Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) was renamed as

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India .

LPG consumers across the country get cash subsidy directly into their bank

accounts so that they buy the cooking fuel at market price. Domestic LPG users will get Rs. 568 in the bank account the moment they join the Direct Benefit Transfer Scheme for LPG, which has now been renamed PAHAL.

Government has signed a loan agreement with Asian Development Bank (ADB) for 75 million dollars and 1.8 million dollar grant for Karnataka Integrated Urban Water Management Investment Program (KIUWMIP).

IAS officer M Sathiyavathy has become first woman to be appointed as Director General (DG) of Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

The National Biodiversity Conference (NBC)-2015 will be held in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala from 23rd to 27th February.

A K Mittal appointed railway board chairman. Mittal, who was member (staff), has succeeded Arunendra Kumar.

Know-Your-Customers (KYC) rules for Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) were relaxed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). As per RBI notification, the KYC exercise will be required to be done in three ways and they are For high-risk individuals and entities in at least every 2 years For medium risk individuals and entities - in at least every 8 years For low risk individuals and entities in at least every 10 years

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the Indian Science Congress 2015 at the Mumbai University. It is the 102nd edition of this congress and Mumbai is hosting it again after the gap of 45 years.

Union Sports Ministry has given nod to Boxing India (BI) as the new governing body for the sport. Boxing India President: Sandeep Jajodia

R.K Srivastava took over as the new chairman of Airports Authority of India (AAI) replacing Sudheer Raheja.

The Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI) Bank launched Digital Village Project in Akodara Village of Gujarat. The project aimed to provide services ranging from cashless banking to digitised school teaching. The digital village has three themes i.e. cashless, comprehensive and connected.

Sri Lankan batsman Kumar Sangakkara has joined an elite group of cricketers to make 12,000 runs in Test Cricket. He reached this milestone in Sri Lankas second Test match against New Zealand held in Wellington, New Zealand. He has become the fifth cricketer to make 12,000 runs. Other four cricketers are Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar (15,921 runs), Australian cricketer Ricky Ponting (13,378 runs), Jacques Kallis from South Africa (13,289 runs) and Indias Rahul Dravid (13,288 runs).

The two day bankers retreat -- Gyan Sangam -- ended in Pune with bankers collectively resolving to improve on five points and even demanded some commitment from the government to improve the state of banking in the country.

Freedom fighter and National Flag designer Pingali Venkayya was honoured by naming All India Radio(AIR) Vijayawada (in Andhra Pradesh) building after him.

PM Modi had declared during his independence speech that he wished to

replace the Planning Commission with a new body. He has now successfully ticked off that task by forming NITI Aayog.

Rate of inflation has reached 63% in Venezuela, which is the highest in the

world. Chairman of ISRO since 2009, Dr. Koppillil Radhakrishnan, has retired. The

Mangalyaan milestone was achieved during his tenure.

The GoI has launched Himmat a safety mobile app for women. It sends

a distress call to the Police Control Room, and also to the relatives of the woman, in case of an emergency.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a National Programme for LED-based Home and Street Lighting in New Delhi. This programme is aimed at reducing energy consumption.

Jiji Thomson resigned as Director General of Sports Authority of India

(SAI). Sutirtha Bhattacharya took charge as Coal India Limited as full time

Chairman and Managing Director as this position was vacant for more than six months.

Narendra Modi appointed economist Arvind Panagariya as first Vice

Chairman of National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog. Scottish professional tennis player Andy Murray won ATP World Tennis

Championship at Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi. World Cup Squad declared.

The following players would represented India in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ambati Rayudu, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Stuart Binny and Umesh Yadav.

Google CEO Mr. Larry Page was named as the Business person of the Year

for 2014 by famous Fortune magazine

PM Narendra Modi released a commemorative coin dedicated to Tata group founder Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata to mark his 175th birth anniversary.

President Shri Pranab Mukherjee signed an ordinance to amend the

Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 which paved the way for plying of e-rickshaws on roads of the National Capital Region (NCT).

Senior Indian diplomat Atul Khare was appointed as Under Secretary-

General for Field Support by UN chief Ban Ki-moon. Former Health Minister Mithripala Sirisena won 2015 Presidential

Elections of Sri Lanka. Results were announced by Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya.

Vistara Airlines, a joint venture of Tata-SIA started its flight operation in

India and its first flight was from Delhi to Mumbai. After Air India and Jet Airways, Vistara will be third full-service carrier in India.

Mr. Krishan Kant Paul was sworn in as the sixth Governor of Uttarakhand.

The newly-formed NITI Aayog, which has replaced the Planning

Commission, has found its new CEO in the Secretary of the erstwhile commission, Sindhushree Khullar. Mr Khullar, a retired IAS officer.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki Moon, arrived at

the Ahmedabad city airport on January 10, 2015, ahead of the Global Investors Summit at Gandhinagar. He would be the Guest of Honour at the 7th Vibrant Gujarat Summit, 2015.

The International Hindi Conference will be hosted by New Jersey in April

2015. The theme of the International Hindi Conference 2015 is Expanding

World of Hindi: Possibilities and Challenges.

Indian weightlifters ended their campaign by bagging a total of 14 medals

including 6 Gold Medals in the 17th Asian Youth (boys & girls), 22nd Junior

Women and 29th Junior Men Asian Weightlifting Championships 2015 at

Doha, Qatar.

Chinese Internet giant Tencent Holdings Limited launched China's first online bank named WeBank to boost small businesses. The online bank aims at lowering costs for delivering practical benefits to small businesses, while forcing traditional financial institutions to accelerate reforms.

ICICI Bank has announced the launch of countrys first contactless debit and credit cards to enable electronic payments without swiping. It will enable electronic payments by just waving the cards near the merchant terminal in lieu of dipping or swiping them. These cards are based on the Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. At present, the Coral Contactless Credit Card and Expressions Wave Debit Card of ICICI Bank are powered to provide the contactless or the tap and pay facility.

Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan named as the Brand Ambassador of

Andhra Pradesh (AP) health sector. His appointment was announced by the AP Health Minister Kamineni Srinivas in Hyderabad.

Popov Ivan of Russia won 7th Chennai International Open Grandmaster Chess title.

January 10, every year, is celebrated as the World Hindi Day with the

objective of promoting use of Hindi language abroad. On this day in 1975, the First World Hindi Conference was organized in Nagpur by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

The DRDO has successfully tested an advanced electronic warfare (EW)

suite on-board the country's Light Combat Aircraft Tejas-PV1. The equipment is capable of detecting radar signals operating in and around the flight path. It is also equipped with a jammer that can nullify the effect of detected radar threat.

The aussies clinched the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after India managed to

hold on to a draw in the fourth and last test at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on 10 January 2015. Australian skipper Steven Smith was declared the Man of the Series.

Pitching for sustainable and inclusive growth, the Prime Minister of India,

Narendra Modi, inaugurated the 7th Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit 2015 in Gandhinagar. The Vibrant Gujarat Summit is a biennial

global business summit, being held since 2003, when Modi was Chief Minister of the state. Over 110 countries are going to be a part of the 2015 edition.

The world number 4 defeated Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia 6-3, 6-4 to win his

third Chennai Open Tennis Championship title. He previously achieved the feat in 2011 and 2014.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley declared on January 11 that he had adopted

four villages in the Vadodara district of Gujarat under the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana for members of the Indian Parliament. The scheme encourages MPs from both Houses to identify and develop one village from their constituency as a model village by 2016, and two more by 2019.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki Moon, inaugurated

Gujarats second canal-top 10-MW solar power project, while praising Indias ingenuity and cutting-edge technology.

Director ISRO's Satish Dhawan Space Center, M. Y. S. Prasad has been

chosen for the prestigious Vikram Sarabhai Memorial Award for 2014-15, the Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA) announced.

Roger Federer secured his 1,000th career victory and collected his 83rd

title in the Brisbane International final. He defeated Milos Raonic of Canada 6-4, 6-7 (2), 6-4. Only retired legends Jimmy Connors (1,253 wins) and Ivan Lendl (1,071 wins) have won more than 1,000.

On January 12, 2015, Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha was appointed the

21st Chief Justice of Bangladesh. He will be succeeding Chief Justice Mohammad Muzammel Hossain who is set to retire on 16 January 2015. Justice Sinha will be the first non-Muslim to take charge of the office of Chief Justice of Bangladesh.

The National Optic Fibre Network (NOFN), an ambitious government

project to offer high-speed broadband connectivity in all the villages in the country, is seeing Kerala's Idukki district as its first member. The government expects to connect 20,000 villages across the country through optic fibre by the end of March.

National Youth Day was observed across India on 12 January 2015. The day is observed annually to mark the birth anniversary of social reformer, philosopher and thinker Swami Vivekananda.

Announcing the much-awaited election schedule, the Election

Commission (EC) declared that the assembly polls in Delhi will be held on 7th February and counting of votes will take place on 10thFebruary. With the declaration of the poll schedule, the Model Code of Conduct has come into force with immediate effect.

Minister for Railways Suresh Prabhu inaugurated India's first CNG train on

January 13, 2015. This will help the Indian Railways reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The Reserve Bank of India and the European Central Bank signed a

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation in the field of central banking.

Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo was honoured with the Ballon d'Or

for the year 2014. He secured 37.66% votes whereas Messi and Neuer got less than half as much as he did.

After ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan retired on December 31 last year,

Alur Seelin Kiran Kumar has now been appointed as his successor. Kiran Kumar, honoured with the Padma Shree in 2014, would also serve as the Secretary of the Department of Space and Chairman of Space Commission.

Raghuram Rajan was honoured with Governor of the Year Award for 2015

for his strong leadership during the year. The Central Banking Awards were announced by the Central Banking Publications. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand was honoured with Central Bank of the Year award. The Lifetime Achievement Award was bagged by Jacques de Larosiere (Governor of the Banque de France from 1987 to 1993).

Harishankar Brahma replaces Veeravalli Sundaram Sampath as the Chief

Election Commissioner of the world's largest democracy. Anupama Shrivastva is appointed as the new CMD of Bharat Sanchar

Nigam Limited.

Sania Mirza and Betthanie Mattek-Sands claimed the women's doubles

title of the Sydney Tennis Tournament. They humbled the top seeded Americans - Abigail Spears and Raquel Kops-Jones in just 69 minutes.

Petra Kvitova claims trophy in Sydney. The world no. 4 claimed women's

single title in Sydney International tournament against compatriot Karolina Plikskova. The two players played well but ultimately the tournament's second seed won. The two players had met only once before in 2014.

In the Bloomberg's list of top 50 most valued global banks, HDFC was

ranked 45th followed by SBI. HDFC has a total market capitalization of $39 billion while SBI has a total market capitalization of $38 billion.

Indian cueist, Pankaj Advani of PSPB routed Dhruv Sitwala 5-0 at Bengal

Rowing Club. HIs was an amazing display of talent. Advani had previously won the title in- 2012, 2011, 2009, 2008, 2007 and 2005.

President, Pranab Mukherjee, has launched Pulse Polio Immunization

(PPI) program. It has been done a day ahead of National Immunization Day.

J&K government's initiative in citizen-centric Service delivery has got it

selected for the National Award for e-governance. Its 'e-panchayat' initiative was a success. The award will be presented in Gujarat on 30th and 31st of this month by the Ministry of Personnel.

Ashok Shriivasan grabs 'The Hindu prize 2014'. 'Book of common signs',

a collection of 13 short stories, fetched the prize for Ashok Shrinivasan. AB de Villiers who plays for South African hit the fastest century in ODIs

with just 31 balls at the Wanderers in Johannesburg against West Indies. Ellen Hogg and Mark Knowles - FIH player of the year.Midfielder of

Netherlands, Ellen Hogg, and Australian captain, Mark Knowles were named as the player of the year for women and men category, respectively.

The four day World Future Energy Summit has begun in United Arab Emirates. The eight version is held in Abu Dhabi and is hosted by Masdar, Abu Dhabi's renewable energy company.

Film-maker Pahlaj Nilani becomes the new chairman of the censor board

succeeding Leela Samson. Leela resigned citing reasons of government interference.

Indian-American Frank Islam wins the prestigious Martin Luther King Jr.

Award. The award is an apostle of peace and is presented to the entrepreneur and philanthropist Frank Islam in recognition of his efforts in civil engagement and international service.

Political Scientist Rajni Kothari passed away. Rajni Kothari, eminent

theorist and political scientist, who was the founder of Center for the Studies of Developing Societies (CSDS) in 1963, a social sciences and humanities research institute.

The latest reports indicated a rise of thirty percent increase in the tiger

population of the country as compared to the tiger population in 2010. The current tiger count in India is 2226, according to the preliminary estimates in 'Status of Tiger in India: 2014' which is 70% percent of the world's.

Kiran Bedi who is the first women IPS officer has been decred as BJP's

chief ministerial candidate and she will stand from the Krishna Nagar constituency.

13th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Guyana

President Donald R. Ramotar is the chief guest.

Kailash Satyarthis Nobel Prize has been put up for display at Rashtrapati Bhavan museum. It was put for display, after Nobel Peace Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi dedicated his prize to the nation.

Union Government will provide 60 million US dollars Line of Credit (LoC)

to Guyana for its road infrastructure projects and passenger ferry service. The LoC will help the country in tackling its transport problem. The decision of granting the LoC was made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi

during the bilateral talks with Guyana President Donald R. Ramotar on the sidelines of the 13th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi has inaugurated the Dandi Kutir museum in Gujarats capital of Gandhinagar. It is a state-of-the-art three-storey museum, based upon the life and works of Mahatma Gandhi. It was inaugurated on the occasion of the 13th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas (PBD) and 7th edition of Vibrant Gujarat.

Indian economy is likely to grow at 6.4 per cent in 2015 and accelerate further in the next year on the back of steps being taken by the Narendra Modi-led NDA government, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said.

Well-known Hindi scholar and writer Dr Kamal Kishore Goyanka has been selected for the prestigious Vyas Samman for the year 2014. He has been chosen for this award for his research work Premchand Kee Kahaniyo Kaa Kaalkramanusar Adhyayan.

Eminent Sanskrit scholar Prabhu Nath Dwivedi has been conferred the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award for 2014 for his Kanakalochanaha collection of short stories.

The team of ISROs Mars Mission has been awarded 2015 Space Pioneer Award in the Science and Engineering category by National Space Society (NSS).

According to the International Monetary Fund, India is expected to grow at 6.3% in 2015 and 6.5% in 2016, crossing Chinas projected growth rate. The main reason IMF quoting was promising governments reforms.

Haryana government has announced yoga guru Ramdev as its brand ambassador.

Renowned Indian RTI activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal was conferred with the Giraffe Hero award 2015 by a US-based NGO The Giraffe Heroes Project.

The Red Sari, an unauthorized biography of Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi, was released by Roli Books in India. The book has been written by Spanish author Javier Moro.

ICICI Bank, India's largest private bank, has launched its banking services on Twitter enabling customers to transfer money through the micro-blogging Web site.

Chinese nuclear scientist Yu Min was conferred with the State Pre-

eminent Science and Technology Award 2014 by Chinese President Xi

Jinping. He was awarded for his involvement in research into nuclear

weapons since the 1960s. Yu Min is considered as the Father of chinas

Hydrogen Bomb.

The Periyar Tiger Reserve in Kerala has been awarded with National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) award for encouraging local public participation in managing the reserve.

As per the directions of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Cyberabad (IT

hub of Hyderabad) Police has launched a campaign called Operation Smile to rescue the missing children. A total of 11 teams have been formed to perform the task.

The annual Flamingo Festival began at Sullurupeta near the Pulicat lake

bird sanctuary in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh. Narendra Modis Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) has entered

into Guinness book of World Records for most bank accounts opened in one week. In the financial inclusion campaign (23-29th of August 2014), a total of 18,096,130 bank accounts were opened.

Kerala Culture Minister K C Joseph announced the setting up of Indias

first international Institute of Music in Kerala. The World Economic Forum annual meeting for 2015 is being conducted

in Davos, Switzerland. The European Union has lifted the ban imposed on the import of Indias

Alphonso mangoes. The ban was imposed seven months back due to the presence of fruit flies in the consignments. Still the ban on imports of bitter gourd, brinjal, snake gourd and taro remains as it is.

Bhakti Sharma has set a world record in swimming by crossing 1.4 miles in 52 minutes in one degree temperature at Antarctic Ocean. Bhakti Sharma is now the youngest person in the world to achieve this record and also she is the first Asian to do so.

According to the United Nations World Economic Situation and Prospects

(WESP) 2015 report Indias growth in terms of GDP is expected to reach 5.9 per cent in 2015 and 6.3 per cent in 2016.

India ranked 78th globally in Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI) 2014 list of 93 countries in terms of talent competitiveness of its human capital. Switzerland tops the list

Indias largest bank State Bank of India (SBI), has signed a loan agreement for 100 million euro (about Rs 700 crore) with European Investment Bank (EIB).

Edgar Lungu has sworn in as Zambias sixth President.

Maharashtra government has announced that, September 17 (on Vishwakarma Jayanti) will be observed as Industries Day in each district.

International Cricket Council (ICC) on 29 January 2015 lifted the five-year ban imposed on Pakistans fast bowler Mohammad Amir.

Heritage Development and Augmentation Yojna which aims at

rejuvenating and preserving our rich cultural heritage has been launched. Ajmer, Amravati, Amritsar, Badami, Dwaraka, Gaya, Kachipuram, Mathura, Puri, Varanasi, Vellankanni and Warangal are the twelve selected cities for the scheme.

Chandrapur (Maharashtra) becomes a 'dry district'. The district is the

third one in the state to ban liquor. Wardha and Gadchiroli were earlier declared as 'dry districts' by the state government. Henceforth, all alcohol permits will be shifted to the other nondry districts.

ZipDial Mobile Solutions Pvt. Ltd., a Bengaluru based mobile marketing and analytics company, is to be acquired by Twitter Inc.

Under the BBBP (Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao) campaign, Narender Modi launched the Sukanya Samridhi Yojana. The parents can open an account for their girl child, who is less than or of 10 years of age, with a deposit of Rs. 1000 on an interest of 9.1%. They shall also enjoy Tax rebates. However, a maximum of Rs. 1.5 lakhs can be deposited in a financial year, under the scheme.

The noted economist, Bibek Debroy, who has been a Research Proff. at

the Center for Policy Research is now a full time member of National Institute for Transforming India (NITI Ayog).

Saudi King Abdullah no more. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz breathed his last at

90. His half-brother Salman is now the new monarch. King Abdullah ruled the most-influential muslim nation since 1996.

Pulitzer prize winning writer Jhumpa Lahiri has won one of the South-

Asia's most coveted literary awards, DSC prize, for her book, The Lowland. She received it from Vijay Shesadri who is himself a Pultizer prize winning poet.

SBI partnered with Ezetap has launched Chota ATM, which will allow taxi

drivers, kirana store owners, traders, small businessmen to turn their mobile devices into a cash withdrawal point and a credit/debit card payment terminal.

The 24th of January is celebrated as the National Girl Child Day to spread

the awareness about the inequalities a girl child face. Wing Commander Pooja Thakur became the first woman to lead the

ceremonial guard of honour that was inspected by US President Barack Obama on January 25, 2015.

National Voters Day was observed on January 25, in a bid to encourage

young voters to take part in the political process. World Leprosy Day was observed on January 25. It is celebrated on

January 26 or its nearest Sunday every year.

Intelligence Bureau Special Director DP Sinha was appointed as the security secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat. The post was vacant since November 2013.

GoI appointed K Durga Prasad as the special Director General of the

Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). Colombia's Paulina Vega was crowned the Miss Universe for the year

2014. The broadcast of the pageant had been delayed by a year in an attempt to obtain a wider television audience.

Saina Nehwal has won Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold Badminton

Tournament in women's singles for the year 2015. She defeated Carolina Martin of Spain to win this title.

On January 28, 2015, Kalyan Singh was appointed as the 26th Himachal

Pradesh Governor. Prior to this, he was the 20th governor of Rajasthan. Poetess Arundhati Subramaniam has been honoured with the inaugural

Khushwant Singh Memorial Prize for Poetry. She was given this honour for her poem 'When God is a Traveller.'

Sujatha Singh's serving period was abruptly cut short, and S Jaishankar has

been chosen to replace her as the foreign secretary of the Ministry of External Affairs. He has previously served as India's ambassador to the US.

Aussie pacer Sean Abbott has been named Bradman Young Cricketer of

the Year 2015. At the same event, Adam Gilchrist entered the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame, while Glenn Maxwell was named the T20 player of the year. Steve Smith has been named the Player of the Year for both ODI and T20 formats.

The ICC has declared that India would host the T20 World Cup in 2016,

within the dates March 11 to April 3. GoI sells off 10% stake in Coal India Limited.

IPS Krishna Chaudhary is set to take over as the new Director General of

the Indo-Tibetan Police Force (ITBP).

India Post has come up with a set of commemorative stamps on the

theme of Swachh Bharat, in a bid to provide impetus to the Swachchata Abhiyan launched by the NDA government on October 2, 2014.

Anti Leprosy Day is observed on January 30 every year.

A former coach of the Dutch hockey team, Paul van Ass was appointed

the head coach of the national men's hockey team. Anthony Thornton of New Zealand was appointed the head coach of the women's hockey team. Both have been awarded three year terms.

Padma Bhushan and former DRDO chief Vijay Kumar Saraswat joined

National Institute for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog as a permanent member.

People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) issued a press release

announcing their plans to create India's first fenced elephant sanctuary within the Bannerghatta Biological Park in Karnataka. PETA consultant Carol Buckley has designed the model for the sanctuary.

Wheeler Island off the Odisha coast witnessed a successful launch of the

canister based Agni V missile on January 30. It marks the third successful test flight for the Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile and the first for a canister based missile. It is designed and developed by the DRDO.