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January 2015 Current Affairs Study Material

INTERNATIONALPalestinians To Join International Criminal CourtPalestine will join the International Criminal Court on 1 April 2015, announed !" Seretary#$eneral %an &i#moon on ' January ()hePalestinians will *e a*le to sue Israel for war rimes, a mo+e the Israeli administration has onsistently opposed for deades(Alon withthe ICC appliation, the !" hief appro+ed other sets of douments, ena*lin Palestine to join 1' international areements,on+entions and treaties(Maithripala Sirisena Elected As Sri Lanka PresidentPallewatte $amaralalae Maithripala -apa Sirisena .Maithiripala Sirisena/ was eleted as new President of Srilana( MithripalaSirisena, ealth Minister in ajapasa o+ernment, won the 2015 Presidential 3letions of Sri 4ana( )he 3letions CommissionerMahinda eshapriya announed the results on 6 January 2015( 7ormer President Mahinda ajapasa from !nited People8s 7reedom

 Alliane ot 9:(' perent and ;pposition andidate Maithripala Samisen from !nited "ational Party ot 51(< perent of the +otes polled

in the Presidential eletions held on = January 2015(Alexis Tsipras Elected As Ne !reece Prime Minister  Ale>is )sipras, leader of the Syri?a anti#austerity party, was eleted as the new Prime Minister of $reee( In $reee, anti#austeritySyri?a party has won eneral eletion(In this eletion Syri?a party has won a*out half the seats in Parliament(Ale>is )sipras, leader ofthe Syri?a anti#austerity party, was sworn in as the new Prime Minister of $reee 2' January 2015(Ser"io Mattarella Elected As Ne President o# Ital$Italy8s parliament has eleted onstitutional ourt jude Serio Mattarella as the ountry8s President on itin platform for nowlede transfer and apaity *uildin, *esides raisin lo*al awareness a*out the importane ofthe Indian ;ean(India To Pro*ide +S% ,- million Line o# Credit To !u$ana .or Road Pro/ectsIndia will pro+ide '0 million dollars 4ine of Credit .4oC/ to $uyana for its road infrastruture projets and passener ferry ser+ie( )hedeision of rantin the 4oC was made *y Prime Minister "arendra Modi durin the *ilateral tals with $uyana President onald (amotar on the sidelines of the 1tensi+e onsultation aross the spetrum of staeholders, inludin state o+ernments,domain e>perts and rele+ant institutions( "I)I Aayo will see to pro+ide a ritial diretional and stratei input into the de+elopmentproess( "I)I Aayo that replaed the '5 year old Plannin Commission will *e headed *y Prime Minister( It will ha+e a o+erninounil omprisin Chief Ministers of all the states and 4t( $o+ernors of !nion )erritories( Apart from this, the "I)I Aayo will also ha+ea @ie#Chairperson and a Chief 3>euti+e ;ffier .fi>ed tenure, in the ran of Seretary to the $o+ernment of India/, who will *eappointed *y the Prime Minister(PM Narendra Modi Releases Coin In (onour O# Jamset/i TataPrime Minister "arendra Modi on ' January released a ommemorati+e oin in honour of Jamsetji )ata, popularly nown as father ofmodern Indian industry, on his 1:5th *irth anni+ersary in "ew elhi(Jamsetji is the first industrialist feliitated *y the Indian o+ernmentin suh a manner(e founded )ata $roup, India8s larest *usiness onlomerate( e was *orn on Marh

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$o+ernor of Jammu and &ashmir " " @ohra( $o+ernor " " @ohra had reommended for President ule in liht of deadlo o+er theformation of the new o+ernment ontinued in Jammu and &ashmir(%ima (asao %istrict O# Assam !ot Its .irst 0road !au"e Raila$ Trackima asao istrit of Assam ot its first *road aue railway tra on 12 January( A oods train with 9< waons reahed the mainrailway station of the ima asao distrit usin this *road aue tra()he train in its first e+er journey o+ered 6= m from Patharhulastation to "ew#aflon station while rossin 6 tunnels, 15 stations, 15 major *rides and 1

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9( r %ettina Sharada %aumer# 4iterature and 3duation# Jammu and &ashmir 5( "aresh %edi# Art# elhi'( Asho %haat# Soial or# Jharhand:( Sanjay 4eela %hansali# Art# Maharashtra=( r 4ashmi "andan %ora# 4iterature and 3duation# Assam6( r $yan Chatur+edi# 4iterature and 3duation# Madhya Pradesh10( Prof .r/ -oesh &umar Chawla# Mediine# Chandiarh11( Jayaumari Chiala# Mediine# elhi12( %i*e e*roy# 4iterature and 3duation# elhi1

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*all less than Sanath Jayasuriya8s 16#year old reord of the fastest ;I half#entury( Jayasuriya sored the fifty in 1: *alls for Sri 4anaaainst Paistan in 1665#6'(Australian Open Tennis Tournament 'inners 1 )-79'omen5s sin"les # Serena illiams of !S won the women8s sinles title of Australian ;pen 2015 on th Australian ;pen sinles title and 16th sinles $rand Slam title( ith this she o+ertoo 1=#time$rand Slam winners Martina "a+ratilo+a and Chris 3+ert( She is now just three titles away from Steffi $raf8s reord of 22 $rand Slamtitles(Men5s Sin"les # "o+a joo+i .Ser*ia/ won the Australian ;pen Men8s sinles title( e defeated %ritain8s Andy Murray in the final on1 7e*ruary(joo+i had earlier won the Australian ;pen titles in 200=, 2011, 2012 and 201pressions a+e e*it Card respeti+ely( )hese ards will ena*le ustomers to mae eletronipayments *y wa+in the ards near a merhant terminal instead of dippin or swipin the ards(India5s !roth To Reach ,=8 percent In )-7,

 Aordin to the !nited "ations orld 3onomi Situation and Prospets .3SP/ 2015 report released on 19 January, India8s rowth interms of $P is e>peted to reah 5(6 per ent in 2015 and '(< per ent in 201'((i"hli"hts o# Report imum num*er of *an aounts in the shortest possi*le time( Altoether, 11(5rore aounts ha+e *een opened under the sheme in less than fi+e months( )he sheme was launhed on 2= Auust 2019 with ataret of :(5 rore till 2' January 2015( )he $uinness authorities offiially handed a ertifiate to !nion finane minister Arun Jaitley inelhi on 20 January 2015( Pradhan Mantri Jan han -ojana is o+ernment8s flaship finanial inlusion proramme that was launhedon 2= Auust 2019 to help people in openin *an aounts(

SCIENCE & TEC(NOLO!3Scientists %isco*ered To Ne Earth6like Planets

)he Sientists at the ar+ard#Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysis ha+e diso+ered two 3arth#lie planets &epler 9

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;rani?ation .IS;/ and also the sientifi ad+isor to the Prime Minister of India in 1661#166:ISITORS+=S= President 0arack O2ama :isited India!(S( President %ara ;*ama +isited India from 25 January to 2: January 2015(As a part of his +isit, he met Prime Minister "arendraModi and held wide#ranin disussions on *ilateral relations as well as on reional and international issues of mutual interest andonern( India and !(S sined se+eral pats durin the offiial +isit of the President of !(S to India( %ara ;*ama , the President of!(S was the Chief $uest of India on the oasion of the epu*li ay parade on 2' January 2015( ;*ama *eame the first !Spresident to *e hief uest at India8s epu*li ay parade( In the +isit, the i+il nulear areement that would allow nulear ontrats to*e sined *etween !(S( firms and India(

E>MISCELLANEO+SMiss Colom2ia Paulina :e"a Croned Miss +ni*erse )-79Miss Colom*ia Paulina @ea was rowned as Miss !ni+erse 2015 at the final of the *eauty paeant held in Miami on 25 January 2015(@ea, a 22#year#old student of *usiness administration from %arranuilla, Colom*ia was rowned *y the 2019 paeant winner@ene?uelan $a*riela Isler(ith this, @ea *eame the seond *eauty ueen from Colom*ia to win the title( 4u? Marina Guluaa *eamethe first Colom*ian to win the rown in 165'(

PLACES IN NE'S?antas Named 'orld5s Sa#est Airline

 Australia8s national airline Lantas was named as the world8s safest airline *y Airlineatins(om on ' January( Lantas, whih is in its65th year of operation, was hailed for an e>traordinary reord of firstsN in terms of its safety history and raned the *est of 996 airlines,inludin low#ost arriers, assessed *y the we*site(

A00RE:IATIONS"C O# "ational esearh and e+elopment CorporationP;)A O# Pre+ention of )errorism AtSA7)A O South Asian 7ree )rade AreementSAI4 O# Steel Authority of India 4imited!"P O# !nited "ations e+elopment Proramme@SSC O @iram Sara*hai Spae Centre

0OO4S IN NE'S:ice President Released @The Indian Parliament 1 A Critical Appraisal)he @ie President of India M(amid Ansari on = January released a *oo entitled )he Indian Parliament E A Critial ApprisalN( )he*oo is authored *y Prof( Sudha Pai and A+inash &umar of Jawaharlal "ehru !ni+ersity, "ew elhi()he *oo e>amines the redi*ilityand leitimay of the Indian Parliament and has srutinised +arious aspets of its funtionin(

COMMITTEESSu2ramanium Committee Recommended Sin"le 'indo S$stem .or En*ironment Pro/ectsIn the month of January 2015, ih#le+el ommittee .4C/ headed *y former Ca*inet Seretary ) S Su*ramanium su*mitted itsreport to !nion $o+ernment( In its reommendation, the ommittee suested sinle window learane mehanism for reen nods()heommittee has suested an um*rella law to help set up new national and state#le+el reulators that would also tae the powers of thee>istin pollution ontrol *oards( )he law E 3n+ironmental Manaement At E would do away with the need for separate Ats to reulateair and water pollution that empower states to i+e the onsent to operate and esta*lish industrial units(

IMPORTANT %A3S AN% %ATESNational 3outh %a$ O2ser*ed Across India on 7) Januar$"ational -outh ay was o*ser+ed aross India on 12 January 2015( )he day is o*ser+ed annually to mar the *irth anni+ersary ofsoial reformer, philosopher and thiner Swami @i+eananda( )his is the 152nd *irth anni+ersary of Swami @i+eananda and his *irthanni+ersary is *ein ele*rated as "ational -outh ay in India sine 16=5()he !nion $o+ernment in 16=9 had delared that 12January, the *irthday of Swami @i+eananda will *e o*ser+ed as the "ational -outh ay(Swami @i+eananda8s letures and writins area soure of inspiration for youth and ha+e moti+ated numerous youth oranisation(is writins deri+e their inspiration from Indianspiritual tradition and the *road outloo of his Master Sri amarishna( All his teahins an *e found in )he Complete ors of Swami@i+eananda, in nine +olumes, pu*lished *y Ad+aita Ashrama, &olata( Swami @i+eananda was *orn on 12 January 1='< as "arendra

"ath atta and rearded as a patrioti saint of India(National !irl Child %a$ O2ser*ed On ); Januar$"ational $irl Child ay is o*ser+ed on 29 January 2015 aross the nation( )his ele*ration was started to offer more supports and newopportunities to the irls in the ountry( It is ele*rated to inrease the awareness amon people a*out all the ineualities faed *y theirl hild in the soiety( )his day is *ein o*ser+ed e+ery year on 29 January sine 200=(

7e*ruary 2015 Current Affairs Study Material

INTERNATIONALBoe 4onstantopoulou Elected As ne President O# !reece$reee Parliament has eleted Goe &onstantopoulou, a mem*er of the left win party Syri?a as its new President on ' 7e*ruary( Shewas eleted after reei+in a reord num*er of 2

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Sri Lanka Parliament Enacts itness Protection LaSri 4anan Parliament has passed the Assistane to and Protetion of @itims of Crime and itnesses %ill on 20 7e*ruary( )his *illaims at protetin the rihts of riminal +itims and witnesses espeially in human rihts aounta*ility(

IN%IA & 'ORL%India and China Jointl$ Launched :isit India 3ear In ChinaIndia and China on 2 7e*ruary jointly launhed the @isit India -ear in China in %eijin( )he initiati+e is aimed at enhanin the flow oftourists from China to India and to strenthen the people to people *ond( China will support the promotion of Indian tourist resoures inits ountry(India Ranked )th On Intellectual Propert$ IndexIndia has *een plaed at 26th ran amon the released *y !(S( Cham*er of Commere8s $lo*al Intelletual Property Center .$IPC/ on 9 7e*ruary( !S has *een plaed at the top in the list and )hailand at lastposition(India Ranked 78, In 'orld Press .reedom Index D'P.I> )-79India was raned 1t 10 years at an estimated in+estment of a*out s 90,000 rore( )he ompany will set upsolar power projet of 5000 M on its own in the ne>t fi+e years( )he Adani $roup will also de+elop solar manufaturin units and

power e+auation systems(%elhi Assem2l$ Elections )-79 Results %eclared)he 3letion Commission of India .3CI/ on 10 7e*ruary delared the results of elhi 4eislati+e Assem*ly 3letions 2015( Aam AadmiParty .AAP/ headed *y soial ati+ist turned politiian Ar+ind &ejriwal with ': seats has emered as the larest party in the house of :0seats( Aam Aadmi Party .AAP/ E on reord ': seats with reord +ote share of 59(2 perent( %haratiya Janata Party .%JP/ E on <seats with +ote share of

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A'AR%S & (ONO+RSEminent Marathi 'riter 0halchandra Nemade Selected .or Jnanpith Aard )-7;3minent Marathi writer %halhandra "emade on ' 7e*ruary was hosen for the Jnanpith Award 2019 *y the Jnanpith Seletion %oard(e is the 9th Marathi writer to reei+e the honour and is the 50th reipient of Jnanpith award(is no+el &osala .Cooon/ pu*lished in16'< was not only instrumental in hanin the dimensions of the Marathi no+el, *ut also the world of Marathi fition was transformedwith its ad+ent(9th Annual !ramm$ Aards)he 5:th Annual $rammy Awards were held on = 7e*ruary at the Staples Center in 4os Aneles, California( In all, =< $rammy Awardswere presented at the funtion( )wo Indians O iy &ej and "eela @aswani O too home a $rammy Award eah( "eela @as+ani won the trophy in the %estChildren8s Al*um ateory for I Am Malala ow ;ne $irl Stood !p 7or 3duation And Chaned )he orld .Malala -ousaf?ai/N( Shehad narrated the audio +ersion of the *oo( ;n the other hand iy &ej8s olla*oration in the al*um inds ;f SamsaraN won the %est"ew Ae Al*um trophy( e had teamed up with South Afrian musiian outer &ellerman for the al*um, whih sym*olises peae andharmony( %e ansen8s al*um Mornin PhaseN won the %est Al*um of the -ear Award while the son Stay ith MeN featurin James "apier,illiam Phillips B Sam Smith won %est Son of the -ear Award and %est eord of the -ear Award(Amart$a Sen 'on John Ma$nard 4e$nes PriHe3onomist and "o*el laureate Amartya Sen has won the newly instituted Charleston#37$ John Maynard &eynes Pri?e 2015 on 107e*ruary(ith this, Professor Sen will reei+e :500 %ritish pounds to ommission a wor of art and will i+e the annual Charleston#37$&eynes 4eture at the Charleston 7esti+al in the !nited &indom( )his year8s leture is sheduled for 2< May 2015 and it will *e on )he3onomi Conseuenes of Austerity(th Annual Academ$ Oscar Aards )-79)he =:th Aademy Awards eremony, presented *y the Aademy of Motion Piture Arts and Sienes .AMPAS/ was held on 2<7e*ruary at the ol*y )heatre in ollywood, 4os Aneles()he Aademy Awards .ommonly referred as ;sars/ were presented intwenty four ateories( )hey are # 0est Actor  E 3ddie edmayne .)he )heory of 3+erythin/( 0est Actress E Julianne Moore .Still Alie/( 0est Supportin" Actor  E J( &( Simmons .hiplash/( 0est Supportin" Actress E Patriia Aruette .%oyhood/(

0est %irector  E Alejandro $( IQRrritu for %irdman or .)he !ne>peted @irtue of Inorane/( 0est Ori"inal Screenpla$ E %irdman or .)he !ne>peted @irtue of Inorane/( 0est Adapted Screenpla$ E )he Imitation $ame( 0est Ori"inal Son" E $lory .Selma/( 0est Ori"inal Score E )he $rand %udapest otel( 0est Production %esi"n # )he $rand %udapest otel( 0est Editin" E hiplash( 0est Cinemato"raph$ E %irdman or .)he !ne>peted @irtue of Inorane/( 0est Sound Editin" E Amerian Sniper( 0est Sound Mixin" E hiplash( 0est .orei"n Lan"ua"e .ilm E Ida .Poland/( 0est %ocumentar$ .eature E Citi?en7our( 0est %ocumentar$ Short Su2/ect E Crisis otline @eterans Press 1( 0est Li*e Action Short .ilm E )he Phone Call( 0est :isual E##ects E Interstellar( 0est Animated .eature .ilm E %i ero '( 0est Animated Short .ilm E 7east(

0est Makeup and (airst$lin" E )he $rand %udapest otel( 0est Costume %esi"n E )he $rand %udapest otel( Most aards E %irdman or .)he !ne>peted @irtue of Inorane/ and )he $rand %udapest otel .%oth reei+ed 9 awards/( Most nominations in th Academ$ Aards E %irdman or .)he !ne>peted @irtue of Inorane/ and )he $rand %udapest otel.*oth 6 nominations/

SPORTS & !AMES89th National !ames)he

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statutory liuidity ratio .S4/ of sheduled ommerial *ans()he %I redued the statutory liuidity ratio .S4/ of sheduledommerial *ans *y 50 *asis points from 22(0 to 21(5 of their net demand and time lia*ilities(ICICI 0ank Launches India5s .irst %i"ital 0ank Pockets)he Industrial Credit and In+estment Corporation of India .ICICI/ %an, has on 10 7e*ruary launhed India8s first diital %an on mo*ilephones, Poets( )his ser+ie will ena*le users to instantly send money to any e#mail id, mo*ile num*er, friends on 7ae*oo and *anaount(Raila$ 0ud"et )-7967,ailway Minister Suresh Pra*hu on 2' 7e*ruary 2015 presented the ailway %udet 2015#1' in the 4o Sa*ha( In his first ailway%udet, Pra*hu outlined a plan to in+est o+er = lah rore rupees o+er 5 years( )he si?e of the Plan %udet has one up *y 52 perentfrom '5:=6 rore rupees in 2019#15 to 100011 rore rupees in 2015#1'()-7967, Raila$ 0ud"et at a !lance DRs in crore> penditure E 1,penditure E 9'5(< )otal 3>penditure E 1,:::(5 e+enue efiit E

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Ser+ie ta> inreased to19 per ent( Apart from CS, 100 ta> e>emption for ontri*ution to Swahh %harat A*hiyan(Ne pro/ects free( Infrastruture de+elopment throuh PPP model will *e re+italised and o+ernment will *ear majority of theris( Atal Inno+ation Mission will *e esta*lished to draw on e>pertise of researhers and entrepreneurs to foster 

sientifi inno+ations( 7or this mission s( 150 rore alloated( 5 ultra#mea power projets eah of 9000M proposed *y $o+ernment%e#encehane %oard of India .S3%I/( !nder SA7A3SI At2002, "%7Cs reistered with the %I ha+in asset si?e of s 500 rore and a*o+e to *e onsidered as finanial institution for mid#orporate *usinesses and fund SM3( 7or ural Infrastruture e+elopment %an, s( 25,000 rore alloated( )o support Miro Irriation Proramme, s( 5,

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e>erise of Stratei 7ore Command of efene .S7C/ and monitored *y efene esearh B e+elopment ;ranisation .;/(Prith+i#II was de+eloped indienously whih is nulear#apa*le and has a strie rane of RESI!NSIPCC Chairman R4 Pachauri Resi"nedr ajendra & Pahauri has stepped down as Chairperson of the Intero+ernmental Panel on Climate Chane .IPCC/ with effet from29 7e*ruary( Pahauri is suspeted to *e in+ol+ed in a se>ual harassment ase with a woman employee of )he 3nery and esouresInstitute .)3I/, the en+ironmental#thin tan that he heads as its iretor $eneral(

C>%EAT(SIndian Sculptor and Artist Mrinalini Mukher/ee %ied

 Alaimed sulptor Mrinalini Muherjee was died on 2 7e*ruary in "ew elhi( She was '5( She was the dauhter of alaimed artists%enode %ehari and 4eela Muherjee( She was *est nown for her sulptures rafted usin notted hemp ropes and ast *ron?es(Mrinalini Muherjee was the first Indian artist whose wor was displayed at the Sydney %iennale in 16='( In 1669, her art sulptureswere displayed in the Museum of Modern Art, ;>ford and later she tra+elled all o+er !nited &indom(

%>:ISITORSSin"apore President Ton$ Tan 4en" 3am :isited IndiaSinapore President )ony )an &en -am +isited India from = E 11 7e*ruary 2015( urin his four day +isit, )ony )an &en -am metPrime Minister "arendra Modi in "ew elhi()he two leaders held wide#ranin disussions on enhanin *ilateral relations, as well as*roadenin ooperation in fihtin terrorism, amon other issues(In their tals, the two leaders deli*erated on strenthenin ofooperation on reional and international issues to raise the partnership to a hiher le+el()hey areed on sharin of e>perienes insiene and tehnoloy, spae and other areas to enhane produti+ity and effiieny as well as *roadenin ooperation in fihtinterrorism(

E>MISCELLANEO+SLok Sa2ha Speaker Sumitra Maha/an Named In LIMCA 0ook o# RecordsIndore MP and 4osa*ha speaer Sumitra Mahajan8s name was inluded in the 4IMCA *oo of reords in the month of 7e*ruary 2015(er name was inluded for *ein the only woman of the ountry to represent the same 4o Sa*ha onstitueny on the same party tietfor eiht times in a row( As a leader of %haratiya Janata Party .%JP/, she represents the Indore onstitueny of 4o Sa*ha in MadhyaPradesh( 7or the first time she was eleted to the 4o Sa*ha in 16=6( Sine then she has *een re#eleted to the 4o Sa*ha in 1661,166', 166=, 1666, 2009, 2006 and finally to the 1'th 4o Sa*ha on 1= May 2019(She was unanimously eleted as Speaer of 1'th 4oSa*ha on ' June 2019(

PLACES IN NE'S.our Ne .ish Species %isco*ered In 4erala7our new fish speies named Puntius nelsoni, Puntius nironotus, Systomus hryseus and Systomus rufus ha+e *een diso+ered in&erala( )hey were diso+ered *y Mathews Plamoottil, a ?ooloy professor at %a*y John Memorial $o+ernment Collee in &ollam(

A00RE:IATIONS1/ ICICI E Industrial Credit and In+estment Corporation of India2/ SI7) E Soiety for orldwide Inter*an 7inanial )eleommuniation

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promote linuisti and ultural oodwill amon di+ersity( It aims to fosters unity amon +arious nations( As it promotes the preser+ationand protetion of all lanuaes used *y people all o+er the world()he year 2015 is the 15th anni+ersary of International Mother4anuae ay( International Mother 4anuae ay was prolaimed *y the $eneral Conferene of the !nited "ations 3duational,Sientifi and Cultural ;rani?ation .!"3SC;/ in "o+em*er 1666( )he day, 7e*ruary 21, represents the date in 1652 when studentsfrom %anladesh demonstratin for reonition of their lanuae, %anla, as one of the two national lanuaes of the then Paistan,were shot and illed *y polie in haa, the apital of what is now %anladesh('orld Cancer %a$ as O2ser*ed Across The 'orldorld Caner ay .C/ 2015 was o*ser+ed aross the world on 9 7e*ruary 2015()he taline for the C 2015 was "ot *eyond !s()he taline sinified that solutions do e>ist aross the ontinuum of aner, and that they are within our reah()he C 2015 e>ploredhow we an implement what we already now in the areas of pre+ention, early detetion, treatment and are so as to impat the lo*alaner *urden for the *etter(

Marh 2015 Current Affairs Study Material

INTERNATIONALChina Appro*es Ne Nuclear Reactors In Industr$ Re*i*alChina is re+i+in rowth of its nulear power industry with appro+al of its first new projet sine Japan8s 2011 7uushima disaster( )heCa*inet8s plannin aeny on 11 Marh appro+ed onstrution of two additional reators at a power plant in the northeastern pro+ineof 4iaonin(China is the world8s *iest enery onsumer and nulear power plays a ey role in o+ernment plans to ur* surindemand for imported oil and as(North 4orea and Russia %eclared )-79 as .riendship 3ear "orth &orea and ussia will mar 2015 as a year of friendship and step up *ilateral e>hanes in politial, eonomi and ulturalsetors(N)he emorati People8s epu*li of &orea and the ussian 7ederation deided to mae 2015, in whih falls the :0thanni+ersaries of &orea8s li*eration and the +itory in the reat Patrioti ar in ussia, as a year of friendship *etween the two ountries(Japan and .rance Si"ned %e#ence A"reementJapan and 7rane on 1< Marh sined a arrment on military euipment and tehnoloy transfers , in a mo+e to dri+e ooperation and

 joint de+elopment of defene ear, as Prime Minister Shin?o A*e strenthens seurity ties with major powers(Muhammadu 0uhari Elected As Ni"erian President7ormer military ruler Muhammadu %uhari was eleted as the president of "ieria on th straiht year to a reord '9(9 *illion( )he top fi+e importers in2019 were Saudi Ara*ia, India, China, !A3 and )aiwan(India and Se$chelles Si"ned .our A"reementsIndia on 11 Marh sined four areements with the Indian ;ean island nation to *oost seurity and maritime partnership( )hey weresined in the fields of renewa*le enery, hydro raphi sur+ey, eletronis na+iation and infrastruture de+elopment at the island ofSeyhelles()hese areements and Mo!8s were sined *y Seretary .est/ "a+tej Sarna from Indian side in the presene of PrimeMinister "arendra Modi and President of Seyhelles James Ali> Mihel(

India and Sri Lanka Si"ned .our A"reementsIndia and Sri 4ana on 1< Marh sined four areements to ement ooperation *etween the two neih*ours, inludin a ustoms patto *alane trade, a redit line of more than Amendment 0illG )-79Parliament has passed Mines and Minerals .e+elopment and eulation/ Amendment %ill, 2015( )he *ill was first passed in ajyaSa*ha and later in 4o Sa*ha on 20 Marh 2015()he %ill was passed in ajya Sa*ha after the !nion o+ernment had aepted thereommendations of the Selet Committee( )he amendments in the *ill were made in the *ill passed *y 4o Sa*ha on 9 Marh 2015(Itsees to amend the Mines and Minerals .eulation and e+elopment/ At, 165: and replae the ordinane promulated in January2015(

STATES

http://currentaffairs.freejobalert.com/march-2015-current-affairs-study-material/9657/http://currentaffairs.freejobalert.com/march-2015-current-affairs-study-material/9657/

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F Aapki 0eti (umari 0eti F Scheme Launched In (ar$anaaryana hief minister Manohar 4al &hattar on = Marh launhed a sheme for irl hild E DAapi %eti umari %eti8 E with an aim toom*at the pro*lem of delinin hild se> ratio in the state( )he sheme will o+er first#*orn irl hild of Sheduled Caste .SC/ and%elow Po+erty 4ine .%P4/ families and all seond irl hild *orn on or after 22nd January 2015 of all families in the state(Maharashtra !o*ernment Launched 0ha"$ashree SchemeMaharashtra $o+ernment has launhed D%hayashree Sheme8 for irl hild from %elow Po+erty 4ine .%P4/ families, on = Marh(8%hayashree Sheme8 has replaed the state o+ernment8s pre+ious DSuanya Sheme8( %ollywood atress %hayashree is the *randam*assador of the sheme( )he %hayashree sheme aims at pro+idin one lah rupee on maturity after the irl ompletes 1= years ofae(Assam !o*t Launched @Momai Tamuli 0ar2aruah 4rishak 0ondhu Scheme

 Assam o+ernment has on 15 Marh launhed the Momai )amuli %ar*aruah &risha %ondhu ShemeN to inrease ariulturalprodution( !nder the proramme DMomai )amuli %ar*aruah &risha %ondhu Sheme8, failities and assistane will *e pro+ided fordou*le roppin in all the rop areas whih ha+e so far *een utilised for sinle roppin only(!u/arat Le"islati*e Assem2l$ Passes Anti6Terror 0ill

)he $ujarat 4eislati+e Assem*ly on plorin theontours of 21st entury terrorism and sharin the Counter#)errorism e>pertise( Some of the su*#themes on whih the onferenefoused inlude 2'H11 Mum*ai )error Atta, )ali*anisation of Af#Pa reion, "ew Caliphate in est Asia, Maritime )errorism andPiray, Chemial, %ioloial, adioloial and "ulear .C%"/ )errorism and Cy*er and Spae terrorism(

A'AR%S & (ONO+RSNami2ian President (i#ikepun$e Poham2a 'on Mo I2rahim PriHeifiepunye Poham*a, outoin "ami*ian President, on 2 Marh won the Mo I*rahim pri?e for ahie+ement in Afrian leadership foryear 2019(Poham*a ser+ed as "ami*ian President two terms( 7or first time he was eleted in 2009 and aain in 2006( )he award isnamed after Mo I*rahim, a %ritish#Sudanese mo*ile ommuniations entrepreneur and philanthropist, who had made *illions of fortunefrom in+estin in Afria(:eerappa Moil$ Selected .or Sarasati Samman )-7;7ormer !nion minister and senior Conress leader M @eerappa Moily was on 6 Marh seleted for the prestiious Saraswati Sammanfor 2019 for his famous &annada poem Damayana Mahan+eshanam8( i+ided into fi+e +olumes, amayana Mahan+eshanam was firstpu*lished in 200: in &annada( 4ater the poem was translated into 3nlish, indi, )eluu and )amil(Acti*ist Ra/endra Sin"h 'on Stockholm 'ater PriHe 1 )-79ajendra Sinh, an eminent en+ironment ati+ist, has *een onferred the prestiious Stoholm ater Pri?e 2015 for his inno+ati+ewater restoration efforts and e>traordinary ourae to empower ommunities in Indian +illaes( e is popularly nown as ater Man ofIndia(Shashi 4apoor Selected .or F%adasahe2 Phalke Aard )-7; @eteran ator and film produer Shashi &apoor has *een named for the prestiious ada Sahe* Phale Award 2019( e is the 9'thwinner of the honour, onferred *y the o+ernment for outstandin ontri*ution to the rowth and de+elopment of Indian Cinema( )he

2019 adasahe* Phale award to Shashi &apoor made him the third mem*er of &apoor family to reei+e the award after Prith+iraj&apoor and aj &apoor(,)nd National .ilm Aards )-7;)he '2nd "ational 7ilm Awards for year 2019 was announed on 29 Marh 2015( Court direted *y Chaitanya )amhane was seletedas the %est feature film( Mary &om .indi/ direted *y ;mun &umar was seleted as the %est Popular film pro+idin wholesomeentertainment( )he '2nd "ational 7ilm Awards in the +arious ateories are as follows# 0est Actor  E @ijay for "anu A+analla A+alu .&annada/( 0est Actress E &anana anaut for Lueen .indi/( 0est %irection #Srijit Muherji, iretor of Chotushone .%enali/( 0est (indi .ilm E Lueen 0est Children5s .ilm # &aaaa Muttai .)amil/ and 3li?a*eth 3adashi .Marathi/( Indira !andhi Aard #or 0est %e2ut .ilm o# a %irector   E Aditya @iram Senupta for Asha Jaoar Majhe .%enali/( Nar"is %utt Aard #or 0est .eature .ilm on National Inte"ration E Chotoder Cho*i .%enali/ direted *y &aushi $anuly(

SPORTS & !AMES4arnataka 'on Ran/i Troph$ )-79

&arnataa on 12 Marh won their eihth anji )rophy title of riet( In the title lash played at the anhede stadium in Mum*ai,&arnataa defeated )amil "adu *y an innins and 21: runs( &arnataa defeated )amil "adu *y an innins and 21: runs in the final dayof math played at the anhede stadium in Mum*ai()he man of the math was &arnataa8s &arun "air who had sored

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R0I reduced Repo Rate 0$ )9 0asis Points To =9 percent)he eser+e %an of India .%I/ on 9 Marh redued the repo rate *y 25 *asis points to :(5 perent with immediate effet( )his is theseond time sine January 2015 that %I redued the repo rate *y 25 *asis points( ith this, the re+erse repo rate under the 4A7stands adjusted to '(5 perent, and the marinal standin faility .MS7/ rate and the %an rate to =(5 perent(India5s 0illionaires To Rise 7-; 0$ )-);

 Aordin to the latest &niht 7ran ealth eport, as of 2019,ealth reation in India is liely to aelerate sinifiantly with thenum*er of ultra#wealthy indi+iduals e>peted to dou*le to ploration .SpaeT/ )ehnoloies roet from Cape Cana+eral Air 7ore Station, !nited States on 1 Marh( )he roet was arryin two all#eletri ommerial satellites *uilt *y %oein( )he satellites areowned *y the 7renh satellite pro+ider 3utelsat and Asia %roadast Satellite .A%S/(NASA5s %an Spacecra#t Completed Its Or2it Around %ar# Planet Ceres"ASA8s awn spae pro*e has on ' Marh ompleted its or*it around dwarf planet Ceres whih is the larest o*jet in the SolarSystem *etween Mars and Jupiter( ith the ompletion of or*it, awn pro*e has *eome first spaeraft to +isit dwarf planet( awn has

taen :(5 years to reah the or*it of Ceres(F Solar Impulse 1 ) 0e"ins Its Journe$ Around the 'orldD Solar Impulse E 2K, a solar#powered airplane, started its histori tend 1,500 ms from its *oundaries( It will pro+ide aurateposition information to users in India( %asially it will pro+ide two inds of ser+ies, Standard Positionin Ser+ies, whih is a+aila*le toall users, and an enrypted ser+ie that is pro+ided only to authori?ed users(

PERSONS IN NE'SA> APPOINTMENTSJa"mohan %almi$a Elected as 0CCI presidentamohan almiya was unanimously eleted as the President of the %oard of Control for Criet in India .%CCI/ at Annual $eneralmeetin held in Chennai on 2 Marh(almiya had ser+ed %CCI as its President *etween 2001 and 2009( e also ser+ed as thePresident of International Criet Counil .ICC/ *etween 166: and 2000(:enkatraman Ramakrishnan Named as President o# 0ritain5s Ro$al Societ$"o*el laureate Sir @enatraman amarishnan on 1= Marh was named as the President of %ritain8s prestiious oyal Soiety, aommunion of the many of the world8s most distinuished sientists( amarishnan, who will tae up the post on the 1 eem*er 2015,will sueed enetiist Sir Paul "urse, also a "o*el 4aureate(

0>RESI!NS+nion Minister %adarao %an*e Resi"ns!nion Minister Minister of State .MoS/ for Consumer Affairs, 7ood and Pu*li istri*ution aosahe* adarao an+e on 5 Marhresined from the offie( aosahe* an+e resined from the !nion Counil of Ministers followin the %haratiya Janta Party .%JPs/one#man, one#post priniple after he was appointed President of Maharashtra in January 2015( e too o+er as Maharashtra %JP

president after e+endra 7adna+is *eame the Chief Minister state who had led the party to power in ;to*er 2019 Assem*lyeletions(

C>%EAT(SSenior Journalist :inod Mehta %iedSenior journalist and former editor of ;utloo, @inod Mehta died on = Marh in "ew elhi( e was :

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PLACES IN NE'S'orld5s Lar"est and Tallest Indian .la" +n#urled In .arida2adorld8s larest and tallest Indian national fla was unfurled on < Marh 2015 at )own Par in 7arida*ad, aryana(It was unfurled *y%hartiya Janta Party President Amit Shah()he fla has dimension of 6' feet *y '9 feet and weihs 9= ilorams( 7la was hoisted atthe heiht of 250 feet .:5 meters/( )hus, main it the world8s larest and the hihest hoisted Indian fla in the world(

A00RE:IATIONS"A%A O# "ational %an for Ariultural and ural e+elopment%CCI O %oard of Control for Criet in India3P7; O 3mployees8 Pro+ident 7und ;rani?ation!"IC37 O !nited "ations Children8s 7und

"S3 O "ational Sto 3>hane

0OO4S IN NE'SThe Modi E##ect Authored 2$ Lance Price%oo titled )he Modi 3ffet Inside "arendra Modi8s Campain to )ransform IndiaN written *y 4ane Prie, former media ad+isor to thethen %ritish Prime Minister )ony %lair()he *oo was pu*lished in the month of Marh 2015 in India *y ahette( )he *oo is *ased onthe author8s inter+iews with the prime minister, his Ca*inet olleaues lie Piyush $oyal, Praash Ja+adear and Smriti Irani and histeam of ad+isers and analysts(

COMMITTEESA/a$ Shankar Committee Constituted To Re*ie The Existin" PPP Cell In Raila$ 0oard)he Ministry of ailways appointed Ajay Shanar ommittee on 25 Marh to re+iew the performane of the Pu*li Pri+ate Partnership.PPP/ ell funtionin under the ailway %oard(Ajay Shanar is a former Seretary, epartment of Industrial Poliy and Promotion.IPP/ under !nion Ministry of Commere and Industry(

IMPORTANT %A3S AN% %ATES'orld Tu2erculosis %a$ as O2ser*ed On ); Marchorld )u*erulosis ay 2015 was lo*ally o*ser+ed on 29 Marh 2015( )he theme for the year 2015 is ontinuation of the 2019 themeeah the < Million( )he main su*#theme and messae for the year 2015 is eah, )reat, Cure 3+eryone( )he orld )u*erulosis ayis annually ele*rated on 29 Marh to ommemorate the day on whih r( o*ert &oh diso+ered the ause of tu*erulosis, the )%*aillus in 1==2( )he day aims to *uild pu*li awareness a*out the lo*al epidemi of tu*erulosis .)%/ and efforts to eliminate thedisease('orld 'ater %a$ )-79orld ater ay 2015 was lo*ally o*ser+ed on 22 Marh 2015 with the theme ater and Sustaina*le e+elopment( )he theme forthe 2015 tals a*out how water lins to all areas we need to onsider reatin the future we want( orld ater ay is ele*ratede+ery year to mae a differene for the mem*ers of the lo*al population who suffer from water related issues( It8s a day to prepare forhow we manae water in the future(

 April 2015 Current Affairs Study Material

INTERNATIONALIran and P97 Reached (istoric Nuclear %ealIran, the P5U1 and the 3uropean !nion .3!/ on 2 April oneded on a framewor areement alled as Joint Comprehensi+e Plan of

 Ation .JCP;A/ intended to stop Iran from de+elopin nulear weapons( )he areement was reahed at 4ausanne8s %eau#i+aePalae hotel in Swit?erland( )he informal framewor areement will *e used as the *asis for e+ol+in the final draft of JCP;A *y tends his 25#year rule( ;mar faes war rimes hares and is wanted *y the International Criminal Court( e is in powersine 16=6( In this eletion ;mar8s "ational Conress Party ."CP/ also won

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fifth *iest produer of e#waste in the world, disardin 1(: million tonnes .Mt/ of eletroni and eletrial euipment in 2019(Indiaame in fifth, *ehind the !S, China, Japan and $ermany(

NATIONALPM Narendra Modi Launched India5s .irst National Air ?ualit$ Index)he "ational Air Luality Inde> ."ALI/ was launhed for the first time in India *y Prime Minister "arendra Modi on ' April 2015 primarilyfor assessin the uality of air in major ur*an entres aross the ountry on a real#time *asis( )his "ational Air Luality Inde> will pro+ideinformation on the uality of air in 10 major ities in the ountry on a real#time *asis()he ten ities where the uality of air an *emonitored are elhi, Ara, &anpur, 4unow, @aranasi, 7arida*ad, Ahmeda*ad, Chennai, %analore and Ahmeda*ad(+nion !o*ernment Noti#ied NJAC )-7;)he !nion $o+ernment on 1< April 2015 notified the "ational Judiial Appointments Commission ."JAC/ At, 2019 and the Constitution."inety#ninth Amendment/ At, 2019( )he "JAC At and 66th Amendment At were notified in e>erise of the powers onferred *y su*#setion .2/ of setion 1 of the At( ith this new law the olleium system to appoint mem*ers to the hiher judiiary has ome to anend( "ow President will appoint judes in the Supreme Court .SC/ and 29 ih Courts .Cs/ in onsultation with the "JAC(M(A renames :isa On Arri*al Scheme To E6Tourist :isa!nion Ministry of ome Affairs .MA/ on 19 April deided to rename )ourist @isa on Arri+al#3letroni )ra+el Authori?ation .)@oA#3)A/sheme as e#)ourist @isa .e)@/ sheme(Ra/$a Sa2ha Passed Trans"enders Ri"hts 0ill)he ajya Sa*ha on 29 April passed a *ill that sees eual rihts for the transenders()he ihts of )ransender Persons %ill 2019Nwas introdued *y M& MP )iruhi Si+a( It was the first pri+ate mem*er8s *ill to *e passed *y the !pper ouse in 95 years( )he lasttime the 4o Sa*ha passed a pri+ate mem*er8s *ill was in 16:0( In the ajya Sa*ha a pri+ate mem*er8s *ill was passed in 16'6(Raila$s Launches Mo2ile App #or Paperless Ticketin" o# +nreser*ed Cate"or$)he ailway Ministry has launhed Dutsonmo*ile8, a mo*ile appliation for paperless unreser+ed tiets( )he appliation ser+ie waslaunhed *y !nion ailway Minister Suresh Pra*hu on 22 April in "ew elhi( )his appliation will allow its passener to *uy a tiet onthe mo+e and to *oard the train with the tiet seured on his mo*ile phone in diital format, without any need for printin the tiet(Initially, it has *een launhed as a pilot projet and o+er 15 stations in Southern ailway( 4ater on it will *e e>tended to entire ountryin phases(

STATES!u/arat Launched Industrial Tourism To Shocase %e*elopment$ujarat o+ernment has on 12 April launhed industrial tourism paae to promote its de+elopment *y showasin its major industrialinstallations whih ha+e earned lo*al alaim for state( It is a first of its ind initiati+e India, offered *y )ourism Corporation of $ujarat4td .)C$4/ in olla*oration with Ahmeda*ad *ased Ashar )ra+els P+t 4td( )he tour paae is alled as Industrial )our of $ujarat willo+er some of the major industrial attrations of the state(Indian Arm$ Conducts Akraman1II %e#ense Exercise In Ra/asthanIndian Army on 2' April onduted a major e>erise DAraman#II8 in ajasthan( )he e>erise was onduted *y the Cheta Corps, a partof South estern Command *ased in %hatinda, Punja*( )he e>erise aimed to test a new eneration of weaponry and platforms whihare employed in the desert reion to pro+ide Dreal time *attle and situational awareness8 to its ommanders(4erala !o*t Launched Su2odham Pro/ect To End LiKuor A2useState $o+ernment of &erala on 16 April 2015 launhed Su*odham projet, to help people in the state to o+erome addition toliuor()he projet was launhed *y Chief Minister ;ommen Chandy and Art of 4i+in 7oundation founder Sri Sri a+ishanar in &ohi(0(EL commissioned ,-- M' thermal +nit In Chhattis"arhState#owned power euipment#maer %harat ea+y 3letrials 4imited .%34/ on 1< April ommissioned a '00 M thermal unit atha*ra in Janjir Champa istrit of Chhattisarh for the aini %hasar Power 4imited()his is the seond unit of 2 V '00 M powerprojet, ommissioned *y %34( )he first '00 M !nit was ommissioned in 2019(

CON.ERENCES9th SAARC (ealth Ministers Meetin" (eld In Ne %elhi)he 5th meetin of South Asian Assoiation for eional Cooperation .SAAC/ ealth Ministers was held on = April 2015 in "ew elhi()he meet ended with the adoption of elhi elaration on Pu*li ealth Challenes()he delaration fouses on issues ommon tomem*er nations of South Asia Assoiation for eional Cooperation .SAAC/(

A'AR%S & (ONO+RSSu2adhra %e*i Named .or )-79 International Achie*ement Aardr Su*adhra e+i ai, an Indian#oriin Sinaporean nurse, on 2 April 2015 was named for the 2015 International Ahie+ement Award*y the 7lorene "ihtinale International 7oundation .7"I7/ of the International Counil of "urses(Adonis 'on )-79 4umaran Asan 'orld PriHe .or Poetr$Paris# *ased Syrian#4e*anese Ara* poet Adonis has *een hosen for 2015 &umaran Asan orld Pri?e for poetry, instituted *y the&umaran Asan Memorial Assoiation to honour poets of international stature and introdue them to Indian readers( Adonis was *orn as

 Ali Ahmad Said 3s*er in estern Syria in 16emplary leadership( Champions of Chane honour is i+en to those whosupport worin families and help mae hane in their ompanies or ommunities(

SPORTS & !AMESMari$a MuH$chuk 'on 'omen5s 'orld Chess Championshiporld omen Chess Championship 2015 was won *y Mariya Mu?yhu of !raine( She defeated ussian "atalija Poonina *y 2(5 to1(5 points in the four#ame final(Indian $randmaster rona+alli aria on ' April 2015 won %ron?e medal alon with Swedish$randmaster Pia Cramlin in the orld omen8s hess hampionships held at Sohi, ussia(Sri Lanka5s 4umar San"akkara Named 'isden Cricketer o# the 3ear #or )-7;Sri 4ana reat &umar Sanaara has *een honoured with the Crieter of the -ear in the 2015 edition of the prestiious isden

Crieters8 Almana on = April( e has *eome only the seond rieter after India8s @irender Sehwa to *e *estowed with the awardtwie(Ne Bealand 'on Sultan AHlan Shah (ocke$ Tournament )-79"ew Gealand won the Sultan A?lan Shah Cup men8s oey )ournament title on 12 April(In the final lash played at the Sultan A?lanShah Stadium in Ipoh, Malaysia, "ew Gealand defeated orld Champions Australia

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%/oko*ic 'on Laureus 'orld Sportsman O# The 3ear )-79 Aard)he 4aureus orld Sports Awards for the year 2015 were i+en in se+en ateories on 15 April at Shanhai in China( Ae tennis star"o+a joo+i of Ser*ia and sprinter $en?e*e i*a*a of 3thiopia were named as the 4aureus orld Sportsman and Sportswoman ofthe 2015 respeti+ely(No*ak %/oko*ic 'on Monte Carlo Masters Title"o+a joo+i of Ser*ia won the Monte#Carlo Masters title of )ennis on 20 April( e defeated %erdyh of C?eh epu*li in the men8ssinles final( It was his seond Monte#Carlo Masters title of )ennis( ith this win, joo+i also *eame the first player to sweep theopenin three A)P orld )our Masters 1000 e+ents of a season( )he pre+ious two titles were won at Indian ells and Miami(

ECONOM3+nion !o*ernment +n*eiled ne .TP!nion Minister of Commere B Industry on 2 April un+eiled 7orein )rade Poliy .7)P/ 2015#2020( )he new trade poliy will inorporateo+ernment am*itious initiati+es suh as Mae in India, iital India mission, Sill India proramme, ease of *usiness in order to *oost

 jo*s and tae India8s e>ports to 600 *illion dollars *y 2020( In the new poliy 7)P2015#20, two new shemes Merhandise 3>ports7rom India Sheme .M3IS/ and Ser+ies 3>ports 7rom India Sheme .S3IS/ were introdued(Prime Minister Narendra Modi Launched M+%RA 0ankPrime Minister "arendra Modi on = April launhed the Miro !nits e+elopment and efinane Aeny 4td( .M!A/ %an in "ewelhi()he *an will pro+ide redit of up to 10 lah rupees to small entrepreneurs and at as a reulator for Miro#7inane Institutions.M7Is/( )he Pradhan Mantri M!A -ojana will *e the main support system for the *an and will *e the part of Small Industriese+elopment %an of India .SI%I/( M!A %an has *een started with an initial orpus of s( 20,000 rore( Apart from this, s( RESI!NSICC president Musta#a 4amal Resi"nedInternational Criet Counil .ICC/ President A((M( Mustafa &amal resined from his post on 1 April(Mustafa &amal is a %anladeshipolitiian and riet offiial( Apart from *ein the President of the %anladesh Criet %oard .%C%/, he was also funtionin as thePresident of ICC sine 2019( e resined from this post as he was apparently hurt at not *ein i+en the opportunity to hand out theorld Cup trophy to hampions Australia(

C>%EAT(SNo2el Laureate !erman No*elist !unter !rass %ied$erman "o*el laureate no+elist $uenter $rass was died on 1< April in 4ue*e, $ermany( e was =:( e was a no+elist, poet,playwriht, illustrator, raphi artist, sulptor and reipient of the 1666 "o*el Pri?e in 4iterature( is writins mainly foused on the "a?iera, the horrors of the war and the destrution and uilt that remained after defeat of $ermany(

%>:ISITORSIndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi :isited .rancePrime Minister "arendra Modi +isited 7rane from 6#11 April 2015( urin the +isit, "arendra Modi met with 7renh President 7ranoisollande and had tals with *usiness leaders of selet 7renh ompanies in defene and infrastruture setors( India and 7ranesined 1: areements in +arious fields()hese inluded deals on afale fihter jets, Jaitapur nulear reator, renewa*le soures ofenery, railways, smart ity and se+eral others( Amon other areements sined *etween India and 7rane , an important areementwas stru on *oth the ountries proeedin forward on the stalled nulear projet in Jaitapur in Maharashtra("arendra Modi +isited the

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C"3S ."ational Centre for Spae Studies/ and the Air*us A MISCELLANEO+SMinor Planet Named as F;98 :ish$anand5Mihael udeno, a ommittee mem*er of the Minor Planet Center on 1 April offiially named a minor planet as 95pert ommittee under the hairmanship of Ajay Shanar tosuest simplified ompliane for esta*lishin new industries( e is a former Seretary to the epartment of Industrial Poliy andPromotion .IPP/( )he 3>pert Committee has *een onstituted for e>aminin the possi*ility of replain multiple prior permissions withpre#e>istin reulatory mehanism and to prepare draft leislation for this purpose(

IMPORTANT %A3S AN% %ATES'orld Malaria %a$ O2ser*ed Across The 'orldorld Malaria ay .M/ was o*ser+ed on 25 April 2015 aross the world( )he day was o*ser+ed to hihliht the need for ontinued

in+estment and sustained politial ommitment for malaria pre+ention and ontrol()he day is o*ser+ed to reonise the lo*al efforts toontrol malaria( It is an oasion to hihliht the need for ontinued in+estment and sustained politial ommitment for malaria ontroland elimination(orld Malaria ay was instituted *y orld ealth ;rani?ation .;/ Mem*er States durin the 200: orld ealth

 Assem*ly(;n the oasion of the 2015 orld Malaria ay .M/, ; alled on the lo*al health ommunity to urently addresssinifiant aps in the pre+ention, dianosis and treatment of malaria('orld 0ook and Cop$ri"ht %a$ as Cele2rated On )8 April )-79!nited "ations .!"/ o*ser+ed orld %oo and Copyriht ay aross the world on 2< April 2015( )he day is an opportunity to reonisethe power of *oos to hane our li+es for the *etter and to support *oos and those who produe them( 7or the year 2015, !"3SC;desinated Inheon, South &orea as the orld %oo Capital 2015 in reonition of its proramme to promote readin amon peopleand underpri+ileed setions of the population( orld %oo ay was ele*rated for the first time on 2< April 1665( )he day is alsonown as International ay of the %oo or orld %oo ays and is oranised *y the !nited "ations 3duational, Sientifi and Cultural;rani?ation .!"3SC;/ to promote readin, pu*lishin and opyriht( In 1665, !"3SC; deided that the orld %oo and Copyrihtay would *e ele*rated on 2< April, as the date is also the anni+ersary of the death of illiam Shaespeare and Ina $arilaso de la@ea, as well as that of the *irth or death of se+eral other prominent authors(

May 2015 Current Affairs Study MaterialINTERNATIONALSouth 4orea and :ietnam Si"ned .ree Trade A"reement@ietnam and South &orea on 5 sined a *ilateral free trade areement in the @ietnamese apital of anoi, onludin the ountries8two#year tals( )he deal, whih was initiated a month *a, will ena*le the trade *etween the two nations to reah :0 *illion a year *y2020(%a*id Cameron Re6elected as 0ritain5s Prime Minister a+id Cameron8s Conser+ati+e Party on = May won the !nited &indom $eneral eletion 2015 *y seurin

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IN%IA & 'ORL%India Ranked 7;-th In )-79 Mothers5 Indexorld8s Mothers 2015 report titled )he !r*an isad+antaeN has *een prepared *y Sa+e the ChildrenN oranisation and was launhedin India *y !nion Minority Affairs Minister "ajma eptulla in "ew elhi on ' May 2015( Aordin to the report, India was plaed at190th position out of 1:6 ountries( )op 5 ountries as per 2015 Mother8s Inde> E "orway .1st/, 7inland .2nd/, Ieland ., whih measures the ountries in terms of theeonomies le+erain their human apital, where 7inland has topped the 129#nation list(;n the list, ompiled *y orld 3onomi 7orum.37/, other emerin eonomies suh as ussia, China, %ra?il and South Afria are raned ahead of India(

NATIONALLok Sa2ha Passed !oods and Ser*ices Tax 0ill )-7;4o Sa*ha on ' May passed the $oods and Ser+ies )a> .$S)/ %ill, 2019 whih is also nown as Constitution .122nd Amendment/ %ill()he %ill sees to amend the Constitution in order to introdue the $oods and Ser+ies )a> .$S)/( Conseuently, the *ill also sees toarry out new indiret ta> reime in the ountry that will su*sume +arious entral and state le+ies lie sales ta>, e>ise and ser+ie ta>e>ept ta>es on the supply of aloholi liuor for human onsumption and petroleum produts()ransition from the traditional ta>ation to$S) will *oost India8s rowth *y up to 2(5 perentae points(PM Narendra Modi Launches Three Social Securit$ SchemesPrime Minister "arendra Modi on 6 May launhed three mea soial seurity shemes in &olata, est %enal( )he shemes werelaunhed simultaneously at 115 plaes in the ountry with Central and State Chief Ministers and senior ministers attendin thefuntions(1/ Pradhan Mantri Jee*an J$oti 3o/ana DPMJJ03>2/ Pradhan Mantri Suraksha 0ima 3o/ana DPMS03>

7> Atal Pension 3o/ana DAP3> ed minimum monthly pension raninfrom 1,000 rupees to 5,000 rupees at the ae of '0 years( )he fi>ed minimum monthly pension will *e dependin on the ontri*utionssu*sri*ers( )he minimum ae of joinin E 1= years and ma>imum ae is 90 years( 7ous of AP- E )o taret unoranised setorworers()> Pradhan Mantri Jee*an J$oti 3o/ana DPMJJ03>

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and Indo#Japanese siene operation( )he 3mperor of Japan onferred the ountry8s hihest award, the ;rder of the isin Sun, $oldand Sil+er Star, on the %harat atna awardee(ao is also the only Indian to *e eleted as a forein mem*er of the Japan Aademy inJawaharlal "ehru Centre for Ad+aned Sientifi esearh(MaHen %arish (onoured ith 'orld Press .reedom PriHe )-79)he !nited "ations 3duational, Sientifi and Cultural ;rani?ation .!"3SC;/ on < May presented the 2015 !"3SC;#$uillermoCano orld Press 7reedom Pri?e to Syrian journalist and rihts ati+ist Ma?en arwish( )he award was presented in 4at+ia on theoasion of the orld Press 7reedom ay in reonition of the wor he has arried out in Syria for more than ten year as a humanrihts defender and a journalist(Prana2 Mukher/ee Presents .lorence Ni"htin"ale Aards To 89 NursesPresident Prana* Muherjee on 12 May onferred the "ational 7lorene "ihtinale Awards to

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Indian Arm$ Test .ires 0rahMos Cruise Missile Success#ull$4and#to#land onfiuration of %rahMos missile was on = May suessfully test#fired from the Car "io*ar Islands(%rahMos %loEIII+ersion i(e( land#to#land onfiuration of missile was launhed from a Mo*ile Autonomous 4aunher .MA4/ for its full#rane of 260#mtest( )he missile fliht test met all fliht parameters, inludin hih#le+el manoeu+res(It also hit the desinated land# *ased taret withthe desired auray(INS FSardar Patel5 Commissioned In Por2andar India8s latest na+al esta*lishment E I"S DSardar Patel8 E was ommissioned in Por*andar, $ujarat, *y state Chief Minister Anandi*enPatel on 6 May( It *eame the seond in the state for the Indian "a+y after I"S wara near ;ha( It has *een esta*lished as a7orward ;peratin %ase .7;%/ of the Indian "a+y( Cmde % Praash, @SM who is the "a+al ;ffier#in#Chare .$ujarat, iu B aman/*eame the first Commandin ;ffier of I"S Sardar Patel(

PERSONS IN NE'S

A> APPOINTMENTS4: 4amath Appointed as .irst President o# N%0 o# 0RICS nations3minent *aner &undapur @aman &amath was on 11 May 2015 appointed as the first President of the "ew e+elopment %an ."%/of %ICS nations( e will ha+e of fi+e year term after the *an *eomes operational within one year( e was onferred with Padma%hushan Award in 200=( )he 4eaders of %ra?il, ussia, India, China and South Afria .%ICS/ had meetin in 2019 and reahed anareement to esta*lish the "ew e+elopment %an, with its headuarters in Shanhai( As per the areement, India ot the riht tonominate the first president(.our Ne !o*ernors AppointedPresident of India Prana* Muherjii on 12 May 2015 appointed four $o+ernors and transferred two others(.olloin" are nel$ appointed !o*ernors Jharkhand E raupadi Murmu)> Tripura  E )athaata oy8> Arunachal Pradesh E J P ahowa;> Me"hala$a E @ ShanmuanathanTrans#erred !o*ernors

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:i/a$ 4elkar Committee To Re*isit PPP in#ra Model!nion o+ernment on 2' May onstituted a 10#mem*er ommittee to re+iew and re+italise Pu*li Pri+ate Partnership .PPP/ mode ofinfrastruture de+elopment( )he ommittee will *e haired *y under former finane seretary @ijay &elar and su*mit its report within aperiod of < months from the date of its Constitution( )he &elar ommittee will re+iew the PPP poliy and suest a *etter ris#sharinmehanism *etween pri+ate de+elopers and the o+ernment after analysin suh projets in different(

IMPORTANT %A3S AN% %ATES'orld Press .reedom %a$ as O2ser*ed On 8 Ma$ )-79)he orld Press 7reedom day was o*ser+ed lo*ally on < May 2015()his year, the theme of orld Press 7reedom day is 4etJournalism )hri+eX )owards *etter reportin, ender euality and media safety in the diital ae( )he day mars the ele*rations of thefundamental priniples of press freedom to e+aluate press freedom around the world, to defend the media from attas on theirindependene and to pay tri*ute to journalists who ha+e lost their li+es in the e>erise of their profession(orld Press 7reedom ay wasprolaimed *y the !" $eneral Assem*ly in eem*er 166