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13 to 19 January, 2015:
Economy
1. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 16 January 2015 approved revision in buffer
norms of foodgrains in the Central Pool. The revision was approved to ensure better management
of food stocks in the country.
2. Trade deficit of India declined to ten month low of 9.43 billion US dollars in December 2014. The
data was released by the Union Ministry of Commerce & Industry on 15 January 2015.
3. Reserve Bank of India on 15 January 2015 issued final guidelines for banks to act as insurance
brokers.
4. The wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation raised marginally to 0.11 percent in December
2014 from zero percent in November 2014.
5. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 14 January 2015 relaxed the Forex Hedging Norms for
exporters and importers.
6. National fertilizers Limited (NFL), Engineers India Limited (EIL) and Fertilizer Corporation of India
(FCIL) on 14 January 2015 signed an agreement to form a Joint Venture Company (JVC)
Ramagundam Fertilizers and Chemicals Limited.
7. Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 12 January 2015 proposed easier norms for
domestic mutual fund managers. SEBI has sought comments from public till 2 February 2015 on
these proposals.
8. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the European Central Bank (ECB) on 12 January 2015 signed a
memorandum of understanding (MoU) for cooperation in the field of central banking.
News
1. The first of the indigenously-built Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Series Production-1 (SP1) was
handed over to the Indian Air Force (IAF) on 17 January 2015. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar
handed over Tejas to IAF in the presence of Air Chief Marshal Anup Raha at the Hindustan
Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in Bengaluru.
2. Malawi in the third week of January 2015 witnessed flash floods due to heavy torrential rain. The
floods swept away several houses and have killed at least 170 people. Malawi is one of the world's
poorest countries.
3. Nepali Congress leader Deep Kumar Upadhyay was on 16 January 2015 appointed as Nepal's
ambassador to India. The post was lying vacant since 2011.
4. The Red Sari, an unauthorized biography of Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi, was released
by Roli Books in India on 16 January 2015. The book has been written by Spanish author Javier
Moro.

5. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Chairman R.K. Tyagi was on 16 January 2015 conferred with
the JGBS-Top Rankers' Excellence Award for CEO of the year 2014.
6. National Conclave on ending under-nutrition among tribal children concluded on 16 January 2015.
The two-day conclave was organized by ST and SC Development Department of Odisha
government, SC & ST Research and Training Institute, Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs and
UNICEF.
7. Renowned Indian RTI activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal was on 15 January 2015 conferred with
the Giraffe Hero award 2015 by a US-based NGO The Giraffe Heroes Project. The award will be
presented to him on 22 January 2015.
8. Leela Samson on 16 January 2015 resigned as Chairperson of Central Board of Film Certification,
(CBFC).
Corporate
1. Siddhartha Chatterjee was on 14 January 2015 appointed as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO)
of Persistent Systems Ltd with effect from 14 January 2015 itself.
2. Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi on 15 January 2015 unveiled its flagship phablet Mi Note in
Beijing, China.
3. Tarun Rai was appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of J Walter Thompson South Asia. The
appointment was announced on 14 January 2015 by the J Walter Thompson (JWT) company. JWT
is an advertising agency.
4. Sandip Das on 13 January 2015 resigned as the Managing Director (MD) of Reliance Jio Infocomm
Ltd to join the board of Reliance Retail Ltd. However, Reliance Jios other Managing Director
Sanjay Mashruwala will continue to head thefirm.
5. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) on 14 January 2015 imposed a penalty of 100
crore rupees on Riddhi Siddhi Bullion Limited (RSBL) for violation of Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
norms. The order was issued by Kavita Gupta, additional director general of foreign trade, Mumbai.
6. Search Engine Google on 13 January 2015 launched its Flight Search Tool in India. The tool allows
you to search directly for flights within Google to quickly find, compare and book flights from your
mobile device, tablet or desktop.
7. Zomato on 12 January 2015 acquired the US based food portal Urbanspoon for an undisclosed
amount in an all-cash deal.
8. Deepak Parekh was on 12 January 2015 appointed as a Non-Executive Director and Chairman of
BAE Systems India (Services) Private Limited with effect from 1 January 2015.

International
1. US President Barack Obama on 14 January 2015 nominated two Indian-Americans Jonodev
Osceola Chaudhuri and Deven J Parekh to key posts in US.
2. The US President Barack Obama and UK Prime Minister David Cameron announced cooperative
measures in combating cyber threats. Both the countries announced the measures during the
bilateral summit between the two countries held in Washington DC, US on 16 January 2015.
3. Japan committed to provide an Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) loan of 2620 crore
rupees (50 billion Yen) to India. The notification related to this was released by the Union Ministry
of Finance on 16 January 2015.
4. China will launch the construction of at least five new nuclear reactors with a total capacity of more
than 5 Gigawatts in 2015. The decision was announced by the Deputy Secretary General of
Nuclear Society of China, Shen Lixin on 15 January 2015.
5. Chinese drug regulator China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) on 15 January 2015 approved
a new vaccine S-IPV to treat the Poliomyelitis.
6. World Bank Group on 13 January 2015 released its bi-annual Global Economic Prospects (GEP)
Report, January 2015.
National
1. Veeravalli Sundaram Sampath demitted his office as Chief Election Commissioner on 15 January
2015. He demitted the office after he turned 65, the upper age limit to hold the post as per the
Constitution of India.
2. Hari Shankar Bramha was appointed as the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) by President
Pranab Mukherjee on 15 January 2016.
3. Actor Amitabh Bachchan was on 13 January 2015 presented with the Social Media Person of the
Year Award 2015 by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI).
4. India on 15 January 2015 observed the 67th Army Day. The day is celebrated to commemorate the
day, when Lieutenant General (later Field Marshal) K M Cariappa on 15 January 1949 became the
first Indian Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army post Independence.
5. Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment on 16 January 2015 launched two schemes to
support the Scheduled Castes (SC). These schemes are Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled
Castes and Green Business scheme.
6. Union government reconstituted Pollution Control Board Working Group to simplify procedures to
get consent certificates and categorisation of industries. The working group was reconstituted on
13 January 2015.

7. The Supreme Court on 13 January 2015 sought assistance of Premier institutes to find missing
children every year and expressed deep concern over the failure of the Union Government to put in
place a proper mechanism to trace missing children.
Sports
1. Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic on 16 January 2015 won the womens single title of Sydney
International Tennis tournament.
2. Australian captain Mark Knowles and midfielder of the Netherland Ellen Hoog on 15 January 2015
were named as the International Hockey Federation (FIH) Player of the Year 2014 in men and
women category, respectively.
3. Ukrainian Grandmaster Andrey Baryshpolets won the 13th Parsvanth International Grandmasters
Chess Tournament on 16 January 2015. He defeated Deepan Chakkravarthy of India in the 10th
and final round of the Tournament that was held in New Delhi.
4. Stephen Constantine was appointed as the head coach of Indian mens football team on 16
January 2015. He will supervise both the senior and under-23 football teams.
5. Sania Mirza and her partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the US on 16 January 2015 won the
womens doubles title of the Sydney International Tennis Tournament.