• Brazilian appointed as the Finance Minister of Brazil on 18 December 2015 by President Dilma Rousseff - Nelson Barbosa
• Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) on 18 December 2015 approved the purchase of S-400 Triumf Air Defence Missile System from - Russia
• Former Defence Secretary appointed as eighth Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) of India on 18 December 2015 - RK Mathur
• British Novelist who died on 16 December 2015 and was known for his novel The Weathermonger - Peter Dickinson
• International Migrants Day observed across the world on 18 December 2015 with campaign - #I am A Migrant • The state that banned use of polythene across the state on 18 December 2015 – Uttar Pradesh
• The number of migrant workers in the world as per United Nations International Labour Organisation (ILO) report titled Global Estimates on Migrant Workers – 150.3 million
• World Trade Organisation (WTO) on 17 December 2015 unanimously approved this country’s WTO membership term as 163rd member - Afghanistan
• Method announced by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 17 December 2015 to compute interest rates on advances - Marginal Cost of Funds Methodology
• The former Indian cricketer appointed as the bowling coach of Afghanistan’s national cricket team – Manoj Prabhakar
• Veteran leader of Communist Party of India (M) of eastern India who passed away on 17 December 2015 - Noorul Huda
• The aviation industry turnaround expert who on 17 December 2015 resigned from the post of Chief Executive Officer of Jet Airways is – Cramer Ball
• Tata Starbucks announced the appointment of Sumi Ghosh as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) who will replace - Avani Davda
• Hindustan Unilever is set to acquire Mosons Group’s flagship brand known as – Indulekha and Vayodha
• The Husband-wife duo named for Sanctuary magazine’s Lifetime Service Award for the year 2015 is - Claude and Norma Alvares
• The Indian-origin World Bank official selected to lead Open Government Partnership is – Sanjay Pradhan
• Sahitya Akademi on 17 December 2015 announced the Sahitya Akademi Awards for the year 2015 in - 23 languages
• The stock exchange which on 16 December 2015 launched special indices on Tata, Birla, Mahindra Groups – National Stock Exchange
• The company which was presented with the Most Innovative Company of the Year as part of CII Industrial Innovation Awards 2015 - Zydus Cadila
• The company which won the Jury's Recommendation for Commendation for Significant Achievement award in the environment category as part of CII-ITC Sustainability Awards 2015 – SIMS Recycling Solutions
• The company which won the top award in the start-up category as part of CII Industrial Innovation Awards 2015 - Right Track Admizzionz Campuz Pvt. Ltd
• An Italian Catholic newspaper on 17 December 2015 reported that the new person who will be given Sainthood is - Mother Teresa
• India announced that it will contribute 5 Lakh US dollars to the United Nations annual Emergency Response Fund (ERF) to support - global humanitarian relief operations
• In a major setback for Brazil's opposition, Supreme Court has scrapped a commission set up to deal with impeachment proceedings against - President Dilma Rousseff
• The Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar declared Emperor Ashoka’s birth date as a holiday in the state – 14 April
• The former justice of Delhi High Court who on 17 December 2015 took oath as the Lokayukta of Delhi is - Reva Khetrapal
• The state which announced a 10512 crore rupees relief package for drought-hit villages is – Maharashtra
• Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation partnered with Paytm for - E-catering payment
• The country which was adjudged as the best to do business with by the Forbes in its Best Countries For Business report 2015 – Denmark
• The railway station that will be the first one to get Wi-Fi services as part of a partnership between Google and RailTel that aims at providing the services in 400 railway stations across the country – Mumbai Central
• The speaker of Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly against whom an impeachment resolution was passed - Nabam Rebia
• He was appointed as the head of the judicial commission to look into the KG-Basin gas dispute between Reliance Industries and ONGC – A P Shah
• For the first time since 2006, the US Federal Reserve on 16 December 2015 increased the interest rate by – 0.25%
• President of France Francois Hollande will the fifth head of France to be the Chief Guest at -India’s Republic Day celebrations
• According to the Supreme Court ruling of 16 December 2015, this article of Indian Constitution is not violated by the appointment of temple priests as per ancient Hindu rituals (Agamas) – Article 14 (Right to Equality)
• Andhra Pradesh Cabinet chaired by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on 16 December 2015 decided to abolish VAT (Value-added tax), CST (Central Sales Tax) on - Sugar factories
• Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 16 December 2015 gave its approval to amend the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order of the year – 1950
• The author of the book Bose Brothers and Indian Independence – An Insider’s Account is – Madhuri Bose
• The number of Indians named in the disclosure of 2600 unclaimed bank accounts with total holding of about 44 million Swiss franc by Switzerland on 16 December 2015 – Four
• This country reached an agreement with the US on resuming regular commercial flights between the two countries – Cuba
• The registration of these vehicles in Delhi-NCR till 31 March 2016 was banned by the Supreme Court on 16 December 2015 - Diesel SUVs and luxury cars
• The head of the five-judge constitutional bench that on 16 December 2015 directed the Union Government to Prepare Draft Memorandum of Procedure on Appointment of Judges to Higher Judiciary - Justice J S Khehar
• The former judge of the Allahabad High Court appointed as the Lokayukta of Uttar Pradesh is – Virendra Singh
• The 1978 batch Indian Revenue Services officer appointed Chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes is – Arun Kumar Jain
• The famous golfer named as the European Tour Golfer of the Year is - Rory McIlroy
• The World Bank on 15 December 2015 approved a 1.5 billion US dollar loan for - Clean India Campaign (Swachh Bharat Mission)
• As per the National Air Quality Index (NAQI) released by Green Peace on 15 December 2015, the city which recorded highest air pollution levels was – New Delhi
• The city in which the 10th WTO Ministerial Conference was inaugurated on 15 December 2015 – Nairobi, Kenya
• To commemorate Indian armed forces victory in Indo-Pak War 1971, Vijay Diwas was celebrated on – 16 December 2015
• National Energy Conservation Day was observed on – 14 December 2015
• The city in which the two-day 14th Meeting of Heads of Governments of SCO Member States was concluded on 15 December 2015 - Zhengzhou (China)
• The combined Commanders Conference, an annual tri-services event was held for the first time outside New Delhi in – Kochi coast, Kerala on board INS Vikramaditya
• Online shopping portal that on 15 December 2015 launched its mobile website in Hindi and Telugu language - Snapdeal.com
• The Union Finance Ministry on 15 December 2015 raised the monetary limit for filing appeals to Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) to - 10 lakh rupees
• Rajasthan's Apurvi Chandela on 15 December 2015 won a Gold medal on the final day of the 59th National Shooting Championship in - 10-metre Air Rifle event
• Army man Chain Singh won on 15 December 2015 won a Gold medal on the final day of the 59th National Shooting Championship in - 50-metre Rifle 3 Positions event
• Name of the border force that was proposed and adopted by the European Commission (EC) on 15 December 2015 to protect Europe’s external border and Schengen area in light of migrant crisis – Europe Border and Coast Guard
• Uttar Pradesh (UP) Governor Ram Naik on 15 December 2015 gave his consent to the UP Revenue Code (Amendment) Ordinance 2015 that enables Dalits of the state to - Sell their land to non-Dalits
• The state that exempted LED bulbs from the levying of Value Added Tax (VAT) – Uttar Pradesh
• The place in Uttar Pradesh that saw the inauguration of 660 MW thermal power plant by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav – Harduaganj in Aligarh
• Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO’s) Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle on 16 December 2015 will launch six Singapore satellites from - Sriharikota
• Title of the United Nations Human Development Report 2015 that was released on 14 December 2015 - Work for Human Development
• Rank of India in terms of Human Development Index (HDI) as per Human Development Report, 2015 - 130
• Union Government on 14 December 2015 requested the states and Union Territories (UT) to start Operation Smile-II between - 1 January to 31 January 2016
• To deal with traffic violations in the city, Traffic Police of a state/UT started implementation of recommendations of the Supreme Court-appointed committee on Road Safety from 15 December 2015 is - Delhi
• Saudi Arabia on 15 December 2015 said that 34 nations have agreed to form a new Islamic military alliance to fight terrorism, which will have a joint operations center based in - Riyadh
• In a major green initiative, this Indian state decided to phase out more than nine-year-old buses of its Road Transport Corporation – Himachal Pradesh
• Spanish ambassador to India, who in December 2015 voluntarily resigned following news that he had allegedly received illegal corporate kickbacks from Spanish companies working in developing countries - Gustavo de Aristegui
• The Atomic Energy (Amendment) Bill, 2015 passed by Lok Sabha seeks to amend the Atomic Energy Act of the year – 1962
• The retired justice appointed as the head of the Judicial Committee which will look into the implementation of One Rank One Pension scheme for the ex-servicemen is - L Narasimha Reddy
• The famous singer who was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the West Bengal Government is – Kumar Sanu
• The notable violinist conferred with the 2016 Genesis Prize Laureate is - Itzhak Perlman
• The golf player who on 14 December 2015 won the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit 2015 is – Anirban Lahiri
• The multilateral agency with which the First Initiative collaborated to launch Principles for Public Credit Guarantee Schemes – World Bank
• As per the Shock Waves: Managing the Impacts of Climate Change on Poverty report released by the World Bank, 100 million people will be dragged into poverty due to climate change by - 2030
• The city in which the 26th Conference of Southern Zonal Council was held on 12 December 2015 - Vijayawada
• The multilateral agency that released the Shock Waves: Managing the Impacts of Climate Change on Poverty report – World Bank
• Person appointed as the National President of the Indian Institute of Materials Management (IIMM) on 14 December 2015 - OP Longia
• Person appointed as Finance Minister of South Africa on 14 December 2015 - Pravin Gordhan
• Tech Mahindra and Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd on 14 December 2015 acquired - Pininfarina
• The renowned agro-economist and founder of Shetkari Sanghatana who died in 12 December 2015 in Pune is – Sharad Joshi
• The Japanese shuttler who won the Women’s singles at the BWF World Dubai Superseries finals is - Nozomi Okuhara
• The Government of India on 12 December 2015 signed a Memorandum of Understanding for establishing three Indian Institute of Information Technology at - Ranchi, Nagpur and Pune
• The Indian-origin writer who on 11 December 2015 was declared as the winner of the prestigious South East Asia Write Award for Singapore is - Jamaludeen Mohamed Sali
• He won the centre fire pistol gold in the 59th National shooting championship in New Delhi – Vijay Kumar
• The 10-day long festival that began on 12 December 2015 to mark New Year for Buddhists in the Ladakh region - Losar
• The city in which COP 21 under UNFCCC was held between 30 November and 11 December 2015 – Paris
• Name of the mascot of the12th South Asian Games that was unveiled ITA Cultural Center Machkhowa in Guwahati, Assam on 13 December 2015 is - Tikhor
• Indian cinema’s one of the greatest actors, who was conferred with the Padma Vibhushan, the second-highest civilian honour, on 13 December 2015 is - Dilip Kumar
• Construction work on the TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India) Gas Pipeline project started on 13 December 2015 in – Mary, Turkmenistan
• Voters of the country for the first time voted on 12 December 2015 to elect women in at least 18 municipal council seats - Saudi Arabia
• Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on 11 December 2015 appointed Mumbai Police Commissioner as the Ambassador to Saudi Arabia - Ahmad Javed
• Ministry of Railways on 13 December 2015 signed three agreements with Japan during the visit of Prime Minister - Shinzo Abe
• Thousands of Brazilians marched on 13 December 2015 to demand impeachment of Brazils President Dilma Rousseff because of - an overwhelming corruption scandal and a dismal economy
• The Maharashtra government on 13 December 2015 constituted a task force under Union Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha for setting up an - International Financial Service Centre (IFSC)
• Delhi Government on 13 December 2015 ordered magisterial enquiry to probe the death of a 6-month old baby and demolition of 500 Jhuggis by - Railway and Delhi police
• Lohitt Urs and his co-driver Shrikanth Gowda won the title in the FIA Asia Cup category in the Coffee Day India Rally, which concluded in - Chikkamagaluru, Karnataka
• The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation has risen to minus -1.99% for the month of November 2015 from – (-) 3.81% in October 2015
• In the first six months of the FY 2015-16, the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows into the services sector grew by about 20 percent to reach - 1.46 billion dollars
