Capsule FEB 2015

7/21/2019 Capsule FEB 2015

1/17

www.bscacademy.com

www.bsccareer.com

1BS

CAcade

mySINCE 1993 Indias Premier Banking / SSC Institute

Economy

SINCE 1993 Indias Premier Banking / SSC Institute

Banking

The RBI governor Raghuram Rajan left key rates

unchanged in his policy review on 3 Feb.

Highlights

The bank undertook its sixth bi-monthly monetary

policy review, 2014-15 on 3 Feb.

The RBI cut statutory liquidity ratio (SLR), the

portion of deposits banks must invest in govt bonds,

by 50 basis points to 21.5 per cent. The repo rate, the rate at which RBI lends overnight

funds to banks, remained unchanged at 7.75 per

cent. RBI also retained the cash reserve ratio (CRR), the

portion of deposits that banks have to maintain with

RBI, at 4 per cent.

Banks will have headroom to lend about 42,000

cradditionally following the RBIs move to cut SLR

by 50 basis points.

The apex bank also introduced a new category of

unbreakable or non-callable deposits fixed

deposits which cannot be withdrawn prematurely

where banks will offer higher interest rates.

The RBI will soon issue details relating to tenureand interest rates for unbreakable FDs. The move

is aimed at overcoming the asset-liability mismatches

for banks. The RBI expects that economic growth will pick up

to 6.5% in FY16, which will result in an increased

demand for funds in the banking sector.

To incentivise banks to clean bad loans from their

books, RBI has allowed lenders to write back excess

provisions if bad loans are sold.

By reducing SLR, RBI has not only released funds

for lending but has also helped banks migrate to

Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR)norms with ease

which are part of the international Basel III prudential

norms. The repo rate was cut outside the policy review

cycle (on Jan 15), from 8 per cent to 7.75 per cent.

The Reserve Bank of India has asked banks to display

loan interest ratesand processing feeson their websites

from 1st Apr.

The State Bank of India (SBI), Indias largest bank, and

the European Investment Bank (EIB), the European

Unions long-term lending institution, signed a loan

agreement for Euro 100 mnto be utilised for on-lending

to private businesses in the country.

Faced with competition from digital wallet companies

and from the imminent launch of payment banks, ICICI

Bank has responded with Pockets an app-based

digital wallet. The ICICI Bank says that it is Indias first

digital Bank on mobile phones. This service will enable

users to instantly send money to any e-mail id, mobile

number, friends on Facebook and bank account. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 13 Feb said that it

would soon put in circulation of currency notes in one

rupee (`1) denomination. The notes will be printed by

the Govt of India.

Highlights

The govt had discontinued printing `1 notes in Nov

1994 due to higher printing costs.

7/21/2019 Capsule FEB 2015

2/17

BSCAc

ademy

2 www.bscacademy.com

www.bsccareer.com


The RBI Act confers upon the central bank the

right to issue all notes, except 1. Such notes are

issued by the govt and bear the signature of financesecretary.

All other denomination notes are signed by the

governor of RBI.

As per the RBI Annual Report for 2013-14, there

were 38424 mn pieces of`1 coins in circulation (Mar

2014) and had seen a 7.07 per cent growth in its

volumes compared to Mar 2013.

The RBI in its release on 13 Feb has said that these

currency notes (of `1) are legal tender as provided

in The Coinage Act 2011 and the existing currency

notes in this denomination in circulation will also

continue to be legal tender.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has the authority

to issue bank notes of denominational values of`2,

`5, `10, `20, `50, `100, `500, `1,000, `5,000 and

`10,000.

The one-rupee note was printed and issued by the

Central Govt. The Govt of India also has the sole right to mint

coins of all denominations.

The private sector lender, Yes Bank has succeeded in

floating the countrys maiden green infrastructure bond

issue for 500 cr, against which it has received

commitments of over `450 cr at sub-9 per cent interest

rates. The proceeds of the bonds, which are for a tenorof 10 years, will be invested in renewable-energy projects

such as solar power, wind power, biomass and small hydel

projects.

The Reserve Bank of India has doubled the eligibility

limit for foreign exchange remittances under the

Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) from $125,000

to $250,000 per person per year.

The asset purchase plan of Euro 60 bn a month by the

European Central Bank (ECB)is expected to help the

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to boost its foreign-exchange

reserves further. This is likely as India will continue to

attract foreign flows and the central bank might not allow

the rupee to appreciate significantly against the dollar.

On Oct 1 this year, when IDFC becomes a bank, only 30

per centof its eligible loan book will be exempted from

statutory liquidity ratio (SLR)and cash reserve ratio

(CRR)stipulations, against expectations of 100 per cent

relief. After that, all its incremental loans will also be

exempted from such stipulations. On Jan 1 this year,

IDFCs loan book stood at `54,000 cr.

The Reserve Bank of India on 9 Feb directed banks toreport all kinds of Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP)transactions

on a daily basis, failing which bank or their branches

may face penal action, including de-authorisation. The

new KVP rules came into effect from Sep 2014. The RBI

further directed the banks to approach its Central

Account Section based in Nagpur for necessary

arrangements to report KVP 2014 transactions with

immediate effect.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued guidelines on

when it would require Indian banks to maintain a

countercyclical capital buffer (CCCB), an additional

layer of loss-absorbing capital on top of banks increased

minimum capital requirements under Basel III.

The State Bank of India, the countrys largest bank that

controls 17 per cent of the loan market in the country,

has gone off the beaten track by deciding to slow down

its pace of growth a decision that is in tune with the

macro-economic scenario.

The monthly index released by the countrys largest

lender SBI has slipped from 52.1 (moderate growth) in

Jan 2015 to 48.3 (low decline) in Feb 2015. The SBI

Composite Index, an indicator for tracking Indias

manufacturing activity, has registered a month-on-month

decline in Feb. Cardless cash withdrawal will be available from one lakh

bank ATMs by the end of the current year for remittances

initiated by customers of these banks. This service has

been possible because of the IMT Payment System

conceptualized and built by EMpays Payment System

founded by Ravi Rajagopalan.

The govt has decided to infuse additional capital in nine

public sector banks (PSBs) to an extent of 6,990 cr. For

the current fiscal, the amount budgeted (by the UPA

govt) for bolstering the capital of PSBs was 11,000 cr.

So, the actual amount that will be released is just over 50

per cent of the budgeted amount. Only nine banks willget this instalment of govt money. At the top of the table

is State Bank of India (`2,970 cr), Bank of Baroda (`1,260

cr) and Punjab National Bank (`870 cr). Other banks,

which fall in this category, are Canara Bank (`570 cr),

Syndicate Bank (`460 cr), Allahabad Bank (`320 cr),

Indian Bank (`280 cr), Dena Bank (`140 cr) and Andhra

Bank (`120 cr).

7/21/2019 Capsule FEB 2015

3/17

www.bscacademy.com

www.bsccareer.com

3BS

CAcade


The Reserve Bank of India has signed a memorandum of

understanding (MoU) on cooperation and exchange of

information with Banco Central do Brasil (BCB). Withthis, the RBI has signed 23 such MoUs, one letter for

supervisory cooperation and one statement of

cooperation with overseas regulators or supervisors.

The hackers have been active since at least the end of

2013 and infiltrated more than 100 banks in 30 countries,

according to Russian security companyKaspersky Lab.

The World Bank has barred an Indian firm from

participating in its projects for indulging in fraudulent

activities, taking the total number of banned India-based

entities to 13. The latest Indian entity to face debarment

is Puducherry-based KRG Associatesas it was found to

have provided forged certificates with respect to a

tsunami reconstruction project funded by the World Bank.

HSBCs Indian banking unit is at the heart of fresh

revelations around tax evasion, days after a global expose

showed tax dodging through accounts in the British

majors Swiss banking unit.

The Reserve Bank of Indias (RBI) foreign exchange

reserves rose to an all-time high of $ 330.21 bnfor the

week ending Feb 6.

The Reserve Bank on 30 Jan constituted a high-powered

panel to re-examine and recommend appropriate set of

businesses, size, conversion and licensing terms for theurban cooperative banking sector. The committee under

the chairmanship of RBI Deputy GovernorR Gandhihas

been set up on the recommendation made by theStanding

Advisory Committee (SAC)on UCBs last year. The

committee will determine the modalities of implementing

the suggestion of the Malegam Committee.

The Reserve Bank on 22 Jan allowed people to carry

high-value denomination notes while travelling to Nepal

and Bhutan. The bank issued a circular easing the

restriction on export and import of bank notes of 1,000

and 500denominations for Nepal and Bhutan that it

had imposed since May 2000.

Capital/Commodity Market

In a bid to prevent money laundering and to combat

financing terrorism, the Forward Markets Commission

(FMC) has issued guidelines for commodity markets. As

per the FMC circular, it has asked commexes to maintain

all records of transactions and preserve information

related to nature, amount, date and parties of

transactions.

Committee

The High Level Committee for Restructuring of Food

Corporation of India on 21 Jan submitted its report to the

Prime Minister. The Committee was chaired byShanta

Kumar.

Corporate

US technology giant Apple has reported the biggest

quarterly profit ever made by a public company. The

company reported to have sold 74.5 mn iPhones in its

fiscal first quarter ended Dec 27. Its revenue rose to

$74.6 bn from $57.6 bn a year earlier. Apple became the

first company to reach a market value of $700 bn on 10

Feb as shares vaulted amid upbeat news on the US tech

giants gains in the smartphone market and soon-to-arrive

smartwatch.

The Mumbai-based pharma major Cipla has been

awarded $ 188.95 mn (about `1174.79 cr) contract by

Global Fundfor supplying anti-retrovirals (ARV) drugs.

Cipla has been selected as a Panel Supplier for a supplier

partnership agreement.

Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group on 12 Feb announced

its foray into the high-growth defence and aerospacemanufacturing sector that are estimated to touch a market

size of $100 bn in 10 years. Reliance Defence Systems,

Reliance Defence Technologies and Reliance Defence

and Aerospace (RDA).

Disinvestment

The govt on 30 Jan successfully offloaded 10 per cent

stake in Coal India to raise around`22,400 cr in Indias

biggest-ever equity offering. State-owned Coal India is

the countrys largest coal miner and biggest supplier of

coal for the domestic market. The company commands

market capitalisation of`

2.28 lakh cr and is among thecountrys top 10 most valued. Following the 10 per cent

disinvestment, the govts holding in the company will

drop to 70 per cent.

Energy

The auction of apex court-cancelled coal blocks is finally

underway, with GMR and Reliance Cement bagging a

mine each.

7/21/2019 Capsule FEB 2015

4/17

BSCAc

ademy


www.bsccareer.com


Five coal blockshave been excluded from auction

till the govt reviews change in their end use.

Number of mines on offer: 204 Number of mines being auctioned in the first round:

110

Present output from the mines on offer in the first

round: 350 million tonnes 65mines are available for auction to private parties;

45for nomination to state firms. Steel, power and cement makers are eligible bidders

for the mines on offer. Of the 42 operational coal mines, 23 are being

auctioned to private firms.

There are nine cases in high courts of Delhi, Kolkata

and Jabalpur.

Sarda Energy, Usha Martin, Sesa Sterlite had issues

of qualification but the courts have allowed these

firms to participate in the auction. Cases challenging two-phased auction process and

multiple bidding by companies are set to be heard

by the Delhi HC on 18 Feb, while those related to

compensation, on 23 Feb.

Winners so far

Reliance Cement

GMRHindalco

FDI Indias FDI increased by 26 per cent in 2014 to an

estimated 35 bn US dollarswith maximum growth in the

services sector despite the decline in global Foreign

Direct Investment inflows. This was revealed in the latest

Global Investment Trade Monitor report released by

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

(UNCTAD) recently. This figure is one of the highest in

recent years, though in 2008 FDI peaked in India with 47

bn dollars followed by 35.6 bn dollars in 2009.

As per the United Nations Conference of Trade and

Development (UNCTAD)report released on Jan 29, 2015,

China has overtaken the United States (US) as the topdestination for foreign direct investment (FDI).

Highlights

This is an achievement for China primarily because

the US was on top as a foreign investment

destination for past 11 years, since 2003.

In 2014, foreign firms had invested 128 bn dollarsin

China compared to 86 bn invested in the US.

The growth in Chinas foreign investment had

benefited the services sector as manufacturing had

slowed in 2014. Hong Kong stood at the second spot after China

and ahead of US with foreign investment of 111 bn

dollars.

The top 5 foreign investment destinations of 2014

are China, Hong Kong, US, Singapore and Brazil.

UNCTAD was formed in 1964 with its headquarters

in Geneva, Switzerland.

Insurance

The General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re)

has turned to the capital market for solutions to create

the underwriting capacity required for providing liabilityinsurance cover to nuclear operators. The corporation is

eyeing an insurance-linked bond issue equivalent to the

value of`750 cr, which will beef up the proposed nuclear

pool to be set up by all the general insurance companies

in the country. The govt-owned GIC Re is the only

reinsurance company that operates in India.

PF

While shifting jobs, many employees dont transfer their

Employee Provident Fund to the new organisation as

they either forget or find the procedure too complex. The

numbers are surprising. As of last financial year, about26,496 crof provident fund money was lying with

Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO)in

inoperative accounts.

Power

Inaugurating the first Renewable Energy Global

Investors Meet (RE-Invest)in New Delhi on 15 Feb, PM

Narendra Modi called for collaboration between the 50

nations with abundant solar power to develop

technological solutions.

Prime Minister Narendra Modis thrust on putting India

on the renewable energy map is luring big corporates toinvest in this segment. In the latest such investment in

the sector, the Hinduja Group on 16 Feb said it was

looking to pump in about a bn dollars to set up solar-

based power units in the country to generate1,000 MW.

The company has identified locations in three States,

including Rajasthanand Gujarat.

7/21/2019 Capsule FEB 2015

5/17

www.bscacademy.com

www.bsccareer.com

5BS

CAcade


For the establishment of solar power plants generating

10,000 megawatt in the state, a memorandum of

understanding (MoU) was signed between the Rajasthangovt and Adani Enterprises Limited on 9 Feb.

PSUs

As part of its diversification programme, the state-owned

Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation

(IDCO) on 7 Feb signed an MoU with public sector Indian

Rare Earth Ltd (IRE) to set up a mineral separation plant

in OdishasGanjamdistrict.

Taxation

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT)asked its

field formations on 29 Jan to not treat income arising out

of a share transfer by Indian subsidiaries of multinational

companies (MNCs) to its parent and other related entities

as taxable. It, thus, extended the principle of law laid

down by the high court at Mumbaiin the Vodafone case

to all like cases. This would give relief to those involving

Shell, IBM, Cairn andEssar, among others.

Telecom

The stage is set for the launch of probably the biggest

auction ever of telecom spectrum in India. On the final

day for the filing of applications, eight telecom operators,

including Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Jio

Infocomm Ltd and Indias largest telco Bharti Airtel Ltd,

decided to participate in the auction starting 4 Mar.

Facebook has tied up with Reliance Communications to

offer free access to subscribers of Anil Ambani-led firm

to the social networking site as well as about three dozen

general information websites. With Facebook seeking to

connect more people in the worlds second-biggest

mobile market with Internet, India will become the first

country in Asiato get the newInternet.orgapp.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)has

issued draft regulations to facilitate full mobile numberportability (MNP), which is set to start from May 3. The

full or nationwide MNP will allow consumers to change

the service provider in any part of the country while

retaining their existing number. At present, mobile number

portability allows consumers to change their service

provider within a telecom circle, which, in most cases, is

limited to a State.

Trade

The Finance Ministry has imposed definitive anti-dumping duty on all imports of graphite electrodes from

China.

The two-day meeting of G20 Finance Ministers and

Central Bank Governors was held in Istanbul, Turkeyon

9-10 Feb. India was represented by Minister of State for

Finance Jayant Sinhaand RBI Governor Raghuram

Rajanat the meeting. Emerging countries like India,

China, Brazil and Russia have been asking for increased

voting rights in IMF, which would reflect their growing

share in the world economy. Quota reform, if implemented,

will increase Indias voting share from current 2.44 per

cent to 2.75 per cent, following which the country willbecome the eighth largest quota holder at the IMF, up

from 11th position.

Indias Alphonsomangoes will return to European market

after the European Commission on 20 Jan voted to lift a

ban imposed on imports last year. The ban on imports of

four vegetables bitter gourd, brinjal, snake gourd

and taro from India will, however, stay for now.

Others

In order to speed up its probe into cases of illegal funds

stashed abroad, the Special Investigation Team (SIT)

on black money has roped in one more economic

intelligence agency, Central Economic Intelligence

Bureau (CEIB), as the main coordinating body

between all the investigative and enforcement agencies

which are part of the high-powered panel. The SIT on

black money, headed by Justice (retired) MB Shahand

with Justice (retd) Arijit Pasayat as its Vice Chairman,

has as its members the heads or top officials of various

departments and agencies.

The Cabinet on 10 Feb approved increasing the National

Minorities Development & Finance Corporation

(NMDFC)s authorised capital from `1,500 cr to 3,000

crand restructuring of its shareholding pattern. It wasconstituted as a non-profit-making company to provide

loans at concessional interest rates for self-employment

and economic development activities to the minority

communities Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists,

Jains andParsis.

Aiming to spare the public from levying at highways,

the govt has announced it will scrap 125 toll plazas in the

7/21/2019 Capsule FEB 2015

6/17

BSCAc

ademy


www.bsccareer.com


country by Feb-end. The Union Road Transport Minister

Nitin Gadkarisaid toll collection at some 65 road projects

have already stopped. The govt has also decided tomake projects toll-free where less than 50-cr

investment has been made.

Every five years, the Ministry of Statistics and

Programme Implementation (MOSPI)updates the base

year of its gross domestic product (GDP) calculations.

Till recently, GDP estimates used 2004-05as the base

year which the govt has changed to 2011-12. The base

year was last revised in Jan 2010.

Highlights

Real GDP or GDP at constant (2011-12) prices stands

at`92.8 lakh crore and`99.2 lakh crore, respectively

for the years 2012-13 and 2013-14, showing growthof 5.1 per cent during 2012-13, and 6.9 per cent

during 2013-14.

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at factor cost

will no longer be discussed; instead Gross Value

Added (GVA) will be analysed in releases.

As is the practice internationally, industry-wise

estimates will be presented as GVA at basic prices,

while GDP at market prices will henceforth be referred

to as GDP.

The rate of Gross Capital Formation at constant

(2011-12) prices, however, has decreased from 37.2

per cent in 2012-13 to 33.4 per cent in 2013-14.

The per capita income at current prices has been

estimated at `64,316, `71,593 and `80,388 for the

years 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14 respectively. The nominal Net National Income (NNI) for 2011-12

stands at`78.5 lakh cr, while the estimates for 2012-

13 and 2013-14 are `88.4lakh cr and`100.6 lakh cr

respectively. The changes have reduced the gap between the

way India calculates GDP and the methodology used

by the International Monetary Fund.

Indias economy is projected to be $2.1 tn under

new GDP measure.

The growth of the Indian economy is projected to

accelerate to 7.4 per cent in the current fiscal

compared with 6.9 per cent last year. The estimated

growth for 2014-15 is the same as Chinas growth

for 2014.

Earlier, both the International Monetary Fund and

the World Bank had said Indias growth would

exceed Chinas by 2016-17.

A strong govt, easing inflation and growth recovery has

revived consumer optimism in India, says a Credit Suisse

report. India tops the Credit SuisseEmerging Consumer

Scorecard 2015, being the only country to score in the

top three for medium-term expectations of personal

finances, expectations of inflation, and household income

trends alongside their immediate spending intentions.

Centre

The Centre has asked all the schools and higher

educational institutions to celebrate Feb 21 as

Matrubhasha Divas by organising day-long activities

like group songs and essay competitions in Indian

languages, with the Unesco recently declaring it as

International Mother Tongue Day.

The Centre has fixed wheat procurement target for the

2014-15 rabi marketing seasonat 300.59 lakh tonnes

(LT) against the actual procurement of 280.23 LT.

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) govt is

considering a constitutional amendment to have 50 per

cent reservation for women in urban local bodies. The

Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naiduon 16

Feb also asked various departments to be ready with

Bills they propose to introduce during the Budget session

of Parliament, including those to replace some of the key

ordinances brought by the govt after the winter session.

Heeding the long-pending demand of states, Prime

Minister Narendra Modi on 8 Feb formed a sub-group of

chief ministers under NITI Aayog to suggest further

rationalisation of 66 centrally funded schemes. The BJP-

led National Democratic Alliance govt also set up sub-

groups on skill development and Swachh Bharat

Abhiyan.

The Union Minister for Health and Family WelfareJagat

Prakash Naddahas declared 10 Feb as the National

Deworming Day.

Nation

7/21/2019 Capsule FEB 2015

7/17

www.bscacademy.com

www.bsccareer.com

7BS

CAcade


The Union Home Ministry on 12 Feb announced a three-

member Special Investigation Team (SIT) for re-

investigation of the 1984 anti-Sikh riot cases, mainly inDelhi and other States. The SIT will be headed by

Pramod Asthana, an IPS officer of 1986 batch.

The Centre will declare Minimum Support Price (MSP)

for Kharif crops in May this year, allowing farmers to

take an informed decision regarding crop sowing. The

Union minister of state for agriculture Mohan Kundariya

made this announcement. Generally, the Union govt

announces MSP for Kharif crops after the sowing ends

in Aug.

The govt is expected to take a decision within a month

on Roongta Committee Recommendations on bringing

reforms in central public sector enterprises (CPSEs).

Former SAIL Chairman SK Roongta-headed panel had

submitted its report during the UPA regime in Nov 2011.

The two-day annual conference of state Governors

concluded on 12 Feb. In his concluding remarks at the

annual 46th Governors Conference, President Pranab

Mukherjee said the Governors have an important role to

play in making cooperative federalism a reality.

States

Arvind Kejriwaltook oath as the eighth chiefminister

of Delhi at the Ramlila Maidan on 14 Feb. He surprisedobservers by not keeping any Cabinet portfolio and

decided to delegate his work to colleagues. The deputy

CM Manish Sisodiagot key portfolios.

The Maharashtra govt will observe 17 Sep as Industries

Day as part of its effort to provide balanced growth to

existing small, medium and large-scale enterprises and

render assistance for setting up new industries to boost

the states financial health.

The report of the World Bank entitled Scaling the

Heights: Social Inclusion and Sustainable Development

in Himachal Pradesh has lauded the state for its

achievements. Himachal Pradesh has made great stridesin reducing poverty and attaining best human

development outcomes, says the report.

Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singhon 11

Feb launched the Crime and Criminal Tracking

Network System (CCTNS)project in the state. The `19-

cr project will help in connecting 177 sites and 114 police

stations in the state besides 13 district headquarters, 26

sub-divisional police officers and three police ranges

along with state crime records bureau.

In Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh

Chouhan inaugurated the fourth river festival at

Bandrabhanin Hoshangabad district. The theme of the

river festival is River, its catchment area, chemicals

and crisis. Experts brainstormed on the means and ways

to save our rivers at Bandrabhan bank of Narmada River.

The Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana,

N Chandrababu Naiduand K Chandrasekhar Rao, met

in the presence of Governor ESL Narasimhanto resolve

the river water dispute between the two States that took

an ugly turn on 13 Feb evening when police of both

sides clashed with lathis at Nagarjunasagar dam.

The Maharashtra govt on 7 Feb signed an MoU worth

`949 cr with engineering and construction major Larsen

& Toubro (L&T) for setting up CCTV-based surveillance

in the city. As per the MoU signed by the company and

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, 6,000

CCTVs will be installed across the metropolis and

suburbs by Sep 2016.

Taking serious note of inordinate delay in completing

Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC), the govt

has warned that Central assistance to States for building

rural houses and welfare pensions would be blocked if

they fail to complete the exercise before Mar 15. In year2015-16 and onwards, this SECC data will be the base on

which the beneficiaries for the Indira Awas Yojana (IAY)

and the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP)

will be selected so far as the Rural Development Ministry

is concerned and those states who failed in selecting the

beneficiaries from this database would not receive

financial assistance. The Centres move came in the wake

of a PIL petition filed by human rights body Peoples

Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) in which they alleged

that non-completion of SECC by states and UTs is the

main reason for delay in implementation of National Food

Security Act (NFSA).

The Maharashtra govt has decided to allow agricultural

bodies and companies to conduct field trials of five

genetically-modified (GM) crops. According to a source

in the know, no-objection certificates (NOC) have been

given for trials ofbrinjal, rice, maize, chickpea (chana)

and cottonon 29 Jan. Besides Maharasthra,Punjab,

Haryana, Delhi andAndhra Pradesh have given NOCs

for field trials of some biotech crops, while states like

7/21/2019 Capsule FEB 2015

8/17

BSCAc

ademy


www.bsccareer.com


Madhya Pradesh andRajasthan have banned such

research activities.

Maharashtra Govt is planning to revamp the Jeevan

Amrut Yojana (blood-on-call) scheme which is aimed at

facilitating blood supply to patients scheduled to undergo

surgeries and medical procedures in remote areas.

The Bihar govt on 3 Feb decided to provide free

education to Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes

(ST) andgirl studentstill Post Graduation (PG) level in

the state.

Defence

The Defence Minister Manohar Parrikaron 14 Feb

addressed the sailors and officers of the newly-inductedaircraft carrier INS Vikramadityaafter witnessing two

days of Theatre Readiness Operational Level Exercise

(TROPEX-2015), off the coast of Goain the Arabian

Sea.

The Indian Air Force will be acquiring 14 Dornier light

utility aircraft for`1,090 cr from the state-run Hindustan

Aeronautics Limited (HAL). Apart from the HAL Do-228

aircraft, the contract includes six reserve engines, one

flight simulator and associated equipment.

A large-scale exercise was conducted by the Indian Navy

to test its readiness for handling tsunami-like disasters.

The drill took place on Feb 9, 2015 in LakshadweepIslands (Kavaratti, Aggatti, Kalpeni and Androth). The

Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster relief (HADR)

exercise involved various aircraft and over 20 ships from

the Western and Eastern Fleets of the aircraft of Indian

Navy.

India has successfully test-fired indigenously developed,

inter-continental surface-to-surface nuclear-capable

ballistic missile Agni-5 from Wheelers Island off

Odisha coast.

The Navy is learnt to have taken the call to retire the

decrepit warhorse INS Viraat, the aircraft carrier that has

had a service life of56 yearsas on date first as HMS

Hermesin the Royal British Navy and in its present

avatar since 1987.

Judiciary

Several promoters of distressed companies dragged the

Reserve Bank of India to the Supreme Court, alleging

that its prudential norms defy the right to equality under

Article 14 of the Constitution of India. The Supreme Court

on 28 Jan upheld the definition of bad loans as amended

in 2004 under Section 2(1)(o) of the Securitisation and

Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement ofSecurity Interest (Sarfaesi) Act, 2002.

The Supreme Court has held that the election of a

candidate, who has concealed his or her criminal

antecedents during nomination process, should be

declared null and void.

Over 56,000 cases across the country were on 14 Feb

disposed of by the third National Lok Adalatwhich also

saw disbursal of `265 cr as claims towards final

settlement in bank recovery and cheques bounce cases.

The Centre on 13 Feb told the Supreme Court that it

would go ahead with the Unique Identification Authorityof India (UIDAI) project,Aadhaar.

The Supreme Court on 13 Feb directed CBI to probe RBI

and SEBI, saying these regulatory bodies cannot turn a

blind eye to the multi-crore chit-fund scam spreading

across several states.

Others

The India Meteorological Department (IMD)will soon

be issuing weather forecasts specific to each tehsilor

block in the country. These are primarily meant to assist

local farmers. At present, forecasts are available only for

some districts.

The first batch of 50 Indian pilgrims to take the new

route via Nathu La inSikkimto Kailash Mansarovarin

Tibetan Autonomous Region will crossover on Jun 21.

A study conducted by the Forest Survey of Indiathat

was recently published points out that West Bengals

forest cover has increased by 3,810 sq km, which is

followed by Odisha, where increase in forest cover has

been 1,444 km, and Kerala, where the increase has been

about 622 sq km.

India has been ranked 136 in terms of press freedom in

2015, out of 180 nations. The rank marks an improvementfrom 140 in 2014, although its absolute score has declined

from 40.34 to 40.49. The World Press Freedom Index

(WPFI) is produced by Reporters Without Borders

(RSF). Finland, Norway andDenmarkwere on the top

of the rank list, whereas Turkmenistan, North Korea and

Eritrea were on the opposite end of the list. Russia, Iran

and China ranked 152, 173 and 176 respectively. The US

has ranked 49 in 2015.

7/21/2019 Capsule FEB 2015

9/17

www.bscacademy.com

www.bsccareer.com

9BS

CAcade


The Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena arrived in

New Delhi on 15 Feb evening on a four-day state visit,

which is his first abroad visit after he defeated long-time

president Mahinda Rajapaksa.

India has ceremonially handed over to Bangladesh a

vintage Dakota aircraft, which played a crucial role in the

countrys 1971 liberation war. The aircraft played a crucial

role in the liberation of Bangladesh from Pakistan and

formation of Bangladesh Air Force (BAF).

India and South Africa have agreed to revive the MoU

signed in 1997 for cooperation in mining sector. Thepresent overall bilateral trade between the two countries

of BRICS grouping is about $11 bn. There are about 150

Indian companies working in South Africa. India is the

largest buyer of South African gold and coal.

Japans economy rebounded from recession in the final

quarter of last year but growth was weaker than expected

as household and corporate spending disappointed. The

annualised 2.2 per cent expansion in Oct-Dec was smaller

than a 3.7 per cent increase forecast in a Reuters poll,

suggesting a fragile recovery as the hangover from last

years sales tax hike lingered.

The UN Human Rights Council has delayed by six

months the release of a report into alleged war crimes

committed during Sri Lankas civil war, following request

by the countrys newly-elected govt for more time to

conclude its internal probe. The report, which was earlier

scheduled to be released on Mar 25 during the 28th

session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), will

now be out in Sep this year.

Over 60countries, including India, participated in a White

House summit on countering violent extremism from

17 Feb in the backdrop of alarming growth of ISIS and

recent terrorists attacks in France and Denmark.

Tunisias parliament on 5 Feb approved a coalition govt

led by the secular Nidaa Tounesparty and including

moderate Islamist rivals Ennahda, following landmark

elections in the birthplace of the Arab Spring.

China on 9 Feb launched its first cruise liner to sail via its

ambitious transcontinental initiative Maritime Silk Road

(MSR)on its maiden voyage, during which it will visit

three South-East Asian nations.

Facing bankruptcy, Ukraine has asked the International

Monetary Fund (IMF)to replace its programme with a

new one to restore confidence in its finances. The IMF

has agreed with Ukraine on a new bailout deal worth

15.5 bn euro ($17.5 bn)that could climb to around $40

bn over the next four years with help from other lenders

like Europe and the US.

Myanmar President Thein Sein has approved a law

allowing a referendum on changes to the constitution

a move that could eventually lift what amounts to a ban

on opposition leader and Nobel laureate Aung San SuuKyifrom the presidency.

Leaders of Russia, Ukraine, FranceandGermanyon 12

Feb emerged from marathon 16-hour talks to announce a

comprehensive peace deal for eastern Ukraine, but

questions remained whether Ukraine and the pro-Russian

rebels have agreed on all of its terms. Ukrainian President

Petro Poroshenko, however, denied that there was any

agreement about autonomy in eastern Ukraine.

Pakistan on 2 Feb successfully test-fired a new

indigenously developed cruise missile capable of

delivering nuclear and conventional warheads up to 350

km, bringing many Indian cities under its range. TheRaadmissile enables Pakistan to achieve strategic

standoff capability on land and at sea, as it uses

extremely complex Cruise Technology that has been

developed by only a few countries in the world.

India will soon be a member of the Asia-Pacific Economic

Cooperation (APEC), a powerful international grouping

of 21 countries,including the United States and Japan,

which promotes free trade among its members.

In a historic debate, the House of Commons in Britain

voted by 382 to 128 to allow mitochondrial donation

through a controversial amendment to the 2008 Human

Fertilisation and Embryology Act.

The US has agreed to partner with India in developing

three smart cities in Allahabad, Ajmer and

Visakhapatnam.

Germany on 28 Jan agreed to partner with India in

developing three smart cities, and a six-member joint

committee has been set up in this regard to evolve the

World

7/21/2019 Capsule FEB 2015

10/17

BSCAc

ademy


www.bsccareer.com


way forward, including identification of those cities in

three months.

The Indian govt has resolved to fund the Pancheshwar

multi-purpose projectof Nepal on Mahakali riverto

the tune of `1500 cr after a delegation of MPs visited

Nepal and submitted their report to Modi govt. The

project would regulate and control the free flow of

Karnaliand Mohanarivers. India has also reached into

an agreement with Nepal to procure additional electricity

produced by the Pancheshwar project.

The African Union (AU) has backed plans for a West

African task force of 7,500 troops to fight Boko Haram

militants. Boko Haram has seized control of a swathe of

north-east Nigeria and killed thousands in a six-year

insurgency. Four of Nigerias neighbours Benin,

Cameroon, Chad andNiger have agreed to contribute

troops to the task force.

Persons in News Mary McGowan Davis: The former US judge was on 4

Feb appointed the new head of the UN inquiry into

possible war crimes during the Gaza conflict last year to

replace William Schabas, who resigned after Israel

accused him of a conflict of interest.

Ajay Shukla: He took over charge as the Member

(Traffic) inthe Railway Boardon 4 Feb.

Krishna Chaudhary: The Indian Police Service (IPS)

officer has taken over as the new Director General (DG)

of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).

Sunil Sood: The UKs telecom giant Vodafone on 22 Jan

appointed him as the first Indian CEO for its Indiaoperationsto replace Martin Pieters, who has been its

chief executive since 2009.

Kaptan Singh Solanki: TheHaryana governor on 22

Jan took over the additional charge of Governor of

Punjab.

Saraswathi Menon:The eminent Indian academician is

among seven experts nominated by UN chief Ban Ki-

moon to be part of an advisory group that will conduct a

policy and institutional review of the world bodys peace-

building architecture and make recommendations.

Durga Prasad: The Centre on 24 Jan appointed him asthe special director-generalof the Central Reserve

Police Force (CRPF).

Divya Prakash Sinha:The govt on 26 Jan appointed the

special director with Intelligence Bureau as secretary

(security) in the Cabinet secretariat.

Shekhar Sen: The eminent singer, actor, theatre director,

composer and lyricist has been appointed as Chairman

Appointed

Ajay Banga: The US President Barack Obama has

announced to appoint the top Indian-American CEO as

member of the Advisory Committee forTrade Policy and

Negotiations. He is the present president and CEO of

MasterCard.

Nickolay Mladenov:The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-

moon has appointed the Bulgarian diplomat as the new

UN envoyto the Middle East, replacing Robert Serry.

MO Garg: He has assumed charge as the new Director

General of the Council of Scientific & IndustrialResearch (CSIR).

M Ravindran:He has taken over as the Chairmanof

IndraprasthaGas Ltd, the firm that sells CNG in the

National Capital.

V Balasubramaniam: The Multi Commodity Exchange

of India (MCX), Indias largest commodity derivatives

trading platform, has decided to appoint him as the

managing director and chief executive officer of the

exchange.

Anish Aggarwal: Hetook over as Director (Pipelines)

at Indian Oil Corp (IOC), the nations largest oil refining

and marketing company, on 2 Feb.

Nandita Chatterjee: Shetook over as the new Secretary

in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation

(HUPA)on 2 Feb.

LC Goyal: He took charge on 5 Feb as the new Union

home secretary, replacing Anil Goswami, who had

resigned earlier.

7/21/2019 Capsule FEB 2015

11/17

www.bscacademy.com

www.bsccareer.com

11BS

CAcade


of Sangeet Natak Akademi (SNA)for a term of 5 years.

S Jaishankar: He has been appointed the new foreignsecretary(FS), only three days before he was scheduled

to retire as the Indian ambassador to the US. Sujatha

Singh, the erstwhile foreign Secretary, only the third

woman to hold the job, was dismissed by the govt on 28

Jan.

Died

RR Patil: The NCP leader and Maharashtras former

deputy chief minister and home minister, popularly known

as Aaba by politicians and followers, died of cancer on

17 Feb.

Rajinder Puri: The veteran cartoonist, columnistandpolitical activistdied recently.

Atmaram Bhende: The veteran Marathi theatre artiste

and film actor, considered the doyen of Marathi

experimental theatre, passed away in Pune, aged 91.

Kesava Reddy: The well-known novelist, writer and a

medicaldoctorpassed away after a prolonged illness.

His novelAthadu Adavini Jayinchadu(He Conquered

Forest) was published in the 80s and probably is the

best among his works.

Richard von Weizsaecker: Germanys former President

died at the age of 94. His 10 years in office, from 1984 to1994, spanned the period of German reunification.

Carl Djerassi: Known as the father of birth control

pills, he passed away recently. He was most famous for

leading a research team in Mexico City that in 1951

developed norethindrone, a synthetic molecule that

became a key component of the first birth control pill.

Mrinalini Mukherjee: The noted sculptorpassed away

recently aged 65.

Rajni Kothari: The eminent political scientist and

theoristpassed away recently.

MS Narayana: The Telugu actor and comedian, a veteranwith over 750 films to his credit, passed away on 23 Jan.

King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz: Saudi Arabias king died

on 23 Jan. His brother Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud

became king after his death.

MD Hatkananglekar: The renowned Marathi literary

critic, writer and translator died aged 89.

Rasipuram Krishnaswamy Laxman: The eminent

cartoonist, illustrator and humorist passed away in Pune

on 26 Jan.

Subhash Ghising: The founderof theGorkha National

Liberation Front who spearheaded the Gorkhaland

movement in the 1980s, died in New Delhi on 29 Jan at

the age of 78.

Mala Aravindan: The veteran Malayalam comedianwho

acted in close to 400 films in the last 37 years, passed

away aged 76.

Elected

Zoe Konstantopoulou: TheGreek Parliament has elected

her as its new Presidentof the country.

Sergio Mattarella: Hewas sworn in on 3 Feb as Italys

new president.

TR Zeliang: TheNagaland Chief Ministeron 5 Feb

won the trust vote in the 60-member Assembly.

Alexis Tsipras: The leader of the Syrizaanti-austerity

party was sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Greece

by PresidentKarolos Papoulias.

Edgar Lungu: Zambias new President Edgar Lungu was

sworn in on 25 Jan to become the countrys sixth

president.

Robert Mugabe:Zimbabwes President was appointed

as the new chairmanof the 54-nation African Unionon

30 Jan.

Killed

Col. Munindra Nath Rai: The 39-year-old Army Officer

was killed 24 hours after he was awarded a gallantry

medal on the Republic Day. Colonel Rai, the highest-

ranking military officer to be killed in the Himalayan region

in nearly a year, was the youngest of the 13 recipients of

the Yudh Seva Medal (YSM)this year.

Reinstated Shirani Bandaranayake: Sri Lankan President

Maithripala Sirisena has reportedly reinstated the former

Chief Justice two years after she was removed by the

previous dispensation over corruption allegations.

7/21/2019 Capsule FEB 2015

12/17

BSCAc

ademy


www.bsccareer.com


Resigned

Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi:Yemens US-backed presidentquit, refusing to make further concessions to Shiite

rebels, known as Houthis, who control the capital and

are widely believed to be backed by Iran.

Retired

Brett Lee: Hehas announced to bid adieu from all the

formats of game, ending a 20-year long career.

Sentenced

Francesco Schettino: The Italian Captain was found

guilty for causing the fatal shipwreck of the CostaConcordiaand has been sentenced to 16 years in prison

by a three-judge panel.

Visited

Maithripala srisena:The newly elected Presidentof

Sri Lankaarrived in New Delhi on 15 Feb on his first

foreign trip after assuming charge.

Jacob Lew:TheUS Treasury Secretary, accompanied

by Vice Chairman of US Federal Reserve, Stanley Fischer,

visited India for the India-US Economic and Financial

Partnership dialogue, which was co-chaired by Finance

Minister Arun Jaitley.

Others

Govind Pansare:Theveteran Communist leader and

leading light of the anti-toll-tax movement in

Maharashtra, he and his wife were shot by two

unidentified assailants near their home in Sagarmala in

Kolhapur on 16 Feb when they were out for a morning

walk.

Pooja Thakur: AWing Commander of the IAF, she has

become the first woman to lead the ceremonial Guard of

Honour which was inspected by the US President Barack

Obama at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 25 Jan.

Paulina Vega: The Colombian was crowned Miss

Universe 2015, beating out contenders from the United

States, Ukraine, Jamaica and the Netherlands at the

worlds top beauty pageant in Florida.

Amitabh Bachchan: With his famed baritone, the

supertsar on 15 Feb made an impressive commentary

debut in the high-voltage India-Pakistan World Cupcricket match in Adelaide.

Najib Razak:Malaysias premier is under mounting

scrutiny for cracking down on opponents, troubles in a

strategic development fund and questions over his family

assets, with even ruling-party conservatives questioning

his leadership.

Yuvraj Singh: The Indian left-hander was bought by the

Delhi Daredevils for a whopping 16 crin the auction

on 16 Feb ahead of the eighth season of the Indian

Premier League (IPL).

Paul Gauguin: A painting of two Tahitian girls named asNafea Faa Ipoipo (When Will You Marry) by the French

artist has been sold for 300 mn dollars.

Yaduveer Gopal Raj Urs: He is the new heir of Mysuru

Royal Family and will continue the Dasara traditions of

the Wadiyar dynasty.

Places in News Faridabad:The 27th Surajkund International Crafts Mela

was organised here 1-15 Feb. As many as 1,217 artisansfrom 20 countries, including Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka,

Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Thailand and

African nations, participated in the mela.

Minsk:Marathon peace talks were held here, the capital

and the largest city of Belarus, aimed at ending the

bloody crisis in eastern Ukraine. A peace agreement was

Islamabad:China has opened a new embassy in Pakistans

capital city. It is Chinas largest overseas diplomaticmission and was inaugurated by the Chinese foreign

minister Wang Yion 13 Feb.

Copenhagen: Two people were killed and six injured in

twin shootings in the Danishcapital, with one attack

targeting a cultural centre hosting a debate on Islam and

free speech.

7/21/2019 Capsule FEB 2015

13/17

www.bscacademy.com

www.bsccareer.com

13BS

CAcade


reached between world leaders from Russia, Ukraine,

France and Germany.

Kochi: The first World Ocean Science Congress

(WOSC)was held here in Kerala.

Varanasi: Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad

inaugurated BSNLs free Wi-fi service here. The Wi-fi

service initially launched at Dashashwamedh and Shitala

Ghats will be expanded to other ghats.

Bengaluru: Aero India-2015, the 10th international

edition of the biennial aerospace and aviation exhibition,

was held here 18-22 Feb.

Bhopal: The capital of Madhya Pradesh will host the

10th World Hindi Conferencein Sep this year.

Sinai (Egypt): At least 32 people were killed on 29 Jan in

a series of attacks on soldiers and police here. The govt

has struggled to contain an 18-month insurgency bymilitants linked to Islamic State (ISIS) in the region.

Egypts president Abdel Fatah al-Sisicut short a visit to

Ethiopia for an African Union summit after the attacks.

Kolkata:It is all set to become the first city in the country

to have a free fourth-generation (4G) Wi-fi service.

Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, the company owned by

Mukesh Ambanis flagship Reliance Industries Ltd, is

rolling out a free 4G Wi-fi service that became available

on Park Street on 5 Feb. The free Wi-fi service will cover

all the 145 Municipal Wards of the city in coming months.

Sports

ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 officially began with the

two-act opening ceremony taking place in Christchurch

and Melbourneon Feb 12. And the action on field began

with the double header New Zealand vs Sri Lanka and

Australia vs England taking place on Feb 14.

Highlights

It is the 11th edition of Cricket World Cup. The 49-matchschedule and fixtures will be played

over the span of one-and-a-half months with 14

nationsparticipating.

The tournament will be held from Feb 14 to Mar 29,

2015. Former Indian great Sachin Tendulkarhas been

roped in as the ambassador of the tournament for

the second time in row.

Defending champion India had defeated Sri Lanka

in 2011 to claim their second World Cup title.

The ICC World Cup 2015 is co-hosted byAustralia

andNew Zealand. The 14 nations have been divided into two groups

Pool A and Pool B. Pool A:England, Australia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh,

New Zealand, Afghanistan and Scotland. Pool B:South Africa, India, Pakistan, West Indies,

Zimbabwe, Ireland and United Arab Emirates.

Badminton

Saina Nehwal of India on 25 Jan won the womens singles

of Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold Badminton Tournament

2015. She defeated World Champion Carolina Marinof

Spain in the finals played at Babu Banarasi Das Indoor

Stadium in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.

Third-seeded Parupalli Kashyap beat World number five

Kidambi Srikanthto win mens singles of the Syed Modi

Grand Prix Gold badminton on 25 Jan.

Cricket

Australia clinched the one-day international tri-series at

Perth as they beat England by 112 runs in the final.

Mitchell Starcwas declared Man of the Series while

Glenn Maxwellwas adjudged Man of the Match. The

third team in the tri-nation ODI series was India.

BCCI President-in-exile N Srinivasan-led India Cementsboard has approved transfer of IPL team Chennai Super

Kings (CSK) to a wholly-owned subsidiary Chennai

Super Kings Cricket Ltd.

The International Cricket Council Board, after its first

meeting in Dubai on 28 Jan, has awarded India the World

Twenty20 championship in 2016.

7/21/2019 Capsule FEB 2015

14/17

BSCAc

ademy


www.bsccareer.com


Handball

France has becomethe first team in handball history towin five World Championshipson 1 Feb. In the finals,

they defeated hosts and surprise finalists Qatar, 25-22.

Golf

Anirban Lahiri secured his breakthrough European Tour

title by overhauling Austrian Bernd Wiesberger in a

dramatic final round of the Malaysian Open on 8 Feb.

Squash

World squash champion Malaysian Nicol David has set

a new record for topping the world rankings for the 106thmonth.

Swimming

The international governing body of swimming, FINA,

has approved the National Games held in Kerala, as the

qualifying event for the World Championships to be held

in Kazan, Russiafrom Jul 24 this year.

Tennis

The Australian Open is a major tennis tournament held

annually in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is

chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam tennisevents of the year.

Winners

Mens singles: Serbias world number one Novak

Djokovicwon a fifth Australian Open title, beating

Britains Andy Murray in four sets in the final.

Womens singles: Serena Williams defeated

Russian Maria Sharapova in final. At 33, she also

became the oldest woman to win the title in the Open

era, taking her tally at Melbourne Park to six titles in

six appearances in the final. Mens doubles: Simone Bolelli andFabio Fognini

became the first all-Italian pair to win a Grand Slam

mens doubles title in almost 60 years when they

beat Frances Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas

Mahut. Womens doubles: American Bethanie Mattek-

Sandsand her Czech partner Lucie Safarovawon

their first grand slam womens doubles title at the

Australian open with victory over Chinas Zheng

Jie and Taiwans Chan Yung-jan.

Mixed doubles: Indian veteran Leander Paes and

Swiss aceMartina Hingisturned back the clock to

post a sensational win in the Australian Open mixed-doubles final over Daniel Nestor and Kristina

Mladenovic.

Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland beat defending

champion Tomas Berdych for the sixth straight time on

15 Feb to clinch the World Tennis tournament for his

ninth career title.

Others

The 2015 National Games of India, also known as the

35th National Games of India, were held from 31 Jan 2015

to 14 Feb 2015 across seven districts in Kerala. It was the

second time that Kerala hosted the National Games after

it hosted the 27th National Games in 1987.

Highlights

The mascot of the 35th National Games was Ammu,

the Great Hornbill, or the Great Indian Hornbill, the State

bird of Kerala.

Retired batting legend Sachin Tendulkar was the

goodwill ambassador for the National Games.

Services topped the medals tally with 91 gold, 33 silver

and 35 bronze. Hosts Kerala were in second position

with 54 gold, 47 silver and 61 bronze. Haryana with 39

gold, 40 silver and 27 bronze, is placed third in medals

tally. Golden boy, Sajan Prakashof Kerala, with his sparkling

performance in swimming was, adjudged the Man of

Sports.The 21-year-old, working as junior staff with

Railways, not only won eight medals, including six gold,

but also set five new records in individual events.

Akanksha Vorawas declared the best female athlete for

her feat of five gold medals and a silver.

Keralawas declared the best among all the states for an

unprecedented 162 medals.

There were 33 sports disciplinesin 2015 National Games.

Yachting was newly included event. Aquatics (50

disciplines) and Athletics (44 disciplines) were the

biggest and most popular events, while Shooting (38disciplines) was another big event.

The Games flag was handed over to the delegation of

Goa, the hosts of the next National Games in 2016.

The mascot of the 35th National Games, Ammu, made

into the Limca Book of Records as a playKalikkunna

Kuttikalkkayi Bharatham Kathirikkunnu(India Awaits

Children Who Play) featuring the Ammu was on 9 Apr

7/21/2019 Capsule FEB 2015

15/17

www.bscacademy.com

www.bsccareer.com

15BS

CAcade


2014 staged in 147 schools (the most) across seven

districts of Kerala.

The Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has

revised the Scheme of Rashtriya Khel Protsahan

Puruskar. This scheme was introduced by govt in 2009

to encourage involvement of corporates and sports

promotion boards in the development of sports in thecountry.

Awards

Best new artist: Sam Smith

This year two Indians have won Grammy Awards.

Ricky Kej: His collaborated album Winds of Samsara

won the Best New Age Album Trophy.

Neela Vaswani: She won award in Childrens Albumcategory for her album I Am Malala: How One Girl

Stood Up For Education And Changed The World

(Malala Yousafzai)

Distinguished journalist Vinod Mehta has been conferred

Uttar Pradeshs highest civilian awardYash Bharti by

the State govt.

Indian economist and Nobel laureate Amartya Sen has

been awarded the inaugural Charleston-EFG John

Maynard Keynes Prize.

The Jnanpith award for the year 2014 has been awarded

to eminent Marathi litterateur Bhalachandra Nemade.His hugely celebrated works forKosala(Cocoon), 1963,

to his recently published great workHindu, have earned

him a reputation as a self-aware, globally conscious and

alert writer.

Madhya Pradesh won the 10th National Award for

excellent work in Mahatma Gandhi National Rural

Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (MGNREGA) on Feb

2, 2015.

Major Mukund Varadarajan andNaik Neeraj Kumar

Singh, the two army personnel who laid down their lives

combating militants in Kashmir Valley, were on 26 Jan

awarded posthumously the highest peacetime militaryhonour , the Ashok Chakra, by President Pranab

Mukherjee.

At a ceremony at the Jaipur Literature Festival, the US-

based wri ter Jhumpa Lahiri turned out to be the

unexpected winner of the DSC Prize for South Asian

Literature 2015 for her novel The Lowland.

Chhattisgarh was felicitated for emerging as one of the

best performing states in therenewable energy segment.

An Indian-origin scientist has received a $500,000 award

to develop ultrathin metal sheetsthat can help producebetter rechargeable batteries. The prestigious $500,000

National Science Foundation CAREERaward was won

by Gurpreet Singh, assistant professor of mechanical

and nuclear engineering at Kansas State University.

Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural

University (CCSHAU) has been selected for the

prestigious Mahindra Samridhi India Agri Award 2015 in

recognition of its contribution in increasing agriculture

productivity and rural prosperity.

The 68th British Academy of Film and Television Arts

(BAFTA) awards were presented to the outstanding

performances in films and documentaries screened atBritish Cinemas in 2014.

Winners

Best Film:Boyhood

Outstanding British Film: The Theory of Everything

Best Director: Richard Linklater(Boyhood)

Best Actor: Eddie Redmayne(The Theory of Everything)

Best Actress: Julianne Moore(Still Alice)

Best Film Not in English Language:Ida

Best Animated Film: The Lego Movie

Best Documentary: Citizenfour

Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema: BBC Films

Grammy Awards (originally were called GramophoneAwards)are the recording industrys most prestigious

award presented annually by National Academy of

Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) of the United

States.

List of awardees

Best album of the year:Morning Phase(Beck Hansen)

Best record of the year:Stay With Me(Sam Smith)

Best song of the year: Stay With Me(Sam Smith)

7/21/2019 Capsule FEB 2015

16/17

BSCAc

ademy


www.bsccareer.com


The Periyar Tiger Reserve, spread over 925 sq km in

Kerala, bagged the National Tiger Conservation

Authority (NTCA) biennial award for encouraging localpublic participation in managing the reserve.

Poet Arundhathi Subramaniam won the inaugural

Khushwant Singh Memorial Prize for Poetry for her work

When God is a Traveller.

Following is the list of the 104 persons conferred Padma

Awards. These include nine Padma Vibhushan, 20

Padma Bhushanand 75 Padma Shriawardees.

Padma Vibhushan

LK Advani(Public Affairs), Amitabh Bachchan(Art),

Prakash Singh Badal(Public Affairs), D Veerendra

Heggade(Social Work), Dilip Kumar (Art), JagadguruRambhadracharya (Others), Malur Ramaswamy

Srinivasan(Science and Engg), Kottayan K Venugopal

(Public Affairs), Karim Al Hussaini Aga Khan(Trade

and Industry)

Padma Bhushan

Jahnu Barua (Art), Vijay Bhatkar (Science and

Engineering), Swapan Dasgupta (Literature and

Education), Swami Satyamitranand Giri (Others), N

Gopalaswami (Civil Service),Subhash C Kashyap(Public

Affairs), Pandit Gokulotsavji Maharaj (Art), Ambrish

Mithal (Medicine), Sudha Ragunathan (Art), Harish

Salve(Public Affairs), Ashok Seth(Medicine), RajatSharma (Literature and Education), Satpal (Sports),

Shivakumara Swami(Others), Kharag Singh Valdiya

(Science and Engg),Manjul Bhargava(Science and

Engg), David Frawley (Others), Bill Gates (Social Work),

Melinda Gates(Social Work)

Padma Shri

Manjula Anagani (Medicine), S Arunan (Science and

Engg), Kanyakumari Avasarala (Art), Bettina Sharada

Baumer (Literature and Education), Naresh Bedi (Art),

Ashok Bhagat (Social Work), Sanjay Leela Bhansali

(Art), Lakshmi Nandan Bora (Literature and Education),

Gyan Chaturvedi (Literature and Education), YogeshKumar Chawla (Medicine), Jayakumari Chikkala

(Medicine), Bibek Debroy(Literature and Education),

Sarungbam Bimola Kumari Devi (Medicine), Ashok

Gulati (Public Affairs), Randeep Guleria (Medicine), KP

Haridas (Medicine), Rahul Jain (Art), Ravindra Jain (Art),

Sunil Jogi (Literature and Education), Prasoon Joshi

(Art), Prafulla Kar (Art), Saba Anjum (Sports), Ushakiran

Khan (Literature and Education), Rajesh Kotecha

(Medicine), Alka Kriplani (Medicine), Harsh Kumar(Medicine), Narayana Purushothama Mallaya (Literature

& Education), Lambert Mascarenhas (Literature and

Education), Janak Palta McGilligan (Social Work),

Veerendra Raj Mehta (Social Work), Tarak Mehta (Art),

Neil Herbert Nongkynrih (Art), Chewang Norphel

(Others), TV Mohandas Pai(Trade and Industry), Tejas

Patel (Medicine), Jadav Molai Peyang (Others), Bimla

Poddar (Others), N Prabhakar (Science and Engg),

Prahalada (Science and Engg), Narendra Prasad

(Medicine), Ram Bahadur Rai (Literature and Education),

Mithali Raj(Sports), PV Rajaraman (Civil Service), JS

Rajput(Literature and Education), Kota Srinivasa Rao

(Art), Bimal Roy (Literature and Education), Shekhar

Sen(Art), Gunvant Shah (Literature and Education),

Brahmdev Sharma (Literature and Education), Manu

Sharma (Literature and Education), Prof Yog Raj Sharma

(Medicine), Vasant Shastri (Science and Engg), SK

Shivkumar (Science and Engg), PV Sindhu (Sports),

Sardara Singh (Sports), Arunima Sinha (Sports), Mahesh

Raj Soni (Art), H Thegtse Rinpoche (Social Work),

Hargovind Laxmishanker Trivedi (Medicine), Huang

Baosheng (Others), Jacques Blamont (Science and

Engg), Late Syedna Mohammad Burhanuddin (Others),

Jean-Claude Carriere (Literature and Education),

Nandrajan Raj Chetty (Literature and Education), GeorgeL Hart (Others), Jagat Guru Amrta Suryananda Maha

Raja (Others), Late Meetha Lal Mehta (Social Work),

Tripti Mukherjee (Art), Dattatreyudu Nori (Medicine),

Raghu Rama Pillarisetti (Medicine), Saumitra Rawat

(Medicine), Annette Schmiedchen (Literature and

Education),Late Pran Kumar Sharma alias Pran(Art),

Late R Vasudevan (Civil Service)

List of awardees at the 87th Academy Awards:

Best picture:Birdman

Best director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu for

Birdman

Best actor: Eddie Redmayne for The Theory of

Everything

Best actress: Julianne Moorefor Still Alice

Best foreign-language film:Ida(Pawe Pawlikowski) Best animated feature film:Big Hero 6

Best original song: Glory(from Selma) Best original score: Alexandre Desplat(The Grand

Budapest Hotel)

7/21/2019 Capsule FEB 2015

17/17

www.bscacademy.com

www.bsccareer.com

17BS

CAcade


The US space agency NASA is planning to send a

nuclear-powered submarine to explore one of the

methane seas located on Saturns moonTitan.

Observing that there are diversities in evaluation systems

in the country, President Pranab Mukherjee said students

in the past have suffered in the acceptance of their

credentials across the university system and in accessing

employment opportunities. The initiative of Choice

Based Credit System (CBCS)will ensure seamless

mobility of students across higher education institutions

in the country as well as abroad.

The 17th edition of Bharat Rang Mahotsav, established

a decade ago by the National School of Drama (NSD),

was held in the national capital 1-18 Feb.

India has improved its rank marginally on the intellectual

property (IP) indexreleased by the US Chamber of

Commerceon 4 Feb.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)

an international animal rights and conservation group

and the Bannerghatta Biological Park, Karnatakahave

joined hands to create Indias first elephant sanctuary

in a fenced, forested space that allows elephants to move

around freely within the secure area.

The Global business school INSEAD has released the

2014 edition of its Global Talent Competitiveness Index

(GTCI)in Davos, Switzerland. India has been ranked

78th globally in terms of talent competitiveness of its

human capital, which shows a shortage of skilled

workforce in the country. Switzerlandhas topped the

list of 93 countries, followed by Singapore and

Luxembourg in second and third places, respectively.

You can now book a rail ticket online and get it delivered

at home where the payment can be made. Initiating this

cash on delivery (CoD)system rail ticketing, IRCTC is

targeting those customers who are reluctant to use theircredit or debit cards as well as those who dont have

net-banking facility.

Facebook has reportedly introduced a new feature that

will allow people to have their account deleted

permanently when they die or appoint a friend or family

member to take care of some aspects of their account.

NASA, through its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter,has

released an incredibly detailed video of what the Moon

looks on the side that is never visible from the Earth. As

the Earth spins around and around, it only ever faces

one side of our orbiting Moon.

Miscellany

Capsule FEB 2015

Documents