1st January to 15 th January

AWARDS & HONOURS

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) presented the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards. The winners are:-

BEST MOTION PICTURE DRAMA - Boyhood (IFC Films)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA - Julianne Moore – Still Alice

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE DRAMA - Eddie Redmayne – The Theory of Everything

BEST MOTION PICTURE COMEDY OR MUSICAL - The Grand Budapest Hotel (Fox Searchlight)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL - Amy Adams – Big Eyes

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL- Michael Keaton – Birdman

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM - How to Train a Dragon 2 (DreamWorks Animation)

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM - Leviathan – Russia (Sony Pictures Classics)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi released commemorative coins to honour Tata Group founder Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata. PM released coins in the denomination of 100 and five rupee to mark Jamsetji Tata’s 175th birth anniversary. Thus, Jamsetji will be the first industrialist in India to be felicitated by the government in such a manner. So far government has minted coins in honour of artists, freedom fighters, scientists, institutions and organisations.

Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) Raghuram Rajan has been awarded as the Governor of the Year in the Central Banking Awards for 2015, while the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) scooped the prize for Central Bank of the Year. Last year, Rajan was also conferred with the Best Central Bank Governor award for 2014 by the Euromoney magazine for his tough monetary stance to combat the 'ravaging deficit-ridden economy' and battling vested interests "to arouse a sleepy financial system for over one billion people.”

French economist Thomas Piketty, who rose to international fame after the publication of his book, “Capital in the Twenty-First Century,” in 2013, turned down Legion D'Honneur -- France’s highest distinction. Piketty, along with economist Jean Tirole and writer Patrick Modiano, had been named in a list published by the French government. Piketty, who has been a fierce critic of the Francois Hollande-led government, reportedly stated that it wasn’t the government’s job to decide who is “honorable.”

Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) has been selected for National e-Governance award 2014-15 for its best district level initiative in the country. J&K state has been selected for this award by Department of Administrative Reforms for its e-Panchayat project.

The Vice President of India M. Hamid Ansari presented the Pravasi Bhartiya Samman Awards - 2015 ” to 15 distinguished persons at the Valedictory Session of the ‘Pravasi Bhartiya Divas’ at Gandhinagar. The list of recipients is:-

Satyanarayan Nadella- CEO of tech giant Microsoft.

Donald Rabindernauth Ramaotar- President of Guyana and awarded for his work for the Indian diaspora in Guyana.

Mala Mehta- For her contribution to Hindi language. She is founder of Indo- Australian Bal Bharatiya Vidyalaya in Thornleigh suburb in Sydney. Since its establishment, she has been pursuing the growth of Hindi in Australia.

Rajaram Sanjaya- India-born Mexican scientist. He is winner of the ‘2014 World Food Prize’ for developing 480 wheat varieties that have been released in 51 countries.

Kanwaljit Singh Bakhshi- Member of Parliament (MP) from New Zealand. He is also known for work he had done for the Indian diaspora in New Zealand.

Essop Goolam Pahad- A South African politician. He was Minister in the Presidency from 1999 to September 2008 in South Africa.

Mahendra Nanji Mehta- Uganda-based businessman of Indian origin.

Professor Nathuram Poori -Founder of Purico Group are also chosen for their contribution to Indian diaspora.

Lord Raj Lumba- A philanthropist and founder of clothing company Rinku Group. He is a Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords, United Kingdom.

Kamlesh Lulla- Chief Scientist for Earth observation in the Human Exploration Science Office at the Johnson Space Centre at NASA. He has named for the award for his exceptional service to the space science.

Nandini Tandon- For her work in life sciences and Healthcare and IT in USA and India along with other emerging markets.

Rajmal Parakh

Duraikannu Karunakaran

Shah Bharatkumar Jayantilal

Ashraf Palarkunnummal

Prabhu Nath Dwivedi has been named as the winner of the Sahitya Akademi Award for Sanskrit, 2014. Mr. Dwivedi won the award for his collection of 16 short stories called 'Kanakalochanaha'. He is an author of four books and was earlier a professor at Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth, Varanasi. In 2012, he also served as a member of the selection committee for the Akademi’s prize for translation. The award includes an engraved copper plaque, a shawl and a cheque for Rs. 100,000.

ISRO's Mars Mission team has won the prestigious 2015 Space Pioneer Award in the science and engineering category in recognition of achieving the rare feat in its very first attempt. The prestigious award given by the National Space Society would be presented to the ISRO's Mars Orbiter Programme Team during the National Space Society's 2015 International Space Development Conference to be held in Toronto from May 20-24. The mission was launched on November 5, 2013 and went into Mars orbit on September 24, 2014. The Mars Orbiter programme team located in Bangalore is headed by Dr Mylswamy Annadurai.

Yu Min, an 88-year-old nuclear physicist considered the "father of China's Hydrogen Bomb" won the country's top science prize, “State Preeminent Science and Technology Award for 2014.” He began serving as a researcher at the Modern Physics Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1951, after graduating from Peking University. During his time with the academy, he studied nuclear weapon theory and solved a series of problems concerning thermal nuclear physics related to H-bomb tests. This groundbreaking research led to the development of China's first Hydrogen Bomb in 1967. He was also the recipient of the "Two Bombs, One Satellite"

Achievement Medal, another top science award given by the Chinese government to those who have made great contributions to China's first satellite project.

The Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA) has selected M.Y.S. Prasad for the prestigious Vikram Sarabhai memorial award. Prasad is the current Director of Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota Range (SHAR). The Award comprises a gold medal and certificate, in recognition of his exceptional contribution to Research and Development in the field of space science at the Indian Space Research Organisation. The previous recipients of this award are Dr. Satish Dhawan, Dr. K. Kasturi Rangan, Dr. G. Madhavan Nair and Dr. K. Radhakrishnan .

Eminent Hindi litterateur Kamal Kishore Goyanka has been selected for the prestigious Vyas Samman for 2014 for his book 'Premchand Kee Kahaniyo Kaa Kaalkramanusar' which is a critical study of short stories of the twentieth century author. Instituted by the K K Birla Foundation in 1991, the award is given annually for an outstanding literary work in Hindi published during the past 10 years. The award carries a cash prize of Rs 2.5 lakh. 'Premchand Kee Kahaniyo Kaa Kaalkramanusar,' published in 2012, is a chronological study of short stories of Premchand, regarded as one of the foremost Hindi writers of the early twentieth century.

BUSINESS & CORPORATE

Adani Enterprises and US-based SunEdison will invest about Rs 25,000 crore to set up a solar park in Gujarat that will create 20,000 new jobs. Adani and SunEdison will establish a joint venture for building the largest vertically integrated solar photovoltaic manufacturing facility in the country. At the Vibrant Gujarat Summit, the Adaini Group also signed another agreement with Australian energy major Woodside for sourcing of LNG as well as cooperation in oil and gas exploration and production.

BAE Systems appointed Deepak Parekh, Chairman of HDFC Ltd, as a non-executive Director and Chairman of its Indian subsidiary, BAE Systems India (Services) Private Limited, with effect from1st January, 2015. BAE Systems is one of the world’s leading defence, aerospace and security companies, with more than 80,000 employees across six continents, delivering a wide range of advanced defence, aerospace and security solutions.

The Reserve Bank has allowed foreign investors to buy up to 49 per cent of the paid-up capital of Bajaj Corp Ltd. "Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs)/Registered Foreign Portfolios Investors (RFPIs) can now invest up to 49 per cent of the paid-up capital of Bajaj Corp under the Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS)," RBI said in a notification. FIIs, NRIs and PIOs (Persons of Indian Origins) can invest in primary and secondary capital markets in India through PIS. The RBI monitors the ceilings on FII/NRI/PIO investments in Indian companies on a daily basis. It has fixed the cut-off points two percentage points lower than the actual ceiling.

Auto component maker Bharat Forge acquired France-based Mecanique Generale Langroise for 11.8 million euros (around Rs 90 crore). CDP Bharat Forge GmbH, a 100 per cent Germany-based subsidiary of Bharat Forge Ltd (BFL), acquired 100 per cent equity shares of Mecanique Generale Langroise (MGL), the Pune-based firm said in a filing to the BSE.

Facebook Inc has acquired Wit.ai, a voice recognition start-up that processes speech and turns it into actionable data. The acquisition will help the social networking giant get more information for targeted advertisements. Wit.ai is a Palo Alto-based company set up in 2013. With the integration of Wit.ai’s technology, Facebook users will be able to speak commands that will be posted as text messages. The social networking company already has a feature that pokes its users to post about music they are listening or videos they are watching.

Homegrown chat application Hike messenger announced its first acquisition of US-based free voice-calling company, Zip Phone, with an aim to expand product range in the internet-based communication space. Zip Phone, a one-man startup founded by Anuj Jain in the US, has developed a voice calling app, which works globally.

Joining Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Digital India programme, top lender ICICI Bank launched its own 'digital village' project while adopting an entire village in Gujarat to provide services ranging from cashless banking to digitised school teaching. This village, named Akodara, in Sabarkantha district of Gujarat incidentally happens to be the same place where Modi started Gujarat's first animal hostel in 2011 when he was the Chief Minister of the state (the animal hostel, a concept conceived by Modi was envisaged as a place where the cattle of the village are kept and maintained together and have all necessary infrastructure facilities to take care of them).The project was announced on January 2 to coincide with the 60-year-celebration of the ICICI group's existence since the erstwhile ICICI Ltd was set up in 1955. The Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI) was originally set up as an Indian financial institution at the initiative of the World Bank, the Government of India and representatives of Indian industry to provide project financing to Indian businesses. It later got merged with ICICI

Bank, which was set up in 1994. Speaking on the new initiative, ICICI Bank's MD and CEO Chanda Kochhar said the bank's activities in this digital village is not limited to providing cashless banking through digital platforms, but was focused on use of technology in all aspects of every resident there.

ICICI Bank, India’s largest private sector bank, announced the launch of the country’s first ‘contactless’ debit and credit cards, enabling its customers to make electronic payments by just waving the cards near the merchant terminal in lieu of dipping or swiping them. These cards are based on the Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, which provides customers the improved convenience of speed as these cards require significantly less time than traditional cards to complete a transaction along with enhanced security as they remain in control of the customer. The Bank's 'Coral Contactless Credit Card’ and ‘Expressions Wave Debit Card’ are powered by 'MasterCard contactless' and ‘Visa payWave' technologies, respectively. The Bank has introduced these cards in Gurgaon, Hyderabad and Mumbai to begin with.

Private sector Kotak Mahindra Bank secured its shareholders' approval for amalgamation of Bangalore- based ING Vysya Bank with itself. In November, Kotak Mahindra Bank had announced the buyout of ING Vysya Bank in an all-stock deal valued at Rs 15,000 crore.

Pune-based Praj Industries received a contract from Kakira Sugars, an Uganda-based producer of sugar and power, for 60,000 litre per day (LPD) project for production of fuel ethanol and premium grade extra neutral alcohol (beverage alcohol).Kakira Sugars is part of the diversified Madhvani Group, one of the largest private- sector group in East Africa.

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) imposed a penalty of Rs 100 crore on Riddhi Siddhi Bullion and also cancelled its nominated agency certificate (NAC) for violation of RBI norms. NAC is the mandatory document needed for direct import of precious metals. The DGFT had issued a show cause notice to the bullion trader last October.

Specialty chemicals firm SRF Limited acquired the pharmaceutical propellant business brand Dymel of American chemical firm DuPont for 20 million US dollars.

IT services firm Synechron acquired Paris-based Team Trade which specialises in software integration and business consulting, for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition by the New York-Based Synechron is to expand its footprints in Europe.

Tech Mahindra Ltd., a specialist in digital transformation, consulting and business re-engineering announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire SOFGEN Holdings Limited (SOFGEN), a niche consulting and services company with worldwide presence specializing in Private / Wealth, Commercial and Retail Banking solutions. The transaction is expected to close by March 2015, subject to regulatory approvals. With this acquisition, Tech Mahindra will have the capability to offer a unique combination of “Change the Bank and Run the Bank” services to Retail banking, Private Banking and Wealth Management customers globally.

Chinese Internet giant Tencent Holdings Limited launched China's first online bank named WeBank to boost small businesses.

Vistara airline, a joint venture of Tata-SIA (Singapore Airlines), started its flight operation in India on 9 January 2015. Vistara flight took off with its first flight from Delhi to Mumbai. Vistara will be the third full-service carrier in

India, after state-run Air India and private carrier Jet Airways. In December 2014, Vistara announced the launch of its operation from 9 January 2015 with flight from Delhi to Mumbai and Ahmedabad. Vistara airline will operate flights from Delhi to Goa, Mumbai, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Srinagar, Jammu and Patna in the first year.

India’s leading online restaurant guide Zomato acquired US-based food portal Urbanspoon in a deal of nearly $60 million (Rs 370 crore). Experts feel that this deal will bring Zomato in direct competition with Yelp, which is a California-based service provider that helps people locate business, reviews, etc. Zomato is already popular in as many as 20 countries. Its acquisition of Urbanspoon will help company enter into the US and Australian market. After acquiring Urbanspoon, Zomato will now be present in 22 countries. Zomato had last year acquired dominant restaurant search players in countries such as New Zealand, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Italy. According to Pankaj Chaddah, cofounder of Zomato, Zomato's traffic will more than double to more than 80 million visitors, probably making them the largest restaurant (only) search company in the world.

COMMITTEES / SCHEMES / POLICIES

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley adopted four villages in Vadodara district of Gujarat - Karnali, Pipaliya, Valida, Baglipura- under the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana for MPs. The Yojana was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day speech. The scheme encourages MPs from both Houses to identify and develop one village from their constituency as a model village by 2016, and two more by 2019.

Union Government accepted recommendations of Bezbaruah Committee, set up to look into the concerns of the people of the North East living in other parts of India.

India and Pakistan, on 1 st January 2015, exchanged the list of their nuclear installations under a bilateral agreement that bars them from attacking each other’s atomic facilities. This is the 24th consecutive exchange of such list between the two countries. The agreement, which was signed on December 31, 1988 and entered into force on January 27, 1991, says that the two countries inform each other of nuclear installations and facilities to be covered under the Agreement on January 1 every year. The two countries also exchanged the lists of prisoners under the Consular Access Agreement between the two nations.

President Pranab Mukherjee signed the citizenship ordinance a day before the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas kicked off in Gujarat. The ordinance that amends the Citizenship Act, 1955, will benefit People of Indian Origin (PIO) and will give them benefits like life-long visa and exemption from appearing before the local police station on every visit. The decision to amend the Act was taken after a large number of complaints were received from PIOs, about problems faced during visits to local police stations and stringent visa norms that barred them from buying property in India, in comparison to those holding Overseas Citizens of India card. PIO cardholders are eligible for 15-year visas in comparison to lifelong visas given to those having OCI cards.

Union cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved setting up of India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) in Bodi West Hills, Tamil Nadu. The project will be jointly supported by the Department of Atomic Energy and the Department of Science and Technology. The infrastructural support will be given by the Government of Tamil Nadu as the project is located in the State. This will be the second big project that the government has approved, the first being the thirty-metre telescope, which would come up in Hawaii.

An ordinance that amends the Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation (MMDR) Act, 1957 received assent of President Pranab Mukherjee. It paved way for introduction of competitive bidding for allocation of mines other non-coal minerals.

An ordinance to amend the Motor Vehicles Act got the President's assent, paving the way for plying of e- rickshaws on roads of national capital region. The Cabinet, in December 2014, had approved promulgation of the ordinance, as a Bill in this regard could not get through Parliament to pave the way for plying of e-rickshaws. E- rickshaws, or battery-operated three-wheeler vehicles, had gone off roads after Delhi High Court banned their plying in July on safety concerns. A Bill to regularise e-rickshaws was passed by the Lok Sabha in the recently concluded winter session of Parliament but it is stuck in the Rajya Sabha. The government in October had notified the rules for plying of e-rickshaws and making driver's licence mandatory for operating them and limiting the maximum speed to 25 kmph. The government had notified the Central Motor Vehicles (16th Amendment) Rules, 2014. The new rules provide that e-rickshaws will be allowed to carry four passengers and 40 kg luggage while e- carts would transport goods up to 310 kg.

Union Government has merged Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) card-holders with Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) card-holders. Union Home Ministry in this regard has issued notification mentioning that all PIO card-holders henceforth are deemed to be OCI card-holders with effect from 9th January 2015, thus withdrawing PIO cards with immediate effect. Now only OCI cards facility with enhanced benefits will exist to provide maximum possible benefits to Indian Diaspora.

Observing that corporate seek "short cuts" to get clearance for their environment projects, a high level committee has suggested setting up of a 'single window' clearance system for green projects to significantly reduce the processing time. After studying six environment laws, the four-member panel -- headed by former Cabinet Secretary T S R Subramanian -- has recommended setting up of a full-time expert body, National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA), at the Centre, and State Environmental Management Authority (SEMA) to evaluate project clearance in a time bound manner. A 'fast track' procedure for 'linear' projects which provide benefit to community at large, as well as power and mining projects, as also projects of national importance has also been recommended by the committee.

ECONOMY & BANKING

The Government has replaced Planning Commission with a new institution named NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India). The institution will serve as ‘Think Tank’ of the Government-a directional and policy dynamo. NITI Aayog will provide Governments at the central and state levels with relevant strategic and technical advice across the spectrum of key elements of policy, this includes matters of national and international import on the economic front, dissemination of best practices from within the country as well as from other nations, the infusion of new policy ideas and specific issue-based support.

Amending rules for NBFCs with regard to their KYC exercise, the Reserve Bank relaxed the time limit during which such due diligence is required. The rules have been eased due to practical difficulties and constraints in getting Know-Your-Customers (KYC) documents at frequent intervals. RBI asked Non- Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) to continue carrying out on-going due diligence with their clients and closely examine transactions to ensure their consistency, business and risk profile and source of funds. Also, NBFCs would be required to get fresh photographs of minor customers on becoming major. As per earlier norms, NBFCs were required to undertake KYC once in every 5 years for low risk category customers and once in two years for high and medium risk categories. Further, RBI said NBFCs need not ask for fresh proofs of identity and address during periodic updation for low risk clients if their address/identity remains unchanged.

The Union Cabinet approved the largest ever telecom spectrum auction that is targeted to fetch at least Rs.64,840 crore from the sale in February 2015. The government will sell 380.75 megahertz of second generation (2G) spectrum in three bands — the premium 800 MHz, 900 MHz and 1800 MHz. Spectrum in 2100 MHz may also be put on auction simultaneously after Defence Ministry vacates it. The government had garnered about Rs.62,162 crore from the last auction in February, 2014. Proceeds from this year’s auction will help government reach its fiscal deficit target of 4.1 per cent of GDP.

With a view to improve the ease of doing business, the government has aligned the foreign direct investment policy with the upgraded National Industrial Classification (NIC) Code. The code will classify business activities and help the industry in seeking policy approvals for specific activities.

Forward Markets Commission gave approval to agri commodity bourse NCDEX (National Commodity and Derivative Exchange) to launch forward contracts in additional seven commodities including some pulses. The approval has been given to launch both transferable and non-transferable specific delivery forward contracts at a fixed price in urad, tur, yellow peas, yellow soya bean meal, pepper, RBD palmolein and bajra.

The global financial services firm Nomura forecasted that Indian Economy will grow at 5.5 percent during the financial year (FY) 2015-16 and 6.6 percent during FY 2016-17. The firm also forecasted that Indian Economy will also recover in FY 2015-2016. The recovery is likely to get support from easing inflationary pressures and measures towards economic reforms.

India’s Index of Industrial production (IIP) grew 3.8 percent in November 2014. IIP was released by Central Statistics Office of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation for the month of November with base 2004-05.

Raghuram Rajan, Governor, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Mario Draghi, President of the European Central Bank (ECB) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in the field of central banking. The MoU provides a framework for regular exchange of information, policy dialogue and technical

cooperation between the two institutions. Technical cooperation may take the form of joint seminars and workshops in areas of mutual interest in the field of central banking, said the RBI.

India's market regulator, SEBI, may soon allow local mutual fund managers to manage offshore pooled assets. The regulator proposed to remove certain restrictions in the existing rules to facilitate domestic fund managers to tap foreign money. At present, for managing an offshore fund, the asset management company has to appoint the same fund manager who is managing domestic fund. At least 70% of the portfolio of both the domestic scheme and offshore fund should be the same and the offshore fund has to be broad-based — with at least 20 investors and no single investor accounting for more than 25% of the corpus of the fund.

The Reserve Bank of India cut its repo interest rate by 25 basis points to 7.75 per cent in a surprise move, making its first reduction in a year as inflation showed signs of slowing and the government was making efforts to contain the fiscal deficit. The RBI added it could cut interest rates further should inflation continue to ease, while it would also monitor the government's progress on fiscal consolidation. Helped by plunging global oil prices, India's wholesale price index for December rose just 0.11 percent year-on-year, after staying flat in November.

National Fertilizers Limited (NFL), Engineers India Limited (EIL) and Fertilizer Corporation of India (FCIL) signed an agreement to form a joint venture company (JVC) for setting up new ammonia and urea plants at the existing site of Ramagundam Fertilizer plant in Karimnagar district of Telengana. The joint venture agreement for the new company, named Ramagundam Fertilizers and Chemicals Limited, was signed in the presence of Ananth Kumar, Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers, and Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas.

The RBI relaxed the norms for forex hedging for exporters and importers by allowing them to book forward foreign exchange contracts in excess of 50 per cent of the eligible limit. However, approval is subject to some conditions including a declaration that all guidelines have been adhered to while utilising the facility. Besides, a certificate of import or export turnover of the customer during the past three years has to be attached, it said. It further said that in the absence of a Company Secretary (CS), the CEO or the COO shall co-sign the undertaking along with the CFO. RBI had eased norms related with the hedging last year by allowing them to book contract up to 50 per cent of the eligible limit.

The wholesale price index based inflation rose marginally to 0.11 percent in December 2014 from zero percent in November 2014.

The Reserve Bank of India allowed banks to act as insurance brokers, set up their own subsidiaries and also undertake referral services for multiple companies, in a bid to increase insurance penetration in the country. Banks have also been allowed to set up subsidiaries and joint venture companies for undertaking insurance business with risk participation. Lenders can also act as corporate agents without seeking prior approval from the central bank. However, they will have to comply with guidelines of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA). Under existing bank assurance guidelines, a bank can act as a corporate agent and sell policy of only one life insurer and one non-life insurance company. The new norms allow the lenders to act as brokers permitting them to sell insurance policies of different insurance companies. There are about 87 commercial lenders in the country with 1.2 lakh branches. There are 52 insurance companies operating in the country; of which 24 are in the life insurance business and 28 are in general insurance business. In addition, GIC is the sole national reinsurer.

India's trade deficit declined to 10-month low of $9.43 billion in December mainly on account of falling imports due to slump in crude prices, though exports too have come down. Gold imports showed an

increase from year-ago level to $1.34 billion in December, but it is a substantial decline from the previous month ($5.61 billion). As per the data released by the government, imports bill declined by 4.8 per to $34.8 billion during the month from $36.6 billion from December 2013, leading to improvement in the trade balance situation. Exports too fell by 3.8% to $25.4 billion. Outbound shipments were valued at $26.4 billion in the same month last year.

PEOPLE IN NEWS

The Centre appointed AS Kiran Kumar , the director of Space Application Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad, as the chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Kiran Kumar was one of the two front-runners for the post, the other being M Y S Prasad, the director of Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. As is the convention, the Isro chairman would be the secretary of the department of space as also the chairman of space commission.

Andhra Pradesh Government appointed Bollywood Megastar Amitabh Bachchan as Brand Ambassador for Health and Medical Sector.

Eminent Economist Arvind Panagariya took charge as first Vice-Chairman of the newly-created National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog on 13 January 2015. He is an Indian-American economist and Professor of Economics at Columbia University. He was an ex-Chief Economist at the Asian Development Bank (ADB). He has also worked for the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organization, and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in various capacities.

Indian diplomat Atul Khare was named as UN under Secretary-General for Field Support, Department of Field Support (DFS). It was announced by Secretary-General of United Nations Ban Ki-moon. He will succeed Bangladesh’s Ameerah Haq. This appointment makes him as one of the highest ranking Indian officials in UN.

Union Government sacked chief of Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) Avinash Chander, 16 months before his contract termination date. He is the chief architect of Agni series of ballistic missile systems and considered as Agni man of India . He was awarded Padma Shri for his contribution in the successful development of 5000-km range Agni-V missile.

Aziz Qureshi was sworn in as the Governor of Mizoram. Earlier Aziz Qureshi was governor of Uttarakhand. But in December 2014, he was transferred from Uttarakhand and was appointed as the Mizoram Governor.

Former ISRO chief and renowned Scientist Dr. Vasant Ranchod Gowarikar passed away at 81.He is considered as the ‘Father of the Indian Monsoon Model’ . In 1965, Dr Gowarikar along with Vikram Sarabhai started working on satellite technology in the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. Both of them played important role in laying foundation stone for India’s space technology and space programmes. He also headed Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). On 17th April 1983, under his leadership Satellite launcher SLV-3 became successfully operational in orbit. He was the scientific advisor to late Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao from 1991 to 1993. He was honoured with the Padmashree Award, Padma Bhushan (2008) , Fie Foundation Award, Nayak Gold Medal and Doctorates from many prestigious universities.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Dinesh Oraon was unanimously elected as the Speaker of Jharkhand Legislative Assembly.

Edward Brooke -- the first African-American to be popularly elected to the U.S. Senate -- passed away at 95. Brooke served in the Senate from 1967-1979 and has often been heralded by both parties as a trailblazer. He is the only African-American to be elected to a second term and was the first black Republican elected to the Senate since Reconstruction. President Barack Obama hailed Brooke as someone who led "an extraordinary life of public service."

Veteran Indian-origin civil servant J Y Pillay was reappointed as the top advisor to Singapore's President. 80- year-old Pillay was sworn in and reappointed as the Chairman of the Presidential Council of Advisers (CPA) for a period of four years by Singapore President Tony Tan Keng Yam. As Chairman of the CPA, Pillay will exercise the functions of the President's office in the absence of President. If he is unavailable, the Speaker of Parliament would act as the head of state. The CPA, formed in 1992, advises the President in various areas, including safeguarding

the past reserves of the Government, and key appointments in the public service. Pillay, who has served in a number of senior civil service positions, was first appointed to the CPA on January 2, 2001. He has served as Chairman of the CPA since September 2, 2005. He is one of the pioneers who helped build the Singapore economy after its separation from Malaysia in 1965. He has served as Chairman of Singapore Airlines from 1972 until 1976.

Pope Francis declared 17th century Indian priest and missionary Joseph Vaz as saint in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Joseph Vaz has become first priest from Sri Lanka, canonised as saint.

Leela Samson resigned as the censor board chief, protesting against what she termed interference by the government, while denying that her exit was linked to controversial film "MSG", ready for release after the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) gave it the green signal. The Censor Board headed by Ms. Samson had earlier denied the clearance certificate to the film saying that the movie depicts Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh as a God. She is arecipient of many awards for her contributions to Bharatanatyam, including Padma Shri (1990) and Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1999–2000).

Maithripala Sirisena, candidate of the New Democratic Front, was declared as the new President of Sri Lanka on January 9, 2015. Sirisena beat the incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa after securing 51.28 percent of the votes cast. Pallewatte Gamaralalage Maithripala Yapa Sirisena is the 7th President of Sri Lanka. Sirisena joined mainstream politics in 1989 and has held several ministries since 1994. He was the general-secretary of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and was Minister of Health until November 2014 when he announced his candidacy for the 2015 presidential election as the opposition coalition's 'common candidate.'

DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi was re-elected as party President for the 11th time in a row by the newly constituted general council. Karunanidhi had during the Lok Sabha poll campaign last year indicated that it could be his last electoral campaign and the election is significant for him as he is now tasked with the responsibility of steering the party for the next five years. Karunanidhi was first elected as president on July 27, 1969 after the demise of DMK founder C N Annadurai. The post was created for the first time since the party was founded in 1949.

Freedom fighter and National Flag designer Pingali Venkayya was honoured by naming All India Radio(AIR) Vijayawada (in Andhra Pradesh) building after him. After Mahatma Gandi’s request, he had designed the flag which initially had saffron and green colours, but in the course of time, modifications were made with additions like a spinning wheel at the centre and a third colour- white, Chakra i.e Dharma Chakra which depicts the “wheel of the law”.

Haryana government has announced yoga guru Ramdev as its brand ambassador. By appointing the yoga guru as its brand ambassador state aims to promote yoga and Ayurveda in the state.

Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha was appointed Chief Justice of Bangladesh by President Mohammad Abdul Hamid. With this appointment, he has become the first Hindu to hold highest judicial post in the Muslim-majority country.

Sindhushree Khullar was appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the newly-formed NITI Aayog, which has replaced the Planning Commission of the Nehruvian era. Mr Khullar was Secretary in the erstwhile Planning Commission. Mr Khullar, a retired IAS officer, has been appointed on contract basis for a period of one year from January 1.

Tulsi Gabbard and Dr. Ami Bera have been sworn in for their second consecutive term in US House of Representatives. Both of them belong to Democratic Party. They were sworn in after the 114th session of the US Congress began.

SPORTS

Andy Murray won his first title of 2015 after Novak Djokovic withdrew from the Mubadala World Tennis Championship final in Abu Dhabi because of illness.

Australian cricketer Brett Lee announced his retirement from all forms of cricket after a 20-year career.

Bhakti Sharma, the open water swimming champion of India set a world record by swimming 1.4 miles in 52 minutes in one degree temperature in the Antarctic Ocean.

Union Sports Ministry recognised Boxing India as national federation for representing Boxing. In this regard, the Ministry allowed Boxing India to use the name under the Emblems & Names (Prevention of Improper use) Act, 1950 for all its future correspondence.

Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo won the 2014 FIFA Ballon d’Or award for the best footballer of the year in the world.

India will host the 42nd World Bridge Championships that will be held in Chennai from 26 September 2015 to 10 October 2015.

Ishpreet Singh Chadha of Maharashtra on won his maiden National Sub-Junior Snooker title 2015 at the BRC Gloster National Billiards & Snooker Championship 2015.

Kumar Sangakkara of Sri Lanka became the fastest cricketer to reach 12000 Test runs. He achieved the milestone in 224th innings played against New Zealand.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced their final 15-man squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, jointly co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand. Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been named the captain while Virat Kohli will be the vice-Captain of the side in ICC World Cup 2015 after being handed over the Test captaincy recently. The World Cup 2011 hero, Yuvraj Singh whose name was highly discussed following the brilliant run on the domestic circuit, failed to make the cut in the final squad. The tournament would kick-start on February 14, 2015 with India beginning their campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on February 15.

Pakistan’s Test and ODI captain Misbah-ul-Haq formally announced that he will stop playing the 50-over format after the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. Misbah started his ODI career in 2002, played 153 ODIs and scored 4669 runs at an average of 42.83. He has been the captain of Pakistan in 78 games, out of which Pakistan won 41 games.

Top seed Grandmaster Popov Ivan of Russia clinched the seventh Chennai International Open Grandmaster Chess title via super tie-breaker after eight players ended with 7.5 points each.

Roger Federer won the Brisbane International Tennis Title. In the finals played at Brisbane in Australia, he defeated third seeded Milos Raonic of Canada.

S Shrikrishna won his maiden National Sub-Junior Billiards title at the BRC Gloster National Billiards & Snooker Championship 2015.

Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka defeated Slovenian qualifier Aljaz Bedene to win Chennai Open title of tennis for a third time.

MISCELLANEOUS

World

Pakistan government has enacted new law, to create constitutional military courts to try and punish terrorists. This new law came into effect after it was signed by Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain .

Greece’s Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has dissolved the country’s parliament ahead of snap elections to be held on 25 January. Dissolution of Parliament comes after it failed to elect the President in the third and final round of voting.

Japanese automaker Honda has agreed to pay US 70 million dollars in fines to the US authorities for failing to report safety issues involving its cars.

The first ministerial meeting of the Forum of China and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) concluded in Beijing with the announcement that the forum's next meeting will be held in Chile in 2018. The two-day meeting, co-chaired by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Costa Rican counterpart, Manuel Gonzalez Sanz, passed three major documents: the Beijing Declaration, a five-year cooperation plan and the regulations on the China-CELAC forum. China and CELAC have also reached a consensus on deepening political mutual trust, expanding cooperation and promoting development of the forum.

A British-built space probe Beagle 2 has been found on the surface of Mars, 11 years after it was thought that it was lost on Mars. After the discovery, the Royal Society has announced an award in commemoration of Prof Colin Pillinger (died in 2014) who was Principal Investigator of Beagle2 probe.

India

The Union Petroleum Ministry launched the sale of subsidised 5 kg cooking gas cylinders to benefit Below Poverty Line (BPL) families, students and migrant labourers.

Indian Government decided to provide 69 million rupees to Nepal as assistance to launch the Iodine Deficiency Disorder Control Programme (IDDCP).

Union Railway minister Suresh Prabhu inaugurated India’s first compressed natural gas (CNG)-powered train.

Minister for Communications and IT Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad commissioned the first high speed rural broadband of India at the Idukki district in Kerala. With the commissioning of the NOFN network, Idukki district of Kerala has become the first in India to be connected with high speed rural broadband. Currently the District has a total of 8 Block Offices & 53 Gram Panchayats of which 8 Block Offices & 52 Gram Panchayats have been connected on Optical Fibre and one Gram Panchayat, namely Edamalakudy, is connected through VSAT. Edamalakudy, is a Tribal Gram Panchayat consisting of 26 Tribal villages with a population of around 2200.

Union government reconstituted pollution control board working group to simplify procedures to get consent certificates and categorisation of industries.

15th January to 31s t January AWARDS & HONOURS

Indian American writer Jhumpa Lahiri won the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature that was announced at the Jaipur Literature Festival. Ms. Lahiri, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, received the prestigious $50,000 award for her book “The Lowland,” set in both New England and the eastern state of West Bengal during the late 1960s when the Naxalite movement, a separatist uprising, began. “The Lowland” was long listed for the Man Booker Prize for fiction in 2013 but did not win. Her book “Interpreter of Maladies” won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2000.

Poet Arundhathi Subramaniam won the inaugural Khushwant Singh Memorial Prize for Poetry for her work When God is a Traveller . The winner was announced at a prize ceremony at the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival. The award, carrying a cash prize of Rs. 2 lakh, is in memory of the late Khushwant Singh and is open to Indian poets writing in English or Indian language translation.

An eminent Indian-American entrepreneur and philanthropist, Frank Islam, was presented with the prestigious Martin Luther King Jr Award, in recognition of his contribution to the legacy of the great leader, through his efforts in international service and civil engagement. The award, which carries the name of Martin Luther King Jr, an apostle of peace, is about building bridges between humanity. Last year, President Obama appointed Frank Islam to the board of Trustees of the Kennedy Center. He also serves on the International Advisory Committee of the US Institute of Peace.

Miss Colombia Paulina Vega was crowned Miss Universe. Miss USA Nia Sanchez from Las Vegas was named a runner-up, along with Miss Ukraine Diana Harkusha. Vega, the 21-year-old granddaughter of celebrated Colombian singer Gastón Vega, is a student of business from the northern Colombia city of Barranquilla.

Cyberabad Police Commissioner C V Anand was conferred the Election Commission of India's National Special Category Award for the Best Electoral Practices-2014. Anand was bestowed the National Special Award by Election Commission of India (ECI) for the "commendable" election related measures taken by him in the area of 'Expenditure Monitoring and Tackling Money Power' during the General Elections of 2014.

Padma Awards - one of the highest civilian Awards of the country, are conferred in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. The Awards are given in various disciplines/ fields of activities, viz.- art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc. ‘Padma Vibhushan’ is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service; ‘Padma Bhushan’ for distinguished service of high order and ‘Padma Shri’ for distinguished service in any field. The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year. This year the President of India approved conferment of Padma Awards to 104 persons as per the list below. The list comprises of 9 Padma Vibhushan, 20 Padma Bhushan and 75 Padma Shri Awardees. 17 of the awardees are women and the list also includes 17 persons from the category of foreigners, NRIs, PIOs and 4 Posthumous awardees.

Padma Vibhushan

S. No. Name of the Awardee Discipline State/Domicile

1. Shri L. K. Advani Public Affairs Gujarat 2. Shri Amitabh Bachchan Art Maharashtra 3. Shri Prakash Singh Badal Public Affairs Punjab 4. Dr. D. Veerendra Heggade Social Work Karnataka 5. Shri Mohammad Yusuf Khan alias Dilip Kumar Art Maharashtra 6. Shri Jagadguru Ramanandacharya Swami Others Uttar Pradesh Rambhadracharya 7. Prof. Malur Ramaswamy Srinivasan Science and Engineering Tamil Nadu 8. Shri Kottayan K. Venugopal Public Affairs Delhi 9. Shri Karim Al Hussaini Aga Khan ( Foreigner) Trade and Industry France/UK

Padma Bhushan

S. No. Name of the Awardee Discipline State/Domicile

1. Shri Jahnu Barua Art Assam 2. Dr. Vijay Bhatkar Science and Engineering Maharashtra 3. Shri Swapan Dasgupta Literature and Education Delhi 4. Swami Satyamitranand Giri Others Uttar Pradesh 5. Shri N. Gopalaswami Civil Service Tamil Nadu 6. Dr. Subhash C. Kashyap Public Affairs Delhi 7. Dr. (Pandit) Gokulotsavji Maharaj Art Madhya Pradesh 8. Dr. Ambrish Mithal Medicine Delhi 9. Smt. Sudha Ragunathan Art Tamil Nadu 10. Shri Harish Salve Public Affairs Delhi 11. Dr. Ashok Seth Medicine Delhi 12. Shri Rajat Sharma Literature and Education Delhi 13. Shri Satpal Sports Delhi 14. Shri Shivakumara Swami Others Karnataka 15. Dr. Kharag Singh Valdiya Science and Engineering Karnataka 16. Prof. Manjul Bhargava ( NRI/PIO) Science and Engineering USA 17. Shri David Frawley (Vamadeva) Others USA (Foreigner) 18. Shri Bill Gates (Foreigner) Social Work USA

19. Ms. Melinda Gates (Foreigner) Social Work USA

20. Shri Saichiro Misumi (Foreigne r) Others Japan

Padma Shri

S. No. Name of the Awardee Discipline State/Domicile

1. Dr. Manjula Anagani Medicine Telangana 2. Shri S. Arunan Science and Engineering Karnataka 3. Ms. Kanyakumari Avasarala Art Tamil Nadu 4. Dr. Bettina Sharada Baumer Literature and Education Jammu and Kashmir 5. Shri Naresh Bedi Art Delhi 6. Shri Ashok Bhagat Social Work Jharkhand 7. Shri Sanjay Leela Bhansali Art Maharashtra 8. Dr. Lakshmi Nandan Bora Literature and Education Assam 9. Dr. Gyan Chaturvedi Literature and Education Madhya Pradesh 10. Prof. (Dr.) Yogesh Kumar Chawla Medicine Chandigarh 11. Smt. Jayakumari Chikkala Medicine Delhi 12. Shri Bibek Debroy Literature and Education Delhi 13. Dr. Sarungbam Bimola Kumari Devi Medicine Manipur 14. Dr. Ashok Gulati Public Affairs Delhi 15. Dr. Randeep Guleria Medicine Delhi 16. Dr. K. P. Haridas Medicine Kerala 17. Shri Rahul Jain Art Delhi 18. Shri Ravindra Jain Art Maharashtra 19. Dr. Sunil Jogi Literature and Education Delhi 20. Shri Prasoon Joshi Art Maharashtra 21. Dr. Prafulla Kar Art Odisha 22. Ms. Saba Anjum Sports Chhattisgarh 23. Smt. Ushakiran Khan Literature and Education Bihar 24. Dr. Rajesh Kotecha Medicine Rajasthan 25. Prof. Alka Kriplani Medicine Delhi 26. Dr. Harsh Kumar Medicine Delhi 27. Shri Narayana Purushothama Mallaya Literature and Education Kerala 28. Shri Lambert Mascarenhas Literature and Education Goa 29. Dr. (Mrs.) Janak Palta McGilligan Social Work Madhya Pradesh 30. Shri Veerendra Raj Mehta Social Work Delhi 31. Shri Tarak Mehta Art Gujarat 32. Shri Neil Herbert Nongkynrih Art Meghalaya 33. Shri Chewang Norphel Others Jammu and Kashmir 34. Shri T. V. Mohandas Pai Trade and Industry Karnataka 35. Dr. Tejas Patel Medicine Gujarat 36. Shri Jadav Molai Peyang Others Assam 37. Smt. Bimla Poddar Other Uttar Pradesh 38. Dr. N. Prabhakar Science and Engineering Delhi 39. Dr. Prahalada Science and Engineering Maharashtra 40. Dr. Narendra Prasad Medicine Bihar 41. Shri Ram Bahadur Rai Literature and Education Delhi 42. Ms. Mithali Raj Sports Telangana 43. Shri P. V. Rajaraman Civil Service Tamil Nadu 44. Prof. J. S. Rajput Literature and Education Uttar Pradesh 45. Shri Kota Srinivasa Rao Art Andhra Pradesh 46. Prof. Bimal Roy Literature and Education West Bengal

47. Shri Shekhar Sen Art Maharashtra 48. Shri Gunvant Shah Literature and Education Gujarat 49. Shri Brahmdev Sharma (Bhaiji) Literature and Education Delhi 50. Shri Manu Sharma Literature and Education Uttar Pradesh 51. Prof. Yog Raj Sharma Medicine Delhi 52. Shri Vasant Shastri Science and Engineering Karnataka 53. Shri S. K. Shivkumar Science and Engineering Karnataka 54. Ms. P. V. Sindhu Sports Telangana 55. Shri Sardara Singh Sports Haryana 56. Ms. Arunima Sinha Sports Uttar Pradesh 57. Shri Mahesh Raj Soni Art Rajasthan

58. Dr. Nikhil Tandon Medicine Delhi

59. Shri H. Thegtse Rinpoche Social Work Arunachal Pradesh

60. Dr. Hargovind Laxmishanker Trivedi Medicine Gujarat 61. Shri Huang Baosheng (Foreigner) Others China 62. Prof. Jacques Blamont (Foreigner) Science and Engineering France Late Shri Syedna Mohammad 63. Others Maharashtra Burhanuddin (Posthumous)

64. Shri Jean-Claude Carriere (Foreigner) Literature and Education France

Dr. Nandrajan “Raj” Chetty 65. Trade and Industry USA (NRI/PIO)

66. Shri George L. Hart (Foreigner) Others USA

Jagat Guru Amrta Suryananda Maha 67. Others Portugal Raja (NRI/PIO) Late Shri Meetha Lal Mehta 68. Social Work Rajasthan (Posthumous) 69. Ms. Tripti Mukherjee (NRI/PIO) Art USA

70. Dr. Dattatreyudu Nori (NRI/PIO) Medicine USA

71. Dr. Raghu Rama Pillarisetti (NRI/PIO) Medicine USA

72. Dr. Saumitra Rawat (NRI/PIO) Medicine UK Prof. Annette Schmiedchen 73. Literature and Education Germany (Foreigner) Late Shri Pran Kumar Sharma alias 74. Art Delhi Pran (Posthumous) Late Shri R. Vasudevan 75. Civil Service Tamil Nadu (Posthumous)

BUSINESS & CORPORATE

To facilitate greater economic engagement between Indian and Chinese SMEs, Confederation of Indian Industry has signed an MOU with China's e-commerce giant Alibaba to build business-to-business linkages through global online platform. Alibaba.com and CII will collaborate and develop various trade opportunities and online promotions to facilitate greater economic engagement between Indian and Chinese small and medium enterprises (SMEs). India's manufacturing and services sector will be able to achieve the objectives of building greater India- China SME engagement by benefiting with the expertise of Alibaba.com in the digital space - especially on the B2B area, and CII through its network of 64 offices in India - with 8000 direct members and more than a lakh indirect members through its affiliated sectorial association. Alibaba.com, headed by China's billionaire tycoon Jack Ma, is the first business of Alibaba Group and it is the leading platform for global wholesale trade serving millions of buyers and suppliers around the world.

Apple Inc. acquired United Kingdom based startup firm Semetric Ltd to add music analytics tool in its devices.

Technology firm Apple smashed the global record for quarterly profits after racking up a surplus of 18 billion US dollars (£11.9 billion). The figure for the final quarter of last year was the highest ever recorded by a public company, beating the previous record set by ExxonMobil in 2012. The landmark performance followed the sale of a record 74.5 million iPhones, which drove the company's revenues up by 30% to 74.6 billion US dollars (£49.2 billion).

Emami Ltd., one of the major personal and health care FMCG companies in India, has acquired controlling stake (66.67 percent) in Fravin Pty Ltd., along with its three subsidiaries through Emami International FZE, a subsidiary of Emami Ltd. Fravin Pty Ltd., based in Australia, has major strengths in R&D and manufacturing of natural and organic personal care products. Promoted by the Trichologist and a world master hairdresser Peter Francis, the Fravin Group manufactures a full range of hair care and skin care products that are certified organic by various certification bodies in Australia and the United States such as Australian Certified Organic (ACO), the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and many more. This international acquisition marks Emami’s entry into the fast growing natural and organic personal care segment and is in line with the company’s strategy to be present in sectors with high growth potential.

HDFC Bank is the lone Indian entity among the world's 50 most valued lenders in 2014 with a market capitalisation of close to $41 billion. Ranked at the 45th position, the private sector bank is ahead of global majors Credit Suisse, DBS Group, and Standard Chartered with a market capitalisation of $40.58 billion. In the top 50 list compiled by Relbanks, SBI has been ranked at 51th with market capitalisation of $36.40 while ICICI Bank with $33.42 billion is 55th. With more than 70 million customers and over 9,000 locations and a market cap of $284.39 billion, Well Fargo of the USA is the largest bank in the world based on market capitalisation. It is the second largest bank in the US by deposits and debit cards. Well Fargo is followed by the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) with the market capitalisation of $269.70 billion. It is followed by JP Morgan Chase of again the USA with the market capitalisation of $ 233.94 billion. Top ten banks of the world include 4 from the USA, 4 from China and one each from the UK and Australia.

Fast-food giant McDonald's Corp. announced late that President and Chief Executive Officer Don Thompson will retire from the positions and also as a member of the Board of Directors, effective March 1, after serving the company for nearly 25 years. The company said its board has elected Steve Easterbrook to succeed Thompson to

the positions of president and CEO as well as a member of the Board of Directors. The board has also elected Margo Georgiadis as a Director of the company.

Space agency NASA joined hands with Japanese automaker Nissan to develop self-driving cars and aims to start testing the first such vehicle by the end of this year. Researchers from Nissan's US Silicon Valley Research Center and NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, California formed a five-year research and development partnership to advance development of autonomous vehicle systems and their commercial applications. Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn said the company will begin offering autonomous features "beginning in 2016," and wants to have commercially available self-piloting vehicles that can "navigate in nearly all situations," including urban environments, by 2020.

Eros International’s online streaming service ErosNow has tied-up with RailTel Corporation of India to offer passengers at railway stations across India access to its entertainment content on their mobile devices. Last year, RailTel had introduced free Wi-Fi service Bangalore City railway station in October and at New Delhi railway station in December. The service is free for the first 30 minutes, after which users have to purchase extra browsing time online using a credit card or buy a scratch card at the Wi-Fi helpdesk at the stations. For 30 minutes of extra browsing time commuters will have to pay Rs 25 and for 1 hour the price is Rs 35, and these are valid for 24 hours.

Online market place Snapdeal.com entered into a 50:50 joint venture with DEN, India's television distribution company, to launch a 'TV Commerce' channel ‘DEN Snapdeal TV shop'. The company aims to create a multi-nodal electronic shopping avenue for customers through this joint venture, it said in a statement. Snapdeal aims to take the DEN TV shop to 100 million households across India over the next 12 months. The channel is currently available for viewers on channel number 132 on DEN cable network and will be extended to other cable and DTH networks in the course of the next six months. DEN Networks Ltd. reaches about 13 million households in over 200 cities across 13 states in the country. The joint venture will benefit those customers who have limited access to internet services particularly in Tier 2 and 3 cities further hampered by lack of physical access to top retail products and brands at competitive prices.

State Bank of India signed a loan agreement for 100 million euro (about Rs 700 crore) with European Investment Bank for lending to private businesses in the country. This is the third tranche of a total sanctioned loan of 200 million euro by EIB. The loan will be utilised to support the development of private sector, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), social and economic infrastructure as well as climate change mitigation and adaptation in the country.

Tulsi Tanti’s wind turbine manufacturer Suzlon Energy Ltd signed a binding agreement to sellits German subsidiary, Senvion SE to private equity firm, Centerbridge Partners LP for approximately £1 billion or Rs 7,200 crore, as a part of its ongoing debt-reduction strategy. The all-cash deal will also bring in future earnings of about£50 million or Rs 360 crore. The Ahmedabad- based company will focus on high growth markets like India, USA and other emerging economy markets. The terms of the deal include Senvion providing its parent company with license for off-shore technologies for the Indian market while Suzlon will transfer its license for specific technologies for the US market to Senvion. Suzlon had bought the Hamburg-based company in June 2007 for €1.2 billion. Post the acquisition, analysts had ranked Suzlon as the third-largest wind equipment manufacturer globally. However, the company suffered during the 2008 global economic crisis. Since then, the company has restructured its operations, sold non-essential assets and had said that it would consider listing Senvion, as a part of its plans.

Online restaurant search service provider Zomato Media Pvt Ltd acquired Turkish company Mekanist. With the acquisition of Mekanist in an all cash deal, Zomato’s restaurant coverage will increase to more than 75000 across Turkey from about 27500 now. The Mekanist team will integrate into Zomato and all of Mekanist’s traffic and restaurant-related content will move to Zomato. Moreover, Mekanist app users will be able to use the Zomato app. Turkish restaurants will be able to make use of Zomato’s hyper-local advertising model to reach out to target customers that are searching for restaurants in and around their location. This is Zomato’s seventh acquisition in six months. Earlier, it acquired US-based firm Urbanspoon for about 50 million US dollars. Zomato has also recently acquired local dominant restaurant search players in New Zealand, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Italy.

COMMITTEES / SCHEMES / POLICIES

Government's ambitious 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' campaign to save and empower girl child was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Panipat in Haryana, the state with the lowest sex ratio. The campaign will be implemented in 100 districts of the country, including 12 of Haryana where the number of girl child is dismally low. The districts of Haryana where the scheme will be launched are-- Mahendergarh, Jhajjar, Rewari, Sonepat, Ambala, Kurukshetra, Rohtak, Karnal, Yamuna Nagar, Kaithal, Bhiwani and Panipat. BBBP campaign is the fourth major initiative of the Narendra Modi-led Central Government after Jandhan Yojna, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and Make in India.

India and the US agreed to cooperate in the field of Information & Communications Technology and Electronics (ICTE) to facilitate, among others, the ambitious 'Digital India' programme aimed at transforming India into a digital-empowered society and knowledge economy. The relevant Joint Declaration of Intent for cooperation in the field of Information & Communications Technology and Electronics (ICTE) was signed by Secretary in the Department of Electronics and IT R.S. Sharma, and US Ambassador to India Richard Verma. The Intent will facilitate the 'Digital India' programme, electronic manufacturing, cyber security and several other such related fields between two countries.

The Union Ministry of Urban Development, along with the Ministries of Tourism and Culture, launched the Heritage Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY). According to M Venkaiah Naidu, Minister for Urban Development, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, and Parliamentary Affairs, Government of India, the initiative aims to preserve, conserve, and revitalise the soul of Indian cities of heritage importance by showcasing each city’s distinctive character in an appealing, accessible, informative, and secured environment. In the first phase of this Central sectoral scheme, 100% funding of Rs 500 crore would be provided to 12 cities.

The High Level Committee for Restructuring of Food Corporation of India submitted its report to the Prime Minister. The Committee was chaired by Shri Shanta Kumar. The Committee was required to examine the present day administrative, functional and financial structure of FCI and modus operandi of its various operations, and suggest a model for restructuring FCI to improve its operational efficiency and financial management, and suggest measures for overall improvement in management of foodgrains by FCI.

President Pranab Mukherjee launched the Pulse Polio Immunization Programme by administering polio drops to children aged below five years at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, on the eve of National Immunization Day. Around 174 million children of less than five years age across the country will be given polio drops as part of the drive of government to sustain polio eradication from the country. Since 1995, India has been implementing the Pulse Polio Immunization Programme. On 27 March 2014, India was declared polio-free by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The Cabinet approved the reconstitution of the empowered committee on setting up of Semiconductor Wafer Fabrication (FAB) projects, with NITI Aayog member V K Saraswat as the Chairman. The committee was set up in 2011 to identify technology and investors and to recommend incentives to be provided for setting up two FAB facilities. The panel had submitted its recommendations to the government, based on which two projects were cleared.

The Supreme Court directed Google Inc., Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp. (Bing) to not carry ads offering prenatal sex determination services and also asked them to redact any such ads if they came up in so-called sponsored searches.

In a bid to encourage budding and existing entrepreneurs from Scheduled Castes, the government launched a scheme under which members of the reserved community will be offered concessional finance to start new business ventures. The scheme 'Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled Castes' was launched by Union Social Justice Minister Thaawar Chand Gehlot. He said that the new initiative, with an initial capital of Rs 200 crore, would help people belonging to the SC categories in a big way.

ECONOMY & BANKING

To avoid shortage of food grains once all states implement the food law, government approved raising buffer stock and strategic reserve limits of Food Corporation of India for both wheat and rice. For better management of food grains at FCI, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) also constituted an inter-ministerial group to offload excess stocks, if any, in the domestic market through open sale or exports.

In its latest World Economic Outlook report released in January 2015, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected that India will grow 6.5 per cent in 2016, overtaking China which, it projected, will slowdown to 6.3 per cent. For 2015, the IMF forecast India will grow at 6.3 per cent, up from 5.8 per cent in 2014. China’s 2014 growth rate was 7.4 per cent. In a separate forecast, the United Nations World Economic Situation and Prospects UN WESP report too predicted a smart recovery for India during 2015.It pegged its 2015 India growth forecast lower than the IMF’s –at 5.9 per cent. At 6.3 per cent, the UNWESP 2016 India growth forecast is, however, closer to that of the IMF. The IMF said that global growth will receive a boost from lower oil prices, which reflect to an important extent higher supply. But this boost is projected to be more than offset by negative factors, including investment weakness as adjustment to diminished expectations about medium-term growth continues in many advanced and emerging market economies. It cut its global growth projection for 2015 to 3.5 per cent and for 2016 to 3.7 percent, downward revisions of 0.3 per cent relative to its October 2014 forecast.

The public sector Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) have inked a Memorandum of Collaboration (MoC) to enhance exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons and alternate sources of energy. The IITs and the ONGC have agreed to develop indigenous technologies, engage in sustained research and capacity building aimed at a multi-pronged approach, and transform their experiential based learning in this core sector. The programme will be funded by the ONGC and shall take advantage of the available infrastructure and manpower of the IITs and ONGC.

The Reserve Bank of India has signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation and exchange of information with Banco Central do Brasil (BCB). With this RBI has signed 23 such MoUs, one letter for supervisory cooperation and one statement of cooperation with overseas regulators or supervisors. RBI has been signing such MoUs to promote greater cooperation and sharing of supervisory information among the authorities, it said.

In a major boost to the jute sector, the government approved mandatory packaging of sugar and foodgrains in jute material to minimum extent of up to 90 per cent of production. A proposal for financial support to Jute Corporation of India to offset losses incurred by it on account of minimum support price operations was also approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) cleared a proposal of HDFC Bank to raise Rs 10,000 crore from foreign investors. The meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the HDFC Bank proposal that will raise its foreign holding to 74 per cent, enabling inflow of around Rs 10,000 crore from overseas investors. Total foreign investment in HDFC Bank was 73.39 per cent at the end of June 2014. It had come down to 73.2 per cent at the end of September. The funds would be raised by issuing

shares to non- resident Indians or FIIs or foreign portfolio investors subjected to aggregate foreign shareholding not exceeding 74 per cent of the post issue paid up capital.

The government has decided to offer Coal India Limited (CIL) shares at a floor price of Rs 358 a piece for offloading up to 10-per cent stake in the state run behemoth, which would fetch an estimated Rs 22,600 crore. Government is planning to divest 5 per cent stake in the company via share sale and the remaining 5 per cent through the green-shoe option. Currently, the government holds 89.65 per cent stake in CIL. As per the minimum shareholding norms for listed companies, the government needs to lower its stake to 75 percent.

India and United States signed three Memoranda of Understandings (MoUs) to give a boost to the Centre's flagship 'smart cities' scheme. The U.S. has agreed to partner with Indian in developing three smart cities in Allahabad, Ajmer, and Visakhapatnam. As per the pacts, the U.S. will assist the cities in project planning, infrastructure development, feasibility studies and capacity building. The State Governments for their part will provide resources like technical information and data related to smart cities planning; staff, logistical and travel support and budgetary resources.

Union Cabinet has given its nod for conducting FM Phase-III auction and renewal of Private FM Radio licenses from Phase-II to Phase-III in 69 existing cities for 135 channels.

PEOPLE IN NEWS

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz died at 93. Abdullah had ruled Saudi Arabia as king since 2006, but had run the country as de facto regent for a decade before that after his predecessor King Fahd suffered a debilitating stroke. Abdullah played a guiding role in Saudi Arabia's support for Egypt's government after the military intervened in 2012, and drove his country's support for Syria's rebellion against President Bashar al- Assad.

US President Barack Obama became the first American President to be Chief Guest on Republic Day celebrations. He is also the first American President to visit India twice (earlier he had visited India in November 2010).

Bibek Debroy, a renowned economist took over as member NITI Aayog. A professor at Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi previously, Shri Debroy has also worked as Director of the Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies, Consultant to the Union Finance Ministry in various capacities and Chairman of the High Powered Committee on Railways restructuring.

Carl Djerassi, an eminent chemist who 63 years ago synthesized a hormone that changed the world by creating the key ingredient for the oral contraceptive known as “the pill,” died at 91. Dr. Djerassi received 34 honorary doctorates and a score of professional and government awards, including the National Medal of Science (chemistry), the nation’s highest science honor, presented by President Richard M. Nixon in 1973, and the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, the nation’s highest technology award, presented by President George Bush in 1991.

A legendary social activist and veteran Gandhian from Dangs district, Ghelubhai Naik passed away at 90. Ghelubhai, who was close to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, started his activity in Dangs as the Sarvodaya worker in 1948. He along with Chunilal Vaidya arrived in Dangs at the very young age and set up Swaraj ashram for pioneering the education activity among the tribal.

The governor of Rajasthan, Kalyan Singh took additional charge as the 26 th governor of Himachal Pradesh. He has also served two terms as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.

Haryana governor Kaptan Singh Solanki took over the additional charge of Governor of Punjab. He will be 34th governor of Punjab.

Senior IPS officer Krishna Chaudhary was appointed the new Director General (DG) of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).

Veteran Malayalam actor Mala Aravindan passed away at 76. He was best known for his work as a comedian, character artist in Malayalam films and was also noted theatre personality. He was also the president of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA).

Popular Telugu comedian and director Mylavarapu Surya Narayana passed away at 63.

Colombia’s Paulina Vega was crowned 63rd Miss Universe .Miss USA Nia Sanchez from Las Vegas was named a runner-up, along with Miss Ukraine Diana Harkusha.

Wing Commander Pooja Thakur has become the first woman officer to lead the ceremonial Guard of Honour at Rashtrapathi Bhavan.On 25 January 2015, she led the ceremonial Guard of Honour which was inspected by the U.S. President Barack Obama at Rashtrapathi Bhavan.

Queen Elizabeth II became the oldest living monarch in the world. She gained the title at 88 years old after the death of 90-year-old King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia in January 2015.

R K Laxman, the country's best-known cartoonist, passed away at 93. Born in 1921 in Mysore, Laxman had no formal training in cartooning but the work he put out over decades was sheer genius. He began by drawing for local papers, and illustrating the stories of his famous elder brother, novelist R K Narayan, while still at college. The recipient of numerous awards, among them the Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan and Magsaysay Award, Laxman's fan base ran into millions.

Eminent political scientist, scholar and former Planning Commission member Rajni Kothari passed away at 86. In 1980, he had founded Lokayan (Dialogue of the People), a forum for interaction between activists and intellectuals. In 1985 on behalf of Lokayan, he has received the Right Livelihood Award from the Swedish Parliament in Stockholm (widely referred as the Alternative Nobel Prize). He has also received the UGC’s Swami Pranavananda Award in Political Science.

Church of England consecrated Reverend Libby Lane as its first female bishop in a ceremony held at York Minster in northern England. With this consecration, Church of England ended its 500 year old male dominated tradition.

Germany's former President Richard von Weizsaecker died at the age of 94. Mr Weizsaecker's 10 years in office, from 1984 to 1994, spanned the period of German reunification. A soldier in the German army in World War Two, Weizsaecker won widespread praise for his efforts to persuade Germans to confront their Nazi past. A member of the Christian Democratic Union, he also served as the governing mayor of West Berlin in the 1980s.

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe was appointed the new chairman of the 54-nation African Union (AU). The 90-year-old Mugabe, who has ruled his country since 1980, succeeds Mauritania's President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz. As pan-African organization, AU aims at promoting unity and cooperation among African nations. At present the African Union has a total of 54 members. Morocco is the only African country which is not the part of the Union.

An eminent Indian academician, Saraswathi Menon, is among seven experts nominated by UN chief Ban Ki- moon to be part of an advisory group that will conduct a policy and institutional review of the world body's peace- building architecture and make recommendations. Saraswathi Menon, former Director of the Policy Division in UN Women, will be among the members of the Advisory Group to review peace building architecture.

Eminent singer, composer, lyricist and actor Shekhar Sen was appointed as the chairman of the Sangeet Natak Akademi (SNA) .

Subash Ghising — principal architect of violent hill politics in West Bengal that challenged the Left Front governments might in the 1980s — died at 79. Ghising, a former Gorkha Rifles soldier who later became a teacher, founded the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) in 1980. He led the GNLF to a violent movement for carving a separate Gorkhaland out of Bengal resulting in bloodbath in the Darjeeling Hills between 1986 and

1988. The Gorkhaland movement posed the biggest challenge to the unquestioned authority of Jyoti Basu heading the Left Front government. The violent statehood movement was tackled using force. Though Basu could save Bengal from getting divided once again, the Left Front government had to strike a hard in with Ghising to buy peace in the Hills. The movement also led to the ouster of the Left from the Hills though they held sway over the rest of Bengal till 2011.

In a significant development, the Narendra Modi government appointed Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, currently India's Ambassador to the United States, the next Foreign Secretary, replacing Sujatha Singh with immediate effect. Dr Jaishankar, whose father K Subrahmanyam was the legendary guru of strategic affairs, has the appetite to take bold decisions and capable of out of box thinking. Before he moved to Washington, DC, Dr Jaishankar served as ambassador in China and as high commissioner in Singapore.

Former DRDO chief V K Saraswat assumed charge as a full-time member of the NITI Aayog. Saraswat was Secretary of Defence (Research & Development) and Director General of Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO).

SPORTS

Former Dutch National Hockey team coach Paul van Ass was appointed as the head Coach of Indian men's hockey team. He succeeded Terry Walsh of Australia.

Union Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports revised the Scheme of Special Awards to medal winners in international events and their coaches. In the revised scheme, the Ministry has enhanced the award money. The amount of award money for medal winners in Olympic Games (summer and winter) has been enhanced from existing 50 lakh rupees (gold medal), 30 lakh rupees (silver medal) and 20 lakh rupees (bronze medal) to 75 lakh rupees, 50 lakh rupees and 30 lakh rupees respectively.The amount of award money for medal winners in Asian Games and Commonwealth Games has been enhanced from existing 20 lakh rupees (gold medal), 10 lakh rupees (silver medal) and 6 lakh rupees (bronze medal) to 30 lakh rupees, 20 lakh rupees and 10 lakh rupees respectively. In the category of the World Championships, Asian Championships and Commonwealth Championships, three separate categories of award money have been provided depending on whether the championships is held once in four years, once in two years or held annually.

ICC lifted the five-year ban imposed on Mohammad Amir who was jailed and banned for a spot fixing scam along with Mohammad Asif and Salman Butt during Pakistan’s tour of England in 2010.

The ICC awarded India the 2016 Twenty20 World Cup. The T20 World Cup will be held from March 11 to April 3, 2016. The previous edition of the World Cup was held in Bangladesh which was won by Sri Lanka. India won the first T20 World Cup in South Africa.

Saina Nehwal won women’s single of Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold Badminton Tournament 2015. She defeated World Champion Carolina Marin of Spain in the finals played in Lucknow.

36-year-old legendary Argentine footballer Juan Roman Riquelme retired from football in January 2015. He captained Argentina in 2006 World Cup.

Oil & Natural Gas Corporation defeated Indian Overseas Bank to win the Savio Cup All India Basketball 2015.

Viktor Troicki of Serbia won Men’s Single title of Sydney International Tennis Tournament.

Weightlifter Jimjang Deru created a national record in weightlifting by lifting 238 kilograms under the 56 kilograms category at 10th Youth National Weightlifting Championship held in Yamuna Nagar, Haryana.

Pankaj Advani won National Billiards title for seventh time. This was his seventh Senior National Billiards Championship. Advani, the 12-time world champion won the previous six titles in 2012, 2011, 2009, 2008, 2007 and 2005.

South Africa batsman and ODI captain AB de Villiers hit a century off 31 balls to record the fastest ever one-day international ton. He surpassed Corey Anderson’s record of a century off 36 balls.

MISCELLANEOUS

World

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced an anti-terror law criminalising public terror threats and giving more teeth to CSIS. This is the 2nd piece of legislation introduced since the October 2014 terrorist attack in Ottawa and Quebec.

UNCTAD released Global Investment Trends Monitor Report in January 2105. In 2014, global foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows declined by 8% to an estimated US$1.26 trillion, due to fragility of the global economy, policy uncertainty and geopolitical risks. A large divestment in the United States also reduced the global level of FDI flows. FDI flows to developed countries dropped by 14% to an estimated US$511 billion, significantly affected by a large divestment in the United States. FDI flows to the European Union (EU) reached an estimated US$267 billion; this represents a 13% increase on 2013, but is still only one- third of the 2007 peak. Flows to transition economies more than halved to US$45 billion as regional conflict, sanctions on the Russian Federation, and negative growth prospects deterred foreign investors (especially from developed countries) from investing in the region. Developing economies saw their FDI inflows reach a new high of more than US$700 billion, 4% higher than 2013, with a global share of 56%. At the regional level, flows to developing Asia were up, those to Africa remained flat, while FDI to Latin America declined. In 2014, China, with an increase of 3%, became the world's largest recipient of FDI. The United States fell to the 3rd largest host country with almost a third of their 2013 level. Among the top five FDI recipients in the world, four are developing economies.

Shirani Bandaranayake was reinstated as Chief Justice of Sri Lanka. With the reinstatement of Bandaranayake, the appointment of Mohan Peiris as Chief Justice of Sri Lanka by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa was cancelled and termed as illegal appointment.

Thailand’s ousted former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra was impeached for her role in overseeing a rice subsidy program, which cost the government billions of dollars. Thailand's military-appointed legislature voted to impeach Shinawatra, a decision that would ban her from politics for five years. The impeachment could further worsen the political situation in the country, which has been under martial law since May, when the military seized power after months of protests.

India signed an agreement on transfer of sentenced persons with Hong Kong. Under the agreement, the two sides will exchange sentenced prisoners in each other's jurisdiction. The agreement will mostly apply to Indian prisoners as there are very few Hong Kong residents in Indian prisons.

European Union decided to lift ban on the import of mangoes from India.

India

Union Government released set of three Commemorative Postage Stamps on Swachh Bharat Mission (Clean India Mission ). This set of 3 stamps was released by Union Ministry for Communications & Information Technology and issued by Department of Posts.

For the first time, a canisterised version of Agni-V missile was successfully test-fired from Wheeler Island off Odisha coast. This was the third successful flight test of the Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) and the first canister trial.

India has challenged a World Trade Organisation (WTO) panel’s ruling that challenges country’s ban on United States (US) poultry product imports. In this regard, India has appealed to the Dispute Settlement Board (DSB) of the WTO.

Every year National Voters’ Day (NVD) is observed on 25th January. This year i.e. 2015 was fifth National Voters’ Day and theme of this year was “Easy Registration, Easy Correction” .

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

Punjab government has launched e-stamping project in the state. This project seeks to computarise revenue departments of the state in order to remove malpractices and end leakage of government revenue. It also seeks to make revenue transactions safe and secure.