• 1803 Current Affairs were found in Months - January 2015 to June 2015 for Type - All
  1. ISRO Will commission Multi-Object Tracking Radar (MOTR) in June 2015. Key Features Include -
    1. Capable of tracking 10 different objects at a time including 50 * 50 cm object at range of 1000 KM and 30 * 30 cm at range of 800 kilometer.
    2. Unlike the disc radars that keep spinning, this 35-tonne radar is a stationary, 12-metre-long, 8-metre-tall with 4068 individual radiating elements.
    3. It emits beam of radio-frequency waves that scans third part of sky. Since the radars base can be rotated to three positions, the entire sky can be covered.
    4. It is developed at a relatively low cost of approx 245 crores as compared to cost of 900 Crores of similar projects of other countries.
  2. USA's National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) successfully tested a ten-engine electric plane Greased Lightning (GL)-10 to enhance capabilities in using remotely piloted aircrafts for science investigations.
  3. Retirement fund body EPFO (Employees' Provident Fund Organisatio) raised age limit for vesting (Means to Avail Benefits) of pension by to 60 from 58 Years.
  4. 2014 has been ranked as Earths hottest year since 1880 as per analyses done by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Global average temperature for 2014 was 1.24F (or 0.69C) warmer than the 20th-century average.
  5. Book Transcendence: My Spiritual Experiences with Pramukh Swamiji has been written by former President APJ Abdul Kalam and Arun Tiwari.
  6. Boston Consulting Group released Global Wealth 2015 Report about status of private wealth in 2014-
    1. Global private financial wealth grew by nearly 12 % in 2014 to total 164 trillion USD.
    2. Over next five years, total private wealth globally will rise by 6 % annually to 222 trillion USD in 2019.
    3. North America with 51 trillion USD remained worlds wealthiest region in 2014 with USA having 28 % of the global total. China and Japan were second and third respectively
    4. Asia-Pacific remained fastest-growing region with private wealth expanding by 29 %. Economic expansion in India and China contributed to this performance. At this rate, Asia Pacific will overtake North America as worlds richest region in 2016.
    5. Japans private wealth was comparatively low at about 2 % in 2014 to reach 14 trillion USD.
    6. In Latin America, growth in 2014 was more than 10 % to nearly 4 trillion USD.
    7. In Middle East and Africa (MEA) region the growth was more than 9 % to reach nearly 6 trillion USD.
    8. USA remained the country with the largest number of UHNW households (Above 100 Million USD Worth) with 5201, followed by China (1037) and UK (1019).
    9. Highest density of millionaires was in Switzerland (135 out of 1000 households were millionaires).
    10. India - Private wealth in India showed solid gain as Indias equity market rose by 23 % in 2014. India had fourth largest UHNW households (928) after USA, China and the UK while there were only 284 UHNW households in India in 2013.
  7. Government launched two schemes to support the Scheduled Castes (SC). Named Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled Castes and Green Business scheme.
    • Venture Capital Fund -  Financial assistance of 15 Crore rupees for 6 years will be provided to 30 SC entrepreneurs in a year. Initial capital is 200 crore rupees
    • Green Business - loan for up to 1 lakh rupees at concessional interest rate will be provided to Scheduled Castes for activities such as e-rickshaw, Solar Pump and Solar energy powered implements, poly house etc. 
  8. India - China trade deficit increased to 37.8 billion USD in 2014. Although the bilateral trade was increased to 70.59 USD (Hike of 7.9 %).
    1. India China Trade was USD 73.9 billion in 2011, 66.57 billion in 2012, 65.57 billion in 2013 and 65.49 billion USD in 2013.
    2. Chinas export to India in 2014 was 54.2 billion USD and Indias exports to China was 16.4 billion USD. The trade target of India China was 100 billion USD for 2014.
  9. Indian Government's Jan Dhan Yojana has been included in Guinness Book of World Records for Opening of About 11.5 Crore Bank Accounts in short span of About five months. It makes way for government's ambitious plan to transfer annual subsidy directly to bank accounts of more than 15 crore beneficiaries to remove system leakages.
  10. Indian President Pranab Mukherjee Visited Belarus (Eastern Europe).
    1. Belarus State University conferred the Professor Honoris Causa on President Pranab Mukherjee.
      1. Various Agreements between India-Belarus -
        1. Agreement for Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion.
        2. Cooperation in Standardization and Information Support between Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) of India and State Committee for Standardization, Belarus. 
        3. Cooperation in Broadcasting between Prasar Bharati (PB) and National State Television and Radio Company, Belarus 
        4. MoU on Cooperation between Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and Ministry of Finance, Belarus.
        5. MoU for Manufacturing and Marketing of Light Industry Goods.
  11. Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs and Government of Tamilnadu have set up a Migrant Resource Centre (MRC) in Chennai (Tamilnadu) to provide information and guidancethe to overseas Indian workers on all aspects of overseas employment.
  12. PM Narendra Modi launched Sukanya Samridhi Yojana small deposit scheme for girl child under Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign. It will ensure equitable share to a girl child in resources and savings of a family and will enable parents to open bank accounts of girls who are under 10 years of age with an interest rate of 9.1 %. 
  13.  Ministry of Civil Aviation approved to set up second international airport of National Capital Region at Jewar (Uttar Pradesh).
  14.  United Arab Emirates (UAE) launched strategic framework for its newly-established Space Agency. Mohammed Nasser Al-Ahbabi is appointed as Director-General of UAE Space Agency. Framework aimsd to launch satellite missions and first Arab unmanned probe to Mars called Hope Probe by 2021.
  15. 01 Apr - Odisha Day, also known as Utkala Dibasa in memory of formation of state on 1 April 1936.
  16. 01 June - Madaraka Day of Kenya. On 1 June in 1963, Kenya attained internal self-rule preceding full independence from United Kingdom.
  17. 02 Apr - Mahavir Jayanti.
  18. 02 Feb - World Wetlands Day.
  19. 02 June - Republic Day of Italy (Since 1946).
  20. 02 June - Statehood Day of Telangana (India's 29th State). Andhra Pradesh was bifurcated into Telangana and Andhra Pradesh on June 2, 2014.
  21. 03 May - Constitution Day of Poland. Constitution of poland was enacted on May 3, 1791.
  22. 03 May - World Press Freedom Day. Theme for 2015 is Let Journalism Thrive.
  23. 05 Apr - Easter Day. (Marks the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, First Sunday after the full moon that occurs on or after 21 March).
  24. 05 Apr - Indian National Maritime Day. On this day in 1919, navigation history was created when SS Loyalty, the first ship of the Scindia Steam Navigation Company, journeyed to the United Kingdom. The National Maritime Day was first celebrated on 5th April, 1964.
  25. 05 May - Birth anniversary of Giani Zail Singh, former President of India.
  26. 05 May 2015 - World Asthma Day. Theme of 2015 is You Can Control Your Asthma and sub-theme - Time to Control Asthma.
  27. 07 Apr - World Health Day Celebrated with Theme - "From farm to plate, make food safe."
  28. 07 May, 2015 - 55th Foundation day of India's Border Roads Organization (Founded on May 7, 1960).
  29. 07 May, 2015 -154th Birth Anniversary of Rabindra Nath Tagore (Born on May 7, 1861)
  30. 10 Feb - National Deworming Day. 140 Million Deworming tablets distributed to school children across nation to combat worms that make numerous children sick every year.
  31. 10 Mar, 2015- 46th Foundation day of Central Industrial Security Force.
  32. 100th year of Albert Einsteins Theory of General Relativity celebrated across the world on 20-03-2015.
  33. 104th International Labour Conference held in Geneva (Switzerland). Bandaru Dattatraya, Minister for Labour & Employment represented India in this conference.
  34. 10th Aero India show inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Bengaluru (Karnataka).
    1. Aero India show comprises of aircrafts, aviation products, aero technology and air shows and is organized every two years by Defence Exhibition Organisation arm of Ministry of Defence and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
  35. 10th Navlekhan Award of Bharatiya Jnanpith were awarded to Hindi writers Babusha Kohli and Upasana for Prem Gilhari Dil Akhrot (poem) and Ek Zindagi Ek Ek Script Bhar (novel ) respectively.
  36. 11 April - India's National Safe Motherhood Day
  37. 11 Mar, 2015 - 30th Foundation day National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
  38. 12 January - National youth day (birthday of Swami Vivekanand).
  39. 12 Mar - Independence Day of Mauritius. Indian PM Narendra Modi Visited Mauritius on this occasion.
  40. 12 March - World Kidney Day (Second Thursday of March).
  41. 12 Year Old Saloni Dalal from Karnataka became youngest medal winner in 35th National Games in Kerala .She won a Bronze medal in the 200 meter breast stroke swimming event.
  42. 13 Feb- World Radio Day.
  43. 13th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice held in Doha(Qatar). Indian delegaation was led by Minister of Law and Justice D V Sadanad Gowda.
  44. 13th meet of Foreign Ministers of India, Russia and China was held in Beijing (China). Participants were Sushma Swaraj (India), Wang Yi (China) and Sergey Lavrov (Russia).
  45. 14 June - World Blood Donors Day. Theme for 2015 is Thank you for saving my life. Union Government launched mobile app to locate nearest blood bank on this occasion.
  46. 14-year-old Indian-American student Karan Menon won 2015 National Geographic Bee championship.
  47. 14th Finance Commission Report -
    1. Main Suggestions Include -
      1. Rising share of states in central taxes from 32% to 42% to allow greater fiscal policy space to states, even at the cost of leaving less revenue for centr's schemes and programmes.
      2. Tax Devolution to be based on Area, Populcation, Demography, Income Distance & Forest Cover
        1. 50 % weight is to be given to distance from highest per capita income district, followed by population (1971 census) at 17.5 %, demography (2011 census) at 10 %, area at 15 % and forest cover at 7.5 %
      3. Fiscal deficit should come down to 3.6 % of GDP in 2015-16 from projected 4.1 % in 2014-15 and then 3 % in following year and kept at that for three more years.
      4. Centre's debt To come down from 45.4 % of GDP in FY15 to 43.6 % in FY16 and 36.3 % by FY20.
      5. States should empower local bodies to impose Advertisement tax to augment their revenues
      6. States be taken away from operation of NSSF with effect from next financial year.
  48. 15 January - Army Day (India).
  49. 15 March - World Consumer Day. Theme for the WCRD 2015 is Helping consumers choose healthy diets.
  50. 15 May - International Day of Families. Theme for 2015 was Men in Charge.
  51. 15 May - Israel Independence Day. state of Israel was founded on this day in 1948.
    1. On the Other Hand, Palestinians observed this day as Nakba Day to reaffirm their right to return to the land from which their ancestors were forcibly displaced by Israel in 1948.
  52. 15th African Ministerial Conference on Environment held in Cairo (Egypt)
  53. 15th National Para-Athletic championships held in Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh).
  54. 16th International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards 2015 (In Malaysia) -
    1. Best Film – Queen
    2. Best Director –Rajkumar Hirani (PK)
    3. Best Actor-Shahid Kapoor (Haider)
    4. Best Actress-Kangana Ranaut (Queen)
    5. Best Supporting Actor- Riteish Deshmukh (Ek Villain)
    6. Best Supporting Actress- Tabu (Haider)
    7. Star Debut of the Year (Male)-Tiger Shroff (Heropanti)
    8. Star Debut of the Year (Female)-Kriti sanon (Heropanti)
    9. Best Music Director-Shankar, Ehsaan & Loy (2 States)
    10. Best Male Playback Award-Ankit Tiwari for Galliyan (Ek Villain)
    11. Best Female Playback Award-Kanika Kapoor for Baby Doll (Raginin MMS2)
  55. 17 April - World Hemophilia day. Started in 1989 to honor Frank Schnabel the founder of WFH (World Federation of Hemophilia).
  56. 17 June - National day of Iceland. It commemorates the foundation of The Republic of Iceland on 17 June 1944 and its independence from Danish rule.
  57. 18 April - World Heritage Day.
  58. 18 June - National day of Seychelles. It marks adoption of multi-party democratic constitution on June 18, 1993.
  59. 18th National Conference on e-Governance held in Gandhinagar (Gujarat). National Awards for e-Governance in 1 Categories were also announced on this occasion.
  60. 18th National Conference on e-Governance held in Gujarat with Theme Conference was Digital Governance - New Frontiers.
  61. 18th round of Boundary issues talks between India and China on held in New Delhi with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval representing India and China represented by Yang Jiechi, State Councellor of China.
  62. 19 Jan - National Investigation Agency Foundation day.
  63. 1998 Asian Games gold-medallist Dingko Singh included in National Boxing Selection panel. Arjuna awardee Gopal N Devang will be head of the 10-member selection panel that will remain in office till 2016.
  64. 19th CEAT Cricket Awards (2015) -
    1. International Cricketer - Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka)
    2.  Indian Cricketer - Ajinkya Rahane
    3. International Lifetime Achievement - Kapil Dev edition of the awards.
    4. International Batsman - Hashim Amla
    5. International Bowler - Rangana Herath
    6. T20 Player - Dwayne Bravo
    7. Popular Choice - Kieron Pollard
    8. Special Performance - Rohit Sharma
    9. Domestic Cricketer - R Vinay Kumar
    10. Young Player - Deepak Hooda
  65. 1st Counter-Terrorism Conference held in Jaipur (Rajasthan), organised by India Foundation and Sardar Patel University of Police Security and Criminal Justice. Conference's Central theme was Integrated Approach to Counter-Terrorism and CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear) Terrorism was one of the sub-themes.
  66. 2 Feb - MGNREGA Day. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act was started on 2 February 2006 with 200 Districts.
  67. 2-day long annual Hemis festival dedicated to Guru Padmasambhava held in Ladakh Hemis Gompa (monastery) of Jammu and Kashmir.
  68. 20 Feb - Statehood Day of Arunachal Pradesh. It was given statehood on Feb 20, 1987.
  69. 20 June - World Refugee Day. Theme for 2015 is With courage let us all combine.
  70. 20 March - International Day of Happiness. It was established by United Nations General Assemby on June 28, 2012.
  71. 20 March - Iran celebrated start of new years festival of Iran Caleld Nowruz, a holiday having its roots in pre-Islamic traditions.
  72. 20 March - World Oral Health Day.
  73. 20 March - World Sparrow Day.  Theme for 2015 is I Love Sparrows.
  74. 2015 Education for All (EFA) Global Monitoring Report (GMR) released with theme ‘Education for All 2000-2015 Achievements and Challenges
    1. Report highlighted achievements made by India in reducing the Out of School Children and achieving the gender parity at the elementary level thereby contributing to the global progress in the EFA goals.
  75. 20th Law Commission of India (Headed by Ajit Prakash Shah) submitted Report No. 257 on Reforms in Guardianship and Custody Laws in India and suggested amendments to laws to emphasize the welfare of the child in custody and guardianship matters.
  76. 20th Law Commission of India headed by A P Shah submitted 253rd report Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts and Commercial Courts Bill, 2015.
  77. 20th National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan (NOSDCP) and Preparedness meeting held in Goa.
  78. 21 Feb - International Mother Language Day.
  79. 21 Feb is Mother Language Day. 2015 Theme is Inclusive Education through and with Language - Language Matter.
  80. 21 June, 2015 - First Ever International Yoga Day Celebrated ac ross the world. PM Narendra Modi Attended International Conference on Yoga for Holistic Health in Delhi. A Mass yoga event organized at Rajpath Delhi. India's Ministry of AYUSH has been awarded with two Guinness World Records -on first International Day of Yoga -
    1. Category 1 is for largest number of participants in a Yoga Lesson at single venue. 35,985 participants performed Yoga at Rajpath and broke the earlier reord of 29,973.
    2.  Category 2 is for most number of nationalists in a Yoga Lesson. participants from 84 countries performed Yoga at Rajpath and broke previous record of participants from 49 countries.
    3. On This Occasion -
      1. Chinese Version of Bhagvad Gita launched by Indian Ambassador to China Ashok K. Kanth.
      2. Operation Doga was enacted to ensure complete security of the celebrations.
      3. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj attened International Yoga Day event being organised by Indian Mission at the United Nations in New York (USA).
      4. Indian Government released stamps and coins of denomination of Rs.10 and Rs.100.
  81. 21 March - International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
  82. 21 March - International Day of Forests. 2015 theme is Forests and Climate Change.
  83. 21 March - World Forestry Day. 2015 theme is Forests and Climate Change.
  84. 21 March - World Poetry Day. It and was declared by UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) in 1999.
  85. 21 May - Anti Terrorism Day in India (Rajiv Gandhi's death anniversary).
  86. 21st screen awards -
    • Actor - Shahid Kapoor (Haider)
    • Actress - Priyanka Chopra (Mary Kom)
    • Film - Queen
    • Director - Vikas Bahl (Queen)
    • Lifetime Achievement Award - Hema Malini
  87. 22 Apr - Earth Day.It was first celebrated in 1970. Theme for 2015 is Its Our Turn to Lead.
  88. 22 March - Formation day of State of Bihar. On this day British carved out bihar state from Bengal Presidency in 1912.
  89. 22 March - World Water Day.
  90. 22 May - International Day for Biological Diversity. Theme is Biodiversity for Sustainable Development.
  91. 22 May, 2015 - 13th Investiture Ceremony of BSF (Border Security Force).
    1. Investiture Means a ceremony at which honours or rank are formally conferred on a person or Organization.
  92. 23 June - National Day of Luxembourg. It marks the Birthday of Monarch of Luxembourg.
  93. 23 March - Anniversary of Execution of of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar and Shivaram Rajguru on 23 March, 1931, is declared as Martyr's Day.
  94. 24 Feb - Central Excise Day.
  95. 24 January - National Girl Child Day.
  96. 24 March - World TB (Tuberculosis) Day.
  97. 24 May - Independence Day of Eritrea (Country in Horn of Africa).
  98. 24th Yudhvir Foundation Memorial Award will be given to Prajwala founder Sunitha Krishnan for her work in rescue, restoration and rehabilitation of victims in trafficking and her support for HIV patients.
  99. 25 Apr - World Malaria Day. Theme for 2015 is Invest in the future: Defeat malaria.
  100. 25 June - Independence day of Mozambique. It marks Independence from Portugal in 1975.
  101. 25 June - National Day of Croatia. It marks the Statehood Day, declaration of independence from Yugoslavia on June 25, 1991.
  102. 25 June - National Day of Slovenia. It marks the Statehood Day, declaration of independence from Yugoslavia on June 25, 1991.
  103. 25 March: International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery.
  104. 26 African countries signed a Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) agreement in Egypt to create Africas largest free-trade zone. It will cover southernmost tip of Africa i.e. Cape Town (South Africa) to Cairo (Egypt) in north. It will ease up movement of goods across 26 member countries.
  105. 26 Jan - Indian Republic Day.
  106. 26 June - International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. Theme for 2015 is Lets Develop our Lives, our Communities, our identities without Drugs.
  107. 26 June - National Day of Madagascar. It marks Independence from france in 1960.
  108. 26 March - Independence Day of Bangladesh.
  109. 27 April - Freedom day of south africa. It celebrates freedom and commemorates the first post-apartheid elections held on that day in 1994. 
  110. 27 April - Kings Day of the Netherlands (Also known as Koningsdag). The date marks the birth of King Willem-Alexander.
  111. 27 April - National Day of Togo (West African Country).
  112. 27 June - Djibouti's Independence Day. It mark the territory's declaration of independence from France on June 27, 1977.
  113. 27th meeting of Northern Zonal Council comprising of states of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, Delhi and Chandigarh held in Delhi with Home Minister Rajnath Singh as chairman.
  114. 28 Feb - Eighth International Rare Disease Day. (Held annually on last day of February).
  115. 28 Feb - National Science Day. Prof. C V Raman was honored by Nobel Award for discovery of Raman effect on Feb 28, 1930.
  116. 29 April - World Dance Day
  117. 29th India Carpet Expo inaugurated in Pragati Maidan (Delhi).
  118. 3 -year-old archer Dolly Shivani Cherukuri of Andhra Pradesh entered Indian Book of Records by scoring 388 points in the recurve segment in seven and five meters distances. 
  119. 3 March - World Wildlife Day.
  120. 3 March -National Day of Bulgaria (Southeast European Country).
    1. Mar 3, 1878 - Liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman Empire.
  121. 30 Jan - World Laprosy Day.
  122. 30th Aahar International Fair 2014 organized by ITPO (Indian Trade Promotion Organization) started in Pragati Maidan, Delhi.
  123. 31 May - World No Tobacco Day. Uttarakhands Medical, Health and Family Welfare Minister Surendra Singh Negi has been conferred with World No Tobacco Day Award 2015 by World Health Organsiation (WHO).
  124. 350th foundation day of Shri Anandpur Sahib (Rupnagar - Punjab) celebrated. The holy city was founded by the 9th Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Tegh Bahadur in 1665.
  125. 35th National Games mascot Ammu, The Great Hornbill (State bird of Kerala) has been included in Limca Book of Records for its play, featuring the bird in lead role in Kalikkunna Play.
  126. 39th session of Conference of Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations held in Rome (Italy). Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh attended on India's Behalf.
  127. 3rd Tortoise Festival organised at Hajong Lake in Assam to create awareness among people on the endangered tortoise species by Environment and Forest Department of Dima Hasao (ASSAM).
  128. 3rd United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction summit held in Japan From March 14-18, 2015. Home Minister Rajnath Singh to attend on India's Behalf.
  129. 4 -day long Ambubachi Mela at Kamakhaya Devi temple held at Guwahati, Assam.
  130. 4 Feb - World Cancer Day.
  131. 4 Jan - Louis Braille Day, he was the inventor of braille, a system of reading and writing used by people who are blind or visually impaired.
  132. 41st G7 Summit 2015 held in Bavaria (Germany) with theme Think Ahead. Act Together.
  133. 44 Armoured Regiment of Indian Army honoured by Presidents Standards for meritorious and distinguished service for over 30 years.
  134. 45-day long annual fishing ban in territorial waters of Eastern Coastal Zone of India (including Andaman & Nicobar Islands) started to safeguard fish in their breeding season.
  135. 45th Meet of World Economic Forum hel in Davos (Switzerland). Finance Minister Arun Jaitley participated on India's Behalf.
  136. 46th Dada Saheb Phalke Award given to Actor Shashi Kapoor.
  137. 4th North East Youth Festival started in Majuli (Assam). It will be held 29th to 31st May, 2015. The Festival is being organized by the Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) under Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. 
  138. 50 founding nations signed agreement of China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (headquarters - Beijing).
    1. Australia was first country to sign the agreement.
    2. Indian Ambassador Ashok Kantha signed on behalf of India.
    3. India is second largest shareholder with stake of 8.52% and voting share of 7.5%.
    4. Chinas shareholding is 30.34% and it has 26.06% of voting rights.
  139. 57th Annual Grammy Awards -
    1. These are recording industrys most prestigious award presented annually by National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) of the United States.
    2. 83 Grammy Awards were presented this year.
    3. Main Grammy Awards wnners 2015 -
      1. Category

        Album

        Artist

        Best album

        Morning Phase

        Beck Hansen

        Best record

        Stay With Me

        Sam Smith

        Best song

        Stay With Me

        James Napier, William Phillips & Sam Smith

        Best new artist

        -

        Sam Smith

        Childrens Album

        I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up For Education And Changed The World (Malala Yousafzai)

        Neela Vaswani (India)

        Best Pop solo performance

        Happy (Live)

        Pharrell Williams

        Best Pop Duo/Group Performance

        Say Something

        A Great Big World With Christina Aguilera

        Best Rock Performance

        Lazaretto

        Jack White

        Best Metal Performance

        The Last In Line

        Tenacious D

        Best Rock Album

        Morning Phase

        Beck

        Best R&B Performance

        Drunk in Love

        Beyonce featuring Jay Z

        Best Rap Performance

        I

        Kendrick Lamar

  140. 5th India-Myanmar Joint Trade Committee meeting held in Nay Pyi Taw in Myanmar. Indias Minister of State for Commerce & Industry (Independent Charge) Nirmala Sitharaman met Myanmars Minister of Commerce U Win Myint.
  141. 5th meeting of the SAARC (South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation) Health Ministers held in New Delhi.
  142. 60th Filmfare Awards announced -
    1. Best Actor (male) :Shahid Kapoor for film Haider directed by Vishal Bhardwaj
    2. Best Actor (female) :Kangana Ranaut for film Queen directed by Vikas Bahl
    3. Best Film:Queen directed by Vikas Bahl
    4. Best Director:Vikas Bahl for film Queen
    5. Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award: Kamini Kaushal
  143. 61 Days Fishing ban along Western Coast started from 1 June to 31 July, 2015, Except Kerala which will stick to 47-day ban to allow its fishermen to continue fishing till June 15.
  144. 62nd National Film Awards -
    1. Best Feature Film:Court (Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati & English)
    2. Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director: Asha for Jaoar Majhe
    3. Best Direction: Srijit Mukherji for Chotushkone (Bengali)
    4. Best Actress: Kangana Ranaut for Queen
    5. Best Actor: Vijay for Nanu Avanalla Avalu (Kannada)
    6. Best Supporting Actor: Bobby Simhaa for Jigarthanda (Tamil)
    7. Best Supporting Actress: Baljinder Kaur for Pagdi The Honour (Haryanavi)
    8. Best Child Actor: Kaakkaa Muttai(Tamil)
    9. Best Female Playback Singer: Uttara Unnikrishanan for Azhagu, Saivam (Tamil)
    10. Best Dialogues: Vishal Bhardwaj for Haider
    11. Best Lyrics: NA. Muthukumar for Azhagu, Saivam (Tamil)
    12. Best Music Direction Songs:Haider
    13. Best Choreography: Sudesh Bismil, Haider
    14. Best Films (Language Wise)
      1. Hindi :Queen
      2. Assamese : Othello
      3. Bengali : Nirbashito
      4. Rabha : Orong
      5. Haryanvi : Pagdi The Honour
      6. Punjabi : Punjab 1984
      7. Tamil : Kuttram Kadithal
      8. <
      9. Telugu : Chandamama Kathalu
      10. Malayalam : Ain
      11. Marathi : Killa
      12. Odiya : Aadim Vichar
      13. Kannada : Harivu
      14. Konkani :Nachom - IA Kumpasar
  145. 62nd National Film Awards presented. Shashi Kapoor honoured with Dadasaheb Phalke Award this year.
  146. 68th British Academy Films Awards (BAFTA) (London)
  147. 68th session of Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of International Maritime Organization (IMO) held in London, UK and adopted provisions of the Polar Code related to environmental norms.
  148. 6th National Conference on Nuclear Energy organized by ASSOCHAM in New Delhi today with theme Nuclear Energy: a 'Clean' Energy option.
  149. 6th OPEC International Seminar held in Vienna (Austria) from June 2 – 4, 2015 by Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Dharmendra Pradhan (India's Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Petroleum and Natural Gas) attended on India's Behalf.
  150. 72nd Golden Globe Award
    • Drama
      • Picture - Boyhood
      • Actor - Eddie Redmayne
      • Actress - Julianne Moore
    • Musical / Comedy
      • Picture - The Grand Budapest Hotel
      • Actor - Michael Keaton
      • Actress - Amy Adams
    • Supporting Actor - J. K. Simmons
    • Supporting Actress - Patricia Arquette
    • Director - Richard Linklater
  151. 76th Senior Table Tennis Championship 2015 - Soumyajit Ghosh won in Male and Mouma Das won in Female Category.
  152. 77th annual convention of presiding officers, speakers and secretaries of legislative assemblies and councils held in Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh).
  153. 8 June - World Ocean Day. Theme is Healthy oceans, Healthy planet.
  154. 8 March - International Women's Day. Theme - Make it Happen.
  155. 800th anniversary of Magna Carta (Charter of Liberties to put a check upon powers of King of England) organized in UK. Main principle in Magna Carta was that Englishmen should be governed by definite laws and not by will of a ruler.
  156. 9 Jan - Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (Mahatama Gandhi Returned to India from south africa on this day).
  157. 2 Years 8 Months and 28 Nights has been written by Salman Rushdie.
  158. A few Good men and the angry sea has been written by Nitin Sathe on the tenth anniversary of Tsunami Tragedy.
  159. Adiel Yosef, a 22-year-old Indian-origin soldier in Israeli army received Presidential Medal of Excellence by Israel Government.
  160. Ajeya Warrior, Joint Army Exercise of India and UK started in UK. It will last till 28 Jun, 2015.
  161. Atal Bihari Vajpayee Srajan aur Mulyankan has been written by Pritam Singh.
  162. Benazir Bhutto: A Multidimensional Portrait is written by Anna Suvorova (Russia).
  163. Beyond Doubt: A Dossier on Gandhi's Assassination has been written by Teesta Setalvad.
  164. Brigade of The Guardsand the Sikh Regimentwere collectively awarded Best Marching Contingents Trophy for Republic Day Parade 2015.
  165. Chen Wu, Governor of Guangxi Autonomous Region of China Visited India.
  166. Complete Story of Indian Reforms: 2G, Power & Private Enterprise: A Practitioner's Diary has been written by Pradeep Baijal (Former Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) chairman).
  167. Cricket World cup : The Indian Challenge has been written by Aashish Re.
  168. Defence Research and Development Organisation got approval for building a missile launch testing facility at a site near to Krishna Delta Complex in Andhra Pradesh. The is a nesting site of Olive Ridley turtles which is an endangered species.
  169. Editor Unplugged: Media, Magnates, Netas and Me has been written by Vinod Mehta.
  170. Fragile Frontiers: The Secret History of Mumbai Terror Attacks has been written by SK Rath.
  171. Neither a Hawk nor a Dove is written by Pakistan's Ex-Foreign Minister Khurshid M Kasuri.
  172. Rajesh Khanna : Kuch to Log Khenge has been written by Yasir Usman.
  173. Raksha Blu vaccine was launched by Indian Immunologicals Limited (IIL), (Telangana) To counter the bluetongue disease.
  174. Relbanks issued list of 66 largest banks in the world by market Capitalization.
    1. India's HDFC was ranked 45th with 41.58 USD Market Capitalization. SBI was ranked 51st with 36.40 USD and ICICI was 55th with 33.42 USD Market Cap.
    2. Wells Fargo & Co. of US is first with market cap of 284.39 Billion USD and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) of China is second with market cap of 269.70 Billion USD.
  175. Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is named as new King of Saudi Arabia after King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz passed away.
  176. Sourav Ganguly: Cricket, Captaincy and Controversy has been written by Saptarshi Sarkar.
  177. Spirit of Kumbh has been written by Santosh k mishra (chief of chattisgarh Tourism board).
  178. The Lunchbox has been nominated for British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards 2015 under non-English best film category. The film is the only Indian film to be nominated for 2015 BAFTA Awards.
  179. The Vatican signed first accord with Palestine, two years after officially recognizing the Palestinian Authority (PA) as a state. The move has been widely criticized by Israel.
  180. Tipu Sultan : A Crussader for Change has been written by B Sheikh Ali.
  181. Vande Mataram has been written by Prabodh Kumar Mishra.
  182. Vedic Astrology: A Journey Through History, Principles And Mathematica has been written by G Srinivasan.
  183. Vladimir Shkolnik, Minister of Energy of Kazakhstan Visited India for 12th Meeting of India-Kazakhstan Inter-Governmental Commission.
  184. Union Cabinet approved New Urea Policy 2015 for next four years aimed at maximizing production and minimize dependence on imports -
    1. Policy aims to maximize urea production in country to reduce the subsidy burden on Government.
    2. Savings in energy will reduce carbon-footprint and be more environment friendly.
    3. Policy will ensure timely supply of urea to farmers at same Maximum Retail Price (MRP) with less burden on the exchequer.
    4. Policy will directly save subsidy of Rs. 2618 crore and indirect saving of Rs. 2211 crore (total Rs.4829 crore) with revised specific energy consumption norms and import substitutions. During the next four years, It will help in making additional 20 lakh/MT urea annually. 
    5. Government decided in January 2015 to allow urea producers to produce neem coated urea upto 75 - 100 % of production to benefit the farmers.
      1. Neem coated urea is required less in quantity for same area and will give higher crop yields.
      2. Underground water contamination due to leaching of urea will get reduced as nitrogen in neem coated urea gets released to plants very slowly.
      3. Neem coated urea is unfit for industrial use, so illegal diversion to industries will also reduce.
    6. MRP of urea for farmers is kept the same at Rs. 268/- per bag of 50 kgs. Farmers have to pay an additional Rs.14/- per bag for neem coated urea.
    7. Government has decided to revive closed urea units at Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh), Barauni (Bihar), Talcher urea unit in Odisha and Ramagundam in Telangana to produce and additional 26 lakh tonnes.
    8. By all these measures, import dependency of India for urea will reduce. Presently, India imports about 80 lakh metric tonnes of urea out of total demand of 310 lakh metric tonnes. 
    9. Government today also decided to continue the existing subsidy rates for Phosphatic and Potassic (P&K) fertilizers, Muriate of Potash (MOP), etc.) under Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) policy for current year.  
    10. 19 units are producing phosphatic fertilizers and 103 units making SSP (Single Super Phosphate). These units rely heavily on import of phosphate as there is no resource of Potash in India.
  185. Union Budget 2015 - 2016 - Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented Union Budget 2015-16 in Lok Sabha. It was first full year Budget of the NDA government and second budget of Arun Jaitley. Main Points are -
    • Expenditures(Total 1777477 Crores)
      • Planned Expenditure - 465277 Crores
      • Non-Planned Expenditure - 1312200 Crores.
    • Revenue Receipts(Total 1671223 Crores)
      • Tax Revenue - 1449490 Crore Rupees
      • Non Tax Revenue - 221733 Crore Rupees
    • Estimates of various Deficits-
      • Fiscal Defict (Rajkoshiya Ghata) to be 3.9 % of GDP
        • Further Estimations - 3.5 % of GDP in 2016-17 and 3 % oof GDP in 2017-18
      • Revenue Deficit to be 2.8 % of GDP
    • Taxation -
      • Abolition of wealth tax and Additional 2% surcharge for the super rich with income of over Rs. 1 crore.
      • Corporate tax to come down from 30% to 25% over the next 3 year period.
      • No change in individual income tax rates and slabs, overall deduction benefits to individual taxpayers hiked to Rs 4.44 lakh a year.
      • 2 % Swachh Bharat cess on Service Tax and 100 % deduction on investment in Swachh Bharat Kosh.
      • Excise duty is up to 12.5 % and and service tax Increased to 14 % (From 12.36 %).
      • Pension fund exemption increase from Rs.1,00,000 to Rs.1,5,0000
      • Mediclaim policy limit increased from Rs.15,000 to Rs.25,000 (Rs.30,000 for Senior Citizen)
      • Goods and Services Tax to be implemented by April 2016.
    • Agriculture-
      • Rs. 25,000 crore for Rural Infrastructure Development Bank.
      • Rs. 5,300 crore to support Micro Irrigation Programme.
      • Farmers credit - target of 8.5 lakh crore.
    • Infrastructure-
      • Rs. 70,000 crores to Infrastructure sector.
      • Atal Innovation Mission to be established to draw on expertise of entrepreneurs, and researchers to foster scientific innovations; allocation of Rs. 150 crore.
      • Setting up of 5 ultra mega power projects, each of 4000 MW.
      • National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) will be made with annual flow of Rs.20,000 crores to help infrastructure finance companies leverage extra equity from the funds and use it to erect infrastructure.
      • Self- Employment and Talent Utilisation (SETU), a Techno-Financial, Incubation and Facilitation Programme will be created to support all aspects of start up businesses particularly in technology-driven areas. An amount of Rs.1000 crore is being set up initially in NITI (National Institute of Transforming India) Aayog for SETU.
    • Education-
      • New AIIMS in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar and Assam.
      • New IIT in Karnataka; Indian School of Mines in Dhanbad to be upgraded to IIT.
      • University of Disability Studies to be formed in Kerala.
      • Centre of film production, animation and gaming to come up in Arunachal Pradesh.
      • New IIMs in Jammu - Kashmir and Andhra Pradesh.
    • Defence Expenditure- 2,46,726 Crores (9.87 % )
    • Welfare Schemes-
      • DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer) will be further be expanded from 1 crore to 10.3 crore.
      • For the Atal Pension Yojna, govt. will contribute 50% of the premium limited to Rs. 1000 a year.
      • Rs. 5,000 crore additional allocation for MGNREGA this year taking the allotement to 34699 Crores all time high.
      • Micro Units Development Refinance Agency (MUDRA) Bank will be made with funds Rs. 20,000 crore and credit guarantee fund of 3,000 crore to refinance Micro-Finance Institutions through Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana.
      • Visa on Arrival Facility for 150 Countries.
      • 1000 crore rupees more allocated to Nirbhaya fund
      • For students belonging to minorities, a new scheme named Nayi Manzil will be started
      • Transport allowance increased to 1600 rupees per month
      • Pradhan Mantra Suraksha Bima Yojana to cover accidental death risk of Rs. 2 lakh for just Rs. 12 per year.
      • Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana to cover both natural and accidental death risk
      • Unclaimed deposits of about Rs. 9,000 crores in the PPF and EPF funds will be used to revitalize Senior Citizen Welfare funds.
      • Deen Dayal Upadhyay Grameen Kaushal Yojana will be launched to enhance the employability of Rural Youth with capital of 1500 Crores.
      • National Skills Mission will be launched with capital of Rs. 1,500 crores apart for Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gramin Kaushal Yojana.
      • A fully IT based Student Financial Aid Authority will be set up to manage Scholarships and Educational Loan Schemes, through the Pradhan Mantri Vidya Lakshmi Karyakram.
      • Scheduled Castes Development Sub-Schemes to get 30851 Crores and Scheduled Tribes to get 19980 Crores, women welfare schemes get 79258 Crores.
      • Rural -
        • Rs. 15,000 crore for Long Term Rural Credit Fund
        • Rs. 45,000 crore for Short Term Cooperative Rural Credit Refinance Fund
        • Rs. 15,000 crore for Short Term RRB Refinance Fund
    • Renewable Energy-
      • Rs. 75 crore for electric cars production.
      • Total 175 K MW Renewable energy target for 2022: 100 K MW in solar; 60 K MW in wind; 10 K MW in biomass and 5 K MW in small hydro.
    • Gold-
      • New scheme for depositors of gold to earn interest and jewellers to obtain loans on their metal accounts.
      • An Indian gold coin with Ashok Chakra on its face will be made to reduce the demand for foreign coins and recycle the gold available in the country.
    • Financial -
      • Forward Markets Commission to be merged with the Securities and Exchange Board of India.
      • NBFCs with asset size above 500 crores to be considered as ‘financial institution under Sarfaesi Act, 2002, enabling them to fund SME and mid-corporate businesses.
      • Implementation of GAAR (General Anti Avoidance Rule) has been deferred by 2 Years.
      • People will have to quote their PAN for all purchases above 1 lakh rupees
      • GDP growth seen between 8% and 8.5% this year
      • Disinvestment target set at Rs 69,500 crore for 2015-16.
      • Tough Law to black money to be introduced including imprisonment up to 10 years and 300% penalty on tax for concealing income and assets.
      • Total transfer to the states will be 62 %
      • Electrification of remaining 20000 villages by 2020
    • Subsidies- 227000 Crores ( of 10.2 % from 2014 - 15).
      • Food Subsidy Increased to 122000 Crores.
      • Fertilizer Subsidy - 72968 Crores
      • Petroleum Subsidy - 60270 Crores
    • Others-
      • Year 2022 will be the Amrut Mahotsav, the 75th year, of Indias independence. Housing for all and employment for at least one person in every family is to envisioned to achieved by 2022.
    • Schemes and Expenditure-
      • Rural Development - 79526 Crores ( of 10 %)
      • Mahatama Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) - 34699 Crores ( of 2.1 %)
      • Health Sector - 33152 Crores
      • Education Sector - 68968 Crores (Including Mid Day Meal)
      • Housing and Urban Development - 22407 Crores
      • Women and Child Welfare - 10351 Crores
      • Water Resources and Namami Gange - 4173 Crores
  186. Apr 14, 2015 - 124th Birth Anniversary of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar.
  187. Economic Survey 2014 - 2015 Highlights-
    1. Finance Minister of India (Arun Jaitley Currently) presents the Economic Survey in the parliament every year, just before the Union Budget. It is the ministrys view on the annual economic development of the country.
    2. Highlights on Economic Survey 2014-15 are
      1. Prepared by Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian and his team in Finance Ministry.
      2. To improve investment climate and reduce backlog of stalled projects, a three-pronged strategy is suggested
        1. Revival of public investment in short term, to act as an engine of growth in infrastructure sector.
        2. Creative solutions needed to strengthen institutions relating to bankruptcy to ensurte that exit options are available.
        3. Restructuring the PPP (Public Private Partnership) model is required to make it more viable.
      3. Inflation
        1. Inflation declined by over 6 % since late 2013 and likely to remain 5-5.5 in 2015-16.
      4. Fiscal Deficit
        1. Government will stick to fiscal deficit target of 4.1% of GDP in 2014-15
        2. Country needs to meet its medium-term fiscal deficit target of 3% of GDP and expected to attain the same over next 3 years period.
      5. Current account deficit
        1. Current account deficit will decline from a 6.7 % of GDP in Quarter 3 of 2012-13 to 1.0 % in 2015-16.
      6. GDP Growth
        1. GDP Growth Rate to stay 7.4 % in 2014 - 2015 and Expected GDP Growth rate for India in 2015-16 lies between 8.1 - 8.5 % as expectations are high due to large scale economic reforms.
        2. After huge phase of deceleration, GDP has been growing at 7.2 % on average since 2013-14, based on the new growth estimates of the Central Statistics Office.
      7. Foodgrains production
        1. Foodgrains production for 2014-15 is estimated at 257.07 million tonnes, it exceeds average food grain production of last five years by 8.5 million tones.
      8. Subsidies and the JAM Number Trinity Solution
        • Food Subsidy Bill stands at 107823.75 crore rupees during 2014-15, increase of 20 % over previous year
        • The JAM Number Trinity - Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhaar, Mobile - can enable the State to transfer financial resources to the poor in a progressive manner without leakages and minimal distorting.
      9. Other Facts
        1. Rational Investor Ratings Index (RIRI) that combines indicators of macro-stability with growth illustrates that India ranks amongst the most attractive investment destinations.
        2. Growth will receive boost from cumulative impact of reforms, lower oil prices, likely monetary policy easing due to lower inflation and normal monsoon expected in 2015-16. In the long-run, private investments will be the engine of growth.
        3. Complement Make in India initiative with Skill India initiative to enable larger number of people to benefit from structural transformation that such sectors will facilitate.
        4. National Market for Agricultural Commodities should be created in place of thousands of agricultural markets
        5. The Model APMC Act, 2003 should be amended along the lines of the Karnataka Model that has successfully introduced an integrated single licensing system.
        6. Fiscal Framework
          • Expenditure control combined with recovering growth and GST will ensure that medium term targets are comfortably met.
          • In the short run, need for accelerated fiscal consolidation will be conditioned by recommendations of the Fourteenth Finance Commission (FFC).
  188. Oscar Awards 2015(87th Academy Awards, Ceremony held in Los Angles (USA)))
    1. Presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in 24 categories.
    2. Notable awards
      1. Best Picture: Birdman
      2. Best Director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu for Birdman
      3. Best Actor: Eddie Redmayne for The Theory of Everything
      4. Best Actress: Julianne Moore for Still Alice
      5. Best Supporting Actor: JK Simmons for Whiplash
      6. Best Supporting Actress: Patricia Arquette for Boyhood
      7. Best Animated Movie: Big Hero Six 6
      8. Best Original Song: John Stephens and Lonnie Lynn for Glory
      9. Best Original Score: Alexandre Desplat for The Grand Budapest Hotel
  189. A 2000 year old ancient Water supply system discovered in Jerusalem city of Israel.
  190. A 7.3 Magnitude major earthquake struck eastern Nepal near Mount Everest, two weeks after Devastating 7.9 Magnitude earthquake that killed more than 8,000 People on Apr 25, 2015.
  191. A four-day International Conference on ‘Low Temperature Science and Biotechnological Advances held in Delhi as an attempt to assess the present status and to formulate future plans on low temperature science and biotechnology in various Asia and other continents. Conference was organised by ICAR-NBPGR, National Academy Agricultural Sciences, India in collaboration with Society for Low Temperature Biology (SLTB), UK and Royal Botanic Gardens (RBG), Kew, UK.
  192. A high level delegation led by Chairman of Railway Board, A.K. Mital Visited China.
  193. A national level museum of Sikh heritage will be setup in Lakhnaur Sahib village in Punjab. Lakhnaur Sahib is a historical village as mother of tenth Sikh guru Guru Gobind Singh, Mata Gujari belonged to the place.
  194. A new land customs station inaugurated at Indo-Myanmar border trade centre in Champhai district of Mizoram.
  195. A team led by Indian-American Debashis Chanda from University of Central Florida (UCF) has developed worlds first full-colour, flexible thin-film reflective display. It can help you change your dress colour in the blink of an eye.
  196. A. Jayathilak, Chairman of Spices Board has been given additional charge of chairman of Rubber Board.
  197. A.K. Mittal has been appointed as Chairman of Railway Board replacing Arunendra Kumar.
  198. AB De Villiers has been conferred with South Africa (SA) Cricketer of the Year Award for 2015.
  199. Abraj Kudai will be worlds biggest hotel being built in Mecca (Saudi Arabia).
  200. Achal Kumar Joti has been appointed as Election Commissioner in the Election Commission of India.
    1. Election commission of India consists of a chief election commissioner and two election commissioners. Currently, chief election commissioner is Nasim Zaidi and two election commissioners are Achal Kumar Joti and one seat is vaacant.
  201. Actor Amitabh Bachchan has been presented with Social Media Person of Year 2015 award by Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI).
  202. Actor Amitabh Bachchan is appointed as brand ambassador by Government for campaign against Hepatitis B.
  203. Actor Anil Kapoor conferred with Deenanath Mangeshkar Award 2015 along with Marathi actor Dilip Prabhavalkar. Rishi Kapoor and Zakir Husain were conferred with this award in 2014.
  204. Actor Shah Rukh Khan honoured with Dadasaheb Phalke Film Foundation Award 2015 for movie Happy New Year.
  205. Actress Rani Mukerji has been honored by National Award for the Best Representation of the Cause of Safety, Security and Protection of Women and Girl Child by National Institute of Gender Justice (NIGJ).
  206. Aditi Arya of Delhi won fbb Femina Miss India 2015 title. First runner-up was Aafreen Rachel Vaz of Karnataka and second runner-up was Vartika Singh of Uttar Pradesh.
  207. Admiral Sir George Zambellas, First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff, Royal Navy of United Kingdom visited India.
  208. Advertising Standard Council of India (ASCI) launched its consumer complaint mobile application named ASCIonline to provide consumer complaint services along with existing Website Facility for reporting misleading advertisements.
  209. Aerospace firm SpaceX successfully launched a Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite through the Falcon 9 rocket from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida on its third attempt.
    • The satellite will be used by United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for monitoring Sun activities.
    • It will collect information on solar storms and will monitor changes in solar wind and will provide warnings to the forecasters on hazardous outbursts from earth to help them predict changes that affect satellites, power grids and communication systems.
  210. Agni III Surface-to-Surface ballistic missile successfully test-fired from Wheelar Isalnd off the Odisha coast in the Bay of Bengal. It has range of 3,500 km- 5,000 km.
  211. Agriculture Department issued second estimates for foodgrains production in 2014-15.
    1. In 2014-15, total foodgrains production is expected to stay around 257.07 Million tonnes, which is 3.3 % less than previous year (2013-14)'s record production of 265.57 Million tonnes.
  212. Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh attended BRICS farm meet in Brazil from Mar 11-13, 2015.
  213. Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh launched free SMS service Nowcast to provide alerts on extreme weather conditions such as hailstorm every three hours to registered farmers on their mobile phones.
  214. Agriculture Ministers of G20 Countries met in Istanbul on 7-8 May 2015 to address rising challenges of food security as worl's population will rise to 9 Billion in 2050. Radha Mohan Singh, Agriculture Minister of India attended on India's Behalf and met Mr Phil Hogan, Agriculture Commissioner of European Union.
  215. Agriculture Ministry approved setting up of price stabilisation fund (PSF) with corpus of Rs. 500 crore to be used to support market interventions for managing prices of perishable agri-horticultural commodities.
    1. Initially, fund will be used for onion and potato only. Losses will be shared between the Centre and States
    2. PSF will be used to advance interest-free loans to State governments and Central agencies to support their working capital and other expenses on procurement and distribution for such commodities.
    3. Commodities will be procured directly from farmers and will be made available at reasonable prices to consumers.
  216. Airline SpiceJet Tied up with IRCTC to sell Discounted (30-40 %) Air Line Tickets to Train Travellers whose Tickets do not get Confirmed.
  217. Ajay Shukla has been appointed as new Member (Traffic) in Railway Board.
  218. Akram Chehayeb, Agriculture Minister of Lebanon Visited India.
    1. On this occasion, India Invites Entrepreneurs From Lebanon to Invest in Mega Food Parks and Cold Chain.I
  219. Alexis Tsipras is appointed as Prime Minister of Greece after his party SYRIZA won the Greek General Elections.
  220. All India Football Federation (AIFF) signed an agreement with French Football Federation (FFF) for Mutual Development of Football Sport in Each Country.
  221. All India Football Federations (AIFF) Player of the Year Awards 2014 -
    • Men - Sunil Chhetri
    • Women - Bala Devi
  222. Allan Donald resigned as bowling coach of South Africa Cricket team.
  223. Amaresh Kumar Lal is Appointed as an Additional Judge in Patna High Court .
  224. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim has been appointed as First woman President of Mauritius (Indian Ocean island nation).
  225. Ameising Luikham is appointed as Secretary in Department of Public Enterprises.
  226. American Singer Jack Ely (famous for song Louie Louie) passed away.
  227. American boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. defeated Manny Pacquiao from Philippines to win the unified World Welterweight title. The match was termed as Fight of the Century and was held at MGM Grand, Las Vegas (USA).
  228. Amit Jain is appointed as President of Uber Technologies' India Operations.
  229. Amitabh Bachchan has been conferred with the second Yash Chopra Memorial Award.
  230. Amitabh Kant (Secretary in Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion Visited Poland. India and Poland set a trade target of 5 billion USD by 2018.
  231. Amitav Ghosh released his new novel Flood of fire. With the novel, he has concluded the Ibis trilogy, his fictional recreation of the events leading up to the first opium war of 1839-42.
  232. Amitava Roy is appointed as as a judge in Supreme Court. Prior to this, he served as the Chief Justice of Odisha High Court.
    1. With This, strength of judges in Supreme Court has become 29 with maximum sanctioned strength of 31 judges.
  233. An advanced Electronic Warfare (EW) suite made by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) was successfully tested on Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas-PV1.
  234. An ancient idol of Lord Vishnu dating back about to 7th century AD was found in a village in Tarn Taran district of Punjab.
  235. Andaman and Nicobar Police announced to reserve 33 % of seats of constable and sub-inspectors for women. Earlier in June 2014, Gujarat Government announced 33 % quota for women in police force.
  236. Andhra Pradesh Cabinet approved Amaravathi as new capital city of the state.
    1. Andhra pradesh was Bifurcated in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and Erstwhile Capital Hyderabad went with Telengana.
  237. Andhra Pradesh Government appointed Chadalavada Krishnamurthy as Chairman of TTD (Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams Board).
  238. Andhra Pradesh Government constituted Special Investigation Team (SIT) under Ravishankar Ayyanar to probe Chittoor firing Case.
  239. Andhra Pradesh Government decided to file a defamation case against State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH) as SBH Freezed Accounts of Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education (APSCHE) amounting to 25 crore rupees.
    • The accounts of APSCHE were frozen after Telangana State Council of Higher Education (TSCHE) sent a letter to various banks asking them to freeze the accounts of APSCHE as it accused APSCHE of illegally capturing off money that was to be shared between the two states.
  240. Andhra Pradesh Government signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with IT Firm Wipro for building and implementing the AP State Enterprise Architecture (APSEA).
  241. Andhra Pradesh and Telangana started 5 lakh rupees Accident Insurance for transport drivers also including education of two children of the beneficiary.
  242. Andhra Pradesh government constituted Fourth State Finance Commission under the Chairmanship of M L Kantha Rao.
  243. Andhra Pradesh government launched 17 Skill Development Centres (SDC) for training and honing skills of youth and help them select the course at the time of entering college and provide source of information for employment.
  244. Andhra Pradesh government launched Mee Bhoomi, a digital depository of land records. Web URL is - http://meebhoomi.ap.gov.in. It will make all land details available to the people.
  245. Andhra Pradesh government signed MoU with IISL Company for replacing streetlights in 13 municipalities with LED lights and maintain for seven years.
  246. Andhra Pradesh government signed a pact with International Crop Research Institute for Semi-arid Tropics (ICRISAT) to provide assistance in making agriculture sustainable and profitable.
  247. Andrew Robb, Australia's Minister for Trade and Investment Visited India.
  248. Andy Murray (Scotland) won ATP World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi after Serbian Novak Djokovic withdrew from finals due to illness.
  249. Anisa Rasouli has been nominated as First Female Judge in the Supreme Court of Afghanistan.
  250. Anoop Kumar Srivastava is appointed as Secretary in Inter State Council Secretariat.
  251. Anti-nuclear activist and Journalist Praful Bidwai Passed Away.
  252. Anupam Shrivastava is appointed as Chief Managing Director of BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited).
  253. Anurag Thakur re-elected as president of Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) for the fourth time in succession since 2000.
  254. Apex body of small traders, Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) will launch its ecommerce portal Named 'e-Lala' to compete with Online Retailers. It will provide an interface between sellers and consumers without any third agency.
  255. Apple Inc acquired Coherent Navigation to improve its Mapping capabilities.
  256. Apr 21 - Civil Services Day (Ninth).
    1. On this occasion, Income Tax Department has been awarded the ‘Prime Ministers Award for Excellence in Public Administration for ‘Easy Tax Compliance through Quality Service. 
  257. Apr 23, 2015 - World Book and Copyright Day. For the year 2015, UNESCO designated Incheon, South Korea as the World Book Capital 2015 for its programme to promote reading among people and underprivileged sections of the population. It was first celebrated in 1995.
  258. Apr 24 - National Panchayati Raj Diwas.
  259. April 24- Womens Political Empowerment Day in India. The Institute of Social Sciences, New Delhi has been celebrating April 24- as Women”s Political Empowerment Day since 1994.
  260. Arachnologists found rare spiders belonging to Sparassidae and Salticidae families in Kerala.
  261. Archana Girish Kamath and Anezka Ilcikova, the Indo-Czech Republic pair won cadet girls doubles table tennis title at the French junior and cadet open defeating French pair of Lucie Gauthier and Leili Mostafavi.
  262. Archana Ramasundaram is appointed as Director of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
  263. Army Inducted indigenously developed supersonic surface-to-air missile Akash with strike range of 25 KM.
  264. Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India (ALIMCO) signed MoU with M/s Motivation U.K for working together to produce affordable wheel chairs having compliance to WHO guidelines.
  265. Arun K Singh has been appointed as India's Ambassador to USA.
  266. Arun Pudur, owner of software firm Celframe, named as 10th in Wealth-X List of wealthiest entrepreneur under the age of 40 with an estimated net worth of 4 billion USD.
    1. Pudur is a 37 year old and founded the software firm Celframe in 1998 which produces the worlds second most popular word processor after Microsoft.
    2. Nine of self-made billionaires on the Wealth-X top 10 list made their fortunes from the technology sector.
    3. Youngest entrepreneur on the list is 32-year-old Leo Chen, chairman of Jumei International Holding one of Chinas largest online cosmetics retailers.
    4. Wealth-X is a reputed agency on wealth intelligence, providing sales, marketing, strategy and compliance solutions to clients in the financial services, luxury, not-for-profit and education sectors.
  267. Arun Shrivastava Apponted as MD & CEO of Syndicate Bank.
  268. Arunachal Pradesh Government launch State Soil Health Mission to make a hundred % organic state.
  269. Arvind Kumar Jain has been appointed as Director General (DG) of Police of Uttar Pradesh (UP).
  270. Arvind Panagariya has been appointed as Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog that replaced Planning Commission. Sindhushree Khullar has been appointed as CEO of NITI Aayog.
  271. Arvind Saxena is appointed as a Member in the Union Public Service Commission.
  272. As per Data by World Steel Association (WSA), India has overtaken USA as third-largest steel producer in the world after China and Japan with production of 14.56 million tonnes (MT) in first two months of 2015.
  273. As per IMF (International Monetary Fund) Report -
    1. India's GDP Growth Rate in 2016 will be 6.5 %, It will surpass China's Expected growth rate of 6.3 % in 2016.
      1. India VS China GDP Growth Rates -
        Year India China
        2013 5 7.8
        2014 5.8 7.4
        2015 6.3 6.8
        2016 (Expected) 6.5 6.3
    2. As per recent Reports, Number of Tigers in India has risen by 30% up to 2226 from 1706 in 2010. Nearly 70% of world's Tigers are in India. Karnataka has most number of tigers (406) followed by Uttarakhand (340) and Madhya Pradesh (308).
  274. As per a recent report by Assam's Tocklai Tea Research Institute (TTRI), Assam has the potential to produce Purple Tea which is believed to be health rich and is currently grown in Kenya Only.
  275. As per a recent report by ICC, India will Host the Twenty-20 cricket world cup in 2016 and England will host the ODI world cup in 2019.
  276. As per a recent report, Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has been implementing Mahila Udyam Nidhi and Mahila Vikas Nidhi to offer equity and developmental assistance to women for income generating activities.
  277. As per a report by Power Reactor Information System (PRIS) of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), There are thirty one countries in the world which generate electricity from nuclear source. India is ranked 13th in terms of generation and at 7th position in terms of number of reactors in operation.
  278. As per a survey by Beijing Times, around 30 % of the Great Wall of China has disappeared overtime with about 1185 km of the fortification in poor condition.
  279. As per data by Controller General (CGA) of Accounts, India's fiscal deficit crossed budget estimate of Rs 5.31 lakh crore by December-end. Target is to keep it under 4.1 % of GDP in 2014-15.
  280. As per recent Census 2011 Data released by the Government, Indians are now getting married at higher age than a decade ago with a decline in fertility.
    1. Female mean age at marriage has increased from 18.3 to 19.3 years, whereas the increase in male is from 22.6 to 23.3 years during Census 2001-11.
    2. Proportion of divorced has marginally increased. Proportion of married women to total number of women is 49.9% in 2011 as against 47.7% in 2001. For males, it is 46% in 2011 as against 43.6% in 2001.
    3. On fertility, it is observed that fertility rate at national level has declined from 2.5 to 2.2 during 2001-11.
  281. As per recent study, Dromedary camels under 4 years age are major source of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus that has severely hit South Korea recently.
  282. Ashok K Agarwal has been appointed as General Manager of Southern Railway.
  283. Ashok Kumar Angurana (Secretary in Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries) has been given additional charge of Secretary in Department of Consumer Affairs.
  284. Ashok Kumar Angurana appointed as Secretary in Department of Animal Husbandry in Ministry of Agriculture.
  285. Ashok Kumar Gupta is appointed as New Secretary of Defence Production.
  286. Ashok Prasad has been appointed as new special secretary of home ministry's crucial internal security division.
  287. Ashton Carter has been appointed as Defence Secretary by US Senate.
  288. Ashton Carter, US Secretary of Defence Visited India.
    1. India and US signed 2015 Framework for the India-US Defence Relationship.
  289. Ashu Suyash is appointed as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD&CEO) of Credit rating agency Crisil
  290. Asian Atheletic Championships 2015 (Qatar) -
    1. India finished third in 21st Asian Athletics Championships with 4 gold, 5 silver and 4 bronze Medals. This is India's best finish after 2007 in Jordan where India was placed second.
    2. China was First (15 Gold, 13 Silver, 13 Bronze) and Qatar (7 Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze) was second.
  291. Asian Banker Achievement Award 2015 -
    1. Core Banking (Mid-Sized Bank) : ING Vysya and FIS
    2. Core Banking (Emerging Bank) : Kanbawza (KBZ) Bank and Oracle Financial Services Software Limited
    3. Corporate Payment : Axis Bank and Arteria Technologies
    4. HR System : Axis Bank, Cognizant Technology Services, Mobitrail and Tejora Technologies
    5. Outsourcing (New Bank): Bharatiya Mahila Bank and FIS
    6. Technology Leadership Achievement : Amit Sethi, Chief Information Officer, Axis Bank
    7. ATM and Kiosks: Cathay United Bank & NCR System, Taiwan
    8. Branch Automation: Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong), Avaya Hong Kong and GRG Banking Solutions
    9. Cloud Based Project: Philippine Business Bank and IBM
    10. CRM : IndusInd Bank and Talisma Corporationt
    11. Data & Analytics : KB Kookmin Bank and IBM Korea
    12. Financial Supply Chain: China Merchants Bank
    13. Lending Platform Implementation : Cathay United Bank and IBM Taiwan
    14. Mobile Banking : China Merchants Bank
    15. Multi-Channel : Bank of China (Hong Kong) and Avaya Hong Kong
    16. Outsourcing (Existing Bank): Bank of Queensland and Hewlett-Packard
    17. Retail Payment : Hong Leong Bank and Silverlake Mobility EcoSystem
    18. Smart Branch : ANZ and GTSO New Zealand
    19. Social Media Engagement : DBS and NCS
    20. Treasury Management System : Bank of Communications, Misys and KMerit Technology (Suzhou)
    21. Outstanding Technology Implementation : DBS and Infosys
  292. Asian Development Bank (ADB) released Asian Development Outlook (ADO) report titled Financing Asias Future Growth.
    1. As per ADO report, India will overtake China in terms growth rate in Financial Year (FY) 2015, and 2016.
    2. Chinas Foracasted growth rate -
      1. 7.4 % in FY 2014
      2. 7.2 % in FY 2015
      3. 7.0 % in FY 2016.
    3. India's forecasted growth rate
      1. 7.4 % - FY 2014
      2. 7.8 % in FY 2015
      3. 8.2 % in 2016
    4. Developing Asia will grow at a steady 6.3% in 2015 and 2016—the same pace as 2014.
  293. Assam state Assembly passed a resolution urging the Centre to continue the special status for the state for being a backward and problems-ridden state with limited avenues for internal revenue generation.
  294. Atal Pension Yojna (APY), announced in the Budget, will be launched on 01-06-2015 and will focus on all citizens in unorganised sector entitling them to pension of up to Rs 5,000 per month after 60 years of age.
  295. Australia announced to join China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) as a founding member with investment of 718.5 million USD as paid-in capital. Australia will be sixth largest shareholder of AIIB.
    1. Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will be headquartered in Beijing with paid-in capital of 20 billion USD and total authorised capital of 100 billion USD.
    2. India will be second-largest shareholder of AIIB which will be operational by December 2015.
  296. Australia won ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 defeating New Zealand at Melbourne Cricket Ground (Australia).
    1. Australian Captain Michael Clarke retired from ODI cricket
  297. Australia's Trade and Investment Minister Andrew Robb Visited India.
  298. Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop Visited India.
  299. Australian National University Scientists found worlds largest asteroid impact zone in Warburton Basin of centrals Australia. 
  300. Australian Open 2015 -
    1. Male - Novak Djokovic (Serbia) defeated Andy Murray (England). It was fifth Australian Open title for Novak Djokovic.
    2. Female - Serena Williams (USA) Defeated Maria Sharapova (Russia). This was 19th Grand Slam and sixth Australian Open win for Serena Williams.
    3. Men's Doubles - Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini from Italy.
    4. Women's Doubles - Bethanie Mattek-Sands (United States ) and Lucie Safarova (Czech Republic)
    5. Mixed Doubles - Martina Hingis (Switzerland ) and Leander Paes (India).
  301. Australian cricket team created World Cup record for highest score of 417 in a match against Afghanistan and broke Previous record of 413 runs made by India against Bermuda in CWC 2011. 
  302. Australias national airline Qantas has been named as the worlds safest airline by AirlineRatings.com.
  303. Australis's Adelaide will host cricket's first day-night Test in November 2015 between Australia and New Zealand.
  304. Austria filed legal complaint in European Court of Justice against European Commissions approval to UK's Hinkley Point C nuclear power project.
  305. Avijit Ghosh appointed as CMD of Heavy Engineering Corporation.
  306. Ayonika Paul (Railways) and Annu Raj Singh (Maharashtra) won Gold in 4th Gun for Glory Shooting Championship.
  307. BBIN (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal) Transport Ministers meeting will be held in Thimpu (Bhutan) on June 15, 2015. A Motor Vehicle Agreement for Regulation of Vehicular Traffic amongst BBIN will be signed on this occasion. Minister of Road Transport & Highways and Shipping Shri Nitin Gadkari will visit on India's Behalf.
  308. BJP leader Yashwant Sinha conferred with Officer of the Legion of Honour for valuable contribution to thought on international issues, it is the highest French civilian honor.
  309. BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited) has launched free roaming across nation to allow its customers to receive incoming calls for free.
  310. BSNL, with Indian Army's assistance has operationalised a mobile tower at record height of 16,000 feet in Ladakh (Jammu and Kashmir).
  311. Baba Ramdev is named as state brand ambassador for Haryana Government.
  312. Baburam Bhattarai, former Prime Minister of Nepal Visited India.
  313. Bahrain's GFH Financial Group signed an agreement with Indian Adani Group for developing a Mumbai Economic Development Zone (MEDZ).
  314. Bajaj Allianz launched a weather-based crop insurance scheme for orange crops in Nagpur, Hingoli and Washim districts of Maharashtra.
  315. Balasubramaniam Venkataramani will be new Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX).
  316. Baldev Sharma has been appointed as chairman of National Book Trust.
  317. Bangalore International Airport signed seven-year contract with IT aviation firm SITA for implementing Common Use Self Service kiosk (CUSS) platform to allow passengers to Check-In Themselves that Includes print their boarding passes and baggage tags from June 2015.
  318. Bangladesh Minister of Public Administration, Begum Ismat Ara Sadique visited India.
  319. Bangladesh Senior Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Mozammel Haque Khan Visited India and signed agreements for stepping up Patrolling across India-Bangladesh Borders.
  320. Bank of Baroda (BoB) tied-up with UAE Exchange to offer instant money transfer facility to its Non-resident Indian (NRI) customers that will allow customers to send money to their desired bank accounts in BoB in India in Minutes.
  321. Barcelona FC won 2015 Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League trophy for fifth time defeating Juventus FC.
  322. Barcelona Football Club won Spanish Kings Cup (Copa del Rey) for 27th Time defeating Athletic Bilbao.
  323. Baseline profitability index (BPI) 2015 (ranking of nations for attractiveness to foreign investors) -
    1. India is ranked as most attractive investment destination in world among 110 countries, rising from 6th Position in 2014.
    2. China was placed at the 65th position and US was placed at the 50th.
    3. India was able to top in this edition of BPI because of high growth forecasts and investor friendly polices of Government led by PM Narendra Modi.
  324. Beji Caid Essebsi has been appointed as President of Tunisia.
  325. Bengali Writer Suchitra Bhattacharya passed away.
  326. Bengaluru FC won the federation cup Football by beating Dempo FC.
  327. Benjamin Netanyahu re-elected as Prime Minister of Israel (Country in Western Asia).
  328. Beno Zephine from Chennai became first 100 % visually-challenged person to be inducted into the Indian Foreign Service.
  329. Bhagabatpur Crocodile Project in Sunderbans (West Bengal) has been given as fresh start with help of renowned experts in herpetology and best global practices in crocodile conservation to increase the number of saltwater crocodiles.
    1. In past few years, project did not see a significant increase in the number of salt-water crocodiles. The eggs to hatching ratio also declined to 40 per 100 eggs collected.
  330. Bhanu Pratap Sharma has been appointed as Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
  331. Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) commissioned a 195 MW thermal unit of Kanti Bijlee Utpadan Nigam Limited (KBUNL) in Muzaffarpur in Bihar.
  332. Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) commissioned a 600 MW thermal unit at Dhabra in Janjgir Champa District of Chhattisgarh. 
  333. Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) commissioned first 250-MW unit of Bongaigaon thermal power project of National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) in Assam. It is part of NTPCs project for setting up 3 units of 250 MW (750 MW in total) each as coal-based project which to be completed by 2016.
  334. Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) commissioned fourth 600 MW thermal unit of OP Jindal Super Thermal Power Project (STPP) Extension in Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh.
  335. Bharat Puri has been appointed as Chief of Pidilite Industries.
  336. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has announced to set up 40,000 Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) hot spots across country by 2018 with investment of Rs. 6000 Rupees.
  337. Bhopal based Indian Institute of soil science (Sponsered by Indian Council of Agricultural Research) created ‘Mridaparikshak - a MINILAB that can determine soil health.
  338. Bibek Debroy is appointed as a Member of NITI Aayog.
  339. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar launched campaign Badh Chala Bihar to collect ideas from the public to produce Bihar@2025 as a vision document for states development between 2015 - 2025.
  340. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar presented Bihar State budget for financial year 2015-16 with overall size 120685.32 crore rupees. It has plan expenditure of 57437 crores and non-plan expenditure of Rs. 63259 crore.
  341. Bihar Government anounced to allot 35% reservation for women in Non-Gazetted jobs
  342. Bihar Government decided to provide free education to the Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and girl students till Post Graduation (PG) level in the State.
  343. Bihar government approved inclusion of Dusadh (Dhari and Dhadi) caste in the Mahadalit category. There are no more any Dalits in Bihar as all Dalits are now categorised as Mahadalits in the State.
  344. Birender Singh Dhanoa has been appointed as Vide-Chief of Indian Air Force.
  345. Bollywood actor Ashraful Haque passed away.
  346. Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan honoured by Outstanding Contribution to Cinema award at 5th Asian Awards in London -  
    1. Previous winners in this category included Irrfan Khan (2014), Anupam Kher (2013) and Yash Chopra (2011).
    2. List of Awardees

      Category  

      Winners

      Founders Award

      Dr. Amar Bose, Founder of Bose Corporation

      Entrepreneur of the Year

      Jack Ma, Founder & CEO of Alibaba

      Outstanding Achievement in Cinema

      Shah Rukh Khan, Bollywood actor

      Outstanding Achievement in Sport

      Kumar Sangakkara, Cricketer of Sri Lanka

      Business Leader of the Year

      The Hinduja Brothers 

      Outstanding Achievement in Television

      Sanjeev Bhaskar, Comedian, actor and broadcaster

      Outstanding Achievement in Art & Design 

      John Rocha, Designer

      Outstanding Achievement in Science & Technology 

      Sir Tejinder Singh Virdee, Experimental particle physicist

      Outstanding Achievement in Music

      Zayn Malik, English singer and songwriter

  347. Bombay High Court banned horse driven carriages in Mumbai.
  348. Book "Aatank Ke Saaye Men" has been authored by Documentary filmmaker Garima Sanjay.
  349. Book Ahmedabad: A City in the World has been wrirtten by Amrita Shah.
  350. Book Bikhare Khyalat, Urdu Translation of Mohammed Iqbals Stray Reflections has been released.
  351. Book China – Confucius in the Shadows is written by Poonam Surie.
  352. Book Dealing with China: An Insider Unmasks the New Economic Superpower is written by Henry M. Paulson.
  353. Book Flora of Guntur City Andhra Pradesh is written by PR Mohana Rao.
  354. Book Indian Bumblebees written by entomologist M.S. Saini along with Rifat H. Raina and Harpeet Singh. It states that India has 48 out of the 250 known species of bumblebees.
  355. Book Kiran Bedi - Kaise Bani Top Cop is written by her sisters, Reeta Peshawaria Menon and Anu Peshawaria
  356. Book My Little Epiphanies has been written by Ms. Aisha Chaudhary and released by Vice president Hamid Ansari.
  357. Book Pakistan Paradox: Instability and Resilience has been written by Christrophe Jaffrelot.
  358. Book Recasting India: How Entrepreneurship is changing the World's Largest Democracy by Hindol Sengupta has been released.
  359. Book Red Tape to Red Carpet... and then some has been written by Gina Rinehart , Chief of Australian mining company Hancock Prospecting Group.
  360. Book Sangharsh Ke Prayog based on speeches by Prof. Ram Gopal Yadav has been released by Vice President Hamid Ansari. It has been edited by Radhekrishna and Dinesh Shakya.
  361. Book Suleiman Charitra written by Kalyana Malla launched.
  362. Book Super Economies has been written by Raghav Bahl.
  363. Book The Indian Parliament – A Critical Appraisal has been written by Sudha Pai and Avinash Kumar.
  364. Book Faces and Places is written by Deepak Nayyar.
  365. Book on titled Modi –Incredible emergence of a star written in Chinese language by Tarun Vijay has been released.
  366. Book titled The China Model: Political Meritocracy and the Limits of Democracy has been written by Daniel A. Bell.
  367. Book titled Yoga and Islam written by Imran Chaudhary and Abhijeet Singh has been released. The book indicates that Yoga has nothing to do with religion and is universally accepted.
  368. Book Unbelievable – Delhi to Islamabad has been written by Bhim Singh.
  369. Book Food for All is written by Uma Lele
  370. Book God's Bankers: A History of Money and Power at the Vatican authored by Gerald Posner.
  371. Book Indian Parliamentary Diplomacy- Speakers Perspective has been written by former lok sabha speaker Meira Kumar.
  372. Boxing India has been recognised as governing body for representing boxing in India.
  373. Brijbhushan Sharan Singh re-elected as president of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) for four years.
  374. Britain's Cardiff is named as worlds first ‘sustainable fish city.
  375. Britain's House of Commons adopted Bill to amend the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act (HFEA) to allow creation of babies with DNA from three people.
  376. Britains Andy Murray won mens singles title of Aegon Championships at Queens Club in England by defeating South African Kevin Anderson.
  377. British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) released documentary film India's Daughter directed by Leslee Udwin and is based on Delhi gang rape of the 23 year old Nirbhaya that took place on 16 December 2012.
  378. British Irish Visa Scheme came into force in India that allows Indians to travel to United Kingdom (UK) and Ireland on a single-visit visa from either country.
  379. British Petroleum report for Oil and Gas Consumption 2015 -
    1. United States (US) became largest oil producer in 2014 surpassing Saudi Arabia. USA produced 11.6 million barrels of oil per day (bpd) in 2014 While, Saudi Arabia produced 11.5 million bpd. Russia is third with 10.8 million bpd oil production.
    2. USA also surpassed Russia as largest producer of natural gas. In 2014, USA produced 1,250.4 million tons of natural gas while Russia produced 1,062 million tons.
    3. China remained worlds largest growth market for energy in 2014.
    4. Facts about India - Indias oil production declined 1.3% at .895 Million bpd. Consumption increased 3% (3.8 million bpd).
  380. British government honored Indian Fauja Singh by prestigious British Empire medal for being world's oldest marathon runner
  381. British sports business magazine SportsPro released Worlds 50 Most Marketable 2015 report-
    1. Rank

      Athlete

      Sport

      Nationality

      1

      Eugenie Bouchard

      Tennis

      Canada

      2

      Neymar

      Soccer

      Brazil

      3

      Jordan Spieth

      Golf

      USA

      4

      Missy Franklin

      Swimming

      USA

      5

      Lewis Hamilton

      Auto Racing

      Great Britain

      6

      Virat Kohli

      Cricket

      India

      7

      Stephen Curry

      Basketball

      USA

      8

      Kei Nishikori

      Tennis

      Japan

      9

      Katarina Johnson-Thompson

      Athletics

      Great Britain

      10

      Usain Bolt

      Athletics

      Jamaica

    2. Indian Cricketer Virat Kohli is placed at 6th and Badminton Player Saina Nehwal ranked at 44th position.
  382. British-Indian Priti Patel is appointed as employment minister of Britain in Prime Minister David Cameron's new cabinet.
  383. CB Richard Ellis Group (USA) released Global Prime Office Occupancy Costs survey 2015 (top 50 expensive office market spaces ) -
    1. Londons West End continued to be the worlds highest-priced office market.
    2. Connaught Place in New Delhi is fifth costliest office market in the world.
  384. CNN-IBN announced Indian of the Year Awards 2014 -
    1. Indian of the Year 2014 - Narendra Modi
    2. Politics - Arun Jaitley
    3. Sports - Jitu Rai
    4. Business - N Chandrasekaran
    5. Entertainment - Chetan Bhagat
    6. Public Service - Tongam Rina
    7. Global Indian - Satya Nadella
    8. Lifetime Achievement - ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization)
  385. CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum (Dehradun) has developed micro-channel reactors with stable catalyst coating formulations that are used to intensify the processes involving vegetable oils. These reactors produce good product yield and help better conversion in hydroprocessing of vegetable oils. These micro-channel reactors are better than conventional fixed bed tubular reactors in terms of hydrodynamics, heat and mass transfer.
  386. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved 5 % disinvestment in National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) and 10 % disinvestment in Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).
  387. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved Maharashtra State Co-operative Cotton Growers Marketing Federation (MSCCGMFL) to undertake Minimum Support Price (MSP) operations for Cotton.
  388. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved extension of 2 years for completion of projects sanctioned till March 2012 under Sub-Mission on Basic Services to the Urban Poor (BSUP) and Integrated Housing and Slum Development Programme (IHSDP) components of Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).
  389. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved launching Rs. 4,500-crore National Supercomputing Mission (NSM) with aim of bringing India into league of world class computing power nations.
  390. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved proposal of HDFC Bank to raise the foreign holding limit to 74 % (From 73.2 Currently). It will enable inflow of around 10000 crore rupees into the country from overseas investors.CCEA also approved proposal of Drug Maker Lupin's proposal of raising foreign holding up to 49%.
  391. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved setting up of over 2000 MW of Grid-Connected Solar PV Power Projects under Batch-III of Phase-II of Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) at a cost of 12000 crore rupees.
  392. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved two major policies to improve equity in the market and help delayed projectws due to various reasons -  
    1. First Reform is - a comprehensive Exit Policy framework to permit builders to divest 100 % of their equity two years after completion of construction. It will unlock equity from completed projects and will make it available for investment into new projects. This decision will help release equity worth Rs. 4500 crores. 
    2. Second Reform is - To allow National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to intervene in delaying projects. From ongoing 240 PPP (Public private partnership) Projects, some are delaying due to land acquisition issues, grant of clearances and shortage of construction materials etc. NHAI may now provide funds to such projects on a loan basis which will be recovered with interest from toll receipts immediately after completion of construction.
  393. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved two road projects worth 4721 crore rupees in Madhya Pradesh and Telangana under National Highways Development Project (NHDP).
  394. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) increased investment limit by Government agencies in Mega Food Parks to 100 % of their equity holding from 26 % currently in the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV). New regulation will bring more investment in food processing for smooth implementation of the Mega Food Parks Scheme (MFPS).
  395. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved four highway Projects in Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Chhattisgarh.
  396. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved mandatory packaging of 90 % of foodgrains produced in India as well as 20 per cent of sugar in jute bags for the 2014-15 crop season to help the jute sector.
    1. Almost all the foodgrains procured by Food Corporation of India is packaged in jute bags.
    2. West Bengal produces 80 % of Indias total annual jute production of 11-12 million bales (one bale is 180 kg).
  397. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs extended date of completion of National Automotive Testing and R&D Infrastructure Project (NATRiP) by three years (from 31st December 2014 to 31st December 2017).
  398. Cabinet approved financial restructuring of BVFCL (Brahmaputra Valley Fertilizer Corporation Limited) and setting up an Ammonia-Urea Complex of 8.64 Lakh Metric Tonnes annual capacity with cost of Rs. 4500 crore at Namrup (Assam) on Public Private Partnership (PPP) basis.
  399. Calbuco volcano of Chile erupted after 42 years.
  400. Canada Open Badminton 2015 -
    1. Men's Singles - Lee Chong Wei (Malaysia)
    2. Women's Singles - Michelle Li (Canada)
    3. Men's Doubles - Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen (China)
    4. Women's Doubles - Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa (India)
    5. Mixed Doubles - Lee Chun Hei and Chau Hoi Wah (Hong Kong)
  401. Canadian Parliament (House of Commons) approved Bill C-51, Anti-Terror Act, 2015 to empowers countrys spy agencies and give the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) the ability to operate overseas and make preventative arrests.
  402. Cannes Film Festival 2015 -
    1. French thriller Dheepan honoured with Palme d'Or top prize
    2. Indian Movie Masaan won International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) award and Promizing Future Prize Ex-aequo.
    3. Other awards -
      1. Feature Films
        1. Palme d'Or: Dheepan, directed by Jacques Audiard
        2. Grand Prix: Saul Fia (Son of Saul), directed by Laszlo Nemes
        3. Best Director: Hou Hsiao-Hsien (Nie Yinniang - The Assassin)
        4. Best Screenplay: Michel Franco (Chronic)
        5. Best Actress : Emmanuelle Bercot (Mon Roi), Mara (Carol)
        6. Best Actor: Vincent Lindon (La Loi Du Marche - The Measure of a Man)
        7. Jury Prize: The Lobster, directed by Yorgos Lanthimos
      2. Un Certain Regard -
        1. Un Certain Regard Prize - Hrútar (RAMS) directed by Grímur Hakonarson
        2. Jury Prize -  Zvizdan (The High Sun) directed by Dalibor Matanic
        3. Directing Prize: Kishibe No Tabi (Journey to the Shore) directed by Kurosawa Kiyoshi
        4. Talent Prize: Comoara (The Treasure) directed by Corneliu Porumboiu
      3. Promizing Future Prize Ex-aequo
        1. Nahid directed by Ida Panahandeh 
        2. Masaan Directed by Neeraj Ghaywan
      4. Short Films
        1. Palme d'Or - Short Film -  Waves '98 directed by Ely Dagher
  403. Carnatic vocalist Sanjay Subrahmanyan has been selected ‘Sangita Kalanidhi award 2015 of the Music Academy.
  404. Carpet Export Promotion Council (CEPC) will hold 30th India Carpet Expo in October 2015 in Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh).
  405. Central Banking Awards 2015 announced by the Central Banking Publications-
    1. Governor of the Year Award: Raghuram Rajan, RBI Governor
    2. Central Bank of the Year award: The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ)
    3. Lifetime Achievement Award: Jacques de Larosiere former Governor of the Banque de France (1987–1993)
    4. Economics in Central Banking (inaugural award): Claudio Borio, head of the monetary and economic department at the Bank for International Settlements
  406. Central Board Of Excise and Customs Awarded the Prime Ministers Award for Excellence in Public Administration for 2012-13.
  407. Central Statistics Office (CSO) released provisional estimates (PE) of national income for 2014-15 at constant (2011-12) and current prices -
    1. At 125.4 lakh crore rupees, India is now the 10th Largest economy after crossing the 2 trillion USD Mark. However, 10.3 trillion USD China's economy is way ahead from India. USA is still at the top with 17.4 trillion USD Economy.
    2. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at constant prices in 2014-15 will grow at 7.3 % while at current prices it will grow at 10.5 %
    3. In fourth quarter (Jan - Mar) 2014-15, GDP will grow at 7.5 % and at current prices it will grow at 7.7 %.
    4. Gross national income will rise by 7.3 % in 2014-15 as compared to 6.8 % in 2013-14.
    5. Per capita income (Constant Prices) in 2014-15 is 74104 rupees as against 69959 rupees in FY 2013-14.
    6. Per capita income (current prices) in 2014-15 is 87748 rupees as compared to 80388 rupees in 2013-14.
    7. Consumer price index has rises of 6.4 % during 2014-15.
    8. Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) at current and constant prices during 2014-15 are 28.7 and 30.0 % , respectively as compared to 29.7 and 30.7 % in 2013-14.
    9. Sector-wise
      1. Over 7.0 % Growth in trade, hotels, transport, communication and broadcasting and related fields.
      2. Agriculture, forestry and fishing, mining and quarrying, construction grew at 0.2 %, 2.4 % and 4.8 %
      3. Third advance estimates of crop production show decline of 2.3 % in food grain production to 251.12 million tonnes (MT) as cmpared to second advance estimates.
  408. Centre for Science and Environment released report Heat on Power and claimed that Indian coal-based thermal power plants are among most inefficient in world. Report was released by MS Swaminathan, father of Indias Green Revolution.
    • Inefficient resources use and technological backwardness leads to high levels of pollution.
    • Plants are operating at 60-70 % capacity, if capacity utilisation is improved, additional power requirement can be without making new plants.
    • Delhi- based NTPCs Badarpur plant one of the most polluting in the country.
    • 55 % of the units were violating air pollution standards which are already extremely lax.
  409. Chhattisgarh has been awarded for being one of the best-performing states in Renewable Energy Sector in India.
  410. Chhurim Sherpa of Nepal became first woman to climb the Mount Everest summit twice in a week.
  411. Chief Minister of Bihar Jitan Ram Manjhi resigned.
  412. China Successfully tested ICBM DF-41 (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile) with Over 12000 KM Range.
  413. China and Australia signed a free trade agreement to ease up access for Australian beef and wine exporters while helping Chinese car and electronics producers to sell in Australia.
  414. China and Pakistan signed an agreement on China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) plan worth 46 billion USD. As part of the agreement, China will provide up to 37 billion USD in investment for energy projects to generate 16400 MW of power and Concessional loans will cover nearly 10 billion USD infrastructure projects.
  415. China has opened 2nd land border crossing in Tibet via Nathu La, Sikkim to allow Indian pilgrims for Kailash-Mansarovar yatra. Eerlier Lipulekh Pass route in Uttarakhand was damaged in Uttarakhand floods in 2013.
  416. China launched a freight train service between its northeastern city of Harbin and Europe of Length 10000 KMs.
  417. China launched massive Silk Road Infrastructure project worth 79.8 billion USD in northwest province of Gansu as part of Chinas ambitious Silk Route plan that will add more than 60000 kilometres of road network including 4070 km expressways over next six-years..
  418. China quashed bid of Taiwan to become a full member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) for lack of appropriate name.
  419. China unveiled world's first facial recognition ATM. It will allow withdrawal of cash only after matching face. The ATM machine is created by Tsinghua University and Tzekwan Company.
  420. China won 2015 Nongfu Spring Snookers World Cup defeating Scotland in Shanghai (China).
  421. China's Minister of Religious Affairs Mr. Wang Zuoan Visited India.
  422. China's submersible Jiaolong started exploration for active hydrothermal vent for first time in southwestern Indian Ocean.
  423. Chinas National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) released new action plan One Belt, One Road meant to establish new routes linking Asia, Europe and Africa.
    1. It has two parts, a new Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB) linking China to Europe that cuts through mountainous regions in Central Asia and the Maritime Silk Road (MSR) to link China's port facilities with the African coast and push through Suez Canal into the Mediterranean Sea.
  424. Chinese Shenyang Aerospace University and Liaoning general aviation academy have created world's first electric aircraft named BX1E . It has 14.5-meter wingspan and maximum payload of 230 kgs. It can fly at height of 3,000 meters. It charges in two hours allowing flight of 45 - 60 minutes at maximum speed of 160 km/hour.
  425. Chinese nuclear physicist Yu Min was was given the State Preeminent Science and Technology Award 2014 by Chinese President Xi Jinping for his research in nuclear weapons since 1960s.
  426. Chithirai Thiruvizha Festival is celebrated in Madurai (Tamilnadu) during Tamil month of Chitirai in April. It is one of the longest celebrations of the world that lasts for one month. First 15 days of the festival is celebrated for Meenakshi, and next 15 days are celebrated for Alagar.
  427. Chrishantha de Silva has been appointed as 21st chief of Sri Lanka Army.
  428. Christine Lagarde, chief of International Monetary Fund visited India.
  429. Classical vocalist Prabha Atre has been honored by Bhimsen Joshi Lifetime Achievement Award-2014.
  430. Colin Barnett, Premier of Western Australia Visited India.
  431. Committee headed by Dr. Hari Gautam for recommending restructuring and strengthening of UGC (University Grants Commission) submitted report to Ministry of Human Resource Development. 
  432. Committee headed by Shanta Kumar submitted report on restructuring of Food Corporation of India (FCI) and suggested to focus procurement on eastern belt and hand over procurement of wheat and rice to six States - Punjab, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Odisha.
  433. Committee headed by Vijay Kelkar for Revisiting & Revitalizing the PPP Model of Infrastructure Development submitted its Report.
  434. Committee on Railway traffic optimization led by Mohd. Jamshed submitted its report to Ministry of Railways.
    1. Committee Suggested Measures to Increase Passenger Traffic and use of Satellite Suggested for Operation and Safety Needs.
  435. Communication and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad launched India Post's E-Commerce Centre in Delhi to cater the e-commerce business enterprises capable of handling 30000 parcels in a day.
  436. Communications and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad inaugurated BSNL Sponsered wi-fi zone at Historical monument Taj Mahal at Agra (Uttar Pradesh).
  437. Communist Party of India (Marxist) CPI (M) elected Sitaram Yechury as fifth general secretary of the party.
  438. Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and China's e-commerce firm Alibaba signed an agreement to provide global platform to Indian small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
  439. Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with National University of Singapore (NUS) to improve Indias rating on ease of doing business and bring it amongst the top 50 countries in the index.
    1. India is currently at 142nd spot in index of Ease of doing business.
  440. Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to deepen partnership between Indian companies and the bank in those countries where the bank has operations.
  441. Conference of State Environment and Forest Ministers held in New Delhi.
  442. Contribution of manufacturing MSME (Micro Small and medium enterprises) sector to GDP during 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12 & 2012-13 has been 7.52, 7.45, 7.39, 7.27 & 7.04 % of GDP respectively, as per GDP Data published by Central Statistics Office (CSO) of MOSPI (Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation).
    1. Taking into account contribution of MSME services sector, which is approx 30.50% during 2012-13, share of MSME sector in GDP during 2012-13 has been total 37.54 % of GDP.
  443. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has set up a Micro Air Vehicle Aerodynamics Research Tunnel (MART) at National Aerospace Laboratories in Bengaluru under National Programme on Micro Air Vehicles (NP-MICAV). It will be used to test fixed-wing, flapping-wing and rotary-wing MAVs.
  444. Cricket South Africa (CSA) announced to start Africa T20 Cup to promote the game and nurture young talent in the continent featuring Zimbabwe, Kenya, Namibia, hosts South Africa and 12 CSA affiliates.
    1. The tournament will be a World Cup-style competition, consisting of four pools of four teams each with the winners of each pool advancing to the semi-finals and eventually to the final.
  445. Cuba's Vice President Miguel Díaz-Canel Visited India.
  446. Cyclone Pam Hit Vanuatu, an Oceanian island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean.
  447. Cyriac Joseph appointed as interim chairperson of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) replacing K.G. Balakrishnan (sixth and longest serving chairman of NHRC).
  448. DK Pandey has been appointed as Director General of Police (DGP) of Jharkhand
  449. David Cameron has been re-elected as prime minister of Britain. His Conservative Party won 331 out of total 650 Seats.
  450. David Granger appointed as eighth President of Guyana (Country in Caribbean coast of South America). He is Former Army Brigadier of Guyana.
  451. Debendranath Sarangi is elected as President of Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFI).
  452. Deep Kumar Upadhyay is appointed as Nepal's ambassador to India.
  453. Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approved buying 38 Pilatus trainer aircrafts from Switzerland at a cost of 1500 crore for training Indian Air Force fighter pilots.
  454. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar Visited Korea.
  455. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar commissioned four Indian Coast Guard (ICG) patrolling and interception vessels in Goa. These are two fast patrol vessels - ICG Amogh and ICG Amey and two interceptor boats Charlie 413 and Charlie 414.
  456. Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar Visited Japan.
  457. Defence Minister of Sweden, Peter Hultqvist visited India.
  458. Defence Minister of Vietnam, Phung Quang Thanh Visited India.
  459. Delhi Assembly Elections 2015 Results -
    1. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won by winning 67 seats out of 70 seats. 3 Seats won by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
    2. Arvind Kejriwal will be seventh Chief Minister of Delhi.
  460. Delhi Government Presented Budget 2015-16. It has been termed as first Swaraj Budget with total size of 41129 crore rupees . 19000 crore rupees is Plan Budget and 22129 crore rupees is as Non-Plan Budget.
  461. Delhi Government launched Indias first e-ration card service that will be linked with Aadhaar cards to enable beneficiaries of Public Distribution System (PDS) to get cards online without hassles.
  462. Delhi Government made Global Positioning System (GPS) mandatory in all public transport vehicles keeping in view security and safety of commuters, especially women.
  463. Delhi Government tied up with Rotary Club for revamping government schools by upgrading sanitation and basic infrastructure facilities of drinking water and toilets.
  464. Delhi High Court (HC) became first court to set up dedicated commercial to ensure speedy disposal of cases and designated four benches to act as commercial courts.
  465. Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) won prestigious Golden Peacock National Quality Award for the year 2015.
  466. Delhi government decided to launch Pay & Play Scheme to promote sports for all age groups in delhi.
  467. Dena Bank signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India to provide insurance cover to all Aadhaar-linked savings account holders of the bank.
  468. Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) data about FDI Inflows Into India in FY 2014-15 -
    1. FDI inflows in services sector grew by over 46% to $3.25 billion in 2014-15 as compared to $2.22 billion in 2013-14. Services sector includes banking, insurance, outsourcing, R&D, courier and technology testing.
    2. Overall foreign inflows also rose by 27% to $30.93 in 2014-15 as compared to $24.29 billion in 2013-14.
  469. Department of Space, Department of Land Resources (DoLR), Ministry of Rural Development signed an MoU on development of Web Geo Portal 'Shrishti' and Mobile App 'Drishti' for Monitoring of IWMP (Integrated Watershed Management Programme) watersheds.
  470. Department of Telecommunications extended date of implementation of the full Mobile Number Portability (MNP) by two months (till 3 July 2015) on the basis of request made by the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI).
  471. Devender Singh Ahluwalia has been appointed as Director (Finance) of National Minerals Development Corporation (NMDC).
  472. Dharmendra Pradhan( Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Petroleum & Natural Gas) visited Mexico and Columbia for enhancing mutual cooperation in hydrocarbons.
  473. Dick Costolo resigned as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Social Network Twitter. Jack Dorsey will be Interim CEO until a replacement is found.
  474. Dick Costolo, CEO of Social Network Twitter, Visited India.
  475. Dilip Babasaheb Bhosale is appointed as Chief Justice of Hyderabad High court (Andhra Pradesh and Telengana) upon retirement of Kalyan Jyoti Sengupta.
  476. Dinesh Oraon of Bharatiya Janata Party has been elected as Speaker of Jharkhand Legislative Assembly
  477. Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence (DGCEI) fined Cadbury India Limited with 570 crore rupees for excise duty.
  478. Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) imposed penalty of 100 crore rupees on Riddhi Siddhi Bullion Limited (RSBL) for violation of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) norms.
  479. Divya Prakash Sinha appointed as Security Secretary in the Union Cabinet Secretariat.
  480. Doris Hart, USA's tennis player Passed Away. He had won each Grand Slam tournament at least once, including three Wimbledon titles in a single day.
  481. Dosmoche festival celebrated in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir.
  482. Dr. Ambedkar National Merit Awards were given to 84 Students belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
  483. Draupadi Murmu appointed as First Woman Governor of Jharkhand.
  484. Dubais 55-storey tall Maze Tower has been listed in Guinness World Record as worlds largest vertical maze.
  485. Dunya Maumoon, Foreign Minister of Maldives Visited India.
  486. E-commerce Portal Snapdeal acquired mobility solutions company Letsgomo Labs.
  487. E-commerce firm Snapdeal acquired Hyderabad-based mobile technology startup MartMobi to strengthen its mobility platform.
  488. Earth Hour 2015 organised by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) observed globally on 28 March 2015 from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm Indian local time with tagline Climate Change. It was ninth edition of Earth Hour starting in 2007.
    1. Earth Hour 2015 was observed across 172 nations and territories and around 1400+ iconic landmarks of the world switched off the lights.
  489. Earthquake of magnitude 7.9 on Richter scale struck Nepal. Reporting of Loss of lives of more than 5000 People. Tremors also felt across India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
  490. Ease of Business Report by Forbes -
    1. India has been ranked at 93rd place in 143 Countries.
    2. Denmark at top, followed by Hongkong.
  491. Ecologists found a new species of fish called Pethia striata in Tunga River in Kudremukh National Park(Karnataka).
  492. Ecuador open tennis tournament has been won by Victor estrella burgos from Czech republic after beating Feliciano lopez from spain.
  493. Edgar Lungu has been appointed as President of african country Zambia.
  494. Eighth India-Nepal Combined Military Exercise Surya Kiran-VIII started in Saljhandi (Nepal).
  495. Election Commission of India launched National Electoral Roll Purification and Authentication Programme (NERPAP) to bring an error free and authenticated electoral roll by Linking of Aadhar data with Electoral Database.
  496. Election Commission of India suspended recognition of P A Sangma's National People's Party (Meghalaya) for failing to file its election expenditure statement.
  497. Election Commission of India will launch Electoral Roll Authentication Mission (ERAM) from March 1to authenticate and purify electoral rolls by using database of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to link Aadhaar number of voters.
  498. Eminent Chemistry scientist and recipient of Bharat Ratna, CNR Rao is conferred by Japans highest civilian award the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star by Japanese Ambassador to India, Takeshi Yagi for his contributions to science and Indo-Japanese science cooperation.
  499. Eminent Indian-American entrepreneur and philanthropist, Frank Islam, has been honored by prestigious Martin Luther King Jr Award for his efforts in international service and civil engagement.
  500. Eminent historian Christopher Alan Bayly (UK) died.
  501. Eminent historian and social scientist Amalendu Guha passed away.
  502. Eminent journalist Shri Amitabha Chowdhury Passed Away.
  503. Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) made Universal Account Number (UAN) mandatory for employers under its purview and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952.
    1. UAN facility was launched by PM Narendra Modi in October 2014. It is portable throughout the lifetime of an employee and removes the need for employees to apply for PF transfer claims while changing jobs.
  504. Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has set up online help desk for tracing inoperative accounts and seek final settlement. There are about 8.15 crore inoperative EPFO accounts with 27000 crore rupees in them.
  505. Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) suspended the 1000 rupees minimum monthly pension scheme (EPS)-95 ) from April 2015 and will hit about 32 lakh pensioners.Government notified resuming the scheme with financial aid from the government.
  506. Environment Ministry cleared 12000 crores Coastal Road Project of Mumbai(Maharashtra) that will cover 35.6 kms. It will decongest Mumbai roads and create 91 hectares of green space.
  507. Ernst & Young (EY) released report Global IPO Trends 2015 with focus on global trends in Initial Public Offerings (IPO) in the Quarter 1 Q1 of 2015
    1. Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) reached top in Initial Public Offerings (IPO) by raising 5.4 billion USD. Followed by Madrid SE (5.3 billion USD), New York SE (3.5 billion USD), London SE (3.4 billion USD), Bursa Malaysia SE (3 billion USD) and Swiss SE (2.5 billion USD).
  508. European Union (EU) approved empowering its naval forces to combat smugglers from Libya and tackle illegal migration.
  509. European Union decided to lift a seven-month-long ban on the import of mangoes from India on account of health concerns.
  510. European Union launched a three-phase naval operation named EU NAVFOR Med (European Union Naval Force Mediterranean Sea) To stop human traffickers from bringing migrants across the Mediterranean to Europe. 
  511. Evans Paul Assumed Office as 18th Prime Minister of Haiti (Caribbean country).
  512. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj Visited Nepal for Participating in International Conference on Nepals Reconstruction after two recent devastating earthquakes.
  513. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj Visited Thailand. A double taxation avoidance treaty was signed and ratified a treaty signed in 2013 to provide framework for extradition of fugitive offenders.
  514. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj launched website of 10th World Hindi Conference (vishwahindisammelan.gov.in) to be held from Sep 10 - 12, 2015 in Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh). Theme of Conference will be Hindi Jagat: Vistar avm sambhavnai. Previous conference was 9th World Hindi Conference held in Johannesburg, South Africa in September 2012.
  515. FM Global Resilience Index 2015 -
    1. Out of the 130 countries and regions assessed Norway topped the list in terms of business resilience with Switzerland and Netherland Following.
    2. Venezuela is at 130th (Last Place).
    3. India is at 119th position in the 2015 Index compared to 112th rank in 2014 Index.
  516. Famous Cartoonist R K Laxman Passed Away.
  517. Famous Cartoonist and political activist Rajinder Puri passed away
  518. Famous Greek Singer Demis Roussos passed away.
  519. Famous Indian Boxer Mary Kom announced to retire from boxing after 2016 Brazil Olympics.
  520. Famous Industrialist, Chairman of JK Group Gaur Hari Singhania Passed Away.
  521. Famous Malayalam Actor Mala Aravindan passed away.
  522. Famous Sports Journalist K Baskaran Passed Away.
  523. Famous Urdu poet Kalim Ahmed Ajiz passws away.
  524. Famous journalist Vinod Mehta Passed Away.
  525. Famous mobile messaging application WhatsApp launched a new service for sending messages from a Web browser.
  526. Faure Essozimna Gnassingbe has been re-elected as President of Togo (West African). He has been presidet of Togo Since 2005.
  527. Federal Bureau of Investigation of USA announced a reward of 3 million USD for information on Evgeniy Mikhailovich Bogachev, one of the worlds most prolific cyber criminal from Russia.
  528. Fertilizer Producer Krishak Bharati Cooperative appointed Chandrapal singh yadav as its chairman.
  529. Filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan won Bishwaratna Bhupen Hazarika International Solidarity Award by Assam government.
  530. Filmmaker Pahlaj Nihalani has been appointed as Chairman of Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).
  531. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Inaugurated New Bank Note Paper Line at Security Paper Mill, Hoshangabad (Madhya Pradesh).
  532. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Vsited Davos (Switzerland).
  533. Finance Ministry appointed committee under chairmanship of Justice Ajit Prakash Shah (head of 20th Law Commission of India) to look into issue of Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) on Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) to resolve the contentious issue of MAT between the tax authorities and the foreign investors.
    1. As per Finance Act 2015, 20 % MAT on Capital Gains made by FIIs is waived off from the financial year 2015-16.
    2. However, the issue of imposing MAT for past years (till 2014-15) has become controversial as the FIIs raised objections to 68 notices (for 602 crores rupees) by International Taxation Wing of the Income Tax Department.
  534. Finance Ministry constituted a Task on Financial Redress Agency (FRA) under Dhirendra Swarup (Former chairman of Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority) to begin work for FRA as recommended by Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission to act as a unified financial redressal agency.
  535. Finance Ministry made Permanent Account Number (PAN) mandatory for private firms seeking Central Excise Registration.
  536. Finance Ministry sanctioned 250 crore rupees to Andhra Pradesh to set up Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for the implementation of the Polavaram Multi Purpose Irrigation Project and 1500 Crore rupees for setting up new capital in Andhra Pradesh.
  537. Finance minister Arun Jaitleylaunched DD News mobile app as an agenda of Prasar Bharati, Doordarshan (DD) and All India Radio (AIR) to have more coverage and give facts.
  538. Financial Benchmarks India Private Limited (FBIL) will adopt FBIL overnight Mumbai Inter-Bank Offer Rate (MIBOR) from 22 July 2015 as a new method to set overnight interest rate benchmark based on traded levels instead of contributions from market participants.
  539. Financial Indicators of 2014-15 (Based on Provisional Accounts for year ended on 31st March, 2015 )
    1. Fiscal Deficit for 2014-15 is 4.0 % as against Target of 4.1 % of GDP (Rs. 5,01,880 crore )
    2. Revenue Deficit for 2014-15 is 2.8% as Against Target of 2.9% of GDP (Rs.3,58,306 crore)
    3. Gross Tax Collections During 2014-15 are Rs. 12,45,037 Crore (Growth of 9% as Compared to last year)
      1. Tax Collestions are 9.8% of GDP.
      2. Devolution of tax collections
        1. States - Rs.3,37,808 crores(higher than Rs.19,578 crore over previous year)
        2. Non Tax Revenue - Rs.1,96,959 crore
        3. Non Debt Capital Receipts including disinvestment - Rs.43,439 crore
    4. Expenditure - Plan Expenditure is Rs.4,35,621 crore and Non-Plan Expenditure is Rs.11,91,140 crore
  540. Financial Stability Report (FSR) June 2015 -
    1. Financial Institutions
      1. Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) -
        1. Public sector banks (PSBs) continued to have lowest capital to risk-weighted assets ratio (CRAR) among the bank-groups.
        2. PSBs have highest level of stressed assets at 13.5 % of total advances as of March 2015, compared to 4.6 per cent for Private Banks.
        3. Non-performing advances (NNPAs) of PSBs increased from 3.1 per cent to 3.2 per cent and from 0.8 per cent to 0.9 per cent for Private Banks.
      2. Urban Co-operative Banks and Non-Bank Financial Companies: 
        1. Asset quality of urban co-operative banks (UCBs) improved while that of non-bank financial companies (NBFCs) weakened further.
    2. Financial Regulation
      1. Financial sector reforms in India are driven by domestic priorities. As risk is essential in financial markets, scurrent Indian regulatory stance is balanced, predictable and technology neutral regulatory regime for the entire financial system.
      2. Banking - Policy initiatives for improving governance at PSBs will help improve their poor performance as they are look to clean balance sheets in wake of regulatory impetus.
      3. Securities market - Concerns from rise in algorithm trading in recent years highlights need for caution for Indias securities markets. Significant steps have been taken to curb illegal money-raising activities, insider trading and strengthening the risk management systems.
      4. Insurance - Agricultural insurance needs urgent focus due to frequent weather calamities and their impact on farmers.
      5. Pension - Atal Pension Yojana has been started by Government to meet challenges of old age income security arising due to Expected shifts in demography in coming decades .
    3. Financial Risks
      1. Global - Global economic recovery still is far from being self-sustaining. Development in Greek debt crisis front and uncertainty over timing of rate increases by the US Federal Reserve are immediate possible triggers for global financial market volatility.
      2. Domestic - There is improvement in the Indian economic environment and expected to be better in near future speacially due to strong foreign portfolio flows to India during past year.
  541. Finlands opposition Centre Party led by Juha Sipila won General Elections. Juha Sipila will be 44th Prime Minister of Finland.
  542. First Business Session of 48TH Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) held in Baku(Capital of Azerbaijan). Finance Minister Arun Jaitley attended on India's Behalf.
  543. First Indo-Nepal Friendship Motor Rally concluded at India Gate in New Delhi aimed at strengthening bilateral relations between India and Nepal and spreading the message of road safety.
  544. First Renewable Energy Global Investors Meet & Expo, called RE-Invest 2015 held in New Delhi to attract large scale investments for the renewable energy sector in India.
  545. First World Ocean Science Congress (WOSC) held in Kochi (Kerala) with theme Protect Oceans for Posterity and Blue Economyand aim is to find sustainable means to utilize the resources carefully without causing any damage to the oceans and its marine life.
  546. First cow-urine refinery inaugurated at Pathmeda village in Jalore district of Rajasthan for research on the cow products.
  547. First phase (10-km stretch) of Chennai Metro inaugurated by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.
  548. Flight 4U 9525 of Germanwings Airbus A320, budget carrier airline of Germanys Lufthansa, crashed in French Alps.
  549. Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has set up an Expert Group under D Prabhakaran to examine impact of Foods with High in Fat, Sugar and Salt (HFSS) (also called Junk Food) on the health of consumers.
  550. Football Club Chelsea won Barclays Premier League 2014-15 defeating Crystal Palace.
  551. Football Club Chelsea won the Football League Cup 2014-15 by defeating Tottenham Hotspur.
  552. Forbes Asia's 'Best Under A Billion' list 2015 (200 Asian Companies with annual Revenue 5 Million - 1 Billion USD) -
    1. 11 Indian companies Avanti Feeds and Borosil Glass Works were placed in this list
    2. list was dominated by China (84) and Taiwan (36). South Koread (17) was third While India 4th with 11 Companies.
  553. Forbes annual Global Billionaires 2015 list -
    1. Bill Gates - co-founder of Microsoft topped the list for the 16th time with worth of 79.2 billion USD dollars.
    2. United States topped list with 536 Billionaires, followed by China (213), Germany (103) rich people and India (90).
    3. Carlos Slim Helu from Mexico telecommunications mogul ranked second with worth 77.1 billion USD and Warren Buffet, chief of Berkshire Hathaway Inc was ranked third with 72.7 billion USD.
    4. Mukesh Ambani is ranked Richest Indian with 21 Billion USD Worth and overall rank 39.
  554. Forbes list of Worlds 100 Most Powerful Women of 2015 -
    1. Top 10 powerful women -

      Rank 

            Name

      1

      Angela Merkel (Germany)

      2

      Hillary Clinton (USA)

      3

      Melinda Gates (USA)

      4

      Janet Yellen (USA)

      5

      Mary Barra (USA)

      6

      Christine Lagarde (France)

      7

      Dilma Rousseff (Brazil)

      8

      Sheryl Sandberg (USA)

      9

      Susan Wojcicki (USA)

      10

      Michelle Obama (USA)

    2. Indian Women in the List - Arundhati Bhattacharya (30th - Chairperson of State Bank of India), Chanda Kochhar (35th - MD and CEO of ICICI Bank), Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (85th - CMD of Biocon Limited), Shobhana Bhartia( 93rd - Editorial Director of Hindustan Times).
  555. Forbes released Asias 50 Power Businesswomen 2015 list with six Indian women featured in it -
    1. Arundhati Bhattacharya, CMD, State Bank of India
    2. Chanda Kochchar, CEO, ICICI Bank,
    3. Akhila Srinivasan, MD/Non-Executive Director, Shriram Life Insurance/Shriram Capital
    4. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Founder, Chairman and MD, Biocon
    5. Shikha Sharma, CEO and MD, Axis Bank
    6. Usha Sangwan, MD, Life Insurance Corp. of India
  556. Forbes released Global 2000 Companies list of the worlds powerful companies as measured by revenues, profits and market value.
    1. These 2000 companies are from 61 countries with combined revenues of 39 trillion USD, profits of 3 trillion USD, assets worth 162 trillion USD and market value of 48 trillion US dollar.
    2. At the top is Industrial and Commercial Bank of China for third consecutive year. Bank of China jumped 5 spots to the 4th Place. For the first time, Chinas four biggest banks own the top four spots. 
    3. Berkshire Hathaway is at 5th place, making Warren Buffets company largest in USA.
    4. China and USA occupy top 10 spots for a second year in a row. 
    5. USA has most (579) companies in the top 2000 List. China second (232 ), Japan third (218) and UK fourth (95) companies
    6. Among Continents, Asia at top with 691 Copanies, North America has 645 companies Europe 486 companies. 
    7. Two countries debut on the list this year: Argentina and Cyprus.
    8. India added two companies this year.
    9. At top of Indian Companies is Reliance Industries (142th) with market value of 42.9 billion USD. Followed by State Bank of India (152th) with 33 billion USD Market Value.
    10. The other Indian companies on the list are Oil and Natural Gas (183), Tata Motors (263), ICICI Bank (283), Indian Oil (349), HDFC Bank (376), NTPC (431), Tata Consultancy Services (485), Bharti Airtel (506), Axis Bank (558), Infosys (672), Bharat Petroleum (757), Wipro (811), Tata Steel (903) and Adani Enterprises (944).
  557. Forbes' List of World's Richest Athletes -
    1. Cricketer Mahdenra Singh Dhoni is only Indian among world's richest athletes. He has been ranked 23rd in the List with USD 31 Million Annual Earnings.
    2. Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. (USA) is richest Athlete in the world with $105 million Annual Earnings.
  558. Foreign Minister of Spain, Jose Manuel Garcia Margallo visited India. He Proposed to co-operate in developing Delhi as global and smart city.
  559. Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar completed his SAARC Yatra and visited Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Bhutan.
  560. Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20 announced by Minister of Commerce & Industry Mrs. Nirmala Sitharaman -
    1. The new five year Foreign Trade Policy, 2015-20 provides a framework for increasing exports of goods and services as well as generation of employment and increasing value addition in the country, in keeping with the Make in India”.
    2. Introduces two new schemes, namely Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS)” for export of specified goods to specified markets and Services Exports from India Scheme (SEIS)” for increasing exports of notified services.
    3. For grant of rewards under MEIS, the countries have been categorized into 3 Groups, whereas the rates of rewards under MEIS range from 2% to 5%. Under SEIS the selected Services would be rewarded at the rates of 3% and 5%.
  561. Foreign direct investment (FDI) into India declined by over 6 % in November 2014 to USD 1.53 billion as compared to USD 1.63 billion FDI In November 2013. However, for the April-November period of the ongoing fiscal, FDI grew by 22 per cent to USD 18.88 billion as against USD 15.45 billion in the same period a fiscal before, according to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion data.
  562. Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai Visited India.
  563. Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser passed away.
  564. Former Bihar Chief Minister (CM) Ram Sundar Das passed away
  565. Former Chief Minister of Odisha Janaki Ballabh Patnaik died.
  566. Former Dutch Hockey team coach Paul van Ass is appointed as head Coach of Indian men's hockey team.
  567. Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has been appointed as Governor of Ukraine's southern Odessa region.
  568. Former Indian Test Cricketer Hemant Kanitkar Passed Away.
  569. Former Indian cricketer Rahul Dravid is named as coach of India ‘A and Under-19 cricket teams.
  570. Former Indian cricketer Saurav Ganguly has been given Honorary Life Membership to england's Marylebone Cricket Club.
  571. Former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed Sentenced To 13 year Imprisonment by countrys criminal court under the anti-terrorism laws.
  572. Former Mizoram Chief Minister Brig Thenphunga Sailo died.
  573. Former New Zealand cricketer Martin David Crowe inducted into ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.
  574. Former Prime Minister Of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee will be honored by Bangladesh for his outstanding support for the countrys independence from Pakistan in 1971 when he was a Lok Sabha member.
  575. Former Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov Died.
  576. Former Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo has been appointed as new Chancellor of Nalanda University(Bihar)
  577. Former South African Reserve Bank governor Tito Mboweni has been appointed as non-executive director to the board the Brics New Development Bank (NDB). South African Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene said that the BRICS Bank will be operational by End of December 2015.
  578. Former Turkey President Suleyman Demirel passed Away.
  579. Former Union minister M Veerappa Moily has been selected for prestigious Saraswati Samman for 2014 for his famous Kannada poem ‘Ramayana Mahanveshanam.
  580. Former West Indies fast bowler Wes Hall was inducted into ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.
  581. Former cricketers Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman are inducted into BCCIs newly-constituted cricket advisory committee.
  582. Former cricketers Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman are were inducted into the BCCIs newly-constituted cricket advisory committee.
  583. Fortune Magazine released list of 2015 roster of Worlds 50 Greatest Leaders -
    1. Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi at 5th rank and Nobel Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi at 28th rank.
    2. List topped by Apple CEO Tim Cook, Followed by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi at second and Chinese President Xi Jingping at third Rank.
  584. Forum for Human Rights and Justice (FHRJ) organised a Marathon named Ajanmi Beti Ke liye Daud (Protecting the Unborn Girl) in Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) in view of declining sex ratio in the state (906 females per 1000 males).
  585. Four Indians will be conferred with the Spring Imperial Decorations of Japan among the 85 foreign recipients to be conferred by Emperor of Japan Akihito.
    1. Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star - Thottuvelil Krishna Pillai Aiyappankutty Nair, Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra Rao
    2. Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays - Nikunj Parekh
    3. Orders of the Sacred Treasure, Gold and Silver Rays - Topgay Bhutia
  586. Four new fish species discovered in Kerala with names - Puntius nelsoni, Puntius nigronotus, Systomus chryseusand and Systomus rufus.
  587. Fourteenth (14th) edition of Indo-French naval exercise VARUNA started in Goa.
  588. Fourteenth Multi-Parametric Geophysical Observatory (MPGO) inaugurated in Port Blair (Andaman and Nicobar Island) and Port Blair Magnetic Observatory inaugurated to monitor seismic activities.
  589. Fourth Anti Submarine Warfare (ASW) Corvette of Project-28 christened Kavaratti launched at Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd (GRSE), Kolkata.
  590. Fourth Lighthouse Museum of India to be opened at Kannur (Kerala).
    1. Other three lighthouses museums - Alappuzha (Kerala), Chennai and Mahabalipuram (TamilNadu).
  591. France agreed to provide 25% discount on deal for purchase of 36 Rafale MMRCA (medium multi-role combat aircraft) aircrafts by India. India will gain a lot in this deal as Qatar will pay about 290 Million USD for purchasing 24 of same aircrafts from France while India would pay about 200 Million USD per aircraft.
  592. France announced ban on wearing earphones while driving a vehicle and riding a cycle to reduce accidents.
  593. France signed a 5.9 billion USD deal with Egypt for supplying 24 Rafale fighter planes to Egypt.
  594. Frence's Parliament approved a surveillance law to strengthens intelligence services to prevent terrorist attacks. 
  595. French Defence Minister Le Drian visited India.
  596. French Naval Ships Dixmude and Aconit visited Visakhapatnam (India).
  597. French Open Tennis 2015 -
    1. Male - Stanislas Wawrinka (Switzerland) won his first French Open Mens single title defeating Novak Djokovic of Serbia.
    2. Female - Serena Williams (USA) defeated Czech Republic's Lucie Safarova. It's 20th grand slam win for Serena.
  598. French magazine Charlie Hebdo has been presented with Freedom of Expression Courage Award 2015 by PEN American Centre at the American Museum of Natural History.
  599. French weekly magazine Charlie Hebdos Paris office was attacked by Terrorists reportedly due to the aggressive history of Charlie Hebdo and Publishing of Cartoons of Islamic Prophet Mohammed.
  600. G Mohan Kumar is appointed as new Defence Secretary of India replacing Radha Krishna Mathur.
  601. G Satheesh Reddy is appointed as Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister.
  602. G. Gurucharan has been appointed as Director General of Bureau of Indian Standards. He is also Additional Secretary, Department of Food & Public Distribution.
  603. General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re) will develop an insurance product for Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Financial Services (DFS) to provide insurance cover for liability arising from Civil Liability for Nuclear Damages (CLND) Act, 2010 for benefit of staff of nuclear power plants.
  604. General Muhammadu Buhari of All Progressives Congress (APC) party won Presidential Elections of Nigeria.
  605. Georgia won Womens World Team Chess Championship by defeating China in China.
  606. German Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks visited India for Indo-German Environment Forum and Pledged to co-operate with India in cleaning of Ganga river and financial assistance of 3 Million euros.
  607. German Tennis star Steffi Graf has been appointed as Ayurveda brand ambassador of Kerala state.
  608. German scientists combined sunlight from a Solar Vacuum Tower Telescope in Canary Islands with light of Laser Frequency Comb (LFC) to make possible searching Earth-like planets with ease and precision.
  609. Germany's Deutsche Bank appointed John Cryan as CWO replacing Anshu Jain.
  610. Germany's Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen Visited India.
  611. Gian Parkash Mittal resigned as a Judge of Delhi High Court.
  612. Global Doping Report 2013 by World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) -
    1. India is ranked third in Anti-Doping Rule Violations Report for year 2013.
    2. As per report, 91 Indian athletes were tested positive for banned substances in 2013.
    3. Russia (212) and Turkey (155) are ahead of India in this list.
  613. Global Intellectual Property Center Released  third annual International IP Index for 30 Countries and ranked India at 29th place with Thailand at bottom and USA at top.
  614. Global Peace Index Report 2015 by Australia's global think-tank Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) -
    1. It ranked 162 countries on the basis of safety and security in society, domestic and international conflicts and militarization Index.
    2. Iceland is most peaceful country in the world while Syria is least peaceful.
    3. India has been ranked 143 while Pakistan is ranked 154.
    4. In 2014, 69 countries reported deaths from terrorism, up from 60 in 2013, marking increase of terror tactics.
  615. Global Rating Agency Moody's forecasted Indian economy will grow at 7.5 percent in 2015. This growth rate is marginally higher compared with 7.2 percent in 2014.
    1. The growth projections come after Moodys revised Indias sovereign ratings outlook to positive (Baa3) from stable. Another ratings agency, Fitch, had reaffirmed its stable outlook on India.
  616. Global Talent Competitiveness Index By INSEAD Business School and Human Capital Leadership Institiute of Singapore -
    1. Switzerland Topped The List, Followed by Singapore and Luxembourrg.
    2. India Got 78th Place in the List with Yemen at Last.
  617. Global community pledged financial support of 3.8 billion USD for crisis hit Syria at the third International Humanitarian Pledging Conference for Syria held in Kuwait city (Kuwait).
  618. Global warming will lead to extinction of 1 in 6 species by end of century if emission of carbon dioxide stays the same as per a study Accelerating extinction risk from climate change by Mark C. Urban of University of Connecticut (USA).
  619. Goa Government launched hot air balloon and amphibious vehicles service to add attractions to its tourism portfolio.
  620. Google India won Randstad Award 2015 for Most Attractive Employer in India with Sony India as runner-up. Other Awards were
    1. Manufacturing - Tata Steel
    2. FMCG - P&G
    3. Automobile - Honda India
    4. Microsoft India has been inducted into the Hall of Fame category this year for winning the coveted Randstad Award title for four consecutive years.
    5. Randstad Awards are given each year to encourage best practices for talent attraction and to identify the best ‘Employer Brand in the country.
  621. Google appointed Ruth Porat as Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
  622. Googles CEO Larry Page has named as the ‘business person of the year for 2014 by Fortune magazine.
  623. Govberment Approved including Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh in National Dairy Plan Phase - I and extended the project period by two years to 2018-19.
  624. Govbernment approved Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) to apply to Registrar of Companies for converting it into a Section 3 company under the Companies Act, 2013 (No, 18 of Companies act 1956) AND renaming it as Renewable Energy Corporation of India (RECI). With This,
    1. SECI will be able to own solar power plants, generate and sell power and manufacturing of solar products and materials.
    2. SECI will work in development of all segments of renewable energy - geo-thermal, off-shore wind, tidal etc. apart from solar energy after being renamed as RECI.
    3. Section 8 of Companies Act, 2013 [earlier Section 25 of Companies Act 1956] defines formation of companies with charitable objects and commercial aspects of a business entity are completely prohibited. It is the reason behind SECI applying to be be converted to Section 3 company [earlier Section 18 of Companies Act 1956] as here the company is mainly for commercial activities without any limitation.
    4. Government also decided to enlarge the scope of the activities of SECI to cover all renewable energy sources to provide a comprehensive solution for renewable energy generation in the country.
  625. Governement released commemorative coin on 100th anniversary of Swami Chinmayananda.
  626. Governmenrt approved Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for entering into an agreement with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka for extending $1.1 billion as a special Currency swap outside the Framework on Currency Swap Arrangement for SAARC Member Countries.
    1. India has a Framework on Currency Swap Arrangement for SAARC Member Countries since 2012. The facility is available to all SAARC member countries with a floor of $100 million and ceiling of $ 400 million within an overall limit of $ 2 billion and is valid till November 14, 2015.
  627. Government Scrapped Planning Commission (Formed in 1950) and created National Institute of Transforming India (NITI) Aayog.
  628. Government accepted recommendations of M P Bezbaruah committee to look into concerns of people of the the North East states living in other parts of the country.
  629. Government allowed Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) to invest 5 % of its corpus in Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) to bring around five thousand crore rupees into the stock markets during fiscal 2015-16.
  630. Government allowed National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to issue Tax Free Infrastructure Bonds of Rs. 24000 crore and Capital Gain Tax Exemption Bonds of Rs. 4000 crore in the financial year 2015-16.
  631. Government allowed fertiliser firms to produce 100 % Neem-Coated Urea to boost income of farmers and reducing subsidy bill by up to 6500 crore rupees.
    1. Neem coated urea
      1. Neem coated urea works as insecticide. It costs 5 % more than the cost of normal urea which is about 260 rupees per tonne.
      2. It will reduce ground and soil pollution, increase crop yields and will lower cost for the farmers.
      3. It reduces nitrogen loss by more than 10 % thereby gaining a net savings of 13.5 rupees per bag for farmers.
  632. Government announced to re-issue One Rupee Note after two decades of outage.
  633. Government announced to set up Skill Development Centers in all the 40 parliamentary constituencies of Bihar.
  634. Government announced to start toll-free helpline for tuberculosis patients to enable them to reach out to medical care by government with ease.
  635. Government appointed Kerala Finance Minister KM Mani as chairman of Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers as a key person for the Centre to roll out Goods and Services Tax (GST) on targeted date of April 1, 2016.
  636. Government appointed M Sathiyavathy as First Women Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
  637. Government appointed New chairman for Various DRAT (Debt Recovery Appellate Tribunal) -
    1. VK Mathur as Chairman of Allahabad bench of DRAT.
    2. Girija Shankar as Chairman of Chennai bench of DRAT.
  638. Government approved 21 proposals of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of Rs.280.70 crores on recommendations of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).
  639. Government approved 2486 Crore Rupees for development of Dholera (Gujarat) as India's first smart city.
  640. Government approved 33 % reservation for women in police forces of all Union territories (UTs) including delhi.
  641. Government approved 643 crore rupees drinking water and sewerage project for Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) for World Bank funding. World Bank will provide loan of 514 crore rupees for this Project of three years duration.
  642. Government approved Housing for All by 2022 Mission aimed at providing housing facilities to all eligible people in urban areas by 2022.
  643. Government approved Namami Gange Program to clean Ganga river in a comprehensive manner with a budget outlay of Rs. 20,000 crore for the next 5 years.
    1. Government of India has incurred over Rs. 4000 crore on this cleaning ganga since 1985.
  644. Government approved Enhancing Indias solar power capacity target under Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) by five times to 1,00,000 MW by 2022 (From 20000 MW Earlier). It will comprise of 40000 MW Rooftop and 60000 MW through Grid Connected Solar Power Projects. Total cost will be around Rs. 6,00,000 crores. 
  645. Government approved Gujarat State's Climate Change Action Plan 2015-2020 with proposal to invest over 21000 crores for creating environment-friendly water resource management, public health and agriculture improvement projects by 2020.
  646. Government approved Memorandum of Cooperation with Japan's Japan Patent Office (JPO) for cooperation in field of Industrial Property (IP).
  647. Government approved NCAOR (National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research) 's acquisition of A Polar Research Vehicle with cost 1050 Crore Rupees for Research in Antartica, Artic and Southern Ocean Region.
  648. Government approved Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) Continuation Programme consisting of fifteen operational flights PSLV-C36 to PSLV-C50 during 2017-2020 with cost of 3090 crore rupees.
  649. Government approved Project-17A worth 8 billion USD for building 7 advanced warships with stealth and other advanced features for avoiding detection. These frigates be built at government shipyards in Mumbai and Kolkata.
    1. Aim is to boost Make in India campaign for building domestic defence industrial base and reduce dependencies on expensive foreign suppliers.
  650. Government approved a development package of 850 crore rupees for Andhra Pradesh for development of backward areas of Rayalaseema and North Coastal region of the State
  651. Government approved amending Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988 to fight the black money inside the country by Seizing benami properties and putting fine with imprisonmet.
  652. Government approved building GSAT-17 and GSAT-18 communication satellites, weighing over 3400 Kgs each, for providing replacement capacity with total budget of Rs. 1020 crores each in a period of 30 months with structure similar to GSAT-10 satellite.  These satellites will provide replacement capacity in different frequency bands and protect operational services.
  653. Government approved construction of Rs 4,318.28 crore trunk infrastructure components in Dholera Special Investment Region (DSIR) in Gujarat and Shendra Bidkin Industrial Area (SBIA) in Maharashtra in the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) project.
  654. Government approved continuation of Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) with Rs.3900 crore cost during XII Five Year Plan. 642 esisting KVKs will be continued and 109 new KVKs will be established as per the scheme.
  655. Government approved enhancing authorised capital of NMDFC (National Minorities Development & Finance Corporation) to 3000 crore rupees from 1500 crore rupees
  656. Government approved introducing Bureau of Indian Standards Bill, 2015 to provide new provisions in existing Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 1986. Main Provisions are -  
    1. Bureau of Indian standards (BIS) to be established as National Standards Body of India 
    2. It wil include goods, services and systems, besides articles and processes under the standardization regime.
    3. It will promote ease of doing business by allowing multiple simplified conformity assessment schemes including Self Declaration Of Conformity (SDOC) against any standard. It will give multiple simplified options to manufacturers to adhere to standards and get a certificate of conformity.
    4. Government will be able to -
      1. apply mandatory certification regime on processes wherever necessary to maintain health,safety and security. It will help consumers receive ISI certified products and will prevent import of sub-standard products.
      2. Appoint any authority along with Bureau of Indian Standards to verify conformity of products and services.
      3. Implement mandatory hallmarking of precious metal articles and also strengthen penal provisions for better compliance and enable compounding for violations. 
    5. This bill will promote a culture of quality of products and services through mandatory/voluntary compliance with Indian standards through 'product certification' and 'Certificate of Conformity' by Empowering BIS and Government.
  657. Government approved mandatory packaging of sugar and foodgrains in jute material to minimum extent of up to 90 per cent of production as a major boost to jute sector.
  658. Government approved name change of Bangalore city railway station as ‘Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna railway station.
  659. Government approved proposal of Ministry of Culture for setting up a National Memorial at birth place of Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan in Chhapra (Saran) in Bihar.
  660. Government approved proposal to promulgate Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Ordinance, 2015 in parliament to amend Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 that is related to jurisdiction related issues for filing cases for offence committed under section 138 of NI Act. Key Features are -
    1. Cases of bouncing of cheques can be filed only in a court in whose jurisdiction the bank branch of the payee (person who receives the cheque) lies.
    2. All cases filed against a person will be transferred to the court with the appropriate jurisdiction.
  661. Government approved providing overdraft facility of drawing upto rs. 5000 from accounts opened under PMJDY (Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhayn Yojana). The amount is to be paid in 3 years with maximum 2% applicable interest.
  662. Government approved revising Double Taxation Avoidance Convention (DTAC) with Korea (signed in 1985) to prevent fiscal evasion of taxes. Revised Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) will provide tax stability to Both Countries. 
  663. Government approved revival of closed urea unit of Fertilizer Corporation India Limited (FCIL) at Sindri (Jharkhand) with an investment of Rs 6000 crore.  This unit was not in operations since 2002.
  664. Government approved setting up of 15000 Mega Watt (MW) Grid-connected Solar Photo Voltaic (SPV) Power projects under National Solar Mission (NSM) due to high hopes in Solar Power in recent years. It will be implemented through National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Limited (VVNL) in three tranches.
  665. Government approved setting up of six new Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) at Vishakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), Bodh Gaya (Bihar), Sirmaur (Himachal Pradesh), Nagpur (Maharashtra), Sambalpur (Odisha) and Amritsar (Punjab). These six new IIMs will commence academic sessions from 2015-16 with each having intake of 140 students in the Post Graduate Programme (PGP) courses.
  666. Government approved signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Bangladesh for prevention of human trafficking. An agreement for Coastal Shipping was also signed to carry out coastal movement of goods.
  667. Government approved signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Sweden for cooperation in Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. 
  668. Government approved signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Renewable Energy Cooperation between India and Seychelles in March, 2015 during visit of PM Narendra Modi to Seychelles.
  669. Government approved signing of a shipping agreement between India and Jordan for strengthening cooperation and to provide sustained mutual assistance and advice on merchant shipping and other related maritime matters.
  670. Government approved spending of about one lakh crore on urban development under two new urban missions over the next five years namely Smart Cities Mission and the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation of 500 cities (AMRUT) with outlays of Rs.48,000 crore and Rs.50,000 crores respectively.
  671. Government approved the 4000 crore renuka dam project in Himachal Pradesh. It will provide 275 million gallons of water to Delhi every day and will produce 40 MW Power for Himchal Pradesh.
  672. Government approved to set up India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) in Tamil Nadu
  673. Government cancelled licences of nearly 9,000 Non-Governmental Organisations for violation of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) due to non filing annual returns for the 2009 - 2011.
  674. Government constituted a committee under former Union Home Secretary Anil Baijal to suggest a framework to assess Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities undertaken by companies.
  675. Government created three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by Pramod Asthana for re-investigation of 1984 anti-Sikh riot cases.
  676. Government created two committees to facilitate implementation of GST (Goods & Services Tax) from April 1, 2016.
    1. First committee will be headed by Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) and will recommend the possible rates of (GST) that would be consistent with the present level of revenue collection of the Centre and States.
    2. Second committees will be aimed to facilitate implementation of new indirect tax regime and will comprise of Additional Secretary in Revenue Department, Member Secretary and State Finance Ministers.
  677. Government decided to hike Wages of Government owned Banks' Employees by 15% and decided to keep holiday on alternate saturday with other saturdays being fully working days unlike currently policy of half days work on each saturday in the month.
  678. Government decided to link interest rates of State PFs (General Provident Fund and other similar funds), Superannuation and Gratuity Funds for the FY 2015-16 to Public Provident Fund (PPF) rates and fix the rates 8.7% per annum applicable to the following.
    1. The General Provident Fund (Central Services)
    2. The Contributory Provident Fund (India).
    3. The All India Service Provident Fund
    4. The State Railway Provident Fund.
    5. The General Provident Fund (Defence Services).
    6. The Indian Ordnance Provident Fund.
    7. The Indian Ordnance Factories Workmens Provident Fund
    8. The Indian Naval Dockyard Workmens Provident Fund.
    9. The Defence Services Officers Provident Fund
    10. The Armed Forces Personnel Provident Fund.
      1. Recently, Government announced to keep interest rates for PPF and other Small Savings Schemes intact. Note that interest rates for 5 year Senior citizen Saving Scheme and Sukanya Samriddhi Account Scheme were increased from 9.2 to 9.3% and 9.1 to 9.2% for welfare of girl child and senior citizens.
  679. Government decided to move the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana from Labour and employment ministry to the Ministry of Health and family welfare.
  680. Government divested 10 % Stake in Maharatna Coal India Limited (CIL). With this, governments share in CIL came down to 79.65 %. Government divested 63.16 crores shares (10 %) of CIL through offer for sale (OFS) at a floor price of 358 rupees per share and got an amount of 22557.63 crore rupees through the disinvestment.
  681. Government extended Tourist Visa scheme to 31 more countries, bringing the total number of countries under the scheme up to 76.
  682. Government extended controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) to almost entire state of Arunachal Pradesh due to serious law and order situation in the state.
  683. Government extended deadline for rolling out National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013 by six months to help remaining states adopt and implement the law as soon as possible.
  684. Government gave in-principle approval for concept and institutional framework of Sagarmala Project aimed at development of ports and to provide infrastructure to transport goods to and from ports efficiently.
  685. Government has set up a task force headed by former chairman of Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) D Swarup. Task of the committee is to lay a roadmap for setting up Financial Redressal Agency (FRA) as recommended by the Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC) to create a unified grievance resolution mechanism for the entire financial sector.
  686. Government has set up committee headed by Ajay Shankar to examine the possibility of replacing multiple prior permissions with pre-existing regulatory mechanism.
  687. Government imposed anti-dumping duty on imports of graphite electrodes for five years to protect domestic industry from below-cost shipments of graphite electrodes used in steel melting.
  688. Government inaugerated work on an Apparel & Garment Making Centre and a Weavers Service Centre in Nagaland as part of NERTPS (North East Region Textile Promotion Scheme) with total outlay of Rs. 1038 crores in 12th Five Year Plan.
  689. Government increased national floor-level minimum wage (NFLMW) to 160 rupees from 137 rupees per day. Now states will have to revise their minimum wages as per the new NFLMW  such that none of the scheduled employments, the minimum wage is less than NFLMW.
  690. Government increased number of workdays under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) from 100 days to 150 days in drought-affected areas.
  691. Government is setting up an Indian Culinary Institute (ICI) at Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh with a Northern Region Centre at Noida, Uttar Pradesh.
  692. Government launched USTAAD scheme in Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh)  for growth of lakhs of traditional artisans of the city.
  693. Government launched Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric vehicles (FAME) India Scheme to boost sales of eco-friendly vehicles in the country as part of the National Mission for Electric Mobility.
  694. Government launched Indian Nuclear Insurance Pool (INIP) of 1,500 crore rupees as per mandatory provision under Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act (CLND), 2010.
    1. It will be 27th such pool globally. It will give operator the Right to Recourse and allow it to sue the suppliers in case of any accident.
    2. General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re) is the fund operator of this Rs. 1,500 crore Indian insurance pool along with 11 other non-life insurers as associates of the pool.
  695. Government launched Website, Logo, Vision and Mission of National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL). Site - www.nhidcl.com Logo: Building Infrastructure - Building the Nation.
  696. Government launched e-CPMP (Electronic Coal Projects Monitoring Portal) for tracking projects entailing investments related to coal.
  697. Government launched nation-wide ‘Soil Health Card (SHC) scheme in Rajasthan.
    1. The Soil Health Card under this scheme will be issued to 14 crore holdings and will carry crop-wise recommendations of fertilizers required for farms of different soil types. It will help farmers in identifying health of the soil therefore improving productivity through proper use of fertilizers and water.
  698. Government launched online grievances monitoring system called MADAD with tagline Because You Are Us for redressing consular grievances to help Indians living abroad to file grievances online about services by Indian Missions and Embassy.
  699. Government launched online system for submission of the Long Term Visa (LTV) applications by Pakistani nationals to address difficulty of the minority communities in Pakistan who come to India for permanent settlement. The applications can be submitted online through indianfrro.gov.in/frro.
  700. Government launched website of Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA) and pressed the need for minimizing use of animals for carrying out experiments.
  701. Government launched website of National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog at URL - http://www.Niti.Gov.In. Website was launched by Arvind Panagariya, Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog.
  702. Government launched women safety mobile app called Himmat.
  703. Government made Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) eligible under Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) to enable foreign investment inflows into real estate projects, that was prohibited as of now. 
  704. Government on allocated 5000 crore rupees for growth of Department of AYUSH (comprising Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy).
  705. Government plans to push for Green Bonds to meet its target to install 100 gigawatts (GW) of solar power and 60000MW of wind power by 2022 for which it needs 200 billion USD.
    1. Green Bonds (Climate Bonds) are fixed-income financial instruments linked to climate change solutions. These bonds are dollar / rupee denominated and are a new asset class. Like normal bonds, these can be issued by governments, multi-national banks or corporations.
  706. Government reconstituted Empowered Committee for setting up of Semiconductor Wafer Fabrication (FAB) manufacturing facilities in the country under NITI Aayog member V K Saraswat.
  707. Government reconstituted Nehru Memorial Museum Library Society (NMMLS) on the occasion of its 41st AGM.
  708. Government reconstituted Pollution Control Board Working Group to simplify procedures to get consent certificates and categorisation of industries. The Working Group comprising of 11 members will be headed by Ayi Vaman N Acharya.
  709. Government reconstituted the Film & Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune Society for three years. Gajendra Chauhan has been nominated as the President of the FTII Society and Chairman of its Governing Council.
  710. Government rejected Odisha Government's proposal to grant mining license to South Korean steel major Posco for its proposed 12 billion USD mega steel plant at Paradip in Odisha.
  711. Government released commemorative coin to mark 175th birth anniversary of Jamsetji Tata.
  712. Government removed customs import duties for drugs and test kits for treating Human immuno deficiency virus infection and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) to help fight this disease.
  713. Government revised National Sports Awards Schemes - Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, Arjuna Award, Dhyan Chand Award and Dronacharya Awards based on recommendations made by Kapil dev led panel that decided on Arjuna awards 2014. Selection Committee for Arjuna Award will now be headed by the Retired Judge of Supreme Court/High Court.
  714. Government set up task forces for development of Ajmer (Rajasthan), Allahabad (Uttar Pradesh) and Vishakhapattanam (Andhra Pradesh) as Smart Cities.
  715. Government signed Memorandum of Understanding with Mauritius on Cooperation in Traditional Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy to enhance bilateral cooperation in traditional medicines including medicinal plants.
  716. Government signed agreement with Spain for abolishing visa requirements for diplomatic passports holders. It will enable visa-free travel for diplomatic passport holders across India and Spain and staying up to 90 days.
  717. Government transferred training and apprentice divisions of Directorate General of Employment and Training (DGET) from Labour Ministry to Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
    1. DGET comprises 12000 Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) across the country.
  718. Government updated the base year for calcutaion of GDP Growth Rate from 2004-05 to 2011-12. As per the new stats, GDP Growth rates and projections are updated -
    1. GDP Growth rate in FY 2013-14 is updated to 6.9 % (from 4.7 % earlier).
    2. GDP Growth rate in FY 2012-13 is updated to 5.1 % (from 4.5 % earlier).
    3. GDP Growth rate in FY 2014-15 is expected to be 7.4% and will rise to 8-8.5 % in FY 2015-16.
  719. Government wil open 1000 stores under Jan Aushadhi Scheme to provide medicines to underprivileged people at prices 60-70 % less than the market price.
  720. Government will Give Rs 6,000 Crore Interest-Free Loans to Sugar Mills to help the mills in clearing 30 % of Rs 21,000 crores debt on Sugar mills to be given to cane farmers.
  721. Government will develop Buddhist circuit under its newly-launched Swadesh Darshan scheme covering Bodh Gaya, Rajgir and Vaishali in Bihar and Kapilavastu, Sarnath, Sravasti and Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh.
  722. Government will give 6990 crore rupees to nine Public Sector Banks to enhance their capital and meet requirements. This is the first installment of capital infusion of 11200 crore rupees alotted in the Union Budget 2014-15. SBI got most (2970 Crores), BOB Second (1260 Crores) and PNB Third (870 Crores).
  723. Government will infuse additional USD 1.8 billion (about Rs 11,500 crore) in public sector banks in 2015-16 apat from USD 1.2 billion (Rs 7,940 crore ) stated in the Budget. Public sector banks will need additional capital of Rs 2.40 lakh crore by 2018 to meet the Basel III capital adequacy norms.
  724. Government will set up an Integrated National Waterways Transport Grid (INWTG) that covers five National Waterways.
  725. Government will set up national institute on medicinal plants for which allocation of Rs.100 crore has been made during the 12th five year plan.
  726. Government's scheme PEHAL has been named as world's largest Cash subsidy transfer scheme under which the cooking gas subsidy gets transferred directly to the bank accounts of 10 crore LPG Users. Note that more than 12 crore bank accounts were opened in Jan Dhan Yojana making a world record of its kind.
  727. Governments Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (Save Girl-child, Educate Girl-child) programme has been formally launched in Northeast and the Saiha District in Mizoram has been selected for this unique initiative. 
  728. Greece will hold a referendum to decide upon extension of six months to bailout programme to pay Total 320 Billion Euros of debt to International Monetary Fund (IMF), European Commission (EC) and European Central Bank.
    1. If Bailout is accepted, a new government may be formed to finalise talks with lenders and implement reforms agreed upon.
    2. If Bailout is not accepted by Grek People, Greece will face exit from Eurozone and possibly European Union.
  729. Growth of eight core sector industries (coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizer, steel, cement and electricity) in India slowed to 1.8 % in January 2015 as compared to 3.7 % in 2014.
  730. Guided missile destroyer Visakhapatnam, the first ship of Project 15B launched at at Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) 
  731. Gujarat Forest Department tied up with Zoological Society of London for conservation of Asiatic lion and its habitat.
  732. Gujarat Government launched Taluka (Tehsil) Planning Atlas (TPA) to enable local administration for taking decisions about the regional development through precise information about current status of various facilities and schemes.
  733. Gujarat Legislative Assembly passed Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organized Crime (GUJCOC) Bill, 2015.
    1. It was earlier returned by President of India thrice to the state government for reconsideration.
    2. According to a controversial provision in the Bill, recording of phone calls intercepted by investigating agencies will be admissible in the court as evidence.
  734. Gujarat State Handloom and Handicraft Development Corporation (GSHHDC) will launch its own e-commerce portal under the ‘Garvi-Gurjari brand to reach to a bigger customer base and boost sales in overseas markets.
    1. GSHHDC, a Gujarat government undertaking which owns ‘Garvi-Gurjari stores across the country, has signed an MoU with global e-commerce giant eBay.
  735. Gujarat Technological University (GTU) launched e-Raksha Research Centre to fight cybercrime to curb cybercrimes. Centre will encourage research and enhance capability to provide solution for issues related to cyber security.
  736. Gujarat cricket team won 2014-15 Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy defeating Punjab.
  737. Gujarat has led in implementation of Swachh Bharat Mission during 2014-15.
    1. Out of 2,70,069 household toilets constructed during the last financial year, Gujarat alone accounted for 60% of them having built 1,65,376 household toilets. Madhya Pradesh second and Karnataka third. 
  738. Gujarat's Ahmadabad Municipal Corporation announced USE and GET PAID scheme, under which people will be paid one rupees for using public toilets. Aim is to eradicate open defecation and keep the city clean.
  739. Gulshan Rai, Director General of Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (Cert-In) appointed as Indias first cyber security chief as Special Secretary for cyber security for Prime Ministers Office (PMO).
  740. Gurpreet Singh qualified for 2016 Rio Olympics along with Abhinav Bindra , Gagan Narang, Jitu Rai and Apurvi Chandela.
  741. H C Bisht has been appointed as Director General of Indian Coast Guard.
  742. H. E. Mr. Raymond Tshibanda N'Tungamulongo, Foreign Minister of Democratic Republic of Congo visited India.
  743. HAL has delivered ‘Orbiter Craft Module Structure of Chandrayaan-2 to ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC).
    1. Chandrayaan-2 mission will be launched by a Geo-Stationary Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-MKII) and will place an Orbiter around the moon. It will also send a Lander and Rover to the surface of the moon.
    2. Chandrayaan-2 is scheduled for launch in 2017.
  744. HDFC Bank  launched quick Loan approval schemes for 3 wheeler (30 Minutes) and 2-wheeler (15-minutes).
  745. HDFC Bank Launched Mobile App - Chillar App to enable easy transfers of upto 25000 / Month and max 5000 at a time through Mobile App.
  746. HDFC Bank launched 10-second paperless instant loan Scheme for its existing customers as part of HDFC Banks digital banking platform GoDigital. Under this scheme, bank will now disburse personal loans to its customers in just 10 seconds and a pre-approved loan amount will be available to them at any time.
  747. HDFC Bank launched PayZapp as a digital payment and purchase solution. This mobile app will allow customers to manage credit or debit card details, recharge and pay bills and Other activities.
  748. HDFC Bank tied up with Apollo Hospitals to launch Medical Benefits Card. It will allow Apollo corporates to disburse medical allowances to their employees and has insurance cover for accidents.
  749. HRD ministry has launched a web-based digital gender atlas as a tool to map the progress on girl education throughout the country In order to monitor how various education programmes are working.
  750. Han Changfu, China's Agriculture Minister Visited India.
  751. Handicrafts & Carpet Sector Skill Council has been launched on the occasion of 20th Handicrafts Export Awards Presentation to promote skill development among artisans, craft persons and workers in this sector.
  752. Hanumanthu Purushotham appointed as as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of National Research Development Corporation (NRDC).
  753. Hanumanthu Purushotham is appointed as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of National Research Development Corporation (NRDC).
  754. Harishankar Brahma is appointed as 19th Chief Election Commissioner of India.
  755. Haroun Ali Suleiman , Minister for Labour and Public Services/Personnel & Training of Tanzania visited India.
  756. Harriette Thompson of USA, 92 year old cancer survivor became oldest woman to finish a marathon.
  757. Haryana Department of School Education (DPSE) approved 10% reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) and Below Poverty Line (BPL) category students from Classes I to XII in private unaided schools.
  758. Haryana Government Launched Online Registration Of Land Deals.
  759. Haryana Government decided to introduce Special Identification Tags with unique identification numbers for Haryana cows, an indigenous breed found in the state.
  760. Haryana Government included Deaflympics in its Sports Policy to enable Deaflympian medalists to get cash rewards, jobs and other benefits. Deaflympics were previously known as World Games for the Deaf and International Games for the Deaf.
  761. Haryana Government launched a Village Mentoring Project (VMP) to improve healthcare and education of the villagers with a special emphasis on girl child.
  762. Haryana Government launched a scheme for girl child - 'Aapki Beti Humari Beti' with an aim to combat the declining child sex ratio in Haryana.
  763. Haryana Government passed Haryana Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamvardhan Bill on 16 March with two amendments, prohibiting the slaughter of cow and its progeny and providing punishment of up to 10 years with fine Between 30,000 - 1 lakh Rupees for any violation.
  764. Haryana government gave status of Cabinet Minister to yoga guru Ramdev, who has been appointed as the states brand ambassador to promote yoga and ayurveda.
  765. Haryana government presented state Budget for 2015-16.  Overall size of the state budget is 68985.87 crore rupees with 52312.10 crore revenue expenditure and 16673.77 crores of capital expenditure.
  766. Haryana government raised cash reward under inter-caste marriage scheme from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh to promote inter-caste marriages and remove caste discrimination in the state.
  767. Haryana government started work on Rs 50-crore Saraswati river excavation and Revival project.
  768. Health and Family Welfare Minister J P Nadda launched Kayakalp awards to Public Health Facilities(PHFs) for following Swachchta Guidelines in Public Health Facilities.
  769. Henn-na Hotel in Nagasaki (Japan) will be first completely Robot-staffed Hotel in the World.
  770. High Court of Delhi disclosed that office of the Attorney General of India falls under ambit of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005 as it is not merely a lawyer for the government, but also is a Constitutional Authority.
  771. Himachal Pradesh High Court asked state government to establish separate homes for differently-abled, shelter less and mentality challenged people within a year.
  772. Himachal Pradesh became India's first state to present a 'paperless' budget.
    1. Himachal Pradesh already has country's first green assembly, all documents related to budget would be online and only 10 budget copies would be printed for record.
  773. Himachal Pradesh became first state assembly in India to launch e-Vidhan Mobile app that could be accessed by all members 45 minutes before the question hours having information about the day business. It will save about 8 Crore rupees spent in an year on paper work.
  774. Himachal Pradesh government has set up satellite tracking system to check forest fire incidents in summer season.
  775. Himachal Pradesh government launched Crime and Criminal Tracking Network System(CCTNS) project in the state for connecting police stations and other related bodies with state crime records bureau.
  776. Himachal Pradesh will host Paragliding World Cup 2015 under the aegis of Para-gliding World Cup Association, France.
  777. Hindi novelist Mithileshwar won the Shrilal Shukla Sahitya IFFCO Literary Award 2014.
  778. Hindi poet Gopaldas Neeraj won Rashtriya Kavi Pradeep Samman for the year 2012-13 given by Department of Culture of Madhya Pradesh government.
  779. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Chairman R.K. Tyagi has been conferred with JGBS-Top Rankers' Excellence Award for CEO of 2014.
  780. Hockey India conferred Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award on legendary Balbir Singh Senior.
  781. Hockey India gave first Hockey India Annual Awards -
    1. Dhruv Batra Award for Player of the Year - Birendra Lakra (Male) and Vandana Katariya (Female).
    2. Jaman Lal Sharma Award for Invaluable Contribution - Harendra Singh
    3. Outstanding Achievement - One Thousand Hockey Legs for exceptional contribution towards the sport.
    4. Jugraj Singh Award for Upcoming Player of the Year (Male) - Harmanpreet Singh
    5.  Asunta Lakra Award for Upcoming Player of the Year (Female)) - Namita Toppo
    6. Baljit Singh Award for Goalkeeper of the Year - PR Sreejesh
    7. Pargat Singh Award for Defender of the Year - Deepika
    8. Ajit Pal Singh Award for Midfielder of the Year - Manpreet Singh
    9. Dhanraj Pillay Award for Forward of the Year - Akashdeep Singh
  782. Hockey Player Jaswant Singh Rajput passed away, he was part of Indian hockey team that won gold medal in 1948 London and 1952 Helsinki Olympics.
  783. Hollywood actress Elizabeth Wilson passed away.
  784. Home Ministry will implement NERS (Nationwide Emergency Response System) to save women in distress.
  785. Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani Attended 19th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (38 Countries) at Nassau (Bahamas) with theme Quality Education for Equitable Development: Performance, Paths, Productivity.
  786. Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani attended World Education Forum (WEF) meet organized by UNESCO in Incheon (South Korea).
  787. Hyderabad (Telangana) will host World Congress on Information Technology in 2018 with theme Future of enterprises.
  788. Hyderabad will host four-day Indo-Global Pharma Expo and Summit 2015 on July 24, 2015. The announcement was made by P V Appaji, Chief of Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India.
  789. IBM announced investing 3 billion USD to build an Internet of Things (IoT) unit over the next four years.
  790. ICICI Bank launched Digital Village Project in Akodara Village of Gujarat to provide various services from cashless banking to digitised school teaching with themes - cashless, comprehensive and connected.
  791. ICICI Bank launched Indias first contactless debit and credit cards using Near Field Technology enabling payments by just waving the card near merchant terminals instead of swiping them
  792. ICICI Bank launched Indias first digital Bank on mobile phone named Pockets. This digital e-wallet can be downloaded from Google Playstore. It uses a virtual VISA card that enables transacting on any website or mobile application in India.
  793. ICICI Bank patnered with global payment solutions company UAE Exchange to offer an instant bank transfer service named FLASHremit.
    • Using FLASHremit, customers of the bank in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) may send money instantly to any ICICI Bank account in India in rupees in a secure manner.
  794. ICICI Bank started Funds transfer Through Social network Twitter with ease and speed.
  795. INS Tarangini, the Sail Training Ship of Indian Navy left for Lokayan 2015 with theme Taking for a Broader Reach. As part of Lokayan-15, Tarangini will be on an eight month voyage through Europe and will participate in the annual Tall Ship Races under the aegis of Sail Training International and will travel 17 thousand miles.
  796. ISRO announced to provide navigational support to Indian Railways through its GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) system.
    1. GAGAN was developed by ISRO and Airports Authority of India in 2011 to assist aircrafts in accurate landing.
    2. The GAGAN signal is being broadcast through two Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) satellites - GSAT 8 and GSAT 10.
    3. With this, India joined elite nations like US, Europe and Japan with same level of space-based augmentation for navigational purposes.
  797. ISRO successfully launched IRNSS-1D, the fourth satellite in the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota by Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C27 as 28th consecutively successful mission of PSLV.
  798. Idukki district of Kerala became first district in India to have complete rural broadband coverage after it was linked to the National Optic Fiber Network.
  799. In the sixth Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy Statement 2014-15, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced cut in REPO rate of .25%.Now the REPO rate has come down to 7.75%. Accordingly, Reverse Repo rate has come down to 6.75%, Bank rate to 8.75% and Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate to 8.75%. Note that CRR (Cash Reserve Ratio) is unchanged at 4% and SLR (Statutory Liquidity Ratio) is unchanged at 23%.
  800. Increased rate of service tax from 12.36 to 14 % became operational on 1 June 2015.
  801. India & France Signed an Mou (Memorandum of Understanding) to Establish a Marine Biology Institute during the visit of PM Narendra Modi to France.
  802. India Artist Bharti Kher conferred with the Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters, highest cultural award of France.
  803. India Brand Equity Foundation (Department of Commerce in Ministry of Commerce and Industry) released a report on Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) filing in India during 2013-14.
    1. Maharashtra topped the list of states and Union Territories (UTs) with Bengaluru being top city in IPR filing.
    2. Indian Institute of Science (Bengaluru), Siddaganga Institute of Technology (Tumakuru) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) were top 3 bodies with 32, 24 and 12 filings.
  804. India Signed Loan Agreement of $300 Million with Asian Ddvelopment Bank for Improving Regional Road Connectivity along North Bengal-North Eastern Region (NER).
    1. ADB is based in Manila (Philippines).
  805. India Signed US$ 400 million Loan agreement with World bank for Tamil Nadu Sustainable Urban Development Project.
  806. India and Kyrgyzstan signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in the textiles sector on the occasion of Kyrgyzstans minister of energy and industry Kubanychbek Turdubaev visiting India.
  807. India and United States (US) signed agreements on health sector to enhance cooperation in cancer research, infrastructure development, training, capacity building, better assessment and new diagnostic technologies.
  808. India assumes Presidency of 68th WHA (World Health Assembly), the high decision making body of World Health organisation (WHO), after 19 years. Union Minister of Minister of Health & Family Welfare Jagat Prakash Nadda will lead India's delegation to the event.
  809. India elected to four United Nations (UN) agencies - United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF), World Food Program (WFP), Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) and the Governing Council of UN-Habitat.
    1. India was elected to these bodies at the Coordination and Management Meeting (CMM) of UNECOSOC (the United Nations Economic and Social Council) at UN headquarters in New York (USA).
  810. India has reached sixth position in terms of scientific publications, up from tenth position previously.
  811. India is designated as Chair to Ninth Meeting of International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Council to be held on 10th & 11th June, 2015 in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates).
  812. India pledged assistance of one billion USD to the earthquake-hit Nepal during International Donors Conference in Kathmandu, Nepal. Nepal to get 3 Billion USD as assistance from global sources for its reconstruction activities.
  813. India provided 7 Crore rupees Assistance to Nepal for Nepal's Iodine Deficiency Disorder Control Programme (IDDCP) for goitre control across the country.
    1. Goitre is swelling of neck or larynx due to enlargement of thyroid gland (thyromegaly) due to its functioning properly.
  814. India signed $31 million loan agreement with Asian Development Bank (ADB) to boost water availability in Karnataka through implementation of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM).
  815. India signed $43 million loan agreement with World Bank for Partial Risk Sharing Facility for Energy Efficiency (PRSF) project to help enterprises and Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) mobilize commercial finance for investments in energy efficiency initiatives. 
  816. India signed Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) on Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information in Paris along with Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, Indonesia and New Zealand. Mohan Kumar, Ambassador of India to France signed on India's Behalf.
  817. India signed US$ 500 million loan agreement with World Bank for Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) for MSME Growth Innovation and Inclusive Finance Project. 
  818. India signed agreement of 8 million USD loan with World Bank for funding of its Sustainable Livelihoods and Adaptation to Climate Change (SLACC) Project.
  819. India successfully test fired BrahMos Supersonic Cruise Missile for 48th time from Andaman and Nicobar islands. The advanced version of the land-to-land BrahMos Block-III version has full-range of 290 km.
  820. India successfully test-fired BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from INS Kolkata off the Goa coast.
    • BrahMos has range of 300 kilometers and may carry warhead up to 300 KG with top speed about 3000 KM/Hour.
  821. India successfully test-fired Dhanush Surface-to-Surface nuclear-capable ballistic missile with range 350 KM.
  822. India successfully tested indigenously developed Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air missile, Astra.
    1. It is smallest of missiles developed by Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) with length of 3.8 metres with range of 110 KM.
  823. India successfully tested nuclear capable surface-to-surface Prithvi-II missile from Chandipur (Odisha) with Range 350 km
  824. India test-fired canister-based missile Agni-V with strike range of over 5000 kilometers.
  825. India to host 7th Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) in 2016.
    1. It was declared by Home Minister Rajnath Singh on his visit to japan for third United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction organised in Sendai, Japan.
  826. India to set up textile cluster in africa starting from Ethiopia (A country in Horn of Africa).
  827. India voted in favour of a Russia-drafted resolution along with 42 Other Countries that proposed removing benefits for same-sex partners of UN staff. The resolution did not pass as 80 nations opposed it.
    1. Fifth Committee of the General Assembly, dealing with administrative and budgetary issues, voted against the Russian proposal aimed to stop marital benefits given to UN employees with same-sex spouses.
  828. India will attend Russia's major Industrial Fair INNOPROM 2016 in Yekaterinburg as a Partner Country.
  829. India will host the 42nd World Bridge Championships in Chennai.
  830. India will provide 60 million USD Line of Credit (LoC) to Guyana for its road infrastructure projects.
  831. India won 3 gold and 2 bronze medals at International Shooting Competition in Germany. Abhinav Bindra won single and team gold with Chain Singh and Gagan Narang in 10 metre air rifle event. Chain Singh also won gold in 50 metre mens rifle. Gagan Narang won Bronze in 50 metre rifle and Apurvi Chandela won Bronze in womens air rifle.
  832. India won total eight medals (2 Gold, 1 Silver and 5 Bronze) in first leg of Asian Athletics Grand Prix in Bangkok, Thailand. Inderjit Singh (Shot Put) and Jinson Johnson won gold in 800 meter event.
  833. India'a Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) and Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) signed agreement to export petroleum products to Bangladesh.
  834. India's Anantjeet Singh Naruka won gold in 7th International junior shotgun cup in Orimattila (Finland) by beating Lari Pesonen of Finland.
  835. India's Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) and Russian INTMA signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to set up a gas-based power project in Kazakhstan.
  836. India's Deepika Pallikal won the winnipeg winter club women squash championship 2015 in Canada.
  837. India's Exports during April, 2015 were US $ 22054.72 million and Imports in April 2015 were US $ 33047.02 (Trade Deficit of US $ 10992.30 million).
  838. India's First CNG Train Started Between Rewarti and Rohtak in Haryana.
  839. India's First Postal Bank ATM Opened in Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh).
  840. India's First international institute dedicated to music is to be opened in Kerala.
  841. India's GMR Airport Developers Limited signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Oman Airport Management Company (OAMC) for providing aviation training and consultancy services.
  842. India's GMR Infrastructure tied up with Chinese Guizhou International Investment Corporation (GIIC) for developing Kakinada Special Economic Zone (KSEZ) in Andhra Pradesh.
  843. India's ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) won the Space Pioneer award 2015 by US National Space Society for low-cost Mangalyaan Mars orbiter mission. The Award was presented during 34th Annual International Space Development Conference held at Toronto (Canada).
  844. India's Inderjeet Singh won gold medal in men's shot put event in 21st Asian Athletics Championships in China.
  845. India's Indira Gandhi International Airport (Delhi) has been named as best among worlds most performing airports in 25-40 million passengers per annum category by the Airport Council International (ACI). Mumbai Airport is also in top five list.
    1. Delhi Airport won annual Service Quality (ASQ) award in Geneva-based ACIs ASQ passenger's satisfaction survey
  846. India's Industry body ASSOCHAM proposed BRICS Under-17 Football Cup to be held in India in 2016.
  847. India's Muthoot Group signed co-operation agreement with World Wide Fund (WWF) for Nature - India for its Project -Friends for Life.
  848. India's National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Black Business Council of South Africa for developing youth enterprises and empower the marginalized group in South Africa through NSIC's Rapid Incubation Programme.
  849. India's State Bank of India (SBI) signed a 100 million Euro loan agreement with European Investment Bank (EIB).
  850. India's Suresh Kalmadi is conferred with Asian Athletics Association Presidents award for introducing top events like Asian Grand Prix series, Indoor Championships and All Star Meet etc. during his tenure as president of AAA from 2000 - 2013.
  851. India's Trade deficit (Imports - Exports) declined to ten month low of 9.43 billion USd in December 2014 mainly due to fall down of global oil prices and fall of demand for gold. Imports declined by 4.8 % to 34.8 billion USD in December 2014 as compared to 36.6 billion USD dollars in December 2013. Exports fell by 3.8 % to 25.4 billion USD.
  852. India's current account deficit (CAD) has narrowed to USD 1.3 billion(or 0.2 % of GDP) in fourth quarter of financial year 2014-2015. CAD shrank to 1.3 % of GDP for full financial year 2014-15.
  853. India's first indigenously built 40,000 tonne aircraft carrier INS Vikrant undocked at Cochin Shipyard in Cochin (Kerala). It will undergo several trial processes before induction in Indian Navy in 2018. India is now in elite group of nations capable of constructing aircraft carriers that includes US, Russia, the UK and France .
  854. India's space agency Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has been selected for Gandhi Peace Prize 2014 for social, economic transformation through non-violence means.
  855. India, Sweden signed 6 agreements during visit of Pranab Mukherjee to Sweden -
    1. Memorandum of understanding signed in fields of Sustainable Urban Development, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Visa Exemption for diplomatic passports, Polar and Ocean Research, ageing research and health and Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) of India and the Swedish Medical Products Agency (MPA).
  856. India-Singapore joint naval exercise SIMBEX started.
  857. India-born Nikesh Arora has been appointed President of Japans telecommunications giant SoftBank Corp.
  858. India-born Nobel laureate Sir Venkatraman Ramakrishnan has been elected as president of Britain's prestigious Royal Society.
    1. Royal Society dates back to 1660 and its president is a key advocate for science in the UK and the world.
    2. Ramakrishnan will succeed geneticist Sir Paul Nurse, also a Nobel laureate.
    3. Venkatraman Ramakrishnan shared the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Thomas A. Steitz and Ada E. Yonath forstudies of the structure and function of the ribosome.
  859. India-born Raja Rajeswari sworn-in as criminal court judge of the New York City and became first India-born woman judge of New York City.
  860. India-made Dhruv choppers restricted from flying in Ecuador after one crashing.
  861. Indian Air Force Chief Arup Raha visited United States of America.
  862. Indian Air Force launched Operation Raahat to evacuate 4000 Indian nationals from Yemen.
  863. Indian American Vivek Murthy appointed as 19th US Surgeon General. He became youngest-ever to hold this post. 
  864. Indian Army and State Bank of India (SBI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for Defence Salary Package.
  865. Indian Army launched Operation Maitri for relief efforts in Easrthquake hit Nepal.
  866. Indian Army team emerged champions in 19th Federation Cup National Senior Athletic Championships in Mangaluru (Karnataka) with 123.5 points. Tamil Nadu team came at second position by securing 114 points.
  867. Indian Badminton Player Saina Nehwal won womens singles of Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold Badminton Tournament 2015 after defeateing Carolina Marin of Spain in Lucknow (India).
  868. Indian Basketball Players Association (IBPA) launched in Delhi. It is incorporated as a society under Societies Registration Act, 1860. Orgznization Structure is
    1. President - Sajjan Singh Cheema (Arjuna Awardee)
    2. General Secretary - Jayasankar Menon (Former Asian All Star Basketball player)
    3. Treasurer - Ashok Sharma (National player and FIBA Commissioner)
    4. Chairman - Abbas Moontaisar
    5. Vice-Chairmen - Manmohan Singh and Suman Sharma.
  869. Indian Chemistry Scientist C.N.R. Rao has been given Highest Civilian Award of Japan, Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star for his 'contribution to promoting understanding in science and technology between Japan and India.
  870. Indian Cricketer Virat Kohli became first Indian to score a century against Pakistan in the Cricket World Cup.
  871. Indian Economist Amartya Sen has been given the Charleston-EFG John Maynard Keynes Prize 2015.
  872. Indian Film Margarita With starring Kalki Koechlin won the  Audience Award for Best Feature Film honour at Washington, DC International Film festival.
  873. Indian Former Cricketer Anil Kumble and Former Australian women cricketer Betty Wilson will be inducted in ICC (International Cricket Council) Hall of fame.
  874. Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) reported that India has registered green building projects of over 3 billion sq ft area that made India second in terms of green building footprint. Next Aim is to cover 10 billion sq ft by 2022.
  875. Indian Historian-author Ramachandra Guha has been selected for Japans Fukuoka Prize 2015 in Academic category. Apart from him, Thant Myint-U (Grand Prize) and Minh Hanh (Arts and Culture ) were also chosen for this edition of award.
  876. Indian IT Company TCS has been recognized as top employer in Europe for the third consecutive year by Top Employers Institute.
  877. Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management (IITTM) (Madhya Pradesh) signed an Agreement with Indira Gandhi National Tribal University(IGNTU) (Manipur) to start a Joint MBA Program.
  878. Indian Jasjit Ahluwalia has been appointed as Dean of School of Public Health at the Rutgers University in the US.
  879. Indian Medical Associations (IMA) first-ever Jan Aushadhi Generic Drug (JAGD) Store inaugurated in IP New Delhi. It will offer over 118 commonly used medicines at 10 - 20 % lesser price.
  880. Indian Meteorological Department under Ministry of Earth Sciences signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Power System Operation Corporation Ltd (POSOCO) for optimum use of weather information in power sector.
  881. Indian Navy concluded its Theatre Level Readiness and Operational Exercise (TROPEX)-2015 aimed at validating Indian Navys Concept of Operations and the area of operations spanned across the Arabian Sea and Northern Indian Ocean.
  882. Indian Navy conducted large Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) exercise in the Lakshadweep Islands.
  883. Indian Navy warships INS Ranvir and INS Shakti arrived at Jakarta (Indonesia) In pursuit of India's 'Look East' and 'Act East' policy for operational deployment to South East Asia and Southern Indian Ocean.
  884. Indian Navy will decommission INS Viraat in Feb 2016. It is the aircraft carrier that had a service life of 56 years - first as HMS Hermes in the Royal British Navy and in its present avatar since 1987.
  885. Indian Navys First Scorpene class stealth submarine Kalvari undocked at Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.
  886. Indian Nihal Singh Agar has been honored by Order of Australia for his service to the Hindu community in Australia and fostering cross-cultural co-operation with a focus on medical education.
  887. Indian Novelist Vikram Chandra is named among the finalists for National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) Awards of US for his non-fiction work Geek Sublime: The Beauty of Code, the Code of Beauty.
  888. Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president N. Ramachandran has been appointed as vice-chair of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) international relations commission.
  889. Indian Open Badminton 2015 -
    1. Men's Singles - Kidambi Srikkanth (India) won by defeating Viktor Axelsen (Denmark).
    2. Women's Singles - Saina Nehwal (India) won by defeating Ratchanok Intanon (Thailand).
  890. Indian Origin Person Gopinath Pillai awarded with outstanding service award in Singapore by National University of Singapore(NUS). He is serving as Ambassador-at-Large of Singapore and special envoy to Andhra Pradesh.
  891. Indian Origin writer Sumona Sinha has been awarded French academy award for her contribution to French language and literature.
  892. Indian PM Narendra Modi Among 30 Most Influential People On Internet in a Time's Survey.
  893. Indian PM Narendra Modi Visited France, Germany and Canada -
    1. France
      1. Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) and AREVA of France signed an Agreement for proposed Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project for setting up two EPR (Evolutional Pressurised Reactor) rectors of 1650 MWe each.
      2. PM Narendra Modi gifted painting Tree of Life to French President Francois Hollande during his visit to France. It has been made by Odisha artist Bhaskar Mahapatra.
      3. India & France Signed an Mou (Memorandum of Understanding) to Establish a Marine Biology Institute during the visit of PM Narendra Modi to France.
      4. India asked France to supply 36 Rafale fighter jets in ‘fly-away condition.
      5. MoU between ISRO and French National Centre for Space Studies (CNES) on Indo-French Megha Tropiques satellite which was launched on board Indian launch vehicle PSLV on October 12, 2011. 
    2. Germany
      1. Prime Minister Narendra modi gifted reproductions of some manuscripts and papers by Sir V C Raman to the German Chancellor Angela Merkel during his visit to Germany. Sir C V Raman received Nobel Prize in physics in 1930 for his work on scattering of light.
    3. Canada
      1. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper presented ancient Indian sculpture Parrot Lady to PM Narendra Modi.
      2. India and Canada issued Joint Statement title New Vigour, New Steps (नया उत्साह, नए कदम) to elevate their bilateral relations to a strategic partnership.
      3. Narendra Modi gifted Miniature Painting titled Guru Nanak Dev to Stephen Harper.
      4. India and Canada signed a nuclear agreement on supply of uranium to India. As per the 350 million USD agreement, Canadian Cameco Corporation will supply 7.1 million pounds of uranium to India till 2020.
      5. MOU between Grand Challenges Canada and Department of Biotechnology of Indian Government for investment of CAD $2.5 million in health innovations in India.
  894. Indian Panorama Film Festival 3rd Edition started in Shillong, Meghalaya.
  895. Indian Person Atul Khare has been appointed as United Nations Under-Secretary General.
  896. Indian Player Kidambi Srikanth won men's singles title in Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold Badminton Tournament after beating Viktor Alexson of Denmark.
  897. Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) Launched Ru-Pay debit card service in collaboration with Union Bank of India and the National Payment Corporation of India to enable Railway passengers to book tickets, do shopping and pay service bills using RuPay pre-paid cards.
    1. RuPay is Indias own card payment gateway network like Visa and Master Card that provides alternative system for banks to provide a debit card service.
  898. Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) teamed up with ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) for e-ticket facility for entry to Taj Mahal and Humayuns Tomb.
  899. Indian Railway won 5th Hockey India Senior Men National Hockey Championship held at Pune by beating Uttar Pradesh in final.
  900. Indian Railways concluded its first bilateral power procurement agreement between Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) and North Central Railway.
    1. Under the agreement, Railways will buy 50 MW of power from DVC at Auraiya Grid Sub-station facilitated by Railways Energy Management Company Limited, a Joint Venture (JV) of Indian railway and RITES, a PSU of Ministry of Railways.
    2. Indian Railways is the largest consumer of electricity with consumption of 18 Billion Units per year.
  901. Indian Railways has named Haridwar Mail (Train No 19031/19032 Ahmedabad-Haridwar-Ahmedabad ) as Yoga Express.
  902. Indian Railways reported 12.16 % Increase in earnings in FY 2014-15 with Rs. 157880.50 crores as compared to Rs. 140761.27 crore in 2013-14. 
  903. Indian Railways signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) to augment its resources for better execution of projects. LIC will make 1.5 Lakh C rore Rupees Financial Assistance to Indian Railways for implementing Railway projects over the next five years from Financial Year 2015-16.
  904. Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited (IREDA) has been awarded the Miniratna (Cateogry -1) status by Department of Public Enterprises.
  905. Indian Saina Nehwal became first Indian woman Badminton Player to be ranked as world No. 1 Player.
  906. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced to launch ASTROSAT in October 2015 by the PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) C-34 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh).
    1. ASTROSAT is first Indian space observatory mission aimed at studying distant celestial objects. ASTROSAT carries four X-ray payloads, one UV telescope and a charge particle monitor.
  907. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has initiated process of formulating a National Space Act for India for regulating space activities.
  908. Indian Space Research Organisation successfully test-fired indigenous cryogenic engine CE-20 for 645 seconds. This achievement will push India into bigger league of nations capable of launching satellites weighing up to five tonnes. It will enable GSLV to put Mark-III into geostationary orbit by the end of 2016.
  909. Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) announced complete operationalisation of GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN). India became fourth nation after US, Europe and Japan to have inter-operable Satellite Based Augmentation System (SBAS). GAGAN is first SBAS system in world to serve equatorial region.
  910. Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) announced complete operationalisation of GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN). India became fourth nation after US, Europe and Japan to have inter-operable Satellite Based Augmentation System (SBAS). GAGAN is first SBAS system in world to serve the equatorial region.
  911. Indian Spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has been conferred with Columbias highest civilian award - Orden de la Democracia Simon Bolivar en el grado de cruz Caballero by Colombia.
  912. Indian Tennis Player Yuki Bhambri won TF Uzbekistan F1 Futures Singles defeating Dzmitry Zyrmont of Serbia.
  913. Indian Wells Tennis 2015 (Held in California (USA))
    1. Mens Singles - Serbias Novak Djokovic won his fourth title by defeating Switzerlands Roger Federer.
    2. Womens Singles - Simona Halep of Romania defeated Jelena Jankovic of Serbia
    3. Women's Doubles - Sania Mirza (India) and Martina Hingis (Switzerland) defeated Russians Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina.
  914. Indian archer Deepika Kumari won bronze in women's individual recurve event in Archery World Cup in Turkey.
  915. Indian author Amitav Ghosh shortlisted for the 2015 Man Booker International Prize among the 10 finalists for the prize. 
  916. Indian author Neel Mukherjee won 2014 Encore Award worth 10000 pounds for his novel The Lives of Others.
  917. Indian boxers won 3 Gold and 2 silver medals at World Junior Women's boxing Championship in Taiwan. Savita, Mandeep Sandhu and Sakshi won Gold while Soniya and Niharika Gonella won silver medals.
  918. Indian boxers won 4 Gold, 1 Silver and 2 bronze at Doha (Qatar) International Boxing Tournament. L Devendro Singh, Shiva Thapa, Manish Kaushik, and Manoj Kumar won gold, Gaurav Bidhuri won Silver, Mandeep Jangra and Vikas Krishan won bronze.
  919. Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has been voted as Best Test Player of 21st century in an online poll conducted by Cricket Australia. Sachin received 23 % votes while Kumar Sangakkara of Sri Lanka was second with 14 % votes.
  920. Indian discus thrower Vikas Gowda won Gold at Jamaican International Invitation meet throw of 65.14 metres.
  921. Indian drug maker Lupin tied-up with Poland's Celon Pharma to jointly develop a generic version of GlaxoSmithKlines Advair Diskus, a drug used to treat asthma.
  922. Indian ecologist Madhav Gadgil and US Scientist Dr. Jane Lubchenco were named winners of Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement 2015 for their engagement in development of conservation and sustainability policies
    1. Tyler prize was started in 1973 and is awarded by International Tyler Prize Executive Committee with the administrative support of the University of Southern California in honor of exceptional work for environmental sciences and policy qualities for the cause.
  923. Indian environmental activist Rajendra Singh, has been conferred the prestigious Stockholm Water Prize this year for his innovative water restoration efforts and courage to empower communities in Indian villages.
    1. It is known as Nobel Prize for water has been given to Rajendra Singh for his efforts for bringing water water to 1,000 villages.
  924. Indian foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj visited Oman.
  925. Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri won Indian Open golf in Delhi Golf Club.
  926. Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri won Malaysian Open by defeating Austrias Bernd Wiesberger.
  927. Indian novelist Siddhartha Gigoo won 2015 Commonwealth Short Story Prize for Asia region for his work Umbrella Man, a tale of surreal meditation on mental health and the environment. He will now compete with other four regional winners later in 2015.
    1. Other region winners are - Africa - Lesley Nneka Arimah (Nigeria) , Canada and Europe - Jonathan Tel (UK), Caribbean - Kevin Jared Hosein (Trinidad), Pacific - Mary Rokonadravu (Fiji)
  928. Indian open water swimmer Bhakti Sharma set a world record by swimming 1.4 miles in 52 minutes in one degree temperature in the Antarctic Ocean. 24-year old Bhakti is the first Asian girl and youngest in the world to do this.
  929. Indian sculptor and artist Mrinalini Mukherjee passed away.
  930. Indian shooter Apurvi Chandela won Bronze at 10-meter Air rifle (women) in International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Rifle/Pistol World Cup held in Changwon (South Korea).
  931. Indian shooter Jitu Rai won Bronze at 10-meter Air Pistol Men in International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Rifle/Pistol World Cup held in Changwon (South Korea).
  932. Indian telecom Provider Bharti Airtel partnered with United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) for providing health, education and youth-focused content to its customers in 17 African countries.
  933. Indian umpire Sundaram Ravi has been inducted into Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires for 2015-16. He is second Indian Umpire after S Venkataraghavan to be incucted into ICC Elite Umpires' Panel.
  934. Indian writer Hindol Senguptas book Recasting India: How Entrepreneurship is Revolutionizing the World's Largest Democracy, has been shortlisted for U.S. prestigious Hayek Prize 2015.
  935. Indian-American Ajaypal Singh Banga has been appointed as Member of Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations (ACTPN), a key administration position in the United States (US).
  936. Indian-American Akhil Amar from Yale University has been appointed as a member of the prestigious National Council on Humanities of United States (US). Presently, Amar is Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at the Yale University.
  937. Indian-American Purnendu Dasgupta has been awarded with J. Calvin Giddings Award 2015 for Excellence in Education by the American Chemical Society (ACS).
  938. Indian-American Rashad Hussain has been appointed as Special Envoy and Coordinator for Strategic Counter-terrorism Communication in the United States (US).
  939. Indian-American Ravi Chaudhary has been appointed as Executive Director for Regions and Centre Operations at Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the United States of America.
  940. Indian-American Renu Khator elected as Chairperson of Board of Directors of the American Council on Education (ACE) which is a major coordinating body for US colleges and universities.
  941. Indian-American Sivanadane Mandjiny won University of North Carolina (UNC) Board of Governors 2015 Award for Excellence in Teaching.
  942. Indian-American Vijay Kumar has been appointed as Dean of USA's Pennsylvania State University.
  943. Indian-American at Stanford University, Manu Prakash has created a computer that works by moving water droplets. Last Year, he amazed the world by building a paper microscope.
  944. Indian-American author Akhil Sharma won Folio Prize 2015 for his novel Family Life.
    1. The Folio Prize was instituted in 2014 and recognises best English-language fiction from around the world, published in United Kingdom (UK) during the year.
  945. Indian-American biologist Murty S Kambhampati won US presidential award for excellence in science, mathematics and engineering mentoring.
  946. Indian-American physician Rahul Jindal has been selected for prestigious Fulbright-Nehru Distinguished Chair to India. The Ahmedabad-based HL Trivedi Institute of Transplantation Sciences will host Dr. Rahul Jindal for the duration of the chair. This Institute performs about 400 kidney transplants in a year and has developed innovative transplant tolerance models.
  947. Indian-American policeman Harkeert Singh Saini won prestigious Top Civilian Supervisor of the Year award for his services to Houston Police department in Texas state of United States of America.
  948. Indian-Americans Niraj Antani and Janak Joshi have been appointed to board of 2015-2016 Future Majority Project of United States (US) Republican Party.
  949. Indian-Origin Harbhajan Kaur Dheer became first Asian woman to be elected as mayor in the United Kingdom (Ealing Council in London).
  950. Indian-born Nikesh Arora appointed as President of Japans multinational telecommunications and internet company SoftBank Corp.
  951. Indian-origin South African educator Ganasen Reddy has been awarded with KwaZulu-Natal 2015 National Teachers Award (Lifetime Achievement Award for teaching in South Africa) at the annual National Teaching Awards in South Africa. 
    1. Other Indian Origin Awardess are Silas Pillay, Anneline Govender and Caryn Reddy.
  952. Indian-origin USA's Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has been presented with Pride of Community Award by Hindu American Foundation on its 12th Annual Day.
  953. Indian-origin lawyer Kannan Ramesh has been appointed as a Judicial Commissioner to Singapores Supreme Court bench for two years.
  954. Indian-origin person Parvinder Singh Batth appointed as mayor of Britains Wokingham Borough Council.
  955. Indian-origin scientist Gurpreet Singh has been given the presented with the prestigious National Science Foundation Career award with cash prize money of 500000 USD for his research on Scalable liquid exfoliation processing of ultrathin two-dimensional metal dichalcogenides nanosheets for energy storage devices.
  956. Indian-origin scientist Srikanth Jagabathula has been honored by Career Development Award (CAREER) by National Science Foundation of the United States for developing data-driven modelling and learning techniques to improve the accuracy of operational decision making.
  957. Indian-origin teacher Gurnimrat Nimmy Sidhu named for University of Oxford Inspirational Teacher Award.
  958. Indias ace mountaineer Malli Mastan Babu died.
  959. Indias Mars Orbiter programme team has won the 2015 Space Pioneer Award in the science and engineering category from the US based National Space Society (NSS).
  960. Indias first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) became operational at GIFT City in Gujarat.
  961. Indias first Polar Remotely Operated Vehicle (PROVe) started research in North Antarctica. It has been built by National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) under Union Ministry of Earth Sciences.
  962. Indias first diesel electric multiple unit (DEMU) train service with an air-conditioned coach launched in Kochi (Kerala).
  963. Indias foreign trade Data by Ministry of Commerce & Industry -
    1. In May 2015 - Trade deficit declined to 10.4 billion USD as compared to from 11.2 billion USD in May 2014.
    2. Exports -
      1. During May 2015 were valued at 22.34 billion USD as compared to 27.99 billion USD in May 2014.
      2. Cumulative exports for April and May 2015 was 44.40 billion USD as compared to 53.63 billion USD in Apr-May 2014.
      3. Decline in exports continuously for sixth month is mainly due to slowdown in China and fall in global crude oil prices that caused the exports of petroleum products to fall by 59.10 % to 2.42 billion USD. 
    3. Imports
      1. During May 2015 Imports were 32.75 billion USD as comparted to 39.23 billion USD in May 2014.
      2. Cumulative value of imports for April-May 2015 was 65.80 billion USD as compared to 74.95 billion USD in Apr-May 2014.
  964. Indias shipping trade union, National Union of Seafarers of India (NUSI) has been honoured by Best Welfare Organisation of the Year 2015 award by Koji Sekimizu, Secretary General of International Maritime Organisation. The award is promoted by UK based International Seafarers Welfare and Assistance Network (ISWAN).
  965. Indias tennis player Leander Paes became First indian and 47th global player to play with 100 different partners on ATP Circuit.
  966. Indirect Tax Collections increase 46.2%from Rs.32,661 Crore in April, 2014 to Rs. 47,747 Crore during April 2015.
    1. Central Excise collections increased from 8,655 crore in April, 2014 to 18,373 crore during April 2015.
    2. Customs collections increased from 11,555 crore in April, 2014 to 14,286 crore in April, 2015.
    3. Service Tax collections increased from 12,451 crore in April, 2014 to 15,088 crore in April, 2015.
  967. Indirect Tax Revenue Collections Increased From Rs. 36,408 Crore in May 2014 to Rs. 49,993 Crore During May 2015 (37 % Increase).
    1. Central Excise collections increased from 11,838 crore in May 2014 to 21,809 crore in May 2015 (84 %).
    2. Customs collections increased from 13,539 crore in May 2014 to 15,700 crore in May 2015 (16 %).
    3. Service Tax collections increased from 11,031 crore in May 2014 to 12,484 crore in May 2015 (13 %).
  968. Indirect Taxes collections for Financial Year (FY) 2014-15 has exceeded Revised Estimates target of FY 2014-15 by Rs. 4,000 crore. The total collections as on 31-03-2015 is Rs.5,46,479 crore based on the provisional report as against the Revised Estimates target of Rs. 5,42,325 crore for the FY 2014-15. 
  969. Indo-Russian Musical Festival ZimaFest 2015 has been hosted by Goa.
  970. Indonesia Open Badminton tournament 2015 -
    1. Male - Japan's Kento Momota defeated Denmark's Jan O. Jorgensen.
    2. Female - Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon defeated Japan's Yui Hashimoto.
  971. Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI) Bank launched Tap-n-Pay, a near-field communications-enabled payment service in collaboration with Tech Mahindra.
    1. This payment service is based on the near-field communications (NFC) technology which will enable its customers to make over-the-counter payments without using cash.
    2. It will allow users to tap NFC enabled tag or mobile phone at merchants point-of-sale device for payments.
    3. It is a prepaid account which will be available to customers of any bank by simply registering for it.
    4. ICICI Bank customers can also transfer money to the Tap-n-Pay account through an SMS.
  972. Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley inaugurated Vividh Bharati Service of Delhi on FM Mode on 100.1 Megahertz frequency. 
  973. Infosys became first Indian Company to Join RE100 Renewable Energy Campaign which is global platform for major companies committed to 100% renewable power. Infosys also announced to become carbon neutral by 2018 with investment of 400 crore rupees.
  974. Infrastructure financing firm IDFC appointed former Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) Vinod Rai as independent director.
  975. Injeti Srinivas has been appointed as chief of Sports Authority of India.
  976. Insurance Australia Group Ltd (IAG) announced to raise its stake in SBI General Insurance from 26 to 49 %. 
  977. Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority 's Committee headed by M Ramaprasad in its report suggested changing wordings of disclaimer in advertisements of insurance companies from Insurance is a subject matter of solicitation to Before buying, know the conditions and exclusions, to make a well-informed decision.
  978. Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) imposed a 50 Lakh penalty on Future Generali Life Insurance Company for violating norms.
  979. International Boxing Association (AIBA) constituted a five-member committee under Kishan Narsi to manage the process of finding a group to organise and run boxing in India.
  980. International Buddh Purnima Diwas 2015 To be hosted by India on 04 May, 2015 with support of International Buddhist Confederation.
  981. International Cricket Council (ICC) amended playing conditions rules for One Day Internationals (ODIs) and T20S -
    1. No batting powerplays will be allowed in 15 - 40th over in ODIs.
    2. Five fielders will be allowed outside 30-yard circle in 41-50th over rather than four currently.
    3. All no-balls, not just foot faults, will lead to a free hit on next ball.
  982. International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) launched GreenPHABLET for small farmers to help them purchase inputs at lower price, get a better price for their produce, and link them to markets.
  983. International Energy Agency (IEA) released data for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 2014 and stated that emissions of CO2 from energy sector remained same in 2014 as they were in 2013.
    1. Global emissions of CO2 were 32.3 billion tonnes in 2014, which is same as that in 2013.
    2. Causes for halt in CO2 emissions incude changing patterns of energy consumption in China and Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries as these have been focusing on greater generation of energy from renewable sources, such as hydropower, solar and wind, and less burning of coal..
  984. International Hindi Conference will be held in New Jersey (USA) in April 2015 with theme Expanding World of Hindi: Possibilities and Challenges.
  985. International Hockey Federation (FIH) Player of the Year 2014 -
    1. Men - Mark Knowles (Australia)
    2. Women - Ellen Hoog (Netherland)
  986. International Labour Organisation (ILO) released a report titled World Employment and Social Outlook - Trends 2015 -
    1. The report stated that unemployment will rise in the coming years to more than 212 million in 2019 as compared to 201 million currently.
  987. International Monetary Fund (IMF) released World Economic Outlook (WEO) April 2015 Report Update titled Uneven Growth: Short-term and Long-term Factors.
    1. Global growth is forecasted at 3.5 % in 2015 and 3.8 % in 2016.
    2. Growth in advance economies will rebound supported by the decline in oil prices.
    3. Growth in USA is projected to exceed 3 % in 2015–16.
    4. Growth for emerging and developing economies (except India) will get slightly slow from 4.6 % in 2014 to 4.3 % in 2015 .
    5. Indias growth is projected to strengthen from 7.2% in 2014 to 7.5 % in 2015 and 2016.
    6. For the first time since 1999, Indias growth rate may eclipse Chinas and there is increasing divergence in the growth paths of the two countries. India is trying to shift from consumption to investment led growth at a time when China is going opposite way.
  988. International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) 's 9th Council meeting held in Dubai (United Arab Emirates). Renewable Energy Target Setting report 2015 was released by IRENA Director-General Adnan Z. Amin.
    1. Report States that in past one decade renewable energy targets have quadrupled globally.
    2. 164 countries have adopted at least one type of renewable energy target compared to 43 countries in 2005.
    3. 150 countries have focused committed renewable energy targets on the electricity sector. 47 countries have focused on heating and cooling sector.
    4. Renewable transport targets have also has doubled to 59 countries from 27 countries in 2005.
  989. International Telecommunication Union (ITU) defined speed of 5G (Fifth Generation) standard for mobile networking as 20 Gigabits per second (Gbps) at ITU conference in California (USA).
  990. Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) in collaboration with IMRB International released Social Media in India 2014 report -
    1. There are 14.3 crore social media users in India as on April 2015. 2.5 crore users are in Rural areas while 11.8 crore users in Urban India.
    2. College going students are largest users (34%) and young men second (26%).
    3. Facebook is leading social media platform with 96 % of users in urban areas accessing it, followed by Google Plus (61 %), Twitter (43 %) and LinkedIn (24 %).
    4. Top Activities are Maintaining a social networking profile followed by updating status and Commenting on blog sites.
  991. Internet firm Askme acquired Online grocery marketplace BestAtLowest.com for 10 million USD to expand companys search plus capabilities and sync between online and physical stores in real-time.
  992. Inward Investment Report 2014-15 of UK Trade and Industry (UKTI). -
    1. With 122 projects in 2014-15, India is now third largest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) source for United Kingdom (UK) after USA (564 projects) and France (124 projects).
  993. Iran, P5+1 and the European Union (EU) conceded on a framework agreement in Switzerland called as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) intended to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
  994. Iranian nuclear power plant Bushehr and India's Kudankulam nuclear power plant projects are named as projects of the year 2014 by US Power Engineering magazine in the Nuclear energy category.
  995. Islamic Republic of Iran celebrated the start of the new years festival of Iran Caleld Nowruz, a holiday that has its roots in ancient, pre-Islamic traditions.
  996. Islamic clothing company East Essence tied up with Snapdeal to set up store on their portal.
  997. Israel approved a bill to allow force-feeding of prisoners that are on hunger strike in case their lives are in danger.
  998. Italian Open Tennis -
    1. Women - Maria Sharapova (Russia) won by defeating Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro.
    2. Men - Serbian Novak Djokovic won be defeating Switzerland's Roger Federer.
  999. Jack Ma, Chief of Chinese E-Commerce Giant Alibaba Visited India.
  1000. Jagmohan Dalmiya has been elected as President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
  1001. Jagmohan Yadav is appointed as Director General of Police (DGP) of Uttar Pradesh.
  1002. Jakaya Kikwete, President of Tanzania Visited India. Six MoUs signed during this visit of President of Tanzania to India.
    1. Collaborative program in official statistics.
    2. Agricultural Statistics, Computer Applications Bio-informatics.
    3. Tourism.
    4. Hydrography & Protocol on exchange of Hydrographic Data.
    5. Loan agreement between Exim Bank of India and Government of Tanzania for 268.35 million USD for extension of Lake Victoria pipeline project.
  1003. Jamaica Government allowed to decriminalise possession of small amount of marijuana for personal use.
  1004. Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt announced that he will retire from athletics after the 2017 World Championships in London.
  1005. Jammu and Kashmir has been selected for National Award for e-Governance for the best district-level initiative in Citizen-Centric Service Delivery through ICT.
  1006. Jan 10 - World Hindi Day.
  1007. Janatal Dal (United) leader NItish Kumar sworn in as Chief Minister of Bihar for fourth time after Jeetan manjhi resigned. He is 34th CM Of Bihar.
  1008. Japan and France signed a deal on military equipment and technology transfers for cooperation and joint development in defence sector.
  1009. Japan and United States (US) revised their defence deal after 18 years for greater co-operation between militaries due to growing global security concerns.
  1010. Japan announced to provide an Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) loan of 2620 crore rupees to India.
  1011. Japan approved largest budget ever for 2015 of total 814 Billion USD. The defence budget was also enhanced to an all time high of 43 Billion USD.
  1012. Japan created a Joint Working Group (JWG) between Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan to end the delay in civil nuclear with India.
  1013. Japan organised world's first Otaku Expo as a part of a special comic book fair held every five years.
    1. Otaku is a Japanese term for people with obsessive interests, commonly animation.
  1014. Japan successfully launched Information Gathering Satellite (IGS) reconnaissance satellite by H-2A rocket. It is meant to support constellation of four IGS satellites, comprising two optical and two radar satellites.
  1015. Japan will provide Loan of Rs. 1165 crore approx to India for Transmission System Improvement in Odisha.
  1016. Japan's telecommunications and Internet Giant SoftBank Corp, India's Bharti Enterprises and Taiwanese Foxconn Technology formed a Joint Venture (JV) named SBG Cleantech aimed at promoting adoption of clean and safe energy in India.
    1. SBG Cleantech will aim at solar and wind energy and will contribute to Indian Government's mission of 24x7 power for all with 100GW solar and 60GW wind target by 2022.
    2. Manoj Kohli will be executive chairman and Raman Nanda will be the Chief Executive Officer SBG Cleantech headquartered in Delhi.
  1017. Japanese vice foreign minister Akitaka Saiki and Australian Foreign Affairs and Trade secretary Peter Varghese Visited India to attend first ever trilateral dialogue of India, Japan and Australia.
  1018. Jaspal Singh Kandhari has been appointed as president of Gymnastics Federation of India.
  1019. Javed Usmani Sworn In As New Chief Information Commissioner of Uttar Pradesh
  1020. Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghuvar Das imposed ban on sale of thermocol plates in the state to promote leaf plates and generate employment for the poor and tribal people engaged in making leaf plates.
  1021. Jharkhand Government will provide laptops to all girls student in class 9 - 12 in government Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV).
  1022. Jharkhand approved Special Courts Ordinance, 2015 to establish special courts for speedy trail of corruption cases and prosecution of individuals hoarding black money and illegally acquired property.
  1023. Jiji Thomson resigned as Director General of Sports Authority of India (SAI).
  1024. Joe Root and Charlotte Edwards have been named England mens and womens cricketers of the year for 2014-15.
  1025. Jordan Spieth (USA) won US Open Golf Tournament and became second man after Tiger woods to win the Masters and the US Open in the same year.
  1026. Joseph Sepp Blatter has been re-elected as President of FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) for fifth term.
  1027. Journalist Vinod Mehta has been conferred with Uttar Pradesh's highest civilian award Yash Bharti.
    1. Yash Bharti Samman is conferred by the Uttar Pradesh Government for excellence in literature, fine arts, folk and classical music and sports.
  1028. Journalist and writer Aakar Patel has been appointed as Executive Director of Amnesty International India.
    1. Amnesty International is an International organisation focused on human rights.
  1029. Jugal Kishore Mohapatra is appointed as rural development secretary.
  1030. June 05 - World Environment Day. Theme for 2015 is Seven Billion Dreams, One Planet, Consume with Care.
  1031. June 06 - National Day of Sweden (Northern Europe).
  1032. June 10 - National Day of Portugal. The date commemorates the death of national literary icon Luís de Camões on 10 June, 1580.
  1033. June 12 - Day of Russia. It commemorates the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic on June 12, 1990.
  1034. June 12 - Independence day of Philippines. It commemorates Philippines' Independence from Spain on June 12, 1898.
  1035. June 12 - World Day Against Child Labour. Theme for 2015 is NO to child labour - YES to quality education.
  1036. June 28 - Birthday of P. V. Narasimha Rao, Former (10th) Prime Minister of India (1991-1996). A Memorial inaugerated on his Birth Anniversary in New Delhi.
  1037. June 29 - Independence day of Seychelles. It marks Independence of Seychelles from United Kingdom on June 29, 1976.
  1038. June 29, 2015- Ninth Indian Statistics Day. It commemorates birth anniversary of Shri Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis. Theme for 2015 is Social Development.
    1. He is best remembered for the Mahalanobis distance, a statistical measure. He made pioneering studies in anthropometry in India. He founded the Indian Statistical Institute, and contributed to the design of large-scale sample surveys.
  1039. June 30 - National day of Congo. It marks Independence from Belgium on 30 June 1960.
  1040. Justice Narayanan Nadar Paul Vasanthakumar is appointed as new Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir High Court.
  1041. Jyoti Prasad Rajkhowa is appointed as th Governor of Arunachal Pradesh.
  1042. K Durga Prasad is appointed as the Special Director General of CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force).
  1043. K Satish Reddy has been appointed as Chairman of the National Safety Council (NSC). He is also Chairman of Dr Reddys Laboratories Ltd.
  1044. K Sivan is appointed as Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) of ISRO.
  1045. K VijayRaghavan, Secretary in Department of Biotechnology has been elected a Foreign Associate of US National Academy of Sciences. He was also recently elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (London) for his achievements in original research.
  1046. K.V. Chowdary is appointed as new Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) and Vijai Sharma is appointed as new Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) of India .
    1. Alongwith, Sudhir Bhargava is appointed as an Information Commissioner and T.M. Bhasin is appointed as a Vigilance Commissioner.  
  1047. KS Radhakrishnan Committee on Road Safety submitted its report to supreme court and recommended ban of sale of alcohol on National and State highways to minimize road accidents along with other recommendations.
  1048. KV Kamath will be appointed as first chief of New Development Bank of BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) for Five years. He has served as chairman of Infosys and Non-Executive Chairman of ICICI Bank.
  1049. Kalyan Singh has been appointed as 20th Governor of Rajasthan.
  1050. Kalyan Singh has been appointed as Governor of Himachal Pradesh. He is also the governor of Rajasthan.
  1051. Kanagasabapathy J Sripavan is appointed as 44th Chief Justice of Sri Lanka.
  1052. Kapil Mishra is appointed as Chairman of Delhi Jal Board.
  1053. Kapil Mishra will be Delhi's new Law Minister aftr former law minister Jitender Tomar being arrested over allegations of faking his law degree.
  1054. Kaptan Singh Solanki has been appointed as New Governor of Punjab. He is also the governor of Haryana.
  1055. Karnataka became first in country to provide universal health coverage with launch of two schemes, the Rajiv Arogya Bhagya for APL households and the Jyothi Sanjeevini for government employees.
  1056. Karnataka won their eighth Ranji Trophy title of cricket defeating Tamilnadu.
  1057. Kathmandu-Varanasi-Kathmandu bus service flagged off jointly by India and Nepal.
  1058. Katsushi Inoue appointed as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Honda Cars India Limited (HCIL).
  1059. Kavinder Gupta of Bharatiya Janata Party has been elected as speaker of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly.
  1060. Keeping in view the cane arrears mounting to Rs 21,000 crores, Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) decided to raise import duty on sugar from 25 to 40 % and remove excise duty on ethanol to help mills clear dues to farmers.
  1061. Keith Vaz has been re-elected as chairman of Parliaments Home Affairs Select Committee of UK for third time. He is Britains longest-serving Indian-origin MP.
  1062. Kenya's Cabinet Secretary of Foreign Affairs Amina Mohamed visited India to Attend Seventh India-Kenya Bilateral Meeting
  1063. Kerala Assembly speaker G Karthikeyan passed away
  1064. Kerala Government declared June 22 as ‘Snake Bird Day to protect the endangered species which is also known as Indian darter.
  1065. Kerala Tourism won silver Golden Gate award for its global multimedia campaign for promoting the backwaters of Kerala at Internationale Tourismus-Borse Berlin (ITB-Berlin) 2015, Germany.
  1066. Kerala government launched Subodham project to end liquor abuse as part of Punarjani 2030 Project to completely eradicate the menace of substance abuse in Kerala.
  1067. Keshari Nath Tripathi, (Governor of West Bengal) is appointed as Governor of Mizoram after removing Aziz Qureshi as the Governor of Mizoram.
  1068. Kewal K Sharma has beene appointed as Delhi Chief Secretary.
  1069. Khadi & Village Industries Commission (KVIC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Monitoring Cell for Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETIs) for enhancing business and project skills of beneficiaries under Prime Ministers Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) which is being implemented by KVIC.
  1070. Kiran Bhai Vadodaria has been elected as President of the Indian Newspaper Society (INS) for 2014-2015.
  1071. Kiran Kumar Alur Seelin has been appointed as new chief of ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization).
  1072. Kochi Metro ties up with Axis Bank to make significant revenues from ticket sales through Automated Fare Collection(AFC) system.
    1. Axis Bank will install required hardware and software for AFC and will pay Rs. 208 crore to KMRL over next 10 years.
    2. Axis Bank will issue co-branded cards to users of Kochi Metro. KMRL will also be paid 0.2% of Axis Banks gross revenues from utlilisation of co-branded pre-paid cards outside Kochi Metro system. 
  1073. Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic on won 2015 Presidential elections of Croatia and she will be croatia's First Female President.
  1074. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) co-owner Shah Rukh Khan acquired Carribean Premier League (CPL) T20 team Trinidad & Tobago (T&T) .
  1075. Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan won their first I-League title in 13 years after managing a 1-1 draw against defending champions Bengaluru FC.
  1076. Kotak Mahindra Bank started social bank accounts with JIFI Saver technology that enables funds transfers to contacts on social networks such as facebook.
  1077. Krishi Karman Awards 2013-14 Given by PM Narendra Modi
    1. Individual crops
      1. Rice - Chhattisgarh
      2. Wheat - Madhya Pradesh
      3. Pulses - Assam and Tamil Nadu
      4. Coarse Cereals - West Bengal
      5. Oil Seeds - Gujarat
    2. Total Food Grains Production
      1. Category-I (foodgrains production > 10 million tonnes) - Punjab
      2. Category-II (foodgrains production 1 - 10 million tonens) - Odisha
      3. Category-III (foodgrains production < 1 million tonnes) - Meghalaya
    3. Each award winning state received a trophy, a citation and a cash award of 2 crore rupees
  1078. Krishna Chaudhary is appointed as Director General (DG) of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).
  1079. Kshatrapati Shivaji is appointed as new CMD (Chairman and Managing Director) of SIDBI.
  1080. Kumar P Barve, first Indian- American to be elected to a US state legislature, will run for the US Congress in the 2016 elections.
  1081. LC Goyal has been appointed as Union Home Secretary of India.
  1082. Lars Loekke Rasmussen will be Denmark's next Prime Minister (Second Time after 2009) as his party Blue Opposition Bloc won parliamentary elections of Denmark.
  1083. Laszlo Krasznahorkai from Hungary won sixth prestigious Man Booker International Prize 2015 in London.
  1084. Laureus World Sports Awards for 2015 (China) -
    1. Indian Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar elected as member of Laureus Sports Academy.
    2. Sportsman of the Year: Novak Djokovic, the Serbian tennis star
    3. Sportswoman of the Year: Genzebe Dibaba, the Ethiopian sprinter
    4. Team of the Year: Germany Mens Football Team
    5. Comeback of the Year: Schalk Burger of South Africa, who fought through life-threatening meningitis to win back his place in the Springboks rugby team
    6. Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability: Tatyana McFadden, the wheelchair racer 
    7. Action Sportsperson of the Year: Alan Eustace, he holds the world record for the highest-altitude free fall jump
  1085. Leaders from Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine met in Minsk (Belarus) to sign an agreement to end the Nine month long violent conflict in eastern ukraine. The agreement is named as MINSK II.
  1086. Lee Alan Johnson of England is appointed as Head Coach of Under-19 football team of India.
  1087. Lee Kuan Yew, Former Prime Minister of Singapore Passed Away.
  1088. Legendary UK actor, singer and writer Christopher Lee passed away.
  1089. Legendary social activist and freedom fighter Ghelubhai Naik passed away.
  1090. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) of Mercedes won Canadian Formula 1 Grand Prix.
  1091. Lewis Hamilton (UK) of Mercedes team won Chinese Formula One (F1) Grand Prix.
  1092. Libby Lane has been named as Church of Englands first female bishop.
  1093. Lin Dan (China) won men's title at Badminton Asia Championships 2015 in China by defeating Tian Houwei (China).
  1094. Lion census report 2015 (14th lion census )-
    1. Number of Asiatic lions in Gir sanctuary of Gujarat increased to 523
    2. 27 % increase in the number of Asiatic lions compared to 2010 census.
    3. There are 201 female lions, 109 male lions and 213 sub-adults in Gir sanctuary and in other protected areas in Gir Somnath, Junagadh, Amreli and Bhavnagar districts of Saurashtra region of Gujarat.
    4. The lion population was registered using Global Positioning System (GPS) in case of direct sighting or direct contact methods.
  1095. Lithunia Joined as 19th Member of The Eurozone.
  1096. Lok Sabha 2015 passed Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill 2014.
    1. According to data from National Crime Records Bureau, crimes by juveniles in the age group of 16-18 years have increased, especially in certain categories of heinous crimes.
    2. Bill will now allow children in 16-18 age group to be tried as adults if they commit heinous crimes and it will be examined by a Juvenile Justice Board to assess if the crime was committed as a child or as an adult.
    3. The bill proposed to streamline adoption procedures for orphaned, abandoned and surrendered children by making mandatory registration of all institutions engaged in providing child care.
  1097. Lok Sabha Passed Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill 2015 that provides for auction and allocation of coal mines through a bidding process.
  1098. Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan was included in the LIMCA book of records for being first Indian woman to represent the same Lok Sabha constituency on the same party ticket for eight times in a row.
  1099. Lok Sabha passed Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill, 2014 (Also called Constitution (122nd Amendment))
    1. The bill is aimed at transforming India into a common market, unifying into a national goods and services tax expected to boost manufacturing and reduce corruption. Main Highlights are -
    2. It will insert Article 279A in the Constitution.
    3. It proposes an additional tax on supply of goods, under 1 % and will be collected by central government for a period of two years and apportioned to the States in inter-State trade.
    4. It provides for the compensation to the States for loss of revenue arising on account of implementation of GST for a period of five years.
    5. It combines all Central indirect taxes and State Value Added Taxes.
    6. It covers all goods and services except alcoholic liquor for human consumption for the levy of GST.
    7. Now, after passing in Rajya Sabha and approval by more than a half of India's 29 states, it will give equal tax goods and services powers to central and state governments.
  1100. Lok Sabha passed Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2015 that will replace Insurance Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2014. Proposed amendments in the bill aim to bring improvements in existing laws relating to insurance business in India.
    1. The Bill hikes Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) cap in the insurance sector to 49 % from 26 %.
  1101. Lok Sabha passed Land Acquisition (amendment) Bill, 2015 by voice vote.
    1. The bill amends the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RFCTLARR) Act, 2013.
    2. Before being passed, Government made amendments in the Bill that was promulgated on 29 December 2014. Nine amended provisions which were accepted includes-
      1. Removed exemptions for Social Infrastructure Projects in public-private-partnership mode
      2. Land that will be acquired for industrial corridors will be limited to one kilometre on either side of highways and railway lines
      3. Compulsory employment will be provided to one member of a farming family that is selling its land
      4. hassle-free grievance redressal mechanism of land losers will be put in place
      5. Farmers will get right to complain over land acquisition redressal of grievances at district level
      6. Ceiling on land for acquisition in industrial corridors
      7. Panchayat's nod may be mandatory for acquiring tribal land
      8. Government may acquire land for government bodies, corporations
      9. Land acquisition rehabilitation and resettlement Authority can now hold hearings where the acquisition can take place.
      10. Term private entity was replaced with private enterprise
  1102. Lok Sabha passed Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2015 that seeks to amend Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 to bring e-rickshaws and e-carts into the ambit of the Act.
  1103. Lok Sabha passed Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets (Imposition of Tax) Bill 2015 -
    1. Provisions of the Act will apply to undisclosed foreign income and assets with Rate of tax of 30 % of Undisclosed foreign income or assets.
    2. Violation of the provisions of the proposed new legislation will entail penalties in form of three times the taxable amount.
    3. Failure to furnish return in respect of foreign income or assets shall attract a penalty of 10 lakh rupees.
    4. Punishment for willful attempt to evade tax in relation to a foreign income located outside India will be rigorous imprisonment from 3 - 10 years and a fine.
    5. The same punishment is prescribed for assessees who have filed a return of income, but have not disclosed foreign asset or has furnished inaccurate particulars of the same.
    6. Provisions will also apply to banks and financial institutions helping in concealment of foreign income of Indians through falsification of documents.
    7. Certain safeguards for assesses have been provisioned in the act including -
      1. Requirement of mandatory issue of notices to the person against whom proceedings are being initiated with grant of opportunity of being heard
      2. Right of appeal to Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, High Court and the Supreme Court has been protected.
      3. Failure to report bank accounts with maximum balance of up to 5 lakh rupees at any time during the year will not put penalty as it might not have been reported my mistake or by ignorance.
      4. The Bill provides a one-time compliance opportunity for a limited period to persons who have any undisclosed foreign assets which have not been disclosed for the purposes of Income-tax.
  1104. Lok Sabha passed Warehousing Corporations (Amendment) Bill, 2015 that will set the Centre free of responsibility of being a financial guarantor to Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC).
  1105. Lok Sabha passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2015 by voice vote. The Bill seeks to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955 which regulates the acquisition and determination of citizenship and details registration of Overseas Citizens of India and their rights.
  1106. Lok Sabha passed the Repealing and Amending Bill, 2014 that seeks to repeal 35 obsolete archaic laws.
  1107. Lom Sabha passed a Bill to include certain synonymous names of communities in Scheduled Castes category in Haryana, Karnataka, Odisha and Dadra and Nagar Haveli. It was passed by Rajya sabha on Feb 24.
  1108. Loretta Lynch appointed as first black female Attorney General of United States of America.
  1109. M K Goel has been appointed as Chairman of PFC (Power Finance Corporation).
  1110. M O Garg has been appointed as Director General of Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR).
  1111. M Ravindran is appointed as Chairman of Indraprastha Gas Limited that looks after distribution of Natural gas mainly across NCR (National Capital region).
  1112. M Satyawati has been appointed as First Female Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
  1113. M.J. Joseph has been appointed as India's Controller General of Accounts (CGA) replacing Sh. Jawahar Thakur.
  1114. M.Y.S.Prasad, director of Satish Dhawan Space Centre, has been awarded the Vikram Sarabhai Memorial Award for 2014-2015 by the Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA).
  1115. Madhusudhan Prasad is appointed as Secretary in the Union Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD).
  1116. Madhya Pradesh Government will build a 750 megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic (SPV) plant in Rewa district. It will be developed in three phases of 250 MW each. On completion, it will become worlds largest solar power plant and will leave beghind Topaz Solar Farm (550 MW) in California (USA).
  1117. Madhya Pradesh won 10th National Award for excellent work in Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (MGNREGA) during MGNREGA summit in New Delhi.
  1118. Madras High Court directed Tamil Nadu Government to make wearing of helmets for two-wheelers compulsory.
  1119. Madras High Court on directed Tamil Nadu government to ban beauty contests in colleges and educational institutions.
  1120. Madrid Tennis Open 2015 -
    1. Men's Singles - Andy Murray of Britain won by defeating Spains Rafeal Nadal.
    2. Women's Singles - Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic won by defeating Russias Svetlana Kuznetsova.
    3. Men's Doubles - Rohan Bopanna (India) and Florin Mergea (Romania) won by defeating Serbian-Polish pair of Nenand Zimonjic and Martin Matkowski.
  1121. Magnus Carlsen of Norway won Shamkir chess tournament in Azerbaijan defeating Azerbaijani Rauf Mamedov
  1122. Maharashtra Government amended Section 66(1)(c) of Factories Act, 1948 and allowed women employees to work in night shifts likewise Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
  1123. Maharashtra Government amended the Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities (MPDA) Act, 1981 to include criminal activities related to sand mafia and black marketing under its bracket.
  1124. Maharashtra Government announced to include sale of gutka under Section 328 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) to make it a non-bailable offence.
  1125. Maharashtra Government banned digging of borewells over 200 feet to control decline of groundwater-level.
  1126. Maharashtra Government constituted a taskforce on agriculture development and poverty alleviation to address the issues.
  1127. Maharashtra Government decided to discontinue colonial-era practice of police guard of honour given to ministers and top officials.
  1128. Maharashtra Government launched Bhagyashree scheme for girl child replacing Sukanya scheme.
    1. State government will deposit 21200 rupees in bank for girl child born in a Below the Poverty Line family.
    2. Bhagyashree scheme aims at providing one lakh rupee on maturity after the girl completes 18 years of age.
    3. The scheme will be joined with Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme of government.
  1129. Maharashtra Government scrapped 5 % reservations to Muslims in government jobs in Maharashtra that was announced by the erstwhile Congress-NCP government just before 2014 Assembly polls.
  1130. Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with SIDBI Venture Capital provide easy finance to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Size of Funds is 200 crore rupees, 75 crore by MIDC and 125 crores by SIDBI.
  1131. Maharashtra approved Renewable Energy Policy worth 4156.43 crore rupees to increase capacity of Renewable power generation from 6700 to 14400 MW by 2020.
  1132. Maharashtra declared Blue Mormon as State butterfly as a state symbol.
  1133. Maharashtra government announced to observe September 17 as ‘Industries Day.
  1134. Maharashtra government announced to rename Mumbai's Girgaum Chowpatty as 'Swaraj Bhoomi' in honour of freedom fighter Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak.
  1135. Maharashtra government approved issuing Aadhar-linked ration cards to check fake beneficiaries and bring in transparency in the Public Distribution System (PDS).
  1136. Maharashtra government decided to use non-conventional resources to generate 14,400 MW electricity by 2019 and to cut down cost and reduce carbon footprint.
  1137. Maharashtra government launched online Facility for filling Right to Information (RTI) application.
  1138. Maharashtra government signed an MoU with Major engineering and construction company L&T, for setting up closed-circuit television (CCTV) based surveillance in Mumbai to guarantee safety to citizens.
  1139. Maharashtra government started helpline 18002332688 for social, physical and psychological issues faced by adolescents.
  1140. Mahendra Kumar Sharma has been appointed as non-executive chairman of ICICI Bank.
  1141. Mahesh Sharma (Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Tourism, Culture and Civil Aviation) visited Singapore and inaugurated a Buddhist Art Exhibition of priceless artefacts.
  1142. Major Indian Steel Companies, signed a Memorandum of Agreement with Ministry of Steel for setting up of Steel Research & Technology Mission of India (SRTMI) to promote new beginning in the R&D in steel sector.   
  1143. Major Mukund Varadarajan and Naik Neeraj Singh Posthumously Awarded Ashok Chakra during the 66th Republic day celebrations.
  1144. Malaysia Open Badminton 2015 -
    1. Male - Chinas Chen Long won be beating China's Lin Dan.
    2. Female - Spains Carolina Marin won by beating China's Li Xuerui.
  1145. Manchester United (England) became Worlds most valuable football brand with 1.2 billion USD Worth.
  1146. Maneka Gandhi, Minister for Women and Child Development launched first modernised Anganwadi centre of India at Hasanpur village of Sonepat in Haryana under Nand-Ghar Yojana of Government aimed at transforming the anganwadi centres.
  1147. Manipur Forest Department will translocate critically endangered Brow Antlered deer (Sangai) species found in Keibul Lamjao National Park (KLNP) to Pumlen Pat. KLNP is the only floating national park in the world.
  1148. Manipur Government assured setting up a memorial for freedom fighter Haipei Rani Gaidinliu in Capital Imphal.
  1149. Manohar Lal Khattar Chief Minister of Haryana dedicated the National Transmission Asset Management Centre (NTAMC) of POWERGRID to the nation.
  1150. Manoj Mishra appointed as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of National Fertilizers Limited (NFL).
  1151. Marathi Litterateur Bhalchandra Nemade conferred with 50th Jnanapith Award. The award includes 11 lakh rupees and a citation. His novel, Kosala, written in 1963 was considered as a path breaking in Marathi literature.
  1152. Marathi Writer Bhalchandra Nemade has been given then the Jnanpith (Gyanpeeth) Award 2014 for his novel Kosala.
  1153. Marc Van Ameringen, Executive Director of GAIN (Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition) Visited India and met Minister of Tribal Affairs Jual Oram.
    1. GAIN was Founded in 2002 with headquarter in Geneva, Switzerland.
  1154. March 23 - World Meteorological Day observed with theme Climate Knowledge for Climate Action.
    • World Meteorological Day is celebrated every year on 23 March to commemorate the entry into force in 1950 of the convention that created the World Meteorological Organization. Meteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere.
  1155. March 30 - Rajasthan Diwas (marking the unification of the erstwhile princely states in the region into the State of Rajasthan).
  1156. Marek Sawicki, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland, visited India.
  1157. Mariyam Asif Siddiqui, a 12-year-old Muslim girl won the first place in a Bhagwad Gita competition organised by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).
  1158. Masayoshi Son, Chief of Japan's Soft Bank and Tadashi Maeda, Senior MD of Japan Bank for International Cooperation Visited India.
  1159. Mass nesting of endangered species Olive Ridley sea turtles started in river Rushikulya in Ganjam district of Odisha.
  1160. May 1 - Constitution day of the Marshall Islands (island country near equator in Pacific Ocean). On May 1, 1979, constitution of the Marshall Islands was signed.
  1161. May 1 - Gujarat day and Maharashtra Day. States of Maharashtra and Gujarat were formed by Bombay Reorganisation Act enacted on 25 April 1960 and came into effect on 1 May 1960.
  1162. May 1 - Labour Day or International Workers' Day or May Day. In United states of America, It is celebrated as Labor Day on 1st monday of September.
  1163. May 11 - National Technology Day. It is Celebrated since 1999. On this day, there have been several technological milestones achieved by India.
    1. Successful series of nuclear tests at Pokhran at May 11, 1998.
    2. First indigenous aircraft "Hansa-3" was test flown from Bangalore and successful test firing of the Trishul missile were also performed on the same date.
  1164. May 13 - Birth Anniversary of Former Indian President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed. Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed was fifth President of India from 1974 to 1977.
  1165. May 17 - Constitution Day of Norway (Celebrating signing of Norwegian Constitution in Eidsvoll on May 18, 1814).
  1166. May 17 - World Hypertension Day.
  1167. May 20, 2015 - 50th Anniversary of First Successful indian Mount Everest Expedition on May 20, 1965 led by Manmohan Singh Kohli.
  1168. May 25 - Independence Day of Jordan (Arab nation).
  1169. May 25 - National Day of Argentina (South American Country).
  1170. May 28 - Freedom Frighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar's Birth Anniversary.
  1171. May 28 - National Day of Ethiopia (Country in Horn of Africa).
  1172. May 28 -Republic Day of Azerbaijan (Country in Western Asia).  On 28 May 1918, Azerbaijan declared independence from the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic, thus forming the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic.
  1173. May 29 - International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers.
  1174. May 9 - Birth Anniversary of Renowned Freedom Fighter Gopal Krishna Gokhale.
  1175. Mayilsamy Annadurai appointed as Director of ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC), Bengaluru.
  1176. Mayor of Houston (city in Texas state of USA), Annise Parker Visited India.
  1177. Meena Hemchandra appointed as the Executive Director (ED) of Reserve Bank of India (RBI). She will look after Department of Banking Supervision, Co-operative Banking Supervision and Non-Banking Supervision.
  1178. Meenakshi Madan Rai sworn in as first lady judge of Sikkim High Court.
  1179. Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) signed between Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) and National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) to commercialise ayurvedic medicines and technologies developed at CCRAS.
  1180. Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) signed between Jharkhand Government and National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) for Patratu Thermal Power Station (PTPS) to be set up through a Joint Venture between NTPC and Jharkhand Bidyut Vitaran Nigam Ltd. (JBVNL) with 74:26 equity participation. 
  1181. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg from Germany won Austrian F1 Grand Prix.
  1182. Mercers Quality of Living Report 2015 -
    1. Vienna, Austrias capital is the city with the best quality of living in the world.
    2. Singapore is highest-ranking Asian city
    3. Dubai ranks first across Middle East and Africa
    4. In South Asia - Colombo (132) ranks highest followed by Indian cities Hyderabad (138) and Pune (145).
  1183. Mhairi Black from Scotland became youngest lawmaker of Britain at the age of 20. The freshly elected lawmaker is . She belonged to Paisley and Renfrewshire South, a constituency outside Glasgow. She defeated Douglas Alexander, Labour's election chief and a former Cabinet minister with 17864 votes.
  1184. Miami Open Tennis 2015 -
    1. Women's doubles - Sania Mirza (India) and Martina Hingis (Switzerland) Won.
    2. Men's Singles - Novak Djokovic (Serbia) won by beating Andy Murray of Britain.
    3. Women's Singles - Serena Williams (USA) won by beating Suarez Navarro of Spain.
  1185. Micro, small and medium enterprises ministry (MSME) tied up with Samsung to open a Digital Academy for offering young students a skill development course based on Tizen operating system (OS) platform. 
  1186. Micromax took over Samsung and became Indias biggest and world's third largest smartphone vendor in the world. According to the report, in October-December 2014 (Quarter 4), Micromax handled 22 % market share in smartphones shipments in India compared to 20 % market share of Samsung.
  1187. Microsoft will open Indias first Digital Experience Centre in Vadodara (Gujarat).
  1188. Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Kalraj Mishra launched a digital Employment Exchange for Industries (EEX) portal at eex.dcmsme.gov.in. It will connect employers and job seekers and will help in linking Make in India initiative with Skilled India one.
  1189. Minister of Chemicals & Fertilizers (Ananth Kumar) launched Cluster Development Programme for Pharma Sector (CDP-PS) intended to enhance productivity of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the pharmacy sector.
  1190. Minister of Chemicals & Fertilizers, Ananth Kumar launched Pharma Price Data Bank of NPPA (National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority) as integrated Pharmaceutical Database Management System. It will help everyone as Manufacturers can fill their mandatory forms online that can be accessed by Government, NPPA and consumers.
    1. Pharma Price Data bank will have online data submission facaility for medicine manufacturers as prescribed under the Drugs Price Control Order, 2013.
    2. NPPA is already operating another portal Pharma Jan Samadhan” that registers complaints about shortage or overcharging for medicines.
  1191. Minister of Investment and Development of Kazakhastan, Asset Issekeshev Visited India.
  1192. Minister of Railways Suresh Prabhu launched ‘E-Samiksha for monitoring implementation of Railway budget 2015-16, announcements/commitments.
  1193. Minister of Road Transport and Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari inaugurated Indias first Tier-I Oil Spill Response Centre (OSRC) for Mumbai Port Trust (MBT), Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) and ONGCs facilities at Nhava and Uran. Objective is to develop an appropriate system for detection and reporting of oil spillage.
  1194. Minister of State (I/C) for Petroleum and Natural gas, Dharmendra Pradhan visited Nigeria.
  1195. Minister of State (IC) for Development of North-Eastern Region Jitendra Singh launched an Augmented Reality (AR) application ‘Sakaar to highlight achievements of Department of Space during one year in office of the present Government.
  1196. Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan visited Eastern African Country Mozambique.
  1197. Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Ministry of Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), Jitendra Singh announced 325 crores worth projects for Northeast. Out of These, 200 crore for projects in Assam and Rs. 125 crore for "Organic Farming Mission" for entire North-Eastern region.
  1198. Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh inaugurated first India-China Yoga College at Yunnan Minzu University in Kunming, China.
  1199. Minister of State for Textiles (I/C), Santosh Kumar Gangwar, laid foundation stone for an Apparel & Garment Making Centre in Arunachal Pradesh.
  1200. Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejunivetion Uma Bharti launched nationwide Jal Kranti Abhiyan from Jaipur (Rajasthan) to consolidate water conservation and management.
  1201. Ministries of Railways, Coal & Odisha Government Signed agreement for Undertaking Rail Infrastructure for Evacuation of Coal.
  1202. Ministry Science & Technology and Earth Sciences launched BIRAC Ace Fund aimed at accelerating growth of entrepreneurs in Biotechnology. It will be operated by Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) a Public Sector Undertaking under Ministry of Science & Technology.
  1203. Ministry for Development of North East Region (DoNER) headed by its Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh, received Web Ratna Award 2014 by Ministry of Information Technology (IT) for exemplary efforts by DoNER Ministry for promoting e-governance initiatives.
  1204. Ministry for Social Justice & Empowerment launched Credit Enhancement Guarantee Scheme for Scheduled Castes. The scheme is implemented by Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI) Ltd with a sum of 200 crore rupees for young and start-up entrepreneurs of Scheduled Castes (SC) to avail financial assistance.
  1205. Ministry for Social Justice & Empowerment launched national toll free helpline (1800-11-0031) to assist the alcoholic and drug dependent persons.
  1206. Ministry of AYUSH started weekly programe on Doordarshan named - ‘Ayushman Bharat aimed at popularising traditional Indian medicines through interaction with experts of Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy.
  1207. Ministry of Corporate Affairs released data of top ten Corporate of 2014 comprising eight public sector undertakings and two private companies.
    1. In term of assets, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) is the largest corporate with assets worth 3.68 lakh crores
    2. Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) is second with assets worth 2.52 lakh crores, Housing Development Finance Corp (HDFC) is third with assets worth 2.25 lakh crore rupees.
    3. Other entities in the top ten are Power Finance Corporation, National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), Rural Electrification Corporation, Power Grid Corporation, LIC Housing Finance (music), Steel Authority of India Limited and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited.
  1208. Ministry of Culture Took over Lalit Kala Akademi after complaints regarding alleged administrative and financial irregularities in Lalit Kala Akademi.
  1209. Ministry of Defence Awards of the 2015 Republic Day Parade -
    • Services - Brigade of Guards Regiment and Sikh Regiment jointly judged as best marching contingents.
    • Para-Military Forces -  Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) contingent
    • Tableaux Category- First position won by Maharashtra, which depicted the pilgrimage to Pandharpur. Jharkhand tableau on Maluti Temples was second best and Karnataka Tableau was third (based on Channapatna Toys).
    • Competitive category of school children items- Daang Dance of Gujarat by West Zone Cultural Centre, Udaipur (Rajasthan).
  1210. Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) appointed Olympic Bronze medallist boxer MC Mary Kom as the brand ambassador of the North-East region.
  1211. Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change has exempted builders from obtaining prior green nod for construction of Universities, Schools and Colleges.
  1212. Ministry of Food Processing Industries approved setting up 30 new cold storage chains under the Integrated Cold Chain project with cost of 274.9 crore rupees. So far, 138 cold storage chains have been sanctioned out of which 108 are under implementation.
  1213. Ministry of Health and Welfare launched Media Campaign for Mission Indradhanush including song composed by lyricist Javed Akhtar. The campaign was launched for creating awareness regarding the importance to fully immunize every child against all vaccine preventable diseases in the country.
    1. Mission Indradhanush aims to cover all under vaccinated children by 2020 against seven vaccine preventable diseases that include diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, tuberculosis, measles and hepatitis B.
  1214. Ministry of Home Affairs changed name of the scheme ‘Tourist Visa on Arrival-Electronic Travel Authorization to 'e-Tourist Visa' (eTV).
  1215. Ministry of Minority Affairs has started implementation of Nai Roshni” scheme for Leadership Development of Minority Women from 2012-13 to empower minority women by providing knowledge, tools and techniques for interacting with Government systems, Banks and other institutions.
  1216. Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas organised Urja Sangam 2015: Shaping Indias Energy Security, an international energy summit in New Delhi.
  1217. Ministry of Railways constituted an eight member Committee under Mohd. Jamshed to identify factors and issues affecting growth of traffic (Freight & Passenger) and suggest a plan of action for Traffic Optimization.
  1218. Ministry of Railways decided to run Suvidha trains with dynamic fares from July 2015 to address the rush during peak travel seasons.  These trains will have dynamic fare system with no Waiting List.
  1219. Ministry of Railways will set up Malaviya Chair for Railway Technology at IIT (BHU) to develop new materials to be used in all assets of Railways with funds Rs 5 crore. R.K. Verma will be head of Chair Core Committee.
  1220. Ministry of Railways will set up Technology Mission for Indian Railways for taking up identified railway projects for applied research and use on Indian Railways. N.S.Vyas will be head of Mission Implementation and coordination committee.
  1221. Ministry of Road Transport, Highways and Shipping launched Road Asset Management System (RAMS) for National Highways. The system will use laser technology for compiling information on road assets, condition of pavements and traffic.
  1222. Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport & Highways launched website Shipping Samvad to invite innovative ideas and suggestions from public and experts of Indian maritime sector for improvements in shipping, ports and inland waterways.
  1223. Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation constituted a 'Task Force' chaired by BN Navalawala on Interlinking of Rivers to look into the issues relating to Interlinking of Rivers ( ILR) in the country.
  1224. Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports approved regognition of certain sports federations representing indigenous sports as Regional Sports Federations (RSFs) subject to substantial popularity of the sport in the concerned region.
  1225. Minoti Apte, Indian pancreatic cancer researcher in Australia has been named New South Wales (NSW) Woman of the year 2015 for her contributions to medical research, tertiary education and the Indian community.
  1226. Mirage 2000 fighter jet of Indian air force landed successfully on Yamuna Expressway as part of developing road runaway for emergency landing.
  1227. Misao Okawa, a Japanese woman who was recognized by Guinness World Records as the worlds oldest person (116 Years), died on 1 April.
  1228. Mithripala Sirisena won 2015 Presidential Elections of Sri Lanka. He will be 7th President of Sri Lanka.
  1229. Modibo Keita has been named as New Prime Minister of Mali by President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta.
  1230. Mohan Kumar appointed India's Ambassador to France.
  1231. Moodys(USA) released quarterly Global Macro Outlook 2015-16 report -
    1. Atronger US dollar and shifts in capital flows will widen the gap between global economies in 2015-16.
    2. US GDP growth will be 2.8% in 2015 and 2016.
    3. GDP growth in G20 economies will be 2.8 % in 2015 and 3 % in 2016.
    4. GDP growth of europw will be 1.5 % in 2015 and 2016.
    5. China's GDP growth will be 6.8 % in 2015 and 6.5 % in 2016.
    6. Indias GDP growth will be 7.5 % in 2015-16, highest in G20 economies. Make-in-India campaign will give a boost to domestic manufacturing and other reforms measures would bring in higher investment and boost growth. inflation will remain moderate due to inflation targeting policy of Reserve Bank of India (RBI). RBI intends to lower retail inflation to 6 % by January 2016 and 4 % (+/- 2%) thereafter.
  1232. Mr. Ramkumar Prasad Shah, the Chief Justice of Nepal, visited India.
  1233. Mufti Mohammed Sayeed of People's Democratic Party has been appointed as 12th Chief Minister of J&K.
  1234. Muglawali village of Yamungar district in Haryana came into news after district authorities claimed that they have dugged out a paleo (old) channel resembling now inactive River Saraswati.
  1235. Mukesh Khanna is appointed as Chairperson of Children's Film Society of India
    1. Children's Film Society India (CFSI) was founded by Jawahar Lal Nehru in 1955 under Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
  1236. Multiplex chain PVR acquired DLF's DT Cinemas for 500 crore rupees.
  1237. Mumbai High Court directed Maharashtra government to set up a redressal mechanism for complaints filed by citizens against noise pollution levels.
  1238. Mumbai Indians won eighth Indian Premier League (IPL) Tournament defeating Chennai Super Kings by 41-runs in Eden Gardeans (Kolkata). It is second title for Mumbai Indians after their first win in 2013.
  1239. Mumbai University signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Indian Railways to set up a Rail Innovation and Technology Centre to train students for attaining expertise in Railway Engineering.
  1240. Music composer Shekhar sen is appointed as Chairman of the Sangeet Natak Akademi (SNA) replacing Leela Samson.
  1241. Mustafa Kamal (Bangladesh) resigned from the post of President of International Cricket Council
  1242. Myanmar Vice-President Sai Mauk Kham visited India.
  1243. Myanmars government and 16 ethnic rebel groups signed nationwide cease-fire agreement to end 65 years of civil unrest and armed conflict in the country.
  1244. Mysurus erstwhile royal family adopted Yaduveer Gopal Raj Urs as heir to Wadiyar dynasty.
  1245. N Shakthan elected as speaker of the Kerala Assembly replacing G Karthikeyan who died recently.
  1246. NASA (USA) scientists developed tool to predict destructive solar geomagnetic storms 24 hours in advance. Such storms can cause telecommunication disruptions and power outages. Solar geomagnetic storms are caused by a giant cloud of solar particles, called a coronal mass ejection (CME), aligned in opposite direction of the Earths magnetic field.
  1247. NASA successfully launched its first Earth satellite Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) to collect global observations of the vital soil moisture.
  1248. NASA's Dawn spacecraft completed Orbit around Dwarf Planet Ceres and became first spacecraft to orbit around a dwarf planet.
  1249. NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) launched Arctic Challenge Exercise in north of Norway, Sweden and Finland with nine countries participating in it.
  1250. NCR (National Capital Region) got bigger with Inclusion of Haryana's Jind, Karnal & UP's Muzaffarnagar Districts in NCR.
  1251. NGO Pratham released 10th Annual Status of Education Report (ASER 2014).
  1252. NHAI (National Highways Authority of India) started inviting bids for preparing Detailed Project Reports (DRPs) of over 3500km of roads along the border and coast lines as part of Bharat Mala project.
    1. Bharat Mala project is a plan of Ministry of Roads Transport & Highways to build 5000 km of road networks and link border and coastal areas with road network with investment of around 50000 crore rupees.
  1253. NTPC Ltd. Becomes First PSU to Issue Bonus Debentures. Government received 618.06 crore bonus debentures amounting to Rs. 7725.76 crore and Rs. 2060.75 crore as dividend distribution tax by virtue of its 74.96% shareholding in NTPC.
  1254. Nadia district (West Bengal) has won United Nations Public Service Award 2015 in the category of improving delivery of public services for or eliminating open defecation.
  1255. Nadia district of West Bengal declared as first open defecation-free (ODF) district in India due to collaborative efforts with United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and World Bank for construction of toilets across the district.
  1256. Nagesh Kukunoor's Film Dhanak won two awards at 65th Berlin International Film Festival.
  1257. Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba won the worlds most valuable individual award, the Mo Ibrahim prize for African leadership. Award is worth $5m (£3.2m) award and given each year to a leader who governed well, raised living standards and then left office.
  1258. Nandita Chatterjee is appointed as new Secretary in Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation.
  1259. Naoko Ishii, CEO and Chairperson of GEF (Global Environment Facility) Visited India.
    1. Global Environment Facility (GEF) supports UN objectives on protecting environment and addressing climate change concerns, has agreed to undertake pilot projects in four Indian cities for promoting green practices in urban areas.
  1260. Narayan Desai, Noted Gandhian and former Chancellor of Gujarat Vidyapith passed away.
  1261. Narendra Kumar Yadav appointed as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL).
  1262. Nasim Zaidi is appointed as new (20th) chief election commissioner of India replacing Hari Shankar Brahma.
  1263. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) ended operations of MESSENGER Mission to study planet Mercury s atmosphere. Journey of the spacecraft came to an end with Expected Impact (EI) on Mercurys surface at a speed of 14000 kmph and creating a crater about 52 feet wide.
  1264. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of USA named Asteroid 316201 after Malala Yousafzai, the winner of 2014 Nobel Peace Prize. The asteroid is situated in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
  1265. National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) signed an MoU with India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA) to speed up 'Make in India' and 'Digital India' agenda for electronic system design and manufacturing (ESDM) and IT.
  1266. National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Limited (NCDEX) launched Gold Now platform for forward trading in gold. Features are -
    1. It is India-centric gold forward contracts platform with maximum contract duration is 60 days.
    2. Delivery units are of 100 grams and 1 kilogram.
  1267. National Dalit Movement for Justice (NDMJ) launched web based tool named Atrocity Tracking and Monitoring (ATM) System to monitor atrocities against Dalits and Adivasis & to deliver speedy justice.
  1268. National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Committee sanctioned 2000 crore rupees to the drought affected areas in Maharashtra for year 2014.
  1269. National Green Tribunal (NGT) directed Indian Railways to impose fine of 5000 rupees for littering or throwing waste on the railway platforms and tracks.
  1270. National Green Tribunal (NGT) ordered that every household in Delhi will have to pay a monthly environmental compensation to clean up Yamuna River. NGT bench headed by its chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar made this decision on a petition of environmental activist, Manoj Misra against severe pollution in River Yamuna.
  1271. National Green Tribunal ruled 10-year old diesel vehicles cannot run on Delhi - NCR roads.
  1272. National Institute of Immunology (NII) signed agreement various Delhi colleges for participation of its Scientists/ faculty in teaching of undergraduate students in these colleges under a programme titled as ‘Science Setu
  1273. National Mission for Clean Ganga and Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan signed 5-year Agreement for involvement of youth in the conservation of river Ganga.
  1274. National Payments Corporation (NPCI), that manages retail payments system in India, has linked 15 crore bank accounts with Aadhaar numbers.
    • Target is to link bank accounts of 17 crore DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer) beneficiaries with Aadhaar by 30 June 2015.
  1275. National Safai Karamcharis Finance & Development Corporation (NSKFDC) and Credit Enhancement Guarantee Scheme for Scheduled Castes of IFCI launched Commercial Motor Driving Training Programme with Self Defense Skills for Women Programme.
  1276. National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) 71st Round of survey on Social Consumption: Education-
    1. Adult literacy (age 15 years and above) rate in India was around 70.5 % in 2014
    2. In age group 7 years and above, male literacy rate was 83.2 % and female was 67.1 %. Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Kerala, Goa, Delhi, Chandigarh and Lakshadweep had more than 90 % Literacy in this age group. 
    3. Literacy in age 5 and above group in rural areas is 71.4 % as compared to 86.1 % in urban areas.
  1277. National Stock Exchange (NSE) launched online Overnight Liquid Transaction facility on its Mutual Fund Service System (MFSS) platform. It will allow purchase and redemption of orders simultaneously in liquid schemes. Earlier in May 2015, a similar product was introduced by Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) which now has daily transactions of worth 400-500 crore rupees.
  1278. National Summit on Corporate Social Responsibility organized in Delhi by Confederation of Indian Industry with theme Partnering the National Agenda” and inaugurated by President Pranab Mukherjee.
  1279. National Transport Development Policy Committee (NTDPC), under chairmanship of Rakesh Mohan submitted its report suggesting reforms for development of various modes of transport categorized as immediate reforms and long run goals. Immediate reforms have been suggested at national, state and metropolitan levels. However, long term goals are for national and metropolitan levels.
    1. At national level, Committee suggested formation of a high-level and independent Office of Transport Strategy (OTS) and to move towards investment and strategy for transport as an integrated system.
    2. At state level, Committee has suggested to establish urban transport as a subject to state level and to develop formal mechanisms for state participation in decisions about initiation, siting, size and other aspects of airports and rail-based transport.
    3. At metropolitan level, the Committee has suggested for creation of Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTAs) as statutory authority.
  1280. National Tribal Festival Vanaj 2015 inaugurated by Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Jual Oram at the Indira Gandhi National Center for Arts (IGNCA) in New Delhi.
  1281. Nebraska became 19th USA state to abolish death penalty.
  1282. Neeraj Kumar appointed chief adviser of Anti-Corruption & Security Unit of Board of Control for Cricket in India.
  1283. Nek Chand, creator of Chandigarh's Famous rock garden passed away.
  1284. Nepal Rastra Bank announced to provide interest-free loans for rebuilding houses up to 25 lakh nepali rupees in the Kathmandu Valley and 15 lakh nepali rupees for those outside the capital.
    1. Nepal Rastra Bank is the regulatory authority of the Nepalese economy.
    2. Nepal Rastra Bank also said the commercial banks and financial institutions could take a maximum interest of 2 % under home loan for such purposes.
  1285. Nepalese Minister of Youth and Sports, Shri Purushottam visited India To seek support from India for development of Cricket.
  1286. Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Minister for Foreign Trade Lilianne Ploumen and Minister for Agriculture Sharon Dijksma Visited India. A Memorandum of Understanding signed between India and Netherlands for development of vaccines. 
  1287. New International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) inaugerated at Naya Raipur (Chhattisgarh) by Piyush Goyal (Minister of State, (IC) for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy).
  1288. New Zealand cricket captain Brendon McCullum and Coach Mike Hesson were honoured with Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM).
  1289. New Zealand cricket team captain Brendon McCullum conferred with Sir Richard Hadlee Medal for 2014-15 as highest cricketing honour of New Zealand.
  1290. New Zealand cricketer Daniel Vettori retired from all forms of International Cricket.
  1291. New Zealand won 2015 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup mens hockey tournament defeating Australia in Malaysia.
  1292. New antibiotic Teixobactin has been discovered by a team of scientists from Northeastern University in Massachusetts. This antibiotic is capable of fighting infections that kill several people each year.
  1293. New zealand's Martin Guptill scored highest-ever score of 237 in Cricket World Cup history, Playing against West Indies.
  1294. New Executive Directors appointed for Governmenr Owned Banks -
    • Charan Singh - UCO Bank
    • Venkat Ram Murti - Bank of Baroda
    • R P Marathe - Bank of India
    • Harideesh Kumar - Canara Bank
    • N K Sahoo - Allahabad Bank
    • Pawan Kumar Bajaj - Indian Overseas Bank
    • Ravi Shankar Pandey - Syndicate Bank
    • Kishore Piraji Kharat - Union Bank of India
    • R C Lodha - Central Bank of India
  1295. Nico Rosberg (Germany) of Mercedes won Monaco Grand Prix Formula 1 World Championship title.
  1296. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) from Germany won Spanish Grand Prix Formula 1 World Championship.
  1297. Nilesh Sathe is appointed as member-life of insurance regulator IRDAI.
  1298. Nine Indian Americans Awarded $50,000 Sloan Research Fellowships among 126 US and Canadian researchers selected by The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation as recipients of the 2015 Sloan Research Fellowships.
    1. Nandini Ananth, Prabal Dutta, Shyam Gollakota, Shantanu Jadhav, Hemamala Karunadasa, Neal Mankad, Suresh Naidu, Padmini Rangamani and Vivek Shende.
  1299. Nirbhay Sharma is appointed as 17th Governor of Mizoram.
  1300. Nitish Kumar, Chief Minister of Bihar constituted committee headed by Chief Secretary Anjani Kumar Singh to consider demand of hike in pay for fixed pay teachers.
  1301. Nobel-winning German writer Gunter Grass passed away.
  1302. Normandy Four (group comprising of foreign ministers of four nations - Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France) formed four working groups for ceasefire on Ukraine conflict.
  1303. North Korea successfully test-fired newly developed Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM).
  1304. North and South America became first regions to eradicate rubella (German measles). due to no new cases reported in past five years.
  1305. Noted Economist Mrinal Datta Chaudhuri passed away.
  1306. Noted Film Producer Daggubati Ramanaidu passed away. He was a recepient of Dada Saheb Phalke award and Padmabhushan award.
  1307. Noted Hindi Writer Kamal Kishore Goenka has been honored by the Vyas Samman 2014 for his Research Work 'Premchand Ki Kahaniyon ka Kaalkramanusar Adhdhyan'.
  1308. Noted Hockey player Shashi Bala Passed Away.
  1309. Noted Indian Architect, Charles Correa Passed Away.
  1310. Noted Journalist Diptosh Majumdar passed away.
  1311. Noted Tamil Writer D. Jayakanthan (Jnanpith Awardee) Passed Away.
  1312. Noted mathematician John Nash Passed Away.
  1313. Novak Djokovic of Serbia won Monte-Carlo Masters Tennis title by defeating Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic.
  1314. Novelist Chitra Mudgal has been honored by Nirala Smriti Samman 2015.
  1315. Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) and AREVA of France signed an Agreement for proposed Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project for setting up two EPR (Evolutional Pressurised Reactor) rectors of 1650 MWe each. 
  1316. Nuclear Reactors of India - An Overview -
    1. There  are  21  nuclear  power  reactors  in  the  country  with  a  total installed capacity of 5780 MW.
    2. One Of these, Rajasthan Atomic Power Station Unit 1 (100 MW) at Rawatbhata is under shutdown for techno-economic assessment.
    3. Kudankulam Unit – 2 is presently under commissioning.
    4. Five reactors are presently under various stages of construction with a total capacity of 3300 MW - :

      Project

      Location

      Capacity

      (MW)

      Anticipated

       Completion

      Dates

      Kakrapar Atomic Power  Project

      Units 3&4 (KAPP 3&4)

      Kakrapar,

      Gujarat

      1400

      2017-18

       Rajasthan Atomic Power Project

      Units 7&8 (RAPP 7&8)

      Rawatbhata,

      Rajasthan

      1400

      2018-19

      Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor

      (PFBR)

      Kalpakkam,

      Tamil Nadu

      500

      2015-16

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

    5. Share of the nuclear power generation in the 2014-15 was 3.6% of total electricity Generation.

  1317. Number of seats in Legislative Assembly of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are likely to be increased from 175 and 119 to 225 and 153, respectively subject to the provisions contained in Article 170 of Constitution.
  1318. Nursultan Nazarbayev has been re-elected as President of Kazakhstan for his consecutive fifth term. He is first president of Kazakhstan and holding this post since 24 April 1990.
  1319. O Panneerselvam resigned as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu as Jayalalitha re-appointed as Chief Minister for fifth Time after bail. J Jayalalitha announed welfare schemes of Rs. 1800 Crores after assuming charge as Chief Minister.
  1320. Odia filmmaker Nirad Mahapatra passed away.
  1321. Odisha  State  Co-operative Bank has launched ‘Bank on Wheels to help farmers get loans on their doorstep through 20 vans with ATM facility moving around 20 remote and tribal areas.
  1322. Odisha Elephant Census Report 2015 stated that elephant population in Odisha increased to 1954 from 1930 recorded in 2012 Census. highest number of elephants (487) are in Similipal Tiger Reserve followed by Satkosia Tiger Reserve (234 elephants).
  1323. Odisha Government has appointed Justice Madan Mohan Das as Chairman of committee for Inquiring of multi-crore chit fund scam in Odisha.
  1324. Odisha Government launched a cheap meal scheme Aahar for providing subsidised food to urban poor.
  1325. Oil & Natural Gas Corporation won 10th Savio Cup All India Basketball tournament by defeating Indian Overseas Bank.
  1326. Omar al-Bashir re-elected as President of Sudan. He is holding this post since 1989.
  1327. One year of NDA (National Democratic Alliance) Government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi completed with tagline 'Saal Ek Shuruat Anek'.
  1328. Online Retailer Flipkart acquired Delhi-based mobile marketing automation company Appiterate to focus more on the mobile segment.
  1329. Online Retailer Flipkart acquired mobile ad network AdiQuity to increase advertising reach of Flipkart.
  1330. Online fashion retailer Myntra.com acquired Bengaluru-based startup firm Native5 Software Solutions. With this acquisition, Native 5 will join Flipkart, parent company of Myntra.
  1331. Online marketplace Snapdeal acquired RupeePower, a digital financial products distribution platform.
  1332. Online shopping portal Snapdeal.com acquired luxury fashion site Exclusively.com for undisclosed amount. With this, Snapdeal aims to strengthen its fashion business and reach 2 billion US dollars in gross value in fashion category in 2015.
  1333. Oriental Insurance Company has been designated as insurance partner of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports under its Target Olympic Podium (TOP) scheme.
  1334. P Krishnamurthy is appointed as Private Secretary of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.
  1335. P Kunhikrishnan has been appointed as Director of Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR replacing MYS Prasad.
  1336. PC Vaish has been appointed as chairman-cum-managing director (CMD) of National Textile Corporation (NTC).
  1337. PM Narendra Modi Inaugerated 102nd session of Indian Science Congress (ISC) at University of Mumbai.
  1338. PM Narendra Modi Laid foundation stone of Dr. Ambedkar International Centre in Delhi.
  1339. PM Narendra Modi Left for his tri nation Visit to France, Germany and Canada.
  1340. PM Narendra Modi Visited Indian Ocean island nation Seychelles and signed four agreements with the to boost security and maritime partnership.
    1. Cooperation in hydrography, renewable energy, Infrastructure development and Sale of navigation charts and electronic navigational charts.
    2. PM also launched the Coastal Surveillance Radar Project in Seychelles.
  1341. PM Narendra Modi announced setting up of Shaheed Bhagat Singh PG Institute for Horticulture Research and Education at Amritsar, Punjab on 84th Martyrdom Day at National Martyrs Memorial in Hussainiwala in Punjab.
  1342. PM Narendra Modi began his official Visit to Three island countries in Indian Ocean - Seychelles, Mauritius and Sri Lanka.
  1343. PM Narendra Modi congratulated Islamic scholar and activist Maulana Wahiduddin Khan for his winning Sayyidina Imam Al Hassan Ibn Ali Peace Award in Dubai.
  1344. PM Narendra Modi gifted painting Tree of Life to French President Francois Hollande during his visit to France.
  1345. PM Narendra Modi inaugurated 2 units of 600 Mega Watt (MW) each of Shree Singaji Thermal Power Project Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh. 
  1346. PM Narendra Modi inaugurated Dandi Kutir museum in Gandhinagar, Gujarat during the 13th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas (PBD). to mark the 100th anniversary of MK Gandhi's return to India from South Africa. A Commemorative Postal stamp was also released on this occasion.
  1347. PM Narendra Modi inaugurated first branch of ICICI Bank in China at Shanghai during his official visit to china.
  1348. PM Narendra Modi inaugurated upgraded IISCO Steel Plant (ISP) in Burnpur (West Bengal). Cost for upgradation is 16000 crore rupees and plant's production capacity has increased from 0.85 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) to 2.9 mtpa.
  1349. PM Narendra Modi joined Chinese social media platform Weibo.
  1350. PM Narendra Modi launched Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS) at Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh). IPDS is flagship programme of Power Ministry to ensure 24x7 power for all by strengthening transmission networks, Metering, IT application, Customer Care, Solar Panels and completion of ongoing works of Restructured Accelerated Power Development and completion of the Reforms Programme (RAPDRP). Government will provide budgetary support of Rs. 45,800 crore for implementation of IPDS.
  1351. PM Narendra Modi launched Two Insurance and One Pension sector welfare Schemes -
    1. Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) - It provides annual life insurance of 2 lakh rupees and covers death due to any reason. A premium of 330 rupees per annum is paid by the subscribers to enroll in the scheme. People in the age group of 18 to 50 years having a bank account are eligible to join.
    2. Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) - It provides for risk coverage of 2 lakh rupees for accidental death and full disability and 1 lakh rupees for partial disability due to an accident. It is available to people in the age group of 18 to 70 years having a savings bank account. A premium of 12 rupees per annum is paid by the subscriber.
    3. Atal Pension Yojana (APY) - will address old age income security need of All citizens in unorganised sector.
      Age of joining is 18 - 40 years. All existing subscribers of Swavalamban would be automatically migrated to APY. Subscribers would receive fixed pension between 1000 - 5000 rupees per month at the age of 60 years, depending on their contributions, that will vary on the age of joining the scheme. Those joining at earlier age will get more pension on reaching 60 years of age.
  1352. PM Narendra Modi launched first indigenously developed Rotavirus vaccine named Rotavac to boost Indias efforts to combat infant mortality due to diarrhea.
    1. vaccine will be available at a price of 1 US dollar per dose making it the cheapest vaccine available for rotavirus globally.
  1353. PM Narendra Modi launched multi-purpose and multi-modal platform, PRAGATI (Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation), aimed at addressing common mans grievances and monitoring important projects.
  1354. PM Narendra Modi launched new television channel for farmers - DD Kisan. It will provide information about best agricultural practices to promote growth of farmers.
  1355. PM Narendra Modi launched three major urban development initiatives - AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation), Smart Cities Mission and Housing for All (Urban). Investment of about 3 Lakh Crores is to be made in these Missions over next 5 Years.
    1.  AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation)
    2. 100 Smart Cities Mission - It seeks to enhance quality of life in 100 selected cities with 24 hour water and power supply, better transportation, education and Other facilities. 
    3. Housing for All by 2022 - Shortage of About 2 Crore Houses in Urban areas to be filled by 2022.
  1356. PM Narendra Modi left for Official Visit to China, Mongolia and South Korea.
    1. China
      1. 24 Agreements Signed To Enhance Bilateral Co-operation. Some Notable are -
        1. Establishment of State/Provincial Leaders Forum to enhance relations among the provinces (China) and states (India).
        2. Additional Consulate General to be established in each others country to promote greater cultural, tourism, economic and people-to-people engagement. India will open a Consulate General in Chengdu, while China shall open a new Consulate General in Chennai.
        3. India-China will exchange visits of naval ships and hold PASSEX and SAR exercises for defence exercises.
        4. International Yoga Day will be organised jointly on 21 June 2015 in collaboration between the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and Yunnan National University of China.
        5. India-China will annually exchange 200 youths in the second half for Cultural Exchange Initiatives.
        6. Agreements for provincial partnership between Karnataka and Sichuan and sister-city relationships between Aurangabad – Dunhuang, Chennai – Chongqing and Hyderabad – Qingdao were signed.
        7. Co-operation in Establishment of Mahatma Gandhi National Institute for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship at Gandhinagar/Ahmedabad in Gujarat.
        8. Cooperation in development of smart cities with GIFT City (Gujarat) in India and Shenzhen (China) as pilot smart cities.
        9. Agreement between Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and China National Space Administration for cooperation in Satellite Remote Sensing, Space-Based meteorology, Space Science, Lunar and Deep Space Exploration, Satellite Navigation, Space Components, Piggy-back Launching Services, and Education and Training.
        10. China allowed Indian pilgrims to use Nathu La Pass (Sikkim) route for Kailash Manasarover Yatra in 2015.
        11. A bilateral consultative mechanism on WTO (World Trade Organisation) related issues launched for coordination in context of global trade talks.
        12. India announced electronic tourist visa (e-Visa) facility for Chinese Tourists.
        13. 21 business agreements worth 22 billion USD signed in Indian and Chinese companies.
    2. Mongolia
      1. PM Narendra Modi Visited Mongoia and presented to Mongolian President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj a special reproduction of a rare 13th century manuscript on the history of Mongols from the Rampur Raza Library, Rampur (Called Jamiut Tawarikh).
      2. 13 Agreements signed with Mongolia including Air Services, Transfer of Sentenced Persons, Animal Health and Dairy, Traditional Systems of Medicine and Homeopathy, Joint Friendship School in Mongolia, Cyber Security Training Centre in the Ministry of Defence of Mongolia, National Security Councils, renewable energy technologies, border guarding forces and  MoU between Tata Memorial Centre of India and National Cancer Center of Mongolia for Gifting Bhabhatron-II Tele-therapy Unit along with a Radiotherapy Simulator
    3. South Korea
      1. PM Narendra Modi presented South Korean President Park Geun-Hye two finely woven pashmina stoles with a poem by Rabindranath Tagore written on it. 
      2. 7 Agreemernts signed with Korea including Avoidance of Double Taxation and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion , Audio-Visual Co-Productio, National Security, Electric Power Development and New Energy Industries, Youth Matters, Road Transport and Highways  and Maritime Transport and Logistics.
  1357. PM Narendra Modi presented National Bravery Awards 2014 to 24 awardees.
  1358. PM Narendra launched book Education of Muslims: An Islamic Perspective of Knowledge and Education – Indian Context edited by JS Rajput.
  1359. Pablo Picasso's painting Les Femme dAlger (Version O) became the most expensive painting after being sold for 179.3 million USD at an auction in New York.
  1360. Pachim Bekeli Village of Assam has been adopted by Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh under Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojna (SAGY). He represents Assam in the Rajya Sabha.
  1361. Padam Awards 2015 - Total 104 Padma Awards have been conferred this year (9 Padma Vibhushan, 20 Padma Bhushan and 75 Padma Shri)
    • Padma Vibhushan
    • S. No. Name of the Awardee Discipline State/Domicile
      1. Shri L. K. Advani Public Affairs Gujarat
      2. Shri Amitabh Bachchan Art Maharashtra
      3. Shri Prakash Singh Badal Public Affairs Punjab
      4. Dr. D. Veerendra Heggade Social Work Karnataka
      5. Shri Mohammad Yusuf Khan alias Dilip Kumar Art Maharashtra
      6. Shri Jagadguru Ramanandacharya Swami Rambhadracharya Others Uttar Pradesh
      7. Prof. Malur Ramaswamy Srinivasan Science and Engineering Tamil Nadu
      8. Shri Kottayan K. Venugopal Public Affairs Delhi
      9. Shri Karim Al Hussaini Aga Khan (Foreigner) Trade and Industry France/UK
    • Padma Bhushan
    • S. No. Name of the Awardee Discipline State/Domicile
      1. Shri Jahnu Barua Art Assam
      2. Dr. Vijay Bhatkar Science and Engineering Maharashtra
      3. Shri Swapan Dasgupta Literature and Education Delhi
      4. Swami Satyamitranand Giri Others Uttar Pradesh
      5. Shri N. Gopalaswami Civil Service Tamil Nadu
      6. Dr. Subhash C. Kashyap Public Affairs Delhi
      7. Dr. (Pandit) Gokulotsavji Maharaj   Art Madhya Pradesh
      8. Dr. Ambrish  Mithal Medicine Delhi
      9. Smt. Sudha Ragunathan Art Tamil Nadu
      10. Shri Harish Salve Public Affairs Delhi
      11. Dr. Ashok Seth Medicine Delhi
      12. Shri Rajat Sharma Literature and Education Delhi
      13. Shri Satpal Sports Delhi
      14. Shri Shivakumara Swami Others Karnataka
      15. Dr. Kharag Singh Valdiya Science and Engineering Karnataka
      16. Prof. Manjul Bhargava(NRI/PIO) Science and Engineering  USA
      17. Shri David Frawley (Vamadeva)(Foreigner) Others  USA
      18. Shri Bill Gates(Foreigner) Social Work  USA
      19. Ms. Melinda Gates(Foreigner) Social Work  USA
      20. Shri Saichiro Misumi(Foreigner) Others  Japan
    • Padma Shri
      S. No. Name of the Awardee Discipline State/Domicile
      1. Dr. Manjula Anagani Medicine Telangana
      2. Shri S. Arunan Science and Engineering Karnataka
      3. Ms. Kanyakumari Avasarala Art Tamil Nadu
      4. Dr. Bettina Sharada Baumer Literature and Education Jammu and Kashmir
      5. Shri Naresh Bedi Art Delhi
      6. Shri Ashok Bhagat Social Work Jharkhand
      7. Shri Sanjay Leela Bhansali Art Maharashtra
      8. Dr. Lakshmi Nandan Bora Literature and Education Assam
      9. Dr. Gyan  Chaturvedi Literature and Education Madhya Pradesh
      10. Prof. (Dr.) Yogesh Kumar Chawla Medicine Chandigarh
      11. Smt. Jayakumari Chikkala Medicine Delhi
      12. Shri Bibek Debroy Literature and Education Delhi
      13. Dr. Sarungbam Bimola  Kumari Devi Medicine Manipur
      14. Dr. Ashok Gulati  Public Affairs Delhi
      15. Dr.  Randeep  Guleria Medicine Delhi
      16. Dr. K. P. Haridas Medicine Kerala
      17. Shri Rahul Jain Art Delhi
      18. Shri Ravindra Jain Art Maharashtra
      19. Dr. Sunil Jogi Literature and Education Delhi
      20. Shri Prasoon Joshi Art Maharashtra
      21. Dr. Prafulla Kar Art Odisha
      22. Ms. Saba Anjum Sports Chhattisgarh
      23. Smt. Ushakiran Khan Literature and Education Bihar
      24. Dr. Rajesh Kotecha Medicine Rajasthan
      25. Prof. Alka Kriplani Medicine Delhi
      26. Dr. Harsh Kumar Medicine Delhi
      27. Shri Narayana Purushothama Mallaya Literature and Education Kerala
      28. Shri Lambert Mascarenhas Literature and Education Goa
      29. Dr. (Mrs.) Janak Palta McGilligan Social Work Madhya Pradesh
      30. Shri Veerendra Raj Mehta Social Work Delhi
      31. Shri Tarak Mehta Art Gujarat
      32. Shri Neil Herbert Nongkynrih Art Meghalaya
      33. Shri Chewang Norphel Others Jammu and Kashmir
      34. Shri T. V. Mohandas Pai Trade and Industry Karnataka
      35. Dr.Tejas Patel Medicine Gujarat
      36. Shri Jadav Molai Peyang Others Assam
      37. Smt. Bimla Poddar Other Uttar Pradesh
      38. Dr. N. Prabhakar Science and Engineering Delhi
      39. Dr. Prahalada Science and Engineering Maharashtra
      40. Dr. Narendra Prasad Medicine Bihar
      41. Shri Ram Bahadur Rai Literature and Education Delhi
      42. Ms. Mithali Raj Sports Telangana
      43. Shri P. V.  Rajaraman Civil Service Tamil Nadu
      44. Prof.  J. S. Rajput Literature and Education Uttar Pradesh
      45. Shri Kota Srinivasa Rao Art Andhra Pradesh
      46. Prof. Bimal Roy Literature and Education West Bengal
      47. Shri Shekhar Sen Art Maharashtra
      48. Shri Gunvant Shah Literature and Education Gujarat
      49. Shri Brahmdev Sharma (Bhaiji) Literature and Education Delhi
      50. Shri Manu Sharma Literature and Education Uttar Pradesh
      51. Prof. Yog Raj Sharma Medicine Delhi
      52. Shri Vasant Shastri Science and Engineering Karnataka
      53. Shri S. K. Shivkumar Science and Engineering Karnataka
      54. Ms. P. V. Sindhu Sports Telangana
      55. Shri Sardara Singh Sports Haryana
      56. Ms. Arunima Sinha Sports Uttar Pradesh
      57. Shri Mahesh Raj Soni Art Rajasthan
      58. Dr.Nikhil Tandon Medicine Delhi
      59. Shri H. Thegtse Rinpoche Social Work Arunachal Pradesh
      60. Dr.Hargovind Laxmishanker Trivedi Medicine Gujarat
      61. Shri Huang Baosheng(Foreigner) Others China
      62. Prof. Jacques Blamont(Foreigner) Science and Engineering France
      63. Late Shri Syedna Mohammad Burhanuddin(Posthumous) Others Maharashtra
      64. Shri Jean-Claude Carriere(Foreigner) Literature and Education France
      65. Dr. Nandrajan Raj” Chetty(NRI/PIO) Trade and Industry USA
      66. Shri George L. Hart(Foreigner) Others USA
      67. Jagat Guru Amrta Suryananda Maha Raja(NRI/PIO) Others Portugal
      68. Late Shri Meetha Lal Mehta (Posthumous) Social Work Rajasthan
      69. Ms. Tripti Mukherjee(NRI/PIO) Art USA
      70. Dr. Dattatreyudu Nori(NRI/PIO) Medicine USA
      71. Dr. Raghu Rama Pillarisetti(NRI/PIO) Medicine USA
      72. Dr. Saumitra Rawat(NRI/PIO) Medicine UK
      73. Prof. Annette Schmiedchen(Foreigner) Literature and Education Germany
      74. Late Shri Pran Kumar Sharma alias Pran(Posthumous) Art Delhi
      75. Late Shri R. Vasudevan(Posthumous) Civil Service Tamil Nadu
  1362. Pakistan Government conferred its top civilian award Nishan-e-Pakistan on Chinese President Xi Jinping for his outstanding contribution in promotion of relationship between the two countries.
  1363. Pakistan Parliament passed 21st Constitution Amendment Bill 2015 and the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill 2015 to make way for establishment of military courts in the country.
  1364. Pakistan Supreme Court suspended death sentences issued by the recently established Military Courts.
  1365. Pakistan and Russia agreed to hold first-ever joint military exercise.
  1366. Pakistan successfully test fired first indigenously developed armed drone Burraq along with its laser guided missile Barq.
  1367. Pakistan successfully test-fired Air Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM) Raad with Strike range 350 KM.
  1368. Pakistan successfully tested Shaheen-III surface-to-surface nuclear carrying ballistic missile with range 2,750 km.
  1369. Pandit Haridutt Sharma Award for Journalism, Writing and Social Services presented to Anurradha Prasad(, Editor-in-Chief of News-24 Channel).
  1370. Pankaj Advani won his seventh National Billiards Championship in Kolkata after defeateding Dhruv Sitwala.
  1371. Paris- based Syrian-Lebanese Arab poet Adonis has been chosen for 2015 Kumaran Asan World Prize for poetry, instituted by the Kumaran Asan Memorial Association.
  1372. Parle Products launched nationwide Litter Free Campaign for urging consumers for puttng garbage at proper places.
  1373. Parliament of Japan (Diet) passed a bill to lower the voting age from 20 to 18 Years. Last time, Japan lowered the age of voting from 25 to 20 and gave voting rights to women in 1945 after the World War II.
  1374. Parliament of Sri Lanka adopted 19th Constitution Amendment to reduce Powers of Executive President and make a Constitutional Council for making key government appointments.
  1375. Patroling Vessel ICGS (Indian Coast Guard Ship) Amoghis inducted into the Indian Coast Guard.
  1376. Paulina Vega of Colombia has been named as winner of Miss Universe 2015 beauty pageant held in Miami (USA).
  1377. Pawan Goenka has been appointed as Honorary Ambassador of Foreign Investment Promotion for Korea.
  1378. Pawan Munjal has been appointed as chairman of Automobile maker Hero MotoCorp.
  1379. Pedro Morenes, Defence Minister of Spain Visited India and signed an agreement on Mutual Protection of Classified Information to provide framework for cooperation in defence research and development.
  1380. People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) announced to create India's first fenced elephant sanctuary within Bannerghatta Biological Park in Karnataka to allow elephants to move around freely within the secure area.
  1381. Per capita water availability in India is reducing progressively due to increase in population. Average annual per capita availability of water was 1816 cubic meters in 2001 and has come down to 1545 cubic meters in 2011.
  1382. Periyar Tiger Reserve, spread over 925 sq.km. in Kerala, has won the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) biennial award for encouraging local public participation in managing the reserve.
  1383. Petteri Taalas (Finland) has been appointed as Secretary-General of World Meteorological Organization (Based in Switzerland) for four years.
  1384. Philipose G Pynumootil is appointed as Assistant Chief of Naval staff (Air).
  1385. Philippine and Japanese coast guards held an anti-piracy drills in Manila Bay. This is the first drill between Japan and the Philippines since signing a strategic partnership pact in 2012.
  1386. Picturesque Nelong Valley in Gangotri National Park in Uttarakhand has been opened for the first time since its closure in 1962.
  1387. Piplantri Village of southern Rajasthan's Rajsamand district is in news for honouring the birth of a girl child by planting 111 trees.
  1388. Poet Arundhathi Subramaniam has been given the first Khushwant Singh Memorial Prize for her work When God is a Traveller at Jaipur Literature Festival.
  1389. Poland Won the Hopman Cup of Tennis after beating USA in Australia.
  1390. Pope Francis Declared 17th Century Indian Priest and Missionary Joseph Vaz as Saint in Sri Lanka.
  1391. Popov Ivan of Russia won 7th Chennai International Open Grandmaster Chess title.
  1392. Porbandar Naval base in Gujarat has been commissioned as INS Sardar Patel by Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel.
  1393. Portugese Footballer who plays for Real Madrid Club, Cristiano Ronaldo won the 2014 FIFA Ballon dOr award for the best footballer of the year in the world.
  1394. Prabhu Nath Dwivedi has been named as winner of Sahitya Akademi Award for Sanskrit, 2014 for his short stories collection - Kanakalochanaha.
  1395. Pradeep Kumar Joshi is appointed as a Member of Union Public Service Commission. 
  1396. Pradeep Kumar Sinha is appointed as Cabinet Secretary. He succeeded Shri Ajit Seth.
  1397. Pradip Kumar Mohanty is appointed as chief justice of Odisha High Court.
  1398. Prannoy Roy (Executive Co-chairman of NDTV) Redink Lifetime Achievement Award 2015 in Mumbai, awards presented by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu. Other Awardees are -
    1. Journalist of the Year - Sreenivasan Jain of NDTV
    2. Impact Editor of the Year - Arnab Goswami (Editor-in-Chief of Times Now)
    3. News Start-Up of the Year - News website Scroll.in
  1399. Pratap Pawar has been presented the Punyabhushan award by President Pranab Mukherjee.
  1400. Pratap Singh, a 15-year-old Indian-origin schoolboy in the United Kingdom awarded with Institute of Physics (IOP) Prize for conducting an experiment that verified an effect of Albert Einsteins theory of special relativity.
  1401. President signed bill for creating new system of appointment of judges to Supreme and High Courts by forming National Judicial Appointment Commission (NJAC) to replace collegium system of appointing judges to higher judiciary by six-member panel comprising Chief Justice of India, two Supreme Court judges, Law Minister and 2 eminent persons.
  1402. President Pranab Mukherje released Commemorative Postage Stamp on bicentennial (200th) Anniversary of Old Seminary in Kottayam (Kerala).
  1403. President Pranab Mukherjee Visited Russia to witness Victory Day parade on 9 May 2015 to mark 70th anniversary of Allied forces victory in the Second World War.
    1. During this visit, Mukherjee was conferred with honorary Doctorate by the Russian Diplomatic Academy.
    2. 11 Memorandum of Intent (MoI) were signed between India and Russia to establish Network of Institutions of Higher Education. 
    3. President also inaugerated Namaste Russia festival in Russian capital Moscow.
  1404. President Pranab Mukherjee conferred National Geoscience Awards for 2013 upon twenty three geoscientists.
  1405. President Pranab Mukherjee conferred the highest Indian Civilian Honor - Bharat Ratna to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Madan Mohan Malaviya was also posthumously awarded Bharat Ratna.
  1406. President Pranab Mukherjee gave his assent to Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Bill 1995 (as per provisions in Article 201 of Constitution of India) that aims to ban slaughter of bulls and bullocks in Maharashtra.
  1407. President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated a cultural festival of the North East organized by Government of Meghalaya in New Delhi with theme "Songs and dances of North East".
  1408. President Pranab Mukherjee presented Gallantry Awards and Distinguished Service Decorations. 2 Keerti Chakra (Ajay Vardhan, Kosh Bahadur Gurung) and 11 Shaurya Chakras Presented.
  1409. President Pranab Mukherjee presented Presidential Awards for Classical Tamil for 2011-12 and 2012-13 -
    1. Young Scholar Award -
      1. 2011 - 12 => K Iyyappan, E Ezhilvasanthan and K Jawahar
      2. 2012 - 13 => A Sathish, R Venkatesan, B Jaiganesh, M R Devaki and U Alibava
    2. Kural Peedam Award -
      1. 2011 - 12 => Eva Maria Wilden (Germany)
    3. Tolkappiyar Award -
      1. 2011 - 12 => S V Shanmugam
      2. 2012 - 13 =>R Krishnamurthi
  1410. President Pranab Mukherjee presented Stree Shakti puraskars and Nari Shakti Puruskars 2014 on the occasion of International Womens Day.
    1. Stree Shakti puraskars are conferred on six women in the area of womens endeavor and exceptional contribution each year. Award carries a cash prize of 3 lakh rupees and a citation.
    2. Awardees of Stree Shakti Prize 2014 -
      1. Award

        Winner

        Cause

        Rani Lakshmibai

        Seema Prakash, Madhya Pradesh

        Working for vulnerable and marginalised Communities of Madhya Pradesh Since 2000 (particularly Korku tribe)

        Rani Rudramma Devi Award

        Astha Sansthan (NGO), Rajasthan

        For protecting womens rights, gender mainstreaming, issues relating to violence against women tribal rights, food security, transparency and right to work and others.

        Mata Jijabai Award

        Chandraprabha Bokey, Maharashtra

        working in rural areas since 1960 for empowerment and rehabilitation of destitute, divorced, disabled women and rehabilitation of orphan children.

        Kannagi Award

        Dr. P Bhanumati, Kerala

        founding Association for Mentally Handicapped Adults (AHMA) working for welfare of the poor destitute mentally challenged adults since 1996.

        Rani Gaidinliu Zeliang Award

        Sister Mariola, Rajasthan

        working with the inmates at Ajmer Jail, Rajasthan since 1997 and lobbying for Prisons Without Walls.

        Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Award

        Anyay Rahit Zindagi (NGO), Goa

        Works for combating trafficking of persons for commercial sexual exploitation since 1997.
  1411. President Pranab Mukherjee presented Visitors Awards for Central Universities in the categories of Best University, Innovation and Research for 2015-
    1. Best University :University of Hyderabad.
    2. Innovation Award: Prof. Vijay K. Chaudhary and Dr. Amita Gupta of University of Delhi for their invention of TB Confirm, a rapid diagnostic test for Tuberculosis.
    3. Research Award:Cosmology and Astrophysics Research Group, Centre for Theoretical Physics, Jamia Millia Islamia for path breaking research carried out in the field of Astrophysics and Cosmology.
  1412. President Pranab Mukherjee visited Sweden.
  1413. President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani Visited India.
  1414. President of International Olympic Committee, Mr. Thomas Bach visited India.
  1415. President of USA Barack Obama entered Guinness Book of World Record of reaching one million followers in 5 hours after joining Social Media Platform Twitter with @POTUS account.
  1416. President rule was imposed in Jammu and Kashmir (J &K) on the recommendation of the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir N N Vohra due to deadlock over the formation of the new government. Note that Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election were held in five phases in December 2014. In the Assembly election, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won 28 seats, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 25 and National Congress (NC) won 15 seats.
  1417. Prime Minister Narendra Modi Visited Bangladesh (South Asia).
    1. PM Narendra Modi presented Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina a hand-woven tapestry from Venkatagiri, Andhra Pradesh.
    2. Bangladesh conferred their Highest Liberation War Honor to Former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. It was received by PM Narendra Modi.
    3. PM Modi Visited Bangabandhu International Conference Center in Dhaka.
    4. 40 Years old Land Deal Signed Between India and Bangladesh for swapping border territories. It is related to 100th Amendment to the Constitution of India for LBA (Land Boundary Agreement) between India and Bangladesh.
  1418. Prime Minister Narendra Modi appointed as chancellor of Viswa Bharati University for three years.
  1419. Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid foundation for Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI), Jharkhand at Barhi in Hazaribagh District.
  1420. Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a book Pre-Modern Kutchi Navigation Techniques and Voyages transcribed and edited by Ashok B. Rajeshirke.
  1421. Prime Minister Narendra modi gifted reproductions of some manuscripts and papers by Sir V C Raman to the German Chancellor Angela Merkel during his visit to Germany.
    1. Sir C V Raman received Nobel Prize in physics in 1930 for his work on scattering of light.
  1422. Prime Minister launched Pradhan Mantri MUDRA (Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency) Yojana in New Delhi for helping small entrepreneurs in the country with theme पूंजी सफलता की कुंजी.  
  1423. Prime Minister of Bhutan Lyonchhen Tshering Tobgay visited India with his spouse Aum Tashi Doma, Foreign Minister Rinzin Dorji and Economic Affairs Minister Norbu Wangchuk.
  1424. Private sector's Largest ICICI Bank Launched Voice Password Facility for customers in which they can make transactions by just using their voice without other means of authentication like a password.
  1425. Professional Services Comppany KPMG elected Lynne Doughtie as first women CEO and Chairman.
  1426. Pulitzer Awards 2015 (Pulitzer is an award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature, and musical composition in the United States) -
    1. International reporting - New York Times for coverage of Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
    2. Feature photography - Daniel Berehulak won Pulitzer Prize for the . 
    3. Public Service - Charleston, South Carolina's Post and Courier for its series on domestic violence.
    4. Investigative reporting -
      1. Wall Street Journal for Medicare Unmasked.
      2. Eric Lipton for reporting on how lobbyists can sway congressional leaders and state attorneys general.
    5. Explanatory reporting - Zachary Mider of Bloomberg for showing how US corporations dodge taxes.
    6. Local reporting - Rob Kuznia, Rebecca Kimitch and Frank Suraci of the Daily Breeze of Torrance, California for their look at corruption in a small, cash-strapped school district.
    7. Feature writing - Diana Marcum of the Los Angeles Times for drought coverage.
    8. Commentary prize - Lisa Falkenberg of the Houston Chronicle.
    9. Editorial cartooning - Adam Zyglis of the Buffalo News.
    10. Fiction award - Anthony Doerr for All the Light We Cannot See
    11. Drama prize - Stephen Adly Guirgis for Between Riverside and Crazy.
    12. History prize - Elizabeth A. Fenn for Encounters at the Heart of the World: A History of the Mandan People
    13. Biography - David I. Kertzer for The Pope and Mussolini: The Secret History of Pius XI and the Rise of Fascism in Europe.
    14. Poetry - Gregory Pardio for Digest
  1427. Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal has been conferred with 14th Sant Namdev National Award for promoting peace and communal harmony by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on behalf of Sarhad Foundation.
  1428. Punjab issued Soil Health Cards to farmers to monitor the soil health of every farm in the state.
  1429. R Seshasayee Is appointed as New Non-executive Chairman Of Infosys.
  1430. RBI (Reserve Bank of India) issued Second bi-monthly monetary policy statement 2015-16.
    1. Repo rate has been cut by 0.25 %. New Repo rate is 7.25% (7.5 % Earlier). As a result, reverse repo rate became (the rate at which RBI borrows from commercial banks) 6.25 % while marginal standing facility (MSF) and Bank Rate became 8.25 %. Cash reserve ratio (CRR) is unchanged at 4 % and SLR (Statutory Liquidity Ratio) is unchanged at 21.50 %.
  1431. RBI (Reserve Bank of India) notified hike in FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) limit in Insurance Sector to 49 % from the present 26 %.
  1432. RBI Allowed Gold loan Non Banking Financial Company Muthoot Finance to act as business correspondent for Yes Bank. It is the first time a bank has appointed any NBFC as their Business Correspondent.
  1433. RBI Relaxed Know Your Customers (KYC) rules for Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) due to difficulties being faced by NBFCs in getting KYC documents at frequent intervals. Now, the KYC exercise will be required to be done -
    1. High-risk individuals and entities - Every 2 years
    2. Medium risk individuals and entities - Every 8 years
    3. Low risk individuals and entities - Every 10 years
  1434. RBI accepted to focus on inflation targeting as a tool for Monetary Policy Framework as per an agreement between Government and Reserve Bank of India.
    1. In Inflation targeting, central bank decides for a medium-term target inflation rate.
    2. RBI will have to maintain Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation targets below 6 % by January 2016 and 4 % from 2016-17 with 2 % plus/minus range.
    3. New framework will make RBI more accountable as it will explain to government if it fails to meet inflation targets.
    4. This transition from monetary targeting suggested by Chakravarty Committee (1988) to Inflation targeting suggested by Urijit Patel Committee is similar to the practice adopted by central banks in developed countries.
  1435. RBI allowed Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs)/Registered Foreign Portfolios Investors (RFPIs) to buy up to 49 % of paid-up capital of Bajaj Corp Ltd under Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS).
  1436. RBI announced Strategic Debt Restructuring (SDR) Scheme to allow banks and other lending institutions to convert their loans into equity stake in the Borrower Company. It is being done to encounter rise in Non Performing Assets (NPAs) as Gross NPAs of Banks will rise to 5.9 % of total advances during 2015-16 against 4.4 % during 2014-15.
    1. The scheme will benefit all Commercial Banks (except Regional Rural Banks (RRBs)), Term-lending and Refinancing Institutions, Export-Import (EXIM) Bank, National Housing Bank (NHB) and National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). Key Features are -
    2. Lenders will be able to convert their outstanding loans into a majority equity stake if the borrower fails to pay the loans as per terms.  
    3. Decision on invoking the SDR will be taken within 30 days by the lender after review of account of borrowers and the conversion package within 90 days after taking such a decision.
    4. After conversion, all lenders should together own 51 % or more of the company's equity.
    5. Next Step will be to divest equity holdings of the company to new promoters as soon as possible. New Promoters will be un-related to existing promoters and will acquire entire 51 % Holding by the Lenders.
    6. On divestment of banks' holding in favour of new promoter, asset classification may be upgraded to standard
  1437. RBI made USIRS (United States Internal Revenue Service) Registration under FTCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) optional for RRBs (Regional Rural Banks) with assets under $175 USD.
  1438. RBI removed ban on importing gold coins and medallions by banks and allowed import of gold on consignment basis.
  1439. RC Tayal has been appointed as new chief of National Security Guard (NSG).
  1440. Racer CS Santosh is named as Motorsport Man of the Year 2014 by Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India.
  1441. Rafael Nadal (Spain) won Argentina Tennis Open beating Juan Monaco (Argentina).
  1442. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu presented the Railway Budget 2015-16 in the Lok Sabha -
    1. In his first Railway Budget, Suresh Prabhu outlined a plan to invest over 8 lakh crore rupees over 5 years.
    2. The size of the Plan Budget has gone up by 52 % from 65789 crore rupees in 2014-15 to 100011 crore rupees in 2015-16.
    3. Freight rate for cement, coal, others hiked by up to 10%
    4. Rail tickets can now be booked 120 days in advance.
    5. Speed on nine railway corridors to go up to 200 km per hour.
    6. Wi-Fi in 400 stations, mobile phone charging facilities in all train compartments.
    7. All india 24/7 helpline - 138 from March 2015 and Toll free No.182 for security.
    8. No hike in passenger fares
    9. No new trains announced
    10. 'Operation 5 mins', wherein passengers travellling unreserved can purchase a ticket in 5 minutes.
    11. Four Railway Research Centres to start in four universities.
    12. Transport Logistics Corporation of India (TRANSLOC), to be set up for developing common user facilities to provide end-to-end logistics solution at select Railway terminals through Public Private Partnerships.
    13. Operating ratio to improve to 88.5% in 2015-16
      1. The operating ratio, a key measure of efficiency, was at 91.8 per cent in 2014-15 after touching a high of 93.6 per cent in the previous financial year. The lower the operating ratio, the better is the profitability of an entity.
    14. Fast-track sanctioned works on 7,000 kms of double/third/fourth lines
    15. Commissioning 1200 km in 2015-16 at an investment of Rs. 8,686 crore, 84% higher Y-O-Y.
    16. Commissioning 800 km of gauge conversion targeted in current fiscal.
    17. 77 projects covering 9,400 km of doubling/tripling/quadrupling works along with electrification, covering almost all States, at a cost of Rs. 96,182 crore, which is over 2700% higher in terms of amount sanctioned
    18. Traffic facility work is a top priority with an outlay of Rs. 2374 crore .
    19. Preliminary engineering-cum-traffic survey (PETS) for four other DFCs in progress.
    20. Acceleration of pace of Railway electrification: 6,608 route kilometers sanctioned for 2015-16, an increase of 1330% over the previous year.
  1443. Railway minister Suresh Prabhu has set up two committees in line with the promises made in his maiden rail budget last month, including Innovation Council 'Kaya Kalp' headed by former Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata to suggest ways to turn around the ailing organisation. The other committee, under former DIPP secretary Ajay Shankar, has been set up to revamp ministry's PPP (public private partnership) cell to get private investment.
  1444. Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu launched UTSONMOBILE app for speedy booking of unreserved train tickets on Mobile under Operation Five Minutes meant for booking unreserved tickets in 5 Minutes.
  1445. Railways will Use Technology of CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum (CSIR-IIP) (Dehradun) to Set up Plants for Plastic to Diesel Conversion.
  1446. Railways won 5th Hockey India Senior Women National Championship 2015 defeating Jharkhand.
  1447. Rajaji National Park in Uttarakhand declared as India's 48th Tiger Reserve and Uttarakhand's Second after Jim Corbett National Park.
  1448. Rajasthan Government opened women milk bank Jeevan Dhara in Jaipur to curb high infant mortality rate of Rajasthan.
  1449. Rajasthan Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL) for setting up Indias largest solar park with 10000 MW capacity.
  1450. Rajasthan Government signed a MoU with Vedanta Group to improve 3056 Anganwadi Centres in five districts
  1451. Rajasthan Government signed an agreement with National Health Mission (NHM), UNICEF and GAIN (Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition) to tackle problem of malnourishment in the state.
  1452. Rajasthan topped list of states in commissioning grid connected solar power projects with installed capacity of 1147 megawatt as per data by ministry of New and Renewable Energy. Gujarat came second with installed capacity of 1000MW.
  1453. Rajeev Shukla appointed as chairman of the Indian Premier League's (IPL) Governing Council by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
  1454. Rajiv Ranjan Verma has been appointed as Director General of Railway Protection Force.
  1455. Rajya Sabha passed 119th Constitutional Amendment Bill on Land Boundary Bill (LBA) to operationalise Land Boundary Agreement with India and Bangladesh, and exchange of certain enclaves of land between the two countries. Bill will now be introduced in Lok Sabha and will then be sent for President's signatures. As it is the Constitutional Amendment Bill, It would require ratification of at least 50 % of the state legislatures before it comes into effect.
    1. Bill now includes territories in Assam, West Bengal, Tripura and Meghalaya.
    2. The bills passage will lead to an amendment in the first schedule of the Constitution and give effect to a May 1974 agreement between India and Bangladesh on acquisition and transfer of territories.
    3. Exchange will see Bangladesh take over 111 enclaves (17160 acres) from Indias possession and India will receive 51 enclaves (7110 acres) from Bangladesh.
    4. Enclaves are tiny landlocked territories that each country has within the borders of the other nation.
  1456. Rajya Sabha passed Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2015 that was passed by Lok Sabha on 2 March 2015. 
    • Bill seeks to merge the Person of Indian Origin (PIO) and Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) schemes and provide 30-day break to person who applies for Indian citizenship if they leave Indian for some time.
  1457. Rajya Sabha passed Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2014 to amend the Companies Act, 2013. Sixteen amendments about winding up, board resolutions, and utilisation of unclaimed dividends are made into Companies Act to address some issues raised by stakeholders. Lok Sabha passed the bill earlier on 17 December 2014.
  1458. Rajya Sabha passed Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Orders Amendment Bill, 2014 to modify list of Scheduled Castes in three states- Haryana, Karnataka, Odisha and one Dadra and Nagar Haveli Union Territory.
    1. It amends the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 and the Constitution (Dadra and Nagar Haveli) Scheduled Castes Order, 1962.
    2. It adds following communities to list of Scheduled Castes -
      • Haryana: Kabirpanthi Julaha
      • Karnataka:Od, Odde, Vaddar, Waddar, Voddar, Woddar, Bovi (Non Besta), Kalluvaddar, and Mannuvaddar
      • Odisha: Rajak, Rajaka, Adhuria Dom, Adhuria Domb, Khatia, Sapua Kela, Nalua Kela, Sabakhia Kela, Matia Kela, Gaudia Kela, Khadal, Khodal and Betra
      • Dadra and Nagar Haveli: Rohit
  1459. Rajya Sabha passed Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2015 that seeks to increase foreign investment limit to 49 % from 26 %. The Bill was earlier passed in Lok Sabha on 4 March 2015.
  1460. Rajya Sabha passed Regional Rural Banks (Amendment) Bill that was passed by the Lok Sabha on 18-12-2014 -
    1. The Bill amends the RRB Act, 1976 which provides for incorporation, regulation and winding up of Regional Rural Banks (RRBs). 
    2. It removes the five year limit cap that was put on the sponsor banks to assist the upcoming RRBs.
    3. Amount of authorized capital raised to to 2000 crore rupees and minimum 1 crore rupees as the previous limit of maximum five crore rupees and minimum 25 lakh rupees. Capital of 2000 Rupees is divided into Rs 200 crore of fully paid share of Rs 10 each.
    4. The bill allows RRBs to raise their capital from sources other than the central and state governments, and sponsor banks as was mandated under the RRB Act. As per the Act, 50% of capital issued was held by Union government, 15% by concerned state government and 35% by the sponsor banks.
    5. Raise the tenure of a director (excluding the Chairman) to three years and max six years.
    6. Change the date of closure and balancing of books to 31 March from 31 December earlier.
  1461. Ram Niwas Goel elected as Speaker of Delhi Legislative Assembly
  1462. Rana Bhagwandas, The first Hindu Chief Justice of Pakistan, Died.
  1463. Ranchi Rays won Hero Hockey India League 2015 (HHIL) by defeating Punjab Warriors.
  1464. Ranglal Jamuda appointed as Secretary in Ministry of Food Processing Industries
  1465. Ratan Tata has been honoured with an honorary Doctorate of Automotive Engineering by the Clemson University at the South Carolina Automotive Summit in USA for his contributions to the global automotive industry.
  1466. Rate of Service Tax will be increased from 12% to 14 from June 01, 2015 as proposed In Union Budget, 2015.
  1467. Ravinder Kumar Dhir has been appointed as Chief of South Western Air Command.
  1468. Reliance Communications tied-up with social networking site Facebook to offer free internet access to people in India through Facebook's initiative, Internet.org.
    1. Internet.org will provide access to popular websites and services with zero data charge to make it easier for people to access the Internet.
  1469. Renowned Hindi poet Kailash Vajpeyi Passed Away.
  1470. Renowned Indian RTI activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal has been given the Giraffe Hero award 2015 by a US-based NGO The Giraffe Heroes Project for his bravery in utilising Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005 for public good despite challenges.
  1471. Renowned ornithologist K.S. Lavkumar Khachar Passed Away.
    1. Ornithologist is someone who studies ornithology - the branch of science devoted to birds including bird songs, flight patterns, physical appearance, migration patterns and more.
  1472. Researchers at Stanford University (USA) created an aluminium smartphone battery that charges in only one minute.
  1473. Researchers from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of USA discovered worlds first fully warm-blooded fish species named Opah.
  1474. Researchers in Monash University of Australia created world's first 3D-printed jet engine.
  1475. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) allowed Tap And Pay without PIN for transactions up to 2000 rupees. For higher than that, customer must provide pin for authentication.
  1476. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) constituted a Committee under RBI Deputy Governor R Gandhi, to re-examine appropriate set of businesses and licensing terms for Urban Cooperative Banks (UCB). 
    1. The eight-member committee will be chaired by R Gandhi, the Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India. 
  1477. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) extended date to exchange pre-2005 bank notes till December 31, 2015 fr0m June 30, 2015 (for third time).
  1478. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued final guidelines for 6-year and 13-year cash settled Interest Rate Futures (IRF) under the Interest Rate Futures (Reserve Bank) (Amendment) Directions, 2015.
    1. 6-year cash settled IRF contracts will be a coupon bearing government security of face value of 100 rupees and residual maturity between 4 - 8 years on expiry of futures contract.
    2. 13-year cash settled IRF contracts will be a coupon bearing government security of face value of 100 rupees and residual maturity between 11 - 15 years on expiry of futures contract.
    3. RBI also expanded residual maturity for existing 10-year cash settled IRF from 9-11 years to 8-11 years to provide market participants greater choice and flexibility to hedge interest rate risk across different tenors.
  1479. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reduced repo rate by 25 basis points to 7.5 %. This is the second time since January 2015 that RBI reduced the repo rate by 25 basis points. New Monetary Policy Rates Are
    1. Repo Rate - 7.50 %
    2. Reverse Repo - 6.50 %
    3. Bank Rate - 8.50 %
    4. Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) Rate - 8.50 %
    5. CRR (Cash Reserve Ratio) - 4 %
    6. SLR(Statutory Liquidity ratio) - 21.5 %
  1480. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released report State Finances: A Study of Budgets of 2014-15. with theme Fiscal Consolidation: Assessment and Medium Term Prospects. The report is an annual publication that provides data, analysis and an assessment of the finances of state governments. Highlights are -
    • Renewed and sustained efforts to be made by states for fiscal consolidation to increase revenues.
    • Rapidly growing e-commerce can contribute to states own revenue efforts after putting clarity in rules and better compliance.
    • Auctioning of natural resources need to be channelised for mineral rich states.
    • Transition from indirect tax regime to Goods and Services Tax from 1 April 2016 will create more revenues for centre and states.
  1481. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) signed a 400 million USD currency swap agreement with Central Bank of Sri Lanka. 
  1482. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for Supervisory Cooperation and Exchange of Supervisory Information with Brazils Central Bank, Banco Central do Brasil (BCB).
  1483. Reserve Bank of India allowed Authorised Dealer Category I (AD Category-I) Banks to borrow foreign currency from Global Financial Institutions without any prior approval from RBI.
  1484. Reserve Bank of India allowed non-resident Indians (NRIs) to invest in chit funds to encourage flow of capital into the country.
  1485. Reserve Bank of India approved amalgamation of ING Vysya Bank with Kotak Mahindra Bank with effect from 1 April 2015.
  1486. Reserve Bank of India changed external commercial borrowings (ECB) norms under which authorised money changing banks have been allowed to create a charge on securities.
    1. AD Category-I banks may now allow creation of charge on assets, financial securities in favour of overseas lender to secure the ECB to be raised.
  1487. Reserve Bank of India increased annual overseas investment limit by Indians to $250,000 per person due to foreign exchange reserves touching record levels.
  1488. Reserve Bank of India lifted ban on carrying bank notes of Indian Rs 1000 and 500 to Nepal and Bhutan.
  1489. Reserve Bank of India proposed to introduce Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPI) for Mass Transit System (PPI-MTS). It will Promote electronic payments for moving towards to a less-cash society. Such PPIs will be reloadable instruments subjected to an outstanding limit of 2000 rupees at a time.
  1490. Reserve Bank of India released Guidelines for Net Stable Funding Ratio (NSFR) under Basel III Framework on Liquidity Standards for banks.
    1. RBI proposed to make NSFR applicable to all banks from 1 January 2018 to ensure that banks maintain a stable funding profile in relation to their assets and off-balance sheet activities to avoid disruptions and failure.  
    2.  NSFR - Net Stable Funding Ratio (NSFR) is defined as the amount of available stable funding relative to the amount of required stable funding.
  1491. Ri Su Yong, the Foreign Minister of North Korea, visited India.
  1492. Roger Federer (Switzerland) won 2015 Gerry Weber Open tennis in Halle (Germany) for the eighth time defeating Andreas Seppi (Italy).
  1493. Roger Federer (Switzerland) won Dubai Open for seventh time by defeating Novak Djokovic (Serbia).
  1494. Royal Dutch Shell Limited (Netherlands) acquired BG Group (Britain) for about 70 billion USD to gain edge in the race to build market share for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).
  1495. Ruhakana Rugunda is appointed as New (10th) Prime Minister of Uganda.
  1496. Rupeee 1 note released after a gap of over 20 years with signature of Finance Secretary on it. The note was released at Shrinathji temple in Nathdwara, Rajasthan by Finance Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi.
  1497. Russia and Argentina signed agreements on economic and energy co-operation during Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner to Moscow. Agreements Included -
    1. Russia will finance the hydroelectric plant in Argentinas Neuquen River.
    2. Russias Rosatom nuclear corp will build a new reactor at Argentinas Atucha 3 nuclear power plant.
  1498. Russia lifted ban on delivery of S-300 Missile System to Iran in the back drop of an agreement reached on 2 April 2015 between P5+1, the EU and Iran to prepare the final draft of Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) by 30 June 2015.
    1. Under the agreement, Iran agreed to stop developing nuclear weapons in return for lifting economic sanctions imposed on it by the international community.
  1499. Russia signed an agreement with Cyprus to give Russian navy ships access to Cyprus ports in Mediterranean Sea mostly to be used for anti-terrorism and anti-piracy efforts.
  1500. Russia won European team athletics championships by winning 10 of the 40 events held in Cheboksary (Russia). It is the fourth time that Russia has won the title since the inception of games in 2009.
  1501. Russian President Vladimir Putin approved foreign soldiers to serve in Russian Military for at least five years.
  1502. S Christopher is appointed as Director General of the Defence Research and Development Organisation.
  1503. S Jaishankar has been appointed as new Foreign Secretary of India replacing Sujata Singh.
  1504. S M Vijayanand is appointed as Secretary in Ministry of Panchayati Raj.
  1505. S Shrikrishna won National Sub-Junior Billiards title berating Ishpreet Singh Chadha of Maharashtra.
  1506. S Somanath is appointed as Director of Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre of ISRO.
  1507. S.K. Bhagat is appointed as Additional Director General in Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar appointed as Additional Director General in Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).
  1508. SAFAR-Air , Indias first Mobile App for checking air quality in Real Time, has been launched at Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune (Maharashtra).
    1. SAFAR stands for System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research.
  1509. SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India ) simplifed IPO Norms to help investors and companies by reducing the the listing time from 12 to 6 days from the date of the public offer. Currently, companies are required to list their shares on the stock exchanges within 12 days of the last date of the IPO (Initial Public Offer) process, thus funds are kept locked for a longer period of time.
  1510. SS Ahluwalia appointed as chairman of Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Rehabilitation and Resettlement (LARR) (Amendment) Bill, 2015.
  1511. Sahitya Akademi announced to give Bal Sahitya Puraskar 2015 to 24 Novelists and Bhasha Samman 2015 to 4 scholars for their contribution to classical and medieval literature in various languages. Recepients of Bhasha Samman 2015 are -
    1. K Meenakshi Sundaram (Tamil)
    2. Acharya Munishwar Jha (Sanskrit and Maithili)
    3. Charu Chandra Pande - Kumauni
    4. Mathuradutt Mathpal - Kumauni
  1512. Samsung India Electronics and NMDC (National Mineral Development Corporation) have been awarded the ‘Golden Peacock Award for Corporate Social Responsibility 2014 for its initiatives for childrens education and skill development.
  1513. Sandeep Jajodia removed as the president of Boxing India (BI).
  1514. Sangeet Natak Akademi fellowship (Akademi Ratna) and Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards (Akademi Puraskar) 2014 -
    1. Sangeet Akademi Fellowships (Akademi Ratna) 2014 - It carries cash prize of 3 lakh rupees and is most prestigious honour. Presently there are only 40 Fellows of the Sangeet Natak Akademi.
      1. R. Janakiraman (Musicologist)
      2. S. Sathyu (film-maker)
      3. Vijay Kichlu (Classical singer)
      4. Tulsidas Borkar (Musician)
    2. Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards (Akademi Puraskar) 2014 - It carries prize of 1 Lakh Rs. along with Tamrapatra and Angavastram.
      1. Hindustani vocal - Ashwini Bhide Deshpande Nath Narelkar, Ustad Iqbal Ahmed Khan
      2. Hindustani instrumental - Pandit Nayan Ghosh (tabla) and Ronu Majumdar (flute)
      3. Carnatic instrumental - Neyveli Santhanagopalan (Carnatic vocal), TA Kaliyamurthy (Thavil), Sukanya Ramgopal (Ghatam) and Dwaram Durga Prasad Rao (violin)
      4. Dance - Adayar Janardanan, Amusana Devi, Uma Dogra, Sudhakar Sahoo, Vedantam Radhesyam, Jagru Mahto, Anita Sharma, Varanasi Vishnu Namboothiri and Navtej Singh Johar.
      5. Drama - Asgar Wajahat, Surya Mohan Kulshreshtha, Chidambar Rao Jambe, Debshankar Haldar, Ramdas Kamath, Amod Bhatt, Manjunath Bhagwat Hostota and Amardas Manikpuri.
      6. Traditional/tribal music/folk/theatre/dance and puppetry- Puran Shah Koti, KKalamandalam Ram Mohan, Kesavasamy, Abdul Rashid Hafiz, Reba Kanta Mohanta, Ramdayal Sharma, K. Shanathoiba Sharma and Thanga Darlong.
  1515. Sangeeta Bhatia, Indian-origin scientist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in USA won prestigious 2015 Heinz Award in Technology, Economy, and Employment category in 20th Heinz Awards for her work in tissue engineering and disease detection and developing artificial human microlivers for drug testing. Other Winners Are -
    1. Category

      Awardee

      Arts and Humanities category

      Roz Chast (Illustrator and prolific cartoonist)

      Environment category

      Dr. Frederica Perera

      Human Condition

      organization Team Rubicon)

      William McNulty and Jacob Wood (Founders of the nonprofit

       

      Public Policy

      Dr. Aaron Wolf (Professor at Oregon State University)

  1516. Sanghmitra Bandyopadhayay is appointed as Director of Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) replacing Bimal K Roy who was removed on charges of indiscipline.
  1517. Sania Mirza (India) and Martina Hingis (Swiss) won WTA Family Circle Cup doubles title beating Australian-Croatian pair of Casey Dellacqua and Darija Jurak.
    1. Sania Mirza became first female tennis player from India to achieve the world number one rank in doubles.
  1518. Satnam Singh Bhamara has became first Indian player to be drafted in the NBA League as he has been Picked by the Dallas Mavericks for 2015 NBA (National Basketball Association) League Draft.
  1519. Saudi Arabia King Salman bin Abdulaziz appointed his nephew Mohammed bin Nayef as Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister.
  1520. Save the Childrens 16th annual State of the Worlds Mothers (SOWM) report titled The Urban Disadvantage, released by Union Minority Affairs Minister Najma Heptulla -
    1. The report's focus is on struggle of poorest mothers and children in rapidly urbanizing world. It presents the Mothers Index for 179 countries and show where mothers and children fare best and where they face the greatest hardships.
    2. Top 10 countries in the Mother Index

      Rank

      Country

       1

       Norway

       2

       Finland

       3

       Iceland

       4

       Denmark

       5

       Swedan

       6

       Netherlands

       7

       Spain

       8

       Germany

       9

       Australia

       10

       Belgium

       Bottom 10 Countries in the Mother Index

      Rank

      Country

       169

       Haiti & Sierra Leone

       170

       Guinea-Buisseau

       171

       Chad

       172

       Ivory Coast

       173

       Gambia

       174

       Niger

       175

       Mali

       176

       Central African Reblic

       178

       DR Congo

       179

       Somalia

    3. India is ranked at 140th position in the Mothers Index on the basis of Risk of maternal death, Under-five mortality rate, Educational status, Economic achievement and Political status.
  1521. Scientists Tessy Thomas and Geeta Varadan have been selected for Dr.Y. Nayudamma Memorial Award 2014.
  1522. Scientists at Tokohu University in Japan discovered a new state of matter called the ‘Jahn-Teller-metal that resembles an insulator, superconductor, metal and magnet all rolled into one.
  1523. Scientists named a newly discovered galaxy after Portuguese football player Cristiano Ronaldo as CR7 (COSMOS Redshift 7).
  1524. Scientists of UK's University of Southampton are planning to grow lettuce on Mars in 2018 under Project LettuceOnMars.
  1525. Sean Abbott of Australia has been named as Bradman Young Cricketer for the Year 2015.
  1526. Search Engine Google signed a strategic partnership with consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers to target Digital India Projects and large enterprise deals to push itself into large e-governance projects and improve the sales for its cloud services in India.
  1527. Second border haat (rural market) opened in Sipahijala district of Tripura bordering Brahmanbaria district of Bangladesh.
  1528. Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) raised transaction limit in exchange traded currency derivatives to 15 million USD for both foreign and domestic investors from Earlier limit of 10 million USD.
  1529. Security and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Board approved SEBI (International Financial Services Centres) Guidelines, 2015 aimed to provide an enabling environment for setting up of capital market infrastructure like stock exchanges, clearing houses, depository services, etc., in such centres.
  1530. Seoul (capital of South Korea) awarded the title of Global Earth hour Capital 2015 on winning Earth Hour City Challenge (EHCC) of World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
  1531. Serbia won Fifa Under-20 Football World Cup by beating Brazil in Auckland (New Zealand).
  1532. Sergio Mattarella is appointed as President of Italy.
  1533. Services won 69th Santosh Trophy Football Tournament beating Punjab in Punjab.
  1534. Sevilla Football Club won Europa League title defeating Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk football club in Poland.
  1535. Seychelles (East African Island Nation) became 161st Member of WTO (World Trade Organization).
  1536. Sharad Pawar has been re-elected as President of Mumbai Cricket Association.
  1537. Shashi Shekhar is Appointed as New Secretary Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.
  1538. Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, the Emir of Qatar visited India.
  1539. Sheila Kaul, former Governor of Himachal Pradesh Passed Away.
  1540. Shipping Ministry signed an agreement with Toyota for export of automobile units through Kamarajar Port Limited (KPL).
  1541. Shooter Gagan Narang won bronze in 50m Rifle Event in ISSF World Cup in USA and became third Indian shooter to qualify for 2016 Rio Olympics after Jitu Rai and Apurvi Chandela.
  1542. Siddhivinayak temple of Mumbai received International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001-2008 certification for best quality practices.
  1543. Sikkim government signed Memorandum of Understanding with Netherlands and Thailand for development of floriculture.
  1544. Simplification of Income Tax Return Forms Forms (ITR 1, 2 and 4S) for Assessment Year 2015-16 -
    1. Individuals having exempt income without any ceiling (other than agricultural income exceeding Rs. 5,000) may file Form ITR 1 (Sahaj). Similar simplification is proposed for individuals/HUF for Form ITR 4S (Sugam).
    2. Individual or HUF with no capital gains may now file a simplified ITR 2A Form in place of ITR 2 Form as required earier. Number of pages have also been reduced to 3. Bank account details and Foreign travel details also simplified (Passport number only required).
  1545. Sindhushree Khullar has been appointed as First CEO of NITI Aayog and Arvind Panagariya has been appointed as Vice Chairman.
  1546. Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong opened first museum Indian Heritage Centre in Little India dedicated to Indian history.
  1547. Singapore government appointed Gopinath Pillai as its special envoy to Andhra Pradesh to speed up construction of new capital in the state.
  1548. Singer Lata Mangeshkar was presented with Laadli Voice of the Century award at the sixth edition of the National Media and Advertising Awards for Gender Sensitivity held in Mumbai.
    1. Laadli Voice of the Century award – Lata Mangeshkar
    2. Best movie award – Queen
    3. Laadli Grand Prix award – advertising agency Ogilvy and Mather for its advertisement on Titan Raga
    4. Laadli extraordinaire award – Charu Khurana for a landmark judgment in Supreme Court regarding Bollywoods bias against women make-up artists.
  1549. Siraj Hussain (Secretary in Department of Agriculture and Cooperation) has been given additional charge of Secretary in Department of Food and Public Distribution).
  1550. Siraj Hussain appointed as Secretary in Department of Agriculture and Cooperation.
  1551. Sister Nirmala Joshi Passed Away. She was a Roman Catholic Religious Sister who succeeded Mother Teresa of Calcutta as Superior General of the Missionaries of Charity in March 1997.
  1552. Six of worlds biggest banks have been fined 5.7 billion by various concerned authorities in USA and UK for Foreign Exchange Benchmark Rates manipulations. These banks are - Citicorp, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Barclays Plc, Royal Bank of Scotland Plc, UBS Group AG and Bank of America Corp.
  1553. SnoopSnitch Android app launched in Chaos Computer Congress annual meeting in Germany. The app can detect International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) catchers so as to inform a person that someone is spying on him.
  1554. Social Media Site Twitter Buys ZipDial, Its First Acquisition of an Indian Company in a 35 Million USD Deal.
  1555. Social Progress Index (SPI) 2015 by USA's non-profit organisation Social Progress Imperative -
    1. SPI 2015 ranks 133 countries in terms of social progress from highest to lowest and classified into six tiers from Very High Social Progress to Very Low Social Progress.
    2. India with score of 53.06 is ranked 101st. In 2014, India had score of 50.24 and was ranked 102 out of 132 countries.
    3. Top three countries on Social Progress are Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland with scores between 88.36 - 87.97
    4. SPI 2015 and BRICS countries -

      Among the BRICS countries, Brazil at 42nd rank leads the pack with a score of 70.89 and India with a score of 53.06 is placed at 101 position and is the worst country in terms of social progress. Other BRICS countries and their ranks are: South Africa (63rd), Russia (71st) and China (92nd).

    5. SPI 2015 and SAARC countries -

      Among the SAARC countries, Sri Lanka at 88th rank leads with a score of 60.10 and Afghanistan with a score of 35.40 is placed at 131 and is the worst country in terms of social progress. Other SAARC countries are: Nepal (98) Bangladesh (100), India (101) and Pakistan (122).

  1556. Social networking site Facebook acquired shopping search engine TheFind to move into e-commerce effectively.
  1557. Sohail Aman is Appointed as new Chief of Pakistan Air Force.
  1558. Somdev Devvarman won Delhi Open title of tennis.
  1559. South Africas cricketer AB de Villiers hit fastest century in One-Day International (ODI) cricket in Just 31 Balls against West Indies.
  1560. South American Country Venezuela announced to cut working day for public sector workers to 5.5 hours to conserve energy, down from 8 - 9 hours as part of nationwide electricity rationing plan.
  1561. South American Country Venezuela entered recession with shrinking economic growth and Recession Jumping upto 63%.
  1562. South Korea and China signed Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
  1563. Spains Lower House of Parliament (Congreso) approved a law to provide citizenship for descendants of Jews who were forced to flee the country five centuries ago during Spanish Inquisition.
  1564. Spanish Carolina Marin won All England Badminton Championship beating India's Saina Nehwal.
  1565. Spanish Rafael Nadal won men's Title at Stuttgart Open defeating Serbia's Viktor Troicki. Indo-Romanian Pair of Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea won Double's title defeating Austrian-Brazilian pair Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares.
  1566. Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal received Golden Medal for Merit in Work as top civilian honours of Spain for outstanding performance in any profession.
  1567. Spanish writer Javier Moro's Book 'The Red Sari' - biography of Congress President Sonia Gandhi released in India.
  1568. Special Forces of Indian Army and Air Force carried out cross-border operation inside Myanmar to target militant groups after These after militant groups killed 18 jawans of 6 Dogra Regiment of Indian Army in Chandel (Manipur).
  1569. Sport Education Development Australia (SEDA) and India's Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Limited (IL-FS) signed an Memorandum of Understanding during Australian Minister for Trade and Investment Andrew Robb's Visit to India.
  1570. Sports Ministry Signed MoU with IIFCL (India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited) for supporting Badminton sport.
  1571. Sri Lanka government conferred country's highest military rank of field marshal to former army chief Sarath Fonseka.
  1572. Sri Lanka suspended work on construction of a controversial USD 1.5 billion Chinese port city project in Colombo.
  1573. Sri Lanka's New President Maithripala Sirisena Visited India and Signed 4 Agreements in Civil Nuclear Co-operation.
  1574. Sri Lankan Cricketer Kumar Sangakkara created record of centuries in four consecutive matches in Cricket World Cup.
  1575. Sri Lankan cricketer Kumar Sangakkara announced retirement from Test cricket
  1576. Sri Lankan cricketer Kumar Sangakkara became fastest cricketer to score 12000 Test runs.
  1577. Srivari Chandrasekhar is appointed as Director of CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT).
  1578. Stanislav Gross, Former Czech Republic Prime Minister, died.
  1579. State Bank of India (SBI) appointed Anshula Kant as chief financial officer (CFO) and Deputy managing director.
  1580. State Bank of India (SBI) launched SBI eforex as an online platform to enable customers to book their foreign exchange transactions online.
  1581. State Bank of India (SBI) launched an Online Customer Acquisition Solution (OCAS) that enables customers to apply online for Home Loans, Car Loans, Education Loans and Personal Loans.  Customers can check their eligibility and get a personalized quote. If eligible, Bank officials will contact the customer and complete all the loan formalities.
  1582. State Bank of India launched Federal Bank-SBI co-branded credit cards with an aim to issue 1.5 lakh credit cards to its customers in first year.
  1583. State Bank of India launched contact-less credit and debit cards called sbiINTOUCH. These cards are based on near-field technology (NFC) that enables transaction by just waving the card against the reader.
  1584. State Governments Budgets 2015 - 16 -
    1. Assam -
      1. 50% Power Subsidy for Below Poverty Line Families.
      2. Rs. 100 crore for distribution of Yarn and Blankets to the Poor.
      3. Rs. 10000 for BPL Families for conducting daughters' Marriages and Rs. 10000 for women self help groups in the state.
      4. Exemption of Drugs from VAT (Value Added Tax).
    2. Bihar -
      1. Budget Size - 120685 Crore Rupeees
      2. Planned Expenditure - 57437 Crores
      3. Non-Planned Expenditure - 63259 Crores
    3. Chhattisgarh -
      1. Budget size - Rs. 67547 Crores
      2. New Bio Control Laboratory in Raipur and 10 New Veterinary Hospitals across state.
      3. Called it a Youth Oriented Budget with 16% of planned outlay dedicated to growth of Youth in the state.
    4. Haryana -
      1. Presented by Haryana Finance Minster Captain Abhimanyu.
      2. VAT (Value added tax) removed from Bio-Fertilizers and VAT reduced to 5% on LED Lights, Pipe Fittings and Prefabricated Steel Structures.
    5. Himachal Pradesh -
      1. Presented by Himachal Pradesh Chief Minster Virbhadra Singh.
      2. Budget size - Rs. 28339 Crores
      3. Entry tax on Industrial Inputs charged on New industries will be reduced to 1% from 2%.
      4. VAT on LED Bulbs will be reduced to 5% from 13.75% and 21 Lakh households will be provided 3 LED Bulbs at a rate of 150 each.
    6. Jharkhand -
      1. Presented by Chief Minster and Finance Minister Raghubar Das.
      2. Budget size - Rs. 55492 Crores
      3. State's First women engineering college to be established in Ramgarh.
      4. 10927 Poshan Sakhi ( Women Health Workers) would be appointed.
      5. Atal Gram Jyoti Yojana and Tikla Majhi Krishi Pump Yojana would be enacted in 2015-16.
      6. Cow slaughter would be prevented through enacting a special act for it.
      7. Tejaswini Scheme to be Introduced in 17 Districts to make the girls self reliant.
      8. Dal Bhat Yojana to be empowered through opening of 370 New Centres.
      9. Mukhya Mantri Vidya Laxmi Yojana to be introduced to promote Girls Education.
    7. Karnataka -
      1. Presented by Chief Minster K Siddaramaiah.
      2. Budget size - Rs. 72600 Crores
      3. VAT on Cigarettes, Cigars, Gutkha and other manufactured tobacco hiked from 17 % to 20 %
      4. Sales tax rate increased by one % on petrol and diesel
      5. Annabhagy, Runamuktha Scheme,Vasathi Bhagya and Pashu Bhagya scheme to be enacted soon.
      6. Social and Education door-to-door survey to be done to assess the current scenario.
    8. Maharashtra -
      1. Presented by Maharashtra Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar.
      2. Budget size - Rs. 72600 Crores.
      3. Local Body tax to be abolished from August 1. Compensation of Revenue by enhancing VAT tax rate.
      4. No VAT on Service Tax. Tax on LED Bulbs to be reduced to 5%.
      5. Excise duty on country liquor to be 200 % of the manufacturing cost or Rs.120 / litre whichever is higher.
    9. Telangana -
      1. Presented by Telangana Finance Minister Eatala Rajendra.
      2. Budget size - Rs. 115689 Crores.
    10. Uttarakhand -
      1. Presented by Uttarakhand Finance Minister Indira Hridayesh.
      2. Budget size - Rs. 32310 Crores.
      3. Vyapari Kalyan Kosh to be set up top benefit small traders.
    11. Punjab -
      1. Presented by Punjab Finance Minister S Parimner singh dhindsa.
      2. Budget size - Rs. 79314 Crores.
      3. Mukhya Mantri Pendu Vikas Yojana to be enacted for rural development.
    12. Rajasthan -
      1. Presented by Rajasthan Finance Minister and Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje.
      2. Mukhya Mantri Adarsh Gram Panchcyat Yojana to be enacted soon.
      3. Under 'Digital Rajasthan and Good Governance' segment, - Primary Agriculture Credit Society (PACS), Large Agriculture Multipurpose Society (LAMS) and 15,000 E-Mitra centreswill be made business correspondents
      4. New IT and e-governance policy, video conferencing at all ATAL Sewa Kendras, establishment of District Level Officer of IT
    13. Uttar Pradesh -
      1. Presented by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.
      2. Budget size - Rs. 302687 Crores.
      3. Agri Junction Scheme to be started for Helping Farmers and rural youth with agricultural knowledge self sufficient by setting up more than 1000 one stop shops in 2015-16.
      4. Kanya Vidya Dhan and Laptop Distribution scheme to be relaunched.
    14. Madhya Pradesh -
      1. Presented by Madhya Pradesh Finance Minister Jayant Malaiya.
      2. Budget size - Rs. 131199 Crores.
  1585. Steel Authority of India (SAIL) and ArcelorMittal (Luxembourg Based) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to set up an steel manufacturing facility in India.
  1586. Stephen Constantine has been appointed as head coach of Indian mens football team.
  1587. Steve Easterbrook has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Famous Fast Food Chain McDonalds Corporation.
  1588. Subadhra Devi Rai, Indian-origin Singaporean nurse named for International Achievement Award 2015 by the Florence Nightingale International Foundation (FNIF) of the International Council of Nurses for her work in healthcare sector of women and refugees.
  1589. Subhro Kamal Mukherjee is Appointed as Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court.
  1590. Sumit Mazumder elected as President of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for the year 2015-16 replacing Ajay Shriram.
  1591. Sunil Chhetri became first Indian footballer to score 50 international goals. He scored His 50th Goal during 2018 World Cup qualifying match against Guam.
  1592. Sunil Kumar Sinha Appointed as Chief Justice Of Sikkim High Court.
  1593. Sunil Sabharwal, an Indian-American investor has been re-nominated as an Alternate Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by the United States (US).
  1594. Sunita Tomar, known as face of India's anti-tobacco campaign Passed away.
  1595. Super 30 founder and mathematician Anand Kumar has been honoured by Legislature of British Columbia in Canada at Toronto University for his pioneering work in the field of education. 
  1596. Supreme Court (SC) asked Union Government to re-examine the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 and make it more stringent at least in cases pertaining to heinous crimes like rape and murder.
  1597. Supreme Court (SC) of India declared Section 66A of the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000 as unconstitutional and struck it down.
    1. The section empowers law enforcement agencies to arrest those who post objectionable content online and provides for a three-year jail term.
    2. It declared Section 66A as unconstitutional because - It violates citizens fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression provided in the Article 19 (1)(a), not saved by Article 19(2), of Constitution of India. 
  1598. Supreme Court appointed Vivek Priyadarshi to lead the probe on IPL scandal.
  1599. Supreme Court directed CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) to investigate role of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in the multi-crore chit-fund scam.
  1600. Supreme Court sought responses from Union Ministry of Human Resources Development and Central Board of Secondary Examination (CBSE) on a plea for making make Moral Science compulsory subject in curriculam of Classes I - XII.
  1601. Supreme court ordered Online advertisement companies like Google, Yahoo to not to accept publication of sex determination content over their networks.
  1602. Surender Singh took over as Director General of CISF (Central Industrial Security Force).
  1603. Surendra Kumar Sinha has been appointed as First Hindu Chief Justice of Bangladesh.
  1604. Surya Bahadur Thapa, former Prime Minister of Nepal Passed Away.
  1605. Susanta Lahiri (India) and Kattesh V. Katti (USA) received Hevesy Medal Award 2015 for their contributions in fields of radio and nuclear chemistry at the Tenth International Conference on Methods and Applications of Radio-analytical Chemistry held in USA.
  1606. Sushma Swaraj, Minister for External Affairs and Shripad Naik, (Minister in AYUSH Ministry) launched the logo for International Day of Yoga to be held each year on June 21.
  1607. Sutirtha Bhattacharya took charge as Chairman and Managing Director of Coal India Limited.
  1608. Sweden Based Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) released Trends in International Arms Transfers 2014 report and stated that India is world's largest importer of weapons and military equipment with 15 % of global imports, with Russia being its majority supplier. USA Is largest Exporter, followed by Russia and China.
  1609. Swedish Telecom equipment maker Ericsson has appointed Paolo Colella as chief of its Indian wing.
  1610. Swiss National Bank (SNB) Data for Foreigners' Money in Swiss Banks -
    1. India is placed at 61st position in terms of foreigners money in Swiss banks. Indians Hold 0.123 % of the total global wealth of 1.6 trillion USD in Switzerland's banking system.
    2. United Kingdom (UK) is Country with Highest Share of Foreigners' Money in Swiss Banks (22%), Followed by United States (US), West Indies, Guernsey, Germany, Bahamas, Luxembourg, France, Jersey and Hong Kong
    3. Pakistan is placed at 73rd position with their share almost doubling to 472 million Swiss francs.
    4. UBS and Credit Suisse are two big banks with nearly two-third of the total money kept by foreigners in Swiss banks.
  1611. Swiss player Roger Federer won First Istanbul Open Men's singles title by defeating Pablo Cueves of Uruguay.
  1612. Switzerland Tennis Player Roger Federer claimed his 1000th ATP career win at the Brisbane International by defeating Canadian Milos Raonic. It was 1000th win and 83rd title of his career.
  1613. Sydney International Tennis tournament
    • Men's Singles - Viktor Troicki of Serbia won by defeating Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan.
    • Women's Singles - Cetra Kvitova of Czech Republic won by defeating Karolina Pliskova of Czech Republic.
    • Women's Doubles - Sania Mirza and Bethanie Mattek-Sands of US won by beating Americans Abigail Spears and Raquel Kops-Jones.
  1614. Syed Ahmed appointed as 16th Governor of Manipur.
  1615. Syed Asif Ibrahim is appointed as Prime Ministers Special Envoy on Countering Terrorism and Extremism.
  1616. TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute) signed agreement with two global research institutes, Fridtjof Nansen Institute (FNI) and INTASAVE-CARIBSAVE Group for cooperation on issues related to climate change. 
  1617. TP Senkumar appointed as Director General of Police of Kerala.
  1618. Takahiro Hachigo has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Japanese automaker Honda Motor Corp.
  1619. Tamil Nadu Government signed a Power Purchase Agreement with Adani Power (PPA) to set up a 200 MW solar power plant in Ramanathapuram district.
  1620. Tapan Misra has been appointed as Chief of ISROs Space Applications Centre (SAC).
  1621. Tata Steel conferred with Prime Ministers Trophy for 8th Time at Rourkela for being the ‘Best Performing Integrated Steel Plant in the country during the performance year 2010 – 2011.
  1622. Tathagata Roy is appointed as 16th Governor of Tripura.
  1623. Tawfiq Fawzan Al Rabiah, Minister of Commerce and Industry of Saudi Arabia Visited India for 11th India- Saudi Arabia Joint Commission Meeting.
  1624. Tax receipts improved in April - January period of Financial year 2014-15 - (Total - 1006537 Crores)
    1. Tax Total Receipts % of Total Receipts
      Direct Taxes - 578715 Crores
      Corporate Tax 364665 36.2 %
      Income Tax 207613 20.6%
      Indirect Taxes - 427822 Crores
      Excise Duty 140284 14.0 %
      Customs Duty 155248 15.4%
      Service Tax 132290 13.2%
  1625. Taxes Collections data in FY 2014-15
    1. Direct Taxes Collections (Income Tax,  Corporate tax, Wealth tax) 

      Financial year

      Revised Estimates

      Direct Taxes collections

      2012-13

      5,65,835

      5,58,658

      2013-14

      6,36,318

      6,38,543

      2014-15

      7,05,628

      6,95,988

    2. Contribution of direct and Indirect taxes to the total Central Taxes is - 

      Financial year

      Direct Taxes

      Indirect Taxes

      Total Central Taxes (direct and indirect)

      Direct Taxes as % of Total Central Taxes

      2012-13

      5,58,658

      4,74,482

      10,33,140

      54.07%

      2013-14

      6,38,543

      4,97,061

      11,35,604

      56.22%

      2014-15

      6,95,988

      5,44,157

      12,40,145

      56.12%

  1626. Taygan Lions Park and Skazka zoo in Crimea signed an animal exchange agreement with Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram zoo for Exchage of Indian Elephants.
  1627. Telangana Government announced organizing Godavari Pushkaralu Event on lines of Kumbh Mela.
  1628. Telecom regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) stated that Telecom subscriber base in India reached all-time high of 970 million by December 2014. Main highlights of the report -
    1. Number of telephone subscribers in increased to 970.97 million.
    2. Broadband subscribers base increased by 4.28% on monthly basis to 85.7 million.
    3. Teledensity in India increased to 77.58 (Connections per 100 persons)
  1629. Telugu novelist Kesava Reddy passed away.
  1630. Telugu writer Dasaradhi Rangacharya Passed Away.
  1631. Tennis and volleyball teams of Indian Railways won Gold Medals in 20th Union Sportive Internationale des Cheminots (USIC) World Railways Championships. Indian Railway tennis team defeated France 3-1 in Nuremberg (Germany) while volleyball team beat Russia in Gomel(Belarus).
  1632. Tenth Joint Exercise of India - Mongolia armies began in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh.
  1633. Tesla Motors (led by ELON M USK) launched solar energy battery system Powerwall home battery that charges by electricity generated from solar panels. It's a rechargeable lithium-ion battery designed to store energy for load shifting, backup and self-consumption of solar power generation to reduce dependence on powergrids.
  1634. Thane (Mumbai) named as National Earth Hour Capital 2015 as it emerged as winner in the Earth Hour City Challenge (EHCC) 2015 conducted by World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
  1635. The 20th meet of TAPI (Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline or Turkmenistan - Afghanistan - Pakistan - India Pipeline) Gas Pipeline Project held in Pakistan. Dharmendra Pradhan, (Minister of state for Petroleum and Natural Gas) attended on India's Behalf.
  1636. The Fifth General Assembly of IRENA (International Renewable Energy Association) held in Abu Dhabi (UAE).
  1637. The Hurun Report Inc released the Hurun Global Rich List 2015 sponsored by Chinese home builder Star River Property.
    1. 2089 billionaires from 68 countries were listed in the ranking list.
    2. Around 649 billionaires saw their wealth increase and there were 341 new faces in the list.
    3. Bill Gates (85 USD) topped the List followed by Mexican Carlos Slim (83 USD) on second position and Warren Buffett on third Position.
    4. In India, Mukesh Ambani is richest Indian at Rank 41 followed by Dilip Shanghvi (53), Pallonji Mistry & family (60).
    5. Bill Gates remains the world's wealthiest individual increasing his wealth to 85 billion US dollars while Mexican Carlos Slim is second in the list with wealth of 83billion US dollars.
    6. Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg is youngest member of the Top 10 rich list. His wealth increased by 42 %, moving him up to number 7.
    7. New York has highest number of billionaires (91) and Russia's capital city Moscow is second with 73 billionaires.
    8. USA and China have 537 and 430 billionaires respectively.
    9. In China, solar energy tycoon Li Hejun replaced e-commerce giant Alibaba's CEO Jack Ma as the richest chinese with 26 billion USD Worth.
    10. Richest family in world: The Walton family, owner of Wal-Mart, with the wealth of 138 Billion US dollars is the richest family in the world by far.
  1638. Third India-Tunisia Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) held in Tunis. Indian delegation was led by Secretary (East) Anil Wadhwa.
  1639. Thomas Bach, president of International Olympic Committee (IOC) named as ambassador of HeForShe campaign by UN Women for gender equality (established by United Nations (UN) Women).
  1640. Thomas Kurian Is appointed as New President of Oracle Corporation.
  1641. Three Indian race walkers Khushbir, Manish, Sandeep qualified for 2016 Rio Olympics after completing their race in stipulated time during IAAF Race Walking Challenge in Portugal.
  1642. Three Indians - Ritika Singh, Shradha Prasad and Taranjeet Singh Bhatia have been shortlisted for one-way trip to Mars under Mars One mission in 2024.
  1643. Three Indians Ashwini Angadi, Akshay Jadhao and Devika Malik have won an award set up by Queen Elizabeth II to recognise exceptional youths making a difference in their communities from across the Commonwealth nations.
  1644. Three South Asian women - Niloofar Rahmani (Afghanistan), Nadia Sharmeen (Bangladesh) and Tabassum Adnan (Pakistan) were selected for International Women of Courage Award for year 2015 given by US Secretary of State.
  1645. Three Support Vessels T-38, T-39 and T-40 commissioned into the Indian Navy.
  1646. Three sub-groups of Chief Ministers constituted within the NITI Aayog -
    1. First Sub-group- Study 66 centrally-sponsored schemes and recommend which schemes should continue, which to discontinue, and which are to be transferred to states.
    2. Second Sub-group- Look after creation of skilled manpower and skill development within states.
    3. Third Sub-group- Taking decisions about institutional mechanisms to be evolved for Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan to make cleanliness a part of life.
  1647. Time's 100 Magazine Issued 100 Most Influential People List -
    1. List Topped by American rapper and singer Kanye Omari West.
    2. Youngest Person on the List is Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai.
    3. Oldest person on the list is Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi (88 Years).
    4. Indians In the List -
      1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
      2. CEO of ICICI Bank Chanda Kochchar.
      3. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella
      4. Vikram Patel, Goa-based psychiatrist and professor of mental health at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and co-founder of a Goa-based mental health research NGO, Sangath.
  1648. Times Higher Education released World Reputation Rankings 2015. United Kingdom has 12 of 100 most renowned higher education institutions in the world.
    1. Harvard University (US) is at 1st position followed by Cambridge University (UK) at 2nd and Oxford University on the third. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US) has slipped to 4th place in 2015 from 2nd place in 2014.
    2. Germany is best-represented nation after US and UK, with six top 100 universities.
    3. No Indian Institution has been given place in the top 100, Asias best performer is University of Tokyo (12th position).
  1649. Tintu Luka won gold in 800m in 35th National Games in Kerala.
  1650. To improve education in backward Vidarbha region, Government will set up first IIIT (Indian Institute of Information Technology) of Maharashtra state in Nagpur along with an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and Indian Institute of Management (IIM).
  1651. Tony Tan Keng Yam, President of Singapore Visited India.
  1652. Traditional tropical grass, Darbha, has been identified as an eco-friendly food preservative in a research by Centre for Nanotechnology and Advanced Biomaterials (CeNTAB) and Centre for Advanced Research in Indian System of Medicine (CARISM) of the SASTRA University, Thanjavur (Tamilnadu).
  1653. Trends in Global Carbon Di-Oxide Emission Report 2014
    1. Rise in CO2 Emission continues, gone up to 35.3 Billion Ton (2% up from 2012) in 2013.
    2. China Owns largest share of Carbon Di Oxide emissions (29%), followed by USA (15%), European Union (11%) and India (6%).
  1654. Trevor Bayliss (Australia) is appointed as coach of England cricket team.
  1655. Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Limited (TRIFED) under Ministry of Tribal Affairs, has won "National Award for Excellence in Training - 2015" in a contest by Department of Personnel and Training.
  1656. Tripura Biodiversity Board launched a project to link conservation to economic concerns.
    1. The project will link conservation of bio-resources with livelihood and economic concerns of the owners through access benefit sharing.
    2. Aim is to strengthen implementation of Biological Diversity Act, 2002 and Biological Diversity Rules, 2004 by creating awareness amongst the various stakeholders about real economic values of bio-resources.
  1657. Tripura Government launched Northeast Indias first Kisan Call Centre in Agartala to give immediate solutions and advisory to farmers regarding seed procurement, agro-metric, fertilizer, soil health, pesticides usage and marketing of the produces.
  1658. Tropical Cyclone Ashobaa hit Oman (Country on southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula). ASHOBAA is first tropical storm of pre-monsoon season in the Indian seas which developed into a cyclone. 
  1659. Tropical cyclones Marcia and Lam hit Australia. It is first time that two cyclones have hit Australia at one time
  1660. Turkey's Justice and Development Party led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won parliamentary polls..
  1661. Turrialba volcano in Costa Rica erupted leading to rise of a column of gas and ash in the sky.
  1662. Twelve cities - Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh), Gaya(Bihar), Dwaraka(Gujarat), Amritsar(Punjab), Ajmer(Rajasthan), Kanchipuram(Tamil Nadu), Vellankani(Tamil Nadu), Puri(Odisha), Varanasi(Uttar Prasesh), Mathura(Uttar Pradesh), Kedarnath (Uttarakhand) and Kamakhya (Assam) have been identified for development under Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spirituality Augmentation Drive (PRASAD) under Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) scheme.
  1663. Two 6th-century monumental statues of standing Buddha have been carved into Bamiyan valley of central Afghanistan via 3D light projection technology.
  1664. Two Indians Ananda Kumar and Pramod Patil won Whitley Awards worth 35000 pounds (also known as Green Oscar) for their contribution to wildlife conservation at a ceremony in Royal Geographical Society, London.
  1665. Two Indians Nand Ram and Raju Joseph posthumously given United Nations (UN) Dag Hammarskjold Medal. Nand Ram served UN Organization Stabilization Mission in Democratic Republic of the Congo and Raju Joseph served in a civilian capacity with UN Mission in South Sudan.
  1666. Two Indians Shivani Agarwal and Maharaja Pandit won USA's Harvard Universitys prestigious Radcliffe fellowship with 48 Others for one-year fellowships at the Radcliffe Institute.
  1667. Two former scientists of ISRO, B. Anantharaman K.S. Vishwanathan presented the book "Atmatirtham", which describes Adi Sankara's life and teachings written by Nochur Venkataraman to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
  1668. Typhoon Kujira struck Chinas Hainan province with heavy rain and winds up to 90 kilometers per hour.
  1669. UK's Author Ali Smith won 2015 Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction for her novel How to be Both.
  1670. UK's Renowned fantasy author Terence David John Pratchett passed away.
  1671. UK's cricketer Matt Prior retired from all forms of cricket.
  1672. UK's philanthropist Benni Joseph Mavelil has been selected for VK Krishna Menon Award for his achievements and contributions to the community and wider multicultural society.
  1673. UN Human Rights Council appointed former US judge Mary McGowan Davis as head of UN inquiry into the 50-day Gaza conflict Between Israel - Hamas in 2014.
  1674. UN report State of Food Insecurity in the World 2015 released by Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP) -
    1. Number of undernourished people has dropped to 795 million as compared to 1011 million in 1990 - 92.
    2. In the developing regions, prevalence of undernourishment has declined to 12.9 % of the population.
    3. 72 of 129 monitored countries have achieved Millennium Development Goal of cutting undernourishment by half till 2015.
    4. Sub-Saharan Africa is region with highest prevalence of undernourishment with 23.2 %.
    5. prevalence of undernourishment in Latin America and Caribbean has dropped from 14.7 % to 5.5 %
    6. In southAsia, prevalence of undernourishment has declined to 15.7 % from 23.9 %.
    7. In India - 194.6 million people are still undernourished that makes India second highest in terms of undernourished people.
  1675. UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development)'s World Investment Report 2015 -
    1. China became largest recipient of FDI ($ 129 billion) wth US second ($ 92 billion).
    2. India leads inflow of FDI in South Asia with $34 billion investment during 2014 (22% high from 2013). India is Now 9th Most FDI Receiving country as comparted to 15th rank in 2013.
    3. Global FDI inflows fell by 16 % to $ 1.23 trillion in 2014.
  1676. US President Barack Obama nominated David Hale as Ambassador to Pakistan
  1677. US President Barack Obama will honor Microsofts Indian-origin CEO Satya Nadella with the ‘Champions of Change award for bringing about change within his company to support working families.
  1678. US mathematicians John F Nash Jr and Louis Nirenberg have been named as joint winners of Abel Prize for 2015 for their contributions to mathematical sciences. The award is given by Norwegian Academy of Sciences and Letters.
  1679. US will host an international Anti-terror Summit in Washington in February 2015 to prevent terrorism.
  1680. US-based World Justice Project (WJP) released 5th Rule of Law Index 2015. It provides data on how the rule of law is experienced in 102 countries around the globe.
    1. Report is topped by Denmark, followed by Norway, Sweden and Finland at second, third and fourth place respectively each with score above 0.85.
    2. Venezuela is worst (102nd) with Zimbabwe, Afghanistan at 100, 101 place respectively.
    3. India has score of 0.51 and has been ranked 59th.
    4. India is 3rd in six South Asian countries and 3rd in BRICS countries. South Africa (36th) is at top in BRICS Countries and Nepal (48) is at top in Six south asian countries.
  1681. USA Ambassador Richard Verma met Union Agriculture Minister Shri Radha Mohan Singh.
  1682. USA President Barack Obama Arrived in India for attending Celebrations and Parade of India's 66th Republic day.
  1683. USA Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx vivited India and signed Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) on transportation.
  1684. USA based Apple Inc recorded profit of 18 billion USD dollar in 2014 which is Highest ever profit earned by any company in the corporate world.
    1. Apple sold 74.5 million iPhones in quarter ending December 2014.
    2. Revenue of the Apple Inc rose to 74.6 billion USD in 2014 from 57.6 billion USD in 2013.
    3. Apple now has a cash pile up of 178 billion USD which is enough to buy IBM or the equivalent to pay 556 USD to every American.
    4. The success of Apple may be attributed to -
      1. Apple's partnership in China with China Mobile Limited
      2. Larger screen size of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.
      3. Doubling of sales of iPhone in Singapore and Brazil and Significant rise in India as well.
  1685. USA closed its Embassy in Yemen due to the ongoing political instability and uncertain security situations in Yemen.
  1686. USA government has opened an investigation against TCS and Infosys, two of biggest Indian outsourcing companies for possible violations of H1-B visa rules.
  1687. USA removed Cuba from terror blacklist to strengthen ties with Cuba.
  1688. USA's Kristen Stewart won Best Supporting Actress Award at France's Cesar Awards for her role in Clouds of Sils Maria.
    She became first American actress to win a trophy at France's Cesar Awards.
  1689. USA's Oklahoma state Government passed a bill that allows use of nitrogen gas (nitrogen-induced hypoxia) as a method of execution. Oklahoma will become the first state in the United States that will allow use of nitrogen for execution.
  1690. USA's jazz musician Bob Belden passed away.
  1691. UST Global launched Womens Safety App iSafe for Thiruvananthapuram City Police.
  1692. Ukraine Government passed a legislation to equate Communism with Nazism (nationalist-socialist) and banned both the regimes.
  1693. Underwater explorers in Madagascar claimed to have discovered treasure belonging to the notorious 17th Century Scottish pirate captain William Kidd. They found a 50-kg silver bar on the island of Sainte Marie, from the ship of Captain Kidd.
    1. Captain Kidd was appointed by British authorities to tackle piracy but later became a criminal. He was executed in 1701 for piracy after returning from a voyage to the Indian Ocean.
  1694. Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh laid foundation stone of Gangatiri Cows Conservation and Development Center in Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh).
  1695. Union Cabinet approved 119th Constitutional Amendment Bill on Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) between India and Bangladesh to operationalize Land Boundary Agreement with Bangladesh.
  1696. Union Cabinet approved Approach and Key Components of e-Kranti: National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) 2.0 as an important pillar of Digital India programme and envisaged by the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY). 
  1697. Union Cabinet approved Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2012 meant to amend the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) (CLPR) Act, 1986 and allows children below age of 14 years to work in select non-hazardous family enterprises.
    • Children below 14 years are prohibited to be Employed in all occupations and processes. However, a child helping his family or family enterprise, which is other than hazardous occupation or process after his school hours. A child working as artist in an audio-visual entertainment industry is also not prohibited( except the circus) without affecting the school education.
    • Punishment for employers for violation of the CLPR Act -
      • First offence of employing any child in violation of the Act will be imprisonment for 6 - 24 months, or fine between 20000 - 50000 rupees.
      • Second offence of employing any child in violation of the Act will be imprisonment of 1 - 3 years.
  1698. Union Cabinet approved a Bill for putting harsh penalties for those having unaccounted money abroad.
    1. The bill will give powers to tax authorities to track and deal with illegal wealth accounted abroad.
    2. Offenders will not be permitted to approach the Settlement Commission.
    3. Penalty will ne 300 % of taxes to be levied on the concealed amount, and 10 years imprisonment.
  1699. Union Cabinet approved introduction of Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts and Commercial Courts Bill, 2015 in the current session of Parliament.
    1. The bill aims to set up commercial divisions in courts for speedy disposal of high value commercial disputes.
    2. The bill is based upon recommendations in 253rd Report of Law Commission about establishment of Commercial Courts, Commercial Divisions and Commercial Appellate Divisions in the High Courts.
  1700. Union Cabinet approved introduction of Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF) Bill, 2015 in the Parliament to provide for institutional mechanism at Centre and State levels to ensure expeditious utilization of amounts realised in lieu of forest land diverted for non-forest purpose. Key Provisions are -
    1. Establishment of Compensatory Afforestation Funds at National and State levels to credit amounts collected by State Governments to compensate loss of forest land diverted for non-forest purpose.
    2. Constitution of Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) at state and national levels to utilise amounts credited to the corresponding CAFs.
    3. Establishment of a Monitoring Group to assist the National CAMPA in monitoring and evaluation of activities undertaken from amounts released from the National CAF and State CAFs.
  1701. Union Cabinet approved signing and ratifying Inter-Governmental Agreement on Dry Ports of International Importance as a follow up of Resolution of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) about development of dry ports within member countries of UNESCAP including India.
  1702. Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani has been named as Young Global Leader from India by the World Economic Forum (WEF).
  1703. Union Home Affairs Ministry suspended registration of Greenpeace India Society (GIS) for 180 days for acting against public and economic interests of the country.
    1. Greenpeace India Society is an Indian chapter of Greenpeace International, a non-profit environmental organization working on various issues related to the environment in India since 2001. 
  1704. Union Home Ministry has placed the international funding organisation Ford Foundation on its watch list on the basis of inputs received from security agencies.
    1. It was noticed that Ford Foundation is funding entities not registered under Foreign Contribution Regulation Act causing serious violation of Act.
    2. As per section 46 of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act 2010, Ministry instructed RBI to ensure that funds coming from it be brought to Ministry's notice.
    3. RBI will instruct all banks to ensure any fund flow from the Ford Foundation to any entity should be done after clearance of Home ministry.
  1705. Union Minister for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal launched three NTPC Mobile Science Labs (MSL) for revolutionizing education in rural India.
    1. MSL is a vehicle with LCD TV carrying working Science Models to emphasize curiosity in rural children. These MSLs will be initially deployed at NTPC's ongoing projects at Darlipalli, Pakri Barwadih and Kahalgaon and aim to cover 140000 student exposures in three years.
  1706. Union Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Harsh Vardhan Visited USA.
  1707. Union Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Harsh Vardhan laid foundation stone for ocean research facility of ESSO- NIOT in Nellore District of Andhra Pradesh at a cost of over Rs. 250 crores will allow testing of various equipment and operations to be undertaken in actual sea conditions.
  1708. Union Minister of Chemicals & Fertilizers Shri Ananth Kumar launched ‘Pharma Jan Samadhan scheme as a web enabled system for redressal of consumers grievances relating to pricing and availability of medicines.
  1709. Union Minister of State (Independent Charge), Jitendra Singh ordered probe into misuse of funds of over Rs.900 crores in Arunachal Pradesh through various Centrally Sponsored Schemes.
  1710. Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Raosaheb Dadarao Danve resigned. 
  1711. Union Minister of State for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Mahesh Sharma inaugurated first Science Centre and Planetarium of Union Territory of Puducherry.
  1712. Union Minister of State for Tourism (IC) Mahesh Sharma launched Visit Kerala 2015 campaign to promoting Kerala tourism.
  1713. Union Minister of Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi launched IAP HealthPhone programme for addressing the malnutrition in women and children. It is jointly developed by Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP), Ministry of Women and Child Development, UNICEF and Vodafone India. Highlights are -  
    1. It will increase penetration of mobile phones to educate over 6 million females between 13 -35 years of age on better nutrition practices by 2018. 
    2. Programme will achieve its objectives by promoting 4 re-edited Poshan videos in 18 Indian languages. These videos address issues of care of pregnant women and children. Vodafone will provide discount on download of these videos.
  1714. Union Ministry of Environment launched National Air Quality Index in April 2015 as a measure to understand air quality by monitoring the eight major pollutants that impact health.
  1715. Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change revoked 3 year old ban on mining in Goa.
    1. Iron ore extraction in 72 mines out of total 89 mines in the state will be resumed now, Remaining 17 mining areas are located within the one-kilometre radius of wildlife sanctuaries.
  1716. Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) received the ISO 9001:2008 certification from the British Standards Institute (BSI) in respect of various licences issued by ministry for the broadcasts, print media and films.
    1. ISO 9001:2008 Certification - The ISO 9001:2008 certification is a standard for the Quality Management System and basically focus what the organization do to fulfill Customer's Quality Requirements, Applicable Legal & Regulatory requirements, Develop Customer Satisfaction and Attain Continual Improvement of its performances.
  1717. Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports recognised Motor Sports as a sport by including it in the list of sports ministry-backed National Sports Federations (NSF).
  1718. Union Science & Technology Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan stated that Government will set up Eastern Indias first observational astronomy institute in Ayodhya Hills of Purulia district of West Bengal.
  1719. Union Sports Ministry suspended recognition of Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) for poor management and conduct of 15th National Para-Athletics Championships in Ghaziabad in March 2015.
  1720. Union Tourism Ministry released Draft National Tourism Policy 2015 aimed at boosting tourism sector in the country and increase Indias share in world tourist arrivals from 0.68% to 1% by 2020 and 2% by 2025. Key Features are -
    1. National Tourism Advisory Board (NTAB) will be set up under chairmanship of Union Tourism Minister to monitor the implementation of the policy.
    2. National Tourism Authority will be established with representation from the trade and industry and interconnected departments or agencies to execute the policy.
    3. To attract foreign tourists the government will play a more pro-active and decisive role at multilateral tourism fora such as the Buddhist Circuit, Ramayana Circuit, Himalayan Circuit, Heritage Circuit, etc.
  1721. Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti launched Bhuvan Ganga Mobile Application and Web Portal to help mission to Clean Ganga. It will facilitate public to upload pictures of pollution sources of the Ganga River for further action by the authorities concerned.
  1722. Union cabinet approved amendment to the Juvenile Justice Bill to provide that if a heinous crime is committed by a person in the 16-18 age group, it will be examined by the Juvenile Justice Board to assess if the crime was committed as a ‘child or as an ‘adult and punishment will be adjudged accordingly.
  1723. Union minister for science and technology and earth sciences, Harsh Vardhan inaugurated first phase of the Bio Innovation Centre at Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB) in Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala).
  1724. United Arab Emirates approved including four Indian languages (Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil and Bengali) to offer knowledge tests for appearing in driving test in UAE.
  1725. United Arab Emirates closed its Embassy in Yemen due to the ongoing political instability and security situations.
  1726. United Arab Emirates will host 17th Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup in 2019.
  1727. United Nation (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Indian sociologist Saraswathi Menon in a Panel for reviewing peace building activities.
  1728. United Nation Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) 2015 survey Making Growth More Inclusive for Sustainable Development. Survey analyzes economic growth performance of the region. Highlights of the Survey -
    1. Economic growth in Asia and the Pacific will be good but will increase only slightly to 5.9% in 2015 from 5.8% in 2014.
    2. North and Central Asia are comparatively slow in economic growth and high at inflation.
    3. Due to lower global oil prices and geopolitical tensions, economy of Russian Federation will slow down in 2015 and 2016.
    4. Economic growth in South and South-West Asia gained in 2014, mainly due to stronger macroeconomic performance in India. Indias Economic Growth -
      1. Indian Economy will grow at 8.1 % in the 2015 and 8.2 %v in 2016.
      2. Investment will rise unevenly due to low capacity-utilisation rate at about 70 %.
      3. Volatile capital flows that may follow monetary policy normalisation in US remain the risky take.
  1729. United Nations (UN) peace envoy to Yemen, Jamal Benomar resigned.
  1730. United Nations (UN) released a report titled Global E-Waste Monitor 2014compiled by United Nations University - as insights into the location and composition of the worlds fast-growing e-waste problem.
    1. As per the report, in the year 2014 volume of e-waste is estimated around 41.8 million metric tonnes and expected to rise by 21 % to 50 million Mt in 2018.
    2. US and China produced the most e-waste overall in 2014 at 32 %. India came in fifth, behind the US, China, Japan and Germany.
  1731. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) released Global Investment Trend Monitor Report to provide global investments trend in 2014 and prospects of global investments in 2015.
    • Global Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows declined by 8 % in 2014 to 1.26 trillion USD due to fragility of global economy, geopolitical risks and Political Uncertainities.
    • Report in context of India
      • FDI flow in India in 2014 increased to 35 billion USD (26 % Up) with maximum growth in the services sector.
      • Maximum growth in FDI in India was in services sector especially in electricity, gas, water, waste management and information and communication
      • This is one of the highest in recent years, though in 2008 FDI peaked in India with 47 billion dollars followed by 35.6 billion dollar in 2009
    • Top five FDI recipients countries in 2014
      • China is largest recipient of FDI with 3 % Increase. China replaced US that attracted largest FDI since 1980.
      • Rankings of Highest FDI Attracting Countries -
        • China with 128 billion USD
        • Hong Kong with 111 billion USD
        • The United States with 86 billion USD
        • Singapore with 81 billion USD
        • Brazil with 62 billion USD
  1732. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) released a report Global Investment Trends Monitor. It stated that developing Asia now invests more abroad than any other region.
    1. Hong Kong (China) and China were the second and the third largest investors in the world, after the United States which is largest source of outward foreign direct investment (FDI).
    2. Among the 20 largest investors, nine were from developing or transition economies.
    3. Developing Asia has become, for the first time, the world's largest investor region with 440 billion USD, followed by America and Europe.
    4. UNCTAD estimates that TNC (Transnational Companies) investment will increase due to better economic prospects, proactive monetary policy in the Eurozone and the large cash holdings of companies. TNCs share in global foreign direct investment (FDI) reached a record of 36%, up from 12% in 2007.
  1733. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) presented 2015 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize to Syrian journalist and rights activist Mazen Darwish on the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day for his work in Syria for more than a decade as a human rights defender and a journalist.
  1734. United Nations General Assembly elected Denmark's Mogens Lykketoft as President for its upcoming 70th session in September 2015.
  1735. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) report Global Trends: World at War (Worldwide trends in forced displacement in 2014) -
    1. Number of forcibly displaced people in 2014 had risen to 5.9 Crore as compared to 5.1 Crore million in 2013 and 3.7 crore in 2005.
    2. Syria is world's biggest producer of internally displaced people (7.6 million) and refugees (3.88 million). Afghanistan (2.59 million) and Somalia (1.1 million) are next biggest refugee source countries.
  1736. United Nations Security Council (UNSC) adopted resolution 2222 (2015) for protection of journalists in conflict zones.
  1737. United Nations Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change and former mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg visited India. Ministry of Urban Development partnered with Bloomberg Philanthropies for Smart Cities Initiative of Government.
  1738. United Nations World Economic Situation and Prospectus Report 2015 -
    1. India 's GDP growth will rise to 5.9 % in 2014-2015 and 6.3 % in 2016, recovery is credited to key reforms by the new Government led by PM Narendra Modi.
    2. Economic growth in South Asia will pick up from 4.9 % in 2014 to 5.4 % in 2015 and 5.7 % in 2016.
    3. Global economy is expected to grow at 3.1 % in 2015 and 3.3 % in 2016, compared with growth of 2.6 % in 2014.
    4. The WESP report is produced at the beginning of each year by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the five UN regional commissions and the World Tourism Organisation ( UNWTO).
  1739. United Nations will Release $ 25 million Fund for life saving projects to help war trapped civilians in Yemen.
  1740. United Natons appointed Bulgaria 's Nickolay Mladenov as Special Coordinator for Peace Process in Middle East and Palestine Liberation Organization and Palestinian Authority.
  1741. United States (US) Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage across the nation. 
  1742. United States of America developed Blast proof wallpaper to protect soldiers from explosions.
  1743. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav presented State's Budget 2015-16 of 302687 crore rupees.
    1. State government has focused on agriculture, education, power, health, roads and infrastructure development for which 51516 Crore rupees have been allotted.
    2. Budget size of 2015-16 is 10 % more than budget of 2014-2015.
    3. growth rate of up is expected to be 5 %, more than national growth of 4.7 %. Fiscal deficit is targeted to be kept under 2.96 5 of the State GDP and debt is targeted at around 27.5 % of State GDP.
  1744. Uttar Pradesh Government amended State Film Policy to promote tourism. Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav inaugurated UP Film Bandhuss Website, signed an agreement to set up a film city and announced a subsidy of 2 crore rupees for film making in Uttar Pradesh.
  1745. Uttar Pradesh Government conferred Sahitya Shiromani Samman and Rashtra Ratn-Sitara-e Hind award on Hindi poet Gopaldas Neeraj and Hindi litterateur Uday Pratap Singh. CM Akhilesh Yadav also unveiled the poetry book of Gopal Das Neeraj named Geetsri.
  1746. Uttar Pradesh government renamed Zoological Garden (Lucknow) after Nawab Wajid Ali Shah and Nawabganj Bird Sanctuary (Unnao) after freedom fighter Chandrashekhar Azad.
    1. Wajid Ali Shah was last Nawab of Oudh under whom the province was annexed by British under the Doctrine of Lapse (1856).
  1747. Uttarakhand Government launched Himalaya Darshan Campaign to boost tourism in the state of Uttarakhand.
  1748. V. Shanmuganathan is appointed as 15th Governor of Meghalaya.
  1749. VA Prasanth is appointed as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Indian Bank.
  1750. Various Memorandum of Understanding between India and China -
    1. Extension of agreement for Cooperation in Traditional Medicine
    2. Tourism, mining and mineral sector
  1751. Various Memorandum of Understanding between India and Mongolia -
    1. Traditional Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy 
    2. Border Guarding, Policing and Surveillance
    3. Transfer of sentenced persons 
  1752. Various Memorandum of Understanding between India and South Korea -
    1. Audio-Visuals Co-Production (to promote Cooperation between the film industries of the two countries)
    2. Maritime transport and logistics
    3. Electric power development and new energy industries
  1753. Veena Jain is appointed as Director General of Doordarshan News.
  1754. Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria) won Norway Chess tournament 2015 by leaving behind India's Viswanathan Anand into a quick draw.
  1755. Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2015 was inaugurated in Gandhinagar, Gujarat to be held from 11th to 13th January 2015.
  1756. Vice Admiral P Murugesan appointed as Vice Chief of Naval Staff.
  1757. Vice Admiral SPS Cheema Takes Over as new Chief of Western Naval Command.
  1758. Vice Chairman of House of Representatives of Indonesia, Fadli Zon visited India.
  1759. Vice President Hamid Ansari released a book K.G. Saiyidain – A Life in Education edited by Zakia Saiyidain Zaheer and Syeda Saiyidain Hameed.
  1760. Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Kentaro SONOURA Visited India.
  1761. Vijay Kumar won Gold in 25 metre centre fire pistol event in mens category in shooting competitions of 35th National Games in Kerala.
  1762. Vikas Swarup has been appointed as an official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs.
  1763. Vinita Bali has been appointed as Chair of Board of Directors of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) replacing Jay Naidoo.
  1764. Vishwanath Tripathi will receive 28th Moorti Devi Award 2014 for his book Vyomkesh Darvesh : lifetime story of Acharya Hazari Prasad Dwivedi.
  1765. Visit Britain, National tourism agency of Britain choose Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan to promote an India-centric campaign, Bollywood Britain.
  1766. Vistara airline, a joint venture of Tata-SIA, started its flight operation in India with first flight from Delhi to Mumbai.
  1767. Vladimir V. Makei, Foreign Minister of Belarus visited India.
  1768. Washington (USA) based World Resources Institute (WRI) and Access Initiative released first Environmental Democracy Index (EDI) -
    1. Index ranks 70 countries by evaluating whether Governments are enacting laws to promote transparency and citizen engagement in environmental decision making.
    2. Index is topped by Lithuania, Latvia at second and Russia at 3rd position. India is ranked at 24th position.
    3. Top 10 Countries with Strong National Laws for Environmental Democracy -

      Rank

      Country

      Score

      1

      Lithuania

      2.42

      2

      Latvia

      2.31

      3

      Russia

      2.25

      4

      United States

      2.16

      5

      South Africa

      2.16

      6

      United Kingdom

      2.14

      7

      Hungary

      2.12

      8

      Bulgaria

      2.10

      9

      Panama

      2.02

      10

      Colombia

      1.99

    4. Lowest-Scoring Countries for Environmental Democracy Laws

      Rank

      Country

      Score

      61

      Belize

      0.82

      62

      Cambodia

      0.76

      63

      Jordan

      0.76

      64

      Saint Lucia

      0.73

      65

      Nepal

      0.68

      66

      Sri Lanka

      0.67

      67

      Congo

      0.66

      68

      Namibia

      0.59

      69

      Malaysia

      0.58

      70

      Haiti

      0.51


  1769. Wealth-X report of top 25 richest self-made billionaires -
    1. List was topped by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates with a personal worth nearly 86 billion USD.
    2. American entrepreneurs dominated list with 14 of the 25 spots and combined wealth of the 14 Americans on the Wealth-X list is 514.2 billion USD.
    3. List of Top 10 is -
      1. Rank

        Name

        Nationality

        Estimated Net Worth (billion USD)

        1

        William Gates III

        United States

        85.7

        2

        Warren Buffett

        United States

        70.1

        3

        Amancio Ortega

        Spain

        65.0

        4

        Lawrence Ellison

        United States

        51.5

        5

        Ingvar Kamprad

        Sweden

        48.1

        6

        Jeffrey Bezos

        United States

        39.8

        7

        Carlos Slim

        Mexico

        35.4

        8

        Mark ZUckerberg

        United States

        35.3

        9

        Wang Jianlin

        China

        35.2

        10

        Michael Bloomberg

        United States

        33.7


  1770. Weightlifter Jimjang Deru of Arunachal Pradesh created national record in weightlifting by lifting 238 kilograms in 56 kilograms category during 10th Youth National Weightlifting Championships in Haryana.
  1771. West Bengal Announces Indias First Transgender Development Board.
  1772. West Bengal Government launched a Micro Business Credit Card to give boost to MSME sector in the state. Through This facility, entrepreneurs in the state will be able to avail cash credit up to 5 lakh rupees for their business activities.
  1773. West Bengals capital city Kolkata has become Indias first fully WiFi-enabled metro city.
  1774. West Indies Cricketer Chris Gayle became first to make double century in any Cricket World Cup. He scored it against Zimbabwe in 2015 World cup.
  1775. Wildlife Management of Palwancha announced eco-restoration project for Kinnerasani Sanctuary in Telangana.
  1776. Wing Commander Puja Thakur became first lady officer to lead Inter-Service Guard of Honour with theme - "Nari Shakti".
  1777. Wladimir Klitschko (Ukraine) won world heavyweight boxing for 18th time in a row beating Bryant Jennings (USA).
  1778. Women's Advancement Index by MasterCard -
    1. India has lowest score of 44.2 of the 16 Asia-Pacific countries though it has improved from the 38.1 score in 2007.
    2. New Zealand has highest score of 77, followed by Australia (76), and the Philippines (72.6).
  1779. Words biryani and selfie included in latest edition of famous French dictionary - Le Petit Larousse for the first time.
  1780. World Bank Group released bi-annual Global Economic Prospects (GEP) Report, 2015. -
    1. Economic growth of India estimated at 5.6 % in 2014, will improve to 6.4 % in 2015 and 7 % in 2016.
    2. Global economy grew by 2.6 % in 2014 and is expected to grow by 3 % in 2015, 3.3 % in 2016 and 3.2 % in 2017.
    3. USA has growth above 2.4 % in 2014, expected to grow at 3.2 % in 2015 and 3 % in 2016.
    4. Chinas growth is expected to come down to 7.1 % in 2015, 7 % in 2016 and 6.9 % in 2017.
  1781. World Bank approved 250 million USD Loan for special Program for Enhancing Teacher Effectiveness in Bihar by improving effectiveness of elementary school teachers.
  1782. World Bank established Pollution Management and Environmental Health (PHEM) program on 2015 Earth Day in Washington, D.C with capital of 45 million USD. PMEH will initially run from 2015 to 2020 and will focus on air quality management in countries facing rapid urbanization. Five major urban areas in India, China, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa will be preferred in particular
  1783. World Bank released Migration and Development Report 2015 -
    1. Top five remittance recipient countries are - India (70 Billion USD), China, Philippines, Mexico and Nigeria.
    2. The top five migrant destination countries - United States, Saudi Arabia, Germany, Russia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
    3. Global remittances, including high income countries to grow by 0.4 %to 586 billion USD.
  1784. World Bank released South Asia Economic Focus report -
    1. Economic growth of South Asia region will increase from 7 % in 2015 to 7.6 % by 2017 primarily due to decline in oil prices and increasing investment.
      1. India's GDP growth rate will reach 7.5 % in 2015-16 and 8 % by 2017.
      2. India has taken encouraging steps to decouple international oil prices from fiscal deficits and to introduce carbon taxation to address the negative externalities from the use of fossil fuels.
  1785. World Cellular Information Service (WCIS) Data -
    1. China Mobile is top mobile operator in the world with 62.6 Crores subscribers. Vodafone Group of UK is second with 40. 3 Crore users. Bharti Airtel of India is 3rd largest with 30.3 Crore Users.
  1786. World Economic Forum (WEF) about World's Biggest Employers -
    1. US department of Defense is worlds biggest employer with over 3.2 million employees.
    2. Peoples Liberation Army of China is 2nd biggest employer with 2.3 million employees.
    3. Indian Railways is at 8th position with 1.4 million staff, while Indian Army is at 9th position with 1.3 million employees.
  1787. World Economic Forum (WEF) released report titled Urban Development Recommendations for India under the Future of Urban Development and Services (FUDS) Initiative in collaboration with Accenture -
    1. Report highlights importance of more private-sector participation to bridge the urban infrastructure and services funding gap of 110 billion USD dollars widening due to Indias rapid urban population growth.
    2. WEF made three recommendations on urban development -
      1. Integrate spatial planning at all governmental levels - to integrate housing, strategic and urban infrastructure.
      2. Create a stable policy framework for private investment in urban infrastructure.
      3. Create institutions to stimulate capacity building and attract talent to grow businesses.
    3. About FUDS Initiative
      1. WEF Future of Urban Development and Services (FUDS) Initiative is a partner in transformation to cities around the world as they seek to address major urban challenges and transition towards being smarter, more sustainable. The report on India is the third in the FUDS Initiative. The first two presented the results of the initiatives engagement with three Chinese cities: Tianjin, Dalian and Zhangjiakou.
  1788. World Happiness Report 2015 examined for 158 countries - by UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network
    1. Topped by Switzerland and followed by Iceland, Denmark, Norway and Canada.
    2. Togo is least Happy (158th) ahead just of Burundi (157) and Syria (156).
    3. India is at 117th Place in the report.
    4. The study is based on data from Gallup World Poll and considers variables such as real GDP per capita, healthy life expectancy, corruption levels and social freedoms.
    5. World Happiness Report 2015 reveals trends in data surveyed by Gallup over the period 2012-15, reveal an average score of 5.1 (out of 10).
  1789. World Health Organisation (WHO) and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released report Economic cost of the health impact of air pollution in Europe: Clean air, health and wealth to assess economic burden of deaths and diseases resulting from air pollution in 53 countries in European Region.
    1. Report estimates that WHO European region in 2010 lost 1.6 US trillion dollars due to premature deaths and diseases caused by air pollution due to more than 600000 premature deaths.
  1790. World Health Organisation approved ReEBOV Antigen rapid test kit developed by Corgenix in the United States for Ebola disease that can give result in 15 minutes.
  1791. World Health Organization (WHO) in collaboration with Ministry of Health and Family Welfare announced launching of National Health Systems Resource Centre (NHSRC), as as first WHO Collaborating Centre in South East Asia Region for Priority Medical Devices and Health Technology Policy.
  1792. World Justice Project (WJP) released Open Government Index 2015. -
    1. Out of 102 countries, Sweden topped the list in terms of openness in the government, followed by New Zealand and Norway at second and third places .
    2. Cambodia, Iran, Myanmar, Uzbekistan and Zimbabwe are at last in the Index.
    3. India has been placed at the 37th position in the 2015 Index.
  1793. World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) 2015 released by Reports Without Borders (RWB) -
    • India was placed at 136th position out of 180 nations, It improved from 140th rank last year.
    • Finland is at the top in terms of freedom for press with Norway and Denmark following.
    • Eritrea is the worst in terms of freedom for press as per the report, North Korea is second worst.
  1794. World bank released a report named Heights: Social Inclusion and Sustainable Development in Himachal Pradesh to mark significant growth over the past decades for Himachal Pradesh. highlights of the Report are -
    • Per capita income in Himachal Pradesh is second highest in India despite 90 % of its residents live in rural areas. Education and share of women in the workforce is also appreciable.
    • Himachal Pradesh is first in India to have banned use of plastic bags and has set heights in becoming free of defecation in open.
    • Poverty is one-third the national average. Rural poverty decline four times to 85. % in 2011 from 36.8 % in 1993–94.
  1795. Worlds Largest and Tallest Indian Flag Unfurled In Faridabad (Haryana).
  1796. Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja (Wodeyar dynasty) is crowned as 27th Maharaja of erstwhile kingdom of Mysuru.
  1797. Yash Pal Singhal has been appointed as new Director General of Police (DGP) of Haryana.
  1798. Yes bank signed a $200 Million Loan Agreement with th Asian Development Bank for promoting financial inclusion in rural areas an advancing loans to women self help groups..
  1799. Yukiya Amano, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency Visited India.
  1800. Zaheer Abbas (Pakistan) will be next (13th) president of International Cricket Council (ICC) for one year. He will succeeds Mustafa Kamal of Bangladesh.
  1801. Zakir A. Naik, president of Islamic Research Foundation of India, won the 2015 King Faisal International Prize (KFIP) for Service to Islam.
  1802. Zhang Dejiang, Chairman of Standing Committee of National Peoples Congress of China Visited India.
  1803. ‘Kharga Corps Unit of the Indian Army are under a major exercise in Rajasthan To hone their combat skills and validate strike capabilities with more than 20,000 troops participating in the exercie Code named ‘BRAHMASHIRA.