genesis-december 2015 issue ii.pdf

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Endeavor Careers Dream Endeavor Achieve

www.endeavorcareers.com December 2015-Issue-II THE GENESIS

2

The GenesisDecember 2015-Issue-II

Current Affairs

Climatechangeconference:Donedeal 3

India 4

States 10

World 11

Sports 14

Economy 16

Corporate

19

CyberBuzz 24

Science&Technology 25

People

Faces:SunilBhartiMittal 17

BusinessBiography:VandanaLuthra 18

Knowledge Corners

RecentReleases:UnquietLand,NationatPlay,PublicIntellectual 26

GD:Honouring

the

national

anthem

27

Crossword,Sudoku 28,36

Doyouremember? 29

CorporateKnowledgeQuiz 32

PointCounterpoint 35

Climate Conference: 3

The agreement aims to keep

the rise in globaltemperatures well below 2

degrees Celsius from pre-

industrial times to the end ofthis century and endeavourto limit them even further to

1.5 degrees Celsius

Group Discussion: 27

A video has gone viral on

social media showing somepeople arguing with a family

who refused to stand up

when the national anthemwas played in a theatre of

PVR Cinemas in Mumbai. Thefamily left the cinema hall

after the manager made a

request to them

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Vallabh Vidya Nagar: 3rdFloor, Diwaliba Chambers, Near ICICI Bank, Bhaikaka Statue VV Nagar 388120:02692-326065/230826

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Mumbai: Vashi::022-65652221/7666587770; Vile Parle (W)::022-65568888/65567788; Borivali::022-65354535/65354515

Rajkot: 3

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Surat: UL/45-48, Pooja Abhishek, Opp S.P.B. College, Athwa Lines:0261 - 313 4418/3992675

Bhopal: RMJ Educational Services, 174, Modi Complex, M P Nagar Zone II, Bhopal 462011; :0755 - 4009501

Jaipur: 302, Ganga Heights, Opp. Apex Mall, Lal Kothi, Tonk Road, Jaipur:0141-4044315

Kanpur: 117/H-1/368, Ist Floor, Above SBI Bank, Pandu Nagar, Near Neer Ksheer Chouraha, Kakadeo, Kanpur 208025;:0512-2217217/8808017100

Thane: 501, 5thFloor, Thakor Niwas,Opp. Thane Station (West), Near Thane Post Office, Thane (W) 400 601:022-41009898

Bangalore: No. 23, 1st floor, Vasavi Plaza, Near Cool Joint, 11th main, 4th block Jayanagar, Bangalore KA 560011:080-41310888/41550888

No destiny attacks us from outside.But, within him, man bears his fate. Antoine De Saint-Exupery


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Climate change conference: Done dealThe agreement aims to keep the rise in global temperatures well below 2 degrees Celsiusfrom pre-industrial times to the end of this century and endeavour to limit them even furtherto 1.5 degrees Celsius

After two weeks of rigorous negotiations, a legally-

binding pact seeking to limit global warming to below 2

degree Celsius - will come into effect from 2020 - reached

after nearly 200 countries reached a landmark deal to

fight global warming and accepted the final draft of an

ambitious climate change agreement in Paris on

December 12.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius announced that

the Paris agreement has been adopted, marking consensus

among the ministers, who stood for several minutes to

clap.

Climate change agreement: Key pointsTo peak greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible

and achieve a balance between sources and sinks of

greenhouse gases in the second half of this century

To keep global temperature increase well below 2C

and to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5C

To review progress every five years

$100bn a year in climate finance for developing

countries by 2020, with a commitment to further

finance in the future

The deal ended decades-long rows between rich and poornations over how to carry out a multi-trillion-dollar effort

to cap global warming. The pact, which is partly legally

binding and partly voluntary, is the first to commit all

countries to cut carbon emissions. Key blocs, including

G77 group of developing countries, and nations such as

India and China supported the proposals.

Welcoming the deal, Environment Minister Prakash

Javadekar said, Today is a historic day. What we have

adopted is not only an agreement, but we have written a

chapter of hope in the lives of 7 billion people.

Environment groups said the Paris agreement is a turning

point in history and spelt the demise of the fossil fuel

industry, pointing particularly to the significance of the

1.5 degree Celsius goal.

The gathered countries agreed that they would try to peak

their global emissions soonest possible with developed

countries doing so before others do. But collectively they

would ensure that in the second half the century the net

greenhouse gas emissions turn to zero. In this too the

developed countries would have to put more effort than

others and the developing countries would get latitude to

ensure poverty eradication.

The high degree of unity among developing countries in

the G77+China group, and especially between India and

China within the Like Minded Developing Countries,

ensured that the principle of common but differentiated

responsibilities (CBDR) found place in the agreement

ensuring that the developed world would still be taking

the lead and that the burden on the developing world to

fight climate change would not be more onerous than that

of the developed world.

While the deal commits developed countries to contribute

at least $100 billion a year from 2020 onwards for

adaptation and mitigation efforts of developing countries,

this is not legally binding on them. Success in achieveing

targets set in Paris hinge on the availability of finance and

technology required by developing countries to keep

emissions low. Though the accord commits wealthy

nations to provide more climate finance to poorer nations,

there is ambiguity both on how much they are obliged to

assist and on what constitutes climate finance. It issimilarly waffly on technology sharing and transfer

key concerns of developing nations such as India.Richer

nations must help poorer ones by adept technology

transfer, financial assistance and through institution-

building. In the absence of robust social and economic

institutions, poorer nations will be unable to move

towards what has fashionably come to be called the green

economy. Most developing nations need money to bypass

the use of fossil fuels and move towards renewable

sources of energy. Rich nations have a responsibility to

help nations most vulnerable to climate change.

For India, the signal from Paris is clearly for a shift away

from polluting fossil fuels such as coal and oil to

renewable energy. Like all other countries, India is now

required to periodically report on its targets and

performance under the Agreement. The question of

adaptation to climate change and addressing loss and

damage looms large for India, given the regular cycles of

crippling droughts, devastating flooding and lost

livelihoods.


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Current Affairs: India

HAPPENINGS

India State of Forest Report released: Indias forest and tree cover has increased by 5081 sq km. While thetotal forest cover of the country has increased by 3775 sq km, the tree cover has gone up by 1306 sq km over 2013.

According to the India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2015 released in New Delhi in December, the total forest and tree

cover is 79.42 million hectare, which is 24.16% of the total geographical area. Union Minister of Environment, Forest

and Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar said the Government is committed to take necessary steps to ensure that the

forest cover goes up from 24% to 33% of the total geographical area. Madhya Pradesh has the largest forest cover of

77,462 sq km in the country, followed by Arunachal Pradesh, with a forest cover of 67,248 sq km and Chhattisgarh

55,586 sq km. Mizoram, with 88.93% of forest cover has the highest forest cover in percentage terms.

Massive floods batter Chennai: Battered by incessant rains and massive flooding that killed more than 200people, Chennai started returning to normalcy in the second week of December. Storm water receded from most of the

inundated areas and power supply was restored in most places. NDRF, and Armed forces sent by Centre rescued more

than 28,000 persons in flood affected areas. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced an ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh eachto the families of those who lost their lives due to flood

Power of remission cant be exercised suo motu by states: The Supreme Court ruled held that Statescannot exercise statutory power to remit sentences of convicts, tried under central laws and probed by central agencies

like CBI without consulting the centre. Settling the constitutional issues that had arisen out of the Tamil Nadu

governments decision to set free the convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, the apex court said in December

that though the states have power to grant remission, they cannot exercise it suo motu. A five-judge Constitution Bench

headed by Chief Justice H L Dattu also said that the Centre will have primacy in granting remission to convicts in cases

registered under the central law and probed by central agencies like the CBI. The Tamil Nadu government wanted to

release three convicts -- Murugan, Santhan and Peraarivaalan, whose death sentence had been commuted to life term.

Global Initiative of Academic Networks launched: The Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN)programme was formally launched by the Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Smriti Irani in

Gandhinagar on November 30. Over the next year or so, faculty from highly rated institutions abroad will visit India,

interact and partner with their counterparts and with students, and deliver specialised courses. These lectures would be

made available later to the students across the country online. A web portal (gian.iitkgp.ac.in) has been designed by IIT

Kharagpur to allow electronic registration and online assessment.

Accessible India Campaign launched: Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Accessible India Campaign(Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan) on December 3 on the occasion of International Day of Persons with Disabilities and

presented National Awards for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities. The campaign aims to make transport, public

spaces and information and communication technology accessible to differently-abled people. An Indian-American

techie Pranav Desai was appointed as advisor to the campaign. Also the first International Film Festival for Persons with

Disabilities was organised in New Delhi in December.

National organ donation registry launched: Union Health Minister JP Nadda inaugurated a national organdonation registry that will track, facilitate and promote organ donations across the country. Headquartered at Safdarjung

hospital in New Delhi, the registry called National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) will also lay

down policy guidelines and protocols for organ donation and network with similar state-level organizations. November

27 was observed as the 6th India Organ Donation Day. Tamil Nadu was adjudged the state that saw the highest number

of organ donations and did the highest number of awareness programmes.

Media campaign on Hepatitis-B awareness launched: J.P. Nadda, Union Minister of Health and FamilyWelfare launched a media campaign on Hepatitis-B in Mumbai in November. The drive will aim to create awareness


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about Hepatitis-B and its vaccine through campaigns led by UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, Amitabh Bachchan. The

actor said that Hepatitis B can be present in our blood streams for years and go undetected, only to strike with a

vengeance when you least expect it. Having been a patient himself, the actor said he was happy to narrate his story to

create awareness about this cause.

South Asian Annual Disaster Management Exercise held: The first South Asian Annual DisasterManagement Exercise (SAADMEx) - 2015 was organised in New Delhi in November. O P Singh, Director General,

National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), called for the need to develop better mechanism for tackling disasters and

also minimize the impact.

Govt brings forward the target date for PMGSY: The Government has brought forward the target date bythree years from 2022 to 2019 to achieve complete rural connectivity through all-weather roads under Pradhan Mantri

Gram Sadak Yojana, PMGSY. This was announced by Union Minister for Rural Development Birender Singh in

November. PMGSY was launched in year 2000 as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme with the objective to provide single all-

weather road connectivity to all eligible unconnected rural habitations. PMGSY was launched during the tenure of Prime

Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in 1999-2004.

Samanvay 2015 organised in Delhi: The fifth edition of Indian Languages Festival - Samanvay 2015 wasorganised at the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi in November. The central theme of the four day event was

Insider/Outsider: Writing Indias Dreams and Realities. Tamil writer Perumal Murugans novel Madhorubhagan was

honoured with the fourth ILF Samanvay Bhasha Samman. Also eminent Malayalam poet and translator Attoor Ravi

Varma was felicitated for winning the debut Vani-Samanvay Distinguished Translator Award.

Byelections held for 2 LS, 5 Assembly seats: Congress snatched the Ratlam-Jhabua Lok Sabha seat from theBJP while BJP retained Dewas Legislative Assembly seat in by-elections in Madhya Pradesh in November. In

Telangana, Telanagana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) retained the Warangal Lok Sabha seat when its candidate P. Dayakar won

by a record majority of 4.59 lakh votes. In Manipur, the BJP opened its account in the state assembly by winning bypolls

in Thangmeiband and Thongju constituencies. In Mizoram, the Congress won the Aizawl North-III Assembly seat. In

Meghalaya, the Hill State Peoples Democratic Party (HSPDP) retained the Nongstoin Assembly seat. Elections were

held for two Lok Sabha and five assembly seats in these states.

Winter session of Parliament begins: Winter session of Parliament began on November 26 with the Lok Sabhaholding a special two day discussion on commitment to Indias Constitution. This is part of the 125th birth anniversary

celebration of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, architect of the Indian Constitution. The Rajya Sabha was adjourned till November 27

due to death of a sitting member Khekiho Zhimomi of the Nagaland Peoples Front. Zhimomi, 69, died in New Delhi on

November 26.

17thInternational conference of APYF organised: The 17thInternational conference of Asia Pacific YouthForum on Conservation of Biodiversity through Environmental Awareness was organised in Kozhikode in November.

As many as 200 delegates from abroad as well as from India participated in the five-day event organised by the

Organisation for Industrial, Spiritual and Cultural Advancement (OISCA).

Megacity Security Conference organised: A two-day long Megacity Security Conference by the US ConsulateGeneral, Mumbai in collaboration with the South Asia Centre of Atlantic Council, Washington DC and India Foundation,

was organised in Mumbai in November. The conference saw participation by policymakers, law enforcement officials,

security experts, and leading thinkers, who shared first-hand experience dealing with security policy in some of the

worlds largest megacities such as Mumbai, New York, Istanbul, Chicago, Manila, Dhaka, Nairobi, and Mexico City.

Urban Mobility Conference organised: A four-day conference on the theme of transforming mobility forlivability was organised in New Delhi in November. The event was organised by United Nations Environment

Programme and Indias Urban Development Ministry. About 1,200 delegates from India and 50 from abroad including,

mayors, municipal commissioners, experts, town planners, designers and architects attended the conference. The


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conference discussed issues such as traffic engineering and safety, real time traffic modelling, climate change in

transportation, pedestrians, land use planning, inclusive uses of road space, strategies for low-carbon transport and

shaping the future cities.

Mobile Science bus on Digital India launched: The National Council of Science Museums (NCSM), anautonomous organisation under the Culture Ministry, launched a Science Bus in Kolkata highlighting various aspects

and benefits of digital technology in different sectors. Museobus, which accommodates 15 exhibits, was flagged off

during the golden jubilee celebrations of the NCSM earlier on November 24. The exhibition describes the role of the

Internet, the World Wide Web and mobile phones in transforming the modern digital world.

International Conference on Ramlila organised: The Second International Conference on Ramlila: AFestival Celebrating the Masterpieces of Intangible Heritage of Humanity was organized by IGNCA under Ministry of

Culture at IGNCA in New Delhi in November. The First International Conference on Ramlila was held in Trinidad &

Tobago in July 2013. Also the first ever World Indology Conference was organised by the Indian Council for Cultural

Relations at Rashtrapati Bhavan on November 21-23.

Child protection posters launched at railway stations: Minister of Women and Child DevelopmentManeka Sanjay Gandhi and Minister of Railway Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu jointly started the pasting of posters for Child

Protection in trains at New Delhi Railway Station in November. A Childline Kiosk with the helpline number 1098 was

also inaugurated on the occasion. The posters advise the public to be cautious and conscious of children who may need

protection and also advise to what to do in case they come across such a child.

Interceptor missile test successful: Indias ballistic missile defence system received a boost after an upgradedversion of the indigenously developed interceptor missile was successfully launched against an electronically simulated

target missile over the Bay of Bengal in November. Immediately after receiving radar signals of the launch of target

missile from Chandipur in Odishas Balasore district, the upgraded interceptor missile, AAD (Advanced Air Defence),

lifted off from the A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Island and destroyed the incoming missile.

Agni-I test successful: India successfully test-fired its in indigenously developed nuclear capable surface-to-surfaceballistic missile Agni-I from Dr Abdul Kalam Wheeler Island off the Odisha coast on November 27. The user trial of the

missile was carried out by the Strategic Forces Command. Agni-I can travel at a speed of 2.5 km per second and destroy

targets nearly 700 km away. The missile can carry both conventional and nuclear payload of about 1000 kg.

Prithvi II test successful: India successfully test-fired the indigenously developed nuclear capable Prithvi-IIsurface-to-surface missile with a strike range of 350 km from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur in Odisha on

November 26. The missile test was carried out from a mobile launcher. Prithvi-II is capable of carrying upto 1,000 kg of

warheads. It has the ability to dodge enemy missiles and is capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear payloads.

LRSAM test successful: The Long Range Surface to Air Missile (LRSAM), jointly developed by the IsraelAerospace Industry and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), was successfully flight tested from

the Israel Naval Platform for the first time in November. The dual propulsion system and other safe arm mechanism for

the solid propulsion system were designed and developed by DRDO and the Defence Research Development Laboratory.

DEFCOM-2015 organised: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has stressed the need to enhance the Information,Communications, Technology, Electronics and Cyber (ICTEC) infrastructure capabilities of the Indian Army to ensure

protection from disruptive cyber-attacks and manipulations. He was addressing the 2-day DEFCOM-2015 organised in

New Delhi in November. The DEFCOM-2015 was jointly organised by the Corps of Signal (Indian Army) and CII under

the theme Leveraging ICTEC Infrastructure and Harnessing the Human Capital for Digital Army.

Anti-submarine corvette Kadmatt delivered: Kadmatt, the second of the four indigenously-built stealth anti-submarine warfare (ASW) corvettes being built by the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), was formally


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handed over to the Indian Navy in Kolkata in November. Named after an island in the Lakshadweep archipelago,

Kadmatt is slated to be commissioned in January at Visakhapatnam, joining the Eastern Fleet.

Martyr status for paramilitary personnel approved: Personnel from the paramilitary forces who die in theline of duty will be accorded the status of a martyr. The Home Ministry has given an in-principle approval for it, saidBorder Security Force (BSF) Director General D K Pathak in November. The seventh Central Pay Commission had also

called for granting martyr status to personnel of central paramilitary forces, on the lines of armed forces.

AWARDS

International Film Festival of India Awards

Acclaimed for its excellent originality and powerful storyline, Columbian adventure drama Embrace of the Serpent

was adjudged the Best Film at the 46th edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Panaji in November.

The Best Film Award comprises the Golden Peacock and a citation with a prize money of Rs 40 lakhs (Rs 4 million) to

be shared between the Director and the Producer. The film, directed by Ciro Guerra, is about the friendship between

Amazonian shaman Karamakate and two scientists who work together over the course of 40 years to search the Amazon

for a sacred healing plant.

The only Indian name in the winners list was that of Bengali filmmaker Kaushik Ganguly, who was given the inaugural

ICFT - UNESCO Fellini Medal for his movie Cinemawala about the sad state of single screen cinema halls in West

Bengal. In collaboration with International Council for Film, Television and Audiovisual Communication (ICFT), Paris,

and UNESCO the UNESCO Fellini Award was presented at IFFI for the first time this year. This medal is given to a film

that reflects the socio-cultural ideals promoted by UNESCO.

The Best Director award went to Peter Greenaway for the film Eisenstein in Guanajuato, about a Soviet filmmaker

Sergei Eisenstein who travels to a new place and culture and is forced by the experiences he has there to question his

assumptions about himself and Stalinist Russia. The Best Director is presented with a Silver Peacock, a citation and a

prize money of Rs 15 lakhs (Rs 1.5 million)

For his portrayal of a laid off factory worker Thierry Taogourdeau in the film The Measure of a Man, Vincent Lindon

was adjudged Best Actor. The Best Actress trophy was shared by the five female stars -- Gunes Sensoy, Doga Doguslu,

Tugba Sunguroglu, Elit Iscan and Ilyada Akdogan -- of Turkish film Mustang. The Best Actor Male and Female are

awarded the Silver Peacock, citation and a prize money of Rs 10 lakhs each (Rs 1 million)

The Special Jury Award went to the Spanish film Sealed Cargo (Carga Sellada) directed by Julia Vargas. The Special

Jury Award carries a Silver Peacock, citation and a cash prize of Rs 15 lakhs (Rs 1.5 million)

The Serbian film Enclave directed by Goran Radovanovic got the Special Mention award. The main theme of the film

is life of Kosovo Serbs in small isolated communities, called enclaves

Lifetime Achievement Award was conferred to Russian filmmaker Nikita Mikhalkov, who was also paid tribute during

the 10-day festival with the screening of his films Sunstroke, the Barber of Siberia and Burnt by the Sun. TheLifetime Achievement Award carries a Silver Peacock, certificate, shawl and a scroll along with a cash prize of Rs 10

lakhs (Rs 1 million)

Minister of State, I&B, Rajyavardhan Rathore along with Governor of Goa, Mridula Sinha, Chief Minister Goa

Laxmikant Parsekar and Secretary I&B, Sunil Arora attended the closing ceremony at Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee

Indoor Stadium in Panaji on November 30.

Ramnath Goenka Journalism awards: Veteran journalist, columnist and author Kuldip Nayar was honouredwith Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to journalism at the Ramnath Goenka Excellence awards in in

New Delhi in November. Nayar is former editor of the Indian Express. During Emergency he was jailed under the


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Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) for leading a protest against the excesses of the administration. Information

and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley handed over the awards to 56 journalists for their exceptional reportage in print

as well as broadcast media in various categories for years 2013 and 2014. Among the winners, Radheshyam Bapu Jadhav

of The Times of India bagged the Prakash Kardaley Memorial Award for Civic Journalism (2014) for his reports on

illegal buildings in Pune and the fear of the residents, amid political apathy.

DSC Prize shortlist announced: the shortlist of six contenders for the USD 50,000 DSC Prize for South AsianLiterature was announced in November. Established in 2010 the award is given to an author of any nationality writing

about South Asia and its people. Shortlisted books: Family Life by Akhil Sharma, Sleeping on Jupiter by Anuradha

Roy, Hang Woman by K R Meera, The Book of Gold Leaves by Mirza Waheed, The Lives of Others by Neel

Mukherjee and She Will Build Him A City by Raj Kamal Jha.

Kolkata International Film Festival awards: The 8-day 21st Kolkata International Film Festival wasorganised in November. The Hungarian Film Wednesday Child directed by Lili Horvath received Golden Royal

Bengal Tiger Award for best women directed film. Libia Stllia Gomez was given Best Women Director award. 149 films

from 61 countries were screened at the festival.

Presidents Standard awarded to 2 Bengal-based IAF squadrons : President Pranab Mukherjeepresented Presidents Standard to two Indian Air Force (IAF) squadrons based in Hasimara in West Bengal on November

28. Hasimara is an Indian Air Force (IAF) station, around 15 km away from India-Bhutan border. The squadrons which

have been honoured are the 18 Squadron and the 22 Squadron. The 18 Squadron is also called Flying Bullets and came

to be known as Defenders of Kashmir Valley during the 1971 India-Pakistan war. The 22 Squadron is also called The

Swifts.

Murali Kartik wins PETA Compassionate Athlete Award: In recognition of his work in encouragingthe public to follow his lead by going meat-free, cricketer Murali Kartik was selected for its Compassionate Athlete

Award by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in November. Kartik promotes vegetarian meals on

social media and has also starred in a PETA India campaign. Kartik has worked to highlight how animals suffer in the

meat industry. In addition to his work to promote vegetarian meals, Kartik is quick to report animals in distress to PETA.

PERSONSINNEWS

APPOINTMENTS: Mumbai Police Commissioner Ahmad Javedhas been appointed Ambassador to Saudi Arabia,which has a 2.8 million-strong Indian community. Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pankaj Saranhas beenappointed as Indian Ambassador to Russia. Former Union Home Secretary K. Padmanabhaiahassumed charge as theChairman of the Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI), Hyderabad in November.

RESIGNATIONS: Professor Yellapragada Sudershan Rao, who was appointed by the Narendra Modigovernment 16 months ago as chairman of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR), resigned from his post in

November. Former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalams nephew, Syed Haja Ibrahim, resigned from the BJP in Tamil Naduin November, upset over failure of the Modi government to convert the residence occupied by the former President in

Delhi into a knowledge centre.Chief Information Commissioner Vijai Sharmacompleted his tenure on December 1after attaining the age of 65.

OBITUARIES: Padma Bhushan (2006) awardee sarangi player Ustad Sabri Khan, hailing from the Sainia Gharana,died at the age of 88 in New Delhi on November 30. Noted labour economist T.S. Papola, a founder Member of NewDelhi-based Institute for Human Development (IHD), passed away on November 23 at the age of 74. Seven time

Congress MLA A. S. Ponnammaldied in Madurai on November 24 at the age of 89. Writer, columnist and journalistMahip Singh passed away in Gurgaon on November 24 at the age of 85. Noted litterateur and former chairman ofRajasthan Brijbhasha Academy, Professor Surendra Upadhyaydied at the age of 74 in Jaipur on November 24. SittingBJP Member of Karnataka Legislative Assembly R. Jagadish Kumardied in Bengaluru on November 23 at the age of58. Veteran journalist and freedom fighter Vishnu Dutt Chopradied in New Delhi on November 21 at the age of 96.


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EXTERNALRELATIONS

ASEAN: Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a line of credit of $1 billion to promote projects that supportphysical and digital connectivity between India and ASEAN countries at the ASEAN-India Summit in Kuala Lumpur on

November 21. ASEAN is Indias fourth largest trading partner. India is, in turn, the sixth largest trade partner forASEAN. Indias exports to ASEAN were US$ 31.81 billion and Indias imports from ASEAN were US$ 44.71 billion.

ASEAN is headquartered in Jakarta. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries and their

currencies are: Indonesia (Rupiah), Malaysia (Ringgit), the Philippines (Peso), Singapore (dollar), Thailand (Baht),

Brunei (Dollar), Cambodia (Riel), Laos (Kip), Myanmar (Kyat) and Vietnam (Dong).

MALAYSIA-SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi went on a four-day tour to Singapore and Malaysia inNovember. In Malaysia, Modi addressed two regional blocs at the ASEAN-India and East Asia summits, besides holding

talks with Prime Minister Najib Razak. At Kuala Lumpur, Modi unveiled a 12-ft bronze statue of Swami Vivekananda at

the Ram Krishna Mission. He also announced that the Indian Cultural Centre in Kuala Lumpur will be named after

freedom fighter and commander of the Indian National Army (INA) Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. In Singapore, Modi

paid homage at the INA Memorial Marker whose foundation was laid by Netaji in July 1945. Modi and his Singapore

PM Lee Hsien Loong issued a joint postage stamp featuring the presidential residences of both nations Istana of

Singapore and Indias Rashtrapati Bhavan to mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.

NEPAL: Leaders of Nepals Indian-origin Madhesi community, whose protest against the countrys new Constitutionhas crippled supplies from India, met External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in New Delhi in December. The Minister

called for broad based ownership of Constitution and encouraged speedy political solution and return to normalcy on that

basis. The agitation by Madhesi leaders in Terai region bordering India has crippled services in Nepal as the protesters

have blocked all border trade points between the two countries, triggering shortage of supplies including fuel and

medicines. The Madhesi community is opposed to splitting the country into seven provinces under the new Constitution

and has been demanding adequate protection of their rights.

USA: A historic Chola-era bronze sculpture of Shiva and Parvati (860 -1279 CE), stolen from a temple in India andsmuggled into the United States by notorious Indian art dealer Subhash Kapoor, has been recovered from a university in

Indianaand would be repatriated to India along with six other sacred Chola bronzes recovered by HSI.The U.S.-IndiaBusiness Council (USIBC) concluded its 7th Annual Legal Services Conference in November where it awarded the

Lifetime Achievement Award to Retd. Justice Fathima Beevi, the first female Supreme Court Justice in India.

PAKISTAN: Indias National Security Advisor Ajit Doval met his Pakistani counterpart Naseer Khan Janjua inBangkok in the first week of December where the two sides discussed peace and security, terrorism, Jammu and Kashmir

and other issues including tranquility along the Line of Control. The meeting comes in the backdrop of Prime Minister

Narendra Modis meeting with his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif in Paris recently. Foreign secretaries of both the

countries were present during the high level meet.

UK: The British Government has selected Pune and Amravati in Maharashtra and Indore in Madhya Pradesh fordeveloping them as Smart Cities, British High Commissioner in India announced in November. UK would assist in

efforts to develop these cities as smart cities for improved traffic, better education, and infrastructure.

AFRICA: A delegation of businessmen from FICCI, led by the Director General of Foreign Trade, participated in the2-day business forum Namaskar Africa 2015 in Mozambique in November with a view to enhance trade and economic

ties between India and Southern African nations.

CHINA: The China-India Yoga College has formally started classes in Chinas Kunming city. The college, which isthe first Yoga institute established by India outside the country, was set up during Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit

in May. The formal operation of the college coincided with the visit of Indias Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma who

arrived in Kunming to attend the China International Travel Forum in November.


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Current Affairs: States

BIHAR: Nitish Kumar took oath as Chief Minister of Bihar for the fifth time along with 28 ministers of the RJD-

JD(U)-Congress grand alliance on November 20. The grand alliance government of was sworn in at a ceremony attendedby several top leaders from political parties. Lalu Prasads son Tejaswi Yadav and Tejpratap Yadav were sworn in as

cabinet ministers. While Tejaswi Prasad has been accorded status of Deputy Chief Minister with three important

portfolios like road construction department. His elder brother Tejpratap Yadav has got health department. Nitish Kumar

has kept department of home affairs, Information and public relations, and general administration department under

him.CM Kumar also announced ban on sale of liquor in the state from April 1, 2016 fulfilling his pledge made during

recently held assembly elections in the state.

JAMMU & KASHMIR: The government decided to provide State Government jobs and transit accommodationsin the Kashmir Valley for the rehabilitation of Kashmiri migrants in November. Minister of State in the PMO Dr. Jitendra

Singh said additional 3000 jobs in the state government will be provided to the migrants with financial assistance from

the central government. As many as 62,000 Kashmiri Pandit migrants families are registered with the government, out

of which 39,000 stay in Jammu, 19,000 in Delhi and remaining in other parts of the country. The decision comes close on

the heels of the Prime Ministers announcement Rs. 80,000 crore package for various projects in J&K.

RAJASTHAN: The state government signed 295 MoUs committing investment of about Rs. 3.3 lakh crore, includingfrom leading industrial houses like Adani Group, Reliance and Aditya Birla group, at the Resurgent Rajasthan

Partnership Summit in November, Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje announced in Jaipur. The Centre announced plans to

set up a National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) involving investment of Rs. 500 crore in

the district of Jhalawar over next two years. Union Minister of Commerce & Industry Nirmala Sitharaman, announced a

new National Institute of Design (NID) campus in the state.

UTTAR PRADESH: The state has earned itself a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for the stategovernments green drive under which 10 lakh saplings were planted in one day within eight hours. The certificate for

UPs record-setting performance was awarded to Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav recently. On November 7, under the

state governments Clean UP, Green UP initiative, over 10 lakh saplings were planted at 10 locations in the state ineight hours.

WEST BENGAL: The state government has decided to train informal health care providers, referred to as quacks,operating in rural areas of the State and acknowledge them as Village Health Workers. Trained Informal Healthcare

Providers will be acknowledged as village health workers with clear delineation of the care that they can provide. They

shall be clearly asked to stop using the doctor prefix, a government notification said in November. The government

order also talks about a standard operating procedure (SOP) for these Village Health Workers to be prepared in

consultation with health experts. Meanwhile the Calcutta High Court quashed a notification of West Bengal government

stopping pension to political prisoners, which was initiated by the previous Left Front government.

MAHARSHTRA: The Bombay High Court stated in November that it will not decide on religious matters like theban on entry of women in the sanctum sanctorum of Mumbais iconic Haji Ali Dargah. A division bench said that people

become very sensitive when it comes to matters of religion and the atmosphere these days makes it easy for people to

make wrong assumptions. The court has urged the parties involved to try and amicably resolve the issue outside of court

and has posted the petition for further hearing.

TAMIL NADU: Madras High Court for the first time heard an urgent petition through Skype as none of the judgeswere in station due to the week-long Diwali vacation and the petition for urgent hearing was filed at the last moment. It

was a petition seeking protection for a marriage at a church in Ramanathapuram district. The court directed the police to

provide security during the wedding in November.


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Current Affairs: World

CHOGM organised: The 3-day Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2015, also known as CHOGM

2015, was held in Valletta, Malta in the last week of November. Britain will host the next Commonwealth Summit, in2018. UK Prime Minister David Cameron announced setting up of a five-million-pound fund to target terror groups as

the Meeting focussed on ways to counter extremism and terrorism besides exploring steps to deal with climate change.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj represented India at the three-day Summit which was inaugurated by Queen

Elizabeth II. The theme for this years CHOGM was Adding Global Value. British lawyer Patricia Scotland was

appointed as the Commonwealths new Secretary General, becoming the first woman to occupy the post in the 53-

member block.

G-20 Leaders Summit organised: The 2-day G-20 Leaders Summit was organised at Antalya in Turkey onNovember 15-16. The Summit concluded that risks and uncertainties in financial markets still remain and observed that

geopolitical challenges are increasingly becoming a global problem. China will host the 2016 G20 Summit in Hangzhou

in September 2016. The Group of Twenty (G20) is a forum for global economic and financial cooperation that brings

together the worlds major advanced and emerging economies, representing around 85% of global GDP. The G20

members are: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico,

Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, UK, USA and the EU.

APEC Summit organised: The two-day Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders Meetingconcluded in Manila on November 19 with the 21-member economies issuing a joint declaration focused on inclusive

economic growth. The theme of the event was Building Inclusive Economies, Building a Better World: A Vision for an

Asia-Pacific Community. Lima, Peru will host the APEC Leaders Meeting in November 2016.

NATO invites Montenegro to join: The Brussels-based NATO invited Montenegro to become the 29th memberof the US-led military alliance in December, defying Russias warnings it would have to respond to what it branded a

threat to its security. NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg, announcing the move at a meeting of the alliances foreign ministers

in Brussels, insisted the historic invitation to Montenegro was no one elses business and not directed at anyone.

Montenegro, a Balkans country of just over 600,000 people, won its independence in 2006 following the bloody break-upof what was Yugoslavia and the end of a federation with Moscows long-time ally Serbia. Russia has traditionally been a

friend of Montenegro but relations have soured since Montenegro joined EU-led sanctions against Russia over Ukraine.

Norway tops global Gender Gap Index: On the back of stronger representation of women in politicalleadership, India has improved its ranking from 114th in 2014 to 108th position among 145 countries in the global gender

gap index prepared by the World Economic Forum. On individual parameters, India is 9th in political empowerment,

139th in economic participation & opportunity, 125th in educational attainment and 143rd in health & survival. Iceland

has once again topped the rankings followed by Norway, Finland, Sweden, Ireland, Rwanda, the Philippines,

Switzerland, Slovenia and New Zealand in top-10. The rankings are based on a countrys performance in terms of

economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival and political empowerment.

India among 10 worst affected in Global Terrorism Index : India is among the 10 countries most impactedby terrorism in 2014, according to a new report which said that ISIS and Boko Haram are now jointly responsible formore than half of all global fatalities from terrorist attacks. According to the third edition of the Global Terrorism Index

2015 (GTI) launched by the Sydney-based Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) in December, India ranked 6th out of

162 nations most affected by terrorism in 2014. Globally, terrorism is highly concentrated in just five countries -

Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan and Syria - accounting for 78% of all deaths in 2014. Iraq continues to be the

country most impacted by terrorism.

South Korea tops ICT Development Index: Globally 3.2 billion people are now online, representing 43.4 percent of the worlds population. Mobile-cellular subscriptions have reached almost 7.1 billion worldwide, with over 95 per

cent of the global population now covered by a mobile-cellular signal, according to the UN International


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Telecommunications Unions annual Measuring the Information Society Report released on November 30. The report

ranked South Korea first in the information and communication technology (ICT) 2015 Development Index (IDI) of 167

countries. India has been ranked 131st. The IDI, which measures countries according to their level of ICT access, use and

skills, saw South Korea closely followed by Denmark and Iceland.

UN Internet Governance Forum concludes: The Internet Governance Forum (IGF), a platform that enablesthe discussion of public policy issues pertaining to the Internet, organised its 4-day annual meeting on the theme,

Evolution of Internet Governance: Empowering Sustainable Development, in Joo Pessoa, Brazil, in November. This

years IGF focused on Cybersecurity and Trust; Internet Economy; Inclusiveness and Diversity; Openness; Internet and

Human Rights; Critical Internet Resources and Emerging Issues.

Global Conference on Traffic Safety held: Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari Ministerrepresented India at the two day global conference on road safety organised in Brazil in November. The 2nd High Level

Global Conference on Traffic Safety - Time of Results, was held in the capital city Brasilia. The conference reaffirmed

the international communitys commitment towards reduction of traffic accidents that are responsible for 1.2 million

fatalities every year.

Russia, China agree $2 billion deal for Su-35 warplanes: Russia and China have agreed on the sale of 24advanced Sukhoi Su-35 fighters to Beijing, the Russian state holding Rostec said in November. The deal is Russias first

sale of Su-35. Moscow and Beijing, which were rivals during the Cold War, have strengthened cooperation in recent

years to counterbalance perceived dominance by the United States. The sale will also help fill Russias state coffers as its

economy has been reeling from low oil prices and Western sanctions imposed over the Ukraine crisis.

IMF includes Yuan in reserve currency basket: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) that it has includedChinas currency, the yuan into its elite reserve currency basket. Yuan will join the US Dollar, Euro, Japanese Yen and

British Pound in 2016 in the basket of currencies that the IMF uses as an international reserve asset. IMF Managing

Director Christine Lagarde called the decision an important milestone in the integration of the Chinese economy into the

global financial system.

Turkey shoots down Russian war plane on Syria border: NATO member Turkey shot down a Su-24Russian fighter jet on the Syrian border on November 24, threatening a major spike in tensions between two key

protagonists in the four-year Syria civil war. The Turkish army said the plane was shot down by two Turkish F-16s after

violating Turkish airspace 10 times within a five-minute period. With a major diplomatic crisis looming between two

states on opposing sides in the Syria conflict, Russia insisted the jet was all the time inside Syrian airspace and

condemned the downing as a very serious incident.

Crew errors, faulty rudder blamed for AirAsia crash: Indonesian investigators said that crew errors and afault with the rudder control system were the major causes of the crash of an AirAsia jet on December 28, 2014 killing all162 people on board. The new report from the National Transport Safety Committee, released in December after a year-long investigation, added that the crews response contributed to the disaster. The Airbus A320-200, travelling fromSurabaya to Singapore, crashed into the Java Sea. Investigators had initially indicated that stormy weather was a major

factor in the crash.

Putin approves nuclear cooperation with Iran: President Vladimir Putin has lifted a ban on Russian firmsfrom working on Iranian enrichment sites during his Tehran visit in November. Under a historic deal with world powers

in July 2015, Iran agreed to dramatically scale back its nuclear programme, making it much more difficult for it to

develop nuclear weapons. Putin also held talks with supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Hassan

Rouhani.

BRICS Media Summit held: Leaders of 25 Media organisations from the 5 BRICS countries have pitched forbuilding consensus to deal with terrorism, climate change and other key issues. 2-day BRICS Media Summit that


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concluded on December 1 in Beijing pledged to follow the latest trends in information dissemination to cope up with fast

paced developments in new media.

UN launches Orange the World to end violence against women: The United Nations call to Orangethe World started on November 25 with an aim to galvanize global action calling for an end to violence against womenand girls. The initiative involves holding of parades, soccer matches, school debates and the lighting up of hundreds of

iconic monuments in orange to create awareness about the issue. The campaign was run from November 25, the

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, until December 10, Human Rights Day.

NLD wins Myanmar polls: Aung San Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy (NLD) won a landslide victoryin Myanmar general elections held in November. NLD won 348 of the 664 seats in the two houses of parliament. This

represents a two-thirds majority of the contested seats. Meanwhile, the ruling military-backed Union Solidarity

Development Party (USDP) had only 40 seats. Under the constitution, Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991,

cannot become president herself. Not all the seats in the Hluttaw (parliament) were up for grabs. The military-drafted

constitution guarantees that unelected military representatives will take up 25% of the seats in the Hluttaw and have a

veto over constitutional change. In the last nationwide elections held in 1990, the NLD had won 392 of the 492 available

seats, taking 52.5% of the national vote. But the military refused to relinquish power.

AWARDS

New York Film Critics Circle awards: Carol dominated the New York Film Critics Circle Awards, takingBest Film and a leading four awards overall. The New York critics voted overwhelmingly in favour of the Carol

starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara. They also awarded Best Director for Haynes, Best Screenplay for Phyllis

Nagy and Best Cinematography for Edward Lachman. Best actor went to Michael Keaton, who plays one of the

journalists that make up the ensemble cast of the Boston Globe drama Spotlight. Saoirse Ronan earned best actress for

her performance as an Irish immigrant in Brooklyn. The awards will be handed out in a ceremony on January 4, 2016.

Ludovic Trarieux International Human Rights Prize: A Saudi lawyer imprisoned in his country fordefending human rights in the oil-rich kingdom has been awarded the prestigious the Ludovic Trarieux International

Human Rights Prize in Geneva in November. Walid Abulkhair is renowned for his defence of Saudi rights blogger RaifBadawi, who was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment and 1,000 lashes on charges of insulting Islam, in a case that

triggered global outrage. South African anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela, while still in prison, was the first in 1985 to

receive the Prize, awarded by European bar associations to lawyers who defend human rights and fight against

intolerance and racism.

Presidential Medal of Freedom: President Barack Obama honoured 17 Americans with the nations highestcivilian award the Presidential Medal of Freedom in Washington on November 25. Those honoured included giants of

the entertainment industry, baseball legends and politicians and activists. The Medal was presented to filmmaker Steven

Spielberg, musicians Gloria and Emilio Estefan, singer James Taylor, composer Stephen Sondheim, violinist Itzhak

Perlman and actress Barbra Streisand, who won an Academy award for her performance in the classic film musical,

Funny Girl. The sports honourees were Baseball players Willie Mays and late Yogi Berra.

PERSONS

IN

NEWS

APPOINTMENTS: Opposition candidate and Buenos Aires Mayor Mauricio Macri of the Republican Proposalparty won Argentinas presidential election held on November 22, marking an end to the left-leaning and often

combative era of President Cristina Fernandez, who along with her late husband dominated the countrys political scene

for 12 years. Antonio Costa, the leader of Portugals Socialist Party, was named Prime Minister in November.

OBITUARIES: Douglass C North, an American economist who was a co-recipient of the 1993 Nobel Prize ineconomic sciences, died at the age of 95 on November 23 in Michigan. Nepals noted Indian-origin businessmanBanwari Lal Mittal passed away in Kathmandu on November 25 at 79. Actor Warren Mitchell, who played Alf Garnett inTV series Till Death Us Do Part and In Sickness and in Health, died at the age of 89 in London on November 14


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Current Affairs: Sports

CRICKET

India win Freedom Trophy: India beat South Africa by 337 runs in the fourth and final cricket Test at Feroz ShahKotla Ground, Delhi on December 7, winning the Freedom Trophy and the four-match series by a 3-0 margin. Ajinkya

Rahane (127 & 100 not out) was Man of the Match and the only batsman to score a century in the series. Rahane was

also the best batsman in the series with 266 runs. Ravichandran Ashwin was the best bowler with 31 wickets was Man of

the Series. India received the Freedom Trophy that is awarded to the winner of Test series between the two countries. SA

were led by Hashim Amla while Virat Kohli was Indias captain. India had won the third Cricket Test against South

Africa at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Jamtha, Nagpur, by 124 runs on November 27. Rain washed out the

second test at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore while India won the first test played at the Punjab Cricket

Association Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh, on November 7 by 108 runs.

Australia win Trans-Tasman Trophy: Steven Smith-led Australia won the first ever day and night cricket testagainst Brendon McCullum-led New Zealand by three wickets at the Adelaide Oval on November 29. The match was

played with a pink Kookaburra ball. The change has been made largely for fans, so that they can watch on TV in primetime or head to the ground after work to catch the second half of the days action. The hosts also won the 3 test series for

the Trans-Tasman Trophy 2-0. Australias David Warner was the highest run-getter in the series with 592 runs from 3

tests at an average of 85.42. Mitchell Starc was the best bowler with 13 wickets in three tests. Australia had won the first

test at Brisbane Cricket Ground on November 9 while the second test at the Played at Western Australia Cricket

Association Ground in Perth had ended in a draw on November 17.

Pune and Rajkot to replace CSK and RR in IPL: The cities of Pune and Rajkot were added as the two newfranchises in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in December, replacing the suspended Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan

Royals for two years. New Rising, owned by Kolkata-based industrialist Sanjiv Goenka up the Pune franchise, while the

Rajkot bid was won by the Delhi-based Intex Technologies. Goenka also owns the football franchise Atletico de Kolkata,

part of IMG-Reliances Indian Super League, which has completed two seasons so far. The next edition of the Indian

Premier League (IPL) will be held from April 9 to May 29, 2016.

Newsmakers: Former India captain Dilip Vengsarkarwas appointed as the director of the National Cricket Academyby the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in Bangalore in November replacing Brijesh Patel, who reportedly

had to step down from his position after BCCI president Shashank Manohar introduced the conflict-of-interest

guidelines. The ICC suspended West Indies off-spinner Sunil Narinefrom bowling in international cricket in Novemberafter an independent assessment revealed that all variations of his deliveries exceeded the 15 degrees level of tolerance

permitted under the regulations.

BOXING

Abraham retains super middleweight title: Germanys Arthur Abraham successfully defended his WorldBoxing Organisation (WBO) super middleweight belt with a split-decision win over Martin Murray of England in

Hannoveron November 21. Abraham improved to 44-4 (29 knockouts) after defending his title for the fifth time. Murraydropped to 32-3-1 (15 knockouts).

Tyson Fury crowned heavyweight champion: British boxer Tyson Fury ended the nine-year reign ofUkrainian Wladimir Klitschko as the heavyweight champion when he claimed the WBA, IBF, IBO and WBOheavyweight titles by unanimous points decision in Dusseldorf on November 29. Fury improved his record to 25 winswith 18 knockouts and handed Klitschko his first defeat in 11 years.

TENNIS

Davis Cup: Great Britain won the Davis Cup beating hosts Belgium in the final at Ghent on November 29. OnNovember 27, Belgiums David Goffin beat Kyle Edmund 3-6, 1-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-0 while Britains Andy Murray beat


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Belgian Ruben Bemelmans 6-3, 6-2, 7-5. On November 28, Britains doubles team of Andy Murray & Jamie Murraydefeated Steve Darcis & David Goffin 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. In the first of the two reverse singles on November 29, AndyMurray defeated David Goffin 6-3, 7-5, 6-3 to give Britain an unbeatable 3-1 lead. The second reverse singles was not

played.

ATP Tour Finals: Serbias Novak Djokovic, the winner of this years titles at Wimbledon, Australian and US Open,crushed Swiss Roger Federer 6-3, 6-4 in the final at London on November 23 to win the ATP Tour Finals title for a

record fourth successive year. The Doubles title was won by Jean-Julien Roger and Horia Teacu who beat Indias Rohan

Bopanna and his Romanian partner Florin Mergea 6-4, 6-3.

BADMINTON

PV Sindhu wins Macau Open: Indias P.V. Sindhu beat Japans Minatsu Mitani 21-9, 21-23, 21-14 to win theMacau Open Grand Prix Gold Womens Singles title on November 29. Mens Singles title was clinched by Jeon Hyeok-

jin of South Korea who beat Chinas Tian Houwei 21-11, 13-21, 23-21 in the final. Mens Doubles title was won by theSouth Korean pair of K. Sung-hyun & Shin Baek-cheol while the Womens Doubles title was won by Poon Lok Yan &Tse Ying Suet of Hong Kong. Mixed Doubles final was won by South Koreas Shin Baek-cheol & Chae Yoo-jung.

SAI and P. Gopichand to set up Badminton Academy: Sports Authority of India and Pullela GopichandBadminton Foundation joined hands in November to establish a SAI Gopichand National Badminton Academy in

Hyderabad. The Academy will select 50 players in a nation-wide talent search scheme in 11-14 yearage group.

MISC

Australia win Hockey series against India: India won the third hockey test 32 against Australia at the SardarVallabh Bhai Patel International Hockey Stadium in Raipur on November 23 but lost the three-match series in the

penalty shootout taken to decide the series winner after both teams had won 1 match each and one had ended in a draw.

India lost the penalty shootout 2-3. India had lost the second test 12 on November 22 while the first test had ended in a

2-2 draw on November 19. Meanwhile at the Wisma Belia Stadium in Kuantan (Malaysia) on November 22, India

thrashed Pakistan 6-2 in the final to clinch the eight Junior Mens Asia Cup.

Rosberg wins season-closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: 30-year-old German Nico Rosberg ended his 2015season in triumph on November 29 when he won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the Yas Marina circuit ahead of hisMercedes team-mate and world champion Lewis Hamilton. Finn Kimi Raikkonen finished third ahead of his Ferrariteam-mate, four-time former champion Sebastian Vettel and Sergio Perez of Force India. This was Rosbergs sixth winof the year and the 14th of his career. Hamilton won 10 out of the 16 races this year.

IAAF World Athletes of the Year: The IAAF has named American decathlete Ashton Eaton and Ethiopianmiddle-distance runner Genzebe Dibaba as World Athletes of the Year in November. Eaton broke his own decathlon

world record at the world championships in Beijing in August 2015. The 27-year-old also won world gold in Moscow in

2013, a year after clinching Olympic gold in London. Dibaba, 24, is the current world record holder in the womens

1500m and holds three further world records indoors. She won gold in the 1500m in the Beijing world championships.

DP World Tour golf: Northern Irelands Rory McIlroy won the DP World Tour Championships golf in Dubai onNovember 22 while Indias Anirban Lahiri finished 34th. Meanwhile in Manila, Natipong Srithong from Thailand won

the USD 1 million Resorts World Manila Masters golf tournament on November 22 while Indias Rahil Gangjee finished

fifth.

IBSF World Snooker Championship: Pankaj Advani won the IBSF World Snooker Championship inNovember when he defeated his Chinese opponent Zhua Xintong 8-6 in the final at Sunrise Crystal Bay resort in

Hurghada, Egypt.


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Current Affairs: Economy

Vedanta and Hindalco to exit Sensex: The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) announced that Adani Ports and

Special Economic Zone and Asian Paints will be included inthe 30-share BSE Sensex, effective December 21. These two

stocks will replace Vedanta and Hindalco. Currently the 30-

share BSE Sensex comprises: Axis Bank, Bajaj Auto, Bharat

Heavy Electricals, Bharti Airtel, Cipla, Coal India, Dr.

Reddys Laboratories, GAIL (India), HDFC Bank, Hero

MotoCorp, Hindalco Industries, Hindustan Unilever, HDFC,

ICICI Bank, Infosys, ITC, Larsen & Toubro, Lupin, Mahindra and Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki India, NTPC, ONGC,

Reliance Industries, SBI, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, TCS, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Vedanta, Wipro.

Minimum train passenger hiked to Rs. 10: The minimum train passenger fare went up from Rs. 5 to Rs. 10from November 20 as railways decided to increase the minimum chargeable fare in non-suburban services at par with the

platform ticket. To begin with, this will be applicable only to second class non-suburban services only. The platform

ticket price was revised from 5 rupees to 10 rupees in April 2015 as proposed in the rail budget with a view to control therush on platforms. The objective, however could not be realised as passengers opted for purchasing the minimum single

journey second class tickets priced at 5 rupees in lieu of the platform ticket.

PAN card gets costlier by Re 1 due to Swachh Bharat cess : With the imposition of the Swachh Bharatcess, getting a new Permanent Account Number (PAN) card for income tax purposes has become costlier .Under revised

charges, a PAN card, issued by the Income Tax department will now be costing 107 rupees instead of 106 rupees. The

new cess was announced recently by the government and it will levy a surcharge of 0.5 per cent on all taxable services.

PAN is a 10-digit unique alphanumeric number allotted by the Income Tax department to taxpayers and is issued to an

individual or entity. The government wants to deepen the PAN reach in order to add more taxpayers to the I-T net and

ensure better taxpayer services.

SBI tags Mallya, his 2 firms as wilful defaulters : After a protracted legal battle, State Bank of India (SBI)declared industrialist Vijay Mallya a wilful defaulter for defaults on nearly Rs 7,000 crore loans to the long-grounded

Kingfisher Airlines. In the grievance redressal committee meeting which was held in November, the industrialists

lawyers could not satisfactorily present a case of genuine distress of Mallya and his companies in not paying the money

they owe to the bankers. The banks plan to e-auction the assets of the grounded airline to recover their dues. Kingfisher,

started by Mallya in May 2005 with much fanfare, went on to become the second largest in its heydays even though it

never made a single penny in profit. As cashflow issues mounted on the airline, it was grounded since October 2012, and

the airline lost its flying licence two months later.

Roadmap to phase out tax exemptions unveiled: The Finance Ministry unveiled a detailed roadmap inNovember to phase out tax exemptions for the corporate sector and to bring down its tax rate from 30% to 25%. Profit

linked, investment linked and area based deductions will be phased out for both corporate and non-corporate tax payers.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had announced in his last Budget speech that the rate of Corporate Tax will be reduced to

25 per cent over the next four years along with a corresponding phasing out of exemptions and deductions. He had said,

this is a step towards simplification of tax laws, which is expected to bring about transparency and clarity.

Lok Sabha passes bill to replace Bureau of Indian Standards: The Lok Sabha passed a bill in Decemberthat provides for establishing Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) as the National Standards Body of India and enable the

government to bring more products, systems and services under ambit of standardisation. In his reply to the debate on the

Bureau of Indian Standards Bill, 2015, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said

that the government did not want an inspector raj but there will be investigations in case of complaints. The bill seeks

to replaces the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 1986 and to empower the central government to authorize any other

agency having necessary accreditation for the purpose of conformity assessment against Indian standards.


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FacesSunil Bharti Mittal: Telecom tycoonThe Padma Bhushan recipient is the Founder and Chairman of Bharti Enterprises which has interests in

telecom, retail, realty, financial services and agri-products.

The philanthropic arm of Bharti Enterprises has launched

Nyaya Bharti, a programme to legally and financially

support underprivileged undertrials thats driven by

Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal. Half the yearly grant

toward the initiative will come from a Rs 5-crore cut in

Mittals salary. The trigger for the social initiative led by

the Bharti Foundation was Mittals experience of the

Patiala House Courts in 2013 for a case related to the

allocation of telecom spectrum. Hes since been

discharged from the case. Once you go through a life

experience like that, you feel that you are privileged to get

access to the best legal counsel in the country. Most of the

people dont have that kind of access, Mittal told the

media in November.

Sunil Mittal was born in Ludhiana in 1957. His father, Sat

Paul Mittal, had been a Congress Rajya Sabha MP from

Punjab. He attended Scindia School at Gwalior and

graduated in 1976 from Panjab University, Chandigarh,

with a Bachelor of Arts &Science.

A first generation entrepreneur, Bharti Enterprises was

founded by Sunil in 1976-79. The business started as a

small scale manufacturing unit for bicycle components. It

diversified into production of yarn, stainless steel sheetsfor surgical utensils.

Bharti tied up with Suzuki, Japan to import and distribute

portable gensets. By 1984 Bharti was the largest importer

of portable gensets in India.

In 1985-88, Bharti maked it entry into the telecom sector

with Bharti Telecom. It entered into a technical tie-up

with Siemens AG of Germany and became the first

company in India to manufacture electronic push button

telephones in Gurgaon.

In 1989, Bharti tied-up with Takacom Corporation, Japan

to become the first company in India to manufacture

telephone answering machines and in 1990 Bharti joined

hands with Lucky Gold Star (LG today), South Korea to

become the first company in India to manufacture

cordless telephones.

Bharti Cellular Ltd. was set up in 1992. It formed a

consortium with SFR-France, Emtel-Mauritius and MSI-

UK, to bid for mobile service provider licenses in Indian

metros. Bharti launched GSM

mobile services under the Airtel

brand.

In 1997, Bharti won fixed-line

service provider licence for Madhya

Pradesh becoming the first private

company in India to win a fixed-line

licence. In 1998, Bharti became the

first Indian company to offer telecom services in

international markets when it started mobile services in

Seychelles. In 1999, Bharti BT Internet launched ISP

services in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore under the

Mantra online brand.

In 2002, Bharti went public and got listed on stock

exchanges. Bharti forayed into the foods business in 2004

with a 50:50 JV called FieldFresh with Rothschild.

In 2005, Bharti became Indias first mobile service

provider to complete a national footprint in all 23 telecom

circles. It also marked its foray into financial services.

Forms joint venture with Axa of France to offer life

insurance products.

In 2007, Bharti and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. formed a joint

venture Bharti Wal-Mart Private Limited, for wholesale

cash-and-carry and back-end supply chain management

operations in India. Also Bharti brought in Del Monte as a

strategic partner in FieldFresh to enhance focus in the

processed food segment.

In 2008, Bharti launched its first set of retail stores in

Ludhiana under the easy day brand. In the same year,

Bharti joined hands with Idea and Vodafone to form

Indus Towers an independent tower infrastructure

company.

In 2009, Bharti Walmart launched its first Cash & Carry

Store under Best Price Modern Wholesale brand. Also

Bharti Airtel crossed became the first Indian company to

cross the 100 million telecom customers mark.

In 2010, Bharti Airtel acquired the mobile operations of

Zain in 15 African countries. In 2012, Bharti Airtel

launched Indias first 4G service in Kolkata. In 2014,

Airtel crossed 200 million mobile customer mark in India.


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Business BiographyVandana Luthra: Shaping livesVLCC, which started off by offering beauty and slimming services, is now acknowledged as thepioneer in its business

When Vandana Luthra, Founder VLCC Healthcare,

approached her rather conservative father-in-law with the

idea of working and doing something on her own, he

asked her, What do you want to do? Vandana said, I

want to open a small wellness and beauty centre.

You want to be a barber? My bahu (daughter-in-law) is

going to be a barber! Her father-in-law was almost

scathing in his comments.Vandana explained that she was

not going to be a barber. She would provide a range of

beauty services to people and that included skin care and

haircuts.

He was not very convinced and predicted that her venture

would not last more than six months. Seeing that her mind

was made up, he allowed her to do what she had decided.

With the backing of her husband, who procured a loan of

Rs 1.5 lakh for her, Vandana bought out a beauty salon in

Delhis upmarket Safdarjung enclave. Vandana started off

by offering beauty and slimming services in this first

outlet.

Her father-in-laws dire prediction did not come true.

That was in 1989. Today, Vandana Luthras Curls andCurves, or as it is more easily recognised, VLCC

Healthcare, has more than 300 centres spread across 9

countries.

Vandana Luthra was glamour-struck right from an early

age. She was bright but was an average student at school

though she did make it to Lady Shriram College, where

she graduated in Psychology.While she was still in

college, she took training in a beauty course from a

polytechnic institute.

After graduating from college, she went to Germany,

where she studied nutrition. But her interest wascosmetology, so she went onward to Paris and London to

study and gain expertise in that area.

Vandana did not immediately plunge into her business

after completing courses on beauty and nutrition. She

married at the age of 23 in a conservative family. It was 8

years before she could finally get down to the task of

starting her venture. In the meantime she had two

daughters.

VLCC started off by offering beauty and slimming

services. Her clientele grew mostly by word of mouth

from satisfied customers. In a few months, she opened her

second centre in Delhi at Safdarjung. Vandana realised

early that services have to meet consistently high

standards to retain customers.

Today, VLCC has positioned itself as a middle-class,

affordable brand catering to the upwardly mobile, class-

conscious, aspiring consumer segment which willingly

spends more on looking good.

When Vandana started out, she had a team of 12 people;

now the company employs more than 6,000 people across

India and overseas.

Unlike her rivals, Vandana offers a complete range of

services. Lakme of Hindustan Unilever and Kaya Skin

Clinic owned Marico Industries cater to the beauty and

skin care market and are two of the few corporate players

in the segment. Talwalkars runs Indias largest chain of

health clubs but it offers only fitness and nutrition

services. Then there are other smaller services run by

specialists in their fields, like dermatologists, dieticians

and nutritionists. VLCC happens to be the only onestraddling all the three areas beauty, fitness and

nutrition.

Vandana has taken on the role of a mentor in the

organisation now. She has appointed heads of businesses

who take all the operational decisions. Her focus is now

more on research and development and technical training.

Along with her business, Vandana is expanding the reach

of the industry as well. In 2001, she set up the VLCC

Institute of Beauty and Nutrition, which now has 51

campuses in 39 cities and offers specialised courses inbeauty, hair cosmetology, make-up, spa therapies and

nutrition.

Over the past decade, VLCC has observed November 26

as Anti-Obesity Day to highlight the perils of obesity,

with emphasis on the need to live a healthy lifestyle. In

2012, the World Economic Forum recognized the VLCC-

World Food Program (WFP) initiative, titled the Global

Balance Program as one of the best worldwide.


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Current Affairs: Corporate

RANKINGS&INDEXES

Most Trusted Brands: Results of the 2015 edition of Brand Equitys Most Trusted Brands survey were released in

November. Colgate has retained its position as Indias Most Trusted Brand for four years running. Tata Salt has risen tothe second position from 16 in 2014. Conducted by Nielsen, Most Trusted Brands remains among the largest researches

of its kind in India, with a design sample of 7,200 - distributed across socio-economic classifications, age, income and

geography. Top 10: Colgate, Tata Salt, Dettol, Dove, Lifebuoy, Horlicks, Samsung, Lux, Maaza and Surf Excel.

Most Creative Brands: Salt-to-software conglomerate Tata Group has been ranked as Indias most creative brand,according to a TRA Research study in November. Brands insights company TRA Research conducted the study in 16

cities. Creativity is not just viewed from a point of novelty, entertainment and utility alone, but from a position of future

risk amelioration and protection. Tata is a pioneer, one willing to take risks and go through unchartered territories to

deliver better or new solutions. Samsung Mobiles was ranked second followed by LG and Sony.

Most Meaningful Brands 2015: Milk and milk products brand Amul has emerged as Indias Most MeaningfulBrand in a study of Havas Meaningful Brands 2015 in November. The study shows how our quality of life and

wellbeing connects with brands at both a human and business level. Among the top 10, Meaningful Brands 2015 in India

were Amul, Cadbury, Google, Britannia, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), Microsoft, Intel, HP, Parle and Samsung.

Globally, the top 10 brands included Samsung, Google, Nestl, Bimbo, Sony, Microsoft, Nivea, Visa, IKEA and Intel.

HAPPENINGS

Reliance Group wins 12 defence production licenses: Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group has bagged 12 ofthe 32 Defence manufacturing licences cleared by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) in

November. Reliance bagged the licence to manufacture the full spectrum of defence equipment, including aircraft,

helicopters, missiles, and land systems. Reliance Infrastructure itself has just started the process of completing the

acquisition of Pipavav Defence and Offshore Engineering Company.

Kotak Mahindra forays into general insurance: Kotak Mahindra General Insurance Company (KotakGeneral Insurance) received IRDAI approval to commence business as an insurance company in November. With theaddition of general insurance business, Kotak Mahindra Group with existing presence across banking, wealth

management, life insurance, broking, mutual funds and alternate asset management will be able to offer the complete

range of financial products and services to retail and wholesale customers.

ICICI Bank sells 6% in ICICI Prudential Life Insurance: ICICI Bank sold a 6% stake in ICICI PrudentialLife Insurance, a joint venture with Prudential PLC of UK, to two entities--Premji Invest, owned by Wipro chairman

Azim Premji, and Temasek, a subsidiary of Singapore governments investment arm --for Rs 1,950 crore in November.

The deal valued the private sector life insurance major at about Rs 31,500 crore. After the deal is completed, ICICI Bank

will hold a 68% stake in ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, while its UK partner will hold 26%.

Qatar Airways to sponsor IPTL for 3 years: The International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) signed a three-year sponsorship deal with Qatar Airways in November as its Presenting Partner. Founded in 2013, the IPTL bringstogether current champions, tennis legends and upcoming talent in a new format. It is the first city-based professional

tennis league, played with teams in five Asian cities. The star-studded league is scheduled to take place in Kobe, Manila,

New Delhi, Dubai and Singapore between December 2 and 20. The Indian Aces walked away as the first ever IPTL

winners in 2014.

Betway to sponsor Davis Cup, Fed Cup: The International Tennis Federation (ITF) announced in Novemberthat Betway, a leading betting and gaming company, has become an international sponsor of both Davis Cup and Fed

Cup. The announcement follows the renewals of Davis Cup and Fed Cup international sponsor Adecco, and Davis Cup

international sponsor Rolex, respectively, earlier this year.


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Titan Co tie up with HP for smart watches: Watch maker Titan Co and global information technologymajor HP joined hands in November to offer a range of smart watches to be launched soon. Titan, a joint venture

between the Tata Group and Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) has presence in watches,

jewellery and eyewear.

Foodpanda ties up with IRCTC: Online food ordering platform Foodpanda tied up with Indian Railway Cateringand Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) to allow passengers order food from restaurants during their train journeys from

November. IRCTC is a subsidiary of the Indian Railways that handles catering, tourism and online ticketing operations.

Launched in Delhi, the service will be extended to more cities later. Passengers can pre-order their meals from the

options available for delivery at the opted station.

MSM and SRK form alliance: Multi Screen Media (MSM) and Red Chillies Entertainment, owned by actorShahrukh Khan, announced a strategic alliance in November under which they will explore opportunities to co-produce

television, digital and film content.

OYO Rooms selected for hospitality sector skill training: Online hotels aggregator OYO Rooms said inNovember that it has been selected by Tourism and Hospitality Skill Council (THSC) to train and certify hospitality staff

across India. This was disclosed by OYO Rooms Founder & CEO Ritesh Agarwal. THSC is assigned with the task ofskilling India in the tourism and hospitality sector under the governments skill development programme across country.

Worlds first washable smartphone developed: A Japanese firm claims to have developed the worlds firstwaterproof smartphone that can be washed with soap and water. Waterproof phones have been on the market for a while

in Japan. However, that did not protect phones from the kind of rigorous scrubbing needed to actually clean the device

and kill bacteria. To address the issue, Kyocera launched Digno Rafre as the worlds first soap-proof phone. The Rafre

is designed to be used in all kinds of environments without fear of getting dirty, since it can be cleaned off easily with

hand soap. Kyocera is a Japan-based electronics and ceramics manufacturer.

Infosys gives Rs. 56 crore for 11 faculty chairs: Infosys Foundation, the philanthropic arm of IT majorInfosys has instituted 11 faculty chairs at eight leading academic institutes across India over the past yearwith a total

commitment of Rs. 56 crore. The donated funds will be used for research in areas such as obstetrics & gynaecology,

agriculture, economics, mathematics, technology, biology, rural development and cancer. In a statement in November,

Infosys said the beneficiaries include IIIT-Bangalore, IISc, ICRIER, Presidency University, AIIMS and IIM-A.

TCS to train 1000 UK graduates: A thousand young British university graduates will have the opportunity tospend a year training and working for Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) at its Innovation Labs and software development

centres across India through a new partnership between the British Council and TCS. By providing 1,000 British

graduates with the opportunity to work and train with TCS, we hope to help address this skills shortage and give UK

employers access to the digital expertise that they will need to compete and succeed in the hyper-connected digital

economy, said N Chandrasekaran, Managing Director and CEO, TCS, said in a statement in November.

HSBC to train 75,000 in India: UK-based HSBC announced a skill development programme for India that willimpart skills to more than 75,000 people with requisite skill sets, over the next five years, to enable them to earn a

sustainable livelihood. The launch of the programme - HSBC Skills for Life - was announced during the UK visit of PMModi in November. HSBC Skills for Life would support non-profit organisations in three focus areas -- employment-

linked skills development of disadvantaged, upskilling of educators and teachers and womens empowerment through

livelihood enhancement.

SBI launches Neev fund: The State Bank of India (SBI) launched the countrys first low-income stateinfrastructure equity partnership (or the Neev fund) during the UK visit of PM Modi in November. SBI has launched

Neev in tie up with the British department of international development and SBI. The fund aims at providing equity

partnerships for small infrastructure development in sectors like water and sanitation, clean energy and urban

infrastructure.


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PERSONSINNEWS

Pawan Munjal: Hero MotoCorps promoter Pawan Munjal emerged as the highest paid director among the top listedprivate companies, taking home a pay packet of nearly Rs 44 crore in 2014-15. He was followed by the groups two other

promoters - late Brijmohan Lall Munjal (Rs 43.64 crore) and Sunil Kant Munjal (41.87 crore), according to proxy

advisory firm InGovern in November. Desh Bandhu Gupta, chairman of Lupin, earned a salary of Rs 37.58 crore, whileLarsen & Toubro chairman A M Naik drew an annual remuneration of Rs 27.32 crore.

Herve Falciani: HSBC whistleblower Herve Falciani, whose Swiss leaks have been key to Indias black moneyprobe, was sentenced to five years in prison by a Switzerland court in November for industrial espionage. The trial took

place in absentia in the Swiss Federal Court as Falciani had refused to appear. He had leaked documents that apparently

revealed that HSBCs Swiss private banking arm aided over one lakh clients to evade

genesis-december 2015 issue ii.pdf

Documents