Current Affairs Update – 1-2-3 Dec, 2014

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  The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 2 December 2014 announced fifth
  Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy Statement. RBI in its fifth bi-monthly monetary
  policy statement kept the policy rates unchanged.

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  Repo rate: 8 percent
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  Reverse repo rate: 7 percent
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  Marginal standing facility (MSF) rate: 9 percent
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  Bank Rate: 9.0 percent
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  Cash Reserve Ratio: 4 percent

• ·
  Liquidity under overnight repos will continue to be provided at 0.25
  percent of bank-wise NDTL at the LAF repo rate
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  Liquidity under 7-day and 14-day term repos will continue to be provided
  at 0.75 percent of NDTL of the banking system through auctions
• ·
  Daily one-day term repos and reverse repos to smooth liquidity will be
  continued

• ·
  Domestic activity weakened in Q2 of 2014-15, and activity is likely to
  be muted in Q3 also because of a moderate kharif harvest.
• ·
  The deficiency in the north-east monsoon rainfall has constrained the
  pace of rabi sowing, except in the southern States.
• ·
  Despite the uptick in September 2014, the growth of industrial
  production slumped to 1.1 per cent in Q2 with negative momentum in September
  2014, unable to sustain the improvement recorded in the preceding quarter.
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  In the services sector, the October 2014 purchasing managers’ survey
  indicates deceleration in new business. In contrast, tourist arrivals and
  domestic and international cargo movements have shown improvement.

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  Since September 2014, the global economy has slowed, though the recent
  sharp fall in crude prices will have a net positive impact on global growth.
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  The recovery in the United States is broadening on the back of stronger
  domestic consumption, rising investment and industrial activity.
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  In the Euro area, headwinds from recessionary forces continue to weaken
  industrial production and investment sentiment.
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  In Japan, growth may be picking up again on the back of stronger
  exports, helped in part by further quantitative and qualitative easing that has
  led to a depreciation of the yen.
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  In China, disappointing activity and still-low inflation have prompted
  rate cuts by the People’s Bank of China.
• ·
  In other major emerging market economies (EMEs), downside risks to
  growth from elevated inflation, low commodity prices, deteriorating labour
  market conditions and stalling domestic demand have become accentuated.

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  The United Breweries Limited Chairman Vijay Mallya on 1 December 2014
  resigned as the Director of Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd (MCFL) with
  immediate effect.
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  However, the reason behind his resignation is still unknown. The post of
  Director at Mangalore Chemicals may for now remain vacant.
• ·
  Mallya’s resignation comes at a time when MCFL is amidst a takeover
  battle between Deepak Petrochemicals and Fertilizers and Zuari Agro Chemicals
  and Fertilizers.
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  Mallya had joined forces with Kolkata-based industrialist Saroj Kumar
  Poddar to launch a counter bid against Deepak Fertilisers. The board of
  Mangalore Chemicals is being restructured to include two representatives of
  Poddar’s Adventz Group.

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  Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 1
  December 2014 allowed as many as 123 entities to set up Alternative Investment
  Funds (AIFs).
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  The 123 Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) have been registered with
  the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) since July 2012.
• ·
  Of these, around 34 entities got the approval of SEBI to operate so far
  in 2014, 67 in 2013 and the remaining 22 in 2011.
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  The AIFs that have registered with SEBI in November 2014 are Religare
  Dynamic Trust, Indus Way Emerging Market Fund and Carpediem Capital Partners
  Fund and those registered in October 2014 are Singular India Opportunities
  Trust.
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  AIFs are basically funds established or incorporated in India for the
  purpose of pooling in capital from Indian and foreign investors for investing
  as per a pre-decided policy.
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  Under SEBI guidelines, AIFs can operate broadly in three categories. The
  SEBI rules apply to all AIFs, including those operating as private equity
  funds, real estate funds and hedge funds, among others.
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  The Category I: AIFs
  are those funds that get incentives from the government, SEBI or other
  regulators and include Social Venture Funds, Infrastructure Funds, Venture
  Capital Funds and SME Funds.
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  The Category III: AIFs are those trading with a view to
  making short term returns and it includes hedge funds, among others.
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  The Category II: AIFs can invest anywhere in any combination
  but are prohibited from raising debt, except for meeting their day to day
  operational requirements.

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  US-based major International Business Machine (IBM) on 1 December 2014
  signed a ten-year, multi-billion dollar deal with Dutch bank ABN Amro. The deal
  was signed to provide computer infrastructure services to ABN Amro running on
  its cloud systems.
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  IBM will provide fully managed services for mainframe computers,
  servers, storage and end-user computing as well as a help desk and other
  technical support.
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  The deal comes as IBM is trying to gain momentum in the market for
  Internet-delivered computing services, known as cloud computing. IBM so far has
  failed to keep pace with a shift to cloud-based computing services from its
  established business selling computer consulting and software that customers
  run on internal computer systems.
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  Earlier, in November 2014, IBM had won a 7-year outsourcing contract
  from Germany’s Lufthansa worth 1.25 billion US dollar.  In the deal, IBM has to take over the
  airline’s information technology infrastructure services division and staff.

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  Uttar Pradesh (UP) government on 2 December 2014 launched the Women
  Entrepreneurship Scheme 2014-15 to empower women and ensure their participation
  in the process of industrialization.
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  Under the scheme, the state government is encouraging micro-level and
  individual traditional industries and handicraft units to form a special
  purpose vehicle (SPV).
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  The collection of 25 or more such units would qualify for benefits under
  a scheme that seeks to boost traditional Indian craft such as chikankari,
  terracotta, zari, zardozi and toys.

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  The Central government will provide 70 percent of the 15 crore rupees
  under the scheme.
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  The unemployed women are eligible for easy seed capital to start their
  own micro or small enterprise.
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  The loan will be provided by nationalized banks, financial institutions
  or the State Financial Corporation for the purchase of plant and machinery.
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  The beneficiaries are entitled to a loan of 50000 rupees per year at
  five percent interest subjected to a ceiling of 2.50 lakh rupees in five years.
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  This scheme is applicable to both manufacturing and service sector
  units.

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  The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 2
  December 2014 approved Regional Rural Banks (Amendment) Bill, 2013. The Bill
  seeks to amend the Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) Act, 1976.
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  The Bill will help enhance authorized and issued capital to strengthen
  their capital base and to bring flexibility in the shareholding between Union
  Government, State Government and Sponsor Bank.
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  Apart from this, the cabinet also decided that the term of the
  non-official directors appointed by the Union Government will be fixed and
  should not exceed three years.

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  The Regional Rural Banks (Amendment) Bill, 2013 was introduced in the
  Lok Sabha on 22 April 2013. The Bill was referred to the Standing Committee on
  Finance under the Chairmanship of Yashwant Sinha for examination.
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  The Bill removes the five year upper limit mandated for Sponsor Banks to
  subscribe to the share capital of RRBs, train their personnel and provide
  managerial and financial assistance, thus allowing such assistance to continue
  beyond this duration.
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  It increases the authorized capital of RRBs from 5 crore rupees to 500
  crore rupees and the threshold limit from 25 lakh rupees to 1 crore rupees.
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  It increases the ability of Union government to specify the capital
  issued by an RRB from earlier 25 lakh rupees – 1 crore rupees to 1 crore rupees
  and beyond.
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  At present the shareholding pattern of RRB is 50 percent is subscribed
  to by the Union government, 15 percent by the concerned state government and 35
  percent by the Sponsor Bank. The Bill permits an RRB to raise capital from
  other sources in addition to Union government, concerned State government and
  Sponsor Bank. In such case, however, the combined shareholding of the Union
  government and the Sponsor Bank shall not be less than 51 percent.
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  It requires Union government to consult the concerned state government
  if the latter’s level of shareholding falls below 15 percent.
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  The Bill provides for the appointment of Board of Directors by other
  entities also in addition to the nominations made by the Union government, the
  concerned state government, the Reserve Bank of India, NABARD and the Sponsor
  Bank. However, such nomination by other entities shall be in proportion to the
  share held by such entities.
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  The Bill removes the specification that the term of a director shall not
  exceed two years and that he shall be eligible for re-nomination. However, this
  is only for directors other than those appointed by the central government.
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  It retains the two year maximum term for directors appointed by the
  central government. Further, it states that such a director shall be eligible
  for re-nomination provided that he does not hold office for more than four
  years.
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  As per the Act, the books of an RRB should be closed and balanced as on
  December 31 every year. The Bill changes the above date to March 31.

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  Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) were established in 1975 under the Ordinance
  promulgated on the 26 September 1975 and followed by Regional Rural Banks Act,
  1976. It was established to create an alternative channel to the cooperative
  credit structure and to ensure sufficient institutional credit for the rural
  and agriculture sector.
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  The RBI in 2001 constituted a Committee under the Chairmanship of Dr V S
  Vyas on Flow of Credit to Agriculture and Related Activities from the Banking
  System which examined relevance of RRBs in the rural credit system and the alternatives
  for making it viable.
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  As a result of amalgamation, number of the RRBs has been reduced from
  196 to 64 as on 31 March 2013. The number of branches of RRBs increased to
  17856 as on 31 March 2013 covering 635 districts throughout the country.

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  SBI Cards has tied up with Future Group company Fashion at Big Bazaar
  (FBB) to offer a co-branded credit card, ‘Styleup’.
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  The new Styleup card offers a lifetime flat 10 per cent discount on
  fashion apparel, fashion accessories and footwear at all FBB and Big Bazaar
  stores and the customers will also get 10 times the rewards on all Big Bazaar
  purchases besides other discounts and rewards.
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  “SBI Cards is the only free-standing credit card company in the country.
  All others are parts of banks SBI Cards has been seeing strong year on year
  growth in the last few years. The tie-up with the Future Group is to fuel this
  performance by entering into the high growth retail sector that is expected to
  increase to more than US$ 800 billion by 2015,’’ Arundhati Bhattacharya,
  Chairperson, State Bank of India said, adding that the offering would create
  value for customers and is a “win-win situation for both partners.’’
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  Kishore Biyani, Group CEO, Future Group said, “FBB’s leadership in
  fashion offering and SBI Card’s leadership in the credit card space will enable
  us to offer a unique and valuable shopping experience for our customers.’’ He
  assured that the co-branding would ensure that SBI Cards rose from its number 3
  position in the credit card industry “to the leadership position in the next 18
  months.’’

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  Central Bank of India today said it would raise about Rs. 626 crore
  through preferential allotment of shares to country’s largest insurer LIC to
  fund business growth.
• ·
  The capital raising committee of the board approved raising of
  additional equity capital by issuance of up to 8.28 crore shares at Rs. 75.55 a
  equity, Central Bank of India said in a statement.
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  Thus, the bank would raise Rs. 626.23 crore by allotting shares on
  preferential basis to LIC.
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  This would be subject to approval of Government of India, Reserve Bank
  of India, shareholders and other statutory authorities, it said.
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  The board has also decided to hold an Extraordinary General Meeting
  (EGM) of shareholders on December 30 to consider and pass the necessary special
  resolution and fixed November 28, 2014 as the relevant date for the purpose of
  determining the issue price, it added.
• ·
  Shares of the bank closed at Rs. 79.60 per share, down 0.56 per cent on
  the BSE.

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  Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait (BBK) has launched full-fledged services from
  its fourth branch in India located at New Delhi. The branch will cater to its
  Non-Resident Indian (NRI) clients.
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  Earlier in August this year, the bank had launched soft or partial
  services from the branch located in the national capital, said a bank official.
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  “The two-way non-oil trade which reached $1.268 billion in 2012-13 has
  witnessed a lot of progress and growth. Hence, we look forward to continue
  developing our business in India,” its Chairman Murad Ali Murad said in a
  statement. The bank branch will offer services such as personalised banking,
  equity broking and wealth management.
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  BBK is present in India since 1985 with the opening of its first branch
  in Mumbai, followed by a second one in Hyderabad. In 2013, the bank opened a
  third branch in India located in Kochi in Kerala.

• ·
  45th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) was held in Goa from 20
  November to 30 November 2014. The chief quest of the film festival was
  Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan.
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  During the opening ceremony, Amitabh Bachchan along with Union Minister
  of Finance Arun Jaitely presented the Centenary award for Film personality of
  the Year to Tamil actor Rajinikanth.
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  The Festival screened 178 films from 79 countries across different
  categories which include World Cinema (61 films), Masterstrokes (11 films),
  Festival Kaleidoscope (20 films), Soul of Asia (7 films), Documentaries (6
  films), and Animated Films (6 films).
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  The festival had 20 international and 91 Indian premieres including the
  Panorama section.
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  During the conclusion, the festival paid tribute to departed legends of
  cinema including Robin Williams, Richard Attenborough, Zohra Sehgal, Suchitra
  Sen and Farooq Shaikh by screening some of their works.

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  Life Time Achievement Award: Hong-Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-wai, he is
  known for his films In the Mood for Love, Ashes of Time and Chungking Express.
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  Best Actor Award: Leviathan star- Alexel Serebriakov &
  Benagal actor -Dulal Sarkar for the film Chotoder Chobi
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  Best Actress Award: Cuban actress Arina Rodriguez for Cuban-Spanish
  film Behaviour & Israeli actress Sarit Larry for film The Kindergarten
  Teacher
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  Best Director Award: Nadaf Lapid for the film The Kindgarten
  Teacher
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  Centenary Award: Director Shrihari Sathe for the film Ek
  Hazaarchi Note
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  Special Jury Award: Director Shrihari Sathe for the film Ek
  Hazaarchi Note
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  Golden Peacock Award: Russian director Andrey Zvyaginstev for
  drama Leviathan
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  Centenary award for Film personality of the
  Year:  Tamil actor Rajinikanth

• ·
  Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 29 November 2014 flagged off first
  passenger train to Meghalaya from Assam. The move has put Meghalaya on India’s
  railway map for the first time.
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  Modi flagged off the train via remote control at a function at Railway
  Stadium in Maligoan in Guwahati.
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  The newly-laid 19.75 Km Mendipathar (Meghalaya) -Dudhnoi (Assam) railway
  track will connect Mendipathar in Garo Hills to Guwahati.
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  Also, he laid the foundation stone of a board gauge railway line from
  Bhairabi to Sairang in Mizoram.
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  Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu was also present, along with chief
  ministers of Assam, Meghalaya and Mizoram.
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  Chief Minister of Meghalaya Mukul Sangma said the first railway track in
  the state would pave a new way of economic growth and prosperity for people of
  Meghalaya especially the farmers.

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  Bollywood actresses Priyanka Chopra and Freida Pinto launched a
  multi-level global campaign, Girl Rising on 29 November 2014 in New Delhi. The
  campaign aims at spreading awareness about importance of girls’ education and
  includes documentary film featuring the two stars and seven other actresses.
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  Priyanka and Freida are part of the global feature, which also co-stars
  Oscar-winners Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway.
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  The Indian version of the documentary that features top Bollywood
  actresses tells stories of nine unforgettable girls around the world striving
  against difficult circumstances to achieve their dreams of an education.
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  The girl rising campaign aims to create awareness and create a tangible
  platform to affect change.

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  Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 30 November 2014 coined the acronym
  SMART for police forces across the country. He coined the acronym at the 49th
  annual conference of India DGPs and IGPs hosted by the Intelligence Bureau (IB)
  in Guwahati, Assam.

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  S for strict but sensitive
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  M for modern and mobile
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  A for alert and accountable
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  R for reliable and responsive
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  T for techno-savvy and trained

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  The two-day conference for first time was held outside the national
  capital, New Delhi.
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  Apart from this, the Prime Minister also called for documentation of
  stories of police martyrs and develop a document for use in training of police
  personnel in their respective state academies. Since independence over 33000
  police personnel have laid their lives for the country.
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  He said that an e-book can also be developed with these stories uploaded
  in all the languages of our country.

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  Union Home Ministry on 1 December 2014 approved the appointment of OP
  Singh as Director General of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).
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  A 1983-batch IPS officer of UP cadre, Singh will now be the full fledged
  Chief of NDRF in the rank of Additional Director General for his remaining period
  of central deputation till 15 January 2018.
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  He was posted in Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and NDRF was
  an additional charge given to him. OP Singh took over additional charge of
  Director General of NDRF on 2 September 2014. He succeeded Mahboob Alam who
  retired on 31 August 2014.

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  Veteran Bollywood actor-comedian, director and producer Deven Verma died
  on 2 December 2014 in Pune after a severe cardiac attack and kidney failure. He
  was 78.
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  He was best known for his comic performance in movies like Khatta
  Meetha, Angoor (dual role of Bahadur) and Andaz Apna Apna. He worked in around
  149 films.
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  He is survived by his wife Rupa Ganguly, the younger daughter of the
  late legendary actor Ashok Kumar.
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  He produced and directed Amitabh Bachchan-starrer Besharam in 1978

• a)
  In 1976 he won it for 1976 Chori Mera Kaam
• b)
  In 1979 for Chor Ke Ghar Chor
• c)
  In 1983 for Angoor

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  Union government on 1 December 2014 announced 28000 crore rupees package
  for the development of North-East. The announcement was made by the Prime
  Minister of India Narendra Modi during his visit to North Eastern States of
  India.

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  28000 crore rupees for laying new railway lines in the region and
  develop the untapped tourism potential of the area.
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  Sanctioned 5000 crore rupees to provide 2G mobile coverage in the area
  for comprehensive telecom development plan of the northeast region
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  To set up a National Sports University in Manipur and the people of the
  region will be great beneficiaries.
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  To set up six new agriculture colleges in North East region to make it
  organic capital of the country.

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  The Border Security Force (BSF) celebrated its 49th Raising day on 1
  December 2014. The force was raised on 1 December in 1965. Home Minister
  Rajnath Singh also participated in the celebrations.
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  BSF will celebrate its Golden Jubilee year from 1 December 2014 to 30
  November 2015.
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  The motto of BSF is Jeevan Paryant Kartavya.  BSF was raised with role to provide a sense
  of security among the people living in the border areas, to prevent
  trans-border crimes, unauthorized entry into or exit from the territory of
  India and to prevent smuggling and any other illegal activity.
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  BSF was established under KF Rustamji as first Director General to guard
  the Indo-Pak and Indo-Bangla international borders.
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  Currently, DG of BSF is Devendra Kumar Pathak, IPS.

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  Rajdeep Sardesai penned the book titled 2014: The Election That Changed
  India. The book was released on 1 November 2014.
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  The book tracks the story of 2014 Indian general elections that changed
  the political landscape of India and is regarded as the most important
  elections in Indian history since 1977. The 2014 election led to the demise of
  grand old party of India Congress Party and spectacular rise of Bharatiya
  Janata Party (BJP).
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  In his book, Sardesai, the India’s top journalist tells the story
  through all the key players and the big news stories. The book contains the
  events beginning with 2012, when Narendra Modi won the state elections in
  Gujarat for a third time, to the scandals that crippled Manmohan Singh and UPA
  2 regime and moving to the back-room strategies of Team Modi, the extraordinary
  missteps of Rahul Gandhi and the political dramas of an election year.
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  The book is a thoughtful reflection on what ails India’s
  sensation-seeking, ratings-addled and chronically shallow news television.

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  The birthday of the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on the 25
  December will be observed as National Good Governance Day.  The decision was announced on 2 December 2014
  by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Bharatiya Janata Partry (BJP) Parliamentary
  Board meeting in New Delhi.
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  On that day, all BJP Member of Parliamentarians (MPs) and government
  officials will make the day symbolic of good governance.
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  Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked all party MPs to highlight all
  BJP-run governments and bodies across the country as models of good governance
  on the day. He also asked the BJP MPs to work for an hour in their respective
  constituencies for the Clean India campaign.

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  He was born on 25 December 1924 in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh.
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  He is a three time Prime Minister of India who served the first term in
  1996 for just 13 days. During his second term in 1998-1999 he served for 13
  months.
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  He began a push for a full-scale diplomatic peace process with Pakistan
  and initiated a new peace process aimed towards permanently resolving the
  Kashmir dispute and other conflicts with Pakistan.
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  In his final and third term he completed the full five-year from 1999-2004.
  Thus, he became the first Prime Minister from outside the Indian National
  Congress party to serve a full five-year term.
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  During his second term, Operation Shakti was conducted in May 1998 under
  which five nuclear test were conducted in Pokhran, Rajasthan.
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  He began a push for a full-scale diplomatic peace process with Pakistan
  and initiated a new peace process aimed towards permanently resolving the
  Kashmir dispute and other conflicts with Pakistan. With this view he
  inaugurated Delhi-Lahore bus service in February 1999 and signed Lahore
  Declaration with Nawaz Sharif, the then PM of Pakistan.
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  Lahore Declaration was followed by Kargil War in June 1999 in which
  India became victorious.
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  During his third term, Parliament attack took place on 13 December 2001
  resulting into Operation Parakaram. Also his famous pet projects National
  Highway Development Project and Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana during his
  third stint as Prime Minister.
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  Vajpayee was elected to the Lok Sabha nine times and twice to the Rajya
  Sabha.
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  In 1957, Vajpayee was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time from
  Balrampur in Uttar Pradesh
• ·
  He was also the Minister of External Affairs in the cabinet of Prime
  Minister Morarji Desai in 1978. As foreign minister, that year Vajpayee became
  the first person to deliver a speech to the United Nations General Assembly in
  Hindi.
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  When Janata government collapsed, Vajpayee restarted the Jana Sangh as
  the Bharatiya Janata Party in 1980.

• ·
  Senior IPS officer Anil Kumar Sinha was appointed as the new CBI
  Director on 2 December 2014. At the time of appointment as Director of CBI,
  Sinha, a 1979 batch IPS officer of Bihar cadre, was serving as a Special
  Director in CBI.
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  Anil Sinha will succeed Ranjit Sinha who retired on 2 December 2014. As
  per an official notification, term of Anil Sinha will be for two years from the
  date he takes charge.
• ·
  The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister
  Narendra Modi, cleared the name of Anil Sinha who was among the 40 candidates
  shortlisted by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).

• ·
  The Union cabinet on 2 December 2014 approved introduction of a
  comprehensive Anti-Hijacking Bill 2014. This Bill provides for stringent
  punishment including death penalty to hijackers in case of death of a hostage
  or security personnel.
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  It also provides imprisonment for life and the moveable and immoveable
  property of such persons shall also be liable to be confiscated.
• ·
  The Bill is expected to be introduced in Parliament in the winter
  session 2014.
• ·
  The cabinet also decided to repeal the Anti-Hijacking Act, 1982 (amended
  in 1994) and withdrawal of the Anti-Hijacking Amendment Bill, 2010. The
  decision was made during a Union Cabinet meet chaired by Prime Minister
  Narendra Modi.

• ·
  The Anti-Hijacking Amendment Bill, 2010 was brought after incident of
  hijack of Indian Airlines flight IC-814 in 1999 from Kathmandu. The amendment
  was made more necessary after the incident of 9/11 US attack in which aircrafts
  were used as weapons.
• ·
  The Bill was pending in Rajya Sabha since it was introduced on 19 August
  2010 by the Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Civil
  Aviation, Praful Patel. The Bill was referred to the Standing Committee on Transport,
  Tourism and Culture.

• ·
  The Union Cabinet on 2 December 2014 approved a bill on coal block
  auctions to replace the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Ordinance, 2014. The
  decision on the bill was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by the Prime
  Minister Narendra Modi. The Bill is expected to be introduced in Parliament in
  the winter session 2014.
• ·
  The Ordinance was promulgated by the President in accordance with the
  Article 123 (1) of the Constitution to allow Union government to acquire the
  land of the 214 cancelled coal blocks and plants on it and e-auction them.
• ·
  It also seeks to amend the Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act, 1973 to
  effectively open up the coal mining sector to all companies in India including
  subsidiaries of foreign entities.

• ·
  Mission We Remember, the one month motor cycle expedition organized by
  the Southern Naval Command concluded on 2 December 2014 at Kochi in Kerala. The
  expedition was organised as part of the Navy Week Celebrations 2014
• ·
  The motorcycle expedition was a part of Indian Navy’s efforts to
  strengthen relations with former Naval persons (who are no more). During the
  journey, the motorcyclers visited 768 naval widows residing in Kerala.
• ·
  The expedition had 54 members which were divided into three teams and
  included Naval officials from Southern Naval Command, Kochi and Naval Academy,
  Ezhimala. These three teams visited all the 14 districts of Kerala as part of
  this novel expedition.
• ·
  The expedition was flagged off at the Indian Naval Academy (INA),
  Ezhimala on 7 November 2014 by Vice Admiral S.P.S. Cheema, Flag Officer
  Command-in-Chief.

• ·
  Nation on 3 December 2014 remembered the Bhopal gas tragedy that
  happened 30 years back on 3 December 1984. Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh
  Shivaraj Singh Chouhan paid homage to victims and promised that efforts for
  rehabilitation of gas victims will continue.
• ·
  Parliament also remembered the victims of Bhopal gas tragedy and
  extended the support to the victims. In Lok Sabha, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and
  in Rajya Sabha, Chairman Hamid Ansari expressed their houses support and
  commitment to the people affected by the gas leak.
• ·
  On the occasion, a unique museum preserving the belongings and pictures
  of victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy was unveiled on the 30th anniversary of
  the disaster.
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  Event like religion prayer meeting was held in Barkatullah Bhawan of
  Bhopal to pay homage to the victims of gas tragedy. Non-government
  organizations organised rallies, meetings and effigy burning programme to mark
  the tragedy.

• ·
  The Bhopal gas tragedy was the worst industrial disaster in the World.
  The gas of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas and other chemicals leaked on the night
  of 2 December to 3 December 1984 from Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL)
  pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
• ·
  Due to leakage, almost five thousand people died in the incident and
  many victims are still facing problems like proper medical facilities, better
  living conditions including safe drinking water and employment after the 30
  years of the tragedy. Toxic waste lying in the defunct plant of Union Carbide
  has yet to be disposed off.

• ·
  India has moved up 11 notches in the corruption index to place 85th
  among 175 nations as against 94th last year, graft watchdog Transparency
  International said today.
• ·
  Denmark retained its position as the least corrupt country in 2014 with
  a score of 92 while North Korea and Somalia shared the last place, scoring just
  8, it said.
• ·
  In India’s neighbourhood, China moved down to 100th place from 80th last
  year, while Pakistan and Nepal were at the 126th position. Bangladesh was 145th
  and Bhutan 30th in the ranking. Sri Lanka was ranked 85th with India. Afghanistan
  was at a bleak 172.
• ·
  According to the Corruption Perception Index report, “the score for
  India increased by 2 points in 2014 from its 2013 score, helping India’s rank
  move up to 85 in 2014 from 94 in 2013”. India’s score stood at 38 as compared
  to 36 last year.
• ·
  The improvement in corruption perception for India was driven primarily
  by two data sources — the World Economic Forum and World Justice Project’s
  index.

• ·
  Sports-mad Kerala will launch itself into a frenzied run ahead of the
  start of 35th National Games here with brand ambassador and cricket legend
  Sachin Tendulkar, no less, in the lead.
• ·
  Styled Run Kerala Run, the group run is being organised across the State
  to celebrate the historic event when the State is hosting the Games after a gap
  of 28 years.
• ·
  The run will be taken out between January 20 and 22, 2015, to declare
  solidarity with the Games and welcome sportspersons, sports organisers, and
  sports lovers from different parts of the country.
• ·
  The National Games will be held from January 31, 2015 to February 14,
  2015.
• ·
  The final round of preparations at the main centres, including the
  Greenfield stadium at Karyavattom near the capital city where the opening and
  the closing ceremonies will be held, is nearing completion.
• ·
  The details were spelt out here in a press conference addressed by State
  Sports Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan and National Games CEO Jacob
  Punnoose.
• ·
  To be replicated at 7,000 centres in the State, Run Kerala Run promises
  to be the biggest and the most popular event witnessed in the country going by
  the sheer scale of participation.

• ·
  World War- II Indian pilot Late Mohinder Singh Pujji was in news because
  UK on 28 November 2014 honoured him by unveiling his eight-foot bronze statue
  at St Andrew’s Garden in Gravesend, Kent, Great Britain.
• ·
  Squadron Leader Mohinder Singh Pujji flew Hawker Hurricanes during World
  War II.

• ·
  Pujji was an Indian Sikh fighter pilot who joined the Britain’s Royal
  Air Force (RAF) in World War II
• ·
  He learned to fly at the Delhi Flying School in 1936
• ·
  Mohinder Singh was one of 24 qualified Indians who volunteered for the
  Royal Air Force in 1940. The Indian Air Force officers reached London on 8
  October 1940
• ·
  Pujji also flew combat missions in Britain, Europe, North Africa and the
  Middle East during the war
• ·
  In 2010, he published a book about his wartimes experiences entitled,
  For King and Another Country
• ·
  He was born in Shimla on 14 August 1918
• ·
  He died at Darent Valley Hospital in Kent at the age of 92 on 18
  September 2010

• ·
  Bus powered entirely by human and food waste became operational in
  United Kingdom. This is the first bio-waste powered bus in UK. Initially its
  service has started between Bristol and Bath.
• ·
  Engineers expect that the bus service will help in cutting emissions in
  polluted towns and cities by providing a sustainable way of fuelling public
  transport.
• ·
  The 40-seater Bio-Bus runs on gas that is generated through the
  treatment of sewage and food waste that’s unfit for human consumption, helps to
  improve urban air quality as it produces fewer emissions than traditional
  diesel engines.
• ·
  This bus that runs on the waste products, which are renewable and
  sustainable, can travel up to 300 kilometers on a full tank of gas. This
  bio-gas is generated at Bristol sewage treatment works, a plant run by the
  company GENeco.

• ·
  Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on 29 November 2014 inaugurated
  China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project in Hazara. The Economic Corridor will
  pass through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
• ·
  The inauguration of the Hazara Motorway signals the implementation of
  the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) agreement.
• ·
  This 60 km long four lane fenced Hazara Motorway in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
  province will cost 297 million US dollars and will take two years to complete.
• ·
  The prime minister also announced the construction of a railway track to
  link Hazara with Karachi and Quetta while another track will be constructed to
  link Hazara with Muzaffarabad.
• ·
  During his China visit earlier in November 2014, Sharif signed deals
  worth 45.6 billion US dollars that included projects connected with the
  Corridor. Sharif has promised full security to Chinese personnel involved in
  construction of this mammoth project.

• ·
  The most abundant mineral on earth was named as Bridgmanite by a team of
  American geologists. The findings were published in the Journal Science on 28
  November 2014.
• ·
  The team of American geologists extracted a sample large enough to
  analyse the most abundant mineral that allowed them to name it as bridgmanite.
• ·
  The mineral is named in honour of Percy Bridgman, a physicist who won
  the 1946 Nobel Prize in Physics for his fundamental contributions to
  high-pressure physics. Percy Bridgman pioneered the use of high pressure
  experiments to understand how many geological formations can come about.
• ·
  Up to now, the mineral was referred to as perovskite because according
  to rules set down by the International Mineralogical Association, a mineral
  cannot be given a formal name until a specimen has been found that can be examined
  first hand.

• ·
  Tabare Ramon Vazquez Rosas on 30 November 2014 won the 2014 presidential
  elections of Uruguay extending the decade-long rule of a leftist coalition.
  Vazquez belongs to the leftist Broad Front coalition party of Uruguay.
• ·
  Vazquez won comfortably with 52.8 percent votes support while his
  centre-right challenger Luis Lacalle Pou of the National Party trailed on 40.5
  percent votes.
• ·
  He will succeed President Jose Mujica who was barred by law from running
  for a second consecutive term.
• ·
  Vazquez won the first round of voting in October with more than 46
  percent of the vote but it was not enough for an outright majority.
• ·
  The Broad Front narrowly won the majority in Congress in legislative
  elections held in November 2014. It indicates that Vazquez will be in firm
  control when his term begins on 1 March 2015.

• ·
  Singapore on 30 November 2014 launched National Day song in Tamil
  language to celebrate 50 years of independence in 2015. Tamil is the fourth
  official language of Singapore.
• ·
  The song and music has been composed by Logapreyan Renganathan to create
  something new and fresh to celebrate SG50, the abbreviation of multi-racial
  Singapore’s 50 years of independence.
• ·
  The SG50 Celebration Fund granted 50000 Singapore dollar grant for the
  song and music composition project.
• ·
  The main composition of Singapore population is Chinese, Malays and
  Indians with Malay.  Chinese, Tamil and
  English are the official languages of Singapore.

• ·
  Russia on 30 November 2014 launched the new generation navigation
  satellite GLONASS-K from the Plesetsk space centre in Russia’s northwestern
  Arkhangelsk region.
• ·
  The satellite was launched on a Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket with a Fregat
  upper stage. The carrier rocket was launched in a normal mode.
• ·
  This is the fifth launch of a Global Navigation Satellite System
  satellite (GLONASS) from the Plesetsk space centre. The first launch of a
  GLONASS satellite from Plesetsk took place on 26 February 2011.
• ·
  GLONASS is a space-based satellite navigation system operated by the
  Russian Aerospace Defence Forces and is Russia’s counterpart of the US Global
  Positioning System (GPS).
• ·
  Developed by the Reshetnev Information Satellite Systems, the GLONASS-K
  marks a substantial improvement over the previous GLONASS-M second-generation
  satellites.

• ·
  Film artist of Ireland Duncan Campbell on 1 December 2014 won Turner
  Prize 2014 for a video called It For Others. The video reflects on African art
  and includes a dance sequence inspired by Karl Marx.  He received the prize of 25000 pounds at Tate
  Britain in London.
• ·
  He became the fifth winner of Turner Prize 2014 since 1996 and the
  fourth graduate of Master of Fine Art programme from the Glasgow School of Art
  to have won the prize in the last 10 years.
• ·
  In 2013, Laure Prouvost won the prize for an installation named Wantee
  and some of the previous winners of the Turner Prize include Damien Hirst and
  Antony Gormley.

• ·        Turner Prize was established in 1984 to promote discussion of new
  developments in contemporary British art.
• ·
  The prize fund is 40000 pounds with 25000 pounds going to the winner and
  5000 pounds each for the other shortlisted artists.

• ·
  26th World AIDS Day was observed across the world on 1 December 2014.
  The day is observed to raise awareness to the Aids pandemic caused by the
  spread of the HIV infection.
• ·
  The theme is Focus, Partner, Achieve: An AIDS-free generation – to
  highlight the need to for governments and health officials, NGOs and
  individuals to address Aids prevention and treatment.
• ·
  As a part of World AIDS Day, The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
  pushed for more investment and access to treatment for children saying that
  more infections among children under age 15 need to be averted.
• ·
  UNICEF released data that AIDS-related deaths are not decreasing in the
  age group 10-19 and still other groups have experienced about a 40 percent
  decline between 2005 and 2013.

• ·
  The idea for World Aids Day was conceived by James Bunn and Thomas
  Netter, who are the public information officers for the Global Programme on
  Aids at the World Health Organisation in 1987.
• ·
  The history of HIV and Aids in the US began in 1981, when the country
  recognised a new illness among a small number of gay men. Although it widely
  accepted that the origin of HIV lies in Africa, the US was the first country to
  bring the virus into the public consciousness.
• ·
  World AIDS Day will be held on 1 December every year and is an
  opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show their
  support for people living with HIV and to commemorate people who have died.
• ·
  First World AIDS Day was held in 1988 and is the first ever global
  health day.

• ·
  Chinese and Maldives government on 2 December 2014 signed a Memorandum
  of Understanding (MoU) for a preliminary study of a proposed bridge connecting
  the international airport to Maldives capital Male.
• ·
  The MoU was signed by the Maldives Housing Minister Mohamed Muiz on
  behalf of the Maldivian government and the Chinese Principal of the Economic
  and Commercial Councilors Office Yung Vunzeong on behalf of the Chinese
  government.
• ·
  The current research programs on building the bridge as well as future
  feasibility assessments and design work fall under the mandate of the MoU.
• ·
  The preliminary study will be followed by a project feasibility study.
  Afterwards, a design plan will be determined and the two governments will explore
  options to finance the project.
• ·
  The project underscores a deepening engagement between China and
  Maldives, which will help in the establishment of the 21st century Maritime
  Silk Route visualised by China.

• ·
  The International Day for the Abolition of Slavery was observed by the
  United Nations on 2 December 2014.The day is observed to focus on the
  elimination of human trafficking, child labour and other forms of modern-day
  slavery.
• ·
  As a part of observation, the religious leaders across the world
  gathered in the Vatican for the eradication of modern slavery and signed a
  joint declaration against modern slavery. The religious leaders include Pope
  Francis joined Anglican, Orthodox, Jewish, Shia and Sunni Muslim, Hindu and
  Buddhist representatives in the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.
• ·
  United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on world leaders,
  businesses and civil society alike to banish the barbaric practices of human
  trafficking, sexual exploitation, the worst forms of child labour, forced
  marriage and the forced recruitment of children for use in armed conflict.
• ·
  The International Labour Organization (ILO) has teamed up with prominent
  artists, athletes and advocated a new campaign to End Slavery Now. Many events
  took place on the day that people around the world share their perspective in
  writing through poetry, opinion pieces and short stories.
• ·
  According to the data, 21 million women, men and children are trapped in
  slavery all over the world.

• ·
  Two-time World Badminton Championship bronze medallist PV Sindhu won
  2014 Macau Open Grand Prix Gold Badminton Title on 30 November 2014. She
  successfully defended the 120000 US dollar Macau Grand Prix Gold trophy.
• ·
  This was first title of the season for Sindhu.
• ·
  In the summit clash of the women’s singles, world number eleven Sindhu
  defeated 91st ranked Kim Hyo Min of Korea in straight games 21-12, 21-17 at the
  Tap Seac Multisport Pavilion in Macau.

• ·
  Former Indian football captain Baichung Bhutia became the first Indian
  Footballer to be conferred with Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Hall of Fame
  Award. The award was conferred on 30 November 2014 by FIFA president Sepp
  Blatter in Philippines.
• ·
  The AFC organized the award ceremony for the first time to celebrate its
  60th anniversary. Apart from Baichung, nine other legendary Players from Asia
  were also honoured.
• ·
  Baichung has played 107 matches for India and scored 42 goals.
• ·
  He is often nicknamed the Sikkimese Sniper because of his shooting
  skills in football. He became three-time Indian Player of the Year.
• ·
  He became the first Indian to boycott the Olympic torch relay in support
  of the Tibetan independence movement.

• ·
  Arjuna Award for football in 1998
• ·
  Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in India, in 2008
• ·
  Banga Bhushan award in 2014

• ·
  The mascot for the 2016 European football championship has been named
  Super Victor. The announcement was made on 30 November 2014.The name for the
  cartoon character boy dressed as a footballer in blue and white with a red cape
  and number 16 jersey was preferred to Driblou and Goalix.
• ·
  The mascot made its first appearance on the pitch of Marseille`s new
  Velodrome stadium before kickoff of France`s 1-0 friendly victory over Sweden.
  In 1984, the mascot for the European Championships organised in France was
  Peno, and the 1998 World Cup mascot was called Footix.
• ·
  Euro 2016 will take place in France from 10 June 2016 to 10 July 2016.

• ·
  United Arab Emirates (UAE) captain Khurram Khan became the oldest player
  to score a century in the One-Day International (ODI).  He scored the winning century against
  Afghanistan in Dubai on 30 November 2014.
• ·
  He achieved the feat at an age of 43 years and 162 days thus breaking
  the record held in the name of Sanath Jayasuriya of Sri Lanka. Jayasuriya
  scored 107 against India in 2009 when he was 39 years old.
• ·
  Khan smashed 17 fours to score unbeaten 132 run and he also put on a 160
  run third wicket partnership with Mohammad Shadzad.