Current Affairs November 2015 - Reports

News 1 - Eight Core Industries grew at a 4-month high rate of 3.2% in September 2015

The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) announced that the eight core industries of Index of Industrial Production (IIP) grew by 3.2% in September 2015 as compared to the 2.6% in September 2014. The growth was calculated with the base year 2004-05. The eight core industries — natural gas, coal, crude oil, steel, refinery products, fertilizers, cement and electricity — comprises about 38% of IIP. The accelerated growth in September 2015 was attributed to fertilizer production and electricity generation.

News 2 - IAMAI released Internet in India 2015 report

The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) released a report called Internet in India 2015 report. The number of Internet users in India is expected to reach 402 million by the end of December 2015, which is a growth of 49% over last year. Thus, India will surpass the USA and will have the second largest user base next only to China.

News 3 - Indian economy grew by 7.4% in the Second Quarter of FY 2015-16: CSO

India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 7.4% in the second quarter (July-September) of 2015-16 financial year compared to the same period during 2014-15. China’s GDP for the same quarter grew by 6.9%. The high growth was driven by a robust 9.3% rise in gross value added (GVA) in the manufacturing sector.

News 4 - Arundhati Bhattacharya of State Bank of India tops Fortune India list of Most Powerful Woman in Indian Business

The Chairperson of SBI, Ms. Arundhati Bhattacharya, is the most powerful woman in the Indian business sector, according to Fortune India. Ms. Chanda Kochhar of the ICICI bank and Ms. Shikha Sharma of the Axis Bank have been ranked second and third place, respectively. Similarly, HPCL Chairperson and Managing Director (MD) Ms. Nishi Vasudeva has earned the fourth position, and AZB & Partners Co-Founder Ms. Zia Mody and Ms. Aruna Jayanthi (Chief Executive of Capgemini India) shared the fifth rank.

News 5 - Global Gender Gap Report 2015 released by World Economic Forum

The World Economic Forum (WEF) published the Global Gender Gap Report 2015. The Global Gender Gap Index 2015 ranks 145 economies according to how well they are leveraging their female talent pool, based on economic, educational, health-based and political indicators. Among the 145 countries surveyed, Iceland topped the Gender Gap Index for the seventh year in a row and India stood at the 108^th position.