1) 15 June 2015 marked which anniversary of the Magna Carta, the historic charter (agreement) signed between the King of England and the English nobility which limited the power of the throne and was the first significant limit placed on governmental authority in the world? – 800th
Explanation: The signing of the historic “Magna Carta” completed 800 years on 15 June 2015. It was signed on 15 June 1215, when under pressure from a group of some forty English barons unhappy with the crown’s excessive taxation, King John agreed to affix his seal to the charter at Runnymede, near Windsor (UK). British monarch Queen Elizabeth II lead commemorations to mark this historic occasion. The Magna Carta is considered the founding document of English law and civil liberties. Signing of Magna Carta is important as it is widely accepted as the first significant step in the direction of establishing governmental system in place of the monarchial rule. In perhaps its most enduring legacy, the Magna Carta mandated that no man be imprisoned, stripped of his possessions or exiled “except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law of the land.” Basically, it said the king can’t arbitrarily imprison someone just because he’s in a bad mood. The government must act according to its own laws. That was a huge step toward establishing the modern legal and justice system.
2) What is the name of the Sudanese President who came to news for leaving South Africa on 15 June 2015 and thus defying a Pretoria court order for him to remain in the country until it ruled on an application for his arrest? – Omar al-Bashir
Explanation: Omar al-Bashir, who was attending an African Union summit in South Africa, has been indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) over war crimes and crimes against humanity. The Pretoria High Court was in session on 15 June to decide on a petition by the Southern African Litigation Centre, a rights group that wanted to force South African President Jacob Zuma’s government to arrest Bashir and hand him over to the ICC. South Africa is an ICC signatory and therefore obliged to implement arrest warrants, but the ruling African National Congress (ANC) on 14 June accused the Hague-based ICC of being biased against Africans and said it was “no longer useful”. South Africa’s furious response and its decision to allow Bashir to leave is affirmation of its shifting diplomatic priorities with Africa’s interests trumping those of the West. It is worth mentioning that the Zuma’s government had given immunity to Bashir and all other delegates attending the AU summit. The ICC issued arrest warrants for Bashir in 2009 and 2010, accusing him of masterminding genocide and other atrocities in his campaign to crush a revolt in the Darfur region. He has long rejected the court’s authority. The conflict in Darfur has killed as many as 300,000 people and displaced 2 million, according to the UN.
3) Which Indian business group came to news by clinching a multi-million dollar aerospace contract with European consortium Airbus at the ongoing Paris Air Show on 15 June 2015 and thus marking a major milestone in the ‘Make in India’ initiative? – Mahindra Group
Explanation: This contract was bagged by Mahindra Group subsidiary Mahindra Aerospace which is basically a multi-year aero-components manufacture and supply contract. The contract, the value of which has not been disclosed, will involve a variety of Mahindra produced metallic components, in excess of a million parts per annum, to be fitted into several Airbus aircraft programmes as part of assemblies produced by Premium Aerotec. The parts will be produced at the new Mahindra Aerostructures facility located at Narsapura, near Bengaluru, with deliveries to Premium Aerotec’s facilities in Germany scheduled to commence this year. It is worth mentioning that Mahindra Aerospace started its operations in 2008 and is today the largest supplier to Airbus out of India.
4) What is the percentage of gross non-performing assets (gross NPA) for public-sector banks as on 31 March 2015 as reported in the recently held annual review meeting of the Union Finance Minister with the CEOs of banks, insurance companies and financial institutions (FIs)? – 5.17%
Explanation: It was reported that the public-sector banks continue to report higher bad loans and the gross non-performing assets as on 31 March 2015, stood at 5.17%. The stressed assets ratio (which includes NPAs and restructured loans) was 13.2%. The rise was due to some infrastructure projects, slowdown in global economic recovery, and continuing uncertainty in global markets leading to lower growth of credit.
Other important points that came out of this annual review:
– The gross non-performing assets (GNPA) of 26 public sector banks (including 19 nationalised banks, State Bank of India and its associates and IDBI) have risen by 22.5% to Rs.2.78 lakh crore against Rs.2.27 lakh crore in the previous financial year.
– While the 19 nationalised banks have registered a rise of 39.8% in gross NPA at Rs.1,92,270 crore against Rs.1,37,487 crore in the previous financial year, State Bank of India and its associates have reported eight per cent drop in their NPAs at Rs.73,508 crore against Rs.79,818 crore.
– The gross NPAs of new private sector banks — consisting of Axis Bank, DCB Bank (Development Credit Bank), HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Yes Bank, has risen by 35.3% to Rs.24,534 crore in 2014-15 from Rs.18,133 crore in the previous financial year.
– Among the new private sector banks, ICICI Bank, with 43.7% rise in gross NPA at Rs.15,095 crore against Rs.10,506 crore, contributes to the maximum followed by DCB Bank (Development Credit Bank) at 33.8% (the increase is on a lower base).
– The gross NPAs of eight old private sector banks (listed on stock exchanges) and Tamilnad Mercantile Bank put together shows a rise of 50% at Rs.7,755 crore against Rs.5,170 crore in 2013-14.
– Among the eight old private sector banks, Jammu & Kashmir Bank tops the list with a sharp rise of 253% at Rs.2,764 crore against only Rs.783 crore, followed by Karur Vysya Bank with 143% rise at Rs.678 crore (Rs.279 crore) and South Indian Bank (48.5%). Tamilnad Mercantile Bank has shown a reduction in NPA to 318.68 crore from Rs. 428 crore. Lakshmi Vilas Bank has reduced its NPA significantly to Rs.455 crore from Rs.546 crore, followed by Federal Bank to Rs.1,058 crore from Rs.1,087 crore.
5) World famous Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan, which were destroyed in the Taliban in 2001, recently came to news again. Why? – A Chinese couple resurrected the giant Buddhas with 3D light projection technology in the empty cavities where they once stood
Explanation: The two giant Buddhas were carved out of sandstone cliffs and stood at one point painted and gilded. They managed to survive for more than 1500 years. But the Taliban dynamited and destroyed them in March 2001 as part of a campaign to remove all non-Islamic art from Afghanistan. During June 2015, the giant statues were resurrected with 3D light projection technology in the empty cavities where they once stood in Afghanistan. The project was undertaken by a Chinese couple, (Janson Yu and Liyan Hu) who used 3D laser light projection technology to fill the empty cavities in the cliff in the Bamiyan Valley in Hazarajat with Buddha’s virtual images, 230 km northwest of Kabul. The event on 7 June 2015 saw projectors displaying huge holographic statues of the exact size of the precious cultural monuments that were lost, accompanied by music.
6) The Supreme Court on 15 June 2015 directed the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to re-conduct All India Pre-Medical Test 2015 within four weeks. What was the reason for this direction? – Irregularities were alleged to have taken in this exam
Explanation: All India Pre-Medical Test 2015 (AIPMT 2015) was conducted by the CBSE on 3 May 2015 and the results of the exam were set to be declared by it on 5 June 2015. However, the Supreme Court first stopped the results from being announced after some irregularities were reported in the exam. On its part, the CBSE opposed the contentions seeking cancellation of the test, saying, “6.3 lakh students cannot be made to take the exam afresh when only 44 students have been found involved in taking benefits through unfair means.” However, on 15 June 2015 the Supreme Court said in its order – “The examination stands vitiated even if one student is being benefited illegally”. And it ordered CBSE to re-conduct the AIPMT 2015 again.
