january 2016 current affairs

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Talentsprint2015

1stJanuary 2016

India, Pakistan exchange lists of nuclear facilities

India and Pakistan have exchanged the list of

their nuclear installations and facilities under

the Agreement on the Prohibition of Attack

against Nuclear installations. This exchange is

done on 1st of January every year between the

two neighbouring countries that bars them

from attacking each others atomic facilities.

This is the 25th consecutive exchange of such list between the two countries, the

first one having taken place on 1 January 1992.

Union inks Financing Agreement with World Bank to fund education of

minorities

The Union Government has signed a Financing

Agreement of 50 million dollars with the World Bank

for Nai Manzil Scheme- Education and Skills Training

for Minorities. Under this agreement, the credit will

be facilitated by the International Development

Association (IDA), World Banks concessionary

lending arm. This credit will be in the form of loan

which carries a maturity of 25 years, including a 5-

year grace period. The loan funds will be used for interventions under this scheme

improve the employability and performance of minority youth in the labour market.

The total project size is 100 million dollars, out of which 50 million dollars will be

available as IDA credit and the remaining balance funding from the Union Budget.


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DAVA project bags 2015 eASIA award for trade facilitation

The Drug Authentication and Verification Application

(DAVA) project of The Department of Commerce has

won the 2015 eASIA Award under Trade Facilitationcategory. The award was announced by Asia Pacific

Council for Trade Facilitation (APCTF) and Tehran based

(Iran) Electronic Business. The eASIA award is

administered by AFACT which aims to development and

promotion of trade facilitation, electronic business policies and activities in the Asia

Pacific region.

Indias Petronet LNG ink revised contract with RasGas of Qatar

Indias biggest state owned gas importer Petronet

LNG has signed a revised contract with RasGas of

Qatar to import gas at a significantly lower price

than earlier. Under the new contract, Rasgas will

supply Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to Petronet at

6-7 dollar per million British thermal units (mmBtu)from January 1, 2016. It would supply to 7.5

million tonnes of LNG India until the long-term contract ending in April 2028 The

new rate is sharply lower than 12-13 dollar per mmbtu agreed earlier and has been

revised after falling global prices of oil and gas, saving consumers around Rs.4,000

crore.


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Indian-origin cancer expert Harpal Singh Kumar knighted

An Indian-origin cancer research expert Harpal Singh

Kumar was honoured with a Knighthood from Queen

Elizabeth II for his influential work on prevention andtreatment of cancer. Mr. Singhs name has appeared in the

2015 New Years Honours list that includes several other

Indian-origin individuals. Harpal Singh Kumar was born in

India in 1965. He had founded Nexan Group, a venture

capital-backed medical devices company in 1997. Later he had joined Cancer

Research Technology Limited (CRTL) as chief executive in 2002 and was promoted

as COO of Cancer Research UK in 2004. He is the chairman of the Board at the

National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) and also chairman of the Cancer

Outcomes Strategy Advisory Group (COSAG) in England. He has won the Mobil

Prize, Metal Box Prize, and Hughes Prize.

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2ndJanuary 2016

Government forms panel to study wage structure of gramin dak sevaks

The Union Government has constituted a committee to

examine the wage structure, service conditions of the

Gramin Dak Sevaks (GDS) in the Department of Posts

(DoP). It is one member committee comprising of

Kamlesh Chandra, Retired Member of Postal Services

Board. The Committee will be assisted by Senior

Administrative Grade Officer T.Q. Mohammad who will act as Secretary to the GDS

Committee.


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Censor Board chief Nihalani on revamp committee

The Union Ministry of Information & Broadcasting

has constituted a committee headed by noted film-

maker Shyam Benegal to look into revamp the filmcertification nuances by Central Board of Film

Censors (CBFC). The committee is tasked to

suggest recommendations provide a holistic

framework and interpretation of provisions of

Cinematograph Act, 1952 and Cinematograph

(Certification) Rules, 1983.

Vocalist Sanjay Subrahmanyam conferred with 2015 Sangita Kalanidhi

award

Veteran South Indian classical vocalists Sanjay

Subrahmanyam was on 1 January 2016

conferred with the 2015 Sangita Kalanidhi

award. The prestigious award was conferred

upon him by mathematician Manjul Bhargava at89th annual conference of the Madras Music

Academy in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. With this,

Subrahmanyam became seventh artist to be conferred with this award before

completing 50 years of age including Ariyakudi Iyengar, Musiri Subramania Iyer,

Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, GN

Balasubramaniam, ML Vasanthakumari and M Balamuralikrishna.


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Veteran CPI leader AB Bardhan passes away

Veteran leader of the Communist Party of India

(CPI), Ardhendu Bhushan Bardhan, passed away in

New Delhi. He was 91. A widely respectedpolitician, his influence extended beyond electoral

strength and geographical spread of the CPI, which

he steered through highs and lows during the

challenging era of coalition politics in the last two

decades. He was CPIs general secretary for 16 years from 1996. Born on

September 25, 1925, in Sylhet, now in Bangladesh, he embraced Communism at

the age of 15 after he moved to Nagpur. He joined All India Students Federation

(AISF) at Nagpur University in 1940.

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3rdJanuary 2016

China creates 3 new army units to modernize military

China has created three new military bodies as

part of reforms to modernize its military the

world's largest standing force and improve its

fighting capacity. State television showed

President Xi Jinping giving military flags to the

leaders of the three new units a general

command for the People's Liberation Army, a

missile force and a strategic support force. At the ceremony, which took place

Thursday, Xi and PLA officers and soldiers sang the national anthem. He has

promulgated the idea of a "Chinese dream" involving "the great renewal of the

Chinese nation" and sees a strong military as key to this.


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PMs inaugural address at 103rd session of Indian Science Congress

Prime Minister Mr.Narendra Modi set the tone for the

103rd Indian Science Congress which commenced in

Mysuru. India had made giant strides in science andsaid that Indias success spans from the core of the

tiny atom to the vast frontier of space and the country

was once again turning towards scientists and

innovators to realize the goals of economic welfare

and development of 1.2 billion people and address

problems plaguing India. India was witness to another revolution in the present

times, one of empowerment and opportunities in India.

Jayalalithaa launches Amma seeds scheme for farmers

Implementing an announcement made in the

Tamil Nadu Assembly in 2014 for farmers

welfare, Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa has

launched the scheme Amma Seeds which is

aimed at providing quality seeds. She had

proposed the scheme in 2014, saying quality,

certified Amma Seeds would be available

through Amma Service Centres across the state. Jayalalithaa, fondly addressed as

Amma by her supporters, had earlier launched Amma Canteens providing

subsidised food and Amma mineral water, among others.


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President Mukerjee clears five legislation, gives more teeth to SC/ST Act

A law enabling setting up of commercial

benches in select high courts and another on

arbitration for speedy settlement of high valuebusiness disputes are among five legislations

which have got nod from President Pranab

Mukherjee. Besides, a law for stringent action

against those involved in crimes against persons

belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes has also got the assent from

Mukherjee. Mukherjee gave nod to the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment)

Act; the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities)

Amendment Act; the Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial

Appellate Division of High Courts Act; The Atomic Energy (Amendment) Act; and

the Payment of Bonus (Amendment) Act, 2015.

Corp Bank gets NPCI awards

Corporation Bank has bagged three awards at

the National Payments Excellence Awards 2015event recently. The function was organised by

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

The bank release that these awards were

instituted for recognition of exceptional

performance of member banks. Corporation Bank

received the winner award jointly with Indian

Bank for Cheque Truncation System under the mid-sized category. The bank also

received two runner-up awards for National Financial Switch for its performance in

acquirer transactions and Immediate Payment Service (IMPS).


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NABARD, NRSC sign MoU for web-based monitoring of watershed projects.

National Bank for Agriculture and Rural

Development (Nabard) signed a Memorandum

of Understanding (MoU) with National RemoteSensing Center (NRSC) for web-based

monitoring of watershed projects. The web-

based monitoring of Indo-German Watershed

Development (IGWDP) projects will happen in three states, Gujarat, Rajasthan and

Telangana. Under the MoU, Hyderabad-based NRSC, will create a separate page for

Nabard on Bhuvan web-portal, develop customised software tool and mobile

application for real time monitoring, online comparison and visualisation with

respect to activities implemented in the projects sanctioned by Nabard.

New-age app and green PIN to push PNB's digital drive

State-owned Punjab National Bank (PNB)

has launched host of digital banking

solutions including green PIN and an

enhancement of its mobile app. The bank

launched mobile apps enabling the

customer to locate PNB ATM with PNB

ATM Assist. The Android app facilitates the customer to use GPS and reach the

nearest PNB ATM, it also assists customer to instantly lodge operational issues,

reducing the resolution time considerably.

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4thJanuary 2016

World Braille Day is observed on 4th January

Every year World Braille Day is

being observed across the

world on 4 January to mark the

birth anniversary of Louis

Braille, inventor of Braille script

or Braille code. Observance of the day helps people to spread the importance of

Braille language and also help people to produce works in this language to allow

visually impaired people to read the works. To commemorate this day several NGOs

as well as other organizations come together to raise awareness about the apathytowards blind people and to help them be equal among rest of the people.

Amputee mountaineer Arunima Sinha conquers Mt Aconcagua in Argentina

Indias star amputee mountaineer Arunima

Sinha has successfully scaled Mount Aconcagua

in Argentina as part of her Mission 7 Summits.

It was her 5th successful summit of the Mission

7 Summits that she had climbed on December

25, 2016 after starting on December 12, 2015.

With this, she created World record by becoming First Female amputee to climb 5

Mountains of the World. These are Mt. Everest (Asia), Mt. Kilimanjaro (Africa), Mt.

Elbrus (Europe), Mt.Kosizko (Australia) and Mt. Aconcagua (Argentina), Mt.

Aconcagua (6,960.8 metres) is the highest mountain outside Asia and is also known

as second Everest. By extension it is the highest point in both Western Hemisphereand Southern Hemisphere.


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India beat Afghanistan 2-1 to lift SAFF Cup title for 7th time

Sunil Chetri scored one of the most important

goals of his career when his 101st-minute strike

snatched an unlikely win for India in the final ofthe SAFF Suzuki Cup football tournament

against Afghanistan. The Indian skipper cashed

in on some poor defending by the Afghans to

squeeze the ball into net past goalkeeper Azizi

in the 11th minute of extra-time. The Indians then withstood a barrage of attacks

to lift the trophy for the seventh time, and after a gap of four years.

RK Mathur set to be new Chief Information Commissioner

Former defence secretary Radha Krishna

Mathur has been cleared for the post of Chief

Information Commissioner (CIC). He will be

serving for nearly three years, making him the

second-longest serving CIC. Mathurs selection

as the eighth CIC cleared by the high-levelselection panel headed by Prime Minister

Narendra Modi and approved by President Pranab Mukherjee is a departure from

the convention of appointing the most senior Information Commissioner (IC) as the

CIC.


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Wipro names Abidali Neemuchwala as new CEO

IT major Wipro, Indias third largest IT services

exporter with revenues of $7 billion, elevated chief

executive officer (CEO) T K Kurien as its newexecutive vice-chairman (V-C) while appointing

current chief operating officer (COO) Abidali

Neemuchwala CEO and member of the board. Both

changes will be effective February 1, 2016. Kurien

who took over as the CEO in February, 2011, will now hold the executive vice-

chairman position until March 31, 2017. Neemuchwalas appointment as CEO comes

at a time when Wipro is struggling to hit double digit growth rate and has fallen

behind peers like TCS, Cognizant and Infosys.

E-vahan bima launched in Telangana

E-Vahan Bima scheme, an online vehicle

insurance scheme, has been launched by

Telangana IT & Panchyat Raj Minister K.Rama

Rao. This is the first such initiative anywherein India. After launching the website of E-

Vahan Bhima scheme, IT Minister KTR said

the policy was initiated with the joint

collaboration of Transport, Police and IT Departments under the directions of

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA). He also stated that the

worlds biggest Global Delivery Centre would be established in Hyderabad city by

Fugistu Company with the partnership of Sify Technologies Ltd. Rs. 135crore would

be spent for this venture and nearly 3,000 jobs would be created by the set up of

Global Delivery Centre.

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5thJanuary 2016

RBI imposes Rs 1 crore fine on State Bank of Travancore

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a

monetary penalty of one crore rupees on State

Bank of Travancore, an SBI associate bank for

violation of some of its instructions. The

monetary penalty was imposed on State Bank

of Travancore for violation of its instructions

including reporting of data to Central

Repository of Information on Large Credits

(CRILC). Prior to imposing the penalty, RBI had issued a show cause notice to thebank for not having complied with the directions issued by the bank on submission

of accurate data to the CRILC. Finally RBI came to the conclusion that the bank had

violated the instructions or guidelines issued from time to time after considering the

banks reply and information submitted and documents furnished.

Lodha panel submits report on BCCI reforms

Former Chief Justice of India, R.M. Lodha, submitted

his report on the various aspects of reforms in the

BCCI to the Supreme Court. The report culminates

the panels exhaustive investigations into how the

game is run in the country and what could be done

to ensure that transparency and accountability is

the rule and not the exception in the administration

of cricket in India.


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India-Nepal friendship bus service resumes after gap of 27 years

A friendship bus service between India and

Nepal was flagged off via Champawat district in

Uttarakhand after a gap of 27 years. Theresumed bus service has been regularised and

will run between Kanchanpur in Nepal close to

the Banbasa border in Champawat district and

Anand Vihar in New Delhi. People travelling in

these buses do not require any special documents to travel. These buses are air

conditioned and provide free wi-fi connectivity to passengers. The India-Nepal

friendship bus service was suspended 27 years back in the wake of the Indo-Nepal

Trade and Transit Treaty. This bus service is mainly used by the people on both

sides of the border as they have family as well as trade relations with each other.

Jharkhand first state to sign MoU with Centre for power scheme UDAY

Mineral-rich but energy-deficit Jharkhand will

become the first state to sign a memorandum of

understanding (MoU) with the Centre, for theUjwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY) reforms

for state-owned power distribution companies

(discoms). The MoU is a tripartite agreement is

between the state government, the power

distribution companies and the Union ministry of power. With this, the total number

of states that would be joining UDAY will become 15. The other states that are on

board UDAY are Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal

Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana, Chhattisgarh and Madhya

Pradesh.


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Union Government reserves 33% posts of women constables in CAPFs

The Union Government has reserved 33 per cent

posts of Constables for women in Central Armed

Police Forces (CAPFs) to enhance theirrepresentation. The proposal in this regard was

approved by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh

and shall come into effect with immediate effect.

To begin with, 33 per cent of posts of Constables will be reserved for women in

Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).

While, 14-15 per cent posts in the Border Security Force (BSF), Sashastra Seema

Bal (SSB) and Indo Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBP) will be reserved for women.

Former CJI SH Kapadia passes away

Former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sarosh Homi

Kapadia passed away in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

He was He was 68. His funeral was held as per

Parsi tradition at Tower of Silence at Kemps

Corner, South Mumbai. Kapadia was born on 29September 1947. He had graduated from

Government Law College, Mumbai. In 1974, he

was enrolled as an advocate at the Bombay High Court. Later he was elevated to

the Bench as an Additional Judge of the Bombay High Court in 1991 and was

appointed as a Permanent Judge of HC in 1993. He was transferred to the

Uttarakhand High Court in 2003 and for a short stint he had served as Chief Justice.

He was appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court in December 2003. Later he

was appointed as 38th Chief Justice of India (CJI) in May 2010 and retired in

September 2012.

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6thJanuary 2016

Andhra Bank launches IMPS for money transfer

Andhra Bank has launched Immediate Payment

Service (IMPS) at all its branches in association with

the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). A

multi-channel, multi-dimensional platform, IMPS

makes payments possible within fraction of seconds

with all the standards and integrity maintained for

security. The IMPS has been enabled across all

branches to provide inter-bank electronic fund transfer service capable of

processing person to account remittances. Noting that there is a rising customerneed for instant fund remittances, the bank counted the IMPS launch among

customer-friendly IT initiatives.

Sri Lanka, Pakistan agree to expand FTA

Sri Lanka and Pakistan have agreed to expand

their bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) by

inclusion of services and investment.

Statement in this regard was made by Pakistan

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during his official

visit to Sri Lanka. The expansion of FTA would

help companies of the two nations to form joint

ventures (JV) for exports to other nations. Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs

official trip to Sri Lanka comes after eight months of President Sirisenas visit to

Pakistan in April 2015.


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Ganga Gram Yojana launched by Union Government

Union Minister of water resources, River

development and Ganga Rejuvenation Uma

Bharti launched the Ganga Gram Yojana onJanuary 5, 2016. The Ganga Gram Yojana was

launched at Village Puth in Hapur district of

Uttar Pradesh under which 1600 villages

situated along the banks of river Ganga will be developed under this scheme. In the

first phase of the Ganga Gram Yojana 200 villages have been selected. In these

villages open drains falling into river Ganga will be diverted and alternative

arrangements for sewage treatment will be made. The villages will have toilets in

every house hold. It is proposed to incur and expenditure of Rs. One crore on every

village. These villages will be developed under the Sichewal model.

Reliance Capital gets nod to acquire Goldman Sachs Indian fund arm

Reliance Capital Asset Management (RCAM)

has received nod from Competition

Commission of India (CCI) to acquireGoldman Sachss mutual funds and

exchange-traded funds business in India.

This approval comes after the boards of both

the companies had approved the acquisition transaction. Now RCAM needs to get

final nod of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to complete the

takeover. Under the acquisition deal, RCAM will acquire all 12 onshore mutual fund

schemes of Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) India with total asset under

management of 7132 crore rupees. US based Goldman Sachs had entered the

Indian mutual fund industry in 2011 with acquisition of Benchmark Mutual Fund for

120 crore rupees.


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Union Government abolishes export duty on iron ore pellets

The Union Government has abolished export

duty on iron ore pellets in order to make the

commodity more competitive amid weakeningprices due to subdued demand. In this regard

Central Board of Excise and Custom (CBEC)

has issued a notification mentioning that

export duty on iron ore pellets has been reduced to zero from 5 per cent. This

decision will help improve capacity utilisation of pellet plants and give a necessary

boost to the sector. Earlier in 2014, Union Government had levied a 5 per cent

export duty on iron ore pellets. Iron ore pellets are value-added products of leftover

material or low-grade iron ore and are mainly used in steel-making industry.

Mumbais Pranav Dhanawade hits 1,009 runs in 323 balls

Mumbai teenager Pranav Dhanawade scripted

history by becoming the first cricketer ever to

notch up a four-figure score by smashing an

unbeaten knock of 1,009 in an inter-schooltournament. The 15-year-olds knock included

129 fours and 59 sixes during the match at the

Union Cricket Academy ground in Kalyan. The

effort helped his school declare on 1465/3, which is also a record for the highest

ever team score. Dhanawade grabbed attention when he scored 652 runs, breaking

the 117-year-old record for the most runs scored in an innings held by AEJ Collins,

who smashed an unbeaten 628 in a club match in England in 1899.


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Syed Kirmani conferred with 2015 Col CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement

Award

Former Cricketer Syed Kirmani was honoured with the

Col CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award in Mumbai(Maharashtra) for his contribution to Indian cricket. He

was presented with the award by the President of Board

of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Shashank Manohar

at the BCCIs annual award function held in Mumbai.

Indias Test captain Virat Kohli was awarded with the

Polly Umrigar Trophy for Cricketer of the Year. Mitali Raj

was bestowed with Best Woman Cricketer Award in senior player category for the

season 2014-15.

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7thJanuary 2016

Indian government approves MoU on civil aviation between India and

Singapore

The Union Cabinet has given its ex-post facto

approval for signing a Memorandum of

Understanding (MoU) between India and Singapore

on cooperation in the field of civil aviation. The MoU

was signed in November 2015 between Airports

Authority of India (AAI) on behalf of Union

Government and Singapore Cooperation Enterprise

(SCE) on behalf of Government of Singapore) during Prime Ministers visit to

Singapore.


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Noted Gujarati writer Labshankar Thakar passed away

Noted Gujarati writer and poet Labhshankar

Thakar passed away after prolonged illness in

Ahmedabad. He was 80. He was modernistauthor of Gujarati literature with influence of

existentialism challenging traditional literature

styles. Thakar was born on 14 January 1935 in

Sedla village near Surendranagar in Gujarat. He

was popularly known by his penname Punarvasu and Vaidya Punarvasu. Apart from

being Gujarati poet, playwright and story writer he was also an Ayurvedic

Practitioner. Some of his poems are Vahi Jati Pachhal Ramya Ghosha (1965),

Manasni Vaat (1968), Mara Namne Darwaje (1972), Boom Kagalma Kora (1974),

Pravahan (1986), Kalagranthi (1987).

Union Government decides to directly shift from BS-IV to BS-VI Emission

norms in 2020

Union Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has

decided to implement the stricter emission normsof Bharat Stage (BS) VI from 1st April 2020 in a

bid to curb vehicular pollution. Government will

directly switch over to BS-VI emission norms

from the present BS-IV emission norms and

completely skip BS-V emission norms altogether. Decision in this regard was taken

at an inter-ministerial meeting chaired by Unon Road Transport and Highways

Minister Nitin Gadkari and was attended by Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan,

Heavy Industries Minister Anant Geete and Environment Minister Prakash

Javadekar.


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J&K Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed dead

Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Mufti

Mohammad Sayeed passed away of multiple

organ failure in New Delhi after nearly a week-long hospitalisation. He was 79. He died due to

multi-organ failure at 9:10 this morning despite

our best attempts to resuscitate him. Under

treatment at the hospital since December 24,

Mr. Sayeed, was detected with sepsis, decreased blood counts and pneumonia and

his condition took a turn for the worse. He has been on ventilator support since

early this week. Earlier, doctors had maintained that though he was on essential

medication and supportive therapy the leader was hemodynamically stable but

required respiratory support.

Kate Atkinson wins Costa novel award for a God in Ruins

British writer Kate Atkinson on 4 January 2016

won the novel-of-the-year prize at Britain's Costa

Book Awards 2015 for the second time in threeyears. She fetched the award for A God in Ruins, a

story of war and its aftermath. With this, Atkinson

became the first author to receive the Costa novel

prize three times: for A God in Ruins in 2016, Life

After Life in 2013 and Behind the Scenes at the Museum in 1995.


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Sam Pitroda appointed Technical Advisor to Odisha government

Well-known telecom engineer and inventor Sam

Pitroda has been appointed Technical Advisor to

the Odisha Government. The appointment of Dr.Pitroda for development of IT sector in Odisha

was announced by the State government.

According to a press release issued by Chief

Minister Naveen Patnaiks Office, Dr. Pitroda will

have a key role in Vision 2036 for Odisha. Dr.

Pitroda will help provide the essential technological blueprint to write the IT story of

Odisha.

Apurvi Chandela sets a world record to win gold at Swedish Grand Prix

Indian shooter Apurvi Chandela broke the

world record on way to winning gold in the

women's 10 metre air rifle event at the

Swedish Cup Grand Prix. Chandela shot

211.2 in the event held to surpass the feat of

Chinese Olympic gold medallist Yi Siling, who

held the record with 211.The result marked a

positive start for Chandela, who has already won an Olympic quota place for the Rio

Olympics. The silver and bronze went to Swedish shooters Astrid Steffensen

(207.6) and Stine Nielsen (185.0).

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8thJanuary 2016

Government decides to merge Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs with MEA

Nearly 12 years after it was set up to improve

engagement with the Indian diaspora, the

government has decided to merge the Ministry

of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) with the

External Affairs Ministry in sync with its broad

principle of minimum government, maximum

governance. As Minister for External Affairs and

Overseas Indian Affairs, I realised that substantial work of MOIA is done through

our missions abroad. Therefore, I proposed to Prime Minister that MOIA should bemerged with Ministry of External Affairs

India-France military exercise Shakti-2016 begins

India and France have started their eight-day

counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency

bilateral military exercise Shakti-2016 in

Rajasthan. In this bilateral exercise, French

contingent comprising 56 personnel of 35th

Infantry Regiment of 7th Armoured Brigade are

participating. Indian side is being represented by the 2nd Battalion of Garhwal

Rifles which is part of the Sapta Shakti Command.


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River Information System Launched to Facilitate Safe, Accurate Navigation

Indias first River Information System (RIS) was

launched by Union Government facilitate safe and

accurate inland waterway navigation. It has beenlaunched in phases and the first phase will cover

145-km stretch of National Waterways 1 (Phase

I- Haldia to Farakka) on the Ganges River. Inland

Waterway Authority of India (IWAI), a statutory

body under the aegis of Union Ministry of

Shipping is implementing the RIS in India.

ASW corvette INS Kadmatt to be commissioned at Vizag

'INS Kadmatt', the second indigenous

stealth anti-submarine warfare corvette,

will be commissioned by Chief of the Naval

Staff Admiral R K Dhowan at naval

dockyard. A unique feature of the ship is

the high level of indigenisation incorporatedin the production, accentuating the national objective of 'Make in India'. The ship

has many state-of-the-art equipment which include the rail-less helo traversing

system and foldable hangar door for the integral ASW helicopter which not only

increases the strike capability of the ship


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India to grow at 7.8% in 2016: World Bank

India is projected to grow by a robust 7.8 per

cent this year and 7.9 per cent in the next two

years, the World Bank forecast citing stronginvestor sentiment and the positive effect on

real incomes of the recent fall in oil prices. In

its latest Global Economic Prospect report

which is released every six months - the World

Bank marginally reduced India's growth rate 0.2 per cent in 2015 and 0.1 per cent

in both 2016 and 2017.

Raghuram Rajan Conferred Central Banker of the Year Award

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram

Rajan has been felicitated with the Central

Banker of the Year Award (Global and Asia

Pacific) for 2016 by The Banker, the Financial

Times Group's monthly publication. RBI's focus

on taming inflation - India is set to hit its 6 percent target in 2016 - was key to this

performance and reinforced foreign investors' confidence in India's currency and

rupee-denominated assets.

ICICI Bank partners with FINO PayTech for payments bank space

Indias largest private sector lender ICICI Bank

has partnered with FINO PayTech to foray into

the payments bank space. With this

partnership, ICICI Bank joins some of the

leading lenders of the country that have

partnered with payments banks. For example,


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Kotak Mahindra Bank (KMB) and State Bank of India (SBI) have picked up stake in

payments banks to be floated by Bharti Group and Reliance Industries respectively.

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9thJanuary 2016

Government reappoints Urjit Patel as Deputy Governor of RBI for a second

term

Urjit Patel, Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of

India (RBI) in-charge of the monetary policy

department, has been re-appointed for a termof three years. Mr. Patel, 52, who will complete

his three-year term on January 10, could

become the longest serving deputy governor in

recent times if he serves the full three-year

term. Most of recent deputy governors served a

maximum of five years.

24th New Delhi World Book Fair opens

Human Resource Minister Smriti Irani

inaugurated the 24th edition of the New

Delhi World Book Fair which commenced

here with China as the guest of honour

country and a theme presentation of the

cultural heritage of India. The nine-dayfair, touted as the largest in Asia, is hosting

about 30 countries in which a series of programmes including panel discussions,

dramas, classical and folk dances, workshops, discussions, authors' meets,

conferences, seminars and cultural programmes will be held.


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President promulgates Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation)

Ordinance, 2016

President Pranab Mukherjee has promulgated

the Enemy Property (Amendment andValidation) Ordinance, 2016 to make

amendments to the Enemy Property Act, 1968.

The Ordinance was promulgated by President

as per provisions of Article 123 of Constitution

of India that gives him legislative powers in

consultation with Council of Union Ministers. The proposed amendments in the

parent Act seeks to deal with the loopholes in the existing law.

Governors rule imposed in Jammu and Kashmir

Governors rule has been imposed in the state of

Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) for sixth time as the

process of formation new government following

the death of Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad

Sayeed is taking some time. It was imposed afterPresident Pranab Mukherjee accepted the

recommendations forwarded by Union Home

Ministry on the basis of a recommendation from J&K Governor NN Vohra.


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Sania, Martina start off 2016 with Brisbane title

Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis carried the

dominance of 2015 into the new season,

winning their sixth consecutive title by lifting theWTA Brisbane trophy, in Brisbane. The top

seeds quelled the challenge of German wildcards

Angelique Kerber and Andrea Petkovic 7-5, 6-1

in mere 69 minutes. Sania and Martina, the

world number one team, have now stitched a 26-match winning streak together,

which has brought them six titles in a row at the US Open, Guangzhou, Wuhan,

Beijing, WTA Finals and now.

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10thJanuary 2016

PACL boss Nirmal Singh Bhangoo arrested over alleged $6.8 billion

investment scam

The Central Bureau of Investigation arrested the

founder of PACL Ltd over allegations the property

company cheated investors of $6.8 billion, in what

local media is calling the country's biggest

financial scandal. The arrest of Nirmal Singh

Bhangoo comes 17 months after markets

regulator the Securities and Exchange Board of

India (Sebi) ordered PACL to return money to

millions of investors, saying the company was running an illegal investment

scheme. The scheme promised depositors returns on investments in agricultural

land.


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Hindi writer Ravindra Kalia passes away

Noted Hindi writer and journalist Ravindra Kalia

passed away at a private hospital. He was 78. Kalia

had been suffering from liver cirrhosis, according tofamily sources. Known for his works like 'Nau Saal

Chotti Patni' and 'Ghalib Chutti Sharab', the former

Bharatiya Jnanpith director was also the editor of

several literary magazines, including Naya

Gyanodaya.

Stan Wawrinka clinches third consecutive Chennai Open title

Stan Wawrinka dismissed Borna Coric 6-3, 7-5 in an

hour and 26 minutes of clinical tennis. Now, the total

match hours both players have been out on court

here this week makes for an interesting little

anecdote. With his first round bye, the top-seeded

Wawrinka spent just three hours and 16 minutes in

total to earn his final berth. His quickest outinglasted just 53 minutes. Coric, on the other hand,

made it to the final after four matches nine hours and 16 minutes of gruelling

competitive tennis.


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Maria Teresa de Filippis, first female Formula One driver, dies aged 89

Maria Teresa de Filippis, the first woman to compete

in a world championship Formula One grand prix,

has died at the age of 89. The Italian started threegrand prix races in a privately entered Maserati

250F, finishing a best place of 10th at Spa-

Francorchamps in 1958. The Naples-born driver had

earlier tried to qualify for that years Monaco Grand

Prix, failing in her efforts along with another debutant, the future F1 supremo

Bernie Ecclestone. Both were too slow to qualify but there was no cut-off in

Belgium, allowing De Filippis to qualify in last place.

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11thJanuary 2016

NASA mission finds 100 new alien planets

NASAs revamped planet-hunting Kepler

spacecraft has discovered more than 100

confirmed planets orbiting other stars.

Kepler, which recently got crippled by a

mechanical malfunction, discovered the

alien planets during its second-chance K2

mission. The spacecraft finds planets by

the transit method, noting the tiny brightness dips caused when a planet crosses

its host stars face from Keplers perspective. This technique requires extremely

precise pointing, anability Kepler lost in May 2013 when the second of the

observatorys four orientation-maintaining reaction wheels failed. However, the

Kepler team quickly figured out a way to keep the telescope stable, using solar

radiation pressure as a sort of third wheel.


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Author Balkrishna Garg awarded H K Devsare Baalsahitya award

Veteran poet Balkrishna Garg was honoured

with the second Harikrishna Devsare

Baalsahitya Award 2015 for his collection ofpoems for children, titled 'BaalGeet'. Sahitya

Akademi President Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari

and National Book Trust Chairman Baldeo

Bhai Sharma conferred the award comprising

a cash prize of Rs 75,000, a shawl and a citation on Garg at a function here. The

jury, which chose Garg for the award, said his "poems while adopting the modern

poetic forms also retain the simplicity and lucidity of traditional style of poetry

written for children."

Sailesh appointed new Registrar General, Census Commissioner

Senior IAS officer Sailesh was appointed as Registrar

General and Census Commissioner. Sailesh, a 1985 batch

IAS officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre, is presently

Additional Secretary in Home Ministry. He has beenappointed in place of C Chandramouli, who completed his

tenure. The Appointments Committee of Cabinet has

approved the appointment of Sailesh as Registrar General

and Census Commissioner for a period till July 28, 2017.


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Milos Raonic wins 2016 WTA Brisbane International Tennis trophy

World No. 14 Milos Raonic from Canada has won

the 2016 WTA Brisbane International Tennis

trophy in the mens single category. In the finalmatch played at Brisbane (Australia), he

defeated Roger Federer (world No. 3) from

Switzerland by 64, 64 score. It is Milos Raonic

overall 8th career title and 1st of the 2016

season. Henri Kontinen (Finland) and John Peers (Australia) have won the 2016

WTA Brisbane International Tennis trophy in the mens double category. In the final

match, they defeated Australian team of James Duckworth and Chris Guccione by

76, 74, 61 score.

Telangana becomes first State to make gender education compulsory at

graduate level

Telangana has become the first State in the country to

introduce compulsory gender education at the graduate

level. In this regard, state government has introduced

bilingual textbook titled Towards a World of Equals on a

pilot basis in engineering colleges. These engineering

colleges are affiliated to the Jawaharlal Nehru

Technological University (JNTU-Hyderabad). Discusses

gender in its composite form without limiting itself to

crime against women without repeating gender stereotypes. Touches upon complex

subjects like male-female relationships and female-centric history. It has been

structured into simple language to suit under-graduates.

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12thJanuary 2016

India-Australia Social Security Agreement Comes Into Operation

A new social security agreement signed between

India and Australia has come into operation

enabling people of both nations to avail retirement

benefits in each other's country, a pact likely to

boost bilateral business linkages. Commonwealth

government wanted to make sure people who live

and work in more than one country are not

disadvantaged. The Agreement signed in November 2014 came into operation on

January 1, 2016. This agreement will give people more freedom to move betweenAustralia and India, knowing their pension rights will be recognized and protected.

National Youth Day is observed on January 12

In India, January 12 is being observed as

National Youth Day. This day marks birth

anniversary of social reformer, philosopher

and thinker Swami Vivekananda. On this

day, numbers of functions are being

organized nationwide to celebrate the birth

anniversary of Swami Vivekananda. This

year it is the 153rd birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.


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Government constitutes Arvind Panagariya committee to fast-track bullet

train project

Union Government has constituted a committee to

fast track the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed RailCorridor, meant for connecting two cities with

bullet trains. The committee is tasked to interact

with the Japanese counterpart for taking further

steps in implementation of Mumbai-Ahmedabad

High-Speed Rail Corridor. The committee will be

headed by Arvind Panagariya, vice-chairman of the NITI Aayog. It will also include

Railway Board chairman, foreign secretary and secretary (industrial policy) and

secretary in the department of expenditure as its members.

Lionel Messi wins Ballon d'Or over Cristiano Ronaldo & Neymar

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi has won the Ballon d'Or

award for the world's best player for the fifth time. The

28-year-old Argentine had 41.33% of the vote, with

Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo (27.76%)second and Barca's Neymar (7.86%) third. Either Messi

or Ronaldo, who became a three-time winner last year,

have won the past eight awards. United States

midfielder Carli Lloyd, who scored a hat-trick in the World Cup final, won the

women's award. England coach Mark Sampson was beaten to the women's football

coach of the year award by USA boss Jill Ellis, who was born in Portsmouth.


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David Bowie dies of cancer aged 69

Music Legend David Bowie passed away on 10

January 2016 in New York, United States following a

battle with liver cancer. He was 69. He was one ofthe most influential musicians of 1970s and was

famously known for his creative musicianship to

break pop and rock boundaries. David Bowie was

born as David Robert Jones on 8 January 1947 in London, England. His career

spanned around 51 years and since his first album release in 1967, around 140

million albums were sold. He became international fame in 1972 after the release of

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars. He has 111 singles

and 51 music videos to this credit in his 5 decades career.

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13thJanuary 2016

President gives assent to The Sugar Cess (Amendment) Bill, 2015

President Pranab Mukherjee has given assent

to the Sugar Cess (Amendment) Bill, 2015 to

raise the ceiling of a cess as an excise duty on

the production of sugar. The bill was first

passed by Lok Sabha after it was declared a

money bill. President gave his assent as per

provisions of Article 111 of Constitution after

the bill was not returned by the Rajya Sabha to the Lok Sabha within 14 days of its

consideration as per constitutional provisions.


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EPFO bags National Award on e-Governance

The Employees Provident Fund Organisation

has won the National Award on e-Governance

2015-16 for launching the Universal AccountNumber (UAN). The UAN facility enables

workers to transfer their provident fund deposits

while switching jobs anywhere in India easily.

The EPFO won the gold award in the innovative

use of technology in e-governance category and the retirement body will get a cash

prize of Rs 2 lakh. It is heartening to know that the e-initiatives of EPFO are getting

recognised by the Union government as well. Our ultimate goal is to deliver services

as smooth as an e-bank.

SC stays Centres notification lifting ban on Jallikattu

The Supreme Court has stayed the Union

Governments notification lifting ban on traditional

bull taming sport Jallikattu during the festival of

Pongal in Tamil Nadu. In this regard the apex

court rejected the plea of Union Ministry of

Environment and Forests (MoEF) and Tamil Nadu

Government. This decision was taken by a SC

bench comprising justices Dipak Misra and N V Ramana on petitions filed by various

bodies including Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) seeking striking down of the

MoEFs notification.


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IMD changes language in weather forecasting

The India Meteorological Department (IMD)

has changed the languages and also re-

defined terms that are not scientifically precisein weather forecasting. In this regard, IMD has

issued official notification to do away with

outdated language to avoid communication

gap with the civil administration so they can be more realistic in case of upcoming

weather events. IMD has reviewed the terminology and factors determining each of

these terms based on supporting observational data.

RDL inks MoU with AP Government to set up naval facility at

Visakhapatnam

Reliance Defence Ltd (RDL) has inked Memorandum

of Understanding (MoU) with Andhra Pradesh

Government to set up a world class naval facility in

the state. It was announced by Andhra Pradesh

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu during the CIIPartnership Summit titled Sunrise Andhra Pradesh

Investment Meet in Visakhapatnam. The proposed

naval facility will be established at Rambilli, 70

kilometers south of Visakhapatnam on the East Coast of India with an initial

investment of 5000 crore rupees. It should be noted that RDL is subsidiary of Anil

Ambani led Reliance Infrastructure Ltd. It had acquired the Pipavav shipyard on

West Coast in Gujarat earlier in March 2015.

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14thJanuary 2016

Union Cabinet approves Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana

The Union Cabinet has approved Pradhan

Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, a new crop

insurance scheme to boost farming sector

in the country. It is farmers welfare

scheme that aims to reduce the premium

burden on farmers and ensure early

settlement of crop assurance claim for the full insured sum. Farmers will pay

uniform premium of 2 per cent for all Kharif crops and 1.5 percent for all Rabi

crops. In case of annual horticultural and commercial crops, farmers will pay 5 percent premium. These premium rates are very low.

India to join the International Energy Agency Ocean Energy Systems

India has decided to become member

country of the International Energy

Agency Ocean Energy Systems

(IEA-OES) to boost for countrys

quest for tapping ocean energy

sources. Proposal for signing the

Implementing Agreement (IA) in this regard was approved by Union Cabinet

meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. By becoming a

member India will have access to advanced Research & Development (R&D) teams

and technologies across the world. India will also become partner in developing test

protocols along with other countries which will in turn help in testing Indianprototypes as per international requirements and norms.


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Union Cabinet approves MoU between India and Maldives for Health

The Union Cabinet has given its approval for the

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between

India and Maldives on cooperation in the field ofHealth. The MoU was signed in January, 2014 for

facilitating greater cooperation between both the

nations and to develop human resources in

healthcare. Enhanced cooperation in the field of

health will also foster great friendship and relations between the two South Asian

countries.

Union Government inaugurates Second Liquid Chemical Berth of Mumbai

Port Trust

Union Government has inaugurated Second Liquid

Chemical Berth of Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) at Pir

Pau, Mumbai. The facility was inaugurated by Union

Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari. The berth is a

modern state- of -art facility built at an expense of127 crore rupees. It is equipped with Quick Release

Mooring Hooks ( QRMHs) and also with 4 mooring

dolphin. It is designed to handle 55000 DWT

(deadweight tonnes) vessels carrying liquid bulk chemicals and POL (Petroleum, Oil,

& Lubricants) products. It has been designed keep in view the safety standards

conforming to the Oil Industry Safety Directorate (OISD) norms.


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HRD Ministry inaugurates permanent campus of IISER in

Thiruvananthapuram

Union Government has inaugurated the first phase

of permanent campus of the Indian Institute ofScience Education & Research (IISER) at Vithura in

Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. It was inaugurated by

Union Human Resources Development (HRD)

Minister Smriti Irani in presence of Kerala Chief

Minister Oommen Chandy. The IISER Thiruvananthapuram is dedicated to scientific

research and science education of international standards. It had started

functioning in the state in August 2008 with a transit campus at the College of

Engineering Thiruvananthapuram (CET).

WHO declares end of Ebola outbreak in West Africa

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared

the end of Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa after

all known chains of transmission have been

stopped. WHOs announcement came withdeclaration of end disease in Liberia after no

positive case was reported in last 42 days (two 21-

day incubation cycles of the virus). Liberia was

worst hit in Western Africa by this deadly outbreak

which has killed around 4809 people. It also had

completely shattered its economy, health and education sectors.

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15thJanuary 2016

Indian Army Day is observed on 15th January

Indian Army Day is being observed every

year on 15 January in India. This year it

will be the 68th Indian Army Day. On this

day in 1949, Lt. General (later Field

Marshal) Kodandera Madappa Cariappa

became the first Indian Commander-in-

Chief of the Indian Army (of the

independent India) by succeeding British Army General Roy Butcher (last British

Commander-in-Chief of India.). This day inspires the troops to continue to enrichthe glorious traditions of the Indian Army with their dedication and sacrifice.

DRDO successfully test-fired anti-tank missile Nag in Rajasthan

The Defence Research and Development

Organisation (DRDO) in the second week of

January 2016 successfully test-fired Nag anti-

tank missile at the Mahajan Field Firing Range

in Rajasthan. The test was conducted during a

night trial to validate the enhanced 4-km

range capability of Imaging-Infrared seeker,

which guides the missile to the target after its

launch. During the test, the Thermal Target System (TTS) was used as target for

the missile. The TTS simulated a target similar to an operational tank as thermal

mapping from tank to TTS was carried out for generating thermal signature.


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Grid-linked solar generation capacity crosses 5,000 MW mark

Indias grid-connected solar power generation

capacity has crossed the 5,000 MW mark, with

Rajasthan on top with 1,264.35 MW capacityfollowed by Gujarat. The total grid-connected

solar power generation capacity in the country is

5,129.81 MW. According to the statement,

Rajasthan has the maximum grid-connected

capacity, followed by Gujarat (1,024.15 MW) and Madhya Pradesh (678.58 MW).

The other leading states are Tamil Nadu (418.94 MW), Maharashtra (378.7 MW),

Andhra Pradesh (357.34 MW), Telangana (342.39 MW), Punjab (200.32 MW) and

Uttar Pradesh (140 MW). The major states which are lagging behind are West

Bengal (7.21 MW), Uttarakhand (5 MW) and Haryana (12.8 MW).

SBI opens first dedicated banking branch for startups

Indias largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI)

has launched dedicated specialized branch for

start-ups called SBI InCube in Bengaluru,Karnataka. It was announced by BI Chairman

Arundhati Bhattacharya in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

The SBI InCube branch will cater to the specific

financial needs by providing advisory services to

the budding entrepreneurs under one roof It will assist start-ups in cash

management, regulations, taxation, mentoring, foreign exchange and remittances

and other financial services. InCube in its current form will not fund start-ups i.e. it

will not provide loans.


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India, Japan conduct joint exercise Sahyog-Kaijin off Chennai coast

Ships and aircraft of the Indian Coast Guard and

the Japan Coast Guard came together to train

for the 15th edition of Sahyog-Kaijin jointexercise in the Bay of Bengal off the Chennai

coast. This is the second time in three months a

ship from the Japanese military forces is

participating in a military exercise along with India. In October last year, Japan

Maritime Self-Defence Forces ship FS Fuyuzuk participated in exercise Malabar

with ships and aircraft of the Indian and the United States navies.

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16thJanuary 2016

Union Government inks loan agreement with World Bank for Neeranchal

National Watershed Project

Union Government has signed a loan agreement

with World Bank for the Neeranchal National

Watershed Project to improve watershed

management in rural rain fed areas. The loan

credit will support the watershed activities of the

Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY)

in selected sites in 9 states. These states are Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh,

Telangana, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and

Rajasthan.


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Amended Juvenile Justice Act comes into force

The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of

Children) Act 2015, which provides for

strengthening of provisions for both children inneed of care and protection and children in

conflict with law, came into force on Friday,

replacing the Juvenile Justice Act 2000. The

Rajya Sabha had on December 22 cleared, the

Bill, which was already passed by the Lok Sabha on May 7. One key provision in the

Act is change in nomenclature from 'juvenile' to 'child' or 'child in conflict with law'

to remove the negative connotation associated with the word 'juvenile'.

Tsai Ing-wen elected Taiwan's first female president

Tsai Ing-wen has been elected Taiwan's first

female president. Ms Tsai, 59, leads the

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) that wants

independence from China. In her victory speech,

she vowed to preserve the status quo in relationswith China, adding Beijing must respect Taiwan's

democracy and both sides must ensure there are

no provocations. China sees the island as a breakaway province - which it has

threatened to take back by force if necessary.


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PM Narendra Modi launches Start-up India, Stand-up India action plan

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has

unveiled the Start-up India, Stand-up

India action plan in New Delhi to booststartup ventures in the country. The

main aim of action plan is to give

impetus to innovation and encourage

the talent among young people and

remove onerous government regulations and red tape. Start-up profits to be tax-

free for 3 years and also no labour inspections for 3 years of launch of the venture.

Compliance regime based on self-certification for labour and environmental laws.

Easy exit policy for start-ups with 90 days. Tax exemption to be provided on capital

gains if money is invested in another start up. Government to create Rs. 10,000

crore corpus fund for development and growth of innovation driven enterprises. It

will be Rs. 2500 crore a year for four years.

Sania Mirza, Martina Hingis win 2016 WTA Apia International title of

Tennis

Ace Indian tennis player Sania Mirza and her

Swiss partner Martina Hingis have won the 2016

WTA Apia International title in the womens

doubles category. In the final match played at

Sydney (Australia), the top seeded duo defeated

French pair Caroline Garcia and Kristina

Mladenovic by 16, 75, [105] score. It was

their overall 11th title together from 2015 when they had won 9 titles and second

title of season 2016. It was also their 30th match win together in a row.


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Marat Safin to become 1st Russian in International Tennis Hall of Fame

Retired star Marat Safin will become the first

Russian to be inducted into the International

Tennis Hall of Fame. The 35-year-old is a formerworld number one and claimed 15 ATP mens

singles titles and two Grand Slams over the

course of a glittering career. Safin was

nominated as a possible Hall of Fame inductee

alongside Belgiums Justine Henin and the Czech Republics Helena Sukova last

October, with the Russians inclusion now confirmed. Becoming a member of the

International Tennis Hall of Fame is deemed the highest honor in the sport, and

Safin is set to take his place alongside some of the games greats.

Anuradha Roy wins DSC Prize for South Asian Literature

Indias Anuradha Roy has won the DSC Prize for

South Asian Literature 2016 for her novel, Sleeping

on Jupiter, which deals with the subject of violence

against women. At the Fairway Galle LiteraryFestival in Galle, about 130 km south of Colombo,

Sri Lanka Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe

presented her the prize, which carried a cash

award of $50,000 and a trophy. Other authors and

novels in contention for this years prize were: Akhil Sharma (Family Life); K.R.

Meera (Hangwoman) [translated by J. Devika]; Mirza Waheed (The Book of Gold

Leaves), Neel Mukherjee (The Lives of Others) and Raj Kamal Jha (She Will Build

Him A City). Now in its sixth edition, the DSC Prize received 74 entries this time

with participation from publishers from the South Asian region as well as from

countries such as the U.K., U.S., Canada, Australia and South Africa.


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Winners of 61st Britannia Filmfare Awards

The grand Annual 61st Britannia Filmfare Awards

event was organized in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

Bajirao Mastani with 8 awards was the film

wining highest number of awards.

RD Burman Award:Armaan Mallik

Best Actor:Ranveer Singh for 'Bajirao Mastani'

Best Actress:Deepika Padukone for 'Piku'

Best Film:'Bajirao Mastani'

Best Director:Sanjay Leela Bhansali for 'Bajirao Mastani'

Lifetime Achievement:Moushumi Chatterjee

Best Debut Director:Neeraj Ghaywan for 'Massan'

Best Debutant (Male):Sooraj Pancholi for 'Hero'

Best Debutant (Female):Bhumi Pednekar for 'Dum Laga Ke Haisha'

Critics Award for Best Film:Piku

Critics Award for Best Actor (Male):Amitabh Bachchan for 'Piku'

Best Actor Female Critics Choice (Female):Kangana Ranaut for 'Tanu Weds

Manu Returns'

Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male):Anil Kapoor for 'Dil Dhadakne Do'

Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Female):Priyanka Chopra for 'Bajirao Mastani'

Best Story:V Vijayendra Prasad for 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan'

Best Music:Ankit Tiwari, Meet Bros. Anjjan and Amaal Mallik for 'Roy'


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Best Lyrics:Irshad Kamil - 'Agar tum saath ho' (Tamasha)

Best Playback Singer (Male)- Arijit Singh for 'Sooraj dooba' (Roy)

Best Playback Singer (Female)- Shreya Ghoshal for 'Deewani mastani' (Bajirao

Mastani)

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17thJanuary 2016

China launches new AIIB development bank as power balance shifts

Chinese President Xi Jinping launched a new

international development bank seen as a rival to

the U.S.-led World Bank at a lavish ceremony, as

Beijing seeks to change the unwritten rules of

global development finance. Despite opposition

from Washington, U.S. allies including Australia,

Britain, German, Italy, the Philippines and South

Korea have agreed to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in

recognition of China's growing economic clout.

Irani releases literary calender of NCPUL

Union Minister Smriti Irani released the literary

calendar of National Council for Promotion of

Urdu Language (NCPUL) depicting famous Urdu

poets and writers. 'The Literary Calendar 2016' is

adorned with the photographs of the legendary

Urdu poets and writers of the last two hundred

years along with the depiction of their dates of


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birth and demise. This really is a magnum opus of the Council. Such a startling

calendar of the legendary poets and writers of Urdu language should be preserved

by the Urdu departments of all the universities

Jitendra Singh inaugurates Hall of Nuclear Power in New Delhi.

The Union Minister of State (Independent

Charge) Development of North Eastern Region

(DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public

Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and

Space, Dr Jitendra Singh inaugurated the Hall

of Nuclear Power. This is Northern Indias first

permanent exhibition on nuclear power, built in

the national capital which is going to be opened to the public at National Science

Centre (NSC). While inaugurating the Hall, Dr Jitendra Singh said that is a historic

day not only for the Department of Atomic Energy, but for the whole India, since

the DAE is one of the few departments whose Head quarters are not placed in

national capital.

Andhra Bank to launch gold bond scheme

Andhra Bank has announced the launch of the

Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme Tranche-II,

sponsored by the Centre, for public subscription

for five days from January 18 to 22 at all its

2,755 branches. Under the Gold Bond Scheme,

eligible persons (individuals, joint persons,

associations and trusts) can apply for gold bonds

(minimum 2 gm and maximum of 500 gm). The tenor of the bonds is eight years

with provision for premature cancellation after five years. RBI had notified a rate of

interest of 2.75 per cent per annum and a rate of Rs. 2,600 per gm for

subscriptions under SGB Tranche-II. The Gold Bond Scheme enables people to


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invest in gold without physically buying the gold and receive money equivalent to

the market value of gold as determined by the RBI at the time of redemption and

the interest on the invested amount would be paid semi-annually.

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18thJanuary 2016

Iran Complies With Nuclear Deal; Sanctions Are Lifted

The United States and European nations lifted oil

and financial sanctions on Iran released roughly

$100 billion of its assets after internationalinspectors concluded that the country had

followed through on promises to dismantle large

sections of its nuclear program. The moves came

at the end of a day of high drama that played out

in a diplomatic dance across Europe and the Middle East, just hours after Tehran

and Washington swapped long-held prisoners.

SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket successfully launches Jason-3 Ocean-monitoring

satellite

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has successfully launched

the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying Jason-3

Ocean-monitoring satellite. It was launched from

Californias Vandenberg Air Force Base and the

satellite has been successfully inserted it in thedesired orbit. Jason-3 is the 4th mission in the joint

US-European series of satellite missions that

measure the height of the ocean surface.


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Indias Dinesh Sharma elected to board of directors of AIIB

Indias Dinesh Sharma has been elected to the

board of directors of the China-sponsored Asian

Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). He hasbeen elected to the 12-member board through a

secret ballot. This is the first board of directors of

AIIB in which 57 nations are founding members

including India. The inaugural meeting of the

board of the governors of the AIIB also held in Beijing after its formal launch. The

meeting approved by-laws, rules and codes of conduct for the bank. It should be

noted that Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is the designated governor of the

AIIB from India. However he was represented by Mr. Sharma at the meeting.

Presently, Dinesh Sharma is serving as Additional Secretary of Union Ministry of

Finance.

Chinese scientists develop new bio-artificial liver

Chinese scientists have developed a new bio-artificial

liver that can help patients to survive from liver failurelong enough for an organ transplant. It has been

developed by team of researchers from the Shanghai

Institute for Biological Sciences and doctors from Nanjing

Drum Tower Hospital. The bio-artificial liver is based on

human liver cells and has been designed to be attached

outside a patients body. This liver device is based on

cells taken from human fat, skin or other tissues and is

reprogrammed into liver cells. It can help to prolong lives of patients with liver

failure by recovering patients liver functions till suitable donor livers for a

transplant is found.


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Madhya Pradesh selected for Krishi Karman Award for year 2014-15

Madhya Pradesh has been conferred the Union

Governmentsprestigious Krishi Karman Award

in maximum food grains production categoryfor year 2014-15 for the 4th consecutive year.

MP has been shortlisted for the award in the

Integrated Agri Production category for the

year 2014-15. It has produced record 328 lakh

tonnes in the mentioned period compared to 280 lakh tonnes 2013-14 periods.

Earlier the state had won this award in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014. The state will

get an amount of five crore rupees along with Krishi Karman award.

Renowned Kannada filmmaker and lyricist Geethapriya passes away

Well-known filmmaker and lyricist Geethapriya,

84, died in Bengaluru after a battle with throat

cancer. Geethapriya was born Lakshman Rao

Mohite on June 15, 1932, and Marathi was his

mother tongue. He started to work in theKannada film industry in the mid-1960 and

pretty soon took to direction. He has directed

over 40 films and written about 250 songs. He

was christened 'Geethapriya' meaning 'lover of songs' as a result of his work as a

song-writer. Geethapriya directed many top stars in the Kannada film industry like

Rajkumar and worked in the film industry for over five decades. Some of his best

works include Yaava Janmada Maithri (1972), Beluvalada Madilalli (1975), Besuge

(1976), Hombisilu (1978), Putani Agent 123 (1979), Preethisi Nodu (1981) and

Mouna Geethe (1985). He directed his last film Shravana Sambhrama in 2003.

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19thJanuary 2016

Sikkim becomes Indias first fully organic state

Sikkim has formally become Indias first fully

organic state after it successfully

implemented organic farming practices on

around 75,000 hectares of agricultural land.

Formal declaration in this regard was made

by Prime Minister Narendra Modi after

inaugurating the Sikkim Organic Festival

2016 in Gangtok, Sikkim. PM also handed the Organic Certificate to Sikkim Chief

Minister Pawan Chamling. The Sikkim Organic Festival 2016 has been organised onthe sidelines of the National Conference on Sustainable Agriculture and Farmers

Welfare. On this occasion, PM also launched three new orchid species developed in

Sikkim which is also known as the Land of Flowers viz. Cymbidium Sardar (named

after Sardar Patel), Cymbidium Deen Dayal (named after Deen Dayal Upaddhyay)

and Cymbidium Namo (named after Narendra Modi).

BSE launches algo trading test facility

Leading stock exchange BSE today launched

an algorithm trading test facility for investors

on its equity and derivatives platform. The

new service is free of cost for market

participants. Algorithmic trading or algo

trading refers to orders on bourses that are

generated using high-frequency, automated execution logic. The new service foralgorithm trading test environment has been launched in partnership with

Symphony BSE -0.70 % Fintech Solutions Pvt Ltd. This service will enable all

market participants to test their trading algorithms in equity, equity derivative and

currency derivative segments free of cost


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Easwar panel on Income tax for raising threshold for TDS deduction

A high level panel on simplification of income

tax laws recommended raising the threshold

limits for deduction of tax at source (TDS) asalso slashing the rate of withholding tax. The

Justice (rtd) R V Easwar Committee in a 78-

page draft, nearly 65 per cent of the personal

income-tax collection in India was through tax

deducted at source (TDS) and TDS provisions need to be made more tax friendly

and not as 'tedious' as they have remained over the years.

Journalist Aroon Tikekar passes away

Senior journalist and scholar Aroon Tikekar, who

authored over 20 books, passed away due to breathing-

related complications. He was 72. Tikekar, who worked

as a college teacher for some years, had also been a

Language and Literature Expert and Acquisitions

Specialist at the US Library of Congress Office, NewDelhi. He was the reference chief of the Times of India

and a senior assistant editor for Maharashtra Times. He

was the Editor of Loksatta, Marathi newspaper of the Indian Express Group

Newspaper, for over a decade (1992-2002). Tikekar was also a former Group Editor

of Lokmat and Editor Director of Sakal group of newspapers.


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Gunter Butschek is Tata Motors chief

Gunter Butschek has been appointed Chief

Executive Officer & Managing Director of Tata

Motors, ending a long search for a suitablecandidate for the post. The countrys largest auto

maker across segments has been leaderless

since the death of its former chief Karl Slym in

Bangkok in January 2014.Butschek, who is

expected to join the company by February 15,

joins Tata Motors after his last assignment at Airbus Group where he served as CEO

and Member of the Group Executive Committee. He will lead all operations of Tata

Motors in India and in international markets, including South Korea, Thailand,

Indonesia and South Africa.

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20thJanuary 2016

ISRO successfully launches IRNSS-1E satellite

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has

successfully launched Indias fifth navigation

Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System

(IRNSS) 1E satellite. It was launched on board of

PSLV-C31 rocket from Satish Dhawan Space

Centre (SHAR), Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.

The IRNSS-1E weighs 1425 kilogram and has the

mission life of 12 years. It equipped with two types of payloads viz. navigation

payload and ranging devices. The navigation payload will be operating in L5-band

and S-band along with and highly accurate Rubidium atomic clock. It will be mainly

used to transmit navigation service signals to the users.


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India ranks 89th in Global Talent Competitiveness Index 2015-16

India has ranked 89th globally in Global Talent

Competitiveness Index (GTCI) 2015-16 list of

106 assessed countries in terms of talentcompetitiveness of its human capital. This GTCI

list was compiled by INSEAD business school in

partnership with Adecco and Human Capital

Leadership Institute of Singapore (HCLI). This index measures a nations

competitiveness based on the quality of talent it can produce, attract and retain.

Bihar Government approves 35 per cent job reservation for women

Bihar Government has formally approved 35

per cent reservation for women in government

jobs in the state. Decision in this regard was

taken by state cabinet meeting chaired by

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in Patna. This 35

per cent reservation for women will be

applicable to in all government jobs including

reserved and unreserved category. Presently state is already providing 35 percent

reservation for women in recruitment as police constables and sub-inspectors.

There is also 50 percent reservation for women as primary school teachers and in

the Panchayati Raj system.


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World Economic Forum meeting starts in Davos, Switzerland

The World Economic Forum is about to start,

with politicians and business leaders descending

on the resort of Davos in the Swiss Alps. Themeeting looks set to be exceptionally busy, as

fears of the return of a global recession abound

after the worst start to a new year ever for

many stock markets around the world. Besides

the market turmoil, those present will probably discuss big themes such as how to

tackle unemployment, the rise of geopolitical tensions, the challenges that

increased automation and artificial intelligence pose to the workforce, the

commodities price crash and climate change.

CCEA approves six-laning of NH-2 in Bihar and Jharkhand

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs

(CCEA) has approved development of the six

laning of National Highway-2 from Aurangabad-

BarwaAdda section in Bihar and Jharkhand.

Decision in this regard was taken in the CCEA

meeting chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra

Modi in New Delhi. The six laning work

approximately length of 222 kms will be under the National Highways Development

Project (NHDP) Phase-V. It will be undertaken on Design, Build, Finance, Operate

and Transfer (BOT/DBFOT) basis with an estimated cost of Rs.4918.48 crore.

Projects main object is to expedite the improvement of infrastructure in Jharkhand

and Bihar and also in reduce the time and cost of travel for traffic.

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21stJanuary 2016

Union Cabinet approves amendments of Power Tariff Policy to promote

clean energy

The Centre unveiled a new power tariff policy

which allows 100 percent expansion by

existing power plants, passing on levies to

consumers and purchase of 100 percent

electricity produced from waste. The Union

cabinet has approved the proposal of the

Ministry of Power for amendments in the tariff

policy. A holistic view of the power sector hasbeen taken and comprehensive amendments have been made in the Tariff policy

2006. Our aim is to achieve the objectives of Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana

(UDAY) with the focus on 4 Es: Electricity for all, Efficiency to ensure affordable

tariffs, Environment for a sustainable future, Ease of doing business to attract

investments and ensure financial viability.

Cabinet approves MoU between ISRO and Kuwaits ISR for outer spacecooperation

The Union Cabinet has apprised of the

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)

between Indian Space Research Organization

(ISRO) and Kuwait Institute of Scientific

Research (KISR) on cooperation in the

exploration of outer space and use of outerspace technology for peaceful purposes. This

MoU will enable cooperation between both countries for pursuing potential interest

in both cooperative and commercial areas. It will include KISR to use data from

Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellites for initiating a few research and application


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projects. Building and launching of remote sensing and communication satellites of

Kuwait on commercial terms and Training purpose.

CCEA approves 5000 MW of Grid-connected Solar PV Power Projects

Cabinet committee on economic affairs

(CCEA) has approved setting up over 5,000

Mega Watt of Grid-Connected Solar Photo

Voltaic Power Projects on build, own and

operate (BOOT) basis. Decision in this regard

was taken by Union Cabinet meeting chaired

by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. These projects will be Set up in four

trenches of each 1,250 MW capacity during four succeeding financial years from

2015-16 to 2018-19. Implemented by Solar Power Developers with Viability Gap

Funding under Jawahar Lal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM). Cost is five

thousand fifty crore rupees over five years and the total investments expected

under the JNNSM scheme is about 30,000 crore rupees.

Cabinet approves MoU between India and UK in the field of Public

Administration and Governance Reforms

The Union Cabinet has approved

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)

between India and United Kingdom for

Cooperation in the field Public

Administration and Governance Reforms.

This MoU was signed between both

countries in November, 2015 during Prime

Minister Narendras official visit to UK. Under this MoU the co-operation will be in

areas like sharing good governance practices in public administration, reducing

bureaucracy in service delivery and user led service design. It will also be in areas

like Government Process Re-engineering, Public Grievance Redress Mechanism,


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Building and developing staff capability, Local Government Reforms. Cooperation in

Reforms towards strengthening of social security, Collaboration in strategies for

promotion of ethics in Government will be also part of it.

Union Government, World Bank signed Financing Agreement for Bihar Kosi

Basin Development Project

The Union Government and World Bank on 20

January 2016 signed the Financing Agreement

for World Bank (IDA) assistance of 250 million

US dollars for Bihar Kosi Basin Development

Project. The Financing Agreement was signed by

Raj Kumar, Joint Secretary, Department of

Economic Affairs, Union Government and Onno Ruhl, Country Director in India,

World Bank. It is a loan for an implementation period of 5 years. Bihar Government

will be the implementing agency.

Union Cabinet approves Policy on Promotion of City Compost

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister

Narendra Modi has given its approval to Policy on

Promotion of City Compost. This policy will help in

circulating compost produced from city waste for

the purpose of far

january 2016 current affairs

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