1st Oct to 15th Oct

AWARDS & HONOURS

Indian Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi was 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. In past, the prestigious award
has been conferred upon some notable luminaries including: former UN Secretary- Generals Kofi Annan, Boutros
Boutros-Ghali and Javier Perez de Cuellar; and Nobel laureates Jose Ramos-Horta, Bishop Desmond Tutu, John
Hume and Elie Wiesel; Ethel Kennedy and R C Gorman. Additionally, Satyarthi has been championing the cause of
child reform and ending all forms of violence against children. He has been at the forefront of driving these
agendas into The Sustainable Development Goals announced at The United Nations SDG Summit in September.
Indian-American environmental engineer Kartik Chandran was named a 2015 MacArthur Fellow and given a
'genius' grant of $625,000 for working on a novel solution to the world's need for food, clean water and energy. An
IIT Roorkee graduate, Chandran joins a distinguished group of 24 talented people who have all demonstrated
exceptional originality and dedication to their creative pursuits, as well as a marked capacity for self-direction.
Jamaican author Marlon James won the prestigious 2015 Man Booker Prize for his novel A Brief History of Seven
Killings. With this, he became first Jamaican to win Man Booker Prize. The prize, launched in 1969, aims at
promoting the finest literary work in fiction by rewarding the best novel of the year written in English and
published in the United Kingdom.
Author Svetlana Alexievich of Belarus was selected for the prestigious 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature. With this
she became 14th women Literature Laureate and also the first writer from Belarus to receive this award.
National Dialogue Quartet (NDQ) in Tunisia won the prestigious 2015 Nobel Peace Prize. The award of the 2015
Nobel Peace Prize to the National Dialogue Quartet comprising the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT), the
Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts (UTICA), the Tunisian Human Rights League (LTDH) and
the Tunisian Order of Lawyers, is richly deserved. This quartet of civil society institutions, that came together in
2013, had managed tortuous political negotiations for a consensus-based Constitution and a transition to a robust
democracy in Tunisia. The UGTT in particular played a pivotal role, after massive protests erupted in 2013 against
the Ennahda-led government.
Three scientists Youyou Tu (China), Satoshi Omura (Japan) and William Campbell (Ireland) won 2015 Nobel Prize
for Physiology or Medicine. They were chosen for their pioneering discoveries which have led to the
development of potent new drugs against parasitic diseases such as malaria and elephantiasis.
Inuit and Arctic activist Sheila Watt-Cloutier of Canada won the 2015 Right Livelihood Award. Ms. Watt-Cloutier
was honoured for her lifelong work to protect the Inuit of the Arctic and defend their right to maintain their
livelihoods and culture, which are acutely threatened by climate change. She shared the prize with Ugandan
activist Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera, who fights for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and
intersexual (LGBTI) communities, and Italian doctor Gino Strada, who founded the medical charity Emergency
that helps rehabilitate war victims. The three laureates will share the 3-million-kronor (about Rs. 2.3 crore) cash
prize.
The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2015 was awarded to Angus
Deaton "for his analysis of consumption, poverty, and welfare".

BUSINESS & CORPORATE

In one of the mega acquisitions in the global IT space, PC maker Dell Inc announced to acquire EMC Corporation
for about USD 67 billion to create the "world's largest privately-controlled, integrated technology company". The
combined entity will be "a leader in the extremely attractive high-growth areas of the USD 2 trillion information
technology market with complementary product portfolios, sales teams and R&D investment strategies". With EMC
in tow, Dell would look at expanding its product lineup in high-end data storage equipment as it competes with the
likes of Hewlett-Packard Co and others. Dell went private for about USD 25 billion in 2013. EMC Corporation has
over 5,000 employees as part of its centre of excellence and another 550 in sales and marketing. The company
had operations in India in October 2000 and has since scaled up its presence with the government sector
accounting for a significant part of its business.
Ellen Kullman, chairwoman and CEO of DuPont, announced to retire from the company effective Oct. 16. Edward
Breen, a current member of DuPont's board of directors, will take the role of interim chairman and CEO on that
date. Du Pont was the world's fourth largest chemical company based on market capitalization in 2014.
Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways announced to sign a 10-year technology services agreement worth approximately
$700 million with IBM aimed at improving efficiency. The deal will provide Etihad, one of the world's fastest
growing airlines, with access to the latest cloud-based technologies and services. It includes plans for a new cloud
data centre in Abu Dhabi. Developed and operated by IBM, it will be one of the most sophisticated technology
facilities in the Middle East. Launched in 2003, Etihad is expanding rapidly and has bought minor shares in several
smaller carriers around the world.
Forbes released the inaugural list of Forbes' 50 richest families in Asia. The list was topped by Lee (Byung-Chull)
family of South Korea with 26.6 billion dollar. The revenue of Lees of Samsung Group in 2014 was equivalent to 22
percent of South Koreas GDP. Ambani family of Reliance Group was ranked at 3rd position with combined wealth
of 21.5 billion dollar. Premji family of Wipro was ranked at the 7th position with combined wealth of 17 billion
dollar.
Retail major Future Group entered into a partnership with Baba Ramdev-promoted Patanjali Ayurved to sell the
latter's FMCG products through its stores with plans for joint manufacturing in future. Patanjali's range of FMCG
products, including staples, nutrition, hair care, skin care, dental care and toiletries, will be sold through Future
Group's Big Bazaar, KB's and EasyDay outlets across India. Kishore Biyani-led Future Group expects sales from
Patanjali, which is set to launch noodles next week to take advantage of the space vacated by Nestle's Maggi, to
the tune of Rs 1,000 crore in the next 20 months.
Top private sector lender ICICI Bank launched a mobile-payment solution based on 'mVisa' that will allow its
customers pay for services using their smartphones. The service, which can be used by customers who have
installed an app of the bank's mobile wallet 'Pockets', works by scanning QR codes. They can make electronic
payments from smartphones at physical stores, accept e-commerce deliveries, pay radio taxis and utility bills
among others. The service is based on 'mVisa', a new mobile payment solution from Visa, and ICICI Bank is the
first globally to launch a mobile-app based 'mVisa' solution for consumers and merchants.
iGate chief executive Ashok Vemuri quit just about six months after French IT giant Capgemini acquired the
Nasdaq-listed IT services firm, ending a two-year reign that was marked by top-level exits, large scale strategic
overhauls and ultimately the hiring of an external consultant to validate its strategy. Paris-based Capgemini said
Vemuri had resigned from the company to pursue other interests.

Tata Power launched LED tube light scheme in Mumbai for its residential consumer under which it will provide
five lights to each household at Rs 525 per piece against market price of Rs 1,325.The consumer can register
online for the scheme and the LED tube light fittings will be home delivered.
Twitter named Omid Kordestani, Google's former chief business officer, as its new executive chairman. He
succeeded Jack Dorsey, who stepped down as Executive Chairman to take up the post of Chief Executive Officer of
Twitter.
In a major relief to Indian subsidiary of British telecom major Vodafone, the Bombay High Court set aside an
order of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal which had ruled that I-T had the powers to raise tax demand on the
company in a Rs 8500 crore transfer pricing case. The transfer pricing case dates back to FY08 relating to sale of
one of its call centres in Ahmedabad in 2007.
India's leading global IT company Wipro announced to provide new books to tens of thousands of children in need
across five cities in North America. For this it has entered into a tie up with First Book, a non-profit social
enterprise. Wipro and First Book will distribute 35,000 books to educators and programme leaders in 2015, serving
kids from low-income families in Jefferson City (Missouri), Atlanta, Houston, East Brunswick (New Jersey) and
Edmonton in Canada. According to a recent NASSCOM report, the philanthropic contributions of India-based IT
services companies touch tens of thousands of American lives annually.

BILLS / ACTS / COMMITTEES / SCHEMES / POLICIES

Lifting its earlier restriction, the Supreme Court permitted voluntary use of Aadhaar cards in welfare
schemes that also included MGNREGA, all pension schemes and the provident fund besides the NDA
Governments flagship programmes such as the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna. The apex court modified
its earlier order which restricted use of Aadhaar to public distribution system (LPG) and LPG (cooking gas)
subsidy.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved World Bank assisted National Watershed
Management Project- Neeranchal. The project will ensure access to irrigation to every farmland (Har Khet
Ko Pani) and help to achieve objectives of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY) for efficient use
of water (Per Drop More Crop).

Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare launched the second phase of Mission Indradhanush to
achieve full immunisation of children below two years. In the second phase, the week-long programme
will be implemented in 352 districts of the country. Mission Indradhanush depicts 7 colours of the rainbow
which aims to cover all those children by 2020 who are either unvaccinated or are partially vaccinated
against 7 vaccine preventable diseases. These 7 diseases are Diphtheria, Whooping cough, Tetanus, Polio,
Tuberculosis, Measles and Hepatitis B. WHO (World Health Organisation), UNICEF, Rotary International
and others are donor partners for Mission Indradhanush.

The Centre notified the mid-day meals rules, making running quality tests and sticking to nutritional
standards mandatory. The State governments will be held accountable for non-delivery of service. If a
school fails to serve food to students for three consecutive school days or five days a month, the State
government will have to pay a food security allowance as compensation. The State governments have
been asked to fix responsibility if meals are not provided regularly. Under the rules, children in the six-14
age group, studying from classes I to VIII, will be provided hot cooked meal on all working days. It will be
the mandate of the schools to provide hygienic facilities for cooking meals. School management
committees will monitor the implementation of the meal scheme, oversee the quality of the food served
and ensure cleanliness of the cooking place. The heads of schools have been empowered to utilise any
available fund for the continuation of the scheme. The amount will be reimbursed to the school account.

Union Government launched KISAN (Crop Insurance using Space Technology and Geoinformatics) Project
to benefit farmers. This project will favour use of satellites, drones (unmanned aerial vehicles) and other
geospatial technology to collect crop yield data and to assess damage from natural calamities.

Government approved the formation of the Indian Skill Development Service (ISDS), a Group 'A' service
of the technical cadre of the ministry of skill development & entrepreneurship (MSD&E). It was earlier
called the directorate general of employment & training under the ministry of labour employment.

ECONOMY & FINANCE

The government's ambitious Sagarmala project, which aims to develop port infrastructure along the
country's 7,500 km coastline, is likely to see an investment of more than Rs 70,000 crore in coming years
as per an announcement made by Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari. The project includes modernisation of
ports and islands, setting up of coastal economic zones, new major ports and fish harbours. Most of this
investment is expected to be made by government. But some projects, including development
of islands and tourism facilities, would be taken up in public-private partnership (PPP) mode. According to
the plan, the government intends to develop 30 projects in the current fiscal at a cost of Rs 14,226 crore.
The projects mainly include increasing the capacity of existing major ports and adding new ports.

The Union Cabinet gave its approval for the Revised Cost Estimate (RCE) of 2904.04 crore rupees for the
Kaladan Multi Modal Transit Transport Project in Myanmar,

which is intended to create a multi-modal

mode of transport for cargo shipment from the eastern ports of India to Myanmar.

India is going to chair Group of Twenty (G20) nations forum in year 2018 and New Delhi could be the host
of the prestigious annual G20 summit. The G20 operates as a forum and not as an organization.
Therefore, it does not have any permanent secretariat or management and administrative structure. One
of the G20 countries is selected to hold the Chair in rotation, also known as G20 presidency.

India and Germany signed around 18 agreements and memorandum of understanding (MoUs) in various
sectors.

The Union Cabinet approved the MoU between the India-Taipei Association (ITA) in Taipei and Taipei
Economic and Cultural Center (TECC) in India. The MoU is on cooperation in the field of Micro, Small and
Medium Enterprises. The objective of the MoU is to promote the cooperation between the Micro, Small &
Medium Enterprises between the two Parties. It provides a structured framework and enabling
environment to the MSME sector of the two Parties to understand each other's strengths, markets,
technologies, policies etc.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) projected that Indias gross
domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow at 7.5 per cent in 2015. As per the report, the growth rate for
world in 2015 is expected to remain more or less unchanged from last year, at 2.5 per cent.

Easing norms for foreign ownership of government debt, the 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 followed a decision by the 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. For the current fiscal, RBI announced to enhance the limit for investment by FPIs in G-secs in
two tranches from October 12, 2015 and January 1, 2016. The limit will be increased from Rs. 1.53 lakh
crore to Rs. 1.7 lakh crore from October 12 and Rs. 1.86 lakh crore from January 1. There will be a
separate limit for investment by all FPIs in State development loans (SDLs), to be raised in phases to
reach 2 per cent of the outstanding stock by March 2018.

UCO Bank registered the highest increase in gross Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) in percentage terms
against total loans in the 2014-15 fiscal year. With this, UCO Bank became the worst performer among
the other public sector banks.

The Index of Eight Core Industries with base year 2004-05 was released by the Department of Industrial
Policy and Promotion (DIPP) under Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry. As per official figures
released on 30 September 2015, growth of eight core sectors grew by 2.6 percent in August 2015, as
compared to the August 2014. The combined Index of Eight Core Industries stands at 169.6 in August
2015. Its cumulative growth during April to August, 2015-16 was 2.2 percent.

The Union Cabinet approved Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Union Ministry of New
and Renewable Energy and Mozambique in field of renewable energy. The objective of MoU is to establish
the basis for a cooperative institutional relationship to encourage between both countries and strengthen
bilateral cooperation.

India and Jordan signed six Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) in various fields. Jordan fully assured
support to Indias candidature in the expanded United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Both countries
also assured to enhance their cooperation in counter-terrorism and defence.

India and Ecuador signed a Protocol for the establishment of the India-Ecuador Joint Economic and Trade
Committee (JETCO) to enhance bilateral trade and investment relations.

PEOPLE IN NEWS
The World-renowned Indian composer, singer, songwriter, music producer, musician and philanthropist AllahRakha Rahman was named as a cultural ambassador for Seychelles in India. He has won multiple international
awards including 2 Academy Awards (famously known as Oscars), 2 Grammy Awards, BAFTA Award and Golden
Globe Award.
Renowned Telugu Cinema Producer Edida Nageswara Rao passed away at 81. He had produced numerous
landmark movies Telugu Cinema (also known as Tollywood).
Henning Mankell, the internationally renowned Swedish crime writer died at the age of 67. Mankell wrote dozens
of plays, novels, childrens books and screenplays.
Hoesung Lee of South Korea was elected Chairman of Inter-governmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC). Lee
succeeds environmentalist R.K. Pachauri of India who had resigned following the sexual abuse scandal in which he
was allegedly involved.
Fijis Parliament elected the Minister for Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations, Jioji Konrote, as the
countrys next President.
Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli of Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist)-CPN-UML was elected as new
Prime Minister of Nepal, thus becoming the first Prime Minister of Nepal under the newly adopted secular, republic
and federal Constitution of Himalayan country.
Kundhavi Kadiresan was appointed as the Assistant Director (AD) of United Nations Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) and Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific.
Veteran Tamil actor, comedian, stage artiste and singer Manorama passed away at the age of 78. In her career
spanning almost six decades she had acted in over 1,500 films, 1,000 stage performances and several television
series in five languages. She was also a Padma Shri awardee.
P S Jayakumar, the former chief executive of VBHC Value Homes, took charge as the new MD and CEO of the
state-owned Bank of Baroda for three years.
Indias second largest software services firm, Infosys appointed Ranganath D Mavinakere as new Chief Financial
Officer (CFO).
Rakesh Sharma of Lakshmi Vilas Bank was appointed as the new MD and CEO of Canara Bank
Veteran music director and lyricist Ravindra Jain passed away in Mumbai at the age of 71. A Padma Shri
awardee, Jain composed music for hit films like 'Ankhiyon Ke Jharokhon Se', 'Ram Teri Ganga Maili' and 'Heena'.
During the 1980s and 1990s, Jain widely composed music for many mythological movies and television serials.
Telenor India (earlier known as Uninor) appointed Sharad Mehrotra as its new Chief Executive Officer with effect
from 1 November 2015. Telenor India is an Indian mobile network operator based in Gurgaon, Haryana.

Shashank Manohar was elected President of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Manohar, who also
served as the 29th President of the board from 2008 to 2011, will remain at the helm for two years. He is known
for his spotless track record and integrity in cricketing circles.
Renowned scientist Shekhar Basu was appointed as the Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and
Secretary of Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).
Corporate Affairs Secretary Tapan Ray was appointed to the Board of capital market regulator Securities and
Exchange Board of India (SEBI). Ray succeeded Anjuly Chib Duggal on the SEBI board.
V Shanmuganthan was sworn in as the 17th Governor of Manipur, succeeding Dr. Syed Ahmed who died in
September 2015.

SPORTS
Ace Indian shuttler, Ajay Jayaram won the 2015 Dutch Open Grand Prix badminton tournament.
Indias ace shooter Heena Sidhu clinched a Gold medal in the 10-metre air pistol event of the Asian Air Gun
Championships in New Delhi.
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain won 2015 Russian Grand Prix title of Formula One. This was his overall
ninth victory of the season.
Luis Leao Pinto of Portugal won the 2015 MTB Himalaya Title, Asias premier mountain biking race in the Solo
Mens category.
Novak Djokovic of Serbia won the 2015 Mens Singles title of China Open after defeating Rafael Nadal of Spain
in the finals. Garbie Muguruza of Spain won the 2015 Womens Singles title of China Open by defeating Tmea
Bacsinszky of Switzerland in the final match.
Punjab National Bank (PNB) won the 2015 Beighton Cup hockey tournament by defeating Indian Oil Corporation
(IOC) in the finals.
Sergey Karjakin of Russia won the 2015 World Cup Chess Championship by defeating Peter Svidler (Russia).
India seamer Zaheer Khan announced his retirement from international and first-class cricket. He will, however,
continue to play in the IPL for one more season. With 610 international wickets, Zaheer finishes as one of India's
most successful bowlers, being the fourth-highest wicket-taker for India across formats. He has the secondhighest wickets tally - 311 - for an India seamer in Tests, behind Kapil Dev's 434. Zaheer, though, played few
international matches in recent years after being dogged by injuries.

MISCELLANEOUS
World

Portugal became the first European country to sign the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the
establishment of Nalanda University, thus becoming the 17th country overall and the fourth outside the
East Asia Summit to do so.

EU launched second phase of Operation Sophia to fight traffickers in Mediterranean Sea. Operation Sophia
is a naval operation launched by the European Union against human smugglers and traffickers in the
Mediterranean Sea.

The Joint Declaration of the Heads of the Migration Authorities of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China
and South Africa) nations was released on 9 October 2015 after the first BRICS Ministerial meeting on
Migration. The meeting was 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.

Government of India and Federal Republic of Germany (KFW) signed two loan agreements worth 125
million Euros for financing two projects under the Green Energy Corridor programme. These two projects
are in Himachal Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.

India

The Odisha Government launched Mission Abaas, states urban housing mission, to provide affordable
houses to Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), Low Income Groups (LIG) and slum dwellers. The
scheme aims at fulfilling the promise of protection and welfare of slum dwellers by providing affordable
housing along with basic amenities such as piped water supply, electricity, concrete roads, drainage and
community centre.

Taking a serious view of the increase in the number of children missing in the state, the Kerala
government launched a programme to trace, rescue and reunite the little ones with their family. Titled as
"Operation Valsalya", the state government's ambitious programme is envisaged to be implemented on
the lines of the much acclaimed 'Operation Smile' project in Ghaziabad.

Government of Andhra Pradesh launched Andhra Pradesh State Enterprise Architecture (APSEA),
alternatively called e-Pragati project. The project is intended to bring about a transformational change in
the way government services are conceived, designed, delivered and consumed.

16th Oct to 31st Oct

AWARDS & HONOURS

An Indian short film, An Old Dogs Diary, won prestigious Best Short Film Award at the 2015 London Film
Festival (LFF). The award was bestowed by the British Film Institute (BIF) at 59th edition of LFF. The 11-minute
film has been directed by Shai Heredia and Shumona Goel.
Indian filmmaker Pan Nalin's movie Angry Indian Goddesses bagged the BNL People's Choice Award at the
10th Rome Film Festival. The film is described as a fresh and unbridled portrayal of women in India today.
Zimbabwe's controversial president, Robert Mugabe, was awarded China's Confucius Peace Prize, despite
widespread accusations of war crimes and human rights violations. The 91-year-old is Africa's oldest leader and
has been in power for almost three decades.
Raif Badawi, the Saudi blogger and activist sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes for insulting Islam,
won the EUs Sakharov prize for human rights. The announcement was greeted with a standing ovation at the
European parliament in Strasbourg, France, but will be seen by Saudi Arabia as another diplomatic slight at a time
when its domestic and international policies are coming under growing criticism.
Renowned music composer A R Rahman was conferred with Hridaynath Mangeshkar Award. Veteran
filmmaker Subhash Ghai presented the fifth Hridaynath Mangeshkar Award to Rahman on the 78th birthday of
Pandit Hridaynath Mangeshkar, well-known composer and the younger brother of Lata Mangeshkar and Asha
Bhosle.
Dr M N Nandakumara, Executive Director of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, London, and Sivasakthi Sivanesan,
Resident Carnatic Music at the Bhavan received Lifetime Achievement Award and Sangeet Acharya Ratna
Award respectively for their contribution to Indian arts and music.
Noted criminologist K Chockalingam was conferred with the Paul H Appleby Award for his distinguished services
to public administration. The prestigious award was conferred by Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) to
honour Chockalingam, who has served as professor and researcher in criminology in University of Madras and is
Vice President of World Society of Victimology. The award by IIPA is a tribute to Paul Appleby, a noted author of
works in the field of public administration who helped in developing the vision of the institute in the early years of
its founding.
Model-actress Urvashi Rautela was crowned as Yamaha Fascino Miss Diva 2015. With this, she became Indias
representative for the Miss Universe pageant.

BUSINESS & CORPORATE

The Aditya Birla Group launched a new online fashion store, joining the growing trend of so-called brick-andmortar companies seeking to tap a boom in e-commerce. The portal www.abof.com will offer shoppers brands
from both the Aditya Birla Group and other companies. By the end of the calendar year, fashion wear, including
apparel and footwear, is expected to be the largest retail category online, with sales of $3.9 billion, bigger than
sales of electronics and consumer durables online at $3.5 billion, according to an April report by UBS Securities
India Pvt. Ltd.
BlackBerry India announced Narendra Nayak as the new managing director for the company's India operations.
The Canadian company is currently focusing on its restructuring operations in India.
Exim Bank announced to set up a development firm KPDC in Africa, in partnership with others, to facilitate Indian
participation in infrastructure projects across the continent. Other shareholders in the company are IL&FS Group,
African Development Bank and State Bank of India.
Infosys announced to buy Noah Consulting, which provides information management consulting services in the oil
and gas sector, for $70 million in cash, marking the Indian IT company's third acquisition this year. Founded in
2008, Noah Consulting has 122 employees and offices in Houston and Texas in the US, and Calgary in Canada.
Former Benetton India MD Sanjeev Mohanty was appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing
Director (MD) of fashion focused e-tailer Jabong with effect from December 2015.
Reliance Capital Ltd. announced to acquire the mutual fund business of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in India
for Rs.243 crore (about $37.5 million) in an all-cash deal, marking the exit of yet another foreign fund manager
from a market that has been witnessing increasing redemption, razor-thin margins and intense competition. With
the acquisition, Reliance Capital Asset Management Ltd (RCAM), the third largest fund house in India with assets
under management (AUM) of Rs.152,919 crore, will own 12 mutual fund schemes, including 10 exchange -traded
funds (ETF) of one of the largest ETF providers in IndiaGoldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM).
Reliance Industries announced that it had signed new listing agreements with the BSE and the National Stock
Exchange (NSE). With this, RIL has become the first company to comply with the Securities and Exchange Board
of Indias (SEBI) new requirement.
Thomson Reuters released Gold Survey 2015 Review and Outlook report. As per the survey India regained its
top position replacing China as the biggest overall consumer of gold in the first nine months of year 2015.

Hard drive manufacturing giant Western Digital announced to buy out flash storage maker SanDisk. The board
of directors of both companies have finalised an acquisition price of US $19 billion, which Western Digital is paying
in cash and company stock. The deal is definitely a big plus for WD, as hard drives might slowly be on their way
out as people begin relying more and more on cloud storage offerings. Flash storage, however, is still a very stable
business option, due to the ever-growing smartphone industry.

BILLS / ACTS / COMMITTEES / SCHEMES / POLICIES

The Ministry of Law & Justice notified that the Delhi High Court Amendment Act, 2015, which received the
assent of the President in August this year, was brought into force. The Act provides for enhancement of
pecuniary jurisdiction of the District Courts of Delhi from Rs. 20 lakh to Rs. 2 crore. The last revision of
pecuniary jurisdiction of District Courts in Delhi was done in 2003, when it was raised from Rs. 5 lakh to
Rs. 20 lakh. Increasing the pecuniary jurisdiction of Districts Courts of Delhi would lessen the burden of
Delhi High Court and there would be substantive improvement in disposal of cases in subordinate Courts.

Amid unrelenting protests by students against the scrapping of the non-NET fellowship by the University
Grants Commission, the government appointed a five-member panel to review the research grants offered
by UGC which has been asked to continue all existing grants.The government reiterated that it has
directed the UGC not to implement the decision to discontinue the non-NET fellowships.

Indian and France signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to conserve, develop and publicize
written heritage at the National Library in Kolkata, West Bengal.

The Finance Minister, Mr. Arun Jaitley, launched an e-Sahyog pilot project which furthers the
Departments commitment to work in an e-environment and reduces the need for the taxpayer to
physically appear before tax authorities. The e-Sahyog project launched on a pilot basis is aimed at
reducing compliance cost, especially for small taxpayers. The objective of e-Sahyog is to provide an
online mechanism to resolve mismatches in Income-tax returns of those assesses whose returns have
been selected for scrutiny, without visiting the Income Tax Office. Under this initiative the Department will
provide an end to end e-service using SMS, e-mails to inform the tax assesses of the mismatch.

Union Government constituted a committee to simplify the provisions of the Income Tax Act (IT), 1961
under the Chairmanship of former Delhi High Court Judge, Justice R.V. Easwar. The committee,
constituted for one year, will suggest modifications and alternatives to the existing provisions and
identified areas in order to bring predictability and certainty in tax laws without substantial impact on the
revenue collection and tax base.

The third India-Africa forum summit (IAFS) began in New Delhi on 26 October 2015. The four day summit
(from 26 October to 30 October 2015) was one of the largest gatherings of African countries outside Africa
as all 54 nations of the continent participated. It addressed the key challenges faced by African nations
including food, health and environmental security etc. It also provided India an opportunity to forge a
constructive and deeper alliance with the resource-rich continent.

The Supreme Court struck down the Narendra Modi government's move to take away the power of
appointing judges from judges and vesting it on a more transparent body. The apex court instead
promised to usher in reforms to make the collegium system more transparent and accountable. The top
court struck down both the laws passed by the Modi government amending the Constitution to create the
National Judicial Appointments Commission to handle all future appointment of judges.

ECONOMY & FINANCE

To enable Indians living abroad to access old age income security, Reserve Bank

has allowed non-

resident Indians (NRIs) to subscribe to the National Pension System (NPS). NRIs may subscribe to the
NPS governed and administered by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA),
provided such subscriptions are made through normal banking channels and the person is eligible to
invest as per the provisions of the PFRDA Act, it said. The subscription amounts shall be paid by the NRIs
either by inward remittance through normal banking channels or out of funds held in their NRE/FCNR/NRO
account.

The finance ministry imposed anti-dumping duties on imported Chinese parts used in commercial vehicles
for a period of five years. The duties were slapped on Chinese items imported into India at prices less than
even cost of production, such as front-axle beam and steering knuckles meant for heavy and medium
commercial vehicles. Anti-dumping duty were also levied on fully-drawn or fully-oriented yarn, spin-drawn
yarn, and flat yarn of polyester (non-textured) imported from China and Thailand.

Gujarat-based Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) signed a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) with India Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA) to handle import and exports of pulses across its
ports in the country. The MoU seeks to Develop an efficient and dedicated supply chain for pulses using
Adani Ports strategically located facilities to all key consumption centres in the country.

The Narendra Modi government's attempts to improve the ease of doing business yielded good result with
the country jumping 12 ranks to 130 in the latest ranking compiled by the World Bank. India was ranked
142 in the ranking for 2015. Singapore topped the ranking again.

In its latest report, the World Bank said remittances to India, South Asia's largest economy and the
world's largest remittance recipient, are projected to increase by 2.5 per cent in 2015, below the regional
average but well above the 0.6 per cent increase in 2014. According to the Reserve Bank of India, about
35 per cent of remittances to India originate in North America, and another 35 per cent in the GCC
countries. Nevertheless, the regional growth rate of remittances is projected to moderate to about four
per cent over the next two years, in part because remittances to Nepal and Pakistan are expected to
decelerate after the large inflows following the earthquake, while lower oil prices may reduce remittance
inflows from the GCC countries eventually. In its report, the Bank said remittances to developing countries
are expected to reach USD 435 billion in 2015, registering a modest growth rate of two per cent from last
year.

The Reserve Bank of India has allowed foreign investors to raise their stake up to 74 per cent in DEN
Networks. The central bank said the decision came after the company passed resolutions at its board of
directors level and a special resolution by shareholders, agreeing to enhancing the limit for the purchase
of its equity shares and convertible debentures by FIIs/RFPIs. FIIs, non-resident Indians and persons of
Indian origin can invest in primary and secondary capital markets in India through PIS ( Portfolio
Investment Scheme).

The Reserve Bank of India issued a Direction to all Scheduled Commercial Banks (excluding Regional Rural
Banks) on implementation of the Gold Monetisation Scheme, 2015 notified by the Central Government.

The GMS will replace the existing Gold Deposit Scheme, 1999. However, the deposits outstanding
under the Gold Deposit Scheme will be allowed to run till maturity unless the depositors
prematurely withdraw them.

Resident Indians (Individuals, HUF, Trusts including Mutual Funds/Exchange Traded Funds
registered under SEBI (Mutual Fund) Regulations and Companies) can make deposits under the
scheme.

The minimum deposit at any one time shall be raw gold (bars, coins, jewellery excluding stones
and other metals) equivalent to 30 grams of gold of 995 fineness. There is no maximum limit for
deposit under the scheme. The gold will be accepted at the Collection and Purity Testing Centres
(CPTC) certified by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and notified by the Central Government
under the Scheme. The deposit certificates will be issued by banks in equivalence of 995 fineness
of gold.

The principal and interest of the deposit under the scheme will be denominated in gold.

The designated banks will accept gold deposits under the Short Term (1-3 years) Bank Deposit
(STBD) as well as Medium (5-7 years) and Long (12-15 years) Term Government Deposit
Schemes. While the former will be accepted by banks on their own account, the latter will be on
behalf of Government of India. There will be provision for premature withdrawal subject to a
minimum lock-in period and penalty to be determined by individual banks.

Interest on deposits under the scheme will start accruing from the date of conversion of gold
deposited into tradable gold bars after refinement or 30 days after the receipt of gold at the CPTC
or the banks designated branch, as the case may be and whichever is earlier.

The Union Cabinet approved amendment in the Payment of Bonus Act 1965 for the Industrial
workers. According to the decision, the bonus ceiling under the legislation was increased from 3500
rupees to 7000 rupees per month and the wage ceiling for getting bonus was also increased from existing
10000 rupees per month to 21000 rupees per month.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the IDFC Bank in New Delhi. IDFC Bank Limited, started its
operations on 1 October 2015, and is an Indian Banking company with headquarters in Mumbai that forms
a part of IDFC, an integrated infrastructure finance company.

Government raised the import tax on wheat to 25 per cent from 10 per cent to curb cheaper imports from
Australia and France. The duty will remain applicable until March 31, 2016.

For the first time in 8 years, Indias fiscal balance turned from deficit to surplus in the month of August, as
per the latest data from the Controller-General of Accounts (CGA). The fiscal deficit, the excess of the
Centres expenditure over its revenues, was (-) Rs. 15,808 crore in August. The negative figure indicates
surplus of revenues over expenditure. In contrast, the Centre ran up a fiscal deficit of Rs. 73,005 crore in
August 2014. A sharp surge in the Centres revenue receipts as well as a steep decline in its total
expenditures made the fiscal surplus possible.

PEOPLE IN NEWS
Vice President of Maldives Ahmed Adeeb was arrested on suspicion of links to a blast on the Presidential boat
that occurred in September 2015.
Senior IAS officer Alok Rawat became first male person to be appointed as member of National Commission for
Women (NCW), thus filling the fourth seat in the five-member body that seeks to review the constitutional and
legal safeguards for women.
Indian-origin Ashok-Alexander Sridharan was

sworn in as the mayor of Bonn in Germany. Bonn is the

provisional capital of erstwhile West Germany.

Bidhya Bhandari was elected as Nepal's first woman president, after the adoption of a landmark constitution in
September 2015. Ms Bhandari, currently the vice-chair of the ruling Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist
Leninist), defeated her opponent Kul Bahadur Gurung of the Nepali Congress to become the Himalayan nation's
ceremonial head of state.
Acclaimed Egyptian novelist and journalist Gamal al-Ghitani died at the age of 70. He won awards in Egypt for
his writing, as well as being awarded France's Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1987.
Mumbai-origin Gulam Kaderbhoy Noon, who migrated to Britain with little funds and went on to found several
Indian food companies that made him known as Britains first Curry King, died at the age of 79. A member of the
House of Lords, Noon was among those trapped in the Taj Hotel during the November 2008 attacks in Mumbai,
but was rescued. He was conferred royal honours for his contribution to business and Britains Asian community.
John Pombe Magufuli of ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party won the 2015 Tanzanian Presidential election
and became the fifth President of Tanzania
Justin Trudeau of Liberal Party was elected as 23rd Prime Minister of Canada. He is eldest son of Canadas
former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau who was in office for 16 years and led the country till 1984.
Renowned Kannada filmmaker Kikkeri Shamanna Lakshminarayana Swamy (KSL Swamy) passed away at 77.
M K Surana was appointed as the new Chairman and Managing Director of Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL),
India's third largest oil marketing company.
Renowned Irish-American actress and singer Maureen OHara passed away at 95. She was one of the last living
stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood of the 1940s and 1950s.
Union Government appointed senior IRS officer Najib Shah as the chairman of Central Board of Excise and
Customers (CBEC) for a tenure of 2 years i.e. till March 2017. CBEC is the nodal government agency on Indirect
Taxes responsible for administering Customs, Central Excise, Service Tax and Narcotics in India.
Retired Lieutenant General Nasser Khan Janjua was appointed as the new National Security Advisor (NSA) of
Pakistan.
Former Delhi High Court judge Reva Khetrapal was selected as Delhis new Lokayukta.

Union Government nominated Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das to the Central Board of Directors of
the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Mr. Dase is IAS officer of 1980 batch from of Tamil Nadu cadre. The board is
responsible for the general superintendence and direction of RBI affairs.
Luxembourg envoy to the United Nations (UN) Sylvie Lucas was appointed as the next chair of the InterGovernmental Negotiations (IGN) of UN Security Council Reforms. Luxembourg had served as a non-permanent
member of the 15 nation UNSC for year 2013-14. It is also part of the BENELUX countries comprising Belgium,
Netherlands and Luxembourg which are supporting UNSC reforms.
Veteran sports administrator V K Malhotra was named by the government as head of the All India Council of
Sports, which will have a host of eminent sports persons, including cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar and chess wizard
Vishwanathan Anand, as members.

SPORTS
Ace Indian archer Abhishek Verma won Silver medal in the 2015 Archery World Cup Final in the mens individual
compound section. It was Indias first ever Archery World Cup Final medal in the compound section in this edition
of World Cup.
Indias ace women archer Deepika Kumari won the Silver medal in recurve event at the 2015 Archery World Cup
Final held in Mexico City. In the final match, South Koreas Choi Misun defeated Deepika Kumari and won the gold
medal.
Great Britain won the 2015 Sultan of Johor Cup under-21 field hockey tournament by defeating defending
champions India.
Hockey India (HI) signed a three-year partnership with Sports Authority of India (SAI), extending its
commitment towards helping hockey regain its position as the country's top sport. This would mark the beginning
of a new era for Indian hockey, enabling SAI to invest in innovative programmes, developing India as a world class
hockey nation. The three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) acknowledges hockey as a medium for the
development and promotion of values in the youth of the nation
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain won the 2015 United States Grand Prix title of Formula One, marking
his overall 10th victory of the season.
Himachal Pradesh's Bir-Billing in the picturesque Kangra Valley - voted the second best flying site in the world
after Lake Como in Italy hosted India's first AAI Paragliding World Cup 2015.
Union Government appointed veteran sports administrator Vijay Kumar Malhotra as President of newly
established All India Council of Sports (AICS). With this he became first President of AICS and was given an
equivalent rank of a Minister of State (MoS) in the Union Council of Ministers.
Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag announced his retirement from international cricket. He had started his
international cricket career in 1999 after he played his first One Day International (ODI) against Pakistan and later
in 2001 joined the Indian Test team. In his career, he scored 17,253 international runs across all formats.
Chinas Xuerui Li won the prestigious 2015 Denmark Open Badminton Title in the womens single category by
defeating P V Sindhu of India in the final match.

MISCELLANEOUS
World

BRICS nations Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa signed Moscow Declaration for partnership in
addressing common regional and global socio-economic challenges by utilising science, technology and
innovation (STI). It was signed at the third meeting of the BRICS Ministers for Science, Technology and
Innovation held in Moscow, Russia.

China, world most populous country, announced to abandon its three decades-long one-child policy and
changed it two-child policy.

Nepal signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with China in order to import all kinds of fuel in
order to ease fuel crisis in the country.

Hurricane Patricia struck Mexicos Pacific coast with destructive winds that forced thousands of people to
flee homes and beach front resorts.

Britain signed a landmark nuclear deal with China to build the United Kingdoms first nuclear power plant
since the 1980s.

Pakistan and Russia signed a major agreement to build a 1,100-km North-South gas pipeline from Lahore
to Karachi.

India

The Haryana Government approved Swadhar Greh scheme, which will assure economic and social security
to women in distress. The scheme aims at creating a supportive institutional framework catering to their
primary needs in difficult situations. Under the scheme, Swadhar Greh will be set up in every district with
capacity to accommodate 30 women. The Greh will cater to the needs of shelter, food, clothing, medical
treatment and care of the women in distress.

Government of Andhra Pradesh signed a MoC for development of economic infrastructure and a MoU to
develop Amaravati with the Government of Japan.