28-29 dec 2015
1) The
RBI committee on pushing Financial Inclusion submitted its report on 28
December 2015. The committee recommended a slew of measures, including a
special deposit scheme for the girl child, government-to-person social cash
transfer, and opening interest-free windows (Islamic banking) by banks. Who
headed this committee? – Deepak Mohanty (Executive
Director, RBI)
Explanation: The
committee (titled ‘Medium-Term path on Financial Inclusion’) was constituted in
July 2015 with the objective of working out a medium-term (five-year)
measurable action plan for financial inclusion. It was chaired by Deepak
Mohanty, RBI executive director.
Important
Recommendations of the Deepak Mohanty Committee:
Banks
have to step up account opening for women
Union
Govt. should consider a welfare scheme (Sukanya Shiksha) for promoting
financial inclusion of women that can be jointly funded by the Central and
State governments
Need
for better use of the mobile banking facility for Government-to-Person (G2P)
payments, and this would push government in its financial inclusion drive
A
unique biometric identifier such as Aadhaar be linked to each individual credit
account and the information should be shared with credit information companies
Commercial
banks in India must be enabled to open specialised interest-free windows
(primarily for Islamic banking) with simple products
The
committee pressed for digitisation of land records to increase formal credit to
all agrarian segments
2) The
Iraqi Government claimed to have liberated which important Iraqi city from the
Islamic State (IS) on 28 December 2015? – Ramadi
Explanation: Iraqi
Army Spokesman Brig Gen Yahya Rasul on 28 December claimed the forces had
achieved an “epic” victory in the city of Ramadi and that the Iraqi flag had
been raised over the government complex in the city.
Ramadi
is situated around 90 km west of Baghdad. The operation to recapture Ramadi was
started in early November 2015.
Ramadi’s
recapture would mark a major reversal for the jihadist group. The jihadists had
seized it in May 2015, in an embarrassing defeat for the army.
However,
some reports indicated there are still pockets of resistance in the city and
that the IS militants still controlled parts of the city.
3) The
three day-“Iranshah Utsav” of the dwindling Parsi community concluded on 27
December 2015 at which historic town associated with the Indian Parsi
community? –Udavada (Gujarat)
Explanation: The
tiny Udavada village in South Gujarat coast is the most prominent place for
Parsi community where Parsis landed in India in 8th century escaping prosecution in their native Iran.
The town is near Valsad and the country’s first ‘Atash Behram’, which is the
holiest and the oldest Parsi temple or agiary in the country.
The
Parsis have made considerable contributions to the history and development of
India, all the more remarkable considering their small numbers.
“Iranshah
Utsav” was participation of over 3,000 Parsis from all over the world. The
patriarch of India’s one of the largest conglomerate Tata group, Ratan Tata was
felicitated at the event as an ‘Icon of Success’ and received a standing
ovation from the audience. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley addressed the
gathering.
It
is worth mentioning that the Parsi community is facing a severe problem of
dwindling population. Demographic trends project that by the year 2020 the
Parsis will number only 23,000 (less than 0.002% of the 2001 population of
India
4) In
a decision to restrict subsidy only to those who need it, the Ministry of
Petroleum and Natural Gas on 28 December 2015 announced that the benefit of
subsidised LPG will not be given to a consumer whose annual taxable income is
more than Rs. 10 lakh in the previous financial year. This ruling will apply
from – 1 January 2016
Explanation: According
to this announcement, the LPG subsidy will also not be given if the consumer’s
spouse has an annual taxable income of more than Rs. 10 lakh.
While
it is not known how many LPG customers fall in the highest income bracket, data
from a parliamentary committee shows that in 2011-12, there were 20 lakh
taxpayers in the highest income tax bracket.
According
to data available on the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas’ website, a
total of Rs. 24,431 crore of subsidy has been transferred to consumers’ bank
accounts till date.
5) Which
team won the inaugural edition of the Pro Wrestling League (PWL) that concluded
on 27 December 2015? – Revanta Mumbai Garuda
Explanation: Mumbai
Garuda outclassed Haryana Hammers 7-2 in the finals held in Delhi’s Indira
Gandhi Indoor Stadium on 27 December 2015 to clinch the inaugural Pro Wrestling
League title. Down 1-2, Mumbai Garuda won their next four bouts on the trot to
claim the trophy after the seventh match itself.
PWL
is the initiative of of ProSportify owned by Kartikeya Sharma and Wrestling
Federation of India (WFI). The inaugural edition of PWL was held from 10 to 27
December 2015. Six franchisee teams took part in this edition – a) Bengaluru
Yodhas, b) Haryana Hammers, c) Mangalayatan University Dilli Veer, d) Punjab
Royals, e) Uttar Pradesh Warriors and f) Revanta Mumbai Garuda.
Nigerian
Odunayo Adekuoroye (Revanta Mumbai Garuda) was declared woman wrestler of the
series while Narsingh Yadav of Bengluru Yodhas was adjudged man wrestler of the
series.
6) What
is the name of the Congress journal that came into controversy on 28 December
2015 after an article in it questioned party’s biggest icon Jawaharlal Nehru
and also made controversial comments on party President Sonia Gandhi? –“Congress
Darshan”
Explanation: “Congress
Darshan” is the mouthpiece of the Mumbai Congress. The December 2015 edition
(Hindi) of the journal published some scathing comments on former Prime
Minister and party’s biggest icon Jawaharlal Nehru as well as Sonia Gandhi. The
article in the journal mentioned that if Jawaharlal Nehru had taken into
account the views of Sardar Patel, the Kashmir situation would not have come to
what it is today.
‘Congress
Darshan’ also made personal statements on the earlier life of Sonia Gandhi. The
article referred to the allegation that Sonia’s father was a member of the
Italian fascists that lost to the Russians in the World War.
The
Congress party sacked Sudhir Joshi – the content editor of the journal for
these controversial comments.
The
controversy also forced its editor and Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam to order
an inquiry even as he claimed he was unaware of the content.
30 dec 2015
1) The
Winter Session of the Parliament ended during December 2015 thus bringing an
end to the Parliamentary sessions of year 2015. What important fact emerged
from the conduct of the two houses of Parliament during the year, which
happened for the first time in the parliamentary history of the country? – For
the first time in the Lok Sabha emerged as the more productive session in a
year as compared to the Rajya Sabha
Explanation: According
to the data disclosed by legislative research organization PRS, Lok
Sabha (lower house of parliament) performed better than the Rajya Sabha (upper
house) in the year 2015. This thus was the first time after 1952, when the
first elected government was formed in India, that the Lok Sabha was more
productive than the Rajya Sabha.
This
was primarily due to the majority of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in
the lower house. With more than 50% members belonging to the ruling BJP in the
lower house – 282 out of 543, and 48 BJP members out of 250 in the Rajya Sabha,
this trend is evident.
The
budget session was the most productive, and the monsoon session the least.
2) Which
state won its maiden Vijay Hazare Trophy after winning the 2014-15 tournament
final on 28 December 2015? –Gujarat
Explanation: Captain
Parthiv Patel’s polished 105 helped Gujarat hammer former champions Delhi by
139 runs and capture their maiden Vijay Hazare Trophy in the final played at
the M Chinnaswamy stadium (Bengaluru) on 28 December 2015.
Patel
powered Gujarat to 273 for nine before their medium pacers R P Singh (4/42) and
Jasprit Bumrah (5/28) brought the star-studded Delhi batting to its knees,
dismissing the 2013-13 winners for 134 in 32.3 overs.
Vijay
Hazare Trophy is the most prestigious domestic one-day tournament of the
country. It has been named after the famous Indian cricketer Vijay Hazare and
was started in 2002-03 as a limited-overs domestic competition involving state
teams from the Ranji Trophy circuit.
With
4 overall titles, Tamil Nadu is the most successful team in this tournament.
3) Guinea
was declared free of Ebola on 29 December 2015 after more than 2,500 people
died from the virus in this West African country. Which is the only country
that now awaits a countdown for the end of the epidemic? – Liberia
Explanation: Liberia
has lost more than 4,800 people to Ebola, but if all goes well it will be
declared virus-free in January 2016. The country was declared Ebola-free in May
and September 2015, but each time new cases emerged.
On
the other hand Ebola killed more than 2,500 people in Guinea and a further
4,000 in Sierra Leone. The disease has had an enormous social and economic
impact on Guinea. According to the UN, 6,220 Guinean children have lost one or
both parents to Ebola.
Sierra
Leone was declared free of Ebola in November 2015.
A
country is declared Ebola-free 42 days after the recovery or death of the final
patient and if there are no new infections.
4) Who
was named as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the NITI Aayog by the
Union Govt. on 29 December 2015? –Amitabh Kant
Explanation: Industry
Secretary Amitabh Kant was entrusted with the additional responsibility of CEO
of NITI Aayog by the Prime Minister-led Appointments Committee of the Cabinet
(ACC) on 29 December.
He
will replace Sindhushree Khullar, whose extended tenure comes to end on 31
December 2015. Amitabh Kant is a Kerala-cadre IAS officer and is expected to
retire in March 2016.
5) Which
movie recently became the fastest movie to pass the $1 billion mark in global
box office sales, as announced on 27 December 2015? – “Star Wars:
The Force Awakens”
Explanation: The
statement released by US production house Disney on 27 December mentioned that
the movie “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” posted an estimated $545 million in
ticket sales in North America and $546 million internationally just 12 days
after it first hit screens.
It
thus broke the record of ‘Jurassic World’ which took 13 days to reach the
milestone.
The
highly anticipated seventh installment of the blockbuster series has received
mostly glowing reviews, and is being credited with breathing new life into the
Hollywood franchise launched by creator George Lucas in 1977.
James
Cameron’s ‘Avatar’ is the top-grossing film of all time having grossed
nearly $2.8 billion globally.
6) What
is the name of the Mizoram footballer who recently became the youngest ever
goal-scorer for India in an international match? –Lallianzuala Chhangte
Explanation: 18-year
old Lallianzuala Chhangte made his name into history books as he scored two
goals in India’s 4-1 thrashing of Nepal in the SAFF Cup on 27 December 2015.
He
thus went past Baichung Bhutia’s record as the youngest ever goal-scorer for
India. He incidentally also became the youngest player to represent India.
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