monthly printable

8/21/2019 Monthly Printable

1/26

News Related to Banking, Finance & Economy

Highlights of RBI 1st monetary policy review of FY 2015-

16

Following are the highlights of RBI’s first bi-monthlymonetary policy statement, 2015-16:

Short-term lending rate (repo) unchanged at

7.5%

Cash Reserve Ratio unchanged at 4%

Retains Statutory Liquidity Ratio at 21.5%

Estimates GDP growth at 7.8% in FY’16, up from

7.5% in FY’15

Forecasts CPI inflation at 5.8% by March 2016

CPI inflation to dip to 4% in August 2015

Hailstorms in March affected 17% of the rabi crop sown

area

Future rate cuts will depend on interest rate reduction by

banks

India better prepared to deal with volatility post US

Federal Reserve rate action

State cooperative banks to be allowed to set up offsite/

mobile ATMs without prior approval from RBI

RBI to formulate scheme for market making by primary

dealers in semi—liquid and illiquid G—Secs

Second bi-monthly policy statement on June 2

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 1 April 2015

sanctioned the scheme of amalgamation of ING Vysya

Bank Ltd. with Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. The Scheme will

come into force with effect from 1 April 2015. With this

sanction, all branches of ING Vysya Bank will function as

branches of Kotak Mahindra Bank with effect from 1 April

2015.

Struggling to rein in the fiscal deficit at 4.1 per cent of the

gross domestic product (GDP) during 2014- 15, the Centre

has received a good news on the indirect tax front--

collections under this head exceeded the Revised

Estimates (RE) by Rs 4,000 crore.

Cancellation or change in nomination in insurance policies

now comes at a cost as regulator IRDAI has allowed life

insurers to charge up to Rs. 100 for any such modification.

For policies obtained online, the fee is up to Rs. 50. The

IRDAI guidelines for ‘Registering Cancellation or Change of

Nomination’ have come into effect from April 1, 2015.

Bharti AXA General Insurance Company Limited on 3 April

2015 launched Smart Traveller that offers global coverage

for students, individuals, families and frequent travellers.

The SmartTraveller Insurance policy offers a choice of two

major plans catering to Individuals and Families and

frequent travelers through a variant known as Annual

Multi Trip International travel insurance plan.

Union Minister of Commerce & Industry on 2 April 2015

unveiled Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2015-2020. The policy

was unveiled by Minister of State for Ministry of

Commerce & Industry Nirmala Sitharaman at Vigyan

Bhawan, Delhi.

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

vision of Prime Minister.

Highlights of the FTP 2015-20

In the new policy FTP2015-20, two new schemes

Merchandise Exports From India Scheme (MEIS)

and Services Exports From India Scheme (SEIS)

were introduced.

MEIS is for export of specified goods to specified

markets and SEIS is for increasing exports of

notified services. Duty credit scripts issued under

MEIS and SEIS and the goods imported against

these scrips are fully transferable. For grant of

rewards under MEIS, the countries have been

categorized into 3 Groups, whereas the rates ofrewards under MEIS range from 2% to 5%. Under

SEIS the selected Services would be rewarded at

the rates of 3% and 5%.

Measures have been adopted to nudge

procurement of capital goods from indigenous

manufacturers under the EPCG scheme by

reducing specific export obligation to 75% of the

normal export obligation.

April Monthly Current Affairs, Printer Friendly


2/26

This will promote the domestic capital goods

manufacturing industry.

Central Bank of India has topped the list of public sector

banks with maximum bad loans including restructured

assets as a percentage of total advances. According to thedata provided by the RBI to the Finance Ministry, Central

Bank of India’s 21.5 per cent assets are either bad or have

been restructured to save them turning non-performing

assets (NPAs).

Union Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 7

April 2015 approved two FIIs (Foreign Institutional

Investors) proposals worth 4187 crore rupees in the

pharmaceutical majors Aurobindo Pharma Ltd. and

Glenmark Pharmaceutical Ltd.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the

government's decision to raise by 50 per cent the

quantum of compensation to farmers affected by crop

losses due to recent unseasonal rains. Besides, the

criterion of 50 per cent crop damage for providing

compensation to farmers has been reduced to 33 per cent,

which will help more people get better compensation for

the crop loss.

Global ratings agency Moody’s on Thursday reaffirmed

India’s rating at Baa3 but raised the rating outlook to

‘Positive’ from ‘Stable’. India, however, remains at the last

rung of investment grade by all agencies.

Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 8 April

2015 raised the transaction limit in exchange traded

currency derivatives to 15 million US dollars for both

foreign and domestic investors without having any

underlying exposure. Earlier, the limit was 10 million

dollars.

India’s first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC)

at GIFT City near Gandhinagar became operational on 10th

April. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley unveiled rules and

regulations for this global financial hub. The regulations

are aimed at creating a vibrant IFSC on the lines of those in

Dubai and Singapore and check the flight of trading in

rupee and Indian securities to such offshore financial hubs.

Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), the

retirement fund body, on 9 April 2015 suspended the

1000 rupees minimum monthly pension scheme from

April 2015. The end of the minimum monthly pension

provided under Employee Pension Scheme (EPS)-95 will hit

about 32 lakh pensioners.

Foreign Fund Inflows Cross Rs 81K Cr Mark in 2015.

India to clock 7.9% GDP growth in FY16: Morgan Stanley.

Introducing an innovative business model, Kochi Metro

Rail Limited—whose 25-km-long, Rs. 5,300-crore Kochi

Metro project is half-way through—has tied up with Axis

Bank for an automated fare collection system (AFC) for the

metro.

Reserve Bank of India asks banks to add 'third gender'

column in all forms.

ICICI Bank, India’s largest private sector bank, has

partnered with Tech Mahindra to launch contactless

payment service to 'tap and pay'. Based on the Near FieldCommunications (NFC) technology, this payment service

enables anyone (account holder of ICICI Bank or not) to

make over-the-counter payments without using cash. It

allows users to just tap the NFC enabled tag or mobile

phone at the merchant’s point-of-sale device to make

payments, ICICI Bank said in a statement. ‘Tap n Pay’ is a

prepaid account, which can be availed by customers of any

bank by registering for it and transferring money online

from any bank account. ICICI Bank customers can also

transfer money to the Tap-n-Pay account through an SMS.

To reduce rupee volatility on account of higher inflows and

increase forex reserves to cushion any external shock, the

Reserve Bank bought the highest amount of dollars, after

a gap of seven years, at $49.2 billion in April-February of

the past fiscal.


3/26

National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX)

announced a tie up with Gujarat International Finance Tec

City (GIFT City) for setting up an International Commodity

and Derivatives Exchange.

The Coal Ministry, Railway Ministry and Government of Odisha signed a memorandum of understanding to form a

joint venture which identify and execute railway line

projects for evacuation of coal in the State. Coal India will

hold 64 per cent stake in the joint venture while the Indian

Railways will hold 26 per cent and the Odisha Government

will hold 10 per cent.

Cricketer Yuvraj Singh’s start-up fund Youwecan Ventures

has invested an undisclosed amount in mobile beauty and

wellness platform Vyomo, in a seed funding round. This is

the first investment of the Youwecan Ventures, which has

a corpus of Rs. 50 crore.

Zomato extends the service, ties up with Uber to arrange

the cab as well.

Union Finance Ministry retained the rate of interest for

General Provident Fund (GPF) and other related schemes

at 8.7 per cent for 2015-16. The notification was issued by

the Finance Ministry on 21 April 2015. The interest rate for

senior citizens savings scheme was hiked from 9.2 per

cent to 9.3 per cent and the interest rate for Sukanya

Samriddhi Account, the special deposit scheme for girl

child has been hiked from 9.1 per cent to 9.2 per cent. The

interest earning for Kisan Vikas Patra has been retained at

8.7 per cent.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 23 April 2015 issued revised

guidelines on Priority Sector Lending. These revised

guidelines will replace the existing guidelines issued on 1

July 2014 and became effective from the date of issue. In

addition to the existing categories, the new guidelines add

Medium Enterprises, Social Infrastructure and RenewableEnergy under priority sector. As a result, the number of

categories under priority sector lending are agriculture,

micro, small and medium enterprises, export credit,

education, housing, social infrastructure, renewable

energy and others.

Government has allowed retirement fund body EPFO to

invest 5 per cent of its corpus in exchange traded funds

which will result into an inflow of around Rs. 5,000 crore

into the stock markets during this fiscal.

Indian petrochemicals sector to touch $100 b turnover by2020: Assocham.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in India jumped about 63

per cent to USD 3.28 billion (about Rs. 20,820 crore) in

February, 2015. In February 2014, the country had

received FDI of USD 2.01 billion. During the April-February

period of 2014-15, the foreign fund inflows have grown by

39 per cent, year-on-year, to USD 28.81 billion, according

to the data of Department of Industrial Policy and

Promotion (DIPP).

The Rajya Sabha on 27 April 2015 passed Payments and

Settlement Systems (Amendment) Bill, 2014 with voice

vote. With this the bill has been passed by both the houses

of Parliament. It was passed by the Lok Sabha on 9

December 2014.

The bill seeks to amend the Payment and Settlement

Systems Act, 2007 so as to address the problem of

insolvency in the payment and settlement system by

increasing transparency. It is also aimed at bringing India's

banking payment system in sync with international

practices.

Main highlights of the Bill

It seeks to extend the application of the 2007 Act to a

designated trade repository, or issuer, in relation to

payment systems. It has introduced three definitions in

regard to this and they are

a) Issuer: It means a person who issues a legal entity

identifier or similar unique identification, as specified by

the RBI from time to time.

b) Legal entity identifier: It is a unique identity code

assigned to a person by an issuer to identify that person in

such derivatives or financial transactions, as specified by

the RBI.c) Trade repository: It is a person who is engaged in the

business of collecting, collating, storing, processing or

disseminating electronic records or data relating to such

derivatives or financial transactions, as specified by the

RBI.


4/26

Bank of Baroda (BoB) on 25 April 2015 tied-up with UAE

Exchange to offer instant money transfer facility to its

Non-resident Indian (NRI) customers. In this regard, an

agreement was signed between both the firms.

The Muthoot Group has announced a partnership withWiki Technologies Inc of the US to open a US-India

payment corridor by leveraging the power of the WikiPay

platform.

YES Bank, India’s fifth largest private sector bank,

announced its international foray by opening its first

overseas representative office in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

French IT services firm Capgemini said it will acquire US-

based outsourcer IGATE for USD 4 billion, a move that willhelp the former strengthen its foothold in the North

American market.

The World Bank projects India's GDP to expand to 7.5 per

cent in the current fiscal on account of increased economic

activity and greater stability.

Government decided to continue its Rs 1,000 per

minimum monthly pension scheme in perpetuity, a move

which would benefit over 20 lakh pensioners under socialsecurity scheme run by EPFO. The scheme was initially

effective only till last month.

Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance has simplified its claim

settlement norms for the victims of devastating

earthquake in Nepal and northern and eastern parts of

India.

Bank of Maharashtra, Dena Bank and Oriental Bank of

Commerce have been imposed with a monetary penalty of

Rs. 15 crore each by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for

violation of Know Your Customer (KYC)/ Anti Money

Laundering (AML) norms.

In a major action against black money hoarders and

money launderers, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has

attached assets to the tune of Rs. 9,003 crore and filed 173

chargesheets in the financial year 2014-15.

Flipkart, India’s largest online marketplace, has acquired

New Delhi-based mobile engagement and marketing

automation company Appiterate, to strengthen its mobiletechnology presence. The financial terms of the deal were

not disclosed.

India and Japan signed an action plan that will see

doubling of Japanese investments into Indian companies

in the next five years and boost two-way trade. The

agenda, India-Japan investment and trade promotion and

Asia-Pacific economic integration, was signed between

minister of state (independent charge) for commerce and

industry Nirmala Sitharaman and Japan's minister for

economy, trade and industry Yoichi Miyazawa.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, withdrew the clauses from

the Finance Bill pertaining to setting up of the proposed

Public Debt Management Agency (PDMA) and the

amendments to the Reserve Bank of India Act which would

have taken away Mint Road's powers to regulate

government securities.

The Udupi-based Robosoft Technologies, a mobility

solutions partner, has developed a proprietary banking

solution for the Apple Watch. Robosoft partnered with

ICICI Bank to integrate with this solution thereby creating

one of India’s premiere banking apps for the Apple

Watch.

Rajya Sabha on 28 April 2015 passed the Regional Rural

Banks (Amendment) Bill, 2014. With this, the bill has been

passed by both houses of the Parliament. It was passed by

the Lok Sabha on 18 December 2014. The Regional Rural

Banks (Amendment) Bill, 2014 that seeks to amend the

Regional Rural Banks (RRB) Act, 1976 was introduced by

the Union Minister of Finance, Arun Jaitley.

Main highlights of the Bill

It seeks to amend the RRB Act, 1976 which

mainly provides for the incorporation, regulation

and winding up of Regional Rural Banks (RRBs).

It removes the five year limit cap that was put on

the sponsor banks to assist the upcoming RRBs


5/26

under the RRB Act, 1976. As per the Act, sponsor

banks were liable to train personnel and provide

managerial and financial assistance for the first

five years.

It raises the amount of authorized capital to

2000 crore rupees and it is not to be reduced

below one crore rupees. In the 1976 Act the

authorised capital of each RRB was five crore

rupees which was not permitted to be reduced

below 25 lakh rupees.

It allows Union government to specify that the

capital issued by a RRB should be at least one

crore rupees. Under the Act, a RRB was to issue

capital between 25 lakh rupees and one crore

rupees.

The bill allows RRBs to raise their capital from

sources other than the central and state

governments, and sponsor banks as wasmandated 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.

News Related to Industry, Business MoUs & Deals

Myntra will shut its website from May 1 to become a

mobile app-based retailer. Fashion retail website Myntra is

expected to shut down its website in favour of moving all

operations to its mobile app, according to a report in The

Times of India. Myntra was acquired by Flipkart last yearfor a sum of Rs 2,000 crores.

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on 6 April 2015

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.

Yuvraj Singh, the Indian Premier League's costliest playerthis season, is starting a new innings as a businessman. He

is floating a venture fund that aims to support young

entrepreneurs by investing in startups across sectors. Yuvi

for millions of his fans, the 34-year-old cricketer will put

about Rs 50 crore - mostly his own money - over a period

of three to five years in the fund, YouWeCan Ventures.

The fund is expected to raise around Rs 300 crore from

other investors during the period.

The Union Cabinet on 7 April 2015 approved amendments

to the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill,

2013. The bill protects the interests of millions of

consumers and curbs malpractices in the real estate

sector.

Objective of the Real Estate Bill, 2013

To create a uniform regulatory mechanism

across the country so as to enhance the growth

of construction sector

It seeks to ensure accountability and

transparency in the real estate sector to access

capital and financial markets essential for its

long term growth

Key provisions of the Real Estate Bill, 2013

It regulates transactions between buyers andpromoters of residential real estate projects.

It establishes state level regulatory authorities

called Real Estate Regulatory Authorities

(RERAs).

Major Indian Steel Companies on 6 April 2015 signed a

Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with Union Ministry of

Steel for setting up of Steel Research and Technology

Mission of India (SRTMI) in New Delhi. The primary

objective of SRTMI is to promote collaborative Research

and Development (R&D) programmes between theministry and steel industries in priority areas of national

importance in the steel sector.

IFCI Ltd has now become a state- owned firm with the

government increasing its stake in the infrastructure

financing firm to 51.04 per cent. Government has

acquired IFCI's 6,00,00,000 Preference shares of Rs 10

each from certain scheduled commercial banks and has

consequently increased its holding from 47.93 per cent to

51.04 per cent of the paid-up share capital.

The Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry on 8 April

2015 formed an expert committee under the

chairmanship of Ajay Shankar to suggest simplified

compliance for establishing new industries. He is a former

Secretary to the Department of Industrial Policy and

Promotion (DIPP). The Expert Committee has been

constituted for examining the possibility of replacing


6/26

multiple prior permissions with pre-existing regulatory

mechanism and to prepare draft legislation for this

purpose. The committee is directed to submit its report

within 30 days.

Online marketplace Snapdeal has acquired mobiletransactions platform, FreeCharge, in a cash and stock

deal that is speculated to be in the range of $400 million.

e-Commerce major Amazon has chosen Telangana over

the neighbouring state of Karnataka to set up its largest

fulfilment centre (FC) in the country.

In a major milestone for the nuclear industry, India has

registered a record production of over 1,252 MT of

uranium bundles, manufacturing close to double theannual fuel requirement of atomic reactors in the country.

The Hyderabad-based Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC), which

produces fuel for nuclear reactors in the country, has

produced over 30 per cent more fuel compared to its

961.023 MT production in 2013-14.

In a move to strengthen the last-mile delivery of goods to

consumers, India's leading online retailer Flipkart has

partnered with the Dabbawalas of Mumbai, the company

has said in a statement. According to Flipkart, they will

partner with the company's delivery network, eKart

Logistics. As of now, one union of the Dabbawalas will

collect Flipkart shipments from the delivery hubs and

deliver it to customers while picking up their dabbas.

In a new twist to the high profile Sebi-Sahara case, the

Indian capital markets regulator has approached a US

court with a USD 12-million claim on proceeds from sale of

a corporate jet owned by a Sahara Group firm.

Xiaomi beats Alibaba’s Guinness World Record for

maximum phones sold online in a day.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc on 8 April 2015 acquired BG Group

for about 70 billion US dollar. The deal would vault Shell

far ahead of rivals like Exxon Mobil Corp and Chevron

Corp. in the race to build market share for Liquefied

Natural Gas (LNG).

Canada agreed to supply 3,000 metric tonnes of uranium

to energy-hungry India from this year under a USD 254

million five-year deal to power Indian reactors as the two

countries decided to set in motion a new strategic

partnership.

India and the European Union (EU) forged a new digital

partnership and discussed potential for collaboration in

the fields of technology and innovation besides

cooperation to create smart cities. The first India-EU

Strategic Dialogue Series, organised by UK-based policy

platform India Inc. Alongside key players l ike Microsoft

and McKinsey, focussed on 'Delivering Smart

Communities' as part of the Narendra Modi government's

Digital India drive

News related India & States

India, world's largest arms importer, has signed a defence

deal worth nearly USD 80 million with South African

companies for integrated self-protection systems on its

indigenously developed Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopters.

The deal, expected to give a huge boost to South African

defence industry, was signed between Dhruv's

manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and

Saab Grintek Defence for Integrated Defensive Aids Suites

(IDAS).

In a bid to increase green cover on university and college

campuses, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has

launched 'One Student, One Tree' campaign asking every

student to plant a sapling during his/her stay in an

institution.

Rajasthan Government on 31 March 2015 opened women

milk bank Jeevan Dhara in Jaipur. It was inaugurated by

Health Minister Rajendra Rathore. The move is aimed at

curbing the high infant mortality rate of Rajasthan. The

state Government launched the bank in collaboration with

Norwegian government and JK Lon Hospital.

The much-hyped 'Aahar' cheap meal scheme was

launched by Odisha government for providing subsidised

food to urban poor. The subsidised meals for people


7/26

visiting urban areas for various work would be provided at

four crowded places each in these five cities from 11 AM

to 3 PM, to about 25,000 people per day to begin with.

Union Government on 1 April 2015 launched Faster

Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electricvehicles (FAME) – India Scheme. The scheme was launched

with an aim to boost sales of eco-friendly vehicles in the

country. It is a part of the National Mission for Electric

Mobility. The scheme envisages providing 795 crore

rupees support till 2020 for the manufacturing and sale of

electric and hybrid vehicles.

Characteristic Features of FAME – India Scheme

It envisages providing demand incentives to

electric and hybrid vehicles from two wheelers

to buses in range of 1800 rupees to 66 lakh

rupees

Focus areas of the scheme will be technology

development; demand creation; pilot projects;

and charging infrastructure

Depending on technology, battery operated

scooters and motorcycles will be eligible demand

incentives ranging between 1800 rupees to

29000 rupees

In three-wheeler the incentives will range from

3300 rupees and 61000 rupees

In four-wheeler segment incentive ranges from

13000 rupees and 1.38 lakh rupees

In case of Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV)

incentive ranges from 17000 rupees to 1.87 lakh

rupees

In case of buses the incentive ranges from 34

lakh rupees to 66 lakh rupees

The Department of Heavy Industries will be

nodal department for the scheme.

Andhra Pradesh Cabinet chaired by Chief Minister N

Chandrababu Naidu on 1 April 2015 approved that

Amaravathi will be the new capital city of the state. The

capital will come up at Tullur in VijayawadaGuntur region

of the state.

The 88th edition of the Akhil Bhartiya Marathi Sahitya

Sammelan (ABMSS) was held from April 3-5 in Ghuman

village in Gurdaspur district, where Marathi saint Namdev

spent last years of his life.

A six-member panel of experts has been formed by theCentral Vigilance Commission (CVC) to review pending

cases, referred to it by CBI for sanction of prosecution

against corrupt government officials. The committee

comprises retired IAS officers Sudhir Krishna and C B

Paliwal, former IRS officer Sada Shiv Bajpai, former Indian

Audit and Accounts Service officer Sushama V Dabak,

former Special DG of CPWD P K Gupta, and ex-chairman of

LIC A K Shukla, an order issued by CVC said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 27 March 2015

launched Give it Up campaign. The campaign was

launched at the annual energy-focussed summit Urja

Sangam 2015. The campaign seeks to extort the better off

sections of society to forego their liquefied petroleum gas

(LPG) subsidy, which would be utilised in providing

subsidised LPG connections to the poor. The Prime

Minister asked companies and banks to encourage their

employees to give up the subsidy on LPG. Gas cylinders

surrendered by them would be transferred to the poor

who use wood for cooking. The Give it Up campaign

should be taken up on the lines of Swacch Bharat and Beti

Bachao, Beti Padhao initiatives.

The Union Government on 3 April 2015 extended the

deadline for implementation of the National Food Security

Act (NFSA) deadline by six months in the states.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 6 April 2015 launched a

National Air Quality Index (NAQI) to tackle the menace of

air pollution. This National Air Quality Index will provide

information on the quality of air in 10 major cities in the

country on a real-time basis. The ten cities where the

quality of air can be monitored are Delhi, Agra, Kanpur,

Lucknow, Varanasi, Faridabad, Ahmedabad, Chennai,

Bangalore and Hyderabad. Later the index will be

extended to 22 State capitals and 44 other cities with a

population exceeding one million.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar launched the country's

first indigenously-built Scorpene submarine at the

Mazagaon Dockyard Ltd in Mumbai. The Scorpene is part


8/26

of the ambitious Project 75 of Indian Navy's submarine

programme, undertaken with French collaboration, which

will include six such vessels joining the fleet over the next

few years.

After being stuck in legal and administrative hurdles forthe past two years, the proposed BR Ambedkar memorial

at Indu Mill, Dadar, got a major push after a tri-partite

agreement was signed between the Union ministry of

textile, government of Maharashtra and the National

Textile Corporation (NTC). The agreement was signed at

New Delhi in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra

Modi, Union minister of state for textiles Santosh Gangwar

and state chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.

National Green Tribunal (NGT) on 7 April 2015 banned all

the diesel vehicles, heavy or light, over 10 years old from

plying on Delhi roads.

The Chestnut-breasted Partridge (Arborophila mandellii)

was photographed by a Bengaluru-based wildlife

photographer Gururaj Moorching in the first week of April

2015. The bird was spotted in West Kamang district of

Arunachal Pradesh. The click was the first-ever photograph

of the bird endemic to the Eastern Himalayas whose

scientific name was given by an Italian naturalist and is

classified as hill patridge.

The Union Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA)

on 7 April 2015 approved the projects for strengthening

and widening of 455 kilometers of National Highways

(NH) at a total capital cost of about 9500 crore rupees.

Four laning of 138-km stretch of Sultanpur-Varanasi

section of NH-56 at a cost of 3800 crore rupees. Four

laning of 200-km stretch of Varanasi to Ghazipur,

Gorakhpur and further to Nepal section of NH-29 at a cost

of 4400 crore rupees. Four laning or two laning with paved

shoulders of 115-km stretch of Madurai-Ramanathapuram

section of NH-49 at a cost of about 1400 crore rupees.

US aviation regulator Federal Aviation Administration

(FAA) has upgraded India’s safety ranking — after fourteen

months of close watch — paving the way for Indian

carriers to expand their services to the US and enter into

agreements with American carriers through code-share to

expand operations.

India produces around 5,780 MW of nuclear power. Of

this, 4,780 MW of electricity is generated by fuel

processed at the NFC. Fuel for the Kudankulam Nuclear

Power Plant (KKNPP) unit 1 is provided by Russia, as per

the agreement.

The “Tourist Visa on Arrival-Electronic Travel

Authorization (TvoA-ETA)” scheme, which was launched

last year to facilitate short duration visits by travellers

from as many as 44 countries, has now been renamed “e-

Tourist Visa” to clarify that it is not an on-arrival scheme.

The government has issued 1.10 lakh visas under the new

scheme that was launched on November 27 last year.

According to the MHA, it will be extended to more

countries and airports in a phased manner.

Greenpeace India Loses License for 6 Months, ForeignFunds Blocked.

State Government of Rajasthan and Hindustan Zinc, a

Vedanta group company on 8 April 2015 signed a

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to improve 3056

anganwadi centres in five districts. The selected five

districts are Udaipur, Chittorgarh, Bhilwara, Rajsamand

and Ajmer.

The Ministry of Railways and the National Institute ofDesign (NID), Ahmedabad, will together set up a 'Railway

Design Centre to modernise passenger amenities and

improve coach design. An MoU was signed between

Railways and NID on Friday to set up the design centre at

the NID campus. It will be operated with the interest

accrued on the endowment fund of Rs. 10 crore deposited

by the Railway Ministry. The MoU will be for a period of

ten years and can be further extended.

Surface-to-Surface nuclear-capable Dhanush ballistic

missile was successfully test-fired on 9 April 2015 from a

naval ship off the Odisha coast. The missile is a naval

variant of India’s indigenously-developed Prithvi missile.

The Border Security Force (BSF) has inducted two Russian-

built Mi-17 V5 medium lift choppers to carry out air

support missions along the border and for anti-Naxalite

operations in the hinterland.


9/26

Mariyam Asif Siddiqui, a 12-year-old Muslim girl in March

2015 won the first position at the Shrimad Bhagwad Gita

Champion League. She won the prize for explaining the

teachings of the Bhagwad Gita. Siddiqui who studies in

Class 6 of Cosmopolitan High School at Mira Road near

Mumbai won the contest from among 4500 students of

195 schools. Shrimad Bhagwad Gita Champion League

was an inter-school competition. It was organised by the

International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)

in March 2015.

Thane in Mumbai, Maharashtra was named as the

National Earth Hour Capital 2015 on 9 April 2015. It was

named so after it emerged as winner among the three

finalists from India viz., Thane, Rajkot and Pune, in the

Earth Hour City Challenge (EHCC) 2015 conducted by

World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

India's security concerns were conveyed to Ri Su Yong,

Foreign Minister of North Korea which has close military

ties with Pakistan. Ri, the first ever Foreign Minister from

his country to visit India, held discussions with his Indian

counterpart Sushma Swaraj in a "frank and and friendly

atmosphere", according to a statement by the MEA.

Flipkart has decided to pull out of an ongoing discussion

with Airtel to join the Airtel Zero platform. The move

follows criticism that the deal would violate the principles

of net neutrality.

To mark the 124 birth anniversary of the Father of the

Indian Constitution, Google has posted a doodle on its

home pages in 8 countries around the world. The BR

Ambedkar doodle was visible on Google's country-specific

home pages across three continents - Argentina, Chile,

India, Ireland, Peru, Poland, Sweden and the United

Kingdom.

Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley

on 14 April 2015 inaugurated the Vividh Bharati Service of

Delhi on FM Mode in a function held at premises of New

Broadcasting House of All India Radio (AIR). The service

will be available on 100.1 Megahertz frequency.

The 5th meeting of SAARC Health Ministers was held on 8

April 2015 in New Delhi. The meet ended with the

adoption of Delhi Declaration on Public Health Challenges.

The declaration focuses on issues common to member

nations of South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation

(SAARC). These issues include universal health coverage,

improving health regulatory systems, preparedness foremerging and re-emerging diseases and the challenges

posed by antimicrobial resistance and non-communicable

diseases.

The Surface-to-Surface Agni III ballistic missile was

successfully test-fired on 16 April 2015 from the Wheelar

Isalnd off the Odisha coast in the Bay of Bengal. Although

the missile has a strike range of more than 3000 km, in the

present test-fire, it was tested for a lesser range.

India and Belarus on 15 April 2015 agreed to enhance

their bilateral ties especially in the field of trade and

economy. The agreement was reached during the meeting

of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus Vladimir

Makei with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in

New Delhi.

The State Government of Maharashtra on 18 April 2015

decided to discontinue the colonial-era practice under

which police guard of honour was given to ministers and

top officials. Government termed the practice as a waste

of time and resources.

India Navy’s new stealth destroyer, Visakhapatnam,

designed indigenously and fitted with advanced features,

was launched boosting the maritime force’s firepower

capability. The Kolkata-class warship, the first of Project

15-B stealth destroyers, was launched by Minu Dhowan,

wife of Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R K Dhowan, at

Mazgaon Docks Ltd (MDL). The ship, weighing

approximately 3,000 tons during the launch, is slated to be

christened as ‘INS Visakhapatnam’ on commissioning.

India and South Korea on 18 April 2015 held high level

defence talks in Seoul. The talks were held on the sidelines

of four day visit of Indian Defence Minister Manohar

Parrikar to South Korea. The meeting was held with South

Korean Defence Minister Han Min-koo at the Ministry of

Defence of Korea in Seoul.


10/26

Indian Railways on 21 April 2015 launched online

monitoring mechanism E-Samiksha to monitor rail

projects. It aims at monitoring implementation of various

ongoing projects of Indian Railways on real-time basis

including Rail Budget proposals.

Maharashtra Government on 20 April 2015 announced

the target of 14400 MW power generation by 2019. The

state government will produce 14400 MW electricity by

2019 by way of non-conventional methods to cut down

cost and reduce carbon footprint. The non conventional

source of energy is cheaper and far better as compared to

conventional sources.

The share of rural internet users will increase nearly

fivefold to touch 28 crore by 2018, signaling higher online

purchasers going forward from rural India, says a research

report.

The Union Cabinet on 22 April 2015 gave its approval for

signing of a shipping agreement between India and

Jordan. The agreement aims at strengthening cooperation

and providing sustained mutual assistance on merchant

shipping and other related maritime matters.

The Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting

(I&B) on 22 April 2015 received the ISO 9001:2008

certification from the British Standards Institute (BSI). The

ISO certification was granted in respect of various licences

issued by ministry for the broadcasts, print media and

films.

According to a Home Ministry order, the ‘ Indira Gandhi

Rajbhasha Puraskar’ and ‘Rajiv Gandhi Rashtriya Gyan-

Vigyan Maulik Pustak Lekhan Puraskar’, launched more

than two decades ago, have given way for ‘Rajbhasha Kirti

Puraskar’ and ‘Rajbhasha Gaurav Puraskar’.

Government has initiated action to create a national level

mechanism to counter cyber security threats with a

financial outlay of Rs 775 crore to be spent over a period

of five years.

Railway Launches App for Paperless Unreserved Tickets

named utsonmobile.

The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) on 21

April 2015 accorded final approval to Rajaji National Park,

Uttarakhand as India's 48th Tiger Reserve. With this

notification, Uttarakhand got its second tiger reserve after

the Corbett Tiger Reserve. The notification was

announced by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat

while releasing logo of the Rajaji Tiger Reserve. The park

was named after the last Governor-General of

independent India, C Rajagopalachari, popularly known as

Rajaji. C. Rajagopalachari was one of the first recipients of

India's highest civilian award Bharat Ratna in 1954.

India has delivered three multi-role Cheetal helicopters

along with allied equipment and spares to Afghanistan.

The fourteenth edition of Indo-French Naval Exercise named VARUNA-15 commenced on 23 April 2015 off the

coast of Goa. The 10-day long joint naval exercise will end

on 2 May 2015.

India on 27 April 2015 launched a relief and rescue

Operation named Maitri in earthquake hit Nepal. The

operation will involve two dozen military aircraft and

choppers along with bus services through road route. India

also pressed nearly 1000 trained personnel of the National

Disaster Response Force (NDRF) into service after Nepal on

25 April 2015 was struck by the worst earthquake in 80

years in which more than 2500 people were killed. Under

the operation, more than 1000 people have been flown

from Nepal. A Multi National Coordination Centre has

been set up In PPO Pokhra, Head quarters are being

established for relief operations.

Maharashtra collaborates with Tel Aviv, Israel on Smart

Cities.

Union Minister for Power, Coal and New & Renewable

Energy Piyush Goyal on 27 April 2015 flagged off three

NTPC Mobile Science Labs (MSL) for revolutionizing

education in rural India. MSL is a vehicle fitted with LCD

TV carrying working Science Models which emphasizes

curiosity based learning for children in rural India. It is an

initiative to make hands-on learning accessible amongst

underprivileged children.


11/26

The Union Cabinet has approved official amendments in

the Prevention of Corruption Act to help the bureaucracy

take faster decisions besides making more stringent

provisions against corrupt persons. The bill to amend the

act is currently pending in the Rajya Sabha. Meanwhile,

the amendments have provided more stringent

punishment for the offence of bribery, both for the bribegiver and the bribe taker. “Penal provisions being

enhanced from minimum 6 months to 3 years and from

maximum 5 years to 7 years (The seven-year

imprisonment brings corruption to the heinous crime

category),” the statement said.

Govt Approves 10 New Sites for Nuke Projects. The

indigenous reactors would be established at Gorakhpur in

Haryana, Chutka and Bhimpur in Madhya Pradesh, Kaiga at

Karnataka and Mahi Banswara in Rajasthan. Reactors with

foreign cooperation would be set up in Kudankulam in

Tamil Nadu, Jaitapur at Maharashtra, Chhaya Mithi Virdhiin Gujarat, Kovvada at Andhra Pradesh and Haripur in

West Bengal. BHAVINI, a Public Sector Undertaking of

Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) is presently

constructing a Prototype Fast Breeder Reaction (PFBR) of

500 MWe capacity at Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu.

Union Cabinet gave its nod to NDA government’s flagship

100 smart cities project and the new urban renewal

mission with a total outlay of about Rs one lakh crore. A

meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi

approved Smart Cities Mission for development of 100

smart cities and Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban

Transformation (AMRUT) of 500 cities with outlays of Rs

48,000 crore and Rs 50,000 crore respectively.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on 28

April 2015 successfully tested an indigenous cryogenic

engine CE-20 at Mahendragiri, Tamil Nadu. This engine

will enable scientists to put satellites of up to the capacity

of four tonnes in geostationary orbit.

Government of Delhi on 28 April 2015 gave its approval

for setting up of a farmer compensation scheme named

after Gajendra Singh. Gajendra Singh is the person who

allegedly committed suicide during an AAP (Aam Aadmi

Party) rally on 22 April 2015 by hanging himself with a

tree.

The Department of Space and Department of Land

Resources (DoLR) on 29 April 2015 signed a MoU with

National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) for the

development of Web Geo Portal Shrishti and Mobile App

Drishti for monitoring the IWMP watersheds.

Mamata Banerjee declares Nadia of West Bengal first

'open defecation-free' district in India.

News Around the World

India has welcomed the understanding announced in

Lausanne between Iran and the E3+3 on the nuclear issue.

A significant step seems to have been taken with the

agreement on the parameters of a comprehensive

settlement to be negotiated by June 30. China, France,

Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United

States form the E3+3.

India will overtake Indonesia as the country with the

largest number of Muslims in 2050 while Hindus will

become the world’s third largest population by that time,

according to a new study by a US thinktank.

Al-Shabaab on 2 April 2015 carried out a massacre killing

147 people in the Garissa University College situated in

Garissa County in northeastern Kenya.

Michael Rudenko, a committee member of the Minor

Planet Center on 1 April 2015 officially named a minor

planet as 4538 Vishyanand, to honour India’s first chess

grandmaster, Vishwanathan Anand. The main-belt minor

planet was discovered between the orbits of Mars and

Jupiter by Kenzo Suzuki in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, Japan,

on 10 October 1988. Since its discovery, the planet

remained unnamed.

Sri Lanka and Pakistan on 6 April 2015 signed six

agreements. The signing of the agreement was witnessed

by the Pakistan Prime Minsiter Nawaz Sharif and Sri Lanka

President Maithripala Sirisena at the PM House in

Islamabad. The six agreements pertained to advancing

cooperation in disaster management, sports, shipping,


12/26

socioeconomic development, education and narcotics

control.

Kansas became the first state to ban a common second-

trimester abortion procedure that critics describe as

dismembering a foetus.

India has been designated to chair the ninth meeting of

the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)

Council. The meeting is scheduled to be held in June in

Abu Dhabi. India is a founder Member of the IRENA. The

body is an intergovernmental organisation that supports

countries in their transition to a sustainable energy future.

Seoul city, the capital and largest metropolis of South

Korea, on 9 April 2015 was awarded the title of Global Earth hour Capital 2015 after it won the Earth Hour City

Challenge (EHCC) of World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The

challenge saw the participation of 163 cities from 16

countries.

India was elected to four important United Nations (UN)

agencies on 8 April 2015. These agencies are United

Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Food Program

(WFP), Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal

Justice (CCPCJ) and the Governing Council of UN-Habitat.

An asteroid discovered by a US astronomer has been

named after Pakistan's teenage education activist and the

world youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala

Yousafzai. The more-than-2-mile-wide asteroid—officially

now known as “316201 Malala”—orbits the sun every

five-and-a-half years in the asteroid belt between Mars

and Jupiter.

Indian students in France can now extend their stay in this

country beyond completion of their studies as can French

students in India.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Delhi Chief Minister

Arvind Kejriwal have been voted among the 100 most

influential people in the world in an online poll by readers

of Time magazine. Russian President Vladimir Putin

emerged the winner of this year’s Time 100 readers’ poll.

He edged out rapper-singer CL to claim the number one

spot with 6.95 per cent of the votes in the final tally.

Johannesburg in South Africa was in news as on 13 April

2015 a statue of Mahatma Gandhi was defaced by a group

of people calling him a racist. The group had placards thatread: Racist Gandhi must fall. The statue in Johannesburg

is believed to be the only one in the world showing Gandhi

as a young lawyer in his court robes.

The term Normandy Group was in news because the fifth

meeting of the foreign ministers of the group members

was held on 13 April 2015 in Berlin, the capital of

Germany.

Researchers at Stanford University created a smartphonebattery that charges in only one minute. The project was

published on 6 April 2015. Stanford University chemistry

professor Hongjie Dai is the lead researcher of the project.

TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute) on 16 April 2015

signed an agreement with two global research institutes,

namely Fridtjof Nansen Institute (FNI) and INTASAVE-

CARIBSAVE Group. The agreement was signed for

exchange of knowledge and cooperation on issues related

to climate change.

Russia on 13 April 2015 lifted its earlier ban on delivery of

S-300 Missile System to Iran. The S-300 Missile System is a

surface-to-air missile defense system that can be used

against multiple targets including jets and enemy missiles.

The 13th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal

Justice was held from 12 April 2015 to 19 April 2015 at

Qatar National Convention Centre in Doha, Qatar. The

Summit concluded with the adoption of Doha Declaration.

Chhurim Sherpa, first woman to climb the 8850 metre

(29035 feet) Mount Everest summit twice in a week was

in news on 19 April 2015. Sherpa was in news as during

her third ascent to Mount Everest she will take a cricket

bat and two jerseys of deceased Australian cricketer Phil

Hughes.


13/26

United Nations (UN) peace envoy to Yemen Jamal

Benomar resigned on 16 April 2015. He was serving as UN

Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's special envoy for Yemen

since 2012.

NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft has sent back its first colour image of the dwarf planet Pluto and its largest

moon Charon, after more than nine years of travelling

through the solar system.

In a sign of warm personal friendship, US President Barack

Obama has written a profile for Prime Minister Narendra

Modi for TIME Magazine as it named the Indian leader

among the 100 most influential people in the world. "Like

India, he transcends the ancient and the modern—a

devotee of yoga who connects with Indian citizens on

Twitter and imagines a 'digital India'," the US President

wrote.

Pakistan and Russia have agreed to hold first-ever joint

military exercises as part of their enhanced defence

cooperation, in a sign of increasing bonhomie between the

Cold War-era adversaries.

Cleartrip becomes first Indian online travel agency to

feature on Apple Watch.

Egypt's ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi was

sentenced to 20 years in jail by a court in Egypt over

charges related to the killing of 10 protesters when he was

in power, the first ruling against the country's first freely

elected leader.

Japan's state-of-the-art Maglev train clocked a new world

speed record of 603 kilometres an hour in a test run near

Mount Fuji, smashing through the 600 kilometre (373

miles) per hour mark, as Tokyo races to sell the technology

abroad.

A high-intensity earthquake of magnitude 7.9 on the

Richter scale struck Nepal on 25 April 2015. The epicenter

of the quake was 80km east of Pokhra near Kathmandu,

Nepal at a shallow depth of 11 kilometers (7 miles). The

powerful quake that rocked Nepal killed at least 7000

people and several were injured. It also led to collapse of

houses and centuries-old temples.

UNESCO World Heritage Site Dharahara Tower Collapses

in Kathmandu After 7.9 Earthquake.

One of NASA’s crowning glories, the Hubble Space

Telescope, marked its 25th anniversary this month.

A 3,133 square metres blanket, knitted together by people

of six countries including India to pay tributes to the legacy

of South African anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela, set

a new Guinness World record.

China, Pakistan signed an agreement on Economic

Corridor plan worth 46 billion US dollars.

Jordan's Crown Prince Hussain bin Abdullah Becomes

Youngest to Chair UN Council Meet.

Thirty shorts,

documentaries and

feature films will be

screened at the annual

New York Indian Film

Festival, which opens

next month with Kalki

Koechlin-starrer

Margarita with a Straw.

The six-day festival, its

15th year, will see the

films screened at

prestigious venues

around New York city

from May 4 to 9.

Incumbent President of Sudan Omar Hassan al-Bashir on

27 April 2015 won the Presidential election of the country.He won another term in office with 94 percent of votes.

NASA has launched an ambitious project that will lead the

search for signs of life beyond our solar system. The Nexus

for Exoplanet System Science (NExSS) initiative will bring

together the “best and brightest” and marshal the

Capital - Paris

Currency – Euro & Franc

President - François

Hollande

Prime Minister - Manuel

Valls

FR NCE


14/26

expertise of 10 universities, three NASA centres and two

research institutes, the US space agency said.

Visit to France

Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi visited France

between 9 April and 12 April 2015 as part of his three-

nation tour to France, Germany and Canada.

During the visit, Modi met with French President Francois

Hollande and had talks with business leaders of select

French companies in defence and infrastructure sectors.

The meeting saw India and France agreeing to further

deepen and strengthen bilateral ties based on shared

principles and values.

The visit saw the signing of 20 Memorandum of

Understandings (MoUs) and Agreements between Indiaand France to give new impetus to bilateral co-operation

between the two nations. The details of the MoUs are

given below.

The agreements covered the fields of Defence and Nuclear

Energy, Space, Economic relations, Railways, Energy,

Tourism, Science and Technology, Skill Development and

Ayurveda.

Other events that happened during Modi’s visit to France

1. He addressed the Indian Community at Carrousel

du Louvre in Paris

2. He also addressed the UNESCO at its

headquarters on the occasion of its 70th

anniversary on 10 April 2015

3. He gifted India and the Great War - a publication

by Ministry of External Affairs at World War-I

(WWI) Memorial for Indian soldiers in Neuve

Chapelle, France

4. He paid homage to the Indian Soldiers at WWI

Memorial for Indian soldiers in Neuve Chapelle,

France

5. He visited the CNES (National Centre for Space

Studies) and the Airbus A 380 Assembly Line

Facility in Toulouse, France

6. He gifted a painting titled Tree of Life, reflecting

traditional societal respect for nature in India to

the French President Francois Hollande

India and France signed 20 Memorandum of

Understandings (MoUs) and Agreements on 10 April 2015

to give new impetus to bilateral co-operation between the

two nations.

The two nations signed agreements covering the fields of

Defence and Nuclear Energy, Space, Economic relations,Railways, Energy, Tourism, Science and Technology, Skill

Development and Ayurveda.

The MoUs and Agreements were signed during visit of

Prime Minister Narendra Modi to France between 9 April

and 12 April 2015.

Details of MoUs

Defence and Nuclear Energy

MoU between L&T and AREVA: The MoU aims at cost

reduction by increasing localization, to improve thefinancial viability of Jaitapur project. It will also enable

transfer of technology and development of indigenous

nuclear energy industry in India.

Pre-engineering agreements (PEA) between NPCIL and

Areva: It was signed with an aim to bring clarity on all

technical aspects of the plant so that all parties (AREVA,

Alstom and NPCIL) can firm up their price and optimize all

provisions for risks still included at this stage in the costs

of the project.

Space

MoU between on Megha Tropiques: The MoU seeks to

extend the sharing and use of data from the Megha

Tropiques satellite by 2 more years. The satellite, a joint

project between ISRO and CNES, was launched aboard

Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) on 12 October 2011.

MOU for Ka-band propagation experiment over Indian

tropical region: It envisages cooperation between ISRO,

CNES and ONERA for implementation of the project

concerning Ka-band propagation experiment over Indian

tropical region.

Programme between ISRO and French National Centre

for Space Studies (CNES): It proposes cooperation in the

areas of Remote sensing, satellite communications and

satellite meteorology; space sciences and planetary

exploration amongst others.

Sports


15/26

MoU on Cooperation in Sports: The MoU envisages

cooperation and exchange of experiences in the fields of

sports medicine, management and coordination of sports

federations and establishment of National Institute of

Sports in India based on French model of INSEP.

Economic Relations

MoU on cooperation in the field of renewable energy: It

seeks to encourage and promote technical bilateral

cooperation on new and renewable energy issues. It would

cover solar, wind, bio-energy, tidal and wave energy

sectors.

Railways

Railway protocol between Indian Ministry of Railways

and French National Railways (SNCF): The Protocol seeks

to establish cooperation between Indian and French

Railways for semi-high speed rail and station renovation.

Energy

Guarantee Agreement with AFD Financing of Energy

Efficiency Services Limited (EESL): The Agreement seeks to

finance Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL)

Culture, Heritage Conservation, Tourism, People-To-

People Contacts

Administrative Arrangement in the field of Cultural

Heritage: The Administrative Arrangement between the

Indian Ministry of Culture and French Ministry of Culture

and Communication envisages cooperation in the field of

cultural heritage, through training of Indian heritage

conservation professionals at the Institute National du

Patrimoine (INP).

Letter of Intent (LoI)on Tourism: Seeks to increase

cooperation in tourism sector between India and France

and promote sustainable bilateral tourism between the

two countries The LoI also seeks to facilitate twinning of

sites having historical, natural and cultural significance in

India and France for promoting them as tourist

destinations.

Letter of Intent (LoI) between the Archaeological Survey

of India (ASI) and National Institute of Preventive

Archaeological Research (INRAP): The LoI envisages

collaboration on preventive archaeology projects,

initiatives to disseminate culture and promote

archaeology, training programmes for specialists of ASIand deployment of expertise, in particular, in the field of

underwater archaeology.

MoU between School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi

and National Architecture Institute in Paris, France: It

envisages cooperation to undertake joint planning and

geographical studies in India and France and training of

local counterparts in modern urban and regional planning.

MoU between Indian Heritage Cities Network Foundation

(IHCN) and Association Nationale des Villes et Pays d’Art

et d’Histoire et villes a secteurs sauvegardés et protégés

(ANVPAH): It envisages cooperation in the fields of

sustainable development, urban planning, heritage

conservation and up-gradation of basic services.

Volontariat International en Entreprise (VIE) scheme: The

scheme offers Indian Visa for 12 months renewable once

for a period of 12 months for 250 French students and a

‘second residence permit’ of 12 months for the Indian

students in France following the 12 months already

granted.

Letter of Intent on Ayurveda between Ministry of Ayush

and University of Strasbourg: It allows both the parties to

strengthen their relationships and cooperation in the area

of Ayurveda education and research and conducting joint

workshops/conferences on Ayurveda as complimentary

medicine in France

Skill Development

MoU between National Skill Development Agency

(NSDA), India and the National Commission for

Vocational Qualifications (Commission Nationale de la

Certification Professionnelle – CNCD):The agreement will

facilitate exchange of information and knowledge about

maintenance of qualification registers through information

exchanges, visits and other suitable meetings.

Science and Technology

MoU on cooperation in the field of Science &


16/26

Technology: For cooperation between the two countries in

the areas of applied mathematics, physics, Information &

communication technology, water resources and

environment, life sciences amongst others and

establishment of Virtual Joint Laboratories, and

establishment of Joint Research Centres.

MoU on Collaboration for establishment of a National

Institute of Marine Biology and Biotechnology in

India: The proposed MoU seeks to establish a National

Institute of Marine Biology and Biotechnology in India,

with a Hub and Spoke network of laboratories spanning

India’s marine regions from the Andaman to Lakshadweep.

Apart from this, India also agreed to buy 36 multi-role

Combat Aircraft Rafale fighter jets in a flyway condition.

Prime Minister Modi during his visit to France also gifted a

painting titled Tree of Life, reflecting traditional societal

respect for nature in India to the French President Francois

Hollande.

The Tree of Life, with multiple roots and branches like a

banyan tree, is a motif for a tree’s benevolence, fruit,

seeds, shelter, healing, procreation and regeneration

faculties that sustain life and clean the environment.

Visit to Germany

India-Germany Joint Statement was released on 14 April

2015 with an aim to upgrade and further strengthen the

Strategic Partnership between the two countries.

The Joint Statement was released after the meeting

between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German

Chancellor Angela Merkel in Hannover and Berlin. PM

Narendra Modi is on a three-day visit to Germany.

As part of the statement, the two nations agreed to take

proactive steps to advance collaboration in the areas of

manufacturing, skill development, urban development,

environment, railways, cleaning of rivers, language andscience & technology.

The Hannover Messe 2015 Fair

India is a partner country at the Hannover Messe 2015 fair,

which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi

and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

PSUs sign 6 pacts at Hannover Messe to boost 'Make in

India'

Public sector firms, including BHEL, Instrumentation Ltd

and HMT, have firmed up six MoUs with companies from

Germany, Switzerland, Russia and Bulgaria for scaling up

Indian manufacturing in high-tech areas.

The Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) were signed

yesterday at an event organised by engineering exporters'

body EEPC India at the ongoing Hannover Messe fair in

Germany.

Power equipment maker Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd(BHEL) inked a pact with Russian Joint stock company

INTMA for upcoming projects in Russia and Kazakhstan.

While Rajasthan Electronics & Instruments Ltd and

Bulgaria-based Milkotronics Ltd signed an MoU to

manufacture milk analyzers in India, Instrumentations Ltd

and German firm KE Kauer Engineering inked an

agreement for production of control valves.

Three MoUs were signed by Hindustan Machine Tools

(HMT), the release said. HMT inked pact with Switzerland-

based Num Controls for manufacturing of CNC controls,

systems and drives.

It also signed pacts with FT Machine Tools, Germany, for

collaborating on flow forming machines and Enit GmbH for

total engineering solutions.

Industry chamber

FICCI also signed an

MoU with Hannover

Milano Fairs India to

organise a platform

to discuss and

showcase new

solutions and

innovations in urban

development in 2015-

16, partnership and

opportunities in this

sector.

Addressing at the fair,

Department of Heavy

Capital - Berlin

Currency - Euro

Chancellor - Angela

Merkel

GERM NY


17/26

Industry Secretary Rajan Katoch said that the German

industry has opportunities to participate in India's plan for

creation of about 100,000 MW generation capacity in the

short term.

Visit to Canada

India and Canada issued Joint Statement title New Vigour,

New Steps (नया उतसाह , नए कदम ) to elevate their bilateral

relations to a strategic partnership. The joint statement

was issued on 15 April 2015 during the visit of Prime

Minister Narendra Modi to Canada from 14 April to 16

April 2015. Modi’s visit to Canada is the first by an Indian

Prime Minister in 42 years.

Details of the Joint Statement

Bilateral Relations

The two nations signed agreements covering the fields of

uranium, visas, terrorism, foreign investment promotion

and protection, Canada-India comprehensive economic

partnership agreement (CEPA) freetrade deal, culture and

people-to-people ties, regional and global issues and

others. Economy, Trade and Investment

MoU was signed on Cooperation in Rail Transportation

between India’s Ministry of Railways and Transport

Canada, dealing with technical cooperation.

MoU was signed on Civil Aviation between Transport

Canada and India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation, which will

establish a Joint Working Group to bring together key

industry and Government stakeholders to advance

opportunities for cooperation in civil aviation.

The two sides agreed to establish a Finance Ministers

Dialogue for the purpose of deepening the IndiaCanada

economic and financial relationship.

Civil-Nuclear Cooperation

Agreement signed between the Department of Atomic

Energy of the Government of India and Cameco of Canada

for long-term supply of uranium to India to meet its

energy needs. The agreement would impart a new

significance to India-Canada Civil Nuclear Cooperation.

They agreed to encourage a collaborative programme toleverage their industries’ respective strengths in the field

of Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor technology for mutual

benefit, as well as for the benefit of global nuclear energy

needs.

They agreed to explore mutually beneficial partnerships in

the application of radio-isotopes for societal benefits.

They welcomed the setting up of the India Nuclear

Insurance Pool with potential participation of foreign

companies as a positive step towards facilitating such

cooperation.

List & Indexes

Out of 133 countries rated on indicators of well-being such

as health, water and sanitation, personal safety, access to

opportunity, tolerance, inclusion, personal freedom and

choice India has secured the 101th place.

This is lower than India’s rank, of 93, for GDP per capita

income. Even Nepal and Bangladesh rank higher than India

on the Social Progress Index (SPI) ratings to be released

globally.

Norway has bagged the first rank; the U.S. is at the 16th

place.

On the parameter ‘Tolerance and inclusion’ India ranks

128th and is at the 120th place on ‘health and wellness’

that, says economist and executive director of the SPI,

Michael Green, is the toughest parameter for a country to

excel at.

2015 FM Global Resilience Index

India has been ranked a low 119 out of 130 countries on

an index that measures business resilience of nations

based on economic, risk quality and supply chain factors,

dropping seven

notches from last

year.

The 2015 FM Global

Resilience Index has

been topped by

Norway for being

the country bestsuited for

companies seeking

to avoid disruptions

in their global supply

chain operations.

Venezuela is ranked

last on the list. India,

"despite its scope

Capital - Ottwa

Currency – Canadian

Dollar

Prime Minister – Stephen

Har er

C N D


18/26

and global potential", ranks 119, falling from 112th rank in

2014

Among the top 10 countries that are most resil ient,

Norway is followed by Switzerland (2), Netherlands (3),

Ireland (4), Luxembourg (5), Germany (6), Qatar (7),

Canada (8), Finland (9) and the US (10).

Biggest Phillanthropists in 2015 List by American lifestyle

Town and Country Magazine

Three Indian-Americans are among 50 biggest

philanthropists of 2015, that includes top business

honchos like Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Apple CEO

Tim Cook and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

The list compiled by American l ifestyle Town and Country

Magazine figures New York-based Adarsh Alphons,Reshma Saujani and Shaila Ittycheria, all under 40 years

of age. Saujani, 39, is the founder of 'Girls Who Code', a

three- year-old nonprofit that teaches computer skills to

girls from low-income communities to close technology's

gender-gap.

India 19th Among Top 30 Merchandise Exporters: WTO

Report

India's rank remained unchanged at 19th in 2014 among

the top 30 merchandise exporters of the world, while

China continues to hold the top slot, according to the WTOreport. Similarly, New Delhi's rank as a leading importer

too has not changed in 2014 at 12th position. In imports,

the US topped the list.

World Bank released South Asia Economic Focus report

World Bank on 13 April 2015 released South Asia

Economic Focus report. The report has projected the

economic growth of South Asia for the year 2016 and

2017.

The report highlighted that India has already takenencouraging 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. The challenge will be to stay the course in the event

of oil price hikes – something that may well happen in the

medium term.

World Bank released Migration and Development Brief

World Bank on 13 April 2015 released Migration and

Development Brief. In 2014, India continued to be highest

recipients of remittance. The top five remittance recipient

countries, in terms of value of remittances, continue to be

India, China, Philippines, Mexico and Nigeria.

Ernst & Young released a report titled Global IPO Trends

2015

Top six countries by deal volume in 2015 Q1 were China

(98 deals), US (28 deals), Japan (24 deals), UK (12 deals),

France (11 deals) and Australia (9 deals).

IMF released World Economic Outlook April 2015 Update

India’s growth is projected to strengthen from 7.2% in

2014 to 7.5 % in 2015 and 2016. For the first time since

1999, India’s growth rate may eclipse China’s and there is

increasing divergence in the growth paths of the two

countries.

India Slips to 89th Place in Global Networked Readiness

Index

India has slipped six places to rank 89th on a global

Networked Readiness Index, showing a "widespread"

weakness in its potential to leverage information and

communications technologies for social and economicgains. While Singapore has replaced Finland on the top of

the 143-nation list, prepared by World Economic Forum

(WEF), it has called for improvement in India's business

and innovation environment, infrastructure and skills

availability.

In the top 10, Singapore is followed by Finland, Sweden,

the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, the US, the UK,

Luxembourg and Japan, which has climbed an impressive

six places year-on-year to 10th position.

India is the fifth biggest producer of e-waste in the world,discarding 1.7 million tonnes (Mt) of electronic and

electrical equipment in 2014, a UN report has said warning

that the volume of global e-waste is likely to rise sharply

by 21 per cent in next three years. The 'Global E-Waste

Monitor 2014', compiled by UN's think tank United

Nations University (UNU), said at 32 per cent, the US and

China produced the most e-waste overall in 2014. India


19/26

came in fifth, behind the US, China, Japan and Germany,

the report said.

The Indian passport has been ranked 48th in a list of 50

most powerful travel document in the world, according to

a global survey topped by Sweden. Germany-based GoEuro travel comparison website ranked the top 50

countries of the world based on their passport's eligibility

for visa-free entry, cost of application as well as number of

hours worked to acquire the document. India, which came

towards the bottom of the ranking, offered visa-free entry

to 52 countries and cost USD 24 and 87 hours of working

time. Sweden topped the chart with 174 visa-free

countries, costing USD 43 and just one hour of working

time. Finland, Germany, the UK and US completed the top

5 with 174 visa-free countries all round.

The World Happiness Report 2015 was released on 23

April 2015. The report was published by the Sustainable

Development Solutions Network (SDSN) an initiative under

the United Nations. India ranked 117 out of 158 nations in

the list. The report was topped by Switzerland followed

by Iceland, Denmark, Norway and Canada. The World

Happiness Report examined 158 countries and is aimed at

influencing government policy. Togo, Burundi, Benin and

Rwanda, with civil-war wracked Syria, were least happy.

South Asia has the world’s most skewed gender wage gap

and is among the few regions where the gender labourforce participation gap is both large and growing, a new

report from UN Women has found.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi remains the third most

followed world leader on the micro-blogging site Twitter

while External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is the most

followed foreign minister, according to a latest study by

Twiplomacy Study 2015. The three most followed world

leaders were US President Barack Obama with 56,933,515

followers, Pope Francis with 19,580,910 followers on his

nine different language accounts, and Modi with

10,902,510 followers.

India stands at the 13th place world-wide in generating

electricity from nuclear source and expects to increase

the installed nuclear power capacity from 5,780 MW to

10,080 MW by 2019.

Awards & Honors

India

Bihari Puraskar for Writer-Journalist Om Thanvi

Gopaldas Neeraj, Uday Pratap Singh conferred

with Sahitya Shiromani Samman of UttarPradesh.

Padma Vibhushan Azim Premji was conferred

with the CII President's Award at the CII National

Conference and Annual Session 2015.

Shah Rukh Khan honoured with Dadasaheb

Phalke Film Foundation Award 2015. Actor

Rajkummar Rao won the prestigious award for

his performance in the critically acclaimed film

Citylights, which was released in 2014. Actress

Huma Qureshi bagged an award for her

memorable performance in the movie Dedh

Ishiqya.

Veteran singer S P Balasubramaniam has been

selected for this year's prestigious

"Harivarasanam" award instituted by the Kerala

government.

Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor has been felicitated

with the prestigious Deenanath Mangeshkar

Award.

IT Department awarded with the Prime

Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public

Administration.

ITBP Officer Manjeet Singh Gets Shaurya Chakra

for Foiling Kabul Terror Bid.

Prime Minister conferred 50th Jnanpith Award

on Marathi litterateur Bhalchandra Nemade

World

Indian-Origin Nurse Dr Subhadra Devi Rai in

Singapore to Be Given International

Achievement Award by the Florence Nightingale

International Foundation.

Indian-American Professor Rajani Ganesh Pillai

Wins Peltier Award in Teaching in South Africa.

Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) on 5

April 2015 won the prestigious Golden Peacock

National Quality Award for the year 2015.


20/26

Indian Banker Suvro Sarkar Named 'Retail Banker

of the Year in Middle East'.

Pratap Singh, a student at The Perse School,

Cambridge, has won the 500 pounds Institute of

Physics (IOP) prize at the Big Bang Fair held at

the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham,

UK.

Professors Sushanta Lahiri and Kattesh V. Katti

received Hevesy Medal Award 2015 for their

outstanding contributions in the fields of radio

and nuclear chemistry.

Indian-origin diplomat Gopinath Pillai has been

bestowed with 'Outstanding Service Award' for

his services to the city-state by the National

University of Singapore (NUS).

Microsoft’s Indian-origin CEO Satya Nadella was

honoured with the White House Champions of Change on 16 April 2015.

The East China Normal University (ECNU), one

of the prestigious universities in China,

announced the appointment of Dr. Vishal Sikka,

Chief Executive Officer of Infosys, as Advisory

Professor.

Indian journalist Rahul Pandita and Zeena Johar,

founder and CEO of SughaVazhvu Healthcare,

based in Tamil Nadu, are among the 2015 Yale

World Fellows selected this year. With the

addition of Pandita and Johar, the global Yale

World Fellows network now includes 17 Indian

Fellows, more than any other country since the

programme was established in 2002.

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan won an

Outstanding Contribution to Cinema honour at

the fifth annual The Asian Awards. The Hinduja

brothers were awarded as Business Leaders of

the Year.

Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra-starrer Mary

Kom, directed by Omung Kumar, has been

named best film at the Stockholm International

Film Festival Junior in Sweden.

A debut film titled “Penile Code” by an Indian

journalist, focusing on re-criminalisation of

homosexuality, has been shortlisted for the

Short Film Corner at Cannes Film Festival.

The 2015 Pulitzer Prizes were awarded by the Pulitzer

Prize Board for work during the 2014 calendar year. Prize

winners and nominated finalists were announced on April

20, 2015. The Pulitzer Prize is an award for achievements

in newspaper and online journalism, literature, and

musical composition in the United States. Palani Kumanan,

who is a software architect with Dow Jones that publishesthe Wall Street Journal, was a part of the winning project's

graphics team.

The 2015 Pulitzer Prize Winners

1. Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting in

Journalism: The New York Times Staff for

covering Ebola

2. Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting: The

Seattle Times Staff

3. Pulitzer Prize for Fiction Novel: All the Light We

Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

4. Pulitzer Prize for Drama: Between Riverside and

Crazy by Stephen Adly Guirgis

5. Pulitzer Prize for History Novel: Encounters at

the Heart of the World: A History of the Mandan

People by Elizabeth A. Fenn

6. Pulitzer Prize for Biography: The Pope and

Mussolini: The Secret History of Pius XI and the

Rise of Fascism in Europe by David I. Kertzer

7. Pulitzer Prize for Poetry: Digest by Gregory

Pardlo

8. Pulitzer Prize for General Non-fiction: The Sixth

Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth

Kolbert

9. Pulitzer Prize for Music: Anthracite Fields by

Julia Wolfe

Pakistan 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.

Google India has bagged the Randstad Award

2015 for Most Attractive Employer in India,

while Sony India has been adjudged the runner-

up.

IOC President Thomas Bach named ambassador

of HeForShe by UN Women.


21/26

Author Rana Dasgupta's literary potrait of Delhi

Capital is among six books shortlisted for the

George Orwell Prize for political writing 2015.

The book is the third work of fiction by Dasgupta

who had previously won the 2010

Commonwealth prize for his work Solo.

Indian-Origin Soldier Adiel Yosef Awarded

President's Medal in Israel.

Indian-Origin Scientist Sangita Bhatia at MIT

Wins USD 250,000 Heinz Award.

Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) Ltd on 23 April

2015 won the Asian Banker Achievement Award

2015. It was awarded for Technology

Implementation in the category of Best

Outsourcing Project (New Bank). Others were,

The Technology Leadership Achievement Award

for the Year: Amit Sethi, Chief Information

Officer, Axis Bank and The Asian Banker VendorSatisfaction Survey Gold Award: Infosys.

Srinagar-born novelist Siddhartha Gigoo has

won the 2015 Commonwealth Short Story Prize

for Asia region for "Umbrella Man", a tale of

surreal meditation on mental health and the

environment.

Margarita, with a Straw directed by Shonali

Bose of India in the fourth week of April 2015

won the Audience Award for Best Feature Film

at the Washington DC International Film

festival.

Two Indians namely Dr Ananda Kumar and Dr

Pramod Patil on 29 April 2015 won the

prestigious Whitley Awards (also known as

Green Oscar) for their contribution to wildlife

conservation.

An Indian-American Harvard Professor Tejal K

Gandhi, has been named as one of the Top 25

Women in Healthcare in the US by Modern

Healthcare magazine.

Books & Authors

Book titled Suleiman Charitra written by Kalyana

Malla translated from Sanskrit to English

Vice President released a book titled Aatank Ke

Saaye Men written by Garima Sanjay

Vise President Hamid Ansari Releases Book on

Indian Diplomacy Through Three Decades

by Surendra Kumar.

Days

World Health Day 2015 observed globally with

the theme From farm to plate, make food safe

World Autism Awareness Day celebrated on

April 2nd. 2015 Theme: Employment: The Autism

Advantage

National Safe Motherhood Day 2015 Observed

on 11th April with the theme "Nothing About Us

Without Us"

World Heritage Day was observed across the

world on 18 April 2015.

World Haemophilia Day was observed globally

on 17 April 2015 with theme Building a family of

support.

Ninth Civil Services Day was observed across

India on 21 April

World Malaria Day observed on 25th April with

theme Invest in the Future. Defeat Malaria

World Book and Copyright Day celebrated on 23

April with the theme “Read the World"

International Mother Earth Day observed on22nd April with theme It’s Our Turn to Lead

National Panchayati Raj Day observed on 24

April 2015

World Day for Safety and Health at Work 2015

celebrated on 28th April with the theme ‘Join in

building a culture of prevention on OSH’

(Occupational Safety and Health).

Logo for International Day of Yoga Launched.

The United Nations General Assembly had on

December 11 adopted an India-led resolution

declaring June 21 as the 'International Day ofYoga'. The theme for 2015 International Yoga

Day is “Yoga for Harmony and Peace”.

World Dance Day observed globally on 29th

April

The 2015 International Jazz Day celebrate

monthly printable

Documents