Monthly Current Affairs -June 2015

• The Finance Ministry on 31 May 2015 released new simplified income tax return forms for different classes of tax payers. The new forms – ITR 2 and ITR2A, have only three pages as compared to the earlier controversial forms that comprised of 14 pages.

• A new plant to produce the paper for high-denomination currency notes domestically was inaugurated by the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on 30 May 2015 at Hoshangabad (Madhya Pradesh).  Currently, currency notes of larger denominations (such as Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000) are printed on imported paper though ink used is mostly produced within the country.

•  The United States on 29 May 2015 officially removed Cuba from its list of countries that sponsor terrorism. Since 1982  , communist  Cuba  was  placed on the terror list in 1982 when the U.S. government accused the Fidel Castro regime of sponsoring communist groups in Latin America and Africa.

•  George Yeo (former foreign minister of Singapore)  was named as the new Chancellor of the Nalanda University on 30 May 2015 to replacing Nobel laureate Amartya Sen.

•  As a part of the digital initiative by the HDFC Bank, on 31 May 2015 announced that it will discontinue issuing slips after cash withdrawals at  ATMs and will alert the customer through SMSes.

• Book Transcendence: My Spiritual Experiences with Pramukh Swamiji has been written by former President APJ Abdul Kalam and Arun Tiwari.

•  Jaipur on 3 June 2015 became the sixth in India to have the metro rail system after Kolkata, Delhi NCR, Bangalore, Gurgaon and Mumbai.

•   Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje flagged off the inaugural train of state capital city’s                                 metro rail system on 9.6 km long route from Mansarovar to Chandpole.

•  Taking advantage of subdued inflation  The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 2 June 2015 cut the Repo Rate by 25 basis points  . New Repo Rate after this cut is  7.25% .

•   PSU-based power generation machinery maker Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) during June 2015 secured the single-largest order in its history for setting up a 4,000 MW (5×800 MW) supercritical thermal power project in Telangana .

•  HDFC Mutual Fund retained its position as the most profitable fund house in India in 2014-15 as disclosed in the data released by industry body AMFI recently.

• In a surprising development, FIFA President Sepp Blatter resigned on 2 June 2015 just four days after he was re-elected to a fifth term as president of the World’s most powerful football body. This resignation was in the face of a U.S.-led corruption investigation that has plunged FIFA into the worst crisis in its history. Blatter was heading FIFA since  1988 .

• The State Bank of India (SBI) on 2 June 2015 cut its base lending rate by 15 basis points hours after the RBI had reduced the Repo Rate by 25 basis points. New lending rate of SBI after this cut is  9.7%

• In one of the worst attacks on the Indian Army in two decades, insurgents on 4 June 2015 ambushed a military convoy in Chandel (Manipur) killing at least 20 army personnel and injuring 11 others. The incident is being described as the worst casualties the Army has suffered since the Kargil War of 1999. Recently formed militant group United Liberation Front of Western South East Asia, of which NSCN(K) is a part, claimed responsibility for the incident .

•  India and five nations on 3 June 2015 signed an agreement to join 60 countries, including Switzerland, to exchange financial information automatically from 2017. Name of this agreement that would pave way to have a control on black money overseas is  Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) .

• Union Govt. on 3 June 2015 notified the amendments in the definition of NRIs as contained in the FDI policy.  According to the new definition NRIs would also include Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs) and Persons of Indian origin (PIOs)

• On 4 June 2015 Sundaram Ravi  became the first Indian umpire after S. Venkataraghavan to be inducted in the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Elite Panel of Umpires.

• China on 4 June 2015 confirmed death of at least 77 persons in the sinking of a cruise ship named “Eastern Star”  on the Yangtze River on 1 June, which is being described as China’s worst shipping disaster in almost 70 years.

• Ameenah Gurib-Fakim was appointed as first woman President of Mauritius and  approved by the country’s Parliament on 4 June 2015.

• Food group Nestle on 5 June 2015 withdrew the highly popular “Maggi” noodles from sale in India following a food scare sparked by reports of excess lead and presence of harmful MSG in it. The “Maggi” brand of instant noodles is under fire in India as reports of presence of these harmful substances have been reported from labs of several states across the country

• The Election Commission of India (ECI)  on June 2015 ‘indelible ink should be applied thoroughly using a brush specifically provided for the purpose .Indelible ink is used to mark voters’ finger during elections to avoid fraudulent, multiple voting and malpractices.

• Delhi Metro received India’s first driver-less metro train on 4 June 2015 from South Korea. The new generation train, which is a part of a 20-set consignment, will be suitable to eventually run on UTO (unattended train operation) mode. These trains are being procured through Hyundai Rotem, which manufactures them at its facility in Korea. Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) is manufacturing these trains in India.

• R.Seshasayee was appointed as the next Non-Executive Chairman of Infosys by company’s Board on 5 June 2015.

• Indian male Badminton player P. Kashyap stunned World No. 1 Chen Long in the Indonesian Open Super Series badminton tournament to reach men’s semi-finals on 5 June 2015.

• The Bangladesh government recently allowed Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) to form a joint-venture to operate its services in the country.Name of the joint-venture to be formed by LIC in Bangladesh is  LIC Bangladesh .

• India and Bangladesh on 6 June 2015 ratified the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) to settle the land boundary dispute between the two countries through exchange of territories. This ratification thus sealed an agreement signed by the then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her Bangladeshi counterpart Mujib-ur-Rehman in 1974 .Bangladesh and India share a 4,096-km international border, the fifth-longest land border in the world

•  In a major boost to connectivity between India and Bangladesh, two bus services were flagged off on 6 June 2015 that will link West Bengal to three North Eastern states of India – Assam, Tripura and Meghalaya  via Bangladeshi capital Dhaka. The bus services were inaugurated Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Dhaka.

• Union Govt. on 5 June 2015 formed an eight-member committee to review the Companies Act, 2013, and suggest necessary changes. Anjuly Chib Duggal, Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA)  head this committee.

• The Quebec Superior Court  of Canada recently ordered three tobacco companies to pay fines worth around $12 billion for damages. Court gave this landmark decision in a case file by a group of smokers from Quebec who said the firms failed to warn them of health risks associated with smoking. The three firms involved in this case are Imperial Tobacco, Rothmans Benson & Hedges and JTI-MacDonald .

• Serena Williams (US) defeated – Lucie Safarova (Czech Republic) to clinch  her 20th Grand Slam title and third French Open women’s singles title at Roland Garros on 6 June 2015.

• The 2-day Summit of G7 countries started on 7 June 2015. This summit is being held at Schloss Elmau (Germany) .G7 is the group of seven major advanced economies of the world and includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

• Stanislas Wawrinka (Switzerland) won the men’s singles title of French Open 2015 by defeating t Novak Djokovic (Serbia) in the finals on 7 June.

• Union Govt. on 5 June 2015 announced plans to establish country’s 13th major port in Maharashtra (at Dahanu ,near Mumbai)with an investment of Rs. 6,000 crore.

•   On 6 June 2015 former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was conferred with Bangladesh Liberation War Honour   award by the Bangladesh Govt. for his role in the country’s independence struggle and consolidating India’s friendship with the nation.

• Lewis Hamilton (Britain)  won the Canadian Formula 1 Grand Prix on 7 June 2015.

• K.V. Chowdary was appointed as the new Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) by the Union Government on 8 June 2015.He retired as CBDT chief in October last year and since then has been working as adviser to Supreme Court appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) that is probing black money cases.

• Vijai Sharma was appointed by the Union Govt. as the new Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) on 8 June 2015.Former CIC Rajiv Mathur’s tenure  ended on 22 August 2014.

• A tropical storm in the Arabian Sea was declared as a severe cyclonic storm on 8 June 2015.Name given to this storm is Ashobaa which was expected to affect Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra coasts .

• R.C. Tayal was appointed as new Director General (DG) of National Security Guard (NSG) on 7 June 2015. He is a 1980-batch officer of the Indian Police Service (IPS).He was the Special Director General of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) till now. He replaced J.N. Choudhury who retired as NSG DG on 31 May 2015 .

• India finished  at third place in the 21st Asian Athletics Championships that concluded in Wuhan (China) on 7 June 2015.India secured a medal haul of 4 gold, 5 silver and 4 bronze in the championships to finish third behind China (15, 13, 13) and Qatar (7, 2, 1). Japan (4, 3, 11) and Bahrain (3, 3, 2) finished fourth and fifth respectively.

• A first of its kind operation of operation was carried out by the Indian Army on 9 June 2015 when it conducted an anti-terrorist operation on a foreign soil for the first time. This bold operation was carried out in Myanmar with strategic support from that country. Indian Army on 9 June 2015 struck terrorist camps inside Myanmar and killed nearly 20 North-Eastern insurgents. The attack was in response to the deadly ambush in Manipur that killed 18 soldiers on 4 June 2015 in Chandel district.

• Union Govt. on 9 June 2015 officially added three more districts into the National Capital Region (NCR) thus extending the span of the NCR. Muzaffarnagar (Uttar Pradesh) and Jind and Karnal (Haryana) .

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 8 June 2015 made it clear that banks can acquire 51% or more stake in companies defaulting after restructuring of their loans .Law Minister of Delhi Govt. Jitender Singh Tomar  was arrested by the Delhi Police on charges of a fake law degree on 9 June 2015.

• M.K. Sharma was nominated as the new non-executive Chairman of ICICI Bank by the board of the bank on 9 June 2015 to replace K.V. Kamath.

•  HSBC on 9 June 2015 made announcement to cut almost 50,000 jobs from its payroll, in an effort to improve its performance.

•  Noted Indian author Amitav Ghosh’s third and final book “Flood of Fire”  under the “Ibis trilogy” was published recently The other two previous books under “Ibis trilogy” are – “Sea of Poppies” (2008) and “River of Smoke

• The World Health Organisation (WHO) during June 2015 declared India free of – Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus infection.

•   The Union Cabinet on 10 June 2015 decided to bring in an ordinance to amend the Negotiable Instruments Act, which provides for filing of cheque bounce cases in place where the cheque was issued. It seeks to overturn a Supreme Court 2014 ruling said the case has to be initiated where the cheque-issuing branch was located

• Vizhinjam(kerala) Port Project has been awarded by the state govt. to Adani Ports and SEZ as agreed to in the State Cabinet on 10 June 2015. Vizhinjam Port Project comprises of an international port and deep-water container transshipment terminal and is worth multi-thousand crore.

• For the first time a move is being made to involve private players in running of passenger trains in the country as disclosed in the report prepared by a committee set up by the Union Govt. The committee headed by Bibek Debroy  has recommended the entry of private companies in operation and maintenance of railways, and has pitched for attracting talent from outside for a radical revamp of Indian Railways.

• The 44th edition of COPA America , the prestigious football tournament for South American countries,hosted by Chile started from 11 June 2015.

• Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) 26 African countries agreed to create the continent’s largest free-trade zone that will span a huge area from Cape Town (South Africa) to Cairo (Egypt). The deal, signed in Egypt, is intended to ease the movement of goods across member countries which represent more than half the continent’s GDP

•  Former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on 11 June 2015 formed Hindustan Awam Party (HAP)  and announced the decision to join the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the BJP to fight the upcoming Bihar assembly elections.

•  The Reserve Bank India (RBI) on 11 June 2015 gave permission to Non-Resident Indians (NRIs)  to invest in regulated chit funds in India.

• Veteran actor, Sir Christopher Lee(“Dracula”, “The Lord of the Rings”  fame), passed away on 7 June 2015 at the age of 93.  

• Nek Chand Saini, creater of iconic Rock Garden passed away on 12 June 2015 at the age of 90.

•  Zimbabwe has decided to end the local currency (Zimbabwean Dollar) by September 2015. This process starts from 15 June 2015 bank accounts with balances of up to 175 quadrillion Zimbabwean dollars to be paid just US$ 5 in the exchange. This is due to the fact that the Zimbabwean dollar has become almost worthless.

•  The US government has recently opened an investigation against two of the biggest Indian outsourcing companies, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Infosys, for possible violations of H1-B visa rules.

• Wesley Hall former fast-bowler of West Indies was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame on 11 June 2015.

• The Union Govt. on 13 June 2015 launched an Indian insurance pool to the tune of Rs. 1,500 crore which is mandatory under the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act (CLND). This insurance pool was launched to address the concerns of the clauses in the CLND Act, which give the operator the Right to Recourse and allow it to sue the suppliers in case of any accident.General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC ) is the fund operator of this Rs. 1,500 crore Indian insurance pool and it includes 11 other non-life insurers as associates of the pool.

• “Ajeya Warrior 2015” -Joint-Military Exercise that started between the armies of India and UK at Salisbury Plains Training Area, UK on 13 June 2015.

• Former Union Minister  former governor of Himachal Pradesh and senior Congress leader Sheila Kaul,passed away on 13 June 2015. Sheila Kaul was a sister-in-law of Jawaharlal Nehru.

• “Robin” was nominated as United Kingdom’s first-ever national bird in a poll conducted in the country that concluded during June 2015.

• Vedanta Ltd an  Indian mining firm on 13 June 2015 announced buying the stake of minority shareholders in Cairn India, the country’s top private oil producer.

• Mahindra Group  signed a multi-million dollar aerospace contract with European consortium Airbus at the ongoing Paris Air Show on 15 June 2015 .

• In a report issued in  annual review meeting of the Union Finance Minister with the CEOs of banks, insurance companies and financial institutions (FIs) the percentage of gross non-performing assets (gross NPA) for public-sector banks as on 31 March 2015 is at 5.17%

• The Supreme Court on 15 June 2015 directed the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to re-conduct All India Pre-Medical Test 2015 within four weeks following  alleged Irregularities have  taken place in this exam .

• Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandra Babu Naidu cleared the proposal to levy streetlight tax on residents of the state. The proposed streetlight tax will become part of the property tax notice served on AP residents. According to the proposal, each house will have to pay Rs. 50 to Rs. 100 as ‘streetlight tax’ per year based on the total amount of the owner’s property tax

•  An Augmented Reality (AR) application named “Saakar” was launched by Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh on 15 June. The application has been developed by DECU-ISRO for Android devices. It consists of 3D models of MOM, RISAT, rockets (PSLV, GSLVMk-III); videos of INSAT 3D-predicting cyclones, GSLV D5/Cryo, Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) orbit insertion, launch video of MOM, 360 degree animated view of MOM, Anaglyph of Mars surface, etc.

• The  PSU entity Coal India Limited (CIL) has become the sixth-largest mining company in the world in terms of market capital as disclosed in a recent report of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

• NL Beno Zephine(Chennai) has became the first 100% visually-challenged person to gain entry into the prestigious Indian Foreign Service (IFS) as announced on 12 June 2015.

• Charles Correa, one of India’s greatest architects and urban planners, passed away on 16 June 2015 at the age of 84. He was known for adapting his designs to local climates and building styles. He was the chief architect of the famous satellite suburb of the country Navi Mumbai

• The Election Commission of India (ECI) on 16 June 2015 suspended the recognition of the PA Sangma-led National People’s Party (NPP), which is a recognized regional party in Meghalaya stating that NPP failed to file the election expenditure statement for the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections

• Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 17 June 2015 raised minimum support price (MSP) of paddy by Rs.50 per quintal .Now MSP of paddy is Rs. 1410 per quintal

• On 16 June 2015, Sunil Chhetri became the first Indian footballer to score 50 international goals in 2018 World Cup qualifying match against on 16 June at Tamuning (Guam).

• SBI eforex - eforex is the name given to the Internet-based forex (foreign exchange) platform launched by the SBI that facilitates the customers of the bank to obtain forex rates without having to physically visit the branch and enable customers to book their foreign exchange transactions online

• Taj Mahal  became the first monument in the country to have free Wi-Fi Internet facility for visitors. The project was was inaugurated by Union Minister for Communications Ravi Shankar Prasad on 16 June 2015.

• Japan on 17 June 2015 officially lowered its voting age from 20 to 18 years.

• 21 June-international yoga day. : 35,985 people took part in the massive Yoga exercise at the historic Rajpath on 21 June set Guinness World Record of largest number of people  in a single yoga lesson .PM led led the programme.   

• “Harmony of the Seas” -world’s largest cruise ship that made its maiden entry into water in France on 19 June 2015 and is expected to take its maiden voyage in 2016

• The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) recently agreed on the preliminary definitions for the future 5G standard for mobile networking. Accordingly,  typical data speed for a network to qualify for 5G standard is up to 20 Gbps.

•  Nico Rosberg (Germany)  won the Austrian F1 Grand Prix on 21 June 2015 .He defeated his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton (Britain).

•  SoftBank Japan’s biggest mobile carrier entered into wind venture with Bharti Enterprises and Taiwas’sFoxconn Technology to form a Joint Venture to set up a solar and wind energy projects in India.  

• India’s first AC DEMU train was launched at  Kochi (kerala).India’s first diesel electric multiple unit (DEMU) rail service will run on Angamaly-Ernakulam-Tripunithura-Piravomroute with an air-conditioned coach was flagged off in Kochi.

• The government of India plans to inject about $3 billion into state-owned banks this fiscal year which will boost capital and help lenders meet the global Basel III regulatory requirements.

• Sister Nirmala Joshi, died on 23 june aged 80, succeeded Nobel laureate Mother Teresa as the head of her Missionaries of Charity. She expanded the movement after Mother Teresa’s death in 1997.

• India signs biggest wheat import deals in over a decade with Australia .Indian flour millers and global trading companies have planned to import 500,000 tonnes of premium Australian wheat since March.

• June24: Veteran journalist, author, political analyst and anti-nuclear activist Praful Bidwai passed away in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

• Kerala government has appointed Tennis Icon Steffanie Graf as Ayurveda brand ambassador.

• Union Government has launched Bhuvan Ganga Mobile Application and Web Portal to aid flagship mission to Clean Ganga.

• Three urban missions to be launched to set Smart Cities Mission. AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation), Housing for All (Urban) and Smart Cities Mission (SCM).

• Under Smart Cities Mission, AMRUT, basic infrastructure like providing tap water and sewer connections to every urban household, solid waste management, provision of roads and public transport. Promotion of urban reforms to improve urban governance will also be supported. This Mission seeks to enable urban local bodies meet service level benchmarks in respect of various services. 500 cities with a population of above one lakh each would be included in AMRUT.

• Under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), it is proposed to build 2 crore houses for urban poor including Economically Weaker Sections and Low Income Groups in urban areas by the year 2022.

•  Smart Cities Mission aims at development of entire urban eco-system of cities covering physical, social, economic and institutional infrastructure. The objective is to enable better living and driving economic growth for the benefit of all sections.

• Maharashtra became the first state to have a state Butterfly. – Name of the Butterfly – Blue Mormon (Papilio Polymnestor) .

• Rajasthan overtook Gujarat to become the leader in Solar Energy generation in India.

• Union government has approved for setting up of six new IITs Vishakhapatnam (AP), Bodh Gaya (Bihar), Sirmaur (HP), Sambalpur (Odessa), Amritsar (Punjab) and Nagpur (Maharashtra) .

• Indian spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has been conferred with Colombia’s highest civilian award, Orden de la Democracia Simon Bolivar en el grado de cruz Caballero. He was bestowed with this award for spreading the message of peace in society, reducing stress, inter-mediation in war and combating violence through yoga and breathing exercises.

• Former Pakistan cricket team captain Zaheer Abbas has been selected the new President of International Cricket Council (ICC) for one year term.

• Union Cabinet has approved setting up 6 new Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) in the country.

• These new IIMs will be located at Bodh Gaya (Bihar), Vishakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), Nagpur (Maharashtra), Sirmaur (Himachal Pradesh), Amritsar (Punjab) and Sambalpur (Odisha).

• India pledges $1 bn, China $500 m and about $600 m from the Asian Development Bank for earthquake reconstruction at an international donor’s conference in Kathmandu.

• India’s legendary batsman and Bharat Ratna recipient Sachin Tendulkar has been voted the ‘Best Test player’ of the 21st century in an online poll. The online poll was conducted by Cricket Australia’s website for the list of the 100 best Test players since 2000.

• India and United States have signed a series of agreements on health in order to enhance cooperation in health sector. The multiple areas covered under such agreement include cancer research, medical infrastructure development and application of new diagnostic technologies.

• India has topped in the regional inflow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in South Asia region during year 2014, accounting for 34 billion US dollars investments.

• India has become most attractive investment destination in world after it was ranked first among 110 countries in a ranking of destinations for attractiveness to foreign investors. The ranking was based on baseline profitability index (BPI) 2015. In this edition of China was placed at the 65th position and US was placed at the 50th.

• OneWeb: Bharati Airtel joined one Web by acquiring minority stake in it.Bharti Enterprises buys stake in satellite internet startup OneWeb, along with Richard Virgin Group and Sunil Mittal would use the funds to acquire 65 commercial rockets to launch satellite-borne Internet services to extend the reach of mobile operators to customers in remote corners of the world. Other investors include Airbus Group, Qualcomm, Coca-Cola Co, Mexico’s Grupo Salinas, Hughes Network Systems, a unit of EchoStar and Intelsat.

• Indian brand Cafe Coffee Day is planning IPO to raise 11.5 billion rupees.

• Satnam Singh Bhamara became first India-born player in the NBA. Satnam Singh was picked by the Dallas Mavericks,

• The RBI extended deadline to exchange pre 2005 currency notes to 31 December 2015

• The US declared Same sex marriages  legal across country on 25 June 2015.

• The data released by the World Economic Forum (WEF) during June 2015 disclosed that the Indian Railways is the 8th largest employer in the world with 1.4million employees. It is followed by the Indian armed forces which employs 1.3 million people. U.S. Department of Defense is world’s largest employer with around 3.2 million employees on its roll. It is followed by People’s Liberation Army (the Chinese military) with 2.3 million.

• SpaceX Falcon 9 - unmanned rocket bound for the International Space Station (ISS) that exploded just after its lift-off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on 28 June 2015. SpaceX Falcon 9 was the 19th Falcon 9 rocket of privately-owned SpaceX company.

• Ravi Thapar, India’s High Commissioner to New Zealand, was recalled after allegations of assault were levelled against his wife, Sharmila, by a member of the couple’s domestic staff. 

• Himachal Pradesh High Court  passed a landmark judgment that women in tribal areas would also inherit property in accordance with the Hindu Succession Act 1956.

• June29. First phase of Chennai Metro service was inaugurated by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa after she flagged off inaugural train. The first phase of Metro service covers the 10-km overhead (elevated) stretch. It connects Alandur in south Chennai to Koyabedu in the north.

• Indian pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwni Ponappa won the women’s doubles title of the Canada Open Badminton tournament. In the finals match played at Calgary, Canada they defeated Dutch pair of Eefje Muskens and Selena Piek in straight games of 21-19, 21-16. It is their first title of this season.

• India is fourth largest carbon emitter in the world in terms of per capita emission accounting for 6.6 % of global emissions for the year 2012.It was revealed by the World Resources Institute (WRI) in its latest analyses of the country-wise carbon emissions of climate-damaging greenhouse gases (GHGs). According to the analysis figures of WRI, Top 10 emitters are: China (25.26%), US (14.4%), European Union (10.16%), India (6.69%), Russia (5.36%), Japan (3.11%), Brazil (2.34%), Indonesia (1.76%), Mexico (1.67%) and Iran (1.65%).

• Indigenously developed Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) prototype has been successfully cleared hot weather trials at Jodhpur, Rajasthan. The testing involved temperature survey of engine bay and hydraulic system apart from handling qualities, assessment of performance and loads at different all up weights etc. With this successful test it will pave way for the Initial Operational Clearance (IOC), which is expected  to receive it by the end 2015 and is likely to enter production from 2017-18. Earlier in March 2015, LCH had successfully cleared cold weather trials at Leh at a temperature of -180 C and at an altitude of 4.1 km.

• June30. India and Thailand signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on double taxation avoidance treaty (DTAT).

• 50 founding nations including India have signed 60-article agreement of China-led multilateral Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).The 60-article agreement provides the legal framework for

• Institution of AIIB.

• Each member’s capital share and voting share.

•   Governance structure of AIIB.

•  Policy-making mechanism of AIIB.

• Nadia district in West Bengal has won the United Nations Public Service Award 2015 in the category of improving delivery of public services for or eliminating open defecation in the district.

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