World This Week: 14 December-20 December 2015

14 December 2015
• Typhoon Melor struck the Philippines
• World Bank Group, FIRST Initiative launched Principles for Public Credit Guarantee Schemes
• United Nations Human Development Report 2015 released

15 December 2015
• Rory McIlroy bagged European Tour Golfer of the Year award
• EC adopted proposal for a European Border and Coast Guard to protect Schengen area
• Saudi Arabia launched 34-nation Islamic Military Coalition to counter terrorism   
• 14th Meeting of Heads of Governments of SCO Member States concluded in Zhengzhou, China

16 December 2015
• ILO released Global Estimates on Migrant Workers
• Federal Reserve of US increased interest rate by 0.25% for the first time since 2006
• Indian-origin official Sanjay Pradhan to lead Open Government Partnership

17 December 2015
• UN-brokered Libyan Political Agreement on National Unity Government signed
• WTO approved Afghanistan’s membership terms to join as 163rd member
• UN Security Council unanimously adopted resolution to cut-off supply of funds to ISIS group
• China launched DAMPE satellite to shed light on mysterious dark matter
• British Novelist Peter Dickinson passed away

18 December 2015
• World Bank released Shock Waves: Managing the Impacts of Climate Change on Poverty report
• Husband-wife duo Claude and Norma Alvares awarded with 2015 Sanctuary Lifetime Service Award
• 2nd World Internet Conference concluded in Wuzen, China
• International Migrants Day observed across the world
• World Bank released Migration and Remittances Factbook 2016

19 December 2015
• 10th WTO Ministerial Conference adopted Nairobi Package
• US Senate ratified IMF reforms in budget bill to boost representation of emerging economies
• Famous German conductor Kurt Masur passed away
• Miss Spain Mireia Lalaguna Royo crowned Miss World 2015

20 December 2015
• Andy Murray won 2015 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award
• OUE Singapore Slammers crowned Champions of IPTL 2015
• FC Barcelona won 2015 FIFA Club World Cup
• Nepal Cabinet decided to amend Constitution to address Madhesis' demands
• Conservative People’s party won Spain election; but falls short of majority
• Miss Iraq beauty pageant held for the first time since 1972
• Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach crowned Miss Universe 2015

India This Week: 14 December-20 December 2015

14 December 2015
• Lok Sabha passed Atomic Energy (Amendment) Bill, 2015
• Operation Smile-II to start from 1 January 2016
• Union Government appointed L Narasimha Reddy to head Judicial Committee on OROP
• West Bengal Government honoured Bappi Lahiri and Kumar Sanu with Lifetime Achievement Awards
• Renowned violinist Itzhak Perlman won 2016 Genesis Prize

15 December 2015
• World Bank approved 1.5 billion US dollar loan to support Clean India Campaign
• AP Shah Committee appointed to look into ONGC, RIL dispute on KG gas fields
• Union Ministry of Finance raised monetary limit for filing appeals in Courts
• Apurvi Chandela, Chain Singh won Gold at 59th National Shooting Championship
• Shiva, Mandeep among four boxers to receive IOC Olympic scholarships
• Green Peace India released report on National Air Quality Index of 17 cities
• Delhi became first state to implement Radhakrishnan panel recommendations on Road Safety
• Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation approved Smart City Proposal for Maharashtra
• UP Governor Ram Naik gave assent to state’s Revenue Code (Amendment) Ordinance 2015
• Arun Kumar Jain appointed Central Board of Direct Taxes Chairman
• Commanders Conference held in Kochi
• CII Industrial Innovation Awards 2015 conferred upon 35 companies
• CII-ITC Sustainability Awards 2015 for Excellence in Sustainable Business conferred

16 December 2015
• ISRO’ PSLV-C29 successfully launched 6 Singapore satellites into space
• Appointing Hindu temple priests as per Hindu rituals (Agamas) do not violate right to equality: SC
• Prepare Draft Memorandum of Procedure on Appointment of Judges to Higher Judiciary: SC to Government
• Union Cabinet approved MoU with BRICS for energy conservation
• Union Cabinet approved revised Model Text for Indian Bilateral Investment Treaty
• Lok Sabha passed Bill to create Commercial Benches in High Courts
• RBI liable to disclose information about banks under RTI Act: Supreme Court
• Union Cabinet approved Amendments in the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950
• SC banned registration of new diesel SUVs, luxury cars in Delhi till 31 March 2016
• Supreme Court appointed Virendra Singh as Lokayukta of Uttar Pradesh
• AP cabinet decided to abolish VAT, CST on sugar factories
• Maharashtra announced 10512 crore rupees aid for farmers hit by drought
• MLAs of Arunachal Pradesh Assembly passed resolution to remove Speaker Nabam Rebia
• Vijay Diwas observed across the country to commemorate India’s victory in 1971 war
• French President Francois Hollande to be Chief Guest at Republic Day in India
• The Bose Brothers and Indian Independence – An Insider’s Account authored by Madhuri Bose

17 December 2015
• Lok Sabha passed Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2015
• RBI released final guidelines of Marginal Cost of Funds Methodology to calculate Interest Rates
• Justice Reva Khetrapal took oath as Delhi's Lokayukta
• Veteran Communist leader Noorul Huda passed away
• Sahitya Akademi awards announced for the year 2015

18 December 2015
• New Species of Eel, Gymnothorax mishrai discovered along West Bengal coast
• West Bengal Government approved proposal for formation of 5 new districts
• Noted theatre artiste Chatla Sriramulu passed away
• Radha Krishna Mathur appointed as Chief Information Commissioner of India
• DAC approved purchase of Russian S-400 Triumf Air Defence Missile System

19 December 2015
• UN launched 2016 International Year of Pulses

20 December 2015
• Abhay Singh won U-19 Singapore Squash Open
• Eugenson Lyngdoh and Bala Devi bagged top AIFF honours
• Chennaiyin FC crowned 2015 ISL champion

India This Week: 7 December-13 December 2015

7 December 2015
• Atomic Energy (Amendment) Bill, 2015 introduced in Lok Sabha
• SC directed State and UT Governments to consider acid-attack victims under Disabled Quota
• Rajya Sabha passed Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill, 2015
• ONGC joined World Bank’s Zero Routine Flaring by 2030 Initiative
• General Motors India appointed Kaher Kazem as President and MD
• Ola appointed Joy Bandekar as Corporate President
• Armed Forces Flag Day observed across India
• Indo-Russia bilateral naval exercise Indra Navy-15 began in Visakhapatnam

8 December 2015
• Union Government and NTC signed MoU for establishing a Technology Centre at Kanpur
• MSDE and DHI signed MoU for skill development in manufacturing sector
• Pune, Rajkot became interim IPL franchises to replace CSK, RR
• Yes Bank announced to mobilize 5 billion US dollars for climate action by 2020
• Hetero became first Indian company to receive DGCI’s approval for hepatitis C drug

9 December 2015
• Union Cabinet approved 4000 crore rupees proposal for shipbuilding industry
• Operationalise Organised Crimes Investigation Agency by 1 December 2016: SC
• Lok Sabha passed Indian Trusts (Amendment) Bill, 2015
• Union Cabinet approved amendments in the National Waterways Bill, 2015
• Union Cabinet approved Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2015
• Rohit Sharma became co-owner of UP Warriors in Pro Wrestling League
• Naseeruddin Shah honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award at Dubai International Film Festival

10 December 2015
• India Health Report: Nutrition 2015 released
• Union Government slashed Minimum Export Price of onions to 400 dollar per tonne
• NGT gave directions to keep River Ganga Pollution Free
• Supreme Court upheld Haryana Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Act, 2015
• Sharad Pawar’s autobiography Life On My Terms released

11 December 2015
• National Commission for Safai Karamcharis recommended making it a Permanent and Statutory Body
• Quick Estimates of IIP and Use-Based Index for October 2015 released
• DuPont and Dow Chemical Company announced to merge to form DowDuPont
• Wipro won 2015 Aegis Graham Bell Award for innovation in IoT
• Mumbai Police Commissioner Ahmad Javed appointed as Ambassador to Saudi Arabia

12 December 2015
• Government of India signed MoU to establish three IIITs on PPP mode
• Renowned agro-economist and farmer’s leader Sharad Joshi died
• Losar, the biggest Tibetan Buddhist Festival, began in Ladakh region

13 December 2015
• Vijay Kumar won gold in the 59th National shooting championship
• Legendary actor Dilip Kumar conferred with Padma Vibhushan

World this Week: 7 December-13 December 2015

7 December 2015
• India won four-match Test series against South Africa, 3-0
• Chen Long and Carolina Marin bagged 2015 BWF Player of the Year Awards
• Latvia’s Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma resigned
• Beijing issued first-ever Red Alert on Air Pollution
• India launched I-LTEO programme to monitor 8 different biomes

8 December 2015
• Luxembourg became the 10th country to ratify AoA of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
• US House passed Visa Waiver Program Improvement Act of 2015
• UNCTAD released Handbook of Statistics 2015
• ADB released Asian Economic Integration Report 2015
• Global Financial Integrity released the Global Illicit Financial Flows Report 2015

9 December 2015
• World’s first dengue vaccine, Dengvaxia, approved for use in Mexico
• TIME Magazine named German Chancellor Merkel as 2015 ‘Person of the Year’
• Mahela Jayawardene awarded honorary lifetime membership of MCC
• UN agencies launched $1.98 billion Sahel humanitarian appeal for 2016
• UNCAT called on China to halt oppression of Human Rights Activists
• Myanmar inaugurated Yangon Stock Exchange
• India-Pakistan agreed to replace 8-point Composite Dialogue with 10-point Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue
• UN Security Council adopted Resolution on Youth, Peace and Security
• 2016: UK-INDIA Year of Education, Research and Innovation launched
• IISc Bangalore bagged solar panel research and development contract from US Military
• International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of Victims of Crime of Genocide observed
• International Anti-Corruption Day observed across the world

10 December 2015
• International Cricket Council announced OPPO as Global Partner
• Human Rights Day observed across the world
• India’s Kartik Sawhney and Neha Swain won 2016 Queen's Young Leaders Award
• Mauricio Macri Blanco sworn in as President of Argentina
• Salman Rushdie honoured with Mailer Prize for Lifetime Achievement

11 December 2015
• Elizabeth Susan Koshy clinched gold in 59th National Shooting Championships
• Indian cyclist Deborah Herold became World No. 4 Cyclist
• India and Japan signed protocol to amend double taxation avoidance pact
• Myanmar launched its first UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Inle Lake
• Alibaba agreed to buy 112-year old newspaper South China Morning Post of Hong Kong
• Indian-origin writer J M Sali won 2015 South East Asian Write Award for Singapore

12 December 2015 
• India and Japan inked three agreements for cooperation in Railway Sector
• India and Japan exchanged 16 documents; Reached Agreement on Civil Nuclear Energy
• COP 21 under UNFCCC adopted Paris Agreement on Climate Change

13 December 2015
• Mascot and Logo of 2016 South Asian Games unveiled
• Japan's Nozomi Okuhara, Kento Momota won singles titles at World Dubai Superseries Finals
• Saudi voters elected women candidates for first time in Municipal council polls
• Construction work of TAPI Gas Pipeline started

World This Week: 30 November-6 December 2015

30 November 2015 
• IMF approved China's Yuan as Elite Reserve Currency
• Transformative Carbon Asset Facility launched to boost large scale climate action
• Robert Lewandowski awarded with four Guinness World Record certificates for scoring five goals in nine minutes
• UN Agencies released report on prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Asia-Pacific region
• Roch Marc Christian Kabore elected president of Burkina Faso
• India, France launched International Solar Alliance
• UN chief launched Anticipate, Absorb, Reshape Initiative to build climate resilience
• World leaders launched Mission Innovation for accelerating clean energy revolution
• Bill Gates led Breakthrough Energy Coalition formed to reduce demand for fossil fuels
• Russian film-maker Eldar Ryazanov died

1 December 2015
• Russia, WADA agreed on roadmap to reform Russian Anti-Doping Agency
• Brazil entered longest recession since 1930s
• German Cabinet approved military aid to fight ISIS in Syria
• World AIDS Day observed across the world
• Sir Venkatraman Ramakrishnan assumed Presidency of the Royal Society

2 December 2015
• Paris Pact on Water and Climate Change Adaptation announced
• International Day for the Abolition of Slavery Observed globally
• Indian-American Dr Vijay M Rao named as Chairperson of RSNA

3 December 2015
• November 2015 Edition of FIFA World Rankings announced; Belgium topped the list
• International Day of Persons with Disabilities observed with theme Inclusion Matters
• WHO released estimates of the global burden of foodborne diseases

4 December 2015
• India received first consignment of uranium from Canada
• China's first electricity-powered aircraft RX1E approved for production

5 December 2015
• International Volunteer Day observed globally
• Storm Desmond forced thousands to flee from home in UK
• 5th Ministerial Conference of Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process concluded in Islamabad

6 December 2015
• Australia defeated Belgium to win Hockey World League Final
• Opposition Democratic Unity Roundtable won 2015 Venezuelan parliamentary election
• Atlas V rocket lifted off with Cygnus Cargo Spaceship to ISS
• African Restoration Initiative unveiled to restore 100 million hectares of forest

India This Week: 30 November-6 December 2015

30 November 2015
• MoEF released Draft Environment (Protection) Amendment Rules, 2015
• GAIL launched Bhuvan-GAIL Portal for satellite monitoring of Pipelines
• Dr Abdul Kalam IGNITE award presented by President Pranab Mukherjee
• Embrace of the Serpent bagged Golden Peacock Award for Best Film at IFFI 2015
• ITU released Measuring the Information Society Report 2015

1 December 2015
• Jharkhand government declared entire state as drought hit
• Delhi Assembly passed three major education bills
• President gave nod to Factories (Amendment) Bill, 2015 to allow women to work in night shifts
• Labour Laws (Gujarat Amendment) Bill 2015 received Presidential assent
• Aricent tied-up with Nasscom Foundation to launch Aricent Employability Programme
• Koodiyattom artiste Margi Sathi passed away
• Delhi Development Authority awarded with E-India Award

2 December 2015
• Union Government approved setting up of 6 new IITs
• Union Cabinet approved rehabilitation package for Bangladesh enclaves
• Union Cabinet approved signing of MoU between India and Iran on visa facilitation
• Union Cabinet approved MoU between India and Germany for Solar Energy
• Union Cabinet approved MoU with Israel on water resources management and development cooperation
• Union Cabinet approved introduction of Regional Centre for Biotechnology Bill, 2015 in Parliament
• Vijay Kumar Choudhary elected as Bihar Assembly Speaker
• Tata Sons Ltd tied-up with Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Limited
• Industrialist MAM Ramaswamy died

3 December 2015
• Union Government launched Accessible India Campaign for differently-abled
• Lok Sabha passed bill to establish BIS as National Standards Body
• NTC signed Integrity Pact with Transparency International India
• RBI announced revised Priority Sector Lending norms for Regional Rural Banks
• Delhi Assembly passed MLAs of NCT of Delhi (Salaries, Allowances, Pension, etc) (Amendment) Bill, 2015
• Himachal Pradesh became first state to launch Rotavirus vaccination project
• Justice Tirath Singh Thakur sworn in as 43rd Chief Justice of India

4 December 2015
• India’s forest and tree cover increased by 5081 sq km: India State of Forest Report 2015
• Delhi Government announced vehicle rationing scheme to curb air pollution
• Renowned violinist L Subramaniam to be honoured with ITC Sangeet Samman
• First India International Science Festival began at IIT-Delhi
• 44th Navy Day observed on 4 December
• Arvind Subramanian-led panel recommended standard rate for GST at 17-18 %
• Indian-American entrepreneur Frank Islam to be conferred with Uttar Pradesh Ratna Award

5 December 2015
• Andhra Pradesh became first state to join discom revival scheme UDAY

6 December 2015
• Ministry of Railways flagged off first double decker Goa-Mumbai train
• Singapore replaced Mauritius as top source of FDI into India
• Maharashtra won Wheelchair Basketball Championship
• Tata Trusts partnered with Khan Academy for free online education
• Commemorative coins of Rs 125, Rs 10 released in honour of Babasaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar

World This Week: 23 November-29 November 2015

23 November 2015
• Joint Statement on enhanced Malaysia-India Strategic Partnership released
• Japan conducted its first dedicated commercial satellite launch
• Mauricio Macri won the Presidential election of Argentina
• UNISDR released the report titled The Human Cost of Weather Related Disasters
• Michael Keating appointed as Special Representative for Somalia and Head of UNSOM

24 November 2015
• India-Singapore signed 10 agreements on mutual co-operation
• World Robot Olympiad, 2015 held in Doha; 2016 session to be held in Delhi

25 November 2015
• ICC appointed four female umpires for ICC Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier
• 2015 likely to be the warmest year on record: WMO
• Noted Indian-Origin Businessman Banwari Lal Mittal died
• International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women observed

26 November 2015
• Operation Inherent Resolve to tackle ISIS
• South Asian Annual Disaster Management Exercise 2015 concluded
• Eminent Japanese historian Noboru Karashima passed away

27 November 2015
• Australia, New Zealand to play the historic first day-night Test at Adelaide Oval
• Patricia Scotland appointed as Secretary General of Commonwealth of Nations
• India-Israel co-developed LRSAM missile successfully flight-tested

28 November 2015
• Tyson Fury defeated Wladimir Klitschko to become world heavyweight champion

29 November 2015
• PV Sindhu won Macau Open Grand Prix Gold Badminton tournament for 3rd consecutive time
• ICC suspended West Indies spinner Sunil Narine for illegal bowling action
• Great Britain won the Davis Cup for the first time since 1936