1) A first of its kind operation of operation was carried out by the Indian Army on 9 June 2015 when it conducted an anti-terrorist operation on a foreign soil for the first time. This bold operation was carried out in which country with strategic support from that country? –Myanmar
Explanation: Indian Army on 9 June 2015 struck terrorist camps inside Myanmar and killed nearly 20 North-Eastern insurgents. The attack was in response to the deadly ambush in Manipur that killed 18 soldiers on 4 June 2015 in Chandel district. The Indian Army deployed an Indian Air Force Mi-17 helicopter and a commando team from the 21 Para (special forces) unit for the attack. Elite commandos of the army went a few kilometers inside Myanmar territory to destroy two camps of insurgents hiding there after attacks in Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh last week by NSCN(K) and KYKL outfits. This was Indian Army’s first “hot pursuit” operation in the eastern sector. It was also the first joint commando operation by Indian Army and Indian Air Force on any foreign soil. Security personnel from Myanmar cooperated with India in carrying out this operation.
2) Union Govt. on 9 June 2015 officially added three more districts into the National Capital Region (NCR) thus extending the span of the NCR. Which three districts are these? – Muzaffarnagar (Uttar Pradesh) and Jind and Karnal (Haryana)
Explanation: This decision to extend the NCR was announced by Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu after a meeting of the National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB) in New Delhi on 9 June. Apart from this, a committee has been appointed to look into the demands for the inclusion of more areas in NCR. With this the total number of districts included in NCR has risen to 22. It now includes 13 districts from Haryana (Faridabad, Gurgaon, Mewat, Rohtak, Sonepat, Rewari, Jhajjar, Panipat, Palwal, Mahendragarh (Narnaul), Bhiwani, Jind and Karnal), 6 districts from Uttar Pradesh (Meerut, Ghaziabad, Bulandshahr, Gautam Budh Nagar, Baghpat and Muzaffarnagar) and 2 districts from Rajasthan (Alwar and Bharatpur), apart from Delhi. It is worth mentioning that while decision to include Muzaffarnagar, Jind and Karnal in NCR was taken in July 2013, the inclusion was kept in abeyance as there was a thinking that the addition of new districts to NCR should not be allowed till their infrastructure reached a certain level.
3) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 8 June 2015 made which important announcement which is being seen as a significant move to provide a more flexible process for banks to recover bad loans? –It allowed banks to acquire 51% or more stake in companies defaulting after restructuring of their loans
Explanation: It is worth mentioning that banks have been reporting more losses from restructured assets of-late and the RBI move is primarily aimed at resolving stress in the banking system. The RBI has, however, advised banks to sell the stake to a new promoter ‘as soon as possible’, but they should ensure the buyer is in no way related to the borrower. The other measures announced under the new scheme ‘strategic debt restructuring’ (SDR) include allowing lenders to convert debt into equity within 30 days of review of companies’ accounts. In addition, lenders acquiring shares of listed companies under restructuring would be exempted from making open offers. These restructuring norms would also apply to all company accounts before 8 June 2015.
4) What is the name of the Law Minister of Delhi Govt. who was arrested by the Delhi Police on charges of a fake law degree on 9 June 2015, an incident that further escalated the ongoing tussle between the Centre and the Delhi Govt.? – Jitender Singh Tomar
Explanation: The BJP and Congress have been demanding the resignation of Jitender Singh Tomar’s since April 2015 when allegations were first made that he had faked his Bihar law degree. The issue came to highlight after Bihar-based Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University had told a Delhi court that it has no record of Tomar’s law degree. The university had said Tomar’s provisional certificate was “fabricated and doesn’t exist in the university’s record”. The arrest came as a complete surprise to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi. AAP alleged that Tomar was arrested without prior notice and slammed the BJP-led Central government. AAP sources alleged that the order to arrest Tomar was signed by the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, Najeeb Jung, who represents the Centre. Jung has been in a protracted turf battle with the Delhi government over the appointment of key officials.
5) Who was nominated as the new non-executive Chairman of ICICI Bank by the board of the bank on 9 June 2015 to replace K.V. Kamath? – M.K. Sharma
Explanation: M. K. Sharma will succeed KV Kamath, who would step down from the Board to take on a bigger role as the first President of New Development Bank, established by the BRICS nations. He was earlier the Vice Chairman of Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL). Sharma was also an independent Director on the Board of ICICI Bank for eight years from 2003 to 2011 and is an independent director of several companies. Sharma will have tenure of 5 years.
6) Which major international banking entity on 9 June 2015 made announcement to cut almost 50,000 jobs from its payroll, axe its investment bank and shrink its risk weighted assets by $290 billion in an effort to improve its sluggish performance? –HSBC
Explanation: HSBC is the largest bank in Europe. It made this announcement to the Hong Kong stock exchange ahead of an important presentation to investors and analysts. This is the second major strategic plan for HSBC CEO Stuart Gulliver since he took the charge at the start of 2011. The job cuts, which will affect almost a fifth of the bank’s workforce, involve 25,000 staff from the expected sales of the lender’s Brazil and Turkey units and 22,000-25,000 from the consolidation of IT and back office operations and branch closures. However the cuts, to be completed by 2017, will be followed by some hiring in growth businesses and the bank’s compliance division. Apart from this, HSBC will shrink the global banking and markets division to less than one third of its $2.6 trillion balance sheet from its current level of around 40%. It is worth mentioning that HSBC has been under pressure from investors for carrying out radical cuts at its global banking and markets divisions.
7) Noted Indian author Amitav Ghosh’s third and final book under the “Ibis trilogy” was published recently. What is the name of this book? – “Flood of Fire”
Explanation: “Flood of Fire” is the final part of the famous “Ibis trilogy” by Amitav Ghosh, which comprises of historical fictional writings by him. The other two previous books under “Ibis trilogy” are – “Sea of Poppies” (2008) and “River of Smoke”. This trilogy is set in the first half of the 19th century. It deals with the trade of opium between India and China run by the East India Company and the trafficking of coolies to Mauritius. The trilogy gets its names from the ship “Ibis”, on board which most of the main characters meet for the first time. “Sea of Poppies” was nominated for the Man Booker Prize in 2008.
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