RBI/ BANKING/BUSINESS NEWS THIS MONTH

30 October: Yes Bank claimed that it has become the first bank to set up its IFSC banking
operations at the highly-ambitious Gujarat International Finance Tec City (GIFT City). It also
claimed that it is the first bank to start operations in GIFT City by setting up an IBU (IFSC Banking
Unit).
30 October: India and France signed a Memorandum of Understanding to conserve, develop
and publicize written heritage at the National Library in Kolkata.
29 October: India now ranks 130 out of 189 countries in the ease of doing business, moving up
12 places from last year, according to a World Bank's annual report 'Doing Business 2016'. Going
from 142 in the world to 130, as India has done, is very good sign. List is topped by Singapore,
followed by New Zealand, Denmark, South Korea, Hong Kong, Britain and the US.
28 October: Reserve Bank of India cleared a proposal under which Foreign Institutional Investors
(FIIs)/Registered Foreign Portfolios Investors (RFPIs) can now invest up to 74 per cent in the
paid-up capital of multi-system operator (MSO) DEN Networks Ltd under the Portfolio
Investment Scheme (PIS).
28 October: Indias elite disaster mitigation combat force, National Disaster Response Force
(NDRF) tied up with about 30 Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) in order to develop mutual
understanding and enhance capabilities to jointly tackle man-made or natural emergencies.
28 October: Reliance Industries Limited became the first corporate company to sign the revised
listing agreement with the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) as mandated under the newly
introduced Listing Regulation notified by SEBI. With the signing of the agreement with BSE, RIL is
the first listed company to conform to SEBI norms.
26 October: India is set to grow at 7.4 per cent this financial year, according to a report by Bank
of America Merrill Lynch. The brokerage firm cut the growth forecast for FY16 to 7.4 per cent
from its earlier prediction of 7.5 per cent. India grew at 7.3 per cent in 2014-15.
26 October: World Bank projected that remittances to India are expected to increase by 2.5 per
cent this year, even as weak economies in Europe, especially Russia, are slowing the growth of
remittance flows. In 2014, India is estimated to have received remittances worth USD 70.3
billion or nearly Rs. 4.5 lakh crore.

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 24 October: Reserve Bank of India issued guidelines for the Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS)
that allow banks to fix their own interest rates on gold deposits. The RBI notification in this
regard comes ahead of the formal launch of the scheme by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on
Novermber 5. As per the guidelines, banks will be free to set interest rate on such deposit, and
principal and interest of the deposit will be denominated in gold.
24 October: The Union Govt. has circulated a draft note pertaining to monetary policy
mechanism in the country. It has proposed clipping the exclusive veto rights of the RBI governor
in setting monetary policy. It has proposed that a seven-member committee should draft
monetary policy. It has proposed that the committee would have four members from the
government and three from the central bank, with the RBI governor, as its chair, holding no veto
power as was earlier. The monetary policy committee will fix the benchmark interest rate of the
RBI and set inflation targets.
24 October: Reliance Capital Asset Management (RCAM) announced takeover of Goldman Sachs
Asset Management India (GSAMI), which is the Indian mutual fund entity of global financial
giant Goldman Sachs in all-cash deal of Rs. 243 crore with which it becomes the exclusive fund
manager for the governments ambitious Central Public Sector Enterprises Exchange Traded
Fund (CPSE-ETF).
23 October: Russia and United States inked an agreement on air security during the air strikes
on ISIS bases in Syria. The agreement was signed to avoid clashes between their air forces in the
skies over Syria.
23 October: Bharti Airtel has struck a deal to sell 8,300 towers in seven of the 13 countries it
operates in across Africa and the $1.7 billion (Rs. 11,000 crore) transaction will help the
company pare its troublesome debt in the continent. The company had entered Africa in 2010
by buying out the assets of Zain Telecom for about $10 billion.
23 October: The Reserve Bank of India signed an agreement on Supervisory Cooperation and
Exchange of Supervisory Information with the Central Bank of United Arab Emirates (UAE) to
curb black money. The MoU was signed by Saeed Abdulla Al Hamiz, Assistant Governor for
Banking Supervision Affairs on behalf of Central Bank of UAE and Meena Hemchandra, Executive
Director on behalf of RBI.
23 October: The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) sanctioned a
loan of Rs. 134.64 crore to the Haryana government under Rural Infrastructure Development
Fund for 2015-16. The funds have been sanctioned for Rehabilitation of JLN (Jawahar Lal Nehru)
feeder system in three districts of Jhajjar, Rewari and Mahendergarh.
21 October: Government has made it compulsory for any budding entrepreneur to submit her
or his Aadhaar number in order to start a new business. Now, a new business cannot be started
without Aadhaar number. Under the new system before starting a business it would be
mandatory to get Aadhaar card registered.
20 October: India has been ranked among top 10 acquirers in the US market this year with 16
deals valued at $1.7 billion, says Baker & McKenzie. Majority of these deals were in the pharma
sector, with six transactions totalling $1.5 billion, as companies seek to increase their scale in
the US generics market, said a report by Baker & McKenzie.

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 20 October: IT major Infosys announced the acquisition of Houston-based Noah Consulting for
$70 million or Rs 450 crore in an all-cash deal.
20 October: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) opened its sub-office in Imphal in Manipur. Manipur
chief minister, O Ibobi Singh and Harun R Khan, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India
inaugurated the Reserve Bank's sub-office in Imphal.
19 October: The Northern India Textile Research Association (NITRA) under textiles ministry has
signed a memorandum of understanding with the Technological University of Tajikistan to give a
boost to bilateral trade between the two countries. The MoU is aimed at forging close links
between the two countries to promote textile enterprises in Tajikistan.
17 October: The Reserve Bank of India formed a single Financial Inclusion Fund (FIF) with a
corpus of 2000 crore rupees. The fund is formed by merging the Financial Inclusion Fund (FIF)
and Financial Inclusion Technology Fund (FITF). The new FIF will be administered by the
reconstituted Advisory Board constituted by Union Government and will be maintained by
NABARD. Objective of FIF is to support developmental and promotional activities with a view to
securing greater financial inclusion.
16 October: The union cabinet approved a memorandum of understanding signed between
India and Mozambique in August this year to improve bilateral technical cooperation in the field
of new and renewable energy. The MoU was inked to promote technical bilateral cooperation,
investment promotion and partnership in the new and renewable energy sector.
16 October: The latest Global Wealth Report by Swiss bank Credit Suisse has disclosed that with
109 million middle class adults China has the worlds largest middle class population. It has
replaced the United States, which has around 92 million of its populace under middle class.
China now accounts for 5% of the world population, while holding nearly 10% of the global
wealth.
16 October: Yes Bank, the fifth largest private bank in India, received the approval of the
Reserve Bank of India to set up a mutual fund, asset management company (AMC) and a trustee
company.
15 October: President Pranab Mukherjee visited Palestine where he gave $5 million to the
Palestinian government as a budgetary support after talks with his Palestinian counterpart
Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah. Both countries have also announced five projects worth $17.79
million aimed at capacity building in the Palestinian territories. The projects include a $12
million techno park, a $4.5 million Palestine Institute for Diplomacy and a $1 million IndiaPalestine Centre for Excellence in Gaza.

14 October: Indian government signed a deal, worth 105.5 crore rupees, with Pipistrel, a
Slovenian firm, for 194 micro-light aircraft named 'Virus SW 80/100' to be used by
Indian Air Force, the Navy and the National Cadet Corps. However, the Indian version of
the aircraft will be renamed as Garud.
14 October: Punjab National Bank (PNB) claimed the Beighton Cup hockey tournament
at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) ground in Kolkata. PNB defeated Indian Oil
Corporation (IOC).

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 14 October: ICICI Bank has launched 'Money2World,' a fully online outward remittance
service for resident Indians. With this, non-account holders of ICICI Bank can now
transfer money online from any bank account in India to any bank account overseas in
16 major currencies, in a "convenient and fully secure" manner. It is a first-of-its-kind
service by any bank in India. Users can remit up to an equivalent of $25000 in a financial
year through this online platform.
14 October: The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina,
announced that the AfDB would triple its annual climate financing to reach 5 billion
dollar a year by 2020.
14 October: Finance Ministers of 20 nations vulnerable to climate change launched the
V20 Group. The Group was launched during the annual meeting of International
Monetary Fund and World Bank in Lima, Peru. The Group aims to pool resources for
their fight against the impact of global warming and is a counterpoint to the G20 group
of leading industrialized and emerging economies.
13 October: India and Jordon inked six MoUs in various fields in Amman. These include,
agreement on Maritime Transport, Exchange of information on structure and content of
training programmes for diplomats, Cooperation in the field of IT & Electronics, Cultural
Exchange Programme for 2015-17, Cooperation in the fields of Standardization and
Conformity Assessment; and Cooperation Agreement between Jordan News Agency
[Petra] and Press Trust of India [PTI]. The MoUs were signed as part of the President
Pranab Mukherjees three-day visit to Jordan from 10-12 October 2015.
12 October: China launched the much anticipated China International Payment System
(CIPS), an international payment system that seeks to provide global dimensions to its
currency Yuan. CIPS will provide capital settlement and clearing services for crossborder Yuan transactions for financial institutions domestically and abroad and will
effectively enhance efficiency and increase global use of the Chinese currency.
12 October: Union Government released data which discloses that the National Pension
System (NPS) and the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) have together crossed milestone figure
of Rs. 1 lakh crore (or Rs. 1 trillion) with regard to total Assets Under Management
(AUM). Both together have more than one crore subscribers with total AUM of Rs.1,
00,275 crores.
12 October: The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement of 12 Pacific Rim
countries was reached at the ministerial meeting of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)
held in Atlanta, USA that will cover almost 36% of global economic output. This is an
ambitious agreement to lower trade and investment barriers in 12 partner countries in
the Asia Pacific region. The TPP is worlds biggest trade agreement in the past two
decades.

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 12 October: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $15 million grant to
rebuild schools, provide micro-loans to help restore livelihoods, and to boost disaster
awareness in quake-ravaged Nepal.
10 October: ICICI Bank launched a mobile payment service 'mVisa'. The service enables
customers to make electronic payments from their smart phones at traditional stores, ecommerce sites, deliveries made at home, radio taxi and utility bills among others
without swiping a debit card. The service is based on 'mVisa', a new mobile payment
solution from Visa. ICICI Bank is the first bank globally to launch a mobile app based on
'mVisa' solution for consumers and merchants.
10 October: Drug maker Cipla announced that its South African subsidiary Cipla Medpro
(Pvt.) Ltd. has entered into an exclusive agreement with Serum Institute of India (SII).
The two organizations have partnered to provide vaccines in South Africa. The
partnership will enable affordable and accessible vaccines for South Africans as well as
will facilitate a reliable supply stream to the South African Government.
9 October: International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected the economic growth rate
of 7.5 percent for India in 2016 as against China's 6.3 percent. In its latest World
Economic Outlook Update, IMF said growth in India is expected to rise above the rates
in other major emerging market economies.
9 October: National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Ltd (NCDEX) signed an
agreement with Kotak Mahindra Bank. Under the agreement, farmers and traders who
have kept their commodities in NCDEX-approved warehouses, can use such
commodities as collateral for availing financial assistance from Kotak Mahindra Bank.
8 October: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has trimmed its growth forecast for
India to 7.3% for the current fiscal, from 7.5% predicted in July, although it maintained
the countrys near-term growth prospects still remained favorable. The multilateral
agency also cut its projection for global economic growth to 3.1% for 2015. .
8 October: Easing norms for foreign ownership of government debt, RBI announced
higher investment limits in rupee terms in government securities by foreign portfolio
investors (FPIs) with a view to bringing in an additional Rs 1.2 lakh crore by March 2018.
The announcement follows a decision by RBI to fix FPI investment limits in rupee terms
and raise it in phases to reach 5 per cent of the outstanding stock by March 2018.
8 October: The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has
given its approval for the formation of a Group A service of the technical cadre of the
Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSD&E). This was earlier called the
Directorate General of Employment & Training, Ministry of Labour Employment. The
new service will be called the Indian Skill Development Service (ISDS).

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 8 October: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by the Prime
Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval to: (i) implement the World Bank
assisted National Watershed Management Project "Neeranchal" with a total outlay of
$357 million (Rs 2142.30 crore at Rs. 60 = $1 Government Share 50%) (ii) implement the
project at the National level as well as in the nine States of Andhra Pradesh, Chattisgarh,
Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Telangana.
7 October: A framework MoU was signed between the Department of Heavy Industries
(DHI), GoI and Fraunhofer, Germany, which will act as the 'technology resource partner'.
The objective of this MoU is to support and augment the 'Make in India' programme
through increasing the innovation and technology prowess of Indian industry.
7 October: According the provisional data of the RBI, UCO Bank was listed as the worst
performer among the public sector banks (PSU banks) for registering the highest
increase in gross non-performing assets (NPAs) in percentage terms against total loans
for last fiscal year (2014-15).
6 October: The World Bank cut its 2015 and 2016 growth forecasts for the developing
East Asia and Pacific (EAP) region, which includes China, to grow 6.5 per cent in 2015
and 6.4 per cent in 2016, down from 6.8 per cent growth in 2014.
5 October: Private bank IDFC Bank became the latest entrant to Indias banking sector
on 1 October 2015 as it unveiled its banking operations on this day with 23 branches.
3 October: Global rating agency Fitch Ratings has lowered India's GDP growth estimate
for the current fiscal 2015-16 to 7.5 per cent from 7.8 per cent.
1 October: With $31 billion of foreign capital inflows, India has surpassed China and the
US to take the pole position in attracting largest FDI in the first half of 2015. The Finance
Ministry forwarded a report published in Financial Times, London that said "India grabs
investment league pole position." In 2014 India ranked fifth in terms of capital
investment, after China, the US, the UK and Mexico. According to the report India has
attracted $31 billion of FDI in H1 2015, ahead of $28 billion of China and $27 billion of
US.
NATION THIS MONTH

30 October: The Madhya Pradesh Government decided to provide 33 percent reservation to

women in government jobs in the state. With the decision, the reservation for women in
government jobs in the state increased from the present 30 percent to 33 percent.
29 October: The Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley launched the e-Sahyog pilot project of the
Income-Tax Department to facilitate taxpayers by reducing their need to physically appear
before tax authorities. The e-Sahyog project is aimed at reducing compliance cost, especially for
small taxpayers. He also inaugurated a drive to provide public service at peoples door step by
holding special PAN camps in remote areas.

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28 October: Union Government has included a new tax, Sin Tax under the proposed Goods and
Services Tax (GST) law that will be effective from 1 April 2016 under which the companies which
manufacture harmful products like alcohol and tobacco will have to give additional Sin Tax. Sin
tax is an excise tax levied on products and services like alcohol, tobacco and gambling
considered bad for health or society. These additional taxes are also seen as efforts to
discourage people from use of such products or services.
27 October: In a landmark decision, the Ministry of Defence has approved the induction of
women into the fighter (Combat) stream of the Indian Air Force (IAF). The first women pilots
would be selected from the batch which is presently undergoing flying training at Air Force
Academy, Hyderabad. After successful completion of associated training, they would be
commissioned in the fighter stream in June 2016. Thereafter, they would undergo advanced
training for one year and would enter a fighter cockpit by June 2017.
26 October: The Department of Heavy Industry, in active consultation with industry associations
& bodies has drafted a National Policy on Capital Goods. This is the first time that a policy on
Capital Goods is being framed. This is the most critical sector for achieving the vision of Make in
India as the sector has multiplier effect on other sectors of economy. This National Policy on
Capital Goods is envisaged to unlock the potential for this promising sector and establish India
as a global manufacturing powerhouse.
23 October: The Telangana government signed an agreement with France's Bordeaux city for
strengthening economic links in biotechnology, aeronautical engineering, information
technology and urban renewal. Chief Secretary Rajiv Sharma, who is on a visit to France, signed
the MoU with Bordeaux Metropolis Vice President Michel Vernejoul.
23 October: The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting reconstituted the Central Press
Accreditation Committee (CPAC) that issues Press Information Bureau (PIB) cards to journalists.
PIB director general Frank Noronha will be the ex-officio chairman of the committee.
23 October: Konkan Railway announced to establish first-of-kind tunnel technology institute at
Goas Margao town. The proposed tunnel technology institute will be named as George
Fernandes Institute of Tunnel Technology, after former Railway Minister George Fernandes.
Fernandes is said to be the driving force behind the Konkan Railway.
20 October: The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has identified two major initiatives
towards better utilization of blood and blood components, as part of its commitment to ensure
safe blood and enhanced access to blood products, on the recommendation of the National
Blood Transfusion Council. The first step is permitting the transfer of blood from one blood bank
to another. This was not allowed earlier and will help in transfer of blood to places of scarcity.
20 October: The Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has launched a pilot
project of a 'station-based e-catering' service allowing passengers to order meals as per their
choice, which will be delivered at stations from popular private caterers. In the first phase of the
project, all trains passing through 45 specified railway stations
20 October: The country's retirement system ranks last in the global pension index, says a study
by global consulting major Mercer. Still, the National Pension System (NPS), which was launched
by the government in June as part of Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, will help the country

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improve its index, the study said. Denmark has been rated as the country with the best
retirement system in the world.
19 October: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has made it mandatory for telecom
operators to compensate consumers by one rupee for call drops with effect from 1st January
2016. The compensation will, however, be limited to three dropped calls in a day.
19 October: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu launched the My Brick My
Amaravati scheme so as to financially assist in the huge task of establishing the new capital
'Amaravati' for the state. Under this initiative, a person can contribute Rs.10 per digital e-brick
online and have his or her name engraved on it.
19 October: Real estate developer Tata Housing partnered with social networking firm Facebook
to sell its affordable homes online. For this Tata Housing has launched a new campaign titled
Social sell on Facebook. Through this new campaign the company plans to sell around 250 units
of its new five-acre residential project in Goa called Codename Goa Paradise.
17 October: The five-judge Constitutional Bench of Supreme Court in a collective order ruled
that 99th Constitutional Amendment Act and the National Judicial Appointments Commission
(NJAC), constituted for the appointment of judges, are unconstitutional and void. It also upheld
the Collegium system that existed before the NJAC as operative.
17 October: As part of its initiative to sensitize the masses about the issue of climate change,
the union government flagged off Science Express-Climate Action Special, a special train on the
subject of climate change action from Delhi. Science Express Climate Action Special is a 16coach air-conditioned train.
17 October: Union Minister of Urban Development M. Venkaiah Naidu declared that former
President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalams birth place Rameswaram (Tamil Nadu) has been included in
Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) for providing basic urban
infrastructure. Rameswaram is the 498th to be included in the Mission. With the addition of
Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu would have 32 cities and towns under Atal Mission.
17 October: The Union Ministry of Home Affairs introduced a scheme called Central Victim
Compensation Fund (CVCF) with an initial amount of 200 crore rupees. The scheme aims at
enabling support to victims of various attacks, such as rape, acid attacks, human trafficking and
women killed or injured in the cross border firing.
16 October: The Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar renamed the countrys prestigious DRDO
Missile Complex in Hyderabad as Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Missile Complex. The landmark event
took place at Research Centre Imarat (RCI) on the occasion of the 84th Birth Anniversary of Dr.
Kalam, the Missile Man on 15th October.
15 October: Rajasthan Government has taken lead in promoting affordable housing by signing
four MoUs firming up an investment of Rs. 5,400 cr. These four MoUs were a part of 27 MoUs
signed entailing an investment of Rs.12, 478 cr in housing and urban development projects. Tata
Housing Development Company Ltd has committed to invest Rs. 2,000 cr in affordable and
mixed use township in Rajasthan.

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13 October: Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of a world-class
memorial for constitution-maker Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar at Indu Mill land in Dadar
(Mumbai). The proposed memorial would have a 40-feet-tall full-size statue of Dr.
Babasaheb Ambedkar along with a big stupa with 24 ribs denoting Dhammachakra. PM
also announced that from now 26 November will be celebrated as Samvidhaan Divas
(Constitution Day) every year.
10 October: To protect the endangered Gangetic river dolphins countrys first
community reserve for the mammal will soon be established in West Bengal.
9 October: An expert committee under the Chairmanship of former Secretary General
of the Lok Sabha, P.D.T. Achary, and formed by the Speaker of the Delhi Assembly Ram
Niwas Goel has proposed a huge 316% salary increase for the MLAs of Delhi in its report.
The committee proposed raising the salary from present Rs. 12,000 to Rs. 50,000 per
month.
9 October: Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare, Dr. Sanjeev Kumar
Balyan launched KISAN Project (C(K)rop Insurance using Space technology And
geoiNformatics) that seeks to speed up payment of crop insurance claims to farmers
and provide accurate assessment of crop damage. An Android-based app for collection
of data of hailstorm with assistance from ISRO to assess large-scale damage to standing
crops was also launched.
8 October: The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, gave
its approval for setting up of three new All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AllMS) at
Nagpur in Maharashtra, at Manglagiri in Andhra Pradesh and at Kalyani in West Bengal
under Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojna (PMSSY). This involves financial
implication of Rs.4949 crore.
8 October: construction of a National War Memorial and a National War Museum at
Princess Park, near India Gate, New Delhi in memory of all Indian soldiers who have
made the supreme sacrifice for the country post-independence. The estimated cost of
the project will be around Rs. 500 crore and the total time for completion of the entire
project is estimated to be five years.
7 October: J.P. Nadda, Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare launched the second
phase of Mission Indradhanush in 352 districts. The aim of mission to achieve more than
90% full immunization in the country by 2020.
7 October: Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister of Shipping and Road Transport &
Highways chaired the first meeting of the National Sagarmala Apex Committee (NSAC)
held in New Delhi. The meeting was part of the ambitious Sagar Mala Project of the
Union Government. The main objective of this project is to develop 12 major ports and
also over 1,200 islands spread across the country so that they can contribute
significantly to Indias growth.

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6 October: Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. (TCS) has been ranked as the most valuable
company in India in terms of market capitalization, according to the date released by
BSE. It is followed by Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL). Infosys dethroned HDFC Bank Ltd to
become the third most valuable company in India.
5 October: Rural Development Ministry launched Intensive Participatory Planning
Exercise II (IPPE-II) scheme in 2,532 poorer Backward Blocks of the country on 2nd
October 2015. Its aim is to address the various facets of poverty of rural families by
incorporating all rural development programmes in a single participatory planning
exercise.
3 October: Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC) has set up its first 10 MW solar power
plant at a cost of Rs. 74.60 crore at Neyveli, Cuddalore district, Tamil Nadu. This is the
first Renewable Energy project commissioned by the company.
3 October: Union Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma launched the NOC Online
Application Portal and Processing System (NOAPS) for the National Monument Authority
(NMA), Ministry of Culture in New Delhi. It will make the approval procedure more
efficient for construction related activities in regulated/restricted areas in the vicinity of
Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) protected monuments in different cities of India.
1 October: Naval warship INS Kochi, the largest-ever warship built in India, was
commissioned by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai.
It is of 7,500-tonne. The strike range of INS Kochi is 300 km and hit 50 targets
simultaneously.
1 October: Maharashtra State Government announced popular Violinist and music
composer Prabhakar Jog as the winner of Lata Mangeshkar Award for Lifetime
Achievement (2015) for his contribution in the field of Music. In his sixty-year journey
Prabhakar has made outstanding contribution in Hindi and Marathi music industry.
1 October: Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways and
Shipping, launched the Green Highways (Plantation, Transplantation, Beautification &
Maintenance) Policy, 2015 in New Delhi. According to the provisions of the Green
Highways Policy 2015, about Rs. 1000 crore per year will be available for plantation
purpose on Highways by keeping aside 1% of the expenses for the construction of
highways.

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GLOBE- TROT THIS MONTH

31 October: India has now become the world's fastest growing economy. India has achieved this
feat overtaking China. World Bank's India Development Update expects India's economic growth
to be at 7.5% in 2015-16, followed by a further acceleration to 7.8% in 2016-17 and 7.9% in
2017-18.
31 October: China has dropped its controversial one-child policy bowing to pressures imposed
by the prospects of an ageing society and a growing shortfall in the workforce. The decision
allowing couples to have two children was taken by the Chinese Communist Party (CPC).The
policy change is an advance over the 2013 ruling, which allowed couples, where one of the
parents was a single child, to have two children.
31 October: India will offer concessional credit of $10 billion over the next five years to Africa,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced. "We will also offer a grant assistance of $600 million.
This will include an India-Africa Development Fund of $100 million and an India-Africa Health
Fund of $10 million, Modi said while addressing the plenary session of the Third India-Africa
Forum Summit.
31 October: Beijing has dismissed the twin-pronged challenge it faces to its territorial claims in
the South China Sea posed by the U.S. military on the water and a Philippine legal team at a
United Nations-backed tribunal.
31 October: Pakistan on Wednesday failed to win a re-election to the top UN human rights
body, garnering just 105 votes in the 193-member General Assembly. A total of 18 members
were elected to the UN Human Rights Council through a secret ballot. Pakistans current term is
set to expire on December 31 and it was seeking re-election to the 47-member Council.
30 October: Indian Navy and Sri Lankan Navy began the 4th edition of Sri Lanka-India Exercise
'SLINEX 2015' at Trincomalee, Sri Lanka. The exercise will go on till 1 November 15. SLINEX 15 is
expected to enhance the capability of two navies to work together and contribute towards
maritime security.
30 October: India overtakes China as the biggest overall consumer of gold in the first nine
months of this year with a total consumption of 642 tonnes, according to a report published by
Thomson Reuters. China is trailing by just 63 tonnes at total consumption of 579 tonnes in the
first nine months of the year.
30 October: One of Britain's most well-known Indian-origin famous businessman of Indian
cuisine Lord Gulam Noon passed away in London. He was 79. Known as the Curry King, Noon
founded the Noon Products business.
29 October: USS Lassen, a guided missile destroyer of the US Navy, carried out its patrol inside
what China claims as a 12-mile territorial limit around Subi Reef in the South China Sea. China
has its artificial island in the area. Chinas Foreign Ministry said that the action was illegal and
without Chinese permission.

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27 October: Leading Chinese online and mobile commerce company Alibaba signed a
Memorandum of Understanding with UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) with an aim to help
British businesses to operate sales on Alibaba's popular China B2B e-marketplace platform. The
Memorandum of Understanding will see Alibaba help British companies join the 1688.com
trading platform -- a Chinese wholesale e-marketplace.
27 October: The 3rd India-Africa Forum Summit begins in New Delhi. Heads of States and
Representatives of all 54 African countries will participate in the 4-day event. Both the side will
discuss several economic, culture and political issues like green technology, blue economy,
space technology, education, health-care, peace and security, food security and connectivity.
26 October: Britain has signed a landmark nuclear deal with China to build the United Kingdoms
first nuclear power plant since the 1980s. The landmark deal was signed in London during the
official visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping. Under this deal, nuclear power plant will be built at
Hinkley Point, Somerset near London with total planned investment of 18 billion pound.
26 October: The government approved a proposal for maritime transport agreement between
India and Egypt. Recognizing the significant mutual benefit that can be derived from
cooperation in shipping between the two countries, it has been decided to sign the agreement.
26 October: Japan has offered $15 billion loan to India, at an interest rate of less than 1 percent,
for countrys first bullet-train network. Indias first bullet-train network has been proposed to be
established between Mumbai and Ahmedabad.
26 October: Russia announced that it will permanently station a military unit in the Arctic by
2018. The defence minister of Russia Sergey Shoygu also announced that Russia is building
several new bases in the Arctic as well as rebuilding six Soviet-era air bases in the Arctic
21 October: North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies and partner nations launched the
Alliances Trident Juncture joint military exercise at the Trapani air force base in Italy. Trident
Juncture will end on 6 November 2015. The three week long intensive training involves 36000
troops from more than 30 nations across Italy, Spain and Portugal. The Trident juncture is the
largest NATO exercise for over a decade and will increase readiness and ability to work together.
21 October: As per the official data released by the Chinese Govt., China posted its weakest
quarterly economic growth since the global financial crisis. The growth rate during JulySeptember 2015 stood at 6.9%. The GDP growth rate is thus lower than 7% growth achieved
during the first half of 2015. This is the weakest reading since the first quarter of 2009, when
growth tumbled to 6.2%.
19 October: Pakistan and Russia signed a major agreement to build a 1,100-kilometre gas
pipeline from Lahore to Karachi at an estimated cost of $2 billion. Russia will invest $2 billion in
the project, the first phase of which is expected to conclude by December 2017.
16 October: India and Israel signed two agreements to enhance bilateral cooperation after the
meeting of President Pranab Mukherjee, who was in Jerusalem on the final leg of his tri-nation
tour to West Asia with his Israeli counterpart Reuven Rivlin. Agreements were signed on a
cultural exchange programme for 2015-2018 and the amendment to the protocol on Double
Taxation Avoidance Agreement.

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16 October: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the United States government started its India
roadshow series with an aim to attract Indian investors. This road show is being held in Delhi,
Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. Select USA is the name of the programme of the US
Department of Commerce through which the US Govt. seeks to highlight the many advantages
the United States offers as a location for business and investment. The US delegation is being
led by Select USA Executive Director Vinai Thummalapally.
16 October: The Navies of India, USA and Japan began the five-day Malabar exercise 2015 on
the Eastern Coast in which several warships, aircraft carriers and fast attack submarine will be
participating.
15 October: Iran's parliament approved a historic nuclear deal with world powers and paves the
way for its formal implementation. Under the agreement, Iran agreed to eliminate its stockpile
of medium-enriched uranium, heavily cut its stockpile of low-enriched uranium and reduce by
about two-thirds the number of its centrifuges for at least 15 years. Iran also agreed not to
build any new uranium-enriching plants.
15 October: Indian community groups in the UK have launched a 'Modi Express' bus for a monthlong tour around iconic landmarks to mark Prime Minister Narendra Modi's maiden visit to the
country next month. The bus made its first stop at Ealing Road, Wembley also known as 'Little
India'.

14 October: The third India-Sri Lanka joint training exercise, named 'Mitra Shakti-2015',
culminated at Aundh Military Camp, Pune. The 14-day joint training included
understanding of transnational terrorism, developing interoperability and conduct of
joint tactical operation controlled by a Joint Command Post.
14 October: The fifth Indo-China joint military training exercise Hand-in-Hand
commenced at Kunming, China. The purpose of this exercise is to enhance mutual
cooperation between the two armies.
12 October: The Joint Declaration of the Heads of the Migration Authorities of the BRICS
(Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) nations was released after the first BRICS
Ministerial meeting on Migration held in Sochi, Russia. The declaration guided by the Ufa
Declaration and the commitment to respect human rights is a major milestone so far as
orderly and legal migration amongst BRICS countries is concerned.
12 October: The Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the World Bank Group
(WBG) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) or the 2015 WBG/IMF Annual
Meetings started in Lima, Peru in which representatives of the 188 member countries of
both multilateral financial institutions took part. This Annual Meeting serve to discuss
international economic and financial developments, the state of the Global economy, and
policies to reduce poverty and promote inclusive economic growth.
12 October: Japan announced to give Madhya Pradesh government Rs. 12,000 crore loan
for its Ambitious Bhopal and Indore Metro rail projects. This amount will be given by Japan
International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for 50 years at 0.3% interest rate.

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8 October: The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has
approved The Protocol amending the Convention and the Protocol between India and
Israel, and between India and Vietnam for avoidance of double taxation and for
prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and on capital.
8 October: The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has
given its ex-post facto approval to the protocol for cooperation in the field of blue
economy which was signed between India and Seychelles during the visit of the President
of Seychelles to India on August 26, 2015.
8 October: The State Secretary for Home Affairs, Sweden, Ms. Ann Linde called on the
Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri Kiren Rijiju. During the meeting both the Ministers
discussed various issues of importance to the two countries including Disaster
Management, threat of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and radicalization and
steps being taken for counter terrorism etc.
7 October: India and Germany inked 18 pacts to boost bilateral cooperation in a broad
range of areas like defence, security, intelligence, railways, trade and investment, clean
energy, etc. during the three-day visit of German Chancellor Angela Merkel to India.
7 October: German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced to assist India with Euro 2 billion
($2.25billion) for developing a clean energy corridor and solar projects during IndoGerman Summit 2015 organised by NASSCOM in Bengaluru.
6 October: India accounted for the largest number of poor people in any country in 2012,
but its Poverty rate was lowest among countries having large number of poor population,
according to a latest World Bank report. According to the report, the poverty rate in lowincome countries averages 43 per cent in 2012, compared to 19 per cent in lower-middleincome countries.
6 October: Indian Navy started the 26th edition of the coordinated patrol (CORPAT)
exercise with the navy of Indonesia. Main aim of CORPAT exercise is to keep vital part of
the Indian Ocean Region safe andsecure for commercial shipping and international trade.
6 October: As a part of Indian Navys overseas deployment to West Asia, Africa and
Europe, INS Trikand entered Turkeys Istanbul for a three day visit. During her stay in
Istanbul the ship will engage extensively with the Turkish Navy.

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5 October: Indian Naval Ship (INS) Sahyadri entered Da Nang in Vietnam on a four-day
visit. The Shvalik class stealth frigate is on an Operational Deployment' mission to South
China Sea and the North West Pacific region. The deployment is a part of India's Look
East' and Act East' policy.
5 October: India will host G20 Summit, a prestigious international meet during 2018.
Turkey will chair the G20 Summit of 2015, followed by China (2016) and Germany (2017).
3 October: Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), the ambitious anti-offshore tax
evasion and black money detection agreement between India and the United States
became operational from 30 September 2015.
3 October: The International Court of Arbitration (ICA) of the International Chamber of
Commerce (ICC) asked ISROs commercial arm Antrix to pay $562.5 million in damages to
Devas Multimedia Pvt. Ltd, a Bengaluru-based space technology firm.
1 October: Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that Beijing will establish an assistance
fund with an initial pledge of $2 billion to help developing countries implement a
sweeping global sustainable development agenda over the next 15 years. China will
continue to increase investment in the least developed countries, aiming to increase its
total to $12 billion by 2030.
1 October: Chinese President Xi Jinping announced a major initiative to help developing
countries reduce poverty. The "Six 100s" initiative, declared at a South-South cooperation
roundtable Xi hosted, covers poverty reduction, agriculture, trade, environment, health
and education. China will make available to developing countries in the next five years
100 poverty reduction programs, 100 agricultural cooperation projects, 100 trade
promotion programs, 100 environment protection and climate change programs, 100
hospitals and clinics, as well as 100 schools and vocational training centers.
1 October: Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding and Ant Financial Services
Group will make a strategic investment in Paytm. Paytm is presently Indias largest mobile
payment and commerce platform.

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APPOINTMENTS/RESIGNATIONS THIS MONTH

31 October: The US House elected Republican Rep. Paul D. Ryan as the chambers 62nd Speaker,
catapulting one of its youngest members to the top job in hopes that a policy-oriented, fiscal
conservative could give the party a fresh start after years of strife.
30 October: Nepals Parliament elected Bidhya Devi Bhandari (Communist Party of Nepal) as
countrys new President after she received 327 votes against 214 votes of the leader of Nepali
Congress Kul Bahadur Gurung in Presidential elections held in the Parliament. She thus became
countrys first-ever woman President. She has succeeded Ram Baran Yadav.
30 October: Government appointed senior Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer Najib Shah as
Chairman of Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), apex body on Indirect Taxes. Shah is a
1979 batch officer of Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Central Excise).
30 October: Senior IAS officer Aruna Sundarajan was appointed as Secretary in Ministry of Steel
as part of a top-level bureaucratic reshuffle effected by the government. Vijay Shankar Pandey
will be new Secretary in Department of Chemicals and Fertilisers.
29 October: As per the announcement made by the Polish National Electoral Commission
Jaroslaw Kaczynski-led centrist-right Law and Justice party, the PiS, scored an emphatic victory
in Polish (Polands) parliamentary elections with 37.6% of votes. It is the first time since
democracy was restored in Poland in 1989 that a single party has won enough seats to govern
alone. He will succeed the outgoing Prime Minister, Ewa Kopacz.
29 October: The Government of India has constituted a committee to recommend measures to
simplify the provision of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The ten-member committee will be headed
by former Delhi High Court judge Justice R. V. Easwar (Retd), who is a former president of the
ITAT.
29 October: Citibank announced that it has appointed Samiran Chakraborty as Chief Economist
for India. Prior to joining Citi, Chakraborty was Managing Director and Head of Macro Research
for South Asia at Standard Chartered Bank
29 October: Luxembourg ambassador to the United Nations, Sylvie Lucas was appointed as the
Chair of the Inter-Governmental Negotiations (IGN) on UN Security Council reforms. Lucas, who
was appointed by 70th UN General Assembly session President Morgens Lykketoft, replaced
Ambassador Courtenay Rattray of Jamaica.
28 October: Comedian-turned-politician Jimmy Morales elected as President of Guatemala. He
won with 70 percent of votes.
26 October: Dr. Sekhar Basu took the charge as Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission and
Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy in Mumbai. He succeeded Dr. Ratan Kumar Sinha.
24 October: Alok Rawat has been appointed as the first-ever male member of the National
Commission of Women (NCW). Alok Rawat is a former Cabinet Secretary. He was appointed as
the first male member of the NCW by filling the fourth seat in the five-member body. The 5member NCW is led by Lalitha Kumaramangalam.

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24 October: Justice Reva Khetrapal is appointed as the new Lokayukta of Delhi. Reva Khetrapal
is a former Delhi High Court judge. The post of Delhi Lokayukta has remained vacant since
November 2013, when retired Justice Manmohan Sarin relinquished office.
21 October: Justin Trudeau became Canadas new Prime Minister after his Liberal Party won a
majority of Parliaments 338 seats. Justin Trudeau, who succeeded Stephen Harper, becomes
the second youngest prime minister in Canadian history.
21 October: The Union Government named veteran sports administrator Vijay Kumar Malhotra
as the President of the All India Council of Sports. His position will be in the rank of Minister of
State. Malhotra acted as the Senior Vice President of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and
the acting President of the IOA after the arrest of Suresh Kalmadi in connection with the alleged
irregularities in awarding contracts for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
20 October: Pakistan is set to appoint a former army general as national security advisor,
tightening the powerful militarys control over security policy and negotiations with India.
20 October: All India Football Federation appointed former India captain Bhaichung Bhutia as
the advisor for overall issues of the game and the Federation.
19 October: M.K. Surana has been appointed as the new Chairman and Managing Director of
Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL), India's third largest oil marketing company. He will
replace Nishi Vasudeva on her retirement at the end of March 2016.
19 October: Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) candidate Onsari Gharti Magar was
unanimously elected as the House speaker of Nepal. With this, Onsari Gharti became the first
female Speaker in the parliamentary history of Nepal.
17 October: The United Nations General Assembly elected Egypt, Japan, Senegal, Ukraine and
Uruguay to serve as non-permanent members on the United Nations Security Council for twoyear terms beginning on 1 January 2016. New members Egypt, Japan, Senegal, Ukraine and
Uruguay will serve until 31 December 2017.
17 October: G.L. Khanna was appointed President of the Asian Council of Exercise and Sports
Science (ACESS) for a minimum period of two years. Khanna is the first Indian to head ACESS.
16 October: An Indian national, Kundhavi Kadiresan was appointed by FAO Director General
Jos Graziano da Silva as the Assistant Director of the United Nations Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) and Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific. Kadiresan succeeded
Hiroyuki Konuma.
16 October: Micro-blogging site Twitter has appointed Omid Kordestani, former chief business
officer at Google, as its executive chairman. Jack Dorsey, Twitters co-founder and newly
appointed full-time CEO, announced Kordestani's appointment.
15 October: IAS officer Alkesh Sharma was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer and
Managing Director of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation
(DMICDC).
15 October: Telecom service provider Telenor India, earlier known as Uninor, appointed Sharad
Malhotra as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). He succeeds Vivek Sood.
17 October: Zaheer Khan, one of India's greatest fast bowlers retired from international cricket.
He has played 92 Test matches, 200 ODIs and 17 T20 Internationals.

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13 October: Fijis Parliament elected the Minister for Employment, Productivity and
Industrial Relations, Jioji Konrote, as the countrys next President. He will succeed Epeli
Nailatikau. Konrote defeated Ratu Epeli Ganilau in the elections. Jioji Konrote is also
popularly known as George Konrote.
13 October: K.P. Sharma Oli was elected as the new Prime Minister of Nepal as he
defeated Sushil Koirala by securing 338 votes against Koiralas 249 votes in the elections
held in Nepal. Earlier current Prime Minister Sushil Koirala had stepped down from his
post, which was required for voting.
12 October: Cabinet Minister Rao Inderjit Singh has been appointed unopposed as the
new President of the Paralympics Committee of India (PCI). Kavinder Chaudhary has
been elected PCI vice-president. Shivaji Kumar has been appointed as joint secretary of
the committee.
12 October: Sekhar Basu has been appointed as the chairman of Atomic Energy
Commission (AEC). By virtue of this position, he will also occupy the office of secretary,
Department of Atomic Energy (DAE). He will succeed R.K. Sinha. Basu is presently the
director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai.
9 October: Steve Simon has been named as the new Chief Executive of the Women's
Tennis Association (WTA). Earlier he was the Tournament Director and Chief Operating
Officer of the BNP Paribas Open Indian Wells Tennis Tournament. Simon (American)
succeeds Stacey Allaster.
9 October: South Korea's Hoesung Lee has been elected as the new head of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the UN body tasked with assessing
climate science at its 42nd session in Dubrovnik, Croatia. He succeeded Indias R.K.
Pachauri.
9 October: IFS officer Vinay Mohan Kwatra was appointed as Officer on Special Duty
(OSD) in Prime Minister's Office for three years. Kwatra, a 1988 batch Indian Foreign
Service officer will be replacing IFS officer Jawed Ashraf in the PMO.
7 October: Ashish Bahuguna, the Chairman of the Food Safety and Standards Authority
of India (FSSAI), was given an additional charge of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of FSSAI.
The decision was taken following the shift of Yudhvir Singh Malik to NITI Aayog as an
Additional Secretary.
6 October: Shashank Manohar was elected President of Board of Control for Cricket in
India (BCCI). He was elected unopposed during a special general meeting called by the
BCCI following the demise of Jagmohan Dalmiya.
6 October: Ajay Sharma, an Indian-origin diplomat, has been appointed the new British
Ambassador to Qatar. Sharma, currently the charge d'affaires to Iran, will succeed
Nicholas Hopton.

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6 October: Homegrown e-commerce company Flipkart has appointed Sriram

Venkataraman as the CFO for its commerce platform and Pramod Jain as Vice President
and Head of Taxation.
5 October: Sarat Kumar Acharya assumed office as Chairman and Managing Director of
Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited (NLC). He succeeded B. Surender Mohan.
5 October: HSBC announced retirement of Naina Lal Kidwai as HSBC India chairman on
31 December 2015.
1 October: Former Indian ambassador to Nepal Jayant Prasad was appointed as the
Director General of Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), the prestigious
New Delhi-based think tank on strategic affairs.
1 October: Following its sixteenth annual general meeting in New Delhi, the board of
directors of the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) re-elected Uday Shankar of Star
India as President for a second term. Uday Shankar succeeded Man Jit Singh.
1 October: FC Goa has appointed former footballer and seasoned administrator
Sukhvinder Singh as its CEO. Sukhvinder has previously worked with the All India
Football Federation.
1 October: Anil Khanna, President of All India Tennis Association has been elected as
Vice President of International Tennis Federation (ITF). Khanna, joins Katrina Adams of
the United States and Rene Stambach of Switzerland as Vice Presidents.

AWARDS/HONOURS/WORLD TITLES/NEW DISCOVERIES THIS MONTH

31 October: Saudi blogger Raif Badawi, who was sentenced to 1,000 lashes and 10 years in
prison for insulting Islam, was awarded the European Parliaments prestigious Sakharov human
rights prize. The 31-year-old blogger, who was arrested in 2012, is an outspoken advocate of
free speech whose vicious public flogging in January, when he was subjected to a first round of
50 lashes, triggered an international backlash.
30 October: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the 10th most admired personality globally, as per
a new survey by the World Economic Forum (WEF) that has ranked late South African President
Nelson Mandela on the top. Mahatma Gandhi is ranked fourth most admired leader, according
to a survey of more than 1,000 millennials. The WEFs Global Shapers Annual Survey 2015 found
that Pope Francis is the second most admired leader.
29 October: Manipuri documentary film-maker Haobam Paban Kumar was awarded the first
Bala Kailasam Memorial Award (BKMA) for Phum-Shang (Floating Life), a 52-minute film.
29 October: Indias veteran film maker, Adoor Gopalakrishnan and film critic-author, Aruna
Vasudev are chosen for the life-time achievement award to be awarded at the second edition of
the International Film Festival of Colombo to be held from November 7 to 11. They had been
chosen for having put the Asian cinema on the international map.
28 October: Indian film director-screenwriter Pan Nalins movie Angry Indian Goddesses has
bagged the BNL Peoples Choice Award at the 10th Rome Film Festival. The film is described as a
fresh and unbridled portrayal of women in India.

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28 October: Indian-American farmer manager Anita Adalja is among 12 individuals from across
the country who have been awarded as White House Champions of Change Award for
Sustainable and Climate-Smart Agriculture. She has been honored for her exemplary leadership
and innovation in agricultural production and education
27 October: Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has been awarded 2015 Confucius Peace
Prize by China. He has been chosen for this edition of prize for his inspirational leadership and
service to pan-Africanism and African independence.
24 October: Seven British-Indians have secured a spot in top 10 of the 'GG2 Power 101 list'. The
GG2 Leadership Awards recognise and reward high achievers within ethnic minorities and
celebrate the very best of multicultural Britain. The awards were presented at the 17th annual
GG2 Leadership Awards in London. Pakistan-origin business secretary, Sajid Javid, has topped
the list of 101 prominent people with Indian-origin Hinduja brothers -- S.P and G.P.Hinduja of
the global conglomerate Hinduja Group -- have jointly secured the second spot. Indian-origin
employment minister, Priti Patel, becomes the highest-ranking woman, taking the third place
slot.
24 October: Noted criminologist K. Chockalingam was conferred with the prestigious Paul H
Appleby Award given by the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA). He was awarded for
his distinguished services to public administration and IIPA, where he was a member.
24 October: India's Priyanka Khurana Goyal has been crowned Mrs. Earth 2015. Priyanka, who
won the Mrs. India, Queen of Substance 2015 title in February, was crowned as Mrs. Earth 2015
at a ceremony at Grand Palladium Jamaica Resort & Spa.
23 October: Eminent novelist and playwright Kiran Nagarkar has been chosen for this year's Tata
Literature Live Lifetime Achievement award, which is scheduled to be presented to him during
the upcoming Mumbai LitFest. He wrote a historical novel "Cuckold" (1997) for which he was
awarded a Sahitya Akademi award.
23 October: Tyre manufacturing giant MRF Limited named South African batsman AB de Villiers
as its brand ambassador. The association is for a period of three years.
21 October: Model-actress Urvashi Rautela was crowned as Yamaha Fascino Miss Diva 2015.
With this, she became Indias representative for the Miss Universe pageant. Natasha Assadi
from Bangalore was crowned 1st runner up while Naveli Deshmukh from Aurangabad was
crowned 2nd runner-up.
16 October: Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra, who made her international TV debut with US
show Quantico, has earned a nomination for Peoples Choice Awards Favourite Actress In A
New TV Series for the American thriller series.
16 October: Indian Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi has been selected for the prestigious
Harvard Humanitarian of the Year Award. The annual award by the prestigious Harvard
University is given to an individual whose works and deeds have served to improve the quality of
lives and have inspired us to greater heights.
15 October: Jamaican writer Marlon James has been conferred with the prestigious Man Booker
Prize for 2015 for his novel A Brief History of Seven Killings. It is the first Booker Prize to be won
by a Jamaican.
15 October: Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has been honoured with 'Finance Minister of
the Year, Asia' Award by London-based publication Emerging Markets. The magazine has
recognised Jaitley's efforts for Indias relative economic success over the last 18 months.

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15 October: Spain's leading Football club Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) has
been presented with the Golden Boot award for the 2014-15 season for scoring highest goals in
Europe's last domestic season. The Portuguese forward netted 48 goals in 35 La Liga matches
last season.

14 October: Renowned Malayalam filmmaker Irruppam Veedu Sasidaran, popularly

known as I.V. Sasi was awarded with the J.C. Daniel Award for the year 2014 for his
contribution towards the Malayalam entertainment industry. Sasi has made over 150
Indian films in various languages and genres. However, he is mostly known for his South
Indian films.
13 October: 2015 Noble Prize in Economic Sciences has been awarded to Angus Deaton
"for his analysis of consumption, poverty, and welfare". Angus Deaton is the
microeconomist born in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.
10 October: The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize
for 2015 is to be awarded to the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet, a coalition of four
institutions, for its decisive contribution to the building of a pluralistic democracy in
Tunisia in the wake of the Jasmine Revolution of 2011.
10 October: The Seychelles Ministry of Tourism and Culture appointed Indian composer
A.R. Rahman as Cultural Ambassador for Seychelles in appreciation for the invaluable
services contributed to enhance Seychelless Art and Cultural development.
10 October: Families from India hold 14 spots in Forbes Asias ranking of the Asias 50
richest families with the Ambani family third on the list with a combined fortune of
$21.5 billion. Indias Premji is seventh on the list followed by Hinduja on ninth spot and
Mistry ranked tenth. According to the Forbes list four India billionaire families found
place in the top ten richest families. South Koreas Lee family, which controls the
formidable Samsung conglomerate, topped an inaugural list of Asias 50 richest families
by Forbes Asia magazine with a net worth of $26.6 billion.
10 October: Nualgi, an Indian company with wholly Indian technology in the field of
nano biotechnology has won a prestigious award at the Climate CoLab of Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge.
10 October: Oscar-winning composer A.R. Rahman will be honoured with the
Hridaynath Mangeshkar Award in Mumbai on October 26. Filmmaker Subhash Ghai will
present the fifth Hridaynath Award to Rahman.
9 October: The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2015 is awarded to the Belarusian journalist
and author Svetlana Alexievich "for her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering
and courage in our time".
9 October: Bollywood actor Sidharth Malhotra has been named the first Indian
ambassador for Tourism New Zealand, which markets New Zealand as a visitor
destination.

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9 October: Saudi blogger and social activist Raif Badawi and British poet and critic James
Fenton were jointly awarded with the 2015 PEN Pinter Prize. While, due to Badawi's
imprisonment, his award was accepted by Jimmy Wales, co-founder of Wikipedia and
campaigner for Raif Badawi.
8 October: Writer Nayantara Sahgal has returned the prestigious Sahitya Akademi
Award, recording her protest against what she calls a "vicious assault" on India's
diversity and debate, and the government's failure to safeguard it. Ms Sahgal, 88, is the
niece of India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru. She received the literary award in
1986.
8 October: Union Home Minister, Shri Rajnath Singh, presented the Award of Excellence
to Shri Rajiva Ranjan Verma, Director General / RPF, for the commendable contribution
of Railway Protection Force (RPF) during Operation Smile, in the field of Anti Human
Trafficking. It was presented in a function on National Conference of Anti Human
Trafficking held at New Delhi on 07.10.2015.
8 October: Sweden's Tomas Lindahl, the US-based Paul Modrich and Turkish-born Aziz
Sancar won the 2015 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for work on mapping how cells repair
damaged DNA.
8 October: Ahmed Mansoor of UAE has been was awarded the Martin Ennals award.
The award is named after the former secretary general of Amnesty International. This is
also known as nobel prize of human rights. He campaigned for freedom of expression
and greater political and civil rights in the United Arab Emirates since 2006, and
successfully pushed for the liberation of two bloggers jailed for highlighting social
problems in the country.
7 October: William C. Campbell (US), Satoshi Omura (Japan) and Youyou Tu (China) are
the three scientists jointly chosen for the Nobel Prize 2015 for Medicine (or Physiology)
as announced by the Nobel Prize Committee. Campbell and Omura were chosen for
their discoveries concerning a novel therapy against infections caused by roundworm
parasites. Youyou Tu was chosen for her discoveries concerning a novel therapy for
malaria.
7 October: Sanjay Kaushik, general manager of Crowne Plaza, Kochi, received the Best
General Manager, South India award at the 11th Hospitality India Annual Travel Awards
held in New Delhi.
7 October: The Tiruchirapalli City Municipal Corporation was awarded with Skoch Smart
Governance Award for achieving Operational Excellence in Waste Transportation using
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) based solutions.
7 October: The 2015 Nobel Prize in Physics has been jointly awarded to Takaai Kajita
(Japan) and Arthur B. McDonald (Canada), for discoveries that proved that neutrinos
have mass.

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5 October: Rangarajan Vellamore, CEO Infosys China, has become the first Indian to
receive the Magnolia Gold Award in recognition of his contributions to the
development of IT industry in Shanghai, China's financial hub.
5 October: Forbes India Leadership Awards 2015 were presented in Mumbai. Awards
are-- Outstanding Start-up for the Year: Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati of Ola. Best
CEO Multinational Company: Uday Shankar, Star India Pvt. Ltd. Best CEO - Public
Sector: Arundhati Bhattacharya, State Bank of India. Best CEO - Private Sector: C.P.
Gurnani, Tech Mahindra Ltd. Lifetime Achievement Award for the Year: R.C. Bhargava of
Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. Entrepreneur for the Year: Uday Kotak of Kotak Mahindra Bank
Ltd.
3 October: Kartik Chandran, an Indian-American associate professor of earth and
environmental engineering at Columbia Engineering, has been named a 2015 MacArthur
Fellow with a "genius grant" of $625,000. He won the fellowship for his work in
transforming wastewater from a pollutant requiring disposal to a resource for useful
products, such as commodity chemicals, energy sources, and fertilisers.

SPORTS NEWS THIS MONTH

29 October: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) chief Thomas Bach announced that all
the highly qualified athletes who are refugees will be allowed to compete in the Olympic Games.
This is for the first time that refugee athletes will be competing in any Olympic Games. As per
the announcement, all the eligible athletes will be able to compete for the 2016 Summer
Olympics and Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
29 October: Jammu and Kashmir will host South Asian Rugby 7S Championship in 2016. The
championship will be held at Jammu and Kashmir's Bakhshi Stadium from 18 June to 20 June
2016.
28 October: Emily Kristine Pedersen of Denmark won the Hero Womens Indian Open 2015 at
the DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurgaon, Haryana. It was her maiden European Tour title. She
beat the trio of Cheyenne Woods, Becky Morgan and Malene Jorgensen. While amateur golfer
Aditi Ashok was the best Indian performer, who tied at the 13th position, Vani Kapoor, finished
tied 20th, was adjudged as the best Indian professional at the tournament.
28 October: Hockey India (HI) announced Hockey Coorg of Karnataka as its new member.
Karnataka will now boast of two member units with Hockey India introducing Hockey Coorg as
an Associate Member unit from the state while Hockey Karnataka already operates as a
Permanent Member unit.
27 October: Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix title.
In the final race, while his team-mate Nico Rosberg of Germany stood at the second position,
Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel (Germany) was at the third.
27 October: Former world number one Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia clinched his third French
International Badminton title with a win over Taiwan's Chou Tien Chen. Lee also won this title in
Paris in 2007 and 2011.

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27 October: South Africa defeated India by 214 runs in the fifth and final one dayer at Mumbai
to register the first ever bilateral ODI series win on Indian soil. De Kock was adjudged man of
the match, while Ab DeVilliers was named player of the series.
27 October: Indian archer Abhishek Verma created history by winning a silver medal in the 2015
Archery World Cup Final held in Mexico City. With this, he became the first ever Indian to bag
Archery World Cup Final medal.
26 October: Manipur's football team defeated Odisha to win Under-18 Girls Junior National
Football Championship.
23 October: Virender Sehwag has announced his retirement from international cricket. He
scored 17,253 international runs. Sehwag is the only Indian batsman to score a triple-century in
Tests, and he did it twice.
21 October: India's tennis player Saketh Myneni won the Vietnam Open tennis trophy in the
mens singles category. In the title clash, he defeated Australia's Jordan Thompson. In the mens
doubles category, he, along with other Indian Sanam Singh, ended runner-up after losing the final
to Tristan Lamasine and Nils Langer of France and Germany respectively.
21 October: Britain's junior mens hockey team defeated Indian junior men's hockey team and
captured Sultan Johor Cup Hockey Tournament's title. The host Malaysia defeated Argentina to
settle for Bronze
21 October: S.A. Bhavani Devi bagged a bronze medal at the Flemish Open fencing
championship 2015 held at Ghent, Belgium. She lost to Lee Lau of Singapore in the semifinal.

19 October: FIFA suspended the Kuwait Football Association (KFA). The suspension will be lifted
only when the KFA and its members (the clubs) are able to carry out their activities and
obligations independently. As a result of this decision, no team from Kuwait of any sort
(including clubs) can have any international sporting contact (art. 14).
17 October: Punam Yadav (63kg) bagged gold medals for India in both the senior and junior
women's categories in 2015 Commonwealth Youth, Junior & Senior weightlifting championships.
In the men's section Vishnukanth S, Ragala Venkat Rahul and Vikas Thakur claimed the top
positions in their respective weight divisions.
17 October: Japanese carmaker company Nissan signed an eight-year deal with the
International Cricket Council (ICC). Nissan will be a global sponsor of the ICC's tournaments until
2023, which includes ICC World Cup, Champions Trophy, T-20 Championship, Women's cricket
and qualifying championships.
16 October: Google has topped the list of world's best company to work for, grabbing the
numero uno position for the third straight year, while software developer SAS Institute and
manufacturing firm WL Gore were ranked second and third respectively. The annual 'World's
Best Multinational Workplaces List' ranks the top 25 global companies to work for.

13 October: Countrys second largest software services firm Infosys announced that its
Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Rajiv Bansal has resigned from the company. He will be
replaced by M.D. Ranganathan.

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14 October: Shweta Rathore became the first Indian female bodybuilder to win a silver
medal in the 49th Asian Bodybuilding Championship held in Uzbekistan.
13 October: India's Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis won women's doubles title of the
China Tennis Open in Beijing. The top-seeded Indo-Swiss pair defeated Chinese Taipean
pair of Hao-Ching Chan and Yung-Jan Chan. This was eighth title of the season as a team
for Sania-Hingis and fourth title in a row.
13 October: Canada's Vasek Pospisil and American Jack Sock beat Canada's Daniel
Nestor and France's Edouard Roger-Vasselin to win the China Tennis Open men's
doubles finals.
13 October: Spains Garbine Muguruza captured the China Tennis Open Women's
singles title by defeating Switzerland's Timea Bacsinszky. On the other hand, world no.
one Serbia's Novak Djokovic won the China Tennis Open Mens Singles title by defeating
Rafael Nadal of Spain.
13 October: Britain's Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) won the 2015 Formula 1 Russian Grand
Prix title at the final race held at Sochi Autodrom in Sochi, Russia. While Hamilton
topped the table, Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel (Germany) and Sergio Perez (Mexico) of
Force India stood at second and third positions respectively.
13 October: Ajay Jayaram of India won the 2015 Dutch Open Mens Singles Badminton
title. In the summit clash held at Almere in Netherlands, Ajay defeated Estonias Raul
Must.
12 October: FIFA, the governing body of association football provisionally suspended its
president Sepp Blatter, secretary general Jerome Valcke and vice-president Michel
Platini for 90 days, due to alleged charges of corruption. Issa Hayatou, head of Africa's
football confederation, will act as the interim FIFA president during Blatter's ban.
10 October: Swimming world champion of China Ning Zetao claimed two gold medals at
the sixth Military World Games in South Korea. Ning won gold medal in 50m freestyle
event. He also led the Chinese team to win the 4x200m freestyle relay title.
9 October: Indian cyclist Deborah Herold bagged one gold, three silver and one bronze
medal in the Taiwan Cup Track International Classic I Tournament 2015 held at the Hsin
Chu Velodrome, Taiwan. With this, she became the first ever Indian cyclist to win in
women's elite section.
9 October: Russia's women volleyball team beat the Netherlands to win 2015 Women's
European Volleyball Championship held in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
9 October: Russias Sergey Karjakin won the 2015 FIDE World Chess Cup by beating
Peter Svidler (Russia) by 6-4 in the final. Championship was held in Azerbaijans capital,
Baku.
7 October: Spanish tennis player David Ferrer won the men's singles title of Malaysian
Open 2015 held at Kuala Lumpur by defeating Spain's Feliciano Lopez.

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7 October: China won the FIBA Asian Basketball Championship 2015 by defeating
Philippines by 78-67 in the final. Philippines and Iran have secured the second and third
place respectively in the tournament. India ended on eighth place in the tournament.
6 October: Ace Indian tennis star Sania Mirza and her partner, Switzerland's Martina
Hingis clinched their seventh title together by winning the Wuhan Open Tennis
Tournament. The top-seeded pair defeated the Romanian team of Irina-Camelia Begu
and Monica Niculescu in the title clash.
6 October: Luis Leao Pinto of Portugal won Asias premier mountain biking race that
ended in capital Shimla of Himachal Pradesh and got the crown of King of the Himalaya
for the second time.
5 October: Virat Kohli has become the first Indian batsman to reach the milestone of
1,000 runs in the Twenty20 International (T20I) format by scoring 28 runs. The feat was
achieved during the first T20I between India and South Africa at Dharamsala, Himachal
Pradesh.
3 October: Indian pistol shooter Heena Sindhu won the gold medal in women's 10 meter
air pistol event at the 8th Asian Air Gun Championships in New Delhi.
3 October: Popular Tamil actor Dhanush was named as the brand ambassador of Hero
Indian Super League (ISL) Football Tournament Season 2 for Tamil Nadu.
1 October: Indian shooter Gurpreet Singh and Jitu Rai clinched a silver and bronze,
respectively, in the men's 10m metre Air Pistol event at the Asian Air Gun
Championship. Sepehr Safari Boroujeni of Iran claimed the gold medal.

EULOGIES THIS MONTH

27 October: Ireland's movie star Maureen OHara who appeared in classics ranging from the
How Green Was My Valley to Miracle on 34th Street passed away. She was 95.
23 October: Renowned scientist and leader of India's first expedition to Antarctica in 1981-82,
Syed Zahoor Qasim, passed away in Delhi. He was 88.
21 October: Noted Kannada film director, producer, actor and playback singer K.S.L. Swamy
popularly known as Ravee passed away. He was 77.
20 October: Pat Woodell, who played Bobbi Jo on 1960s CBS sitcom Petticoat Junction, died in
Fallbrook, Calif. She was 71.
20 October: Congress leader Paras Ram Bhardwaj, who represented Sarangarh (Scheduled
Castes) sans break from the seventh to the 12th Lok Sabha, passed away at his native village
Kharoda in Janjgir-Champa District. He was 67.
20 October: Telugu cinema's noted comedian M S Narayana passed away. He was 63.

12 October: Renowned music director and lyricist Ravindra Jain passed away. He was
71. Hecomposed music for over 150 Hindi movies.
13 October: Renowned Carnatic flautist Dr. N. Ramani passed away. He was 82.

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MISCELLANEOUS NEWS THIS MONTH

31 October: Delhi, the world's most polluted city, suffers a toxic blend of geography, growth,
poor energy sources and unfavorable weather that boosts its dangerously high levels of air
pollution, scientists, including one of Indian-origin, have found. A team of researchers led by the
University of Surrey in UK assessed how Delhi's landscape, weather, energy consumption
culture, and growing urban population combines to elevate concentrations of air pollutants,
including ultra-fine particles, the most harmful to human health.
31 October: A close encounter with Jupiter about four billion years ago may have resulted in
another planets ejection from the solar system altogether, scientists have found.The existence
of a fifth giant gas planet at the time of the solar systems formation in addition to Jupiter,
Saturn, Uranus and Neptune that we know of today was first proposed in 2011, researchers
said.
30 October: India is among the top 10 nations in terms of total private wealth held, but at the
bottom in terms of per capita riches. According to the report by New World Wealth, India's total
individual wealth stood at $3,492 billion, while the United States, which topped the list, had a
total individual wealth of $48,734 billion. Total individual wealth refers to the private wealth
held by all the individuals in each country.
28 October: China successfully launched the Tianhui-1C mapping satellite into its designated
orbit from Jiuquan satellite launch centre in the north-western province of Gansu. A Long
March-2D carrier rocket carried the Tianhui-1C mapping satellite blasts off from the launch pad.
The satellite will offer a boost to country's ability to carry out scientific experiments, land
resource surveys, mapping, crop yield estimation and disaster relief.
27 October: Public cloud services revenue in India is forecast to touch US$731 million by the end
of 2015, growing more than 31 per cent over last year, according to research firm Gartner. High
rates of spending on cloud services in India to continue through 2019 when the market is
expected to reach USD 1.9 billion.
26 October: Two mountaineers Arjun Vajpai and Bhupesh Kumar created history by becoming
first people to climb 6180 meter high unnamed peak in Himachals Spiti Valley. The duo named
the peak as Mount Kalam, in honour of former President of India, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. Newly
named Mt. Kalam is located near Bara Shigri Glacier, largest glacier located in Himachal Pradesh.
24 October: India has been ranked second on Global Business Optimism Index in the JulySeptember quarter, according to a Grant Thornton's International Business Report. Additionally,
86% Indian businesses are optimistic about an increase in revenue compared to 83% last
quarter, shows the survey.
24 October: Indian-American Comedian Aziz Ansari has managed to feature his name on the
Forbes list of Highest-Paid Comedians 2015. Ansari who is best known for the role of Tom
Haverford on NBC's blockbuster show, 'Parks and Recreation' managed to seal the spot with
$9.5 million in earnings. The Forbes list features Jerry Seinfeld as the top-earning comedian,
having $36 million in earnings.

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21 October: Vivo Mobiles replaced PepsiCo as the title sponsor of the high-profile Indian
Premier League (IPL), as announced by the BCCI. Vivo Mobile is an emerging smartphone maker
of China.
19 October: World Food Day (WFD) was celebrated on 16th October all over the world. The
theme of World Food Day 2015 was Social Protection and Agriculture.
16 October: Google has topped the list of world's best company to work for, grabbing the
numero uno position for the third straight year, while software developer SAS Institute and
manufacturing firm WL Gore were ranked second and third respectively. The annual 'World's
Best Multinational Workplaces List' ranks the top 25 global companies to work for.
15 October: India ranks third among global startup ecosystems with more than 4,200 new-age
companies, according to IT industry body Nasscom. According to Nasscom President R.
Chandrashekhar India has been given third position just after the US and the UK.
15 October: China operationalized all six of the station's units which were incorporated into the
power grid units of the Zam Hydropower Station, the largest dam in Tibet, built on river
Brahmaputra, raising concerns in India over the likelihood of disrupting water supplies. The Zam
Hydropower Station has been built at a cost of $1.5 billion (approximately Rs. 9764 crores).

14 October: Iran has successfully test-fired a new indegenously built precision-guided,

long-range missile. The Emad (Pillar) surface-to-surface missile is the country's first longrange missile that can be precision-guided until it reaches its target.
12 October: Kishore Biyani-led retail major Future Group entered into an agreement
with Baba Ramdev-promoted Patanjali Ayurved to sell the latter's FMCG products
through its stores. Future Group expects sales from Patanjali, to the tune of Rs. 1,000
crore in the next 20 months.
10 October: Indian-American social entrepreneur Bhagwati Agrawal has made his way
into the CNNs Top Ten Heroes of 2015, for creating a rainwater harvesting system that
now provides life-changing, safe drinking water across six villages in Rajasthan. Each will
receive US $10,000 and be recognised as "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute".
9 October: INS Astradharini, the first indigenously-designed and built torpedo launch
and recovery vessel commissioned into the Indian Navy. INS Astradharini is an advanced
replacement for INS Astravahini which was decommissioned earlier.
7 October: Worlds highest terrestrial Research and Development centre was
established by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) at Changla
(Ladakh), Jammu & Kashmir. Its name is 'Extreme Altitude Research Centre'.
5 October: In an important development ahead of the U.N. Climate Change Summit in
Paris in December 2015, India released its climate-change policy statement. India has
set the target to cut the carbon emission by 33-35% by 2030 and increase renewable
energy production capacity by 40 per cent.
3 October: India ranked 55th (India recorded a massive 16 spots jump as compared to
the previous year) among 140 countries on the Global Competitiveness Index for 2015,

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which was released by Switzerland-based World Economic Forum (WEF). Switzerland

tops the latest rankings.
3 October: Australia launched its one of two new satellites specifically designed for the
country's National Broadband Network. The satellite "Sky Muster", was launched from
French Guiana. It is one of the world's largest communication satellites and its purpose
is to deliver broadband to Australia.
1 October: China launched a new-generation satellite into orbit that will support its
global navigation and positioning network. The satellite was boosted by a Long March3B carrier rocket. It is the 20th satellite of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS),
and puts China one step closer to providing an alternative to the US-operated GPS. For
the first time, the satellite featured a hydrogen atomic clock.
RECURRING TERMS
RECURRING TERMS
(1) My Brick My Amaravati
Andhra Pradesh government on 15 October 2015 launched a scheme titled My Brick My Amaravati,
under which citizens were invited to purchase e-bricks for Rs. 10 each.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister launched the My Brick My Amaravati scheme on 15 October so as to
financially assist in the huge task of establishing the new capital for the state. Under this initiative, a
person can contribute Rs. 10 per digital brick online and have his or her name engraved on it.
For all those who subscribe to these digital bricks, the name of the subscriber will be registered. One can
buy these bricks by paying online through debit, credit cards and netbanking facility.
The capital-city to be known as Amaravati will become the capital of the downsized Andhra Pradesh. It
lies between Vijayawada and Guntur. The foundation for this city will be laid on 22 October 2015.
(2) The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
On 6 October 2015, Hoesung Lee (South Korea) was nominated as the new head of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the UN body tasked with assessing climate science.
Hoesung Lee is an expert on climate economics and sustainable development. He was elected to chair
the panel at its ongoing meeting in Dubrovnik, Croatia on 6 October.
Lee is the fourth person to lead the IPCC in its 27-year history.
He succeeded Indias Rajendra Pachauri, who resigned amidst a sexual harassment scandal in
February 2015.
IPCC was set up as a consensus forum to deliberate on climate science and policy. It has been
massively influential in the climate change debate.

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(3) KISAN Project

KISAN is the name of the ambitious project launched by the Union Government during October 2015
that seeks to speed up payment of crop insurance claims to farmers and provide accurate assessment of
crop damage.
KISAN Project
KISAN stands for C(K)rop Insurance using Space technology And geoiNformatics. It was launched
by the Union Govt. on 5 October 2015.
KISAN project uses satellite and drone-based imaging and other geospatial technology to get
accurate data on crop yields.
Crop Insurance is usually calculated on the basis of crop cutting experiments, often leading to
delays in settlements. KISAN project will try to address these concerns.
A pilot study under KISAN project has been initiated in rice and cotton fields of the ongoing
kharif season in four districts Kurukshetra (Haryana), Shimoga (Karnataka), Yavatmal
(Maharashtra) and Seoni (Madhya Pradesh). The survey will be carried out into the 2015-16 rabi
season in eight districts in same states to assess the yields of rice, wheat and shorghum.
App for hailstorms

The government also launched an Android-based app for collection of data of hailstorm with
assistance from Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to assess large-scale damage to
standing crops. Currently, there is no comprehensive approach to collect data on their
occurrences.
The application will collect data about hailstorms in real time along with photographs and
geographical coordinates. This will help survey crop loss quickly and more objectively.

(4) Neeranchal Project

The Union Cabinet on 7 October gave its approval to the implementation of the World Bank-assisted
National Watershed Management Project, which seeks to reduce surface runoff of rainwater, increase
groundwater levels and better water availability in rain-fed areas.
Project Neeranchal of the National Watershed Management Project aims to fulfil the watershed
component of the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMSKY) to reduce surface runoff of rainwater,
increase groundwater levels and better water availability in rain-fed areas.

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 It will be implemented across nine States Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Gujarat, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Rajasthan. These States have been
picked since irrigation coverage is quite poor here and this project will help increase water levels
to benefit farmers. Of these, Jharkhand has the lowest irrigation coverage at just 5.6%.
The cost of the project is estimated at Rs.2,142.30 crore of which the Centre will be pitching in
with Rs. 889 crore while Rs. 182 crore will be provided by the respective State Governments.
The remaining 50% of the project cost will be financed by a World Bank loan.
(5) Global Competitiveness Index (GCI)
Indias rank in the Global Competitiveness Index is 55th (India recorded a massive 16 spots jump as
compared to the previous year) for 2015, which was released by Switzerland-based World Economic
Forum (WEF) on 29 September 2015? 55th (India recorded a massive 16 spots jump as compared to
the previous year)
The Narendra Modi government at the Centre received a big boost as India jumped 16 places in the
latest edition of the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI). India now ranks 55th among 140 countries,
against 71st in 2014-15. Switzerland tops the latest rankings, followed by Singapore, the US, Germany
and Netherlands. But, despite this massive jump, which follows five years of a decline on the list, India
still ranks seven notches lower than it did in 2007.
What is Global Competitiveness Index (GCI?)
The GCI is an annual assessment to gauge the factors driving productivity and prosperity across 140
countries. It measures a countrys performance on 12 pillars -1) institutions, 2) infrastructure, 3)
macroeconomic environment, 4) health and primary education, 5) higher education and training, 6)
goods market efficiency, 7) labour market efficiency, 8) financial market development, 9) technological
readiness, 10) market size, 11) business sophistication and 12) innovation.

ABBREVIATIONS THIS MONTH

ABBREVIATIONS
FATCA- Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act
CCS-

Cabinet Committee on Security

REITs- Real estate investment trusts

ICA-

International Court of Arbitration

ICC-

International Chamber of Commerce

GCI-

Global Competitiveness Index

SME-

Small and medium enterprises

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FDI-

Foreign direct investment

NATO- North Atlantic Treaty Organization

NBTC- National Blood Transfusion Council
TTIP-

Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership

TRAI-

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India

NJAC- National Judicial Appointments Commission

FIF-

Financial Inclusion Fund

AMC- Asset Management Company

WEO- World Economic Outlook
IPCC-

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

CORPAT- Coordinated Patrolling

ISDS-

Indian Skill Development Service

NBFC- Non Banking Finance Companies

IMPORTANT DAYS THIS MONTH
1st October- International Day of Older Persons, World Vegetarian Day,
National Voluntary Blood Donation Day - India
2nd October- World Smile Day, International Day of Non-Violence, Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti
4th October- World Animal Day
5th October- World Teacher's Day, World Habitat Day, World Architecture Day
8th October- Indian Air force Day, World Sight Day
9th October- World Post Day
10th October- Indian National Postal Day, World Mental Health Day
11th October- International Day of the Girl Child

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13th October- International Day for Disaster Reduction, World Calamity Control Day
14th October- World Standards Day
15th October- International Day of Rural Women, Global Handwashing Day,
White Cane Safety Day, World Maths Day
16th October- World Food Day
17th October- Anti-Poverty Day
24th October- United Nations Day, World Development Information Day
31st October- World Savings Day
SPECIAL FEATURES OF THE MONTH
(1) The 3rd India-Africa Forum Summit
The 3rd India-Africa Forum Summit kicked-off from 26 October 2015 at New Delhi. It is being seen as
one of the largest multi-lateral event held in India, with confirmed attendance of over 40 African heads
of state.
The first edition of India-Africa Forum Summit was held in 2008
The India-Africa Forum Summit is the official platform for the relations between India and African
countries. The 1st edition of this Summit was held from 4 April to 8 April 2008 in New Delhi. The event
was attended by heads of state from 14 African countries.
The 2nd edition of India-Africa Forum Summit was held at Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) in 2011.
The 3rd edition of the Summit is being held from 26 October to 30 October 2015 at New Delhi.
The Summit started with consultations on official level on 26 October. The main summit will take place
on 29 October and will comprise of a plenary session and declarations in the presence of representatives
from 54 African countries and over 40 heads of state. The Summit is taking place a month ahead of
Africas second such summit with China.

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(2) Constitution of India

The Constituent Assembly took exactly 2 years, 11 months and 17 days time to complete its historic task
of drafting the Constitution for Independent India (From 9 December 1946 to 26 November 1949)
How many sessions of Constituent Assembly were held to complete Indian Constitution? 11 sessions
When was the first session of Constituent Assembly held? From 9 to 23 December, 1946
When was the 2nd session of Constituent Assembly held? From 20 to 25 January, 1947
When was the 3rd session of Constituent Assembly held? From 28 April to 2 May, 1947
When was the 4th session of Constituent Assembly held? From 14 to 31 July, 1947
When was the 5th session of Constituent Assembly held? From 14 to 30 August, 1947
When was the 6th session of Constituent Assembly held? On 27 January, 1948
When was the 7th session of Constituent Assembly held? From 4 November, 1948 to 8 January,
1949
When was the 8th session of Constituent Assembly held? From 16 May to 16 June, 1949
When was the 9th session of Constituent Assembly held? From 30 July to 18 September, 1949
When was the 10th session of Constituent Assembly held? From 6 to 17 October, 1949
When was the 11th and final session of Constituent Assembly held? From 14 to 26 November, 1949
How many days were spent in total to hold these eleven sessions of the Constituent Assembly? 166
days
Which was the longest session of the Constituent Assembly? 7th session (It was held for 66 days
from 4 November, 1948 to 8 January, 1949)
Which was the shortest session of the Constituent Assembly? Sixth session (It was held for just a
single day, i.e., 27 January 1948)
How many days were spent for considering the Draft Constitution? 114 days
The committee of the Constituent Committee that created the draft of the Indian Constitution was
known by which popular name? Drafting Committee
When was the Drafting Committee formed? On 29 August, 1947
Who was Chairman of the Drafting Committee? Dr. B.R. Ambedkar

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 Who were the initial members of the Drafting Committee? 1) Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant, 2) KM.
Munshi, 3) A. Krishnaswamy Iyer, 4) N. Gopalaswami Iyengar, 5) B.L. Mitter, 6) Mohammad Saadullah
and 7) D.P. Khaitan
Who was appointed as the Constitutional Advisor of the Drafting Committee? Sir B.N. Rau (Benegal
Narsing Rau)
(3) Nobel Prize
(a) Medicine
These are the names of the three scientists who were jointly chosen for the Nobel Prize 2015 for
Medicine (or Physiology) as announced by the Nobel Prize Committee on 5 October 2015
i) William C. Campbell (US)
ii) Satoshi mura (Japan)
iii) Youyou Tu (China)
Mr. Campbell and Mr. Omura were chosen for their discoveries concerning a novel therapy against
infections caused by roundworm parasites. They had discovered a new drug, Avermectin, the
derivatives of which have radically lowered the incidence of River Blindness and Lymphatic Filariasis.
Campbell is a research fellow emeritus at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey while Omura is a
professor emeritus at Kitasato University in Japan.
Ms. Youyou Tu was chosen for her discoveries concerning a novel therapy for malaria. She had
discovered Artemisinin, a drug that has significantly reduced the mortality rates for patients suffering
from Malaria. She is chief professor at the China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
The winners will share the 8 million Swedish kronor (about $960,000) prize money with one half going to
Campbell and Omura, and the other to Tu.
The medicine award was the first Nobel Prize of year 2015 to be announced.
(b) Physics
Takaaki Kajita of Japan and Arthur McDonald of Canada were declared the joint winners of the Nobel
Prize for Physics for 2015, as announced by the Nobel Prize Committee on 6 October 2015. Neutrinos is
the field of their experiments for which they were chosen for the prestigious prize.
This years Physics Nobel was awarded for the discovery of neutrino oscillations, which shows that
neutrinos have mass. The discovery has changed human understanding of the innermost workings of
matter and can prove crucial to the view of the universe.
Japans Takaaki Kajita discovered that neutrinos from the atmosphere switch between two identities
when coming to neutrino detectors. On the other hand, the research group Canadian scientist
McDonald successfully demonstrated that the neutrinos from the Sun were not disappearing on their
way to Earth.
Kajita is director of the Institute for Cosmic Ray Research and professor at the University of Tokyo while

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McDonald is a professor emeritus at Queens University in Kingston, Canada.

Both the winners will share the 8 million Swedish kronor (about $960,000) prize money with one half
going to McDonand and the other to Kajita.
(c) Chemistry
Three scientists Tomas Lindahl, Paul Modrich and Aziz Sancar were jointly awarded the Chemistry
Nobel Prize for 2015 as announced by the Nobel Prize Committee on 7 October 2015. DNA repair
studies is the common field of area of these three scientists.
The Nobel Prize 2015 in Chemistry was awarded for mechanistic studies of DNA repair. It was jointly
awarded to Tomas Lindahl (Sweden), Paul Modrich (US) and Aziz Sancar (US).
Tomas Lindahl, who is from the Francis Crick Institute, demonstrated that DNA decays at a rate that
ought to have made the development of life on Earth impossible. This insight led him to discover
molecular machinery, base excision repair, which constantly counteracts the collapse of our DNA.
Paul Modrich, who is from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Duke University School of
Medicine, successfully demonstrated how the cell corrects errors that occur when DNA is replicated
during cell division.
Sancar, the Turkish-born scientist from the University of North Carolina, mapped nucleotide excision
repair, the mechanism that cells use to repair UV damage to DNA.
(d) Peace Prize
A dialogue quartet from Tunisia country won Nobel Peace Prize for 2015 as announced by the Nobel
Prize Committee on 9 October 2015.
The National Dialogue Quartet (NDQ) of Tunisia won the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize for its decisive
contribution to the building of a pluralistic democracy in Tunisia in the wake of the Jasmine Revolution
of 2011.
After the Arab Spring in Tunisia in 2010-2011, the NDQ had paved the way for a peaceful dialogue
between the citizens. The Quartet was formed in the summer of 2013 when the democratisation
process was in danger of collapsing as a result of political assassinations and widespread social unrest. It
established an alternative, peaceful political process at a time when the country was on the brink of civil
war.
The NDQ consists of four organisations in Tunisian civil society a) the Tunisian General Labour Union
(UGTT), b) the Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts (UTICA), c) the Tunisian Human
Rights League (LTDH) and the Tunisian Order of Lawyers (ONAT).

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(e) Literature
Svetlana Alexievich (Belarus) won the 2015s Nobel Prize for Literature, as announced by the Nobel
Prize Committee on 8 October 2015.
67-year old Svetlana Alexievich was awarded for her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and
courage in our time as announced by the Nobel Prize Committee.
Svetlana is known for using the skills of a journalist to create literature chronicling the great tragedies of
the Soviet Union and its collapse- World War II, the Soviet war in Afghanistan, the 1986 Chernobyl
nuclear disaster and the suicides that ensued from the death of Communism.
She thus became the 14th women Literature Laureate.
(f) Economics
Angus Deaton (United States) won the Nobel Prize in Economics for 2015 as announced on 12 October
2015.Angus Deaton is a professor of Princeton University, New Jersey (US). He was awarded this
prestigious award for his analysis of consumption, poverty, and welfare.
By linking detailed individual choices and aggregate outcomes, Deatons research has helped transform
the fields of microeconomics, macroeconomics, and development economics. The work for which he is
being awarded with the Nobel, revolves around three central questions: a) How do consumers distribute
their spending among different goods? b) How much of societys income is spent and how much is
saved? and c) How do we best measure and analyze welfare and poverty?
The Economics Nobel Prize is officially known as the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in
Memory of Alfred Nobel. It wasnt created by Nobel, but by Swedens central bank in 1968. Though its
handed out along with the other prizes and the criteria for selecting winners are the same, its not a
Nobel Prize in the same sense.

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