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RBI/ BANKING/BUSINESS NEWS THIS MONTH
30 May: Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley inaugurated the New Bank Note Paper Line
unit of 6000 metric ton capacity at Security Paper Mill in Hoshangabad in Madhya
Pradesh. He also flagged off the first consignment of one thousand rupee bank notes
made indigenously from this paper mill to the Currency Note Press Nasik.
30 May: A case was lodged in Barabanki court in Uttar Pradesh against Nestle India over
inadequate safety standards of its product Maggi.
30 May: India’s largest banking entity State Bank of India (SBI) has launched Online
Customer Acquisition Solution (OCAS), an online platform to apply for loans. This online
platform will enable SBI customers to apply for home, education, car and personal loans
online. On filling the online form for loan requirement depending upon their eligibility
customers will instantly get an e-approval.
27 May: Four Indians have been named in Forbes magazine’s 12th annual list of World’s
100 most powerful women. They are
Arundhati Bhattacharya: First woman (and youngest) Chairperson of State Bank of
India (SBI) was placed at 30th position.
Chanda Kochhar: Managing Director (MD) and CEO of India’s largest private sector
lender ICICI Bank was placed at 35th position.
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw: Founder, Chairman and MD of Biocon Limited was placed at
85th position.
Shobhana Bhartia: Chairperson and Editorial Director of the Hindustan Times Group
was placed at 93rd position. It should be noted she has appeared on the list for the
first time.
Apart from them, two women of Indian-origin PepsiCo Chief Indra Nooyi (15th position)
and Cisco Chief Technology and Strategy Officer Padmasree Warrior (84th position) also
have appeared in the list.
27 May: Union government has constituted a 10-member committee to review and
revitalise public private partnership (PPP) mode of infrastructure development. The
committee will be chaired by former finance secretary Vijay Kelkar and submit its report
within a period of 3 months from the date of its Constitution.
27 May: Union government has constituted a 10-member committee to review and
revitalise public private partnership (PPP) mode of infrastructure development. The
committee will be chaired by former finance secretary Vijay Kelkar and submit its report
within a period of 3 months from the date of its Constitution.
27 May : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 26 May 2015 launched India’s first television
channel DD Kisan dedicated to farmers in New Delhi.
27 May: National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) and Data
Security Council of India (DSCI) have launched NASSCOM Cyber Security Task Force. The
aim of task force is to build India as a global hub for providing cyber security solutions,
developing cyber security Research & Development (R&D) plan and develop a skilled
workforce of cyber security experts.
25 May: India’s largest private sector lender Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation
of India (ICICI) Bank has launched voice password facility for users. This service will
facilitate its customers to make transactions using their voice rather than using traditional
means of authentication like entering id and password.
23 May: Steel Authority of India (SAIL) and world’s largest steelmaker, ArcelorMittal
signed a MoU to set up an automotive steel manufacturing facility in India.
21 May: India’s largest public sector lender, State Bank of India (SBI) has signed
memorandum of understanding (MoU) with e-commerce giant Amazon.
20 May: Tech giant Apple has acquired Global Position System (GPS) firm Coherent
Navigation to improve its mapping capabilities.
16 May: ICICI Bank’s first branch in China was inaugurated in Shanghai, a major global
financial hub. It was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the presence of
ICICI Bank’s MD and CEO Chanda Kochhar.
15 May: India’s largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI) has launched contact-less credit
and debit cards sbiINTOUCH.
13 May: Lok Sabha passed The Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill, 2015 by a voice
vote. The Bills amends the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 in order to make cheque-
bounce filing of cases more convenient for check payees (person who receives the
cheque).
Key facts
The bill adds provision to specify the territorial jurisdiction of the courts in cases
related to bouncing of cheques which was not present in the parent Act.
It says that cases in this regard need to be filed only in a court in whose jurisdiction
the bank branch of the payee lies.
8 May: Indian Army and Bank of India (BOI) on 8 May 2015 signed Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) on the Defence Salary Package. The signed MoU is a revised version
of previous and first MoU which was signed in 2011 between both parties and was valid
for a period of three years. Key facts of revised MoU
8 May: India’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) has launched a RuPay Platinum debit
card in association with National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI).
NATION THIS MONTH
30 May: Maharashtra Government has launched Swachhata Saptapadi scheme on the
lines of Union Government’s flagship Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. The scheme was launched
by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis along with actor Aamir Khan who is brand
ambassador of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in Mumbai.
30 May: Union Information and Broadcasting (I&B) ministry has appointed Veena Jain as
director general (news) in Doordarshan (DD).
27 May: The High court bench of Justice Rajiv Shakdher also allowed Greenpeace to
encash its fixed deposits and utilise the funds for running the organisation.
29 May: According to recently released United Nations (UN) annual hunger report titled
The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2015, India was placed at top in the World
Hunger list. The report has mentioned that India is home to the highest number of hungry
people in the world with around 194 million people, surpassing China. The report was
published by UN subsidiary body Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
22 May: Union Cabinet has approved continuation of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)
programme for another fifteen operational flights of PSLV-C36 to PSLV-C50.
All the fifteen operational flights under this programme will be completed during the
period 2017-2020.
22 May: Union Cabinet has approved the revival of closed urea unit of Fertilizer
Corporation India Limited (FICL) at Sindri in Jharkhand with an investment of 6000 crore
rupees. Union government has taken this decision in order to meet the growing demand
of urea in eastern states of India including Bihar, West Bengal and Jharkhand.
22 May: Union Government has decided to amend Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
norms for NRIs, Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) and Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) to
increase capital flows into the country. Decision in this regard was taken at Cabinet
Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi
in New Delhi. In order to comply with this decision government will amend FDI policy on
investments by NRIs, PIOs & OCIs which will give them parity in economy and education.
21 May: Indigenously-developed beyond visual range air-to-air Astra missile was
successfully test fired at the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur, Odisha. In the test, the
missile was fired from Sukhoi -30 MKI fighter jet in two developmental trials to prove its
long range capability.
21 May: President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the 50th Anniversary of India’s first
historic climb of Mt. Everest in 1965 at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
20 May: Tathagata Roy on 20 May 2015 was sworn in as the 16th Governor of Tripura in
Agartala. He replaced Padmanabh Balkrishna Acharya, Governor of Nagaland, who had
held the additional charge of Tripura
20 May: Meghalaya has achieved 100 percent success in implementing Union
Government’s flagship scheme for financial inclusion-Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna
(PMJDY). In the state, all eleven districts have been able to open at least one bank account
of every household under the ambitious scheme. More than 5.53 lakh households have
been covered with 1.55 lakh new bank accounts.
19 May: Union Government has sanctioned proposals for setting up 30 new cold storage
projects chain in the country with a total investment of 724.9 crore rupees. These projects
will play important role in reducing the wastage of food in the country.
19 May: India assumed the presidency of the 68th World Health Assembly (WHA) held in
Geneva after a gap of 19 years. This edition of assembly is expeacted to deliberate on key
issues of global interest that include
Anti-microbial resistance.
Air pollution and health
Global health emergency, preparedness and surveillance.
Global strategy and plan of action on public health.
Innovation and intellectual property.
Research and development in neglected tropical diseases.
15 May: Union Government formally launched Upgrading the Skills and Training in
Traditional Arts/Crafts for Development (USTAAD) Scheme. It was launched by Union
Minister of Minority Affairs Dr. Najma Heptullah in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh in order to
improve degrading conditions of world famous Banaras Saree weavers who belong to
minority communities.
14 May: Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the
flagship Namami Gange Program. The program integrates the efforts to clean and protect
the River Ganga in a comprehensive manner by involving differed States and grassroots
level institutions.
It has a budgetary outlay of 20000 crore rupees for 2015-20.
13 May: Union Cabinet has given its approval to Benami Transactions (Prohibition)
(Amendment) Bill, 2015. The Bill seeks to amend the Benami Transactions (Prohibition)
Act, 1988 by adding additional provisions that provides for stringent measures against
violators in order to curb and check the generation of black money in the country.
13 May: Union Cabinet gave its approval to 5 per cent disinvestment in National Thermal
Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) and 10 per cent in Indian Oil Corporation (IOC). The
proposed share sale of 5 per cent in NTPC will fetch Union government 5,565 crore rupees
while that of 10 per cent in IOC will bring in 7,932 crore rupees.
13 May: Union government has announced that, the current immunisation rate in rural
areas is around 58 per cent while it is over 67 per cent in urban regions of the country.
12 May: Union Ministry of Labour and Employment has appointed K Satish Reddy as the
chairman of the National Safety Council (NSC). He will succeed Venu Srinivasan, who
was appointed in July 2011.
11 May: Dedicated E-Commerce Centre of India Posts, a government-operated postal
system was launched in New Delhi to cater the e-commerce business enterprises. It is
capable of handling 30000 parcels (articles) per day. It will also facilitate to collection of
parcels from the e-commerce customers by processing and dispatching them within 24
hours to respective destination. For this purpose the centre will use quickest available
transportation facility like flight or trains.
9 May: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 9 May 2015 launched three mega social security
schemes in Kolkata, West Bengal. Three schemes intend to widen the process of financial
inclusion in the country include Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Yojana (PMJJBY). Pradhan
Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY). Atal Pension Yojana (APY).
9 May: National Green Tribunal (NGT) has ordered that every household in Delhi must
pay a monthly environmental compensation to clean up pollution in Yamuna River.
8 May: Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a commemorative coin to mark the birth
centenary of Swami Chinmayananda Saraswati in New Delhi.
8 May: To enhance cooperation in the renewable energy sector, Union Ministry of New
and Renewable Energy has signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) with 12
countries in past 3 years.
7 May: The Union Cabinet has approved amendments in the Whistle Blowers Protection
Act, 2011 to keep issues of national security out of its purview. The amendments accepted
by the Union Cabinet to the parent Act are done with a view to incorporate necessary
provisions that aim at strengthening safeguards against disclosures.
7 May: In recently released 2015 Mother’s Index in the State of the World’s Mothers
(SOWM) report titled The Urban Disadvantage, India was placed at 140th position out of
179 countries.
The Mother’s Index scores countries on five parameters. They are maternal health,
children’s well-being (measured as under-5 mortality rate), economic status, educational
status and political status.
6 May: Lok Sabha has passed the Goods and Services Tax Bill, 2014 which is also known
as Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill. The Bill seeks to amend the Constitution in order
to introduce the goods and services tax (GST).
6 May: The Union Cabinet has approved Constitution (119th Amendment) Bill on Land
Boundary Agreement (LBA) between India & Bangladesh. The Bill seeks to operationalize
the Land Boundary Agreement with Bangladesh by exchanging several enclaves located
along the common border of both nations.
5 May: Union Government has made Permanent Account Number (PAN) mandatory for
private firms seeking central excise registration. As per the new rules, the PAN registration
will now be given within two days of filing online applications to improve the ease in doing
business in manufacturing.
4 May: State-owned electrical equipment maker Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) has
commissioned a 195-MW thermal unit in Muzzafarpur district in Bihar. The commissioned
thermal unit is the first of the two 195-MW units to be commissioned by BHEL at the
thermal power plant of Kanti Bijlee Utpadan Nigam (KBUNL). KBUNL is a joint venture (JV)
of NTPC and Bihar State Power Generation Company (BSPGCL).
4 May: Nepal’s devastating 7.9-magnitude earthquake on April 25 has partially damaged
Swayambhunath Stupa located in Kathmandu which is believed to be the world’s oldest
Buddhist shrine.
GLOBE- TROT THIS MONTH
30 May: United States (US) in a landmark decision has removed Cuba from its list of State
Sponsor of Terrorism. In this regard US secretary of state John Kerry has signed an order
removing Cuba from the terrorism blacklist.
28 May: United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has unanimously adopted a resolution
on the protection of journalists in conflict zones. The resolution has urged member
nations, governments and armed groups to take appropriate steps in order to ensure
accountability for crimes committed against journalists, media professionals in situations
of armed conflict.
26 May: An ancient aqueduct dating back 2,000 years ago was unearthed near Har Homa
in East Jerusalem city of Israel. The discovered lower aqueduct was used in ancient times
to transport water into the city of Jerusalem.
25 May: Russian government officially has enacted a law banning undesirable non-
governmental organisations (NGOs) in the country.
The newly enacted law allows government authorities to
Prosecute foreign NGOs or firms designated as undesirable on national security
grounds.
Individuals working for such NGOs could face up to six years in prison or fines.
Barr foreign NGOs employees from the country.
Ban Russian citizens or groups that have involvement or are engaged with such
undesirable foreign NGOs.
25 May: China has set up a gold sector fund involving 65 countries along the ancient Silk
Road. It has been set up in China’s northwest Xi’an city during ongoing forum on
investment and trade.
23 May: Tanishq Abraham, 11-year-old Indian-American child prodigy created a record by
graduating from California College with three associate degrees in science, maths and
foreign language studies.
23 May: Republic of Ireland became first country in the world to constitutionally legalise
same-sex marriage.
23 May: United Nation Security Council (UNSC) on 23 May 2015 adopted a resolution
calling for stronger cooperation among member nations in stemming the illicit transfer
and misuse of small arms and light weapons.
23 May: Two strong 6.8 magnitude earthquakes had strike the Solomon Islands in Pacific
Ocean on 23 May 2015.
21 May: Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants have taken complete control of the
ancient Syrian city of Palmyra.
19 May: International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its recent report titled Act Local, Solve
Global: The $5.3 Trillion Energy Subsidy Problem has voiced alarm about energy subsidies
across the world.
19 May: India assumed the presidency of the 68th World Health Assembly (WHA) held in
Geneva after a gap of 19 years. The 68th WHA session began on 18 May 2015 and it will
conclude on 27 May 2015. The WHA session is presided by Union Health Minister Jagat
Prakash Nadda who is also leading the high-level Indian delegation to the Assembly.
This edition of assembly is expected to deliberate on key issues of global interest that
include
o Anti-microbial resistance.
o Air pollution and health
o Global health emergency, preparedness and surveillance.
o Global strategy and plan of action on public health.
o Innovation and intellectual property.
o Research and development in neglected tropical diseases.
18 May: India and South Korea have signed 7 agreements /MoUs to enhance bilateral
relations. Signed agreements are _______.
Agreement for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal
Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income.
Cooperation in Audio-Visual Co-Production-
MoU for Cooperation between the India’s National Security Council and Korea’s
Office of National Security-
MoU for cooperation in the field of Electric Power Development and New Energy
Industries.
MoU on Cooperation in Youth Matters-
Framework of Cooperation in the Field of Road Transport and Highways
MOU in the Fields of Maritime Transport and Logistics-
18 May: India and Mongolia have decided to elevate their ties to the level of Strategic
partnership.
As per the agreement, both nations will strive for ___.
Enhancing cooperation in defence industry and military training.
Promoting joint participation in military exercises.
Increasing military cooperation in training and import of arms and equipment.
Resolving conflicts through diplomatic means rather than using of force.
16 May: Sixth edition of National Conference on Nuclear Energy held in New Delhi. The
theme of this edition was Nuclear Energy: a Clean Energy option. It was organized by
Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), one of the apex
trade associations of India
16 May: United Nations (UN) has adopted a resolution in order to call attention of
international community to urgently assist Nepal and help rebuild the country after it was
hit by devastating earthquake. The resolution was led by India and was co-sponsored by
65 other nations including Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Australia, Japan, China, Germany, Sri
Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan UK and the US.
9 May: A record number of 10 Indian-origin Members of Parliament (MPs) were elected
in recently concluded general election that elected 56th Parliament of the UK.
Following are the elected Indian-origin candidates Conservative Party:
Priti Patel- won from Witham constituency.
Rishi Sunak- won from Richmond (Yorks) constituency. He is son-in-law of Infosys
co-founder Narayana Murthy.
Alok Sharma- won from Reading West constituency.
Shailesh Vara- won from Cambridgeshire Northwest constituency.
Suella Fernandes- won from Fareham constituency.
Labour Party:
Keith Vaz- won from Leicester East constituency.
Valerie Vaz- won from Walsall South constituency.
Virendra Sharma- won from Ealing Southall constituency.
Seema Malhotra- won from south west London constituency.
Lisa Nandy- won from Wigan constituency.
7 May: India and Iran have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the
development of the strategically important Chabahar Port in Iran.
Key facts of MoU
o By signing of MoU Indian and Iranian commercial entities will be able to
commence negotiations for finalization of a commercial contract.
o Under the contract, Indian firms will lease two existing berths at the Chabahar
Port and operationalize them as container and multi-purpose cargo terminals.
7 May: The French Parliament has approved a surveillance law that strengthens the
intelligence services of the country to prevent terrorist attacks.
6 May: The Union Cabinet has approved Constitution (119th Amendment) Bill on Land
Boundary Agreement (LBA) between India & Bangladesh. The Bill seeks to operationalize
the Land Boundary Agreement with Bangladesh by exchanging several enclaves located
along the common border of both nations.
5 May: World’s largest flag was unfurled at an event in Ong Jmel in the southern desert
area of Tunisia. Tunisian national flag of the size of 19 football pitches was unfurled in a
bid to set a Guinness World Record and promote patriotism in the face of Islamist
extremism
4 May: Recently published study in journal Science has found out that 1 out of 6 species
on Earth could possibly extinct by the end of the century as a result of increasing global
warming if the emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) stays the same.
APPOINTMENTS/RESIGNATIONS THIS MONTH
28 May: Indian- origin businessman and diplomat S Chandra Das was appointed as
Resident High Commissioner to Sri Lanka by Singapore Government.
26 May: Union Government has appointed Manoj Mishra as Chairman and Managing
Director (CMD) of state-run National Fertilizers Ltd (NFL).
25 May: Sunil D’Souza was appointed as Managing Director (MD) of India’s home
appliances maker Whirlpool. Prior to this appointment he was Head of PepsiCo’s
VIMAPS Business Unit located in Malaysia.
23 May: Parvinder Singh Batth, an Indian-origin Conservative party councillor was
chosen as the mayor of United Kingdom’s Wokingham Borough Council.
21 May: Akhil Amar, an Indian-American professor from Yale University has been
appointed as a member of the prestigious National Council on Humanities of US by
President Barack Obama.
20 May: V Shanmuganthan was sworn in as the 15th Governor of Meghalaya on 20
May 2015 at the oath taking ceremony held at Raj Bhawan in Shillong.
19 May: Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) MP Surendrajeet Singh Ahluwalia has been
appointed chairman of a Joint Committee of Parliament that will look into the
provisions of the Land Acquisition Amendment Bill, 2015.
18 May: Ms. Draupadi Murmu was sworn in as the first woman and overall ninth
Governor of Jharkhand since the state was granted statehood status after bifurcating
from Bihar on 15 November 2000.
16 May: Union Ministry of Finance has appointed M J Joseph as the Controller
General of Accounts (CGA). He will succeed Jawahar Thakur, who was recently
appointed as OSD (Accounting Reforms) in the office of CGA.
13 May: President Pranab Mukherjee on 12 May 2015 appointed Governors in six
states. Following are newly appointed Governors
Jharkhand: Former Odisha Minister Droupadi Murmu was appointed as Governor of
Jharkhand. She will replace Dr Syed Ahmed.
Manipur: Dr Syed Ahmed has been transfered to Manipur for remaining period of his
term.
Arunachal Pradesh: J P Rajkhowa was appointed as Governor of Arunachal Pradesh.
He will replace Lt. General (Retd.) Nirbhay Sharma.
Mizoram: Lt. General (Retd.) Nirbhay Sharma has been transferred and appointed as
Governor of Mizoram for the remainder of his term.
Tripura: Tathagata Roy will be the Governor of Tripura.
Meghalaya: V. Shanmuganthan has been appointed as Meghalaya Governor.
12 May: Indian-origin Member of Parliament (MP) Priti Patel was appointed as
Minister of State (MoS) for Employment in the David Cameron led United Kingdom
Government.
11 May: President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated Namaste Russia, a festival of
Indian culture in Moscow during the last leg of his tour in Russia. Namaste Russia will
be six month long festival i.e. form May to November 2015. The festival seeks to
enthrall the Russian audience with cultural events from India.
11 May: Eminent banker Kundapur Vaman Kamath was appointed as first President
New Development Bank (NDB) of BRICS nations.
9 May: President Pranab Mukherjee has appointed Mr. Arvind Saxena as Member of
Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
9 May: Mhairi Black at the age of 20 became the youngest elected Member of
Parliament (MP) in United Kingdom in over 300 years.
8 May: President Pranab Mukherjee has appointed Retired IAS officer Achal Kumar
Jyoti as the Election Commissioner. He will serve as Election Commissioner for a
period of three years.
8 May: In the 2015 United Kingdom Parliamentary elections, Prime Minister David
Cameron led Conservative Party has won the election.
2 May: Senior IPS officer Surender Singh took over as the new Director General (DG)
of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).
AWARDS/HONOURS/WORLD TITLES/NEW DISCOVERIES THIS MONTH
30 May: Gurnimrat ‘Nimmy’ Sidhu, an Indian-origin teacher has been honoured with
‘University of Oxford Inspirational Teacher Award’. She received her trophy in Oxford
along with 11 other teachers for helping their students get into the world-famous varsity.
25 May: French film Dheepan has been awarded Palme d’Or Award at 68th Cannes Film
Festival. The film is directed by Jacques Audiard.
23 May: Indian film Masaan has won the prestigious critics prize in the Un Certain Regard
category at the 68th Cannes Film Festival after it was premiered on May 20, 2015.
23 May: Two Indian peacekeepers have been chosen posthumously for United Nation’s
Dag Hammarskjold Medal. They are Lance Naik Nand Ram and Raju Joseph. Both of them
are among the 126 police, military and civilian personnel who have been posthumously
awarded a prestigious UN medal.
20 May: Hungarian writer Laszlo Krasznahorkai has won the prestigious Man Booker
International Prize for 2015. He was chosen from a list of 10 contenders from around the
world.
20 May: Shivani Agarwal and Maharaja Pandit are two Indians who have been selected
for the prestigious Radcliffe Fellowship by Harvard University.
19 May: Six Indian-Americans and a British-Indian were presented prestigious 2015 Ellis
Island Medals of Honor in United States for their contributions to America.
16 May: Vice President Mohammed Hamid Ansari conferred the Pt. Haridutt Sharma
Award to senior journalist Anurradha Prasad in New Delhi.
15 May: President Pranab Mukherjee conferred the Presidential Awards for Classical
Tamil for the years 2011-12 and 2012-13. It was bestowed on scholars who have made
outstanding contribution to the development of Classical Tamil language and literature.
Tolkappiyar Award for lifetime achievement in Classical Tamil was given to SV
Shanmugam for year 2011-12 and R Krishnamurthi for year 2012-13.
Kural Pitam Award was given to Eva Maria Wilden of Germany for 2011-12.
Young Scholar Awards was presented to E. Ezhilvasanthan, K. Jawahar and K. Iyyappan
for 2011-12 while for the year 2012-13 was given to R. Venkatesan, A. Sathish, M.R.
Devak, U. Alibava and B. Jaiganesh.
13 May: Writer Neel Mukherjee’s novel The Lives of Others has won the United Kingdom’s
Encore Award for the best second novel.
12 May: Dr. Sivanadane Mandjiny, an Indian-American Professor in US is named UNC
Pembroke’s recipient of the UNC Board of Governors 2015 Award for Excellence in
Teaching.
12 May: President Pranab Mukherjee conferred the National Florence Nightingale Awards
to 35 nursing personnel from across the country on the occasion of International Nurses
Day. The National Florence Nightingale Awards were presented at a function held at
Rashtrapati Bhavan.
10 May: Veteran actor and film producer Shashi Kapoor has been conferred with
prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke Award 2014. The award was bestowed upon him by Union
Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley at a special function held in Prithvi
Theatre in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
8 May: Nadia district in West Bengal has won the 2015 United Nations Public Service
Award in the category of improving delivery of public services for the initiative ‘Sabar
Shouchagar’
7 May: The French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo was presented a Freedom of
Expression Courage award from the PEN American Center. The satirical magazine was
recognized for this award by PEN American Centre as 12 of its staff members had died
during January 2015 terrorist attack on its Paris based office.
4 May: Syrian journalist and rights activist Mazen Darwish was honoured with UNESCO-
Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize 2015.
4 May: Renowned crime writer Ruth Rendell passed away on 2 May 2015 in London,
United Kingdom. She was 85.
3 May: Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) has been adjudged the world’s
best airport for the year 2014. In this regard, Airports Council International (ACI)
presented the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) award to IGIA under the category of handling
25 to 40 million passengers per annum.
3 May: Maya Plisetskaya, one of the greatest ballerinas of the 20th century from Russia
passed away in Germany. She was 89.
3 May: Philip S. Goodman, an American film, television and stage writer, producer and
director passed away on 2 May 2015 in New York, United States.
2 May: Eminent scientist and Bharat Ratna awardee Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra
Rao was conferred with Japan’s highest civilian award the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold
and Silver Star. He was bestowed with this award for his outstanding contributions to
science and Indo-Japanese science cooperation.
2 May: Senior DRDO scientist Satheesh Reddy, has been conferred with the prestigious
Fellowship of the Royal Institute of Navigation (RIN). RIN has recognised Mr. Reddy for his
work in the field of inertial and satellite-based navigation and avionics technologies.
2 May: Journalist Dr. Prannoy Roy, the executive co-chairman of NDTV, was conferred the
RedInk Award for lifetime achievement.
SPORTS NEWS THIS MONTH
30 May: Sepp Blatter has been re-elected as the Fédération Internationale de Football
Association (FIFA) President for a fifth term.
29 May: Abhinav Bindra has become the fourth Indian shooter to win a quota place for
the 2016 Rio Olympics.
25 May: Mumbai Indians (MI) on 24 May 2015 won the eight edition of Indian Premier
League (IPL) 2015 by defeating Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
25 May: Indian boxers have rounded off a brilliant run at the Doha International
Tournament by winning four gold, one silver and two bronze medals.
Gold medal winners are
L Devendro Singh in 49 kg category by defeating Aldren Moreno of Philippines by 3:0.
Shiva Thapa in 56kg category by defeating HYM Abdelaal of Egypt by 2:1.
Manish Kaushik in 60 kg category by defeating Rabi Hamza of Morocco by 3:0.
Manoj Kumar in 64 kg category by defeating Magliquian Nicole of Philippines by 3:0. The
silver medal was won by Gaurav Bidhuri in 52 kg category. While Mandeep Jangra and
Vikas Krishan bagged bronze medals in 69kg and 75kg categories respectively.
25 May: Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg from Germany has won the Monaco Grand Prix
Formula One (F1) World Championship title. It was the final race of F1 season 2015.
18 May: India’s ace discus thrower Vikas Gowda won a bronze medal in the second leg
of the prestigious International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Diamond
League series in Shanghai, China.
18 May: Ethiopian runners won both the Men’s and Women’s titles in the eighth edition
of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) World 10 Thousand metre run in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
18 May: World no 1 Novak Djokovic from Serbia has won his fourth Rome Masters Tennis
Men’s single title. In the final match, he defeated world no 2 Roger Federer from
Switzerland with score of 6-4, 6-3. With this win, Djokovic earned 1000 Emirates ATP
ranking points.
15 May: India’s ace shooter Gagan Narang won the bronze medal in the 50m Rifle Prone
Event of the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup.
15 May: Tejaswini Sagar from India won under-15 category of World School Chess
Championships in her maiden attempt.
11 May: Britain’s ace tennis player Andy Murray has won the 2015 Mutua Madrid Open
Men’s Singles Title. In the final match he defeated defending champion Rafael Nadal of
Spain by 6-3, 6-2 score. This is Andy Murray’s first Mutua Madrid Open title.
10 May: Haryana Government has decided to include Deaflympics in its Sports Policy in
order to boost the morale of differently-abled sportspersons in the state..
5 May: India’s top rifle shooters have won a rich haul of three gold and two bronze medals
at the International Shooting Competition of Hannover in Germany. In this shooting
event, Beijing Olympics Games gold medallist Abhinav Bindra won both the individual
and team gold in his pet 10 metre air rifle event.
4 May: Maniram Patel from Gujarat has won Gold medal in the men’s 20 kilometre walk
in the 19th Federation Cup senior athletics championship held at Mangaluru,Karnataka.
4 May: Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) have won the 5th National women hockey
championship title.
4 May: Union Government has finally recognised motorsports as a sport in India. In this
regard, Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has included Federation of Motor
Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) in the list of sports backed National Sports Federations (NSF).
EULOGIES THIS MONTH
28 May: Influential documentary photographer Mary Ellen Mark passed away in
Manhattan, New York. She was 75
26 April: The Oscar-winning cinematographer Andrew Lesnie passed away following a
fatal heart attack. He was 59.
25 May: Celebrated American Photographer Mary Ellen Mark died at Manhattan in New
York, USA. She was 75.
24 May: Argentine footballer Cristian Gomez died during a game. Gomez, 27, of Atletico
Parana collapsed on the pitch during a second-tier game against Boca Unidos.
23 May: John Forbes Nash Jr., the Princeton University mathematician, died along with
his wife in a car crash. He was 86.
22 May: The British actor Terry Sue-Patt passed away in east London. He was 50.
21 May: Academy Awards telecast director Marty Pasetta passed away following injuries
sustained in a car accident in La Quinta, United States. He was 82.
20 May: Veteran jazz musician Bob Belden passed away after suffering a heart attack. He
was 58.
20 May: Eminent economist, policy advisor and noted academic Mrinal Datta Chaudhuri
passed away in Pune, Maharashtra.
20 May: Popular Indian stage, film and television actress Sudha Shivpuri died due to
multiple organ failure at a suburban hospital in Andheri. She was 77.
16 May: Ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi was sentenced to death by Cairo
court for his part in a mass jailbreak in 2011.
14 May: Riley B. King, the king of blues, passed away in his sleep in Las Vegas. He was 89.
He was known by his stage name B B King.
12 May: Eminent Bengali writer Suchitra Bhattacharya passed away following a cardiac
arrest in Kolkata, West Bengal. She was 55. She was one of the most popular and powerful
novelists of contemporary Bengali literature.
12 May: Eminent historian Peter Gay passed away at Manhattan in New York City, USA.
He was 91. He is one of the major American historians of European thought and known
for his groundbreaking books on Enlightenment, the Victorian middle classes, Sigmund
Freud, Weimar culture and the cultural situation of Jews in Germany.
10 May: Renowned Pop artist Chris Burden passed away following melanoma disease at
his home and studio in Topanga Canyon, California. He was 69.
9 May: Veteran Hollywood actress Elizabeth Wilson passed away following age-related
illness at New Haven, Connecticut. She was 94.
7 May: Eminent historian and social scientist Amalendu Guha passed away following old
age ailments at Ulubari, Guwahati. He was 91.
5 May: Oscar Holderer, the last known surviving member of the German engineering team
that designed the rocket that took US astronauts to the Moon died in Alabama. He was
95.
4 May: Renowned crime writer Ruth Rendell passed away on 2 May 2015 in London,
United Kingdom. She was 85.
3 May: Lu Ping, Chinese diplomat who oversaw Hong Kong’s transition from British to
Chinese sovereignty in 1997 passed away in Beijing. He was 87.
3 May: Michael Blake, the Oscar-winning writer of ‘Dances with Wolves’ novel passed
away in Tucson, Arizona, after a long battle with cancer. He was 69.
3 May: Former Union Minister and veteran Congress leader Baleshwar Ram passed away
due to kidney-related ailments. He was 87. He was the leader from Bihar.
3 May: Philip S. Goodman, an American film, television and stage writer, producer and
director passed away on 2 May 2015 in New York, United States.
2 May: Amitabha Chowdhury, veteran journalist, writer and renowned Tagore researcher
passed away in Kolkata due to prolonged illness. He was 88.
2 May: Legendary Russian ballerinas Maya Plisetskaya died in Munich, Germany. She was
89.
MISCELLANEOUS NEWS THIS MONTH
27 May: Scientists have developed the first man-made molecular pump which is capable
to transport key proteins to cells for its functioning and can be used to power artificial
muscles.
27 May: Scientists have developed the first man-made molecular pump which is capable
to transport key proteins to cells for its functioning and can be used to power artificial
muscles.
27 May: A new species of fish called Pethia striata was discovered by ecologists in Tunga
River in the Kudremukh National Park, Karnataka.
20 May: Researchers have discovered the driest location on Earth in the Atacama Desert
in Chile. The site discovered is called as Maria Elena South (MES).
18 May: Union Government has allocated 5,000 crore rupees for the growth of
Department of AYUSH, that comprises Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha
and Homoeopathy.
15 May: World’s first fully warm-blooded fish named Opah or moonfish was discovered
recently. It was discovered by scientists at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA).
15 May: Doordarshan and China Central Television (CCTV) have signed an agreement for
exchange of art, culture and development television programmes.
13 May: Daniel Mookhey has become first Indian-origin Member of Parliament (MP) from
the Australian state of New South Wales to be sworn in to Australian parliament on the
Hindu religious text, the Bhagavadgita.
7 May: Huge Lava Lake was spotted on Jupiter’s Moon Io by an extremely powerful
telescope on Earth named Large Binocular telescope Interferometer (LBTI).
7 May: NASA successfully tested a 10-Engine Electric Plane named Greased Lightning-10
(GL-10) that that can take off and land like a helicopter and fly efficiently like an aircraft.
6 May: Information technology giant, Microsoft has launched a cloud computing-based
offering Edu-Cloud with an aim to Make Learning Fun.
6 May: Information technology giant, Microsoft has launched a cloud computing-based
offering Edu-Cloud with an aim to Make Learning Fun
5 May: Recently released book Indian Bumblebees has revealed that India is home to 48
of the 250 known species of bumblebees. The book is written by entomologist M.S. Saini
and co-authors Rifat H. Raina and Harpeet Singh Ghator.
RECURRING TERMS
(1) SBI launches sbiINTOUCH
India’s largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI) has launched contact-less credit
and debit cards sbiINTOUCH. sbiINTOUCH is based upon latest near-field technology (NFC) that
enables customer to transact using the card by just tapping or waving it against the reader of
the point-of-sale machine Cards incorporated with NFC technology are secure and hassle-free.
SBI is also proving a fraud liability cover of 1 lakh rupees on these cards. With this, SBI has
joined league of private lenders like ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank. It should be noted that ICICI
bank was first to introduce contact-less credit and debit cards in India. RBI rules on contact-less
credit and debit cards Presently, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) allows banks to enable transactions
in case of contactless cards up to Rs. 2,000 without the requiring a separate PIN authentication.
But incase of amounts higher, banks should provide customers with an option of contact
payment and pin authentication requirement.
(2) Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode of infrastructure development
Union government has constituted a 10-member committee to review and revitalise public
private partnership (PPP) mode of infrastructure development.
The committee will be chaired by former finance secretary Vijay Kelkar and submit its report
within a period of 3 months from the date of its Constitution.
Members of Committee: C.S. Rajan, Dr. Shekhar Shah, S.B. Nayar, Pradeep Kumar, Vikram
Limaye, Sudipto Sarkar, P.S. Behuria, Sharmila Chavaly, Representative of Ministry of Road
Transport & Highways.
Terms of Reference of the Committee
Review of the experience of PPP Policy. It will also include the variations in contents of
contracts and difficulties experienced with particular conditions.
Suggest optimal risk sharing mechanism by analyzing risks involved in PPP projects in
different sectors. It will also look into existing framework of sharing of such risks between
the Government and project developer.
Propose design modifications to the contractual arrangements of the PPP based on best
international practices and in correspondence with our institutional context.
Suggest measure to Government in order to improve capacity building for effective
implementation of the PPP projects.
For firming-up its recommendations, the Committee may consult various stake holders in
the different sectors including private, government sector, legal experts, banking and
financial institutions and academia.
Background
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his budget speech of February 2015 had announced that
the PPP mode of infrastructure development has to be revitalized and revisited in which the
major issue involved is rebalancing of risk.
(3) Mothers’ Index
India ranked 140th in 2015 Mothers’ Index Share on emailShare on facebookShare on
twitterShare on printShare on google May 7, 2015No comments In recently released 2015
Mother’s Index in the State of the World’s Mothers (SOWM) report titled The Urban
Disadvantage, India was placed at 140th position out of 179 countries.
The report prepared by Save the Children and was launched by Union Minority Affairs Minister
Najma Heptulla in New Delhi.
Key facts from the report
Top 5 countries as per 2015 Mother’s Index: Norway (1st), Finland (2nd), Iceland (3rd),
Denmark (4th) and Swedan (5th).
Bottom 10 countries: Niger (175th), Mali (176th), Central African Republic (177th), Congo
(178th) and Somalia (179th).
The report has noted that the growing number of slums in the world is main cause for
the urban rich-poor gap and reducing urban under-5 mortality.
In the slums, high child death rates are rooted to conditions that are related to
disadvantage, deprivation and discrimination.
With reference to India
India is among the 10 countries in the world that have the greatest survival divide
between wealthy and poor urban children.
In case of India, the 29 per cent of the urban population living in slums. Children’s among
this urban poor population is 3.2 times likely to die by the age of 5 compared to the urban
rich population.
About Mother’s Index
The Mother’s Index scores countries on five parameters. They are maternal health, children’s
well-being (measured as under-5 mortality rate), economic status, educational status and
political status.
(4)World Hunger List
According to recently released United Nations (UN) annual hunger report titled The State of Food
Insecurity in the World 2015, India was placed at top in the World Hunger list. The report has
mentioned that India is home to the highest number of hungry people in the world with around
194 million people, surpassing China. The report was published by UN subsidiary body Food and
Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
Key facts from report
Top ten countries: India (194.6), China (133.8), Pakistan (41.4), Ethiopia (31.6),
Bangladesh (26.3), Indonesia (19.4), Tanzania (16.8), Philippines (13.7), Nigeria (12.9) and
North Korea (10.5). Note: (population is million).
At global level: The corresponding figures have dropped to 795 million in 2014-15
compared to 1 billion in 1990-92.
In this case with East Asia led by China accounted for most of the reductions.
India: It has shown reduction between 15 years timespan form 1990 to 2015.
In 1990-92, in Indian those who were starved of food were numbered around 210.1
million. It came down to 194.6 million in 2014-15.
India’s numerous social programmes and schemes have made great strides in reducing
the proportion of food insecure persons in the overall population.
These schemes are expected to continue to fight hunger and poverty.
China: It was able to achieve reduction in the number of hungry people which was much
higher than in India.
China’s figures came down to 133.8 million in 2014-15 compared to 289 million in 1990-
92.
Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target: 72 out of 129 countries monitored by FAO
have achieved the MDG target of halving the prevalence of undernourishment by 2015.
The overall analysis of the report had suggested that inclusive economic growth, social
protection and agricultural investments along with political stability has played important
role in eradication of hunger.
(5) RuPay Platinum debit card
India’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) has launched a RuPay Platinum debit card in
association with National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI). The card initially would be issued
free to customers maintaining a quarterly balance of 50,000 rupees. For the convenience of
customers, this card has a special feature which is accepted at all payment channels including
ATMs, point-of-sale (PoS) and eCommerce. RuPay Platinum debit card holders will also get
additional benefits like 5 per cent cash back on utility bill, complimentary concierge services,
personal accident death and permanent total disability insurance cover of Rs 2 lakh,
complimentary airport lounge. It should be noted that, presently SBI has 19.7 crore debit cards
in circulation. Of this total debit cards in circulation, 4.5 crore are RuPay cards.
ABBREVIATIONS THIS MONTH
ABBREVIATIONS
1. ADG- Additional Director General
2. AFSPA- Armed Forces Special Powers Act
3. APY- Atal Pension Yojana
4. AYUSH - Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy
5. OCAS- Online Customer Acquisition Solution
6. CCEA- Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs
7. CLND- Civil Liability for Nuclear Damages
8. DRDO- Defence Research and Development Organisation
9. FAO- Food and Agriculture Organisation
10. FIFA- Federation International Football Association
11. GIC- General Insurance Corporation of India
12. GMS- Gold Monetization Scheme
13. I&B- Information and Broadcasting (I&B)
14. IFCI -Industrial Finance Corporation of India
15. IFSC - International Financial Services Centre
16. IRENA- International Renewable Energy Agency
17. ISSF- International Shooting Sport Federation
18. MOTR- Multi-Object Tracking Radar
19. MERS- Middle East Respiratory Syndrome virus
20. MNP- Mobile Number Portability
21. NASSCOM- National Association of Software and Services Companies
22. NIP- Nuclear Insurance Pool
23. NTPC- National Thermal Power Corporation Limited
24. NRI- Non-Resident Indians
25. OCIs- Overseas Citizens of India
26. OPCW- Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
27. PIOs- Persons of Indian Origin
28. PMSBY- Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana
29. PMJJBY- Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana
30. PPP- Public Private Partnership
31. REITs- Real Estate Investment Trusts
32. SDRF - State Disaster Response Fund
33. SEBI- Securities and Exchange Board of India
34. UNSC- United Nations Security Council
35. WNTD- World No-Tobacco Day
IMPORTANT DAYS THIS MONTH
31ST May - World No-Tobacco Day (WNTD)
29th May- International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers
27th May- World Science Festival
21st May- Anti Terrorism Day
17th May- World Telecommunication Day / World Information Society Day
15th May- National Defense Transportation Day - USA
12th May- International Nurses Day
11th May- National Technology Day- India
10th May- Mother's Day
9th May- World Athletics Day – IAAF World Fair Trade Day, World Migratory Bird Day,
Rabindranath Tagore Jayanti
8th May- World Red Cross Day
5th May- World Asthma Day
4th May- International Firefighters' Day
3rd May- World Press Freedom Day
1st May- International Labour Day
SPECIAL FEATURES OF THE MONTH
(1) Man Booker International Prize 2015
Hungarian writer Laszlo Krasznahorkai has won the prestigious Man Booker International Prize
for 2015. He was chosen from a list of 10 contenders from around the world.
About Laszlo Krasznahorkai
Laszlo Krasznahorkai was born in 1954 Gyula, Hungary.
He had gained recognition in 1985 after he had published his debut novel Satantango,
which he adapted for the big screen in 1994.
Krasznahorkai’s other famous novels are The Melancholy of Resistance (1989), War and
War (1999), Seiobo There Below (2008).
Awards and Honours: In 1993, he was awarded Bestenliste-Prize of Germany for his novel The
Melancholy of Resistanc.
In 2004, he was awarded with most prestigious cultural award in Hungary- The Kossuth
Prize.
About Man Booker International Prize
The prize, worth £60,000, recognizes an authors’s achievement in fiction.
It is a biennial award, bestowed upon a living author who has published fiction either
originally in English or whose work is available in translation in the English language.
The prize is sponsored by Man Group plc, which also sponsors the Man Booker Prize for
Fiction. Unlike the UK Man Booker Prize for Fiction, publishers cannot submit authors’
works for consideration.
The Prize is significantly different in that it highlights one writer’s overall contribution to
fiction on the world stage.
The judges, who solely decide the winner, consider a writer’s body of work rather than a
single novel.
(2) Dag Hammarskjold Medal
Two Indian peacekeepers have been chosen posthumously for United Nation’s Dag
Hammarskjold Medal. They are Lance Naik Nand Ram and Raju Joseph.
Both of them are among the 126 police, military and civilian personnel who have been
posthumously awarded a prestigious UN medal.
They have been chosen for this award for their courage and sacrifice while serving in UN
peacekeeping operations in 2014 and lost their lives as a result of hostile acts, accidents and
disease. They will be presented with this medal on May 29, 2015 i.e. on the International Day of
United Nations Peacekeepers.
Lance Naik Nand Ram had served with the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). While, Raju Joseph had served in a civilian
capacity with the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
About Dag Hammarskjold Medal
Established in December 2000.
Awarded posthumously to members of peacekeeping operations who lost their lives
during service with a peacekeeping operation under the operational control and authority
of the United Nations.
Named after second UN Secretary General and Swedish diplomat Dag Hammarskjold (In
office: from 1953 to 1961).
Hammarskjold had died in a mysterious plane crash in 1961.
He was posthumously awarded Nobel Peace Prize the year he died (exceptional case).
In 2014, eight Indian soldiers had posthumously received the medal.
(3) IPL
Mumbai Indians (MI) on 24 May 2015 won the eight edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015
by defeating Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
In the final match played at Eden Gardens, Kolkata they defeated CSK by 41 runs. CSK had won
the toss in final summit had chosen bowl first. MI by batting first had set the target of 202 to their
opponent team. However the CSK failed to reach the target score.
This is the second IPL title triumph for MI after their maiden win in the season six in 2013. It
should be noted that Chennai has now lost four finals of 2008, 2012, 2013, 2015 in six
appearances and had won in 2011 and 2012 IPL seasons.
Brief score: MI 202-5 in 20.0 Overs (Lendl Simmons 68, Rohit Sharma 50, Dwayne Bravo 2-36)
beat CSK 161-8 in 20.0 Overs (Dwayne Smith 57, Mitchell McClenaghan 3-25).
Man of the Match: Rohit Sharma.
Captains of the two teams
Mumbai Indains: Rohit Sharma
Chennai Super Kings: Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Other highlights of IPL 2015
Player of the Tournament: Andre Russell (KKR)
Orange Cap awarded to: David Warner (Sunrisers Hyderabad)
Purple Cap awarded to: Dwayne Bravo (CSK)
Emerging Player of the Season: Shreyas Iyer (Delhi Daredevils)
Most Valuable Player: Andre Russell (KKR)
About Mumbai Indians
Mumbai Indians (MI) is owned by India’s biggest conglomerate, Reliance Industries led by
Mukesh Ambani through its 100% subsidiary IndiaWin Sports. Ownership of MI: IndiaWin Sports
Pvt Ltd (Stake: 98.3%), Teesta Retail Pvt Ltd. (Stake: 1.7%).
(4) Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY)
It is an Accident Insurance Scheme (AIS) offering death and disability cover on account of an
accident.
Key Features of Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY)
• It provides for the risk coverage of 2 lakh rupees for accidental death and full disability and 1
lakh rupees for partial disability due to an accident.
• It is available to people in the age group of 18 to 70 years having a savings bank account.
• The coverage period is of one year duration starting from 1 June to 31 March of the succeeding
year.
• A premium of 12 rupees per annum is paid by the subscriber which will be deducted from the
account holder’s savings bank account through auto debit facility in one installment on or before
1 June of each annual coverage period.
• The product will be offered by Public Sector General Insurance Companies (PSGICs) and other
General Insurance companies willing to offer the product on similar terms with necessary
approvals and tie up with banks for this purpose.
(5) Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY)
PM Narendra Modi on 9 May 2015 launched Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY)
in Kolkata, West Bengal. The scheme is intended to provide for life insurance cover to the eligible
subscribers.
Key Features of PMJJBY
• It provides for an annual life insurance of 2 lakh rupees and covers death due to any reason.
• A premium of 330 rupees per annum is paid by the subscribers to enroll in the scheme.
• People in the age group of 18 to 50 years having a bank account are eligible to join the scheme.
• It will be administered through Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) and other Life Insurance
companies willing to offer the product on similar terms with necessary approvals and tie ups with
banks for this purpose.
• The coverage period is of one year duration starting from 1 June to 31 March of the succeding
year.
• The Union Government will spend 50 crore rupees per annum between 2015 and 2020 for
creating awareness about the PMJJBY and thePradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana
(PMSBY) launched on the same day to provide insurance cover for disabilities due to accidents.
(6) Joint Parliamentary Committee on Land Bill
The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to look into the clauses and provisions of the
controversial land acquisition bill was constituted on 18 May 2015. The JPC comprises of 30
members of Indian Parliament, which will include 20 members from the Lok Sabha and 10
members of the Rajya Sabha. The JPC will submit its report on the first day of the monsoon
session. The JPC was constituted by the Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, who also appointed
its Chairman.
JPC to be headed by S.S. Ahluwalia
The JPC on Land Bill will be headed by senior BJP leader S.S. Ahluwalia. Ahluwalia is a former
Union Minister and a Lok Sabha member from Darjeeling in West Bengal.
Other prominent members in the JPC
The 20 members of the Lok Sabha who are on the joint committee include K.V. Thomas, Rajiv
Satav (both Congress), Anand Rao Adsul (Shiv Sena), Kalyan Banerjee (Trinamool Congress), B.
Mahtab (BJD), Mohammad Salim (CPI-M), Chirag Paswan (LJP) and Udit Raj, Anurag Thakur and
Ganesh Singh (all BJP).
The 10 Rajya Sabha members in the committee include Ram Narain Dudi (BJP), Jairam Ramesh,
Panna Lal Punia, Digvijay Singh (all Congress), Ram Gopal Yadav (SP), Sharad Yadav (JD-U), Sharad
Pawar (NCP), Derek O’Brien (TMC) and Rajpal Singh Saini (BSP).
Why the JPC on Land Bill constituted?
The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on Land Bill was constituted primarily to chalk out
differences between the ruling BJP coalition and the opposition on the supposedly controversial
clauses in the land acquisition bill being proposed by the govt. It is worth mentioning that apart
from the main opposition parties like Congress, Trinammol Congress, CPM, SP, etc., even some
members of the ruling NDA coalition like the Shiv Sena and the Swabhimani Paksha are opposing
the land acquisition bill. The Congress and the Left parties have been specially targeting the Modi
dispensation as anti-farmer and pro-corporate.
All about Land acquisition Bills
Currently land acquisition is governed by the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in
Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 which came into force on 1 January
2014. Prior to this, the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 governed land acquisition. The so-called
controversial land bill is the one which is named the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency
in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Second Amendment) Bill, 2015 and was
introduced in the Lok Sabha by the Minister for Rural Development, Birender Singh on 11 May
2015. The Bill proposes to amend the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land
Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. The Bill also proposes to replace the Right
to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement
(Amendment) Ordinance, 2015 which is to lapse on 4 June 2015.