1) In
an important development, leaders of 10-nation group ASEAN declared the
establishment of an EU-style regional economic bloc. This decision was taken at
the 2015 ASEAN Summit that concluded in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) on 22 November
2015. What is the name chosen for this proposed regional economic bloc? – ASEAN
Economic Community (AEC)
Explanation: The
decision to establish ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) was taken at the 27th ASEAN Summit (for 2015) that
concluded at Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur on 22 November. The declaration to
establish AEC was signed by the leaders of 10-nation grouping in front of world
leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UN Secretary General Ban
Ki-moon.
The
AEC envisages a single market with a free flow of goods, capital and skilled
labour across borders in the highly competitive economic region. It will
integrate Southeast Asia’s diverse economies, a region with 620 million people
and a combined gross domestic product of $2.4 trillion.
The
ASEAN leaders also adopted the declaration on
“ASEAN 2025, forging ahead
together”. The ASEAN 2025 document charts the path for the AEC building over
the next ten years.
ASEAN
grouping includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
2) Which
landmark broad gauge rail line in Assam was inaugurated by Union Railways
Minister on 21 November 2015, which brought the strategically important
Barak Valley on the broad gauge map of the Railway? – Silchar-Lumding
Explanation: The
Silchar-Lumding is considered a landmark broad gauge rail line in Assam as it
is expected to accelerate development in state’s underdeveloped but
strategically important Barak Valley. This rail-link will also provide
immensely beneficial for the states of Tripura, Manipur and Mizoram.
The
line passes through 21 tunnels and has 75 major bridges and 340 minor bridges
along the track.
The
Lumding-Silchar Gauge Conversion Project under the Northeast Frontier Railway
was sanctioned in 1996-97 and was declared a National Project in 2004. The
project was hit by insurgency from 2006 to 2009. The Territorial Army had to be
deployed to take on the insurgents.
3) African
country Mali was site of a hostage drama and mass shooting at a hotel on 20
November 2015, which resulted in the death of at-least persons. Which Islamic
militant organization claimed responsibility for this attack? –Al-Mourabitoun
Explanation: Around
4-5 gunmen belonging to the Islamic militant group Al-Mourabitoun stormed Hotel
Radisson Blu in Bamako, the capital city of African country Mali on 20 November
2015. They took over 170 people in the hotel as hostages after carrying out a
firing spree. Later Malian Special Forces stormed into the hotel and the
hostage drama unfolded after hostilities between militants and the security
forces. Malian govt. claimed that 19 persons died in the attack and this
included 17 foreigners.
Al-Mourabitoun
claimed responsibility for the attack, while the claim was not verified
initially. It claimed that the attack was carried out jointly with al-Qaeda in
the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). It is worth mentioning that Al-Mourabitoun is made
up of Tuaregs and Arabs from northern Mali and is affiliated with AQIM. The
group, led by Mokhtar Belmokhtar, formed in 2013 and is based in the Sahara
Desert.
Following
a military coup in 2012, Islamic extremists took control of northern Mali,
prompting a French-led military intervention in early 2013.
4) The
legendary Windows operating system completed how many years of its launch on 20
November 2015? – 30 years
Explanation: Windows
1.01, the first-ever operating system of the iconic Windows series was launched
on 20 November 1985. Windows 1.0 offered a new way to navigate a PC, clicking a
cursor on various boxes rather than scrolling through lines of text in order to
navigate data and applications. While arguably less efficient than a command
line, the graphical user interface (GUI) was more intuitive and easier for
novice users to manage.
With
the launch of the first-ever version of Windows, Microsoft started its journey
to ultimately become the most successful OS company in the highly competitive
world of PCs. Windows 1.01, however, was not exactly a stirring success. But
without doubt it was the foundation stone to the immense Windows edifice that
was to come.
The
first highly successful Windows-based OS was Windows 3.11
5) Who
was elected as the new President of industry body – the Federation of Indian
Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) on 20 November 2015? – Harshavardhan
Neotia
Explanation: Harshavardhan
Neotia, Chairman of Ambuja Neotia group, was elected as the new President of
FICCI on 20 November. He will take over from the current FICCI President
Jyotsna Suri during the chamber’s AGM in December 2015.
Neotia,
a ‘Padma Shri’ awardee, is also a member of the Rajasthan Chief Minister’s
Advisory Council and West Bengal Chief Minister’s Core Committee on Industry.
FICCI
is the largest and oldest trade and business organization in India.
24-25
NOV 2015
1) World’s
biggest ever merger in the healthcare sector was announced on 23 November 2015
in which Botox-maker Allergan Plc. will be bought for about $160 billion. Which
US healthcare giant will acquire Allergan? –Pfizer Inc.
Explanation: The
acquisition of Allergan Plc. by Pfizer Inc. for about $160 billion is the
biggest ever deal in the healthcare sector.
Apart
from male libido drug Viagra and cholesterol drug Lipitor, Pfizer’s major drugs
include nerve pain treatment Lyrica and Prevnar, a treatment for pneumonia.
Allergan, best known for its anti-wrinkle treatment Botox, also makes
Alzheimer’s drug Namenda and dry-eye medication Restasis.
New
York-based Pfizer will shift its legal base to Ireland after this deal so as to
reduce its tax rate. Allergan Plc. has its headquarters in Ireland. The tax
aspect of the deal has been seen as critical. The US corporate tax rate of 35%
is among the world’s highest, and compares with Ireland’s rate of 12.5%.
The
businesses of Pfizer and Allergan will be combined under Allergan Plc., which
will be renamed Pfizer Plc. Pfizer Chief Executive Ian Read will be CEO of the
combined company, while Allergan CEO Brent Saunders will be Chief Operating
Officer (COO).
2) Which
multinational life insurance company during increased its stake in Anil
Ambani’s Reliance Life Insurance from 26% to 49%, as announced on 24 November
2015? – Nippon Life Insurance (Japan)
Explanation: Japan’s
Nippon Life Insurance acquired 23% additional stake in Reliance Life Insurance
for ₹2,265 crore to increase its stake in the company from 26% to 49%. The
transaction thus pegged Reliance Life Insurance’s valuation at about ₹10,000
crore.
Nippon
Life Insurance has so far invested an aggregate of Rs. 5,327 crore for
acquiring 49 per cent of Reliance Life Insurance. In addition, the Japanese
company has also committed an investment of ₹3,303 crore for acquiring 49%
stake in Reliance Capital Asset Management, taking its total investment to
₹8,630 crore.
In
line with the new shareholding structure, the name of the company will also be
changed to Reliance Nippon Life Insurance Company Limited.
3) Which
senior Congress leader won the Ratlam-Jhabua Lok Sabha seat from Madhya Pradesh
by snapping it from the BJP as declared in the by-election results announced on
24 November 2015? – Kantilal Bhuria
Explanation: Kantilal
Bhuria is a senior Congress leader and former Union Minister from MP and had
represented Ratlam-Jhabua Lok Sabha seat six times in a row. However, he had
lost to Dileep Singh Bhuria 2014 Lok Sabha elections. But Dileep Singh’s death
necessitated the by-election.
The
BJP gave the ticket to Petlawad MLA Nirmala Bhuria, daughter of Dileep Singh
Bhuria. But she lost to Kantilal Bhuria by over 80,000 votes. The loss of BJP
in Ratlam-Jhabua is being seen as a setback to MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh
Chouhan.
The
BJP was, however, successful in retaining the Dewas seat in MP. BJP’s Gayatri
Raje Puar won the bypoll from Dewas Assembly seat by a margin of 30,778 votes,
defeating Congress’ Jai Prakash Shastri.
The
bypoll was necessitated by the death of Gayatri’s husband Tukoji Rao Puar of
erstwhile royal family of Dewas.
On
the other Lok Sabha seat, for which by-election was held, was won by the
Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS). The ruling TRS party won the Warangal Lok
Sabha seat in Telangana by-elections as its candidate P. Dayakar defeated his
nearest rival Congress candidate S. Satyanarayana by a record margin of
4,59,092 votes. The BJP- TDP combine finished at third position.
4)
The BJP made its debut in the Assembly of which Northeastern state as announced
in the assembly by-elections on 24 November 2015? – Manipur
Explanation: BJP’s
Khumukcham Joykishan and Thongam Biswajit Singh won assembly elections for the
party to make the first-ever entry in state’s Assembly. The party won both the
Assembly by-elections – Khumukcham Joykishan defeated the Congress party’s
Jyotin Waikhom in Thangmeiband by over 1700 votes while Thongam Biswajit Singh
defeated the Congress’s Bijoy Koingjam in Thongju.
The
BJP now has two legislators in the 60-member Manipur Assembly. The Congress
rules the state.
On
the other hand, Lal Thanzara of the Congress retained the Aizwal North III seat
in Mizoram, while Diosstarness Jyndiang of the Hill State People’s Democratic
Party won Nongstoin in Meghalaya.
5) Who
emerged as the winner in the recent Argentinian Presidential elections that
ended the 12-year rule of the Peronist Party? – Mauricio Macri
Explanation: Mauricio
Macri, the leader of the leader of the Argentina’s centre-right opposition
Conservative party was confirmed as the winner in Argentina’s presidential
elections after his ruling party opponent Daniel Scioli conceded his defeat.
Macri won around 51.5% votes to Scioli’s 48.5%.
The
result was declared after a run-off election was held between the two rivals on
22 November 2015, the first in the country’s history. The run-off was
necessitated as Scioli did not command enough of a lead to win the first round
of Presidential elections held on 25 October 2015.
The
win of Mauricio Macri ended the 12-year regime of the Peronist Party led by
President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. Kirchner was re-elected as the
President in 2011. Before her two terms her late husband Nestor Kirchner was
country’s President. But since Argentinian Constitution doesn’t allow more than
two consecutive terms, Daniel Scioli was handpicked as Kirchner’s choice for
the post of President.
26
NOV 2015
1) Which
new global regulation for passport usage as mandated by the International Civil
Aviation Organization (ICAO) came to force from 25 November 2015? – From
this date the use of non-machine readable (handwritten) passports has been
invalidated
Explanation: Beginning
25 November 2015, non-machine readable (handwritten) passports have been
invalidated as per guidelines issued by the ICAO earlier. It is worth
mentioning that there is no data available of people who hold these kinds of
passports. This means that only machine-readable passports (MRPs) will be
accepted and visas will be issued against such passports only.
Handwritten
or non-MRP passports were issued before 2001, and are being phased out in many
countries. The ICAO regulation means that those whose passports with 20-year
validity extend beyond 25 November 2015 will also have to renew their passports.
A machine-readable
passport (MRP) is a machine-readable travel document (MRTD),
where the data on the identity page is encoded in optical character recognition
format.
2) In
a major international controversy, which NATO member country shot down a
Russian warplane near the Syrian border on 24 November 2015? –Turkey
Explanation: The
shooting down of the Russian Su-24 warplane by Turkey became one of the most
serious publicly acknowledged clashes between a NATO member country and Russia
for half a century.
In
a letter to the U.N. Security Council, Turkey said it had shot down the jet
while in Turkish air space. Along with a second plane, the aircraft had flown
more than a mile into Turkey for 17 seconds, despite being warned 10 times in
five minutes while approaching to change direction. Of the two Russian pilots
in the warplane, one was killed while the other was rescued by a Syrian
commando unit.
On
the other hand Russian President Vladimir Putin said the plane had been
attacked when it was 1 km inside Syria and warned of “serious consequences” for
Turkey. Each country summoned a diplomatic representative of the other.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov canceled a visit to Turkey due on 25
November.
Later
Russia also cancelled all military cooperation exercises with Turkey on 25
November.
3) How
much increase in non-performing assets (NPAs) was reported over the 12-month
period ending September 2015 by 37 banks led by prominent public sector banks,
as disclosed by credit rating CARE on 24 November 2015? – 26.8%
Explanation: The
26.8% increase in NPAs of country’s banks during the 12-month period ending
September 2015 is nearly 10% rise from the 16.9% growth in bad loans over the
same period a year ago.
While
the overall NPAs now amount to Rs. 3,36,685 crore, the rise in the last 12
months ended September 2015 was Rs. 71,000 crore.
Among
the big banks, the bad loans of Bank of India soared from Rs. 14,127 crore to
Rs. 29,893 crore, of Bank of Baroda from Rs. 13,057 crore to Rs. 23,710 crore,
and of Indian Overseas Bank from Rs. 13,333 crore to Rs. 19,423 crore.
The
only silver lining is SBI, India’s largest bank, whose asset quality improved,
with gross NPAs as a percentage of gross advances falling 74 bps to 4.15% (Rs.
56,834 crore) from 4.89% (Rs. 60,712 crore).
4) What
is the name of the proposed Rs. 1.1 lakh crore railway safety fund that is
being established by the Indian Railways with the objective of improving safety
measures and upgrading railway infrastructure? – Rashtriya Rail
Sanraksha Kosh (RRSK)
Explanation: Indian
Railways is presently working on a proposal to create a huge Rs. 1.1 lakh crore
fund by the name Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh (RRSK) that will be used to
implement its drive to upgrade the creaking rail infrastructure.
The
rail ministry has set up a six-member committee headed by the executive
director of the planning directorate to prepare a blueprint for the scheme,
including sources of the fund and areas in which it will be utilised.
One
of the major projects envisaged under the proposed RRSK is elimination of
unmanned level crossings and replacing the old signalling and telecom
infrastructure which are responsible for more than a half of train accidents.
5) Union
Govt. reduced the deadline of rural connectivity through all- weather roads
under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) by how many years from the
earlier set target of 2022, as announced by the Union Govt. on 24 November
2015? – 3 years
Explanation: With
the reduction of the deadline by 3 years, the new deadline of rural
connectivity through all- weather roads under PMGSY is year 2019. The
government has also decided to increase the annual allocation of the Central
release for PMGSY works during year 2015-16 by Rs 5,000 crore and with this the
total Central allocation to states would now be Rs 15,100 crore.
It
was Rs. 9960 crore during 2014-15, Rs 5196 crore in 2013-14 and Rs 4313 crore
in 2012-13.
PMGSY
was launched in year 2000 as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme with the objective to
provide single all-weather road connectivity to all eligible unconnected rural
habitations.
27
NOV 2015
1) Which
national day was observed for the first time ever on 26 November 2015? –Constitution
Day
Explanation: The
first-ever ‘Constitution Day’ was observed on 26 November to mark the day in
1949 when the Constitution of Indian was adopted by the Constituent Assembly.
The
Constitution Day also serves as a day of tribute to Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, who
played a seminal role in the framing of the Indian Constitution as the Chairman
of the Drafting Committee of Constituent Assembly. Ambedkar’s 125thBirth Anniversary is also being
celebrated this year.
On
this occasion a special session of the Indian Parliament was organized. Apart
from this the recitation of the ‘Preamble to the Constitution’ was done at many
Central and state government offices and numerous schools.
2) Which
giant IT company issued its final quarterly earnings on 24 November 2015 before
it being split into two companies? –Hewlett-Packard (HP)
Explanation: US
computer giant HP has already been split into two companies with effect from 1
November 2015. But it issued its final quarterly earnings as a unified tech
conglomerate on 24 November 2015, showing another drop in sales for most of its
business divisions.
On
6 October 2014, HP announced plans to split the PC and printers business from
its enterprise products and services business. The PC and printers business has
been named HP Inc. while enterprise products and services business is known as
HP Enterprise.
HP
was established in 1939 by Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard in a garage owned by
Packard. The company is headquartered at Palo Alto, California. It was
officially incorporated on 18 August 1947. HP went on to become an IT giant a
wide variety of hardware components as well as software. The company was
world’s no. 1 PC maker from 2007 to 2013 but later lost the coveted crown to
Lenovo.
3) As
per the announcement made by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on 26 November
2015, liquor prohibition will be clamped in the state from which date? – 1
April 2016
Explanation: CM
Nitish Kumar made the announcement regarding liquor prohibition as part of his
election pledge at an official function to mark Prohibition Day on 26 November.
In July 2015, Nitish Kumar had declared that prohibition would be imposed if he
retained power in the assembly elections. The BJP announced its full support to
liquor ban.
The
CM said the poorest of the poor had been consuming liquor, badly hitting their
families and their children’s education. The women are suffering more than
anyone else due to increasing liquor consumption.
However,
the decision is expected to derail the government’s financial health. The
revenue collection of excise department were Rs.3,650 crore in 2014-15 from
liquor sale.
4) In
an important development, the cricket boards of India and Pakistan agreed to
play a short bilateral series in a neutral country from 15 December. The
much-anticipated proposed series between the two arch-rivals is to be played at
which neutral country as announced on 26 November 2015? – Sri Lanka
Explanation: The
confirmation of the series was announced on 26 November 2015 after the Pakistan
Cricket Board (PCB) obtained green signal from their government and the Board
of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) also looked ready to be part of this
series. However, a formal confirmation of the series was not done as the BCCI
is awaiting green signal from the Union government of India.
Giles
Clarke of England and Wales Cricket Board (EWCB) is understood to have played
the role of a mediator. The Englishman is also the head of the International
Cricket Council (ICC) taskforce on Pakistan. Clarke has always been in favour
of a series between the sub-continental giants.
The
proposed series will comprise of three ODIs and two Twenty20 internationals and
will start from 15 December. Pakistan and India have not played a bilateral
series since 2007. Cricketing ties were stalled in the aftermath of 2008
terrorists’ attacks in Mumbai.
5) Which
5 investment banks were on 26 November 2015 chosen to manage the government’s
proposed 10% stake sale in state-controlled Coal India Limited (CIL)? – SBI
Capital, ICICI Securities, Axis Capital, JM Financial and Kotak Investment
Banking
Explanation: The
10% stake sale in CIL, valued at about $3.2 billion at the current stock price,
is part of Union Govt.’s aim to raise 695 billion rupees ($11 billion) by March
2016 from selling minority stakes in government-owned companies.
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