Advanced Study Circle.

It is a general information to all the PGT TET candidates that "Advanced Study Circle" going to start PGT TET ( ENGLISH ) coaching classes on 23rd April, 2016 (i. e . on Saturday ). Interested candidates are requested to contact to the given address for admission details.
"ADVANCED STUDY CIRCLE "
OPPOSITE SIDE OF KIRON PETROLEUM, ABOVE BASANA MEDICAL HALL, UDAIPUR, GOMATI TRIPURA. PHONE NUMBER: 8730912740 / 8794276322

* * * ADMISSION GOING ON * * *
A REAL CHANCE FOR SCHOOL STUDENTS. WE HAVE LAUNCHED AN EXCLUSIVE ENGLISH IMPROVEMENT COURSE FOR SCHOOL GOERS ( STORY WRITING, ESSAY WRITING, EFFORTLESS SPEAKING, CORRECT PRONUNCIATION, EXTEMPORE SPEECH WITH ALL KINDS OF COMPOSITIONAL SKILL ETC. ) JOIN US FOR YOUR BETTER FUTURE.

District Health & Family Welfare Society (DHFWS), North Tripura recruits 19 Medical Officer, Accounts Asst & Other Posts. Candidates with MBBS, PG Diploma/ BCA & graduation in BDS can apply on or before11-01-2016.
Read more:http://www.freejobalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Notification-DHFWS-Medical-Officer-Accounts-Asst-Other-Posts1.pdf

www.freejobalert.com

Staff Selection Commission (SSC) recruits SI in Delhi Police, CAPFs & ASI in CISF Posts. Candidates with Degree can apply online from09-01-2016 to 02-02-2016 for Part-I & 05-02-2016 for Part-II.
Read more :
http://sscregistration.nic.in/mainmenu2.php

* * * ADMISSION GOING ON * * *
A REAL CHANCE FOR SCHOOL STUDENTS. WE ARE GOING TO LAUNCH AN EXCLUSIVE ENGLISH IMPROVEMENT COURSE FOR SCHOOL GOERS ( STORY WRITING, ESSAY WRITING, EFFORTLESS SPEAKING, CORRECT PRONUNCIATION, EXTEMPORE SPEECH WITH ALL KINDS OF COMPOSITIONAL SKILL ETC. ) JOIN US FOR YOUR BETTER FUTURE.

Daily GK Update - Current Affairs - 7th January 2016

1. M***i Sayeed passes away, Mehbooba likely to succeed as CM
i. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister M***i Mohammad Sayeed, a crafty politician who took on the powerful Abdullah family and rose to become the country’s first Muslim Home Minister, died today at AIIMS here after his platelets dropped dangerously.
ii. Sayeed, 79, who took charge of the State on March 1 last year heading a PDP—BJP alliance, breathed his last this morning after remaining on ventilator for the past few days. He was flown from Srinagar in a special plane on December 24 and admitted to the AIIMS where he was diagnosed with sepsis (life threatening complication of an infection) and pneumonia. During hospitalisation his platelets had dropped dangerously, doctors said.

iii. He is the second J&K Chief Minister to die in office, the first one being Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah who died on September 8, 1982. Sayeed’s daughter 56-year-old Mehbooba is expected to take over as the first woman Chief Minister of the state with PDP leaders throwing their weight behind her. But this will require the approval of BJP.
iv. Sayeed is survived by his wife, three daughters and a son. Jammu and Kashmir government has declared a seven-day mourning and holiday today. Flags will be flown at half mast.
v. The mortal remains of the Chief Minister would be flown to Srinagar where the body will be kept for people to pay homage. He is likely be buried in his ancestral village Bijbehera in South Kashmir, about 48 km from Srinagar.
vi. Sayeed took over as chief minister of PDP-BJP coalition on March 1 last year. In the 87-member J and K Assembly PDP won 28 seats and BJP 25 while opposition National Conference got 15 and Congress 12.

2. Wattan Ko Jano initiative: A programme that aims to expose youth from J&K to rest of India
i. Wattan Ko Jano, an initiative being carried out by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs in coordination with the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Government, was in news on 6 January 2016. The initiative came in news after more than 240 youth in the age-group of 15 to 24 from J&K met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.

ii. Watan Ko Jano initiative was conceived by the J&K State Rehabilitation Council in 2011. It essentially is a Youth Exchange Programme under which the children of militancy-hit victims, orphanages, and weaker sections of society are identified by Jammu and Kashmir State Rehabilitation Council as beneficiaries under the programme in the state.
iii. The initiative aims at exposing youth from the state to the vibrant development and vitality of culture of people residing in other states of the country.
iv. Earlier on 29 December 2015, a group of 250 such youngsters participated in the Watan Ko Jano tour and met Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

3. Paramilitary forces to have 33% reservation for women in constable level position
i. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has approved 33% reservation for women in Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) at constable-level positions.
ii. There will be 33% reservation for women at constable-level posts in Central Reserve Police Force and Central Industrial Security Force, and 14-15% reservation at the constable level in border guarding forces i.e. Border Security Force, Sashastra Seema Bal and Indo Tibetan Border Police, starting immediately, according to an official statement released by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
iii. The Committee on Empowerment of Women in its Sixth Report had advocated elevating representation of women in paramilitary forces. The reservation is, however, limited to only constable-level position.
iv. There are 9 lakh troops in all these forces combined, of which women constitute a mere 20,000. In 2015, 33% positions in the Delhi Police were reserved for women; six other Union Territories also passed this proposal and women were also allowed for combat roles in the Indian Air Force.
v. The Delhi Police employed only 9.27% women when the regulation was passed.

4. IAMAI appoints Freecharge founder Kunal Shah as chairman
i. Industry body Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), which counts companies such as Facebook, Microsoft and Google as members, named Kunal Shah, co-founder FreeCharge as its new chairman.
ii. Shah succeeds Nishant Rao, the ex-managing director of LinkedIn, who recently moved to Freshdesk as the global Chief Operating Officer, the association said in a statement.
iii. IAMAI also named Vishwas Patel, chief executive officer, CCAvenue as the new treasurer.
iv. Shah co-founded FreeCharge in August 2010 with an aim to build a business that turned recharges in to rewarding experiences for its consumers. In April 2015, FreeCharge was acquired by Snapdeal.
v. Vishwas, the founderand CEO of Avenues India Private Limited, launched the company's first initiative, CCAvenue in September 2001. CCAvenue provides payment gateway services to thousands of eMerchants across the world.

5. Gadkari launches India's first River Information System
i. Union Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday inaugurated the River Information System (RIS) - the first of its kind in India - to facilitate safe and accurate navigation on National Waterway-1 (the Ganga River).
ii. "While it remains a challenge how to develop the waterways of the country, the River Information System is a major step in realising the dream of waterways," said Gadkari, according to an official statement statement.
iii. Phase-II of the system from Farakka to Patna and Phase-III from Patna to Varanasi will be undertaken on priority, the statement said.
iv. "River Information Systems are combination of modern tracking equipment related hardware and software designed to optimise traffic and transport processes in inland navigation," the statement added.

6. International media conference in Mysuru
i. The Global Communication Association (GCA), a not-for-profit professional organisation, to host the 11th international conference of media experts and communication specialists from around the world at Mysuru on January 28-29.
ii. The meet has University of Mysore, which is celebrating its Centenary year, as its academic partner for hosting the conference. “The 2016 India conference focusing on ‘Ombudsman: Media and social responsibility’, has aroused keen interest amongst many participants coming from different academic and industry backgrounds,” said Krishna B Mariyanka, Curator and Organising Secretary, 11th GCA Conference, Mysuru.
iii. At a time when there is a massive explosion of the media across the globe, be it of the traditional variety or the new media, it is increasingly being looked upon as a powerful instrument of social change,” he added.
iv. On the flip side, as with any instrument that can influence vast sections of a society, there are also other ‘powerful forces’ that will misuse the media for vested interests.
v. Established in the year 2007, the GCA objectives are the promotion of academic research in global communication studies among major universities worldwide; facilitation of joint project and research opportunities among scholars and students.
vi. More importantly, GCA provides an eclectic international platform for corporate executives, communication specialists, policy makers, academicians, bureaucrats, political leaders, public relations practitioners and co-related industry professionals to meet, interact and generate new ideas for growth.

7. Mysuru to get Cauvery river gallery
i. Karnataka’s Tourism and the National Academy of Sciences of India (NASI) have signed a memorandum of understanding to set up a Cauvery river gallery in Mysuru.
ii. The gallery, to be built at a cost of Rs. 3.5 crore, is expected to showcase the life, culture and biodiversity along the river from its birth in Kodagu till it reaches the Bay of Bengal. The exhibits at the gallery would also include multimedia features and electronic display to provide the visitors an immersive experience of life and culture along the river.
iii. Tourism Department officials and NASI executives signed the MoU for establishing the gallery at the Karnataka Exhibition Authority (KEA) complex in Mysuru. The project will be completed in 6-9 months and it is expected to become a tourist attraction.
iv. NASI former president Manju Sharma said, “The Cauvery gallery in Mysuru will be third in the country. So far we have completed the Brahmaputra river gallery project in Guwahati and the Ganga river gallery in Allahabad.”
v. RV Deshpande, Karnataka Minister for Large and Medium Scale Industries and Tourism, said NSAI would execute the project and run it for three years before handing it over to the State government.
vi. The Karnataka Knowledge Commission (Jnana Ayoga) headed by K Kasturirangan had recommended the establishment of the gallery and is providing input to the National Council of Science Museums (NCSM) for the implementation of the project.

8. Cabinet okays ‘Sampoorna Arogya Keralam’ medical care project
i. The State Cabinet has decided to implement the ‘Sampoorna Arogya Keralam’ project announced in the 2015-16 State budget. The project aims to bring all major government health services under one umbrella. With this, people will not be required to visit multiple offices or agencies for medical care.
ii. Instead, they can go to enlisted public and private hospitals and get the services through a smart health card. A Sampoorna Arogya Keralam Trust would be set up to implement the initiative. All families with annual income below Rs. 3 lakh will be brought under the project, an official release said here. At least 42 lakh such families are expected to benefit.
iii. The Chief Minister will head the Sampoorna Arogya Kerala Trust, which will monitor and implement the project. A corpus fund of Rs. 20 crore would be set up and a separate head of account formed. Various financial assistance schemes under sundry departments will be consolidated under the project and up to ₹2 lakh made available to beneficiaries through means of the smart card.
iv. The IT platform of a similar project implemented in Telangana by Arogyasri Trust will be customised for use to roll out the project, the release said. Assistance for medical care in Kerala is currently made available through Rashtriya Swayam Bima Yojana (RSBY), Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme (Chis), Chis-Plus, Arogyakiranam, Karunya Benevolent Fund, Thalolam, cancer protection scheme and similar schemes of various welfare fund boards.
v. Beneficiary families, except the 32 lakh enrolled under the RSBY, Chis and Chis-Plus schemes, need to produce an income certificate from the revenue department as a one-time requirement. They would be issued smart cards in due course. A technical committee will be set up to decide on treatment protocols and the various procedures required to be adopted in accordance with the guidelines of the project.

9. India to skip BS-V, leapfrog to BS-VI norms from April 1, 2020
i. In a bid to curb vehicular pollution, the Centre today decided to implement stricter emission norms of Bharat Stage (BS) VI from April 1, 2020, by skipping BS-V altogether. The decision was taken at an inter-ministerial meeting chaired by Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, which was attended by Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Heavy Industries Minister Anant Geete and Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar.
ii. “Government has decided to leapfrog from BS-IV to BS-VI directly by April 1, 2020. We have decided to skip BS-VI emission norms. It is a bold decision and a commitment to the environment,” Gadkari told PTI here after the meeting.
iii. All the other ministries have assured cooperation to make the implementation successful, he added. At the end of December, Pradhan had stated that India would go straight from Euro-IV compliant petrol and diesel to Euro-VI fuel by 2020. Earlier, a meeting of an inter-ministerial group, including representatives of the Ministries of Road Transport and Highways, Petroleum, Heavy Industries and Environment and Forests, was unable to reach a consensus.
iv. The Road Transport and Highways Ministry was of the view the roll-out of BS-V norms must start from 2019 but the Petroleum Ministry expressed its inability to comply with the deadline. Earlier in November, a draft notification by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoEF), had advanced dates for implementation of BS-V norms to April 1, 2019, and BS-VI norms to April 1, 2021.
v. At present, BS-IV auto fuels are being supplied in the whole of northern India covering J&K, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, parts of Rajasthan and western UP. The rest of the country has BS-III grade fuel.

10. Uber launches ‘uberEXCHANGE’, start-up mentorship programme
i. Taxi-hailing app Uber today announced a new start-up mentorship programme in the country in partnership with Invest India called ‘uberEXCHANGE’. Over the next years, Uber will host a series of six leadership talks by senior Uber executives, including from their headquarters in San Francisco, the company said in a statement.
ii. The programme will address issues that entrepreneurs face, like fund-raising, product design, engineering and how to scale up a business. At the end of the programme, the top 10 start-ups will travel to San Francisco, where they will be introduced to global investors, fellow entrepreneurs and the team at Uber, it said.
iii. This public-private initiative will enable students, entrepreneurs and industry leaders to learn from each other, helping to create a culture that celebrates risk-taking and views failure as an opportunity to learn. It will also support Prime Minister’s vision to make India a global startup hub.
iv. “Today, more and more people aspire to be entrepreneurs and build something themselves. That’s why Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s start-up India initiative is so important, and that is why we’re excited to share our experience with hundreds of startups and entrepreneurs as they begin their journey,” Uber’s chief executive Travis Kalanick said.
v. Kalanick is expected to give the inaugural speech at the Startup India Initiative on January 16, speaking about his own journey as an entrepreneur. “This mentorship programme will be immensely valuable to Indian entrepreneurs and I am excited about the exchange of knowledge and ideas between the startup culture in India and the Silicon Valley,” DIPP Secretary Amitabh Kant said.

Good Morning Dear Aspirants . Today's Topic Eglish ► Noun

Noun:
Words are divided into different kinds or classes according to the work they do in a sentence. These kinds or classes are known as Parts of Speech. They are eight in number:
1. Noun
2. Pronoun
3. Verb
4. Adjective
5. Adverb
6. Preposition
7. Conjunction
8. Interjection.
What is noun?
Noun is a word used to name a person, place or thing.
For example:
Rama was an epic king.
Kinds of Noun

1. Common Noun
A common noun is a name given in common to every person or thing of the same class or kind. For example;
I write with a pen.
The student asked me a few questions.

2. Proper Noun
A proper noun is the name of a particular person or place.
For example:
Ramu is a wise fellow.
Patna lacks basic civic amenities.

Rule: Proper nouns are always written with a capital letter at the beginning.
Incorrect: Earlier the capital of india was in calcutta.
Correct: Earlier the capital of India was in Calcutta.

Rule: Proper nouns are sometimes used as common nouns.
Incorrect: LK Advani is today regarded as Sardar
Patel of India.
Correct: LK Advani is today regarded as the Sardar Patel of India.

Rule: In this case proper nouns are always preceded by articles.
She is a Lata Mangeshkar.
Kalidas is the Shakespeare of India.

3. Collective Noun
A Collective noun is the name of a group of persons or things. For example army, committee, crowd, fleet, flock, herd, jury, mob, parliament, team.

Rule: A collective noun usually takes a singular verb and is substituted by a singular pronoun.
Incorrect: The jury were unanimous in their opinion.
Correct: The jury was unanimous in its opinion.

Rule: A collective noun takes a plural verb and is substituted by a plural pronoun when the individuals of which it is composed are thought of net behaving as a single unit
Incorrect: The jury was divided in its opinions.
Correct: The jury were divided in their opinions.

4. Abstract Noun
An abstract noun is usually the name of a quality, action or state considered apart from the object ( which is usually a common noun and often qualified by an adjective) to which it belongs. For example:
Innocence is integral to a child.
Love knows no bound.

5. Material Noun
A material noun is the name of a material ( matter from which a thing is made). For example:
Cotton is the source of natural fibre.
Milk constitutes a nutritious food.

Rule: A material noun does not take an article (a, an, the) before it.
Incorrect: The to***co is a cash crop.
Correct: To***co is a cash crop.

Rule: It takes articles when treated as common nouns.
Incorrect: They offered me glass of water.
Correct: They offered me a glass of water.
Numbers
Numbers are of two kinds-
(1) Singular Number
(2) Plural Number
Generally while changing singular noun to plural we add s, es in the end.
For example
cow-cows
chair-chairs
school-schools
Mango-Mangoes
On the surface some nouns appear to be singular but in meaning they are treated as plural.
For example,
cattle, clergy, people, children, police, poultry
Incorrect: The peasantry has always stood as rockstars for the development of a country.
Correct: The peasantry have always stood as rockstars for the development of a country.
Some nouns look like plural but are always used as singular. For example,
Subjects - Mathematics, economics, physics, ethics, politics, classics.

Rule: When these subjects denote qualities or property, they are used in plural sense. For example,
Incorrect: His mathematics is weak.
Correct: His mathematics are weak.
Diseases - Rickets, AIDS, diabetes, mumps, measles. Some other nouns - News, gallows, summons, innings.
Some nouns are plural in form and in meaning, normally they are instruments or dress articles which have two parts and make a kind of pair. Do not use a/an before these nouns.
For example,
Spectacles, tongs, scissors, pincers, bellows, trousers, drawers, breaches, pants, knickers, pantaloons.
Certain other nouns - caves, riches (valuables), alms, funds, proceeds (profit), annals (record).
Incorrect : I bought a trousers yesterday.
Correct :I bought a pair of trousers yesterday.
Some nouns are always singular and used as singular only. For example Poetry, information, machinery, dust, furniture, dirt, traffic, money, music. Some nouns have one meaning in singular form and another in plural.

Dear Aspirants, we are shortly introducing "Weekly Quiz Contest" in this page. Here you'll get some simple questions every day & you are asked to give the answers in the comment box. The person who will give the most correct answers, will be announced as the winner of the contest at the end of the week. So best of luck for all & hope to get you good support to continue this contest. You can give anykind suggestion or advice regarding this activity in the comment box. Thanking you.......S.C.

Daily GK Update: 6th January 2016

1. Cabinet okays India-Singapore MoU on civil aviation
i. The Union Cabinet on Wednesday gave its ex-post facto approval for a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that was signed with Singapore in the field of civil aviation.
ii. This MoU was signed in November 2015 between the Airports Authority of India (on behalf of the Government of India) and Singapore Cooperation Enterprise (on behalf of the Government of Singapore) during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Singapore.
iii. The objective of this MoU is to establish mutual cooperation in the field of civil aviation, which will cover, to begin with, the airports of Jaipur and Ahmedabad. This cooperation will be extended to other airports with mutual consent.

iv. The Union Cabinet also gave its nod for post-facto approval to the Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) between the Corporate Affairs Ministry, Competition Commission of India (CCI) and Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA) with foreign countries/organisations.
v. The Union Cabinet has been apprised of the protocol signed earlier between India and Czech Republic in the field of heavy industry, especially in industrial cooperation and facilities construction.
vi. The protocol includes the intent for modernisation of the existing facilities in India by the Czech companies, including modernisation of three plants of Heavy Engineering Corporation, a Central Public Sector Enterprises under the Department of Heavy Industries at Ranchi, set up with Czech support

2. Forbes released 2016 30 Under 30 List; 45 Indian-origin people figured
i. Forbes on 4 January 2016 released the 2016 30 Under 30 List featuring 600 men and women who achieved remarkable professional success before attaining 30 years of age. They were chosen from an initial screening list of more than 15000 representing a gamut of 20 segments that include art & style, finance, sports, education, etc.
ii. The list includes John Boyega (Hollywood & Entertainment category), Shawn Mendes (Music), Emerson Spartz (Media) among others.
iii. Further, 45 Indians and Indian-origin people figured in the annual compilation for their entrepreneurial spirit and breakout talents.
iv. Indian-origin people figured in the list are,
Ritesh Agarwal, OYO Rooms CEO
Karishma Shah, Alphabet’s Google X
Divya Nettimi, Viking Global Investors
Nisha Chittal, MSNBC
Ashish Patel, NowThis Media
Saagar Govil, CEO of Cemtrex

3. Union Cabinet approved Stand Up India Scheme
i. The Union Cabinet on 6 January 2016 approved the Stand Up India Scheme to promote entrepreneurship among Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes and Women entrepreneurs.
ii. The Scheme is intended to facilitate at least two projects per bank branch, on an average one for each category of entrepreneur. It is expected to benefit at least 2.5 lakh borrowers. The expected date of reaching the target of at least 2.5 lakh approvals is 36 months from the launch of the Scheme.
iii. It provides for refinance window through Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) with an initial amount of 10000 crore rupees. It will create credit guarantee mechanism through the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC). It will provide support for borrowers both at the pre loan stage and during operations.
iv. It will provide support for borrowers both at the pre loan stage and during operations. Its focus is on handholding support for both SC/ST and Women borrowers.
v. The aim is to leverage institutional credit structure to reach out under-served sectors of the population by facilitating bank loans repayable up to 7 years and between 10 lakh rupees- 100 lakh rupees for greenfield enterprises in nonfarm sector set up by such SC, ST and Women borrowers.
vi. The National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Ltd (NCGTC) will be the operating agency for the loan. Margin money of the composite loan would be up to 25 percent. The Start up India Stand up India initiative was announced by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his speech on 15 August 2015.

4. Andhra Bank launched Immediate Payment Service
i. Andhra Bank on 6 January 2016 launched Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) across all its branches in association with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). The service makes payments possible within fraction of seconds with all the standards and integrity maintained for security.
ii. The IMPS was enabled across all branches to provide inter-bank electronic fund transfer service capable of processing person to account remittances.
iii. Unlike National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT), IMPS will be available round-the-clock under which a real-time instant fund transfer system for inter-bank remittances is possible. The maximum cap of transaction will be 2 lakh rupees and charged at the rate of five rupees per transaction.
iv. National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is an umbrella organization for all retail payments system in India. It was set up with the guidance and support of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Indian Banks’ Association (IBA).
v. Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) is one of the electronic funds transfer systems of India. It was started in November 2010. The service enables an instant, 24X7, interbank electronic fund transfer through mobile, internet and ATM.

5. World's largest blue star sapphire discovered in Sri Lanka
i. The world's largest blue star sapphire that weighs 1404.49 carats was discovered in a mine in Sri Lanka. The sapphire was found in August 2015 near Ratnapura city in the South of Sri Lanka.
ii. The stone is worth at an estimated cost of 100 million US dollars but could be valued up to 165 million US dollars.

iii. The sapphire has been named as The Star of Adam by its current owner. The name came from a Muslim belief that Adam arrived in Sri Lanka after being sent away from the Garden of Eden. As per the myth, Adam lived on the slopes of a mountain now known as Adam’s Peak, about 15 miles from Ratnapura.
iv. The Star of Adam Sapphire has also been certified by the Gemology Institute of Columbo, Sri Lanka.
v. A star sapphire is a type of sapphire that has a star in the middle due to a light reflection phenomenon known as asterism. The value of a star sapphire depends on the weight of the stone and also on the body color, visibility, and intensity of the asterism.

6. CCI cleared Reliance Capital-Goldman Sachs deal
i. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on 5 January 2016 gave its approval to Reliance Capital Asset Management's proposed acquisition of Goldman Sachs' mutual fund business in India for 243 crore rupees. CCI approved the acquisition as the deal may not have an adverse impact on competition in the country.
ii. After CCI’s nod, Reliance Capital Asset Management (RCAM) will seek the final nod of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to complete the takeover.
iii. RCAM had announced the acquisition in October 2015. Under the deal, the company will acquire all 12 onshore mutual fund schemes of Goldman Sachs Asset Management India with total asset under management of 7132 crore rupees.
iv. The deal will also make Reliance MF the exclusive fund manager for the government's ambitious Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSE) Exchange.
v. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational investment banking firm. It engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management and other financial services primarily with institutional clients.
vi. The firm provides mergers and acquisitions advice, underwriting services, asset management, and prime brokerage to its clients. The firm also engages in market making and private equity deals, and is a primary dealer in the United States Treasury security market.

7. Harper Lee's Go Set a Watchman topped 2015 US Bestseller List
i. The book Go Set a Watchman written by Harper Lee was in news in the first week of January 2016 as it topped the 2015 US bestseller list. Around 1.6 million copies of the book were sold in the USA since it was published in July 2015. The figures were based on US print unit sales reported to Nielsen.
ii. Go Set a Watchman was published more than half a century after Harper’s Pulitzer-winning first book, To Kill a Mockingbird, was published.
iii. The spike in the sales of Go Set a Watchman can be attributed to the fact that 89-year-old Harper Lee is now confined to a nursing home and may not publish a word in future.
iv. The second and third bestseller in the list was Jeff Kinney’s Diary of Wimpy Kid series (1.48 million copies) and British author EL James’ Grey: Fifty Shades of Grey as Told by Christian (1.4 million) respectively.

8. Australia pulled out of U-19 World Cup in Bangladesh due to safety concerns
i. Australia on 5 January 2016 withdrew from the Under-19 World Cup Tournament in Bangladesh. It pulled-out citing security reasons. The decision was announced by Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland who said the decision was taken after monitoring the security situation in Bangladesh.
ii. The tournament is scheduled to happen from 22 January to 14 February 2016. ICC announced that Australia will be replaced by Ireland team – the runners-up in the qualifying tournament in Kuala Lumpur in October 2015.
iii. The first matches of the event will start on 27 January 2016 in which England will play against Fiji and Bangladesh will play against South Africa. It will be the eleventh edition of the Under-19 Cricket World Cup, and the second to be held in Bangladesh, after the 2004 event.
iv. Earlier in October 2015, Cricket Australia had cancelled senior men's Test tour of Bangladesh for similar reasons. It seems that the decision was made after a series of militant violent attacks in the country since September 2015, including the shooting of three foreigners, two of whom died.

9. Union Government launched Ganga Gram Yojana in Uttar Pradesh
i. The Union Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Uma Bharti on 5 January 2016 launched Ganga Gram Yojana at Village Puth in Hapur district of Uttar Pradesh (UP). Under the scheme, 1600 villages of UP situated along the banks of river Ganga will be developed.
ii. In the first phase of the progamme, 200 villages have been selected initially. In these villages, open drains falling into river Ganga will be diverted and alternative arrangements for sewage treatment will be made. The villages will have toilets in every house hold.
iii. It is proposed to incur the expenditure of 1 crore rupees on every village. These villages will be developed under the Sichewal model. Sichewal is situated in Punjab, where cooperation of the villagers has been solicited for the water management and waste disposal.
iv. The Ministry also deployed first company of Ganga Task force Battalion at Garhmukteshwar as a major initiative towards fast track implementation of Namami Gange Programme. Moreover, three such companies will be soon deployed at Kanpur, Varanasi and Allahabad.

10. India keen to promote operational oceanography: Minister
i. Government is keen to promote operational oceanography since it plays an important role in translating the benefits of science for the common public, Y S Chowdary, Minister of State for Science, Technology & Earth Sciences said here today.
ii. A few examples being potential fishing zones advisories to fishermen, ocean state forecasts for mariners, tsunami and storm surge early warnings among others, the minister was quoted as saying by an official release.
iii. Chowdary performed 'bhoomipujan' or ground breaking ceremony for setting up the international training centre for operational oceanography (ITCO-Ocean) which is coming up on the campus of Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services ( INCOIS) here.

11. Wayne Rooney named 2015 England Player of the Year
i. Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney has been voted 2015 England Player of the Year for the fourth time after breaking his country's scoring record, the Football Association announced on Tuesday, January 5.

ii. The 30-year-old took his England tally to 51 goals, breaking Bobby Charlton's longstanding record of 49, and top-scored with 7 goals as Roy Hodgson's side qualified for Euro 2016 with a perfect record of 10 wins.
iii. Rooney, England's captain, received 37 percent of the votes in a poll of England Supporters Club members. He previously won the award in 2008, 2009 and 2014. "To win this award is always a huge honour and to win it for a fourth time is something I'm very proud of," Rooney said on his personal website.
iv. "The fact it's voted for by the fans is what makes it very special for me. It's been a great year for the team and for me personally. "I would like to thank all the fans for their continued support and hopefully 2016 will be an even better year!"
v. Stoke City goalkeeper Jack Butland, who has produced some impressive performances this season, was elected the Under-21s Player of the Year. Rooney and Butland, 22, will be presented with their awards prior to England's friendly against Germany in Berlin on March 26.

12. Apurvi Chandela sets a world record to win gold at Swedish Grand Prix
i. Indian shooter Apurvi Chandela broke the world record on way to winning gold in the women's 10 metre air rifle event at the Swedish Cup Grand Prix. Chandela shot 211.2 in the event held on Tuesday to surpass the feat of Chinese Olympic gold medallist Yi Siling, who held the record with 211.
ii. The result marked a positive start for Chandela, who has already won an Olympic quota place for the Rio Olympics. The silver and bronze went to Swedish shooters Astrid Steffensen (207.6) and Stine Nielsen (185.0).
iii. An elated Chandela said: "This gold at Sweden has further strengthened my resolve to bag a medal at the Rio Olympics this year. The support, encouragement and wishes received from my well wishers from Rajasthan has stood me in good stead in various international tournaments."
iv. Chandela had won the gold at the National Championships in the Capital last month. She had won an Olympic quota place for India after winning a bronze at the ISSF World Cup in Changwon, South Korea, in April.