ded to the tune of $100 million (about Rs. 635 crore) towa rds North Eas tern pa rts of Assam and
adopt a village in the Himala yan country. in a financing round led by Goldma n Sa chs . other sta tes -Mizoram and Tripura.
ii . The CRPF has decided to adopt Ka ri kat i v. The 48.76 Km Bypass begins from NH 40
village nea r Bi rganj in Nepal to provide a t Umiam in Ri-Bhoi Distri ct and ends on NH
people immedia te relief and help i n its 44 (new NH 6) a t Ma wryngkneng in East
recons truction. Khasi Hills Distri ct. The bypass was
constructed by NHAI on BOT (Annui ty)
mode.

ii . Its inves tors incl ude Rocket Internet (52

per cent s take), Phenomen Ventures,
Investment AB Kinnevik and i MENA Holdings.
Acti ve in over 580 ci ties globall y, Foodpanda
iii. The para -mili ta ry force has set up a has pa rtnered with over 60,000 res taurants.
medi cal ca mp for ea rthquake vi cti ms and iii. In India , the company has pa rtnerships
was also distri buting dail y need i tems like wi th more than 3,000 res taurants , incl uding
ri ce, tea, bis cui t, candle etc. bra nds such as Pi zza Hut, Subwa y, Ni rula s,

Daily GK Update - 3rd May 2015

CNR Rao conferred with Japan's highest ii . These Indians a re a mong the 85 foreign
civilian award recipients who will recei ve the awa rd a t the
Imperial Palace i n Tokyo on 8 Ma y 2015. The
awa rds will be conferred by Emperor of
Japan Akihi to.

The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver

Star -
i. A Book titled China Confucius in the Thottuvelil Krishna Pillai Aiyappank utty
Nair (75): He is a former Advisor and
Shadows was released by the Vi ce President
i. Eminent s cientist a nd Bha ra t Ratna Princi pal Secreta ry to the Pri me Minister
awa rdee Chinta mani Na gesa Rama chandra M. Ha mid Ansa ri on 1 Ma y 2015. Confucius
of India Manmohan Singh.
was considered as the mos t efficient a uthor
Ra o was conferred with Japans hi ghest Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra Rao
ci vilian awa rd the Order of the Rising Sun, in Chi nese his tory.
ii. Book has been wri tten by Poonam Surie. (80): He is the Honora ry President of
Gold and Sil ver Sta r. Jawaha rlal Nehru Centre for Adva nce
Poona m Surie is an Adjunct Fellow at the
ii. He was bestowed wi th this awa rd for his Scientifi c Research, Bangalore and a
outstanding contributions to s cience and Ins ti tute of Chinese Studies, New Delhi .
iii. The book hi ghlights tha t in the evol ving former Chair of the Japan-India Science
Indo-Ja panese s cience coopera tion. Council .
socio politi cal milieu of China ; interpreting
iii. Rao is a Na tional Resea rch Professor,
Linus Pauling Research Professor. He is also Confucian philosophy as being non-
confronta tionis t, benevolent and wi th values The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver
the Honora ry President of Jawaha rlal Nehru Rays
such as filial piety and ha rmony could help
Centre for Advance Scienti fi c Research,
the current politi cal regime deal with such Nikunj Parekh (74): He is the President
Bengaluru and a former Chai r of the Japan -
problems as corruption a nd rising of Indo-Japanese Associa tion, Mumbai
India Science Council.
inequalities. and Di rector of Bonsai Study Group of
Indo-Ja panese Association, Mumbai.
A Book titled China Conf ucius in the
Four Indians to be conferred with 2015
Shadows written by Poonam Surie released
Spring Imperial Decorations of Japan The Orders of the Sacred Treasure, Gold and
i . Four Indians will be conferred wi th the Silver Rays
Spring Imperial Decora tions of Japan whi ch Topgay Bhutia (64): Former local
were announced on 29 April 2015. employee of the Embassy of Japan in

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 India was awa rded for his contribution iv. The Grea t Indian Busta rd locally called as exempla ry performance in any job or
to the a cti vi ties of the Japanese Goda wan is also the sta te bi rd of Ra jas than. profession.
overseas establishment. ii. Na dal recei ved the honour from the
Status of the Great Indian Bustard Spanish Prime Mi nister Ma riano Ra joy Brey
Surender Singh took over as Director The Grea t Indian Bus ta rd presentl y is a t the PMs offi cial residence Moncloa Palace
General of CISF confined to onl y ei ght pockets in 6 in Madrid.
Indian s ta tes- Rajas than, Guja ra t, iii. Ra fael Nadal is 14-ti me Grand Slam singles
Maha rashtra , Madhya Pra desh, cha mpion out of whi ch he has won the
Ka rna taka and Andhra Pradesh. French Open for a record nine times . He is
The la rges t populati on is found in often called The King of Cla y a nd is currentl y
Jaisalmer, Ba rmer, and Bi kaner dis tri cts ranked World Number Besides, he has won
of Ra jasthan the 2008 Ol ympi c gold medal in singles, a
i. Senior IPS offi cer Surender Si ngh took over record 27 ATP World Tour Mas ters 1000 and
Grea t Indian Busta rd is the Sta te Bi rd of
as Di rector General (DG) of central 15 ATP World Tour 500 tournaments.
Ra jas than and locall y is called as
pa ra milita ry force Central Indus trial Securi ty Goda wan.
Force (CISF).
It is listed as cri ti cally endangered
ii. Surender Singh is a 1980-ba tch police
species by the Interna tional Union for
officer of Wes t Bengal cadre. Ea rlier, he
the Conserva tion of Na ture (IUCN) Red
served as a Special Di rector in the
da ta list.
Intelligence Bureau (IB) before getting the
new assignment.
IGI adjudged World's Best Airport
iii. His tenure will end i n Augus t 2016. He
i. Delhi s Indi ra Gandhi Interna tional Ai rport
succeeded Arvind Ranja n.
(IGIA) has been adjudged the worlds best
iv. CISF is the la rgest industrial securi ty force Floyd Mayweather Jr. defeats Manny
ai rport for the yea r 2014.
in the worl d. It is directl y under the Union Pacquiao to win World Welterweight Title
ii. In this rega rd, Ai rports Council
Minis try of Home Affai rs a nd its of Boxing
Interna tional (ACI) presented the Ai rport
headqua rters a re a t New Delhi . i. Ameri can boxer Floyd Ma ywea ther Jr. has
Servi ce Quality (ASQ) awa rd to IGIA under
won the uni fied World Welterwei ght ti tle of
the ca tegory of handling 25 to 40 million
Rajasthan government allocates 12 crore World Boxing Council , World Boxing
passengers per annum.
rupees for Project Great Indian Bustard Organisation and Worl d Boxing Associa tion.
iii. IGIA had s cored 4.90 on a s cale of 5 points
ii. To wi n this ti tle he defeated Manny
measured by 300 members of the ACI ASQ
Pa cquiao from Philippines on a unanimous
benchma rking progra mme. It s hould be
decision wi th Judges Scores of 118-110, 116-
noted tha t, IGIA has bettered its ranking
112 a nd 116-112 in 12 rounds of i ntense
from second position for three consecuti ve
boxing.
yea rs 2011, 2012 and 2013 to emerge on top
iii. The legenda ry bout termed as Fight of
in 2014.
the Century was pla yed a t i coni c MGM
iv. Ai rport Servi ce Quality (ASQ) is the key to
Grand, Las Vegas. This fight was also the
unders tanding how to increase passenger
i. Ra jasthan Fores t depa rtment has allotted hi ghes t watched a nd mos t revenue
satis facti on and i mprove business
more than twel ve crore rupees for a bi rd genera ting with almost 400 million dollars of
performance. While the ACI is a trade
conserva tion programme, Project Great all time.
association of the worlds ai rports and was
Indian Bus ta rd (GIB).
founded in 1991.
ii. For this project Japan Bank is going to
provide financial support of three crore
Tennis player Rafael Nadal received Golden
rupees.
Medal for Merit in Work of Spain
iii. Under the GIB Project, closures will be
i. Ace tennis pla yer Ra fael Nadal on 1 Ma y
ma de a t many pla ces in Khudi rasla , Pokhran
2015 recei ved the Golden Medal for Meri t in
and Shahga rh of Jaislmer dis tri ct for safe
Work. Golden Medal is one of the top civilian
habi ta t of bi rd. In order to regula rl y moni tor
honours of Spain whi ch ai ms to hi ghlight an
the bi rd informa tion chips will ins talled.
Daily GK Updates - 4th May 2015
Direct tax collection falls short by 14% in Gold imports jump 19.5% at $34.32 billion in
2014-15 FY15
i. The di rect ta x collection by the government i. Gold imports surged 19.5 per cent to rea ch
during 2014-15 fell short of the ta rget by USD 34.32 billion in 2014-15 due to declining
about 14 per cent wi th Rs . 6,96,200 crore pri ces and easing of restri cti ons by the
revenue coming to i ts ki tty. Reserve Bank.
ii. The Income Ta x Depa rtment whi ch collects ii. Imports of the metal were USD 28.7 billion
a va riety of ta xes like Income Ta x and the previous fis cal, 2013-14.
Corpora te Ta x collected approxi matel y Rs.
iii. The a chieved collecti ons a re about Rs.
6,96,200 crore in the fis cal ending Ma rch 31,
9,000 crore less or 14 per cent short of the
2015.
projected ta rget of Rs . 7,05,000 crore.
iv. The collections a re, however, 19 per cent
more than the last fiscal . In 201314, the
mopup was Rs. 5,83,000 crore.
iii. Increase in gold i mports i mpa cts the
countrys trade defi ci t, whi ch has rea ched

3
USD 137 billion in 2014-15, and the current international community tha t freedom of the ii . Nadal recei ved the honour from the
a ccount defici t (CAD). press a nd freedom of expression are Spanish Prime Mi nister Ma riano Ra joy Brey
iv. The i mports almos t doubled in Ma rch to fundamental human ri ghts . a t the PMs offi cial residence Moncloa Palace
USD 4.98 billion whi ch pushed the trade in Madrid.
defi ci t to a four-month high of USD 11.79 iii. Rafael Nadal is 14-time Grand Slam singles
billion for the month, a ccording to the cha mpion out of whi ch he has won the
Commerce Minis try da ta . French Open for a record nine times . He is
v. India is the la rges t importer of gold, whi ch often called The King of Cla y a nd is currentl y
mainl y ca ters to the demand of the jewellery ranked World Number 5.
industry.
Indian Railway girls clinch 5th National
Future Group's Retail Business to Merge ii. This yea r, the theme of World Press Hockey Championship title
With Bharti Retail Freedom da y is Let Journalism Thri ve! i. Railwa y Sports Promotion Boa rd (RSPB)
i. Future RetailBSE 12.06 % Ltd said on Towa rds better reporting, gender equality ha ve won the 5th Na tional women hockey
Monda y i t had a greed to merge i ts retail and media safety in the digi tal age. cha mpionship ti tle.
opera tions with ri val Bha rti Retail Ltd to iii. World Press Freedom Da y was proclaimed ii. In the fi nal ma tch pla yed a t the Master
crea te one of India's biggest retail chain wi th by the UN General Assembl y in December Cha ndgi Ra m sports s tadium a t Saifai, Utta r
more than 570 s tores a cross the country. 1993, following the recommendation of Pradesh the the RSPB gi rls tea m defeated
ii. Under the deal structure, approved by the UNESCO's General Conference i n 1991. Si nce Hockey Jha rkhand by 12-2 goals .
boa rds of the two companies, the retail then, 3 Ma y is celebra ted worl dwide as iii. For the RSPB, Sa unda rya Yendala s cored
business of Future Retail will be merged wi th World Press Freedom Da y. three goals in the final ma tch while Sunita
Bha rti Retail. The combined entity will own Lakra and Lilima Minz s cored two goals ea ch.
the retail opera tions of both the companies . Tennis player Rafael Nadal received Golden Anuradha Devi , Ma nmeet Kaur, Anupa Ba rla,
Medal for Merit in Work of Spain Poona m Ba rla, and Deepgra ce Ekka s cored
i. Ace tennis pla yer Ra fael Nadal recei ved the one goal each for the winning team.
Golden Medal for Meri t in Work. Golden
Medal is one of the top ci vilian honours of
Spain whi ch aims to highlight an exempla ry
performance in any job or profession.
iii. In the second s tep, infras tructure,
inves tments and assets of both the
companies will be combined to crea te a new
enti ty to be called Future Enterprises Ltd.

World Press Freedom Day observed globally

i. World Press Freedom Da y is annually
observed on Ma y 3 to i nform the
Daily GK Update - 5th May 2015
1. The Union Cabinet approved the 119th i . Mi crosoft India unveiled Edu-Cl oud, a cloud
Constitutional Amendment Bill on Land 2. Surface-to-air short range Akash missile computing-based offering, designed to offer
Boundary Agreement (LBA) between India system inducted into Indian Army di gital lea rning and teaching in s chools and
and Bangladesh. i . Electroni cs Corpora tion of India Li mited hi gher educa tional ins ti tutions through
i . Under the land boundary a greement, India (ECIL), in pa rtnership wi th Bha ra t Dynamics vi rtual lea rning platforms in India.
and Ba ngladesh will exchange several Limi ted (BDL), is suppl ying cri ti cal electronic ii . Mi crosoft India Chai rman Bhaskar
encla ves whi ch a re under ea ch other's s ys tems for Akash Weapon Sys tem (AWS) Pra manik said Edu-Cl oud is expected to
adverse possession. The bill also includes the inducted into the Indian Army. benefi t 10 lakh tea chers and 60 lakh s tudents
terri tories in Assam in addi tion to terri tories in over 1,500 ins ti tutes over the next 18
of Wes t Bengal , Tri pura and Meghala ya. months.
iii. The company has also announced a tie -up
wi th the Chaitanya group of educational
ins ti tutions , which will adopt Edu-Cloud.
i v. In the last 10 yea rs , Mi crosofts educa tion,
skill development, entrepreneurshi p and
di gital litera cy programmes ha ve touched
over 5 crore people in 20 different s ta tes of
ii . 'Akash' is a surfa ce-to-ai r missile India.
ii . The bill will need ra ti fi cati on by the indi genousl y developed by the Defence
Resea rch Development Labora tory (DRDL), 4. MoneyGram Ready to Handle Electronic-
Pa rliament a nd would also require
Mode Remittances in India
ra tifi ca tion of a t least 50 percent of the s tate under Integra ted Guided Missile
Development Progra mme (IGMDP). i . NASDAQ-listed MoneyGra m is ready to
legislatures before i t comes into effect.
iii. The fi rst off production models (FOPM) of handle remittances through electronic
iii. Ea rlier in 2013, the bill in rega rd to this
modes in India as soon as the government
was pla ced in the Rajya Sabha and these s ys tems were success full y realised and
deli vered by ECIL in close associa tion wi th allows such transa ctions through a series of
subsequentl y was referred to a select
DRDL. electronic modes such as online, ATM and
committee, whi ch was headed by Shashi
phone banking.
Tha roor of Congress . La ter, the commi ttee
3. Microsofts E du-Cloud to make learning ii . It would happen when the government
unanimousl y recommended implementa tion
fun allows transa ctions to be managed through a
of the deal .
series of electroni c modes such as online,

4
Automa ted Teller Ma chines (ATM) and i . Facebook is opening up Internet.org, whi ch memora ndum of unders tandi ng for
phone banking. provides connecti vi ty to people in devel oping development of Chabaha r port.
na tions , to outside appli ca tions following a
controvers y over i ts limi ted set of online
servi ces .
ii . Internet.org would opera te as a free
pla tform so anyone can build free basic
servi ces , but tha t the full internet would not
iii. In 2013, India recei ved $70 billion in be included.
remi ttances topping the list in Asia, followed iii. NDTV, Newshunt and Clea rtrip had also
by China a t $59 billion a nd the Philippines at announced tha t they were wi thdra wing from
$27 billion, a ccording to the World Bank iii. Ira n has also proposed a free-trade
Internet.org on the same da y.
da ta . agreement wi th India , a trade minis try
i v. The top countries sending money into 6. India to tie up with Iran for Chabahar source said. Rupee-denomina ted trade wi th
India are those i n North Ameri ca , the Middle Iran, s ta rted in 2012 beca use of
i . India and Iran agreed in 2003 to develop a
East, the UK and Europe, a ccording to the compli ca tions a rising from sancti ons , has
port a t Chabaha r on the Gulf of Oman, near
two MoneyGram executi ves . almos t doubled Indian exports to Tehran in
Iran's border wi th Pa kistan, but the venture
has made little progress because of Wes tern the pas t two yea rs to $4 billion.
5. Offering whole internet f or free not sanctions on Iran.
sustainable: Mark Zuckerberg ii . Shipping Minis ter Nitin Gadka ri will tra vel
on a da y-long tour to Ira n to sign a
Daily GK Update - 6th May 2015
1. LS approves GST Bill 4. Real estate bill sent to select committee
i . The l ong-pending GST bill was approved by of Rajya Sabha
Lok Sabha a fter a walkout by Congress even i . A uni ted Opposition forced Government to
as government vowed to compensate s tates send the controversial Real Es ta te Bill that
for any revenue loss and assured tha t the seeks to regulate real ty business, to a 21-
new uni form indi rect ta x ra te will be much member select commi ttee of Ra jya Sa bha,
less than 27 per cent re commended by an whi ch has been asked to submi t i ts report by
iii. These Memorandum of Unders tandings
expert panel . the fi rst week of the Monsoon Session.
(MoUs) a re expected to increase FDI flows to
ii . The Consti tution Amendment Bill to ii . The government brought a motion to refer
India, bring in new technology, help growth
implement the Goods and Servi ces Ta x (GST), the bill to Select Commi ttee, chai red by BJP
of manufa cturing sector and create
ori ginall y mooted by the UPA, was passed by member Anil Madha v Da ve.
employment opportuni ties in the country
352 votes agains t 37 a fter the government iii. The government had brought the bill
thereby boos ting i ts economy.
rejected the opposi tion demand of referring ea rlier in this session after taking the view of
i v. Instrumentati on Ltd signed a pa ct wi th
i t to Standi ng Commi ttee. all stakeholders . However, a mid lot of
German-based KE Kauer Engineering for
cri ti cim the bill was dela yed even after the
producti on of control val ves . Vikra m Solar
recommenda tions of the Sta nding
inked MoU with Fra unhofer Insti tute for
Commi ttee.
sola r energy s ys tems .
v. Hi ndus tan Ma chine Tools (HMT) inked
5. Salman Khan Finally Loses Celebrity Cover
sepa ra te pa cts with FT Ma chine Tools and
i . Actor Salman Khan, sentenced to fi ve years
Eni t GmbH for collabora tion in engineering
for killing a homeless man in a hi t-and-run in
iii. By subsuming most indi rect ta xes levied sector.
2002, will not go to jail for now. He has been
by the central and sta te governments like
allowed to go home till Frida y, when the
excise, servi ce ta x, VAT and sales ta x, the 3. Narendra Modi set to revive Vajpayee
Bomba y Hi gh Court will hea r his appeal for
pan-India goods and servi ces ta x (GST) government's FIIA project
bail .
regime has proposed to fa cilita te a common i . The Foreign Inves tment Implementa tion
ii . A Mumbai court this morni ng rejected Mr
ma rket in the country. Agency, a brainchild of the former Va jpa yee
Kha n's claims that i t was his dri ver who was
i v. Ta xes on alcohol make up a major chunks government, is set to get a new lease of life
a t the wheel of his Toyota La nd Cruiser when
of s tate revenues -- for ins tance, in Kerala it under Pri me Mi nister Na rendra Modi .
i t ran into a group of homeless men sleeping
contributes 22 percent of revenue, while in ii . The a gency's role will be reinvented and
outside a Mumbai bakery. One man, Nurullah
Tamil Nadu i t yields a bout Rs .21,000 crore expa nded to handhold foreign inves tors and
Mehboob Sha ri f, died, four were injured.
per yea r. keep ta b on sectors that ha ve end-use
opera tional condi tions .
2. Government declared 11 pacts that iii. The Minis try of Finance and the
signed between India, Germany at Depa rtment of Indus trial Poli cy and
Hannover fair Promotion ha ve had discussions on FIIA
i . Indian companies including HMT and Essel pla ying a more effecti ve role as the
Group ha ve signed 11 MoUs wi th German government looks to boos t capi tal flows into
fi rms tha t will help boos t foreign fund i nflows the country. iii. Mr Khan broke down i n court after
as well as domes ti c manufa cturi ng. i v. The Reserve Bank of India, the hea ring he was sentenced to fi ve yea rs i n jail.
ii . The pa cts were signed last month a t the administra ti ve ministries in cha rge of sectors, The court said all seven cha rges agains t him -
Ha nnover trade fai r. Pri me Minister the depa rtment of economi c affairs , whi ch including culpable homi cide - had been
Na rendra Modi and German Chancellor houses the Foreign Inves tment Promotion proven. The ma ximum sentence he could
Angela Merkel had inaugura ted the fai r in Boa rd, and DIPP ha ve all expressed di ffi cul ty ha ve got was 10 yea rs.
Germany las t month. in moni toring sectoral condi tions . i v. Mr Khan, 49, then a pplied for bail to the
Bomba y High Court, which has said he will
not be a rrested till Frida y.

5
v. He is under trial in Rajas than for shooting iii. The da y is annuall y organi zed by the
an enda ngered black buck ga zelle in 1998. He Gl obal Initia ti ve for Asthma (GINA) to
spent a week in jail in 2006 in Jodhpur before improve as thma a wa reness and ca re a round
being granted bail. If convi cted, he fa ces a the world.
ma xi mum sentence of 7 yea rs. i v. An awa reness dri ve and a conti nuing
medi cal educa tion (CME) were held a t the
6. World Asthma Day 2015 observed Coi mba tore Medi cal College Hospi tal (CMCH) iii. The greenfield hydro electri c project
i . World As thma Da y 2015 was observed to ma rk the World As thma Da y. consisting of four uni ts of 82.5 MW ea ch is
gl oball y on 5 Ma y 2015. Theme of the yea r is being set up by Alaknanda Hydro Power
You Can Control Your As thma and sub-theme 7. Bhel commissions GVK's hydro-power Corpora tion Ltd ( GVK Group).
is Its Time to Control As thma. project in Uttrakhand i v. The project is designed to utilise the
ii . World As thma Da y ta kes pla ce on the fi rst i . State-owned power equipment maker Bhel wa ters of Ri ver Alaknanda by wa y of a
Tuesda y of Ma y. The inaugural Worl d As thma has commissioned GVK Group's 82.5 MW di version da m.
Da y was held in 1998. greenfield hydro electri c project in v. Bhel said power genera tion from Shrina gar
Utta ra khand. HEP is likel y to resul t i n reduction of
ii . Bha ra t Hea vy Electri cals Ltd said in a greenhouse gas emissions.
regula tory filing that i t has "successfully
commissioned the fi rs t unit of 82.5 MW at
the upcomi ng Shri naga r Hydro Electric
Project (HEP) in Utta ra khand".

Daily GK Update - 7th May 2015

1. Lok Sabha passes Juvenile Justice Bill i v. There a re a total of 59 Indian -origin 5. India home to 56 of the worlds 2000
candi dates in the fra y from the Tories (17), powerful companies
Labour (14), Liberal Democra ts (14), Green i . India is home to 56 of the worlds 2000
Pa rty (4), Uni ted Kingdom Independence la rges t a nd mos t powerful public companies,
Pa rty- UKIP (3), Independents (2) and one a ccording to the Forbess a nnual list which is
ea ch from the s maller pa rties like All Peoples topped by the US wi th i ts sha re of 579
Pa rty, Chris tian Movement for Great Bri tain, companies .
Na tional Liberal Pa rty, Socialist Labour Pa rty ii . Mukesh Ambani -led Reliance Indus tries
i . The central government on Thurs da y and Young Peoples Pa rty. leads the pa ck of 56 Indian companies in the
moved the Juvenile Justi ce Bill in the Lok 2015 Forbes Global 2000 list.
Sa bha whi ch will allow children in the 16-18 3. Indian Cabinet Approves Amendments to
age group to be tried as adul ts i f they commi t Whistleblowers Act
heinous cri mes . i . The uni on cabinet on Wednesda y approved
ii . According to da ta from Na tional Crime amendments to the Whis tlebowers
Records Bureau, cri mes by juveniles in the Protection Act, 2011 aimed at s trengthening
age group of 16-18 yea rs ha ve i ncreased, safegua rds agains t disclosures .
especially in certain ca tegories of heinous ii . The bill was passed by the Lok Sabha in
cri mes. December, 2011 and by Ra jya Sabha in
iii. Forbes said tha t for the fi rs t ti me, Chinas
iii. The bill s tates tha t in case a heinous crime Februa ry last yea r. The bill has recei ved the
assent of the president in Ma y last yea r. four bi gges t banks own the top four s pots
has been commi tted by a person i n the age
iii. The amendments would address concerns and the South Asian giant is home to 232 of
group of 16-18 yea rs i t will be examined by a
the worlds la rges t companies, adding more
Juvenile Jus tice Board to assess if the crime rela ting to na tional securi ty a nd the
amendment bill will be moved during the spots than a ny other country in the world
was commi tted as a 'child' or as an 'adul t'.
budget session of pa rliament. and surpassing Japan for the fi rs t time.
i v. The legislation, whi ch would replace the
i v. The other Indian companies on the lis t are
exis ting Juvenile Jus ti ce Act, 2000, was
4. Rajya Sabha unanimously passes Oil and Na tural Gas ranked 183, Ta ta Motors
proposed i n view of increasing number of
Bangladesh land deal (263), ICICI Bank (283), Indian Oil (349), HDFC
serious offences being commi tted by persons
i . In a histori c s tep, the Rajya Sabha passed Ba nk (376), NTPC (431), Ta ta Consul tancy
in the age group of 16-18 yea rs .
the bill to opera tionalise the Land Bounda ry Servi ces (485), Bha rti Ai rtel (506), Axis Bank
Agreement wi th Bangladesh, and the (558), Infos ys (672), Bha ra t Petroleum (757),
2. Election 2015: Party leaders cast votes in
entailing exchange of encla ves between the Wi pro (811), Ta ta Steel (903) and Adani
general election
two countries. Enterprises (944).
i . A total of 650 Wes tmins ter MPs will be
elected, wi th about 50 million people ii . The Cons titution (One Hundred and
Nineteenth Amendment) Bill, 2013, was 6. Cabinet gives nod to revise DTAA with
registered to vote.
unanimousl y passed by the upper house, South Korea
ii . There a re more than 9,000 council seats
i . The Union Ca binet ga ve i ts nod for revising
being contes ted a cross 279 English local wi th 180 votes in fa vour and none a gainst i t.
iii. Moving the bill for passage, External the existing double ta xa tion a voida nce
authori ties.
Affai rs Minister Sushma Swa raj cla rified that agreement (DTAA) wi th South Korea.
iii. Bri tain's ruling Conserva ti ves and the
opposi tion Labour Pa rty were tied wi th no movement of popula tion was
support a t 33 per cent. necessita ted by the exchange of encla ves.
i v. In 2011, then Prime Minis ter Manmohan
Si ngh and Bangladeshi Premier Shei kh Hasina
had signed the land swap deal known as the
Land Bounda ry Agreement (LBA).

6
ii . The new a gree ment will among other i. An a rmy heli copter has crashed i n a
things provi de for effecti ve exchange of mountainous pa rt of northern Pa kistan killing
informa tion for ta x administra tion purposes. seven people, including the Philippine and
It will also ha ve limi ta tion of benefit clause so Norwegian ambassadors .
tha t the benefi ts of the DTAA a re a vailed of ii. The di ploma ts fl ying i n the ill-fa ted MI-17
by genuine residents of both the countries. were headed for a li ttle advertised but
iii. This Cabinet nod assumes signi fi cance as it ii. The central bank will set up a Central extremel y exci ting inaugura tion ceremony of
came da ys before the Pri me Minister Fra ud Registry tha t can be a ccessed by all a ski chai rlift, built in the breathtaking resort
Na rendra Modi's offi cial visi t to South Korea. banks to identify borrowers ha ving of Nal ta r, in northern Pakis tan.
The exis ting double ta xa tion a voida nce committed frauds with any bank in the pas t.
conventi on between the two countries was iii. The CBI and the Central Economic
signed i n 1985 for the a voidance of double Intelligence Bureau (CEIB) will also share
ta xa tion and for the prevention of fiscal thei r da tabases with banks .
evasion wi th respect to ta xes on income for iv. The concept of a Red Flagged Account
the ci tizens of both the countries. (RFA) is being introduced in the current
. framework as an i mporta nt s tep in fra ud risk
7. Geeta Phogat wins bronze in Asian control . iii. Pakis tani Prime Minis ter Nawa z Sha ri f was
champions hip s cheduled to a ttend the inaugura tion, but his
i . Geeta Phoga t won a bronze medal in the 3. Govt gets SC notice on PSB chief criteria ai rcraft turned ba ck from Gilgi t a fter reports
Women's Frees tyle 58kg ca tegory in the i. The Centre's new appointment norms for of the crash.
Senior Asian Wrestling cha mpionship in publi c sector bank chiefs capping the age
Doha . a t 55 yea rs and manda tory three -yea r boa rd 6. AK Jyoti, appointed as Election
level experience has come under judicial Commissioner
s crutiny wi th the Supreme Court. i. Achal Kumar Jyoti , a former Guja ra t Chief
ii. A bench of Jus ti ces A R Da ve a nd R K Secreta ry, was appointed as the Election
Agrawal issued noti ce to the Centre and the Commissioner.
Reserve Bank of India seeking thei r response ii. 62-yea r-old Jyoti's tenure will commence
on a PIL filed by a reti red ba nker who alleged from the da y he assumes his cha rge.
tha t the poli cy was intended to pa ve the wa y iii. He reti red from acti ve servi ce in Janua ry,
ii . She defeated Vietnam's Thi Loan Nyguen for pri va te ba nkers to lead the country top 2013 before servi ng in va ri ous capaci ties in
by Fall verdi ct in the bronze medal pla y-off. banks - Punjab Na tional Bank, Bank of India, Guja rat. He was also pos ted a t the Kandla
iii. En-route to the bronze medal pla y off, Ba nk of Ba roda, Cana ra Bank and IDBI Bank. Port Trus t between 1999 and 2004.
Geeta los t in pool bout onl y to Kaori Icho of iii. The upper age limi t for the pos t was 58
Japan, the Ol ympi c gold medallist. yea rs but the government decided to a mend 7. Prime Minister releases commemorative
Dail y GK Updates - 8th Ma y 2015 the rules, a rguing tha t it was pa rt of a plan to coin on Swami Chinmayananda Saraswati
1. Conservatives win majority in UK professionalize bank boa rds . i. Pri me Mi nister Na rendra Modi on Frida y
elections iv. The rules fi xed the age limi t for MDs & released a commemora ti ve coin to ma rk the
i. Da vid Ca meron has returned to Downing CEOs a t 45-55 yea rs wi th 15 yea rs of banking bi rth centena ry of Swa mi Chinma yananda.
Street wi th the Tories ha ving defied polls and experience out of whi ch three yea rs should ii. Swami Chinma yananda was a renowned
won the general election. ha ve been a t the boa rd level. Hi ndu spi ritual leader a nd tea cher who had
ii. The Conserva ti ves a re expected to get a inspi red the forma tion of a global nonprofit
37% sha re of the na tional vote, Labour 31%, 4. Jitan Ram Manjhi announces new party as organisati on called Chinma ya Mission to
UKIP 13%, the Lib Dems 8%, the SNP 5%, the Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) spread the knowledge of Advai ta Vedanta.
Green Pa rty 4% and Plaid Cymru 1%. i. Expelled JD(U) leader and former Chief iii. Swami Chinma ya nanda born as
Minis ter Ji tan Ra m Manjhi toda y announced Balakrishna Menon on 8 Ma y 1916 pioneered
launching of a new pa rty "Hindus tani Awam works in the field of educati on and social
Morcha " (HAM) whi ch he said would contest reform. He died on 3 August 1993.
alone all the 243 seats in coming Biha r polls. iv. He saw the need to incul ca te India's great
ii. He named former Biha r minis ter Shakuni cul ture and spi ri tual tradi tions, through the
Cha udha ry as Biha r President of the HAM. English medium, a mong an eli te class of
people, who had moved a wa y from this
heri ta ge.

8. Jitu Rai wins 'Sportsperson of the Year'

iii. Labour has been hammered in Scotland
Award at TOISA
by the SNP, wi th Ni cola Sturgeon's pa rty
i. Ace ma rksman Jitu Rai was decla red the
seizing 56 of the nation's 59 sea ts. Jim
iii. Na mes of 108 leaders were announced in Sportspers on of the Yea r' at the Times of
Murphy, leader of the Scottish Labour Pa rty,
the Biha r unit of the pa rty. It comprises India Sports Awa rds in a gli ttering ceremony
and shadow foreign secretary Douglas
former Union minis ter Devendra Prasad tha t was gra ced by the legenda ry Ca rl Lewis.
Alexander both los t thei r sea ts to the SNP.
Yada v, ex-MP Braha mdeo Ana nd Paswan and ii. 'Fl yi ng Sikh' Milkha Singh recei ved the
former s ta te ministers a nd Legislators like 'Li fetime Achievement Awa rd' from the
2. RBI puts in place new mechanism for
Ga nesh Yada v, Ra m Kuma r Yada v, Om 'Ol ympian of the century' and Times Group
banks to check loan fraud
Pra kash Paswan, K D Yada v and Ramchandra MD Vineet Jain in a ceremony tha t was
i. The RBI put in place a new framework to
Prasad Singh. a ttended by the who and who of India's
check loan fra ud incl uding by wa y of ea rl y
sporti ng fra terni ty.
wa rning signals a t banks and red flagging of
5. Pakistan helicopter crash kills foreign iii. Besides Lewis a nd Milkha, prominent
a ccounts , while s windlers will ha ve no a ccess
envoys fi gures from the sporting world included
to further banking finance.
former Indian cri cket captain Soura v

7
Ga ngul y, Ol ympi c bronze medallists boxer
MC Ma ry Kom, shuttler Saina Nehwal and
CWG gold medallist s quash pla yer Dipika
Pallikal.

Daily GK Update - 9th May 2015

1. INS Sardar Patel commissioned iii. Mr. Modi , duri ng his visi t from Ma y 14-16, iv. The PMSBY will offer a renewable one
i. A s tra tegi cally i mportant new Na val base will also announce the setting up of a Yoga yea r a ccidental death cum disability cover of
INS Sarda r Pa tel was commissioned in College in China . Rs two lakh to all the savings bank a ccount
Porbanda r. iv. India will provi de Yoga specialis ts and help holders in the age group of 18 to 70 yea rs for
ii. The base was commissioned by Guja rat Chi na to bring about a s tanda rdisa tion of a premium of Rs 12 per annum.
Chief Minis ter Anandiben Pa tel . Yoga techniques .
6. India Posts's e-commerce centre set to
4. MoUs worth Rs 24,000 cr signed during start operations
PM Narendra Modi's visit to Chattisgarh i. To cash in on growing online shopping
i. In a big push for infras tructure trend, India Pos t Delhi ci rcle will s tart i ts e -
development in Chhattisga rh, MoUs worth Rs commerce centre from 11th Ma y 2015.
24,000 crore were signed a t Dantewada .
ii. Here is a list of the MoUs tha t were si gned:
MoU between Government of Chha ttisga rh,
iii. Ms . Pa tel unveiled the plaque a nd read
NMDC, IRCON and SAIL for 140 km rail line
the commissioning wa rrant of the new base
between Rowgha t and Jagdalpur. Es ti mated
whi ch is second in the s tate for the Indian
project cos t: Rs 2,000 crore.
Na vy after INS Dwa rka near Okha . ii. Considering the ra pid growth of e -
iv. Guja ra t has a coas tline of 1600 km commerce business in the country in the
interspersed with 43 ports . Of these, Kandla recent pas t, the Depa rtment of Pos ts,
being a major port, 11 a re intermediate and through Delhi Pos tal Ci rcle has taken up a
31 a re minor ports . project to es tablish the e-commerce centre
a t Safda rjang, New Delhi .
2. Russia celebrates victory day iii. The centre is to be dedi ca ted to the
i. Vi ctory Da y is Russia's mos t i mporta nt na tion by Ra vi Shanka r Prasad, hon'ble
secula r holida y, both commemora ting the mi nister of communi ca tions a nd informa tion
Soviet Union's huge suffering in the war and MoU between Minis try of Steel , Government technology.
hi ghlighti ng Russia's portra yal of i tsel f as a of Chha ttisga rh, SAIL a nd NMDC for 3 million iv. The centre is ca pable of handling 30,000
force for pea ce and securi ty. ton Ul tra Mega Steel Plant with an pa rcels or a rti cles per da y and pa rcels
ii. Chi nese President Xi Jinping was the most inves tment of a pproxi ma tel y Rs 18,000 crore. collected from the e-commerce cus tomers,
prominent world leader to a ttend the Vi ctory MoU between Government of Chha ttisga rh processed and dispatched wi thin 24 hours to
Da y pa rade. and NMDC for Slurry Pi peline and 2MTPA respecti ve des tina tion through quickest
Pellet Plant a t Na ga rna r in Basta r Dis tri ct a vailable flight or train, as the case ma y be.
wi th an investment of Rs 4,000 crore.
MoU between Government of Chha ttisga rh
and SAIL for setting up 1MTPA Pellet Plant at 7. Now Whatsapp the money to your friends
Dalli-Rajhara , Balod Distri ct wi th an
inves tment of Rs 826 crore.

iii. Russia showed off new ma chines of wa r, 5. PM Modi to unveil 3 social security
including a highl y sophis tica ted tank, i n the schemes in Kolkata
annual Vi ctory Da y mili ta ry pa rade through i. Pri me Minis ter Na rendra Modi will launch
Red Squa re tha t ma rks the surrender of Nazi three social securi ty s chemes pertaining to
Germany a nd the Red Army's key role in the insurance and pension in Kolka ta .
defea t. ii. While two insurance s chemes - Pradhan
i. Axis Bank, the country's thi rd largest
Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana
pri va te sector bank now fa cilita tes insta nt
3. Modi to inaugurate first Gandhian studies (PMSBY) a nd Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti
Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) will provide insura nce trans fer of money on va rious social media
centre in China channels like Wha tsapp, Facebook, Twitter,
i. The fi rs t centre for Gandhian s tudies in cover in the unfortuna te event of dea th by
Email lis t and phone conta ct list.
Chi na will be inaugura ted a t Shanghais any cause or disability due to an a ccident,
the pension s cheme - Atal Pension Yojana ii. The ba nk's Ping Pa y servi ce competes wi th
Fudan Uni versi ty by Prime Mi nister Na rendra other banks digi tal products like ICICI Bank's
Modi . (APY) will a ddress the old age income
Pockets a nd HDFC Bank's Chillar.
ii. The Centre for Ga ndhian Studies will be securi ty needs.
iii. The trans fer of funds is ins tant while in
es tablished at the Fudan Uni versity in China iii. The convenient deli very mechanism of the
other platforms there is a waiting period of
and the s ta ff for i t will be provided by Indian s chemes is expected to address the problem
30 mi nutes to one da y
Council of Cul tural Rela tions (ICCR). of very low penetra tion of li fe or a ccident
iv. The person to person funds transfer
insurance and old age income securi ty
through Ping Pa y would happen via NPCI's
products in the country.

8
Immedia te Pa yment Servi ce (IMPS) and di vision of the Senior Asian Wres tling
currentl y the transa ction li mi t is at Rs 50,000 Cha mpionship in Doha .
per da y. ii. Lalita was defeated by North Korea's Han
Kum-ok 3-9 in the semifinal but she managed
8. Sakshi, Lalita win bronze in Asian to settle for a bronze medal in the end in her
Wrestling Championship ca tegory.
i. Sa kshi Malik and Lalita bagged bronze iii. In a total of fi ve rounds in the 60kg
medal in Women's Frees tyle 60kg and 55kg ca tegory, Sakshi won two of her bouts to
ca tegories, respecti vel y, even as Babita claim the thi rd position.
Kuma ri lost out on a thi rd-place finish in 53kg
Daily GK Update - 10th May 2015
WHO can decla re a country Ebola Dea fl ympi cs a re held every 4 yea rs and
Shashi Kapoor has been conferred with free, i f no new cases a re reported often considered as the longes t mul ti -
prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke Award 2014 over two i ncuba tion periods of sports event, excl uding the Ol ympi c.
i. The awa rd was bes towed upon hi m by vi rus i .e. 21 da ys . To qualify for the Deafl ympi cs , a thletes
Union Information and Broadcas ting Minister In case of Liberia , no new cases of mus t ha ve a hea ring loss of a t least 55
Arun Jai tley a t a special function held in Ebola were reported in pas t 42 decibel (dB). In order to maintain
Pri thvi Theatre in Mumbai, Maha rashtra . da ys i .e. twice the number of days equality and same level in parti cipa tion
ii. He is the 46th film pers onality to recei ve the vi rus requi res to incubate. The among a thletes , hea ring aids , cochlear
this honour and thi rd member of his last confi rmed dea th in Liberia was implants a re not allowed during the
illustri ous famil y after fa ther Pri thvi raj reported on 27 Ma rch 2015. ga mes .
Kapoor (1972- Pos thumousl y) and elder
brother Raj Kapoor (1987). Navneet Rajan Wasan appointed as DG of
Police Research & Development Bureau
i. The post of Director General (DG) of
Bureau of Poli ce Resea rch and Development
had been l yi ng va cant since Ma rch 2015
following the reti rement of Rajan Gupta .
Haryana Government has decided to include ii. Presentl y, Wasan is working as Special
Deaflympics in its Sports Policy Di rector General in the Na tional Inves tiga tion
i. Ha rya na Government has deci ded to Agency (NIA). He is a 1980-ba tch IPS officer
About Shashi Kapoor of the Andhra Pra desh ca dre.
include Dea fl ympi cs in i ts Sports Poli cy in
Born as Balbi r Ra j Pri thvi ra j Kapoor on order to boos t the morale of di fferentl y- Other Appointment- Indian Pos tal Service
Ma rch 18, 1938 in Kolka ta, Wes t Bengal. abled sports persons in the s tate. Decision in (IPoS) offi cer Sheuli Burman was appointed
Sta rted a cting in films as a child in late this rega rd was taken during a s tate ca binet as the Chief Vigilance Offi cer (CVO) in the
1940s . Since then he has appea red in Indian Telephone Industries (ITI), Bangalore.
meet chai red by Chief Minis ter Manoha r Lal
160 movies al together, 12 being in Kha tta r.
English and the res t in Hindi . ii. Wi th this inclusion, Deafl ympian medalists Book titled Unbelievable Delhi to
His Boll ywood debut as a lead a ctor was now will be able to get cash rewa rds, jobs Islamabad written by Prof Bhim Singh
in the film Dha rmputra (1961). His best and other benefits from the s tate released
known performances as child a rtist were government. i. Book ti tled Unbelievable Delhi to
in Aag (1948), Awaa ra (1951) and Islamabad authored by senior Advoca te Prof.
Sa ngra m (1950). He is also bes t-known About Deaflympics Bhim Singh was released on 8 Ma y 2015 by
for his performances in Hindi films like Vi ce President M Hamid Ansa ri in New Delhi.
Jab Jab Phool Khile, Deewar and ii. The book, a tra velogue is an effort ini tiated
Kabhi Kabhie. Ameri can and British by the lawyers of India and Pakistan to work
fil ms : The Householder (1963), jointl y to ensure tha t Pakis tani prisoners
Shakespea re Wallah (1965), Bomba y languishing in Indian jails a re trea ted in
Talkie (1970), Hea t and Dus t (1982), The a ccordance wi th the spiri t of the Cons ti tution
Decei vers (1988), Side Streets (1998) of India . Si milarl y, the same trea tment
etc. should be mended for the Indian prisoners
Apa rt from a cting in movies, he also had on Pakista n and they should be gi ven fair
worked as a film di rector, assista nt trials.
di rector and film producer. Dea fl ympi cs is an Interna tional Ol ympic
Commi ttee (IOC) sanctioned event, at
whi ch deaf a thletes compete a t an elite
level .
WHO declares Liberia Ebola-free
i. WHO has hailed Liberias Ebola era dica tion The fi rs t event of was held i n Pa ris in
efforts as an enormous development in the 1924. It is the fi rst internati onal sporting
long crisis and monumental a chievement as event for a thletes wi th a disability.
the vi rus has killed more than 4,716 people Previousl y, i t was known as World
in the country alone. Ga mes for the Dea f and International
ii. Now, Liberias neighbous Guinea and Ga mes for the Deaf.
Sierra Leone a re onl y two countries fi ghting Organised by the International
to s top Ebola outbreak since i t bega n in Commi ttee of Sports for the Dea f,
December 2013. (French- Commi ttee Interna tional des
Criteria for declaring a nation Ebola-free Sports des Sourds) since fi rs t event.

9
 Daily GK Updates - 11th May 2015
1. KV Kamath appointed BRICS bank Krasnoya rsk, who succeeded in an open 5. Rosberg wins Spanish GP
president competi tion pa rti cipa ted by both Indians and
Russians.

3. Jayaram Jayalalitha cleared of corruption

charges
i . An appeals court in southern India has
a cqui tted powerful regional poli tician
Ja ya ram Ja yalalitha of corruption cha rges, i. Ni co Rosberg has finall y got the better of
clea ring the wa y for her to return to public Mercedes teamma te Lewis Hamil ton this
office. season, winning the Spanish Grand Pri x.
i. Eminent banker K.V. Ka math was on ii . The High Court of Ka rna taka deli vered its ii. A crowd of 86,700 wa tched the ra ce, wi th
Monda y appointed as head of the USD 50 verdi ct on the appeal by former Ta mil Nadu a total of 189,000 specta tors a ttending the
billion New Development Bank being set up chief minister J Ja yalalitha challenging a Ca talunya ci rcuit.
by the fi ve emerging economies of BRICS special court order convi cting her i n the iii. McLa rens misery conti nued as two-time
grouping. disproporti ona te assets case. F1 cha mpion Ferna ndo Alonso reti red just
ii. Mr. Ka math will ha ve a fi ve -yea r term of short of halfwa y wi th faul ty brakes on the
the bank, whi ch is likel y to be operationalised tra ck.
wi thin one yea r.
iii. About NDB - The New Development Bank 6. May 11: National Technology Day
(NDB), formerl y referred to as the BRICS i. Every yea r, `Na tional Technology Da y is
Development Ba nk, is a mul tilateral observed a cross India on Ma y 11.
development bank opera ted by the BRICS ii. This da y glori fies the importance of science
s tates (Bra zil , Russia, India , China and South in da y-to-da y li fe and moti va tes students to
Afri ca) as an al terna ti ve to the exis ting US- iii. Supporters from Ja yalalitha 's pa rty adopt s cience as a ca reer option.
domina ted World Bank a nd International cheered, set off fi re cra ckers a nd danced in iii. Na tional Te chnology Da y is being
Moneta ry Fund. The bank is set up to foster the s treets of the Ta mil Nadu s ta te capi tal of commemora ted to celebra te the anni versa ry
grea ter financial a nd development Chennai , her hometown, a fter the Ka rnataka of fi rs t of the fi ve tes ts of Opera tion Shakti
coopera tion a mong the fi ve emerging Hi gh Court in Ba ngalore deli vered i ts verdi ct. (Pokhran-II) nuclea r tes t whi ch was held on
ma rkets . 11 Ma y 1998 in Pokhran, Rajas than.
4. China becomes world's top crude buyer iv. Apa rt from Pokhran nuclear tes t, on this
2. President Muk herjee inaugurates da y fi rs t indigenous ai rcraft Hansa-3 was test
`Namaste Russia` festival in Moscow fl own a t Bangalore and India also conducted
i. President Pra nab Mukherjee, currentl y on successful test fi ri ng of the Trishul missile on
his four-da y offi cial visi t to Russia, has the same da y.
inaugura ted a fes ti val of Indian Cul ture
'Na maste Russia' in Mos cow. 7. Andy Murray beats Rafael Nadal to win
ii. As pa rt of the festi val , the Russian Minis try Madrid Masters final
of Cul ture will support the ini tiati ves of the i . Andy Murra y claimed his fi rs t vi ctory over
Indian Council for Cul tural Relations (ICCR) in i. Chi na overtook the Uni ted Sta tes as the
Ra fael Nadal on cla y to win the Madrid
sending Indian tea chers of music a nd da nce world's top importer of crude oil for the fi rst
Mas ters .
to regional centres in Russia from Ma y 2015 time in April , and i ts purchases a re expected
ii . The Bri ton had never bea ten Na dal i n six
to October 2015. to remain s trong despi te a slowing economy,
previous meetings on the surfa ce but won 6-
wi th fa r-reaching consequences for gl obal oil
3 6-2 to s tun the home crowd.
and commodi ties ma rkets .
ii. Chi na is al ready the world's bi gges t energy
consumer, wi th oil by fa r the la rges t traded
energy ma rket.
iii. The Saudi-led decision by the
Organiza tion of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC) in November 2014 not to iii. Defending champion Nadal was aiming for
iii. Special emphasis will be on encoura ging cut production despi te the slide in oil prices a record fifth win in Madri d but Murra y
the pa rti cipa tion of youth of both the has been largel y moti va ted by an effort to outclassed his Spanish opponent to lift his
countries in cultural exchanges . defend ma rket sha re against outside fi rs t Mas ters ti tle on cla y.
iv. The logo for the fes ti val was designed by a competi tors li ke Russia or US shale
young Russian from the Russian town of producers .

Daily GK Updates - 12th May 2015

1. GST bill referred to select committee iii. The commi ttee will be headed by
i . The government a nd opposi tion pa rties Bhupendra Yada v, a Bha ra ti ya Jana ta Pa rty
agreed to refer the cons titutional (BJP) MP and a pa rty general secreta ry.
amendment bill on goods and servi ce ta x Members of major politi cal pa rties incl uding
(GST) to a 21-member select committee of BJP, Shi romani Akali Dal , Congress, Bahujan
the Rajya Sabha . Sa maj Pa rty, Sa majwadi Pa rty and Ja na ta Dal
ii . The commi ttee will submi t i ts report on (United) will be represented in the
the last da y of the fi rs t week of Pa rliaments committee.
monsoon session.

10
i v. After passing the bill in the Lok Sabha , the iii. Before the present eleva tion, he had been
government has fa ced problems in the upper the Vi ce Chai rman of the company and the
house. The government, whi ch has 62 Chief Executi ve Offi cer (CEO) of SB Group US,
members in the 244-member house, needs Inc. (former SoftBank Internet and Media,
162 members to support the bill for its Inc.) since September 2014.
clea rance. i v. He succeeds Masa yoshi Son, Chai rman
and CEO of the Softbank Corp.
2. Nepal earthquake, magnitude 7.3, strikes v. Ea rlier, Arora worked in Google for 10
near Everest yea rs and left the company as the Senior Vice
President and Chief Business Offi cer before
joining SoftBank Corp. in 2014.
i . President Pranab Mukherjee has appointed 7. Canara Bank launches mega CASA
Jus ti ce Cyria c Joseph as a cting Chai rman of campaign
Na tional Human Ri ghts Commission (NHRC). i . Cana ra Bank has launched a mega CASA
ii . His appointment comes after then (current a ccount, savi ngs a ccount) ca mpaign
Chai rman of NHRC Justi ce K.G. Balakrishnan in Bengaluru wi th the CanBa nk men and
completed his tenure. women wi th thei r logo colour caps flooding
iii. Presentl y, Jus ti ce Cyria c Joseph is member the nook and corners of the ci ty to sell their
of NHRC. He hails from Kaiphuza village of products .
i . A ma jor ea rthquake has s truck eastern Kotta yam distri ct i n Kerala and was a Judge
Nepal , nea r Mount Everes t, two weeks after
of the Supreme Court from 2008 to 2012.
more than 8,000 died in a devasta ting quake.
i v. Jus tice Balakrishna n, the former Chief
ii . The US Geologi cal Survey said it had a Jus ti ce of India , completed his tenure as the
ma gni tude of 7.3. An ea rthqua ke on 25 April,
si xth and the longes t servi ng NHRC
centred i n western Nepal , had a ma gni tude
Chai rperson. Duri ng his tenure, he was
of 7.8. ins trumental in charti ng out several new
iii. The tremor was also fel t in northern India
ini tiati ves towards promotion a nd protection
and Bangladesh, and was centred eas t of the ii . Executi ve directors P S Rawa t and
of human ri ghts in the country.
Nepalese ca pital Ka thmandu, in a rural area Ha rideesh Kuma r spea rheaded the ca mpaign.
close to the Chi nese border. iii. The enti re ci ty was di vi ded into 16 clus ters
5. MIDC inks MoU with SIDBI to raise Rs covering 173 branches . Ea ch clus ter was led
200-crore fund for MSMEs
3. LS passes Black Money Bill with by the rank of a General Mana ger from head
i . Maha rashtra Indus trial Development
Opposition support office.
Corpora tion (MIDC) has inked memorandum
i . A s tringent law imposing 120 per cent ta x, 8. Hyderabad to host global pharma summit
of unders tanding (MoU) wi th s tate -run Small
jail term of up to 10 yea rs and penalty on i . Hyderabad will pla y hos t to a four-da y
Indus tries Devel opment Bank of India (SIDBI)
undiscl osed foreign assets and income to gl obal pha rma expo and summit from Jul y
to provide eas y finance to mi cro, small and
deal wi th the black money mena ce was 23.
medium enterprises (MSMEs) for their
passed in Lok Sabha Monda y by voi ce vote ii . Wi th Innova tion and Advances as i ts
growth.
and wi th support from the Opposition. theme, the event will delibera te on a range
ii . The MoU was signed Ananta P Sa rma, MD
ii . The Congress a rgued tha t the Undisclosed of issues, from pha rma ceuti cal technology to
and CEO of SIDBI and MIDC CEO Bhushan
Foreign Income and Assets (Imposition of educati on, indigenous drugs and drug
Ga grani in the presence of Maha rashtra Chief
Ta x) Bill, 2015, is a finance bill. regula tory a ffai rs , besides serving as a
Minis ter Devendra Fadanvis in Nashik, pla tform for joint ventures and project
Maha rashtra . collabora tion.
iii. As per the MoU, both signa tory pa rties
iii. Renowned pha rma ceuti cal experts will be
ha ve jointl y crea ted funds to the tune of 200
addressing the Indo-Global Pha rma Expo and
crore rupees to provide immedia te finance to Summi t 2015, being organised by Indus
the MSMEs. Founda tion, in associa tion wi th FTAPCCI and
i v. Of the total amount, the MIDC has
OMICS group, a ccording to S.B.
contributed 75 crore rupees , while SIDBI has
iii. However, Speaker Sumi tra Mahajan i v. Anumolu, president of the Founda tion.
provided the remaining 125 crore rupees.
agreed to Finance Minister Arun Jai tleys More than 4,000 delega tes a re expected to
a rgument tha t i t is a money bill, in whi ch a ttend the event, whi ch will serve as a one
6. India-born Nikesh Arora named Japan's
case approval of the Upper House is not s top s tage for showcasing lates t
SoftBank Corp president
ma nda tory. technologi cal devel opments .
i . Indian-born Ni kesh Arora was on 11 Ma y
i v. Under the proposed law, there would be a 2015 appointed as the President of Japans
short compliance window wi thin whi ch 9. Indian- origin Priti Patel gets British
mul tina tional telecommuni ca tions and
persons wi th undiscl osed income abroad can cabinet rank
internet company SoftBank Corp.
come clean by pa ying 30 per cent ta x a nd 30
per cent penal ty. Once the window closes,
anyone found ha ving undeclared overseas
wealth would be requi red to pa y 30 per cent
ta x, 90 per cent penal ty and fa ce criminal
prosecution.

4. Justice Cyriac Joseph appointed NHRC i . Indian-origin Tory MP Pri ti Pa tel has been
acting chief ii . As per the announcement made at the appointed minister of s ta te for employment
companys ea rning conference, he will also in Bri tish Prime Minis ter Da vid Cameron's
be the Representa ti ve Di rector of SoftBank new cabinet.
Corp.

11
 ii . Pa tel , who called her new pos ting a t the securing 58% of the votes from Wi tha m. yea r-old was fi rs t elected the MP for Wi tham
depa rtment for work and pensions "a real iii. She was the exchequer secreta ry to the in Ma y 2010.
pri vilege", won the recent elections by treasury from Jul y 2014 to Ma y 2015. The 43-
Daily GK Update - 13th May 2015
1. President Pranab Mukherjee appoints technologies/sewage trea tment plants ii. HSBC further said tha t India has be come
new Governors in six states (STPs )/effl uent trea tment plant (ETPs ). the second mos t expensi ve and one of the
mos t over-owned ma rkets in Asia .
3. Houses nominate members for Joint iii. The downgra de comes a t a time when
Committee on land bill Indian ma rkets a re already under a cute
i. Ra jya Sabha on Wednesda y na med 10 pressure, prima ril y because of foreign
members , i ncluding Di gvi ja ya Singh of inves tors turni ng hea vy sellers on concerns
Congress and Trinamool s Derek OBrien, to rela ted to the controversial MAT levy and
the Joi nt Commi ttee tha t will look into the dela y in the ambi tious indi rect ta x (GST) and
i. President Pranab Mukherjee on 12 Ma y controversial Land Acquisi tion Bill. land reforms.
2015 appointed Governors in six s ta tes. Their ii. The 30-member Joint Commi ttee of Lok
appointments will take effect from the dates Sa bha and Ra jya Sabha would submi t its 6. Reliance Jio to raise $750 million from
they assume cha rge. report on the fi rst da y of Monsoon Session Korean company
on the bill which has al ready been passed by i. Reliance Indus tries has signed up for a
Following are newly appointed Governors the Lower House. $750 million loan, ba cked by Korea Trade
Jharkhand: Former Odisha Mi nister Droupadi iii. The government, whi ch had promul gated Insura nce Corp, to pri maril y finance the
Murmu was appointed as Governor of ordinance twi ce on the bill since December procurements for i ts i nfras tructure rollout
Jha rkhand. She will repla ce Dr Syed Ahmed. last a fter i t fa ced si milar resis tance ea rlier, from Samsung Electroni cs and Ace
Manipur: Dr Syed Ahmed has been had a greed to refer i t to the commi ttee after Technologies Corp.
trans fered to Manipur for remaining period NDA allies Shi v Sena and Akali Dal joi ned the ii. It has a door-to-door tenor of 12 yea rs,
of his term. Opposition in Lok Sabha to oppose the including a two-yea r a vailability period and a
Arunachal Pradesh: J P Ra jkhowa was measure. 10-yea r repa yment peri od therea fter.
appointed as Governor of Aruna chal Pra desh.
He will repla ce Lt. General (Retd.) Ni rbha y 4. Retail inflation eases to 4-month low
Sha rma .
Mizoram: Lt. General (Retd.) Ni rbha y Sha rma
has been trans ferred and a ppointed as
Governor of Mizoram for the remainder of
his term.
Tripura: Ta tha gata Roy will be the Governor
of Tripura .
i. Retail i nfla tion in April softened further and iii. Reliance Jio Infocomm is setting up a pan-
2. Centre okays Rs. 20,000-crore budget for fell to a four-month l ow of 4.87 per cent as India telecom network for 4th genera tion
Namami Gange scheme pri ces of food i tems , vegetables and fruits Net servi ces , communica tion servi ces and
i. The Ca binet approved the flagship turned cheaper.
Namami Gange programme, whi ch other digi tal servi ces in a reas like educa tion,
ii. The retail infla tion, measured on the basis heal thca re, security, financial servi ces,
integra tes the efforts to clean and protect of Consumer Pri ce Index (CPI), was revised government-ci ti zen i nterfa ces and
the Ri ver Ganga in a comprehensi ve manner. upwa rds to 5.25 per cent from 5.17 per cent entertainment.
ii. The progra mme has a budget outla y of Rs. in Ma rch 2015.
20,000 crore for the next 5 yea rs . iii. Food inflation, based on Consumer Food 7. BRICS Cup from next year, first one to be
iii. The amount was a signi fi cant four-fold Pri ce Index, fell to 5.11 per cent during the held in India
increase over the expenditure alloca ted to month from 6.14 per cent in Ma rch. i. Coi nciding wi th the BRICS (Brazil , Russia,
the task of cleaning the Ganga over the past iv. Fall in food infla tion was mainl y dri ven by India, China and South Afri ca) summi t next
30 yea rs .
frui ts , vegetables , milk and rela ted products . yea r in India , an under-17 football
tournament will be pla yed between the
5. HSBC cuts India ratings to underweight na tions .
ii. As a lead-up to the 2017 under-17 FIFA
World Cup, India will use the competi tion to
tes t i ts infras tructure and on-field
prepa rati on.
iii. FC Ba rcelona or Qa ta rs under-17 side
iv. The progra mme would be implemented ha ve been mooted as possible pa rti cipants
by the Na tional Mission for Clean Ganga due to thei r links wi th the Uni ted Nations
(NMCG), and i ts sta te counterpa rt body.
organisati ons , tha t is , the Sta te Progra mme iv. The tournaments launch was
Mana gement Groups (SPMGs). a ccompanied by the signing of a
v. Na mami Gange will focus on pollution i. In the fi rs t ma jor downgra de for Indian Memorandum of Unders tanding between
aba tement interventions, namel y ma rkets in the pas t one yea r, global the Associa ted Cha mbers of Commerce
interception and di version and treatment of brokera ge HSBC changed i ts sta nce on the (ASSOCHAM) a nd the Brazilian
was te wa ter flowing through open drains via country to underweight, sa ying corporate representati ves.
bio-remedia tion/ appropria te in-situ ea rnings ma y remain muted, monsoon could
trea tment/use of i nnova ti ve be weak a nd odds a re a gainst further rate
cuts .

12
 Daily GK updates - 14th May 2015
Punjab becomes first state to issue Soil Indians la rgest fuel retailer IOC for the ii . The report finds tha t gl oball y, life
Health Cards to farmers second ti me in 13 months . Sale of 24.27 expecta ncy a t bi rth has increased by si x years
i . Punjab has become the fi rst s ta te in India crore shares , or 10 per cent sta ke, in IOC for both men and women since 1990.
to issue Soil Heal th Ca rds (SHCs ), a Union would mop up close to Rs 8,000 crore at
Government ini tia ti ve to all fa rmers in the current ma rket pri ce.
s tate. i v. Decision in this rega rd was taken by Union
ii . In this rega rd, every distri ct of s ta te has Cabi net Meeting chai red by Prime Minister
been assigned mobile soil tes ting lab. These Na rendra Modi in New Del hi.
labs will take soil sample from every fa rm v. Currentl y, Union government holds 74.96
and issue a digi talised soil health details . per cent in NTPC and 68.57 per cent in IOC.

Lok Sabha passes Negotiable Instruments

iii. Since 1990, child dea ths ha ve al most
(Amendment) Bill
hal ved falling from an esti ma ted 90 deaths
i . The Lok Sabha passed the negotiable
per 1000 li ve bi rths to 46 dea ths per 1000
Ins truments (Amendment) Bill , which aims at
li ve bi rths in 2013. Yet the world will not
ma king filing of cases more convenient for
a chieve the MDG ta rget of reducing the
pa yees if cheques bounce.
dea th ra te by two-thi rds .
ii . The government fa ced questions from its
i v. In India, li fe expectancy grew by eight
own members and allies over whether the
yea rs between 1990 and 2013. While India
iii. Presentl y, s tate government has 66 such Bill's provisions could be used by corporates
has sha rpl y reduced i ts infant mortality
labora tories and has capability to tes t 3.5 to ha rass common people.
between 2000 and 2013, i t still contri butes
lakh s oil samples annuall y. Sta te government iii. The Bill was passed by a voi ce vote, wi th
for the mos t i nfant dea ths globall y. Non -
also has made manda tory for these labs to Minis ter of Sta te for Fina nce Ja yant Sinha
communi cable diseases are the top killers,
check soil heal th on qua rterl y basis. insisting tha t i t would boost the "integrity of
fi nancial s ys tem" and not lead to the followed by communi cable diseases and
i v. It will help fa rmers i n maintaining the injuries .
balanced heal th s tructure of the soil and ha rassment of the common man.
educate them to use ri ght quanti ty of i v. The Bill was necessita ted due to a
Supreme Court order tha t cases against WPI inflation dips to record (-)2.65 per
fertilisers in order to prevent soil from i . Deflationa ry pressure continued for the
becoming a rid. those ha vi ng defaul ted on thei r cheque
si xth month in a row wi th inflation dropping
v. Pri me Minis ter Na rendra Modi had pa yments could onl y be filed in courts under
to a new low of (-)2.65 per cent in April,
formally launched the na tionwide Soil whose jurisdi ction the bank a ccount of the
mainl y on a ccount of decline in pri ces of fuel
Heal th Ca rd Scheme in Februra ry 2015 in a ccused fell.
and manufa ctured i tems even as food prices
Sura tga rh, Ra jasthan. increased.
RBI plans IT wing as financial crimes rise in
Disinvestment: Cabinet nod for IOC, NTPC cyber space
stake sale may fetch Rs 13,600 crore i . The Reserve Bank is planning to set up an
i . The government will sell its 10 per cent informa tion technology wing to fa ce the
s take in blue -chip Indian Oil Corpora tion rising challenges comi ng from the cyber
(IOC) and 5 per cent in power producer NTPC world.
to mop up a bout Rs 13,600 crore in this ii . It can be noted that online frauds in the
fis cal s fi rst disinves tment approval . fi nancial sector ha ve been on the rise and
ii . The approvals a re pa rt of Rs 41,000 crore hundreds of gullible people ha ve been
disinves tment ta rget for the current financial defrauded by crooks, using thei r s tolen credit
and debit ca rd informa tion. ii . Inflation, as measured on the Wholesale
yea r.
iii. The cyber thieves ha ve even been using Pri ce Index (WPI), has been in the negati ve
RBI logos to send out mails to cheat zone since November, 2014.
cus tomers . iii. The deflationa ry trend has bolstered the
case for a ra te cut by the Reserve Bank, as
India way behind on WHO health targets retail inflation has also eased and indus trial
i . India has met onl y four of ten health producti on is down.
ta rgets under the Millenium Development
Goals (MDG).
iii. Buoyed by diesel pri ce deregulation, the
government is looking a t selling s take in
Daily GK Update - 15th May 2015
1. Modi's Visit to China 3. Consul ta ti ve mechanism on coopera tion in
i . Pri me Minis ter Narendra Modi announced trade negotia tions
tha t India will grant e -visas to Chinese 4. Coopera tion between Forei gn Minis try and
tourists . and Central Committee of Communist Pa rty
ii . Agreements between India and China of China (CCCPC)
1. Protocol for es tablishment of consula tes in 5. Acti on plan between na tional railwa y
Chengdu and Chennai administra tion of China and Indian Railwa ys
2. Coopera tion in voca tional educa tion and 6. Memora ndum of Unders tanding on
skill development and setting up of Maha tma educati on exchange progra mme
Ga ndhi insti tute on skill devel opment i n India 7. Coopera tion in the fields of mining and
mi nerals

13
8. Space coopera tion outline iii. Chromebook is a laptop running Googles where ins tead of the tradi tional s wiping of
9. Sa fety regulations on i mporting Indian Chrome Opera ting Sys tem. The devi ces are the ca rd and punching in pa yment details, all
rapeseed meal designed to be used pri ma ril y while the cus tomer needs to do is wa ve a ca rd in
10. Broa dcasting a greement between CCTV connected to the internet wi th most front of an a cceptance devi ce for the bill to
and Doorda rshan appli ca tions and da ta residing in the cloud. be settled.
11. Agreement for coopera tion in the field of
tourism 4. SBI Launches NFC-Enabled Contactless 6. MHRD Gave Nod For Setting Up IIIT in
12. Memorandum of Understanding on Debit and Credit Cards Nagpur, Maharashtra
es tablishing India -China think tanks forum i . State Bank of India joined i ts pri va te sector i . Union Minis try of Human Resource
13. Memorandum of Unders tanding between ri vals to launch conta ctless ca rds using la test Development (MHRD) ga ve a n in-pri nciple
NITI Aa yog and Development Research nea r field technology (NFC). approval for setting up an IIIT (Indian
Centre ii . Called the SBIinTouch ca rds , these Ins ti tute of Informa tion Technology) in
iii. Two MoUs between Indian Council for conta ctless debi t and credi t ca rds a re more Nagpur, Maha rashtra .
Cul tural Relations (ICCR) a nd Yunnan Mi nzu secure and hassle-free to use a t mercha nt ii . It will be the fi rs t IIIT to be set up in the
Uni versi ty and another wi th Fudan Uni versi ty outlets or ATMs and use the NFC technology, s tate.
were signed on the es tablishment of a yoga whi ch enables users to ma ke pa yments by iii. The IIIT will join a ba tch of national
college and centre for Gandhian and Indian wa ving or ta pping the ca rd nea r the ins ti tutes whi ch a re set to come up in the
s tudies , respecti vel y. conta ctless reader ins tead of s wiping or ci ty, namel y the All India Ins ti tute of Medical
dipping i t. Sciences (AIIMS) a nd Indian Insti tute of
2. Rajyavardhan Rathore inaugurates India iii. Pri va te lenders ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank Mana gement (IIM).
Pavilion at 68th Cannes Film Festival ha ve al ready launched such NFC ca rds . i v. The setting up of these hi gher educational
i . Minis ter of Sta te for Informa tion and ins ti tutions in Na gpur is aimed a t i mproving
Broadcas ting Ra jya va rdhan Singh Ra thore educati onal infras tructure in the ba ckwa rd
inaugura ted the India Pa vilion a t the 68th Vida rbha region.
Cannes Interna tional Film Fes ti val .
ii . The government is channelising that 7. Tejaswini Sagar wins gold at Under-15
objecti ve through ca mpaigns like 'Make in World School Chess Championship
India and Skill India, and realises tha t the i . Talented Indian youngs ter Tejaswi ni Sa gar
fil m indus try is an important pa rt of these i v. Launching the ca rds , SBI chai rperson won her maiden world ti tle ba gging the gold
campaigns gi ven i ts tremendous potential Arundha ti Bha tta chrya said the bank has in the under-15 ca tegory of World School
towa rds job crea tion. al ready issued 1.08 la kh new ca rds to its Chess Championship tha t concluded in
cus tomers in the ei ght la rges t metros and the pa tta ya .
remaining cus tomers will get the ca rds in the
following months .

5. RBI allows transactions upto Rs 2000

without second factor authentication
i . In a move tha t will promote 'tap and pa y'
iii. The session also saw unveiling of the 46th electronic pa yments, the Reserve Bank of
IFFI, 2015 regula tions and India Film Guide India (RBI) said that bank can allow
by Ra thore. cus tomers to transa ct wi th conta ctless ca rd
i v. The India Fil m Guide is a comprehensive upto Rs 2000 wi thout cus tomers punching a ii . Needing a las t round win and one
booklet wi th i nformation on policy ini tia tives sepa ra te PIN for authentica tion. fa voura ble resul t, the Aurangaba d-girl
by the government pertaining to fil m sector, ii . The 'tap a nd pa y' refers to the use of nea r- defea ted Ka vi nya Mi yuni Ra japaksa of Sri
the listing of Indian companies a t Cannes field communi cati on ( NFC) technology, Lanka in the ninth and final round.
Fil m Ma rket. enabling users to ma ke pa yments by wa ving iii. Tejaswini was aided by the resul t on the
or tapping the ca rd nea r the contactless top boa rd as overni ght leader Irina
3. Google in talks with Arunachal govt for reader ins tead of s wiping i t. Ba rba yeva of Russia los t to Alisa Kozyba yeva
Chromebook laptops in schools iii. Prior to this relaxa tion, after tapping the of Kaza khs tan in the final clash.
i . Global tech giant Google is in discussions ca rd a t a point of sale ma chines , the i v. For the record, Tejaswini s cored seven
wi th the Aruna chal Pradesh government to cus tomer ha d to punch their PIN number as points out of a possible ni ne, winning si x,
run a pilot for depl oying Chromebook laptops an addi tional fa ctor authenti ca tion to a void dra wing two and losing one ga me.
for s chool s tudents. any chances of fra ud.
ii . The pilot is proposed to be run in s chools i v. Tap a nd pa y refers to the use of nea r field
in two ci ties Itana gar and Zi ro. communi ca tion technology in pa yment ca rds
Daily GK Updates - 16th May 2015
1. Egypt's ousted President Morsy
sentenced to death ii. Judge Shaaban el-Sha mi referred his death 2. Airtel clinches $2.5 billion Chinese
i. An Egyptian court has sentenced ousted sentence on Mors y and more than 20 others financing deals
President Mohammed Mors y to dea th. to the nations top Muslim theologian, or
mufti, for his non-binding opinion.
iii. The ous ted leader al ready is serving a 20-
yea r sentence following his convi cti on on
April 21 on cha rges linked to the killing of
protes ters outside a Cai ro presidential palace
in December 2012. i. Bha rti Ai rtel has recei ved financing
commitments of up to USD 2.5 billion from
Chi na Development Bank and Industrial and

14
Commercial Ba nk of China , with an a verage functions including corpora te banking, i. Senior Indian Administra ti ve Servi ce (IAS)
ma turi ty of a bout nine yea rs . opera tions , finance and treasury. officer Sha kuntala Gamlin on Sa turda y took
ii. This is the single -larges t bilateral iii. Some publi c sector banks incl uding SBI, cha rge as a cting Chief Secreta ry of Delhi
commitment by Chi na Development Bank to UCO Ba nk, Ca na ra Bank a nd Allahabad Bank Government despi te being asked by the Chief
any telecom opera tor globally and the largest ha ve also expanded thei r presence i n China Minis ter not to do so.
bila teral commi tment to a pri va te Indian in the recent yea rs to tap growing trade ii. A senior Delhi government official said
company. fl ows between the two countries . tha t in his letter to Gamlin, Delhi Chief
iii. Bha rti Airtel a nnounced a s tra tegic Minis ter Arvi nd Kejri wal had said tha t her
collabora tion wi th China Mobile, under 5. PM Modi extends e-visa for Chinese appointment is a gainst the set rule.
whi ch the two companies will work towards nationals iii. Lt Governor Na jeeb Jung ga ve the
growth of the Long-Term Evoluti on (LTE) i. Brushing aside objections , Prime Minister addi tional cha rge of Chief Secreta ry to
ecos ys tem and evol ving mobile technology Na rendra Modi announced gra nting of e -visa Ga mlin, a 1984-ba tch IAS offi cer, hours after
s tanda rds . (electroni c visa also called visa on a rri val) she wrote a s ca thing letter to Jung claiming
fa cili ty to the Chinese na tionals in Bei jing tha t s he was pressurised by a senior
3. Arun Shrivastava assumes charge as even as he urged China to "reconsider its bureaucra t in Chief Mi nister's offi ce not to be
Syndicate Bank MD and CEO approa ch" to issues tha t ha ve long strained in ra ce for the pos t due to her alleged
ties and compli ca ted business between the proximi ty to BSES dis coms.
two Asian giants .
7. Gagan Narang wins World Cup bronze,
earns India quota for Rio Olympics
i. Ga gan Nara ng won the bronze medal in the
50m Ri fle Prone Event of the ISSF World Cup
a t Fort Benning in USA, ea rning hi mself a
quota pla ce for the 2016 Ri o Ol ympi cs.
ii. Na ra ng, who won the bronze in 10m Rifle
i. Arun Shri vas ta va assumed cha rge as a t the London Ol ympi cs , shot 185.8 overall to
Mana ging Di rector & CEO of Syndi ca te Bank. ii. Pledging to improve his tori call y weak secure thi rd place behind gold medalist
ii. He was Executi ve Di rector of Bank of India, economic links between thei r countries , India Mi chael McPhail (208.8 points ) of USA and
looking a fter Finance, Stra tegy & Pla nning, and China also signed 24 deals worth over Ole Kris tian Bryhn (206.3) of Norwa y.
La rge Corpora te & Mid Corpora te Business, $10 billion, including MOUs in the a rea of iii. The other quota pla ce from the event
Corpora te Debt Res tructuring, Project skill development, railwa ys , establishing went to McPhail.
Fi nance & Syndi ca tion, Credi t Monitoring & sister rela tions between ci ties of the two iv. Ea rlier in the competiti on, Na rang and
Asset Recovery, Publici ty & Publi c Relations countries among others. India's onl y indi vidual Ol ympi c gol d medallist
portfolios of the bank. iii. Modi's announcement on e -visas took Abhina v Bindra , had failed to qualify for the
iii. Ea rlier, Shri vas ta va was overseeing the everyone by surprise as onl y a couple of 10m Ri fle final.
forei gn subsidiaries BoI Indonesia and hours before ha d India's forei gn se creta ry S v. Na rang is thi rd Indian s hooter to make the
Botswana and joi nt venture India Zambia Jaishanka r said ca tegori call y, "We are Ri o cut a fter Jitu Rai and Apurvi Chandela.
Ba nk. expa nding i t (e-visa ) bit by bi t. Wi th rega rd to
iv. He is a Certi fied Associa te of Indian Chi na , no decision has been taken yet on
Ins ti tute of Bankers and AIBM. He sta rted his extending e-visa ."
ca reer as di rect recrui t offi cer i n Bank of
Ba roda in 1979. 6. Shakuntala Gamlin takes charge as Delhi
chief secretary despite CM Arvind Kejriwal's
4. Modi inaugurates ICICI Bank's first branch directive
in China
i. Top pri va te sector lender ICICI Bank
opened i ts fi rst bra nch in China , whi ch was
inaugura ted by Pri me Minister Na rendra
Modi .
ii. The new branch would begin with 17
banking professionals handling different
PM Modi on Three Day Visit to China: In Detail
Pri me Minis ter Na rendra Modi visited China "You received me very warmly in your
this week to build friendship between the hometown. I am very glad to receive you in
two Asian giants despite a long his tory of my hometown," Xi told Modi in Chinese.
disputes and ri val ries , along wi th some areas Modi, in Hindi, responded, "This is an
of coopera tion, especiall y in the economic honour to 125 crore Indians whom I am
sphere. representing as Prime Minister."
PM Na rendra Modi "believes" tha t his three -
da y visit to China will deepen bilateral ties
and crea te a milestone for the relations fi rs t forei gn leader whom he had recei ved in
between developing countries in Asia and his home provi nce Xia n. Mr. Modi has been
a round the world. gi ven a tra ditional welcoming ceremony. It
DAY 1 came as a reciprocation of sorts since Xi
PM Modi s fi rs t leg of his high-octane China hi mself had begun his maiden India trip eight
visi t in Xian promised a ri ch ha rves t of months ago in Ahmedabad, in Modi s na ti ve
positi ve optics as Chinese President Xi Jinping s tate Guja ra t.
went on record as sa ying that Modi was the

15
After thei r meeting, Xi Jinping a ccompanied resources of China on the coopera tion Agreement on es tablishment of sister-
Modi to several ancient si tes in Xi'an. He also in the mini ng and minerals sector. ci ty relations between Aurangabad and
hosted a banquet for him in a building on the Spa ce Coopera tion Outline (2015-2020). Dunhuang of Chi na.
ancient ci ty wall . Protocol on heal th and safety MoU between the Indian Council for
regula tions on importing Indian Cul tural Rela tions and Fudan Uni versi ty
DAY 2 rapeseed meal between the export on the es tablishment of a centre for
On the Da y 2 of Modi's visit, India and China inspection council, minis try of Ga ndhian and Indian s tudies .
signed a record 24 a greements in key commerce and i ndus try of India and the MoU between Indian Council for
sectors , including in railwa ys and educa tion. general administra ti on of quality Cul tural Rela tions and Yunnan Mi nzu
Protocol for setti ng up Consula tes-General at supervision, i nspection and qua rantine. Uni versi ty on the es tablishment of a
Chengdu and Chennai besides an MoU on MoU between Doorda rshan and China yoga college.
consulta ti ve mecha nism for coopera tion in Central Television on coopera tion in the
trade negotia tions were among the 24 field of broadcasting. DAY 3
agreements signed in the presence of Modi
Agreement between the ministry of On the thi rd da y of his visit to China , Prime
and his Chinese counterpa rt Li Keqiang. An
tourism of India and the national Minis ter Na rendra Modi met CEOs of top
a ction plan between the Indian Railwa ys and
tourism adminis tra tion of China on Chi nese companies i n Shanghai. Taking ties
Chi na Na tional Railwa ys on enhancing
coopera tion in the field of touris m. to a new level, 21 Memorandum of
coopera tion in the railwa y sector was also
signed. MoU on es tablishing India -China think- Unders tandings were si gned between Indian
tanks forum. and Chinese companies.
Here's the complete lis t:
Protocols between India and China on MoU between India's Ni ti Aa yog and the
the es tablishment of consula tes-general Development Research Centre, State
a t Chengdu and Chennai and the Council of China .
extension of the consula r dis tri ct of the MoU between India's ministry of ea rth
consulate general of India i n Guanzhou s ciences and the China Earthquake
to include Jiangxi provi nce. Administra tion concerning coopera tion
MoU between the minis try of skill in the field of ea rthquake s cience and
development a nd entrepreneurship of ea rthquake engineering. Modi who i ntera cted wi th CEOs of 22
India and the ministry of human MoU between India's ministry of ea rth companies , invi ted them to pa rti cipa te in his
resources and social securi ty of China on s ciences and the Sta te Oceanic 'Make in India' ca mpai gn and lis ted the 5F
coopera tion in the field of vocational Administra tion of China on coopera tion formula . He said, "I ha ve come to sa y to you
educati on and skill devel opment. in the field of ocean s cience, ocean Make i n India. The 5F Formula - From Fa rm
technology, clima te change, polar to Fibre to Fabri c to Fashion to Foreign! India
Action plan on coopera tion in setting up
s cience and cryosphere. and China can together gi ve something to
of the Maha tma Gandhi National
Ins ti tute for Skill Development and MoU on s cientifi c coopera tion between the world."
Geological Survey of India , ministry of In a ma jor takeawa y, Bha rti enterprises and
Entrepreneurs hip in
mi nes of India and the China Geol ogical IL&FS signed deals worth $2.5 billion and $3
Ahmedabad/Ga ndhina ga r in Guja rat.
Survey, mi nistry of land a nd resources billion respecti vel y.
MoU between India and China on
consulta ti ve mechanism for coopera tion of China in geoscience.
in trade negotia tions . MoU between the minis try of external
MoU on coopera tion between the affai rs of India and minis try of foreign
mi nistry of external affai rs of India and affai rs of China on establishment of
international depa rtment of the central s tates /provincial leaders' forum.
committee of the Communist Pa rty of Agreement on the es tablishment of
Chi na . sister-s tate/province rela tions between In the three days that Prime Minister
Action plan between the National s tate government of Ka rna taka and
Narendra Modi has been in China, he has
Railwa y Administra tion of China and the provincial government of Si chuan of
announced a slew of bilateral agreements
mi nistry of railwa ys of India on Chi na . ranging from finding a political solution
enhancing cooperati on in the railwa y Agreement on es tablishment of sister- to the border issue, to strengthening
sector. (2015-16). ci ty relations between Chennai and cultural ties. We hope that this visit to one
MoU on educa tion exchange Chongqing of China . of the most powerful country in the world
progra mme. Agreement on es tablishment of sister- will be fruitful in both political and friendly
MoU between the minis try of mines of ci ty rela tions between Hyderabad and manner.
India and the ministry of land and Qingdao of China .
Daily GK Update - 17th May 2015
PM's social security schemes: Canara Bank Pradhan Mantri Jeeva n Jyoti Bima da ta a vailable wi th the Delhi Sta te level
rolls out awareness campaigns across Delhi Yojana (PMJJBY) Ba nkers ' Commi ttee showed.
i. Building on the s uccess of Pra dhan Ma ntri Pradhan Mantri Sura ksha Bima Yojana
Jan Dhan Yojana , the s ta te-owned Canara (PMSBY) CII welcomes biz outcomes of Modis China
Ba nk on Sunda y rolled out awareness visit
Atal Pension Yojana (APY).
campaigns a cross Delhi on the Prime iii. For the Delhi region, Cana ra Ba nk has
Minis ter's three la test social securi ty enrolled the ma xi mum number of persons
s chemes.
(1,12,929 li ves ) under the PMSBY a mong all
ii. Roadshows were held in 16 clus ters a cross banks till da te. Even in the case of PMJJBY,
Delhi to promote the three new social
Cana ra Bank is leading the league table wi th
securi ty s cheme - 74,512 li ves enrolled up to Ma y 13 this yea r,

16
i. According to CII, Prime Mi nister Na rendra positi vel y not jus t the revenue but also fiscal ii. Bha rti Ai rtel has recei ved financing
Modi s visi t to China has redefined the defi ci t too. commitments of up to USD 2.5 billion from
economic pa rtnership between the two Chi na Development Bank and Industrial and
la rges t and fastes t-growing devel oping Income Commercial Ba nk of China , with an a verage
economies in the worl d. Ta x authori ties mana ged to collect over Rs. ma turi ty of a bout nine yea rs .
ii. Wel coming the business outcomes of the 12.45 lakh crore duri ng the 2014-15, whi ch is iii. The company signed the term sheets for
visi t, i t said: Pri me Mi nister Modi s visi t to 9 per cent more than 2013-14. This collection the fi nancing options in the presence of
Chi na has redefined the economic is 9.8 per cent of GDP. Such ea rnings whi ch Pri me Minister Na rendra Modi , who is
pa rtnership of the two larges t and fastes t- also comprise of disinves tment s tands at Rs. currentl y on an offi cial visit to China .
growing developing economies in the world. 43,439 crore wi th an increase of 4 per cent.
iii. In the presence of the Pri me Mi nister at Infosys to open first overseas campus in
the India-China Business Forum in Shanghai, Expenditure China
Indian and Chinese companies exchanged 24 In terms of plan expenditure, the RE was Rs. i. As India pressed China to open i ts ma rkets
agreements for coopera ti on totalling $22 4.68 lakh crore, but actual was Rs. 4.36 lakh for Indian IT fi rms, technol ogy ma jor Infosys
billion, including inves tments and financing crore. Simila rl y, non plan expendi ture came on Sunda y a nnounced es tablishing i ts fi rst
a cross sectors, the s ta tement said. down to Rs . 11.91 lakh crore from the RE of overseas centre outside India in China wi th
iv. Chinese ini tia ti ves in the sectors of of Rs . 12.13 lakh crore. an inves tment of about USD 120 million to
railwa ys , skill development, public health and tap in the burgeoning Chinese ma rket.
medi cal educa tion will further build on India grants $1 bn credit to Mongolia; ii. An MOU i n this rega rd was signed
economic coopera tion between the two deepens defence ties between Infos ys and the local Chinese
countries , i t added. i. India toda y announced a US$ one billion provincial government a t the India-China
credit line to Mongolia for infras tructure Business Forum, whi ch was a ddressed by
Govt contains fiscal deficit at 4% of GDP; development as they upgraded thei r ties to Pri me Mi nister Na rendra Modi in Shanghai
beats its own target Stra tegi c Pa rtnership and agreed to on Sunda y.
deepen defense coopera tion besides iii. The devel opment centre, to be
expl oring potential for tie ups in a reas like es tablished in Chi nas Guizhou provi nce, wi th
the ci vil nuclea r sector. a s taff capa city of about 4,500 will help to
ii. The two Pri me Mi nisters signed a joi nt focus on Chinese and global ma rkets.
s tatement committi ng to further consolidate
bila teral ties and upgrade the comprehensive
pa rtnership to s tra tegic pa rtnership and
agreed to renew thei r Treaty of Friendl y
i. The Government has managed to res tri ct Rela tions and Coopera tion.
the fiscal defi ci t to 4 per cent during 2014-15, iii. The two sides inked 13 other pa cts that
whi ch is even bel ow the revised esti mate includes one on enhanci ng coopera tion in
announced in the budget. Fis cal defi cit is border gua rding, polici ng and surveillance,
Rome Masters 2015: Winners
di fference between the i ncome and ai r servi ces , cyber securi ty and new and
renewable energy. Women's Singles - Ma ria Sha rapova
expendi ture of the Government. Men's Singles - N. Djokovi c
ii. The fis cal defi cit a t the end of 2014-15,
s tands a t Rs . 5,01,880 crore whi ch is 98 per Women's Doubles - Ti mea Babos and
Kris tina Mla denovi c
cent of the projected fi gure in RE (Revised
Es tima te) 2014-15. Fiscal defi cit as a Men's Doubles - P. Cuevas and D.
percentage of GDP is 4 per cent as against Ma rrero
the RE of 4.1 per cent (4.4 per cent for the
previous yea r i .e. 2013-14).

Revenue Deficit
The revenue defi ci t also ca me down to 2.8 Airtel clinches $2.5 billion Chinese financing
per cent as a gainst the revised esti ma te of deals
2.9 per cent. This defi ci t refers to misma tch i. The funds will help the company further
in the projected ea rning ad expendi ture. di versi fy i ts global financing pool a nd invest
Si nce the Government managed to collect in growth of data networks.
more ta xes than it was expecting, i t impa cted
At a glance: Narendra Modi's 1 year as PM
16th Ma y ma rked 1 yea r since Na rendra Si mpl y getting a clea r mandate is not enough
Modi was sworn in as the 14th Prime for one to prove themselves . The true test
Minis ter of India . The Na tional Democra tic lies in governance tha t would eventually win
Alliance (NDA) took cha rge on 26 Ma y and confidence of the people .
formed India s strongest government after Be i t for the good or bad, Modi s government
almos t thi rty yea rs. Led by Modi, the BJP has ini tiated trends that break the traditional
i tself mana ged to win 282 seats out of 543 wa y of the previous government. The Prime
seats of the Lok Sabha. For a simple ma jori ty Minis ter has set out to res tore the
merel y 272 sea ts were requi red. The country. It seemed as though he would be ins ti tutional balance of power.
overwhelming performance of the NDA able to control inflation, pri ce hi ke, boost
gushed confidence i nto PM Modi. GDP, eradi cate poverty and push awa y Arguably 100 days is not enough to assess
Na rendra Modi s campai gns ga ve an terrorism in a flash. But on the pra cti cal side, anyone, let alone a government that has to
impression tha t he could jus t wa ve a ma gic all of it is not possible a t one go. deal with 1.25 billion people.
wa nd and sort of issues prevailing in the

17
But jus t for the record, we a re compiling aide Ami t Shah, ho is now the President of
sepa ra te lis ts of issues on which Na rendra the BJP.
Modi and his government ha ve been 6. Na rendra Modi s grea test gi ft is his a rt of
appreciated and cri ti ci zed: ora tory. Moreover he knows how to use i t,
1. There was a time when i t was not usual to when to use it and where to use it.
see government offi cials coming to their While the NDA government was being
offices on ti me. But now, wi thin a span of severel y cri ti ci zed for pri ce hike, CSAT issue, 8. Modi s foreign policies ha ve found
100 da ys , times ha ve changed. Peons, etc, Modi mesmeri zed the na tion from the approval too. He i nvi ted all the nei ghboring
bureaucra ts a nd minis ters ha ve to rea ch Ra mpa rts of the Red Fort on Independence leaders to his s wea ring- in ceremony,
office by 9:30 am No exceptions . Da y. He s poke about sa nita tion, women including Pakis tans Pri me Minis ter Nawab
empowerment, and unity of SAARC nati ons. Sha rif.
He rea ched out to the world to make in
India and use Indias skill and resources . He The following international trips were made
spoke fi ne words on communal harmony and by Narendra Modi during 2014-15:
pea ce. Once again, he won millions of hea rts .
Bhutan
Brazil
Nepal (2)
To ca p i t all , Union Minis ters gi ve surprise Japan
visi ts to thei r offi cers . Punctuality is United States
rewa rded and letha rgy is repri manded.
Myanmar
Minis ters politel y ask la te comers to rest at
home. Australia
2. Throughout Na rendra Modis election 7. This Budget Session has proved to be most Fiji
campaigns , he spoke about mini mum producti ve during the last decade wi th the Seychelles
government and ma xi mum governance. Lok Sabha working 117 percent of the Mauritius
Keepi ng to his words, the Prime Minister has s cheduled working hours and the Rajya Sri Lanka
Sa bha reported a producti vi ty of 101
had 17 depa rtments and ministries clubbed Singapore
into seven ca tegories to ensure smoother percent. The government failed to ensure
passage of the controversial Land Acquisition France
execution of work. More administra ti ve
Bill as also key reform measure of GST amid Germany
res tructuring is i n process . This will also
ensure speedy decision making. s tiff resistance from opposi tion. Canada
3. The sta rk difference in the functioning of China
Manmohan and Modi s government is clea r. Key Bills Passed by Parliament during the Mong olia
Many projects that had been s talled by ha ve Budget Session (February 23- May 13, 2015)
now been clea red. UPA government had set 9. There has been hi gher visibility of growth
up 62 GOMs and EGOMs . But Modi has had The Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2014: The as the Indian economy regis tered a GDP
them all removed. For qui ck clea rance of Bill introduces certain amendments in growth of 5.7 per cent in the April-June
legal cases, National Da ta Li tiga tion Grid has rela tion to Rela ted Pa rty Tra nsactions, fraud qua rter of 2014-15. The Indian economy
been set up. reporting by audi tors , making common seal registered i ts highes t growth i n nine qua rters
4. Na rendra Modi had ridi culed Rahul optional , and jurisdi ction of special courts to this financial yea r.
Ga ndhi s concept of ha vi ng 1.25 billion try certain offences etc. 10. Indian ma rkets ha ve witnessed thei r best
wa tchdogs in the country to ensure The Black Money Bill/Undisclosed Foreig n peri od in the pas t 100 da ys after the NDA
a ccountability. He has gi ven stern emphasis Income and Assets ( Imposition of Tax) Bill, government took cha rge on 26 Ma y, 2014.
to a ccountabili ty. Mi nisters in the PMO know 2015: It penalizes the concealment of foreign Both the Sensex and the Nifty ha ve managed
tha t they a re being cl osely observed. Modi income, and provides for cri minal liability for to hi t fresh record highs almost on a daily
burns the midnight oil everyda y for the a ttempting to evade ta x in rela tion to foreign basis. The S&P BSE Sensex has rallied nea rl y 9
country, thus he expects his comrades to income. per cent since the time Modi government
follow sui t. The Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill, came to power. The S&P BSE Sensex has
2015: La ys out the procedure for a uction of been the bes t performing ma rket a mong the
coal blocks that were cancelled by the ma jor global ma rkets, up over 27 per cent so
Supreme Court i n September 2014 and fa r i n the yea r 2014, supported by s trong
enables pri va te companies to mine coal. gl obal liquidi ty and expecta tion of pro -
The Mines and Minerals (Development and growth reforms from the newl y-elected Modi
Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2015: Allows government. According to experts , one thing
auction as a method for granting mining whi ch s tands out since NDA took over the
leases for both bulk minerals and notified cha rge is the fa ct tha t business confidence is
mi nerals. Also extends mini ng leases from 30 ba ck.
5. Veteran leaders like L K Adva ni and Murli yea rs to 50 yea rs .
Manoha r Joshi ha ve been sidelined. In The Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill,
contrasts to Congress tha t yet clings on to 2015: Raises the limi t of forei gn holdings to
the Gandhi fa mily a nd seems vulnerable wi th 49% in an Indian insurance company and
them, Na rendra Modi has taken a allows entry of foreign reinsurers (companies
courageous step by ma king wa y for other tha t insure insurance companies).
leaders to prove thei r worth. Adva ni and
Joshi ha ve been dropped from the
Pa rliamenta ry boa rd too. Instead Modi has
handed over the Pa rtys baton to his closest

18
Modi government has been criticized for campaign in Utta r Pradesh by-polls. Yogi
following reasons: Adi tya nath is the one who raked the Love
1. Talking about poli cies, the Congress Jihad issue, which spread communal ha tred
a ccuses the government of simpl y following between two communities .
up UPAs policies . To a certain extend, it does 4. Though Na rendra Modi tried to establish
seem like gi ving old things in new pa cka ges. pea ce and ha rmony between India and
The BJP was a gainst FDI while they were in Pakis tan by invi ting Sha ri f to his s wea ring- in
Opposition. They held protests and dis rupted ceremony, he failed to maintain diploma tic
the Pa rliament session agains t UPAs rela tions wi th the country. The Pakis tan a rmy
proposal . But of la te they ha ve taken a has been viola ting ceasefi re continuously
complete u-turn by i nvi ting FDI in railwa ys, 3. Despite disapproval of the Supreme Court, after Modi government took cha rge, but the
defense and insurance. Simila rl y the UPA and continuous demands of the Congress, government failed to ta ke necessary steps
government had launched a s ubsidy s cheme the government a damantl y refused to gra nt agains t i t. On the Pakis tan envoys meet wi th
on the basis on Aadha r ca rd. Through this it the Congress position of Leader of Kashmi r sepa ra tis ts, India called off the
was manda tory to open bank a ccounts . The Opposition. Secreta ry level meeting but could not bar
NDA government has appa rentl y taken out a Lok Sabha Speaker Sumi tra Maha jan said Pakis tan from talking to sepa ra tists through
new version of the Aadhar Ca rd in the form tha t she was merel y following the diploma ti c pressure.
of Jan Dhan Yojna . consti tution. The Supreme Court expressed
2. The BJP has been cri ti cized for pra cti cing concern over a ppointment of Lokpal that
politi cs of vendetta . They made i t clea r from requi red the presence of LoP. NDA
the very beginni ng tha t they wanted all the government decided to provide Z-plus
governors appointed by the UPA government securi ty to Muza ffarnaga r ri ots a ccused
to be replaced wi th thei r own people. The Sa ngeet Som. His case is pending in the High
government sa cked Kamla Beniwal a ged 87. Court. This move not jus t drew sha rp
She was the governor of Gujara t who sha red cri ti cisms but i t also raises ques tions on BJP
hostile relationshi p with Na rendra Modi appa rent move to promote pola ri zed poli ti cs. Given the challenges, hes done remarkably
while he was the Chief Minister of the Sta te. Modi led government also appointed Utta r well. But its just the start!!!
They fi rs t had her transferred to Mi rzoram Pradeshs controversial fi gure Yogi
for a couple of da ys before transferri ng her. Adi tya nath, MP of Gorakhpur, to lead
Daily GK Updates - 18th May 2015
Narendra Modi reaches South Korea, of this edi tion was Nuclear Energy: a Clean
economic and trade cooperation high on Energy option.
agenda ii. It was organi zed by Associated Chambers
i. Pri me Mi nister Na rendra Modi a rri ved in of Commerce and Indus try of India
South Korea on the las t leg of his three - (ASSOCHAM), one of the apex trade
na tion visit duri ng which he will hol d talks associations of India .
wi th the South Korean leadership aiming to
gi ve a fillip to economic a nd trade iii. Independent National AYUSH Mission is
coopera tion. launched aiming capa city building for the
sector. The mission will ensure crea tion of a
centre of excellence for Ayurveda , Yoga,
Unani , Siddha and Homoeopa thy
independentl y.

HDFC Bank launches medical benefits

iii. The conference discussed the issue prepaid card
rela ted to the s ta tus of Nuclear Energy in
India.
iv. Apa rt from i t va rious issues were also
dis cussed including on nuclea r energy to the
ii. A slew of agreements a re expected to be deca rbonisati on of power sector, Cli mate
signed duri ng the visit including one on
change & the future of nuclea r energy,
Double Ta xati on Avoida nce Convention,
nuclear energy expansion & Make in India .
coopera tion i n shipping and logisti cs,
audiovisual co-production, transport, Centre allocates Rs 5,000 crore for
hi ghwa ys and electri c power development in
development of AYUSH i. HDFC Bank has launched 'HDFC Bank Apollo
new energy indus tries .
i. The government has allocated Rs 5,000 Medical Benefi ts Ca rd'.
iii. The Prime Minis ter, who flew in from crore for the growth of Depa rtment of ii. The bank has pa rtnered wi th Apollo
Mongolia after his three-da y visi t to China ,
AYUSH and launched an independent Hospi tals for this prepaid product, whi ch
will hold talks on the enti re ga mut of Na tional AYUSH Mission ai med at ca paci ty allows corpora tes to easily disburse medical
bila teral, regional and global issues wi th building for the sector. allowance to thei r employees, sa ving time
President Pa rk Geun-hye and explore wa ys to
ii. For crea ting awa reness about Ayurveda, and cos t.
upgra de coopera tion in di versified a reas. the Minis try is consideri ng to observe iii. Wi th the ca rd, the administra ti ve process
Ayurveda Da y. of disbursing money is being made qui ck and
6th National Conference on Nuclear Energy
simple. Corpora tes ca n load the specified
held in New Delhi
allowance onto the ca rd each month, whi ch
i. Si xth edi tion of Na tional Conference on
can be used by empl oyees for medical
Nuclea r Energy held in New Delhi . The theme
expendi ture a t pan-India VISA/ Mas terCa rd
outlets .

19
iv. The ca rd offers employees a ccess to a Minis ters Meeti ng and BRICS Health friend, journalist Pinki Vira ni, by setting up a
wi de range of addi tional benefi ts in the form Minis ters meeting. medi cal panel to examine her.
of offers and discounts , and fa cilities such as
free ambulance servi ces . World's oldest comatose patient Aruna Brad Haddin: Australia wicketkeeper quits
Shanbaug dead one-day game
India to assume Presidency of the 68th i. Aruna Shanba ug, the former nurse at KEM i. Bra d Haddin, the Australia wi cketkeeper,
World Health Assembly Hospi tal here who was brutall y sexually has formally announced his reti rement from
i. Minis ter of Heal th & Fa mil y Wel fa re, Ja gat assaulted by a wa rd boy a t the fa cility 42 ODI cri cket, a da y before lea ving for Test
Pra kash Nadda , will preside over the 68th yea rs ago and had been l ying in a vegetati ve tours of the West Indies and England.
Session of the World Health Assembl y (WHA) s tate ever since, passed a wa y toda y. ii. Amid the Aus tralia team's celebrations
a t Geneva as India assumes the Presidency of ii. The 66-yea r-old was ba ttling a serious after the World Cup final vi ctory over New
the WHA, the hi gh decision ma king body of bout of pneumonia and was on ventilator Zealand in Melbourne in Ma rch, Haddin had
the World Health Organisa tion (WHO), after support, King Edwa rd Memorial (KEM) revealed tha t he was not going to pla y any
a gap of 19 yea rs . hospital sources said. more one-da y games .
ii. The Union Minis ter is leading a high level iii. Haddin pla yed 126 ODIs and scored 3122
Indian delega tion to the WHA, to be held in runs a t an a vera ge of 31.53 with two
Geneva From Ma y 18-27, 2015. centuries and 16 fi fties. He also had 170
iii. According to a PIB release, the 68th World ca tches and 11 stumpings , the thi rd-most
Heal th Assembl y is expected to delibera te on dismissals for Aus tralia after Ada m Gil christ
key issues of global interes t i ncluding anti - and Ian Heal y.
mi crobial resistance, ai r polluti on and health,
gl obal health emergency, prepa redness and
surveillance, global stra tegy and plan of iii. She was in the medi cal ICU of the hospital
a ction on publi c health, innova tion and loca ted in Pa rel a rea of Mumbai.
iv. On November 27, 1973, while worki ng as
intellectual property, and resea rch and
development in neglected tropi cal diseases. a junior nurse a t KEM Hospi tal, s he was
iv. The Union Minis ter will also pa rti cipa te in sexuall y assaulted by a wa rd boy. She was in
a vegeta ti ve s ta te since the assaul t. On 24
a number of bila teral and mul tilateral
meetings on the sidelines of the WHA Janua ry 2011, a fter she had been in this s tate
including the Commonweal th Health for 38 yea rs , the Supreme Court responded
Minis ters Meeting, 8th NAM Health to the plea for euthanasia filed by Aruna's
Daily GK Updates - 19th May 2015
Google help for NGOs working on child i. IDBI Bank has decided to roll out e-huts to Suda rshan Bha gat a nd a host of other
safety connect wi th the rural popula ce. di gni ta ries were present during the oa th -
i. Google India has announced support for ii. The bank has currentl y introduced e - taking ceremony.
three non-governmental agencies from India lobbies whi ch a re next to the branches. The
working on child safety. e-hut concept will be completel y unmanned India Meteorological Department signed
ii. The three organisations are ChildLine India units . MoU with POSOCO Ltd
Founda tion, Ba chpan Ba chao Andolan, and iii. e-huts is a concept tha t is widel y a ccepted
the Chennai-based Tuli r - Centre for the in the Wes t, but in India, i t's yet to pi ck up.
Healing and Prevention of Child Sexual
Abuse. Draupadi Murmu sworn in as first woman
Governor of Jharkhand
i. Dra upadi Murmu was s worn in as the fi rst
woman Governor of Jha rkhand. Murmu
succeeds Syed Ahmed, who will take over as
Manipur Governor. i. The India Meteorologi cal Depa rtment
ii. A two-time BJP MLA from Odisha , she was (IMD) under the Union Ministry of Ea rth
a minis ter in the Na veen Pa tnaik ca binet Sciences on 18 Ma y 2015 signed
when the Bi ju Jana ta Dal ruled the s ta te wi th Memorandum of Unders tanding (MoU) wi th
the support of Bha ra ti ya Janata Pa rty. Power Sys tem Opera tion Corpora tion Ltd
(POSOCO) for optimum use of wea ther
iii. ChildLine provides a toll-free helpline informa tion/forecast in the power sector.
servi ce (1098) for children in distress , fi rst
ii. All wea ther informa tion provi ded by ESSO-
launched in 1996, Ba chpan Ba chao Andolan IMD will be used by the Power Sys tem
sets i tself a mission to protect and rescue Opera tors a cross the India for better
children from slavery, tra fficking and forced
ma nagement of Indian Power Sys tem.
labour. iii. IMD will make a vailable current wea ther
iv. Google will help these organisa tions pilot
informa tion for the identi fied s tati ons ; and
sma rt new applica tions of technology wi th $ iii. She headed the BJP's Ma yurbhanj dis tri ct
forecas ts a t di fferent time s cales of
5,00,000 in grants through Google.org to unit in Odisha a nd had represented
tempera ture, humidi ty, wind speed, wind
ensure tha t children in India remain safe. Rai rangpur in the Odisha assembl y.
di rection and rainfall of the identified
Jha rkhand Hi gh Court Chief Jus ti ce Vi rendra
s tati ons/sectors .
IDBI Bank to roll out e-huts Si ngh administered the oa th of offi ce to
Murmu.
Indian-American Harkeert Singh Saini won
iv. Jha rkhand Chief Minis ter Ra ghuba r Das,
Prestigious Police Award in Texas
his ca binet colleagues , former Chief Minis ters
Shibu Soren and Arjun Munda , Union
Minis ter of Sta te for Rural Development

20
 for over 90 per cent of urban India and over ii. Ka va ra tti is the last of the four anti -
215,000 villages . subma rine wa rfa re class steal th corvettes
being buil t for India under Project 28.
iii. The corvette, with a displacement of
3,300 tonnes , has a length of 109.1 metres
and measures 13.7-m a t beam.
iv. It was designed by the Di rectora te of
i. Ha rkeert Singh Saini, a n Indian-American Na val Design and buil t by Ga rden Rea ch Ship
policeman in third week of Ma y 2015 won Builders and Engineers .
the pres tigi ous Top Ci vilian Supervisor of the v. INS Kamorta , the fi rs t ship under this
Yea r. project, was commissioned by the Na vy last
ii. Saini who hails from Hoshia rpur dis tri ct of iii. Reliance Jio and Huawei ha ve si gned an yea r. Ka dma tt and Kilta n a re scheduled for
Punjab recei ved his awa rd from Hous ton agreement for 4G devi ces whi ch includes deli very between 2015-2017.
Ma yor Anise Pa rker and Poli ce Chief Charles sma rtphones , ta blets and mifi dongles. It has
A McClelland. signed agreement wi th couple of other
iii. 44-yea r-old Saini shifted to Hous ton in Chi nese devi ce maker as well.
1998 and joined i ts police depa rtment in iv. On Ma y 7, RJi o raised a $750 million
Ma rch 2000. (nea rl y Rs 4,500 crore) loan to procure goods
and servi ces from South Korean fi rms
Reliance Jio inks pact with Huawei for Sa msung Electroni cs and Ace Technologies.
sourcing 4G devices
i. Reliance Jio Infocomm, the telecom arm of INS Kavaratti launched
Reliance Indus tries (RIL) has signed a pa ct i. Indian Na vy's lates t anti -submari ne wa rfare
wi th Chinese fi rm Huawei for sourcing class s teal th corvette, the INS Ka va ra tti was
va rious 4G devi ces . launched i n line wi th a series of recent
ii. RJio plans to launch 4G servi ce this yea r in developments in India's defence
a round 5,000 towns and ci ties, a ccounting prepa redness .
(Debenture)
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Foreign Visits of PM of India - In Detail - Part I
1. Bhutan - 16 17 June 4. Japan - 30 August 3 September

* Highlights: * Highlights:
Modi made his fi rs t forei gn visi t to Bhutan 1. Fi rst bilateral s ta te visit outside the
following an invi ta tion by subcontinent.
* King Ji gme Khesar Namgyel Wa ngchuck and
Tobga y.
* The visit was called by the media as a
* In the Fortaleza summi t the group ha ve
"cha rm offensi ve" agreed to es tablish a financial ins ti tution
1. India and Bhutan reitera ted their
ri valing the western domina ted World Bank
commitment to a chieving the 10,000 MW
and IMF.
ta rget in hydropower coopera tion
* The bank would be na med the New
Development Bank as suggested by the
Indian side but Modi govt failed to ba g the
bank's headqua rter for New Delhi , whi ch 2. Pledging financial support for building
would be loca ted in Shanghai, Chi na. infrastructure in India.
* La ter the BRICS leader also a ttended an 3. Sti cking to his 'Ma ke in India' slogan
event in Brasilia where they met the UNASUR 4. Modi ga ve an open invi ta tion to Japanese
heads of government. companies to consider India as a 'competiti ve
* At the same time, the Mi nistry of External low-cost manufa cturing hub
2. Modi inaugura ted one of India's assista nce Affai rs added Spanish to i ts list of available 5. PM Modi 's 3D mantra --Democra cy,
projects - the building of the Supreme Court languages . Demography a nd Demand
of Bhutan and laid founda tion s tone of the * Key persons --BRICS countries prime 6. Bullet trains : Wi th Japan committi ng to
600MW Kholongchu Hydro-electri c . mi nisters fund bullet trains, the dream of running hi gh -
3. India also announced exemption of Bhutan speed trains on Indian tra cks is now a step
from a ny ban on export of milk powder, 3. Nepal - 3 4 August closer.
whea t, edible oil , pulses and non-basmati 7. Special Stra tegi c Gl obal Pa rtnership': Japan
ri ce. * Highlights: and India ha ve upgraded thei r pa rtnership to
4. The two sides recalled the free trade Modi a rri ved for a two-da y visi t to Nepal on 3 the level of 'Special Stra tegi c and Global
a rrangement between them and the Augus t. The last visit of an Indian prime Pa rtners hip' wi th the signing of a defence
expa nding bilateral trade and i ts i mporta nce mi nister to Nepal was 17 yea rs ago in 1997 pa ct for regional s tability a nd Tokyo's
in further cementing thei r friendship. by I. K. Gujral , decision to double FDI in India.
5. Pri me Minis ter Na rendra Modi also 1. India-funded hydroelectri ci ty projects in 8. Ci vil nuclea r deal remains elusive - Despite
mooted the idea of an annual hill sports Nepal and other i nfras tructure projects in last-mi nute negotia tions , the two sides could
festi val wi th India's northeastern sta tes along Nepal not na rrow down differences over Tokyo's
wi th Bhutan and Nepal . 2. Modi became the fi rst foreign leader to insistence for a tougher safe-gua rd regime
6. Modi announced doubling of scholarships address the Pa rliament of Nepal . and "no nuclea r tes t" clause in the bilateral
being provided to Bhutanese students in agreement.
India whi ch will now be worth Rs 2 crore.
7. India will also assist Bhutan set up a digital 5. United States: 26 30 September
libra ry which will provide a ccess to
Bhutanese youth to two million books and * Highlights:
peri odi cals. 1. Modi deli vered his maiden speech in the
8. Both India-Bhutan rea ffirmed their si xty-ninth session of the Uni ted Nations
commitment to extensi ve development 3. He did puja at the fi fth century General Assembl y on 27 September 2014,
coopera tion and dis cussed wa ys to further 2. India's long s tanding demand of a
Pashupatina th temple
enhance economi c ties. permanent membership in Securi ty Council
4. Modi announced a credi t assista nce
* Key persons --Sushma Swa raj, National progra mme of US$1 billion to Nepal 3. He had also a rgued why UN should serve
Securi ty Adviser Ajit Doval & Foreign as G-All for global governance ins tead of
5.* HIT policy:
Secreta ry Sujatha Singh. whi ch s tands for Hi ghwa ys, Informa tion several pa rallel sub-groupings like G7, G20
Technology and Transmission. etc.
2. Brazil - 13 16 July * key persons --Nepal Pri me Minis ter GP
Koi rala
* Highlights: * Note1: The last visi t of an Indian prime
In Jul y 2014, he visi ted Brazil for his fi rst
mi nister to Nepal was 17 yea rs ago in 1997
mul tilateral visi t, the 6th BRICS summi t was by I. K. Gujral .
held a t the north-eastern bea ch ci ty of * Note2: 18th SAARC summi t-ka tmandu-His
Fortaleza . fi rs t ever SAARC summit.

22
4. Modi -Obama joint s ta tement-coopera tion 4. The summi t also rejected any linkage coming years will enhance India s energy
in va rious fields including defence, between religion and terrorism. securi ty.
intelligence, counter-terrorism, Afghanis tan, 5. They ha ve also said tha t i t should be b. coopera te on clean coal technologies
spa ce explora tion and s cience ensured that cyberspa ce and spa ce remain a c. defence, counter-terroris m, cyber policy
5. Madison Squa re Ga rden pi tch-3D Ma ntra, source of connecti vi ty a nd prosperity a nd not 8. They a nnounced collabora tion on
skill development, talent pool and India's new threa ts of confli cts . rejuvena tingthe Ganga Ri ver- two-wa y
bri ght economic prospects . * key persons-- ASEAN COUNTRIES PM exchanges and coopera tion i n ri ver basin
6. Comprehensi ve on International planning .
Terrorism' by the UN a nd offered India's pro - 7. Australia - 1418 November 9. MoU on Arts and Cul ture, whi ch will create
a cti ve role in it ci ting India as a vi cti m of a framework for deeper cul tural
terrorism for decades . 1. Fi rs t ti me,Aus tralian and Indian Prime exchanges ,world-class Sports Uni versi ty.
7. Demand Shari f has ma de in his address at Minis ters ha ve made reciprocal visits in the * key persons-- TONY ABOTT --PM
the UNGA on 26 September, on Kashmir same yea r.
rela ted mater he s ta ted tha t his govt is ready 2. The Pri me Minis ter of India, Na rendra 8. Fiji - 19 November
for 'bilateral talk' Modi , paid a n offi cial visit to Aus tralia from
8. Modi commented briefl y on climate 16-18 November 2014, following the G-20 * Highlights:
change and use of clean energy, in this Summi t. 1. In more than 33 years Modi beca me the
rega rds he also asked world leaders and UN 3. Priori ty a reas such as resources, fi rs t Indian head of government to visi t Fiji
officials for observing Yoga Da y educati on, skills, agri cul ture, infras tructure, after Indi ra Gandhi's visit in 1981.
9. Modi fas ted during a Whi te House dinner inves tments , financial servi ces and heal th 2. There he also a ttended a 'Forum for India -
in his honor. 4. CECA_Comprehensi ve Economic Pa cifi c Island coopera tion' along with leaders
10. Sma rt ci ty assistance -- AJMER, Coopera tion Agreement be brought to an from all 14 Pa ci fi c islands nations .
ALLAHABAD, VISIKAPATNAM--CISCO ea rl y concl usion to realise the potential of * key persons--Frank Bainima rama--PM
* key persons-- oba ma , ban-ki -moon commercial relati ons .
5. Aus tralian inves tment in cold chain
6. Myanmar - 1113 November s tora ge, energy, infrastructure and other
sectors can do for the Indian economy.
* Highlights:
1. Modi a ttended East Asia Summi t--9th
summi t -Na ypyidaw
2. Importance All the countries supported
the East Asia summit decla ra tion on Islamic
s tate (terror group).
3. And also asserted tha t an international
pa rtenership is requi red for a comprehensive
response a gainst terrorism.

6. India will hold a Make i n India event in

Aus tralia in 2015 and organise shows in gems
and jewellery, engi neering and
pha rma ceuti cals to showcase Indias
ma nufacturing ca pabilities.
7. KEY* - a . Ci vil Nuclear Agreement signed in
September.Aus tralian suppl y of uranium in
Foreign Visits of PM of India - In Detail - Part II
Hello Readers, B. Ma pping i ts hydrology reserves # Indian line of credi t of $ 200 million ini tially
C. launched a coastal surveillance ra dar meant for the light railwa y tra nsit s ys tem to
One of our ardent Reader "Mr. Cool" has project to boos t securi ty cooperati on wi th projects in the water and e nergy sector
shared the below given informative post the island nation
with us. We hope that you all will like it. D. Provi de free of cost visas for three months
for i ts ci tizens and ma king i t a vailable to
1. Seychelles - 10 - 11 March them on a rri val .
Note__*Modi , the fi rs t Indian Prime Minister
* Highlights: to visi t Seychelles in 34 yea rs.
A. AGREEMENTS: Total 4 * Indi ra Gandhi was the last pri me minister
* Hydrography to visi t Seychelles in 1981.
* Renewable energy * key person---President James Alix Mi chel * Ocean Economy
* Infrastructure * Cul tural Coopera tion
* Development and sale of na vi gati on cha rts 2.Mauritius - 11 13 March * Homeopathy
and electroni c na viga tional cha rts * Agri cul ture and Coopera tion-- i mporta tion
* Tri ck --HRD-"I" * Highlights: of fresh mango from India
AGGREMENTS: Total 5 * Sea and Ai r Transporta tion Fa cilities at
A. India Offers $500 Million Credi t to
Agalega Island of Ma uri tius
Mauri tius During PM Modi's Visit, 5 Pa cts
B. Modi was the Chief gues t a t the Ma uritian
Si gned Na tional Da y on 12 Ma rch

23
C. India -Mauri tius Double Ta xa tion H. MoU between ISRO and French National
Avoi dance Agreement (DTAA) is being Centre for Spa ce Studies (CNES) on the Indo-
revised amid concerns tha t Mauri tius . French Megha Tropiques satelli te whi ch was
D. Mauri tius has been one of the biggest launched on boa rd the Indian launch vehicle
sources of Foreign Di rect Investment (FDI) PSLV on October 12, 2011.
into India. I. Other agreements signed were in the fields
* key persons --PM of ma uriti us-- of energy, culture, touris m, conserva tion,
ani ruthJugnauth Ayurveda, s kill development and s cience and
A. Prime Minis ter Modi a ttended the s ta te - technology.
3. Sri Lanka - 13 14 March funeral of Lee Kuan Yew, * French President Fra ncois Hollande.
* The fi rs t Prime Minis ter of Singapore.
* Highlights: * There, a t the sidelines , he met several 6. Germany: 12 14 April
4 agreements wi th Sri Lanka : world leaders includi ng Is raeli President. *It
* Cus toms pa ct to balance trade, was his fi rs t visi t to Singapore and he is * Highlights:
* Credit line of more than $300 million, expected to visit again during The PMs visit to Germany was widel y
* Currency s wap a greement covered by the media there especiall y his
* Visa on a rri val for Sri Lankan na tionals in the la ter pa rt of the yea r for golden jubilee inaugura tion of the famous Hannover
India. celebra tion of India -Singapore diploma tic industrial fair along wi th German Chancellor
A. Educa tional exchanges wi th banaras rela tion. Angela Merkel .
uni versity A. Both leaders spoke in fa vour of a free
5. France: 9 12 April trade a greement between the European
Union and India. PM Modi said that this was
* Highlights: important for the expansion of India as a
* 20 pa cts signed between India and France ma nufacturing hub.
* India, Fra nce sign 17 agreements during B. The joint s tatement by both countries
PM Na rendra Modi s visi t__ recognized the es tablishment of a working
# Pa rti cipa te i n the Make In India progra mme group on urban development.
in defense, ci vil nuclea r power and food
B. Announcing a new line of credi t of $318 processing
million for Sri Lankan railwa ys . * India asked France to suppl y 36 Rafale
C. Reserve Bank of India and the Central Bank fi ghter jets in fl y-awa y condi tion
of Sri Lanka ha ve a greed to enter into a
currency s wap a greement of $1.5 billion
D. Energy coopera tion, Indian Oil Corp. Ltds
Sri La nkan subsidia ry, Lanka IOC Pl c. and C. PM Modi promised to set up a mechanism
Ceylon Petroleum Corp. to help German companies inves t and do
E. Stands ready to help Trincomalee become business in India something tha t he has
a regional petroleum hub. done onl y for Japan and the US.
F. Joint venture project between the Ceylon D. While addressing a diaspora event in
Electri city Boa rd (CEB) and NTPC Ltd of India. Berlin, PM Modi said tha t India would lead
G. Comprehensive Economi c Pa rtnership the wa y i n dealing wi th clima te change. He
Agreement (CEPA) between the two A. Including on the stalled nuclea r project in added tha t India is not answera ble to the
countries . Jaitapur in Ma ha rashtra world in relation to climate change.
B. MoU was signed between La rsen and E. Make in India lion is a s ymbol of new India-
NOTE: *Modi said adding tha t tourism Tubro and AREVA Modi a t India Pa vilion.
ci rcui ts would be developed along the C. Re-engineering a greements were inked F.The two countries said s tronger
Ra ma yana Trail in Sri Lanka and a Buddhist between NPCIL and Areva whi ch intend to educati onal exchanges will be encouraged
pilgri mage ci rcui t in India . along wi th collabora tions between
bri ng cla ri ty on all techni cal aspects of the
* Pri me Minister Na rendra Modi toda y plant so tha t all pa rties uni versities
fla gged off a train servi ce a t the north - D. MoU on coopera tion between the * Pri me Mi nister Na rendra Modi addresses
western Sri Lankan town of .The newl y- the Indian communi ty during a reception
Minis try of Youth Affai rs and Sports and
constructed 63-km railwa y tra ck between French Ministry of Sports , Youth Affai rs, hosted by the Indian Ambassador in Berlin
Madhu Road a nd Talaimanna r Pier is the last Public Educati on and Communi ty Li fe. * Germany chancellor--- a ngela merkel
segment of the 265-km long
E. Si gned agreements i ncreasing bilateral
* During this tri p Modi also visi ted to Jafna in coopera tion in the economi c sector. 7. Canada: 14 16 April
the Northern Province F. MoU on coopera tion in the field of
* 27,000 new homes to Tamils in jafna * Highlights:
renewable energy between the Ministry of
dis tri ct New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and
* Modi is the fi rs t Prime Mi nister to visit Sri Fra nces Mi nistry of Ecol ogy, Sustainable
Lanka on a bilateral visit since Raji v Gandhi in Development and Energy.
1987. G. Railwa y protocol between Indian Minis try
* key persons --president -Mai thripala of Railwa ys and French Nati onal Railways
Si risenaRa nil (SNCF) was also inked, seeking to establish
pri me mins ter --Wi ckremesinghe coopera tion between Indian and French
Railwa ys for semi-high speed rail and sta tion
4. Singapore: 29 March renova tion on upgrada tion of the Delhi -
Cha ndiga rh line to 200 kmph * The fi rs t offi cial visi t by an Indian PM in
* Highlights:
over 40 yea rs , is a sure si gn that relations

24
between our two countries a re reaching new
hei ghts .
A. The visi t, whi ch resulted in several new
bila teral agreements and commercial deals
worth over $1.6 billion.
B. These include energy, railwa y
transporta tion, educa tion a nd skills
development, spa ce cooperati on, and
ma ternal, newborn and child heal th. A. Mongolia and India a re keen to move
C. One of the commercial a greements signed forwa rd on the MoU for Uranium s uppl y that
was for a Canadian company, Ca meco, to the two countries had entered in 2009.
suppl y over 3.175 million kg of uranium A. During the Modi 's visi t, India would seek B. Mongolia is keen on Indian helping the
concentra te to India over the next fi ve years grea ter market a ccess, removal of non-tari ff country in cyber securi ty.
for the genera tion of electri ci ty. ba rriers and investments in sectors such as C. Help in border pa trolling is another area
D. India is currentl y Canada s larges t trading defence. where the two countries will be s tepping up
pa rtner in South Asia and merchandise trade B. Chi na has already signed MoUs to set up the ties.
between our two countries has more than industrial pa rks in India . # Pri me Minister to visi t Mongolia and during
doubled over the past 10 yea rs , rea ching C. India wants grea ter market access for its his visi t talks on Uranium suppl y to India
record heights of almos t $6.5 billion i n 2014. products i ncluding textiles , pha rma ceuticals likel y to get boos t
E. Co-chairs of the Fra mework Working and bovine mea t. * Key pers on --Chimed Saikhanbileg--PM
Group of the G-20. D. Chi na, which is conducti ng a feasibility
*** Note: Forei gn Investment Promotion and s tudy into a $36 billion bullet train project 10. South Korea: 18 19 May
Protection Agreement, a nd a Comprehensive from the capi tal in the north to Chennai in
Economi c Pa rtnership Agreement, the south *Highlights:
* LAST VISITOR -- cannada is smt. INDIRA E. The country i mports about 65 per cent of A. His visit to South Korea has a definite
GANDHI bulk drugs from China for i ts generic Make in India angle to i t.
* key person --Stephen Ha rper-PM medi cine indus try but s tri ct regula tory B. India is keen on getting inves tment and
procedures in the nei ghbouring country res t going for joint manufa cturing in a reas where
8. China: 14 16 May F. Both countries ha ve an unsettled bounda ry South Korea has a technologi cal edge.
of 3,488 km tha t often a cts as an i rri tant to C. In the manufa cturi ng sector, South Korean
* Highlights: the ties. companies including Sa msung, LG and
Modi will undertake a three -na tion tour of G. Asian Infrastructure Inves tment Bank, Hyundai tha t ha ve s trong presence in India.
Chi na , Mongolia and South Korea from Ma y whi ch is seen as a counter to the US, Japan D. Infras trcuture developments .
14 to 19. domina ted Asian Development Bank, is likel y * key pers on --President Pa rk Geun-hye ,
*According to offi cials, the visi t is aimed at to a nnounce funding for infras tructure pri me minis ter--Lee Wan-koo
gi ving a boos t to the Eas t Asia poli cy ali gning projects in India during the visit of PM Modi,
i t wi th Ma ke in India ini tiati ves and bringing leading role in India becoming a founding
momentum to the countrys forei gn poli cy in member of the bank.
the s tra tegi call y signifi cant region. * key persons--Xi Jinping

9. Mong olia: 16 17 May

* Highlights:

Daily GK Updates - 20th May 2015

1. Hungarian author Laszlo Krasznahorkai ori ginall y in English or a vailable i n translation iii. The a gri -training programme, to be
wins Man Booker Prize in the English language. conducted for two da ys in ea ch village, will
i . Hunga rian wri ter Laszlo Krasznahorkai won be i mplemented by the Na tional Centre of
Bri tain's Man Booker Interna tional Pri ze for 2. Centre to launch agri-training programme Organi c Fa rming and Central Fertiliser
ca reer a chievement. in 593 Sansad Adarsh Grams Quali ty Control and Training Ins titute along
ii . Bes t known i n Germany and Hunga ry, i . Centre is planning to launch soon an a gri - wi th the support of the s tate governments .
Kras znahorkai is the a uthor of Sata ntango training progra mme i n 593 villages under the i v. SAGY, which was launched in October
(1985), which was later made into a film, The Sa nsad Ada rsh Gra m Yojana , one of the 2014, is a rural devel opment progra mme
Melanchol y of Resistance (1998) and Seiobo fla gship s chemes of Pri me Minis ter Na rendra tha t prima ril y focuses upon the development
There Below (2008). Modi . in villages .

3. Government to award road projects

worth Rs 3 lakh crore
i . In a big push for infras tructure
development, the government plans to
awa rd Rs 3 lakh crore of road projects this
yea r as i t looks to more than double hi ghwa y
ii . The nodal Agri culture Mi nistry is working
iii. The Man Booker Interna tional Pri ze, construction to 30 km per da y.
out the training programme guidelines for
worth 60,000, is awa rded for an ii . Besides the plans to upgrade and expand
implementa tion in ea ch village adopted by
a chievement i n ficti on on the world s tage. It Na tional Hi ghwa ys , govt. is planning a 1,000-
Members of Pa rliament under the Sansad
is presented once every two yea rs to a li ving km Chaar Dhaam Ya tra project to connect
Ada rsh Gra m Yojana (SAGY).
author for a body of work published ei ther the four hol y towns of Ya munotri , Gangotri,

25
Kedarna th and Badri nath wi th hi ghwa ys a t a i v. Recentl y the cabinet commi ttee on expected to zoom by 7.7 per cent in 2016,
cos t of Rs 11,000 crore. economic a ffairs (CCEA) approved a 10 per a ccording to a UN report whi ch said India will
iii. Ministry is planning to build 5,000-km of cent s take sale in the country's biggest help a ccelera te economi c growth in South
roa d network all along the borders and refiner and fuel retailer Indian Oil Corp. and 5 Asia.
coas tal a reas under a new s cheme to be per cent in power producer NTPC. ii . Chi na is projected to grow by 7 per cent in
called 'Bha ra t Mala' a t a cost of Rs 50,000 2015 and 6.8 per cent next yea r.
crore. 5. India's economic growth to surpass iii. The report termed South Asia's economic
China's in 2015-16: UN report outlook as "la rgel y fa vourable" since most
4. 25 companies to sell shares for the first economies a re expected to experience a
time s trengtheni ng of growth in 2015-16 on the
i . The government has drawn up a list of 25 ba ck of s tronger domes ti c consumpti on and
s tate-owned companies tha t could sell inves tment.
sha res to the public for the fi rs t ti me,
possibly raising more tha n a thi rd of India's
record di ves tment ta rget for the fis cal yea r.
ii . They include profit-making a rms of Coal
India and ONGC tha t could help the
government get a round Rs 25,000 crore in
total .
iii. The unlis ted fi rms ma y include ONGC
Videsh, Southern Coalfields, Bha rat
Broadband, KIOCL and Ma zagon Dock. i . India's economi c growth is projected to
surpass tha t of China's , wi th the GDP
Daily GK Update - 21st May 2015
i . Senior BJP leader V Shanmugana than was a re appropria tel y regulated broad based
SBI partners with PayPal toda y sworn-in as the Governor of funds".
i . The country's la rges t bank announced a Meghala ya a t the Ra j Bha van.
pa rtnership wi th di gital pa yments fi rm, ii . Chief Jus ti ce of the Meghala ya High Court
Pa yPal so tha t the Cus tomers of State Bank Uma Nath Singh adminis tered the oa th of
of India (SBI) can now use thei r debit ca rds office to Shanmugana than at a solemn
on Pa yPal for buying products from overseas ceremony a ttended by Chief Mi nister Mukul
websites . Sa ngma and mos t of his cabinet colleagues . iii. SEBI has classified FPIs into three
ca tegories, with the fi rs t two being low-risk
forei gn insti tuti ons that include sovereign
wealth funds, pension funds , banks , mutual
funds, insurers , multila teral ins ti tutions and
well-regulated foreign enti ties, including
portfolio managers .
ii . The pa rtnership will also allow SBI's Mi cro
Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) Infosys is first Indian company to join RE100
cus tomers to use Pa yPal's secure pa yment iii. Ta thaga ta Roy on 20 Ma y 2015 was sworn global renewable energy campaign
solutions. in as the 16th Governor of Tripura in i . The Clima te Group announced tha t Infos ys ,
iii. SBI has also announced a pa rtnership wi th Aga rtala . one of India's la rgest Informa tion Technology
e-commerce fi rm, Amazon.com, i n India. Chief Jus ti ce of the Tripura Hi gh Court Mr. Jc. corpora tions has become the fi rs t Indian
Deepak Gupta administered the oa th of company to join RE100, a global platform for
India continues to lead in global confidence office to him as per the provisions of Arti cle ma jor companies committed to 100%
index 159 of Consti tution of India . renewable power.
i . India continued to lead the global i v. He replaced Padmanabh Balkrishna ii . As pa rt of i ts commi tment to RE100,
confidence i ndex in anticipa tion of Acha rya , Governor of Nagaland, who had Infos ys aims to become ca rbon neutral by
improvement in the economy through held the addi tional cha rge of Tripura . 2018.
reforms and s timulus announced by the iii. The company is already working to reduce
central government. SEBI sets new norms for mutual funds i ts per ca pita electri city consumption by 50
ii . Indias consumer confidence s core rose to managing offshore assets per cent from i ts 2007-2008 levels and
130 followed by Indonesia (123) and i . Ma rkets regulator SEBI on Wednesda y source all i ts electri ci ty from renewable
Philippines (115). simpli fied norms for domes ti c mutual funds resources by 2018.
iii. Eighty per cent urban Indian respondents to manage offshore pooled assets, dropping
indi ca ted tha t the s tate of personal finances i ts "20-25 rule" whi ch requi res a mini mum of
was good or excellent in the firs t quarter of 20 inves tors and a cap of 25 percent on
2015. inves tment by an indi vi dual, for funds from
i v. The Nielsen Global Survey of Consumer low-risk forei gn inves tors .
Confidence and Spending Intentions, ii . In a noti fi cati on sayi ng the new regulations
es tablished in 2005, measures consumer would be called the Securi ties and Exchange
confidence, ma jor concerns , and spending Boa rd of India (Mutual Funds) Regula tions ,
intentions a mong more than 30,000 2015, SEBI said the res tri ctions would not
respondents wi th Internet a ccess in 60 appl y "i f the funds managed a re of Ca tegory I
countries . forei gn portfolio inves tors (FPIs ) and/or
Ca tegory II forei gn portfolio investors whi ch
Meghalaya, Tripura governors sworn-in

26
 Daily GK Update - 22nd May 2015
TN CM O Panneerselvam resigns, makes i. Akhil Amar, an Indian Ameri can professor
way for Jayalalithaa to take over a t Yale Uni versity, was nomi nated by
i. Ta mil Nadu chief mi nister O Panneersel vam President Ba ra ck Oba ma to the National
handed over his resigna tion to Governor K Council on the Humani ties, a key
Rosiah, making wa y for AIADMK chief J administra tion pos t.
Ja yalalithaa to ta ke over the administra ti ve
reins .
ii. Popula rl y referred to as 'ca reta ker CM', iii. The opera tions were conducted wi th
this was Pa nneersel vam's second s tint as a cti ve support from the government of Uttar
Tamil Nadu chief minister, both for brief Pradesh, Yamuna Expresswa y Authori ty, toll
peri ods . authori ties of JP Infra tech and Ci vil Police.
ii. Akhil iv. The IAF has plans to acti va te more such
Reed Ama r is the Sterling Professor of Law s tretches on hi ghwa ys in the future.
and Politi cal Science at Yale, a posi tion he has
held since 2008, where he teaches Gujarat government signs pact with ZTEsoft
consti tutional law. for smartcity projects
iii. He has been a professor a t both Yale Law i. Guja rat government and Chinese software
School and Yale College since 1985 and has fi rm ZTEsoft ha ve entered into an a greement
held va ri ous professorships , incl uding for sma rtci ty projects in the s ta te.
iii. In a meeting, all 151 MLAs of the pa rty Southma yd Professor from 1993 to 2008,
unanimousl y re -elected Ja yalalithaa as the professor from 1990 to 1993, associate
legislature pa rty leader, pa ving the wa y for professor from 1988 to 1990, a nd assista nt
her to become the s ta te chief mi nister for professor from 1985 to 1988.
the fifth ti me. She is expected to be sworn in
to the chief minis ters pos t on 23 Ma y. Finance Ministry sanctions Rs 5,223-crore
fuel subsidy for IOC, BPCL
Government relaxes FDI norms for NRIs, i. Indian Oil Corp (I OC) will get Rs 2,932 crore
PIOs, OCI subsidy a nd Bha ra t Petroleum Corp Ltd
(BPCL) Rs 2,291 crore for selling fuel below
cos t in Q4 of 2014-15, but Hindustan ii. The memora ndum of understa nding
Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) will not get any (MoU) was si gned i n Shenzhen during visit
support. Guja rat Chief Mi nister Anandi Ben Pa tel wi th
ii. The Finance Minis try has sanctioned Rs Pri me Mi nister Na rendra Modi to China .
5,223 crore fuel subsidy for the January- iii. The agreement was signed by Gujara t's
Ma rch qua rter to cover almos t all of the Indus tries Commissioner Ma mta Verma and
revenue loss tha t the two retailers suffered ZTEsoft CFO Xu Shan i n presence of Guja rat
on selling domesti c cooking gas (LPG) and CM along wi th other s tate officials.
kerosene at government ra tes. iv. Chinese telecom gea r ma ker ZTE's
softwa re a rm, ZTEsoft, and Guja rat
government will jointl y work to find the
ta rget ci ty a nd a rea and a fter technical
closure, both team will work together to set
i. Aiming to a ttra ct overseas funds, up a trial project i n the s ta te.
government decided tha t non-repa triable
inves tments by NRIs, OCIs and PIOs will be iii. Wi th this , the total subsidy provided by IRCTC Partners With MyDala To Offer Deals
trea ted as domes ti c investments and will not the government in 2014-15 goes up to Rs To Ticket Buyers
be subject to forei gn di rect inves tment ca ps. 27,308 crore. For the firs t three qua rters , the i. Ti cketing arm of Indian Railwa y IRCTC
ii. The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime government had provided Rs 22,085 crore. doesnt seem to lea ve any opportuni ty to
Minis ter Na rendra Modi , ha d approved iv. The fuel retailers had l ost a total of Rs capi talise its rea ch and tra ction. After
amendments , including changes in defini tion 72,314 crore on selling diesel (up to October pa rtnering wi th Ama zon a nd Pa ytm, the
of NRIs , to be i ncorpora ted in the FDI policy. 17), LPG and kerosene a t government ra tes, government-owned ti cketing portal has
iii. Inves tments by NRIs under under whi ch were wa y below cost in 2014-15. pa rtnered wi th mydala to provide deals and
Schedule 4 of FEMA regula tions will be
offers to customers .
deemed to be domes ti c investment a t par IAF's Mirage-2000 lands on Yamuna eway in ii. The pa rtnership will gi ve tra velers a ccess
wi th the inves tment made by residents, an successful runway trial to the best deals and offers while booking
official s ta tement said. i. In a n a ttempt to pra ctise using hi ghways thei r ti ckets .
iv. The Ca binet's decision is expected to for emergency landings , an IAF Mi rage 2000 iii. This pa rtners hip is an IRCTCs move to
resul t in increased investments a cross jet successfull y tes t landed on the Yamuna deli ver signi fica nt improvement in customer
sectors and grea ter inflow of foreign Expresswa y in Utta r Pradesh. experience. This is the thi rd pa rtnership in a
exchange remi ttance leading to economic ii. According to IAF, the aircra ft made a row this yea r by IRCTC.
growth of the country. pra ctise approach on the highwa y, coming
v. The government had ea rlier raised the FDI down to a height of 100 metres before
limi t in sectors s uch as defence, insura nce, landing off the next approa ch.
real es ta te, railwa ys and medi cal devi ces.

Obama Names Yale Professor to Key

Administration Post

27
 Daily GK Update - 23rd May 2015
Jayalalithaa sworn in as Tamil Nadu CM for i . World's la rges t s teel maker ArcelorMi ttal
fifth time and SAIL inked a pa ct to jointl y set up a steel
i . AIADMK supremo Ja yalalithaa sworn in for plant in India for the fast growing automoti ve
the fifth ti me as Ta mil Nadu chief minister, sector.
nea rl y ei ght months after she was forced to ii . The MoU, the fi rs t step towards
quit over corruption cha rges . es tablishing the JV, was signed in London by
ii . Governor K Rosaiah ga ve oa th to ArcelorMi ttal Chai rman & Chief Executi ve i v. The selection of the theme also underlines
Ja yalalitha at the Madras Uni versi ty Lakshmi Niwas Mi ttal and SAIL Chai rman CS the adoption of the Gangwon Decla ra tion at
Centena ry Audi tori um. Actor Ra jinikanth, ICC Verma. the 12th meeting of the Conference of the
Chai rman N. Srini vasan and Union Minister Pa rties to the Convention on Biol ogical
Pon Radha krishnan attended the ceremony. Di versity (CBD) in South Korea in 2014.

Parvinder Singh Batth, becomes first Sikh

mayor in United Kingdoms Wokingham
Borough Council
i . Pa rvinder Singh Batth, an Indian-origin
Conserva ti ve pa rty councillor was chosen as
iii. The proposed JV will cons truct a sta te -of- the ma yor of Uni ted Ki ngdoms Wokingham
the-a rt cold rolling mill and other Borough Council.
downstrea m finishing fa cilities in India that ii . With this , he beca me the fi rs t Sikh to hold
will offer technologicall y advanced steel the Ma yors posi tion in UK. He succeeds
products to India 's ra pidl y growing Councillor Ulla Ka rin Clark for this pos t and
automoti ve sector, said a joint sta tement by will serve till 2016.
the two companies. iii. Pa rvinder Singh Ba tth previ ousl y had
iii. Along wi th Ja ya , 28 others were sworn in
served as Deputy Ma yor of borough of
as Minis ters . Ja yalalithaa will hold the Bank of India ties up with MasterCard to Woki ngha m in Berkshi re in south east
portfolios of home, poli ce, public, all India launch three cards England.
servi ces , general admi nistra tion and dis tri ct i . Sta te-run lender Bank of India tied up wi th i v. He was born in Indian s ta te of Punjab in
revenue officers. Mas terCa rd to launch three new ca rds and the fa rmers fa mil y. La ter he had mi gra ted to
i v. As for portfolio alloca tions , Ja yalalithaa's also two new banking solutions for i ts ca rd Uni ted Kingdom.
trus ted lieutenant O Panneersel vam has holders .
been gi ven Finance and Publi c works, whi ch ii . The bank launched Business Debit
he held previousl y too. Na tham R Mas terCa rd, Plati num Credi t Mas terCa rd and
Viswana than will continue to hold electri ci ty, Interna tional Tra vel Mas terCa rd to improve
prohibi tion and excise portfolio. cus tomers pa yment experiences .

BSE drops Tata Power from Sensex; Lupin to

come in

i . Pri va te sector electri ci ty producer Tata

Power will move out of the s tock ma rket iii. It will also offer two banking solutions - In
benchma rk index Sensex and will be replaced Control for spend mana gement and
by drugma ker Lupin . Mas terCa rd rewa rds program for its
ii . Besides, Adani Power would be dropped cus tomers .
from the S&P BSE 100 index, while va rious
changes ha ve been made to a hos t of other UN observed International Day for
BSE indi ces as well. Biological Diversity
iii. The S&P BSE-100, an index of the top 100 i . The United Nations (UN) observed the
listed companies in the country, would see Interna tional Da y for Biologi cal Di versi ty
Aurobindo Pha rma and Ta ta Motors (DVR) (IBD) on 22 Ma y 2015. The theme for the
coming i n, while the S&P BSE-200 would get yea r 2015 is Biodi versi ty for Sustainable
fi ve new entries -- Aja nta Pha rma , Suzlon Development.
Energy , Dewan Housing , NCC India and Tata ii . This yea r theme hi ghlights the releva nce of
Motors (DVR). biodi versi ty in achieving the goal of
i v. Those moving out of BSE-100 include sus tainable development.
Sa nofi India , Hindustan Copper , Amtek Auto iii. It also highli ghts the i mporta nce of efforts
, Jaipra kash Power Ventures . ma de to es tablish a set of Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs ) as pa rt of the UN
SAIL, ArcelorMittal ink MoU to set up steel Pos t-2015 Development Agenda (2015-
plant in India 2030).

28
 Schemes launched by Modi Government: In Detail
Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana Who will implement this Scheme? The income.Under the Atal Pension Yojna
The s cheme will be a one yea r cover, s cheme will be offered by all Public Scheme (APY), the subs cribers ,under the age
renewable from yea r to yea r, Accident Sector General Insurance Companies of 40, would recei ve the fi xed monthl y
Insura nce Scheme offering a ccidental death and all other i nsurers who a re willing to pension of Rs. 1000 to Rs 5000 a t the age of
and disability cover for dea th or disability on join the s cheme and tie-up wi th banks 60 yea rs , depending on thei r contri butions .
a ccount of an a ccident. for this purpose.
The s cheme would be offered / administered
through Publi c Sector General Insura nce Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Yojana
Companies (PSGICs ) and other General
Insura nce companies willing to offer the The s cheme will be a one yea r cover,
product on simila r terms wi th necessary renewable from yea r to yea r, Insura nce
approvals and tie up wi th Banks for this Scheme offeri ng li fe insura nce cover for
purpose. dea th due to a ny reason.

Highlights of the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha

Bima Yojana (Pmsby Scheme 1 for
Accidental Death Insurance) are

To make the the pension s cheme more

a ttra cti ve, government would co-contribute
50 per cent of a subscri bers contribution or
Rs 1,000 per annum,
Eligibility for APY: Atal Pension Yojana
Here are the key highlights of this scheme: (APY) is open to all bank a ccount holders
Eligibility: Available to people i n the age who a re not members of any s ta tutory
group of 18 to 50 and ha ving a bank social securi ty s cheme.
a ccount. People who join the s cheme Age of joining and contribution
before completing 50 yea rs ca n, period: The mi nimum age of joining APY
however, continue to ha ve the risk of is 18 yea rs and ma xi mum age is 40
life cover up to the a ge of 55 years yea rs . One needs to contribute till one
subject to pa yment of premium. a ttains 60 yea rs of a ge.
Eligibility: Available to people in age Premium: Rs 330 per annum. It will be Enrolment agencies: Al l Points of
group 18 to 70 yea rs with bank a ccount. auto-debited i n one instalment. Presence (Servi ce Providers) and
Premium: Rs 12 per annum. Payment Mode: The pa yment of Aggrega tors under Swa valamban
Payment Mode: The premium will be premium will be directl y auto-debited Scheme would enrol subscri bers
di rectl y auto-debited by the bank from by the bank from the subscri bers through setup of Na tional Pension
the s ubs cribers a ccount. This is the onl y a ccount. Sys tem.
mode a vailable. Risk Coverage: Rs 2 Lakh in case of if person joined Atal Pension Yojna at 35
Risk Coverage: For a ccidental death dea th for any reason. yea rs , he will contribute till a ge of 60
and full disability Rs 2 Lakh a nd for Terms of Risk Coverage: A pers on has to yea rs ie 25 yea rs .
pa rtial disability Rs 1 Lakh. opt for the s cheme every yea r. He can If he wants monthl y pension of Rs 1000
Additional Eligibility: Any pers on ha ving also prefer to gi ve a long-term option of he would contribute Rs 181 a month. On
a ba nk a ccount a nd Aadhaar number continuing, in whi ch case his a ccount his dea th his wi fe would get Rs 1000 per
linked to the bank a ccount can gi ve a will be auto-debited every yea r by the month and a fter her death the
simple form to the bank every yea r bank. nominees will get 1.7 lakh.
before 1s t of June in order to joi n the If he wants monthl y pension of Rs 3000
s cheme. Name of nominee to be gi ven Atal Pension Yojna (APY) he would contribute Rs 543 a month. On
in the form. his dea th his wi fe would get Rs 3000 per
Terms of Risk Coverage: A pers on has to The s cheme will be launched on June 1 2015 month and a fter her death the
opt for the s cheme every yea r. He can and focus is on the unorganised sector. A nominees will get 5.1 lakh.
also prefer to gi ve a long-term option of pension provides people wi th a monthl y
continuing in which case his a ccount will income when they a re no l onger ea rni ng. A
be auto-debited every year by the bank. Subs criber recei ves pension based on
a ccumula ted contribution out of his current

29
 Daily GK Update - 24th May 2015
India-Singapore bilateral naval exercise ii. The film is di rectoral debut of Neeraj
SIMBEX-15 commences in Singapore Gha ywan and a joint production of Manish
i. Bila teral na val exercise SIMBEX-15 between Mundra , Ma cassar Productions, Arte Fra nce
India and Singapore commenced on 23 Ma y Cinema , Sikhya Entertainment & Phantom
2015 in Singapore and concluding on Ma y 26, Fil ms.
2015. iii. It s ta rs Vi cky Kaushal , Shweta Tri pathi
ii. This edi tion of na val exercise will gi ve along wi th Ri cha Chadda and Sa nja y Mishra.
tradi tional emphasis on anti -submarine The film is a na rra ti ve set based in Varanasi
wa rfa re (ASW) and more complex mari time and i ts cha ra cters connected with the Indians posthumously chosen for UN's
exercises . It will invol ve va ri ous fa cets of Ga nga . prestigious Dag Hammarskjold Medal
na val opera tions such as ai r and surface iv. The cri ti cs prize in the Un Certain Rega rd i. Two Indian pea cekeepers ha ve been
pra cti ce fi ring, ai r defence, ma riti me securi ty ca tegory runs pa rallel to the competition for chosen pos thumousl y for Uni ted Nati ons
and sea rch & res cue opera tions. the main pri ze, Palme dOr i n the film Da g Hamma rs kjold Medal. They a re La nce
iii. For this edi tion of exercise, Indian na vy is festi val . Naik Nand Ram and Ra ju Joseph.
represented by ii. Both of them a re among the 126 poli ce,
INS Satpura- a n indigenousl y buil t mili ta ry and ci vilian pers onnel who ha ve
guided missile s tealth friga te wi th been pos thumousl y awa rded a pres tigious
integral heli copter. UN medal .
iii. They ha ve been chosen for this a wa rd for
INS Kamorta- an indi genous anti-
thei r coura ge and sa cri fi ce while servi ng in
subma rine wa rfa re (ASW) corvette.
UN peacekeeping opera tions in 2014 a nd lost
P 8I Aircraft- It is a long Range Ma ri ti me Tanishq Abraham 11-year old Indian-
thei r li ves as a resul t of hos tile a cts , acci dents
Reconnaissance Anti - Subma rine American creates record by graduating from and disease.
(LRMRASW) ai rcra ft. California College
iii. Lance Naik Nand Ra m had served wi th the
i. Ta nishq Abraham, 11-yea r-old Indian-
UN Orga niza tion Stabiliza tion Mission in the
Ameri can child prodigy crea ted a record by
Democra ti c Republi c of the Congo
gradua ting from California College wi th three
(MONUSCO). While, Ra ju Joseph had served
associate degrees in s cience, ma ths and
in a ci vilian capa ci ty wi th the UN Mission in
forei gn langua ge s tudies. South Sudan (UNMISS).
ii. He is na ti ve of Sa cramento, California and
younges t to gra dua te from the American
Ri ver College (ARC), i n Sacra mento,
California .
Indian film Masaan wins critics prize at 68th iii. In 2014, he also had crea ted a record by
Cannes film festival becoming one of the younges t ever in the US
i. Indian film Masaan has won the pres tigious to gradua te high s chool .
cri ti cs pri ze in the Un Certain Rega rd
ca tegory a t the 68th Cannes Film Fes tival
after i t was premiered on Ma y 20, 2015.
Daily GK Update - 25th May 2015
1. China sets up "largest" g old fund for 2. Government Clears 21 FDI Proposals of Mumbai , Maha rashtra , Guja ra t, Andhra
nations along Silk Road Worth Rs 281 Crore Pradesh, Chennai , Ta mil Nadu and Kerala .
i . China, the world's bigges t gold producer, i . The government has cleared 21 foreign i v. The goal of Internet.org is to allow more
has set up a gold sector fund invol ving di rect i nves tment (FDI) deals worth Rs 281 people to experience the benefi ts of being
countries along the ancient Silk Road whi ch is crore but deferred Kotak Ma hindra Bank's online.
expected to raise $16.1 billion. proposal to hike foreign investment limi t in
ii . The fund, led by Shanghai Gold Exchange the bank to 55 per cent. 4. Nobel Awardee mathematician John
(SGE), is expected to raise an es tima ted 100 ii . FDI proposals under approval route are Forbes Nash Jr. died
billion yuan ($16.1 billion) in three phases. clea red by the Foreign Inves tment Promotion
Boa rd (FIPB).
iii. Proposals invol ving inves tment of more
than Rs 3,000 crore a re gi ven fi nal cleara nce
by the Cabi net Commi ttee on Economic
Affai rs (CCEA).

3. Facebooks Internet.org attracts 8 lak h i . John Forbes Nash Jr., the Princeton
users in India Uni versi ty mathema ti cian, died along wi th
iii. About 60 countries ha ve invested i n the his wi fe i n a ca r crash. He was 86. His taxi
i . Social media giant Fa cebook has ga rnered 8
fund, whi ch will in turn fa cilita te gold crashed on the New Jersey Turnpike in
lakh users in India for i ts Internet.org
purchase for the central banks of member Monroe Township when the dri ver lost
ini tiati ve tha t has been in the thick of the net
s tates to increase thei r holdings of the control .
neutrality controvers y.
preci ous metal. ii . Os ca r-winning film, A Bea utiful Mi nd was
ii . Fa cebook had pa rtnered telecom ma jor
i v. The fund will inves t in gold mining in inspi red by his li fe.
Reliance Communi ca tions to offer free a ccess
countries along the Silk Road, whi ch will iii. Nash born on 13 June 1928 was an
to over 30 websites wi thout da ta cha rges to
increase explora tion in countries such as Ameri can ma thema ti cian who became
users in India .
Afghanistan and Ka zakhs tan. fa mous for his game theory, differential
iii. Internet.org servi ce is a vailable for
Reliance cus tomers in seven telecom ci rcles geometry, and pa rtial di fferential equati ons,
whi ch provided an insight into the factors

30
tha t, govern chance and events inside s core. This is the second IPL ti tle tri umph for Formula One
complex s ys tems in dail y life. MI a fter thei r maiden win in the season six in i . Mercedes ra cing dri ver Ni co Rosberg of
5. Mum bai Indians saunter to second title 2013. Germany won the Mona co Gra nd Pri x
win Man of the Ma tch: Rohi t Sha rma . Formula 1 Worl d Cha mpionship ti tle by
i . Mumbai Indians put up an all-round show Captains of the two tea ms Mumbai wi nning the final ra ce held in Mona co.
to outshine Chennai Super Ki ngs by 41 runs Indains: Rohi t Sharma . ii . While Sebas tian Vettel of Germany
in the final to win the Indian Premier League representing the Ferra ri tea m s tood a t the
Chennai Super Ki ngs : Mahendra Singh
2015. Dhoni . second position, Rosbergs team ma te Lewis
ii . Mumbai Indians completed one of the Ha miltion of UK was a t the thi rd posi ton.
Looking at the Other highlights of IPL
mos t rema rkable turna rounds in the ei ght- iii. It is the tenth overall cha mpionship title
2015:
yea r his tory of the Indian Premier League by for Rosberg and the second ti tle in the 2015
trans forming a terri ble s ta rt to the Pla yer of the Tourna ment: Andre Russell season ha ving won the Spanish Formula 1
tournament - they were a t the bottom of the (KKR). World Championship on 10 Ma y 2015.
table for the fi rs t two weeks - into a title win. Orange Cap awa rded to: Da vid Wa rner i v. Wi th the present vi ctory, he has become
(Sunrisers Hyderabad). the fourth dri ver to wi n three Mona co Grand
Purple Cap awa rded to: Dwa yne Bra vo Pri x ti tles in a row. The others were Graham
(CSK). Hill , Ayrton Senna and Alain Pros t.
Emerging Pla yer of the Season: Shreyas
Iyer (Delhi Da redevils).
Mos t Valuable Pla yer: Andre Russell
(KKR).
iii. CSK had won the toss in final summi t had
chosen bowl fi rst. MI by batti ng firs t had set
the ta rget of 202 to thei r opponent tea m.
6. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg of
However the CSK failed to rea ch the ta rget
Germany won Monaco Grand Prix of
Latest Welfare Schemes launched by Narendra Modi
Friends .. Here is the list of la test s chemes & Launched on: 25 September 2014 Ai m: Aims village by 2016, a nd two more by 2019,
plans announced by Na rendra Modi led a t allevia ting urban and rural poverty covering over 2,500 villages of the 6 lakh
Union Government during the past few through enhancement of li velihood villages country-wide. Minis try/Depa rtment
months. This will be hi ghl y useful for all opportuni ties through skill development and in cha rge of the s cheme: Rural Development
upcoming competi ti ve exa ms. other means . Minis try/Depa rtment in cha rge Minis try
of the s cheme: Union Ministry of Housing & 10) Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Yojana
1) Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana Urban Poverty Alleviation & Union Minis try Launched on: 10 Jul y 2014 Aim: Help in
Launched on: 28 Augus t 2014 Ai m: Ambitious of Rural Development. genera ting awa reness and i mproving the
s cheme for comprehensive financial inclusion effi ciency of delivery of wel fa re services
by providing bank accounts , insura nce cover 6) Digital life certificate 'Jeevan Pramaan' meant for women with an ini tial corpus of Rs
and a debi t ca rd to all the citi zens of the for pensioners 100 crore.
country. Minis try/Depa rtment in cha rge of Launched on: 11 November 2014 Aim:
the s cheme: Depa rtment of Financial Reti red employees of government and PSUs 11) Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti
Servi ces , Mi nistry of Finance can now digi tall y provide proof of his Yojana
exis tence to authori ties for continui ty of Launched on: 20 November 2014 Ai m: To
2) Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Shramev pension every yea r i nstead of requi ring to provide a ccess of electri ci ty to rural
Jayate Karyakram present himself physi cally or through a Life households a cross the country.
Launched on: 16 October 2014 Ai m: To Certi fi ca te issued by speci fied authori ties.
crea te an envi ronment conduci ve to Minis try/Depa rtment in cha rge of the 12) Sukanya Samriddhi account
industrial devel opment while also ensuring s cheme: Depa rtment of Electroni cs and IT Launched on: 22 Janua ry 2015 Aim: Under
transpa rency in the labour sector. the s cheme, an interes t of 9.2 per cent (FY
Minis try/Depa rtment in cha rge of the 7) Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India 2015-16) is provide on deposited a mount
s cheme: Labour Mi nistry Campaign) whi ch is ta x free. The a ccount under this
Launched on: 2 October 2014 Aim: National s cheme a sa ving a ccount can be opened by
3) Bal Swachhta Mission level campai gn by the Government of India the pa rent or legal gua rdian of a gi rl child of
Launched on: 14 November 2014 Aim: covering 4041 s tatutory towns to clean the less than 10 yea rs of age wi th a mini mum
Na tionwi de sani ta tion ini tiati ve for s chools as s treets , roads a nd infras tructure of the deposit of Rs 1,000 in any pos t offi ce or
pa rt of Swa chh Bha rat Mission. country. Aims to a ccomplish the vision of authorised branches of commercial ba nk.
Minis try/Depa rtment in cha rge of the 'Clean India' by 2 October 2019, 150th
s cheme: Minis try of Women and Child bi rthda y of Ma ha tma Gandhi. 13) HRIDAY (National Heritage City
Development. Minis try/Depa rtment in cha rge of the Development and Augmentation Yojana)
s cheme: All Minis tries & Depa rtments . scheme
4) Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Launched on: December 2014 Ai m: For
Kaushalya Yojana 8) Make in India global initiative conserving a nd preserving the heri tage
Launched on: 25 September 2014 Aim: Aims Launched on: 25 September 2014 Ai m: Aims cha ra cters of 12 ci ties . These a re: Amri tsa r,
a t training 10 lakh (1 million) rural youths for to boos t India`s manufa cturi ng sector. Va ranasi, Ga ya , Puri , Ajmer, Ma thura,
jobs in three yea rs , tha t is, by 2017. Dwa rka , Badami , Velankanni , Kanchipura m,
Minis try/Depa rtment in cha rge of the 9) Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana Wa ra ngal (Telangana ) and Ama ra vati
s cheme: Ministry for Rural Development. Launched on: 12 October 2014 Aim: (Andhra Pra desh). Minis try/Depa rtment in
encoura ges Members of Pa rliament from cha rge of the s cheme: Urban Development
5) Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Antyodaya Yojana both Houses to identi fy and develop one Minis try
for urban and rural poor village from thei r cons ti tuency as a model

31
 Daily GK Updates - 26th May 2015
PM Modi launches 'Kisan TV' for farmers s tate and regional level coordina tors to rea ch
i. Ma rking the fi rst anni versa ry of NDA ICICI Launches Voice Password Facility for those small entrepreneurs who a re often cut
government, Pri me Minister Na rendra Modi Phone Banking off from the banking s ys tem because of a
launched Kisan TV a t a functi on held in limi ted branch presence.
Vigya n Bha wan. ii. This ini tia ti ve is expected to help fina nce
ii. In his address, PM s tressed on the need for Las t Mile Fi nanciers of small and mi cro
improvi ng fa rmers condi tion in the country. businesses. These businesses would i n turn
He said if country wants to progress, the genera te almost 10 ti mes jobs compa red to
eleva tion of villages and fa rmers is the wha t was being genera ted by the big
s tepping stone. companies currentl y.

i. ICICI Bank launched voi ce recogni tion

servi ce whi ch authenti ca tes cus tomers based
on thei r speech patterns and allows them to
execute banking transa ctions through the
bank's call centre in a quick, secure and
convenient manner.
ii. The-fi rs t-of-i ts kind servi ce by a bank i n the
country, i t is a vailable to over 33 million
iii. After coming to power, the NDA
government had a nnounced tha t i t will cus tomers of its sa vings a ccount and credit
launch a 24hour TV channel for fa rmers . ca rd.
iii. Wi th the voi ce recogni tion technology in
iv. In his Union Budget 2014 speech, Fina nce iii. MUDRA Banks effort is likel y to transform
Minis ter Arun Jai tley, who now also holds the pla ce, cus tomers a re no longer requi red to
small enterprises into a Rs. 11 lakh crore
cha rge of the I&B mi nistry, had announced enter their ca rd numbers , PIN and answer
industry, whi ch would gi ve a signifi cant push
securi ty ques tions to authenti cate
tha t a 24hour TV channel will be dedi cated to countrys economy.
to the agri culture sector, for which he had themsel ves.
iv. The Central government had set up
ma rked an outla y of Rs . 100 crore. iv. Thei r voi ce will now a ct as the password
MUDRA Bank to boos t the growth of small
for banking transa ctions through the call
s cale businesses as small entrepreneurs face
On day one Tamil Nadu CM Jaya okays Rs centre.
di ffi culty to a ccess banking s ys tem for
1,800-crore for welfare schemes v. The voice recogni tion technology works on
va rious reasons . This venture by MUDRA will
i. A da y after being s worn in as Chief Minister voi ce prints , whi ch a re unique to an
help finance s mall and micro businesses at
of Tamil Nadu for the fi fth time, J Jayalalithaa indi vi dual. It comprises more than 100
the grassroots level .
cha ra cteris ti cs including voice modulation,
on Sunda y announced development and
welfa re schemes worth over Rs 1,800 crore. speed, a ccent, pronuncia tion whi ch a re
Manoj Mishra appointed as CMD of
ii. Ja yalalithaa launched several s chemes, impossible to i mita te, thereby enhancing
National Fertilizers Ltd (NFL)
securi ty.
including those for improvement of roads,
dri nking wa ter fa cilities and for helping
needy fa milies headed by women. Corporation Bank Cuts Lending Rate

i. Sta te-run Corpora tion Bank cut base ra te or i. Government has appointed Manoj Mishra
iii. The ma jor thrus t will be for urban and
rural roads . She allocated Rs . 1,000 crore for mi nimum lending ra te by 0.25 percentage as Chairman and Mana ging Di rector of s ta te -
urban roads , incl uding those under Chennai point to 10 per cent, a move whi ch will lead run Na tional Fertilizers Ltd (NFL).
to lower EMIs for i ts customers . ii. Mishra , currentl y pos ted as Di rector
corpora tion limi ts as i t was necessa ry to
repai r roads dug up repea tedl y by va rious ii. The ba nk has revised the base ra te for Fi nance a t Sta te Trading Corporati on (STC), is
agencies like Metrowater and those lending from 10.25 per cent to 10 per cent likel y to assume the cha rge of CMD of the
wi th effect from June 1. fertiliser fi rm this week.
da maged in rains .
iv. For the rural roads , the government will iii. Wi th the reduction, all loans linked to iii. In September last yea r, government
spend Rs . 800 crore covering 3,500 km of base ra tes will now become cheaper by at headhunters Publi c Enterprises Selection
roa d network of whi ch 50 per cent will be least 0.25 per cent. Boa rd (PESB) had recommended Mishra's
spent on la ying new bi tumen roads and the iv. During the month, many banks incl uding na me for the top pos t at NFL. NFL's CMD
res t for repai ring the da maged roads. Punjab National Bank, Bank of Ba roda , and post fell va cant after the reti rement of Neeru
v. As industrialisation of cities increased IDBI BankBSE -1.84 % reduced base ra te by Abrol in Februa ry 2014.
housing demand in town pancha ya ts, the 0.25 per cent to 10 per cent.
v. Sta te Ba nk of India, the country's largest Mandeep Kaur wins two gold medals at
Chief Minister had sa nctioned green houses
for 20,000 fa milies in the ini tial phase. Ea ch lender, had reduced i ts base ra te by 0.15 per World Junior Championship
fa mil y will be granted Rs . 2.10 lakh; and poor cent to 9.85 per cent effecti ve April 10. i. Punjab pugilist Mandeep Kaur Sandhu has
won two gold medals (52 kg ca tegory) on
in town pancha ya ts li ving in mud or tha tched
houses were eligible for the s cheme to be MUDRA banks partners with 19 regional Sa turda y a t the Women's World Junior
implemented by the Ta mil Nadu Slum coordinators to reach small entrepreneurs Boxing Championship in Taipei, thus s cripting
i. Mi cro Units Development Refina nce a classic ra gs to ri ch s toryline.
Clea rance Boa rd.
Agency (MUDRA) Bank has pa rtnered wi th 19

32
ii. Indian boxers had a terrifi c outing in the
tournament as they won 7 medals in all,
including three golds , a sil ver and two
bronze.
iii. Fi fteen yea r old Mandeep, who hais from
Cha kka r village, defea ted Ireland's Niamh
Ea rley in the fi nal ma tch by a 3-0 ma rgin to
wi n gold. Mandeep was dominant in her
ca tegory throughout the tournament and
registered some thrilling wins.

Daily GK Updates - 27th May 2015

ANZ Bank to open 2 India branches by early Ba nk of India (SBI) was placed a t 30th Securi ty Council of India ha ve launched
2016 position. NASSCOM Cyber Securi ty Task Force.
i. ANZ Bank will open two more branches in Chanda Kochhar: Ma naging Di rector
India by ea rl y next yea r. (MD) and CEO of India s la rges t pri vate
ii. The two bra nches woul d be opened at sector lender ICICI Bank was pla ced at
Gurgaon and Ba ngalore, ANZ Executi ve 35th position.
Di rector (Interna tional banking) Subhash Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw: Founder,
DeGamia said. The bank opened i ts fi rst Chai rman and MD of Biocon Li mited was
bra nch in India a t Mumbai four yea rs a go. pla ced a t 85th posi tion.
iii. In June 2014, Aus tralia New Zealand ii. Ra jendra Pa wa r, Chai rman, NIIT will chair
Shobhana Bhartia: Chai rperson and this task force. The task force over a 12 week
Ba nking Group (ANZ) said i t recei ved in - Edi torial Director of the Hindustan
pri nciple approval from the Reserve Bank of peri od will identify the key priori ties and
Times Group was pla ced a t 93rd
India to open new branches in Gurgaon and build the detailed a ction plan for the sector.
position. It should be noted she has
in outer Bengalore. iii. It aims to improve the cyber securi ty
appea red on the list for the fi rs t time.
industry ma rket sha re of the country from
iii. Top 10 powerful women: German
1% of the IT-BPM industry to 10% by 2025
Cha ncellor Angela Merkel (1s t), Hillary and plans to ha ve a trained base of 1 million
Clinton (2nd), Melinda Ga tes (3rd), US
certi fied cyber securi ty professionals. It also
Federal Reserve Chai r Janet Yellen (3th), GM
expects to build over 100 securi ty product
CEO Ma ry Ba rra (5th), IMF Chief Christine
companies in India.
Laga rde (6th), Bra zilian President Dilma
iv. B.V.R. Mohan Reddy, chairman of
Rousseff (7th), Fa cebook COO Sheryl
Nasscom said tha t the task force will s tudy
Sa ndberg (8th), YouTube CEO Susan Wojci cki
iv. Its Mumbai branch offers Indian Rupee the Indian cyber securi ty ecos ys tem to
(9th) and US Fi rs t Lady Mi chelle Obama
and foreign currency servi ces , working identi fy issues and challenges and develop an
(10th).
capi tal and term financing, tra nsaction a ction plan to address the priori ty issues."
banking, global ma rkets, deposits and v. It has proposed four working groups whi ch
India gets its first transgender college
advisory servi ces. focus on indus try development, policy
principal
v. In addi tion, ANZ's Bangalore-based enablement, technology development and
opera tions and technol ogy sha red servi ces skill development respe cti vel y.
hub employs more than 6,000 s ta ff
supporting ANZ's businesses a round the Nirbhay Sharma sworn-in as governor of
world. Mizoram
i. Lt general (Retd) Ni rbha y Sha rma was
Four Indians among Forbes worlds 100 sworn-in as the governor of Mizoram a t the
most powerful women Durba r Hall of Ra j Bha va n. Justi ce T Vaiphei,
i. Four Indians ha ve been named in Forbes judge of the Gauha ti high court,
ma gazi nes 12th a nnual list of Worlds 100 i. In a fi rst in India , Ma nabi Bandopadhya y administered the oa th of offi ce to general
has been appoi nted the fi rs t trans gender
mos t powerful women. Sha rma .
ii. They a re pri ncipal a t a college in West Bengal . ii. Sta te chief minister Lal Thanha wla, his
ii. Manabi will assume the role of Krishna gar cabinet colleagues, legislators from both the
Womens College principal in Wes t Bengal on ruling Congress and the opposition Mizo
June 9. She is currentl y an associate Na tional Front (MNF), senior offi cials of the
professor in Bengali a t Vi vekananda s tate government and the Army a ttended the
Sa toba rshiki Maha vidyala ya . guberna torial swea ring-in ceremony.
iii. "This decision was taken by the College
Servi ce Commission. I don't interfere in their
decisions . They a re awa re of our open mind. I
am happy wi th this decision," sta te educa tion
mi nister Pa rtha Chatterjee said.

NASSCOM launches Cyber Security Task

Force
i. Na tional Associa tion of Softwa re and
Arundhati Bhattacharya: Fi rs t woman Servi ces Companies (NASSCOM) and Data
(a nd younges t) Chai rperson of State

33
iii. General Sha rma, the former governor of corpus of less than Rs 20,000 crore. Infa ct, Interna tional Cri cketer of the Year
Aruna chal Pradesh, was tra nsferred and we pi ck up from our sources tha t the initial Kumar Sangakkara
appointed as Mi zoram governor on Ma y 12 capi tal could be approxi ma tel y between Rs Indian Cri cketer of the Yea r Ajinkya
by President Pranab Mukherjee, repla cing 5,000 crore and Rs 10,000 crore. Rahane
West Bengal governor Kesha ri Na th Tri pathi iv. The finance ministry is likel y to seek the Interna tional Ba tsman of the Yea r
who took addi tional cha rge of Mi zora m. Pa rliament's nod for supplementa ry funds Hashim Amla
iv. He is the eighth governor of Mi zoram once the Cabinet has gi ven i ts nod. The
Interna tional Bowler of the Yea r
after the then s ta te governor Vakkom government is also invi ting forei gn investors
Rangana Herath
Purushothaman resigned on Jul y 12 las t year for thei r pa rti cipa tion in the fund.
in protes t agains t being trans ferred to T20 Pla yer of the Yea r Dwayne Bravo
Nagaland. Sangakkara named CEAT International Popula r Choice Awa rd Kieron Pollard
Cricketer of the Year, Rahane is Indian Special Performance of the Yea r Award
FM Arun Jaitley announces setting up of NIIF Cricketer of the Year Rohit Sharma
i. Former Sri La nka captain Kumar Domes ti c Cri cketer of the Yea r R Vinay
Sa ngakka ra on 25 Ma y 2015 was named as Kumar
the International Cri cketer of the Yea r 2015 Young Pla yer of the Yea r Deepak
while the middle order bats man Ajinkya Hooda
Ra hane was named as the CEAT Indian
Cri cketer of the Yea r 2015.
ii. Former Indian captain Kapil Dev was
i. Fina nce minister Arun Jaitley had conferred wi th the Interna tional Lifetime
announced the setting up of the National Achievement Awa rd a t the 19th edi tion of
Investment a nd Infras tructure Fund(NIIF) in the awa rds.
the Union Budget. The north bl ock has now iii. Rohi t Sharma was gi ven a special awa rd
issued a dra ft Cabinet note on i ts forma tion. for his record-breaking 264 made a gainst Sri
ii. The note is likel y to be taken up by the Lanka in an ODI at Kolka ta.
Cabi net wi thin a month's time.
iii. The Na tional Investment and List of award winners:
Infras tructure Fund is likel y to ha ve an initial Interna tional Li fetime Achievement
Awa rd - Kapil Dev
Various Important Schemes Launched by NDA Government
I. Banking & Financial inclusion
A. Pradham Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana:
Special Benefits under PMJDY Scheme Documents required to open an account
Interes t on deposi t. under Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana
Accidental insurance cover of Rs.1.00 la c If Aadhaa r Ca rd is not a vailable, then any one
of the following Offi cially Valid Documents
No mini mum balance requi red.
(OVD) is requi red: Voter ID Ca rd, Dri ving
Life insurance cover of Rs .30,000/-
Li cense, PAN Ca rd, Passport & NREGA Ca rd. If
Eas y Tra nsfer of money a cross India these documents also contain your a ddress,
Benefi cia ries of Government Schemes i t can serve both as Proof of Identi ty and
will get Di rect Benefi t Transfer in these Address
a ccounts . HIGHLIGHTS:
Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) is After satisfa ctory opera tion of the s cheme for comprehensi ve financial
Na tional Mission for Financial Inclusion to a ccount for 6 months , an overdra ft inclusion la unched by the Prime
ensure a ccess to financial servi ces , namel y, fa cili ty will be permitted Minis ter of India, Na rendra Modi on 28
Ba nking / Sa vings & Deposi t Accounts, Access to Pension, insurance products . Augus t 2014
Remi ttance, Credi t, Insurance, Pension in an
Accidental Insura nce Cover, RuPa y Debit Run by Depa rtment of Financial
affordable manner.
Ca rd mus t be used a t least once in 45 Servi ces , Mi nistry of Finance
Account can be opened in any bank branch
or Business Correspondent (Bank Mi tr)
da ys . inaugura tion da y, 1.5 Crore bank
outlet. PMJDY a ccounts a re being opened Overdraft fa cili ty upto Rs .5000/- is a ccounts were opened under this
wi th Zero balance. However, if the a ccount- a vailable in onl y one a ccount per s cheme
holder wishes to get cheque book, he/she household, preferabl y lady of the By 28 Ja nua ry 2015, 12.58 crore
will ha ve to fulfill minimum balance cri teria . household. a ccounts were opened, wi th a round
10590 crore

B. Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) (Re-Introduced):

The re-launched Kisan Vikas Pa tra (KVP) trans fer from one pos t offi ce to a nother publi c through designa ted branches of
will be a vailable to the investors in the anywhere in India and of nomina tion na tionalised banks .
denomination of Rs . 1000, 5000, 10,000 will be a vailable. The certi fi ca te can also Kisan Vikas Pa tras ha ve unique liquidi ty
and 50,000, wi th no upper ceiling on be pledged as securi ty to avail loans feature, where an inves tor can, i f he so
inves tment. from the banks and in other case where desi res , en cash his certi fi ca tes a fter the
The certi fica tes can be issued in single securi ty is requi red to be deposited. lock-in period of 2 yea rs and 6 months
or joint na mes and can be tra nsferred Ini tiall y the certi fi ca tes will be sold and thereafter in any block of six
from one person to any other person / through pos t offi ces , but the same will months on pre-determi ned ma turi ty
persons, multiple ti mes . The fa cility of soon be made a vailable to the inves ting value. The inves tment made in the
certi fi cate will double in 100 months.

34
 Rei ntroduction of Kisan Vi kas Pa tra enhancing domes ti c household financial denominations. The ma turi ty period of the
(KVP) is a wel come s tep not onl y in the sa vings in the country. s cheme when launched was 5 years and
di rection of providing safe and secure * INTEREST RATE - 8.7% the money inves ted doubled on ma turi ty.
inves tment a venues to the small The s cheme was very popula r among the
inves tors but will also help in inves tors and the percentage s hare of gross
augmenting the sa vings ra te in the collections secured i n KVP was in the range
country. The s cheme will also safegua rd of 9 % to 29 % agains t the total collections
small investors from fraudulent recei ved under all Nati onal Sa vings Schemes
s chemes. With a ma turi ty period of 8 in the country. Gross collections under the
yea rs 4 months , the collections under s cheme i n the yea r 2010-11 were Rs.
the s cheme will be a vailable wi th the 21631.16 crores which was 9 % of the total
HISTORY:
Govt. for a fai rl y l ong peri od to be Kisan Vikas Pa tra (KVP) a certifi ca te sa vings gross collections during the yea r. In the year
utilized in financing developmental s cheme was launched by the Government on of i ts cl osure, the s cheme secured gross
plans of the Centre and State collections of Rs . 7575.95 crores (April 2011
1s t April , 1988. The scheme provided fa cility
Governments and will also help in of unlimi ted inves tment by wa y of purchase to November 2011).
of certi fi cates from post offi ces in va rious

C. Sukhanya Samridi Account

fi nancial yea r i .e. FY 2014-15. It is fi nancial independence to Gi rl child
hi ghes t among all Small Sa vings whi ch is currentl y missing in India .
Schemes . Interes t to be paid even a fter Ma turi ty:
Ta x Sa vings : In order to encourage Unlike other financial schemes where
people to open Sukanya Samriddhi interes t is not paid a fter ma turi ty of the
Account, Govt has exempted deposit / investment s cheme. Unique
contribution to this a ccount u/s 80C of feature of Sukanya Samri ddhi Account is
the Income Ta x Act, 1961. tha t even after ma turi ty, if the a ccount
Lock-in Period: In my opi nion this is the is not closed by the a ccount holder,
BEST Fea ture of this scheme. The Interes t shall be pa yable in the a ccount
ma turi ty of a ccount is 21 yea rs from the till final closure of the a ccount.
Sukanya Samriddhi Account is another da te of opening of the account or Flexi bility to opera te Suka nya Samriddhi
welcome s tep from Govt of India . Honorable Ma rria ge of the Gi rl Child, Whi ch ever is Account: Based on pas t experience,
Pri me Minis ter of India, Sh. Na rendra Modi Ji ea rlier. For Ma rria ge, Gi rl should be of Government of India has gi ven lot of
launched Sukanya Samriddhi Account A 18 yea rs a t the ti me of ma rriage. The flexi bility in terms of a ccount
Small Sa vings Scheme on 22nd Janua ry, opera tion of a ccount is not permi tted opera tions . I am listing down few of
2015. It is pa rt of Beti Ba chao Beti beyond date of ma rria ge. them
Padhao ini tia ti ve of Government of India Purpose of Sukanya Samriddhi Account: (a ) Account can be opened wi th initial
(GOI) also known as BBB. As I mentioned earlier, i t is qui te evident deposit of Rs 1000 and therea fter any
tha t Sukanya Samriddhi Account is amount i n mul tiple of Rs 100 can be
OBJECTIVE: launched with sole objecti ve of financial deposited subject to ma x limi t of 1.5 lakh
Sukanya Sa mriddhi Account, Govt is trying to planning for the ma rriage of Gi rl Child. during financial yea r. Every FY, a min sum of
gi ve a social message tha t Gi rl Child is not a Social Message is tha t Ma rriage or Rs 1000 should be deposi ted to keep a ccount
fi nancial burden if pa rents of a Gi rl child Educa tion of a Gi rl Child is not a opera ti ve.
secure thei r future through proper financial (b) On a ttaining age of 10 yea rs, a gi rl child
fi nancial burden if pa rents plan well in
planning. adva nce. can opera te her a ccount
Ma turi ty Proceeds to be Paid to Girl (c) Account can be closed if i t is proved that
7 Benefits: a ccount is ca using undue hardship to the
Chil d: On ma turi ty of Sukanya Samriddhi
Hi ghes t Interes t Rate a mong all Small Account, the a ccount balance along wi th a ccount holder
Sa vi ngs Schemes offered by Govt of a ccrued interes t will be paid di rectl y to (d) Account ca n be transferred a nywhere in
India: Sukanya Samriddhi Account will the a ccount holder i .e. Gi rl Child. It gives India
offer interest ra te of 9.1% for current

D. MUDRA Bank Yojana

Minis ter Arun Jai tley in his FY 15-16 Budget cover from the organised financial banking
speech s ys tem.

2. MUDRA Bank Make a Difference to the 3. The principal objectives of the MUDRA
Economy: Bank are:
As per NSSO Survey of 2013, there a re close Regula te the lender and the borrower of
to 5.77 crore small-s cale business uni ts, mi crofinance and bring s tability to the
mos tl y sole proprietorships , whi ch undertake mi crofinance s ystem through regulation
1. BUDGET SPEECH: trading, manufa cturing, retail and other and inclusi ve pa rti cipa tion.
The Pri me Minis ter Na rendra Modi launched small-s cale a cti vi ties. Compa re this with the Extend finance and credi t support to
the promised Mi cro Uni ts Development and organised sector and la rger companies that Mi crofinance Ins ti tutions (MFI) and
Refinance Agency Ltd (MUDRA) Bank on 8 employ 1.25 crore indi viduals. Clea rl y, the agencies that lend money to small
April , 2015 wi th a corpus of Rs 20,000 crore potential to ha rness and nurture these mi cro businesses, retailers , self-help groups
and a credi t gua rantee corpus of Rs 3,000 businesses is vas t and the government and indi vi duals.
crore. The launch was the fulfillment of an recognises this. Toda y, this segment is
announcement made ea rlier by the Fina nce unregulated and wi thout financial support or

35
 Regis ter all MFIs and introduce a s ys tem Offer a Credit Gua rantee s cheme for Kishor: covers l oans above Rs 50,000/- and
of performance ra ting and a ccredita tion providing gua rantees to loans being upto Rs 5 lakh
for the fi rs t time. This will help las t-mile offered to mi cro businesses. Ta run: covers l oans above Rs 5 lakh and upto
borrowers of finance to evalua te and Introduce appropriate technologies to Rs 10 lakh
approa ch the MFI tha t meets their assist in the process of effi cient lending, Ini tiall y, sector-speci fic s chemes will be
requi rement bes t and whose past borrowing and moni toring of dis tributed confined to La nd Tra nsport, Communi ty,
record is most sa tisfa ctory. This will also capi tal. Social & Personal Servi ces, Food Product and
introduce an element of Build a suitable framework under the Textile Product sectors. Over a period of
competi ti veness among the MFIs. The time, new s chemes will be launched to
Pradhan Ma ntri MUDRA Yojana for
ul tima te benefi ciary will be the encompass more sectors .
developing an effi cient last-mile credit
borrower. deli very s ys tem to s mall and mi cro
Provide structured guidelines for the businesses. 5. Some of the Offerings Planned for the
borrowers to follow to a void failure of Future:
business or take correcti ve s teps in 4. Major Product Offerings: MUDRA Ca rd
time. MUDRA will help in la ying down MUDRA Bank has ri ghtl y classified the Portfolio Credi t Guara ntee
guidelines or a cceptable procedures to borrowers into three segments : the s ta rters, Credi t Enhancement
be followed by the lenders to recover the mid-s ta ge finance seeke rs and the next
money in cases of defaul t. level growth seekers .
Develop the s tanda rdised covenants To address the three segments , MUDRA Bank
tha t will form the backbone of the last- has launched three loan ins truments :
mile business in future. Shishu: covers loans upto Rs 50,000/-

II. Agriculture & Irrigation Schemes

A. Krishi Amdani Beema Yojana:
To gi ve a n impetus to the dying them were lea ving the agri cul tural
agri cul tural pra ctice pra cti ce beca use of the uncertainty over
There is 14 crore hecta res of agri cul tural the produce and returns .
land in India, of whi ch onl y 44 per cent Krishi Amdani Beema Yojana s o tha t the
in under i rriga tion fa rmers dont bea r any financial burden
Pradhan Ma ntri Gram Sinchai Yojana if thei r produce gets destroyed due to
would be introduced so that more unexpected wea ther or for any other
agri cul tural land is i rri ga ted. reason.
Talking about the plight of s mall and
ma rginal fa rmers he said tha t most of

B. Pradhan Mantri Gram Sinchai Yojana:

basi c contours of the agri -i rriga tion projects in some s tates despi te release
progra mme would be on lines of the of central funds by di fferent minis tries
PMGSY, under whi ch ea ch i rriga tion under va rious s chemes for several yea rs.
project would be selected for releasing Besides, wa ter is necessary for fa rmers
funds by the sta te government after as country's 50 per cent of the
seeking nod of the concerned Zilla agri cul ture land is rainfed.
Pa rishad.
ensure wa ter s uppl y to fa rmers round importance in the wake of poor
the yea r. implementa tion of va rious i rriga tion

C. Pradhan Mantri Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana

implies tha t a total of 6,433 Ada rsh Grams , of Identification of villages
the 2,65,000 gram pancha ya ts , will be MPs can select any gra m pancha ya t,
crea ted by 2024. Key fea tures of the Yojana other than thei r own village or tha t of
a re outlined below. thei r spouse, to be developed as an
Ada rsh Gram. The village mus t ha ve a
Objectives: popula tion of 3000-5000 people i f it is
Key objectives of the Yojana include: loca ted in the plains , or 1000-3000
The Saansad Ada rsh Gram Yojana was The development of model villages, people i f l ocated in hilly a reas.
launched last week, for the development of called Ada rsh Gra ms, through the Lok Sabha MPs can choose a village
model villages. Under the Yojana , Members implementa tion of existing s chemes, from thei r consti tuency, a nd Rajya
and certai n new i nitia ti ves to be Sa bha MPs from the s ta te from whi ch
of Pa rliament (MPs) will be responsible for
designed for the local context, whi ch they a re elected. Nominated members
developing the soci o-economi c a nd physical
infrastructure of three villages ea ch by 2019, ma y va ry from village to village. can choose a village from any distri ct of
and a total of eight villages ea ch by 2024. Crea ting models of local development the country. MPs which represent
The fi rs t Adarsh Gra m mus t be developed by whi ch can be repli cated in other villages. urban cons ti tuencies can identi fy a
2016, and two more by 2019. From 2019 to village from a nei ghbouring rural
2024, fi ve more Ada rsh Gra ms must be consti tuency.
developed by ea ch MP, one each yea r. This

36
D. Soil Health Card Scheme for Every Farmer
Central Government provides assista nce recommenda tions of nutrients and
to Sta te Governments for setting up Soil fertilizers requi red, making i t easier for
Tes ting La bora tories for issuing Soil fa rmers to improve producti vi ty by
Heal th Ca rds to fa rmers . State using appropriate inputs.
Governments ha ve adopted innova ti ve Appl ying fertili zer, bes t quality seeds
pra cti ces like i nvol vement of agri cul tural and a mple wa te r is not enough. Fa rmers
s tudents, NGOs and pri va te sector in soil should nurture thei r soil a nd know what
AIM: tes ting, determi ning a vera ge soil health inputs to use and in what quanti ties ,
Fa rming as an a cti vi ty contributes nea rl y of villages, etc., to issue Soil Health Modi said while launching the s cheme.
1/6th of our Gross Domes ti c Product and a Ca rds. Sta rti ng s oil heal th labora tories could
ma jori ty of our popula tion is dependent on it A Soil Health Ca rd is used to assess the be an employment a venue for rural
for thei r li velihood. Deteri ora ting s oil health current s ta tus of soil heal th a nd, when youth. In Gujara t where every fa rmer
has been a cause of concern a nd that has used over time, to determine changes in has a soil heal th ca rd unnecessary
been leading to sub opti mal utiliza tion of soil health tha t are a ffected by land expenses on inputs ha ve come down
fa rming resources. Imbalanced use of ma nagement. A Soil Heal th Ca rd and fa rmers ha ve sa ved a lot of money.
fertilisers , low addition of organi c ma tter and displa ys soil heal th i ndi ca tors and The agri cul ture ministry released Rs.86
non-repla cement of depleted mi cro and associated des cripti ve terms . The crore for the soil heal th ca rd s cheme. In
seconda ry nutrients over the yea rs , has indi ca tors a re typi call y based on compa rison, between 2007-08 and April
resul ted in nutrient defi ciencies and decrease fa rmers ' pra cti cal experience and 2014, the minis try had spent Rs.112
in soil fertility in some pa rts of the country. knowledge of local natural resources. crore on the s cheme. The flagship
Soil heal th needs to be assessed at The ca rd lis ts s oil heal th indica tors that s cheme of the ministry has been
regula r intervals so as to ensure that can be assessed wi thout the aid of sanctioned Rs .568 crore for the next
fa rmers appl y the requi red nutrients techni cal or labora tory equipment. three yea rs.
while taking a dvanta ges of the nutrients Imbalanced use of fertilizer is has led to
al ready present in the soil. BENEFITS: declining crop producti vi ty in the
Government has launched a s cheme to The s cheme will provide all 145 million country, further fuelled by a skewed
provide every fa rmer a Soil Heal th Ca rd fa rm owners i n the country wi th a soil fertilizer poli cy where urea is hea vil y
in a Mission mode. The ca rd will ca rry heal th ca rd in the next three yea rs . subsided, leading to overuse.
crop wise recommenda tions of The budget allotted Rs .100 crore for While urea consumption i ncreased from
nutrients/fertilizers requi red for fa rms, issuing ca rds and an addi tional Rs.56 59% to 66% of total consumption in
ma king i t possible for fa rmers to crore to set up 100 mobile soil tes ting 2012-13 over 2010-11, per hectare
improve producti vi ty by using labora tories a cross the country. consumption of fertilizer declined from
appropria te inputs . The s oil health ca rd details exis ting 140kg to 128kg over the same period.
nutrient s ta tus of the soil and crop-wise
Daily GK Updates - 28th May 2015
PM Modi, Shiekh Hasina to inaugurate transa ct selected commodi ties respecti vel y of the suppl y chain wi th pa rti cula r focus on
Kamalasagar border 'haat' a t the haat. They met fi ve ti mes since perishables , Minis try of Food Processing
i. Pri me Minis ter Na rendra Modi and Ka malasaga r border point was selected. Indus tries is i mplementi ng a Mega Food Pa rk
Ba ngladesh premier Sheikh Hasina will jointl y Scheme in the country since 2008.
inaugura te a border 'haat' (market) at Mega Food Park Inaug urated at Nalbari, v. Financial assistance upto Rs . 50.00 Crore is
Ka malasaga r in Tripura 's Sipahi jala dis tri ct, Assam provided for setting up Mega Food Pa rks for
whi ch borders Brahmanba ria dis tri ct of i. Minis try of Food Processing Indus tries had crea tion of modern i nfras tructure facilities
Ba ngladesh. sanctioned a Mega Food Pa rk to M/s North for food processing along the value chain
ii. The 'haat' would be jointl y inaugura ted East Mega Food Pa rk Pvt. Ltd. a t Nalba ri, from fa rm to consumer.
through video conferencing from Dhaka Assam.
during Modi's two-da y visit to Bangladesh ii. The Central Processing Centre of the Pa rk TaxiForSure Ties up With Paytm , Launches
beginning from June 6. a t Tihu in Nalba ri Dis tri ct of Assam has been Faster App
completed a nd was inaugura ted by Honble
Chief Mi nister, Assam, Shri Ta run Gogoi and
Union Minis ter for Food Processing
Indus tries Smt. Ha rsimra t Kaur Badal.

i. Ta xi a ggrega tor Ta xiForSure announced a

tie-up with mobile commerce pla tform
Pa ytm to enable Pa ytm users to pa y for the
cab servi ce through thei r prepaid wallet.
iii. The construction of a ma rket shed and
According to the company, the new a pp will
other infrastructure fa cilities at a cost of Rs. enable booking of cabs in a single touch.
2.5 crores is almost complete. iii. Minis ter of Sta te for Home Mr. Ki ren Ri jiju ii. Wi th the new partnership, the balance
iv. Sepahi jala Additional Dis tri ct Magis tra te was also present to gra ce the occasion. amount in company's exis ting wallet will be
Dilip Kuma r Chakma and his Brahmanba ria iv. To gi ve a major boos t to the food converted to TFS credit.
counterpart Nazma Begum informed tha t processing sector by a dding value and iii. Commenting on the move, Arvind Singhal,
Indian traders from India and Bangladesh can reducing food wasta ge and loss at ea ch s tage CEO of Ta xiForSure, said that currentl y 80 per

37
cent of our booking comes from mobile iv. Union Government had enforced AFSPA in the s ta te for protecti on of fores t weal th from
appli ca tions and 35 per cent of the total Tripura a fter the relentless violence and fi re for whi ch 693 pa rti cipa tory commi ttees
pa yment is done through our wallet. Wi th bloodshed i n tribal a reas of s tate i n Februa ry had been cons ti tuted.
the pa rtnershi p with Pa ytm, over 70 million 1997 . Si nce then, i t was reviewed and
Pa ytm use can pa y Ta xiForSure fa re through extended in every si x months as per the Abhinav Bindra qualifies for Rio Games 2016
mobile. provisions of the Act. through Olympic quota
v. The last si x-month extension was gi ven in i. Bei jing Ol ympi c cha mpion Abhina v Bindra
Tripura g overnment decides to withdraw November 2014 a nd i ts term ends by the end qualified for the Rio Ol ympi cs 2016 through
AFSPA from state of Ma y 2015. one of the Ol ympi c quotas.
i. Tripura government has decided to ii. Bindra shot 627.5 to qualify i n the 10m air
wi thdraw the Armed Forces Special Powers Now, a satellite tracking system to tackle ri fle event a t the 1972 Ol ympic Shooting
Act (AFSPA), 1958 from the remaining areas forest fires in Himachal Ra nge in Hochbrucke.
of the sta te. iii. Bindra is the fourth Indian shooter to
ii. Decision i n this rega rd was taken during qualify for Ri o Games a fter he clinched one
the s ta te ca binet meeting chai red by Chief of the three quotas a vailable to qualify for
Minis ter Manik Sa rka r in Aga rtala after Police the games .
in i ts la test half-yea rl y review had found no iv. Notabl y, Bindra has had a slow sta rt to the
need to extend the a ct any further. season, recording bel ow-pa r finishes in the
fi rs t two Worl d Cups a fter he failed to qualify
for the final in Changwon as well as Fort
Benning.
i. A sa tellite tra cking s ys tem has been set up
to check forest fi res duri ng summers in
Hi ma chal Pra desh.
ii. Under the satelli te tra cking s ys tem,
continuous vi gil was being kept on the
iii. Now s ta te government will move to the fores ts to ensure tha t the fi re fighting sta ff
Union Home Ministry for formal wi thdrawal rea ched the spot immedia tel y on recei ving
of the central Act from sta te whi ch was in informa tion.
effect for the las t 18 yea rs to curb iii. The Fores t Mi nister said that a wareness
insurgency. campaign was being launched throughout
Daily GK Updates - 29th May 2015
India tops in World Hunger List with 194 i. Power Secreta ry Pradeep Kuma r Sinha was
Million People: UN Report appointed as the next Cabinet Secreta ry of
i. India is home to the hi ghes t number of the government. He will succeed Aji t Seth
hungry people in the world, at 194 million, who has been holding the position for the
surpassing Chi na, a ccording to United last four years .
Na tions annual hunger report. ii. Sinha, a 1977-ba tch IAS officer of Uttar
ii. At the global level, the corresponding Pradesh cadre, has been asked to take over
i. Eminent scientist Dr. Sel vin Chris topher has
fi gure dropped to 795 million in 2014-15, as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in Ca binet
been appointed as the Di rector General (DG)
from 1 billion in 1990-92, wi th East Asia led Secreta riat, an offi cial release said. He will
of Defence Research and Development
by China a ccounting for mos t of the formally ta ke over the new cha rge on June
Organisation (DRDO) along with the rank of a
reductions , UN body Food and Agri cul ture 13, i t said.
secreta ry.
Organisation (FAO) said in i ts report titled
ii. As a DG of DRDO, he will also severe as
'The Sta te of Food Insecuri ty in the World Secreta ry a t Depa rtment of Defence
2015'.
Resea rch and Devel opment (DDR&D) for a
peri od of 2 years from the da te of taking over
the cha rge.
iii. Prior to this appointment, S Christopher
was Di rector of DRDOs Centre for Ai r-Borne
Sys tems (CABS), Bengaluru.
iv. Presentl y, he is also Progra mme Di rector
iii. The Pri me Minis ter has approved the of Ai rborne Earl y Wa rni ng and Control
appointment of Sinha as the next Ca binet (AEW&C) s ys tem. He was fi rs t pioneer fi rst
Secreta ry wi th effect from June 13. Sinha has Indian scientis t who ha d di rected the
iii. India too saw a reducti on between 1990
been serving as Power Secreta ry since Jul y ma nufacturing of India s fi rs t indigenous
and 2015, i t added. In 1990-92, those who
2013. AEW&C s ys tem.
were s ta rved of food i n India numbered
iv. He has ea rlier served as the Shipping
210.1 million, whi ch came down to 194.6
Secreta ry and has also held several other Researchers Create First Single-Molecule
million in 2014-15.
important positions in the Union Diode
iv. The overall anal ysis sugges ted tha t
Government and i n his cadre sta te --Utta r i. Led by Indian Ameri can s cientis t Latha
inclusi ve economi c growth, agri cul tural
Pradesh. Venkata ra man, a tea m of resea rchers at
inves tments a nd social protecti on, along wi th
Col umbia Engi neering ha ve crea ted an
politi cal s tability, ca n eradi ca te hunger.
Renowned scientist Selvin Christopher electronic diode the si ze of a single molecule
appointed as DG of DRDO tha t performs 50 ti mes better than all prior
PK Sinha appointed cabinet secretary by
diode designs .
Narendra Modi
ii. Thei r findings whi ch could ha ve real -
world appli ca tions in rega rds to

38
nanotechnology were published on Ma y iii. It also includes total of 1,300 metric last des cendant of the Wodeya r dynasty,
25 i n the paper, Single-Molecule Diodes tonnes of chemi cal weapons removed from formally adopted Yaduveer Gopal Raj Urs in
wi th Hi gh On-Off Ra tios through Syria in 2014. The remaining s tockpile is Februa ry, after whi ch he was rechristened as
Envi ronmental Control , via the Na ture underwa y in phase of des truction a nd is Yaduveer Krishnada tta Chama ra ja Wodeya r.
Nanotechnology journal . s cheduled to be completed before the end of
2020 a nd 2023. The weapons s tockpiles
included ca ches containing chemi cals needed Bharti Airtel surges 6% after Vodafone stake
to make deadl y nerve a gents like Sa rin. sale
iv. OPCW is an intergovernmental i. UK telecom ma jor Voda fone has sold its
organisati on, headqua tered in Hague, 4.2% s take i n Bha rti Ai rtel Ltd to Bha rti
Netherlands . The organisa tion promotes, Enterprises (Holding) Pvt Ltd for $200 million.
administers and veri fies the adherence to the ii. In 2005, Vodafone had pi cked 10% sta ke in
Convention on the Prohibi tion of the Bha rti Ai rtel. Following i ts entry i nto the
iii. The idea of crea ting a single -molecule Development, Production, Stockpiling and Indian ma rket wi th i ts buyout of Huntchinson
diode was sugges ted by Arieh Avi ram and Use of Chemi cal Weapons and on their s take in Hutch Essar, Voda fone brought its
Ma rk Ra tner who theorised in 1974 tha t a Des truction (CWC). s take in Bha ra ti Ai rtel down to 5%.
molecule could a ct as a rectifier, a one -wa y iii. Voda fone's decision to offloa d i ts s take in
conductor of electri c current. 23-year-old US-educated Yaduveer crowned la rges t telecom opera tor i n India, i n terms of
iv. She and her team a re now working on Maharaja of Mysuru subs cribers base, follows the new unified
unders tanding the fundamental physics i. In a tradi tional ceremony, US-educa ted li cence (UL) regime i n Department of
behind thei r discovery and tryi ng to increase Yaduveer Krishnada tta Cha ma raja Wodeya r, Telecommuni cation.
the recti fi cati on ra tios they observed, using the adopted s on of Pra moda Devi Wodeya r, iv. Vodafone's Indian uni t, the country's No.
new molecular s ys tems . is crowned as the ti tula r head of the 2 ca rrier, is Bha rti Ai rtel's closest competi tor
ers twhile Mys uru royal famil y. in the ma rket.
90 Percent Of Global Chemical Weapons ii. The corona tion took place a t Kalyana
Stockpile 'Destroyed' Mantap in Amba Vilas Palace in Mysuru at an
i. Nobel pea ce pri ze winning organisation auspi cious hour this morning amid Vedic
OPCW (Organisation for the Prohibi tion of chants and slogans hailing the Mysuru
Chemi cal Weapons) has a chieved ma jor royalty and the 23-yea r-old Ki ng as he
miles tone of des troyi ng 90 per cent of the as cended the sil ver throne Bhadrasana .
gl obal chemi cal weapons s tockpile.
ii. OPCW has mentioned tha t a round 65,000
metri c tonnes of decla red chemi cal weapons,
mos tl y from US and Russian a rsenals of cold
wa r era ha ve been destroyed in a safe
ma nner.

iii. Ya duveer, the 27th King of Wodeya r

dynas ty, will ha ve to wai t until Dasara to
as cend the golden throne, when he will
preside over the khasa (pri va te) durba r,
whi ch is reminiscent of the bygone era .
iv. Pramoda Devi Wodeya r, widow of
Sri kantada tta Na rasimha raja Wodeya r, the
Daily GK Update - 30th May-1st June 2015
1. President's visit to Sweden iii. The visi t will focus on innova tion, ii . Some of the key servi ces tha t will a ttra ct
i . President Pranab Mukherjee a rri ved in sus tainable development, urban hi gher ta x and hence become cos tlier a re:
Sweden on the fi rs t leg of his fi ve-da y s tate development and s cienti fi c research wi th railwa ys , ai rlines , ba nking, insura nce,
visi t to Sweden and Bela rus , the fi rst ever by both countries exploring wa ys to enha nce advertising, a rchitecture, cons truction, credit
any Indian head of Sta te, during whi ch a mutual exchange in the a reas of trade and ca rds , event mana gement and tour
number of key a greements on sustainable s cience. opera tors .
development, scienti fi c resea rch a re likel y to iii. Jaitley had proposed to raise the service
be signed. 2. Service tax increased to 14% ta x ra te to 14 percent to fa cilita te a s mooth
i . Finance Minis ter Arun Jai tley i n his Budget transi tion to the Goods and Servi ces Tax
had proposed to raise servi ce ta x from 12.36 (GST) regime, whi ch the government wants
percent (including educa tion cess) to 14 to roll out from April 2016.
percent.
3. New chairman of Engineers India Ltd
i . Sanja y Gupta toda y took over as chai rman
and managing di rector of Engineers India Ltd,
ii . During his three-da y Sta te visi t in Sweden, the s ta te-owned engi neering and
the President will meet Pri me Minister Stefan consulta ncy, procurement and construction (
Lofven, the Speaker of the Swedish EPC) company in hydroca rbons and
Pa rliament, a nd the Leader of Opposition, petrochemi cals.
Anna Kinberg Batra besides number of
ii . Gupta repla ced A K Purwaha who
meetings wi th the King and the Queen. supera nnua ted yes terda y.

39
iii. Gupta has about 34 yea rs of experience in iii. Tainted in the corruption s candal that
the company ra nging from planning to engul fed the 2010 Commonweal th Games,
implementa tion of mega grass root projects Mr. Bhanot served as secreta ry of AFI for
in the refineries and petrochemi cal sector. more than a decade and was the Secreta ry
General of the IOA when i t served a 14-
4. K.Sivan-new VSSC chief month suspension by the IOC.
i . K. Si van, Distinguished Scientist, ISRO,
assumed offi ce as the 12th Di rector of the 7. Cricket greats Sachin, Ganguly, Laxman
Vikra m Sa rabhai Spa ce Centre (VSSC). inducted into BCCI's high-powered advisory
panel
i . Former grea ts Sachin Tendulka r, Soura v
Ga ngul y, and VVS La xman on Monda y joined
the BCCI in a newl y-consti tuted advisory
panel to guide the boa rd i n all ma tters
rela ted to the ga me.

ii . He ta kes over from M.S. Da than who has

reti red from servi ce.
iii. Dr. Si van joined ISRO in 1982 in the PSLV
project and has contri buted towa rds mission
planning, design, integra tion, and anal ysis.
i v. He also spea rheaded the Reusable Launch ii . It has been lea rnt tha t Tha kur and
Vehi cle Technology Demons tra tor (RLV-TD) president Jagmohan Dalmi ya will consult
project. In April 2011, Dr. Si van joined the wi th the pa nel on all major cri cketing
GSLV project as di rector. decisions .
v. His leadership led to the successful flight of iii. Boa rd wants ba tsmen to speci fi cally speak
GSLV wi th an indi genous cryogeni c s ta ge. to Tendul ka r before a ny tough international
assignment.
5. Shooter Gurpreet Singh qualifies for Rio i v. Gangul y might well be consul ted for
2016 prepa ring a blueprint for success of the team
i . Former Commonwealth Ga mes gold overseas with La xman working on the bench -
medallist Gurpreet Singh became India's fifth s trength and the new talent coming in
shooter to qualify for the 2016 Rio Ol ympic through the s ys tem.
Ga mes finishing fourth in the 10m Ai r Pistol
ca tegory a t the ISSF World Cup Rifle/Pistol
event being held in Muni ch.
ii . The 28-yea r-old shot a total of 154.8 points
to finish fourth in the Final .
iii. Joao Cos ta of Portugal who shot a total of
201.4 in the event won the gold medal.
i v. The other Indians to ha ve ea rned India the
ea rlier four quota places a re Ji tu Rai , Ol ympic
bronze medallist Ga gan Na rang, Apurvi
Cha ndela and India's onl y i ndi vidual Ol ympic
gold medallist Abhina v Bindra .

6. Bhanot elected Asian Athletics

Association vice-President

i . Sca m-tainted former IOA Secreta ry General

Lalit Bhanot was elected vi ce -President of
the Asian Athleti cs Association (AAA) in polls
held in Wuhan, China.
ii . Recommended by the Athletics Federa tion
of India , Mr. Bha not fought through a 14-
s trong challenge in the elections to be pi cked
as one of the fi ve vi ce -Presidents duri ng the
AAA council on the eve of the Asian
Cha mpionships in Wuhan.

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