MENTOR
MENTOR, SCO 40-41, FIRST FLOOR, LEELA BHAWAN, PATIALA PH. 9780505391
NATIONAL
Union Government approved 3120
crore rupees investment for infra
boost in 102 AMRUT cities
The Ministry of Urban Development on 26
November 2015 approved an investment of 3120
crore rupees investment plans for basic urban
infrastructure boost for 102 cities approved under
Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban
Transformation (AMRUT).
The plans will enhance water supply, sewerage
network services, storm water drains, non-
motorised transport and availability of public
spaces in 102 cities, under AMRUT.
Besides, an inter-ministerial Apex Committee
approved State level Annual Action Plans for
2015-16 with an investment of 438 crore rupees
for Haryana (18 AMRUT cities), 573 crore rupees
for Chattisgarh (9 AMRUT cities), 416 crore
rupees for Telangana (12 AMRUT cities), 588
crore rupees for Kerala (9 AMRUT cities) and
1105 crore rupees for West Bengal (54 AMRUT
cities).
Key highlights of investment plans
• The Apex Committee approved investments in
different basic urban infrastructure areas as
proposed by respective state governments.
• Ministry of Urban Development will provide an
assistance 1540 crore rupees which is about 50
perecnt of total approved project expenditure.
• Total investment in water supply projects in 58
mission states will be 2386 crore rupees.
• Sewerage projects will demand an investment of
495 crore rupees in 17 cities.
• A total of 106 crore rupees will be invested on
storm water drains in 9 cities.
• Urban transport will seek an investment of 61
crore rupees in 9 cities.
• Around 72 crore rupees will be invested on
development of parks and green spaces in all the
102 cities.
Union Government announced 10
New/Revised Schemes for Disabled
Persons under the National Trust
Union Minister for Social Justice and
Empowerment Thaawar Chand Gehlot on 24
November 2015 announced the launching of 10
new/revised schemes for the disabled persons in
New Delhi.
These schemes were launched under the National
Trust for the welfare of persons with Autism,
Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple
Disabilities.
List of Schemes
• DISHA: Early Intervention and School
Readiness Scheme
• VIKAAS: Day Care Scheme
• SAMARTH: Respite Care Scheme
• GHARAUNDA: Group Home for Adults
Scheme
• NIRAMAYA: Health Insurance Scheme
• SAHYOGI: Caregiver training scheme
• GYAN PRABHA: Educational support
Scheme
• PRERNA: Marketing Assistance Scheme
• SAMBHAV: Aids and Assisted Devices
Scheme
MENTOR
MENTOR, SCO 40-41, FIRST FLOOR, LEELA BHAWAN, PATIALA PH. 9780505391
• BADHTE KADAM: Awareness and
Community Interaction Scheme
Besides, he also announced to increase the number
of categories of disability from 7 to 19, so that
more number of disabled could be brought into the
ambit of Government’s new initiatives.
Further, a new website
http://thenationaltrust.gov.in/content/ for the
National Trust was launched. This new website is
made disabled friendly, more interactive.
Registration of NGOs and paying donations can be
done in the website itself.
7th Central Pay Commission
submitted its report; recommended
23.55% hike
The 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC) headed by
Justice AK Mathur submitted its report on 19
November 2015 to the Union Finance Minister
Arun Jaitley. The commission recommended
23.55 percent hike in pay and allowances of
government employees.
The recommended pay revision will come into
effect from 1 January 2016.
Recommendations of 7th Central Pay
Commission
The minimum pay for government
employees is recommended to be set at
18000 rupees per month.
The maximum pay is recommended to be
225000 rupees per month for Apex Scale
and 250000 per month for Cabinet
Secretary and others presently at the same
pay level.
The increase in pay will be 16 percent,
increase in allowances will be 63 percent
and increase in pension will be 24 percent.
The present system of pay bands and
grade pay has been dispensed and a new
pay matrix has been designed. Grade Pay
has been subsumed in the pay matrix. The
status of the employee, determined by
grade pay, will now be determined by the
level in the pay matrix.
The rate of annual increment for
employees will be 3 percent.
Abolition of 52 allowances and
introduction of a Health Insurance
Scheme.
One Rank One Pension proposed for
civilian government employees on line of
OROP for armed forces.
Increase in Military Service Pay and
revised pension formula for civil
employees including Central Armed
Police Forces (CAPF) and Defence
Personnel retiring before 1 January 2016.
Military Service Pay (MSP), which is a
compensation for the various aspects of
military service, will be admissible to the
defence forces personnel only.
Ceiling of gratuity enhanced from 10 lakh
rupees to 20 lakh rupees and ceiling on
gratuity will be raised by 25 percent
whenever DA rises by 50 percent.
MENTOR
MENTOR, SCO 40-41, FIRST FLOOR, LEELA BHAWAN, PATIALA PH. 9780505391
Short service commissioned officers will
be allowed to exit the armed forces at any
point in time between 7 to 10 years of
service.
A fitment factor of 2.57 which will be
applied uniformly to all employees.
Systemic change in the process of Cadre
Review for Group A officers
recommended.
Allowances relating to Risk and Hardship
will be governed by the newly proposed
nine-cell Risk and Hardship Matrix.
It recommends that House Rent
Allowance (HRA) be paid at the rate of 24
percent, 16 percent and 8 percent of the
new Basic Pay for Class X, Y and Z cities
respectively. The rate of HRA will be
revised to 27 percent, 18 percent and 9
percent respectively when DA crosses 50
percent.
It recommended abolition of all non-
interest bearing advances and increased
the limit for interest-bearing advances for
buying home from 7.5 lakh rupees to 25
lakh rupees.
Introduction of a Health Insurance Scheme
for Central Government employees and
pensioners has been recommended.
It recommends that in case of death in the
line of duty, the force personnel of CAPFs
should be accorded martyr status, at par
with the defence forces personnel.
A consolidated pay package of 450000
rupees and 400000 rupees per month for
Chairpersons and Members respectively of
select Regulatory bodies.
Introduction of the Performance Related
Pay (PRP) for all categories of Central
Government employees, based on quality
Results Framework Documents and
Annual Performance Appraisal Reports.
All India Service officers and Central
Services Group A officers who have
completed 17 years of service should be
eligible for empanelment under the
Central Staffing Scheme and there should
not be two year edge.
The age of superannuation for all CAPF
personnel should be 60 years uniformly.
Implications of the Recommendations
The pay revision will impact 47 lakh serving
employee and 52 lakh pensioners of the Central
Government including in the Defence and
Railways.
Financial impact of implementing
recommendations will be 1.02 lakh crore rupees,
out of which 73650 crore rupees will be borne by
Central Budget and 28450 crore rupees by
Railway Budget.
Total impact of the recommendations will amount
to 0.65 percent of GDP.
Background
The 7th Central Pay Commission headed by
Justice A K Mathur was set up on 28 February
2014 by then Union Government to revise
remuneration of employees and pensioners of
central government including Defence and
Railways.
The other members of the Commission were:
Vivek Rae (full time Member), Dr. Ratin Roy
(part time member) and Meena Agarwal
(Secretary).
MENTOR
MENTOR, SCO 40-41, FIRST FLOOR, LEELA BHAWAN, PATIALA PH. 9780505391
The government constitutes the Pay Commission
almost every 10 years to revise the pay scale of its
employees and often these are adopted by states
after some modifications. The 6th Central Pay
commission was constituted under the
Chairmanship of BN Srikrishna in October 2006.
Union Cabinet approved signing of
Tripartite Agreement on IBSA Fund
for Poverty Alleviation
The Union Cabinet on 18 November 2015
approved the signing of the Tripartite Agreement
among India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA) on
the IBSA Fund for the Alleviation of Poverty and
Hunger.
The decision will help in strengthening the IBSA
Fund which is a unique vehicle in the context of
South-South cooperation.
IBSA Fund
• The IBSA countries contribute 1 million US
dollars each annually to the Fund, which till
January 2015 has accumulated to 28.2 million US
dollars, with total implemented/approved projects
commitment of 26.2 million US dollars.
• Remaining 2.09 million US dollars is available
for programming.
• India on its part has contributed 9.1 million US
dollars so far to the Fund.
• The IBSA Fund undertakes development projects
in third countries. The first project to be financed
by the IBSA Fund was in support of agriculture
and livestock development.
• It was conferred with the South-South
Partnership Award at the 2006 UN Day event held
in New York in December 2006.
Background:
The IBSA Fund for the Alleviation of Poverty and
Hunger was set up in 2004 as one of the three
pillars of cooperation under the IBSA Dialogue
Forum. The other two pillars are consultation and
coordination on global political issues and
trilateral collaboration in concrete areas and
projects.
The IBSA Dialogue Forum was launched in June
2003 as a forum for cooperation among three
vibrant democracies of the South that is India,
Brazil and South Africa. All three are developing
nations with pluralistic, multi-cultural, multi-
ethnic, multi-lingual and multi-religious societies.
Union Government declared NSCN-
K as terrorist organization under
UAPA, 1967 The Union Government on 6 November 2015
declared militant outfit National Socialist Council
of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K) and all its
formation as a terrorist organisation. It was
declared so under the Unlawful Activities
Prevention Act (UAPA), 1967.
The NSCN-K was declared a terrorist organisation
after the outfit killed innocent civilians and
security forces and engaged in other violent
activities including the 4 June 2015 attack on the
Army convoy in Chandel district of Manipur.
Earlier on 15 September 2015, NSCN-K was
banned for five years under the same Unlawful
Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
According to a Gazette notification, the NSCN-K
is a militant outfit which came into existence in
1988 and is active along the Indo-Myanmar
border.
About National Socialist Council of Nagaland
• The NSCN was established in 1980 with an aim
of establishing a sovereign state of Nagalim by
unifying all the areas inhabited by the Naga people
in Northeast India and Myanmar.
MENTOR
MENTOR, SCO 40-41, FIRST FLOOR, LEELA BHAWAN, PATIALA PH. 9780505391
• It was founded by Isak Chishi Swu, Thuingaleng
Muivah and SS Khaplang opposing the Shillong
Accord of 1975 signed by the then Naga National
Council (NNC) with Union Government.
• In 1988, Naga nationalist Military group had split
into two factions- NSCN-K led by SS Khaplang (a
Myanmarese Naga) and the NSCN-IM jointly led
by Isak Chishi Swu and Thuingaleng Muivah.
• In 2001, both factions had settled a ceasefire
agreement with the Union government.
• NSCN-K has its headquarters in Taga in
Myanmar and is estimated to have around 700-800
cadres and the same number of sophisticated
weapons including rocket launchers.
First AMRIT outlet opened at AIIMS
Delhi for selling affordable drugs
Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on
15 November 2015 launched the Affordable
Medicines and Reliable Implants for Treatment
(AMRIT) pharmacy outlet at the All India Institute
of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi.
The purpose of the first of its kind outlet is to
reduce the expenditure incurred by patients on
treatment of cancer and heart diseases by 50 to 60
percent and has the following features
• It is a retail pharmacy outlet that sells drugs and
implants for the two ailments-cancer and heart
diseases-at highly discounted rates.
• It would be selling 202 cancer and 186 cardio-
vascular drugs and 148 types of cardiac implants
at very affordable prices.
• It has been floated in a tie-up with government-
owned HLL Lifecare Ltd (HLL).
Based on the outcome of the AIIMS outlet, this
initiative will be taken to other central government
hospitals and Regional Cancer Centres in
partnership with the HLL.
Significance of AMRIT
The AMRIT initiative has been launched amid
statistics that peg Indians diagnosed with cancer at
7 lakh every year. About 2.8 million people have
cancer at any point of time and 5 lakh die of the
disease each year.
Further, the annual figure of women being
diagnosed with breast cancer in India is 145000, as
per the WHO. Further, a significant number of
patients (nearly over 50 per cent) stop visiting
hospitals after two or three cycles of
chemotherapy due to unaffordable costs.
Ministry of Railways issued Letter of
Award to GE Global Sourcing India
Pvt Limited
Ministry of Railways on 9 November 2015 issued
a Letter of Award (LoA) to USA-based GE Global
Sourcing India Pvt Limited for setting up of Diesel
Locomotive Factory (DLF) at Marhowra, Saran
district, Bihar and for procurement and
maintenance of mainline Diesel Electric
Locomotives.
With this, a Joint Venture Company between
Union Ministry of Railways and GE Global
Sourcing India Pvt Limited will be formed soon to
construct and run the factory. The factory will
manufacture modern diesel electric locomotives of
4500 HP and 6000 HP to Indian railways.
The Railways Ministry will hold 26 percent equity
in the JV Company subject to a maximum of 100
crore rupees. The factory is expected to be
established within a period of three years at a cost
of about 1000 crore rupees.
Union Government signed Loan
Agreement with Asian Development
Bank
MENTOR
MENTOR, SCO 40-41, FIRST FLOOR, LEELA BHAWAN, PATIALA PH. 9780505391
The Union Government on 9 November 2015
signed 273 million US dollar loan agreement with
Asian Development Bank (ADB) to continue
improving rural roads in the States of Assam,
Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and West
Bengal.
The loan agreement was signed by S Selvakumar,
Joint Secretary (Bilateral Cooperation),
Department of Economic Affairs and Teresa Kho,
Country Director of ADB.
The loan represents the third tranche, which is also
the last tranche of the 800 million US dollars
financing facility under the Rural Connectivity
Investment Program. The loan will help in
constructing over 6000 kilometers of all-weather
rural roads and will benefit over 4200 rural
habitations.
The Union Ministry of Rural Development
(MORD) is the executing agency of the project at
the central level, while the State Governments of
Assam, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha,
and West Bengal will be handling the overall
implementation at the respective State level.
The third tranche is expected to be completed by
December 2017. The implementing agencies at the
State level will be the respective State Rural Roads
Development Agencies.
This loan will also be used to make further
investments as well as supporting improved road
design, road safety and asset management
measures and training with women actively
involved in all aspects.
Union Government launched E-
Pathshala, Saransh, Shaala Siddhi
Portals
The Union Human Resource Development
Minister Smriti Irani on 7 November 2015
launched the e-Pathshala, Saaransh and National
Programme on School Standards and Evaluation
Framework (Shala Siddhi) web portals/ mobile
apps.
These portals were launched during the edNEXT,
the National Conference on ICT in School
Education that was held at New Delhi. During the
Conference, Shala Darpan, MDM-IVRS and Ekta
project from Alwar, Rajasthan were also show-
cased.
E-Pathshala web portal
• E-Pathshala is a web portal which hosts
educational resources for Students, Teachers,
Parents, researchers and educators.
• It contains textbooks and other e-books as E-Pub
3.0 and Flipbooks in English, Hindi and Urdu.
• It is available through especially developed
mobile app interface on Android, IOS and
windows platforms for wider access.
Shaala Siddhi web portal
• Shaala Siddhi web portal is a comprehensive
instrument for school evaluation which enables the
schools to evaluate their performance in more
focused and strategic manner.
• The web-portal will help all schools to assess
themselves and the results can be seen by all
enabling them to provide feedback.
• The initiative has already been successfully
piloted in four districts of Tamil Nadu.
Saransh platform
MENTOR
MENTOR, SCO 40-41, FIRST FLOOR, LEELA BHAWAN, PATIALA PH. 9780505391
• Saransh is a tool which allows the schools to
identify areas of improvement in students, teachers
and curriculum to facilitate and implement change.
• The platform is presently available for classes
9th to 12th and provides a comprehensive
overview of standard 10th performance since 2007
and standard 12th performance since 2009 till the
current academic session.
• Presently, results of CBSE are available on this
portal/app.
The event also showcased other ICT initiatives
including the IVR (Interactive Voice Response)
system to monitor the daily implementation of
Mid Day Meal scheme and Shaala Darpan, an
integrated platform to address all academic and
administrative requirements of schools, teachers,
parents and students.
Union Government issued
notification for implementation of
OROP
Union Government on 7 November 2015 issued
the notification regarding implementation of One
Rank One Pension (OROP) in respect of Defence
Forces personnel.
The notification is in tune with the modalities for
implementation announced on 5 September 2015.
Features of OROP scheme
• Pension will be re-fixed for all pensioners
retiring in the same rank and with the same length
of service as the average of minimum and
maximum pension in 2013.
• The benefit will be given with effect from 1 July
2014 to the ex-service men of all the three forces.
• Those drawing pensions above the average will
be protected.
• In future, the pension would be re-fixed every 5
years.
• Arrears will be paid in four half-yearly
instalments.
• All widows, including war widows, will be paid
arrears in one instalment.
• Personnel who voluntarily retire will not be
covered under the scheme.
• The estimated cost to the exchequer would be
8000 to 10000 crore at present, and will increase
further in future.
What is OROP?
In simple terms, OROP implies that uniform
pension be paid to the armed forces personnel
retiring in the same rank with the same length of
service, regardless of their date of retirement.
At present, ex-servicemen receive differential
pensions as it is calculated on the basis of their
salary at the time of their retirement.
Differential payments occur as the salaries of
personnel are frequently revised on the basis of
pay commission’s recommendations.
For example, personnel who retired in 1990
receive fewer pensions compared to their juniors
who retired in 2006 though they retired at the
same rank with same length of service.
MENTOR
MENTOR, SCO 40-41, FIRST FLOOR, LEELA BHAWAN, PATIALA PH. 9780505391
Union Government constituted
Empowered Committee to approve
schemes under Nirbhaya Fund
The Union Government on 4 November 2015
constituted an Empowered Committee to approve
schemes proposed under the Nirbhaya Fund.
The Committee comprises officials from various
ministries, including Women and Child
Development, Home Affairs, Road Transport and
Railways.
The Secretary of the Women and Child
Development Ministry will be the chairperson of
the committee.
The Members of the Empowered Committee may
nominate an officer not below the rank of Joint
Secretary as representative to the Empowered
Committee of Officers.
The Empowered Committee of Officers will take
decision on the sanction of schemes/projects from
Nirbhaya Fund within 15 days of the date of
receipt of the proposal by the Ministry of Women
& Child Development.
Earlier in April 2015, the Union Government
made the Women and Child Development (WCD)
Ministry as the nodal agency for the Nirbhaya
Fund in place of Union Home Ministry.
The Nirbhaya Fund has a total of 3000 crore
rupees fund as 1000 crore each was allocated to it
in 2014-15 and 2015-16 on top of 1000 crore
rupees initial corpus.
President Pranab Mukherjee
launched research project Imprint
India
President Pranab Mukherjee on 5 November 2015
launched Imprint India, a Pan-IIT and IISc joint
initiative.
The project encourages the Indian technical
institutions to develop a blueprint for research to
crack major engineering and technology
challenges relevant to the nation.
Imprint India is a 1000 crore rupees project, which
aspires to:
• Identify areas of immediate relevance to society
requiring innovation
• Direct scientific research into identified areas
• Ensure higher funding support for research into
these areas
• Measure outcomes of the research effort with
reference to impact on the standard of living in the
rural/urban areas
The Imprint India will focus on 10 themes and
each will be coordinated by one IIT/IISc. The
themes are:
1. Health Care - IIT Kharagpur
2. Computer Science and ICT – IIT Kharagpur
3. Advance Materials – IIT Kanpur
4. Water Resources and River systems – IIT
Kanpur
5. Sustainable Urban Design – IIT Roorkee
6. Defence – IIT Madras
7. Manufacturing – IIT Madras
8. Nano-technology Hardware- IIT Bombay
9. Environmental Science and Climate Change –
IISc, Bangalore
10. Energy Security – IIT Bombay
On the occasion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi
released the IMPRINT India brochure and hand
over the first copy to the President Mukherjee.
MENTOR
MENTOR, SCO 40-41, FIRST FLOOR, LEELA BHAWAN, PATIALA PH. 9780505391
Besides, an Inter Ministerial Group (IMG) is being
set up as the single window mechanism. The
group will shortlist research projects by leading
research and technology institutes. It will also
approve funds for the same.
IMG will comprise of members from multiple
ministries, such as Ministry of Human Resource
Development (HRD), Ministry of Defence,
Department of Science & Technology, Department
of Biotechnology, Ministry of Rural Development
and so on.
Justice MB Shah-headed SIT on
Black Money submitted its third
report
Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Black Money
on 3 November 2015 submitted its third report to
the Union Ministry of Finance. The SIT is headed
by Justice MB Shah and the report dealt with shell
companies and beneficial ownership.
The SIT found that over 2600 persons are directors
on more than 20 companies and at least 20
companies are operating from the same address at
345 places which indicate the violation of
Companies Act, 2013.
To correct the situation, the SIT recommended for
has suggested proactive detection of creation of
shell companies and deterrent penal action against
persons involved in such activities.
The Team has also requested the Ministry of
Corporate affairs to take necessary action with
respect to violation of the Companies Act.
About SIT on Black Money
The SIT was constituted by the Union Cabinet in
May 2014 on the directions of the Supreme Court
to go deeper into the cases of black money where
Indians have stashed their assets abroad and also
suggest policy measures to combat the illegal
activity.
While 11-member committee is headed by Justice
MB Shah, Justice Arijit Pasayat is its Vice
Chairman.
Vikalp Scheme launched for
confirmed accommodation to
waitlisted passengers in alternate
trains
Indian Railways on 1 November 2015 launched
Alternate Train Accommodation Scheme (ATAS)
called as Vikalp to provide confirmed
accommodation to waitlisted passengers in
alternate trains.
The scheme was launched on pilot basis for the
tickets booked through internet on Delhi-Lucknow
and Delhi-Jammu sectors of Northern Railway. It
will be operational for six months.
The purpose of the scheme is to provide confirmed
accommodation to waitlisted passengers and also
to ensure optimal utilisation of available
accommodation.
Under this scheme, wait listed passengers of a
train can opt for confirmed accommodation in
alternate trains.
However, ATAS opted passengers who remain
fully waitlisted after charting will only be
considered for allotment in the alternate train.
ECONOMY
MENTOR
MENTOR, SCO 40-41, FIRST FLOOR, LEELA BHAWAN, PATIALA PH. 9780505391
Union Government decided to
impose 0.5% Swachh Bharat Cess on
all services
Union Ministry of Finance on 6 November 2015
decided to impose 0.5 percent Swachh Bharat Cess
(SBC) on all taxable services. It will be levied in
addition to the 14 percent service tax that is in
force now.
The SBC will come into force on 15 November
2015. Its proceeds will be exclusively used to
support Swachh Bharat initiative.
The decision to impose SBC is in tune with the
announcement made by the Union Finance
Minister Arun Jaitley in his budget 2015-16
budget speech advocating for 2 percent additional
cess to fund Swachh Bharat.
As per an estimate, the SBC is expected to fetch
additional 4000 crore rupees per annum in tax
revenues to the government.
The Union Government under the Swachh Bharat
Mission (SBM) is planning to spend around
134000 crore rupees by 2019 to construct 11 crore
11 lakh toilets in the country.
Union Cabinet approved UDAY for
financial turnaround and revival of
DISCOMS
The Union Cabinet on 5 November 2015 gave its
nod to Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojna
(UDAY), a new scheme proposed by the Ministry
of Power.
The scheme aims at alleviating the financial
crunch faced by Power Distribution companies
(DISCOMs) that has impaired their ability to buy
electricity. The scheme targets the revival of
DISCOMs. It will also ensure a sustainable
permanent solution to the problem.
The debt on DISCOMs
• As on March 2015, the country’s DISCOMs have
accumulated losses of approximately 3.8 lakh
crore rupees and outstanding debt of
approximately 4.3 lakh crore rupees.
• Outstanding debt of DISCOMs increased from
about 2.4 lakh crore rupees in 2011-12 to about
4.3 lakh crore rupees in 2014-15, with interest
rates of upto 14-15 percent.
• Due to the financial hassles, DISCOMs are not
able to supply adequate power at affordable rates,
which turned out to be one of the hurdles in the
overall economic growth and development.
How UDAY will revive the DISCOMS?
UDAY will empower DISCOMs with the
opportunity to break even in the next 2-3 years
through four initiatives:
• Improving operational efficiencies of DISCOMs.
• Reduction of cost of power.
• Reduction in interest cost of DISCOMs.
• Enforcing financial discipline on DISCOMs
through alignment with state finances.
Key features of UDAY
• States will take over 75 percent of DISCOM debt
as on 30 September 2015 over two years.
• Union Government will not include the debt
taken over by the states n the calculation of fiscal
deficit of respective states in the financial years
2015-16 and 2016-17.
• States will issue non-SLR including SDL bonds
in the market or directly to the respective financial
institutions holding the DISCOM debt to the
appropriate extent.
• States will take over the future losses of
DISCOMs in a graded manner.
MENTOR
MENTOR, SCO 40-41, FIRST FLOOR, LEELA BHAWAN, PATIALA PH. 9780505391
• States accepting UDAY and performing as per
operational milestones will be given
additional/priority funding through schemes of
Ministry of Power and Ministry of New and
Renewable Energy.
• States not meeting operational milestones will be
liable to forfeit their claim on IPDS and DDUGJY
grants.
CCEA hiked Minimum Support
Prices for Rabi Crops of 2015-16
season
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs
(CCEA) on 5 November 2015 hiked the Minimum
Support Prices (MSPs) for Rabi Crops of 2015-16
season to be marketed in 2016-17.
The decision was based on recommendations
of Commission for Agricultural Costs and
Prices (CACP) for the price policy for rabi crops
for the marketing season 2016-17.
The Cabinet also decided to give a bonus of 75
rupees per quintal for rabi pulses over and above
the recommendations of the CACP.
Commodity MSP for
2014-15
season
(Rupees per
quintal)
MSP for
2015-16
season
(Rupees per
quintal)
Increase in
MSP
(Rupees)
Wheat 1450 1525 75
Barley 1150 1225 75
Gram 3175 3425 250
Masur
(Lentil)
3075 3325 250
Mustard 3100 3350 250
Safflower 3050 3300 250
The prices would be effective from the Rabi
marketing season 2016-17. The Food Corporation
of India (FCI) will be the Central Nodal Agency
for procurement of pulses and oilseeds.
To supplement the efforts of FCI, the National
Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of
India Limited (NAFED), National Cooperative
Consumers’ Federation (NCCF), Central
Warehousing Corporation (CWC) and Small
Farmers Agri–Business Consortium (SFAC) may
also undertake procurement of oilseeds and pulses
as per their capacity.
About Commission for Agricultural Costs and
Prices (CACP)
The Commission came into existence in January
1965 with the mandate to recommend MSPs to
incentivize the cultivators to adopt modern
technology and raise productivity in line with the
emerging demand patterns in the country.
CACP recommends MSPs of 23 commodities
including 7 cereals (paddy, wheat, maize,
sorghum, pearl millet, barley and ragi), 5 pulses
(gram, tur, moong, urad, lentil), 7 oilseeds
(groundnut, rapeseed-mustard, soyabean,
seasmum, sunflower, safflower, nigerseed) and 4
commercial crops (copra, sugarcane, cotton and
raw jute).
It comprises a Chairman, Member Secretary, one
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Member (Official) and two Members (Non-
Official).
PM Narendra Modi launched three
gold related schemes
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 5 November
2015 launched three gold related schemes. The
schemes are – Gold Monetization Scheme,
Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme and Indian Gold
Coins.
The three schemes were announced by the Union
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his 2015-16
budget speech in February 2015.
The primary purpose of the schemes is to reduce
dependence on imported gold, recycle the
unutilized gold in the country and most
importantly, streamline the gold business in the
country. At present, India is the largest consumer
of gold in the world.
Gold Monetization Scheme (GMS)
Its objective is to mobilize unutilized gold from
individuals, households and institutions and make
them available to gold-base industries including
jewellers.
Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme
The purpose of the scheme is to reduce the
demand for physical gold and to shift part of the
estimated 300 tons of physical bars and coins
purchased every year for investment into Demat
(Dematerialised) gold bonds.
Indian Gold Coins
• Its purpose is to revive investment and reduce
dependence on imports of gold coins. At present,
India has been importing about 60 tonnes of gold
coins annually that are sold at a premium of 8-10
per cent.
• Under the scheme, gold coins bearing the Ashok
Chakra and Mahatma Gandhi will be minted by
the Security Printing and Minting Corporation of
India.
• Initially, the coins will be available in
denominations of 5 gm and 10 gm.
• They will be sold through banks, post offices and
state-run MMTC Ltd. (Metals and Minerals
Trading Corporation of India) which will sell them
through the World Gold Council (WGC).
RBI notified Operational Guidelines
of Sovereign Gold Bonds 2015-16
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 4 November
2015 notified the Operational Guidelines of the
Sovereign Gold Bonds 2015-16. These bonds will
be issued by the RBI from 5 November – 20
November 2015.
Main Operational Guidelines
• Joint holding and nomination: Multiple joint
holders and nominees (of first holder) are
permitted. Necessary details may be obtained from
the applicants as per practice.
• Interest on application money: Applicants will be
paid interest at prevailing savings bank rate from
the date of realization of payment to the settlement
date that is the period for which they are out of
funds.
• Lien marking: As the bonds are government
securities, lien marking will be as per the extant
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legal provisions of Government Securities Act,
2006 and rules framed there under.
• Agency arrangement: Scheduled commercial
banks may engage NBFCs, NSC agents and others
to collect application forms on their behalf. Banks
may enter into arrangements or tie-ups with such
entities.
• Processing through RBI’s e-kuber system:
Sovereign Gold Bonds will be available for
subscription at the branches of scheduled
commercial banks and designated post offices
through RBI’s e-kuber system.
• Servicing and follow up: Receiving offices like
branches of the scheduled commercial banks and
designated post offices will own the customer and
provide necessary services with regards to this
bond. Receiving offices will be required to
preserve applications till the bonds are matured
and are repaid.
Earlier on 30 October 2015, RBI decided to issue
Sovereign Gold Bonds, 2015 with effect from 5
November 2015 to 20 November 2015.
Dr T K Viswanathan Committee on
Bankruptacy Law Reforms
submitted its report
The Bankruptcy Law Reforms Committee (BLRC)
headed by Dr T K Viswanathan on 4 November
2015 submitted its report to the Union Ministry of
Finance.
The Report of the BLRC is in two parts-
• Rationale and Design/Recommendations
• A comprehensive draft Insolvency and
Bankruptcy Bill covering all entities
Key recommendations of the report
• Insolvency Regulator: The Bill proposes to
establish an Insolvency Regulator to exercise
regulatory oversight over insolvency
professionals, insolvency professional agencies
and informational utilities.
• Insolvency Adjudicating Authority: The
Adjudicating Authority will have the jurisdiction
to hear and dispose of cases by or against the
debtor.
• The Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) and the
National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) shall be
adjudicating authorities over individuals and
unlimited liability partnership firms and
companies and limited liability entities
respectively.
• NCLAT shall be the appellate authority to hear
appeals arising out of the orders passed by the
Regulator in respect of insolvency professionals or
information utilities.
• Insolvency Professionals: The draft Bill proposes
to regulate insolvency professionals and
insolvency professional agencies. Under
Regulator’s oversight, these agencies will develop
professional standards, codes of ethics and
exercise a disciplinary role over errant members
leading to the development of a competitive
industry for insolvency professionals.
• Insolvency Information Utilities: The draft Bill
proposes for information utilities which would
collect, collate, authenticate and disseminate
financial information from listed companies and
financial and operational creditors of companies.
Significance Draft Insolvency and Bankruptcy
bill
• The draft Bill has consolidated the existing laws
relating to insolvency of companies, limited
liability entities, unlimited liability partnerships
and individuals which are presently scattered in a
number of legislations, into a single legislation.
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• The proposed Bill will provide greater clarity in
the law and facilitate the application of consistent
and coherent provisions to different stakeholders
affected by business failure or inability to pay
debt.
• The bill further seeks to improve the handling of
conflicts between creditors and debtors, avoid
destruction of value, distinguish malfeasance vis-
a-vis business failure and clearly allocate losses in
macroeconomic downturns.
RBI granted in-principle approval to
three applicants for setting up
TReDS
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 24 November
2015 granted in-principle approval to three
applicants to set up and operate Trade Receivables
Discounting System (TReDS).
The three organisations have been asked to set and
operate TReDS in accordance to the Guidelines
issued on 3 December 2014 under the Payment
and Settlement System (PSS) Act 2007.
Organisations to which in-principle approval was
granted are
• NSE Strategic Investment Corporation Limited
(NSICL) and Small Industries Development Bank
of India (SIDBI), Mumbai
• Axis Bank Limited, Mumbai
• Mynd Solutions Pvt. Ltd., Gurgaon, Haryana
The in-principle approval granted will be valid for
a period of 6 months, during which time the
applicants have to comply with the requirements
under the Guidelines and fulfill the other
conditions as may be stipulated by the Reserve
Bank.
On being satisfied that the applicants have
complied with the requisite conditions laid down
by it as part of in-principle approval, the RBI
would consider granting to them a Certificate of
Authorisation for commencement of the business
of TReDS.
Technology Acquisition &
Development Fund under National
Manufacturing Policy launched
Union Government on 18 November 2015
launched the Technology Acquisition and
Development Fund (TADF) under the National
Manufacturing Policy, 2011. The TADF was
launched by Minister of State for Commerce &
Industry Nirmala Sitharaman.
The fund will facilitate acquisition of clean, green
and energy efficient technologies. It will also
catalyse the manufacturing growth in Micro, Small
& Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector with an
aim to contribute to ‘Make in India’ initiative.
The scheme will be implemented through Global
Innovation and Technology Alliance (GITA), a
joint venture company. GITA was launched in
2007-08 by CII and Department of Science &
Technology to stimulate private sector's
investment in R&D.
How the TADF Scheme will support MSME?
Direct Support for Technology Acquisition:
Proposals from Indian industry will be invited for
reimbursement of 50 percent of technology
transfer fee or 20 lakh rupees, whichever is lower.
In-direct Support for Technology Acquisition
through Patent Pool: Financial support will be
provided in acquiring of patent from across the
globe based on applications received from
MSMEs. Technology/Patent will be licensed to
selected companies and the selected companies
will get a subsidy of 50 percent of the mutually
agreed value or 20 lakh rupees.
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Technology/Equipment Manufacturing Subsidies:
The fund will support manufacturing of equipment
for controlling pollution, reducing energy
consumption and water conservation. The
manufacturing units will be provided with a
subsidy of up to 10 percent of capital expenditure
& machinery subject to a maximum of 50 lakh
rupees.
Green Manufacturing–Incentive Scheme: The
scheme will facilitate resource conservation
activities in industries located in National
Investment and Manufacturing Zone (NIMZ). It
will be done through the introduction of
incentive/subsidy schemes for energy or water
audits, construction of green buildings, and
implementation of waste treatment facilities
through financial support under the TADF.
About National Manufacturing Policy 2011
The National Manufacturing Policy was notified
by the Department of Industrial Policy and
Promotion (DIPP) on 4 November 2011. The main
objectives of the Policy are:
• To enhance the share of manufacturing in Gross
Dosmestic Product to 25% by 2022.
• Increase manufacturing sector to growth to 12-
14% in medium term to make it an engine of
growth.
• Increase the rate of job creation in manufacturing
to create 100 million additional jobs by 2022
IAMAI released Internet in India
2015 report
Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI)
on 17 November 2015 released a report entitled
Internet in India 2015 report.
The report surveyed usage of internet on different
devices (mobile, desktop, etc), in different areas
(village and urban) and among different
demographic segments.
The key finding of the report is India’s internet
user base will touch 402 million by December
2015 making it the second-largest in the world
after China.
Highlights of Internet in India 2015
• The number of Internet users in India is expected
to reach 402 million by December 2015
registering a growth of 49 percent over last year.
With this, India will surpass the USA and will
have second largest user base next only to China.
• Currently, while internet users in India are
pegged at 375 million, China leads in the world
with more than 600 million internet users.
• While Internet in India took more than a decade
to move from 10 million to 100 million and 3
years from 100 to 200 million, it took only a year
to move from 300 to 400 million users.
• Overall, 71 percent male and 29 percent female
are Internet users in India. The Internet usage
among males has been growing at a rate of 50
percent while it is growing at 46 percent for
female users. And, among the female Internet
users, the highest growth has been among the
Non-Working women.
In urban areas
• In Urban India, the ratio between male to female
Internet users is 62:38. Significantly, Internet users
among females are growing at a rate of 39 percent
compared to 28 percent among males.
• Significantly, there has been a huge spurt in the
number of people accessing internet on a daily
basis in Urban India. As on October 2015, 69
percent of users are using Internet on a daily basis.
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This daily user base has gone up by 60 percent
from last year.
• In Urban India, mobile Internet user base has
grown at a rate of 65 percent over last year to
reach 197 million in October 2015. The Mobile
Internet Users have surged to 80 million by
October 2015 growing at 99 percent over last year.
• Interestingly, the report also reveals that out of
all the Internet non-users surveyed in the 35 cities
as part of this study, 11.4 million Non-Users are
willing to access the Internet in the next one year
and over 2/3rd of them intend to do so through
mobile phones.
In Rural areas
• Among the Rural Internet users, 88 percent are
males. The Internet users among females are
growing at 61 percent and 79 percent among
males. And, 75 percent of the rural internet users
belong to the age group of 18-30 years.
• The user base of mobile internet users in Rural
India is expected to reach 87 million by December
2015 and 109 million by June 2016.
Governing Council of NIIF
constituted under the chairmanship
of Finance Minister
Union Ministry of Finance on 13 November 2015
constituted the Governing Council (GC) of the
National Investment and Infrastructure Fund
(NIIF).
The GC will be chaired by the Union Finance
Minister and has following five members
• Secretary, DEA
• Secretary, Financial Services
• Arundhati Bhattacharya
• Hemendra Kothari
• T V Mohandas Pai
And, the GC was mandated to consider approval
of guidelines for Investment of Trust
property/Corpus of NIIF and parameters for
appointment and performance of investment
managers/ advisors among others.
About National Investment and Infrastructure
Fund
• Its objective is to back new and stressed projects
and help restart the investment cycle.
• It was proposed by the Union Finance Minister
Arun Jaitley in his Budget 2015-16.
• It was approved by the Union Cabinet on 23 July
2015 with an initial corpus of 20000 crore rupees.
• It was set up as a fund under the provisions of the
Indian Trusts Act, 1882.
International
India, France launched International
Solar Alliance
India and France on 30 November 2015 launched
the International Solar Alliance in Paris. The
alliance was launched jointly by PM Narendra
Modi and French President Francois Hollande
during the United Nations climate change
conference (COP21).
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The alliance also invited all countries located fully
or partly between the tropics of Cancer and
Capricorn to join the group. It will function from
the National Institute of Solar Energy in India,
Gurgaon.
Highlights of the alliance
• It aims to bring 121 tropical countries together to
tap solar energy.
• The Alliance will enable solar-rich developing
countries to make the best use of an abundant, free
natural resource.
• It seeks to share collective ambitions to reduce
the cost of finance and technology that is needed
to deploy solar power widely.
• It would adapt the generation and storage
technologies to the individual countries’ needs.
• Among the tasks that the Alliance would pursue
are, cooperation in training, building institutions,
regulatory issues, common standards, and
investment including joint ventures.
UN chief launched Anticipate,
Absorb, Reshape Initiative to build
climate resilience
The United Nations (UN) Chief Ban Ki-moon
along with the agencies of the UN system on 30
November 2015 launched initiative titled
Anticipate, Absorb, Reshape to build climate
resilience in the world’s most vulnerable
countries.
The initiative was launched during the United
Nations climate change conference (COP21) in
Paris. The initiative was launched in the wake of
economic losses that have increased by more than
half over the past decade. Ecosystems, and food
and water supplies are under increasing pressure.
Highlights of the initiative
• It will strengthen the ability of countries to
anticipate hazards, absorb shocks, and reshape
development to reduce climate risks.
• It is expected to address the needs of the nearly
634 million people, or a tenth of the global
population who live in at-risk coastal areas just a
few meters above existing sea levels.
• It will also help those living in areas at risk of
droughts and floods.
• It will mobilize financing and knowledge; create
and operationalize partnerships at scale, help
coordinate activities to help reach tangible results,
catalyze research, and develop new tools over the
next five years.
IMF approved China's Yuan as Elite
Reserve Currency
International Monetary Fund (IMF) on 30
November 2015 included China's Yuan into its
elite reserve currency basket. Yuan's entry into the
basket takes effect from 1 October 2016.
Yuan also known as the Chinese Renminbi (RMB)
was included in the basket after it met the existing
criteria for its inclusion. The action was taken after
the executive board at IMF completed the regular
five-yearly review of the basket of currencies that
make up the Special Drawing Right (SDR).
What does the Inclusion mean?
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• Yuan will be a freely usable currency and will be
included in the SDR basket as a fifth currency,
along with the US Dollar, Euro, Japanese Yen and
British Pound.
• Launching the new SDR basket on 1 October
2016 will provide sufficient lead time for the
Fund, its members and other SDR users to adjust
to these changes.
• The inclusion of the RMB will enhance the
attractiveness of the SDR by diversifying the
basket and making it more representative of the
world’s major currencies.
• Inclusion of Yuan in the SDR is considered as a
big political victory for China as Yuan’s
desirability as a reserve currency for investors will
increase and undermine the hegemony of the
dollar as a global reserve currency.
• The decision an important milestone in the
integration of the Chinese economy into the global
financial system.
• It also recognises the progress that the Chinese
authorities have made in the past years in
reforming China's monetary and financial systems.
What is a SDR?
The special drawing rights (SDR) system was
created by the IMF in 1969 to support the Bretton
Woods fixed exchange rate system.
The SDR is instead an international reserve asset
which the IMF uses to supplement its member
countries’ reserves. The SDR’s value is based on
the basket of the four international currencies and
SDRs can be exchanged for “freely usable”
currencies.
SDRs are allocated to IMF members from time to
time. From October 2016, once the Yuan is added,
the basket will have five currencies.
Further, SDR is not a claim on the IMF; rather it is
a potential claim on the freely usable currencies of
IMF members.
What are the Criteria to get added to SDR?
The SDR basket, upon which the SDR’s value is
based, is typically reviewed every five years by
the IMF’s executive board. It is reviewed to ensure
that it reflects the relative importance of currencies
in the global trading and financial systems.
The last time that happened was in 1999 when the
newly created euro single currency was added,
although technically it replaced the outgoing
German deutschmark and French franc.
The main criterions to become eligible to be
included in SDR are as follows:
Export Criterion: To become a part of the basket,
exports of a particular country shall have the
largest value over a five-year period. In other
words, the concerned currency that is to be
included in the basket are those issued by IMF
members or currency unions that play a central
role in the global economy.
Freely Usable Criterion: To join the basket, a
currency must also be judged by the IMF’s
executive board to be “a freely usable currency”.
In other words, it must be a currency that is widely
used to make payments for international
transactions and widely traded in the main
exchange markets.
Renminbi is the official name of the currency
introduced by the Communist People's Republic of
China at the time of its foundation in 1949. It
means the people's currency.
On the other hand, word Yuan goes back further
than Renminbi. It is the Chinese word for dollar -
the silver coin, mostly minted in the Spanish
empire, used by foreign merchants in China for
some four centuries.
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This is the piece of eight (real de a ocho) beloved
of pirates and their parrots - worth eight reales and
known as a peso in Spanish and a dollar in
English.
27th ASEAN Summit held at Kuala
Lumpur
The 27th Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) Summit was held on 21 November 2015
at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The theme for the
2015 summit was Our People, Our Community,
Our Vision.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak was
the Chairperson of the summit that was held from
18 November 2015 to 22 November 2015.
The Summit was attended by the leaders of the 10-
member Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) that are Indonesia, Malaysia,
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei
Darussalam, Viet Nam, Lao PDR, Myanmar and
Cambodia.
Highlights of the Summit
• One of the anticipated highlights of the summit
was the declaration by ASEAN Leaders on the
establishment of the ASEAN Community by 31
December 2015.
• Along with the launch of the ASEAN
Community, the ASEAN Leaders also issued the
Kuala Lumpur Declaration on ASEAN 2015:
Forging Ahead Together.
• The ASEAN post-2015 vision was also launched
to chart the path of the ASEAN Community in the
next ten years.
• The leaders also engaged with the Heads of
Government of China, Japan, the Republic of
Korea, India, Australia, New Zealand, Russia and
the United States.
India's participation
Prime Minister Narendra Modi represented India
at the 27th ASEAN summit and drew attention of
world leaders to India and invited them to invest in
India.
About ASEAN Chair, Summits and Themes
ASEAN was established in 1967 by the five
founding members namely Indonesia, Malaysia,
Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Brunei
Darussalam, Viet Nam, Lao PDR, Myanmar and
Cambodia joined later. The Summit is ASEAN's
highest policy-making body.
The chair of the ASEAN Summit rotates annually
in alphabetical order of the English names of
Member States.
By virtue of holding the chair of the ASEAN for a
particular year, the concerned member state also
chairs the ASEAN Summit and related summits.
Further, ASEAN Summits are held bi-annually but
with a common theme.
The 26th ASEAN Summit was held at Kuala
Lumpur & Langkawi, Malaysia between 26 and 28
April 2015 with the same theme Our People, Our
Community, Our Vision.
In 2014, the chair was with Myanmar, hence the
24th and 25th ASEAN Summit was held in Nay
Pyi Taw, Myanmar in May and November. The
theme was Moving forward in Unity to a Peaceful
and Prosperous Community.
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13th ASEAN-India Summit held in
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
The Thirteenth ASEAN-India Summit was held
successfully on 21 November 2015 in Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia. Theme of the summit was Our
People, Our Community, Our Vision.
The meeting was chaired by the Prime Minister of
Malaysia Najib Razak as Malaysia holds the chair
for the year 2015.
The summit was participated by the Heads of
ASEAN Member States and Prime Minister of
India Narendra Modi. The Secretary General of
ASEAN was also a participant of the summit.
Major Highlights of the13th ASEAN-India
summit
• The ASEAN Leaders welcomed India’s
initiatives, namely the Act East Policy and Make
in India
• ASEAN Leaders encouraged India to work with
ASEAN to realise the vision and goals outlined in
the ASEAN 2025: Forging Ahead Together.
• They looked forward to further enhancing
ASEAN-India relations through the new Plan of
Action 2016-2020 adopted at the ASEAN-India
Ministerial Meeting in Kuala Lumpur in August
2015. This includes cooperation in areas like
science and technology, renewable energy, food
security, tourism, climate change and connectivity.
• ASEAN leaders welcomed India’s announcement
of a 1 billion US dollar Line of Credit for ASEAN
Member States to undertake connectivity related
projects under the ASEAN-India Strategic
partnership.
• They also expressed their interest in availing the
Line of Credit to, inter-alia, realise the Master Plan
of ASEAN Connectivity.
• They looked forward for signing of the
Memorandum of Understanding on the
Establishment of the ASEAN-India Centre (AIC)
and its early operationalisation.
• It called on all partied to work towards for early
conclusion of a balanced Regional Comprehensive
Economic Partnerships Agreement, which is
beneficial to all and is comprehensive in nature.
• It also called for convening of the 1st Meeting of
the ASEAN-India Working Group on Regional
Air Services Arrangements for the further
negotiations of an ASEAN-India Air Transport
Agreement based on ‘open skies’ principles
covering both air freight and passenger services.
• The leaders also called further discussion on the
ASEAN-India Maritime Transport Agreement to
strengthen maritime connectivity.
The 14th ASEAN-India Summit to be held Lao
PDR in 2016. 12th ASEAN-India Summit was
held in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar on 12 November
2014.
Comment/Analysis
India’s partnership with ASEAN has successfully
moved from a Sectoral Dialogue Partnership in
1992 to a Summit Partnership in 2002 and to a
Strategic Partnership in 2012.
The ASEAN-India Strategic Partnership acquired
further momentum after the enunciation of the
Act-East Policy by the Prime Minister Narendra
Modi at the 12th ASEAN-India Summit in
Myanmar in November 2014.
As of now India and ASEAN have 30 dialogue
mechanisms including a Summit, which have been
taking place since 2002.
India has been actively participating and making
positive contribution to numerous ASEAN-led
mechanisms. These include among others ASEAN
Regional Forum (ARF), ASEAN Defence
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Ministers' Meeting Plus (ADMM Plus) and East
Asia Summit (EAS).
On the economic front, ASEAN is India’s fourth
largest trading partner. India is, in turn, the sixth
largest trade partner for ASEAN. Trade between
India and ASEAN stood at 76.52 billion dollars in
2014-15 as against the aim set in 2012 to achieve
100 billion US dollars mark.
To give a fillip to India-ASEAN bilateral trade, a
Free Trade Agreement in Goods was signed in
2009 and in Services and Investment in 2014.
Besides, India is also part of negotiations on the
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership
Agreement (RCEP), which includes ASEAN and
its six FTA partners.
The growth pole of Asia is shifting. A stronger
ASEAN–India partnership would enhance our
participation in global economic governance and
work towards building a common position, voice
and visibility in addressing global governance
issues.
India-Singapore signed 10
agreements on mutual co-operation
India and Singapore on 24 November 2015 signed
10 agreements on mutual co-operation. These
include Defence, Civil Aviation, National
Planning and cyber Security.
The agreements were signed in presence of Prime
Minster of Narendra Modi and Singapore Prime
Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Narendra Modi was on
a two-day visit to Singapore (23 November to 24
November 2015).
List of Joint Declaration/Agreements/MoU’s
signed
Joint Declaration on a Strategic Partnership: Seeks
to elevate bilateral relations to a strategic
partnership to deepen and broaden engagement in
existing areas of cooperation. The Strategic
Partnership is also a framework to contribute to
greater regional stability and growth.
Agreement concerning Defence Cooperation: It
provides for
a) Defence Ministers’ Dialogue
b) Joint exercises between armed forces
c) Cooperation between defence industries to
identify areas of co-production and co-
development
Agreement on the Extension of Loan of Artifacts
to the Asian Civilisations Museum of Singapore
Executive Programme on Cooperation in the
Fields of the Arts, Heritage, Archives and Library
for the Years 2015-2018: Programme envisages
detailed plan of action and cooperation in the field
of Arts, Museums, Archives, Monuments, Library
and Exchange of Technical Experts & Students for
the period 2015-2018.
Operationalisation of the Technical Agreement on
Sharing White Shipping Information: Was signed
between the Indian Navy and the Singapore Navy
signed on 21 July 2015.
MoU on Cooperation in the area of Cyber
Security: The agreement was inked between
Indian Computer Emergency Response Team
(CERT-In), Department of Information
Technology of India and Singapore Computer
Emergency Response Team (SingCERT), Cyber
Security Agency of Singapore.
The MoU promotes closer cooperation and
exchange of information pertaining to cyber
security between the CERTs of the two nations by
establishment of a broader framework for future
dialogue; exchange of information on cyber-
attacks; research collaboration in smart
technologies; exchange of information on
prevalent cyber security policies and best practices
as well as professional exchanges.
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MoU in Civil Aviation: It was inked between
Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Singapore
Cooperation Enterprise (SCE). The MoU
facilitates mutual cooperation in a number of
mutually agreed areas of civil aviation services
and airport management beginning with Jaipur and
Ahmedabad airports.
MoU on Cooperation in the Field of Planning: It
was inked between National Institution for
Transforming India (NITI Aayog) and Singapore
Cooperation Enterprise (SCE). The MoU promotes
knowledge and information exchange in areas
such as
a) Urban planning
b) Waste water management
c) Solid waste management
d) Public-private partnerships between the two
organisations
MoU on Cooperation to Combat Illicit Trafficking
in Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substance and
their Precursors: It was inked between the
Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) of India and the
Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) Singapore.
The MoU facilitates and enhances cooperation by
exchange of Information on trends in the illicit
manufacture and those arrested on drug trafficking
charges and establish direct contact points between
the two Bureaus. Capacity building, skill
upgrading and knowledge development are also
identified as areas of cooperation.
MoU in Capacity Building in the Field of Urban
Planning and Governance: It was inked between
the Town and Country Planning Organisation of
the Government of India and the Singapore
Cooperation Enterprise.
The MoU provides for participation of government
officials from India in capacity-building
programmes in areas such as urban planning and
management.
Besides, the Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and
Lee Hsein Loong also released commemorative
stamps depicting Rashtrapati Bhawan and Istana-
Official residence of Singapore President-as a
mark of 50 years of bilateral relation.
Mahatma Gandhi International
Centre inaugurated in Matale by Sri
Lankan President
The President of Sri Lanka Maithripala Sirisena on
22 November 2015 inaugurated the Mahatma
Gandhi International Centre (MGIC) inaugurated
in Matale. The Indian High Commissioner YK
Sinha was also present at the inauguration
ceremony.
The center was inaugurated as a tribute to the
contribution of Mahatma Gandhi to humanity and
the continuing relevance of his principles and
philosophy to mankind.
Main highlights of the MGIC
• The centre was built at a cost of over 4 crore
rupees
• The Centre consists of an auditorium, library,
meditation centre and a conference hall.
• It was funded under the Indian government's
Development Cooperation Partnership with Sri
Lanka.
• The Urban Development Authority of Sri Lankan
government was the consultant for the project.
• It will provide a platform to reinforce the
teachings of Mahatma Gandhi and promote
harmony among different communities
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• It will enrich the lives of people through
meditation and yoga and can also be used as a
resource centre for cultural activities
• It will also help the youth to enhance their
knowledge in various fields through seminars,
workshops and conferences.
Background
The MGIC was built at the request of the Mahatma
Gandhi Sabha at Matale which was opened by a
local group of citizens following Mahatma
Gandhi’s visit to Matale in 1927. In 1947 Sri
Lankan government gave the society land and a
small building was constructed in 1952. The
society functions on the principles and teachings
of Mahatma Gandhi.
Union Cabinet approved German as
additional foreign language in
Kendriya Vidyalayas
Union Cabinet on 18 November 2015 gave its ex-
post approval to the Joint Declaration of Intent
(JDI) between the Ministry of Human Resource
Development and Federal Foreign Office of
Germany.
The JDI seeks to promote German as an additional
Foreign Language in Kendriya Vidyalayas (KV)
schools.
With this approval, German language will now be
taught as an additional foreign language in KVs in
conformity with the National Education Policy,
1986.
The approval also gives green signal to promotion
of teaching of Modern Indian Languages in
Germany.
Background
German was taught as a foreign language in KVs
since September 2011 when a MoU was signed
between Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS)
and Goethe-Institute, Max Mueller. The validity of
the MoU expired in September 2014.
Due to some inconsistencies in the MoU vis-à-vis
National Education Policy and the National
Curriculum Framework relating to the “three
language formula”, it was not renewed further.
The issue was later reviewed and was included in
the Joint Statement issued on 14 April 2015 by the
Prime Minister and German Chancellor. It was
agreed to support the respective programmes and
efforts in India and Germany to broaden
knowledge of each other’s languages in
accordance with the National Policy of each
country.
India ratified Articles of Agreement
of the Asian Infrastructure
Investment Bank
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on 18 November 2015 gave its
approval for the ratification and submitting of the
Articles of Agreement (AoA) of the Asian
Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
India will be the second-biggest shareholder with
8.4 percent, followed by Russia, which will have a
6.5 percent stake.
How the ratification of AoA of AIIB will help
India?
• Establishment of the AIIB will help India and
other signatory countries to raise and avail
resources for their infrastructure and sustainable
development projects.
• It will enable India to play a prominent role in
the governance of a multilateral institution.
About Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
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• The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
is a proposed international financial institution
which is focused on supporting infrastructure
construction in the Asia-Pacific region.
• The bank was proposed by China and supported
by 37 regional and 20 non-regional Prospective
Founding Members, 53 of which have signed the
AoA that form the legal basis for the proposed
bank.
• The bank will start operation after the agreement
enters into force, which requires ratifications from
10 member states holding a total number of 50%
of the initial subscriptions of the Authorized
Capital Stock.
• The Bank will be headquartered in Beijing.
• The authorised capital of AIIB is 100 billion US
Dollar and the initial subscribed capital is
expected to be around 50 billion US Dollar. The
paid-in ratio will be 20 percent.
2015 Valletta Summit on Migration
concluded
The 2015 Valletta Summit on Migration was
concluded on 12 November 2015. It was held for
two days at the Mediterranean Conference Centre
in Valletta, Malta.
It was attended by around 65 heads of
governments/high level policy makers from
Europe and Africa, besides officials from the UN
and various organizations of the European Union.
The summit, in addition to approving a political
declaration reaffirming commitment to solve the
ongoing Mediterranean Migration Crisis; came up
with an Action Plan to deal with migration from
Africa to Europe in a comprehensive manner.
The Action Plan is built around five priority
domains, namely,
1. Development benefits of migration and
addressing root causes of irregular migration and
forced displacement
2. Legal migration and mobility
3. Protection and asylum
4. Prevention of and fight against irregular
migration, migrant smuggling and trafficking in
human beings
5. Return, readmission and reintegration
Other Key outcomes of Valletta Summit
• EU Emergency Trust Fund, of 1.8 billion euros,
was established to address root causes of irregular
migration and displaced persons in Africa by
promoting economic and equal opportunities,
strengthening resilience of vulnerable people,
security and development.
• Within the 5 priority domains, 16 initiatives will
be launched before the end of 2016 to implement
the Action Plan.
• The existing mechanisms of the Rabat Process,
the Khartoum Process and of the Joint EU-Africa
Strategy will be used to monitor implementation.
• The European Investment Bank will provide
financing to support the reestablishment of the
conditions for self-sustaining economic growth
and the development of human capital in Africa.
Terrorist attack in Paris; Hundreds
Killed
Terrorists on 13 November 2015 attacked six
locations around Paris killing around 130 civilians
and injuring another 200 people and security
personnel.
While majority of the deaths occurred in the
Bataclan concert venue, around 80000 football
fans in the Stade de France (National Stadium of
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France) came under the deadliest attacks who were
watching a friendly match between France and
Germany.
To deal with impending attacks, France President
Francois Hollande, who was at the venue during
the attack, immediately convened an emergency
cabinet meeting outside the stadium and
announced a state of emergency.
The decree enables the authorities to close public
places and impose curfews and restrictions on the
movement of traffic and people.
France saw its most recent emergency in
November 2005 while the suburbs of Paris came
under a series of attacks by rioting mob.
The present attack in Paris is the deadliest violence
to strike France since World War II and the second
major terror incident in 2015 after the Charlie
Hebdo Shooting.
In the January 2015 incident, terrorists belonging
to the Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)
killed 11 people when they stormed into the
offices of the French satirical weekly newspaper in
Paris.
India, UK announced commercial
deals worth 9 billion pounds
India and the UK on 12 November 2015
announced commercial deals worth 9 billion
pounds in London.
The deals took place between the companies
operating from both the countries and were agreed
upon during the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s
visit to the UK.
Details of Commercial Deals
Creative and retail
• Merlin Entertainments: It will open the first
Madame Tussauds in the sub-continent. It will be
set up in New Delhi in 2017. Further, it will invest
up to 50 million pounds over 10 years to open
more of company’s iconic brands that include
Discovery Centre and Sea Life Aquarium.
• Apollo Hospitals: It partnered with Holland &
Barrett International to open 1000 Holland &
Barrett outlets in India over the next 5 years. The
first store will open in New Delhi in January 2016
with 115 outlets open at the end of the year.
• Genus ABS will invest 1 million pounds in India
providing the latest dairy genetics and constructing
a state-of-the-art facility near Pune in
Maharashtra.
Logistics
TVS is opening a 20 million pounds advanced
logistics facility in Barnsley (the UK) generating
100 new jobs, growing to 500 across the TVS
Group over 5 years. As part of Team Leidos, the
company is integral to delivering 500 million
pounds worth of procurement savings to the UK
Ministry of Defence over 13 years.
Finance and professional services
• HDFC, India’s largest housing finance company,
has announced the proposal to issue rupee
denominated bonds overseas of up to 490 million
pounds.
• Bharti Airtel Ltd announced that it intends to
issue its maiden sterling bond of up to 500 million
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pounds to be listed on the London Stock
Exchange.
• Major UK-based insurance companies like
Standard Life, Bupa and Aviva have committed to
invest a combined total of approximately 238
million pounds worth of FDI in their Indian joint
ventures.
• London Stock Exchange Group and Yes Bank
will sign a MoU to foster the development around
bond and equity issuance, with a strong focus on
green infrastructure finance. As part of this MoU,
the bank is expected to list a green bond of up to
330 million pounds through Medium Term Notes
by December 2016.
• State Bank of India (SBI) and London Stock
Exchange Group have announced a collaboration
to create the FTSE-SBI India Bonds Indices to be
used initially by a new investment fund run by
SBI. These indices, to be launched in the first half
of 2016, will facilitate investment into India’s
bond markets and support market liquidity and
pricing.
• Zyfin and Sun Global announced that they would
be listing the world’s first India fixed income
exchange traded fund (ETF) on the London Stock
Exchange. This ETF will give international
investors access to the Indian fixed income
market, which is worth 1.3 trillion dollars and is a
vital source of finance for the infrastructure sector.
• A new MoU on technical co-operation in the rail
sector was agreed which will boost potential
business opportunities for the rail industry.
Further, India announced its intention to launch
the first government-backed rupee bond (Railway
Rupee Bond) in London to fund railway
infrastructure development.
Energy
• Lightsource Renewable Energy Holdings has
announced a 2 billion pounds investment in India.
They will design, install and manage around 3
gigawatts of solar power infrastructure in India
over the next 5 years.
• UK technology company Intelligent Energy is
now facilitating an initial order of over 10000
hydrogen fuel cells, worth over 128 million
pounds.
• UK-listed OPG Power Ventures plc will invest
2.9 billion pounds in India to create 4200 MW of
new power capacity in India, of which 1000 MW
will be solar power and 3200 MW will be thermal
and renewable power in Tamil Nadu.
IT and cyber
• Kloudpad Mobility Research will invest 100
million pounds produce the next generation of
smart watches, wearables and tablets in South
India.
• Vodafone has announced investments in India
totaling 1.3 billion pounds of which 100 million
pounds will be used to create a payment bank
focused on serving the unbanked and under
banked and to accelerate India’s journey towards a
cashless economy.
• E-commerce cloud platform provider, CloudBuy,
will sign a contract with the Confederation of
Indian industry (CII) for an online business to
business marketplace. Over the next 5 years the
platform is projected to facilitate transactions
worth 3.5 billion pounds.
Healthcare
King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
and Indo UK Healthcare Pvt Ltd will open King’s
College Hospital in Chandigarh. This is the first of
a proposed 11 new Indo-UK institutes for health
that will be developed across India, which, when
fully implemented, would amount to a 1 billion
pound investment into India’s healthcare system.
Education
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• A partnership between the British Council and
TCS will see the global IT services firm provide
opportunities for 1000 graduate interns from
British universities to train and work in India
between 2016 and 2020.
• HSBC announced the launch of its Skills for Life
initiative in India, a programme to skill 75,000
disadvantaged young people and women over 5
years.
• Indian integrated learning solutions provider
Dexler will set up Dexler Education UK, its
European headquarters, with an investment of
around 10 million pounds to augment corporate
training, higher education and individual learning.
India inked MoUs with six countries
in the International Civil Aviation
Negotiations
The Government of India announced on 12
November 2015 that it signed Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) with six countries. These
countries are: Finland, Kazakhstan, Kenya,
Sweden, Norway and Denmark, and Oman and
Ethiopia.
In addition, Agreed Minutes were signed with
Serbia, Greece, and European Commission. The
Record of Discussions was signed with Brunei
Darussalam and Qatar.
The MoUs were signed during International Civil
Aviation Negotiations (ICAN) 2015, which was
held in Antalya, Turkey from 19 to 23 October
2015.
Mou with Oman
• As per the agreement signed between Indian and
Oman, additional 5131 seats were granted taking
the total capacity entitlements from 16018 seats
per week to 21149 seats per week for both sides.
Mou with Kazakhstan
• Both the countries agreed to review the initialled
Air Services Agreement (ASA) as per the latest
Article 11 given by the Indian side.
• Both the parties also agreed to third country
airlines code share and domestic code share
operations to four points.
Mou with Kenya
• As per the signed MoU, the capacity entitlements
have been increased from 14 frequencies for each
side to 21 additional frequencies.
• Hyderabad was allowed as an additional point of
call for the designated carriers of Kenya.
• Domestic code share was agreed to from any 4
points by both sides.
• Kenya agreed to grant one additional point,
intermediate and beyond point with full 5th
freedom rights in Africa to India.
Mou with Ethiopia
• Capacity entitlements were increased from the
existing 21 frequencies per week to 28 frequencies
per week for both sides.
• Ethiopia was allowed to exchange Bangalore in
place of Kolkata as a point of call.
• Three additional domestic code share points
exclusively to code share with Air India were
granted namely Jaipur, Kolkata and Pune.
Mou with Finland
• The provisions namely code share, intermodal
services, routing flexibility and open sky on cargo,
which are mandatory requirement of Horizontal
Agreement coming into force were agreed to by
Finland.
• Further domestic code share was agreed to on 5
points in the territory of both parties.
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• The domestic code share points for the
designated airline of Finland are Bengaluru,
Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune and Kolkata.
Mou with Sweden, Norway and Denmark
• Four provisions namely, code shares, intermodal,
routing flexibility and open sky on cargo, which
are the mandatory requirements of Horizontal
Agreement coming into force was agreed to by the
three Scandinavian countries.
• India accepted Norway’s request to bring
Norway-India bilateral in line with Horizontal
Agreement on receiving a letter to this effect from
European Council.
• Sweden allowed India another new point namely
Gothenburg for code share operations.
India re-elected to UN Commission
on International Trade Law
India on 9 November 2015 was re-elected by the
General Assembly to a six year term on the United
Nations Commission on International Trade Law
(UNCITRAL).
Apart from India, 22 other countries including the
United States and Pakistan were also re-elected to
the UNCITRAL.
The Monday election was the fifth election that
India has won in 2015. The country also won the
re-election to the UN Human Rights Council held
in 2014.
In April 2015, the UN Economic and Social
Committee (ECOSOC) elected India to the
executive councils of UNICEF and the World
Food Programme, the governing council of the
United Nations Human Settlements Programme
(UN-Habitat) and the Commission on Crime
Prevention and Criminal Justice.
About UNCITRAL
The United Nations General Assembly by its
Resolution 2205 (XXI) of 17 December 1966
established the United Nations Commission on
International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) to promote
the progressive harmonization and unification of
international trade law.
The Commission is a legal body with universal
membership specializing in commercial law
reform worldwide for over 40 years. It carries out
its work at annual sessions held alternately in New
York City and Vienna.
The Commission comprises of six working groups
to perform the substantive preparatory work on
topics within the Commission's programme of
work. The six working groups and their current
topics are:
• Working Group I - Micro, Small and Medium-
sized Enterprises
• Working Group II - Arbitration and Conciliation
• Working Group III - Online Dispute Resolution
• Working Group IV - Electronic Commerce
• Working Group V - Insolvency Law
• Working Group VI - Security Interests
WHO officially declared Sierra
Leone Ebola-free
World Health Organization (WHO) on 7
November 2015 announced that Sierra Leone is
free of the Ebola virus. West African nation's
epidemic was declared over at a ceremony
attended by President Ernest Bai Koroma and
WHO representative Anders Nordstrom.
Sierra Leone was declared free of the Ebola virus
after no new cases were reported in the West
Africa country in 42 days (two Ebola virus
incubation cycles), where the virus began in May
2014.
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Sierra Leone recorded the first Ebola case in May
2014, a total number of 8704 people were infected
and 3589 have died of which 221 were healthcare
workers.
'India in Shanghai’ Cultural Week
inaugurated at Shanghai
An Indian culture week called ‘India in Shanghai’
was on 5 November 2015 inaugurated at China
Shanghai International Arts Festival (SIAF) at the
Shanghai Grand Theatre. The SIAF annual festival
began on 16 October 2015 and will continue till 16
November 2015.
The culture week was inaugurated by Indian
Ambassador Ashok K Kantha along with Zhong
Yanqun, Vice Chair of The Standing Committee
of the Shanghai Municipal People's Congress.
This is the first time in the 17-year history of the
China Shanghai International Arts Festival that
India was designated as the guest country during
the festival.
The events at the India Culture Week will
showcase the best of contemporary Indian arts and
comprise the following:
• Musical- Bollywood Extravaganza
• Dance Performance Sari by Daksha Sheth Dance
Company
• Tribal Music by Rajasthan Josh
• Exhibition- Forms of Devotion
Each of the above performances would be staged
at multiple venues across Shanghai from 5
November 2015 to 11 November 2015. The
exhibition titled Forms of Devotion would remain
open for public viewing at China Art Museum till
21 February 2016.
Purpose of India Culture Week
• The India Culture Week aims to provide Chinese
friends a glimpse of the multi-faceted cultural
traditions of India as well as enable a better
understanding of India among Chinese people.
• The cultural performances are also expected to
lead to a greater collaboration between Indian &
Chinese performing Arts and corresponding
institutions.
• As 2015 is named as ‘Visit India Year in China’,
it is expected that this Festival will encourage
more Chinese tourists to travel to India and see for
themselves the rich and diverse cultural heritage of
India.
About China Shanghai International Arts
Festival (SIAF)
SIAF is the only state-level International Arts
Festival hosted by the Ministry of Culture of
China and is organized by Shanghai Municipal
People's Government. In past years, the festival
has seen participation from renowned personalities
in the field of Art.
India, Indonesia signed MoUs on
Energy, Culture Exchange
India on 2 November 2015 signed two
Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) with
Indonesia to strengthen it ties in energy and
culture exchange area. These MoUs were signed in
the presence of Vice President Hamid Ansari and
his counterpart Jusuf Kala in Jakarta.
The MoU on New and Renewable Energy sector
was signed between Indonesian Water Resources
and Mineral Minister and Indian ambassador to
Indonesia Gurjit Singh. The MoU will help both
nations to take steps in reducing carbon emissions
by 2030 by 35 percent in India and 29 percent in
Indonesia respectively.
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Both the sides also signed a MoU for Cooperation
in Cultural field. Indonesia also organised Sahabat
India- The Festival of India on its land in 2015.
India and Indonesia already enjoy a long standing
shared historical affinity and close cultural ties.
Indonesia is an important partner of India among
the ASEAN countries.
Roch Marc Christian Kabore elected
president of Burkina Faso
Roch Marc Christian Kabore on 30 November
2015 was elected as the President of the West
African country Burkina Faso.
Kabore won the vote in the first round with 53.49
percent of ballots, which was enough to secure a
first round victory.
Zephirin Diabre came in the second place with
29.6 percent of the vote, and Tahirou Barry stood
third with just three percent of the votes.
Mauricio Macri won the Presidential
election of Argentina
Conservative opposition candidate Mauricio Macri
won the presidential election of Argentina with
over 51.5 percent of vote in the fourth week of
November 2015.
As per the results declared by the National
Electoral Chamber of Argentina, Macri, the leader
of the centre-right Cambiemos [Let's Change]
coalition, secured 51.5 percent of votes, while
Centre-left Peronist candidate Daniel Scioli
conceded defeat with 48.5 percent votes.
With this win of Macri, Argentina will see the
centre-right leading the government after 12-years
of leftist government. In December 2015, he will
replace Christina Fernández de Kircher in the Casa
Rosada presidential palace
Environment
2015 likely to be the warmest year on
record: WMO
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
on 25 November 2015 released Provisional
Statement on the Status of Global Climate in
2011-2015. According to it, the global average
surface temperature in 2015 is likely to be the
warmest on record.
The average surface temperature in 2015 can reach
the symbolic and significant milestone of 1°
Celsius above the pre-industrial era.
The reason behind such surface temperature is
combination of a strong El Nino and human-
induced global warming.
Highlights of the analysis
The years 2011-2015 have been the warmest five-
year period on record at about 0.57°C (1.01°F)
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above the average for the standard 1961-90
reference period.
Levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere
reached new highs in the year 2015.
In the Northern hemisphere spring 2015, the three-
month global average concentration of CO2
crossed the 400 parts per million barrier for the
first time.
A powerful El Nino event is being witnessed in
2015, which is still gaining in strength. This is
influencing weather patterns in many parts of the
world and fuelled an exceptionally warm October.
The overall warming impact of this El Nino is
expected to continue into 2016.
A preliminary estimate based on data from January
to October 2015 shows that the global average
surface temperature for 2015 so far was around
0.73 °C above the 1961-1990 average of 14.0°C
and approximately 1°C above the pre-industrial
1880-1899 period.
South America is having its hottest year on record,
as is Asia (similar to 2007) and Africa and Europe
their second hottest.
Highlights of 2015
El Nino: The El Nino began in the North Pacific
region in the summer of 2014 and spread to the
South Pacific and Indian Ocean in 2015.
Consistent with typical El Nino impacts, large
areas of Central America and the Caribbean
recorded below average rainfall.
Ocean heat and sea level rise: The oceans have
been absorbing more than 90 percent of the energy
that has accumulated in the climate system from
human emissions of greenhouse gases. In the first
nine months of 2015, global ocean heat content
reached record high levels.
Regional temperatures: Significant warmer than
average temperatures were recorded over the
majority of observed land areas, especially
western North America, large areas of South
America, Africa and southern and eastern Eurasia.
Heatwaves: A major heatwave affected India in
May and June 2015, with average maximum
temperatures exceeded 42°C widely and 45°C in
some areas. Heatwaves affected Europe, northern
Africa and the Middle East through the late spring
and summer.
Rainfall and drought: Areas of high rainfall
included: southern areas of the USA, Mexico,
Bolivia, southern Brazil, southeast Europe, areas
of Pakistan and Afghanistan. 2015 saw
exceptional seasonal rainfall totals in several parts
of Burkina Faso and Mali.
There were many instances in 2015 of 24-hour
total rainfall patterns exceeding the normal
monthly mean of rain. While, dry areas included
Central America and the Caribbean, northeast
South America, parts of central Europe and
Russia, Southeast Asia, Indonesia and southern
Africa.
Tropical Cyclones: Globally, a total of 84 tropical
storms formed between January 2015 and 10
November 2015. Hurricane Patricia which made
landfall in Mexico on 24 October was the
strongest hurricane on record. In the Northwest
Pacific basin, 25 named storms were recorded. Six
typhoons made landfall over China. Four named
storms formed in the Northern Indian Ocean.
Arctic and Antarctic: In 2015, the daily maximum
sea ice extent, which occurred on 25 February
2015, was the lowest on record at 14.54 million
km. The minimum sea ice extent was on 11
September 2015 when the extent was 4.41 million
km2, the fourth lowest in the satellite record.
Climate Change Attribution: Out of 79 studies
published by Bulletin of the American
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Meteorological Society between 2011 and 2014,
more than half found that anthropogenic climate
change contributed to extreme events. The most
consistent influence has been on extreme heat.
New species of tree frog Ghatixalus
magnus discovered in Idukki district
of Kerala
During the field work in southern part of Western
Ghats, a team of researchers discovered a new
species of tree frog named Ghatixalus magnus. It
was discovered from Kadalar in the high ranges of
Idukki district in the Western Ghats of Kerala.
The frog belongs to Rhacophorid tree frog of the
genus Ghatixalus. It was named as Ghatixalus
magnus due to its large size making it the biggest
known tree frog from the Western Ghats.
The discovery was published in November 2015
issue of International Taxonomic Journal Zootaxa.
Its discovery was a joint effort by a team
comprising of Robin Abraham, a researcher from
the University of Kansas, USA; Anil Zachariah, a
batrachologist from Wayanad and Vivek Philip
Cyriac, a researcher, of the Indian Institute of
Science Education and Research,
Thiruvananthapuram.
Beside Ghatixalus magnus, the team also
rediscovered a species of bush frog, named
Raorchestes flaviventris from the High Ranges of
Idukki district in Kerala. The rediscovered species
that belongs to species of Rhacophorid bush frog
had been evading for past 132 years.
Raorchestes flaviventris that described from the
Western Ghats by George Albert Boulenger in
1882 was never been reported from the region
since its description.
UNISDR released the report titled
The Human Cost of Weather Related
Disasters
The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk
Reduction (UNISDR) on 23 November 2015
released the report titled The Human Cost of
Weather Related Disasters. The report was
compiled by UNISDR and the Belgian-based
Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of
Disasters (CRED).
The report depicts that over the last 20 years, 90
percent of major disasters have been caused by
6457 recorded floods, storms, heatwaves, droughts
and other weather-related events.
Highlights of the report
It finds that the five countries hit by the highest
number of disasters are the United States, China,
India, Philippines and Indonesia.
It demonstrates that since the first UN climate
change conference (COP1) in 1995, 606000 lives
have been lost and 4.1 billion people have been
injured and left homeless as a result of weather-
related disasters.
It also highlights data gaps noting that economic
losses from weather-related disasters are much
higher than the recorded figure of 1.891 trillion
US dollars, which accounts for 71 percent of all
losses attributed to natural hazards over the
twenty-year period.
Only 35 per cent of records include information
about economic losses.
It estimates that the true figure on disaster losses
including earthquakes and tsunamis is between
250 billion US dollars and 300 billion US dollars
annually.
Asia accounts for the lion’s share of disaster
impacts including 332000 deaths and 3.7 billion
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people affected. The death toll in Asia included
138000 deaths caused by Cyclone Nargis which
struck Myanmar in 2008.
In total, an average of 335 weather-related
disasters were recorded per year between 2005 and
2014.
The extent of the toll taken by disasters on society
shows that 87 million homes were damaged or
destroyed over the period of the survey.
It highlights that floods accounted for 47 percent
of all weather-related disasters from 1995-2015,
affecting 2.3 billion people and killing 157000.
Storms were the deadliest type of weather-related
disaster, accounting for 242000 deaths or 40
percent of the global weather-related deaths, with
89 percent of these deaths occurring in lower-
income countries.
Overall, heatwaves accounted for 148000 out of
the 164000 lives lost due to extreme temperatures,
with 92 percent of deaths occurring in high-
income countries.
Drought reportedly affects Africa more than any
other continent, with 136 disasters occurring there
between 1995 and 2015 including 77 droughts in
East Africa alone.
2nd World Congress on Disaster
Management concluded;
Visakhapatnam Declaration adopted
Second World Congress on Disaster Management
(WCDM) concluded on 22 November 2015 at
Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
The four-day WCDM that started on 19 November
2015 was attended by over 1000 delegates from 40
countries and 20 states.
It was organized in collaboration with Disaster
Management Infrastructure and Control Society
(DMICS), with Andhra Pradesh government and
various local, national, regional and international
organisations.
The Congress ended with the adoption of
'Visakhapatnam Declaration’.
Visakhapatnam Declaration
• The Declaration calls for a comprehensive action
plan for a disaster-resilient society.
• It recommended effective funding by creating
national disaster mitigation fund for resource
implementation of local plans
• It also recommended for building a platform of
knowledge management/good
practices/innovations at local level.
• It calls for global linkages to undertake
cooperative studies among communities and local
governance on evidencing climate change
understanding and local commitments
• It calls for promoting private sector participation
to strengthen humanitarian commitments.
• It moots for setting-up of an independent experts
group with statutory powers like a state Disaster
Management Authority for formulating policies on
disaster management.
• The declaration listed out priorities and strategies
for disaster management and preventive measures,
which were learnt from previous experiences of
Cyclones Phailin and Hudhud that struck Andhra
Pradesh and Odisha in a span of one year.
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The second World Congress on Disaster
Management (WCMD) was organized six years
after the first WCMD was held in Hyderabad in
the year 2008.
IEA released World Energy Outlook
2015
International Energy Agency (IEA) on 10
November 2015 released the World Energy
Outlook 2015 (WEO-2015). The report, in light of
low energy prices, calls for no complacency on
energy security front and sees clear signs that the
energy transition is underway, that is, from fossils
to renewable.
The WEO-2015 presents updated projections for
the evolution of the global energy system to 2040
as well as detailed insights on the prospects for
fossil fuels, renewables, the power sector and
energy efficiency. It also presents an analysis on
trends in CO2 emissions and fossil-fuel and
renewable energy subsidies.
India, which will move to the centre stage of
global energy, is the subject of an in-depth focus
in WEO-2015.
Main highlights of the WEO-2015
An extended period of lower oil prices would
benefit consumers but would trigger energy-
security concerns by heightening reliance on a
small number of low-cost producers, or risk a
sharp rebound in price if investment falls short.
The plunge in oil prices will set in motion the
forces that lead the market to rebalance, via higher
demand and lower growth in supply.
In the central scenario of WEO-2015, a tightening
oil balance will lead to a price around 80 dollars
per barrel by 2020.
World energy demand will grow by nearly one-
third between 2013 and 2040 in the central
scenario of WEO-2015, with the net growth driven
entirely by developing countries.
By 2040, China's net oil imports will be nearly
five times those of the United States, while India's
import will easily exceed those of the European
Union.
Developing Asia will be the leading demand
centre for every major element of the world's
energy mix in 2040 – oil, gas, coal, renewables
and nuclear.
India in the developing Asia region will take over
China as the largest source of consumption
growth.
The single largest energy demand growth story of
recent decades, that is, China's coal use will reach
its plateau as its economy rebalances and overall
energy demand growth slows, before declining.
With India moving to the centre stage in global
energy, the energy demand will increase to two-
and-a-half-times current levels. The main causes
will be India’s high level of economic growth,
large (and growing) population and low (but
increasing) levels of energy use per capita.
The links between global economic growth,
energy demand and energy-related emissions will
weaken. This is because some markets (such as
China) will undergo structural change in their
economies and others reach a saturation point in
demand for energy services.
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A prolonged period of lower oil prices could
undercut the adoption of energy efficient
technologies. Diminished incentives and longer
payback periods mean that 15% of the energy
savings will be lost in a low oil price scenario.
Lower prices alone would not have a large impact
on the deployment of renewables, but only if
policymakers remain steadfast in providing the
necessary market rules, policies and subsidies.
Renewables: The leading source of energy in
2040
There are clear signs that an energy transition is
underway, that is, renewables contributed almost
half of the world's new power generation capacity
in 2014 and have already become the second-
largest source of electricity (after coal).
The coverage of mandatory energy efficiency
regulation has expanded to more than one-quarter
of global energy consumption.
Renewables are set to become the leading source
of new energy supply from now to 2040.
Their deployment grows worldwide, with a strong
concentration in the power sector where
renewables overtake coal as the largest source of
electricity generation by the early-2030s.
Renewables-based generation reaches 50% in the
EU by 2040, around 30% in China and Japan, and
above 25% in the United States and India.
The net result of the changes seen in the WEO-
2015 central scenario is that the growth in energy-
related emissions slows dramatically, but the
emissions trajectory implies a long-term
temperature increase of 2.7 °C by 2100. A major
course correction is still required to achieve the
world's agreed climate goal.
Cyclone Megh struck Yemeni Island
of Socotra
Cyclone Megh struck the eastern shores of the
Yemini island of Socotra on 8 November 2015.
The cyclone made landfall with the force of a
Category 3 hurricane carrying heavy rains and
destructive winds with a speed of 200km/h.
The cyclone had killed at least one person and
injured several.
The cyclone also caused massive damage in
Socotra Island which lies about 360 kilometres off
the Yemeni coast. It is expected that the cyclone
would trigger flooding and landslides in the
country.
This is the second most tropical storms within a
week after Cyclone Chapala (Category 4) to strike
the region.
Megh is the 28th storm in the northern hemisphere
to become a Category 3 or stronger in 2015.
Dracula ant discovered in Western
Ghats region of Kerala
A new species of the Dracula ant, likely to be of
Stigmatomma group of predaceous ants, was
discovered by a group of citizen scientists in the
Western Ghats region of Kerala.
The ants’ first photographic record was obtained
by Manoj Vembayam, Kalesh Sadasivan and
Vinay Krishnan, members of the TNHS Ant
Research Group, a wing of the Travancore Natural
History Society.
Why the species is termed as Dracula?
Stigmatomma species are known to live a
hypogaeic lifestyle as predators of chilopods. The
species are known as dracula ants because they
feed on their own larvae. At the times of scarcity,
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the species punctures the body of their larvae to
drink hemolymph.
Earlier, three Dracula ant species had been
discovered in the past in Kolkata, Himachal
Pradesh, and Karnataka. These subterranean ants
are nearly 1 cm long and have poor vision. They
feed on centipedes.
The team now will work on deducing the name of
the species using taxonomic keys. They will also
submit the details regarding the ant’s characteristic
features and other details to a peer-reviewed
academic journal to establish the discovery, if
further study reveals that the ant comes under no
existing species.
SPORTS
Czech Republic defeated Russia to
retain Fed Cup
The Czech Republic on 15 November 2015
successfully defended its Fed Cup crown after
beating Russia in final day's play in Prague.
Czech Republic’s Karolina Pliskova emerged as
the team’s hero as she not only won her singles
rubber to tie the match at 2-2 but also returned to
court after a break to secure another comeback
victory in the finals of the deciding doubles.
• The victory marked a fourth Fed Cup success for
the Czech Republic in five years.
• The country has won the Fed Cup nine times
overall, including Czechoslovakia's five before its
split in 1993.
About Fed Cup
• Fed Cup is the premier international team
competition in women's tennis.
• It was launched in 1963 to celebrate the 50th
Anniversary of the International Tennis Federation
(ITF).
• The competition was known as the Federation
Cup until 1995.
Siril Verma clinched silver at World
Junior Badminton Championships
Young shuttler Siril Verma on 15 November 2015
grabbed a silver medal at the BWF World Junior
Championships held in Lima, Peru.
China’s Chia Hung Lu clinched the gold medal at
the Boys' singles event.
With this, Verma joined the ranks of Saina
Nehwal, P.V. Sindhu, R.M.V. Gurusaidutt, H.S.
Prannoy and Sameer Verma, who have won
medals for India in the World junior
championships.
Verma came into limelight when he clinched the
Junior U15 Asian Championships title in 2013. He
also became the first Indian player to win the
Badminton Asia Youth Championships in 2013.
The 15-year-old shuttler trains at the Pullela
Gopichand Academy.
Verma was born on 25 December 1999 in Andhra
Pradesh (now Telangana).
About BWF World Junior Championships
The BWF World Junior Championships is also
known as the World Junior Badminton
Championships.
It is a tournament organized by the Badminton
World Federation (BWF) to crown the best junior
badminton players (under-19) in the world.
IAAF provisionally suspended Russia
from World Track and Field Events
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Russia on 13 November 2015 was provisionally
suspended from track and field events by
International Association of Athletics Federations
(IAAF) due to doping allegations against the
country’s athletes, coaches, trainers, doctors and
officials.
The IAAF’s council members voted 22-1 in favour
of Russia being banned from the events.
The ban will keep Russian athletes out of all
sanctioned international track and field events
worldwide. It could also affect the country’s
preparations of 2016 Summer Olympics to be held
in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
After the suspension, Russia will also not be able
to host world race walking team championships to
be held in 2016 in Cheboksary and the world
junior championships in Kazan.
The strict action was taken by IAAF after the
Independent Commission (IC) on Doping in
Sports on 9 November 2015 submitted its report to
the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
Earlier in June 2015, the Anti-Doping Rule
Violations (ADRV) Report for 2013 published by
WADA revealed that Russia has maximum
number of dope offenders.
Nico Rosberg beat Lewis Hamilton to
win Brazilian Grand Prix
German Formula One motor racer Nico Rosberg
on 15 November 2015 defeated Lewis Hamilton to
grab the Brazilian Grand Prix trophy.
Sebastian Vettel grabbed the third position in the
race.
With the win, Rosberg reserved his place as
runner-up in 2015 Formula One world
championship.
The Brazilian Grand Prix was German F1 Driver's
second consecutive win following the 2015
Mexican Grand Prix. Besides, it was his fifth win
of 2015 and the 13th of his career.
Born on 27 June 1985, Rosberg has also briefly
competed for Finland very early in his career.
Rosberg entered Formula One in 2006 with
Williams Grand Prix Engineering. He joined the
re-branded Mercedes team for the 2010 Formula
One season.
About 2015 Brazilian Grand Prix
The 2015 Brazilian Grand Prix is a Formula One
motor race that was held at the Autódromo José
Carlos Pace, in São Paulo, Brazil.
The race was the 18th round of the 2015 season. It
also marked the 44th running of the Brazilian
Grand Prix as a round of the Formula One World
Championship since its inception in 1950.
Xuerui Li defeated Saina Nehwal to
clinch Women's Singles title at China
Open Superseries
Chinese shuttler Xuerui Li on 15 November 2015
won the 700000 US dollar Women's Singles final
of China Open Superseries Premier Badminton
tournament. In the final played at Fuzhou, Li
defeated India’s ace shuttler Saina Nehwal 21-12,
21-15.
The top seed and defending champion Saina and
Li, the reigning Olympic champion, have met 12
times against each other. Saina has won just 2 of
those games. This was Saina's fifth final of the
year 2015.
It was Li’s 2nd championship title of the year after
she won the Denmark Open Superseries Premier
in October 2015, beating India’s PV Sindhu to the
title.
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Srinivasan removed as ICC
Chairman; Shashank Manohar to
take his place
Narayanaswami Srinivasan was on 9 November
2015 removed as the chairman of the International
Cricket Council (ICC). He was removed after
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)
decided to recall him and nominate its current
president Shashank Manohar as the chief of the
world body.
The decision to drop him was taken at the BCCI’s
86th Annual General Meeting in Mumbai. Now,
BCCI will recommend this change to ICC.
Srinivasan was elected the first chairman of the
International Cricket Council for a two-year term
(from June 2014 to June 2016). His tenure will be
completed by Shashank Manohar as it is India's
turn to hold the top position.
As per protocol, respective Boards name a
representative on the Ex-Co. The BCCI will
propose former ICC President Sharad Pawar's
name as an alternative director in the executive
committee.
Other decisions taken at the 86th Annual General
Meeting of BCCI includes
• Ravi Shastri has also been removed from the IPL
governing council.
• Rajeev Shukla has been retained as IPL
Chairman.
• Roger Binny was removed from the Team India
selection committee. He will be replaced by MSK
Prasad from the South zone.
• Gagan Khoda is the other new member of the
selection committee, chosen to replace Rajinder
Singh Hans.
• Former India captain and current Cricket
Association of Bengal (CAB) president Sourav
Ganguly will replace Anil Kumble as the chairman
of BCCI’s technical committee.
• The BCCI also named Visakhapatnam, Ranchi,
Indore, Pune and Rajkot as the five new venues for
hosting Test cricket.
Besides, the BCCI accepted in principle the
proposed rules on conflict of interest and other
amendments to its constitution. It also appointed
retired Justice A.P Shah as the ombudsman, who
will look into all conflict of interest disputes.
Nigeria won 2015 FIFA U-17 World
Cup
Nigeria on 8 November 2015 won the 2015 FIFA
U-17 World Cup. It was held across 8 cities in
Chile since 17 October 2015.
To win its third championship Nigeria defeated
Mali 2-0. Oshimhen and Bamgboye scored the
goals for Nigeria at the 56th and 59th minute
respectively.
India will host the bi-annual championship in
2017.
Heena Sindhu won gold in 13th Asian
Shooting Championship
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India’s Heena Sindhu on 6 November 2015 won
the gold medal in the 10m air pistol women’s
event at the 13th Asian Shooting Championship.
The championship was started on 1 November
2015 and will be held for 12 days in Kuwait City.
Incidentally, Heena was also the winner of the
gold medal in the 10m air pistol event in 8th Asian
Air Gun Championship. It was held in New Delhi
in September 2015.
Other Indian medal winners in 13th Asian
Shooting Championship
• Nivetha won gold in the 10m air pistol junior
women’s event
• In the 25m pistol men’s junior event, Shivam
Shukla won gold.
• Angad Bajwa secured the individual gold in the
junior skeet men’s competition
Team events
• Shreya Gawande, Nivetha and Oshin Tawani
won gold in the women’s team event.
• Nayani Bharadwaj, Harshada Nithave and
Malaika Goel won the gold in the team event of
the 10m air pistol.
• Shivam, Arjun Das and Achal Pratap Grewal also
won the silver medal in the team event.
• Angad Bajwa, Anant Naruka and Arjun Mann
together won the gold in the junior skeet men’s
team event.
Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin
became fastest Indian to reach 150
test wickets
Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on 6 November
2015 became the fastest Indian to reach 150
wickets mark in the Indian test cricket history.
He achieved this feat when he took Imran Tahir’s
wicket in the first innings of the first test against
South Africa in Mohali, Punjab.
In this match, Ashwin also became the first bowler
in over 100 years to take 50 wickets after opening
the bowling. He achieved this feat in 12 matches
off 1888 balls.
The previous record was held by Colin Blythe of
England who took 74 wickets between 1902 and
1910 in 13 tests.
The test is a part of four-match test series played
to win Freedom Trophy, which is in turn is a part
of the larger Mahatma Gandhi-Nelson Mandela
Series that includes ODIs and T20s as well.
FIFA World Rankings 2015: Belgium
topped for first time
Belgium on 5 November 2015 moved to the top of
the FIFA world ranking list in football for the first
time. The team rose from third to first after
overtaking Argentina and world champions
Germany. This follows their victories in October’s
European qualifiers.
The former No. 1 ranked side, Argentina, dropped
to third, while Copa America champions Chile
rose four places to fifth, their highest ranking.
Austria improved one place to a best ever tenth
place. Iran continued to top the rankings among
AFC countries followed by Korea and Japan.
Jitu Rai won silver in 13th Asian
Shooting Championship
Ace shooter Jitu Rai on 4 November 2015 won
India's first senior medal at the 13th Asian
Shooting Championship in Kuwait City. He
bagged the silver in the finals of the men's 50
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metre pistol event.
Korea’s Park Daehun, who won the gold medal of
the event, shot finals world and Asian record score
of 199.2, while Jitu finished with a finals score of
189.5.
In the process, Jitu defeated his long-time rivals
Jin Jongoh of Korea and Vladimir Issachenko of
Kazakhstan.
Apart from this, India also won four silver and two
bronze medals in the junior events of the
championships. In the women's 25 metre pistol
event, Heena Sidhu, Gauri Sheoran and Annu Raj
Singh could not qualify for the finals.
Results of some other shooting events
10m air rifle junior men's
event
Junior Women's 50m
Rifle Prone Event
• Gold: Xuechao Qian of
China
• Silver: Akhil Sheoran of
India
• Bronze: Prashant of India
• Team silver: Akhil,
Prashant and Pratik Borse of
India
• Team bronze: Satyajeet
Kandhol, Gajendra Rai and
Babu Mithiliesh of India
• Gold: Fatemeh
Karamzadeh of Iran
• Silver: N Gayathri of
India
• Bronze: Najmeh
Khidmati of Iran
• Team Silver: Gayathri,
Srinithi Venkatesh and
Sonika
Shiva Thapa ranked World No 2 in
boxing
Shiva Thapa was on 3 November 2015 ranked
number 2 in the latest international rankings in the
56 kilogram category. He moved up by 5 places
compared to previous rankings.
While Shiva got 1550 points overall, the top spot
was occupied by Michael Conlan of Ireland with
2150 points.
In the World Amateur Boxing Championships
held in Doha in October 2015, they won the gold
and bronze medal respectively.
Vikas Krishan Yadav, who lost in the quarterfinals
of the Doha event, was the next best-placed Indian
at sixth in the 75kg middleweight division.
Satish Kumar, who was also a quarterfinalist in
Doha, took the seventh spot in the rankings for
super heavyweight (plus 91kilogram) boxers.
Nico Rosberg of Germany won 2015
Mexican Grand Prix Formula 1
championship
Mercedes racing driver Nico Rosberg of Germany
on 1 November 2015 won the 2015 Mexican
Grand Prix Formula 1 championship.
In the final race held at the Autódromo Hermanos
Rodríguez in Mexico City, he defeated his team
mate Lewis Hamilton of Britain with a seven point
lead.
While Felipe Massa of Brazil representing
Williams was at the sixth position, Force India
drivers-Nico Hulkenberg (Germany) and Sergio
Perez (Mexico) were at the seventh and eight
positions respectively.
For Rosberg, it was the fourth title in the 2015
season. Prior to the present championship, he won
the titles in Spain, Monaco and Australia. Overall,
it was the 12th title in his career.
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Roger Federer won 2015 Swiss
Indoors men’s singles title by
defeating Rafael Nadal
Roger Federer of Switzerland on 1 November
2015 won the Swiss Indoors men’s singles tennis
title. He defeated Rafael Nadal of Spain 6-3 5-7 6-
3 at the final match held at the St. Jakobshalle in
Basel, Switzerland.
For the 17-time Grand Slam winner, it was seventh
Swiss Indoors title and 88th of his career. In 2015,
it was his sixth title.
However, Nadal still has the upper hand as he has
an impressive 23-11 head-to-head record against
Federer.
AWARDS
Kiren Rijiju conferred with Disaster
Risk Reduction Asia Champion
honour by UN
Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Kiren
Rijiju, was on 17 November 2015 designated as
the Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Champion for
the Asia Region by the United Nations Office for
Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR). Rijiju also
became the first Indian to be conferred with this
honour.
The honour was conferred Margarete Wahlstrom,
Special Representative of the United Nations
Secretary General for Disaster Risk Reduction,
during the inaugural session of the Asia Leaders’
Meeting towards Implementation of the Sendai
Framework for DRR in Asia.
Rijiju is the first regional champion for DRR after
the Sendai Agreement, giving an impetus to Union
Government efforts to facilitate regional support
towards enabling community resilience in the
Asia-Pacific region.
Disaster Risk Reduction Champions
• UNISDR recognizes individuals as Disaster Risk
Reduction Champions for using their political
influence to lobby for disaster risk reduction in
their country, region and beyond.
• This is a non-remunerated honorary position.
• Only the UN Secretary-General's Special
Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction and
head of UNISDR may designate a Disaster Risk
Reduction Champion by issuing a letter of
designation.
• It advocates and promotes the goals and priorities
of the Hyogo Framework for Action and the new
Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.
Abraham M Keita from Liberia won
the 2015 International Children's
Peace Prize
Liberian teenager Abraham M Keita was on 10
November 2015 awarded with the prestigious
International Children’s Peace Prize 2015. He was
awarded for his extraordinary and peaceful fight
for justice for child victims of physical or sexual
violence, and for successfully campaigning for the
Liberian parliament to adopt the Children’s Law.
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Seventeen-year-old Keita received the prize from
Nobel Peace Laureate and his countrywoman
Leymah Gbowee in The Hague. Gbowee in 2011
became the first Liberian to receive the Nobel
Peace Prize for her nonviolent struggle for the
safety of women and for women's rights to full
participation in Liberia’s peace-building process.
About International Children’s Peace Prize
International Children’s Peace Prize is awarded
annually to child from across the world for his or
her dedication to children’s rights. The prize is an
initiative of Marc Dullaert, Chairman and Founder
of the Dutch KidsRights Foundation.
The prize was launched by KidsRights during the
2005 Nobel Peace Laureates’ Summit chaired by
Mikhail Gorbachev. Since then, the prize has been
presented every year by a Nobel Peace Laureate.
Neha Gupta, an 18-year-old Indian American from
Philadelphia, was awarded with the 2014
International Children’s Peace Prize for her work
to help orphans in India and other vulnerable
children. Neha was the first ever American to be
awarded with the prize.
Santoor maestro Pt. Shiv Kumar
Sharma honoured with Kala Shikhar
award
Santoor maestro Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma on 7
November 2015 was honoured with the Aditya
Vikram Birla Kala Shikhar Award for lifetime
achievement.
The governor of Maharashtra C Vidyasagar Rao
presented the award to the 77-year old Santoor
player in Mumbai.
On the other hand, Murad Ali Khan (Sarangi) and
Satyajit Talwalkar (Tabla) were awarded with the
Kala Kiran Awards. Special Jury Award was given
to Shehnai players Sanjeev and Ashwani Shankar.
After starting his career as a vocalist, Pandit
Sharma emerged out as the master instrumentalist
of the Santoor. He is credited with making Santoor
a popular Classical Instrument.
The Santoor maestro is also the recipient of the
Padma Shri and the Padma Vibhushan.
About Aditya Vikram Birla Kala Shikhar
Puraskaar
The Aditya Vikram Birla Kala Shikhar Puraskaar
was instituted by the Sangit Kala Kendra in the
memory of Aditya Vikram Birla.
The award is conferred on a distinguished artist for
his/her lifetime achievement in the chosen field of
the performing and visual arts.
The award comprises a cash award of 2 lakh
rupees, a memento and a scroll of honour.
UNHCR chosen for Indira Gandhi
Prize for Peace, Disarmament and
Development for 2015
The United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) was on 19 November 2015
chosen for the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace,
Disarmament and Development for 2015.
A decision in this regard was taken by the
international jury of the prize, headed by Vice
President of India Mohammad Hamid Ansari on
the occasion of birth annniversary of Indira
Gandhi.
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The UNHCR was chosen for the award in
recognition of its immense contributions in
assisting millions of refugees in their rehabilitation
and resettlement.
Contributions of UNHCR
• It was established on 14 December 1950 by the
UN General Assembly with a mandate to lead and
co-ordinate international action to protect refugees
and resolve refugee problems worldwide.
• Its headquarters is in Geneva, Switzerland and
operates in 123 countries across the world.
• Since its inception, it has helped tens of millions
of refugees, returnees, internally displaced persons
(IDPs) and stateless people.
• Its ongoing work in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and
the Mediterranean region to deal with the
European Migration Crisis has been appreciated
worldwide.
• In India, it has been working closely for decades
with the government in identifying refugees and
their rehabilitation and resettlement.
• In the absence of a national legal framework for
refugees, UNHCR conducts refugee status
determination under its mandate for asylum
seekers who approach the Office.
• Based on this documentation, refugees can apply
for long term visas (LTVs), work permits, access
to education facilities, etc with the Government of
India.
• For its humanitarian work worldwide, so far it
has won two Nobel Peace Prizes, once in 1954 and
again in 1981.
• At present, Antonio Guterres is the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees.
Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament
and Development
• It is the prestigious annual award accorded
annually by Indira Gandhi Trust since 1986.
• It is presented to individuals or organizations in
recognition of creative efforts towards promoting
international peace, development and a new
international economic order.
• It also ensures that the scientific discoveries are
used for the larger good of humanity, and
enlarging the scope of freedom.
• It is presented by the President of India and
carries a cash award of 25 lakh rupees and a
citation.
• Notable recipients of the award- Mikhail
Gorbachev (1987), UNICEF (1989), Rajiv Gandhi
(1991), M S Swaminathan (1999), Kofi Annan
(2003), Ela Bhatt (2011) and Angel Merkel
(2013).
• For 2014, Indian Space Research Organization
(ISRO) received the award.