26 & 27

India celebrates 67th Republic Day 

 India celebrated 67th Republic day 26th January 2016 by displaying its cultural diversity, economic progress and military might were on display at Rajpath, New Delhi. In the national Capital, President Pranab Mukherjee unfurled the national flag and took salute of the parade at Rajpath. French President Francois Hollande was chief guest of Republic Day function. With this he beamce 5th highest dignitary from France to be Chief Guest of Indian Republic Day parade.

• Gallantry awards 2016 

President Pranab Mukherjee has conferred the country’s highest peacetime gallantry award Ashok Chakra to Lance Naik Mohan Nath Goswami posthumously. On the eve of 67th Republic Day celebrations President has approved 365 Gallantry awards and other Defence decorations to Armed Forces personnel and others. It includes one Ashoka Chakra, 4 Kirti Chakras and 11 Shaurya Chakras.

Awardees are 
Ashok Chakra: Lance Naik Mohan Nath Goswami (Posthumous). He belonged to 9 PARA (Special Force) and laid down his life while fighting LeT militants in Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir. 
Kirti Chakra: Subedar Mahendra Singh of 9 PARA (Special Force). Sepoy Jagdish Chand (Posthumous) of 546 DSC Platoon.
Shaurya Chakra: Colonel Santosh Mahadik (Posthumous) of 41 Rashtriya Rifle (PARA).

• 2016 Padma Awards

President Pranab Mukherjee has announced the names of recipients of year 2016 Padma awards. He approved conferment of 112 Padma Awards.

2016 Padma Vibhushan Awards 

It is the second highest civilian award. It is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service. 

Sr. No            Name                            Field                                           State 

1 Yamini Krishnamurthi             Art-Classical Dance                       Delhi

2 Rajinikanth                                Art-Cinema                                Tamil Nadu 

3 Girija Devi                                 Art-Classical Vocal                  West Bengal 

4 Ramoji Rao                              Literature & Education          Andhra Pradesh 

5 Dr. Viswanathan Shanta        Medicine- Oncology                 Tamil Nadu 

6 Shri Shri Ravi Shankar               Spiritualism                         Karnataka 

7 Jagmohan                                   Public Affairs                             Delhi 

8 Dr.Vasudev Kalkunte Aatre Science & Engineering            Karnataka 

9 Avinash Dixit (Foreigner)      Literature & Education            United States 

10 Dhiru Bhai Ambani (Posthumous) Trade & Industry           Maharashtra 

2016 Padma Bhushan Awards 

It is the third highest civilian award. It is awarded for distinguished service of high order. 

Sr. No  Name                                             Field                                           State 

1 Anupam Kher                                 Art-Cinema                               Maharashtra 

2 Udit Narayan Jha                          Art-Playback Singing                Maharashtra 

3 Ram V.  Sutar                                Art-Sculpture                            Uttar Pradesh 

4 Heisnam Kanhailal                      Art-Theatre                                   Manipur 

5 Vinod Rai                                       Civil Service                                   Kerala 

6 Dr. Yarlagadda Lakshmi Prasad Literature & Education        Andhra Pradesh 

7 Prof. N. S. Ramanuja Tatacharya  Literature & Education      Maharashtra 

8 Dr. Barjinder Singh Hamdard      Literature & Education              Punjab 

9 Prof. D. Nageshwar Reddy        Medicine-Gastroenterology  Andhra Pradesh 

10 Swami Tejomayananda             Spiritualism                            Maharashtra 

11 Hafeez Contractor                       Architecture                            Maharashtra 

12 Ravindra Chandra Bhargava    Public Affairs                          Uttar Pradesh 

13 Dr.Venkata Rama Rao Alla     Science & Engineering        Andhra Pradesh 

14 Saina Nehwal                             Sports-Badminton                    Telangana 

15 Sania Mirza                                 Sports-Tennis                           Telangana 

16 Indu Jain                                      Trade & Industry                           Delhi 

17 Swami Dayanand Sarawasati  Spiritualism                              Utttarakhand 

18 Robert Blackwill  (Foreigner)   Public Affairs                            United States 

19 Pallonji Shapoorji  Mistry (NRI/PIO) Trade & Industry               Ireland 

• Union Government launches Sahaj Scheme for online booking of LPG cylinders 

Union Government has launched Sahaj Scheme for online booking of LPG cylinders. It was launched by Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas (Independent Charge) Dharmendra Pradhan as part of Government’s 2016-Year of the Consumers initiative.

Features of Scheme

• Consumers can book LPG cylinders online through the unified web portal www.mylpg.in which is available in 13 languages. 
• People can apply online for new LPG connection and they need not visit to the LPG distributors for it. This facility is available around the clock and with online or offline payment options. 
• LPG cylinders will be delivered at home even in their absence.

• India ranks 76 in 2015 Corruption Perception Index

India has been ranked 76th out of 168 countries in the recently released 2015 Corruption Perception Index (CPI). The 2015 CPI was the 21st edition of the annual index and was published by the Berlin-based corruption watchdog Transparency International (TI).
Top 5 Countries: Denmark (score 91), Finland (score 90), Sweden (89 score), New Zealand, Netherlands (87 score) and Norway (87 score). Bottom 5 Countries: Angola (rank 163), South Sudan (rank 163), Sudan (rank 165), Afghanistan (rank 166), North Korea (rank 167) and Somalia (rank 167). BRICS Countries: South Africa (rank 61), India (76), Brazil (rank 76), China (rank 83) and Russia (rank 119). SAARC Countries: Bhutan (rank 27), India (rank 76), Sri Lanka (rank 83), Pakistan (rank 117), Nepal (rank 130) and Bangladesh (rank 139) and Afghanistan (rank 166).

Actress Rekha conferred 2016 Yash Chopra Memorial Award 

 Veteran Bollywood actress and Rajya Sabha MP Rekha has been conferred with the third edition of Yash Chopra Memorial Award. The award was bestowed upon her by Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao in recognition of her talent and contribution to the film industry

24 & 25 Jan 2016

• Union Cabinet clears President’s rule in Arunachal Pradesh

The Union cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recommended imposition of President’s Rule in Arunachal Pradesh under Article 356 (1) of the Constitution. Proposal in this regard has been forwarded to President Pranab Mukherjee after Union Government felt that Congress ruled state is heading for a constitutional breakdown.

• Maharashtra’s first Solar Power operated Mini-Water Supply Plant commissioned

The first Solar Power operated Mini-Water Supply Plant of Maharashtra was commissioned in Hingna village of Mouda Taluka in Nagpur district. It will facilitate villagers to get pure water supply for a very low cost which can easily be borne by the Gram Panchayat.

• Tabla maestro Pandit Shankar Ghosh passes away

 Eminent tabla player Pandit Shankar Ghosh passed away in Kolkata, West Bengal following a prolonged illness. He was 80. He was amongst the most well-known tabla players in the country and followed the Farukhabad gharana of Hindustani classical music.

PV Sindhu wins 2016 Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold Badminton title

 Ace Indian Shuttler Pusarla Venkata Sindhu (World No.12) has won the 2016 Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold Badminton title. In the final match played at Penang she defeated Scotland’s Kirsty Gilmour (World No.20) by 21-15, 21-9 score. This was Sindhu’s second title in Malaysia Masters Grand Prix which and earlier she had won in 2013. It was overall fifth career Grand prix gold title and first title of the season 2016.

Simple and Compound Interest

1.       The simple interest obtained on an amount of Rs. 45000 at the end of 4 years is Rs. 15300. What would be the compound interest approximate be obtained on the same amount at the same rate of interest in the same period ?

(1) Rs. 8244    (2)  Rs. 19500        (3)   Rs. 16285       (4)  Rs. 18566  

(5) Rs. 17364

2.         What would be the compound interest obtained on an amount of Rs. 20000 at the rate of 15 %  p.a. after 4 years ?

(1) Rs. 14,980.125         (2) Rs. 19680.125        (3) Rs. 16,780.125     

(4) Rs. 18,980.125         (5) None of these

3.         Manisha invested an amount of Rs. 39300 for 4 years at the rate of 4 % p.a. What amount of approximate compound interest will she obtain at the end of 4 years ?    

(1) Rs. 6675      (2) Rs. 6650      (3) Rs. 6288     (4) Rs. 6356

(5) Rs. 6450

4.         The Simple interest accured in 9 years on a principle of Rs. 24250 is 162 % of principle. What is the rate of interest per annum ?

(1) 22             (2) 16               (3) 18             (4) Cannot be determined

(5) None of these

5.         What would be the simple interest accured in 4 year on a principle of Rs. 16500 at the rate of 16 % per annum ?

(1) Rs. 11560    (2) Rs. 10250     (3) Rs. 12500        (4) Rs. 9980   

(5) None of these

6.         What would be the simple interest obtained on an amount of Rs. 6350 at the rate of 8 % p.a. after 6 years ?

(1)  Rs. 3429      (2) Rs. 3048      (3) Rs. 3810          (4) Rs. 2667

(5) None of these

7.         At the equal rate of interest what is the difference between simple & compound interest of a sum  ?

            1) Rs. 3.75       2) Rs. 4         3) Rs. 6.25               4) Data insufficient

            5) None of these

8.         What would be the compound interest obtained on a amount of Rs. 7800 at the rate of 5 % after 3 yr ?

            1)  Rs. 1235.685         2)  Rs. 1229.475         3)  Rs. 1287.68           

 4)  Rs. 1248.750         5) None of these

9.         What would be the simple interest obtained on an amount of Rs. 8930 at the rate of 8 % p.a. after 5 yr ?

            1) Rs. 5413             2) Rs. 2678                 3) Rs. 3572  

            4) Rs. 4752             5) None of these

10.       What would be the simple interest obtained on an amount of Rs. 8955 at the rate of 10 % p.a. after 7 yr ? 

            (1) Rs. 6268.5         (2) Rs. 6628          (3) Rs. 6862          (4) Rs. 6682.5       

            (5) None of these

11.       What would be the compound interest obtained on an amount of Rs. 12500 at the rate of 6 % p.a. after 4 years ?

            (1) Rs. 3180.962      (2) Rs. 3281.962      (3) Rs. 3380.962        

(4) Rs. 3480.962       (5) None of these

12.       Difference between the compound interest & simple interest accured in two years at 8 % per annum is Rs. 128. What is the principle amount ?

            (1) Rs. 18000                      (2)  Rs. 16000            (3)  Rs. 20000

            (4) Cannot be determined      (5) None  of these

13.      Rupa invested a sum of Rs. 4230 at a rate of 6 % p.a. in a bank. What simple interest will she get at the end of 6 years ?

            (1) Rs. 1522.80     (2) Rs. 1502.80     (3) Rs. 1582.20   (4) Rs. 1722.70

            (5) None of these

14.      Vinita invested a certain amount at the rate of 8 % p.a. for 5 yr. and obtained a simple interest of Rs. 3800. Had she invested the same amount at the same rate of interest for 2 years, how much amount would she have obtained as compound interest at the end of 2 years ? 

            (1) Rs. 1580.80           (2) Rs. 1520        (3) Rs. 1550.50       (4) Rs. 1550         

            (5) None of these

15.       The compound interest accured on an amount at the end of two years @ 16 % p.a. is 3041.28. What is the amount ?

           (1) Rs. 10500        (2) Rs. 9000      (3) Rs. 7250       (4) Rs. 8800

           (5) None of these

16.       Find compound interest on Rs. 5000 at 12 % p.a. for 1 year compounded half yearly.

            (1) Rs. 615           (2) Rs. 618         (3) Rs. 620         (4) Cannot be determined

 (5) None of these

17.      The difference between the simple interest & the compound interest on Rs. 5000 at 10 % p.a. for 3 yrs is

          (1) Rs. 145           (2) Rs. 150        (3) Rs. 165            (4) Rs. 180

          (5) None of these

       

18.       A bank offers 5% compound interest calculated on half-yearly basis. A                     customer deposits Rs.1600 each on 1st January and 1st July of a year. At the              end of the year, the amount he would have gained by way of interest is:            (1)Rs.121            (2) Rs. 122          (3) Rs. 123          (4) Rs. 124

19.     An automobile financier claims to be lending money at simple interest, but he includes the interest every six months for calculating the principal. If he is charging an interest of 10%, the effective rate of interest becomes:

          1) 13%       2) 10.25%      3)15%      4)11%     5)None of these

20.       A sum of Rs. 12,000 deposited at compound interest becomes double after 5 years. After 20 years, it will become:

          1) Rs. 1,10,000   2) Rs. 1,30,000  3) Rs. 1,24,000   4) Rs. 1,92,000
          5) Rs. 1,50,000

ANS KEY

Question No.	Answer
1	5
2	1
3	1
4	3
5	5
6	2
7	4
8	2
9	3
10	1
11	2
12	3
13	1
14	1
15	4
16	2
17	5
18	1
19	2
20	4

23 January 2016

Government inks MoU to implement Action Plan for skill development in Telecom

The Union Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship has signed MoU with Department of Telecommunication (DoT) for Skill Development in Telecom Sector. The MoU has signed to implement National Action Plan for Skill Development in Telecom Sector.

4th India Africa Hydrocarbons Conference begins in New Delhi 

   The fourth edition of India Africa Hydrocarbons Conference (IAHC) has begun on January 21, 2016 in New Delhi. The two day conference aims at enhancing greater cooperation between India and African continent in the field of Hydrocarbons. It also seeks to explore opportunities, bridge boundaries and boost bilateral trade between India and Afric

22 january 2016

Jehan Daruvala wins 2016 Lady Wigram Trophy motor race

Indian Formula Car driver and Sahara Force India Academy racer, Jehan Daruvala has won the 2016 Lady Wigram Trophy in New Zealand. It was Daruvala’s maiden victory in Formula car race since he had switched from karting in 2015. Earlier he had won Rookie of the Year title at the Renault 2.0 NEC series championships held in the Netherlands in August 2015,.

India’s largest and tallest tricolour hoisted at Ranchi 

India’s largest tricolour was hoisted atop the tallest pole at Pahari Mandir Ranchi,  by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. This flag will remain hoisted for 24 hours and shall be illuminated with the help of twenty sodium vapour lights at night. It is world’s largest and the highest hoisted Indian flag. Dimensions of flag: It measures 66 feet in height and 99 feet in width in the proper ratio 2:3. It was hoisted on pole with height of 293 feet. It weighs 80 kg.

Atulesh Jindal appointed as new chairman of CBDT

Senior Indian Revenue Service (IRS) Officer Atulesh Jindal has been appointed chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). His appointment was cleared by Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Atulesh Jindal will succeed Arun Kumar Jain who has completed his term. He will have tenure of six-months till he retires in July 2016. He is a 1978 batch IRS officer and currently working as member (revenue) in the CBDT.

Senior journalist Aroon Tikekar passes away

Senior journalist and scholar Aroon Tikekar passed away in Mumbai, Maharashtra. He was 72. He was associated with different various newspaper groups and has authored over 20 books.

Sri Lanka tops in 2015 HDI in South Asia Region

Sri Lanka has maintained its high ranking in 2015 human development index (HDI) in the South Asia Region. In the 2015 Global Human Development Report (HDR) released by UN Development Programme (UNDP) Sri Lanka was ranked 73rd with an HDI value of 0.757.