WBCS Current Affairs 15/02/2015 to 03/03/2015

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1.World’s largest and tallest Indian national flag was unfurled on 3 March 2015 at Town Park in Faridabad, Haryana. Features of Flag- It has dimension of 96 feet by 64 feet and weighs 48 kilograms. Flag was hoisted at a height of 250 feet (75 meters). Thus, making it the world’s largest and the highest hoisted Indian flag in the world.

2.MC Mary Kom has announced that she will retire from boxing after the Rio Olympic Games 2016. She made this announcement citing the reason that her body will not be able to cope the rigours of boxing in future. About MC Mary Kom Her full name is Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom and was born on 1 March 1983 in Churachandpur district of Manipur. Mary Kom is nicknamed Magnificent Mary and is 5 time World Amateur Boxing champion. She is the only woman boxer to have won a medal in each one of the six world championships. Mary Kom had won a bronze medal in 2012 London Olympics in the flyweight (51 kg) category and was only Indian woman boxer to qualify for this category. She is also first Indian woman boxer to get a Gold Medal in the 2014 Asian Games held at Incheon, South Korea. Awards- For her precious contribution to the sport of boxing (sports), she has been conferred with Padma Bhushan (2013), Padma Shree (2010) and Arjuna Award for Boxing (2003).

3. Microsoft Co-founder, Bill Gates retained the title of the world’s richest person in the Forbes 2015 billionaire list. Mr. Gates has topped the list for 16 of the last 21 years, with a net worth of $79 billion and Mexico’s telecommunications mogul Carlos Slim Helu is at second place. As per the Forbes’ 29th annual ranking of the world’s billionaires 2015 Total number of billionaires in the world: 1826 with combined net worth of $$7.05 trillion. The US leads the list of billionaires in the world with 536 billionaires, followed by China (213), Germany (103), India (90) and Russia (88). Top 5 billionaires: Bill Gates ($79 billion), Mr. Carlos Slim Helu ($77.1 billion), Mr. Warren Buffett ($72.7 billion), Mr. Amancio Ortega ($64.5 billion) and Mr. Larry Ellison ($54.3 billion). Highest ranked women on the list: Christy Walton (8), with a net worth of $41.7 billion. World’s youngest billionaire: Evan Spiegel (1250) founder of Snapchat from United States. From Internet field: com Inc’s founder Jeff Bezos (15), Facebook Inc’s Mark Zuckerberg (16), and Google Inc founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin ranked 19th and 20th. Business Tycoon, Mr. Mukesh Amabani: India’s richest person for the 8th year in a row. Mr. Ambani is ranked 29th globally with net worth of $21 billion. It should be noted that India has 90 billionaires in this edition of list.

4.Union Government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have signed an agreement on Monetary Policy Framework in order to move towards the RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan’s view of inflation targeting. Presently, Union Government and RBI give inflation estimates and do not set targets.
But as per this agreement government has set a target for RBI to bring down inflation below 6 per cent by January 2016.
4 per cent for financial year and all subsequent years with band of +/- 2 percent.
This agreement mentions that if RBI fails to meet the target, it will Report to the government with the reasons for the failure to achieve the target. Propose remedial actions to be taken.
Further estimate the time period within which the failed target would be achieved. As per the agreement, this Monetary Policy Framework will be monitored by the RBI and it is binding on Union Government to take proactive measures for price control. This agreement will put in place a framework of a modern monetary policy to meet the challenges of an increasingly complex economy.
Background
The agreement comes in line with the recommendations of the RBI’s Urjit Patel committee on inflation targeting aiming to smoothen the monetary policy. During the budget 2015-16 speech Finance minister Arun Jaitley also had mentioned that government will amend the RBI Act to provide for a Monetary Policy Committee and have a memorandum of understanding with the Reserve Bank.

5.Election Commission of India (ECI) has launched National Electoral Roll Purification and Authentication Programme (NERPAP).
Objective:
To bring out a totally error-free and authenticated electoral roll throughout the country.
Key facts about NERPAP
For the authentication purpose, Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) data of electors will be linked with Aadhar data.
It also focuses to improve the image quality of electors along with sorting issues like corrections of errors. Facility to link Aadhar number will be provided to electors through sms, email, mobile application and National Voters Service Portal using web services through ECI website.
Electors also can link their Aadhar number by making a call at 1950 to state call centres.
Under NERPAP, collection and feeding of Aadhar will also be done by Electoral Registration Officer. In this regard special Camps will be organized, Voter Facilitation Centres, e-Seva centres and Citizen Service Centres. While Booth Level Officers will conduct door-to-door surveys to collect the details.

6.Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has appointed Baldev Sharma as chairman of National Book Trust (NBT).

7.Hifikepunye Pohamba, outgoing Namibian President has won the world’s most valuable individual award- Mo Ibrahim prize for African leadership for year 2014.

8. Online cab aggregator Olacabs has acquired TaxiForSure for $200 million cash and equity deal.

9. The Lok Sabha on 2 March 2015 passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2015 by voice vote. This bill will replace an ordinance promulgated in this regard and amend the Citizenship Act, 1955.
Key provisions of the Bill
It merges Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) and Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders.
In cases related to citizenship by registration and naturalization, this amendment bill relaxes the requirement of 12 months. In this case, 30 days break will be provided if the central government is satisfied in special circumstances with a written record.
On additional grounds, person may register for overseas citizenship card (OCC) such as Minor children whose parent or parents are Indian citizens. Spouse of an Indian citizen or OCI/ PIO cardholder subjected to certain conditions.
Person who is a citizen of another country, meets one of several conditions of Citizenship Act, 1955 then his great grandchild may register. It also gives powers to Central government, to terminate OCC obtained by the spouse of an Indian citizen or OCI/PIO cardholder in case The court dissolves the marriage or Even after the first marriage has not been dissolved, the spouse enters into another marriage.

10.World’s first electric satellites were successfully lifted off by a Space Exploration (SpaceX) Technologies rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, United States. The rocket was carrying two all-electric commercial satellites built by Boeing. The satellites are owned by the French satellite provider Eutelsat and Asia Broadcast Satellite (ABS). Eutelsat’s satellite is part of its 35-member commercial network. It will provide services like mobile, internet, video and other communications services to expand its reach into the Americas. While, ABS new satellite will serve its customers in Africa, Europe and the Middle East.

11. Jagmohan Dalmiya was unanimously elected as President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). He was elected as President at the BCCI Annual General Meeting held at Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

12. Senior IFS officer, Arun Singh has been named as new Indian Ambassador to US. Prior to this announcement he was serving as India’s Ambassador of France. Arun Singh will replace S Jaishankar, who was appointed as Foreign Secretary.

13. China has launched a massive Silk Road infrastructure project worth $79.8 billion in the northwest province of Gansu as part of its ambitious Silk Road plan. These project will facilitate trade and people exchanges between China and central Asian Countries.

14. Mufti Mohammad Sayeed on 1 March 2015 was sworn-in as Chief Minister of Peoples Democratic Party-Bhartiya Janta Party (PDP-BJP) coalition government of Jammu & Kashmir. As a person he became 9th Chief Minister of J&K and 12th Chief Minister as tenure wise. Along with Mufti Sayeed, following ministers took oaths Deputy Chief Minister- Nirmal Singh (BJP).

15. Indian-origin lawyer, Kannan Ramesh has been appointed as Judicial Commissioner to Singapore’s Supreme Court bench. He will assume office from 22 May 2015 and have tenure of two years. Prior to this appointment, he was the managing partner of Tan Kok Quan. With this appointment Singapore’s Supreme Court will have a total of 10 Judicial Commissioners, 13 Judges and 5 senior judges.

16.Former cricket captain of New Zealand Martin Crowe was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.

17. Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) on 28 February 2015 gave approval for afresh Mine Counter Measure Vessel (MCMV) project worth over Rs 32,000 crore. This decision was taken by DAC meeting chaired by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. MCMV project will built specialized vessels for the Indian Navy as per Make in India policy at Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) in collaboration with a foreign manufacturer. These ships will weigh around 600 to 1,000 tonnes and will be used to dismantle antiship mines.

18. Every year February 28 is celebrated as the National Science Day i.e. Rashtriya Vigyan Diwas (राष्ट्रीय विज्ञान दिवस). In 2015, the theme of the day is “Science for Nation Building”. This year’s theme has been chosen for the purpose of raising public appreciation on scientific issues for the development of nation.

19. Haryana government has decided to increase the cash reward under the inter-caste marriage scheme from 50,000 to 1 lakh rupees. This decision was taken by state level Vigilance and Monitoring Committee meeting held under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar at Chandigarh. The increased cash reward for inter-caste marriage will be provided through bank accounts opened under the Pradhanmantri Jan Dhan Yojna (PMJDY).

20. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented Union Budget 2015-16 in the Parliament.
It was the first full year Budget of the NDA government under leadership of Prime Minister of Narendra Modi and the second budget of Arun Jaitley as Finance Minister. Highlights of Union Budget 2015-16 Taxation No change in the Tax slab on personal income. Wealth tax abolished.
Additional 2% surcharge for the super-rich with income more than Rs. 1 crore. For next 4 years, corporate tax has been reduced to 25 percent from present 30 percent. Service tax increased to14 per cent. Apart from CSR, 100% tax exemption for contribution to Swachch Bharat Abhiyan.
New projects 5 more AIIMSs in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar and Assam.
IIT in Karnataka. While, the Indian School of Mines in Dhanbad, Jharkhand will be converted into IIT.
2 more IIMs in Jammu and Kashmir and Andhra Pradesh. Post-Graduation institutes of Horticulture in Amritsar, Punjab. University of Disability Studies will be established in Kerala.
In Arunachal Pradesh, Centre of film production, animation and gaming will come up. For Infrastructure sector Rs. 70,000 crores allocated. Projects in rail road and irrigation bonds will be tax free.
Infrastructure development through PPP model will be revitalised and government will bear majority of the risk.
Atal Innovation Mission will be established to draw on expertise of researchers and entrepreneurs to foster scientific innovations.
For this mission Rs. 150 crore allocated. 5 ultra-mega power projects each of 4000MW proposed by Government Defence 2,46,726 crore allocated for Defence. It is 9.87 per cent greater than last year. Make in India campaign will take into consideration for speedy manufacturing of Defence equipment.
Welfare Schemes and new programmes Under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, six crore toilets across the country will be built. By 2020, housing for all. MGNREGA will get MGNREGA of Rs. 5,000 crore. It is highest allocation to this scheme.
To improve quality of life of common man, GST and JAM trinity (Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhaar and Mobile) will be launched.
To encourage first generation SC/ST entrepreneurs, MUDRA bank will provide finance. Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) will be further be expanded to 10.3 crore from 1 crore.
Government will contribute 50% of the premium limited to Rs. 1,000 a year for the Atal Pension Yojana. 9,000 crore unclaimed funds in PPF/EPF will be used for Senior Citizens Fund. For all Indian, government will create universal social security system.
For electric cars production Rs. 75 crore allocated. Renewable energy target for 2022: 60K MW in wind; 10K MW in biomass, 100K MW in solar and 5K MW in small hydro plants.
Under the new tourism scheme, development of churches and convents in old Goa; Hampi, Elephanta caves, , Jallianwala Bagh, Forests of Rajasthan, Leh palace, Varanasi Qutb Shahi tombs at Hyderabad. Visa on Arrival (VoA) facility to be increased for 150 countries from present 43 countries. As an alternative to purchasing gold, Sovereign Gold Bond will be launched.
In order to facilitate depositors of gold to earn interest and jewellers to obtain loans on their metal accounts new scheme will be launched. Forward Markets Commission (FMC) will be merged with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
Under SARFAESI Act 2002, NBFCs registered with the RBI having asset size of Rs 500 crore and above to be considered as financial institution for mid-corporate businesses and fund SME. For Rural Infrastructure Development Bank, Rs. 25,000 crore allocated.
To support Micro Irrigation Programme, Rs. 5,300 crore allocated.

21. Indian Navy’s Theatre Level Readiness and Operational Exercise (TROPEX) exercise concluded on 27 February 2015. TROPEX-2015 was a month long exercise aimed at validating the Indian Navy’s Concept of Operations and the area of operations spanned the Arabian Sea and Northern Indian Ocean. It also encompassed all dimensions of maritime warfare.

22. Acclaimed US actor Leonard Nimoy passed away on 27 February 2015 in Los Angeles. He was 83 and died of end stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He was best known for his half-human, half-Vulcan character of Mr Spock in the cult sci-fi series Star Trek.

23. Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has partnered with e-commerce giant Amazon.in to provide convenient online shopping experience and sell various products. With this tie-up, IRCTC is going to offer its customers (especially Indian railways passengers) with seamless online shopping opportunities in addition to booking travel tickets and hotel accommodations.

24. South African cricketer AB De Villiers has hit the fastest 150 in one-day internationals (ODI’s). He achieved this feat in 64 balls in World Cup Pool B match against West Indies held at Sydney and also broke the previous record of Australia’s Shane Watson by 19 balls.

25. Justice Amitava Roy has sworn in as a judge of the Supreme Court (SC). He was administered the oath of office by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) H. L. Dattu and will have a tenure of three years. Prior to this appointment he was Chief Justice of Orissa High Court.

26. Ex-chairman of the Tata Group Ratan Tata has been honoured with Doctorate of Automotive Engineering by the Clemson University. He was conferred with Doctorate for his contributions to the global automotive industry at the South Carolina Automotive Summit.

27. The Supreme Court on 27 February 2015 held that a person can be accorded Scheduled Caste (SC) status even on re-conversion to Hinduism. The status can be accorded if the person is accepted by people of his caste and he proves that before converting either he or his forefathers previously belonged to SC caste. The ruling was given by two member Supreme Court bench of justices Dipak Misra and V Gopala Gowda on a plea of K P Manu, a Kerala resident, who had challenged the Kerala High Court verdict.

28. Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and Gujarat Forest Department on 26 February 2015 have inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for conservation of Asiatic lion and its habitat. As part of MoU, ZSL with its expertise in managing zoo will provide Technical assistance to forest department to manage rescue and treatments centres. Technical support in veterinary support and expertise in managing the landscape and the habitat of the area and also training the staff in handling rescue operations. It will also help to manage Sakkarbaug Zoo in Junagadh. State Forest Department will use smart software jointly developed by the ZSL and the Gujarat forest department for tracking the movement of their staff and even the lions. Earlier in 2014, ZSL had launched charity’s new Lions400, a fundraising campaign and had raised over £135,000 towards helping to save the Asian lions.

29. Six Indian women entrepreneurs and businesswomen have been named by Forbes magazine as among the 50 ‘Power Businesswomen’ from Asia. Indians included in the list are
Arundhati Bhattacharya- Chairperson of State Bank of India (SBI). Forbes list referred her as the first lady of Indian banking and as chair of the Indian behemoth with 225 million customers.
Chanda Kochchar- MD & CEO of ICICI Bank. Forbes list referred her as India’s second-most-powerful banker after Bhattacharya
Akhila Srinivasan- MD of Shriram Capital.
Kiran Mazumdar Shaw- Chairman & MD of Biocon.
Shikha Sharma- CEO of Axis Bank.
Usha Sangwan- MD of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC).

30. Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on 26 February 2015 presented the Railway Budget 2015-16 in the Parliament. Below are the highlights of this Budget: Railway Fares No new hike in passenger fares While, the Freight fares have been raised incase of urea by 10%, iron and steel by 0.8%, kerosene and cooking gas by 0.8%, coal by 6.3% and cement by 2.7%.
Railway Finances Plan Budget is gone up by 52 percent Rs. 100011 crore for financial year 2015-16 compared to Rs. 65789 crore in FY 2014-15. For next five year envisaged investment for railways is Rs. 8.5 lakh crore rupees.
Funds for railways will be raised from pension, institutional and multilateral agencies.
In order to improve passenger amenities, MPs requested to use part of their MPLAD funds. Railways to set up an infrastructure fund and holding company to raise long-term debt. Passengers Amenities 120 days in advance ticket booking facility for passengers instead of earlier 60 days.
Railways is aiming to move towards paperless ticketing.
Operation 5 minutes- Passengers can buy railway tickets within five minutes unde. SMS updates to inform passengers about any change in schedule of trains.
Open wi-fi facility at 400 railway stations. Mobile charging units will be installed.
For women safety CCTVs to be installed in selected trains and suburban trains. Food ordering facility food while booking tickets through IRCTC website. Water-vending machines to be set up at stations.
138 will be a nationwide 24×7 helpline number for railway-related queries. While, 182 will be a toll-free number for security-related issues. On-board entertainment in Shatabdi Express. Infrastructure Track capacity will be increased by 10% to 1.38 lakh km. Speed of passenger trains on 9 corridors will increased to 160-200 km/h from 110-130 km/h.
Wagon-making scheme will be reviewed in order ease private investment By inviting open bids, station redevelopment policy will be revamped.
10 satellite railway terminals will be developed in major cities in 2015-15. PPP cell of Indian Railways will be revamped.
Feasibility report of high-speed train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad expected by mid-2015. Connectivity to North-East India will be improved. In J&K rail connectivity will be on focus.
Tourism Railways will promote Gandhi circuit in order to mark centenary year of Mahatma Gandhi’s return from South Africa. Special travel scheme Kisan Yatra for farmers for farming and marketing technique centres. Under Incredible India, Incredible Rail will be launched.

31. Cyprus has signed an agreement with Russia to give Russian navy ships access to Cypriot ports in the Mediterranean Sea. The agreement in this regard was signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Cyprus counterpart President Nicos Anastasiades in Moscow. Military deal between both nations comes at the time when the tensions between Russia and Western countries over the Ukrainian conflict have worsened.

32. US Tech giant Apple Inc has been fined $553 million for three patent infringements owned by patent licensing firm Smartflash LLC. This verdict was given by federal Jury in US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. The Jury in its verdict found out that Apple Inc’s iTunes software has infringed three patents owned by Smartflash LLC. The federal jury in its verdict also held that Apple had not only used Smartflash’s patents without permission, but also used them willfully.

33. Jamaica’s Parliament on 25 February 2015 has passed a law to decriminalise the possession of small amounts of marijuana up to 57 grams for personal use.

34. Veteran cinematographer and multilingual director Aloysius Vincent passed away on 25 February 2015 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He was 86

35. Union Cabinet on 25 February 2015 approved the implementation of the scheme for setting up of 15,000 Mega Watt (MW) Grid-connected Solar Photo Voltaic Power projects under the National Solar Mission.
This decision was taken at Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Facts about approved Scheme It will be implemented under the National Solar Mission through state-run National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) Limited and its subsidiary NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam (NVVN) Limited.
This project will also accelerate the process of achieving grid tariff parity for solar power and help to reduce consumption of conventional fuel such as kerosene and diesel. Bundled power produced from these projects will allotted to various states that will provide land for setting up projects.
In case of projects development both private and government companies can take part in it. But they will be allocated projects through international competitive bidding.

36. Union Cabinet on 25 February 2015 gave its approval for establishing the New Development Bank (NDB) and the BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA). This decision was taken in Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

37. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on 25 February 2015 has amended regulation to allow Pan-India Mobile Number Portability (MNP). In this regard, TRAI has issued 6th amendment to the Telecommunication Mobile Number Portability Regulation, 2009. It will come into effect from 3rd May 2015.

38. 44 Armoured Regiment of Indian Army on 25 February 2015 was honoured with President’s Standards for its meritorious and distinguished service to the nation for more than three decades.

39. Union Government has announced as many as 27 Indian satellites are currently operational. It was announced by Minister of State for Prime Minister Office (PMO) & Department of Space Jitendra Singh said during Question Hour of Lok Sabha. Among the 27 operational satellites, 11 are communication satellites, 12 are earth observation satellites, 3 are navigational satellites and 1 is Mars orbiter mission.

40. Ravi Chaudhary, an Indian American has been appointed as Executive director for Regions and Center Operations at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), a key federal aviation post of United States (US).

41. United Kingdom has become the first country to legalise the creation of three-parent IVF designer babies using Mitochondrial Donation Technique. In this regard, House of Lords has voted in voted in favour of the Bill that amends the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act (HFEA), 1990. Earlier on 3 February 2015, House of Commons had passed the bill.

42. Rajya Sabha has passed the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Orders Amendment Bill, 2014. It was unanimously passed by a voice vote. The bill seeks to modify the list of Scheduled Castes in three states- Haryana, Karnataka, Odisha and one Union Territory- Dadra and Nagar Haveli. Amendments The Bill amends the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 and the Constitution (Dadra and Nagar Haveli) Scheduled Castes Order, 1962. The Bill adds the following communities to the list of Scheduled Castes:
Haryana: Kabirpanthi, Julaha.
Karnataka: Bhovi, od, odde, Vaddar, Waddar.
Odisha: Dhoba, Dhobi, Dom, Dombo, Duria Dom, Katia, Kela, Nalua Kela, Khadala and Turi.
Dadra and Nagar Haveli: Chamar.

Article 341- It empowers the President to specify castes which will be deemed as Scheduled Castes through a notification. It also empowers Parliament to include or exclude castes from the list of Scheduled Castes in the notification.

43. Ranchi Rays won the third edition of Champions of Hero Hockey India League (HHIL) 2015. In the final match they defeated Jaypee Punjab Warriors by score of 3-2 in the penalty shootout after 2-2 tie in regular time match.
With this Jaypee Punjab Warriors took second position followed by Delhi Waveriders in third position.
Awards from the Hero Hockey India League (HHIL) 2015 Hero Goal of the Day- Barry Middleton of Ranchi Rays.
Man-of the-Match- Tyler Lovell of Ranchi Rays.
Hero Most Valuable Player of the Tournament- Ashley Jackson of Ranchi Rays
Dhruv Batra Motivator of the Tournament- PR Sreejesh. Ponty Chadha Trophy for Upcoming Player of the Tournament- Harmanpreet Singh of Uttar Pradesh Wizards.
Airtel Award for Most Goals in the Tournament- Jaypee Punjab Warriors.

44. Union government has accepted recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission (FC) as per its agenda of cooperative federalism.
The accepted recommendations are for the five-year period 2015-16 to 2019-20. Key facts Government has accepted FC’s recommendation to increase the devolution of tax receipts from the Centre to the states to 42 percent. Previously, 13th FC had pegged the states’ share at 32 per cent. The share of States in the Centre’s net tax receipts will go up by Rs. 1,78,000 crore in 2015-2016. It is the largest ever change in percentage of devolution.
As per the increased devolution suggested by 14th FC, States will get Rs 3.48 lakh crore in 2014-15 and Rs 5.26 lakh crore in 2015-16. Higher tax devolution will allow states greater autonomy in financing and designing of schemes as per their needs and requirements.
FC also recommended the distribution of grants of Rs 2 .88 lakh crore to states for strengthening duly elected gram panchayats and municipal bodies for five years. FC also has identified 11 revenue deficit states and granted them Rs 48,906 crore as additional resources for the year 2015-16.
Background The 14th Finance Commission was constituted in January 2014. Commissions chairman was former RBI governor Y V Reddy and its members were Sushma Nath, M. Govinda Rao, Abhijit Sen, Sudipto Mundle. In December 2014, Commission had submitted its report to the President Pranab Mukherjee.

45.State Bank of India (SBI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indian Army on the Defence Salary Package (DSP).

46. West Indies opener batsman Chris Gayle created history by becoming the first batsman to score a double century in the World Cup. He made this record by scoring 215 runs off just 147 balls in a Pool-B match against Zimbabwe held at Manuka Oval stadium in Canberra, Australia.

47. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has removed the interconnection usage charges (IUC). Earlier, IUC of 20 paise was charged for calls made from landline to landline or landline to mobile. TRAI also has reduced network IUC on calls made from mobile phones by about 30 percent to 14 paise per call from 20 paise earlier. The main aim to remove IUC is to boost fixed line phone connections in the country and lower tariffs of calls for the customers.
What are interconnection usage charges (IUC)?
IUC are the charges that a landline or mobile service provider has to pay to the other service providers for transmitting its customers’ phone calls. Generally, an IUC gets added to the price of the call made by customer, which the customer has to pay. Because of addition IUC, call tariffs were high.

48. First Hindu Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Rana Bhagwandas passed away in Karachi, Pakistan. He was 72 year old. He was the first Hindu and the second non-Muslim to head of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. First non-Muslim CJP was Alvin Robert Cornelius (He was Christian).

49. Popular Tamil director R.C Sakthi passed away in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He was 76.

50. India’s second largest private power producer Tata Power has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Russia’s largest coal producer Siberian Coal Energy Company (SUEK). As part of this initial agreement, both the companies will cooperate with each other to identify and target opportunities in the energy sector. Both parties will tap the opportunities in the energy sector in Russia and other geographies to develop common mutual interest. At present, Tata Power is generating about 8,621 MW of power of which 7,407 MW is from thermal power generation.

51. Japanese automaker Honda Motor Co has appointed Takahiro Hachigo as its new President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). He will assume charge in June 2015 and replace Takanobu Ito, who had stepped down from the top most post in an unexpected move on 23 February 2015.

52. The 87th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) was held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. The Academy Awards (commonly referred as Oscars) were presented in twenty four categories. They are Best Picture- Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance). Best Actor- Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything). Best Actress- Julianne Moore (Still Alice). Best Supporting Actor- J. K. Simmons (Whiplash). Best Supporting Actress- Patricia Arquette (Boyhood). Best Director- Alejandro G. Iñárritu for Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance). Best Original Screenplay- Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance). Best Adapted Screenplay- The Imitation Game. Best Original Song- Glory (Selma). Best Original Score- The Grand Budapest Hotel. Best Production Design- The Grand Budapest Hotel. Best Editing- Whiplash. Best Cinematography- Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance). Best Sound Editing- American Sniper. Best Sound Mixing- Whiplash. Best Foreign Language Film- Ida (Poland). Best Documentary Feature- CitizenFour. Best Documentary Short Subject- Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1. Best Live Action Short Film- The Phone Call. Best Visual Effects- Interstellar. Best Animated Feature Film- Big Hero 6. Best Animated Short Film- Feast. Best Makeup and Hairstyling- The Grand Budapest Hotel. Best Costume Design- The Grand Budapest Hotel. Most awards: Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) and The Grand Budapest Hotel (Both received 4 awards). Most nominations in 87th Academy Awards- Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) and The Grand Budapest Hotel (both 9 nominations)

53. 3rd Tortoise Festival was organised on the banks of Hajong Lake in Dima Hasao district of Assam by Dima Hasao Environment and Forest Department. This festival aims to create awareness among the villagers surrounding villages of Hajong Lake about the safety of the endangered tortoise species available in the area.

54. Nitish Kumar has sworn in as the Chief Minister (CM) of Bihar for the 4th time. Governor of Bihar Keshri Nath Tripathi administered the oath of office and secrecy to him at the oath taking ceremony held at Raj Bhawan in Patna.

55. As per World Bank’s recently released report Building Resilience for Sustainable Development of the Sundarbans, environmental damage in the climate change-hit islands of Sundarbans is costing India Rs. 1,290 crore each year.
This report was jointly prepared by World Bank in collaboration with the West Bengal government. Key facts of report Losses- Annually the cost of environmental damage associated with ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss is about Rs. 670 crore.
While, the cost of health effects due to poor environment is estimated at Rs. 620 crore. Factors- The losses are due to combination of factors associated with unsustainable and inefficient economic activities in Sundarbans.
These factors include mangrove destruction, impact of cyclones, reduced agricultural yields and unsustainable fisheries as well as destruction of ecosystem services. Cyclones- Damage costs from cyclones are the highest and accounts for damages worth Rs. 290 crore.
It also includes damages to houses, agriculture, human injuries and fatalities. Health issues- Due to environmental degradation, villagers in Sundarbans are suffering from poor health outcomes. This degradation is generally in the form of adverse natural events, such as cyclones and storms and increases in soil salinity.
These risk factors contribute considerably to mortality and morbidity, particularly among women and children.
Other losses- Climate change along with the sea level rise also has resulted in shrimp losses, carbon sequestration losses associated with degradation of mangrove forest, soil salinity in terms of impact on rice yields, loss of biodiversity and agricultural land losses.
About Sundarbans Sundarbans is an archipelago of 54 islands and is home to about 44 lakh people. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site. In recent times it is hit hard by an increase in floods, storms, salinity and erosion caused by rising sea-levels and global warming.

56.Purnendu Dasgupta, an Indian-American has won 2015 American Chemical Society (ACSs) Division of Analytical Chemistry J. Calvin Giddings Award.

57. International Mother Language Day (Bhasha Divas) is observed across the world, on 21 February every year. 2015 Theme: “Inclusion in and through education: Language counts”. The year 2015 is the 15th anniversary of International Mother Language Day. Objective: To promote awareness of linguistic, multilingualism and cultural diversity.

58. Union Government has launched Consular Grievances Monitoring portal named MADAD (Help)- Because You Are Us. MADAD an e-portal will help Indian citizens living abroad to file consular grievances online on the services offered by the Indian Missions and Posts abroad. It was launched by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj at the MEA headquarters in New Delhi.

59. India has signed loan agreement with Asian Development Bank (ADB) for 50 Million dollars to boost power generation capacity in Assam. The loan agreement was signed for the second Assam power sector investment programme.

60. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has given its approval to proposed Rs 15,000-crore merger deal between Kotak Mahindra Bank and ING Vysya Bank.

61. Thailand’s parliament under ruling military junta has passed a legislation banning commercial surrogacy.

62. Eminent scientist Tapan Misra has been appointed the Chief of ISRO’s Space Applications Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad Gujarat. He will succeed A S Kiran Kumar, who was appointed as the Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) in January 2015.

63. Chief Minister (CM) of Bihar Jitan Ram Manjhi has resigned. His resignation was accepted by Governor of Bihar Keshri Nath Tripathi.

64. United States (US) and Turkey have signed an agreement to train and arm moderate Syrian opposition forces taking on Islamic State (IS) militants. The deal was inked by Turkey’s foreign ministry undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioglu and US ambassador to Ankara John Bass.

65. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched nationwide Soil Health Card (SHC) scheme in Suratgarh town of Sriganganagar district, Rajasthan. During the launch PM gave slogan- Swasth Dharaa. Khet Haraa (Healthy Earth, Green Farm).

66. India and United States have held their first ever bilateral dialogue on the UN and multilateral issues. The dialogue was held in Washington, on the spirit of the Delhi Declaration of Friendship that strengthens and expands the two countries’ relationship.

67. Former India Captain and ace spinner Anil Kumble has been chosen to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. He will be 77th inductee into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. He will be felicitated and inducted on 22 February 2015 during the ICC Cricket World Cup match between India and South Africa in Melbourne

68. Eminent filmmaker from Odisha Nirad Mahapatra passed away in Mumbai. He was 67.

69. India successfully test-fired its nuclear capable Prithvi-II surface-to-surface missile from a test range at Chandipur in Odisha. Test- It was conducted by the Strategic Force Command (SFC) and monitored by the scientists of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Missile was fired from a mobile launcher from launch complex-3 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) as part of a user trial by the army and met all mission objectives. About Prithvi-II missile Prithvi-II missile is the first missile indigenously developed by DRDO under India’s prestigious Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP). It was inducted into India’s SFC in 2003.

70. Rashad Hussain, an Indian-American has been appointed United States (US) Special Envoy and Coordinator for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications.

71. India’s Kalyani Group has announced a joint venture (JV) with Rafael Advanced Defence System of Israel. This joint venture company will be based in India. It was announced by Chairman and Managing Director (MD) of Kalyani Group Baba Kalyani.

72. Online retailer Snapdeal.com has acquired luxury fashion portal Exclusively.com for an undisclosed amount. With this acquisition, Snapdeal is seeking to expand its presence in the high-end fashion segment and targeting $2 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV) by the end of the current calendar year.

73. Bihar government has announced 35% reservation for women in non-gazetted government jobs in group C and D grade.

74. Indian telecom giant Bharti Airtel Limited has partnered with United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to provide health, education and youth-focussed content to its customers in 17 African countries.

75. The 5th India- Myanmar Joint Trade Committee (JTC) meeting was held in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar. The JTC meeting was co-chaired by Minister of Commerce & Industry Nirmala Sitharaman and Myanmar Union Minister of Commerce U Win Myint. Both sides had intensive interaction and exchanged views to find ways and means to enhance the bilateral trade and investment ties. In 5th India- Myanmar JTC meeting, both nations agreed to

76. The first National Tribal Festival ‘Vanaj’ concluded on 18 February 2015 in New Delhi. It was organised by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and was inaugurated by the Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Jual Oram on 13 February 2015 at the Indira Gandhi National Center for Arts (IGNCA), New Delhi.

77. Veteran multilingual film producer Daggubati Ramanaidu has passed away in Hyderabad, Telangana. He was 78 and was suffering from prostate cancer. D Ramanaidu was popularly known as movie mogul and was the only Indian filmmaker to produce movies in so many languages including in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Oriya, Punjabi and English.

78. 10th edition of Aero India show has begun at the Yelahanka Air Force Station in Bengaluru, Karnataka. It was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. During the inaugural ceremony audience witnessed the mind-boggling performance of Sarang aerobatic team from the Indian Air Force (IAF) flying the Dhruv helicopters.

79. Airport Council International (ACI) has ranked Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport of Delhi as the world’s most performing airports in the 25-40 million passengers per annum (MPPA) category. For this achievement, IGI has won the annual ASI’s Airport Service Quality (ASQ) award for the year 2014.

80. Croatia’s first female President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic was sworn in on 15 February 2015. She is Croatia’s fourth president since its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. The Croatian president has a largely ceremonial role and has term a five-year term. In January 2015 election run-off, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic had narrowly defeated her left-wing predecessor Ivo Josipovic. In this election she had secured 50.5% of the votes while her predecessor Ivo Josipovic had secured 49.5% votes.

81. India’s software services giant Infosys has announced to acquire to acquire US-based automation technology firm Panaya. In this regard, Infosys has signed a definitive agreement to fully acquire Panaya for an enterprise value of $200 million (1200 crore rupees) in cash.

82.Veteran journalist, cartoonist and political activist Rajinder Puri has passed away on 15 February 2015 in New Delhi. He was 80.

83. Union Ministry of Finance has imposed an anti-dumping duty on imports of graphite electrodes used in steel plants for five years. The imposed duty ranges between $278.19 and $922.03 per tonne.
What is Anti-Dumping Duty? It is duty imposed by government on imported products which have prices less than their normal values or domestic price. Usually countries initiate anti-dumping probes to check if domestic industry has been hurt because of a surge in below-cost imports. Anti-Dumping Duty is imposed under the multilateral WTO regime and vary from product to product and from country to country. In India, anti-dumping duty is recommended by the Union Ministry of Commerce, while the Union Finance Ministry imposes it.

83.Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC has appointed Faisal Siddiqui as new regional President of HTC South Asia.

84. Former Home Minister of Maharashtra, Raosaheb Ramrao Patil has passed away in Mumbai. He was 57 years old and was suffering from oral cancer.

85. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has adopted a unanimous resolution to resolve the political and security crisis in Yemen.

86. China has opened new embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan. It is the largest overseas diplomatic mission of China.

87. Filmmaker Nagesh Kukunoor’s film Dhanak has been honoured with The Grand Prix of the Generation Kplus International Jury for the best feature-length film at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival (also known as the Berlinale).

88. Chhattisgarh has won award for being one of the best-performing states in the renewable energy segment in India.

89. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first Renewable Energy Global Investors Meet and Expo (Re-Invest) 2015 in New Delhi. The aim of the meet is to evolve innovative financial models for funding and to ensure the partnership of states and the Centre in harnessing renewable energy. Germany is the partner country for Re-Invest 2015 and over 2500 delegates including exhibitors from 45 countries are participating in the three day event.

90.The third National Lok Adalat was organised on 14 February 2015 throughout India involving the Supreme Court, high courts, districts courts and taluka-level courts, except in Assam and Uttar Pradesh. It was organised under the patronage of Chief Justice of India (CJI) H L Dattu and the leadership of Supreme Court Judge Justice T S Thakur.

91. Kerala-based business conglomerate Muthoot Group has launched the Friends for Life project in partnership with World Wide Fund (WWF) for Nature-India.

92. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a Permanent Judicial Museum at Bombay High Court located on the ground floor of the heritage building of court. This museum is conceived and set up as part of the Sesquicentennial Celebration (150th year) of the Bombay High Court.