DAILY GK UPDATE -- NOVEMBER 2015 -- 1 TO 100 -- bankersadda.com

NOVEMBER 2015  DAILY GK UPDATE

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1. BrahMos missile test-fired from Indian Navy's stealth destroyer INS Kochi, hits target

i. Supersonic cruise missile BrahMos, with a strike-range of over 290 kms, was test-fired from the navy's newest stealth destroyer INS Kochi successfully hitting a decommissioned target ship in the Arabian Sea.

ii. The second of Project 15A 'Kolkata-class' guided missile destroyers test-fired the advanced missile system as part of 'Acceptance Test Firing' during a naval drill being conducted along the country's west coast.

iii. The world's fastest cruise missile, after performing high-level and extremely complex manoeuvres, successfully hit decommissioned target ship 'Alleppey' located at a distance covering nearly the full range of the missile with high precision, defence officials said.

iv. The navy commissioned INS Kochi on September 30, this year. The 7,500-ton indigenously developed warship incorporates new design concepts for improved survivability, stealth, sea-keeping and manoeuvrability.

v. The warship has the advanced capability of carrying a total of 16 BrahMos missiles in two 8-cell vertical launch systems, besides other sophisticated weapons and sensors.

2. Punjab to set up bio-ethanol refinery

i. In what a major step towards tackling the menace of wheat and paddy straw burning in Punjab, the State government on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for setting up a bio-ethanol refinery.

ii. The MoU was inked with a consortium of Beta Renewables, Novozymes and CVC India Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. for an estimated project worth Rs. 950 crore, during the Progressive Punjab Investor Summit, 2015.

iii. Punjab’s Renewable Energy Minister Bikram Singh Majithia said the bio-refinery could solve the chronic problem of straw burning, besides helping the farmers who would be paid for the agro-based produce. It would also help in containing the loss of fertility and damage to environment, the Minister and industry players at the summit said.

iv. During the summit, 12 other MoUs worth Rs. 21,305 crore were also signed. These include 300 MW solar plant and 150 MW solar plant with Neuron Power Solutions Pvt. Ltd., Biomass Power Plant by Sukhbir Agro Energy Ltd., 100 MW waste-to-energy projects by AG Dauters Consulting Pvt. Ltd., 100 MW power generation unit by Navrattan Group, Co-Generation power plant by Indian Sucrose Ltd. and 50 MW solar power plant by Imperial Solution Pvt. Ltd.

3. Ex-Cabinet Secy. to head panel on new education policy

i. Former Cabinet secretary T.S.R. Subramanian has been appointed chairperson of a committee set up by the Human Resource Development Ministry to draft the new education policy.

ii. The committee, which has been mandated to submit the draft of the new policy no later than December 31, 2015, also has on board Shailaja Chandra, former Chief Secretary, NCT of Delhi; Sewaram Sharma, former Home Secretary, NCT of Delhi; Sudhir Mankad, former Chief Secretary of Gujarat, and J.S. Rajput, former Director, NCERT.

iii. The National University of Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA) will act as its Secretariat, the Ministry said in a statement.

4. AK Jha takes over as CMD, Mahanadi Coalfields Limited

i. Anil Kumar Jha today took over the charge of Chairman-cum-Managing Director of Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL), a leading subsidiary of Coal India.

ii. Jha, with 32 years of industrial experience, was Director (Production & Planning) in MOIL Limited before assuming the charge, MCL said in a release. 

iii. The officer brings with him a rich and diverse experience of mine planning, production, management supervision, direction and control of underground as well as open cast coal mines, it said. 

iv. M-Tech in Mine Planning and Design from the Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad, with distinction, Jha started his career from the Ranchi-headquartered Coal India subsidiary Central Coalfields Limited (CCL) in 1983. 

5. Hero MotoCorp's Brijmohan Lall Munjal, doyen of India's 2-wheeler industry, passes away

i. Hero MotoCorp patriarch and doyen of Indian two-wheeler industry, Brijmohan Lall Munjal, passed away this evening after a brief illness. He was 92.

ii. Munjal passed away at a private hospital in South Delhi, according to family sources. He is survived by three sons and one daughter. The cremation will be done tomorrow.

iii. Munjal had retired from active role and become Chairman Emeritus of the over $4-billion group earlier this year and remained on the board of the company as non-executive member.

iv. The Hero Group, which officially came into existence in 1956, had started its activities in the early 1940s as a bicycle-maker run by the four brothers.

v. Munjal was born in 1923 at Kamalia in present-day Pakistan. After India’s independence, the Munjal brothers started a small business of manufacturing bicycle components in Ludhiana and went on to build one of the largest business groups in the country.

6. Reliance Communications to merge Sistema Shyam Tele with itself

i. Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communications Ltd (R-Com) is merging the telecom business of Sistema Shyam Teleservices Ltd (SSTL) that operates MTS brand with itself in an all-stock deal worth Rs.4,500 crore, marking the start of the much-anticipated consolidation in India’s telecom sector.

ii. R-Com on Monday signed a definitive agreement with Sistema JSFC, a publicly-traded holding company in Russia, for demerger of SSTL. As a result, SSTL will acquire and hold a 10% equity stake in R-Com.

iii. R-Com will also take over the liability to pay the department of telecommunications (DoT) instalments for SSTL’s spectrum, amounting to Rs.392 crore a year, for the next 10 years. As on 31 March, the total debt of R-Com was at Rs.39,828 crore.

iv. The transaction is expected to be closed in the second quarter of 2016, subject to regulatory approvals. After the closure, minority investors of SSTL will be given an option to exchange their shares in SSTL with the pro-rata R-Com shares held by SSTL.

7. Khel Ratna to be conferred posthumously on former footballer Late Ram Bahadur Chetri

i. The names of former footballer and Asian games gold medallist late Ram Bahadur Chetri and renowned athletics coach Renu Kohli have been officially approved by the state sports ministry for the prestigious Khel Ratna (posthumous) and Devbhoomi Uttarakhand Dronacharya respectively this year.

ii. While former weightlifter Hansa Manral Sharma has been would be conferred life time achievement award.

iii. The names were approved by a committee headed by Sports Minister Dinesh Agarwal during a meeting held on Saturday night. Sports secretary, Sailesh Bagoli, was also present during the meeting.

iv. Significantly, the sports department received 23 nominations, 16 for Khel Ratna and 7 for the Dronacharya award. Khel Ratna and life time achievement award winner will get a cash award of Rs 5 lakh each while winner of Dronacharya award will receive Rs 3 lakh as prize money. The awards were first introduced in year 2012 by the sports ministry.

v. While athletics coach Renu Kohli, who would be given Devbhoomi Dronacharya award this year and is a sports authority of India (SAI) coach, was also presented Dronacharya Award by the union sports ministry in year 2002 for her excellence in athletics coaching.

8. Nico Rosberg wins Mexican Grand Prix

i. Nico Rosberg claimed victory at the Mexican Grand Prix on Sunday ahead of Mercedes teammate and newly-crowned world champion Lewis Hamilton.

ii. The German won by 1.954sec to claim his fourth win of 2015.

iii. It is the 12th win of his career after leading from pole position to beat home the British racer.

iv. Finland's Valtteri Bottas of Williams took third, 14.592sec back.

9. New Zealand All Blacks run over Australia to win record third Rugby World Cup

i. New Zealand cemented their status as the greatest team in rugby history when they overwhelmed Australia 34-17 at Twickenham on Saturday to become world champions for a record third time, and the first nation to retain the Webb Ellis Cup.

i. Tries from Nehe Milner-Skudder and Ma'a Nonu had the All Blacks cruising 21-3 early in the second half before Ben Smith's yellow card opened the door for Australia, who got back to within four points with tries by David Pocock and Tuvita Kuridrani.

iii. But flyhalf Dan Carter, who missed most of the 2011 tournament through injury and who is retiring from international rugby after Saturday's match, stepped up with an exquisite drop goal and a 50-metre penalty to put the result beyond doubt.

iv. Replacement wing Beauden Barrett applied the black icing to the Kiwi World Cup cake with a late try which Carter converted to take his personal tally to 19 points New Zealand have lost just three times in 54 matches since their triumph on home soil four years ago, and have won every World Cup match since losing to France in the 2007 quarter-finals.

v. The previous six World Cup finals had produced seven tries between them and Saturday's total of five was a record, eclipsing the four of the inaugural final when New Zealand beat France.

The sport's superpower won the cup for a second time four years ago, also on home soil, and Saturday's victory was their first overseas.

10. Sania-Hingis pair in final, extends streak to 21 games

i. Sania Mirza caps her wins with a victory jig. Her hands cover her face in childlike fashion as she bounces up and down, duly joined by her partner Swiss legend Martina Hingis. The celebration was a little more pronounced on Saturday after the top seeds rallied to beat Taipei's Hao-Ching Chan and Yung-Jan Chan to make the title round of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals.

ii. The Indo-Swiss pairing -playing their first season-ender as a team -came through 6-4, 6-2 in 83 minutes, extending their winning streak to 21 matches, which incidentally started following their semifinal loss to the third-ranked sisters in Cincinnati in August.

iii. In Sunday's final the season's hottest team plays the Spanish pairing of Garbine Muguruza and Carla Suarez Navarro, who put out Czechs Andrea Hlavackova and Lucir Hradecka 7-6 (8-6), 6-0.

iv. In the first semifinal, the fancied duo, who won two majors this season, started slowly , the 35-year-old Swiss was broken in the third game and the Taipei twosome went ahead 3-1.

v. They took a 4-0 lead in the second set. Sania and Hingis were broken in the fifth and seventh games of the second set, but they closed out the match breaking Hao-Chin in the eighth when Hingis punctuated the contest with an overhead.

11. ‘Project Loon’ in India: Google, govt working on balloon Internet project

i. Internet giant Google is working with the government on a pilot project for providing Internet connectivity by using large balloons.

ii. Google, under its ‘Project Loon’, is using big balloons floating at a height of 20 kilometers above earth surface for transmission of Internet services. It has already tested this technology in New Zealand, California (the US) and Brazil.

iii. Google may initially partner with BSNL for testing this technology by using broadband spectrum in 2.6 Ghz band. The technology, used for 4G services, has potential to replace mobile towers as it can directly transmit signals on 4G mobile phones.

iv. To use LTE, Project Loon partners with telecommunications companies to share cellular spectrum so that people will be able to access the Internet everywhere directly from their phones and other LTE-enabled devices.

v. Google uses solar panel and wind to power electronic equipment in the balloon throughout the day. The source said that Google may operate as technology service provider and not as internet service provider.

12. Facebook and BSNL partnered to set up 100 WiFi hotspots in rural India

i. US-based social networking giant Facebook on 31 October 2015 partnered with state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) to create 100 WiFi hotspots in rural areas of western and southern India.

ii. During the partnership, Facebook will invest 5 crore rupees per annum for buying bandwidth from BSNL. The hotspots will be set up by BSNL selected vendor Quad Zen and Trimax.

iii. Under the joint initiative, Facebook has chosen 100 villages to provide Wi-Fi hotspots on a revenue-sharing model. The social media major will spend 5 lakh per site a year for buying bandwidth from BSNL for a period of three years.

iv. As per the project, the first half an hour will be free for the consumers. In addition, the WiFi network will have a capacity to allow an average of 2000 individuals to latch on at the same time.

v. Qaud Zen will be responsible for equipment sourcing and sales and marketing initiatives for the south-west region while Trimax will work out for the northern region in an open process.

BSNL expects to complete the WiFi rollout by 31 December 2015.

13. First International Film Festival for the persons with disabilities to be held in Delhi

i. To recognise the spirit of the persons with disabilities, first international film festival for the persons with disabilities (IFFPD) will be held in Delhi from 1 December to 3 December 2015.

ii. The announcement with regard to the three-day event was made by Secretary, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Lov Verma on 2 November 2015.

iii. The three-day-long event will see the screening of 40 films comprising of 10 feature films, 16 short films and 14 documentaries. All these films have been selected from 541 entries from India and abroad. The film festival will conclude on 3 December, which is observed as International day of Persons with Disabilities.

iv. IFFPD 2015 will felicitate the Best Director and Best Film in each of the 3 categories of Films with cash awards with the First and Second Runner Up receiving trophies and citations from the Department.

14. Mana Patel, Virdhawal won best swimmers' award in 69th senior National Aquatic Championships

i. Mana Patel and Virdhawal Khade emerged as the best swimmers of the 69th senior National Aquatic Championships 2015 that concluded in Rajkot on 2 November 2015.

ii. Mana from Gujarat was adjudged the best swimmer in the women's category of the competition. She broke her national record by 13 micro second in women’s 50m backstroke race.

iii. She completed the 50m backstroke event in 30.25 second. Earlier in 2014, she had set a record in the 50m backstroke event taking time of 30:38 seconds.

iv. On the other hand, Khade from Maharashtra was declared best swimmer in men's category. He bagged three gold medals in the events 50m freestyle, 50m and 100m butterfly, with a national record in the 100m butterfly.

v. Swimmer from Tamil Nadu, AV Jayaveena set a national record in 100m breaststroke event, beating the previous record of 1:16.76 with a record time of 1:16.25.

15. Punjabi became third most common language in Parliament of Canada

i. Punjabi in the first week of November 2015 became the third most common language, after English and French, in the House of Commons of Canada after 20 Punjabi-speaking candidates were elected to the parliament in October 2015.

ii. On 19 October 2015, 23 Members of Parliament of South Asian origin were elected to the House of Commons, Parliament of Canada during parliamentary elections, out of which 20 speak Punjabi.

iii. Out of the 20 candidates, 8 are Liberals and two are Conservatives. Among the newly-elected Punjabi-speaking MPs, 14 are men and 6 are women. Twelve candidates were elected from Ontario, 4 from British Columbia, 3 from Alberta three and one belongs to Quebec.

iv. As per the Statistics Canada's 2011 National Household Survey, 430705 Canadians identified Punjabi as their mother tongue, making it the third most common language after English and French.

v. In addition, 430705 native Punjabi speakers make up about 1.3 percent of Canada's population and the 20 Punjabi-speaking MPs represent almost 6 percent of the House of Commons.

16. ICGS Arinjay commissioned in Kochi

i. An Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) Arinjay was on 1 November 2015 commissioned by Vice Admiral Sunil Lanba PVSM, AVSM Flag Officer Commanding-in-chief, Southern Naval Command at a ceremony held at Naval Base in Kochi.

ii. The ship will be based at Okha under the administrative and operational control of the commander, coast guard region (north west). The ship is commanded by Commandant AK Mudgal and has complement of four officers and 31 enrolled personnel.

iii. The ship is 15th in the series of 20 Fast Patrol Vessels (FPV). The 50-metre indigenous FPV has a displacement of 290 tonnes and can achieve a maximum speed of 33 knots with an endurance of 1500 nautical miles at economical speed of 13 knots.

iv. It is equipped with state-of-the-art weaponry and advanced communication and navigational equipment. The ship is capable of undertaking multifarious tasks such as surveillance, interdiction, search and rescue and medical evacuation.

17. National Tribal Crafts Mela Aadishilp-2015 begins in New Delhi
i. 11th National Tribal Crafts Mela Aadishilp has begun in New Delhi. It was inaugurated by Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Jual Oram.

ii. This edition of Crafts Mela has been organised by Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Limited (TRIFED) and will be open till November 11, 2015.

iii. More than 90 tribal artisans from all over the country are going showcase their unique and exquisite tribal artefacts. The main objective of Aadishilp is provide tribal artisans an important platform to showcase their talents through their valuable products to urban India.

iv. Tribals will be also able to sell their traditional art and craft works directly to the customers and get their valuable feedback.

v. The mela will showcase hand crafted items, handloom products, cane and bamboo products, dry flowers, tribal
jewellery, Dhokra craft, tribal paintings, tribal weaves and embroidery etc.

18. Lionel Messi appointed Tata Motors’ global brand ambassador

i. Tata Motors has roped in Football star Lionel Messi as the global brand ambassador for its passenger vehicles. To start with, Tata Motors will roll out the association campaign, #madeofgreat, starring Lionel Messi tomorrow.

ii. This is the first time ever that the Passenger Vehicle Business will be undertaking an overall brand association campaign with a brand ambassador, said the company. The company has also announced to soon roll out an exclusive, limited edition merchandising range of this association.

iii. Mayank Pareek, President, Passenger Vehicle Business Unit, said, “We are very excited to have Lionel Messi on board. He is talent galore with conviction & is an icon for today’s youth. Watching him play football is magical. His determination on the field is awe-inspiring.

iv. He is a winner who is trustworthy, reliable, pioneering, simple and driven by self-belief, which is the core idea of this campaign – ‘What drives us from within is what makes us great.,”

v. Lionel Messi, who is endorsing an Indian brand for the first time, said, “Namaste India. I am very excited about my first association with an Indian brand and am extremely thrilled to be a part of the Tata Motors family. I have always been fascinated by India and have heard such great things about this diverse country.

vi. I was once in India with Argentina National Team and I hope to visit it again.

19. Maharashtra Government approves APJ Abdul Kalam Amrut Yojna

i. The Maharashtra state Government has approved a revised scheme, named APJ Abdul Kalam Amrut Yojna, for pregnant and lactating women in the tribal areas of the state. The scheme aims at providing at least one full hot cooked nutritious food to every pregnant lady and lactating mother.

ii. The scheme will be rolled out on 15 November 2015. The anganwadis workers, the tribal women and the local meal committees will implement the scheme. The Women and Child Welfare Department will spend 10 crore rupees in stipend to anganwadi workers.

iii. The scheme will be executed in 16 districts having tribal population. A four-member meal committee will be constituted in every tribal village across 16 districts. A woman panchayat member will head the committee, along with two pregnant or lactating mothers and an anganwadi worker.

iv. The food will be provided for six months, beginning from third trimester of pregnancy to the three months period after delivery. The meal will include pulses, rice, fruits, vegetables and boiled eggs with occasional supply of milk.

20. Justice T S Thakur will be next Chief Justice of India. 

i. Justice T S Thakur (63)  will be next Chief Justice of India. His name has been recommended by current  CJI Justice Dattu. Current CJI Justice Dattu will retire on December 2, 2015. Presently, Justice Thakur is the senior most judge of the Supreme Court. He would be the 43rd CJI.

ii. Justice Thakur was born on January 4, 1952 and enrolled as a Pleader in October 1972. Later, he started practising in the Jammu and Kashmir High Court. His father D D Thakur was an eminent advocate who became a judge of J& K High Court and later also as a union minister.Justice Thakur worked in Karnataka High Court, Delhi High Court and Punjab and Haryana High Court. 

21. UNGA Disarmament Committee adopts draft resolution backing abolition of nuclear arms

i. The United Nations General Assembly’s (UNGA) Disarmament Committee has adopted a draft resolution submitted by Japan calling for the abolition of nuclear arms. The resolution was adopted by 156 member countries, while 17 abstaining and 3 voting against it including China and Russia. But it failed to secure endorsement US, Britain, France and other key powers as they abstained from voting despite supporting it.

ii. The resolution Stresses the inhumanity of nuclear weapons and urges nuclear powers to be more transparent in their disarmament efforts. The resolution asks world leaders to visit the two Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki which were devastated by the nuclear attacks. Since 1994, Japan has been spearheading efforts UNGA Disarmament Committee to introduce resolutions on nuclear arms every year.

iii. The UNGA Disarmament Committee or First Committee deals with disarmament, threats to peace and global challenges that affect the international community. It seeks out solutions to the challenges in the international security regime.

22. Impose AFSPA in Garo Hills: Meghalaya High Court

i. The Meghalaya High Court has asked the Centre to consider enforcing Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA) in militancy-hit Garo Hills region in the state to help the administration restore the rule of law. 

ii. Recently the Meghalaya state is witnessing a rise in number of militancy incidents in the region especially in Garo Hills including abduction of a Meghalaya Government Officials by Garo National Liberation Army militants. Though in past decade the insurgency was more or less contained in the state, but in last 2 years there has been a rise in the number of violence as several dormant insurgent groups in state started resurfacing.

23. Mysuru Railway Station became the first blind-friendly Railway Station in India

i. Mysuru Railway Station (Karnataka, India) became the first blind-friendly Railway Station in India. The visually impaired – friendly facilities at Mysuru Railway Station  has been inaugurated by Mysuru’s Member of Parliament Pratap Simha. Tactile maps of the railway station and train schedules in Braille were unveiled on the occasion of inauguration. The authorities have also put up 400 metal signages in Braille along the railings of the staircases leading to various platforms.

ii. Anuprayaas, a Non – Governmental Organisation assisted the railways in making Mysuru railway station blind-friendly. The Railway Budget 2015-16 stated that 200 more stations will be constructed under Adarsh Station scheme which will include facility of Wi–Fi at B stations, facility of self-operated lockers to be made available at stations, provision of concierge services through IRCTC at major stations, online booking of wheel chair on payment basis for senior citizens, patients and the differently-abled passengers through IRCTC on selected stations.

24. Tropical Cyclone Chapala hits Yemen triggering heavy floods

i. A rare tropical Cyclone Chapala has slammed into Yemen triggering heavy flooding and causing damage in coastal region of the war racked country. The cyclone made landfall in the south eastern provinces of Hadramawt and Shabwa along the Gulf of Aden coast of Yemen in Arabian Sea bringing winds of speed more than 100 kms per hour.

ii. Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has categorized Cyclone Chapala as a Category 4 equivalent storm on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. It is believed that Cyclone Chapala is the most powerful storm that has hit Yemen in last five decades. 

iii. It is the second-strongest cyclone on record over the Arabian Sea, only after Cylone Gonu (2007). The rainfall brought by cyclone has caused flooding of rivers which are usually dry causing destructive mudslides. Earlier the cyclone had wreaked havoc on the island of Socotra, located 350 kilometers off the Yemeni mainland. 

25. Priyanka Chopra bags People’s Choice Awards nomination

i. The 33-year-old “Mary Kom” actress, who has made it to the top five, will be competing with big names like Jamie Lee Curtis, Emma Roberts, Marcia Gay Harden and Lia Michele. In her debut American TV thriller “Quantico” the “Gunday’ star plays the lead role of a young FBI recruit Alex Parish. The news of her being one of 15 actresses vying for a final nomination in the category came last month.

ii. Apart from the actress, the show has also bagged the final nomination in the Favourite New TV Drama category.

26. Pakistani Cricketer Shoaib Malik announces retirement from Test Cricket

i. Veteran Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik, who made a spectacular comeback into the Pakistani Test squad after five years, has announced retirement from the longest format of the game. The 33-year-old said that he wanted to vacate the place for youngsters who are ready to fill in his shoes. Malik added that he wanted to focus more on ODIs and is willing to play the 2019 World Cup. In the first Test of the on-oing three-match series, Malik slammed 245 runs against England at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. The match ended in a draw.

ii. Malik has played 35 Tests for Pakistan where he has scored 1898 runs at an average of 35.14.

27. Inzamam to be Afghanistan coach for Two years

i. Inzamam ul Haq, the former Pakistan captain, has been roped in as the Afghanistan coach for a two-year period. Inzamam had agreed to be the batting consultant for the Asian side during the recent tour of Zimbabwe. Kabir Khan, the former coach of the Afghanistan team who is a national selector in Pakistan, said Inzamam had agreed to sign a proper two-year coaching contract with Afghanistan Cricket Board.  Kabir said Afghanistan had always had aggressive bowlers and fielders but they needed to improve their batting and Inzamam, who played 120 Tests and 388 ODIs for Pakistan, was ideal for them.

ii. Inzamam was also offered a similar position with the Pakistan team two years ago but he declined after financial matters between him and Pakistan Cricket Board didn’t work out.

28. PM Narendra Modi launched three gold related schemes

i. 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.

ii. The three schemes were announced by the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his 2015-16 budget speech in February 2015.

iii. 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.

29. RBI notified Operational Guidelines of Sovereign Gold Bonds 2015-16

i. 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.

ii. 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.

iii. 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.

iv. 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.

v. 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.

30. Forbes list of World's Most Powerful People 2015 released

i. The Forbes list of the World's Most Powerful People 2015 was released on 4 November 2015. This was Forbes’ seventh annual ranking of World’s Most Powerful People. The list provided the annual ranking of the World’s 73 Most Powerful People.

ii. The list was topped by Russian President Vladimir Putin for the third year in a row. Putin is followed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel (rank 2) who moved up 3 spots from 2014, and President Barack Obama (rank 3) dropped 1 spot, making it the first year a sitting US President has not made it into the top 2 spots.

iii. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi was ranked as the world’s ninth most powerful person. In 2014, Modi was placed at 14th position.

31. PM Narendra Modi launched research project Imprint India

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi 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.

ii. Imprint India is a 1000 crore rupees project, which aspires to identify areas of immediate relevance to society requiring innovation and Direct scientific research into identified areas

iii. This is to ensure higher funding support for research into these areas and Measure outcomes of the research effort with reference to impact on the standard of living in the rural/urban areas

iv. The Imprint India will focus on 10 themes and each will be coordinated by one IIT/IISc.

32. Navtej Singh Sarna appointed as Indian High Commissioner to United Kingdom

i. Navtej Singh Sarna was on 31 October 2015 appointed as Indian High Commissioner to United Kingdom (UK). Sarna is a 1980 batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer.

ii. Prior to this appointment, Sarna was working as Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs where he was responsible for looking after country’s diplomatic affairs with the UK and other European nations.

iii. Earlier, he had served in Indian missions in Moscow, Warsaw, Thimphu, Geneva, Tehran and Washington DC. He has also served as Indian Ambassador to Israel.

iv. Sarna has also authored many books including The Exile- a novel based on the life of Maharaja Duleep Singh, We Weren’t Lovers Like That- a novel and a non-fiction The Book of Nanak.

33. Union Government constituted Empowered Committee to approve schemes under Nirbhaya Fund

i. The Union Government on 4 November 2015 constituted an Empowered Committee to approve schemes proposed under the Nirbhaya Fund.

ii. The Committee comprises officials from various ministries, including Women and Child Development, Home Affairs, Road Transport and Railways.

iii. 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.

iv. 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.

v. 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.

34. V Sivaramakrishnan appointed as MD of Oxford University Press India

i. Oxford University Press India (OUPI) has appointed V Sivaramakrishnan (Siva) as the managing director, with regional responsibilities including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal.

ii. He will join OUP India from Manipal Global Education Services, privately owned service provider to the higher education and training sectors.

iii. In progressing from chief marketing officer to executive president for education services, Siva has overseen seven years of strong business development, improved quality assurance, and the effective delivery of supporting technology platforms.

iv. Prior to moving into the education sector, he led a team that built and ran a successful online news, shopping, and gaming portal. He also spent nearly ten years with the Ford Motor Company – including time based in the UK and US – and held various consumer branding roles within Proctor and Gamble.

35. RBI imposes Rs 1 cr penalty on Dhanlaxmi Bank

i. The Reserve Bank has imposed Rs 1 crore penalty on Dhanlaxmi Bank for violation of Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti Money Laundering (AML) norms.

ii. It had issued a Show Cause Notice to the bank for not complying with KYC and AML guidelines “in respect of a current account under investigation” of the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Mumbai.

iii. After considering the bank’s reply, as also, personal submissions, information submitted and documents furnished, RBI came to the conclusion that the bank had violated the instructions/guidelines issued, from time to time, which warranted imposition of monetary penalty on it.

iv. RBI further said that “this action” is based on deficiencies in regulatory compliance and is “not intended” to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the bank and its customers.

36. Indian-born Harjit Sajjan sworn-in as Defence Minister of Canada

i. Indo-Canadian Sikh Harjit Sajjan was on 4 November 2015 sworn-in as Defence Minister of Canada. Sajjan succeeded Conservative Defence Minister Jason Kenney.

ii. He is one of the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s 30-member Cabinet that was sworn-in at a public ceremony held at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, Canada. Trudeau was sworn-in as the 23rd Prime Minister of Canada.

iii. Sajjan is a decorated Lt Colonel in the Canadian Armed Forces who was elected as a MP for Vancouver South. He has served in Bosnia and had three deployments to Kandahar, Afghanistan. He has received numerous military honours, including the Meritorious Service Medal in 2013. 

iv. As the new Defence Minister, Sajjan will work with Trudeau on reshaping Canada's combat mission fighting ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Sajjan was born in India and later moved to Canada with his family when he was five-years-old.

37. Michelle Payne became first female jockey to win Melbourne Cup

i. Michelle Payne on 3 November 2015 became the first female jockey to win 6.2 million Australian dollars Melbourne Cup. Payne rode rank outsider Prince of Penzance to a famous victory in Australia's richest and most prestigious horse race.

ii. Payne, born on 29 September 1985, won in her first race at Ballarat. On 10 October 2009, she won her first Group One race, the Toorak Handicap at Caulfield Racecourse aboard Allez Wonde. Later, she emerged as the third female jockey to ride in the Caulfield Cup. In 2010, she came out as a winner in the Thousand Guineas at Caulfield aboard Yosei.

iii. The Melbourne Cup is one of Australia's most prestigious Thoroughbred horse races. The race is conducted annually by the Victoria Racing Club on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria.

38. Jitu Rai won silver in 13th Asian Shooting Championship

i. 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 metre pistol event.

ii. 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. 

iii. In the process, Jitu defeated his long-time rivals Jin Jongoh of Korea and Vladimir Issachenko of Kazakhstan.

iv. 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.

39. Union Cabinet gives nod to UDAY Scheme for financial restructuring package for power DISCOMs

i. Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its nod Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojna (UDAY) for financial restructuring of debt of power distribution companies. The Scheme aims for financial turnaround and revival of Power Distribution companies (DISCOMs) and also ensures a sustainable permanent solution to the problem.

ii. UDAY scheme allows power DISCOMs in selected states to convert their debt into state bonds as well as roll out number of measures to improve efficiency at power plants. Seeks to ensure that struggling DISCOMs can shake off years of losses and start on a path to profitability.

iii. Selected states would be able to sell the balance 25 per cent as state-backed power bonds or loans which will carry interest rates of g-sec plus 50 basis points.

iv. Thus with nod to UDAY Scheme, Union Government seeks to accelerate the process of reform across the entire power sector in order to ensure affordable and accessible 24×7 Power for All. v. The scheme has been framed by Union Power Ministry as power DISCOMs in several states have been severely mismanaged, resulting in a debt burden upward of 4 lakh crore rupees. This has taken a toll on the power as well as bank sectors.

40. Tanzania’s first female Vice President Samia Suluhu sworn in

i. Tanzania's first female Vice President Samia Hassan Suluhu on 5 November 2015 was sworn into office. She was sworn in along with the new President John Pombe Magufuli at the swearing-in ceremony held in the country’s economic capital Dar es Salaam.

ii. Magufuli, the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party's candidate, emerged victorious on 29 October 2015 in the presidential elections of Tanzania. The National Electoral Commission (NEC) declared that Magufuli won the election with 58.46 percent of votes.

iii. Born on 27 January 1960, Suluhu started her career by working as a clerk in the Ministry of Planning and Development. A graduate from the Institute of Development Management (now known as Mzumbe University) with an advanced diploma in public administration, she was employed on a project funded by the World Food Programme.

iv. In 2000, Suluhu was elected as a special seat member to the Zanzibar House of Representatives. President Amani Karume had appointed her as the Minister of Labour, Gender Development and Children. In 2010, she sought election to the National Assembly and won by more than 80 percent. She was appointed as the Minister of State for Union Affairs.

41. Veteran actor Vikram Gokhale honoured with Vishnudas Bhave Award

i. Renowned film, television and stage actor Vikram Gokhale on 5 November 2015 was conferred with the prestigious Vishnudas Bhave Award.

ii. Gokhale was honoured with the award at a ceremony held in Sangli, Maharashtra on the eve of Marathi Rangbhumi Din. Prominent actress-singer Faiyaz Shaikh presented the award to him.

iii. The actor was felicitated with the award for his outstanding contribution to Marathi theatre. In 2011, Gokhale was awarded with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for his Acting in Theatre. In 2013, he was facilitated with the National Film Award for Best Actor category for his Marathi film Anumati.

iv. The Vishnudas Bhave Award is an annual award which was instituted by Sangli-based Akhil Maharashtra Natya Vidya Mandir. The award was instituted in the memory of famous Marathi dramatist Vishnudas Bhave.

42. Rebooting India authored by Nandan Nilekani & Viral Shah released

i. The book titled Rebooting India: Realizing a Billion Aspirations authored by Nandan Nilekani and Viral Shah was released on 4 November 2015. The book talks about the demographic dividend of India, which is expected to be the world’s youngest country by 2020 with 64 percent (roughly 800 million) of its population of working age.

ii. It also suggests that India may fail to become a global powerhouse, if it fails to resolve the contradictions and bridge gaps that distort our society. 

iii. Through the book, the authors Nilekani and Shah say that challenge before us is to enable every one of India’s 1.2 billion citizens to realize their aspirations. According to them, it can be achieved only by using technology to radically reimagine government itself.

iv. Rebooting India identifies a dozen initiatives where a series of citizen-friendly, high-tech public institutions can deliver low-cost solutions to India’s grand challenges.

v. Viral Shah worked at the intersection of policy and technology at the Unique Identification Authority of India, where he led the design of the government's payments and subsidy platforms using Aadhaar. He is a co-inventor of the Julia programming language, and co-founder of FourthLion Technologies.

43. Cabinet approves MoU between India and Belgium for Energy

i. The government approved an agreement with Belgium for cooperation in development of new and renewable energy technologies.

ii. "The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved a Memorandum of Understanding which has been signed between Indian and Belgian government authorities at the Federal and regional level for energy," an official statement said.

iii. The objective of the Memorandum, it added is to establish the basis for a cooperative institutional relationship to encourage and promote technical bilateral cooperation on new and renewable energy issues on the basis of mutual benefit, equality and reciprocity.

iv. "The areas of cooperation will focus on development of new and renewable energy technologies in the field of wind energy, biomass, solar (thermal and photovoltaic), smart grids, geothermal energy, marine energy, contribution of renewables to diversification of supply and energy security, and any other mutually agreed areas," the statement said.

44. Ashwin fastest Indian to reach 150 Test wickets

i. Ravichandran Ashwin's CV has another bullet point under the achievements column as he is now the fastest among Indian bowlers to reach the landmark of 150 Test wickets in 29 Tests.

ii. The historic moment arrived for the premier offspinner on the second day of the first Test in Mohali, part of his 13 five-for (5 for 51) in Tests that helped India eject South Africa for 184 after their disastrous first innings that ended in 201 all out.

iii. Ashwin collected figures of 5 for 51 in 24 overs to fox the visitors on a track that is dry from day one when 12 wickets fell for just 229 runs in 88 overs. But Indian trio of Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Amit Mishra spun a web around the South Africans to take all 10 wickets on the second day, which helped India take a slim 17-run lead.

iv. Overall, former England fast bowler Sydney Barnes is the fastest to the landmark of 150 wickets, which he achieved in 24 Tests. Second on that list is legendary Pakistan pacer Waqar Younis, who did it in 27 Tests, followed by Australian leggie Clarrie Grimmett, who took 28 Tests.

45. Indian Army successfully test-fired BrahMos supersonic cruise missile in Rajasthan

i. Indian Army on 7 November 2015 successfully test-fired the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile at the Pokhran Test Range in Rajasthan. It was launched from an Autonomous Mobile Launcher (AML). For BrahMos, it was the 50th test-flight. The previous test-firing was from INS Kochi off the west coast on 1 November 2015.

ii. It is the first supersonic cruise missile known to be in service and is capable of carrying a conventional and nuclear warhead of 300 kilogram. It is a two-stage missile having Solid propellant in the first stage and Ramjet liquid propellant in the second stage.

iii. It can be launched from land, Sea, Sub-seas and air. It operates on Fire and Forget Principle by adopting varieties of flights on its way to the target.

iv. The missile has been developed by the BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited. It is a joint venture between Russian Federation's NPO Mashinostroeyenia and India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the missile derives its name from the names of two rivers, namely the Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia.

46. Union Government decided to impose 0.5% Swachh Bharat Cess on all services

i. 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.

ii. 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.

iii. As per an estimate, the SBC is expected to fetch additional 4000 crore rupees per annum in tax revenues to the government.

iv. 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.

47. Rajasthan government launched the Agro-Processing and Agri-Marketing Promotion Policy 2015

i. Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on 5 November 2015 launched the Rajasthan Agro-Processing and Agri-Marketing Promotion Policy 2015. The policy seeks to promote agro-processing and to reduce post harvest losses at the farm gate.

ii. The Agriculture Department of Rajasthan Government will be the nodal department for the policy and Rajasthan State Agricultural marketing Board will act as nodal agency for the policy.

iii. The policy aims to promote agro-processing and to reduce post harvest losses at the farm gate thus ensuring maximum prices of farmer’s agri produce. The state government also signed 112 MoUs with private companies in different sectors during the launch of policy.

iv. Rajasthan Agro-Processing and Agri-Marketing has been included as the thrust sector under Rajasthan Investment Promotion Scheme, 2014 to provide higher incentives than normal provisions.

v. In addition, additional incentives provisions of subsidy for product patent, product registration, quality certification, sending samples abroad, project report preparation, transport of on fruits and vegetables and spices abroad also have been made.

48. 'India in Shanghai’ Cultural Week inaugurated at Shanghai

i. 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.

ii. 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.

iii. 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. 

iv. The events at the India Culture Week will showcase the best of contemporary Indian arts. 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. 

v. 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.

49. RBI issued Uniform Guidelines on Internet Banking for Cooperative Banks

i. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 5 November 2015 issued revised and uniform guidelines on Internet Banking for all licensed cooperative banks including Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs), Cooperative Banks (StCBs) and Districts Co-operative Banks (DCBs). These guidelines relate to Internet Banking (View Only) facility and Internet Banking with Transaction facility.

ii. In case, any service offered under ‘view only’ facility requires two-factor authentication or One Time Password (OTP), banks may adopt the security features related to internet banking as prescribed by RBI, as appropriate to such services.

iii. The cooperative banks offering this facility to their customers should ensure that the facility is strictly for non-transactional services such as balance enquiry and balance viewing among others.

iv. The cooperative banks have to report commencement of the service to the concerned Regional Office of RBI (and also NABARD in case of StCBs/DCCBs) within one month of operationalisation of this facility.

50. 21st INCOFYRA to be organised in Bengaluru in 2016

i. The 21st International Conference on Frontiers in Yoga Research and its Applications (INCOFYRA) will be held from 3 to 7 January 2016 at Prashanti Kutiram, Bengaluru. The summit will be organized by the Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Sansthana. The 21st INCOFYRA will bring together the traditional and modern medical systems.

ii. The theme of the conference is Yoga in Integrated Healthcare Systems.

iii. The conference targets to promulgate the research findings in the field of integrative medicine and give directions to future research on Dialectology, Oncology, Cardiology, Mental Health, and so on. The Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi will inaugurate the conference.

iv. The 21st INCOFYRA will offer a platform for national and international experts and practitioners in traditional systems of medicine to show findings of evidence–based research regarding impact of Yoga on non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

51. From today, trucks passing through Delhi to pay ‘green tax’

i. After a six-day delay in the implementation of the Environment Compensation Charge or ‘environment cess’ on trucks entering Delhi, the concessionaire — SYMR Consortium LLP — has begun to collect the tax at its toll booths.

ii. From Saturday, apart from the toll tax, an environment tax to the tune of Rs 700 on light-duty vehicles and Rs 1,300 for three-axle vehicles and above, would be charged at all entry points to the national capital. However, trucks “destined to Delhi” will not have to pay the environment cess; only trucks passing through the capital would have to pay it.

iii. The new tax, implemented on the directions of the Supreme Court, would lead to at least a 30 per cent drop in the number of trucks entering Delhi, according to the concessionaire.

iv. The delay in the collection of environment cess was due to the concessionaire’s queries concerning the implementation of the tax. On Wednesday, the Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) had held a meeting with officials at the state and municipal corporations, and prepared an 11-point reply to the reservations expressed by the concessionaire.

v. The consortium will collect this tax on behalf of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), which would be deposited in the account of the Delhi government through the transport department every Friday. The toll collected by the concessionaire goes to the coffers of the SDMC.

52. WHO officially declares Sierra Leone Ebola-free

i. Sierra Leone has been declared Ebola-free by the World Health Organisation, prompting nationwide celebrations tinged with sadness over the loss of 4,000 victims to the disease. The capital Freetown was transformed into a giant carnival on Friday night as ecstatic crowds took to the streets in an emotional outpouring.

ii. The relief that the 17-month nightmare was virtually over was reflected in candle-lit prayers and spontaneous parties.

iii. In a low-key ceremony in the capital on Saturday morning, the WHO country director, Anders Nordström, confirmed 42 days had passed without any new cases, thereby satisfying criteria that transmission of the virus has ended.

iv. Sierra Leone will now enter a 90-day period of heightened surveillance to make sure the virus does not return. The National Ebola Response Centre will remain operational until the end of the year and swabbing of all dead bodies for Ebola will be mandatory until June 2016.

v. But while the atmosphere overnight was jubilant, there was also nervousness over the continuing outbreak in neighbouring Guinea, where four new cases were recorded over the past fortnight. In a grim reminder of how Ebola cuts through families, all four are children of a mother who contracted the disease from a relative and died.

53. Presidents of China and Taiwan Shake Hands in First Ever Meeting

i. President Xi Jinping of China met with Ma Ying-jeou, the president of Taiwan, on Saturday in the first ever encounter between the leaders of the neighbors and longtime rivals, an act both sides described as a breakthrough gesture meant to promote peace and mutual prosperity.

ii. The two began their brief talks with a handshake that went on for more than a minute, with both men smiling broadly and turning side to side so the hundreds of reporters in the meeting room at the Shangri-La Hotel in the city-state of Singapore could document the moment.

iii. The meeting is a high point in the two leaders’ efforts to bridge the divisions of civil war and decades of animosity.

iv. When the two men sat down to start their talks, Mr. Xi spoke first and said their encounter was a historic step that opened a new chapter in relations between the two sides. Mr. Xi said that the people of China and Taiwan were compatriots, “one family with blood that is thicker than water.”

v. It was the first meeting of the leader of the Republic of China, more commonly called Taiwan, and the leader of the People’s Republic of China. The two governments have been rivals since 1949, when Chiang Kai-shek, the leader of the Chinese Nationalists, fled to Taiwan after losing a civil war to Mao’s Communists, who established the People’s Republic of China that year. Those two leaders last met in 1945.

54. Heena Sindhu won gold in 13th Asian Shooting Championship

i. 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.

ii. 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.

iii. Other medals included Nivetha who won gold in the 10m air pistol junior women’s event. In the 25m pistol men’s junior event, Shivam Shukla won gold.

55. Nuclear capable surface-to-surface Agni-IV missile successfully test-fired

i. Indian Army’s Strategic Forces Command (SFC) on 9 November 2015 successfully test-fired surface-to-surface Agni-IV missile. The nuclear capable missile was test-fired from the Wheeler Island off the Odisha coast.

ii. SFC is entrusted with the task of handling strategic weapons of the country. It is 20 meters in length weighs 17 tonnes and carries a pay load of one tone. With light weight, the missile has two stages of solid propulsion and a payload with re-entry heat shield.

iii. It was developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). It is the fourth missile in the series of Agni missiles. It was earlier known as Agni-II prime

56. Prof Ashok Misra headed Committee of Eminent Persons CEP on JEE submitted its report

i. The Committee of Eminent Persons (CEP) on 5 November 2015 submitted its report. It was constituted by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Council under the Chairmanship of Prof Ashok Misra to suggest reforms to the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE).

ii. A National Testing Service shall be set up by early 2016, mandated to conduct an Aptitude Test, which should test the scientific aptitude and innovative thinking ability. The Aptitude test may be offered 2 or more times in a year and would be an online test. The testing shall test the scientific thinking and cannot be gamed through coaching

iii. Based on this performance, about 4 lakh candidates shall be short-listed for taking the JEE. The JEE itself will be on the lines of the current JEE (Advanced) and designed to test the knowledge in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics; and will be conducted by the IITs.

iv. From this, ranks will be issued to 40,000+ students who can seek admission in IITs and NITs based on a common counselling. The IITs be requested to set up a system for developing mock JEE examinations which will help students prepare for the JEE significantly and wean them away from the coaching industry. The possibility of using the MOOCS platform can also be explored.

v. MHRD may take measures for the improvement of school education and the method of examination of the Boards, so that students with the Science aptitude are well prepared in the concepts by the time they reach 12th grade, without dependence on coaching institutions.

57. Union Government launched E-Pathshala, Saransh, Shaala Siddhi Portals

i. 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.

ii. 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.

iii. 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.

iv. 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.

v. 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.

58. What Happened to Netaji? authored by former journalist Anuj Dhar released

i. Book titled What Happened to Netaji? authored by former journalist Anuj Dhar was released October 2015. The book talks about Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose in form of an unseen holy man of Faizabad in disguise who lived in several parts of Uttar Pradesh from 1050s to 1980s.

ii. The book provides three prominent theories of Bose’s death zeroing in on what has come to be known as the Faizabad angle of the Bose mystery. The book talks about the controversy surrounding the fate of Subhas Chandra Bose and lights the factual position with regard to the air crash that reportedly killed Netaji in 1945.

iii. The book also questions the truth behind Subramaniun Swamy's belief that Netaji was killed in Soviet Russia at Jawaharlal Nehru's behest? How do the biggest names of the past and present, from Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel to President Pranab Mukherjee, and Atal Bihari Vajpayee fare in India's longest-running controversy?

iv. The book talks about the Gumnami Baba of Faizabad, and if indeed he was Netaji, why did he not surface? Above all, what is preventing the Narendra Modi government from declassifying the Netaji files? The answers would make you believe that truth is stranger than fiction.

59. Santoor maestro Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma honoured with Kala Shikhar award

i. 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.

ii. 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.

iii. 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.

iv. 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.

60. FIPB clears four FDI proposals worth Rs. 384 cr

i. The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) has cleared four FDI proposals worth ₹384 crore including that of pharma firm Lupin. “Based on the recommendations of FIPB in its meeting held on October 19, 2015, the Government has approved four proposals of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) amounting to Rs. 384.45 crore,” a Finance Ministry statement said.

ii. The proposal of Lupin pertained to grant of ESoPs to non-resident employees of the company amounting to Rs. 331.64 crore. BF Elbit Advanced Systems’ Rs. 37.8 crore proposal for increasing foreign shareholding from 26 per cent to 49 per cent was also cleared.

iii. Besides, proposals of Eucare Pharmaceuticals and Hanon Systems were cleared by the meeting of FIPB, which is chaired by Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das. However, the Board deferred five FDI proposals including that of telecom sector firm FireFly Networks Ltd.

iv. Also the proposals relating to defence sector – Quantum Simulators Pvt Ltd, RoltaMeprolightPvt Ltd and Singapore-based LLP Diarough Far East Holdings Pte Ltd were deferred. The FIPB also rejected four proposals including that of Reliance Globalcom Ltd, Barefoot Resorts and Leisure lndia and Franklin Templeton Asset Management.

61. SBI's Arundhati Bhattacharya Most Powerful Woman In Indian Business: Fortune India

i. Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairperson of country's largest bank SBI, remains the most powerful woman in the Indian business sector, according to Fortune India. ICICI Bank's Chanda Kochhar and Shikha Sharma of Axis Bank follow Bhattacharya at the second and third place, respectively.

ii. Besides, HPCL Chairperson and Managing Director (MD) Nishi Vasudeva has bagged the fourth position, while AZB & Partners Co-Founder Zia Mody and Aruna Jayanthi Chief Executive of Capgemini India shared the fifth rank.

iii. Interestingly, all the top-five rank holders retained their positions from the previous year barring Jayanthi who was at seventh position last year. Moreover, there are only two debutantes in the Fortune India list of 50 most-powerful businesswomen for 2015.

iv. Meena Ganesh MD and CEO at Portea and Jyoti Deshpande Group MD and CEO at Eros International have made their debuts at 43rd and 50th positions, respectively.

62. N Srinivasan removed as ICC Chairman

i. N Srinivasan was today dethroned as the ICC Chairman after the BCCI decided to recall him and nominate its recently-elected President Shashank Manohar as the chief of the world body. The decision to remove Srinivasan was taken at the BCCI’s 86th Annual General Meeting here today, virtually signalling the end of his hold on Indian cricket.

ii. The tenure of Srinivasan, who took over in June last year, was to end next year in the same month and the remainder of the term would be completed by Manohar as it is India’s turn to hold the top position.

iii. It is learnt that the resolution favouring replacing Srinivasan with Manohar was passed at the AGM. In case, Manohar cannot attend the ICC meetings, Sharad Pawar will be India’s representative.

iv. The Tamil Nadu strongman will thus lose his grip on Indian cricket for good after having already been ousted as the BCCI President owing to the 2013 IPL spot-fixing scandal in which his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan was held guilty of betting charges.

v. Although Srinivasan was not personally indicted for the damaging scandal but the Supreme Court-appointed R M Lodha committee had chided him for not acting on the elements which corrupted the IPL.

63.BIS elects Raghuram Rajan as its vice-chairman

i. Raghuram Rajan, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor who has been a vocal votary for increased co-ordination among central banks, has been elected vice-chairman of the Bank of International Settlement (BIS). Mr. Rajan will have a three-year term as vice-chairman of the BIS.

ii. Mr. Rajan is the first Indian central bank Governor to become the vice-chairman of BIS. BIS is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, and acts as a coordinating body among central banks to ensure global monetary and financial stability. The BIS board meets at least six times a year.

iii. The BIS board comprise all central bankers. The board includes U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney and Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda.

iv. Mr. Rajan was appointed Governor of the RBI in September 2013, and was given a three-year term. This new role of Mr. Rajan will surely boost his chances for an extension next year, according to central bank watchers.

v. The former International Monetary Fund chief economist, who is widely credited for predicting the global financial crisis of 2008, was appointed RBI Governor amid a currency crisis in 2013 which he was able to tackle soon after he assumed charge.

vi. He was also able to bring down inflation from double digit levels in the last two years and had proposed radical changes in the areas of monetary policy and banking reforms in India.

64. World Science Day for Peace and Development 2015 observed

i. The World Science Day for Peace and Development, dubbed World Science Day, was observed on 10 November 2015 across the world. The theme for 2015 is Science for a Sustainable Future.

ii. To mark the day, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) conducted several discussions, special campaigns, visits to science museums for school children, etc to raise awareness of benefits of science worldwide.

iii. For 2015, the theme Science for a Sustainable Future is chosen against the backdrop of 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as approved by the UN.

iv. World Science Day was created as follow-up to the World Conference on Science, organized jointly by UNESCO and the International Council for Science in Budapest (Hungary) in 1999.

65. India re-elected to UN Commission on International Trade Law

i. 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).

ii. 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.

iii. 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.

iv. 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.

v. 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.

66. Justice AP Shah appointed as the Ethics Officer (Ombudsman) at BCCI

i. Former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court, Justice Ajit Prakash Shah, was on 9 November 2015 appointed as the ethics officer (ombudsman) at Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). He will preside as the sole decision maker on all conflict of interest issues plaguing Indian cricket.

ii. The decision to appoint an ombudsman was taken at the Board's 86th Annual General Meeting to end the problem on conflict of interest in the Board. This is being considered as a BCCI’s clean-up operation.

iii. The clean-up operation has been triggered by the 2013 IPL spot-fixing scandal, which was investigated by the Supreme Court-appointed RM Lodha committee.

iv. The apex court-appointed panel had suspended Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals for two years for their officials' involvement in the scandal. Justice Shah, 67, is known for his bold judgments, including the July 2009 ruling that found India's 150-year-old statute prohibiting homosexual acts as discriminatory and therefore a violation of fundamental rights.

67. Ministry of Defence launched Army Cloud, Data Centre & Digi-Locker for the Indian Army

i. Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on 9 November 2015 launched Army Cloud, Software Defined Data Centre and Digi-Locker facilities for the Indian Army at the Army Headquarters in New Delhi.

ii. The three initiatives are aimed at catalysing automation and digitization of the Indian Army and help in transforming it from a Platform Centric to a Network Centric Force.

iii. Army Cloud includes a Central Data Centre, a Near Line Data Centre, both in Delhi and a Disaster Recovery site for replication of its critical data along with virtualised servers and storage in an environmentally controlled complex.

iv. The latest technologies in the field have been incorporated in its implementation wherein all the resources could be provisioned to different applications on the Cloud, on click of a button.

v. Digi Locker will provide a secure and exclusive data storage space to all the units and formation headquarters of the Army over its dedicated data network. It is similar to e-Locker of Digital India program and has all the advanced features like digital signatures and watermarking.

vi. It is an important step towards implementation of cyber security as it precludes carriage of soft copies of data on CDs/DVDs and removable media. By using this facility, users can store, share and access the data from anywhere any time on the Army Data Network.

68. Union Government signed Loan Agreement with Asian Development Bank

i. 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.

ii. The loan agreement was signed by S Selvakumar, Joint Secretary (Bilateral Cooperation), Department of Economic Affairs and Teresa Kho, Country Director of ADB. 

iii. 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.

iv. 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.

v. 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.

vi. 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.

69. India-Russia Joint Military Exercise Indra-2015 begins in Rajasthan

i. The seventh edition India-Russia Joint Military Exercise ‘Indra-2015’ has begun in Bikaner district of Rajasthan. This edition of exercise is focusing on ‘Counter Terrorism Operations in Desert Terrain under a United Nations Mandate’.

ii. The bilateral exercise would be held between Indian Army’s Infantry Battalion and Independent Russian Motorised Brigade from 7 to 20 November 2015.

iii. It would be conducted 2 phases, namely ‘Combat Conditioning & Tactical Training’ and ‘Validation’ phases. Both participating battalions would initially acquaint themselves with each other’s counter terrorism approaches including Command and Control systems, operations, arms and equipment.

iv. They would also focus on ensuring a high degree of physical fitness, tactical drills, techniques and procedures. This joint exercise will also engage in variety of joint missions including joint planning, Search and Rescue, Cordon and Search operations, special arms skills and joint tactical drills.

v. The bilateral exercise seeks to further boost people to people as well as military to military ties between India and Russia.

70. Jayant Sinha is planning to meet Chief Executives of State-run banks every 45 days
i. Jayant Sinha, Minister of State for Finance, is planning to meet Chief Executives of State-run banks every 45 days to take stock of various performance parameters and discuss evolving issues.
ii. The move comes at a time when public sector banks are witnessing increasing pressure on asset quality, which is eroding their capital and profitability. This meeting is in addition to the meeting with the Union Finance Minister, which takes place every quarter, primarily to review the quarterly performance of banks.


71. Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd. (IHFL) has acquired a 40 per cent stake in OakNorth Bank of the U.K. 

i. Sameer Gehlaut led Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd. (IHFL) has acquired a 40 per cent stake in OakNorth Bank of the U.K. for $100 million, making it the largest shareholder of a full service universal bank.
ii. The investment has been identified and approved by the Strategic Investment Committee for Liability Franchise Develop- ment, headed by K. C. Chakrabarty, an independent director on the board and ex-Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India.

72. Rhythm and Blues legend Allen Toussaint died
i. Rhythm and Blues legend Allen Toussaint died at the age of 77 after suffering two heart attacks.
ii. The legendary New Orleans R&B songwriter and producer, known for hit songs such as ‘Working in the coalmine’ and ‘Southern Nights’ — suffered a heart attack shortly after performing on stage at Madrid’s Teatro Lara , according to Spanish newspaper El Mundo.

73. SBI has announced partnership deal with Emirates NBD
i. A leading UAE-based bank has announced a partnership deal with State Bank of India to help NRI customers in the gulf to carry out their remittances instantly and more conveniently.
ii. Emirates NBD has expanded its partner bank network in India to include State Bank of India (SBI) for the DirectRemit 60 seconds remittance platform.
iii. With this partnership, the bank’s Non-Resident Indian (NRI) customers who also bank with SBI can now avail themselves of the fastest remittance service in the UAE more easily.

74. Budweiser maker Anheuser-Busch InBev finalized takeover of SAB Miller 
i. Anheuser-Busch InBev says it has finalized the terms of a $107 billion takeover of SABMiller that will combine the planet’s two biggest brewers and create a company that makes almost a third of the beer consumed worldwide.

ii. As part of the deal, SABMiller will sell its stake in a venture with Molson Coors. 

iii. AB InBev is seeking to bolster growth by acquiring SABMiller’s brands in Africa and Asia as changing tastes and craft beers cut sales in developed markets. The two companies own hundreds of brands including Budweiser, Corona, Grolsch and Stella Artois.

75. Ministry of Railways issued Letter of Award to GE Global Sourcing India Pvt Limited

i. Ministry of Railways 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.

ii. 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.  

iii. 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.

76. Union Government issued notification for implementation of OROP

i. Union Government 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.

ii. 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.

77. Supreme Court upheld Kerala Government’s ban on online lotteries

i. The Supreme Court of India (SC) upheld Kerala Government’s ban on online lotteries.

ii. The judgment was delivered by a bench headed by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) H L Dattu while hearing the All Kerala Online Lottery Dealers Association Vs State of Kerala & Ors. case in which Sikkim Government is also one of the petitioners opposing the ban.

iii. While upholding the ban, the bench stated that lottery is a form of gambling and it was condemned as a vice by the Rigveda, Smritis and Arthashastra.

78. Belgian court ordered Facebook to stop tracking non-members

i. A court of Belgium asked Facebook to stop tracking the country's Internet users who are not members of the US-based social networking website. It gave 48 hours to the social networking site to stop tracking people in Belgium.

ii. The ruling was pronounced on a case lodged in June 2015 by the Belgian Privacy Commission, which said Facebook indiscriminately tracks Internet users when they click like or share on the website. It said that the site uses a special cookie called Datr that lodges on internet users’ device to track their activities.

iii. The court said that the company was obliged to obtain consent to collect the information being gathered. If Facebook fails to comply, it could face a fine of up to 250000 euros (269000 dollars) per day to the Belgian Privacy Commission.

79. Richard Proud-chaired Independent Commission on Doping in Sports submitted its report to WADA

i. Richard Proud-chaired Independent Commission (IC) on Doping in Sports submitted its report to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The report was submitted on 9 November 2015 in Vienna, Switzerland.

ii. WADA launched the IC in December 2014 to investigate the validity of allegations of doping practices, corrupt practices around sample collection, results management, etc that implicate Russian Government agencies, labs, athletes, coaches among others.

iii. The allegations were based on a documentary titled Top Secret Doping: How Russia makes its Winners that was aired by the German television channel ARD.

80. Odisha's Barabati stadium excluded from BCCI's new Test venues

i. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on 9 November 2015 excluded Barabati stadium in Cuttack, Odisha from the list of newly declared Test venues. 

ii. Barabati Stadium was excluded from the list after Cricket fans hurled plastic bottled onto the ground forcing the match referees to stop the match for some time.

81. India's GSAT-15 communication satellite launched successfully

i. Indigenously made communications satellite GSAT-15 was launched successfully on 11 November 2015 by the European Ariane 5 VA-227 launch vehicle at 3:04 am.

ii. The launch took place from Kourou in French Guyana in South America. The Ariane-5 rocket was hired at a cost of approximately 581 crores rupees.

iii. The 3164 kilogram GSAT-15 carries communication transponders in Ku-band as well as a GPS Aided GEO Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) payload operating in L1 and L5 bands. An Arabsat communications satellite also accompanied the GSAT-15 on the same launch.

iv. The GSAT-15 was launched into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) after its co-passenger Arabsat-6B (BADR-7) was injected into space.

v. The Indian Space Research Organisation’s Master Control Facility (MCF) at Hassan in Karnataka took over the command and control of GSAT-15 immediately after its separation from the launch vehicle.

vi. After the completion of orbit raising operations, the two solar arrays and both the antenna reflectors of GSAT-15 will be deployed. Afterwards, the satellite will be put in its final orbital configuration.

82. Abraham M Keita from Liberia won the 2015 International Children's Peace Prize

i. 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.

ii. 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.

iii. 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.

83. India inked MoUs with six countries in the International Civil Aviation Negotiations

i. 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.

ii. In addition, Agreed Minutes were signed with Serbia, Greece, and European Commission. The Record of Discussions was signed with Brunei Darussalam and Qatar.

iii. The MoUs were signed during International Civil Aviation Negotiations (ICAN) 2015, which was held in Antalya, Turkey from 19 to 23 October 2015.

84. Indian-origin barrister Kalyani Kaul sworn-in as Circuit Judge in the UK

i. Indian-origin barrister in UK, Kalyani Kaul was sworn-in as a Circuit Judge in the UK on 9 November 2015. Now, she will be sitting at Snaresbrook Crown Court with immediate effect.

ii. 54-year-old Kalyani is known for her extensive and wide ranging experience in heavy-weight criminal defence work. She has spent 32 years defending serious and high profile cases.  

iii. She was called to the Bar in 1983 and later in 2009, she was appointed as a Recorder by Queen Elizabeth II. As a Recorder she prepared cases for trial and presided over hearings in county courts.

iv. Kalyani, who was the third highest-paid barrister in terms of legal air payments in 2005, studied law from the London School of Economics (LSE). 

v. From 2013 to 2014, she was the Senior Circuit representative on the Bar Council, a vice president (former chair) of the Association of Women Barristers, and one of the two Diversity Officers for the South Eastern Circuit.

85. Subir Gokarn appointed as IMF's Executive Director

i. Former Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India Subir Vithal Gokarn on 12 November 2015 was appointed as an Executive Director on the board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

ii. Gokarn will replace Rakesh Mohan at the IMF. Mohan’s three year tenure ends in November 2015. Gokarn’s name was cleared by Appointments Committee of Cabinet presided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as per an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training.

iii. The former Deputy Governor of RBI will represent India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Bhutan on IMF's Executive Board. The Board is responsible for conducting the day-to-day business of the multilateral institution.

iv. IMF's Executive Board is composed of 24 Directors, who are elected by member countries or by groups of countries, and the Managing Director, who serves as its Chairman. The Board conducts its meeting several times in a week and carries out its work largely on the basis of papers prepared by IMF management and staff.

86. Defence Minister commissioned India’s Coast Guard offshore patrol vessel ‘Samarth’

i. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on 10 November 2015 commissioned the India Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV), ‘Samarth’ at Vasco in Goa. It is Coast Guard’s largest OPV.

ii. The Ship built by Goa Shipyard limited is the first in the series of six off Shore Patrol vessels. The 105m OPV is fitted with most advance technology, navigation and communication equipment, sensors and machinery. It has a maximum speed of 23 knots and has an endurance of 6000 nautical miles at economical speed.

iii. Samarth that will be based in Goa is also capable of carrying pollution response equipment to contain any oil spill at sea. The vessel will also carry one twin-engine helicopter and five high-speed boats. 

iv. The OPV will be extensively used for Exclusive Economic Zone and other duties as it is set to be exploited extensively on the Western Seaboard. 

v. The induction of a sophisticated and state of the art Offshore Patrol vessel will provide the desired fillip to the maritime protection of the coastal state of Goa in particular and the India coast in general.

87. Sameer Panda-led Indian team won NASA award for Burst Prevention & Puncture Curative technology

i. A team of Indian scientist led by Sameer Panda from Odisha on 6 November 2015 won the NASA award for an innovative technology named Burst Prevention & Puncture Curative (BPPC) technology. Udit Bondia, KN Panda and Smitiparna Satpathy are the other members of the team.

i. They won the award in the Create the Future Design Contest- 2015 conducted by NASA Tech Brief in New York. Tech Brief is a contest jointly organized by NASA and Society of Automobile Engineers, International.

iii. They won the award for Mild Run Flat Tyre based on BPPC technology and developed by TycheeJuno, a firm working on Disruptive and Breakthrough Innovation in technology mostly related to automotive division.

iv. The tyre is a multi-chambered tubeless tire with sealant inside the chamber to take care of puncture in tread and sidewall.

v. The technology decreases the possibilities of bursts, takes care of punctures and dynamic wheel balancing. It helps to increase fuel efficiency and life and can also be manufactured with existing technology.

88. Annual Hundred Drums Wangala Festival begins in Meghalaya

i. Annual Hundred Drums Wangala Festival has begun on a cultural fervor at Asanang near Tura town in Meghalaya.

ii. The three day-long started with the arrival of ten Wangala Dance Troupes from various parts of Garo Hills. Significance of Wangala Festival Wangala Festival is an annual post-harvest festival of the Garos tribes of North east India.

iii. Generally celebrated in the second week of November every year.

iv. It is a thanks giving ceremony to Misi Saljong, which is also known as Pattigipa Ra-rongipa (The Great Giver) for blessing the people with rich harvest of the season.

89. President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurates 35th IITF in New Delhi

i. President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated 35th edition of India International Trade Fair (IITF) at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi. The 14 day fair has been organised by India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), under aegis of Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

ii. In this edition over 7,000 firms from India and overseas are participating.

iii. This year Afghanistan has been roped as the partner country and Bangladesh is the focus country. Within Indian states, Goa and Jharkhand are roped as partner states, while Madhya Pradesh is the focus state.

iv. Theme of 2015 edition of IITF is Make in India in order to encourage companies to manufacture their products in India.

v. The major objective behind this international trade festival is to focus on 25 sectors of Indian economy for skill enhancement and job creation. Some of these sectors are: automobiles, chemicals, Information Technology (IT), textiles, ports, pharmaceuticals, leather, aviation, tourism and hospitality, railway, auto components, wellness, design manufacturing, renewable energy, mining, bio-technology, and electronics etc.

90. PM Narendra Modi inaugurates Ambedkar memorial in London

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the recently acquired Ambedkar memorial by Maharashtra Government at King Henry’s Road in London, United Kingdom. On this occasion, Prime Minister unveiled a plaque to mark the dedication of the Memorial and was accompanied by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

ii. Maharashtra government had bought this house in London where social reformer and architect of the Indian Constitution Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar had stayed as a student in the 1920s.

iii. In September 2015, Maharashtra Government had purchased the house for 32 crore rupees and had converted into an international memorial consisting of a public museum and a library owing to its cultural and national importance and pride of millions of people of India.

iv. Apart from it, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also unveiled a Basaveshwara Statue at Lambeth in London. Basaveshwara (1105-1167 AD) was a great philosopher and social reformer who had fought against social evils of his time, and worked for the strengthening of democracy at the grassroots.

91. 2017 announced as the UK-India Year of culture

i. Britain announced 2017 as the UK-India Year of Culture to mark the 70th Anniversary of Indian Independence.

ii. To mark the Occasion, UK Institute will partner with Indian Institutes for the program and the British Library will digitize 2,00,000 pages from its South Asian Archives.

iii. The government will send Shakespeare’s First Folio and the 800 year old Magna Carta to tour India.

92. Naval Ship Vishwakarma commissioned

i. INS Vishwakarma, the erstwhile Shipwright School (SWS) and a premier training establishment of the Indian Navy has been commissioned. It was commissioned by Admiral RK Dhowan, Chief of the Naval Staff at a formal ceremony held at Visakhapatnam.

ii. INS Vishwakarma was commissioned in keeping with the Navy’s thrust towards indigenisation and ‘Make in India’ initiative. It also was commissioned keeping in view the role of the SWS which has assumed greater significance presently in honing Indian Navy’s warship and submarine design.

iii. Shipwright School (SWS) was established in 1941 at INS Shivaji for training shipwright artificers of Indian Navy. SWS was a premier technical establishment and alma mater for Naval Architect Officers, Shipwright Officers and Shipwright Sailors of the Indian Navy.

iv. It was subsequently shifted in 1943 to Naval Barracks, Mumbai (now INS Angre). In 1981, it was again shifted to the present premises at Visakhapatnam as a dedicated training establishment with independent facilities for training of shipwright apprentices.

93. India, UK announced commercial deals worth 9 billion pounds

i. India and the UK 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.

ii. The deal included HDFC, India’s largest housing finance company, which has announced the proposal to issue rupee denominated bonds overseas of up to 490 million pounds.

iii. Bharti Airtel Ltd announced that it intends to issue its maiden sterling bond of up to 500 million pounds to be listed on the London Stock Exchange.

iv. 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.

v. 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.

vi. 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.

94. Terrorist attack in Paris; Hundreds Killed

i. Terrorists attacked six locations around Paris killing around 160 civilians and injuring another 200 people and security personnel.

ii. While majority of the deaths occurred in the Bataclan concert venue, around 80000 football fans in the Stade de France (National Stadium of France) came under the deadliest attacks who were watching a friendly match between France and Germany.

iii. 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.

95. First AMRIT outlet opened at AIIMS Delhi for selling affordable drugs

i. 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.

ii. 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.

iii. 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.

iv. 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.

96. International Day for Tolerance observed across the world

i. The International Day for Tolerance was observed globally on 16 November 2015 with an aim to educate people about the need for tolerance in society and help them understand the negative effects of intolerance.

ii. In 1996, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) by its resolution 51/95 invited UN Member States to observe the International Day for Tolerance on 16 November, with activities directed towards both educational establishments and the wider public.

iii. This action came in the wake of the United Nations Year for Tolerance 1995, proclaimed by the UNGA in 1993. On 16 November 1995, the UNESCO member states adopted the Declaration of Principles on Tolerance and Follow-up Plan of Action for the year.

97. Maareech, an Advanced Torpedo Defence System, handed over to Indian Navy

i. The Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar handed over the Maareech - Advanced Torpedo Defence System – developed by DRDO to the Navy Chief Admiral Robin K. Dhowan in Vishakhapatnam.

ii. Maareech is a joint project of Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL), Kochi and NSTL, Visakhapatnam. It is a state-of-the-art indigenous system for torpedo detection and countermeasures.

iii. The system provides a complete solution to detect and locate the incoming torpedo and to apply countermeasures to protect naval platform against torpedo attack. The system is capable of detecting, confusing, diverting and decoying the incoming torpedoes.

iv. Two production grade Maareech systems have been developed and user evaluation trials completed onboard two Indian Navy ships. Besides, Parrikar also dedicated to the nation the Seakeeping and Manoeuvring Basin (SMB). It is a one of its kind platform in the country set up as a joint effort of DRDO and Indian Navy.

98. Jharkhand Government introduced Mobile Governance

i. The Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das on 15 November 2015 introduced Mobile Governance in the state to realise the dreams of Digital India during the occasion of 16th Foundation Day of the state.

ii. The State Government launched 14 mobile applications and three web portals on the State Foundation Day to deliver the benefits of information technology to the people of the state in order to bridge the gap between the government and public.

iii. To facilitate quick clearance for industries, the state government introduced Advantage Jharkhand Portal, the country's first single window portal.

iv. The mobile applications were developed by Jharkhand Space Applications Centre (JSAC). These are designed to bring services from government, civic bodies and police force to the Android smartphones of the beneficiaries.

v. All the mobile applications can be downloaded free of cost from apps.jharkhand.gov.in portal. Although, they have not been put up on any popular application distribution platform yet, this option is open for exploration in future.

99. Children's book writer Kamala Laxman dead

i. A well-known author of children's books, Kamala Laxman, passed away in Pune on 14 November 2015 due to old age issues. She was 90.

ii. Widow of legendary cartoonist R.K. Laxman, Kamala was commissioned by the India Book House in the 1970s to write stories for children, such as Thama and His Missing Mother and tales of Tenali Raman. The Tenali Raman stories penned by her were later memorably serialised into 13 and telecast on Doordarshan.

iii. Kamala was born in Chennai. She attended St. Thomas' Convent and later graduated from Delhi's Indraprastha College. She also studied interior decoration from Sir J.J. School of Arts in Mumbai.

100. Saeed Jaffrey passes away

i. Veteran actor, Saeed Jaffrey, who was seen in films like Shatranj Ke Khiladi and Ram Teri Ganga Maili, passed away on Sunday, November 15, 2015. He was 86.

ii. Jaffrey's niece, Shaheen Aggarwal, broke the unfortunate news on Facebook. She wrote, "Today, a generation of Jaffreys has passed away. Saeed Jaffrey has joined his brothers and sister and is rejoicing in the lap of his Heavenly Father, eternally. The entire Jaffrey Family bids you, "adieu", you beautiful, beautiful man See you in heaven!"

iii. Saeed Jaffrey was the first Indian actor to tour Shakespeare, taking his company across the United States. He had also won the Filmfare Award for the film, Shatranj Ke Khiladi, in the Best Supporting Actor category.