LATEST NEWS

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Latest Daily News - January 2015
Jan 31, 2015
1. Krishna Chaudhary is appointed as Director General (DG) of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).
2. Kanagasabapathy J Sripavan is appointed as 44th Chief Justice of Sri Lanka.
3. People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) announced to create India's first fenced elephant
sanctuary within Bannerghatta Biological Park in Karnataka to allow elephants to move around freely
within the secure area.
4. Gujarat Technological University (GTU) launched e-Raksha Research Centre to fight cybercrime to
curb cybercrimes. Centre will encourage research and enhance capability to provide solution for
issues related to cyber security.
5. Government divested 10 % Stake in Maharatna Coal India Limited (CIL). With this, government’s
share in CIL came down to 79.65 %. Government divested 63.16 crores shares (10 %) of CIL through
offer for sale (OFS) at a floor price of 358 rupees per share and got an amount of 22557.63 crore
rupees through the disinvestment.
6. 18th National Conference on e-Governance held in Gujarat with Theme Conference was Digital
Governance - New Frontiers.
7. Former Dutch Hockey team coach Paul van Ass is appointed as head Coach of Indian men's hockey
team.
8. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) constituted a Committee under RBI Deputy Governor R Gandhi, to re-
examine appropriate set of businesses and licensing terms for Urban Cooperative Banks (UCB).
9. The eight-member committee will be chaired by R Gandhi, the Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of
India.
10. Andhra Pradesh Government decided to file a defamation case against State Bank of Hyderabad
(SBH) as SBH Freezed Accounts of Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education (APSCHE)
amounting to 25 crore rupees.
 The accounts of APSCHE were frozen after Telangana State Council of Higher Education
(TSCHE) sent a letter to various banks asking them to freeze the accounts of APSCHE as it
accused APSCHE of illegally capturing off money that was to be shared between the two
states.
 Jan 30, 2015
1. Hanumanthu Purushotham is appointed as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of National
Research Development Corporation (NRDC).
2. Gujarat Government launched Taluka (Tehsil) Planning Atlas (TPA) to enable local administration for
taking decisions about the regional development through precise information about current status of
various facilities and schemes.
3. Ministry of Defence Awards of the 2015 Republic Day Parade -

 Services - Brigade of Guards Regiment and Sikh Regiment jointly judged as best marching
contingents.
 Para-Military Forces - Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) contingent
 Tableaux Category- First position won by Maharashtra, which depicted the pilgrimage to
Pandharpur. Jharkhand tableau on Maluti Temples was second best and Karnataka Tableau
was third (based on Channapatna Toys).
 Competitive category of school children items- Daang Dance of Gujarat by West Zone
Cultural Centre, Udaipur (Rajasthan).
4. Defence Research and Development Organisation got approval for building a missile launch testing
facility at a site near to Krishna Delta Complex in Andhra Pradesh. The is a nesting site of Olive
Ridley turtles which is an endangered species.
5. 30 Jan - World Laprosy Day.
6. 20th Law Commission of India headed by A P Shah submitted 253rd report Commercial Division and
Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts and Commercial Courts Bill, 2015.
7. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) released Global Investment Trend
Monitor Report to provide global investments trend in 2014 and prospects of global investments in
2015.
 Global Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows declined by 8 % in 2014 to 1.26 trillion USD
due to fragility of global economy, geopolitical risks and Political Uncertainities.
 Report in context of India
 FDI flow in India in 2014 increased to 35 billion USD (26 % Up) with maximum growth
in the services sector.
 Maximum growth in FDI in India was in services sector especially in electricity, gas,
water, waste management and information and communication
 This is one of the highest in recent years, though in 2008 FDI peaked in India with 47
billion dollars followed by 35.6 billion dollar in 2009
 Top five FDI recipients’ countries in 2014
 China is largest recipient of FDI with 3 % Increase. China replaced US that attracted
largest FDI since 1980.
 Rankings of Highest FDI Attracting Countries -
 China with 128 billion USD
 Hong Kong with 111 billion USD
 The United States with 86 billion USD
 Singapore with 81 billion USD
 Brazil with 62 billion USD
 Jan 29, 2015
1. Government reconstituted Empowered Committee for setting up of Semiconductor Wafer Fabrication
(FAB) manufacturing facilities in the country under NITI Aayog member V K Saraswat.
2. Steve Easterbrook has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Famous Fast Food Chain
McDonald’s Corporation.
3. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved proposal of HDFC Bank to raise the
foreign holding limit to 74 % (From 73.2 Currently). It will enable inflow of around 10000 crore rupees

into the country from overseas investors.CCEA also approved proposal of Drug Maker Lupin's
proposal of raising foreign holding up to 49%.
4. As per a recent report by ICC, India will Host the Twenty-20 cricket world cup in 2016 and England
will host the ODI world cup in 2019.
5. As per a recent report by Assam's Tocklai Tea Research Institute (TTRI), Assam has the potential to
produce Purple Tea which is believed to be health rich and is currently grown in Kenya Only.
6. Sean Abbott of Australia has been named as Bradman Young Cricketer for the Year 2015.
7. Music composer Shekhar sen is appointed as Chairman of the Sangeet Natak Akademi (SNA)
replacing Leela Samson.
8. Government launched Website, Logo, Vision and Mission of National Highways and Infrastructure
Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL). Site - www.nhidcl.com Logo: Building Infrastructure -
Building the Nation.
9. Justice Narayanan Nadar Paul Vasanthakumar is appointed as new Chief Justice of Jammu and
Kashmir High Court.
10. Indian Nihal Singh Agar has been honored by Order of Australia for his service to the Hindu
community in Australia and fostering cross-cultural co-operation with a focus on medical education.
11. World bank released a report named Heights: Social Inclusion and Sustainable Development in
Himachal Pradeshto mark significant growth over the past decades for Himachal
Pradesh. highlights of the Report are -
 Per capita income in Himachal Pradesh is second highest in India despite 90 % of its
residents live in rural areas. Education and share of women in the workforce is also
appreciable.
 Himachal Pradesh is first in India to have banned use of plastic bags and has set heights in
becoming free of defecation in open.
 Poverty is one-third the national average. Rural poverty decline four times to 85. % in 2011
from 36.8 % in 1993–94.
 Jan 28, 2015
1. S Jaishankar has been appointed as new Foreign Secretary of India replacing Sujata Singh.
2. Hockey Player Jaswant Singh Rajput passed away, he was part of Indian hockey team that won gold
medal in 1948 London and 1952 Helsinki Olympics.
3. K Durga Prasad is appointed as the Special Director General of CRPF (Central Reserve Police
Force).
4. Indian Badminton Player Saina Nehwal won women’s singles of Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold
Badminton Tournament 2015 after defeateing Carolina Marin of Spain in Lucknow (India).
5. Kalyan Singh has been appointed as 20th Governor of Rajasthan.
6. Maharashtra government announced to observe September 17 as ‘Industries Day’.
7. Famous Malayalam Actor Mala Aravindan passed away.
8. USA based Apple Inc recorded profit of 18 billion USD dollar in 2014 which is Highest ever profit
earned by any company in the corporate world.
1. Apple sold 74.5 million iPhones in quarter ending December 2014.

2. Revenue of the Apple Inc rose to 74.6 billion USD in 2014 from 57.6 billion USD in 2013.
3. Apple now has a cash pile up of 178 billion USD which is enough to buy IBM or the equivalent
to pay 556 USD to every American.
4. The success of Apple may be attributed to -
1. Apple's partnership in China with China Mobile Limited
2. Larger screen size of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.
3. Doubling of sales of iPhone in Singapore and Brazil and Significant rise in India as
well.
9. Bhagabatpur Crocodile Project in Sunderbans (West Bengal) has been given as fresh start with help
of renowned experts in herpetology and best global practices in crocodile conservation to increase the
number of saltwater crocodiles.
0. In past few years, project did not see a significant increase in the number of salt-water
crocodiles. The eggs to hatching ratio also declined to 40 per 100 eggs collected.
10. Wing Commander Puja Thakur became first lady officer to lead Inter-Service Guard of Honour with
theme - "Nari Shakti".
 Jan 27, 2015
1. Divya Prakash Sinha appointed as Security Secretary in the Union Cabinet Secretariat.
2. Poet Arundhathi Subramaniam has been given the first Khushwant Singh Memorial Prize for her
work When God is a Traveller at Jaipur Literature Festival.
3. Libby Lane has been named as Church of England’s first female bishop.
4. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for Supervisory
Cooperation and Exchange of Supervisory Information with Brazil’s Central Bank, Banco Central do
Brasil (BCB).
5. Famous Greek Singer Demis Roussos passed away.
 Jan 26, 2015
1. 26 Jan, 2015 - India celebrated Its 66th Republic Day. USA President Barack Obama was the chief
guest of the ceremony.
2. Famous Cartoonist R K Laxman Passed Away.
3. Paulina Vega of Colombia has been named as winner of Miss Universe 2015 beauty pageant held in
Miami (USA).
4. Major Mukund Varadarajan and Naik Neeraj Singh Posthumously Awarded Ashok Chakra during the
66th Republic day celebrations.
5. Alexis Tsipras is appointed as Prime Minister of Greece after his party SYRIZA won the Greek
General Election Results.
 Jan 25, 2015
1. USA President Barack Obama Arrived in India for attending Celebrations and Parade of India's 66th
Republic day.
2. Reserve Bank of India lifted ban on carrying bank notes of Indian Rs 1000 and 500 to Nepal and
Bhutan.

 Jan 24, 2015
1. India's State Bank of India (SBI) signed a 100 million Euro loan agreement with European Investment
Bank (EIB).
2. 24 January - National Girl Child Day.
3. PM Narendra Modi presented National Bravery Awards 2014 to 24 awardees.
4. Indo-Russian Musical Festival ZimaFest 2015 has been hosted by Goa.
5. Padam Awards 2015 - Total 104 Padma Awards have been conferred this year (9 Padma Vibhushan,
20 Padma Bhushan and 75 Padma Shri)
 Padma Vibhushan

S. No. Name of the Awardee Discipline State/Domicile
1. Shri L. K. Advani Public Affairs Gujarat
2. Shri Amitabh Bachchan Art Maharashtra
3. Shri Prakash Singh Badal Public Affairs Punjab
4. Dr. D. Veerendra Heggade Social Work Karnataka
5.
Shri Mohammad Yusuf Khan alias Dilip
Kumar
Art Maharashtra
6.
Shri Jagadguru Ramanandacharya Swami
Rambhadracharya
Others Uttar Pradesh
7. Prof. Malur Ramaswamy Srinivasan Science and Engineering Tamil Nadu
8. Shri Kottayan K. Venugopal Public Affairs Delhi
9.
Shri Karim Al Hussaini Aga Khan
(Foreigner)
Trade and Industry France/UK
 Padma Bhushan

1. Shri Jahnu Barua Art Assam
2. Dr. Vijay Bhatkar Science and Engineering Maharashtra
3. Shri Swapan Dasgupta Literature and Education Delhi
4. Swami Satyamitranand Giri Others Uttar Pradesh
5. Shri N. Gopalaswami Civil Service Tamil Nadu
6. Dr. Subhash C. Kashyap Public Affairs Delhi
7. Dr. (Pandit) Gokulotsavji Maharaj Art Madhya Pradesh
8. Dr. Ambrish Mithal Medicine Delhi
9. Smt. Sudha Ragunathan Art Tamil Nadu
10. Shri Harish Salve Public Affairs Delhi
11. Dr. Ashok Seth Medicine Delhi
12. Shri Rajat Sharma Literature and Education Delhi
13. Shri Satpal Sports Delhi
14. Shri Shivakumara Swami Others Karnataka
15. Dr. Kharag Singh Valdiya Science and Engineering Karnataka
16. Prof. Manjul Bhargava(NRI/PIO) Science and Engineering USA

17. Shri David Frawley (Vamadeva)(Foreigner) Others USA
18. Shri Bill Gates(Foreigner) Social Work USA
19. Ms. Melinda Gates(Foreigner) Social Work USA
20. Shri Saichiro Misumi(Foreigner) Others Japan
 Padma Shri
1. Dr. Manjula Anagani Medicine Telangana
2. Shri S. Arunan Science and Engineering Karnataka
3. Ms. Kanyakumari Avasarala Art Tamil Nadu
4. Dr. Bettina Sharada Baumer Literature and Education Jammu and Kashmir
5. Shri Naresh Bedi Art Delhi
6. Shri Ashok Bhagat Social Work Jharkhand
7. Shri Sanjay Leela Bhansali Art Maharashtra
8. Dr. Lakshmi Nandan Bora Literature and Education Assam
9. Dr. Gyan Chaturvedi Literature and Education Madhya Pradesh
10. Prof. (Dr.) Yogesh Kumar Chawla Medicine Chandigarh
11. Smt. Jayakumari Chikkala Medicine Delhi
12. Shri Bibek Debroy Literature and Education Delhi
13. Dr. Sarungbam Bimola Kumari Devi Medicine Manipur
14. Dr. Ashok Gulati Public Affairs Delhi
15. Dr. Randeep Guleria Medicine Delhi
16. Dr. K. P. Haridas Medicine Kerala
17. Shri Rahul Jain Art Delhi
18. Shri Ravindra Jain Art Maharashtra
19. Dr. Sunil Jogi Literature and Education Delhi
20. Shri Prasoon Joshi Art Maharashtra
21. Dr. Prafulla Kar Art Odisha
22. Ms. Saba Anjum Sports Chhattisgarh
23. Smt. Ushakiran Khan Literature and Education Bihar
24. Dr. Rajesh Kotecha Medicine Rajasthan
25. Prof. Alka Kriplani Medicine Delhi
26. Dr. Harsh Kumar Medicine Delhi
27. Shri Narayana Purushothama Mallaya Literature and Education Kerala
28. Shri Lambert Mascarenhas Literature and Education Goa
29. Dr. (Mrs.) Janak Palta McGilligan Social Work Madhya Pradesh
30. Shri Veerendra Raj Mehta Social Work Delhi
31. Shri Tarak Mehta Art Gujarat
32. Shri Neil Herbert Nongkynrih Art Meghalaya
33. Shri Chewang Norphel Others Jammu and Kashmir
34. Shri T. V. Mohandas Pai Trade and Industry Karnataka
35. Dr.Tejas Patel Medicine Gujarat
36. Shri Jadav Molai Peyang Others Assam
37. Smt. Bimla Poddar Other Uttar Pradesh
38. Dr. N. Prabhakar Science and Engineering Delhi

39. Dr. Prahalada Science and Engineering Maharashtra
40. Dr. Narendra Prasad Medicine Bihar
41. Shri Ram Bahadur Rai Literature and Education Delhi
42. Ms. Mithali Raj Sports Telangana
43. Shri P. V. Rajaraman Civil Service Tamil Nadu
44. Prof. J. S. Rajput Literature and Education Uttar Pradesh
45. Shri Kota Srinivasa Rao Art Andhra Pradesh
46. Prof. Bimal Roy Literature and Education West Bengal
47. Shri Shekhar Sen Art Maharashtra
48. Shri Gunvant Shah Literature and Education Gujarat
49. Shri Brahmdev Sharma (Bhaiji) Literature and Education Delhi
50. Shri Manu Sharma Literature and Education Uttar Pradesh
51. Prof. Yog Raj Sharma Medicine Delhi
52. Shri Vasant Shastri Science and Engineering Karnataka
53. Shri S. K. Shivkumar Science and Engineering Karnataka
54. Ms. P. V. Sindhu Sports Telangana
55. Shri Sardara Singh Sports Haryana
56. Ms. Arunima Sinha Sports Uttar Pradesh
57. Shri Mahesh Raj Soni Art Rajasthan
58. Dr.Nikhil Tandon Medicine Delhi
59. Shri H. Thegtse Rinpoche Social Work Arunachal Pradesh
60. Dr.Hargovind Laxmishanker Trivedi Medicine Gujarat
61. Shri Huang Baosheng(Foreigner) Others China
62. Prof. Jacques Blamont(Foreigner) Science and Engineering France
63.
Late Shri Syedna Mohammad
Burhanuddin(Posthumous)
Others Maharashtra
64. Shri Jean-Claude Carriere(Foreigner) Literature and Education France
65. Dr. Nandrajan “Raj” Chetty(NRI/PIO) Trade and Industry USA
66. Shri George L. Hart(Foreigner) Others USA
67.
Jagat Guru Amrta Suryananda Maha
Raja(NRI/PIO)
Others Portugal
68. Late Shri Meetha Lal Mehta (Posthumous) Social Work Rajasthan
69. Ms. Tripti Mukherjee(NRI/PIO) Art USA
70. Dr. Dattatreyudu Nori(NRI/PIO) Medicine USA
71. Dr. Raghu Rama Pillarisetti(NRI/PIO) Medicine USA
72. Dr. Saumitra Rawat(NRI/PIO) Medicine UK
73. Prof. Annette Schmiedchen(Foreigner) Literature and Education Germany
74.
Late Shri Pran Kumar Sharma alias
Pran(Posthumous)
Art Delhi
75. Late Shri R. Vasudevan(Posthumous) Civil Service Tamil Nadu
 Jan 23, 2015
1. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Vsited Davos (Switzerland).
2. M K Goel has been appointed as Chairman of PFC (Power Finance Corporation).
3. Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is named as new King of Saudi Arabia after King Abdullah bin
Abdulaziz passed away.

4. India's First international institute dedicated to music is to be opened in Kerala.
5. United Nation (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Indian sociologist Saraswathi Menon
in a Panel for reviewing peace building activities.
 Jan 22, 2015
1. Indian Novelist Vikram Chandra is named among the finalists for National Book Critics Circle (NBCC)
Awards of US for his non-fiction work Geek Sublime: The Beauty of Code, the Code of Beauty.
2. Dubai’s 55-storey tall Maze Tower has been listed in Guinness World Record as world’s largest
vertical maze.
3. Bibek Debroy is appointed as a Member of NITI Aayog.
4. PM Narendra Modi launched Sukanya Samridhi Yojana small deposit scheme for girl child under Beti
Bachao Beti Padhaocampaign. It will ensure equitable share to a girl child in resources and savings of
a family and will enable parents to open bank accounts of girls who are under 10 years of age with an
interest rate of 9.1 %.
5. Indian Jasjit Ahluwalia has been appointed as Dean of School of Public Health at the Rutgers
University in the US.
6. Neither a Hawk nor a Dove is written by Pakistan's Ex-Foreign Minister Khurshid M Kasuri.
 Jan 21, 2015
1. Famous mobile messaging application WhatsApp launched a new service for sending messages from
a Web browser.
2. Committee headed by Shanta Kumar submitted report on restructuring of Food Corporation of India
(FCI) and suggested to focus procurement on eastern belt and hand over procurement of wheat and
rice to six States - Punjab, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Odisha.
3. International Labour Organisation (ILO) released a report titled World Employment and Social Outlook
- Trends 2015 -
0. The report stated that unemployment will rise in the coming years to more than 212 million in
2019 as compared to 201 million currently.
4. Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and China's e-commerce firm Alibaba signed an agreement to
provide global platform to Indian small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
5. Sikkim government signed Memorandum of Understanding with Netherlands and Thailand for
development of floriculture.
6. European Union decided to lift a seven-month-long ban on the import of mangoes from India on
account of health concerns.
 Jan 20, 2015
1. India's National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
with Black Business Council of South Africa for developing youth enterprises and empower the
marginalized group in South Africa through NSIC's Rapid Incubation Programme.
2. Andhra Pradesh government launched 17 Skill Development Centres (SDC) for training and honing
skills of youth and help them select the course at the time of entering college and provide source of
information for employment.

3. Periyar Tiger Reserve, spread over 925 sq.km. in Kerala, has won the National Tiger Conservation
Authority (NTCA) biennial award for encouraging local public participation in managing the reserve.
4. Samsung India Electronics and NMDC (National Mineral Development Corporation) have been
awarded the ‘Golden Peacock Award for Corporate Social Responsibility 2014’ for its initiatives for
children’s education and skill development.
5. Indian Government's Jan Dhan Yojana has been included in Guinness Book of World Records for
Opening of About 11.5 Crore Bank Accounts in short span of About five months. It makes way for
government's ambitious plan to transfer annual subsidy directly to bank accounts of more than 15
crore beneficiaries to remove system leakages.
6. As per IMF (International Monetary Fund) Report -
0. India's GDP Growth Rate in 2016 will be 6.5 %, It will surpass China's Expected growth rate
of 6.3 % in 2016.
0. India VS China GDP Growth Rates -
1.
Year India China
2013 5 7.8
2014 5.8 7.4
2015 6.3 6.8
2016 (Expected) 6.5 6.3
2. As per recent Reports, Number of Tigers in India has risen by 30% up to 2226 from 1706 in
2010. Nearly 70% of world's Tigers are in India. Karnataka has most number of tigers (406)
followed by Uttarakhand (340) and Madhya Pradesh (308).
o Jan 19, 2015
1. Evans Paul Assumed Office as 18th Prime Minister of Haiti (Caribbean country).
2. Filmmaker Pahlaj Nihalani has been appointed as Chairman of Central Board of Film
Certification (CBFC).
3. United Nations World Economic Situation and Prospectus Report 2015 -
1. India 's GDP growth will rise to 5.9 % in 2014-2015 and 6.3 % in 2016, recovery is
credited to key reforms by the new Government led by PM Narendra Modi.
2. Economic growth in South Asia will pick up from 4.9 % in 2014 to 5.4 % in 2015 and
5.7 % in 2016.
3. Global economy is expected to grow at 3.1 % in 2015 and 3.3 % in 2016, compared
with growth of 2.6 % in 2014.
4. The WESP report is produced at the beginning of each year by the UN Department of
Economic and Social Affairs, the UN Conference on Trade and Development
(UNCTAD), the five UN regional commissions and the World Tourism Organisation (
UNWTO).
4. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar commissioned four Indian Coast Guard (ICG) patrolling
and interception vessels in Goa. These are two fast patrol vessels - ICG Amogh and ICG
Amey and two interceptor boats Charlie 413 and Charlie 414.
5. Oil & Natural Gas Corporation won 10th Savio Cup All India Basketball tournament by
defeating Indian Overseas Bank.

6. Prime Minister of Bhutan Lyonchhen Tshering Tobgay visited India with his spouse Aum
Tashi Doma, Foreign Minister Rinzin Dorji and Economic Affairs Minister Norbu Wangchuk.
7. Relbanks issued list of 66 largest banks in the world by market Capitalization.
1. India's HDFC was ranked 45th with 41.58 USD Market Capitalization. SBI was ranked
51st with 36.40 USD and ICICI was 55th with 33.42 USD Market Cap.
2. Wells Fargo & Co. of US is first with market cap of 284.39 Billion USD and Industrial
& Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) of China is second with market cap of 269.70
Billion USD.
8. Hyderabad (Telangana) will host World Congress on Information Technology in 2018 with
theme Future of enterprises.
9. Pankaj Advani won his seventh National Billiards Championship in Kolkata after defeateding
Dhruv Sitwala.
10. Pachim Bekeli Village of Assam has been adopted by Former Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh under Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojna (SAGY). He represents Assam in the Rajya Sabha.
11. Eminent Indian-American entrepreneur and philanthropist, Frank Islam, has been honored by
prestigious Martin Luther King Jr Award for his efforts in international service and civil
engagement.
o Jan 18, 2015
1. Foreign direct investment (FDI) into India declined by over 6 % in November 2014 to USD
1.53 billion as compared to USD 1.63 billion FDI In November 2013. However, for the April-
November period of the ongoing fiscal, FDI grew by 22 per cent to USD 18.88 billion as
against USD 15.45 billion in the same period a fiscal before, according to the Department of
Industrial Policy and Promotion data.
o Jan 17, 2015
1. Jammu and Kashmir has been selected for National Award for e-Governance for the best
district-level initiative in Citizen-Centric Service Delivery through ICT.
2. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Chairman R.K. Tyagi has been conferred with JGBS-
Top Rankers' Excellence Award for CEO of 2014.
3. South Africa’s cricketer AB de Villiers hit fastest century in One-Day International (ODI)
cricket in Just 31 Balls against West Indies.
4. Deep Kumar Upadhyay is appointed as Nepal's ambassador to India.
5. Sydney International Tennis tournament
 Men's Singles - Viktor Troicki of Serbia won by defeating Mikhail Kukushkin of
Kazakhstan.
 Women's Singles - Cetra Kvitova of Czech Republic won by defeating Karolina
Pliskova of Czech Republic.
 Women's Doubles - Sania Mirza and Bethanie Mattek-Sands of US won by beating
Americans Abigail Spears and Raquel Kops-Jones.
6. 21st Screen Awards -
 Best Actor - Shahid Kapoor (Haider)
 Best Actress - Priyanka Chopra (Mary Kom)
 Best Film - Queen
 Best Director - Vikas Bahl
 Lifetime Achievement Award - Hema Malini
7. Government launched two schemes to support the Scheduled Castes (SC). Named Venture
Capital Fund for Scheduled Castes and Green Business scheme.

 Venture Capital Fund - Financial assistance of 15 Crore rupees for 6 years will be
provided to 30 SC entrepreneurs in a year. Initial capital is 200 crore rupees
 Green Business - loan for up to 1 lakh rupees at concessional interest rate will be
provided to Scheduled Castes for activities such as e-rickshaw, Solar Pump and
Solar energy powered implements, poly house etc.
8. Stephen Constantine has been appointed as head coach of Indian men’s football team.
9. Legendary social activist and freedom fighter Ghelubhai Naik passed away.
10. Weightlifter Jimjang Deru of Arunachal Pradesh created national record in weightlifting by
lifting 238 kilograms in 56 kilograms category during 10th Youth National Weightlifting
Championships in Haryana.
11. International Hockey Federation (FIH) Player of the Year 2014 -
0. Men - Mark Knowles (Australia)
1. Women - Ellen Hoog (Netherland)
12. 2014 has been ranked as Earth’s hottest year since 1880 as per analyses done by National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA). Global average temperature for 2014 was 1.24°F (or 0.69°C) warmer
than the 20th-century average.
13. Japan announced to provide an Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) loan of 2620 crore
rupees to India.
o Jan 16, 2015
1. India's Trade deficit (Imports - Exports) declined to ten month low of 9.43 billion USd in
December 2014 mainly due to fall down of global oil prices and fall of demand for
gold. Imports declined by 4.8 % to 34.8 billion USD in December 2014 as compared to 36.6
billion USD dollars in December 2013. Exports fell by 3.8 % to 25.4 billion USD.
2. Actor Amitabh Bachchan has been presented with Social Media Person of Year 2015 award
by Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI).
3. Renowned Indian RTI activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal has been given the Giraffe Hero
award 2015 by a US-based NGO The Giraffe Heroes Project for his bravery in utilising Right
to Information (RTI) Act, 2005 for public good despite challenges.
o Jan 15, 2015
1. 15 Jan, 2015 - 67th Indian Army Day.
2. Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) imposed penalty of 100 crore rupees on Riddhi
Siddhi Bullion Limited (RSBL) for violation of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) norms.
3. In the sixth Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy Statement 2014-15, Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
announced cut in REPO rate of .25%.Now the REPO rate has come down to 7.75%.
Accordingly, Reverse Repo rate has come down to 6.75%, Bank rate to 8.75% and Marginal
Standing Facility (MSF) rate to 8.75%. Note that CRR (Cash Reserve Ratio) is unchanged at
4% and SLR (Statutory Liquidity Ratio) is unchanged at 23%.
4. Baba Ramdev is named as state brand ambassador for Haryana Government.
5. Anupam Shrivastava is appointed as Chief Managing Director of BSNL (Bharat Sanchar
Nigam Limited).
6. Harishankar Brahma is appointed as 19th Chief Election Commissioner of India.
7. Spanish writer Javier Moro's Book 'The Red Sari' - biography of Congress President Sonia
Gandhi released in India.
8. Idukki district of Kerala became first district in India to have complete rural broadband
coverage after it was linked to the National Optic Fiber Network.

9. Prabhu Nath Dwivedi has been named as winner of Sahitya Akademi Award for Sanskrit,
2014 for his short stories collection - Kanakalochanaha.
10. World Bank Group released bi-annual Global Economic Prospects (GEP) Report, 2015. -
0. Economic growth of India estimated at 5.6 % in 2014, will improve to 6.4 % in 2015
and 7 % in 2016.
1. Global economy grew by 2.6 % in 2014 and is expected to grow by 3 % in 2015, 3.3
% in 2016 and 3.2 % in 2017.
2. USA has growth above 2.4 % in 2014, expected to grow at 3.2 % in 2015 and 3 % in
2016.
3. China’s growth is expected to come down to 7.1 % in 2015, 7 % in 2016 and 6.9 % in
2017.
o Jan 14, 2015
1. Government reconstituted Pollution Control Board Working Group to simplify procedures to
get consent certificates and categorisation of industries. The Working Group comprising of 11
members will be headed by Ayi Vaman N Acharya.
2. Indian open water swimmer Bhakti Sharma set a world record by swimming 1.4 miles in 52
minutes in one degree temperature in the Antarctic Ocean. 24-year old Bhakti is the first
Asian girl and youngest in the world to do this.
3. Sport Education Development Australia (SEDA) and India's Infrastructure Leasing and
Financial Services Limited (IL-FS) signed an Memorandum of Understanding during
Australian Minister for Trade and Investment Andrew Robb's Visit to India.
4. Japan approved largest budget ever for 2015 of total 814 Billion USD. The defence budget
was also enhanced to an all time high of 43 Billion USD.
5. NGO Pratham released 10th Annual Status of Education Report (ASER 2014).
6. India - China trade deficit increased to 37.8 billion USD in 2014. Although the bilateral trade
was increased to 70.59 USD (Hike of 7.9 %).
0. India China Trade was USD 73.9 billion in 2011, 66.57 billion in 2012, 65.57 billion in
2013 and 65.49 billion USD in 2013.
1. China’s export to India in 2014 was 54.2 billion USD and India’s exports to China was
16.4 billion USD. The trade target of India China was 100 billion USD for 2014.
o Jan 13, 2015
1. India’s Mars Orbiter programme team has won the 2015 Space Pioneer Award in the science
and engineering category from the US based National Space Society (NSS).
2. 72nd Golden Globe Awards were presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in
California, US. Boyhood was the the biggest winner that won Best Motion Picture, Best
Director for Richard Linklater, and Best Supporting Actress for Patricia Arquette. More...
1.
Category Name Film
Best Motion Picture - Drama IFC Productions and Detour
Filmproduction
Boyhood
Best Actor - Drama Eddie Redmayne The Theory Of Everything
Best Actress - Drama Julianne Moore Still Alice

Best Supporting Actor - Drama JK Simmons Whiplash
Best Supporting Actress - Drama Patricia Arquette Boyhood
Best Director - Drama Richard Linklater Boyhood
Best Motion Picture - Comedy / Musical American Empirical Picture;
Fox Searchlight Pictures
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best actor - Comedy or Musical Michael Keaton Birdman
Best actress – Comedy or Musical Amy Adams Big Eyes
Best Television Series–Drama Showtime Presents, Sheleg,
Higlewater
The Affair
Best Television Series- Comedy or Musical Amazon Studios Instant Video Transparent
1. Portugese Footballer who plays for Real Madrid Club, Cristiano Ronaldo won the 2014 FIFA
Ballon d’Or award for the best footballer of the year in the world.
2. Central Banking Awards 2015 announced by the Central Banking Publications-
1. Governor of the Year Award: Raghuram Rajan, RBI Governor
2. Central Bank of the Year award: The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ)
3. Lifetime Achievement Award: Jacques de Larosiere former Governor of the Banque
de France (1987–1993)
4. Economics in Central Banking (inaugural award): Claudio Borio, head of the
monetary and economic department at the Bank for International Settlements
o Jan 12, 2015
1. Surendra Kumar Sinha has been appointed as First Hindu Chief Justice of Bangladesh.
2. Kiran Kumar Alur Seelin has been appointed as new chief of ISRO (Indian Space Research
Organization).
3. 12 Jan - National Youth Day.
4. US will host an international Anti-terror Summit in Washington in February 2015 to prevent
terrorism.
5. Andhra Pradesh government constituted Fourth State Finance Commission under the
Chairmanship of M L Kantha Rao.
6. Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic on won 2015 Presidential elections of Croatia and she will be
croatia's First Female President.
o Jan 11, 2015
1. Switzerland Tennis Player Roger Federer claimed his 1000th ATP career win at the Brisbane
International by defeating Canadian Milos Raonic. It was 1000th win and 83rd title of his
career.
2. An advanced Electronic Warfare (EW) suite made by Defence Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO) was successfully tested on Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas-PV1.
3. Thomas Kurian Is appointed as New President of Oracle Corporation.
4. Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2015 was inaugurated in Gandhinagar, Gujarat to be held from 11th
to 13th January 2015.
o Jan 10, 2015
1. Jan 10 - World Hindi Day.

2. Australia's Trade and Investment Minister Andrew Robb Visited India.
3. Chinese nuclear physicist Yu Min was was given the State Preeminent Science and
Technology Award 2014 by Chinese President Xi Jinping for his research in nuclear weapons
since 1960s.
4. M.Y.S.Prasad, director of Satish Dhawan Space Centre, has been awarded the Vikram
Sarabhai Memorial Award for 2014-2015 by the Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA).
5. Sindhushree Khullar has been appointed as First CEO of NITI Aayog and Arvind Panagariya
has been appointed as Vice Chairman.
o Jan 09, 2015
1. PM Narendra Modi inaugurated Dandi Kutir museum in Gandhinagar, Gujarat during the 13th
Pravasi Bhartiya Divas (PBD). to mark the 100th anniversary of MK Gandhi's return to India
from South Africa. A Commemorative Postal stamp was also released on this occasion.
2. Mithripala Sirisena won 2015 Presidential Elections of Sri Lanka. He will be 7th President of
Sri Lanka.
3. President rule was imposed in Jammu and Kashmir (J &K) on the recommendation of the
Governor of Jammu and Kashmir N N Vohra due to deadlock over the formation of the new
government. Note that Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election were held in five
phases in December 2014. In the Assembly election, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) won
28 seats, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 25 and National Congress (NC) won 15 seats.
4. Vistara airline, a joint venture of Tata-SIA, started its flight operation in India with first flight
from Delhi to Mumbai.
5. All-women contingent of Indian army will march for the first time on 2015 Republic Day (RD)
parade.
6. India will provide 60 million USD Line of Credit (LoC) to Guyana for its road infrastructure
projects.
7. Raksha Blu vaccine was launched by Indian Immunologicals Limited (IIL), (Telangana) To
counter the bluetongue disease.
8. The Lunchbox has been nominated for British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA)
Awards 2015 under non-English best film category. The film is the only Indian film to be
nominated for 2015 BAFTA Awards.
9. Book The Indian Parliament – A Critical Appraisal has been written by Sudha Pai and Avinash
Kumar.
10. New antibiotic Teixobactin has been discovered by a team of scientists from Northeastern
University in Massachusetts. This antibiotic is capable of fighting infections that kill several
people each year.
11. India provided 7 Crore rupees Assistance to Nepal for Nepal's Iodine Deficiency Disorder
Control Programme (IDDCP) for goitre control across the country.
1. Goitre is swelling of neck or larynx due to enlargement of thyroid gland (thyromegaly)
due to its functioning properly.
o Jan 08, 2015
1. Modibo Keita has been named as New Prime Minister of Mali by President Ibrahim Boubacar
Keïta.
2. Yash Pal Singhal has been appointed as new Director General of Police (DGP) of Haryana.
3. French weekly magazine Charlie Hebdo’s Paris office was attacked by Terrorists reportedly
due to the aggressive history of Charlie Hebdo and Publishing of Cartoons of Islamic Prophet
Mohammed.

4. Ministry for Social Justice & Empowerment launched national toll free helpline (1800-11-0031)
to assist the alcoholic and drug dependent persons.
5. Australia’s national airline Qantas has been named as the world’s safest airline by
AirlineRatings.com.
6. India will host the 42nd World Bridge Championships in Chennai.
7. Government allowed fertiliser firms to produce 100 % Neem-Coated Urea to boost income of
farmers and reducing subsidy bill by up to 6500 crore rupees.
1. Neem coated urea
1. Neem coated urea works as insecticide. It costs 5 % more than the cost of
normal urea which is about 260 rupees per tonne.
2. It will reduce ground and soil pollution, increase crop yields and will lower
cost for the farmers.
3. It reduces nitrogen loss by more than 10 % thereby gaining a net savings of
13.5 rupees per bag for farmers.
o Jan 07, 2015
1. Dinesh Oraon of Bharatiya Janata Party has been elected as Speaker of Jharkhand
Legislative Assembly
2. Pakistan Parliament passed 21st Constitution Amendment Bill 2015 and the Pakistan Army
(Amendment) Bill 2015 to make way for establishment of military courts in the country.
3. Indian Person Atul Khare has been appointed as United Nations Under-Secretary General.
4. ICICI Bank launched India’s first contactless debit and credit cards using Near Field
Technology enabling payments by just waving the card near merchant terminals instead of
swiping them
5. Government released commemorative coin to mark 175th birth anniversary of Jamsetji Tata.
6. Avijit Ghosh appointed as CMD of Heavy Engineering Corporation.
7. Popov Ivan of Russia won 7th Chennai International Open Grandmaster Chess title.
8. Russian President Vladimir Putin approved foreign soldiers to serve in Russian Military for at
least five years.
9. Ishpreet Singh Chadha of Maharashtra won National Sub-Junior Snooker title 2015 defeating
Shobhit Sethi of Punjab.
o Jan 06, 2015
1. Google’s CEO Larry Page has named as the ‘business person of the year’ for 2014 by
Fortune magazine.
2. Justice Mohammad Yaqoob Mir as the Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court.
3. International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) launched
GreenPHABLET for small farmers to help them purchase inputs at lower price, get a better
price for their produce, and link them to markets.
4. SnoopSnitch Android app launched in Chaos Computer Congress’ annual meeting in
Germany. The app can detect International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) catchers so as
to inform a person that someone is spying on him.
5. S Shrikrishna won National Sub-Junior Billiards title berating Ishpreet Singh Chadha of
Maharashtra.
6. Government approved to set up India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) in Tamil Nadu
7. P Krishnamurthy is appointed as Private Secretary of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.

8. RBI allowed Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs)/Registered Foreign Portfolios Investors
(RFPIs) to buy up to 49 % of paid-up capital of Bajaj Corp Ltd under Portfolio Investment
Scheme (PIS).
o Jan 05, 2015
1. Andy Murray (Scotland) won ATP World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi after Serbian
Novak Djokovic withdrew from finals due to illness.
2. International Hindi Conference will be held in New Jersey (USA) in April 2015 with
theme Expanding World of Hindi: Possibilities and Challenges.
3. Jiji Thomson resigned as Director General of Sports Authority of India (SAI).
4. Scientists of UK's University of Southampton are planning to grow lettuce on Mars in 2018
under ProjectLettuceOnMars.
5. China's submersible Jiaolong started exploration for active hydrothermal vent for first time in
southwestern Indian Ocean.
6. Sutirtha Bhattacharya took charge as Chairman and Managing Director of Coal India Limited.
7. Arvind Panagariya has been appointed as Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog that replaced
Planning Commission. Sindhushree Khullar has been appointed as CEO of NITI Aayog.
o Jan 04, 2015
1. Boxing India has been recognised as governing body for representing boxing in India.
o Jan 03, 2015
1. ICICI Bank launched Digital Village Project in Akodara Village of Gujarat to provide various
services from cashless banking to digitised school teaching with themes - cashless,
comprehensive and connected.
2. PM Narendra Modi Inaugerated 102nd session of Indian Science Congress (ISC) at
University of Mumbai.
3. Kiran Bhai Vadodaria has been elected as President of the Indian Newspaper Society (INS)
for 2014-2015.
4. Sri Lankan cricketer Kumar Sangakkara became fastest cricketer to score 12000 Test runs.
5. Government accepted recommendations of M P Bezbaruah committee to look into concerns
of people of the the North East states living in other parts of the country.
6. RBI Relaxed Know Your Customers (KYC) rules for Non-Banking Financial Companies
(NBFCs) due to difficulties being faced by NBFCs in getting KYC documents at frequent
intervals. Now, the KYC exercise will be required to be done -
1. High-risk individuals and entities - Every 2 years
2. Medium risk individuals and entities - Every 8 years
3. Low risk individuals and entities - Every 10 years
7. Amitabh Bachchan has been conferred with the second Yash Chopra Memorial Award.
o Jan 02, 2015
1. A.K. Mittal has been appointed as Chairman of Railway Board replacing Arunendra Kumar.
2. Government appointed M Sathiyavathy as First Women Director General of Civil Aviation
(DGCA).
3. Beji Caid Essebsi has been appointed as President of Tunisia.
4. Government launched women safety mobile app called Himmat.
5. Maharashtra government launched online Facility for filling Right to Information (RTI)
application.
6. Koppillil Radhakrishnan Retired as Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
o Jan 01, 2015

1. President signed bill for creating new system of appointment of judges to Supreme and High
Courts by forming National Judicial Appointment Commission (NJAC) to replace collegium
system of appointing judges to higher judiciary by six-member panel comprising Chief Justice
of India, two Supreme Court judges, Law Minister and 2 eminent persons.
2. British government honored Indian Fauja Singh by prestigious British Empire medal for being
world's oldest marathon runner
3. Government Scrapped Planning Commission (Formed in 1950) and created National Institute
of Transforming India (NITI) Aayog.
4. South American Country Venezuela entered recession with shrinking economic growth and
Recession Jumping upto 63%.

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