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July 1, 2015

1) China on 29 June 2015 officially

started work on the 3,968-km-long

gas pipeline that will pump 38 billion

cubic meters of natural gas from

Russias far-east to Shanghai. This

project, titled Russia- China East

Route natural gas pipeline Project

is one of the worlds largest energy

projects. The said project is slated

to be completed by which year?

2018

Explanation: It is worth mentioning

that the construction on the Russian

section of this huge project had

started in September 2014. The

project is known in Russia as the

Power of Siberia pipeline. The

inauguration of this projects

Chinese end was televised from a

ceremony that was held

simultaneously in Beijing, Moscow

and the border city of Heihe in

northeast China on 29 June 2015.

The pipeline, extending from gas

fields in Russias Far East to

Shanghai, is designed to transport

38 billion cubic meters of natural

gas from Russia to China every

year. With this project China has

been able to firm up its energy ties

with Russia, which is reeling under

U.S. and EU sanctions over the

Ukraine crisis.

2) Countrys largest bank State

Bank of India (SBI) on 30 June

2015 announced its tie-up with

which travel company with an

objective to capitalise on the

business opportunities of the

booming e-commerce and m-

commerce ecosystem?

MakeMyTrip.com

Explanation: The partnership

between SBI and

MakeMyTrip.com includes

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partnership with personal banking

unit for consumer facing

propositions including EMIs on

purchase of holidays & international

travel, customized travel products

like Forex cards and travel products

that inspire SBI customers to travel.

On the other hand MakeMyTrip

customers will be able to access

special offers from SBI on

debit/credit cards and personal

financing. SBI chairperson

Arundhati Bhattacharya said that

SBI aims at becoming a One

Stop solution provider for the entire

range of financial needs of e-

Commerce players as well as our

customers in the market.

3) The last minute of June 2015

was kept one second longer, for a

process known as leap second.

The leap second and leap years are

added as basic ways to keep the

clock in sync with the Earth and its

seasons. When was the last time

that the leap second was

observed? June 2012

Explanation: The leap second

meant that the last minute of June

2015 was of 61 seconds instead of

60 seconds. Leap seconds occur

at irregular intervals because they

depend on measurements of the

Earths rotation, which varies

unpredictably. Leap seconds are

announced only six months in

advance. This means computers

and software cannot be supplied

with leap seconds programmed in,

and they must be inserted

manually. It is also worth

mentioning that as the irregularity of

adding leap seconds causes

problems for computer networks,

several proposals have been put

forward to abolish them. When the

last leap second kicked in, on a

Saturday night in June 2012,

websites including Reddit and

LinkedIn faltered as servers got

confused. In Australia, more than

400 flights were delayed as the

Qantas check-in system crashed

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4) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J.

Jayalalithaa scored a huge victory

in the assembly by-election, the

result for which was announced on

30 June 2015. She secured this win

from which constituency of the

state? R.K. Nagar

Explanation: Jayalalithaa won the

R.K Nagar by-election with a huge

margin of 1.51 lakhs. She secured

a total of 1.6 lakh votes. CPI

candidate C.Mahendran secured

9,690 votes. The by-election was

necessitated by AIADMKs P.

Vetrivel vacating the seat in May to

enable Jayalalithaa to seek re-

election post her acquittal by the

Karnataka High Court in a graft

case.

5) Which teams will meet in the

finals of Copa America 2015?

Chile and Argentina

Explanation: Copa America is the

most prestigious football

tournament of South America. In

the first semi-final of the tournament

held on 29 June 2015, hosts Chile

defeated Peru by 2-1 to reach the

finals. Eduardo Vargas contributed

both the goals for Chile while Gary

Medels own goal gave Peru their

single goal. In the second semi-final

held on 30 June 2015 between

Argentina and Paraguay, Argentina

demolished Paraguay by 6-1 to

make it into the finals. For

Argentina Di Maria scored two

goals while Rojo, Pastore, Aguero

and Higuain contributed one goal

each. Barrios scored the lone goal

for Paraguay. The final will be

played on 4 July 2015 at Estadio

Nacional, Santiago.

6) Union Government during June

2015 completed the construction of

a memorial for a former Prime

Minister at Delhis Ekta Sthal

Memorial Complex. Who is this

former Prime Minister?

P.V.Narasimha Rao

Explanation: P.V. Narasimha Rao

was Indias 10th Prime Minister

during 1991-96 and was

instrumental in ushering economic

liberalization and reforms in the

country. The completion of his

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memorial at Ekta Sthal Complex

coincided with his 94th birth

anniversary on 28 June 2015. The

proposal to construct a memorial for

P.V. Narasimha Rao was moved by

Union Urban Development Minister

M. Venkaiah Naidu before the

Union Cabinet and was accordingly

approved. The memorial has come

for Rao more than 10 years after

his death in 2004. It is worth

mentioning that the Ekta Sthal

Memorial Complex already houses

memorials of four former Presidents

(Presidents Shankar Dayal Sharma,

K R Narayanan, R Venkatraman,

Giani Zail Singh) and two former

Prime Ministers (Chandra Shekhar

and I.K. Gujral).

July 2, 2015

1) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on

1 July 2015 launched the Digital

India Week, as part of the Digital

India initiative to give India a big

push in digital technology. What is

the primary objective of Digital

India? To bridge the digital

divide by bringing in large

investments in technology

manufacturing

Explanation: Digital India is a

massive initiative of the Indian

Govt. to provide electronic

governance and universal phone

connectivity across the country. It

primarily aims to bridge the digital

divide by bringing in large

investments in technology

manufacturing in the country.

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Leading industrialists pledged Rs.

4.5 lakh crore as Narendra Modi

inaugurated the Digital India Week

at a programme held in New Delhi

on 1 July 2015. It is worth

mentioning that the push to connect

India and drive a national fibre optic

network, approved by the previous

Congress-led government in 2011,

has made slow progress in utilizing

technology to bring services and

deliverables to those outside large

towns and cities.

2) Which country has became the

first country to eliminate the

transmission of HIV and syphilis

from mother to baby as announced

by the World Health Organisation

(WHO) on 1 July 2015? Cuba

Explanation: WHO described this

feat as one of the greatest public

health achievements ever achieved.

Cuba has achieved zero instances

for babies born with HIV,

transmitted to the baby through the

affected mother. In 2013, only two

babies were born with HIV in Cuba,

and only five born with congenital

syphilis. Over the past five years,

Caribbean countries have had

increased access to antiretroviral

drugs as part of a regional initiative

to eliminate mother-to-child

transmission. HIV and syphilis

testing for pregnant women and

their partners, caesarean deliveries

and substitution of breastfeeding

have also contributed to the

breaking of the infection chain in

Cuba. The reduction in infection

rates in Cuba is seen as a major

breakthrough in the campaign to rid

the world of the virus.

3) Which country on 30 June 2015

became the first-ever developed

economy to default on a loan with

the International Monetary Fund

(IMF)? Greece

Explanation: Greece, as expected,

was not able to repay 1.6 billion it

owed to the International Monetary

Fund (IMF), in what was the largest

missed payment in the Funds

history. The deadline to make the

payment ended on 30 June.

Greece, who had asked European

partners for a two-year aid package

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to cover its financing needs, made

last-minute overtures to its

international creditors for financial

aid on 30 June but it was not

enough to save the country from

becoming the first developed

economy to default on an IMF loan.

Greece has received nearly 240

billion in two bailouts from the

European Union and International

Monetary Fund since 2010. The

money has allowed the country to

stay afloat but at a high cost to its

population, which has swallowed

many austerity measures such as

cuts to pensions, wages and public

services. With its missed payment

to the IMF, Greece is on a path out

of the euro with unforeseeable

consequences for both the EUs

grand currency project and the

global economy.

4) Communication pioneer Matti

Makkonen, who passed away

during June 2015, was known for

developing which popular mode of

mobile communication? Text

messaging or SMS

Explanation: Matti Makkonen of

Finland was known as the father of

short messaging service (SMS)

after developing the idea of sending

messages via mobile networks. He

had helped to launch the worldwide

sensation of texting, although he

was often quick to point out that he

did not invent the technology single-

handedly. He had claimed that real

launch of the SMS service, was

when Nokia introduced the first

phone that enabled easy writing of

messages (Nokia 2010 in 1994).

Although the use of SMS the world-

over has begun to fall, it still

remains a popular service. He

passed away during June 2015.

5) Bharti Airtel became the third-

largest mobile operator in the world

in terms of subscribers as disclosed

in the latest data published by

World Cellular Information Service

(WCIS). Which operators occupied

the first and second spots

respectively? China Mobile and

Vodafone Group

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Explanation: Sunil Mittal-led Bharti

Airtel moved up one position in the

global rankings of mobile operators

with over 303 million mobile

subscribers across its operations.

The global rankings were led by

China Mobile (China), which had

626.27 million subscribers and was

followed by Vodafone Group of the

UK with 403.08 million subscribers

worldwide. China Unicom (China)

closely followed Airtel with 299.09

million subscribers while America

Movil occupied fifth place with

274.14 million subscribers. It is

worth mentioning that Bharti Airtel

had started its operations in

November 1995 in New Delhi and

in less than two decades emerged

as the top telecom brand in the

world. The company presently

operates in 20 countries across

South Asia and Africa. Bharti

Airtels mobile network covers over

1.85 billion people and carried over

1.23 trillion minutes of calls and

over 333 petabytes of data in 2014-

15.

6) The Union Govt. recently put off

the proposal to relax the 5/20

condition for airlines to fly abroad,

according to which domestic

carriers must have been in

operation for five years and have a

fleet of 20 aircraft to be eligible to

fly on international routes. What is

the main reason for putting-off this

decision? The govt. was worried

that it could be accused of

favouring new airlines while

implementing this rule

Explanation: It is worth mentioning

that by relaxing the 5/20 condition

for domestic airlines to fly abroad,

the govt. could have faced

accusations of favouring new

airlines -especially Vistara and

AirAsia, who have started their

operations within a couple of years.

Certain members of the Union

Cabinet felt any change in the rule

will be seen as benefiting Vistara,

the joint venture airline between

Singapore Airlines and Tata Sons,

and AirAsia, the low-cost airline in

which also Tata Sons has a stake.

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7) In an unprecedented event, the

Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

remained opened on 1 July 2015 so

as to facilitate settlement of public

and market transactions. Normally,

RBI remains closed for public

transactions on every years 1 July.

Why? Because RBI has its

annual closing of accounts on

this day

Explanation: It is worth mentioning

that while April to March is the

accounting year for almost whole

business fraternity in India, RBIs

accounting year is from July to

June. Hence, till date RBI used to

remain close for public transactions

on 1 July. But moving away from

the tradition, the RBI remained

opened for public on 1 July 2015

and continued to provide services

such as RTGS/NEFT, transfer of

funds and settlement of securities,

etc. to the general public.

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July 3, 2015

1) Indian economy crossed which

landmark figure during 2014 as

disclosed in the data released by

the World Bank in Washington on 2

July 2015? $2-trillion mark

Explanation: The World Bank data

disclosed that the size of Indian

economy stood at $2.06 trillion at

the end of 2014. It has almost

doubled in size since the financial

crisis hit the country in 2008, and

has more than quadrupled from the

start of this millennium. Thus, after

taking 60 years to reach the $1-

trillion mark, India added the next

trillion in just seven years. The

World Bank data also show that

Indias gross national income per

person rose to $1,610 (around Rs.

1 lakh) a year during 2014 from

$1,560 the previous year. Indias

growth rate, at 7.4% in 2014,

makes it the fastest growing major

economy along with Chinas, which

is a whopping $10.4 trillion in size.

2) According to the recently notified

compliance window under the Black

Money (Undisclosed Foreign

Income and Assets) and Imposition

of Tax Act, 2015, what is the last

day for announcement of

undisclosed assets abroad for

Indians under it? 30 September

2015

Explanation: Under the window, a

person with undisclosed assets

(including bank accounts) abroad

can make a declaration by 30

September 2015. He/she will have

time till 31 December 2015 to pay

tax and a penalty on such assets.

Tax will be levied at the rate of 30%

while the penalty will be 100% of

the tax. Altogether, the person will

have to pay 60% of the taxable

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value or amount declared. The

notification pertaining to this

compliance window was issued on

1 July 2015 by the Union Govt. The

said law intends to be a strong

deterrent for generation of black

money abroad. Once the assets are

declared and the tax and penalty

are paid, the person concerned will

not be prosecuted under the new

legislation. For people who do not

comply using the window, the Act

provides for stringent penalties and

prosecution. For wilful evasion of

tax, there will be rigorous

imprisonment from three years to

10 years besides a fine.

3) The World Bank during July 2015

announced its clearance of a $650

million loan for a major project of

Indian Railways. Which project is

this? Eastern Dedicated Freight

Corridor

Explanation: Construction of the

Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor

will help speed up the carrying of

goods between Ludhiana in the

west of India and Kolkata in the

east. It is part of a series of new

dedicated freight lines in the

country which it needs to ease

congestion on its network. This

huge project will span 1,840 kms

(1,140 miles) across the North

India. The loan is the third from the

World Bank to help fund the freight

corridor. Last year the bank had

approved a $1.1 billion outlay and

in 2011 $975 million.

4) The United Nations (UN) issued

first-of-its-kind guidance for

countries on 1 July 2015. This first-

of-its-kind guidance is associated

with which issue? Health risks

associated with heat-waves

Explanation: The World Health

Organisation (WHO) and World

Meteorological Organisation (WMO)

joined forces to issue guidelines on

Heat-Health Warning Systems that

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will help contain the heat-waves

that have turned out to be more

hazardous due to climate change. It

is worth mentioning that the heat-

waves have become more frequent

and deadlier over the last 50 years,

recently killing over 3,000 people in

India and Pakistan. Now several

European countries like France and

Belgium are also reeling under

heat-waves. The joint guidance

mentioned that the principal

concern is how to assess the level

of heat stress associated with the

meteorological or climate forecast,

translate this into an estimate of a

likely health outcome and identify a

critical heat-stress threshold for a

graded plan of action. The WMO-

WHO guidance document gives a

range of approaches to assess heat

stress and identify heat-wave

conditions.

5) Which Northeastern states Chief

Minister on 1 July 2015 tabled a

proposal in the Assembly to lift the

ban on the manufacture and sale of

liquor, nearly 24 years after

prohibition was imposed in the

state? Manipur

Explanation: Manipur Chief

Minister Okram Ibobi Singh on 1

July tabled a proposal in the State

Assembly to lift the ban on sale and

manufacture of liquor, exactly a

year after neighbouring Mizoram

lifted its ban on sale of liquor in July

2014. The ban was imposed in

1991 when R.K. Ranbir Singh was

the chief minister. It was imposed

after widespread agitations by civil

rights groups, especially Manipurs

women activists or Meira Paibis.

The Chief Minister pointed out that

poor quality liquor produced in

Khatkhatti (Assam) was being sold

surreptitiously in Manipur, cheating

the state of much-needed revenue.

He also stated that all northeastern

states, with the exception of

Nagaland and Manipur, lifted the

ban on selling Indian-made Foreign

Liquor (IMFL). After lifting the ban,

all states have experienced a

marked increase in revenue

generation.

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6) Saudi Arabians Prince Alwaleed

bin Talal came to news on 1 July

2015. Why? He pledged his

entire $32-billion (28.8-billion-

euro) fortune to charitable

projects over the coming years

Explanation: Prince Alwaleed bin

Talal belongs to the Saudi royal

family and is a nephew of King

Abdullah, who died on 23 January

2015. In the conservative Islamic

kingdom, Alwaleed, who holds no

government rank, is unusual for his

high profile and periodic comments

about economic issues. On 1 July

he announced his pledge to donate

his entire fortune for charity and

said that the donation will be

allocated according to a well-

devised plan throughout the coming

years.

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July 4-5, 2015

1) Chile created history by winning

the Copa America tournament for

2015 on 4 July 2015. The host team

defeated the much-fancied

Argentina by 4-1 on penalties to win

the prestigious tournament. This

was the first Copa America title for

Chile. Chile had reached Copa

America finals how many times

without winning the tournament?

Four times

Explanation: The final was played

at Santiagos Estadio Nacional in

the presence of nearly 50,000

Chileans. Chile had reached the

finals of Copa America four times

before 1955, 1956, 1979 and

1987. However, they lost all the four

finals. But Chile won their maiden

Copa America title on 4 July after

defeating Lionel Messi-led

Argentina by 4-1 in the penalties,

after the match was tied 0-0 after

regular time. In a dramatic finale,

the Chileans made all of their

penalties while the much fancied

Argentina could score just one. The

result extended Argentinas and

Lionel Messis title drought. The

national team hasnt won a trophy

in 22 years. The team had won their

last Copa America title in 1993. The

44th edition of COPA America, the

prestigious football tournament for

South American countries, had

started from 11 June 2015 in Chile.

2) Which team finished at third

place in Copa America 2015?

Peru

Explanation: Peru defeated

Paraguay 2-0 in the play-off match

to finish the tournament at third

place. Thus Peru secured their

second-straight third-place finish at

the Copa America.

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3) India on 3 July 2015 abstained

from a vote against Israel at the

U.N. Human Rights Council in

Geneva, thus giving the signal of a

major shift in Indias policy on

Israel. This resolution was

associated with which issue? The

alleged war crimes committed by

both Israel and Hamas during the

Gaza conflict in 2014

Explanation: 41 countries voted in

favour of the resolution against

Israel, while only the U.S. voted

against it. India was one of five

countries including Kenya and

Macedonia that abstained.

However, the Indian Government

denied any policy shift, indicating

that India had abstained from voting

because the UNHRC resolution had

included a reference to taking Israel

to the International Criminal Court

(ICC), which India considers

intrusive. Significantly, India had

voted against Israel and in favour of

the UNHRC resolution in July 2014

that had instituted this very inquiry

report into the Gaza violence in

which more than 2,300 had been

killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza.

4) Which Indian private aerospace

company recently signed an in-

principle agreement to set up a joint

venture with Europes Airbus

Helicopters to manufacture

helicopters in India? Mahindra

Defence Systems Ltd

Explanation: Mahindra Defence

Systems Ltd., the defence and

aerospace division of the Mahindra

Group, signed an in-principle

agreement Airbus Helicopters to set

up a joint venture to manufacture

helicopters in India This joint

venture will act as the prime

contractor for Indias military

helicopter tenders, including the

reconnaissance and surveillance

helicopter, the naval utility

helicopter and the naval multi-role

helicopter procurement

programmes. The investment by

Airbus Helicopters will be in

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accordance with current foreign

direct investment (FDI) guidelines.

According to the rules, FDI to the

extent of 49% is permitted through

the standard approval route,

provided the original equipment

manufacturer is seeking to invest in

a facility which is capable of design,

production and maintenance of the

product. The military hardware

market in the country is estimated

to be worth an annual $41 billion

(around Rs.2.6 trillion) in seven

years. Mahindra Aerospace has led

the Mahindra Groups entry into

utility aircraft and aero-structure

manufacturing since 2008.

5) Who topped the Union Public

Service Commission (UPSC)

examination to select IAS and IPS

officers, the results for which were

declared on 4 July 2015? Ira

Singhal

Explanation: This prestigious

exam was topped by Delhis Ira

Singhal, while second and third

places were taken by Renu Raj

(Kerala) and Nidhi Gupta (Delhi).

While Ira Singhal and Nidhi Gupta

are Indian Revenue Service

(Customs and Central Excise)

officers, Renu Raj is a doctor by

profession. A total number of 1,236

candidates, including 590 in general

category, 354 belonging to OBC,

194 from SC and 98 from ST, have

been recommended for

appointment to various central

government services. A total of

1,364 posts are to be filled through

the civil services examination.

There are 254 other candidates in

the waiting list.

6) Nationwide mobile number

portability (MNP) became a reality

in India on 3 July 2015 with state-

run MTNL and BSNL and private

mobile operators like Airtel,

Vodafone, RCom, Idea Cellular,

and Uninor issuing statements

regarding this. What will be the

benefit of nationwide mobile

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number portability? Nationwide

mobile number portability means

a mobile customer will now be

able to move from one part of the

country to another without

having to change his/her number

Explanation: The government had

fixed 3 July 2015 as the deadline

for a national rollout of MNP. The

date was originally 3 May 2015 but

was postponed by the government

by two months to allow for all

telecom operators to complete their

implementation. Earlier mobile

number portability was possible

only for intra-circle customers but

now customers of any circle can

port their numbers to any circle of

the country. For example a

customer shifting from Mumbai to

Delhi would be able to port his/her

number with nationwide MNP.

July 6, 2015

1) In an important happening,

Greek voters voted overwhelmingly

to reject the terms of a bailout by

European entities in a referendum

held on 5 July 2015. What could be

the most important fallout this

referendum result? Greece could

see its ejection from the

European Union (EU) it also risks

financial ruin of Greece

Explanation: The much-awaited

referendum was held to decide

whether or not Greece was to

accept the bailout conditions in the

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countrys govt. debt crisis proposed

jointly by the European Commission

(EC), the International Monetary

Fund (IMF) and the European

Central Bank (ECB) on 25 June

2015. The referendum was

announced by Greek Prime Minister

Alexis Tsipras on 27 June. The

bailout conditions were rejected by

a majority of over 61% to 39%.

Countrys governing Syriza party

had campaigned for a No, saying

the bailout terms were humiliating.

Greece had been locked in

negotiations with its creditors for

months when the Greek

government unexpectedly called a

referendum on the terms it was

being offered. Countrys banks

have been shut and capital controls

in place since last Monday, after the

European Central Bank declined to

give Greece more emergency

funding. The result of referendum

could result in Greeces exit from

the European Union and in such

condition it will have to adopt a

currency of its own, which is easier

said than done seeing the present

conditions.

2) Which bank on 4 July 2015

became the first in the country to

launch the MUDRA Card, under the

Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana

(PMMY) scheme? Corporation

Bank

Explanation: The MUDRA (Micro

Units Development and Refinance

Agency) card under the Pradhan

Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY)

scheme was launched by the

Corporation Bank on 4 July 2015

and the bank thus became the first

in the country to do so. The card

facilitates the withdrawal and use of

the working capital finance by micro

entrepreneurs. Three loan schemes

are offered to the entrepreneurs

under MUDRA based on their

capacity to repay. Shishu scheme

provides loan up to Rs.50,000,

while a loan amount up to Rs. 5

lakh will be lent under Kishore

scheme. Under Tarun scheme

loan up to Rs. 10 lakh will be

offered.

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3) Which country won FIFA

Womens Football World Cup 2015

on 5 July 2015? The United

States

Explanation: The 2015 FIFA

Womens World Cup was

the 7th edition of FIFA Womens

World Cup and was hosted by

Canada. The final was played

between the U.S. and Japan on 5

July 2015 at BC Place, Vancouver.

The U.S. routed Japan in the final

by 5-2 to win their first World Cup

since 1999. Carli Lloyd scored a

hat-trick in the finals to give an

emphatic win over the defending

champions. It was sweet revenge

for the U.S. team, which lost Japan

in the 2011 final on penalty kicks.

Third place was won by England,

who defeated Germany by 1-0 in

the playoff for third place.

4) Who won the British F1 Grand

Prix on 5 July 2015? Lewis

Hamilton (Britain)

Explanation: Mercedes teams

Lewis Hamilton won the third British

F1 Grand Prix title as he pocketed

the 2015 edition of the event on 5

July 2015. The race was a chaotic

one after heavy rains at the

Silverstone track affected the event.

Nico Rosberg (Germany), also from

Mercedes team, finished second

and was followed by Ferraris

Sebastian Vettel (Germany). Force

Indias Nico Hulkenberg (Germany)

claimed seventh position. With this

win Hamilton extended his

championship lead to 17 points

over teammate Rosberg.

5) A U.S. women from Washington

State, became the first in last 12

years to die from a disease that

was not prevalent in the country for

a long time. Which disease is this?

Measles

Explanation: U.S. authorities

confirmed that the mentioned

woman is the first person to die of

measles in the country in a dozen

years. However, her being affected

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with Measles was revealed only

after her death and this put a mark

on the diagnosis done by her

doctors. Its not clear exactly why

doctors failed to catch her measles

diagnosis until after her death, but

health authorities believe the

womans compromised immune

system may have played a role.

Officials from Washington State

Department of Health said that the

tragic situation illustrates the

importance of immunizing as many

people as possible to provide a high

level of community protection

against measles.

6) Kruti Tiwari, an IIT-JEE topper

from Indore, came to news recently.

Why? She was nominated as

the brand ambassador of Prime

Minister Narendra Modis dream

project Digital India

Explanation: Kruti Tiwari was

handpicked by the Prime Minister

himself and she will be associated

with the campaign for the next one

year. She will be travelling

extensively across the country

spreading the message of Digital

India. The highly ambitious Digital

India mission was launched by the

Prime Minister on 1 July 2015 at

Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in

New Delhi.

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July 7, 2015

1) Latest UNICEF data showed that

both child stunting and the number

of underweight children in India had

fallen to a historic low for 2013-14.

According to the Rapid Survey on

Children (RSOC) conducted by the

UNICEF, which 4 states have

successfully reduced the proportion

of underweight adolescent girls?

Tamil Nadu, West Bengal,

Uttarakhand and Tripura

Explanation: The Rapid Survey on

Children (RSOC) comprises of a

nationwide sample survey of over

one lakh households conducted by

the UNICEF. The survey finding

disclosed that almost all States in

the country have performed poorly

in reducing the number of

underweight adolescent girls. Tamil

Nadu, West Bengal, Uttarakhand

and Tripura are the only States

which have reduced the proportion

of underweight adolescent girls.

Among the developed States,

Gujarat is the only one to perform

worse than the national average in

reducing the numbers of child

stunting cases and underweight

children. Uttar Pradesh still has the

highest levels of child stunting, with

over 50% of the children under the

age of five underdeveloped,

meaning that their height is more

than two standard deviations less

than the expected height for their

age for that population. Kerala

remains the best performing State

in the number of child stunting

cases, while Manipur and Mizoram

have the lowest numbers of

underweight children. However, no

State reported an increase in the

proportion of children underweight

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or stunted children, a significant

reversal from past trends.

2) In an important ruling, the

Supreme Court on 6 July 2015

ruled that an unwed mother can be

the legal guardian of a child without

the consent of the father. What are

the present provisions for the same

case? The current law requires

that a notice has to be sent to the

childs father for his consent

when there is a petition for

guardianship

Explanation: This ruling came in a

case in which a woman had

challenged the need to involve the

father of her child in a guardianship

petition even though she had never

married him. The woman, a

government officer, had also

asserted her right to keep the

fathers name secret, arguing that

he had nothing to do with her childs

upbringing. In her court petition, the

woman had argued that the man

stayed with her barely for two

months and did not even know the

existence of the child.

3) What is the name of the Greek

Finance Minister who resigned from

his post on 6 July 2015 hours after

Greeks voted resoundingly to reject

the austerity terms of a bailout?

Yanis Varoufakis

Explanation: Yanis Varoufakis was

known for his unconventional style

and hectoring lectures and had

campaigned for 5 Julys sweeping

No vote. His sacrifice suggested

that countrys leftist Prime Minister

Alexis Tsipras is determined to try

to reach a last-ditch compromise

with European leaders. His ouster

was seen as removal of a major

obstacle to any last-minute deal to

keep Athens in the euro zone after

Greeks overwhelmingly voted

against the terms of bailout

package.

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4) Which team won the mens

Hockey World League Semi-Final

tournament on 6 July 2015?

Australia

Explanation: World Champions

Australia defeated Belgium by 1-0

in the finals of the Hockey World

League (HWL) Semi-Final

tournament. Thus Australia claimed

gold medal while hosts Belgium got

the silver medal in the tournament.

HWL Semi-final was hosted at the

KHC Dragons Stadium in Antwerp

(Belgium). The tournaments final

will be played in Mohali (India)

during December 2015. The

tournament also served as the

qualifier tournament for the 2016

Summer Olympics.

5) What was Indias place in the

Hockey World League Semi-Final

tournament that concluded on 6

July 2015? Fourth

Explanation: India was unable to

win the bronze medal in HWL Semi-

final after Great Britain routed India

5-1 in the playoff held on 5 July

2015. The playoff for third place

was held between the teams

beaten in the semifinal. This was

Britains biggest ever victory in a

hockey international against Indian

men, the previous best being the 3-

0 win at the Seoul Olympics in a

preliminary round match before

Britain went on to win the gold

medal. All four semifinalists form

this World League Semi-Final

qualified for the 2016 Olympics

Games, with India making the

grade as the gold medalists at the

Incheon Asian Games. Malaysias

effort to boost the Asian challenge

at the Olympic Games, after

Pakistans failure, was hampered

when Ireland defeated them 4-2 in

the playoff for the fifth-place. On the

other hand, Pakistan suffered

another defeat on 5 July as France

beat them 2-1 in the playoff for the

seventh and eighth spots.

6) Fiji broke the record for the

biggest win in international football

with a 38-0 victory on 5 July 2015.

This record breaking win came over

which team? Micronesia

Explanation: This match was

played under Pacific Games 2015.

Fiji trounced the Federated States

of Micronesia by 38-0 to break

Australias long standing record of

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31-0 against American Samoa.

That win came way back in 2001

during an Oceania confederation

qualifier for the 2002 World Cup.

Earlier, Micronesia lost their first

match 30-0 to Tahiti in the same

games.

7) Who recently became the first-

ever Arab woman Arab woman to

officiate at Wimbledon? Aseel

Shaheen (Kuwait)

Explanation: Aseel Shaheen is a

41-year old woman from Kuwait

who made history when she

became the first Arab woman to

officiate at Wimbledon, which

primarily houses British match

officials. She is a line judge and is

one of around 350 men and women

officiating at Wimbledon 2015. One

important fact associated with her is

that she was accepted by

Wimbledon organizers the All

England Club, despite the fact that

she wears the traditional Arab hijab

to keep her head covered.

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July 8, 2015

1) Which railway coach

manufacturing entity of the Indian

Railway became the first in the

world to have manufactured 50

thousand railway coaches, for

which a programme was held on 6

July 2015? Integral Coach

Factory (ICF), Chennai

Explanation: Integral Coach

Factory (ICF) is railway coach

manufacturing entity in Perambur

(Chennai) that was established in

1952 and started producing railway

coaches from 1955. It primarily

manufactures railway coach for

Indian Railways but also exports

railway coaches to other countries.

ICF recently achieved the

distinction of being the first-ever

entity worldwide to manufacture

over 50 thousand coaches. To mark

this occasion a function was held

on 6 July 2015 in which Union Rail

Minister Suresh Prabhu released

the 50,000th coach manufactured by

ICF. To mark this occasion the Rail

Minister also dedicated the New

LHB Coach (Modern Passenger

Coach) Manufacturing Unit in ICF

itself to the nation.

2) A meeting to review the progress

of physical demarcation of

ecologically sensitive area in

Western Ghats was held on 7 July

2015. The meeting discussed

conservation of biodiversity of the

Western Ghats and ways to provide

adequate livelihood security to the

local residents. Environment and

forest ministers of which 6 states

were invited for this meeting, which

are being affected by this

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demarcation? Gujarat,

Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka,

Kerala and Tamil Nadu

Explanation: The main focus of

this meeting, presided over by

Union Environment Minister

Prakash Javdekar, was to discuss

measures to conserve the

biodiversity of the Western Ghats

region, while providing adequate

opportunities for livelihood security

of the local people in the broad

paradigm of ecologically sensitive

area. Union Environment Ministry

had published a draft notification

last year for declaring an

ecologically sensitive area in the

Western Ghats in these 6 states.

The identified ecologically sensitive

area represents a continuous band

of natural vegetation, extending

over a horizontal distance of about

1,500 km along the west coast of

the country. Western Ghats is

regarded as a global biodiversity

hotspot harbouring many endemic

species of flowering plants, fishes,

amphibians, reptiles, birds,

mammals and invertebrates. It

supports population of about 50

million people.

3) UNESCO granted world heritage

site status to Japans 23 Meiji

period (1868-1912) industrial sites

that contributed to its transformation

from feudalism into a successful

modern economy. But South Korea

has opposed this UNESCO

announcement. Why? Korea

opposes Japan as it had forced

thousands of Korean labourers

to work in these sites before and

during the Second World War

Explanation: The industrial sites

associated with Japans Meiji period

are considered as enduring

heritage by Japan as they

contributed immensely in

transforming Japan from feudalism

into a successful modern economy.

But these sites are considered

controversial by Korea because of

the use of an estimated 60,000

Korean labourers by Japanese

authorities forced to work at seven

of the sites during Japans 1910-

1945 colonial rule over the Korean

peninsula. Most forced labourers

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have died, but some survivors are

still seeking compensation from

Japan through the courts. After

UNESCOs announcement and

Korean protests over the

announcement, Japan agreed to

acknowledge that some of these

Meiji sites used Korean forced

labourers after Korea mounted

pressure on it.

4) Who was named as the first

Chief of the Beijing-backed Asian

Infrastructure Investment Bank

(AIIB), which is being established

as an alternative financial entity to

the U.S. and Europe-dominated

banking institutions? Jin Liqun

Explanation: Jin Liqunis is a

former Finance Minister of China

and he was named by China as the

first Chief of the AIIB on 6 July

2015. AIIB is a multilateral

development bank proposed by the

government of China to provide

finance to infrastructure projects in

the Asia region. The bank was

proposed by China in 2013 and

launched at a ceremony in Beijing

in October 2014. The bank has 33

founding members from the Asian

region and 17 founding members

from outside the region. India is one

of the founding members of AIIB

and has second highest stake in it

after China. AIIB is being seen as a

rival to the U.S. and Europe-

dominated banking institutions.

5) Which Indian woman cricketer

made history on 6 July 2015 by

becoming the first Indian and

second in womens ODI history to

complete 5000 runs? Mithali Raj

Explanation: Indian captain Mithali

Raj achieved this distinction as she

scored a stylish 81 runs in the

fourth one day international (ODI) of

the series against New Zealand on

6 July to enable the Indian team to

register a comfortable eight-wicket

victory. In the course of this innings,

Mithali Raj made history. She

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became the second woman

cricketer in history to complete

5000 runs in ODIs after Englands

Charlotte Edwards.

6) American Floyd Mayweather Jr.

was stripped of the welterweight

world title he won after beating

Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao in

May 2015. Why? For failing to

comply with a WBO rule

Explanation: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

missed a deadline by which he had

to pay a $200,000 sanctioning fee

from the fight and vacate the junior

middleweight title he also held.

According to World Boxing

Organization (WBO) constitution, it

is against rules for boxers to hold

world titles in multiple weight

classes and that Mayweather had

to indicate, which weight division he

would retain. He now has two

weeks to launch an appeal.

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July 9, 2015

1) India signed a historic uranium

deal with Kazakhstan on 6 July

2015 during Prime Minister

Narendra Modis state visit of

Kazakhstan. Under the deal, India

will receive how much uranium from

Kazakhstan? 5,000 metric

tonnes

Explanation: Kazakhstan is

Central Asias largest economy and

the worlds largest producer of

uranium. India signed a landmark

uranium supply agreement with

Kazakhstan on 6 July under which it

will get 5,000 metric tonnes of

uranium in the 2015-2019 period.

Between 2010 and 2014,

Kazakhstan supplied India with

2,100 metric tons of uranium.

Kazakhstan produces 38% of the

worlds uranium 22,451 metric

tons in 2013, which is more than

the next three top producers

combined (Canada, Australia, and

Niger). While Kazakhstan is

decidedly rich in nuclear materials,

it has distinguished itself as a firm

proponent of nonproliferation and

peaceful use of civilian nuclear

power. India now has uranium

contracts with Kazakhstan, Russia,

Mongolia, Argentina, and Namibia.

2) Global economy and financial

markets, including India on 8 July

2015 saw new reasons for worry as

the market meltdown in China

reached worrying levels. For the

first time global markets were

affected by continued decline in

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China. What is the main reason for

declining markets in China?

Reduction in demand which has

threatened a huge slowdown in

Chinese economy

Explanation: China has been

witnessing a decline in demand for

almost all commodities for several

quarters. This has resulted in low

production across sectors. Chinas

stock market has lost over $3 trillion

in value in less than a month,

wiping close to 37% off the markets

valuation from the peak of 12 June

2015. The intensity of the loss can

be judged from the fact that it is

nearly twice the market

capitalisation of all stocks traded in

India and more than the Spanish,

Russian, Italian, Swedish and

Dutch stock markets combined.

This decline was till now without a

domino effect across the world,

mainly due to absence of foreign

institutional investors (FIIs) in

China. However, as decline

reaches new levels the global

markets are now bracing for its

impact. The worldwide markets for

the first time were affected by

Chinese decline on 8 July and

global markets witnessed a huge

decline. This was after Chinese

markets tumbled again on 8 July as

a range of government measures

aimed at preventing a further

decline in share prices had no

impact. It is worth mentioning that

the markets had, till now, fixed their

attention towards Greek economy.

But now it became clear that as

market fall in China accelerates the

economic slowdown, other

countries that have not been

affected by Chinas market fall will

be hit. This is mainly due to the fact

that China is the largest consumer

of a number of goods and

commodities in the world.

3) In a first-of-its-kind initiative,

Union Govt. on 8 July 2015

appointed an executive from the

private sector to head a public

sector financial institution. This

appointment was done for the post

of Managing Director and CEO of

National Housing Bank (NHB).

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What is the name of the executive

appointed to head NHB? Sriram

Kalyanaraman

Explanation: NHB is the regulator

of Indias housing finance sector.

Sriram Kalyanaraman became the

first person from the private sector

to head a public sector financial

institution when he was appointed

MD and CEO of NHB. His

appointment is for five years from

the date of taking over the charge.

At present, Kalyanaraman is

Director-Business Development,

Equifax Credit Information Services.

4) The Indian Renewable Energy

Development Agency (IREDA) on 7

July 2015 launched a new loan

scheme for a segment of solar

projects under which loans at the

interest rate of 9.9 to 10.75% will be

provided to the developers. This

scheme was launched for which

solar project segment?

Rooftop Solar photovoltaic (PV)

power projects

Explanation: IREDA is the

government company tasked to

promote renewable energy in the

country. It launched a new loan

scheme in order to promote rooftop

solar photovoltaic (PV) power

projects in the country. The scheme

will provide loans at the interest rate

of 9.9 to 10.75% to the system

aggregators and the developers.

The scheme was launched by

Union Minister of State for Power,

Coal, New & Renewable Energy

Piyush Goyal on 7 July 2015 during

a workshop on Grid Connected

Solar Rooftop. The government is

now planning amendments to the

Electricity Act, 2003, to introduce

renewable generation obligation

along with raising of renewable

power obligation (RPO) in the tariff

policy. On the other hand, the

government is also trying to get $2

billion from World Bank and Asian

Development Bank (ADB) towards

rooftop projects which can be

passed on to the banks to enable

them to finance the projects on soft

rates of interest to the agencies.

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5) Hyderabad-based Turbo Megha

Airways on 7 July 2015 became the

newest aviation company to receive

flying licence from the Directorate

General of Civil Aviation (DGCA),

Indias aviation regulator. Turbo

Megha Airways will soon operate a

regional airline under which brand

name? Trujet

Explanation: Turbo Megha

Airways, which is partially owned by

actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevis

son Ram Charan, would operate a

regional airline under the brand

name Trujet. It has become the

fourth company to receive flying

licence from the DGCA in the past

two years. The new carrier has

already acquired two 72-seater

ATR-72 planes and would induct

three more by January 2016.

6) Who was appointed as the new

Managing Director (MD) and Chief

Financial Officer (CFO) of Sunil

Bharti led-Bharti Enterprises?

Rahul Bhatnagar

Explanation: Rahul Bhatnagar

takes over from Manoj Kohli, who

has assumed the role of Executive

Chairman, SBG Cleantech a JV

between SoftBank, Bharti and

Foxconn for renewable energy. In

his new role, Rahul will build

strategic business value proposition

for Bhartis non-telecom

businesses. His last assignment

was with PepsiCo, where he

worked for over 19 years in various

senior-level positions across

geographies.

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July 10, 2015

1) The 2-day 7th BRICS Summit,

which concluded on 9 July 2015

and featured five of the largest

developing economies of the world,

was held at which city of Russia?

Ufa

Explanation: The 7th edition of

BRICS Summit was held on 8 and 9

July 2015 at Ufa, the capital city of

the Republic of Bashkortostan. It

was the second BRICS Summit

held in Russia after the first-ever

summit held in Yekaterinburg held

in 2009. The Summit comprised the

heads of state of 5 BRICS countries

Dilma Rousseff (Brazil), Vladimir

Putin (Russia), Narendra Modi

(India), Xi Jinping (China) and

Jacob Juma (South Africa). The

theme of the summit was BRICS

Partnership a Powerful Factor of

Global Development. The issues of

common interest in respect of the

international agenda as well as key

priorities in respect of further

strengthening and broadening intra-

BRICS cooperation were the main

agenda of the summit. The summit

concluded with India confirming to

host the 8th BRICS Summit in 2016.

2) Who was named as the first

Chairman of the soon to be opened

Bandhan Bank, which announced

its Board of Directors on 9 July

2015? Ashok K. Lahiri

Explanation: Ashok K. Lahiri, a

former Chief Economic Advisor

(CEA), was named as the first

Chairman of Bandhan Bank.

Chandra Sekhar Ghosh will be the

MD and CEO of the bank. The

other directors on board include B

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Sambamurthy, former CMD of

Corporation Bank; CM Dixit, Sr

Partner at GD Apte & Co;

Krishnamurthy Subramanian,

Associate Prof. at Indian School of

Business; Snehomoy Bhattacharya,

former ED at Axis Bank; Pradip K.

Saha, former CGM at SIDBI; Sisir

Kr Chakrabarti, former Dy MD at

Axis Bank; Bhaskar Sen, former

CMD at UBI and PS Raji Gain,

CGM NABARD. The bank will start

its operations from 23 August 2015

and will be inaugurated by the

President of India, Pranab

Mukherjee.

3) What is the name of the unique

initiative developed by the Ministry

of Human Resource Development

(HRD Ministry) with the objective to

inculcate a spirit of inquiry,

creativity and love for Science and

Mathematics in school children,

which was launched by the former

President Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam on

9 July 2015? Rashtriya

Avishkar Abhiyan

Explanation: Rashtriya Avishkar

Abhiyan (RAA) primarily seeks to

develop a natural sense of passion

towards learning of Science and

Maths in school students of the

country. Under this initiative,

government schools will be

mentored by Institutes like IITs/

IIMs/ IISERs and other Central

Universities and reputed

organisations through innovative

programmes, student exchanges,

demonstrations, student visits, etc

to inculcate a spirit of inquiry

amongst students towards the two

subjects. This is the Phase I of

RAA, while Phase II of RAA will be

launched in January, 2016 for

higher education under which

model science labs will be

established in all districts of the

North Eastern States.

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4) Union Government on 7 July

2015 raised the minimum daily

wage for workers by Rs. 23. This

increase was done after a gap of 2

years. What is the new minimum

wage for workers after this

increase? Rs. 160 per day

Explanation: The decision to

revise upwards the National Floor

Level Minimum Wage (NFLMW)

was taken in view of the increase in

retail inflation for industrial workers.

It has been revised from present

level of Rs. 137 to Rs. 160 per day

and became effective from 1 July

1995. While reviewing the

movement of Consumer Price Index

(Industrial Workers) during April

2014 to March 2015 over April 2012

to March 2013, it was observed that

the average CPI-IW has risen from

215.17 to 250.83. The wage was

last revised to Rs. 137 from Rs. 115

per day effective 1 July 2013.

5) The first officially acknowledged

peace talks between the

Government of Afghanistan and the

Afghani Taliban were held on 7 July

2015. The Govt. of Pakistan hosted

this initiative in a step towards

ending more than 13 years of

bloody civil war in Afghanistan.

These peace talks were held at

which place in Pakistan? Murree

(near Islamabad)

Explanation: The peace initiative

was held in the town of Murree, a

hill resort on the outskirts of

Islamabad. Officials from the US

and China were observers in the

talks, which sought to end more

than 13 years of war in Afghanistan,

in which the Taliban have been

fighting the government. The talks

ended with agreement to continue

peace efforts after the Muslim holy

month of Ramadan. In the past

several months, there have been

informal preliminary talks between

Taliban representatives and Afghan

figures, the talks held on 7 July

were the first official meetings.

6) The Prime Minister of the worlds

fourth smallest nation, which is

under direct threat by rising sea

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levels due to climate change, during

July 2015 appealed for help from

European leaders to stop his

country disappearing from the face

of the Earth. Which country is this?

Tuvalu

Explanation: Tuvalu is a group of

islands in the Pacific Ocean that is

home to just around 10,000 people.

It is the fourth smallest country in

the world and is facing threat of its

extinction from the world as it is no

more than 4 meters above sea level

at its highest level. On 7 July 2015

Enele Spoaga, the Prime Minister

of this country, made an emotional

appeal to leaders of the European

Union to reduce greenhouse gas

emissions to keep global warming

down to 1.5C, which scientists say

is a safer limit than the current goal

of 2C. The Prime Minister was in

Europe to call for action ahead of

the Climate Change Summit in

Paris during December 2015.

Tuvalu is one of several island

chains in the Pacific which are

vulnerable to rising sea levels. In

2009, the president of Maldives, in

Indian Ocean, staged an

underwater meeting of his cabinet

to high the threat countries like his

face from climate change.

7) In an important step, Union

Government on 8 July 2015 allowed

seven state-owned entities to raise

Rs. 40,000 crore in the current

fiscal through tax-free bonds. Which

are the seven PSUs that have been

given the permission? National

Highways Authority of India

(NHAI), Indian Railways Finance

Corporation (IRFC), Housing and

Urban Development Corporation

(HUDCO), Indian Renewable

Energy Development Agency

(IREDA), NTPC, Power Finance

Corporation (PFC) and Rural

Electrification Corporation (REC)

Explanation: The National

Highways Authority of India has

been given the permission to raise

maximum amount of Rs. 24,000

among the 7 PSU entities. IRFC

has been allowed to raise Rs. 6,000

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crore. HUDCO has been allowed to

raise Rs.5,000 crore and IREDA

Rs.2,000 crore. NTPC, PFC and

REC can issue tax-free bonds of

Rs.1,000 crore each. Retail

investors, which include HUFs and

NRIs investing on repatriation

basis, can invest up to Rs.10 lakh in

such bonds. Those investing higher

amount would be classified as

HNIs. The bonds will have a tenure

of 10, 15 or 20 years and the

interest rates is to be decided with

reference to the rates of

Government Securities.

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July 11, 2015

1) History was created on 10 July

2015 when Indian space agency

ISRO launched its heaviest

commercial mission that carried five

satellites on board PSLV-C28 from

the spaceport of Sriharikota (AP).

With the overall mass of five

satellites is about 1,440kg, this

launch became the heaviest

commercial mission ever

undertaken by ISRO. The 5

satellites launched through this

mission belonged to which country?

Britain

Explanation: This was the

30th mission under Polar Satellite

Launch Vehicle (PSLV) series

which now has been a workhorse

for ISRO and its commercial arm

Antrix Corporation. The mission

primarily launched three identical

DMC3 optical earth observation

satellites, built by Surrey Satellite

Technology Limited (SSTL), United

Kingdom. PSLV C28, in addition to

the three DMC3 satellites, also

carried two auxiliary satellites from

UK, CBNT-1, a technology

demonstrator earth observation

micro satellite built by SSTL, and

De-OrbitSail, a technology

demonstrator nano satellite built by

Surrey Space Centre. The five

satellites are being launched as

part of the arrangement entered

into between DMC International

Imaging (DMCii), a wholly owned

subsidiary of SSTL, UK and Antrix

Corporation Limited. These

satellites can image any target on

the Earths surface every day.

Major application areas include

surveying the resources on earth

and its environment, managing

urban infrastructure and monitoring

disasters.

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2) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

on 9 July 2015 allowed mass transit

system (MTS) operators like

Mumbai Metro, Delhi Metro, Indian

Railways, etc. to issue pre-paid

cards to their customer. This is

expected to provide a huge relief to

the commuters who face problems

while purchasing tickets. According

to the related RBI guidelines, what

is the maximum limit of these

proposed prepaid instruments?

Rs. 2,000

Explanation: MTS operators will

now be able to issue pre-paid cards

to their customers. The customers

can easily transfer money to these

cards that can be swiped on

machines instead of standing in

long queues to purchase travel

tickets. RBI guidelines also say that

the balance in the prepaid

instrument issued by the MTS

should not exceed Rs 2,000 at any

point of time. Also, MTS would not

be allowed to refunds cash that is

stocked in the pre-paid instruments

(PPI). These PPIs will have a

minimum validity of six months from

the date of issue. The PPI-MTS will

enhance commuter convenience

and will also facilitate the migration

to electronic payments in line with

the countrys vision of moving to a

less-cash society.

3) India and the United States on 9

July 2015 signed an agreement to

implement Foreign Account Tax

Compliance Act (FATCA) to enable

and facilitate smoother exchange of

tax-related information between the

two countries and fight tax evasion.

This agreement will become

effective from which date? 1

October 2015

Explanation: The

intergovernmental agreement (IGA)

on FATCA was signed by Indian

Revenue Secretary Shaktikanta

Das and the US Ambassador to

India Richard Verma on 9 July

2015. The agreement is a mutual

effort to combat tax evasion and it

is expected to be mutually

beneficial for both the countries.

The agreement would detect,

discourage offshore tax evasion. It

will primarily facilitate smoother

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exchange of tax-related information

between the two countries. The

current reporting period for this

agreement is 1 October 2015 and

would be applicable for cases

pertaining to July-December 2014.

If a financial institution does not

comply with FATCA, it will have to

pay 30% penalty tax on all its US

revenues, including dividend,

interest, fees and sales.

4) What is the name of the online

electronic signature service

launched during July 2015 by

eMudhra Limited which facilitates

holder of an Aadhaar card to

digitally sign a document within

seconds? eSign

Explanation: eMudhra Limited

claimed that its eSign service is the

first electronic sign service in the

country. The service has been

launched to coincide with the

Digital India initiative of the Govt.

of India, which was launched by

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 1

July 2015. eSign service primarily

facilitates an Aadhaar holder to

digitally sign a document almost

instantly through a secure

encrypted facility. The signatures

generated by eSign are legally valid

and secure under the Information

Technology Act, 2000. The firm

which claims to be the first to start

eSign services has also launched

eMlocker, companys digital locker

service. By using eMlocker along

with eSign, one can store

documents such as PAN cards,

Aadhaar cards, electricity bills or

any other documents electronically.

5) Prince Saud al-Faisal of Saudi

Arabia, who passed away on 9 July

2015, was respected worldwide for

his vision and his contribution in

making Saudi Arabia a strong

political power. He looked after

which ministry for his country?

Foreign Ministry

Explanation: Prince Saud al-Faisal

remained Saudi Arabias Foreign

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Minister for 40 long years till April

2015. He was the worlds longest

serving Foreign Minister when he

was replaced by Adel al-Jubeir, the

then ambassador to Washington,

on 29 April 2015. His tenure saw

Israel invade Lebanon in 1978,

1982 and 2006, the eruption of

Palestinian intifadas in 1987 and

2000, Iraqs invasions of Iran in

1980 and Kuwait in 1990, and the

occupation of Iraq by a US-led

coalition in 2003. He was also part

of Saudi Arabias efforts to lessen

Irans influence in the region,

including the continuing conflict in

Syria, where Saudi Arabia has been

supporting several rebel groups.

July 12, 2015

1) Sania Mirza of India created

history on 11 July 2015 when she

won the Wimbledon womens

doubles title with her Swiss partner

Martina Hingis. What history was

made by Sania in this title win?

She became the first female

player from the country to win a

womens doubles Grand Slam

trophy

Explanation: More than a decade

after turning professional, 28-year-

old Sania laid hands on her first

womens doubles major title when

she and Hingis battled past second

seed Russian team of Ekaterina

Makarova and Elena Vesnina 5-7,

7-6(4), 7-5 in a thrilling final. This

was Sanias first womens doubles

title in a Grand Slam tournament.

Sania had come close to winning a

womens doubles Major in 2011

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when she reached the French Open

final with Elena Vesnina but ended

up runners-up.

2) Serena Williams (US) won her

sixth Wimbledon womens singles

title on 11 July 2015. This was her

fourth Grand Slam championship in

a row and 21stGrand Slam title

overall. Whom she defeated in this

final, who had made into her first

Grand Slam final appearance?

Garbine Muguruza (Spain)

Explanation: This was the first-

ever Grand Slam final appearance

for Garbine Muguruza, who had just

one WTA title to her name. She

gave a tough fight to Serena

Williams in the finals before losing

the fight by 6-4, 6-4. The win means

Williams holds all four Grand Slam

titles at once completing the second

Serena Slam of her career.

Whats more, she secured the third

leg of a calendar year Grand Slam

and, if she wins the U.S. Open, will

become the first player to sweep all

four majors in the same season

since Steffi Graf in 1988. At 33,

Williams is also the oldest women

to win a Grand Slam title in the

Open era.

3) The debris of the Indian Coast

Guards Dornier aircraft that went

missing off the Tamil Nadu coast on

8 June 2015 were located on 10

July 2015, some 1,000 metres

under the sea. The search of the

aircraft became possible after first-

of-its-kind of search operation

carried out in India at such depths.

What was the name given to this

search operation? Operation

Talash

Explanation: The Dornier aircraft

CG-791, belonging to the Indian

Coast Guard, was deployed for

surveillance along the Tamil Nadu

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coast and Palk Bay from the Coast

Guard Air Station, Chennai. The

last contact with the aircraft was at

about 9 pm on 8 June 2015 and the

Trichy radar tracked the aircraft

until 10.23 pm at 95 nautical miles

south of Chennai. Operation

Talash was started after the

aircraft was not traced for days on

ATC leads. It included 693 hours of

surface effort and 196 hours of air

effort to pull off the first ever

salvage at such depths. It involved

Indian Naval Submarine

Sindhudhavaj, seven more naval

vessels and aircrafts. INS

Sindhudhavaj, whilst on task for

locating the missing aircraft, picked

up a barrage of transmissions at a

depth of 996 metres on 6 July. This

finally led to the discovery of the

Dornier aircraft on 10 July. Three

Coast Guard officers perished in

this fatal accident Pilot S Vidhya

Sagar, Co-pilot Subash Suresh and

Observer M K Soni.

4) What is the name of the

indigeniously-developed supersonic

surface-to-air missile that was

formally inducted in the Indian Air

Force (IAF) by Defence Minister

Manohar Parrikar on 10 July 2015?

Akash

Explanation: Akash is a potent

supersonic mobile multi-directional,

multi-target point, area air defence

system that can simultaneously

engage multiple air targets using

sophisticated multi-function phased

array radars. It is the outcome of

successful partnership between

DRDL, the nodal lab in DRDO,

along with 13 other DRDO labs, 19

public sector units, 5 ordinance

factories, 3 national laboratories, 6

academic institutions and more

than 265 private industries across

the country. IAF has given an initial

contract for eight squadrons of

Akash defence system. Each

squadron has two firing units with

four launchers. Each launcher has

a capacity to fire three missiles in

quick succession. Akash has

already been deployed by IAF at its

bases in Gwalior, Hashimara,

Tejpur, Jorhat and Pune. The

deployment had started in 2013.

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The missile system can target

aircraft upto 30 km away, at

altitudes upto 18,000 metres. It has

the capability to neutralise aerial

targets like fighter jets, cruise

missiles and air-to-surface missiles.

5) India and Pakistan were given

membership of which international

organisation on 10 July 2015, which

is often seen by Russia as a

counterweight to Western

alliances? Shanghai Cooperation

Organisation (SCO)

Explanation: The membership of

SCO to India and Pakistan was

extended during the 15th Summit

meet of the organisation held on 9-

10 July 2015 at Ufa (Russia).

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation

is political, economic and military

organisation that was founded in

2001 by 6 countries in Shanghai

China, Russia, Kazakhstan,

Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and

Kyrgyzstan. SCO had evolved from

the organisation called Shanghai

Five that was founded in 1996 and

included all the above founding

members except Uzbekistan.

Uzbekistan was included in the

organisation in 2001. With inclusion

of India and Pakistan in SCO, its

total membership reached 8. The

SCO membership for India is

expected to offer greater access to

the energy resources of Central

Asia. India and Pakistan were till

now acting as observer states for

SCO.

6) The first-ever star-studded

auction of Indian football players

was done on 10 July 2015 as part

of the Indian Super League (ISL)

Players Auction. Indian captain

Sunil Chhetri bagged the highest

bid, at Rs. 1.20 crore at the

auctions. He was bought by which

ISL franchisee team? Mumbai

City FC

Explanation: Eugeneson Lyngdoh,

the 28-year-old midfielder, came a

close second by breaking through

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the 1-crore ceiling, winning a bid

price of Rs. 1.05 crore from FC

Pune City. Indian right back Rino

Anto bagged a surprise bid price of

Rs. 90 lakh when he was picked up

by Atletico de Kolkata. The second

season of ISL kicks off on 3

October 2015 with its opening

match to be played between

Chennaiyin FC and Atletico de

Kolkata, winner of the first season

of the ISL, at the Jawaharlal Nehru

Stadium in Chennai.

7) Actor Omar Sharif, best known

for his portrayal of Doctor Zhivago

in the hit 1966 film by the same

name and for his work in Lawrence

of Arabia, passed away on 10 July

2015. He was probably the most

famous actor from the Arabic world

to have found huge fame in

Hollywood. He belonged to which

country? Egypt

Explanation: Omar Sharif was

born as Michel Shalhoub in 1932 to

a wealthy family in Alexandria,

Egypt. He gradually carved a big

name for himself in Egyptian films

and was picked by director David

Lean to play Sherif Ali in the epic

Lawrence of Arabia alongside

OToole, Alec Guinness and

Anthony Quinn. He won an Oscar-

nomination for best supporting actor

for his role in this film. He later

became a huge star in his own right

for his portrayal of the title character

in the film based on Boris

Pasternaks novel Doctor Zhivago.

He was 83.

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July 13, 2015

1) Who became the sixth Indian to

win a Grand Slam junior title after

winning the boys doubles trophy at

the Wimbledon championships on

12 July 2015? Sunil Nagal

Explanation: 17-year-old Nagal

and his eighth seed Vietnamese

partner Nam Hoang Ly overcame

the fourth seeds Reilly Opelka and

Akira Santillan 7-6(4), 6-4 in the title

clash that lasted 63 minutes to

make their place in history books.

Yuki Bhambri was the last Indian to

taste success at the top level in

junior tennis when he won the

Australian Open boys singles title in

2009. Ramanathan Krishnan

(Wimbledon, 1954), Ramesh

Krishnan (French Open and

Wimbledon, 1979) and Leander

Paes (Wimbledon 1990, U.S. Open

1991) are the other junior Grand

Slam singles champions from

India. Sania Mirza had won the

Wimbledon girls doubles title in

2003 with Russian partner Alisa

Kleybanova.

2) Novak Djokovic defeated Roger

Federer by 7-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-3 in the

mens singles final of Wimbledon

2015 on 12 July 2015 to bring to a

disappointing end Federers bid to

become the oldest champion of the

Open Era at the championships.

With this win Djokovic has won how

many singles titles at Wimbledon?

Three

Explanation: World No. 1 Novak

Djokovic (Serbia) has now won

three Wimbledon singles title

2011, 2014 and 2015. With this win,

Djokovic was able to reinforce his

status as the dominant player in the

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game. The only Grand Slam to

elude him is the French Open. On

the other hand, Roger Federer

(Switzerland) will have to return

next year to try and become the first

man to win eight Wimbledon singles

titles, a task for which time is fast

running out. If he had won this final,

this would have been his 18th Grand

Slam title and 8th Wimbledon singles

title, both new records in history of

mens tennis.

3) Indian tennis veteran Leander

Paes won the mixed doubles event

of the Wimbledon Championship

with legendary Martina Hingis on 12

July 2015. This was Paes

.Grand Slam title 16th

Explanation: Seventh seed Indo-

Swiss pair of Paes and Hingis

drubbed the fifth seed Austrian-

Hungarian team of Alexander Peya

and Timea Babos by 6-1 6-1 in the

lop-sided summit clash which was

over in just 40 minutes. It was Paes

eighth mixed doubles title and

second with Hingis. They had won

the Australian Open early this year.

Paes has now won 16 Grand Slam

titles in his illustrious career which

includes eight mens doubles

crowns and similar number of

mixed doubles titles. For Martina

Hingis (Switzerland), it was second

title in as many days, having won

the womens doubles with Sania.

Overall it was 18th major title for her

and third in mixed doubles.

4) Which state during July 2015

became the first state in the country

to initiate state-wide birth defect

surveillance in collaboration with

the World Health Organisation

(WHO) and Centre for Disease

Control (CDC)? Haryana

Explanation: The birth defect

surveillance programme aims at

collecting uniform data and is the

first step in figuring out a primary

prevention for congenital birth

defects. The Govt. of Haryana has

also plans to establish hospital-

based surveillance system to

capture severe congenital

anomalies. It is worth mentioning

that that there were 1.7 million

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children born in India with

congenital birth defect (CBD) and it

accounted for 6% of total births.

5) The foundation stone for an

international Internet gateway was

laid by Union Communication and

IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad at

Tripuras capital Agartala on 11 July

2015. This Internet gateway is

being established in an effort to

create a hassle-free and potent

Internet link for the northeastern

states through Coxs Bazar in

Bangladesh. The Agartala Internet

Gateway would become

. international Internet

gateway in India Third

Explanation: The Internet gateway

being established at Agartala will

become the third international

Internet gateway in India after

Mumbai and Chennai. This gateway

will comprise of the optical fibre

cable (OFC) link between Akhaura

(near Agartala) and Coxs Bazar

(Bangladesh) and is expected to

bring about a big change not only in

the Internet and telecommunication

connectivity in northeast India, but

the other parts of the country by

getting additional Internet

bandwidth. Akhaura is the second

largest trading point and check post

between India and Bangladesh

after Petrapole-Benapole trade

centre and check post along West

Bengal.

6) The passenger bookings for the

Indian Railway declined by how

much during the month of June

2015 as compared to the

corresponding month of last year,

thus raising worries for the Rail

Ministry? 8%

Explanation: According to the

latest data released by the Ministry

of Railway on 12 July 2015, the

Railways has witnessed a negative

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growth of over 8% in the passenger

segment for June 2015 as

compared to the corresponding

period last year. A total of 2235.69

million passengers travelled by

trains in June 2014 which came

down to 2042.04 million in June this

year, a decline of 8.66%. The slide

is more on the suburban section as

1076.41 million passengers

travelled by trains in June this year

against 1222.68 million during the

corresponding period last year, a

decrease of 11.96%. According to

Rail Budget 2015-16, Indian

Railways earning from passenger

traffic was estimated to rise by

16.7% to Rs. 50,175 crore for the