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Current Affairs

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AAP SWEEPS
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Issue: Annual Edition, 2015

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NITI AAYOG
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PLANNING
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2015 ICC World Cup

Chris Gayle hits first-ever
World Cup double hundred

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Issue: Annual Edition, 2015

150

Contents
07

Chris Gayle makes World

Cup history
Assembly Elections

25
28
29
32

Interlinking of Rivers

33

25th Asean Summit

International Yoga Day

G-20 Summit 2014

ISBN 978-93-83643-68-4

9 789383 643684

ASEAN Summit 2014

35

OBAMAS INDIA VISIT

2015 ICC World Cup

Chris Gayle hits first-ever
World Cup double hundred

Awards and Honours

85
Jnanpith Award 2014

22nd APEC Summit

36

India State of Forest Report

2013

38

Lok Sabha Election 2014

42

National Affairs

100 Persons in News

108 Environment and Wildlife
120 Science & Technology
128 Defence in News

128

49

22 National Judicial

AGNI-V Launched

Appointments Commission

23

UNION
BUDGET
2015-16

14th
FINANCE
COMMISSION
REPORT

35

2015

14th Finance Commission

Report

| Public Sector Exams

E X A M I N A T I O N S

AAP SWEEPS
DELHI
ELECTIONS

APEC Summit, 2014

18 Pravasi Bharatiya Divas

Pravasi Bharatiya Divas

COMPETITIVE

Planning Commission

18

Engg. Services Examination

NITI AAYOG
REPLACES
PLANNING
COMMISSION

85

12 NITI Aayog Replaces

FOR

Kisan Vikas Patra Relaunched

33

AAP Sweeps Delhi Elections

20

MAGAZINE

QUARTERLY

State Services Exams

9 789383 643684

08

MADE EASY

08 2015 Delhi Legislative

ISBN 978-93-83643-68-4

Price: 150

05 Union Budget 2015-16

MADE EASY

Civil Services Examination

Issue: Annual Edition, 2015

03 Message to Readers

Current Affairs

Current Affairs

ADVT

Namami Gange Programme

Make in India

69

International Affairs

145 Current Sports

23

136 Economy in News

162 Ready Reckoner

69

166 Current Affairs

Namami Gange

Obamas India Visit

Practice Questions
nnn

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this magazine are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect policy or position of Current Affairs Magazine or MADE EASY
Publications. They should be understood as the personal opinions of the author/ authors.

Message TO READERS
Dear Students,
This annual edition of Current Affairs is prepared to address the needs of Civil
Services, Engineering Services, State Services, SSC exams and other competitive
examinations. This edition contains the current issues national as well as international
affairs of last 12 months which are of importance from examination point of view. Over
the last few years, it has been observed that UPSC examination is more tilted towards
B. Singh (Ex. IES)
CMD, MADE EASY Group

current affairs questions, hence current affairs should be given priority. Though there
are several newspapers and monthly magazines which can be referred for study
of Current Affairs topics but none of these are focused and oriented to address the

need of UPSC Engineering Services Examination (ESE).

The annual issues of Current Affairs MADE EASY is very focused and contains detailed description of all
important topics required for such competitive examinations.
In case of engineers, it is specifically observed that most of the engineering aspirants preparing for Engineering
Services Examination do not get sufficient time to prepare Current Affairs because they hardly get time to
prepare for GS due to vast syllabus of technical subjects and importance of other exams like GATE & PSUs.
Coming few months will see most of you burning midnight oil to get winning score meriting a jump to the next
stage of the competition. For all aspirants preparing for competitive exams it is time to give finishing touch to
your preparation. In last few weeks of your preparation this annual issue will prove to be an important tool to
cover all important areas with precision in minimum possible time.
All aspirants are suggested to give last minute revision of important issues, concepts and formulae, as the
case may be.

B. Singh (Ex. IES)

CMD, MADE EASY GROUP

A letter from the Editor

In todays fast changing world, everything has become so competitive that sometimes even better is not
enough, it requires only the best. Be it life or be it examination, it is imperative to have the best of the
preparations and hence Timely and Timeless preparation is an essence of the success in the competitive
examinations. Competitive examinations are sometimes less about strength or intelligence and more
about understanding the examination requirements and incessant effort to unlock our potential for
accomplishing the goal.
It gives me an immense pleasure and satisfaction in introducing the current issue of Current Affairs Made
Easy. The very basic purpose of launching this Magazine is to be able to fulfill the requirement of various
competitive examinations in an efficient and effective way and helping the aspirants achieving the desired
success in those examinations. We have tried to provide an ingenious, resourceful, authentic and relevant
informations in a most lucid, comprehensible, communicative and self- explanatory manner. With the
comprehensive yet precise coverage, This issue of the Current Affairs Made Easy will be accomplishing the
requirements of the various Competitive Examinations like Civil Services Examination, State Civil Services
Examinations, Indian Engineering Services Examination, Indian Forest Services Examination, and the
various Public Sector undertakings Examination. Despite Competitive examinations being the main focus,
The Magazine will generate awareness about the Nation and the World among the General Readers too.
In this issue of the Magazine we have covered the wide ranging issues of National and International
importance that occurred in the last twelve months or so with additional inputs in order to provide the
basic understanding of the key issues. Background material has been covered for such issues which require
greater attention keeping examination requirement in mind. All important Awards and Honours, Books and
Authors, Persons and Places, Meeting and Summits, Institutions and Organisations have been covered in
such a manner so that examination requirement is successfully met. Current issues related to Defence, Science
and technology, Environment and wildlife, Economy and Sports has also been covered extensively. Issues
of greater importance like NITI Aayog, Namami Gange Programme, Pravasi Bhartiya Divas, Indian State
of the Forest Report 2013, IRNSS, LVM-3, ASEAN Summit, Ordinance Promulgation, National Judicial
Appointment Commission, UNFCCC conference in Lima and Lok Sabha Election 2014 and some other
topics have been given both the objective and the Analytical coverage.
I sincerely hope that this Magazine will help you access the hidden treasure trove of success and will act
a pathfinder through the journey towards your dream.
Wishing you all the very best and a bright future ahead.

Aniruddh Pratap Singh

Editor

Union Budget 2015-16

Vision for Team India led by PM:

Housing for all - 2 crore houses in Urban areas and

4crore houses in Rural areas.

Basic facility of 24x7 power, clean drinking water, a

toilet and road connectivity.

Electrification of the remaining 20,000 villages

including off-grid Solar Power- by 2020.

To strengthen rural economy - increase irrigated area,

improve the efficiency of existing irrigation systems,
and ensure reasonable price for farm produce.

To make India, the manufacturing hub of the World

through Skill India and the Make in India Programmes.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on 28 February 2015

presented Union Budget 2015-16 in the Parliament. It was
the first full year Budget of the NDA government under
leadership of PM Narendra Modi.

Game changing reforms on the anvil:

Goods and Service Tax (GST)
Jan Dhan, Aadhar and Mobile (JAM) - for direct
benefit transfer.

Shunning populism, Finance Minister proposed a 5%

reduction in corporate tax over the next four years,
replacing of wealth tax with an additional 2% surcharge
on super-rich and raised excise duty and service tax rates
that will make a host of articles and services costly.

Agriculture

Finance Minister proposed no changes in personal income

tax rates for 2015-16 but extended benefits to middle-class
by increasing the limit of deduction on health insurance
premium from Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000.The service tax plus
education cess has been raised from 12.36% to 14%that
will increase bills, air travel and eating out expenses. A
new 2% Swachh Bharat cess on taxable services is also
being proposed from a future date.

` 5,300 crore to support micro-irrigation, watershed

development and the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai
Yojana. States urged to chip in.

` 25,000 crore in 2015-16 to the corpus of Rural

Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) set up in
NABARD; ` 15,000 crore for Long Term Rural Credit
Fund; ` 45,000 crore for Short Term Co-operative Rural
Credit Refinance Fund; and ` 15,000 crore for Short
Term RRB (Regional Rural Banks) Refinance Fund.

Funding the Unfunded

Micro Units Development Refinance Agency (MUDRA)

Bank, with a corpus of ` 20,000 crores, and credit
guarantee corpus of ` 3,000 crores to be created.

MUDRA Bank will be responsible for refinancing all

Micro-finance Institutions which are in the business of
lending to such small entities of business through a
Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana.

Comprehensive Bankruptcy Code of global standards

to be brought in fiscal 2015-16 towards ease of doing
business.

State of Economy

CPI inflation projected at 5% by the end of the year,

consequently, easing of monetary policy. Monetary
Policy Framework Agreement with RBI, to keep
inflation below 6%. GDP growth in 2015-16, projected
to be between 8 to 8.5%.

Government firm on journey to achieve fiscal target

of 3% of GDP. Accordingly, journey for fiscal deficit
target of 3% will be achieved in 3 years rather than
2 years. The fiscal deficit targets are 3.9%, 3.5% and
3.0% in FY 2015-16, 2016-17 & 2017-18 respectively.

Amrut Mahotsav :
The year 2022, 75th year of Independence

From Jan Dhan to Jan Suraksha

Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojna to cover accidental

death risk of ` 2 Lakh for a premium of ` 12 per year.

Atal Pension Yojana to provide a defined pension,

depending on the contribution and the period of

Annual Edition, 2015 Current Affairs

Current Affairs | made easY

6
contribution. Govt. to contribute 50% of the beneficiaries
premium limited to ` 1,000 each year, for five years, in
the new accounts opened before 31st Dec. 2015.

Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana to cover both

natural and accidental death risk of ` 2 lakh at premium
of ` 330 per year for the age group of 18-50.

Infrastructure

National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), to be

established with an annual flow of ` 20,000 crores to it.

Atal Innovation Mission to be established in NITI

Aayog to provide Innovation Promotion Platform
involving academicians, and drawing upon national
and international experiences to foster a culture of
innovation , research and development. A sum of
`150 crore will be earmarked.

Self-Employment and Talent Utilization (SETU) to be

established as Techno-financial, incubation and
facilitation programme to support all aspects of startup business. ` 1000 crore to be set aside as initial
amount in NITI Aayog.

Tax Proposals

Black Money

Bill for a comprehensive new law to deal with black

money parked abroad to be Introduced in the current
session.

Key features of new law on black money:

Evasion of tax in relation to foreign assets to have
a punishment of rigorous imprisonment upto 10
years, be non-compoundable, have a penalty rate
of 300% and the offender will not be permitted to
approach the Settlement Commission.
Non-filing of return/filing of return with inadequate disclosures to have a punishment Of rigorous imprisonment upto 7 years.
Concealment of income/evasion of income in relation to a foreign asset to be made a predicate
offence under Prevention of Money Laundering
Act, 2002.
Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Bill to curb
domestic black money to be introduced in the
current session of Parliament.

Monetising Gold

Gold monetisation scheme to allow the depositors of

gold to earn interest in their metal accounts and the
jewellers to obtain loans in their metal account to be
introduced. Sovereign Gold Bond, as an alternative to
purchasing metal gold scheme to be developed.
Foreign investments in Alternate Investment Funds
to be allowed. Distinction between different types of
foreign investments, especially between foreign portfolio
investments and foreign direct investments to be done
away with. Replacement with composite caps.

Skill India

Less than 5% of our potential work force gets formal

skill training to be employable. A national skill mission
to consolidate skill initiatives spread accross several
ministries to be launched.

Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gramin Kaushal Yojana to

enhance the employability of rural youth.

An IIT to be set up in Karnataka and Indian School of

Mines, Dhanbad to be upgraded in to a full-fledged IIT.
New All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) to be
set up in J&K, Punjab,Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh
and Assam. Another AIIMS like institutions to be set
up in Bihar. A post graduate institute of Horticulture
Research & Education is to be set up in Amritsar.

Current Affairs

Annual Edition, 2015

No change in rate of personal income tax. Proposal to

reduce corporate tax from 30% to 25% over the next
four years, starting from next financial year.

Make in India

General Anti Avoidance Rule (GAAR) to be deferred by

two years. Basic Custom duty on certain inputs, raw
materials, inter mediates and components in 22 items,
reduced to minimise the impact of duty inversion.

Wealth-tax replaced with additional surcharge of 2

per cent on super rich with a taxable income of over
`1 crore annually.

Service-tax plus education cesses increased from

12.36% to 14% to facilitate transition to GST.

Education cess and the Secondary and Higher education

cess to be subsumed in Central Excise Duty.

Swachh Bharat

100% deduction for contributions, other than by way

of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) contribution,
to Swachh Bharat Kosh and Clean Ganga Fund.

Clean energy cess increased from ` 100 to ` 200 per

metric tonne of coal, etc. to finance clean environment
initiatives.

Chris Gayle makes World Cup history

West Indies opener Chris Gayle hit

the first double century in World
Cup history in their Pool B victory
over Zimbabweat Canberra. The 35year-old left-hander reached 200 off
138 balls, hitting Tendai Chatara for a
boundary in the 46th over. His mark eclipsed
the unbeaten 188 by South Africas Gary
Kirsten against the United Arab Emirates in
1996. Gayle hit a total of 16 sixes in 147
balls before he was out for 215 off the
last delivery of his sides innings. The
Partnership of 372 with Marlon Samuels
was also a record partnership for any ODI wicket, surpassing
the 331 shared by Indias Rahul Dravid and Tendulkar against
New Zealand at Hyderabad in 1999.

Pool A

History created in Canberra

Pool B

New Zealand

India

Australia

West Indies

Bangladesh

Ireland

Afghanistan

South Africa

Sri Lanka

Zimbabwe

England

United Arab Emirates

Scotland

Pakistan

Top five one-day innings

Chris Gayle scored the first World Cup double hundred.

Gayles 16 sixes equalled the ODI record held by Rohit

Sharma and AB de Villiers, and shattered the previous World
Cup record of nine.

Score Player

Opposition Year

264

Rohit Sharma

Sri Lanka

2014

Gayle and Samuels put on 372 - the highest ODI partnership

record for any wicket. Gayle became the only batsman to
hit a century in Twenty20 Internationals, a double century in
ODIs and a triple century in Tests.

219

Virender Sehwag

West Indies

2011

215

Chris Gayle

Zimbabwe

2015

209

Rohit Sharma

Australia

2013

200

Sachin Tendulkar

South Africa 2010

India at World Cup 2015

India vs Pakistan: Virat Kohli on 15 February 2015 became the first Indian cricketer to score a century against Pakistan in the
ICC World Cup. He scored 107 run off 126-balls at the Adelaide Oval, Australia. India scored 300 runs for seven wickets after
electing to bat first and defeated Pakistan by 76 runs. With this century, Kohli also became the quickest batsman to score 22
centuries in ODIs. He had taken just 143 innings to reach the mark. Previous record of quickest 22 centuries was held by Sachin
in 206 innings.

India vs South Africa: Shikhar Dhawan hit a superb century as defending champions India maintained their unbeaten start to
the World Cup with a 130-run win over South Africa. Indias 307-7 was built around Dhawans 137, while Ajinkya Rahane made
79 off 60 balls and Virat Kohli 46. South Africa were bowled out for 177.The defeat was South Africas heaviest in World Cup.

Anil Kumble inducted into ICC cricket Hall of Fame

Former India Captain and ace spinner Anil Kumble has been inducted into the ICC
Cricket Hall of Fame.He is the 77th inductee into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. He
was felicitated and inductedon 22 February 2015 during the ICC Cricket World Cup
match between India and South Africa in Melbourne. Anil Kumble is the 4th Indian
cricketer to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. Others are Bishen Singh
Bedi, Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar who were inducted into Hall of Fame in 2009.

Annual Edition, 2015 Current Affairs

2015 Delhi Legislative Assembly Elections

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on 10 February 2015 declared the results of Delhi Legislative Assembly Elections
2015. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) headed by Arvind Kejriwal secured absolute majority in the assembly by winning 67 seats
in the house of 70 seats.

2015 Delhi Legislative Assembly elections results

Summary of results of the Delhi Legislative Assembly Election, 2015
Political Party

Flag

Seats
Contested
70

Won

Vote%

Change in
vote%

39

% of
Seats
95.7%

67

54.3%

24.81%

Bharatiya Janata Party

69

28

4.28%

32.2%

0.8%

Shiromani Akali Dal

0%

0.5%

0.5%

Indian National Congress

70

0%

9.7%

14.85%

Bahujan Samaj Party

70

0%

1.3%

INLD

0%

0.6%

NA

0
NA

1
NA

0%
NA

0.5%
0.4%

NA

Aam Aadmi Party

Independents
NOTA

Net Change
in seats

NOTA : 35924 Votes

Total seats: 70

Current Affairs

Annual Edition, 2015

Voters Turnout : 67.08%