Dear Readers,

This is the new series which have been started by us in which we will provide you weekly compilation of the current affairs.
We will publish our new document named WEEKLY GA TONIC.
We really hope that you all will like this new initiative by our team. This document contains the important current affairs
from November 2015, i.e. 15th November to 21st November.
This tonic is useful for all those candidates who are appearing for the NABARD EXAM.
Also, this is useful for the IBPS CLERK MAINS EXAM 2015-16.

www.bankersadda.com

www.careerpower.in

www.sscadda.com

Page 1

INDIA IN NEWS(AGREEMENTS)

Government at King Henrys 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.
IEP released Global Terrorism Index 2015. Out of
the 162 countries surveyed, India was the sixth most
affected by terrorism in 2014.
India, Bangladesh agreed to cooperate on
intelligence sharing, border security. India assured
Bangladesh to cooperate it in stopping cross-border
drug smuggling, which was another major issue of
the talks.
India and Bangladesh signed draft MoU on
passenger and cruise vessel movement. The MoU
was signed during the meeting of the secretary level
delegation of both the countries.
India, Australia completed formalities for Civil
Nuclear Pact. India will be the first country to buy
Australian uranium without being a signatory to the
Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty.

Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate

Change, Prakash Javadekar announced formation of
Indian Resource Panel (InRP) on Resource Efficiency.
India is the first country to constitute a National
Resource Panel. The InRP was formed with an aim to
promote sustainable development of the country by
utilising secondary resources to meet developmental
needs.
India and Vietnam inked MoU for cooperation in the
field of Animal Health. The MoU seeks the
promotion of mutual cooperation between both the
nations through joint activities in the areas of animal
health.
Union Cabinet gave its ex-post approval to the Joint
Declaration of Intent (JDI) between the Ministry of
Human Resource Development and Federal Foreign
Office of Germany. The JDI seeks to promote German as
an additional Foreign Language in Kendriya Vidyalayas
(KV) schools. With this approval, German language will
now be taught as an additional foreign language in KVs
in conformity with the National Education Policy,
1986.
IAMAI released Internet in India 2015 report. As per
the report, Indias internet user base will touch 402
million by December 2015 making it the secondlargest in the world after China.
India & China agreed to deepen defence ties &
maintain peace at LAC. The decision came at the
meeting of a visiting 26-member delegation led by
General Fan Changlong, Vice-Chairman of Chinas
CMC and the Indian side headed by Defence Minister
Manohar Parrikar.
India & Bangladesh signed SOP to operationalise
Agreement on Coastal Shipping. The SOP has been
framed as per the terms and conditions of the
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Agreement on Coastal Shipping and both India and
Bangladesh have agreed to its provisions.
Russia signed two agreements with Egypt to finance
a) President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated 35th
and build its first nuclear power plant at Dabaa on the
edition of India International Trade Fair (IITF) at
Mediterranean coast in the northwest of the country.
Pragati Maidan in New Delhi. The 14 day fair has been
Dabaa Nuclear plant will be third-generation plant
organised by India Trade Promotion Organisation
with four reactors with total capacity of 1,200 MW.
(ITPO), under aegis of Union Ministry of Commerce
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC)
and Industry. This year Afghanistan has been roped as
unanimously adopted a French-sponsored resolution
the partner country and Bangladesh is the focus
2249 (2015) calling all nations to take all necessary
country.
measures to prevent and suppress the terrorist acts of
b) Within Indian states, Goa and Jharkhand are roped
Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and other
as partner states, while Madhya Pradesh is the
extremist groups. The resolution was adopted by UNSC
focus state. Theme of 2015 edition of IITF is Make
a week after ISIS extremists had launched a
in India in order to encourage companies to
coordinated barbaric gun and bomb assault in Paris
manufacture their products in India.
(France) on 13 November 2015 that killed 130 people.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the
recently acquired Ambedkar memorial by Maharashtra
www.bankersadda.com
|
www.careerpower.in
|
www.sscadda.com
Page 2

Britain announced 2017 as the UK-India Year of

Culture to mark the 70th Anniversary of Indian
Independence. 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.
US House of Representatives passed Bill to restrict
entry of Syrian, Iraqi refugees. The bill that seeks to
impose more stringent security provisions on
already robust screening of Iraqi and Syrian
refugees.
Terrorists attacked six locations around Paris killing
around 160 civilians and injuring another 200 people
and security personnel. While majority of the deaths
occurred in the Bataclan concert venue, around 80000
football fans in the Stade de France (National Stadium
of France) came under the deadliest attacks who were
watching a friendly match between France and
Germany. To deal with impending attacks, France
President Francois Hollande, who was at the venue
during the attack, immediately convened an
emergency cabinet meeting outside the stadium and
announced a state of emergency.
Bangladesh Government blocked social media
platform on security grounds. The order came
following the Supreme Court verdict of death
penalty to war criminals Salauddin Quader
Chowdhury and Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid.
APPOINTMENTS (INDIA & WORLD)

Zarin Daruwala will join as the India chief executive

officer at Standard Chartered Bank, the international
lender. He will report to Ajay Kanwal, regional CEO,
ASEAN & South Asia at Standard Chartered.
Syed Akbaruddin was appointed as the next
Permanent Representative of India to the United
Nations at New York. He will replace Asoke Kumar
Mukerji who assumed the office in April 2013.
Nokia announced that Sandeep Girotra would become
the head of India and Amr Karim El-Leithy would
become the head of Middle East and Africa as part of
the planned combination of Nokia and Alcatel-Lucent,
after and subject to the successful closing of the public
exchange offer for Alcatel-Lucent securities
announced on 15 April.

STATES (INDIA) IN NEWS

Harshavardhan Neotia, Chairman of Ambuja Neotia

group elected as the President of industry body
Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and
Industry (FICCI) for the year 2016. He will succeed
the current FICCI President Jyotsna Suri.
Senior JDU leader Nitish Kumar was sworn-in as Chief
Minister of Bihar for the fifth time. The swearing-in
ceremony was held at the Gandhi Maidan in Patna.
Governor Ramnath Kovind administered the oath of
office and secrecy to Nitish Kumar.
Philips India has appointed V Raja as the ViceChairman and Managing Director effective December
1. He takes over from A Krishna Kumar.
Senior diplomat Vijay Keshav Gokhale has been
appointed as Indias Ambassador to China. He will
replace Ashok Kantha.
The President of India Pranab Mukherjee on 18
November 2015 appointed Justice Tirath Singh
Thakur as the Chief Justice of India. Justice Thakur
will take over the office from 3 December 2015 as the
43rd Chief Justice of India. His tenure will be till 3
January 2017.

www.bankersadda.com

www.careerpower.in

Walmart India announced an entrepreneur

development programme for women, a move to
encourage women owned businesses (WOBs) in the
supply chain. This will include softer payment terms
for them in their first year of empanelment with
Walmart India. Speaking at the launch of Andhra
Pradesh Rural Inclusive Growth Project, Krish Iyer,
President & CEO, Walmart India, said, Andhra
Pradesh will be one of the first states in India where
we will start an entrepreneurial programme for
women in collaboration with Society for Elimination
of Rural Poverty.
Rajasthan Government signed 295 MoUs attracting
about 3.3 lakh crore rupees investment during the
Resurgent Partnership Summit 2015. With this, a task
force will be formed to get the projects implemented
in a time-bound manner. It aims to provide around
239694 lakh jobs in the state.
Rajasthan and South Australia signed the historic
Sister-State Agreement to boost export and
investment opportunities between the two states. The
agreement was signed by South Australia Trade and

www.sscadda.com

Page 3

Investment Trade Minister Martin Hamilton-Smith

and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje in
Rajasthan. It is based on a two-way exchange of
research, policy and technical capabilities.
Union Minister of Food Processing Industries
Harsimrat Kaur Badal laid the foundation stone of the
first Mega Food Park in Telangana. The park is
promoted by Smart Agro Food Park Pvt. Ltd. at Village
Lakkampally and Chimrajpally, Nandipet Mandal,
District Nizamabad, Telangana. Besides, two more
Mega Food Parks have been sanctioned to be set up in
Khammam and Mahboobnagar districts in Telangana.
Delhi will host the first International Qawwali Festival
2015 titled Taali Ho that is scheduled to be held from
12 February 2016 to 14 February 2016.
The Centre, Andhra Pradesh and the World Bank have
inked a $75 million (500 crore) credit deal for the
Andhra Pradesh Rural Inclusive Growth Project. The
project seeks to enhance agricultural incomes of small
and marginal farmers and ensure increased access to
services related to health, nutrition, sanitation and
social entitlements.
Odisha implemented National Food Security Act,
2013 in 14 districts. In the first phase, the NFSA
was launched in the districts of Angul, Bargarh,
Boudh, Balangir, Deogarh, Gajapati, Jharsuguda,
Kandhamal, Kalahandi, Koraput, Malkangiri,
Nuapada, Sambalpur and Sonepur.
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. 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.

medal in a time of 39.927 seconds. In women's elite

event of 500m race distance, cyclists Deborah
grabbed a silver medal in new national record time
of 35.77 seconds.
The Czech Republic successfully defended its Fed
Cup crown after beating Russia in final day's play in
Prague. Czech Republics Karolina Pliskova emerged
as the teams hero.
FIFA, the governing body of football, banned Nepal's
football chief Ganesh Thapa for 10 years for
corruption. The body also banned the President of
the Laos federation Viphet Sihachakr for two years
for bribery.
Young shuttler Siril Verma grabbed a silver medal at
the BWF World Junior Championships held in Lima,
Peru. Chinas Chia Hung Lu clinched the gold medal
at the Boys' singles event.
Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson (age 34) has
announced his retirement from all forms of
international cricket. He made this announcement
after conclusion to the second Test match against
New Zealand at WACA.
Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal has won silver
medal at 2015 China Open Superseries Premier
Badminton tournament after finishing at second
position in the Womens Singles category.
German Formula One motor racer Nico Rosberg
defeated Lewis Hamilton to grab the Brazilian Grand
Prix trophy. Sebastian Vettel grabbed the third
position in the race.
IAAF provisionally suspended Russia from World
Track and Field Events. The IAAFs council
members voted 22-1 in favour of Russia being
banned from the events. The ban will keep Russian
athletes out of all sanctioned international track
and field events worldwide.

SPORTS IN NEWS
Maharashtras chess player Srishti Pandey clinched
the second Indiana All India FIDE Rating Chess
tournament. The tournament was organised by
Nagpur Taluka Chess Association, which concluded
at Dr Hedgewar Smarak Samiti Hall, Reshimbagh,
Nagpur.
Indian men and women elite cyclists won five medals
on the opening day of the Track Asia Cup. The
cyclists won one gold medal, three silver medals and
one bronze medal at the event held in IG Stadium
Complex Velodrome, New Delhi. Anu clinched a
silver medal in the 500m race distance event in the
junior women category in a time of 40.093 seconds.
Amritha Reghunathan, from SAINCA, won the gold

www.bankersadda.com

www.careerpower.in

www.sscadda.com

Page 4

www.bankersadda.com

www.careerpower.in

www.sscadda.com

Page 5

BANKS & ECONOMY IN NEWS

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has pledged to
provide 120 million dollar loan in order to finance
cross-border electricity link between Bangladesh
and India under SASEC Programme. In this regard,
loan agreement was signed by ADB Country Director
Kazuhiko Higuchi and Mohammad Mejbahuddin,
Senior Secretary of Bangladesh Finance Ministry.
The loan fund would be used for Second BangladeshIndia Grid Inter connectivity project under the
ambitious South Asia Sub-regional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) Programme.
a) The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs
approved extension of Indian Development and
Economic Assistance Scheme (IDEAS) for five years
from 2015-16 to 2019-20. The extension was
approved by the Prime Minister-headed CCEA in
view of continued relevance of the scheme. During
the extended period, about 3771 crore rupees will be
utilized as part of the scheme.
b) IDEAS attempts to promote India's strategic
political and economic interest abroad by positioning
it as an emerging economic power, investor country
and partner for developing countries.
The Union Cabinet on 18 November 2015 approved
the signing of the Tripartite Agreement among India,
Brazil and South Africa (IBSA) on the IBSA Fund for
the Alleviation of Poverty and Hunger. The decision
will help in strengthening the IBSA Fund which is a
unique vehicle in the context of South-South
cooperation. The IBSA countries contribute 1 million
US dollars each annually to the Fund, which till
January 2015 has accumulated to 28.2 million US
dollars, with total implemented/approved projects
commitment of 26.2 million US dollars. Remaining
2.09 million US dollars is available for programming.
India on its part has contributed 9.1 million US
dollars so far to the Fund. The IBSA Fund undertakes
development projects in third countries.
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on 18 November 2015 gave its
approval for the ratification and submitting of the
Articles of Agreement (AoA) of the Asian
Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). India will be
the second-biggest shareholder with 8.4 percent,
followed by Russia, which will have a 6.5 percent
stake. Establishment of the AIIB will help India and
other signatory countries to raise and avail resources
for their infrastructure and sustainable development
projects. It will enable India to play a prominent role
in the governance of a multilateral institution.
CCEA approved four rail line projects worth 8351
crore rupees. Doubling of the lines will greatly

www.bankersadda.com

ease the ever increasing freight traffic between

these sections.
a) Axis Mutual Fund announced its new fund offer,
the Axis Children's Gift Fund. This is Axis' first goalbased investment option, the MF house said.
According to the company, such an investment
would be better than taking an education loan in the
future for a child's education. The NFO comes with
an optional lock-in period till the child turns 18 years
old.
b) The open-ended balanced scheme will invest up to
60 per cent in equity and equity derivatives, a
maximum of 55 per cent in debt and a maximum of
15 per cent in cash arbitrage.
c) The minimum application amount is Rs. 5,000. The
fund will be benchmarked against the Crisil
Composite Bond Fund Index.
ICICI Bank Canada, a subsidiary of private lender
ICICI Bank, has launched Student GIC (Guaranteed
Investment Certificate) Program for students
aspiring to study in Canada. As per the terms of the
programme, the amount of C$10,000 is paid back to
the student while he/she is studying in Canada in 12
equal instalments along with the interest amount.

BUSINESS NEWS

www.careerpower.in

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India's largest

software exporter launched a new Centre of
Excellence (CoE) for Internet of Things (IoT) in
collaboration with Intel. The CoE is located at the
TCS campus in Hyderabad. Its focus is to integrate
IoT solutions developed by TCS on Intel IoT
platforms and to fast-track creation of end-to-end
solutions.
Marriott International to acquire Starwood Hotels
& Resorts Worldwide. With this acquisition,
Marriott International is set to become worlds
largest hotel company.

www.sscadda.com

Page 6

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA)

approved the disinvestment of 10 percent paid up
equity capital of Coal India Limited (CIL). With this
disinvestment in CIL, the Union Government is
expecting to mop up around 20000 crore rupees.
Chip-maker Intel has rolled out its Ek Kadam Unnati
Ki Aur programme towards rural digitisation in 10
States from Nadimpalle villlage in Telangana.
Announcing the setting up of the first Unnati Kendra
at the village in Mahabubnagar District, Intel Vice
President-Sales and Marketing Group and Managing
Director-South Asia Debjani Ghosh said the company
will work with Central and the State governments to
identify best framework for digitisation.
Online auto classifieds portal CarTrade acquired
CarWale. After the deal, the CarTrade, which only
sells used cars, plans to enter into the new cars
segment.
Healthcare booking platform Practo and taxi-hailing
platform Uber today announced a global partnership
to help people reach doctors easily. Across India,
Indonesia, Philippines and Singapore, those who
book an appointment on Practos mobile application
will be able to view the closest Uber available along
with the appointment reminder alert.
Travel services provider Thomas Cook India has
entered into a partnership with online aggregator of
budget hotels, OYO Rooms, offering access to over
3,200 hotels, spread over 140 cities across India. The
companys partnership with OYO Rooms aims at
providing a wide range of standardised stay options,
optimal locations (both business and leisure areas)
and maximised savings, Thomas Cook India said.

organsied by BioGenesis - the Euro-Indian Health

Cluster (India), Global Cancer Foundation and
supported by the Indian Council of Medical Research.
OBITUARIES
Former Chief of the Research and Analysis Wing
(RAW) K. Sankaran Nair passed away in Bengaluru.
He was 94.
Eminent neurosurgeon and secretary general of
Indian Red Cross Society Satya Paul Agarwal died. He
was 70.
The patron of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP)
Ashok Singhal passed away in Gurgaon due to a
prolonged illness. He was 89. Singhal served as the
international working president of the Hindu
organisation for over 20 years.
A well-known author of children's books, Kamala
Laxman, passed away in Pune due to old age issues.
She was 90.
RK Trivedi, the former Gujarat Governor and CEC,
died.
Veteran actor, Saeed Jaffrey, who was seen in films
like Shatranj Ke Khiladi and Ram Teri Ganga Maili,
passed away. He was 86.

SUMMITS/CONFERENCE
a) 23rd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
Economic Leaders Summit was held at Manila,
Philippines from 18 November to 19 November
2015. The summit was chaired by Philippines
President Benigno S. Aquino III.
b) The theme of the Summit was Building Inclusive
Economies, Building a Better World.
c) After the conclusion of the summit, the leaders
from 21 member-countries issued the 2015 Leaders
Declaration titled Building Inclusive Economies,
Building a Better World: A Vision for an Asia-Pacific
Community.
d) Peru will chair APEC throughout 2016 and host
the 24th APEC Economic Leaders Meeting.
Global Cancer Summit, a three-day programme
focussed on understanding and suggesting strategies
to tackle cancer, will be organised from November
18-20 at the Indian Institute of Science. The event is

www.bankersadda.com

DAYS

www.careerpower.in

World Toilet Day (WTD) was observed on 19

November 2015 across the world with the theme
Sanitation and Nutrition. The aim of WTD is to raise
awareness about the people in the world who dont
have access to a toilet, despite the fact that it is a
human right to have clean water and sanitation.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) on 16
November 2015 launched the World Antibiotic
Awareness Week with the theme Antibiotics: handle
with care. The aim of the campaign is to raise
awareness and encourage best practices among the
public, policymakers, health and agriculture
professionals to avoid the further emergence and
spread of antibiotic resistance.

www.sscadda.com

Page 7

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.

Risk Reduction (UNISDR). Rijiju also became the first

Indian to be conferred with this honour.
NASA/ISRO IN NEWS
Russia successfully on 17 November 2015 launched
the first satellite for its newest early warning system,
named EKS or Integrated Space System. The satellite
was officially named Kosmos 2510 (Tundra 11L).
This new-generation satellite is designed to restore
Moscow's capability to detect, track and identify
worldwide missile launches from space.
SCHEMES/POLICIES LAUNCHED BY CENTRAL &
STATE GOVERNMENT

DEFENCE IN NEWS
a) 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.
b) Maareech is a joint project of Naval Physical and
Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL), Kochi and NSTL,
Visakhapatnam.
c) 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.
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.
BOOKS & AUTHORS
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
Tennis champion-turned Hollywood filmmaker
Ashok Amritraj was awarded with an honorary
doctorate of Arts by the University of East London.
Amritraj was honoured for promoting talented
moviemakers from across the world, including India.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) was on 19 November 2015 chosen for the
Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and
Development for 2015.
Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Kiren Rijiju,
was on 17 November 2015 designated as the
Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Champion for the
Asia Region by the United Nations Office for Disaster

www.bankersadda.com

www.careerpower.in

Union Government on 18 November 2015 launched

the Technology Acquisition and Development Fund
(TADF) under the National Manufacturing Policy,
2011. The TADF was launched by Minister of State
for Commerce & Industry Nirmala Sitharaman. The
fund will facilitate acquisition of clean, green and
energy efficient technologies. It will also catalyse the
manufacturing growth in Micro, Small & Medium
Enterprises (MSME) sector with an aim to contribute
to Make in India initiative.
Union Ministry of Finance on 13 November 2015
constituted the Governing Council (GC) of the
National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF).
The GC will be chaired by the Union Finance Minister
and the members included Secretary: DEA,
Secretary:
Financial
Services,
Arundhati
Bhattacharya, Hemendra Kothari,T V Mohandas Pai.
Its objective is to back new and stressed projects and
help restart the investment cycle. It was proposed by
the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his Budget
2015-16.
An inter-ministerial Apex Committee on 16
November 2015 approved State Annual Action Plans
(SAAP) of 81 mission cities in 5 states-Tamil Nadu,
Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha and Mizoram
under AMRUT for 2015-16. The meeting of the
committee was headed by Shri Madhusudan Prasad,
Secretary, Union Ministry of Urban Development,
which is the nodal ministry for implementation of
Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban
Transformation (AMRUT). With this approval,
number of cities covered under AMRUT went up to
170 across 8 states with a total project expenditure
of 8534 crore rupees.
Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on 15
November 2015 launched the Affordable Medicines
and Reliable Implants for Treatment (AMRIT)

www.sscadda.com

Page 8

pharmacy outlet at the All India Institute of Medical

Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi. The purpose of the
first of its kind outlet is to reduce the expenditure
incurred by patients on treatment of cancer and
heart diseases by 50 to 60 percent.

through integrating CCTNS with e-Courts, eprisons, Forensics and Prosecution, which are the
key components of the Criminal Justice System.

COMMITTEES IN NEWS
MISCELLANEOUS
Airports Authority of India (AAI) signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with IL&FS
Global Financial Services to spread its wings
overseas. IL&FS Global Financial Services is a
subsidiary
of
infrastructure
giant
IL&FS.
Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited
(IL&FS) is one of India's leading infrastructure
development and finance companies.
Eram Scientific Solutions, manufacturer of electronic
toilets, has unveiled a new eToilet mobile app. The
Andriod app is downloadable for free from Google
Playstore by typing the keyword etoilets. It helps
locate the nearest etoilets via a map and address
listings, Anvar Sadath K, CEO, Eram, says.
Chinas Tianhe-2 supercomputer has emerged as the
worlds most powerful supercomputer system for
the sixth consecutive time. It was unveiled in 46th
edition of Top500 list of supercomputers. The
Chinese Supercomputer is capable of performing
calculations with processing speed of 33.86 petaflops
per second (Pflop/s).
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on 17
November 2015 imposed penalties upon 3 Airlines
for concerted action in fixing and revising Fuel
Surcharge (FSC) for transporting cargo. These 3
Airlines are Jet Airways (India) Ltd, InterGlobe
Aviation Limited and Spice Jet Limited.
Allahabad HC asked UP government to stop sale
and use of Chinese Manjha. The order was passed
on a PIL filed by Anurag Mishra who had drawn
courts attention towards a number of incidents
caused by razor-sharp nylon string coated with
glass.
CCEA approved implementation of CCTNS and ICJS
Project by March 2017 to revamp Criminal Justice
System. The ICJS Project will be implemented

www.bankersadda.com

Delhi governments panel which was headed by

Chetan Sanghi suggested that the BCCI should
suspend DDCA as per the Memorandum and Rules
and Regulations of the BCCI, Regulation 32 (vii).
GLOBAL GENDER GAP REPORT 2015
a) World Economic Forum (WEF) released the Global
Gender Gap Report 2015. It ranked 145 economies
according to how well they are leveraging their female
talent pool, based on economic, educational, healthbased and political indicators.
b) As per the report, the global gender gap across
health, education, economic opportunity and politics
has closed by only 4 percent in the past 10 years
suggesting it will take another 118 years to close this
gap completely.
c) Out of the 145 countries surveyed, Iceland topped the
Gender Gap Index for the seventh year in a row & India
stood at the 108th position.
d) Top 5 countries with high gender equality are Iceland
(1), Norway (2), Finland (3), Sweden (4) and Ireland (5)
and five countries with least gender equality are Iran
(141), Chad (142), Syria (143), Pakistan (144) and
Yemen (145).
7th Central Pay Commission
a) The 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC) headed by
Justice AK Mathur submitted its report on 19 November
2015 to the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. The
commission recommended 23.55 percent hike in pay
and allowances of government employees.
b) The recommended pay revision will come into effect
from 1 January 2016. The minimum pay for government
employees is recommended to be set at 18000 rupees
per month. The maximum pay is recommended to be
225000 rupees per month for Apex Scale and 250000

www.careerpower.in

www.sscadda.com

Page 9

per month for Cabinet Secretary and others presently at

the same pay level.
c) The increase in pay will be 16 percent, increase in
allowances will be 63 percent and increase in pension
will be 24 percent.
d) The present system of pay bands and grade pay has
been dispensed and a new pay matrix has been
designed. Grade Pay has been subsumed in the pay
matrix. The status of the employee, determined by
grade pay, will now be determined by the level in the
pay matrix.
e) One Rank One Pension proposed for civilian
government employees on line of OROP for armed
forces. Increase in Military Service Pay and revised
pension formula for civil employees including Central
Armed Police Forces (CAPF) and Defence Personnel
retiring before 1 January 2016.
f) Military Service Pay (MSP), which is a compensation
for the various aspects of military service, will be
admissible to the defence forces personnel only.
g) The 7th Central Pay Commission headed by Justice A
K Mathur was set up on 28 February 2014 by then
Union Government to revise remuneration of
employees and pensioners of central government
including Defence and Railways.

Modis Two Nation Tour

Delhis Lokpal Bill

India & UK Mous

The Delhi Cabinet headed by Chief Minister Arvind

Kejriwal on 18 November 2015 approved the Delhi Jan
Lokpal Bill, 2015.
The Bill envisages the establishment of an independent
authority to investigate offences under the Prevention
of Corruption Act, 1988. It also covers the Chief
Ministers Office.
The bill drafted by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and
Deputy CM Manish Sisodia largely resembles the
provisions contained in Uttarakhand Lokayukta Bill,
2011.
The bill prescribes time-bound investigation of offences
within six months and states that as far as possible the
trial in such cases should be completed in six months. It
also allows authorities to provisionally attach assets
acquired by corrupt means.
It provides that punishment for any act of corruption
cannot be less than six months and a maximum of 10
years. In rarest or rare cases, the corrupt public servant
can be sentenced to life imprisonment. It seeks to bring
Delhi Police, Delhi Development Authority and
municipal bodies under its ambit.

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
Modis visit to the UK.
The deal included HDFC, Indias largest housing
finance company, which has announced the
proposal to issue rupee denominated bonds
overseas of up to 490 million pounds.
Bharti Airtel Ltd announced that it intends to issue
its maiden sterling bond of up to 500 million
pounds to be listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Major UK-based insurance companies like Standard
Life, Bupa and Aviva have committed to invest a
combined total of approximately 238 million
pounds worth of FDI in their Indian joint ventures.
London Stock Exchange Group and Yes Bank will
sign a MoU to foster the development around bond
and equity issuance, with a strong focus on green
infrastructure finance. As part of this MoU, the bank
is expected to list a green bond of up to 330 million
pounds through Medium Term Notes by December
2016.
State Bank of India (SBI) and London Stock
Exchange Group have announced a collaboration to
create the FTSE-SBI India Bonds Indices to be used
initially by a new investment fund run by SBI. These

www.bankersadda.com

a) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 16 November 2015

returned to India after his two-nation tour of the United
Kingdom and Turkey.
During his five-day visit which took place from 12
November to 16 November 2015, Modi participated in
G-20 summit at Antalya in Turkey and met with Queen
Elizabeth II, British Prime Minister David Cameron,
Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and others.
b) During this tour, he stayed in UK (12 to 14 November
2015) and Turkey (14 to 16 November 2015).
c) Modi inaugurated Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar
Memorial in London. He unveiled Basaveshwara Statue
in London and addressed the Indian Community at
Wembley Stadium, London. Modi paid homage at
Gandhi Statue in London and met with Queen Elizabeth
II at Buckingham Palace. With this, he became the first
Indian head to address the British parliament
d) Modi held delegation level talks with Prime Minister
David Cameron of United Kingdom and also met Leader
of the Labour Party and the Leader of the Opposition.
Modi attended the UK-India CEO Forum. He also visited
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) plant, a subsidiary of Indias
Tata Motors, in Solihull

www.careerpower.in

www.sscadda.com

Page 10

indices, to be launched in the first half of 2016, will

facilitate investment into Indias bond markets and
support market liquidity and pricing.
PRASAD & DARSHAN Scheme
a) PRASAD (National Mission on Pilgrimage
Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive) and
SWADSH DARSHAN schemes of the Union Ministry of
Tourism, the two initiatives, along with Zonal Cultural
Centres (ZCCs), were launched to achieve 1 per cent
share of international tourist arrivals by 2016-17 from
the present 0.68 per cent.
b) Both the schemes are under implementation in
mission mode and aimed at developing world-class
tourism related infrastructure.
c) PRASAD's objective is to augment religious and
spiritual tourism in the country as India is a land of
many religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism,
Jainism and Sufism.
d) As part of SWADSH DARSHAN scheme, theme based
tourism circuits are identified for infrastructure

development across the country. Theme Based Tourist

Circuit (TBTC) is defined as a tourist circuit around
specific themes such as religion, culture, ethnicity,
niche, etc. A TBTC could be confined to a state or could
be a regional circuit covering more than a state or union
territory (UT).
Important Days
November 16-International Day for Tolerence
November 17-International Students Day
November 19-World Toilet Day
November 19-International Mens Day
November 20-Universal Childrens Day
November 21-World Fisheries Day
November 21-World Hello Day
November 21-World Television Day

ALL THE BEST FOR

NABARD ASSISTANT EXAM

www.bankersadda.com

www.careerpower.in

www.sscadda.com

Page 11