RBI/ BANKING/BUSINESS NEWS THIS MONTH

30 May: Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley inaugurated the New Bank Note Paper Line

unit of 6000 metric ton capacity at Security Paper Mill in Hoshangabad in Madhya

Pradesh. He also flagged off the first consignment of one thousand rupee bank notes

made indigenously from this paper mill to the Currency Note Press Nasik.

30 May: A case was lodged in Barabanki court in Uttar Pradesh against Nestle India over

inadequate safety standards of its product Maggi.

30 May: India’s largest banking entity State Bank of India (SBI) has launched Online

Customer Acquisition Solution (OCAS), an online platform to apply for loans. This online

platform will enable SBI customers to apply for home, education, car and personal loans

online. On filling the online form for loan requirement depending upon their eligibility

customers will instantly get an e-approval.

27 May: Four Indians have been named in Forbes magazine’s 12th annual list of World’s

100 most powerful women. They are

Arundhati Bhattacharya: First woman (and youngest) Chairperson of State Bank of

India (SBI) was placed at 30th position.

Chanda Kochhar: Managing Director (MD) and CEO of India’s largest private sector

lender ICICI Bank was placed at 35th position.

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw: Founder, Chairman and MD of Biocon Limited was placed at

85th position.

Shobhana Bhartia: Chairperson and Editorial Director of the Hindustan Times Group

was placed at 93rd position. It should be noted she has appeared on the list for the

first time.

Apart from them, two women of Indian-origin PepsiCo Chief Indra Nooyi (15th position)

and Cisco Chief Technology and Strategy Officer Padmasree Warrior (84th position) also

have appeared in the list.

27 May: Union government has constituted a 10-member committee to review and

revitalise public private partnership (PPP) mode of infrastructure development. The

committee will be chaired by former finance secretary Vijay Kelkar and submit its report

within a period of 3 months from the date of its Constitution.

27 May: Union government has constituted a 10-member committee to review and

revitalise public private partnership (PPP) mode of infrastructure development. The

committee will be chaired by former finance secretary Vijay Kelkar and submit its report

within a period of 3 months from the date of its Constitution.

27 May : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 26 May 2015 launched India’s first television

channel DD Kisan dedicated to farmers in New Delhi.

27 May: National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) and Data

Security Council of India (DSCI) have launched NASSCOM Cyber Security Task Force. The

aim of task force is to build India as a global hub for providing cyber security solutions,

developing cyber security Research & Development (R&D) plan and develop a skilled

workforce of cyber security experts.

25 May: India’s largest private sector lender Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation

of India (ICICI) Bank has launched voice password facility for users. This service will

facilitate its customers to make transactions using their voice rather than using traditional

means of authentication like entering id and password.

23 May: Steel Authority of India (SAIL) and world’s largest steelmaker, ArcelorMittal

signed a MoU to set up an automotive steel manufacturing facility in India.

21 May: India’s largest public sector lender, State Bank of India (SBI) has signed

memorandum of understanding (MoU) with e-commerce giant Amazon.

20 May: Tech giant Apple has acquired Global Position System (GPS) firm Coherent

Navigation to improve its mapping capabilities.

16 May: ICICI Bank’s first branch in China was inaugurated in Shanghai, a major global

financial hub. It was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the presence of

ICICI Bank’s MD and CEO Chanda Kochhar.

15 May: India’s largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI) has launched contact-less credit

and debit cards sbiINTOUCH.

13 May: Lok Sabha passed The Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill, 2015 by a voice

vote. The Bills amends the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 in order to make cheque-

bounce filing of cases more convenient for check payees (person who receives the

cheque).

Key facts

The bill adds provision to specify the territorial jurisdiction of the courts in cases

related to bouncing of cheques which was not present in the parent Act.

It says that cases in this regard need to be filed only in a court in whose jurisdiction

the bank branch of the payee lies.

8 May: Indian Army and Bank of India (BOI) on 8 May 2015 signed Memorandum of

Understanding (MoU) on the Defence Salary Package. The signed MoU is a revised version

of previous and first MoU which was signed in 2011 between both parties and was valid

for a period of three years. Key facts of revised MoU

8 May: India’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) has launched a RuPay Platinum debit

card in association with National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI).

NATION THIS MONTH

30 May: Maharashtra Government has launched Swachhata Saptapadi scheme on the

lines of Union Government’s flagship Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. The scheme was launched

by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis along with actor Aamir Khan who is brand

ambassador of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in Mumbai.

30 May: Union Information and Broadcasting (I&B) ministry has appointed Veena Jain as

director general (news) in Doordarshan (DD).

27 May: The High court bench of Justice Rajiv Shakdher also allowed Greenpeace to

encash its fixed deposits and utilise the funds for running the organisation.

29 May: According to recently released United Nations (UN) annual hunger report titled

The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2015, India was placed at top in the World

Hunger list. The report has mentioned that India is home to the highest number of hungry

people in the world with around 194 million people, surpassing China. The report was

published by UN subsidiary body Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

22 May: Union Cabinet has approved continuation of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)

programme for another fifteen operational flights of PSLV-C36 to PSLV-C50.

All the fifteen operational flights under this programme will be completed during the

period 2017-2020.

22 May: Union Cabinet has approved the revival of closed urea unit of Fertilizer

Corporation India Limited (FICL) at Sindri in Jharkhand with an investment of 6000 crore

rupees. Union government has taken this decision in order to meet the growing demand

of urea in eastern states of India including Bihar, West Bengal and Jharkhand.

22 May: Union Government has decided to amend Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)

norms for NRIs, Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) and Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) to

increase capital flows into the country. Decision in this regard was taken at Cabinet

Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi

in New Delhi. In order to comply with this decision government will amend FDI policy on

investments by NRIs, PIOs & OCIs which will give them parity in economy and education.

21 May: Indigenously-developed beyond visual range air-to-air Astra missile was

successfully test fired at the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur, Odisha. In the test, the

missile was fired from Sukhoi -30 MKI fighter jet in two developmental trials to prove its

long range capability.

21 May: President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the 50th Anniversary of India’s first

historic climb of Mt. Everest in 1965 at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

20 May: Tathagata Roy on 20 May 2015 was sworn in as the 16th Governor of Tripura in

Agartala. He replaced Padmanabh Balkrishna Acharya, Governor of Nagaland, who had

held the additional charge of Tripura

20 May: Meghalaya has achieved 100 percent success in implementing Union

Government’s flagship scheme for financial inclusion-Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna

(PMJDY). In the state, all eleven districts have been able to open at least one bank account

of every household under the ambitious scheme. More than 5.53 lakh households have

been covered with 1.55 lakh new bank accounts.

19 May: Union Government has sanctioned proposals for setting up 30 new cold storage

projects chain in the country with a total investment of 724.9 crore rupees. These projects

will play important role in reducing the wastage of food in the country.

19 May: India assumed the presidency of the 68th World Health Assembly (WHA) held in

Geneva after a gap of 19 years. This edition of assembly is expeacted to deliberate on key

issues of global interest that include

Anti-microbial resistance.

Air pollution and health

Global health emergency, preparedness and surveillance.

Global strategy and plan of action on public health.

Innovation and intellectual property.

Research and development in neglected tropical diseases.

15 May: Union Government formally launched Upgrading the Skills and Training in

Traditional Arts/Crafts for Development (USTAAD) Scheme. It was launched by Union

Minister of Minority Affairs Dr. Najma Heptullah in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh in order to

improve degrading conditions of world famous Banaras Saree weavers who belong to

minority communities.

14 May: Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the

flagship Namami Gange Program. The program integrates the efforts to clean and protect

the River Ganga in a comprehensive manner by involving differed States and grassroots

level institutions.

It has a budgetary outlay of 20000 crore rupees for 2015-20.

13 May: Union Cabinet has given its approval to Benami Transactions (Prohibition)

(Amendment) Bill, 2015. The Bill seeks to amend the Benami Transactions (Prohibition)

Act, 1988 by adding additional provisions that provides for stringent measures against

violators in order to curb and check the generation of black money in the country.

13 May: Union Cabinet gave its approval to 5 per cent disinvestment in National Thermal

Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) and 10 per cent in Indian Oil Corporation (IOC). The

proposed share sale of 5 per cent in NTPC will fetch Union government 5,565 crore rupees

while that of 10 per cent in IOC will bring in 7,932 crore rupees.

13 May: Union government has announced that, the current immunisation rate in rural

areas is around 58 per cent while it is over 67 per cent in urban regions of the country.

12 May: Union Ministry of Labour and Employment has appointed K Satish Reddy as the

chairman of the National Safety Council (NSC). He will succeed Venu Srinivasan, who

was appointed in July 2011.

11 May: Dedicated E-Commerce Centre of India Posts, a government-operated postal

system was launched in New Delhi to cater the e-commerce business enterprises. It is

capable of handling 30000 parcels (articles) per day. It will also facilitate to collection of

parcels from the e-commerce customers by processing and dispatching them within 24

hours to respective destination. For this purpose the centre will use quickest available

transportation facility like flight or trains.

9 May: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 9 May 2015 launched three mega social security

schemes in Kolkata, West Bengal. Three schemes intend to widen the process of financial

inclusion in the country include Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Yojana (PMJJBY). Pradhan

Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY). Atal Pension Yojana (APY).

9 May: National Green Tribunal (NGT) has ordered that every household in Delhi must

pay a monthly environmental compensation to clean up pollution in Yamuna River.

8 May: Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a commemorative coin to mark the birth

centenary of Swami Chinmayananda Saraswati in New Delhi.

8 May: To enhance cooperation in the renewable energy sector, Union Ministry of New

and Renewable Energy has signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) with 12

countries in past 3 years.

7 May: The Union Cabinet has approved amendments in the Whistle Blowers Protection

Act, 2011 to keep issues of national security out of its purview. The amendments accepted

by the Union Cabinet to the parent Act are done with a view to incorporate necessary

provisions that aim at strengthening safeguards against disclosures.

7 May: In recently released 2015 Mother’s Index in the State of the World’s Mothers

(SOWM) report titled The Urban Disadvantage, India was placed at 140th position out of

179 countries.

The Mother’s Index scores countries on five parameters. They are maternal health,

children’s well-being (measured as under-5 mortality rate), economic status, educational

status and political status.

6 May: Lok Sabha has passed the Goods and Services Tax Bill, 2014 which is also known

as Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill. The Bill seeks to amend the Constitution in order

to introduce the goods and services tax (GST).

6 May: The Union Cabinet has approved Constitution (119th Amendment) Bill on Land

Boundary Agreement (LBA) between India & Bangladesh. The Bill seeks to operationalize

the Land Boundary Agreement with Bangladesh by exchanging several enclaves located

along the common border of both nations.

5 May: Union Government has made Permanent Account Number (PAN) mandatory for

private firms seeking central excise registration. As per the new rules, the PAN registration

will now be given within two days of filing online applications to improve the ease in doing

business in manufacturing.

4 May: State-owned electrical equipment maker Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) has

commissioned a 195-MW thermal unit in Muzzafarpur district in Bihar. The commissioned

thermal unit is the first of the two 195-MW units to be commissioned by BHEL at the

thermal power plant of Kanti Bijlee Utpadan Nigam (KBUNL). KBUNL is a joint venture (JV)

of NTPC and Bihar State Power Generation Company (BSPGCL).

4 May: Nepal’s devastating 7.9-magnitude earthquake on April 25 has partially damaged

Swayambhunath Stupa located in Kathmandu which is believed to be the world’s oldest

Buddhist shrine.

GLOBE- TROT THIS MONTH

30 May: United States (US) in a landmark decision has removed Cuba from its list of State

Sponsor of Terrorism. In this regard US secretary of state John Kerry has signed an order

removing Cuba from the terrorism blacklist.

28 May: United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has unanimously adopted a resolution

on the protection of journalists in conflict zones. The resolution has urged member

nations, governments and armed groups to take appropriate steps in order to ensure

accountability for crimes committed against journalists, media professionals in situations

of armed conflict.

26 May: An ancient aqueduct dating back 2,000 years ago was unearthed near Har Homa

in East Jerusalem city of Israel. The discovered lower aqueduct was used in ancient times

to transport water into the city of Jerusalem.

25 May: Russian government officially has enacted a law banning undesirable non-

governmental organisations (NGOs) in the country.

The newly enacted law allows government authorities to

Prosecute foreign NGOs or firms designated as undesirable on national security

grounds.

Individuals working for such NGOs could face up to six years in prison or fines.

Barr foreign NGOs employees from the country.

Ban Russian citizens or groups that have involvement or are engaged with such

undesirable foreign NGOs.

25 May: China has set up a gold sector fund involving 65 countries along the ancient Silk

Road. It has been set up in China’s northwest Xi’an city during ongoing forum on

investment and trade.

23 May: Tanishq Abraham, 11-year-old Indian-American child prodigy created a record by

graduating from California College with three associate degrees in science, maths and

foreign language studies.

23 May: Republic of Ireland became first country in the world to constitutionally legalise

same-sex marriage.

23 May: United Nation Security Council (UNSC) on 23 May 2015 adopted a resolution

calling for stronger cooperation among member nations in stemming the illicit transfer

and misuse of small arms and light weapons.

23 May: Two strong 6.8 magnitude earthquakes had strike the Solomon Islands in Pacific

Ocean on 23 May 2015.

21 May: Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants have taken complete control of the

ancient Syrian city of Palmyra.

19 May: International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its recent report titled Act Local, Solve

Global: The $5.3 Trillion Energy Subsidy Problem has voiced alarm about energy subsidies

across the world.

19 May: India assumed the presidency of the 68th World Health Assembly (WHA) held in

Geneva after a gap of 19 years. The 68th WHA session began on 18 May 2015 and it will

conclude on 27 May 2015. The WHA session is presided by Union Health Minister Jagat

Prakash Nadda who is also leading the high-level Indian delegation to the Assembly.

This edition of assembly is expected to deliberate on key issues of global interest that

include

o Anti-microbial resistance.

o Air pollution and health

o Global health emergency, preparedness and surveillance.

o Global strategy and plan of action on public health.

o Innovation and intellectual property.

o Research and development in neglected tropical diseases.

18 May: India and South Korea have signed 7 agreements /MoUs to enhance bilateral

relations. Signed agreements are _______.

Agreement for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal

Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income.

Cooperation in Audio-Visual Co-Production-

MoU for Cooperation between the India’s National Security Council and Korea’s

Office of National Security-

MoU for cooperation in the field of Electric Power Development and New Energy

Industries.

MoU on Cooperation in Youth Matters-

Framework of Cooperation in the Field of Road Transport and Highways

MOU in the Fields of Maritime Transport and Logistics-

18 May: India and Mongolia have decided to elevate their ties to the level of Strategic

partnership.

As per the agreement, both nations will strive for ___.

Enhancing cooperation in defence industry and military training.

Promoting joint participation in military exercises.

Increasing military cooperation in training and import of arms and equipment.

Resolving conflicts through diplomatic means rather than using of force.

16 May: Sixth edition of National Conference on Nuclear Energy held in New Delhi. The

theme of this edition was Nuclear Energy: a Clean Energy option. It was organized by

Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), one of the apex

trade associations of India

16 May: United Nations (UN) has adopted a resolution in order to call attention of

international community to urgently assist Nepal and help rebuild the country after it was

hit by devastating earthquake. The resolution was led by India and was co-sponsored by

65 other nations including Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Australia, Japan, China, Germany, Sri

Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan UK and the US.

9 May: A record number of 10 Indian-origin Members of Parliament (MPs) were elected

in recently concluded general election that elected 56th Parliament of the UK.

Following are the elected Indian-origin candidates Conservative Party:

Priti Patel- won from Witham constituency.

Rishi Sunak- won from Richmond (Yorks) constituency. He is son-in-law of Infosys

co-founder Narayana Murthy.

Alok Sharma- won from Reading West constituency.

Shailesh Vara- won from Cambridgeshire Northwest constituency.

Suella Fernandes- won from Fareham constituency.

Labour Party:

Keith Vaz- won from Leicester East constituency.

Valerie Vaz- won from Walsall South constituency.

Virendra Sharma- won from Ealing Southall constituency.

Seema Malhotra- won from south west London constituency.

Lisa Nandy- won from Wigan constituency.

7 May: India and Iran have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the

development of the strategically important Chabahar Port in Iran.

Key facts of MoU

o By signing of MoU Indian and Iranian commercial entities will be able to

commence negotiations for finalization of a commercial contract.

o Under the contract, Indian firms will lease two existing berths at the Chabahar

Port and operationalize them as container and multi-purpose cargo terminals.

7 May: The French Parliament has approved a surveillance law that strengthens the

intelligence services of the country to prevent terrorist attacks.

6 May: The Union Cabinet has approved Constitution (119th Amendment) Bill on Land

Boundary Agreement (LBA) between India & Bangladesh. The Bill seeks to operationalize

the Land Boundary Agreement with Bangladesh by exchanging several enclaves located

along the common border of both nations.

5 May: World’s largest flag was unfurled at an event in Ong Jmel in the southern desert

area of Tunisia. Tunisian national flag of the size of 19 football pitches was unfurled in a

bid to set a Guinness World Record and promote patriotism in the face of Islamist

extremism

4 May: Recently published study in journal Science has found out that 1 out of 6 species

on Earth could possibly extinct by the end of the century as a result of increasing global

warming if the emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) stays the same.

APPOINTMENTS/RESIGNATIONS THIS MONTH

28 May: Indian- origin businessman and diplomat S Chandra Das was appointed as

Resident High Commissioner to Sri Lanka by Singapore Government.

26 May: Union Government has appointed Manoj Mishra as Chairman and Managing

Director (CMD) of state-run National Fertilizers Ltd (NFL).

25 May: Sunil D’Souza was appointed as Managing Director (MD) of India’s home

appliances maker Whirlpool. Prior to this appointment he was Head of PepsiCo’s

VIMAPS Business Unit located in Malaysia.

23 May: Parvinder Singh Batth, an Indian-origin Conservative party councillor was

chosen as the mayor of United Kingdom’s Wokingham Borough Council.

21 May: Akhil Amar, an Indian-American professor from Yale University has been

appointed as a member of the prestigious National Council on Humanities of US by

President Barack Obama.

20 May: V Shanmuganthan was sworn in as the 15th Governor of Meghalaya on 20

May 2015 at the oath taking ceremony held at Raj Bhawan in Shillong.

19 May: Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) MP Surendrajeet Singh Ahluwalia has been

appointed chairman of a Joint Committee of Parliament that will look into the

provisions of the Land Acquisition Amendment Bill, 2015.

18 May: Ms. Draupadi Murmu was sworn in as the first woman and overall ninth

Governor of Jharkhand since the state was granted statehood status after bifurcating

from Bihar on 15 November 2000.

16 May: Union Ministry of Finance has appointed M J Joseph as the Controller

General of Accounts (CGA). He will succeed Jawahar Thakur, who was recently

appointed as OSD (Accounting Reforms) in the office of CGA.

13 May: President Pranab Mukherjee on 12 May 2015 appointed Governors in six

states. Following are newly appointed Governors

Jharkhand: Former Odisha Minister Droupadi Murmu was appointed as Governor of

Jharkhand. She will replace Dr Syed Ahmed.

Manipur: Dr Syed Ahmed has been transfered to Manipur for remaining period of his

term.

Arunachal Pradesh: J P Rajkhowa was appointed as Governor of Arunachal Pradesh.

He will replace Lt. General (Retd.) Nirbhay Sharma.

Mizoram: Lt. General (Retd.) Nirbhay Sharma has been transferred and appointed as

Governor of Mizoram for the remainder of his term.

Tripura: Tathagata Roy will be the Governor of Tripura.

Meghalaya: V. Shanmuganthan has been appointed as Meghalaya Governor.

12 May: Indian-origin Member of Parliament (MP) Priti Patel was appointed as

Minister of State (MoS) for Employment in the David Cameron led United Kingdom

Government.

11 May: President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated Namaste Russia, a festival of

Indian culture in Moscow during the last leg of his tour in Russia. Namaste Russia will

be six month long festival i.e. form May to November 2015. The festival seeks to

enthrall the Russian audience with cultural events from India.

11 May: Eminent banker Kundapur Vaman Kamath was appointed as first President

New Development Bank (NDB) of BRICS nations.

9 May: President Pranab Mukherjee has appointed Mr. Arvind Saxena as Member of

Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).

9 May: Mhairi Black at the age of 20 became the youngest elected Member of

Parliament (MP) in United Kingdom in over 300 years.

8 May: President Pranab Mukherjee has appointed Retired IAS officer Achal Kumar

Jyoti as the Election Commissioner. He will serve as Election Commissioner for a

period of three years.

8 May: In the 2015 United Kingdom Parliamentary elections, Prime Minister David

Cameron led Conservative Party has won the election.

2 May: Senior IPS officer Surender Singh took over as the new Director General (DG)

of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).

AWARDS/HONOURS/WORLD TITLES/NEW DISCOVERIES THIS MONTH

30 May: Gurnimrat ‘Nimmy’ Sidhu, an Indian-origin teacher has been honoured with

‘University of Oxford Inspirational Teacher Award’. She received her trophy in Oxford

along with 11 other teachers for helping their students get into the world-famous varsity.

25 May: French film Dheepan has been awarded Palme d’Or Award at 68th Cannes Film

Festival. The film is directed by Jacques Audiard.

23 May: Indian film Masaan has won the prestigious critics prize in the Un Certain Regard

category at the 68th Cannes Film Festival after it was premiered on May 20, 2015.

23 May: Two Indian peacekeepers have been chosen posthumously for United Nation’s

Dag Hammarskjold Medal. They are Lance Naik Nand Ram and Raju Joseph. Both of them

are among the 126 police, military and civilian personnel who have been posthumously

awarded a prestigious UN medal.

20 May: Hungarian writer Laszlo Krasznahorkai has won the prestigious Man Booker

International Prize for 2015. He was chosen from a list of 10 contenders from around the

world.

20 May: Shivani Agarwal and Maharaja Pandit are two Indians who have been selected

for the prestigious Radcliffe Fellowship by Harvard University.

19 May: Six Indian-Americans and a British-Indian were presented prestigious 2015 Ellis

Island Medals of Honor in United States for their contributions to America.

16 May: Vice President Mohammed Hamid Ansari conferred the Pt. Haridutt Sharma

Award to senior journalist Anurradha Prasad in New Delhi.

15 May: President Pranab Mukherjee conferred the Presidential Awards for Classical

Tamil for the years 2011-12 and 2012-13. It was bestowed on scholars who have made

outstanding contribution to the development of Classical Tamil language and literature.

Tolkappiyar Award for lifetime achievement in Classical Tamil was given to SV

Shanmugam for year 2011-12 and R Krishnamurthi for year 2012-13.

Kural Pitam Award was given to Eva Maria Wilden of Germany for 2011-12.

Young Scholar Awards was presented to E. Ezhilvasanthan, K. Jawahar and K. Iyyappan

for 2011-12 while for the year 2012-13 was given to R. Venkatesan, A. Sathish, M.R.

Devak, U. Alibava and B. Jaiganesh.

13 May: Writer Neel Mukherjee’s novel The Lives of Others has won the United Kingdom’s

Encore Award for the best second novel.

12 May: Dr. Sivanadane Mandjiny, an Indian-American Professor in US is named UNC

Pembroke’s recipient of the UNC Board of Governors 2015 Award for Excellence in

Teaching.

12 May: President Pranab Mukherjee conferred the National Florence Nightingale Awards

to 35 nursing personnel from across the country on the occasion of International Nurses

Day. The National Florence Nightingale Awards were presented at a function held at

Rashtrapati Bhavan.

10 May: Veteran actor and film producer Shashi Kapoor has been conferred with

prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke Award 2014. The award was bestowed upon him by Union

Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley at a special function held in Prithvi

Theatre in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

8 May: Nadia district in West Bengal has won the 2015 United Nations Public Service

Award in the category of improving delivery of public services for the initiative ‘Sabar

Shouchagar’

7 May: The French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo was presented a Freedom of

Expression Courage award from the PEN American Center. The satirical magazine was

recognized for this award by PEN American Centre as 12 of its staff members had died

during January 2015 terrorist attack on its Paris based office.

4 May: Syrian journalist and rights activist Mazen Darwish was honoured with UNESCO-

Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize 2015.

4 May: Renowned crime writer Ruth Rendell passed away on 2 May 2015 in London,

United Kingdom. She was 85.

3 May: Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) has been adjudged the world’s

best airport for the year 2014. In this regard, Airports Council International (ACI)

presented the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) award to IGIA under the category of handling

25 to 40 million passengers per annum.

3 May: Maya Plisetskaya, one of the greatest ballerinas of the 20th century from Russia

passed away in Germany. She was 89.

3 May: Philip S. Goodman, an American film, television and stage writer, producer and

director passed away on 2 May 2015 in New York, United States.

2 May: Eminent scientist and Bharat Ratna awardee Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra

Rao was conferred with Japan’s highest civilian award the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold

and Silver Star. He was bestowed with this award for his outstanding contributions to

science and Indo-Japanese science cooperation.

2 May: Senior DRDO scientist Satheesh Reddy, has been conferred with the prestigious

Fellowship of the Royal Institute of Navigation (RIN). RIN has recognised Mr. Reddy for his

work in the field of inertial and satellite-based navigation and avionics technologies.

2 May: Journalist Dr. Prannoy Roy, the executive co-chairman of NDTV, was conferred the

RedInk Award for lifetime achievement.

SPORTS NEWS THIS MONTH

30 May: Sepp Blatter has been re-elected as the Fédération Internationale de Football

Association (FIFA) President for a fifth term.

29 May: Abhinav Bindra has become the fourth Indian shooter to win a quota place for

the 2016 Rio Olympics.

25 May: Mumbai Indians (MI) on 24 May 2015 won the eight edition of Indian Premier

League (IPL) 2015 by defeating Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

25 May: Indian boxers have rounded off a brilliant run at the Doha International

Tournament by winning four gold, one silver and two bronze medals.

Gold medal winners are

L Devendro Singh in 49 kg category by defeating Aldren Moreno of Philippines by 3:0.

Shiva Thapa in 56kg category by defeating HYM Abdelaal of Egypt by 2:1.

Manish Kaushik in 60 kg category by defeating Rabi Hamza of Morocco by 3:0.

Manoj Kumar in 64 kg category by defeating Magliquian Nicole of Philippines by 3:0. The

silver medal was won by Gaurav Bidhuri in 52 kg category. While Mandeep Jangra and

Vikas Krishan bagged bronze medals in 69kg and 75kg categories respectively.

25 May: Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg from Germany has won the Monaco Grand Prix

Formula One (F1) World Championship title. It was the final race of F1 season 2015.

18 May: India’s ace discus thrower Vikas Gowda won a bronze medal in the second leg

of the prestigious International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Diamond

League series in Shanghai, China.

18 May: Ethiopian runners won both the Men’s and Women’s titles in the eighth edition

of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) World 10 Thousand metre run in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

18 May: World no 1 Novak Djokovic from Serbia has won his fourth Rome Masters Tennis

Men’s single title. In the final match, he defeated world no 2 Roger Federer from

Switzerland with score of 6-4, 6-3. With this win, Djokovic earned 1000 Emirates ATP

ranking points.

15 May: India’s ace shooter Gagan Narang won the bronze medal in the 50m Rifle Prone

Event of the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup.

15 May: Tejaswini Sagar from India won under-15 category of World School Chess

Championships in her maiden attempt.

11 May: Britain’s ace tennis player Andy Murray has won the 2015 Mutua Madrid Open

Men’s Singles Title. In the final match he defeated defending champion Rafael Nadal of

Spain by 6-3, 6-2 score. This is Andy Murray’s first Mutua Madrid Open title.

10 May: Haryana Government has decided to include Deaflympics in its Sports Policy in

order to boost the morale of differently-abled sportspersons in the state..

5 May: India’s top rifle shooters have won a rich haul of three gold and two bronze medals

at the International Shooting Competition of Hannover in Germany. In this shooting

event, Beijing Olympics Games gold medallist Abhinav Bindra won both the individual

and team gold in his pet 10 metre air rifle event.

4 May: Maniram Patel from Gujarat has won Gold medal in the men’s 20 kilometre walk

in the 19th Federation Cup senior athletics championship held at Mangaluru,Karnataka.

4 May: Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) have won the 5th National women hockey

championship title.

4 May: Union Government has finally recognised motorsports as a sport in India. In this

regard, Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has included Federation of Motor

Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) in the list of sports backed National Sports Federations (NSF).

EULOGIES THIS MONTH

28 May: Influential documentary photographer Mary Ellen Mark passed away in

Manhattan, New York. She was 75

26 April: The Oscar-winning cinematographer Andrew Lesnie passed away following a

fatal heart attack. He was 59.

25 May: Celebrated American Photographer Mary Ellen Mark died at Manhattan in New

York, USA. She was 75.

24 May: Argentine footballer Cristian Gomez died during a game. Gomez, 27, of Atletico

Parana collapsed on the pitch during a second-tier game against Boca Unidos.

23 May: John Forbes Nash Jr., the Princeton University mathematician, died along with

his wife in a car crash. He was 86.

22 May: The British actor Terry Sue-Patt passed away in east London. He was 50.

21 May: Academy Awards telecast director Marty Pasetta passed away following injuries

sustained in a car accident in La Quinta, United States. He was 82.

20 May: Veteran jazz musician Bob Belden passed away after suffering a heart attack. He

was 58.

20 May: Eminent economist, policy advisor and noted academic Mrinal Datta Chaudhuri

passed away in Pune, Maharashtra.

20 May: Popular Indian stage, film and television actress Sudha Shivpuri died due to

multiple organ failure at a suburban hospital in Andheri. She was 77.

16 May: Ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi was sentenced to death by Cairo

court for his part in a mass jailbreak in 2011.

14 May: Riley B. King, the king of blues, passed away in his sleep in Las Vegas. He was 89.

He was known by his stage name B B King.

12 May: Eminent Bengali writer Suchitra Bhattacharya passed away following a cardiac

arrest in Kolkata, West Bengal. She was 55. She was one of the most popular and powerful

novelists of contemporary Bengali literature.

12 May: Eminent historian Peter Gay passed away at Manhattan in New York City, USA.

He was 91. He is one of the major American historians of European thought and known

for his groundbreaking books on Enlightenment, the Victorian middle classes, Sigmund

Freud, Weimar culture and the cultural situation of Jews in Germany.

10 May: Renowned Pop artist Chris Burden passed away following melanoma disease at

his home and studio in Topanga Canyon, California. He was 69.

9 May: Veteran Hollywood actress Elizabeth Wilson passed away following age-related

illness at New Haven, Connecticut. She was 94.

7 May: Eminent historian and social scientist Amalendu Guha passed away following old

age ailments at Ulubari, Guwahati. He was 91.

5 May: Oscar Holderer, the last known surviving member of the German engineering team

that designed the rocket that took US astronauts to the Moon died in Alabama. He was

95.

4 May: Renowned crime writer Ruth Rendell passed away on 2 May 2015 in London,

United Kingdom. She was 85.

3 May: Lu Ping, Chinese diplomat who oversaw Hong Kong’s transition from British to

Chinese sovereignty in 1997 passed away in Beijing. He was 87.

3 May: Michael Blake, the Oscar-winning writer of ‘Dances with Wolves’ novel passed

away in Tucson, Arizona, after a long battle with cancer. He was 69.

3 May: Former Union Minister and veteran Congress leader Baleshwar Ram passed away

due to kidney-related ailments. He was 87. He was the leader from Bihar.

3 May: Philip S. Goodman, an American film, television and stage writer, producer and

director passed away on 2 May 2015 in New York, United States.

2 May: Amitabha Chowdhury, veteran journalist, writer and renowned Tagore researcher

passed away in Kolkata due to prolonged illness. He was 88.

2 May: Legendary Russian ballerinas Maya Plisetskaya died in Munich, Germany. She was

89.

MISCELLANEOUS NEWS THIS MONTH

27 May: Scientists have developed the first man-made molecular pump which is capable

to transport key proteins to cells for its functioning and can be used to power artificial

muscles.

27 May: Scientists have developed the first man-made molecular pump which is capable

to transport key proteins to cells for its functioning and can be used to power artificial

muscles.

27 May: A new species of fish called Pethia striata was discovered by ecologists in Tunga

River in the Kudremukh National Park, Karnataka.

20 May: Researchers have discovered the driest location on Earth in the Atacama Desert

in Chile. The site discovered is called as Maria Elena South (MES).

18 May: Union Government has allocated 5,000 crore rupees for the growth of

Department of AYUSH, that comprises Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha

and Homoeopathy.

15 May: World’s first fully warm-blooded fish named Opah or moonfish was discovered

recently. It was discovered by scientists at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration (NOAA).

15 May: Doordarshan and China Central Television (CCTV) have signed an agreement for

exchange of art, culture and development television programmes.

13 May: Daniel Mookhey has become first Indian-origin Member of Parliament (MP) from

the Australian state of New South Wales to be sworn in to Australian parliament on the

Hindu religious text, the Bhagavadgita.

7 May: Huge Lava Lake was spotted on Jupiter’s Moon Io by an extremely powerful

telescope on Earth named Large Binocular telescope Interferometer (LBTI).

7 May: NASA successfully tested a 10-Engine Electric Plane named Greased Lightning-10

(GL-10) that that can take off and land like a helicopter and fly efficiently like an aircraft.

6 May: Information technology giant, Microsoft has launched a cloud computing-based

offering Edu-Cloud with an aim to Make Learning Fun.

6 May: Information technology giant, Microsoft has launched a cloud computing-based

offering Edu-Cloud with an aim to Make Learning Fun

5 May: Recently released book Indian Bumblebees has revealed that India is home to 48

of the 250 known species of bumblebees. The book is written by entomologist M.S. Saini

and co-authors Rifat H. Raina and Harpeet Singh Ghator.

RECURRING TERMS

(1) SBI launches sbiINTOUCH

India’s largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI) has launched contact-less credit

and debit cards sbiINTOUCH. sbiINTOUCH is based upon latest near-field technology (NFC) that

enables customer to transact using the card by just tapping or waving it against the reader of

the point-of-sale machine Cards incorporated with NFC technology are secure and hassle-free.

SBI is also proving a fraud liability cover of 1 lakh rupees on these cards. With this, SBI has

joined league of private lenders like ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank. It should be noted that ICICI

bank was first to introduce contact-less credit and debit cards in India. RBI rules on contact-less

credit and debit cards Presently, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) allows banks to enable transactions

in case of contactless cards up to Rs. 2,000 without the requiring a separate PIN authentication.

But incase of amounts higher, banks should provide customers with an option of contact

payment and pin authentication requirement.

(2) Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode of infrastructure development

Union government has constituted a 10-member committee to review and revitalise public

private partnership (PPP) mode of infrastructure development.

The committee will be chaired by former finance secretary Vijay Kelkar and submit its report

within a period of 3 months from the date of its Constitution.

Members of Committee: C.S. Rajan, Dr. Shekhar Shah, S.B. Nayar, Pradeep Kumar, Vikram

Limaye, Sudipto Sarkar, P.S. Behuria, Sharmila Chavaly, Representative of Ministry of Road

Transport & Highways.

Terms of Reference of the Committee

Review of the experience of PPP Policy. It will also include the variations in contents of

contracts and difficulties experienced with particular conditions.

Suggest optimal risk sharing mechanism by analyzing risks involved in PPP projects in

different sectors. It will also look into existing framework of sharing of such risks between

the Government and project developer.

Propose design modifications to the contractual arrangements of the PPP based on best

international practices and in correspondence with our institutional context.

Suggest measure to Government in order to improve capacity building for effective

implementation of the PPP projects.

For firming-up its recommendations, the Committee may consult various stake holders in

the different sectors including private, government sector, legal experts, banking and

financial institutions and academia.

Background

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his budget speech of February 2015 had announced that

the PPP mode of infrastructure development has to be revitalized and revisited in which the

major issue involved is rebalancing of risk.

(3) Mothers’ Index

India ranked 140th in 2015 Mothers’ Index Share on emailShare on facebookShare on

twitterShare on printShare on google May 7, 2015No comments In recently released 2015

Mother’s Index in the State of the World’s Mothers (SOWM) report titled The Urban

Disadvantage, India was placed at 140th position out of 179 countries.

The report prepared by Save the Children and was launched by Union Minority Affairs Minister

Najma Heptulla in New Delhi.

Key facts from the report

Top 5 countries as per 2015 Mother’s Index: Norway (1st), Finland (2nd), Iceland (3rd),

Denmark (4th) and Swedan (5th).

Bottom 10 countries: Niger (175th), Mali (176th), Central African Republic (177th), Congo

(178th) and Somalia (179th).

The report has noted that the growing number of slums in the world is main cause for

the urban rich-poor gap and reducing urban under-5 mortality.

In the slums, high child death rates are rooted to conditions that are related to

disadvantage, deprivation and discrimination.

With reference to India

India is among the 10 countries in the world that have the greatest survival divide

between wealthy and poor urban children.

In case of India, the 29 per cent of the urban population living in slums. Children’s among

this urban poor population is 3.2 times likely to die by the age of 5 compared to the urban

rich population.

About Mother’s Index

The Mother’s Index scores countries on five parameters. They are maternal health, children’s

well-being (measured as under-5 mortality rate), economic status, educational status and

political status.

(4)World Hunger List

According to recently released United Nations (UN) annual hunger report titled The State of Food

Insecurity in the World 2015, India was placed at top in the World Hunger list. The report has

mentioned that India is home to the highest number of hungry people in the world with around

194 million people, surpassing China. The report was published by UN subsidiary body Food and

Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

Key facts from report

Top ten countries: India (194.6), China (133.8), Pakistan (41.4), Ethiopia (31.6),

Bangladesh (26.3), Indonesia (19.4), Tanzania (16.8), Philippines (13.7), Nigeria (12.9) and

North Korea (10.5). Note: (population is million).

At global level: The corresponding figures have dropped to 795 million in 2014-15

compared to 1 billion in 1990-92.

In this case with East Asia led by China accounted for most of the reductions.

India: It has shown reduction between 15 years timespan form 1990 to 2015.

In 1990-92, in Indian those who were starved of food were numbered around 210.1

million. It came down to 194.6 million in 2014-15.

India’s numerous social programmes and schemes have made great strides in reducing

the proportion of food insecure persons in the overall population.

These schemes are expected to continue to fight hunger and poverty.

China: It was able to achieve reduction in the number of hungry people which was much

higher than in India.

China’s figures came down to 133.8 million in 2014-15 compared to 289 million in 1990-

92.

Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target: 72 out of 129 countries monitored by FAO

have achieved the MDG target of halving the prevalence of undernourishment by 2015.

The overall analysis of the report had suggested that inclusive economic growth, social

protection and agricultural investments along with political stability has played important

role in eradication of hunger.

(5) RuPay Platinum debit card

India’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) has launched a RuPay Platinum debit card in

association with National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI). The card initially would be issued

free to customers maintaining a quarterly balance of 50,000 rupees. For the convenience of

customers, this card has a special feature which is accepted at all payment channels including

ATMs, point-of-sale (PoS) and eCommerce. RuPay Platinum debit card holders will also get

additional benefits like 5 per cent cash back on utility bill, complimentary concierge services,

personal accident death and permanent total disability insurance cover of Rs 2 lakh,

complimentary airport lounge. It should be noted that, presently SBI has 19.7 crore debit cards

in circulation. Of this total debit cards in circulation, 4.5 crore are RuPay cards.

ABBREVIATIONS THIS MONTH

ABBREVIATIONS

1. ADG- Additional Director General

2. AFSPA- Armed Forces Special Powers Act

3. APY- Atal Pension Yojana

4. AYUSH - Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy

5. OCAS- Online Customer Acquisition Solution

6. CCEA- Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs

7. CLND- Civil Liability for Nuclear Damages

8. DRDO- Defence Research and Development Organisation

9. FAO- Food and Agriculture Organisation

10. FIFA- Federation International Football Association

11. GIC- General Insurance Corporation of India

12. GMS- Gold Monetization Scheme

13. I&B- Information and Broadcasting (I&B)

14. IFCI -Industrial Finance Corporation of India

15. IFSC - International Financial Services Centre

16. IRENA- International Renewable Energy Agency

17. ISSF- International Shooting Sport Federation

18. MOTR- Multi-Object Tracking Radar

19. MERS- Middle East Respiratory Syndrome virus

20. MNP- Mobile Number Portability

21. NASSCOM- National Association of Software and Services Companies

22. NIP- Nuclear Insurance Pool

23. NTPC- National Thermal Power Corporation Limited

24. NRI- Non-Resident Indians

25. OCIs- Overseas Citizens of India

26. OPCW- Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons

27. PIOs- Persons of Indian Origin

28. PMSBY- Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana

29. PMJJBY- Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana

30. PPP- Public Private Partnership

31. REITs- Real Estate Investment Trusts

32. SDRF - State Disaster Response Fund

33. SEBI- Securities and Exchange Board of India

34. UNSC- United Nations Security Council

35. WNTD- World No-Tobacco Day

IMPORTANT DAYS THIS MONTH

31ST May - World No-Tobacco Day (WNTD)

29th May- International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers

27th May- World Science Festival

21st May- Anti Terrorism Day

17th May- World Telecommunication Day / World Information Society Day

15th May- National Defense Transportation Day - USA

12th May- International Nurses Day

11th May- National Technology Day- India

10th May- Mother's Day

9th May- World Athletics Day – IAAF World Fair Trade Day, World Migratory Bird Day,

Rabindranath Tagore Jayanti

8th May- World Red Cross Day

5th May- World Asthma Day

4th May- International Firefighters' Day

3rd May- World Press Freedom Day

1st May- International Labour Day

SPECIAL FEATURES OF THE MONTH

(1) Man Booker International Prize 2015

Hungarian writer Laszlo Krasznahorkai has won the prestigious Man Booker International Prize

for 2015. He was chosen from a list of 10 contenders from around the world.

About Laszlo Krasznahorkai

Laszlo Krasznahorkai was born in 1954 Gyula, Hungary.

He had gained recognition in 1985 after he had published his debut novel Satantango,

which he adapted for the big screen in 1994.

Krasznahorkai’s other famous novels are The Melancholy of Resistance (1989), War and

War (1999), Seiobo There Below (2008).

Awards and Honours: In 1993, he was awarded Bestenliste-Prize of Germany for his novel The

Melancholy of Resistanc.

In 2004, he was awarded with most prestigious cultural award in Hungary- The Kossuth

Prize.

About Man Booker International Prize

The prize, worth £60,000, recognizes an authors’s achievement in fiction.

It is a biennial award, bestowed upon a living author who has published fiction either

originally in English or whose work is available in translation in the English language.

The prize is sponsored by Man Group plc, which also sponsors the Man Booker Prize for

Fiction. Unlike the UK Man Booker Prize for Fiction, publishers cannot submit authors’

works for consideration.

The Prize is significantly different in that it highlights one writer’s overall contribution to

fiction on the world stage.

The judges, who solely decide the winner, consider a writer’s body of work rather than a

single novel.

(2) Dag Hammarskjold Medal

Two Indian peacekeepers have been chosen posthumously for United Nation’s Dag

Hammarskjold Medal. They are Lance Naik Nand Ram and Raju Joseph.

Both of them are among the 126 police, military and civilian personnel who have been

posthumously awarded a prestigious UN medal.

They have been chosen for this award for their courage and sacrifice while serving in UN

peacekeeping operations in 2014 and lost their lives as a result of hostile acts, accidents and

disease. They will be presented with this medal on May 29, 2015 i.e. on the International Day of

United Nations Peacekeepers.

Lance Naik Nand Ram had served with the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). While, Raju Joseph had served in a civilian

capacity with the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).

About Dag Hammarskjold Medal

Established in December 2000.

Awarded posthumously to members of peacekeeping operations who lost their lives

during service with a peacekeeping operation under the operational control and authority

of the United Nations.

Named after second UN Secretary General and Swedish diplomat Dag Hammarskjold (In

office: from 1953 to 1961).

Hammarskjold had died in a mysterious plane crash in 1961.

He was posthumously awarded Nobel Peace Prize the year he died (exceptional case).

In 2014, eight Indian soldiers had posthumously received the medal.

(3) IPL

Mumbai Indians (MI) on 24 May 2015 won the eight edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015

by defeating Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

In the final match played at Eden Gardens, Kolkata they defeated CSK by 41 runs. CSK had won

the toss in final summit had chosen bowl first. MI by batting first had set the target of 202 to their

opponent team. However the CSK failed to reach the target score.

This is the second IPL title triumph for MI after their maiden win in the season six in 2013. It

should be noted that Chennai has now lost four finals of 2008, 2012, 2013, 2015 in six

appearances and had won in 2011 and 2012 IPL seasons.

Brief score: MI 202-5 in 20.0 Overs (Lendl Simmons 68, Rohit Sharma 50, Dwayne Bravo 2-36)

beat CSK 161-8 in 20.0 Overs (Dwayne Smith 57, Mitchell McClenaghan 3-25).

Man of the Match: Rohit Sharma.

Captains of the two teams

Mumbai Indains: Rohit Sharma

Chennai Super Kings: Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Other highlights of IPL 2015

Player of the Tournament: Andre Russell (KKR)

Orange Cap awarded to: David Warner (Sunrisers Hyderabad)

Purple Cap awarded to: Dwayne Bravo (CSK)

Emerging Player of the Season: Shreyas Iyer (Delhi Daredevils)

Most Valuable Player: Andre Russell (KKR)

About Mumbai Indians

Mumbai Indians (MI) is owned by India’s biggest conglomerate, Reliance Industries led by

Mukesh Ambani through its 100% subsidiary IndiaWin Sports. Ownership of MI: IndiaWin Sports

Pvt Ltd (Stake: 98.3%), Teesta Retail Pvt Ltd. (Stake: 1.7%).

(4) Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY)

It is an Accident Insurance Scheme (AIS) offering death and disability cover on account of an

accident.

Key Features of Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY)

• It provides for the risk coverage of 2 lakh rupees for accidental death and full disability and 1

lakh rupees for partial disability due to an accident.

• It is available to people in the age group of 18 to 70 years having a savings bank account.

• The coverage period is of one year duration starting from 1 June to 31 March of the succeeding

year.

• A premium of 12 rupees per annum is paid by the subscriber which will be deducted from the

account holder’s savings bank account through auto debit facility in one installment on or before

1 June of each annual coverage period.

• The product will be offered by Public Sector General Insurance Companies (PSGICs) and other

General Insurance companies willing to offer the product on similar terms with necessary

approvals and tie up with banks for this purpose.

(5) Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY)

PM Narendra Modi on 9 May 2015 launched Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY)

in Kolkata, West Bengal. The scheme is intended to provide for life insurance cover to the eligible

subscribers.

Key Features of PMJJBY

• It provides for an annual life insurance of 2 lakh rupees and covers death due to any reason.

• A premium of 330 rupees per annum is paid by the subscribers to enroll in the scheme.

• People in the age group of 18 to 50 years having a bank account are eligible to join the scheme.

• It will be administered through Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) and other Life Insurance

companies willing to offer the product on similar terms with necessary approvals and tie ups with

banks for this purpose.

• The coverage period is of one year duration starting from 1 June to 31 March of the succeding

year.

• The Union Government will spend 50 crore rupees per annum between 2015 and 2020 for

creating awareness about the PMJJBY and thePradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana

(PMSBY) launched on the same day to provide insurance cover for disabilities due to accidents.

(6) Joint Parliamentary Committee on Land Bill

The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to look into the clauses and provisions of the

controversial land acquisition bill was constituted on 18 May 2015. The JPC comprises of 30

members of Indian Parliament, which will include 20 members from the Lok Sabha and 10

members of the Rajya Sabha. The JPC will submit its report on the first day of the monsoon

session. The JPC was constituted by the Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, who also appointed

its Chairman.

JPC to be headed by S.S. Ahluwalia

The JPC on Land Bill will be headed by senior BJP leader S.S. Ahluwalia. Ahluwalia is a former

Union Minister and a Lok Sabha member from Darjeeling in West Bengal.

Other prominent members in the JPC

The 20 members of the Lok Sabha who are on the joint committee include K.V. Thomas, Rajiv

Satav (both Congress), Anand Rao Adsul (Shiv Sena), Kalyan Banerjee (Trinamool Congress), B.

Mahtab (BJD), Mohammad Salim (CPI-M), Chirag Paswan (LJP) and Udit Raj, Anurag Thakur and

Ganesh Singh (all BJP).

The 10 Rajya Sabha members in the committee include Ram Narain Dudi (BJP), Jairam Ramesh,

Panna Lal Punia, Digvijay Singh (all Congress), Ram Gopal Yadav (SP), Sharad Yadav (JD-U), Sharad

Pawar (NCP), Derek O’Brien (TMC) and Rajpal Singh Saini (BSP).

Why the JPC on Land Bill constituted?

The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on Land Bill was constituted primarily to chalk out

differences between the ruling BJP coalition and the opposition on the supposedly controversial

clauses in the land acquisition bill being proposed by the govt. It is worth mentioning that apart

from the main opposition parties like Congress, Trinammol Congress, CPM, SP, etc., even some

members of the ruling NDA coalition like the Shiv Sena and the Swabhimani Paksha are opposing

the land acquisition bill. The Congress and the Left parties have been specially targeting the Modi

dispensation as anti-farmer and pro-corporate.

All about Land acquisition Bills

Currently land acquisition is governed by the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in

Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 which came into force on 1 January

2014. Prior to this, the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 governed land acquisition. The so-called

controversial land bill is the one which is named the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency

in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Second Amendment) Bill, 2015 and was

introduced in the Lok Sabha by the Minister for Rural Development, Birender Singh on 11 May

2015. The Bill proposes to amend the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land

Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. The Bill also proposes to replace the Right

to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement

(Amendment) Ordinance, 2015 which is to lapse on 4 June 2015.