Gyanm General Awareness August 2016 Issue..!!

GENERAL AWARENESS – AUGUST 2016 1

BREXIT HOW IT HAPPENED

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND After the devastation of World War II, European countries were in state of shock and so serious efforts were being made to find out the ways and means as to how to ensure that conflicts do not raise their ugly heads once again and how can a peaceful living be ensured in future. As a result, a number of treatises were signed in next several years among the European countries for strengthening mutual interests. In 1948, Treaty of Brussels was signed by UK and

four other countries to form a combined defence to counter communism.

In 1957, Treaty of Rome was signed to form the European Economic Community, forming basic frame work of the future European Union.

In 1992, Treaty of Maastricht was signed to form European Community – EC, laying the foundation of European Union and introduced ‘European citzenship’.

In 2002, common currency Euro was established. Finally, in 2007, Treaty of Lisbon was signed to give

the present structure and shape to the European Union, having 28 members.

Although EU with 28 member countries has only 7.3% of the world population, it contributes roughly 24% of global GDP.

Almost all member countries rank very high in Human Development Index.

It has been so effective in its mission of peaceful coexistence that it was awarded Nobel Peace Prize in 2012.

PRESENT DEVELOPMENT - BREXIT

Due to a prolonged slowdown in the economy of UK in recent years and increasing inflow of migrants – both from smaller European countries and from West Asian countries, the radical forces in UK, of late, have been raising demand for a Britain independent of EU so that it can survive on its own terms and conditions. The movement was given the nick name ‘Brexit’ – Britain’s exit from the EU. This compelled present Prime Minister David

Cameron to announce holding of a referendum on June 23 to decide whether Britain wants to ‘Leave’ EU or it wants to ‘Remain’ in EU.

Cameron lead the ‘Remain’ campaign but the results of the referendum shocked the entire world and gave a big jolt to European unity.

51.9% voters supported ‘Leave’, leaving 48.1% with idea of remaining with EU.

It was also a massive victory for UKIP leader Nigel Farage, who has campaigned for the UK to leave the EU for a quarter century.

Respecting the mandate of people, Cameron offered to resign from the post of Prime Minister.

WHAT HAPPENS NOW?

The British Pound plunged to the lowest since 1985 and global markets trembled with fear, leading to crash of stock markets.

The EU is in shock as till date no member has ever left and so there is no precedence to follow or learn from. Article 50 of the EU treaty, which sets out how a state can exit the bloc, offers little detail except that a two year notice period is required to quit.

An array of laws and EU entitlements will cease to apply to British business and citizens, creating what Brexit campaigners say will be opportunities for more growth and more selective immigration.

The result widens fissures in the UK by raising the prospect of another push for Scottish independence.

Beyond Britain’s shores, it will fan speculation that more countries could withdraw from the EU

IMPACT ON INDIA

So far India is concerned, a statement by our Finance Minster, Arun Jaitley sums up the situation.

“….. we are well prepared to deal with the short and medium term consequences of Brexit. Our macro-economic fundamentals are sound with a very comfortable external position, a rock-solid commitment to fiscal discipline, and declining inflation. Our aim will be to smooth this volatility and minimize its impact on the economy in the short term”.

EFFECTS ON INDIAN ECONOMY Rupee may depreciate because of the double effect

of foreign fund outflow and rise in dollar price This will increase petrol and diesel prices to an

extent Prices of gold, electronic goods, among others will

increase Cheaper Pound will benefit Indian exports,

including IT and ITeS.


GENERAL AWARENESS

AUGUST 2016 Vol. 5, Issue 02

A PUBLICATION OF GYANM EDUCATION & TRAINING INSTITUTE PVT. LTD.

SCO 13-14-15, 2ND FLOOR, SEC 34-A, CHANDIGARH

Contents

CURRENT AFFAIRS APRIL TO JUNE 2016 01-34

BULLET NEWS JAN 2016 TO MARCH 2016 35-58

LATEST 100 GK MCQs 59-64

SSC CORNER 65-71

FIVE MONTHS GK BYTES 72-100

FIGURES TO REMEMBER

REPO RATE (05.04.2016) 6.50% REVERSE REPO RATE 6.00% MARGINAL STANDING FACILITY RATE

7.00%

STATUTORY LIQUIDITY RATIO 21.25% CASH RESERVE RATIO 4.00% BANK RATE 7.00% BASE RATE(s) (of various banks)

9.30 to 9.70%

INDIA’s RANK IN

Global Retail Development Index 02nd

Ranking in Total Wealth 07th

Ranking in Attracting FDI 10th

Global Peace Index 141st

Good Country Index 70th

Renewable Energy Index 3rd

World Press Freedom Index 133rd

Rank in Manufacturing Countries 6th

World Happiness Index 118th Intellectual Property Index -2016 37th Overall Growth Prospectus 5th Global Talent Competitiveness Index 89th Nuclear Security Index 21st Ease of Doing Business (Forbes) 97th Human Development Index 130th ICT Development Index 131st Rank in Brand Value 7th Legatum Prosperity Index 99th Global Terrorism Index 06th

NATIONAL NEWS

JUNE 2016

MODI MAKES FIVE NATION VISIT Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a five-nation visit to Afghanistan, Qatar, Switzerland, the US and Mexico, starting from June 4. The visit aimed at broadening bilateral trade, energy and security cooperation and push for India's bid to become a member of Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

In Afghanistan, he was conferred with Amir Amanullah Khan Award, country’s highest civilian honour. He also inaugurated the Friendship Dam in Herat province in Western Afghanistan.

In Qatar, seven MoUs were signed to promote assistance on matters pertaining to customs administration through exchange of information and intelligence. In USA he addressed the special session of Congress.

US APPLAUDS ‘MODI DOCTRINE’ US administration has termed the Prime Minister Modi’s vision of Indo-US ties that has overcome the “hesitations of history” and working for the betterment of the global good as “Modi Doctrine”. It envisages a joint effort by India and USA in promoting peace, prosperity and stability from Asia to Africa, from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific, including safety and freedom of navigation on the seas. PRESIDENT VISITS AFRICA President Pranab Mukherjee made a six-day trip to Ghana, Ivory Coast and Namibia to boost trade ties with these countries. The trip began with Ghana where he signed three agreements for mutual cooperation. In Cote D’Ivoirie (Ivory Coast), he was awarded the highest honour of that country - Grand Cross National Order of the Republic of Cote D’Ivoirie. MODI ATTENDS SCO SUMMIT Prime Minister Modi visited Tashkent, Uzbekistan to attend the two-day summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). The summit approved India and Pakistan’s case for the full membership of the SCO.


ANSARI VISITS MOROCCO, TUNISIA Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari visited Morocco and Tunisia. He arrived in Rabat, capital of Morocco on May 30. He launched the India-Morocco Chamber of Commerce and Industry to promote trade between two countries. Later, he visited Marrakech, main economic center of Morocco. He met King Mohammed VI and Prime Minister Benkirane.

On June 2 he reached Tunis, capital of Tunisia, and met Tunisian Prime Minister Habib Essid. He met President Beji Caid El Sebsi on June 3. A number of MoUs were signed on mutual cooperation between the two countries. INDIA JOINS MTCR GROUP India has been admitted as the 35th member of the elite 34 nations group on the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). This would make it possible for India to buy and sell missile technology to other nations, including the supersonic Brahmos missile. It will also enable India to buy the state-of-the-art surveillance drones, such as the US predator. MTCR is an anti-proliferation group of 34 nations that aims to limit the spread of ballistic missiles and other unmanned delivery systems that could be used for chemical, biological, and nuclear attacks. INDIA FAILS TO ENTER NSG, DESPITE SUPPORT The plenary meeting of the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group, NSG was held in Seoul, South Korea on June 23. A large number of countries supported India’s request for membership to NSG. However, the same could not be approved as a few countries led by China objected to India’s membership because she has not signed the Nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty, NPT. INDIA SECOND IN RETAIL DEVELOPMENT According to 2016 Global Retail Development Index (GRDI), which ranks top 30 developing countries for retail investment worldwide, India has jumped 13 positions from last year to rank second, next only to China. A pick-up in GDP growth and a better clarity regarding FDI regulations have helped India achieve the second ranking.

INDIA RANKS 7TH IN TOTAL WEALTH According to the report by New World Wealth, India has been ranked seventh in the list of top 10 wealthiest countries in the world, with total individual wealth of $5,200 billion. Total wealth is more because of large population. USA with total individual wealth of USD 48,700 billion is at the top, followed by China and Japan. INDIA 10TH IN ATTRACTING FDI As per the World Investment Report 2016 by the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD), India is the 10th largest receiver of FDI in the world, with inflow of $44 billion in 2015. USA tops the ranks by attracting $380 billion. INDIA WORST IN HUMAN SLAVERY According to the Global Slavery Index 2016 of 167 countries, India has largest number of people in modern slavery, around 18.4 million people, accounting for about 40 per cent of world’s slave population. The modern slavery refers to practices like forced labour, bonded labour, human trafficking, child labour and exploitation of migrant workers in situations where a person cannot leave because of threats, violence, coercion and abuse of power or deception. General Prayut Chan-O-Cha, Prime Minister of

Thailand arrived in New Delhi for a three day visit to India with a high level delegation. India signed two agreements with Thailand for

boosting cooperation in culture and educational sectors.

India and USA have signed an agreement for exchange of terrorist screening information, in wake of the recent terror attacks.

A special commemorative silver coin was released by the govt to mark the 300th martyrdom day of Sikh General Banda Singh Bahadur.

As a goodwill gesture, the US has returned over 200 stolen cultural artifacts to India, some dating back 2,000 years, valued at around $100 million.

All India Radio celebrated completion of 80 years of its existence on June 8. On this day in 1936, the Indian State Broadcasting Service became All India Radio.

Ex-Cabinet Secretary T S R Subramanian submitted its report on the New Education Policy to the Ministry of HRD.

Champaran Satyagrah Express train has been started from Bapudham, Motihari (Bihar) to Anand Vihar, Delhi. Gandhiji started his first Satyagrah in April 1917

from Champaran to support the cause of Indigo growers of the region.


MoU signed with Switzerland for cooperation in the fields of skills development and professional education and training.

Mumbai is the most expensive city in India though ranked 82nd in world, according to the 2016 Cost of Living Survey by Mercer of USA. Globally, Hong Kong topped the list of most

expensive cities.

MAY 2016

LODHA COMMITTEE TO REVIEW MCI The Supreme Court has appointed a three-member panel headed by former Chief Justice of India RM Lodha to review the functions of the Medical Council of India - the regulator of medical profession and education in India. SOLAR TRAIN TRIAL IN JODHPUR The Indian Railways plans to conduct trial of its first solar panel-powered train in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. Though the train would be pulled by conventional diesel-run engines, the solar energy will be used for internal electricity gadgets. INDIA HAS 248.8 MILLION HOUSEHOLDS A latest release of the Census 2011 data shows that there are total 248.8 million households in the country of which 202.4 million are of Hindus, 31.2 million belong to Muslims, 6.3 million belong to Christians, 4.1 million of Sikhs and 1.9 million belong to Jains. WORLD’s LARGEST AIRCRAFT LANDS IN INDIA

The world’s largest cargo aircraft, Ukraine’s Antonov AN -225 Mriya — or the Dream, made its first landing in India on May 13 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Hyderabad. The wide body aircraft is powered by six turbofan engines and is the longest and heaviest airplane ever built, with a maximum takeoff weight of 640 tonnes. RAIL HUMSAFAR SAPTAAH The Ministry of Railways launched Rail Humsafar Saptaah from May 26 to June 1 to highlight significant achievements made by Indian Railways in all spheres. Every day of the week will be devoted to a particular aspect of passenger service.

100 CR PENALTY FOR WRONG INDIA MAP According to the draft 'The Geospatial Information Regulation Bill 2016', wrong depiction of the map of India could land the violators in jail with a maximum term of seven years and fine up to Rs 100 crore. 4 INDIAN CITIES IN TOP 5 POLLUTED CITIES Of the five cities in the world with the worst air pollution, four are in India, says a report by the World Health Organisation. These four cities are Ludhiana, Khanna, Amritsar and Gobindgarh. The dirtiest air was recorded at Zabol in Iran while Delhi was ranked at 9th place. President Pranab Mukherjee visited China from May

24 to 27, starting his trip from the highly industrialised Chinese city Guangzhou.

President of Sri Lanka Maithripala Sirisena arrived in New Delhi on May 13 for a two day visit.

International Vichar Mahakumbh was held in Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh from May 12 to 14.

The H.R. Nagendra Committee on Yoga Education in Universities has recommended seven programmes for implementation in Indian universities.

To mark the 155th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore, India organized a cultural festival in Cairo, Egypt from May 8 to 12.

A study by Assocham-KPMG shows that India is the fifth largest producer of e-waste, discarding roughly 18.5 lakh metric tonnes of electronic waste each year.

Govt has granted status of ‘classical language’ to six languages - Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Sanskrit and Odia.

APRIL 2016 ]

INDIA HOLDS MARITIME SUMMIT The First Maritime India Summit was held in Goregaon, Mumbai, from April 14 to 16 to focus on port based economic growth of the country. India has a coastline of over 7500 kms that offers vast opportunities for growth oriented investment.


AMBEDKAR JAYANTI AT UNO For the first time, United Nations observed the birth anniversary of Dr. B R Ambedkar on April 14 at its headquarters in New York. It was organised by Permanent Mission of India to the UN in association with the Kalpana Saroj Foundation and Foundation for Human Horizon to focus on the empowerment and inclusion of excluded groups, reform of labour laws, and promotion of education for all. INDIA 6th IN MANUFACTURING

India has been ranked sixth among the world's Top-Ten largest manufacturing countries. Previously, India was 9th rank in the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) report. China tops the list followed by US, Japan, Germany and Korea. Indonesia was at the bottom. ‘AADHAAR’ CROSSES HUNDRED CRORE MARK The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has generated 100 crore Aadhaar numbers, touching a “historic” milestone in a span of five-and-a-half years. Aadhaar is now the largest digital platform in the world for good governance and transparent delivery of services of subsidies and services. INDIA SIGNS PARIS CLIMATE AGREEMENT India signed the historic Paris Climate Agreement at United Nations in New York on April 22, along with 175 nations, marking a significant step ahead for combating global warming. In the agreement, all countries agreed to work to limit global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius, and to strive for 1.5 degrees Celsius. RAJYA SABHA GETS 6 NEW MEMBERS President nominated the six personalities from different fields to the Rajya Sabha (House of Elders) following the recommendations of the Central government. The six persons include BJP leaders Subramanian Swamy and Navjot Singh Sidhu and Narendra Jadhav, Malayalam actor Suresh Gopi, journalist Swapan Dasgupta and boxer Mary Kom. President is empowered to nominate 12 prominent persons from various walks of life to the Rajya Sabha.

INDIA SUFFERS HIGH TROJAN ATTACK As per a report from the security solutions firm Symantec, India ranks third among countries with high number of financial Trojan infections, where cybercriminals defraud customers of online banking services. Globally, the financial sector was the highest targeted sector in January with 40.2 per cent of all spear-phishing attacks. GERMANY TO HELP IN ‘NAMAMI GANGE’ India has joined hands with Germany to attain pristine status of Ganga by adopting river basin management strategies used for cleansing German rivers like Rhine and Danube, under the Indian mission ‘Namami Gange’. APEX COURT ALLOWS NEET The Supreme Court has allowed the holding of the National Eligibility Entrance Test, NEET for medical courses across the country. The top court set aside its 2013 order by which the common entrance test for admissions to MBBS, BDS and PG courses in all medical colleges was quashed. TOP EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTES OF INDIA The HRD ministry released first-of-its-kind National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) for ranking the higher education institutions in the country. Results of the rankings are:

Top Management Institute: IIM Bangalore, followed by IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Calcutta

Top Engineering Institute: IIT Chennai, followed by IIT Mumbai and IIT Kharagpur.

Best University: The Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore

Top Pharmacy Institute: Manipal College of Pharma-ceutical Sciences, Manipal W B LOAN FOR SWACHH BHARAT MISSION

World Bank has agreed to provide a $1.5 billion loan for the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). SBM is the country's largest-ever campaign to improve sanitation. It aims to end open defecation and improve the management of liquid and solid wastes.


INDIA GETS FIRST LOAN FROM NDB The newly started development bank by the global group BRICS, New Development Bank – NDB has started giving loans. India is among the first four countries to get a loan. The $ 250 million loan will be routed through the Canara Bank for a renewable energy project. INDIA NOT SAFE FOR JOURNALISTS

A study of 180 countries by the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders to study the functioning of journalists has placed India at a lowly 133rdplace.

It says that media in India continues to be under stress as the government is "indifferent" to threats against scribes. They are attacked frequently for reports that may not be palatable to particular groups. The 2016 ‘World Press Freedom Index’ is topped by Finland, followed by the Netherlands and Norway.

The index measures media pluralism, independence, the legal framework and the safety of journalists in 180 countries. MODI NOT IN WORLD TOP 100 RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, tennis star Sania Mirza, actress Priyanka Chopra and founders of Flipkart Binny Bansal and Sachin Bansal are the Indians that have been named by Time magazine in its list of the '100 Most Influential People in the World'. Surprisingly, Mr Modi does not figure in the list.

President Pranab Mukherjee went on a six-day trip to Papua New Guinea and New Zealand on April 27.

Britain’s Prince William and his wife, Kate Middleton, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, visited India on a week’s goodwill tour.

India and France have launched a programme with $1 trillion Potential Solar Programme under the International Solar Alliance (ISA).

India, Afghanistan and Iran have agreed for joint work on development of Chabahar port in Iran.

India and Mauritius have signed an MoU on cooperation in the field of traditional system of medicine and Homoeopathy.

The first ever two day North East-ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Business Summit was inaugurated in Centre in Imphal, Manipur.

3rd Asia Ministerial Conference on the Tiger Conservation was held in New Delhi on April 12.

First National Tribal Carnival held in Delhi from April 29 to May 02, 2016 to showcase and promote various facets of tribal culture on a large scale.

India and South Korea have signed a MoU for cooperation and mutual assistance in port related matters and their developments.

India has signed an agreement with the Islamic Development Bank for a $100 million line of credit to facilitate exports to IDB's member countries.

Govt has released a Commemorative Coin of 200 rupees and a Circulation Coin of 10 rupees to mark the 200th Martyrdom Day of Tatya Tope, a war hero of 1857 war of Independence.

A statue of Maharaja Ranjit Singh will be installed in France's Saint-Tropez town in September this year. The town is birth place of French General J F Allard who served in the army of Maharaja.

NEWS FROM STATES

JUNE 2016

NAGPUR SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH JINAN Nagpur and the Chinese city of Jinan (capital of Shandong Province) have signed the agreement of 'sister cities' for the exchange of ideas and technology in the field of education, urban planning, youth affairs, and sports. Kerala Tourism won four awards at ‘FilmAT’, one of the biggest international film festivals dedicated to tourism, art and ecology, held in Poland. Andhra Pradesh has become the first State to have obtained a telecom license from the Telecom Ministry. Now the state can issue phone numbers starting with the ‘797’ series from August this year. Sikkim has become the first state in India to have an open government data portal to facilitate free usage of govt data by general public. Maharashtra government has decided to celebrate the 21st of every month as Yoga Day across all schools, colleges and universities in the state. Odisha has become first state in the country to give social welfare benefits - such as a pension, housing and food grains to transgender people. Lakshadweep has become first Union Territory in India to assure 24x7 power to its residents.


MAY 2016

5 STATES ELECT THEIR CHIEF MINISTER Tamil Nadu: Jayalalitha reelected leading the AIADMK - All India Anna Dravida Munetra Kazhagam. West Bengal: Mamta Banerjee reelected leading the Trinamool Congress. Assam: Sarbananda Sonowal becomes the first BJP Chief Minister. Kerala: Pinarayi Vijayan of the CPI (M) led the left democratic front – LDF to become the Chief Minister. Puducherry: V. Narayanasamy of Congress elected as the new Chief Minister. The World’s largest Single Rooftop Solar Power Plant with capacity of 11.5 MegaWatt (MW) has been installed at Dera Baba Jaimal Singh of Radha Swamis at Beas, in district Amritsar, Punjab.

Madhya Pradesh Tourism has won the award for the Best Indian Destination for Wildlife. The state has 25 wild life sanctuaries including nine National Parks.

Rajasthan State Transport Corporation has launched 20 Nirbhaya buses with multiple safety measures to better protect women passengers.

APRIL 2016

HOUSING SCHEME FOR WIDOWS

Jharkhand govt launched the Bhimrao Ambedkar Awas Yojana for construction of houses for widows. The beneficiaries will get Rs 75,000 support for constructing houses in hilly areas and Rs. 70,000 in plain areas. EDUCATION BAR FOR ULB SEATS Any male person desiring to contest for Urban Local Bodies in Haryana will now have to be matriculate and have a functional toilet at home while a woman and a SC candidate will be required to be at least 8th standard pass. Minimum educational qualification for SC women candidates will be 5th standard pass.

The Uttar Pradesh government has directed all the district magistrates for plantation of 5 crore trees at 6,500 sites in 24 hours on a date fixed in month of July under the ‘Green UP - Clean UP’ programme.

World’s maiden white tiger safari was opened up at Mukundpur in Satna district of Madhya Pradesh. The first whtite tiger was spotted in MP’s Vindhya region in 1915. It is a rare breed of tiger, found only in India.

Rajasthan has become the first state to pass land title bill to verify land documents with landowners with the state records.

To promote the Swachh Bharat Mission, 20 ‘Namma’ toilets were established at different points in Delhi. The mission targets to establish 2.56 lakh public toilets by 2nd October 2017.

Bihar has become the fourth state in the country to ban sale and consumption of liquor. The other three states are Mizoram, Nagaland and Gujarat.

The European Investment Bank has agreed to give Euro 450 million (Rs. 3,300 crore) towards constructing a 23-km long Lucknow Metro rail line.

Germany’s Development Bank KfW will provide loan assistance of 3750 crore rupees for the development of metro system for Nagpur city.

Asian Development Bank has approved a project loan of $300 million for upgradation of over 400 km of major district roads in Uttar Pradesh.

GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES

JUNE 2016

SMART CITY PROJECT LAUNCHED IN PUNE Prime Minister Modi formally launched the ‘Smart City Project’ in Pune Maharashtra. Total 69 Smart City projects will be launched in 20 cities with a total investment of about Rs. 1,770 crore. These projects are related to solid waste management, water supply projects, sewage treatment plants, housing projects for urban poor under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.


NEW AVIATION POLICY NOTIFIED

Government has approved the National Civil Aviation Policy 2016, capping fares at Rs 2,500 for one-hour flights and Rs 1200 for flights up to 30 minutes. It also waived the 5/20 norm for new airlines to fly abroad. The 5/20 Rule says that an airline can fly to international destinations only if it has served within the country for five years and has a 20-aircraft fleet. AADHAAR TO BE LINKED WITH STUDENTS Government has asked all state governments to link Aadhaar number with caste and domicile certificates of school students studying either in Class V or VIII. This is to ensure that the scholarships to the SC/ST students are granted in time without any harassment. DLAMC TO MONITOR URBAN DEVELOPMENT To promote people centric planning, execution and monitoring of new urban development schemes, govt has approved setting up of District Level Advisory and Monitoring Committees with the elected representatives of the people across the country. Senior most MP of the area will head the committee. ‘VIDYANJALI’ TO SUPPORT GOVT SCHOOLS To boost community participation in government schools, HRD Ministry has launched Vidyanjali scheme inviting volunteers to hold public speaking, storytelling, acting sessions and participate in other co-scholastic activities. NATIONAL DISASTER MANAGEMENT PLAN India’s first ever NDM plan, which aims to make the country disaster resilient and reduce loss of lives was released on June 1. The plan is based on the four priority themes of the “Sendai Framework.” PPF WITHDRAWAL ALLOWED AFTER 5 YEARS The Finance Ministry has allowed the subscribers of the Public Provident Fund (PPF) to prematurely close their account after completing five years for reasons such as higher education or expenditure towards medical treatment. THE UNION MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS has launched three passenger service initiatives namely- a Janani Sewa for mothers, optional catering in Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains, and a children’s menu on trains.

DELEGATION POWERS OF MINISTERS HIKED Making changes in the delegation of financial power rules, 1978, the Finance Ministry has advised that now the Ministers can approve non-plan expenditure proposals of up to Rs. 500 crore as against the earlier limit of Rs. 150 crore. Proposals up to Rs. 75 crore can be approved by the secretary of the administrative ministry or department. Proposals beyond 500 crore and up to 1,000 crore rupees shall be sanctioned jointly with Finance minister. Proposals exceeding 1000 crore will be sanctioned by the Union Cabinet. ‘SURYA MITRA’ APP FOR SOLAR ENERGY Government has launched a GPS based mobile app named ‘Surya Mitra’ developed by National Institute of Solar Energy to facilitate repair and maintenance of solar equipments, awareness about availability of solar power capacities and other related issues. The app will be supported by the trained ‘Surya Mitras’ to support the users of the app. IRCTC LAUNCHES ‘TIGER EXPRESS’ Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation – IRCTC launched a special tourist train - Tiger Express to spread awareness among people regarding tiger conservation. It will take tourists to various Tiger Parks on a six day trip. TRAI has launched a mobile app for telecom

subscribers to register their complaints against pesky calls and SMSs to tighten the noose on telemarketers.

Govt has decided to enhance the age of retirement of all doctors of the Central Health Service to 65 years with immediate effect.

Railway has started India's first timetabled freight train, named ‘Cargo Express’, from Delhi to Bengaluru.

Government has launched a pilot programme to run two-wheelers on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) in New Delhi to curb air pollution in cities.

The government has exempted PF withdrawals of up to Rs. 50,000 from tax deduction at source.

Government has launched a campaign ‘Swachh Yug’ to make villages located along Ganga free from open defecation by motivating people to achieve this goal.

Govt plans to raise a new Indian Reserve Police Battalion in Rajasthan named after Maharana Pratap, the great Rajput warrior of Mewar region.

Govt has sanctioned Rs. 10,000 crore 'Fund of Funds for Startups' to boost self-employment in the country by supporting the ‘Startup India Action Plan’.


MAY 2016

MULTILINGUAL PORTAL ‘BHARATAVANI’

Ministry of HRD has launched the portal ‘Bharatavani’ - the largest online repository of dictionaries in India. It is a single point source for multiple language learning, content and technology in 22 scheduled languages, which eventually will be extended to 100 more languages. NATIONAL IPR POLICY ANNOUNCED The govt has approved the National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) policy with a view to promoting creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship. The policy aims to push IPRs as a marketable financial asset, promote innovation and entrepreneurship. ‘UJJWALA’ TO GIVE LPG TO BPL FAMILIES The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) was formally launched by the Prime Minister at Ballia, Uttar Pradesh. The scheme aims to provide cooking gas connections to five crore below-poverty-line beneficiaries over the next three years. The connections will be given in the name of women beneficiary. UJALA SCHEME LAUNCHED FOR LED BULBS Union Minister of State for Energy and Coal Piyush Goyal formally launched the energy-efficient LED bulbs distribution scheme UJALA (Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All) at Bhopal for the state of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. The scheme aims to replace all the conventional bulbs with the LED bulbs for reducing drastically power consumption and emission of carbon gasses.

PORTAL LAUNCHED FOR SCHOOL STUDENTS The Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has decided to launch ASMITA, an online student tracking system for 25 crore students of India from class I to XII. ASMITA is acronym for All School Monitoring Individual Tracing Analysis and shall be launched under Shala Asmita Yojana (SAY). COMMITTEE TO REVIEW FRBM Govt has constituted a five Member Committee headed by former Revenue and Expenditure Secretary N.K. Singh to comprehensively review and give recommendations on the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) road map for the future.

NITI AAYOG TO LAUNCH 15 YEAR PLAN Govt has decided to replace the five year plans with 15 year vision documents. The NITI Aayog has been directed to prepare a vision document for this purpose. It will be implemented after the 12th five year plan which is ending in March, 2017. UNIQUE BUSINESS IDENTIFICATION NUMBER The Government plans to issue a UBIN for budding entrepreneurs to start up their new businesses without any delay. The number will be issued by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion. LOK SABHA PASSES BANKRUPTCY BILL The Lok Sabha has passed the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code Bill 2016. The bill aims to improve conditions for ‘Ease of Doing Business’.

Broadly speaking, Insolvency is a financial situation where a person or business entity is not in a position to repay its debts. When this status is confirmed by courts, it is called Bankruptcy, a legal status. SINGLE EMERGENCY NUMBER - 112 Govt has approved the single emergency number ‘112’ to help people access directly emergency services like police, ambulance and fire fighting. The number will be operational throughout India from January 1, 2017. COMMITTEE FOR TAXI OPERATORS

The Union Government has constituted a committee headed by Sanjay Mitra, Secretary of Union Ministry of Road Transport & Highways to prepare a policy framework for taxi and other transport operators.

A Parliamentary Standing Committee headed by J C Divakar Reddy, MP has been formed to tackle misleading advertising as well as to fix liability on endorsers/celebrities.

Parliament has passed two Bills- The Appropriation Acts (Repeal) Bill 2015 and The Repealing and Amending (Third) Bill, 2015 to repeal outdated 1053 old laws which had become redundant legislations.

The trial run of India's first ever Metro train equipped to run in the driverless mode was conducted in New Delhi on May 18 by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation.


Union Cabinet has approved a national policy on capital goods which aims at creating more than 2 crore new jobs and tripling the production of capital goods to Rs 7.5 lakh crore by 2025.

The Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities will now be known as 'Divyangjan' Sashaktikaran Vibhag in Hindi, dropping the word 'viklangjan' from its previous nomenclature.

Govt has constituted the Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority to strengthen the framework for safeguarding the interest of investors.

The Income Tax department has launched an electronic grievance redressal system named ‘e-nivaran’ to fast track taxpayers’ complaints..

Government has selected 13 more cities for the smart cities mission. The list is topped by Lucknow. Already 20 cities have been selected for this mission.

Moving towards environment friendly solutions, Prime Minister Modi launched e-rickshaws and solar powered boats in Varanasi.

EPFO has decided to increase benefits under the Employees' Deposit Linked Insurance scheme from Rs 3.60 lakh to Rs 6 lakh.

APRIL 2016

PROGRAMME FOR VILLAGE UPLIFTMENT The ‘Gram Uday Se Bharat Uday Abhiyan’ (Village Self Governance Campaign) was launched on April 14, the 125th Birth anniversary of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, to strengthen Panchayati Raj in villages, empowerment of women and upliftment of farmers. The campaign concluded on April 24.

25 MINISTRIES JOIN IMPRINT INITIATIVE 25 Ministries and Departments of the Union Government signed a MoU to join IMPacting Research Innovation and Technology (IMPRINT) initiative. It was launched on 5 November 2015 to establish a single window mechanism to shortlist research projects by leading research and technology institutes.

'VIDYUT PRAVAH' FOR 24X7 POWER SUPPLY

Govt has launched the mobile application 'Vidyut Pravah' to empower common people to demand 24x7 power from the State. The app will provide the highlights of the electricity availability in the country on the real time basis.

INDIA’s FIRST SEMI-HIGH SPEED TRAIN The Nizamuddin-Agra Gatimaan Express that started on April 5 is the first semi-high speed train in India. It will run at a speed of 160 kilometer per hour and is expected to cover the 200 km distance between Delhi and Agra in 100 minutes.

COMMITTEE FOR DOUBLING OF FARM INCOMES Govt has set up a committee headed by Ashok Dalwai, Additional Secretary at the Agriculture Ministry to suggest ways to double farm incomes by 2022. The committee will focus on finding the means for enhancing productivity and reducing costs of cultivation.

STAND-UP INDIA LOAN SCHEME LAUNCHED Govt has launched the Stand-up India scheme to give a push to financial inclusion programme. Under the scheme, 1.25 lakh bank branches will provide loans up to 1 crore rupees to SC/ST and women entrepreneurs. The scheme will help in creating 2.5 lakh entrepreneurs as every bank branch will be required to provide two such loans ranging from 10 lakh to Rs 1 crore without collateral, for setting up a new enterprise. 3RD PHASE OF ‘MISSION INDRADHANUSH’ The Union Health Ministry launched third phase of universal vaccination programme Mission Indradhanush to cover 216 districts across several States including Bihar, Gujarat, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. Under the mission, the children are vaccinated against seven preventable diseases. ‘PANIC BUTTON’ MUST FOR MOBILE PHONES In a bid to improve women security, the government has made it mandatory that no mobile can be sold in India without an in-built panic button, starting January 1, 2017. Besides, in-built GPS navigation system would be mandatory for all phones with effect from January 1, 2018.


GOVT LAUNCHES ‘ANMOL’ AND ‘E-RAKTKOSH

Govt has launched a tablet-based application ‘ANMOL’ that allows ANMs (Auxiliary Nurse Midwife) to enter and update data for the beneficiaries. Another web-based mechanism launched is ‘E-RaktKosh’ that interconnects all the Blood Banks of the State into a single network. E- MARKET LAUNCHED FOR FARM PRODUCE To facilitate online trading of commodities in 21 markets from 8 states, an E-National Agriculture Market was launched on April 14, 125th birth anniversary of Dr. B R Ambedkar. The eight states are Haryana, UP, MP, Chattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, HP and Telangana. ISBN PORTAL LAUNCHED The Union HRD Minster Smriti Irani launched a portal for registration and allotment of International Standard Book Number (ISBN) at a function held in New Delhi. The portal will facilitate publishers and authors to register for ISBN online. It is a 13 character identification number allotted by International ISBN Agency based in UK. INDIA TO JOIN ‘SAWEN’

Union cabinet has approved India’s formal membership of the regional group Sawen. SAWEN (South Asia Wildlife Enforcement Network) is a regional network comprising of eight countries in South Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka for combating wildlife crime and illegal trade in the region.

I P PORTAL LAUNCHED FOR SMEs The government has launched a portal ‘The Indian IP Panorama’ which will act as a single window interface for information on intellectual property and provide guidance on leveraging it for competitive advantage. It is a customised version of IP Panorama Multimedia toolkit, developed by World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). The Indian IP Panorama has 5 modules: (i) Importance of IP for SMEs, (ii) Trademark, (iii) Industrial design, (iv) Invention and Patent and (v) Patent Information. RULES FOR PREVENTION OF ATROCITIES Union Government notified the Scheduled Castes (SC) and the Scheduled Tribes (ST) (Prevention of Atrocities (PoA)) Amendment Rules, 2016 to enlarge scope of rules to cover several more violations against SC/ST persons as cognizable offences.

Govt has launched its first online interactive heritage portal Sahapedia to serve as one point resource for collaborative knowledge on the arts, culture and heritage of India.

The Department of Disinvestment has been renamed as Department of Investment and Public Asset Management or 'Dipam' under the Finance Ministry.

Railways to create a 1 lakh crore rupees ‘Rashtriya Rail Sanrakshan Kosh’ to strengthen safety measures on the rail network to prevent accidents.

Govt has launched a Twitter Seva Service, a special Twitter cell to respond to queries from start-ups, exporters and importer, within 48 to 72 hours.

The ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ programme has been extended to 61more districts with low Child Sex Ratio across 11 States/UTs. Already there in 100 districts.

Govt has decided to increase minimum wages of contract workers to Rs 10,000 taking into consideration the CPI and Dearness Allowance.

Govt plans to construct five lakh ponds under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana by next year.

Govt has formed a committee headed by former Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta to suggest ways to improve protection along the Pakistan border.

Union government plans to lay more emphasis on promoting Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events (MICE) tourism in India.

Govt has launched a low cost micro solar device, Surya Jyoti, to light up homes without electricity and save millions of units of power.

Govt has issued a new set of income tax return forms that require people with an income of Rs 50 lakh and above per annum to disclose their assets.


ECONOMIC INDICATORS

JUNE 2016

GDP GROWTH RATE JUMPS TO 7.9%

Data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows that the economy grew at an accelerated pace of 7.9% in the fourth quarter of 2015-16, taking the overall GDP growth to a five-year high of 7.6% for the year ended March 31, 2016. India’s per capita income rose by 7.4% to Rs 93,293 in 2015-16 from Rs 86,879 in 2014-15. The industrial production as measured by IIP

contracted 0.8% in April, dragged down by a sharp plunge in production of capital goods and consumer wares.

Growth in the country's 8 core sectors surged to an over four-year high of 8.5 per cent in April mainly due to good growth in refinery products and electricity.

MAY 2016

INDIA POISED TO GROW BY 8% In its latest Global Economic outlook, Fitch Ratings, USA has said that it expects India's real GDP growth to rise to 8 percent by 2018-19, from 7.9 percent in 2017-18 and 7.7 percent in 2016-17 driven by the gradual implementation of structural reforms, higher disposable income and improvement in economic activity. UN REPORT PUTS INDIA’S GROWTH AT 7.3% A UN report ‘The World Economic Situation and Prospect’ says that notwithstanding delays in domestic policy reforms, India’s economy is “slowly gaining momentum” and is projected to grow by 7.3 per cent this year and is expected to achieve a growth of 7.5 per cent in 2017. IMF KEEPS INDIA’s GROWTH RATE AT 7.5% The IMF has retained its growth forecast for India at 7.5% for the year 2016-17, largely driven by private consumption even as weak exports and sluggish credit growth weigh on the economy. It said structural reforms, including GST and in areas like land and labour, will be the key to boost India’s economic growth.

Global rating agency, Moody's has forecast a growth rate of about 7.5 percent for the Indian economy in 2016 and 2017, driven largely by private consumption growth.

APRIL 2016

RBI MAINTAINS GROWTH RATE AT 7.6% The Reserve Bank in its first policy review of the year expects the economy to grow by 7.6 per cent in the current fiscal on the back of favourable monsoon, slightly lower than the upper end of government’s projected rate of 7-7.75 per cent. ADB PUTS INDIA’s GROWTH AT 7.6 % With the failure of the government to push through the Goods and Services Tax and the Land and Labour Reforms, the Asian Development Bank has lowered India’s growth forecast to 7.4 per cent from an earlier estimate of 7.6 per cent for the financial year ending March 31, 2017. “NO BPL POPULATION BY 2032” - KANT In a presentation made by Niti Aayog Chief Executive Officer Amitabh Kant, it was stated that India will achieve growth of 10% by 2032 to become a $10-trillion economy, creating 175 million jobs and leading to zero per cent of Below Poverty Line (BPL) population.

ECONOMY & INDUSTRY

JUNE 2016

MSP HIKED FOR KHARIF CROPS On the recommendations of Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), government has hiked the minimum support price (MSP) of pulses by up to Rs 425 per quintal for the coming season 2016-17, effective from Oct 1, 2016. Crop Rs/qtl hike Paddy–common 1470 60 Paddy–grade A 1510 60 Jowar 1625 55 Bajra 1330 55 Maize 1365 40 Tuar daal 5050 425 Moong daal 5225 375 Urad 5000 375 Groundnut 4220 190 Sunflower 3950 150 Sesamum 5000 300 Cotton 3860 60 The MSP is the assured rate at which the government buys the grain from farmers. Paddy is the main crop grown in the kharif (summer) season.


NEW AVENUES FOR 100% FDI With an aim to give impetus to job creation and ease of doing business in the country, Government has approved 100 per cent FDI in Aviation, Defence and e-commerce sectors under the government approval route. RAJASVA GYAN SANGAM HELD IN DELHI A high level summit of the top brass of the two revenue collection arms of the government—CBDT and CBEC was held in New Delhi by the name ‘Rajasva Gyan Sangam’. Addressing the summit, Prime Minster Modi appealed the officers to widen the tax payers base to 10 crore. WORLD BANK FUNDING FOR CITY TRANSPORT The World Bank has agreed to provide a $ 9.2 million grant for financing the Efficient and Sustainable City Bus Service Project in selected Indian cities like Chandigarh, Jaipur and Mira Bhayandar in Thane, Maharashtra. PURCHASES OF OVER 2 LAKH TO ATTRACT TCS Payment in cash for buying goods and services worth more than Rs 2 lakh with the exception of jewellery will attract 1 per cent tax collected at source (TCS) wef June 1. In case of jewellery, the cut off is at Rs 5 lakh and over Rs 2 lakh for bullion. SERVICES TO COST MORE WEF JUNE 1 The Krishi Kalyan Cess of 0.5 per cent on the service tax, announced by Finance Minister in the current budget, became effective from June 1. The consumers will now have to pay an extra 50 paise per Rs 100 or Rs 5 per Rs 1,000 spent on any taxable item like various utility bills, parlours, restaurants, AC rail tickets, etc. TRIAL RUN OF HIGH SPEED TALGO TRAIN Trial of the lighter and faster Spanish train Talgo, with speed up to 115 km per hour, was conducted between Bareilly and Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh as part of the Railways' strategy to increase the speed of trains. LOANS GRANTED BY ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK

Loan amount

(in $ million)

Granted to Purpose

120 Odisha to improve irrigation and water management infrastructure

100 Tamil Nadu

to strengthen and improve water management in the Vennar sub-basin of Cauvery Delta

200 Jharkhand to upgrade 176-kms of rural roads 500 Bihar to build a 9.8 km long bridge

(longest in India) across the Ganges River

The Japan International Cooperation Agency has granted a loan of Rs. 1,548 crore to Tamil Nadu for improving the quality of urban healthcare services.

Work has started on the 'Jal Marg Vikas' (National Waterway-1) for developing a 1620 km waterway between Allahabad and Haldia in West Bengal.

Railways have started a new weekly train from Kamakhya (Seat of Black Magic), Assam to Vaishno Devi Katra (J&K), linking the prominent pilgrimage centers.

The Nuclear Power Corporation of India and the US firm Westinghouse have agreed to begin engineering work for six nuclear power plant reactors in India.

India has surpassed Japan to become the world’s third-largest oil consumer, consuming 4.1 million bpd in 2015, after USA and China. Bpd= barrels per day

To promote and facilitate South Korean Investments in India, the two countries have launched a joint forum named ‘Korea Plus’.

MAY 2016

WB LOAN FOR ROOFTOP SOLAR POWER The World Bank has approved $625 million loan to India to support the rooftop solar power generation across the country. The project will be implemented through the State Bank of India, which will on-lend the funds to solar photovoltaic developers and end-users.

FSSAI BANS USE OF POTASSIUM BROMATE After the alert raised by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) that 84 per cent of the 38 popular brands of breads contained cancer-causing chemicals, the Food Safety and Standards Association of India (FSSAI) has recommended banning Potassium Bromate as a food additive. PRESIDENT HONOURS EXPORTERS President Pranab Mukherjee presented Niryat Shree and Niryat Bandhu Awards in New Delhi to honour exporters for their excellent business achievements. Both Awards were instituted by the Federation of Indian Export Organization (FIEO) in the year 1995-96 with the aim to motivate exporters.


INDIA RANKS 9TH IN ‘CRONY CAPITALISM’

A study by the leading financial magazine, The Economist shows that in terms of ‘crony capitalism’, India is ranked at ninth position with crony sector wealth accounting for 3.4 per cent of the GDP. Russia tops the list where wealth from the country's crony sectors amounts to 18 per cent of its GDP. Crony capitalism is a kind of economy where success in business depends on close relationships between business people and government officials as the later shower favours on the selected few corporates. ‘DHAN WAPSI’ SCHEME wef JUNE 1 The govt has announced The Income Declaration Scheme, 2016 – ‘Dhan Wapsi’, an amnesty scheme for declaring domestic black money, from June 1 till Sep 30. Individuals willing to declare their black money in the country will have to pay tax and a penalty, totalling 45 per cent.

INCOME TAX DATA MADE PUBLIC In a landmark development towards greater transparency, the income tax department has released its key data, though after a lapse of 16 years. Taxpayers account for just about one per cent of India's population. Total income tax collections in 2015-16 were 2.86 lakh crore rupees. NEW DTAA SIGNED WITH MAURITIUS India and Mauritius have signed a protocol amending the double tax avoidance arrangement between the two countries. Now India gets the right to tax capital gains on investments routed through Mauritius, from April 1, 2017. MMTC has launched in collaboration with Swiss gold

company Pamp, a new gold coin ‘Tola’ of 11.6639 grams on the occasion of ‘Akshya Tritya’, May 9.

World Bank has agreed to provide $ 100 million loan to support ‘Karnataka Urban Water Supply Modernization project’.

The Tata Group has made a foray into the e-commerce market through TataCLiQ.com to sell apparel, electronics and footwear, etc.

India and Slovenia have signed a protocol to amend the double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA) to include exchange of information to curb tax evasion.

Union cabinet has approved Rs.1,983 crore package for widening of the 19-km stretch between Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border of the Delhi-Meerut Expressway.

APRIL 2016

COMPANIES TO OBSERVE IFRS NORMS Companies with a net worth of Rs 500 crore or more will have to follow new Indian Accounting Standards (Ind AS) from April 1. The new standards have been converged with the globally followed International Financial Reporting Standards - IFRS. BLACKSTONE ENTERS INDIA In one of the largest private equity deals in the IT industry, Blackstone, the New York based MNC in investment and financial services has signed a deal to buy 60.5 per cent stake in Mphasis, a Bengaluru based IT services major. INDIA TOPS IN INWARD REMITTANCES

As per a recent World Bank report, India remained the world's largest remittance recipient in 2015 despite experiencing a one billion US dollar drop from the previous year, attracting $69 billion, followed by China at $64 billion. India has offered to invest up to $20 billion in new

petrochemicals, fertiliser and liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities in Iran and sought land and cheaper natural gas for this.

The Shan-E-Punjab Express, country’s first train with CCTV cameras in all coaches, for safety of passengers, started from Delhi for Amritsar.

The Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd. has become the number one coal producer in the country by producing a record 137.90 million tonne of coal in 2015-16.

The East Coast Railway has become the largest Freight Loading Railway Zone in 2015-16 with handling of 173.49 million tonnes of freight.

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) has launched a new index Nifty Mid Smallcap 400 representing 150 midcap and 250 small cap companies.

Govt. has extended safeguard duty of 20 per cent on steel imports till March 2018 to protect Indian industry from cheap China steel


BANKING & FINANCE

JUNE 2016

CABINET NOD FOR INDIA POST BANK The Union Cabinet has given its approval for setting up the India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) as a Public Ltd Company under the Department of Posts. Bank’s 100% equity will be held by the Government of India. The Bank is likely to get license from RBI by March 2017 and plans to operationalise 650 branches by September 2017. RBI AIMS AT ‘LESS-CASH’ INDIA

RBI has released the ‘Payment and Settlement Systems in India: Vision-2018’ that aims at building best of class payment and settlement systems for a ‘less-cash’ India and ensuring access of mobile banking services to even basic phone users. The document focuses on 5 Cs - coverage, convenience, confidence, convergence and cost. SCHEME FOR HIGH VALUE BAD LOANS RBI has announced the Scheme for Sustainable Structuring of Stressed Assets, S4A, to handle the high value bad loans. Under the scheme, a portion of the debt will be converted into equity under supervision of Indian Banks Association. The scheme will be applicable to those projects which have started commercial operations and have outstanding loan of over 500 crore rupees. NRIs ALLOWED TO OPEN NPS ACCOUNTS Government has allowed non resident Indians (NRIs) to open National Pension Scheme (NPS) accounts online if they have Aadhaar Card or PAN card. Till now, NRIs could open NPS accounts only through paper applications by approaching Bank offices. SBI TO MERGE ASSOCIATE BANKS The Union Cabinet has approved the merger of State Bank of India (SBI) and its five subsidiaries — State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Mysore and State Bank of Hyderabad.

The merged entity will create a banking behemoth, which can compete with the largest in the world with an asset base of almost Rs 37 trillion, 22,500 branches and 58,000 ATMs as on December 2015. AXIS BANK LAUNCHED ‘GREEN BONDS’ Axis Bank raised $500 million at the London Stock Exchange after it launched India’s first internationally-listed certified green bond to finance climate change solutions around the world. Green bonds are the one where funds raised are used exclusively for renewable energy projects or some other clean energy project. Latest RBI data shows that banking transactions

through mobile apps have increased seven-fold in three years, between 2013 and 2016.

RBI plans to put into circulation Rs.10 coins bearing the portrait of Swami Chinmayananda to commemorate his birth centenary.

MAY 2016

BANKS ASKED TO SHIFT TO EVM CARDS The Reserve Bank of India has instructed banks to shift from magnetic stripe based ATM and debit cards to EMV chip and Pin based cards to ensure protection of cards from cloning, skimming and other forms of frauds which can happen on a magnetic strip.

WILFUL DEFAULTERS OWE Rs. 66,190 CRORE As per a written statement made in Rajya Sabha by Union Minister of state for Finance, there were 7,686 wilful defaulters owing Rs 66,190 crore to state-owned banks as of December 2015. The cumulative gross NPAs of 24 listed public sector banks, including SBI group, stood at Rs.3,93,035 crore as on 31 December 2015. As per RBI, an asset becomes non-performing when it ceases to generate income for the bank or the repayment due is delayed for more than 90 days.

INDIA’s FIRST ‘MOBILE ONLY’ BANK

The DBS, Singapore's largest bank, has launched India’s first mobile only bank named ‘digibank’. It uses technologies such as bio metrics and artificial intelligence, to enable paperless, signature less and branch less banking.


NEW DEVELOPMENT BANK SELECTS ICICI The ICICI bank has become the first financial institution in the country to be selected by the BRICS’s New Development Bank to explore opportunities around bond issuance, co-financing, treasury management and human resources in India. Union Bank of India has launched e-SBTR (Electronic

Secured Bank Treasury Receipt), a single window facility for payment of both - stamp duty and registration fee for home purchase in Maharashtra

Saudi Arabia based Islamic Development Bank has announced to open its first branch in India at Ahmadabad, Gujarat to offer interest free banking services as per the Muslim law – Shariat.

UK based banking giant, HSBC Holding Plc has decided to close its 24 branches in India, out of total 50.

The RBI has released ‘Draft Guidelines for on tap Licensing of Universal Banks in the Private Sector’ to receive comments / suggestions from the public.

A commemorative coin of 100 rupees and a circulation coin of ten rupees have been released on the 475th birth anniversary of Maharana Pratap.

APRIL 2016

REPO RATE LOWERED TO 6.50% The RBI announced a 25 basis cut in its policy interest rate on April 5, lowering it to more than five-year low. The new repo rate now stands at 6.50 per cent. However, the reverse repo rate has been hiked by 25 basis points to 6 per cent. The new Marginal Standing Facility and Bank Rate stand at 7.00 percent.

BANKS ADOPT MCLR FOR LOWER RATES Short-term working capital loans are set to get cheaper as banks start adopting the marginal cost of funds-based lending rate (MCLR) from 1 April. The new framework requires banks to set rates based on their marginal cost of funds rather than their average cost of funds. MCLR is expected to improve transmission of policy rate cuts to bank loan rates.

INDIA’s FIRST PAYMENTS BANK Airtel M Commerce Services Limited (AMSL), a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel (Airtel) has been granted the India’s first payments bank license by RBI. The company already offers mobile money services under the brand name ‘Airtel Money’.


DEFENCE, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

JUNE 2016

FIRST WOMEN FIGHTER JET PILOTS

The Indian Air Force crossed another milestone on June 18 when for the first time three women fighter jet pilots - Bhawana Kanth, Avani Chaturvedi and Mohana Singh - were commissioned in the operations in Air Force. DEAL OKAYED FOR 145 ARTILLERY GUNS Ministry of Defence has approved the purchase of 145 artillery guns meant especially for deployment in the Himalayas by the upcoming Mountain Strike Corps of the Indian Army. The 155 MM, M777 ultra light howitzer (ULH) will be supplied by The BAE systems of USA and will be assembled in India in collaboration with Mahindra Defence Systems. BRAHMOS INTEGRATED WITH SUKHOI-30 BrahMos Aerospace successfully tested the integration of the supersonic cruise missile system BRAHMOS on the supersonic fighter aircraft Sukhoi-30. This is for the first time in the world that a supersonic cruise missile has been integrated with a supersonic fighter aircraft. Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40 (HTT-40), the two-

seater basic trainer aircraft designed and developed by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited made its inaugural flight successfully.

It will be used for the first-stage training for all flying cadets of the three services.

Govt has taken a considered decision to allow export of 'Akaash' missile systems to 'certain' countries that have friendly relationship with India.

Exercise Desert Eagle II was held between Indian Air Force and United Arab Emirates Air Force in Abu Dhabi in last week of May.

India has joined The Hague Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation, a voluntary legally non-binding multilateral body in Vienna, for preventing the spread of ballistic missiles.

A joint military exercise named ‘Malabar’ was held between the naval forces of India, Japan and the US off the Okinawa coast in Japan.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization members and partners launched their biggest ever joint military exercise in Poland, named Anaconda-16 Exercise.

Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia’s largest annual security meet held in Singapore to discuss the security issues in the Asia-Pacific region.

ISRO LAUNCHES RECORD 20 SATELLITES The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) created a record on June 22 by launching 20 satellites in one go, including 17 foreign ones, using its flagship rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C34 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh’s Sriharikotta. NEW RICE VARIETIES DEVLOPED Researchers at Assam Agricultural University have developed two rice varieties, namely Ranjit Sub-1 and Bahadur Sub-1 that can be grown successfully even in submerged conditions that are frequent in Assam due to common flash floods. CHINA HAS WORLD’s FASTEST COMPUTER Chinese supercomputer Sunway TaihuLight has been declared as the world’s fastest supercomputer, achieving a speed of up to 93 petaflop/second. The selection was made by the International Supercomputing Conference held in Frankfurt, Germany. MICROSOFT TO ACQUIRE ‘LINKEDIN’ In one of the largest acquisitions in the social media space, Microsoft has announced to acquire professional networking website LinkedIn for $26.2 billion. LinkedIn with its over 430 million users will retain its distinct brand, culture and independence.


FIRST ANIMAL TO BE DECLARED ‘EXTINCT’

A small rodent (rat) named the Bramble Cay Melomys found only on a single island off Australia is the world's first mammal to be declared as extinct as none of them has been sighted by the locals after 2009. Main reason for this is the abnormal rise in sea level due to global warming, submerging parts of Bramble Cay Island China launched its 23rd satellite to support its global

navigation and positioning network- BeiDou Navigation Satellite System.

Google has tied up with Tata Trusts to launch ‘Internet Saathi’ programme to empower rural women by enabling them to use Internet in their daily lives.

Russia launched the world’s biggest nuclear icebreaker ship 22220 Arktika. It has a two-reactor power unit of 175 MW with a displacement of 33,540 tonnes.

US scientists team has created the world's first microchip that has 1,000 processors and is thought to be the fastest chip designed in a university lab.

Asia’s largest technology trade show COMPUTEX started in Taipei, capital of Taiwan on May 31. More than 1,600 companies from 30 countries took part.

MAY 2016

NAVAL EXERCISE WITH ASEAN FORCES The ADMM-Plus (ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus) Exercise on Maritime Security and Counter Terrorism (Ex MS & CT) was held in Brunei. The nine day naval exercise aims to strengthen the strong bilateral ties and extensive maritime interactions between India and ASEAN countries.

INDIA TEST FIRES ANTI-BALLASTIC MISSILE India successfully test-fired its indigenously developed supersonic interceptor missile, capable of destroying any incoming hostile ballistic missile. The Advance Air Defence (AAD) missile dubbed as Ashwin was fired from the Adbul Kalam Island (formerly known as Wheeler Island), off the Odisha coast.

IAF LAUNCHES E-MAINTENANCE SYSTEM Indian Air Force launched an Electronic Maintenance Management System (e-MMS), one of the biggest automated military maintenance systems in the world, at the Air Force Station in Pune. The system would seamlessly connect all the squadrons, wings, commands with the Air Headquarters, after its implementation. PRITHVI II MISSILE TESTED BY DRDO India successfully test fired its indigenously developed nuclear weapon capable Prithvi-II missile from the Abdul Kalam Island, off Odisha coast. It has a strike range of 350 kilometer. NAVY SAYS GOOD BYE TO ‘SEA HARRIERS’

The Indian Naval Air Squadron 300- ‘White Tigers,’ bid farewell to the British Sea Harriers fighter aircrafts on May 11. They will be replaced by the new generation MiG 29K/Kub fighters. Sea Harriers joined the Indian Navy in 1983. Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha became the first Chief of

Air Staff to fly the indigenously designed and produced Light Combat Aircraft Tejas in Bengaluru.

Indian Army conducted its major military training exercise ‘Chakravyuh-II’ in Suratgarh, Rajasthan.

INS Kalvari (sea tiger shark), the first of the six indigenous Scorpene-class submarines set out for sea trials off the Mumbai coast.

India signed 4 MoUs for cooperation in defence sector with Oman in Muscat.

The indigenously built Offshore Petrol Vessel ICGS Shaurya joined the Indian Coast guard at Vasco, Goa. ICGS = Indian Coast Guard Ship

Indigenously built Fast Patrol Vessel ICGS Arush joined the Indian Coast Guard at Cochi, Kerala.

The 27th edition of the India-Indonesian CORPAT (Coordinated Patrol) between their navies was held off the coast of Belawan, Indonesia.

India’s first indigenously built fast attack waterjet craft INS Tarmugli was inducted in Indian Navy at Visakhapatnam.

The Indian Navy has decided to decommission two of its warships – INS Veer and INS Nipat.


ISRO TESTS RE-USABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE

India successfully tested its first-ever indigenously built space shuttle - the Re-Usable Launch Vehicle - Technology Demonstrator or RLV-TD on May 23 from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. Re-usable technology aims to help reduce the cost of launching satellites by 10 times. WHO TO PROMOTE ‘AYUSH’ India and the World Health Organization have signed an agreement in Geneva for cooperation in promoting quality, safety and effectiveness of service provision in traditional Indian systems of medicine, called AYUSH. GOOGLE CHROME IS TOP BROWSER As per a global market research, Google Chrome, claiming 41.7 per cent of desktop browser share has become the top Internet browser, ending the long reign of Microsoft Internet Explorer. Mozilla’s Firefox browser stands at third place.

In the first global assessment of the world's flora by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (London), it is estimated that there are about 390,900 plants.

In a rare astronomical phenomenon, planet Mercury was seen as a moving dot on the solar disc, from various places of India, on May 9.

University of Cambridge researchers have built the world's smallest working engine. The device, powered by light, is just millionths of a millimeter in size.

China successfully launched its remote sensing satellite ‘Yaogan-30’ into space atop a Long March 2D rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.

APRIL 2016

ARMY RAISES NEW ‘GORKHA BATTALION’ The Army has raised a new Gorkha battalion comprising entirely of Gorkha troops of Indian domicile. The new battalion, the Sixth Battalion of the First Gorkha Rifles (6/1GR), christened “Kanchi Paltan”, has been raised at Sabathu in the Shivalik foothills near Shimla, that houses the 14 Gorkha Training Centre.

DEAL FINALISED FOR 36 RAFALE JETS India has finalised the deal to purchase 36 Rafale fighter jets from Dassault Aviation of France for 7.89 billion euros (Rs. 59,000 crore). The Indian team managed to bring down the deal price by 11 billion euros. The first set of jets would be delivered within 18 to 20 months. K-4 MISSILE TESTED SUCCESSFULLY India has successfully tested its most ambitious weapon system - a long range submarine-launched ballistic missile, codenamed K-4, capable of striking targets upto 3,500 kilometres away. The missile was tested 40 kms off the Vishakhapatnam coast. INDIA MAKES FIRST SONAR DOME India’s first indigenous composite sonar dome, a ship’s underwater eyes and ears, was launched at Goa. Designed and produced by DRDO, it is a rare achievement as very few companies in the world have technology to make sonar domes. INDIA 4TH IN DEFENCE SPENDING India has become the world’s fourth largest spender on defence, following a 13.1% increase in its 2016-17 defence budget of Rs. 2,58,000 crore, according to US research firm IHS Inc. USA is the largest spender in the world, followed by China and Saudi Arabia. INDIA – US TO SHARE MILITARY LOGISTICS To counter the growing maritime assertiveness of China, India and the United States have ‘agreed in principle’ to share their military logistics. IAF TO TAKE PART IN NATO EXCERCISE 12 IAF aircrafts will take part in the prestigious 'Red Flag' air exercise alongside NATO forces from April 28 to May 13 in skies over Alaska. It is seen as a complex and advanced network centric operation -- the toughest test for flying machines and men.


ICGS Shoor, an offshore patrol vessel was inducted in the Indian Coast Guard at it Mangalore base.

The 11th Indo-Mongolia joint army training exercise, titled ‘Nomadic Elephant - 2016’ commenced on 25 April in Mongolia to share skills for handling Counter Insurgency and Counter Terrorism events.

The 22nd Indo-Thai Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) was held from 19-27 April in the Andaman Sea. Missile Corvette INS Karmuk and Dornier Maritime Patrol Aircraft took part in this exercise.

The Indian Army conducted its major war exercise named ‘Shatrujeet’ (winning the enemy) in the Thar Desert of Rajasthan.

SUPERCOMPUTER ‘PARAM KANCHENJUNGA’

The National Institute of Technology (NIT) Sikkim has secured a rare distinction of having a supercomputer named ‘Param Kanchenjunga’, which is said to be the most powerful and fastest among all the 31 NITs. LIGHTEST EVER SYNTHETIC MATERIAL Scientists at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (of ISRO), Thiruvananthapuram, have developed the world's lightest ever synthetic material called ‘silica aerogel’ or ‘blue air’ or ‘frozen smoke’. It has an excellent thermal resistance and if used as filler in uniforms, it can save many lives at the Siachen Glacier. INDIA GETS ASIA's BIGGEST TELESCOPE Asia's biggest telescope has been launched in India. Built by the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) with the assistance of Belgium, the telescope is located at a height of 2,500 metres at Devasthal in Nainital district. The Airports Authority of India has signed an MoU

with ISRO to provide scientific parameters for construction of airports across the country.

India and the USA have signed an agreement for a new Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) project in India.

INTERNATIONAL

JUNE 2016

BRITAIN VOTES TO LEAVE EUROPEAN UNION In the referendum held on June 23 in Britain to decide whether Britain should remain with European Union or leave it, British people voted to leave the European Union to take greater control of its economy and its borders, shattering the stability of the continental unity forged after World War II. The ‘Leave’ side secured 51.9 per cent votes as against 48.1 per cent vote for ‘Remain’.

Prime Minister David Cameron, a passionate supporter of ‘remain’ announced that as a measure of respect for the “will of the people” he would be stepping down as prime minister in October. ICELAND IS THE MOST PEACEFUL COUNTRY In a ranking of 163 countries in the Global Peace Index compiled by Institute for Economics and Peace, Syria has been named as the least peaceful country, followed by South Sudan, Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia. On the other hand, Iceland was ranked as the world’s most peaceful country, followed by Denmark and Austria. India ranks a low at 141. SWISS REJECT FREE INCOME In a referendum held in Switzerland, 77 per cent Swiss voters overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to introduce a guaranteed basic income for all. The proposal had called for adults to be paid an unconditional monthly income, whether they worked or not. SWEDEN IS THE BEST COUNTRY

According to the 'Good Country' Index 2015 which surveyed 163 countries to measure how countries contribute to the global good, Sweden is the world’s best country, followed by Denmark and Netherlands. India was placed at 70th spot.


WORLD’s LONGEST RAIL TUNNEL The world’s longest rail tunnel, Gotthard Base Tunnel, 57 kms long under the Alps Mountain in Switzerland, was opened on June 1 for running of trains. Set of two tunnels, it is also the deepest train tunnel of world, going up to 2300 mts below the surface. It will reduce the train journey from Zurich (Switzerland) to Milan in northern Italy down to two hours and 40 minutes, roughly an hour less than it currently takes. STRAY SHOOTING KILLS 50 IN USA

A gunman armed with an assault rifle killed 50 persons at a packed gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, USA in one of the worst mass shootings in the US history. The shooter, identified as Omar S Mateen (29), was killed by the police on the spot. AIIB APPROVES FIRST GLOBAL LOANS Bangladesh has become one of the first countries to get a loan from the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. The country will get $165 million for a power distribution system upgrade and expansion project. The other three borrowers are Pakistan, Indonesia and Tajikistan. PAK TOPS IN MALWARE THREATS Malware Infection Index 2016 released by the Microsoft Asia to identify the key malware threats in Asia Pacific region has revealed Pakistan as the location with the highest malware encounters followed by Indonesia, Bangladesh. India stands at no. 8 in region. World Health Organisation has recognised Thailand,

Armenia, Belarus and Moldova for eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV and Syphilis.

The Forbes “100 Most Powerful Women” in the world list 2016, topped by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, includes SBI Chief Arundhati Bhattacharya at 25th rank.

The World Bank has slashed its 2016 growth forecast for the world by 0.5 per cent to 2.4 per cent, citing disappointing growth in major emerging market economies including China and Brazil.

Global aircraft company Airbus has unveiled the world's first 3D-printed aircraft THOR - Test of High-tech Objectives in Reality.

The World Health Organization on June 01 has declared the end of Ebola virus transmission in Guinea, one of the three West African countries hardest hit by the epidemic in 2014.

Norway has become the first country in world to prohibit deforestation of rain forest to preserve the balance of ecosystem.

Colombia signed a historical ceasefire agreement with the guerrilla organization FARC to put an end to more than 50 years of bloodshed. FARC: The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia

MAY 2016

KENYA DESTROYS HUGE STOCK OF IVORY In one of the largest stockpile of elephant tusks (ivory) destroyed in Africa, Kenya's president set fire to 105 tonnes of elephant ivory and more than one tonne of rhino horn, seized from smugglers and poachers. The ivory is reported to be worth over $150 million in the open market and the rhino horn could raise as much as $80 million. WB LAUNCHES EMERGENCY FUND FOR ZIKA World Bank Group has launched the Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility (PEF) to protect and support poorest countries against deadly pandemics like Ebola, Zika. The PEF will ensure fast disbursement of global financing.

ROYAL CAMPAIGN FOR MENTAL HEALTH

British Royals Prince William, Princess Kate and Prince Harry launched the ‘Heads Together’ campaign in London to spread and promote public awareness about mental health and wellbeing.

Heads of state from G-7 nations, USA, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and host Japan held their meet in the Japanese city of Ise Shima.

Finance ministers and central bank governors meet of G-7 nations held in Sendai, Japan.

A two day International Buddhist conference was held at the birth place of Lord Buddha, Lumbini, Nepal to celebrate his 2,560th birth anniversary.


The first-ever World Humanitarian Summit was held in Istanbul from 23 to 24th May.

The First World Conference on Tourism for Development was held in Beijing from May 18-21.

Harmony of the Seas, world’s biggest-ever cruise ship, capable of accommodating more than 8,000 passengers and crew in the most luxurious conditions, was unveiled in France.

USA decided to fully lift its embargo on sales of lethal weapons to its one-time arch enemy, Vietnam, after a gap of over 32 years.

Kenya to close World's biggest refugee camp in Dadaab, citing threat to internal security. About 3,28,000 refugees, mostly from Somalia are staying in this camp.

USA has approved selection of animal ‘Bison’ as the first national mammal of the country. This is in addition to the present national symbol - Bald Eagle’.

The European Central Bank (ECB) has decided to stop printing of the 500 euro banknote by the end of 2018 with a view to curb illicit activities. It is one of the highest value (Rs 380,000

roughly) circulating banknotes in the world. The International Bank Note Society has declared

New Zealand’s five-dollar note as the Banknote of the Year for 2015 in a study of 40 notes from 20 countries.

APRIL 2016

WORLD’s WHO’s WHO IN PANAMA LEAK

A massive leak of 11.5 million documents from a law firm in Panama reveals how the world's current rich people, politicians and celebrities hide their money in Panama. The documents, dubbed the Panama Papers, were obtained by a Munich-based daily newspaper. The names figuring in the leak included aides to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak's son Nazifuddin, family of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Amitabh Bachchan. USA TOPS IN ICT USAGE A study of 50 nations by Chinese IT giant Huawei for investment and deployment of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has placed USA at top, followed by Singapore, Sweden. Huawei Global Connectivity Index 2016 places India at 44th rank.

SAN JOSE - THE MOST FUTURE READY CITY

In a study of 50 cities conducted by the IT firm Dell - ‘Future-Ready Economies Model’, city of San Jose in California, USA has been placed at top, followed by San Francisco, Singapore. From India, Delhi ranks at 44th place. AUSTRALIA SUFFERS LOSS IN REEF TOURISM Australian scientists have reported that over 90 per cent of the Great Barrier Reef has been affected by mass bleaching that is likely to destroy half the coral. Reef tourism generates around $4 billion every year for Australia. Bleaching occurs when the water is too warm, forcing coral to expel living algae and causing it to calcify and turn white. IMF & WB TO WORK FOR TAX IMPROVEMENT The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have joined hands with the United Nations and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, to form a new group which will work for building effective tax systems in developing countries and avoiding tax base erosion. WTO LOWERS TRADE GROWTH TO 2.8% The World Trade Organization has revised its 2016 global trade forecast downward by more than one percentage point to 2.8 per cent, warning that a slowdown in China and broad market volatility continued to threaten growth. In September last, the WTO estimated global trade to rise by 3.9 per cent in 2016. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ZERO - ICZ ICZ was held at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France to promote the knowledge of Maths for greater global good. A bronze bust of ancient Indian mathematician and astronomer Aryabhatta was also unveiled there on the occasion. WORLD DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS The World Bank released the 2016 edition of the World Development Indicators (WDI). It includes 1400 indicators for over 200 economies to measure the 169 targets of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by UNO.


TOP 'GLOBAL GAME CHANGERS' American business magazine Forbes has ranked some of the biggest names in business as the 'Global Game Changers'. The selected 30 businessmen have exhibited growth and innovation, and their examples have had been adopted and copied by rivals the world over. The list is topped by Marcs Benioff, CEO of Salesforce.com, followed by Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com. It includes three Indians - Rahul Bhatia of Inter Globe Enterprises, Cyrus Poonawalla of Serum Institute of India, and Sunny Varkey of GEMS Education at 3, 23 and 26 positions respectively. The annual Spring Meeting of IMF & WB was held at

Washington. Finance Ministers and Governors of Central Banks from G-20 nations attended the meet.

Heads of about 53 countries took part in the 4th Nuclear Security Summit held in Washington, USA.

Nauru, the tiny South Pacific island nation has become the 189th member of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.

Summit of the foreign ministers of the G-7 countries was held at Hiroshima, Japan on April 11.

Japan has become fourth country in world to successfully test its first stealth fighter jet – X 2, the other three being USA, Russia and China.

The latest World Malaria Report from WHO says that Europe has become the world’s first region to wipe out malaria with zero cases reported last year.

The 13th Islamic Summit Conference was held in Istanbul, Turkey. This year’s theme was Unity and Solidarity for Justice and Peace.

The world’s first public dengue vaccination programme was launched in the Philippines.

In UK, Britain's Royal Mail has launched a set of special postage stamps to mark the 400th death anniversary of the great playwright William Shakespeare.

Bangladesh’s top court has rejected a 28-year-old petition to remove Islam as official religion of the country, disappointing the activists who wanted the country to remain secular.

UNICEF launched a series of animated films, called Unfairy Tales, to help frame positive perceptions towards the millions of refugees.

A US grand jury has slapped a $ 940 million fine on Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Tata America International Corp. in a trade secret case.

British Petroleum has agreed to pay over $20 billion to the American government as damages over the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Venezuela has ordered a two-day working week for public sector workers as a temporary measure to help it overcome a serious energy crisis.

PERSONS IN NEWS

JUNE 2016

NIKESH ARORA: One of the highest paid CEO of the world heading the SoftBank Group Corp. was in news as he resigned abruptly just after two years stay at the corporation. S. K. ROY: Chairman of public sector insurance giant was in news as he resigned nearly two years ahead of completion of his five-year term. Mr. Roy, who has been with LIC since 1981, took charge as chairman in June 2013. NITA AMBANI: The chairperson and founder of Reliance Foundation, has become first Indian woman to be nominated to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the governing body of the Olympic Movement.

HILLARY CLINTON Democratic Party candidate for US Presidential elections created history by becoming the first woman to lead a major American political party for President’s post in the 240 years of democracy in USA.

MAY 2016

UDAY KOTAK: Kotak Mahindra Bank Chief, is the only Indian in Forbes' 'Money Masters: The Most Powerful People in the Financial World' list of 40 persons.

Lt. Col. RANVEER JAMWAL: An officer in the Jat regiment of Indian Army successfully completed his third Everest expedition, the earlier ones being in 2012 and 2013. YASH CHOPRA: A life size bronze statue of the late film-maker was installed by the govt of Switzerland in Kursaal area to honour the film maker who shot most of his romantic dramas in the lush mountains of Switzerland. RISHI NAIR: A 6th grade Indian American student won the prestigious National Geographic Bee competition 2016 at Washington DC, USA. NIHAR JANGA & JAIRAM HATHWAR: Two Indian-American students scripted history by becoming the joint winner of the US Scripps National Spelling Bee Contest. Nihar, a 5th grader, is the youngest winner of the 91 year old contest while Jairam is in 7th grade. Each will get a prize of $ 40,000.


FATMA SAMOURA: The Senegalese UN diplomat was named as the first ever female Secretary General of the international football body, FIFA.

DILMA ROUSSEFF: 68 years old Brazilian President was suspended on May 12 after several weeks of nationwide protests for her removal. Senate has decided to initiate impeachment proceedings against her on charges that she broke budget accounting laws.

CRAIG WRIGHT: The Australian entrepreneur has publicly identified himself as creator of virtual cash/currency – Bitcoin, under the fake name of Satoshi Nakamoto.

LHAKPA SHERPA: A 42-year-old Nepalese woman of USA climbed Mount Everest for the seventh time on May 20, creating a record for the most summits of the world’s highest mountain by a woman.

APRIL 2016

SACHIN TENDULKAR: The Ministry for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has named cricket icon as brand ambassador of the 'Skill India' campaign.

P SUSHEELA MOHAN: Renowned playback singer has been recognized by the Guinness World Records for singing the most number of songs in Indian languages - 17,695 solo, duet and chorus-backed songs in 12 Indian languages.

NITA AMBANI: Reliance Foundation Chairperson has been named the most powerful businesswoman in Asia by Forbes, leading a list of 50 women leaders from the region that includes only eight from India.

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE: A host of celebrations were held in England and several other parts of the world to observe 400th death anniversary of legendary playwright, also known as The Bard of Avon. His famous works include masterpieces like Othello, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet.

QUEEN ELIZABETH II: The world’s oldest-serving royal and the longest-reigning and longest-lived British monarch turned 90 on April 21, receiving the greetings of thousands of British citizens as well as wishes from all over the world. ARSENIY YATSENYUK: Ukrainian Prime Minister announced his resignation in the wake of a month-long political crisis that paralysed his government and frozen the release of vital Western aid.

Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson: Iceland’s Prime Minister resigned reportedly after his name figured in the mushrooming worldwide scandal over hidden offshore financial dealings exposed in the so-called Panama Papers leak.

APPOINTMENTS

JUNE 2016

ASHOK LAVASA: Appointed as the new Union Finance Secretary Ms SUPRIYA SAHU: Appointed as the Director General of Doordarshan DIA MIRZA: Bollywood actress has been named the ambassador for Swachh Bharat Mission's youth-based 'Swachh Saathi' (student internship) programme. SUNIL MITTAL: Chairman of Bharti Enterprises (Airtel), elected as the Chairman of International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) based in Paris. ANNE HATHAWAY: Famous US actress and singer has been appointed as global Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. PETER THOMSON: Permanent Representative of Fiji, was elected as the President of the upcoming 71st session of UN General Assembly. PEDRO PABLO KUCZYNSKI: Elected new President of Peru HANI Al MULQI: Appointed as new Prime Minister of Jordan.

MAY 2016

3 NEW CHIEF MINISTERS Sarbananda Sonowal: Assam, from BJP Pinarayi Vijayan: Kerala, from CPI (M) V. Narayanasamy: Puducherry, from Congress KIRAN BEDI: Appointed as the new Lieutenant Governor of Union Territory of Puducherry. VICE ADMIRAL SUNIL LANBA: Appointed as the next Chief of Indian Navy, in the rank of Admiral. S K BHAGAT: Appointed as Director General of the Railway Protection Force (RPF). S K SHARMA: Renowned scientist has been appointed the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL). ANURAG THAKUR: The BJP M P from Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh, was elected as the President of the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI).


SHASHANK MANOHAR: Former BCCI President, who resigned recently, was elected unopposed as the first independent Chairman of International Cricket Council, for two years. ATMA RAM NADKARNI: Appointed as the Additional Solicitor General in Supreme Court for a period of three years. BINALI YILDIRIM: Elected as the new Prime Minister of Turkey. Ms. TSAI ING-WEN: elected as the first women President of Taiwan BACIRO DJA: Appointed as the new Prime Minister of Guinea Bissau, a small country in Western Africa. RODRIGO DUTERTE: Elected as the New President of the Philippines. He is the Mayor of Davao City in Philippines. He is very popular and is known as ‘Digong’. ENDA KENNY: Re elected as the Prime Minister of Ireland

APRIL 2016

JUSTICE (retd.) PERMOD KOHLI: Appointed as the new Chairman of Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT). C P GURNANI: Elected as the new Chairman of the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) for 2016-17. He is the MD & CEO of Tech Mahindra. MEHBOOBA MUFTI: Elected as the first woman Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir LOBSANG SANGAY: Re-elected as the Prime Minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharmsala, Himachal Pradesh. CLEMENT MOUAMBA: Appointed as the new Prime Minister of Republic of Congo. IDRISS DEBY: Elected for the 5th time as the President of Chad, a country in Central Africa. BOUNNHANG VORACHIT: Elected as the new President of Laos THONGLOUN SISOULITH: Elected as the new Prime Minister of Laos VOLODYMYR GROYSMAN: Elected as the new Prime Minister of Ukraine SOORONBAI JEENBEKOV: New Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan.

HASHIM THACI: Elected as the President of Kosovo, a small country in southeast Europe. SIGURDUR INGI JOHANNSSON: Elected as the new Prime Minister of Iceland after the earlier Prime Minister resigned due to his name coming in ‘Panama Leaks’. NGUYEN XUAN PHUC: Elected as the new Prime Minister of Vietnam. TRAN DAI QUANG: Elected as the new President of Vietnam. FAUSTIN ARCHANGE TOUADERA: Elected as the new President of Central African Republic. Ahmed Obeid bin Daghr: Appointed as the new Prime Minister of Yemen

AWARDS & HONOURS

JUNE 2016

INTERNATIONAL INDIAN FILM ACADEMY (IIFA) awards festival held in Madrid, Spain on June 23. Best Feature Film: Bajrangi Bhaijaan by Kabir Khan Best Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali for Bajirao Mastani Best Actor: Ranvir Singh for Bajirao Mastani Best Actress: Deepika Padukon for Piku GD BIRLA AWARD FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH: won by IIT-Kanpur professor Sanjay Mittal

INDIA BIODIVERSITY AWARD: Won by the Pakke Tiger Reserve is in East Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh.

ASIA NEW TALENT AWARDS: ‘Thithi’, a Kannada film won the best film award and best script writers award at the19th Shanghai International Film Festival.

INTERNATIONAL DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD: won by Akhil Sharma for his novel 'family life'.

PEOPLE’s CHOICE PRIZE: Gold medal won by the renowned Indian sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik at the world championship festival of sand sculpting in Bulgaria.

FUKUOKA PRIZE: Awarded to renowned Indian music composer A. R. Rahman for his outstanding contribution towards creating, preserving and showcasing South Asian traditional fusion music. This prize is given by city of Fukuoka in Japan.

SCHOLASTIC ASIAN BOOK AWARD: won by Aditi Krishnakumar for her manuscript “Love of Indian History".


MAY 2016

‘ORDER OF THE RISING SUN, GOLD AND SILVER’: Former bureaucrat and parliamentarian N. K. Singh was selected for Japan’s highest civilian honour, for promoting economic, educational and cultural ties between India and Japan. MAN BOOKER INTERNATIONAL PRIZE: South Korean author, Han Kang, has won the prestigious prize for her novel 'The Vegetarian'. The writer and her British translator Deborah Smith will share the $72,000 prize money. This prize is given every year for the best book translated in English and published in U K. MILLENNIUM TECHNOLOGY PRIZE: US engineer Frances Arnold has become first woman to win this prize for pioneering directed evolution. The award, given by the Technology Academy, Finland, carries a cash prize of Euro one million. Palme d'Or: Award for the best film at Cannes Film Festival won by the film ‘I, Daniel Blake’ by British director Ken Loach. PEN’s LITERARY SERVICE AWARD: Won by British author J.K. Rowling for her dedication to free speech and social justice. The award is given by PEN, a USA based NGO for excellence in promoting peace, harmony and human rights through literature. COMMONWEALTH SHORT STORY PRIZE: (for Asia region) won by Prashar Kulkarni for his story ‘Cow and Company’. “NORTH STAR": Highest civilian award of Mongolia conferred upon two noted Indian scholars-Lokesh Chandra and Mansura Haider for their contribution to Mongolian studies. Sudarsan Pattnaik: Renowned sand artist won the gold medal at the 9th Moscow Sand Sculpture Championship in Russia.

APRIL 2016

SARASWATI SAMMAAN: Prestigious prize for literature given to the Jammu-born poet and novelist Padma Sachdev for her autobiography ‘Chitt-Chete’ written in Dogri language. The award carries award money of 15 lakh rupees, a citation and a plaque.

FBB FEMINA MISS INDIA WORLD 2016 Winner: Priyadarshini Chaterjee First runners-up: Sushruthi Krishna Second runners-up: Pankhuri Gidwani

DADASAHEB PHALKE AWARD: won by renowned actor Manoj Bajpayee for the movie Aligarh. Please note that this is NOT the national award rather it is the regional award in Maharashtra, given by Dada Saheb Phalke Foundation. 'Officier de l Ordre national de la Legion d Honneur’: (Officer of the Legion of Honour), highest French civilian honour conferred upon Former Army Chief General (retd) J J Singh. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred Saudi Arabia’s highest civilian honour- the king Abdulaziz Sash. The award is named after Abdulaziz Al Saud, the founder of the modern Saudi state.

BOOKS & AUTHORS

JUNE 2016

Zindaginama by Krishna Sobti

Favourite Ghost Stories From Around The World by Ruskin Bond.

Old History New Geography: Bifurcating Andhra Pradesh by Jairam Ramesh

A Life in Diplomacy by M K Rasgotra

The Age of Genius: The Seventeenth Century and the Birth of the Modern Mind by AC Grayling.

The Spy by Paulo Coelho

The Unseen Indira Gandhi by Dr. K P Mathur

Muslims Against Partition by Shamsul Islam.

The Invention of Nature by Andrea Wulf.

MAY 2016

Vanishing Shangri La by K N Raghavan.

The Drowned Detective by Neil Jordan,

Blood on my Hands: Confessions of Staged Encounters by Kishalay Bhattacharjee

The Outside Lands by Hannah Kohler

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

APRIL 2016

An Economist in the Real World by Kaushik Basu, Chief Economist at World Bank

Swimmer Among the Stars by Kanishk Tharoor

Mercedes-Benz - Winning by Adil Jal Darukhanawala


Friends in Wild Places by Ruskin Bond.

Safeguarding India by NN Vohra.

The Making of India: The Untold Story of British Enterprise by Kartar Lalvani

Advantage India — From Challenge to Opportunity by APJ Abdul Kalam and Srijan Pal Singh.

A State in Denial by B G Verghese

The Kiss of Life by Imraan Hashmi

The Mountain of Shiva by Dr Karan Singh. He is a member of Rajya Sabha.

OBITUARY

JUNE 2016

NEIL O'BRIEN: An Anglo-Indian community icon and former Lok Sabha member, credited with pioneering the quiz in the country, died in Kolkata. He was 82. His son Derek O'Brien is also a famous quiz master. MUDRARAKSHASA: Distinguished Hindi writer and veteran intellectual passed away at the age of 82 in Lucknow, following a prolonged illness. INDER MALHOTRA: Veteran journalist passed away at a Delhi hospital at the age of 68. He was associated with ‘The Statesman’ and ‘The Times of India’. SULABHA DESHPANDE: Eminent actor and theatre personality passed away in Mumbai. She was 79. SURESH CHATWAL: Veteran TV and film actor passed away in Mumbai after a brief illness. MANOHAR AICH: India's first Mr. Universe (1952) passed away in Kolkata at the age of 104. Famous as the ‘Pocket Hercules’ due to his short height – 4’ 11”, he was a very popular figure in the world of body building. RAZAK KHAN: Veteran comedy actor who worked in films like “Hera Pheri”, “Raja Hindustani” and “Baadshah” among others, died in Mumbai. He was 65. MUHAMMAD ALI: The three-time world heavyweight boxing champion who ruled the boxing world in late sixties, died at the age of 74 in Phoenix, USA. Famous as ‘the greatest’, he was suffering from Parkinson disease. Before accepting Islam, his name was Cassius Clay. VIKTOR KORCHNOI: Four-time Soviet chess champion, Grandmaster, died aged 85 in Switzerland where he had lived since 1976 after defecting from the Soviet Union.

MAY 2016

BABA HARDEV SINGH: Spiritual leader and Head of Nirankari Mission was killed in a road accident in Montreal, Canada. He was 62.

BALRAJ MADHOK: Former President of Bharatiya Jan Sangh (BJS) and veteran RSS leader died in Delhi. He was 96.

TONY COZIER: Famous West Indian cricket writer, commentator and journalist passed away at the age of 75.

APRIL 2016

POORNIMABEN PAKVASA: Great social worker from Gujarat, known for her exceptional work towards educating tribal girls, passed away at the age of 103. SATYANAND MUNJAL: The co-founder of Hero Cycles group, a great philanthropist, passed away in Ludhiana, Punjab. He was 99. PRATYUSHA BANERJEE: TV actress, known for her role of Anandi in the popular serial “Balika Vadhu”, allegedly committed suicide at her Kandivali residence in Mumbai. GUY HAMILTON: Veteran British movie director, who directed four hugely popular James Bond films, passed away at the age of 93.

ROGERS NELSON: Pop music superstar, popularly known as Prince in USA, died aged 57. He won seven Grammy Awards and earned 30 nominations.

VICTORIA WOOD: Popular comedian, singer and writer from BBC in United Kingdom, died at 62 after “a short but brave” battle with cancer. DORIS ROBERTS: The popular TV actress from USA who delighted audiences as the meddling mother next door on the popular TV soap Everybody Loves Raymond, died at the age of 90. She won the popular TV award Emmy five times.

BILL CAMPBELL: Silicon Valley’s veteran adviser who mentored technology heavyweights like former Apple CEO late Steve Jobs and co-founder of Google, Larry Page, died at age 75.

ZAHA HADID: Renowned Iraq-born British architect passed away due to heart attack. She was 65. She was world’s most famous female architect and was known for her neofuturistic design which was her signature architectural style. IMRE KERTESZ: Hungarian author, 2002 Nobel Literature Prize winner, died aged 86 in Budapest, after a long illness.


PLACES IN NEWS

JUNE 2016

PULGAON: The Central Ammunition Depot of Indian Army in Pulgaon, Maharashtra was in news as a massive fire in one of its bunkers destroyed huge quantity of precious ammunition. It also claimed 16 lives including two Army officers and left 17 persons injured. MAHASTHANGARH: The 3rd century BC archaeological site in Bogra, Bangladesh, has been declared as the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SARRC) cultural capital for the year 2016-17. GUWAHATI: It became the first city in the country to have its own city animal. The city has adopted the Gangetic River Dolphin as its mascot. MATHURA: The temple town of UP was in news as about 3,000 members of a little-known sect that has encroached upon 280 acres of government land Jawahar Bagh clashed with the police. The massive violence on June 3 claimed 29 lives, including an SP and SHO and the sect head, Ram Vriksh Yadav. ORLANDO: City in Florida, USA was in news as it witnessed one of the worst mass shootings in the US history as a solo gunman killed 50 persons in a gay night club. PARIS: Days of torrential rain forced river Seine in France to burst its banks causing heavy flooding in city of Paris. Floodwaters have forced thousands of people to evacuate their homes and claiming several lives.

MAY 2016

CYCLONE ROANU: A strong cyclone lashed the coastal areas of Andhra and Odisha causing heavy rains coupled with gusty surface winds affecting the normal life seriously. SRI LANKA: Severe flooding has forced half a million people to flee their homes in Sri Lanka as the torrential rains and landslides claimed over 100 lives. The worst-hit areas were in Colombo's north-eastern suburbs along the Kelani River. FORT MCMURRAY: City in state of Alberta in Canada was in news as it suffered one of the worst wildfires, torching over 1,600 homes and other buildings and forcing more than 80,000 residents to flee. The local govt has declared state of emergency to handle the situation effectively.

APRIL 2016

UJJAIN: The month-long Simhastha Kumbh mela, one of the largest congregations of Hindus, began in Ujjain on April 22 on the banks of Kshipra River. LATUR: City and district in Marathwada region of Maharashtra was in news as it faced severe water crisis, especially in the villages. The district with a population of around 2.45 crore has suffered one of the worst drought in recent years. KOLLAM: In the worst-ever pyrotechnics tragedy to strike Kerala, 110 persons were killed and close to 400 injured, many of them grievously, when a huge dump of firecrackers stored for celebrations, exploded near the Puttingal Devi Temple near Kollam, causing extensive damage to nearby buildings. TRIMBAKESHWAR TEMPLE: Famous temple of Lord Shiva in Nashik, Maharashtra was in news as trustees of the temple decided that even men devotees will not be allowed to enter the sanctum sanctorum of the temple, reportedly to avoid the entry of women devotees.

KUMAMOTO: Town in south-western island of Kyushu in Japan was devastated by several rounds of earthquake tremors leading to death of over 41 persons and injuring hundreds of others. Around two lakh persons were affected in the severe earthquake. PEDERNALES: City in Manabí Province in Ecuador was destroyed in a severe 7.8 magnitude earth quake. Reportedly, around 654 persons were killed and several hundreds were injured. Coastal city of Manta was also very badly affected.

SPORTS WORLD

JUNE 2016

Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal won the Australian Open Super Series Badminton tournament title by defeating Chinese Sun Yu in Sydney.

Grand Master Harika Dronavalli won the best women's player award in the Eurasian Blitz chess tournament in Kazakhstan.

Anil Kumble: Former spinner has been selected as the new coach of Indian Cricket Team for one year.

Tintu Luka won a silver medal in 800 metres in the Josef Odlozil Memorial Athletics Meet in Prague, Czech Republic.

Seema Punia won a gold medal in the women’s discus throw at the Pat Youngs Throwers Classic in California, USA, securing her quota in Rio Olympics.


The Indian recurve team of Deepika Kumari and Atanu Das won the silver medal at the Archery World Cup in Antalya, Turkey.

Dinesh and Tarkeshwari Rathod have become the first Indian couple to climb the Mount Everest on May 23. Both are Constables in Maharashtra Police.

Ceat T20 Player of the Year - 2016: Star batsman Virat Kohli

Ceat Lifetime Achievement Award: Former Indian Captain, Dilip Vengsarkar.

Hero Hockey Champions Trophy Tournament: Australia defeated India 3-1 in the final played in London.

India won the three-match One-Day International (ODI) cricket series against Zimbabwe 3-0 and also the three day T-20 series by 2-1.

NATIONAL RECORD BY MEN’s RELAY TEAM The Indian men's 4x400m relay team created a new national record in relay race at the International Sprint and Relay Teams Cup at Erzurum, Turkey. The team surpassed the 18 year old record created at Asian Games, Bangkok in 1998 by clocking 3:02:17 minutes against 3:02:62 of old record.

The Indian women’s 4x400m relay quartet of Jauna Murmu, Ashwini Akkunji, Anilda Thomas and MR Poovamma won the gold medal at the PTS athletics Grand Prix in Samorin, Slovakia.

IXth Indian Premier League: Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore to clinch their maiden title in the finals played at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore.

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has chosen Olympic champion shooter Abhinav Bindra as the flag-bearer of the Indian contingent at the Rio Games’ opening ceremony on August 5.

The junior men's hockey World Cup will be hosted by Lucknow from the 8th of December this year.

Rahul Johri: Appointed first ever chief executive officer (CEO) of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in Mumbai on the recommendations of the Justice Lodha Committee.

N Ramachandran, the President of Indian Olympic Association (IOA) was awarded the prestigious Olympic Order by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for his outstanding services to the Olympic movement.

All India Football Federation plans to launch ‘Mission 11 Million’ in 30 Indian cities with the support of FIFA to engage more than 11 million children in football-related activities.

Novak Djokovic: World number one tennis player from Serbia became the first tennis player in the history to cross the $100 million prize-money mark in his career of 13 years. The record was created in a match in French open in Paris by beating Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut.

Cristiano Ronaldo: Star footballer from Real Madrid, captain of Portugal team, has become the first athlete from a team sport in almost 20 years to top Forbes annual list of the World's 100 Highest Paid Athletes, earning $88 million in 2015-16. There is no Indian in top 100.

Lewis Hamilton (Britain) of Mercedes team won the Formula 1 Canada Grand Prix title at Montreal, Canada and also the Monaco Grand Prix.

Nico Rosberg won the European Grand Prix at the Baku City Circuit, Azerbaijan.

England captain Alastair Cook became the first English cricketer and also the youngest one to reach the 10,000 runs milestone in Test cricket on May 30, playing against Sri Lanka at Chester-le-Street, England. Earlier, this record was in Sachin’s name.

Copa America Football Championship: won by Chile by defeating Argentina in the finals played at East Rutherford, New Jersey (USA). It is the popular most sports event of USA. Shocked with the defeat, the Argentine star player Lionel Messy announced his retirement from the international football. FRENCH OPEN CONCLUDES Men’s singles: won by Novak Djokovic of Serbia by beating Britain's Andy Murray Women’s singles: Garbine Muguruza of Spain defeated Serena Williams of USA to clinch her maiden French Open title. Mixed doubles: won by Leander Paes with Swiss partner Martina Hingis

Latest FIFA rankings have placed Argentina at top, followed by Belgium and Colombia at 2nd and 3rd rank, respectively.

The Rio 2016 Olympic organizing committee released the official slogan for the forthcoming Olympic Games - “A new world”.

A cheerful white tiger cub, named ‘Soohorang’ has been selected as the official mascot for South Korea’s 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

Euro 2016: Europe's biggest football extravaganza began in Stade de France, Saint Denis (France) on June 10.

Wimbledon Tennis Championships begin in London on June 27. This is the 130th edition of the third Grand Slam of the season.


MAY 2016

Amit Kumar Saroha, Indian para athlete from Haryana won the gold medal in men's club throw (F-51) at the French Open Athletics Championship in Paris.

Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam has been selected to captain Indian women's hockey team for a four-nation tournament in Darwin, Australia.

India's ace cueist Pankaj Advani has created history in Abu Dhabi by clinching the Asian 6-Red Snooker title, becoming the first in the world to hold both world and continental titles in 6-red snooker at the same time.

Garima Chaudhary won gold medal at the 2016 Commonwealth Judo Championship finals at Port Elizabeth in South Africa.

Indian boxer Sonia Lather won a silver medal at the AIBA Women's World Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Sprinter Dutee Chand bagged two gold medals by winning the women's 100m and 200m race at the Taiwan Open Athletics Championships.

The Indian women’s 4x100m relay team broke the 18-year-old national record, though they stood fourth at the IAAF World Challenge in Beijing.

Indian women's squash team won the Silver medal in the Asian Team squash Championships at Taipei,China, losing gold to Malaysia.

Indian shooters claimed three gold medals and a bronze in the ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany.

Federation Cup: Football, Mohun Bagan clinched the title for the 14th time by defeating Aizawal FC in the Final played in Guwahati.

IOA APPOINTS 4 GOODWILL AMBASSODORS The Indian Olympic Association has appointed four Goodwill Ambassadors for Rio Olympics. They are - Renowned music composer A R Rahman, Bollywood actor Salman Khan, Olympic gold medalist Abhinav Bindra and Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar.

India and Japan have agreed for mutual exchange of sports persons, coaches, experts and administrators to improve the standard of the sports between the two nations.

Nico Rosberg, the Formula One champion from Germany, won his seventh race in a row at the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi, Russia.

Eric Dusingizimana: Captain of cricket team of Rwanda has set a new Guinness world record by batting out a straight 51 hours, the longest individual net session, beating the record set last year by India's Virag Mane, who had batted a straight 50 hours.

Max Verstappen: 18 year old F1 driver from Netherlands representing the Red Bull team has become the youngest formula 1 winner as he won the title in Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona, Spain.

Thomas Cup: Denmark won the men’s badminton title, overcoming record champion Indonesia in the final played in Kunshan, China.

Uber Cup: (women badminton), China claimed the cup 14th time by routing South Korea in Kunshan, China.

French Open, Second Tennis Grand Slam –started in Roland Garros in Paris on May 22. This is the only grand slam played on clay court.

Italian Open Tennis Championship: Andy Murray defeated Novak Djokovic to win Men's Singles title.

7th Asian Youth Championships: Indian boxers bagged three silver and one bronze medal in the games held in Kazakhstan.

Madrid Open Tennis: Novak Djokovic of Serbia defeated Andy Murray of Briton to win the finals. Women’s title was won by Simona Halep defeating Dominika Cibulkova

World Snooker Championship title was won by Mark Selby of England by defeating China’s Ding Junhui in finals played at Sheffield, UK.

Asia Badminton Championships at Wuhan, China: Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei defeated the world No. 1 Chen Long of China in the finals.

Tobago batsman Iraq Thomas created a record by scoring 21-ball century in the Tobago Cricket Association’s T20 tournament at Louis D'or, Tobago (West Indies)

The International Cricket Council has suspended the Cricket Association of Nepal due to a ‘vacuum of cricket leadership’ in the country.

APRIL 2016

CARIBBEANS WON THE T-20 IN STYLE The West Indies lifted the World T-20 title in both the men's and women's section. Men’s team defeated England and women’s team routed the Australian team. The finals were played at Kolkata's Eden Gardens. The West Indies team is popularly known as Caribbeans, after the name of the group of island countries which jointly form this team.

Virat Kohli was named as the ‘Player of the Tournament’ M C Mary Kom: Indian woman boxer was named one of the eight ambassadors for the upcoming World Championships by the International Boxing Association (AIBA).


Dipa Karmakar, 22 year old girl from Agartala, Tripura created history by becoming the first Indian gymnast to qualify for the Olympics and to win the gold in vaults event at the test event of the Rio Games in Brazil. She performed the Produnova vault — the extremely difficult and most dangerous form that involves a front handspring on the horse and two front somersaults.

Deepika Kumari equalled the world record in women's recurve event at the Archery World Cup in Shanghai, China.

India's star batsman Virat Kohli has maintained his number one position in the ICC T20 batsmen rankings and team India is also ranked at top.

Asian Kho-Kho championship: both, men’s and women’s title were won by India by defeating respective teams from Bangladesh at Indore, Madhya Pradesh. National Badminton Championship: Men’s title won by Samir Verma and women’s title won by P C Thulasi in Chandigarh.

9th season of the popular Indian Premier League opened on April 9 in Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The first match was won by Rising Pune Supergiants against Mumbai Indians.

The Commonwealth Judo Congress has allotted the 2018 Commonwealth Judo Championships to India. The games will be held in Jaipur.

SPORTSPERSONS TO GET Rs ONE LAKH PM Union Sports Ministry has decided to provide one lakh rupees per month as out of pocket allowance to the sports persons under the Target Olympic Podium (TOP) scheme in their preparation for the Olympics and Paralympics Games at Rio de Janeiro.

Government has decided to merge the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Abhiyan with the ‘Khelo India’ programme.

Britain's Anthony Joshua won the IBF world heavyweight title by stopping American champion Charles Martin in London, becoming the first boxer in history to hold the Olympic super-heavyweight crown (2012) and a version of the world heavyweight title simultaneously.

Nico Rosberg, Mercedes driver of Germany won the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix in Sakhir, Baharin and also the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai.

Danny Willett of UK won the US Masters Golf Championship for the year 2016 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, USA.


LAUREUS WORLD SPORTS AWARDS

Best Sportsman of the year: Novak Djokovic, Serbia Best Sportswoman of the year: Serena Williams, USA Both of them won three grand slams in Tennis in 2015 Best Disabled Sportsperson: Paralympic swimmer Daniel Dias of Brazil Best Sports team: New Zealand's Rugby World Cup-winning team Laureus World Sports Awards, known as the Oscars of Sports, honour the notable sporting personalities and their achievements of the previous year.

Asian Nations Cup Chess tournament won by the Indian men’s team in Abu Dhabi

Sultan Azlan Shah Cup: Australia beats India to win the prestigious Hockey Tournament held in Ipoh, Malaysia.

Singapore Open Badminton Championship: Men’s - Sony Dwi Kuncoro of Indonesia Women’s - Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand, world no 1.

Malaysian Open Badminton title won by Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia against world number one Chen Long of China in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

MIAMI OPEN (tennis) IN FLORIDA, USA Men’s title: Novak Djokovic (Serbia) won by beating Japan's Kei Nishikori Women’s title: Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) won by routing Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia.

BARCELONA OPEN TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP Rafael Nadal of Spain won the title defeating Kei Nishikori of Japan in the finals played in Barcelona, Spain. Monte Carlo Masters: Rafael Nadal Spain of won the title defeating Gael Monfils of France.

TORCH LIGHTED FOR 31ST RIO OLYMPICS The official countdown to this year's Rio de Janeiro Olympics began on April 21 when the actress Katerina Lechou performing as the high priestess lit up the Olympic Torch at the Temple of Hera in ancient Olympia, Greece.

The torch will be carried by prominent sportspersons in a relay run culminating at Rio on August 5, the opening day of the XXXI Olympic Games. This is for the first time that Olympics are being held in South American continent. ALL THE NEWS ITEMS IN THIS MAGAZINE HAVE BEEN SOURCED FROM VARIOUS NEWS PAPERS AND GOVT. PRESS RELEASES.

DAYS & DATES

JUNE

JUNE 1: WORLD MILK DAY Observed across the world to increase awareness on use of milk and to promote activities connected with milk and the milk industry. It is supported by Food and Agriculture Organisation of UNO.

JUNE 5: WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY Observed globally to promote awareness for preservation of environment. The theme for this environment day is "Go Wild For Life - Zero tolerance for the illegal wildlife trade."

JUNE 8: THE WORLD OCEANS DAY Observed globally to raise awareness of the current challenges faced by the international community in connection with the oceans. The theme this year is “Healthy Oceans, Healthy Planet”. JUNE 12: THE WORLD DAY AGAINST CHILD LABOUR Observed globally with the patronage of International Labour Organisation to spread awareness about the abuse of child labour. This year’s theme is ‘End child labour in supply chains - It's everyone's business!’ JUNE 14: WORLD BLOOD DONOR DAY Observed across the world to raise the awareness about the need for safe blood donation. The theme for the year 2016 is - “Blood connects us all”. JUNE 20: WORLD REFUGEE DAY Observed around the world supported by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to raise the public awareness about refugees. According to UNHCR, number of refugees rose by 5.8 million last year to reach 65.3 million. JUNE 21: INTERNATIONAL YOGA DAY Millions of people around the world celebrated Yoga Day by organising mass yoga sessions at various places. In India, main function was held in Chandigarh where Prime Minister Modi himself led a gathering of over 30,000 people for a mass yoga session. JUNE 21: WORLD HYDROGRAPHY DAY Observed world over to highlight the role of oceans and seas in human life. This year’s theme was ‘Hydrography - the key to well-managed seas and waterways’. It is also the establishment day of International Hydrographic Organization 95 years ago. JUNE 23: UNITED NATIONS PUBLIC SERVICE DAY; Celebrated at the United Nations Headquarters in New York with a high-level knowledge sharing panel on Leaving No One Behind: Innovative Institutional Approaches and Public Service Delivery.


JUNE 23: THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC DAY Celebrated every year on 23 June to mark the occasion of the commencement of modern Olympic Games on this day in 1894 at Sorbonne in Paris. JUNE 23: INTERNATIONAL WIDOWS’ DAY Supported by the United Nations to raise public awareness on the hardships faced by the widowed women.

MAY

MAY 01: INTERNATIONAL LABOUR DAY Observed across the world to promote and protect interests of labour class., supported by the ILO. The theme for 2016 is Celebrating the international labour movement. MAY 03: WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY Observed across the world to celebrate freedom of press and defending the media from attacks on their independence. This year’s theme is ‘Access to Information and Fundamental Freedoms - This Is Your Right!’ Supported by UNESCO, this day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in December 1993, on the anniversary of the Declaration of Windhoek, Namibia. MAY 11: NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY DAY Observed all over India to hail the technological achievements and developments in the country. This year’s theme is ‘Technology enablers of Startup India’. It was on this day in 1999 that the first, indigenous aircraft “Hansa-3” was test flown at Bangalore and the Trishul missile was test fired successfully. On the same day in 1998, three successful nuclear tests were carried out at Pokhran, Rajasthan. MAY 12: INTERNATIONAL NURSES DAY Celebrated all over the world to commemorate Florence Nightingale’s birthday. President of India honoured 35 nurses with the National Florence Nightingale Awards on this day. MAY 17: WORLD HYPERTENSION DAY This year’s theme is "Know Your Numbers", with the goal of increasing awareness about high blood pressure. Normal blood pressure is defined as an average reading no higher than 120/80 mm Hg. A readings of 140/90 or higher is considered high blood pressure.

APRIL

APRIL 2: WORLD AUTISM AWARENESS DAY Observed across the globe, supported by the UNO. The theme for this year is "Autism and the 2030 Agenda: Inclusion and Neurodiversity". Autism is a serious developmental disorder in children that impairs their ability to communicate and interact.

APRIL 5: NATIONAL MARITIME DAY Observed in India to commemorate the sailing of India’s first steamship Loyalty on April 5, 1919 from Mumbai to London. All major ports observe this day celebrating India’s seafaring traditions and journeys. APRIL 7: WORLD HEALTH DAY Observed across the globe to disseminate knowledge and awareness about human health and promoting healthier living habits across the globe. This year the theme of the Day is ‘Beat Diabetes’. APRIL 8: NEW YEAR CELEBRATAIONS It marked the beginning of the New Year for a number of communities in India. For Hindus in North India, it was Vikram Samvat 2073, first day of the month Chaitra, beginning of the auspicious Navratras. In Maharashtra, it was observed as ‘Gudi Padwa’ In Andhra and Karnataka; it was observed as ‘Ugadi’. Sindhis observe this day as Cheti Chand. APRIL 10: WORLD HOMOEOPATHY DAY Observed to commemorate the birth anniversary of Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, a German Physician who developed system of Homoeopathy. APRIL 14: FIRE SERVICES DAY Observed every year in India in memory of the sacrifices made by the firemen during the devastating fire on SS Fort Strikine ship in Mumbai Dock in the year 1944. The theme of this year’s fire services day is ‘prevent fire accident, promote nation’s development.’ APRIL 14: NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS People in several parts of India celebrated beginning of their new year on April 14. In Assam and Northeastern states, it is observed as Rongali or Bohag Bihu. In Tamil Nadu side, it is celebrated as Puthandu. In Kerala, people celebrate Vishu festival. In North India, it is observed as Baisakhi, a festival of gaiety to mark the harvesting of wheat crop. In West Bengal, people celebrate it as their ‘Poila Baisakh’. APRIL 17: WORLD HEMOPHILIA DAY Observed in the memory of Frank Schnabel, the founder of the World Federation of Hemophilia as this day is his birth day. Hemophilia is a rare disorder in which your blood doesn't clot normally because it lacks sufficient blood-clotting proteins. APRIL 18: WORLD HERITAGE DAY Observed with an aim to create awareness among the people towards conserve and protect the valuable assets and cultural heritage across the world.


APRIL 21: "CIVIL SERVICE DAY" Observed by all Indian Civil Services to re-dedicate and re-commit themselves to the cause of the people. On this day in 1947, Sardar Patel, then Home Minister, addressed the first batch of civil servants in independent India. APRIL 22: EARTH DAY Observed all over the world to demonstrate support for environmental protection. The theme for this year is "Trees for the Earth" with the aim of mobilizing nearly eight billion plantings over the next five years. APRIL 23: WORLD BOOK DAY Celebrated all over the world, supported by the UNESCO to promote the reading, publishing and copyright among the public worldwide.

APRIL 25: WORLD MALARIA DAY Observed to create awareness among the people about this vector borne disease. The theme this year is ‘End Malaria For Good’. APRIL 26: WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY DAY Observed across the world to spread awareness about the role that intellectual property rights (patents, trademarks, industrial designs, copyright) play in encouraging innovation and creativity. This year’s theme is Digital Creativity: Culture Reimagined. APRIL 29: INTERNATIONAL DANCE DAY Supported by UNESCO, it is observed to attract the attention of general public towards various dance forms.

ANSWER KEY TEST - 1

Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. 1 B 2 D 3 C 4 B 5 D 6 E 7 E 8 B 9 B 10 A 11 C 12 B 13 A 14 D 15 D 16 A 17 D 18 A 19 C 20 C 21 D 22 B 23 C 24 E 25 C 26 C 27 E 28 D 29 C 30 E 31 D 32 C 33 A 34 B 35 D 36 E 37 C 38 B 39 A 40 B 41 C 42 B 43 C 44 C 45 A 46 A 47 E 48 B 49 E 50 A

ANSWER KEY TEST - 2

Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. 1 C 2 E 3 A 4 A 5 E 6 B 7 A 8 A 9 A 10 E 11 B 12 C 13 A 14 C 15 E 16 B 17 E 18 C 19 C 20 B 21 B 22 A 23 B 24 A 25 D 26 A 27 B 28 C 29 D 30 A 31 A 32 B 33 B 34 A 35 B 36 A 37 B 38 B 39 C 40 D 41 C 42 A 43 D 44 B 45 A 46 A 47 B 48 C 49 B 50 E


NATIONAL NEWS

MARCH 2016

A new direct shipping service launched between

Krishnapatnam in Nellore, Andhra Pradesh and Chittagong in Bangladesh.

India will host the eighth annual summit of BRICS from October 15-16 in Goa

Prime Minister Narendra Modi left for a three - nation tour to Belgium, the US and Saudi Arabia from March 30 to April 2.

Air India on March 6 flew the “world’s longest” all-women operated and supported flight, nonstop, from New Delhi to San Francisco, USA.

The first World Culture Festival, a three-day event celebrating cultural diversity was held on Yamuna bank in New Delhi on March 11-13.

Supreme Court has now allowed use of pictures of Chief Ministers, Governors and Cabinet ministers in the government's media advertisements.

The Raisina Dialogue, a joint initiative of the Ministry of External Affairs and a leading think tank, Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi on March 2.

India lags behind China, Pakistan and Bangladesh, ranking 118th in a study of 156 nations, according to The World Happiness Report 2016

As per the Grant Thornton’s Women in Business 2016 report of 36 countries, Russia topped with 45% of senior-business roles occupied by women.

Global Energy Architecture Performance Index compiled by the WEF placed India pretty low at 90th rank and Switzerland at top.

Meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) nations was held Pokhara, Nepal.

Union Ministry of Shipping will host ‘Maritime India Summit’ at Mumbai from 14 to 16 April, with Republic of Korea as the partner country.

India hosted a three-day conference in New Delhi with IMF on the theme of 'Advancing Asia: Investing for the Future' from March 12 to 14.

6th National Community Radio Sammelan held in New Delhi. The theme was ‘Community Radio in India: Towards Diversity and Sustainability’.

National Conference of Women Legislators held in New Delhi, March 5-6, with theme Women Legislators-Building Resurgent India.

India signed a MoU with Bahrain on cooperation for prevention of human trafficking, especially in women and children, their repatriation and rehabilitation.

India has signed an agreement with Maldives for avoiding double taxation of income from international air transport.

First meet of World Sufi Forum was held in New Delhi from March 17-20. Sufi leaders from over 20 countries took part in it.

The India Aviation 2016, an international exhibition on civil aviation held in Hyderabad, Telangana with over 200 participants from across the globe.

Parsi Zoroastrians of India celebrated their Navroz festival on March 21to mark beginning of their new year.

Germany has assured its support for developing three Indian cities as smart cities. The selected cities are - Kochi, Bhubaneswar and Coimbatore.

Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi ranked first in 25-40 million passengers per annum category by the Airports Council International.

Bullet News (JAN 2016 – MARCH 2016)

For details visit – www.gyanm.in


FEBRUARY 2016

Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan visited India.

Swachh Survekshan-2016 conducted by the Quality Council of India has ranked Mysuru at number one, followed by Chandigarh and Tiruchirapalli.

Vice President Hamid Ansari paid a five day (Feb 1-5) visit to South East Asia covering Brunei and Thailand.

The 4-day National Arogya Fair organised by the central and state government in collaboration with CII was held in Dehradun, Uttarakhand

Govt sanctioned Rs.580 crore for the vital Agartala (India)-Akhaura (Bangladesh) rail link, a project that was finalized in January 2010.

First National Deworming Day observed on Feb 10 in schools and anganwadis to combat parasitic worm infections among children. Free Albendezole deworming tablets were

provided to children across the country. The eighth Delhi Dialogue was held in New Delhi to

discuss politico-security, economic and socio-cultural engagement with ASEAN.

Govt released a commemorative coin of 150 rupees and a circulation coin of 10 rupees on the occasion of 150th birth anniversary of Lala Lajpat Rai.

The Road to Resilience, an initiative of the World Bank to survey the entire Indian coastline was completed on 15 February 2016.

A group of students of Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi raised anti national slogans, leading to arrest of Kanhaiya Kumar, President of JNU students union.

Number of billionaires in India has risen to 111, placing India third, after China and the US, according to Hurun Global Rich List 2016.

Birdwatchers from all over India took part in four day annual Great Backyard Bird Count and shared the information online.

In a survey of top 38 countries to assess the protection of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), India ranked 37th

Anti-Leprosy Day was observed on 30 January nationwide in the memory of Mahatma Gandhi, who attained martyrdom on 30 January 1948.

Nepal Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli arrived in New Delhi on Feb 19 on a six-day visit to India. The two countries signed 7 agreements for cooperation.

India and Afghanistan have agreed to allow visa-free travel for diplomatic passport holders of the two countries.

India has extended one million dollars assistance to cyclone-hit Fiji. The category five cyclones Winston had wind speed of upto 325 km per hour.

Global brand valuation firm Brand Finance has rated Tata Consultancy Services as the World’s Most Powerful Brand in IT Services.

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) completed ten years in first week of February.

Banaras Hindu University (BHU) founded by Freedom fighter Pt Madan Mohan Malviya has turned 100 years old on 13th February 2016.

The 42nd Khajuraho Dance Festival, a world famous annual classical dance festival, was held in the temple town of Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh.

The biennial automotive show Auto Expo was held in Greater Noida in the National Capital Region.

The 47th two-day Conference of Governors of all Indian states and Lt. Governors of UTs was hosted by the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.

India and Pakistan have agreed to extend the rail communication agreement by mutual consent for three years from 19 January 2016.

The 6th National Science Film Festival & Competition was held at Nehru Science Center in Mumbai.

13th World Spice Congress was held in Ahmadabad from Feb 27-29 with the theme 'Target 2020: Clean, Safe and Sustainable Supply Chain'.

JANUARY 2016

President of France, Francois Hollande arrived in Chandigarh on Jan 24 for a three–day visit to India. He was the honourable Chief Guest at the 67thRepublic Day Parade at New Delhi.

For the first time, a military contingent of a foreign country – France took part in the Republic Day Parade on January 26.

According to a global CEO survey, the top five markets most important for overall growth prospects are USA, China, Germany, UK and India.

India sends the largest number of engineers and scientists to the US, about 950,000 of them.

In the Corruption Perceptions Index -2015 by the Transparency International, India has been ranked at 76th position out of 168 countries. The Index is topped by Denmark, followed by Finland, Sweden.

6th National Voters’ Day was celebrated across the country on Jan 25.

The Mysuru-Varanasi Express has become the country’s first blind friendly Braille-embedded train.


India’s diaspora population is the largest in the world with 16 million people from India living outside their country in 2015.

The 153rd birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda on January 12 was observed as National Youth Day across the country.

Supreme Court stayed the Central government notification allowing ‘Jallikattu’ in Tamil Nadu.

Mumbai has been ranked 22nd and Delhi 24th in the top-30 list of the world’s most powerful, productive and connected cities. The list is topped by Tokyo.

The Union Cabinet has approved the construction of 69 bridges on the Tamu-Kyigone-Kalewa (TKK) road section of the trilateral highway in Myanmar.

World Bank will provide a $ 50 million loan for ‘Nai Manzil'–Education and Skills Training for Minorities.

Youth in BPL category in the age group of 17-35 years will be the main beneficiaries of the project.

The Global Talent Competitiveness Index has placed India at 89th rank on the basis of ability to attract talent. The index is topped by the Switzerland.

A Nuclear Security Index has placed India at 21st rank among the 24 countries having one kg or more of the weapon grade nuclear material.

A four day cultural festival 'Bharat Partv' was held at the Red Fort lawns in Delhi from Jan 26-29 to highlight the rich cultural heritage of India

The World Meteorological Organisation has nominated India as the Regional Climate Centre to provide information about El Nino.

“Make in India Week” was held in Mumbai during February 13-18, 2016 to hold investors meet for the manufacturing sector.

India’s share in IMF has increased to 2.75% making it the 8th largest shareholder. Its voting rights now will rise to 2.6% from 2.34%.

The World Bank will give $ 250 million loan for Jhelum-Tawi Flood Recovery Project

India and Armenia signed an amended Double Taxation Avoidance Treaty (DTAA) to share information on banking and financial transactions.

The largest tricolour (66 x 99 feet) in the country was hoisted atop the Pahari Mandir in Ranchi, Jharkhand on the tallest pole – standing 293 foot.

Union Ministry of Finance released the draft report of Justice R V Easwar (Retd) Committee to simplify the provisions of Income-tax Act, 1961.

The child sex ratio in India now stands at 918 (per thousand male babies), dipping further from 927 in 2001, and reaching the lowest level since 1961.

Govt has decided to merge the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs with the Ministry of External Affairs to avoid duplication of work and to improve efficiency.

India-Nepal Bus Service between Banbasa border in Uttarakhand and Kanchanpur in Nepal started on 4th January, after a gap of 27 years.

The 14th Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas (PBD) was held on 9 January 2016 in New Delhi. It was a limited edition as now it will be organised once in two years.

National Conference on e-Governance held in Nagpur, Maharashtra.

India’s first World Music Festival will be held in Udaipur on Feb 12-13. Over 100 artistes from over 12 countries will take part in the festival.

103rd Indian Science Congress held at University of Mysore, Karnataka.

International Kite Festival held at Sabarmati River front in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

The Jaipur Literature Festival held at Hotel Diggi Palace, Jaipur (Rajasthan) from January 21 to 25.

NEWS FROM STATES

MARCH 2016

UNESCO has included Agasthyamala biosphere

reserve located in the Western Ghats, in its World Network of Biosphere Reserves.

India’s largest heritage conservation project - Muziris Heritage Project opened in Trissur in Kerala. An ancient port city, it has up to 3000 years old monuments.

Kerala has been declared as the first digital state of India for achieving digital connectivity of all villages and panchayats.


Delhi has become the first state in the country to launch the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine as a public health programme for school children.

Surat, Rajkot railway stations in Gujarat stood first and second in terms of cleanliness, as per a survey conducted by the Ministry of Railways.

Allahabad High Court in Uttar Pradesh is celebrating 150 years of its existence.

Kerala has started India’s first Gender Park to promote the gender equality in development to promote participation of women.

Kerala has taken first of its kind initiative by launching the Air Ambulance in the state.

FEBRUARY 2016

Haryana suffered big loss due to widespread violent

agitation by its Jat community demanding reservation for Jats in government jobs.

Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved construction of India’s longest 14 km railway bridge on Katni – Bina route in Madhya Pradesh.

As per the National Air Quality Indices (NAQI) for 24 cities, Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and Muzzafarpur in Bihar topped the list for the worst air quality.

Haryana to become the first state in the country to have aquifer mapping done for its groundwater resources by May 2016.

30th Surajkund International Crafts Mela began at Surajkund in Faridabad, Haryana on Feb 1. Telangana is the Theme State this time.

The World Bank to give $ 35 million credit for the Citizen Access to Responsive Services Project of Madhya Pradesh.

Haryana and the Province of Ontario in Canada have signed a MoU for enhancing commercial and cultural ties between the two states.

JANUARY 2016

Mumbai Central has become the first ever railway station in India to have free high-speed Internet facility

Sikkim has become India's first fully organic state by converting around 75,000 hectares of agricultural land into sustainable cultivation.

Nati folk dance of Kullu district has entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the folk dance by largest number–9,892 women.

Govt has launched Ganga Gram Yojana in Uttar Pradesh to minimize/stop pollution of the river from 1600 villages on the bank of Ganges.

For the first time, on camera evidence has been captured of the endangered Snow Leopard inhabiting the high mountains of northern Sikkim.

The 14th edition of Mumbai International Festival for Documentary, Short and Animation Films was held in Mumbai from Jan 28 to Feb 03.

The Ardh Kumbh mela formally started at Haridwar on Jan 12.

Kerala has become the first Indian state to achieve 100 per cent primary education (up to class IV) by implementing the programme ‘Athulyam’.

World Bank to provide $ 250 million loan for the Bihar’s Kosi Basin Development Project.

Bihar government has decided to give 35% reservation for women in all state government jobs.

Bihar govt has announced that no one can contest the panchayat elections scheduled in 2016 in the state, without having a toilet at their home.

Telangana has become the first state in the country to officially accept electronic motor insurance policies by the name ‘e-Vahan Bima’.

GOVT INITIATIVES

MARCH 2016

The NITI Aayog has launched the Women Transforming India initiative in partnership with the UN in India and MyGov.

Govt has launched the Setubharatam project to make all national highways free of railway crossings by 2019.

Govt has launched the new four colour scheme for re-classification of industries based on the Pollution Index (PI) scores.

Pollution Category P I Score No. of industries covered

Red 60 and Above 60 Orange 41 to 59 83 Green 21 to 40 63 White Up to 20 36

The Union Cabinet has approved the construction of

one crore houses in next three years in rural areas under ‘Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana – Gramin’

Union Ministry of Tourism has launched the ‘Paryatak Mitra’ programme to inculcate appropriate tourism traits and knowledge amongst the college students.

The Rajya Sabha passed the landmark Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2015 on March


10 to address corruption and inefficiency in the sector.

Government has allowed women to be inducted as officers in combat roles in the Indo-Tibetan Border Force (ITBP), the last paramilitary force to do so.

Union Health Ministry has started, on trial basis, five healthcare ATMs in four states — Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.

The Aadhaar (Target Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Bill, 2016 has been passed by the Parliament.

The UGC has asked varsities and colleges to launch a special page on their websites for checking discrimination against SC/ST students.

Lok Sabha passed a bill to amend the Enemy Property Act, 1968 to cover properties left behind by people who became Chinese or Pakistani after leaving India .

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has launched the 'Clean Street Food Project' in Delhi to sensitise the street food vendors about health and hygiene aspects of food.

Railways launched an online “clean my coach” service that allows travellers to get their compartments cleaned by sending an SMS to 58888 or by using an app or a designated website.

Government has decided to digitally connect all the Post Offices in rural areas by March 2017. There are about 1,55,000 Post Offices in the country.

The Telecom Commission has approved the idea of having a common number for emergencies such as police, fire, ambulance, etc. all over India. The proposed number is 112.

FEBRUARY 2016

Central government has announced the names of the first 20 urban areas that will be developed as smart cities.

The ambitious Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban (rural-urban) Mission was launched from Chhattisgarh's Dongargarh block.

The Union Cabinet has approved establishment of Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) and Self Employment and Talent Utilisation (SETU) in NITI Aayog.

A mobile app ‘Swachh Paryatan’ has been launched to facilitate the public to communicate their complaints about any unclean area/garbage piles in and around 25 listed prime tourist destinations.

Govt has decided to extend E-Tourist visa facility to 37 more countries from Feb 26, making the total count of countries under the scheme 150.

Govt has decided to halve the threshold for coverage of firms under the EPFO from 20 at present to 10 workers.

Finance Ministry has launched its official YouTube channel with a view to disseminate information to the public on a real-time basis.

Government has launched Project Sunrise for prevention of AIDS in the 20 districts of eight North-Eastern states.

Union Ministry of Tourism has launched the 24x7 Toll Free Tourist Infoline in 12 International Languages including Hindi and English in New Delhi

Government plans to set up Special Unit for Transportation Research and Analytics (Sutra) headed by Ratan Tata for improvement in railways.

National Disaster Response Force has raised a squad of 162 dogs for rescuing people trapped under debris in natural calamities like earthquake.

India’s first-ever Aviation Park will come up near Bagodara village in Ahmadabad to strengthen the aviation sector.

National Framework for Malaria Elimination 2016-2030 released to define the strategy for elimination of the disease by 2030, in a phased manner.

The National Wildlife Action Plan 2017-2031 unveiled by the environment ministry to focus on rehabilitation of threatened species of wildlife.

JANUARY 2016

Govt. has started a 19 point Start-up Action Plan

with a Rs. 10,000 crore fund for funding of Start-ups. The new ventures will be exempted from

paying income tax on their profit and visit of inspectors for 3 years.

They will enjoy 80 per cent exemption in patent fee.

Government has launched the “Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana", under which the premium will be paid by central and state govt.

Farmers will have to pay only a token premium of 2% for kharif, 1.5% for rabi and 5% for commercial crops.

Govt has approved 33% reservation for women in Central Armed Police Forces such as CRPF and CISF at constable–level positions.

14-15% reservation has been done at the constable level in BSF, SSB and ITBP.

Govt has decided that all central ministries and public sector units will have to float e-tenders for procuring goods and services exceeding Rs 2 lakh.

India and Australia have agreed to allow people of both nations to avail retirement benefits in each other's country.

Health Ministry has decided to use the services of Global Vaccine Alliance, a global NGO working for promotion of vaccination in poor countries.


Operation Green Hunt refers to an all-out offensive by India’s paramilitary forces against the Naxalites in the Naxal affected five states.

River Information System - the first of its kind in India launched to facilitate safe and accurate navigation on National Waterway-1 (Ganga River).

Union Govt and J&K have launched ‘Wattan ko Jano’ project to familiarize the local youth with the development of the country in other states.

Sahaj Scheme launched for online booking of LPG cylinders through the unified web portal www.mylpg.in, available in 13 languages.

Government has decided to institute a new award category under the National Film Awards titled The Most Film–Friendly State/UT.

The Union Ministry of Shipping has started Project Green Ports to make Major Ports across India cleaner and greener.

Eight states have agreed to implement direct benefit of transfer of subsidy in kerosene in 26 districts w.e.f. April 1, 2016.

Finance Ministry to organise the India Investment Summit from Feb. 4 in New Delhi to attract global investors to promote Indian infrastructure sector.

The government has constituted a committee headed by noted film-maker Shyam Benegal to look into revamp of Censor Board.

A new luxury super fast express train 'Mahamana Express' named after Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya has been started between Varanasi to Delhi.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

3 MARCH 2016

Fitch Ratings has lowered India’s economic growth forecast for next fiscal to 7.7%, but maintained the GDP growth for current 2015-16 at 7.5%.

FEBRUARY 2016

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has marginally revised downward the GDP growth for 2014-15 to 7.2% from the earlier estimate of 7.3%

JANUARY 2016

The Global Economic Prospect by the World Bank has projected a robust 7.8 per cent growth for the Indian economy in the current year.

UNCTAD says that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows into India nearly doubled to $ 59 billion in 2015 as against 36 per cent rise at the world level.

ECONOMY

MARCH 2016

The government has allowed 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) in the marketplace format of e-commerce via the automatic route

To curb the menace of willful defaulters, the SEBI has barred them from making a public issue or acquiring another listed entity.

Railways have signed a contract to supply eighteen Meter Gauge 1350 HP Diesel Electric Locomotives to Myanmar Railways.

International Finance Corporation launched its first Uridashi Masala Bonds (Japanese bonds) to mobilise Rs 30 crore from Japanese retail investors.

The government has decided to invest Rs. 69,575 crore towards increasing India’s quota in the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

India’s quota increased from 2.44% to 2.75% to have increased voting rights of 2.6% from the previous 2.34%.

India signed its biggest ever overseas credit line, extending $2 billion loan facility to Bangladesh, repayable over 20 years.

Maruti’s hatchback Alto has achieved cumulative sales of three million units in the Indian market in 15 years and 6 months.

Mahindra& Mahindra launched Trringo – a digital app, to start online tractor rental business.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the A have signed a MoU to provide $ 848 million to develop solar parks across India.

As per the Brand Trust Report, e-retailer Amazon has been ranked as India's most trusted online shopping brand, followed by Snapdeal and Flipkart.

The World Bank to provide $250 million loan for improving the performance of electricity distribution in Rajasthan.


The government has formally withdrawn the recognition of Delhi Stock Exchange (DSE) after it was de recognised by SEBI "serious irregularities".

The govt has allowed 49% FDI in insurance sector without prior approval, as against 26% earlier.

Railways have tied up with the ISRO to use space technology for providing the passenger information in all trains and to explore new route alignments.

India and France have signed a MoU for construction of six nuclear reactors at Jaitapur in Maharashtra.

World Bank to provide $ 35 million loan for Madhya Pradesh citizen access to responsive services project.

World Bank to grant $ 300 million loan for the Madhya Pradesh Higher Education Quality Improvement Project

FEBRUARY 2016

In a bid to kick start manufacturing in the electronics sector, government has launched a Rs. 10,000-crore Electronic Development Fund.

P M Modi inaugurated the Make in India Week in Mumbai. India is blessed with 4D - Democracy, Demography, Demand and Deregulation.

As per the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, the total number of companies registered in the country rose to more than 15.27 lakh in January 2016.

The Intellectual Property Appellate Board has directed Geographical Indications Registry, Chennai to issue ‘GI’ tag for basmati rice to 7 states. These states are Punjab, Haryana, Himachal

Pradesh, Uttarakhand, parts of Uttar Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir.

Brahmaputra Cracker & Polymer Ltd started the Assam Gas Cracker project, the first ever Petrochemical project in the North East India.

Union Cabinet has approved Trade Facilitation Agreement of the World Trade Organization (WTO), becoming 71st country to do so.

Indian Oil Corporation’s latest oil refinery in Paradip, Odisha started production of petrol from the Rs. 34,555-crore facility.

The TRAI has barred telecom companies from charging differential rates for data services, prohibiting Facebook’s Free Basics and Airtel Zero platform.

India has approved a $150 million credit line for the development of Iran’s Chabahar port.

Bajaj Auto has launched a 150-cc motor bike named ‘V’ that contains metal sourced from India’s first aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant.

For the first time, 6 metro coaches, each 75 feet long, were shipped to Australia from Mumbai port as the first installment of 450 such coaches.

Govt has cut interest rates by 0.25% on short-term post office deposits, Kisan Vikas Patras and other small saving schemes below five years of maturity.

Govt to set up the National Organic Farming Research Institute in Sikkim as the state is country's first organic farming State.

Govt about Rs 5,030 crore from sale of its 5% stake in the Maharatna PSU National Thermal Power Corporation-NTPC, through OFS (offer for sale).

South Arabia emerged as the largest exporter of crude oil to India in Jan. 2016, exporting 9.4 lac barrels per day, followed by Iraq at 9.3 lac bpd.

Apprehensive of the name Zika, the virus, Tata Motors have decided to rename their latest hatchback model as Tiago instead of Zika.

Asian Development Bank will provide a $80 million loan for improving the infrastructure in the two North-Eastern cities of Agartala and Aizawl.

JANUARY 2016

India is home to the fourth largest population of millionaires in the Asia Pacific region, with 2.36 lakh such high net worth individuals

The Inland Waterways Authority of India plans to set up a Waterways Hub at Haldia, West Bengal to attract more investment in the state.

3 loss-making subsidiaries of HMT Ltd, (Hindustan Machines Ltd) namely HMT Watches Ltd, HMT Chinar Watches Ltd, and HMT Bearings Ltd. Closed.

Govt has decided to implement strict emission norms of Bharat Stage (BS) VI from April 1, 2020, by skipping BS-V altogether.

World Bank has agreed to provide Rs 1071 crore funding for the Neeranchal National Watershed Project


India has overtaken Thailand as the world's largest rice exporter in 2015, shipping 10.23 million tonnes as against 9.8 million tonnes by Thailand.

The Asian Development Bank to extend a $625 million loan for the proposed $840 million Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor.

BANKING

MARCH 2016

RBI has asked banks to pay interest on savings

accounts on a quarterly basis or a shorter duration as against half yearly intervals at present.

The government has reduced interest rates payable on small savings including PPF, NSC to 8.1% and 7.8% on KVP wef 1st April.

The two day meet of public sector banks and insurance companies - Gyan Sangam, was held in Gurgaon, Haryana on March 5-6

RBI has come out with a draft regulatory framework for new kind of Account Aggregator Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFC) They would act as an account aggregator to

help people view their accounts across financial institutions in a common format.

ICICI Bank has launched ‘iWork@home’ that uses technology to enable women employees to work from home for an extended period

NPCI, issuer of Rupay card, plans to venture into the credit card space by September 2016. It plans to issue 100,000 such cards in the first year.

The RBI has signed a pact with Bank of Israel for exchange of information pertaining to banking supervision.

The Reserve Bank granted the first license for the Small Finance Bank on 4 March to the Capital Local Area Bank Ltd to start operations as India’s first SFB.

Indian Overseas Bank has become the first bank to commence the sale of Indian Gold Coin. The coins are available in the 5, 10 and 20 gram category.

FEBRUARY 2016

RBI has asked banks to follow accounting standard

‘Ind AS’ converged with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) from April 1, 2018.

Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance headed by M. Veerappa Moily submitted the report on the Net NPAs of Public Sector Banks (PSBs). As per the report, PSBs had gross NPAs of Rs

369,990 crore and net NPAs of around 205,024 crore rupees, till September 2015.

SBI has launched "FlexiPay Home Loan", offering higher amount and up to five years of interest moratorium to professionals in the age group of 21 to 45 years.

Govt to infuse Rs 5,000 crore as capital in the public sector banks to strengthen their balance sheet for compliance of Basel III capital norms.

RBI has extended the $2 billion currency swap arrangement to SAARC nations till mid-November 2017 to enhance economic cooperation.

State Bank of India has started an exclusive ‘Japan Desk’ as a single nodal point for attracting FDI worth $30 billion from Japan.

JANUARY 2016

RBI introduces new banknotes of 500 rupees and 100 rupees denominations with enhanced security features.

Reserve Bank has started the process of issuing 'Master Directions' on various regulatory issues in its bid to simplify the communication process.

Reserve Bank has asked banks to ensure that every village with a population over 5,000 should have a bank branch by March 2017

RBI has permitted banks to sell India Gold Coins of 5 and 10 grams, minted by Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation of India (MMTC)

RBI has advised that the government will pay 2.5% commission to banks for attracting more gold in the Gold Monetisation Scheme

The RBI has asked banks to provide loans of up to Rs 3 lakh at 7 per cent interest rate to Women Self-Help Group (SHG)

RBI has decided to dispense with the requirement of physically forwarding paid central government cheques to the departments for clearance.

From Feb 1, 2016, cheques will be paid through Cheque Truncation System (CTS), without their physical movement.

The Union Cabinet has approved conversion of MUDRA Ltd, an NBFC, into MUDRA Bank to promote loans under the MUDRA Yojana. MUDRA: Pradhan Mantri Micro Units

Development Refinance Agency RBI has granted operational freedom to banks to

offer all their products and services through the ATM channels provided technology permits the same.

RBI has hiked its shareholding in National Housing Bank by contributing Rs 1,000 crore towards paid capital, bringing the total capital to Rs 1450 crore.

RBI has asked banks not to issue such 1000 rupee notes which, by mistake, were printed without security thread.


SBI has become the first public sector bank to launch wealth management service ‘SBI Exclusif’ to cater to fast-growing affluent segment.

The country's largest private sector lender ICICI Bank became the first private bank to achieve the milestone of Rs 1 lakh crore in housing loan.

DEFENCE, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

MARCH 2016

The multinational mega Military Exercise Force 18 was held in Pune, Maharashtra from March 2 to 8.

ICGS Arnvesh, the Fast Patrol Vessel (FPV) built by the Cochin Shipyard was commissioned in the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) in Visakhapatnam.

Iron Fist 2016 - Indian Air Force conducted its biggest fire power combat exercise at Pokhran in Rajasthan on March 18.

Indian army test-fired indigenously built nuclear-capable Agni-I ballistic missile with a range of 700 kms from Abdul Kalam Island on the Odisha coast.

Garuda Shakti, the 4th edition of joint army training exercise between India and Indonesia was held at Magelang, Indonesia, from March 11 to 23.

Defence Ministry has issued the order for purchase of transport helicopters CH-47 Chinook and attack helicopter AH-64 Apache, from the Boeing, USA.

A new 30MHz radar system, Gadanki Ionospheric Radar Interfereometer (GIRI) has been established at National Atmospheric Research Laboratory (NARL) at Gadanki in Andhra Pradesh

ExoMars 2016, an unmanned spacecraft was launched jointly by Europe and Russia on a Russian Proton rocket from Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan

Australian scientists have created the world’s thinnest lens which is 2,000 times thinner than human hair, a breakthrough set to revolutionise nanotechnology.

FEBRUARY 2016

Indian President and the Prime Minister inspected the International Fleet Review 2016 held on 4 Feb to 8 Feb at Visakhapatnam coast.

The Indian Navy's first locally developed nuclear submarine INS Arihant is now ready for full fledged operations.

After nearly 60 years of sailing across the oceans, the Indian Navy's aircraft carrier, the INS Viraat is destined to be decommissioned in June, 2016.

It was inducted in Indian Navy in May 1987 as refitted British warship – HMS Hermes.

Andhra govt has agreed to base the ship off Visakhapatnam coast, converting it into a luxury hotel for promotion of tourism.

A study by the Stockholm-based think-tank SIPRI states that India is the world’s largest importer of arms, accounting for 14% of global arms imports.

Indigenously developed Prithvi-II missile, capable of carrying 500 kg to 1000 kg of warheads up to 350 kms, was tested successfully

'Exercise IBSAMAR' (India, Brazil, South Africa Maritime) between the navies of Brazil, India and South Africa was held off the Goa coast

India’s first indigenously developed lightest revolver Nidar, weighing just 250 grams, was launched by the state-run Ishapore Rifle Factory in West Bengal.

Indian Army participated in the ‘Cobra Gold 2016’ – the biggest military exercise hosted by Thailand, along with its counterparts from 35 countries

Indian and Chinese troops held their first joint tactical exercise “Sino-India Cooperation 2016’’ in Chushul-Moldo area of Ladakh border with China.

BAE Systems, UK has announced selection of Mahindras’ as its Indian partner for the supply of 145 M777 ultra light howitzers to the Indian Army

LAMITYE 2016, the 7th joint military training exercise between the Indian Army and the Seychelles People’s Defence Forces (SPDF) was held in Seychelles.

The 9th edition of India-Nepal Combined Military Exercise ‘Surya Kiran IX’ was held in Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand.

The Ministry of Defence to locally produce 106 upgraded Light Combat Aircraft “Tejas Mark 1-A” jets to replace the ageing fleet of MiG aircraft.

The 4th India-Myanmar Coordinated Patrol(corpat) was conducted by both navies in the Andaman Sea.

Japan joined the US, Russia, and China as one of the only countries to produce its own fifth-generation stealth fighter jet- X-2-‘Shinshin’

Saudi Arabia launched a massive military exercise – ‘North Thunder’ that included troops from 20 nations in King Khalid Military City in Saudi Arabia.

Govt has launched a device developed by the CSIR –CEERI, named ‘Ksheer-Scanner’ that detects the adulterants like urea, salt, detergent, soda etc in milk.

YouTube has launched its YouTube Red service to offer original movies and shows without ad breaks to the public.


Scientists working with the LIGO [Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory], USA, have detected for the first time, signals of gravitational waves. These signals are emanating from two merging

black holes 1.3 billion light years away. These ripples in space-time were predicted by

Albert Einstein, some 100 years ago. Union Cabinet has given ‘in principle’ approval for a

proposal to have a gravitational wave detector in India under LIGO-India Project.

The Japanese space agency has successfully launched a new X ray astronomy satellite – Astro–H to study the origin of black holes.

Council for Scientific and Industrial Research has launched the country's first anti-diabetic ayurvedic drug BGR -34 for Diabetes type 2 patients.

Hyderabad-based biotechnology research company Bharat Biotech has announced that it has developed the world’s first vaccine for Zika virus.

Mobile messaging app WhatsApp crossed the one billion user milestone globally on Feb 02.

JANUARY 2016

Indigenously designed and built advanced light helicopter (ALH) — “Rudra” made its debut at the Republic Day parade.

Indian Navy warship INS Kolkata successfully test-fired long-range surface-to-air missile (LRSAM) Barak NG developed in collaboration with Israel.

15th January observed as Army Day. On this day in 1949, Lt.–Gen. Cariappa became the first Indian Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army.

The 15th edition of bilateral exercise by the Indian Coast Guard and its Japanese counterpart began off the coast of Chennai, Tamil Nadu in the Bay of Bengal.

The DRDO successfully test-fired Nag anti-tank missile at the Mahajan Field Firing Range in Rajasthan.

INS Kadmatt, the second indigenous stealth Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Corvette, was inducted in Indian Navy in Visakhapatnam.

India and France began their eight-day counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency joint exercise ‘Shakti-2016’ in Rajasthan.

India has supplied three Mi-25 gunship helicopters to Afghan Air Force.

A new variant of Thrush bird named as the Himalayan Forest Thrush has been found in the northeastern India and parts of Tibet, Nepal and China.

A class of frogs that grows in tree holes who as tadpoles feed on eggs laid by their mother, has been discovered in the north-east region.

A Bengaluru-based technology startup has developed India’s first artificial liver tissue with the help of 3-D printing technology.

Global streaming pioneer Netflix (of USA) has launched its service in India, allowing viewers to access unlimited TV and cinema content online

The NASA successfully launched Falcon 9 rocket made by SpaceX Company, from California to place ocean monitoring satellite Jason-3 in orbit.

Scientists have discovered the most energetic light ever detected in the universe from the centre of a supernova known as ‘Crab pulsar’

Astronomers have discovered the largest known solar system, consisting of a large planet that takes nearly a million years to orbit its star.

The periodic table of elements in Chemistry has added four new chemical elements - 113, 115, 117 and 118, discovered by scientists in Japan, Russia and US.

Scientists in Singapore have developed a human-like social robot named ‘Nadine’, with soft skin and flowing brunette hair

China successfully launched Gaofen-4 Earth Observation Satellite from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in Sichuan, China.

INTERNATIONAL

MARCH 2016

The United Nations to set up 20 child and family support hubs known as "Blue Dots" as special support centres for migrant children and families in Europe.

US President Barack Obama scripted history by becoming first US President to visit its island neighbour Cuba, after 88 years of strained relations.

The World Trade Center Transportation Hub was opened to public on March 3 at New York. Built at a cost of $ 4 billion, it took 12 years to complete.

World Congress of Biosphere Reserves was held at Lima in Peru from 14-17 March 2016

The US continued to dominate the world of innovation and inventions by filing 57,385 patent applications last year, followed by Japan and China.

Microsoft’s co-founder Bill Gates continues to be the world’s richest person with a net worth of $75 billion, according to Forbes’ annual ranking of billionaires.

According to a new law in Uganda, parents who fail to vaccinate their children will face six months in jail.

9th International Abilympics started at Bordeaux in France. It is a global work skills competition of disabled persons, held every four years.


Changi Airport in Singapore has been voted the World’s Best Airport for the fourth year in a row at the 2016 World Airport Awards

The 59th Session of Commission on Narcotic Drugs was held in Vienna, Austria

World's first fully electric double decker bus service was launched by London's transport authority. The buses have been made by China automaker BYD.

China's National People's Congress has set the country's growth target at 6.5 to 7 % for 2016.

FEBRUARY 2016

On Feb 1 MPs of National League for Democracy party lead by Aung San Suu Kyi joined the parliament, marking end to the military rule since 1962.

A landmark UN-backed ceasefire came into effect in Syria at midnight of 26 Feb, supported by both – USA and Russia. This is the first major truce in five years of civil

war that has claimed more than 2.7 lakh lives. WHO has declared Public Health Emergency of

International Concern over the explosive spread of the mosquito-borne Zika virus.

United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon has released a report called 'One Humanity: Shared Responsibility'. The report calls for a global campaign to

prevent the destruction of humanitarian laws and to protect civilians in conflict.

France has become the first country in the world to legally ban supermarkets from throwing away or destroying unsold food.

The three day annual World Government Summit was held in Dubai.

The Noor Ouarzazate Solar Complex, world’s largest solar power plant started operations on February 4 in the Souss-Massa-Drâa area in Morocco.

The first cargo train under Beijing led-Belt and Road connectivity initiative along the New Silk Road from China to Iran completed its first journey. The 10,400 kms trip from Yiwu near Shanghai

to Bander Abbas port in Iran took just 14 days, a full 30 days shorter than the maritime voyage.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership deal, lead by USA, one of the biggest trade deals in history, was signed in New Zealand on Feb 4.

Bank of Japan has imposed, for the first time, a negative interest rate of minus 0.1 per cent for certain bank deposits placed with it.

Alphabet, the company that owns Google, has overtaken rival Apple Inc in terms of value of market capitalisation on Feb 1

A survey of 230 cities for assessing quality of life by the global consulting firm Mercer has placed Vienna at the top, followed by Zurich.

Finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 major rich and developing economies began a two-day meeting in Shanghai on Feb 26.

A two day summit between leaders from the ASEAN and the United States was held in California to dwell upon maritime security in the South China Sea.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU) have signed an agreement to improve cooperation in cyber defense.

Apple notched a record $18.4 billion in profit for the quarter ending 31st Dec 2015, the largest ever profit recorded by a single company in world's history.

A Twin Otter plane of Tara Air crashed on Feb 24 in Dana of Myagdi district of Nepal, killing all 23 people aboard.

On Feb 23, Pakistan’s parliament became the world’s first parliament to run fully on solar power.

World Radio Day was observed globally by UNESCO on 13 February 2016 with the theme ’Radio in Times of Emergency and Disaster’.

The UN World Day of Social Justice observed on February 20 to encourage people to look at how social justice affects poverty eradication.

World Cancer Day was observed across the world on 4th February. This year’s theme was – We can, I can.

JANUARY 2016

A monster blizzard named ‘Snowzilla’ paralysed the entire US East Coast on Jan 24 with hurricane-force winds and record snow

In a survey to compile ‘Best Country Report’ Germany was ranked as the best country, followed closely by Canada. India was placed at the 22nd place.

The data released by China's the National Bureau of Statistics shows that China's economy grew 6.9 per cent in 2015, the slowest pace in last 25 years.

Countries like Brazil, Colombia and El Salvador are facing the threat of the highly infectious Zika virus spread by mosquito bite.

It is particularly harmful for pregnant ladies as it affects the foetus growth adversely.

The Zika virus is transmitted by Aedes species mosquitoes, which also spread dengue and chikungunya viruses.

Crude oil prices plunged to 12 year low at $ 29.93 a barrel, due to abundant oversupply and the ongoing row between key producers Iran and Saudi Arabia

France has announced a Euro 2 billion “state of economic and social emergency" plan to revive job creation and catch up with the world’s economy.


Digital Dividends, a report by World Bank explores the impact of the internet, mobiles and related technologies on economic development in the world.

A report by U N World Tourism Organization states that the international tourist arrivals grew by 4.4 % in 2015 to reach a total of 1184 million in 2015.

The number of international migrants reached 244 million in 2015 for the world as a whole, a 41 per cent increase compared to 2000.

World Economic Forum’s prestigious annual meeting held at Davos, Switzerland, from January 20 to 23.

The World Health Organization has declared Liberia free of Ebola virus. Now there is no other country officially reporting Ebola cases.

Asia's largest underground railway station, covering a total area of 147,000 square metres, opened in Futian in Shenzhen city in south China.

Toyota continues to be the world’s biggest automaker selling 10.15 million vehicles in 2015, closely followed by Volkswagen and General Motors.

World Economic Forum’s prestigious annual meeting held at Davos, Switzerland, from January 20 to 23.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens became the world's fastest film to make one billion dollars at the global box office.

PERSONS IN NEWS

MARCH 2016

ARVIND KEJRIWAL has been ranked 42nd among the world’s 50 greatest leaders by Fortune magazine. He is the sole Indian on the list, topped by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. PM NARENDRA MODI is among “The 30 Most Influential People on the Internet” list compiled by the Time magazine, USA, describing him as an ‘Internet star’ who often uses social media to conduct diplomacy. MOTHER TERESA: The Nobel Laureate was in news as the Pope Francis, religious chief of Christians, announced to confer Sainthood on her on Sep 4, 2016. ATIUR RAHMAN: Governor of Bangladesh Bank, country’s beleaguered central bank, resigned after hackers stole over $100 million from its accounts maintained with the Federal Reserve Bank, New York. AMAR SINGH: An Indian-origin Sikh has become the Police Commissioner of Malaysia's capital Kuala

Lumpur, the first Sikh to achieve the top police post in the Muslim-majority country. SCOTT KELLY: The commander of the International Space Station, returned to earth on March 1, completing 340 days stay in space, becoming the American with longest stay in space.

FEBRUARY 2016

U K SINHA: The government has extended Sinha's term as the Chairman of Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) till March 01, 2017. SAMEER ANJAAN: Bollywood’s popular lyricist has made into the Guinness Book of World Records for writing the most number – 3524, songs for Bollywood films. NEYMAR: Iconic football player from Brazil was in news as Courts in Brazil issued warrants to freeze his assets worth almost $ 50 million. GEN. RAJENDRA CHETTRI: Nepalese Army Chief was conferred the honorary rank of General of the Indian Army by the President Pranab Mukherjee.

JANUARY 2016

RAGHURAM RAJAN: RBI Governor was named ‘Global and Asia-Pacific Central Bank Governor of the Year 2015’ by the prestigious UK magazine The Banker AZIM PREMJI: Chairman of Wipro has been ranked as the most generous Indian of the year for the third time in a row with donations worth Rs. 27,514 crore


APARNA KUMAR, IPS: She is the first woman officer of any All-India Services to scale the Mount Vinson Massif, the highest peak in the Antarctic sub-continent. SHEIKH NIMR AL-NIMR: A prominent Shia cleric, highly critical of the ruling Al Saud dynasty, was executed by the Saudi Arabian govt for his alleged involvement in shooting policemen.

APPOINTMENTS

MARCH 2016

VINOD RAI: Former Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has been appointed as the first Chairman of Banks Board Bureau (BBB). JUSTICE BALBIR SINGH CHAUHAN: appointed as the chairperson of the 21st Law Commission. HTIN KYAW: elected as the first civilian President of Myanmar to lead the country after 53 years of military rule. H DEEP SAINI: Noted Indian scholar and plant physiologist has been appointed as the Vice Chancellor of the prestigious University of Canberra, Australia. ASHLEY JUDD: The American actor and activist has been appointed as the Goodwill Ambassador of the United Nations Population Fund - UNFPA, (formerly the United Nations Fund for Population Activities). MICHELLE YEOH: Famous action heroine of Malaysia-China has been appointed as United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Goodwill Ambassador.

AHMED ABUL GHEIT: Veteran Egyptian diplomat and former Foreign Minister has been named as new Secretary General of the Arab League. ALI MOHAMED SHEIN: Re-elected as the President of Zanzibar. MAHAMADOU ISSOUFOU: Re elected as the President Niger for a second term

HASHIM THACI: Elected as the President of Kosovo, a tiny country in southeastern Europe.

FEBRUARY 2016

JUSTICE H L DATTU: Former Chief Justice of India has been appointed as the Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission.

RAJENDRA SINGH: Appointed as the new Director General of the Indian Coast Guard. KALYAN SINGH: Governor of Rajasthan given the additional charge of Governor of Himachal Pradesh.

K N VYAS: Appointed new Director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai AMIT MITRA: West Bengal Finance Minister has been appointed as the new chairman of the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers on Goods and Services Tax (GST). KALIKHO PUL: New CM of Arunachal Pradesh. PARAMESHWARAN IYER: Appointed as the new Secretary of the Drinking Water and Sanitation Department to steer the Swachh Bharat Mission. He is the World Bank’s water and sanitation specialist. ARUNA SETHI: Appointed as the first women head of the Indian Cost Accounts Services D J PANDIAN: Former chief secretary of Gujarat has been appointed vice-president and chief investment officer of the newly formed Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). JAI KUMAR GARG: appointed MD and CEO of Corporation Bank ARCHANA RAMASUNDRAM, IPS: Appointed as the Director General of Sashastra Seema Bal, SSB. She is the first woman to head a paramilitary force. SSB guards Indian borders with Nepal and Bhutan. K DURGA PRASAD, IPS: Appointed Director General of Central Reserve Police Force. K K SHARMA, IPS: Appointed Director General of the Border Security Force. GURDEEP SINGH: Appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of NTPC Ltd. For the first time a Maharatna company chief has been selected through a search committee route. Amitava Bhattacharyya, IAS, Bimal Julka, IAS and D P Sinha, IPS have been appointed as the Information Commissioners in the Central Information Commission GIANNI INFANTINO: Elected as the new President of world Football body –FIFA. He is a Football administrator from Switzerland and is Chief of European Football body UEFA. FAUSTIN ARCHANGE TOUADERA: Elected as the new President of Central African Republic (CAR) YOWERI MUSEVENI: Elected new President of Uganda, for the fifth time.


ALBERT PAHIMI PADACKE: New Prime Minister of the Central African country Chad.

CHRISTINE LAGARDE: Re-appointed as the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund for a second five-year term.

JANUARY 2016

SAILESH: A senior IAS officer, appointed as the new Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.

AMIT SHAH: Re-elected unopposed as the President of the Bharatiya Janata Party

ATULESH JINDAL: Appointed as the Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT)

DINESH SHARMA: Elected to the 12-member board of directors of the China-sponsored Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). DEVENDER KUMAR SIKRI: Appointed as Chairman of fair-trade regulator Competition Commission of India

AMITABH KANT: Given additional charge of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NITI Aayog. He is Industry Secretary at present.

URJIT PATEL: Reappointed as Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India, for a second three-year term.

Dr. GYANENDRA D BANDGAIYAN: Appointed as the Director General of the National Centre for Good Governance.

MARCELO REBELO de SOUSA: Elected as the new President of Portugal

PAVEL FILIP: Appointed as the Prime Minister of Moldova, small poorest European country

TSAI ING-WEN: Elected as the new President of Taiwan

GIORGI KVIRIKASHVILI: Elected as the Prime Minister of Georgia, Europe.

AWARDS & HONOURS

MARCH 2016

63rd NATIONAL FILM AWARDS

Best Feature Film: Baahubali - The Beginning by S S Rajamouli Best Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali for 'Bajirao Mastani'

Best Actor: Amitabh Bachchan for 'Piku'

Best Actress: Kangana Ranaut for 'Tanu Weds Manu Returns'

Best Hindi Film: Dum Laga Ke Haisha by Sharat Katariya

Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment: Bajrangi Bhaijaan by Kabir Khan

Most Film- Friendly State Award: Gujarat DADA SAHEB PHALKE AWARD - 2015: Awarded to veteran actor and film maker Manoj Kumar who played the patriotic Indian in most of his films, becoming famous as ‘Bharat Kumar’. ‘KRISHI KARMAN AWARD’: Given to Himachal Pradesh for its landmark achievement in showing highest production of food grains in year 2014-15, despite adverse weather conditions and rain-fed farming in the state. CHAMELI DEVI JAIN AWARD: Priyanka Kakodkar and Raksha Kumar won the award for 2015-16 for their excellent work in journalism to highlight social issues. The award is given only to women journalists. SKOCH LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu for his contributions to inclusive growth and towards poverty alleviation in India. ‘KAYAKALP’ AWARD: The PGIMER, Chandigarh won the award for best hospital cleanliness and infection control, winning prize money of Rs 5 crore

ABEL PRIZE (for maths): Sir Andrew Wiles, an Oxford University professor has won the 5,00,000 pounds prize for cracking a 300-year-old mystery mathematical theorem. GOLDEN CITY GATE AWARD: Prestigious award from the world's leading travel trade show Internationale Tourismus-Borse Berlin (ITB-Berlin) 2016 won by Kerala Tourism's campaign on responsible tourism.


88TH OSCAR AWARDS Los Angeles, USA, Feb 29, 2016

Given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, USA to recognize excellence in cinematic achievements, they are regarded as the highest recognition in world of cinema.

Best Picture: Spotlight by Tom Mc Carthy Best Director: Alejandro Iñárritu (The Revenant) Best Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant) Best Actress: Brie Larson (Room)

GLOBAL TEACHER PRIZE: The one million dollar prize for innovative teaching has been won by Hanan Al Hroub of Palestine for her innovative approach in teaching. Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur: (Knight of the Legion of Honour), one of the highest civil honour by the French government was conferred upon Anand Mahindra, CMD, Mahindra & Mahindra.

FEBRUARY 2016

ARYABHATA AWARD 2013: The prestigious honour by Astronautical Society of India given to Dr Avinash Chander, former Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister and ex-DRDO chief. Bharat Ratna Pandit Bhimsen Joshi Classical Music Award for 2015-2016: (by Maharashtra government) won by Sarangi maestro Pandit Ram Narayan, a Padma Vibhushan awardee. Khuswant Singh memorial prize for poetry: awarded to Arundhathi Subramaniam for her poetry book 'When God is Traveller'. E&Y ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR 2015: Won by Vinita Gupta, CEO and Nilesh Gupta, MD of Lupin Ltd, a leading Pharma company of India. GOLDEN CONCH AWARD: (for the best documentary film) won by Manipuri documentary film Phum-Shang about the environmental problems of Loktak Lake, at the 14th Mumbai International Film Festival V SHANTARAM LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: Conferred upon veteran wildlife filmmaker Naresh Bedi BEST FIRST FOREIGN FILM AWARD: won by Titli, a feature film by Kanu Behl. Award is given by the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics. GREEN BOND PIONEER AWARD: won by Yes Bank for being the ‘Pioneers in Emerging Markets-India’. Yes Bank had issued India’s first ever ‘Green Infrastructure Bonds’ for Rs. 1000 crore in 2015

CROSS OF THE ORDER OF MERIT: Germany’s prestigious honour conferred upon Goverdhan Mehta, renowned researcher in Chemical Sciences. HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD: (by Amnesty International) won by Indian lawyer and human rights defender Henri Tiphagne, founder of NGO People’s Watch.

Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur: (Knight of the Legion of Honour), one of the France's highest civilian honour was given to Fashion designer Manish Arora from New Delhi.

ORDER OF FRIENDSHIP: Russia's top civilian awards given to Ramayah Shanmuga Sundar, Director of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant. CRYSTAL BEAR AWARD: Best film award in children category at the Berlin film festival won by Malayalam film Ottaal (The Trap) directed by Jayaraj Rajasekharan.

GOLDEN BEAR AWARD: Berlin film festival’s top prize won by the Italian film Fuocoammare (Fire at Sea), a harrowing documentary about Europe’s refugee crisis.

DIRECTORS GUILD OF AMERICA AWARD: (for best feature film) won by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu for the film The Revenant

58th GRAMMY AWARDS, Los Angeles, USA, Feb 15 These are the highest awards given in the field of music. Category Album Artist

Record of the year

Uptown fund Mark Ronson

Album of the year 1989 Taylor Swift Song of the year Thinking Out

Loud Ed Sheeran & Amy Wadge

Best Rock Performance

Don't Wanna Fight

Alabama Shakes

Best World Music Album

Sings Angelique Kidjo

Best Music Video Bad Blood Taylor Swift

69th BAFTA AWARDS, London, Feb 14

British Academy of Film and Television Awards are the top film awards for Films screened in Europe. Best Film: The Revenant Best Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio for The Revenant Best Actress: Brie Larson for Room Best Director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Mexico) - The Revenant Outstanding British film: Brooklyn


JANUARY 2016

PADMA AWARDS ANNOUNCED India's highest civil awards after Bharat Ratna for the year 2016 were announced on the eve of Republic Day (25th January). These awards carry no cash component. Total 112 awards were announced which included 10 Padma Vibhushans, 19 Padma Bushans and 83 Padma Sris. Some of the famous winners are given below:-

PADMA VIBHUSHAN - 10

Sr. No.

Person Field From

1 Tamil Superstar Rajinikanth,

Art-Cinema Tamil Nadu

2 Founder of the Reliance empire late Dhirubhai

Ambani,

— Trade & Industry —

Maharashtra

3 Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi

Shankar

Others-Spiritualism

—

Karnataka

4 Cinema baron Ramoji Rao

Literature & Education-

Journalism —

Andhra Pradesh

5 Former Jammu and Kashmir Governor

Jagmohan,

Public Affairs —

Delhi

6 Former DRDO chief VK Aatre,

Science & Engineering

—

Karnataka

7 Cancer specialist and chairperson of

Adyar Cancer Institute Dr V

Shanta

Medicine-Oncology —

Tamil Nadu

8 Eminent Bharatnatyam and Kuchipudi dancer

Yamini Krishnamurthi

Art-Classical dance —

Delhi

9 Classical vocalist Girija Devi

Art-Classical Vocal —

West Bengal

10 Indian-American economist Avinash

Dixit

Literature & Education —

USA

PADMA BHUSHAN - TOTAL 19 Sr. No.

Person Field From

1 Anupam Kher Art-Cinema Maharashtra 2 Udit Narayan Jha Art-Playback

Singing Maharashtra

3 Ram V Sutar Art-Sculpture UP 4 Vinod Rai Civil Service Kerala 5 Dr. Barjinder

Singh Hamdard Literature & Education - Journalism

Punjab

6 Hafeez Others- Maharashtra

Contractor Architecture 7 R C Bhargava Public Affairs UP 8 Ms Saina Nehwal Sports-Badminton Telangana 9 Ms Sania Mirza Sports-Tennis Telangana

10 Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry (NRI/PIO)

Trade & Industry Ireland

PADMA SRI – TOTAL 83

Sr. No.

Person Field From

1 Ajay Devgn Art-Cinema Maharashtra 2 Ms Priyanka

Chopra Art-Cinema Maharashtra

3 S S Rajamouli Art-Film Direction and Production

Karnataka

4 Madhur Bhandarkar

Art-Film Direction and Production

Maharashtra

5 Dhirendra Nath Bezbaruah

Literature & Education

Assam

6 Prof Pushpesh Pant

Literature & Education-Journalism

Delhi

7 Piyush Pandey Others-Advertising & Communication

Maharashtra

8 Ujjwal Nikam Public Affairs Maharashtra 9 Ms Deepika

Kumari Sports-Archery Jharkhand

10 Dilip Sanghvi Trade & Industry Maharashtra

ASHOKA CHAKRA: Nation's highest peacetime gallantry award, , has been awarded posthumously to Lance Naik Mohan Nath Goswami of 9 Para (Special Forces) for his acts of most conspicuous gallantry in eliminating 10 terrorists in 11 days before laying down his life in the line of duty in Sep 2015 in Kupwara sector of Jammu & Kashmir.

JNANPITH AWARD FOR 2015: Noted Gujarati writer Raghuveer Chaudhari became the 56th writer to be conferred with India's highest literary honour. His most noted works include novels 'Amruta' and 'Uparvas’.

61ST FILMFARE AWARDS DECLARED Best Actor: Ranveer Singh for Bajirao Mastani Best Actress: Deepika Padukone for Piku Best Film: Bajirao Mastani Best Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali for Bajirao Mastani Lifetime Achievement: Moushumi Chatterjee THE HINDU PRIZE, 2015: (for best novel) won by Easterine Kire, poet, novelist and children’s writer from Nagaland, for her novel When the River Sleeps. DSC Prize for South Asian Literature: Anuradha Roy for her novel Sleeping on Jupiter. YASH CHOPRA MEMORIAL AWARD: Given to veteran actress Rekha for her contribution to the film industry.


KNIGHTHOOD HONOUR IN UK: conferred upon Dr Harpal Singh Kumar, an Indian-origin cancer research expert for his influential work on prevention and treatment of cancer. Lorenzo Natali Media Prize for 2015 (Asia-Pacific): Ankita Anand journalist for sensitive portrayal of life for young women facing the threat of the diktat of khap panchayats in Haryana. PEN - Allen Foundation Literary Service Award (USA): Won by the Harry Potter author J K Rowling for her support for free expression and charitable causes.

WINNERS OF 73RD GOLDEN GLOBES 2016 Held on Jan 10 at Los Angeles, California, USA

Best Motion Picture (Drama): ‘The Revenant’ Best Actor (Drama): Leonardo DiCaprio, ‘The Revenant’ Best Actress (Drama): Brie Larson for Room

Best Director: Alejandro Inarritu - The Revenant

OBITUARY

MARCH 2016

PARAMESH KRISHNAN NAIR: Indian film archivist and film scholar died on 4 March 2016. He was 82. P A SANGMA: Former Lok Sabha Speaker passed away at the age of 68. He was co-founder of the Nationalist Congress Party and ex-Chief Minister of Meghalaya KUMARIMUTHU: Famous Tamil Comedy actor died in Chennai. He was 77. Ustad Ali Ahmad Hussain Khan: Eminent Shehnai exponent died in Kolkata. He was 77. LLOYD S. SHAPLEY: Veteran Mathematician from USA, winner of Nobel Prize in Economics for his study of strategic decision-making called “game theory,” died in Tucson, USA. He was 92. JOHAN CRUYFF: The Netherland's soccer legend died of lung cancer in Barcelona, Spain. He was 68. He is credited with some of the greatest triumphs of the famous Barcelona Football Club.

GEORGE HENRY MARTIN: The legendary music producer, popular as the "Fifth Beatle", passed away in England. He was 90. Winner of 6 Grammy Awards, he held Guinness World Records for the most successful producer ever with more than 50 Numbers.

PAT CONROY: US novelist whose best-selling novels include 'Prince of Tides' and 'Water is Wide', died at the age of 70 in South Carolina, USA.

RAY TOMLINSON: inventor of E-mail, passed away in Washington, USA at the age of 74. He invented direct electronic messages between users on different machines on a certain network in 1971.

MARTIN CROWE: Pioneering cricketer, widely acknowledged as New Zealand’s greatest batsman who laid the foundations for Twenty20 cricket, died of cancer at the age of 53.

FEBRUARY 2016

USTAD ABDUL RASHID KHAN: The oldest performing vocalist of Hindustani Music, Padma Bhushan awardee, a descendant of Tansen, passed away in Kolkata at the age of 107 years. GEN. K V KRISHNA RAO: Former Army Chief who played a key role in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, died of a cardiac arrest in New Delhi. He was 92. JASWANT SINGH RAJPUT: Two time Olympic gold winner in Hockey, passed away at the age of 90 years. O N V KURUP: Jnanpith award winning, very popular and most respected Malayalam poet from Kerala passed away at the age of 84. He was honoured with Padma Sri in 1998 and Padma Vibhushan in 2011. SUDHIR TAILANG: Well-known cartoonist, passed away in New Delhi at the age of 55. He was suffering from brain cancer. NIDA FAZLI: Renowned poet and lyricist, known for compositions like Kabhi kisi ko mukamil jahan nahi milta and Hosh waalon ko khabar kya, died in Mumbai due to heart failure. He was 78. S.S. TARAPORE: Former Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India died at Mumbai at the age of 80. BALRAM JAKHAR: Veteran Congress leader and former Lok Sabha Speaker, four times M P, passed away in New Delhi. He was 92. AKBAR KAKKATTIL: Noted Malayalam novelist and short story writer passed away at the age of 62. HARPER LEE: One of America's most celebrated novelists whose 1960 masterpiece "To Kill a Mockingbird" was read by millions worldwide, died at the age of 89. Equally popular was his second novel – Go Set a Watchman, published in 2015. In fact, it was the original manuscript of her first novel. BOUTROS BOUTROS-GHALI: Former UN Secretary General, the Egyptian diplomat who became the first Secretary General from Africa in 1992, died in Cairo. He was 93.


SUSHIL KOIRALA: Former Prime Minister of Nepal and President of Nepali Congress passed away in Kathmandu after prolonged illness. He was 78.

EDGAR MITCHELL: NASA astronaut, who was the sixth man to walk on the Moon from Apollo 14 mission in Feb 1971, died in West Palm Beach, Florida at age of 85.

JANUARY 2016

MRINALINI SARABHAI: Veteran dancer and Padma Bhushan recipient passed away in Ahmedabad. She was 97. She was proficient in Bharatanatyam, Kathakali and Mohiniyattam. Lt–Gen. J F R JACOB (retd): Ex Governor of Goa and Punjab and war hero of 1971 Bangladesh war, passed away in New Delhi after a brief illness. He was 92. GENERAL O P MALHOTRA: Former Punjab Governor and ex-Chief of Army Staff passed away in Gurgaon due to old-age complications on Dec 29. He was 93. V. RAMA RAO: Veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Sikkim Governor passed away in Hyderabad after prolonged illness. He was 80. RAJESH VIVEK UPADHYAY: Noted film/ TV artist died in Hyderabad. He was 66. Rajesh was mainly known for his roles in films like Lagaan (Guran) and Swades. MUFTI MOHAMMAD SAYEED: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister died in New Delhi. He was 79.

SAROSH HOMI KAPADIA: Former Chief Justice of India, 68, passed away in Mumbai.

A.B. BARDHAN: Veteran Communist Party of India leader, 92, passed away after a long illness at New Delhi.

DAVID BOWIE: One of the most influential recording artists of all time in UK, passed away due to throat cancer. He was 69.

MARVIN MINSKY: Noted mathematician and the computer scientist, pioneer of artificial intelligence, died at the age of 88 in Boston, USA.

NATALIE COLE: Grammy-winning US singer passed away in Los Angeles. She was 65. She gave super hits like Our Love and This Will Be.

HASKELL WEXLER: Oscar – winning US cinematographer died in California. He was 93. He was one of the America’s most influential cinematographers.

YASUTARO KOIDE: The world’s oldest man died in Nagoya, Japan at the age of 112

PLACES IN NEWS

MARCH 2016

BAGHMARA: The first-ever auction of a gold mine in the country was held in Baghmara, Chhattisgarh. The auction was won by Vedanta ltd., a unit of global mining giant Vedanta Resources.

BRUSSELS: A series of bombings ripped through Brussels airport and the Maelbeek metro station in Belgium, killing around 38 people and injuring 130 others. Terror group - Islamic State claimed the responsibility for the attacks.

FEBRUARY 2016

KUMBAKONAM: Temple town of Thanjavur district in Tamil Nadu was the venue for the famous Mahamaham festival on Feb 22. ELEPHANTA ISLAND: Located near Mumbai, a UNESCO world heritage site, famous for its Hindu cave sculptures depicting the cult of Shiva, was in news because the island, which was dependent upon diesel-powered generators for electricity until now, will be completely electrified by August, 2016.

MURUD-JANJIRA BEACH: A picnic along the Arabian Sea went horribly wrong for a group of collegians from Pune when 13 of them drowned off the Murud-Janjira beach in Maharashtra’s Raigad district.

CYCLONE WINSTON: One of the most powerful storms recorded in the southern hemisphere tore through the Pacific island nation Fiji, killing over 44 persons, flattening remote villages and cutting off communications.


JANUARY 2016

PATHANKOT: A group of 6 suspected Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terrorists attacked the Pathankot Air Force base in Punjab on January 2. All the attackers were killed, claiming martyrdom of 7 defence personnel KALIACHAK: A small town 25 kms southwest of Malda in West Bengal was in news as more than a dozen policemen were injured and police station was set on fire in mob fury in an incident of communal violence. UMAID BHAWAN PALACE: in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, has been adjudged the best hotel in the world based on reviews and opinions collected by travel site Trip Advisor for its ‘Travellers’ Choice awards for Hotels'. CHARSADDA: At least 25 persons were killed and several other were seriously wounded when Taliban suicide attackers stormed the prestigious Bacha Khan University in Charsadda, near Peshawar in Pakistan.

MAZAR-e-SHARIF: City in Afghanistan was in news as the Indian Consulate there was attacked by the heavily armed terrorists. An intense 25-hour gun-battle between security forces and terrorists ended in the killing of all attackers. RAMADI: City in Iraq was declared liberated from the Islamic State group after clinching a landmark victory against the jihadists. The city was lost to IS in May, 2015.

SPORTS WORLD

MARCH 2016

Gurmeet Singh created history by becoming the first Indian athlete to clinch a gold medal in the Asian 20 km Race Walk Championships in Nomi, Japan.

S S P Chawrasia, ace Indian golfer won the European Tour Hero Indian Open title in Delhi.

Dhruv Sitwala won the Asian Billiards Championship held at Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Indian shooter Jitu Rai clinched the 50m pistol gold at the ISSF World Cup in Bangkok,Thailand.

Deepika and PR Sreejesh won the Dhruv Batra Player of the Year Award for Women and Men respectively at the Hockey India Annual Awards.

Santosh Trophy National Football Championships: Services retained the title after beating hosts Maharashtra in the summit clash in Nagpur. Irani Cup Cricket championship: Rest of India team won the title by beating Mumbai team in the finals played in Mumbai.

India clinched the Asia Cup T20 trophy for a record sixth time after beating Bangladesh by eight-wickets in the final at Mirpur, Bangladesh. Col C K Nayudu Trophy won by Mumbai by beating Madhya Pradesh in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. Nayudu was the first Indian captain of Indian test match team 1st All India Open Invitational Snooker Championship won by Rahul Sachdev in Aurangabad, Maharashtra. National Race Walking Championships, Jaipur: Gurmeet Singh and Khushbir Kaur won the gold in 20kms event for men and women, respectively. Pro Kabaddi League Season 3: Patna Pirates beat the U Mumba to emerge as Champions in the finals played in Delhi. Russia’s Sergey Karjakin won the World Chess candidates tournament in Moscow Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold Badminton Tournament: won by India's H S Prannoy in Basel, Switzerland. World Table Tennis Team Championship: China defeated Japan in both, men’s and women’s category, to win both the championships at Kuala Lumpur. In the second division, both, men's and women's team titles were bagged by Indian teams. All England Open Badminton Championship: Lin Dan of China won the finals by beating his own teammate Tian Houwei in the finals played in Birmingham, UK. BNP Paribas Open Tennis Tournament: Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Victoria Azarenka of Belarusia won the men’s and women’s singles title, respectively, in the finals played at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Southern California. UCI Track Cycling Championship 2016 held in London. Dubai Tennis Championships: Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland won the title by defeating Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Former world number one tennis star failed a drugs test at the Australian Open. As a result, the 28 year old Russian star, a five time Grand Slam champion, was suspended from sports, pending further action.

FEBRUARY 2016

Dutee Chand, ace sprinter set a new national record in the 60m dash in 7.28 seconds at the 7th Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in Doha.


Kidambi Srikanth won the Men's Singles title of the Syed Modi International Badminton Championships held in Lucknow, U P. Anirban Lahiri, India’s top golfer has been voted as the Hilton Asian Tour Golfer of Year by fans in an online poll. Rishabh Pant, Wicketkeeper-batsman in India U-19 team created world record for fastest 50 playing against Nepal in the ICC U-19 World Cup in Mirpur, Bangladesh. Sania Mirza and her Swiss partner Martina Hingis won the St. Petersburg Ladies Doubles Trophy. 12th South Asian Games came to an end on Feb 16 at Guwahati. India finished at the top with a record 308 medals - 188 Gold, 90 Silver and 30 Bronze. Shooter Chain Singh won record 6 Gold medals. Hosted city was Shillong and Guwahati. 13th SAG will be hosted by Nepal in Kathmandu in 2019. Ranji Trophy: Mumbai won the prestigious cricket championship defeating Saurashtra in Pune, Maharashtra.

The Indian women's cricket team lead by Mithali Raj won the three-match Twenty20 International series against Sri Lanka 3-0 in Ranchi, Jharkhand.

Hockey India League: Jaypee Punjab Warriors won the championship by beating Kalinga Lancers in Ranchi, Jharkhand. 36th National Chess team Championship was won by the Indian Railways in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. Punjab defeated Mizoram to lift the Dr BC Roy Trophy for the National Junior Football Championship at Hoshiarpur, Punjab. 34th Senior National Rowing Championship held at Hussainsagar Lake, Hyderabad.

83rd Senior National Snooker Championship: Aditya Mehta won the title by defeating Manan Chandra in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. Kerala won the 61st National School Athletics championship held in Kozhikode, Kerala India achieved a rare 3-0 clean sweep in the T20 International against Australia in Sydney to emerge on the top of the ICC T20 rankings. The Indian women’s cricket team made history on Jan 29 by clinching its maiden T20 series win over three-time world champions Australia in Melbourne. Fittipaldi of Brazil won the MRF Challenge Formula 2000 race in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN concludes in Melbourne, Australia. First of the four grand slams of tennis

Men’s Singles: World Number One Novak Djokovic of Serbia beats Andy Murray of Britain Women’s Singles: Germany's Angelique Kerber got her maiden grand slam title by beating defending champion world no 1, Serena Williams of USA Men’s Doubles: Jamie Murray of UK and Brazil’s Bruno Soares won the title Women’s Doubles: Sania Mirza of India Martina Hingis of Switzerlandwon the title Quinton De Kock, batsman from South Africa became the quickest and the youngest batsmen to score 10 centuries in ODIs. He notched it up in just 55 innings, beating the record of Hashim Amla who had notched up 10 tons in 57 innings. He scored his 10th century in Centurion, SA, playing against England. Brendon McCullum, New Zealand Skipper has smashed the fastest ever Test century in just 54 balls, playing against Australia at Christchurch. Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year: won by Sean Abbott, the bowler from Australia. ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup: The West Indies won the cup for the first time, beating three time champions India in Mirpur, Bangladesh. Badminton Asia Team Championships: China and Indonesia won the women’s and men’s categories, respectively, in Hyderabad. 2021 World Aquatics Championships will be hosted by Fukuoka city of Japan and by Doha, Qatar in 2023. The first ever Asia Cup in its T-20 format started from February 24th in Bangladesh. The ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2017 will be hosted by England in June 2017. Helmet for Umpires: Concerned about the safety of its on-field officials, the ICC has decided to provide specially designed helmets to umpires in the upcoming World T20 in India to ensure their safety.

JANUARY 2016

DHANWADE SCORES RECORD 1009 RUNS Mumbai teenager Pranav Dhanawade scripted history by becoming the first batsman ever to notch up a four-figure score by smashing an unbeaten knock of 1009 including 59 sixes and 129 fours in 6 hours 35 minutes. Ravichandran Ashwin, India’s off-spinner was ranked as the No. 1 Test bowler in the ICC rankings for 2015.


PV Sindhu won the Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold Badminton title beating Scotland's Kirsty Gilmour in the final at Penang, Malaysia.

Jehan Daruvala of India won the New Zealand's most popular motor race the Lady Wigram Trophy.

Siril Verma, young Indian badminton player was declared number one in junior men's singles category in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings.

APURVI CHANDELA broke the world record on 5 January 2016 to grab a gold medal in the women's 10 metre air rifle event with a score of 211.2 at the Swedish Cup Grand Prix in Savsjo, Sweden. Later, she won her second gold in 10 metre tri series event, thereby also winning the title of ‘Shooter of the Tournament’ V V S Laxman's classy innings of 281 against Australia at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata in 2001 has been rated as the greatest Test performance of the last 50 years in an online survey by the ‘Cricket Magazine’.

ONGC won the Lal Bahadur Shastri Hockey tournament by beating Railways in New Delhi.

Rakhi Haldar and Kavita Devi won gold in their respective weight categories in the Senior National Weightlifting Championships held in Patiala, Punjab.

Arunima Sinha, the amputee mountaineer who set a record by climbing the Mount Everest, conquered Mount Aconcagua in Argentina, the highest mountain outside Asia, at 6960.8 metres.

India won the first T20 Asia cup Cricket for Blind beating Pakistan by 44 runs in the finals held at Kochi, Kerala. Delhi International Chess Tournament started in Delhi on Jan. 9 BCCI ANNUAL HONOURS 'Cricketer of the Year' - Men: Virat Kohli, Indian Test captain 'Cricketer of the Year' - Women: Mithali Raj, 1st Indian woman and 2nd in world to complete 5,000 runs in ODI India beat defending champions Afghanistan 2-1 in the final of the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Cup in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

Chennai Open Tennis: Stanislaus Wawrinka (Swiss) won the cup for the third time in row, beating Borna Coric of Croatia.

The 76th All-India Inter-University Athletics Championship was held in Patiala and the Punjabi University emerged as the overall champions for the sixth year in a row.

Senior National Wrestling Championship, New Delhi Gold won by Bajrang Punia in Men's 65kg and Ritu Phogat in women's 48kg Freestyle categories. Priyanka Phogat won the gold in the women’s 55kg category. Overall championship was won by Railways in men’s category and by Haryana in women’s category.

Vijay Merchant (U-16) Trophy: Punjab won the cricket trophy after beating Mumbai in Bengaluru.

Premier Badminton League: Delhi Acers won the title by beating Mumbai Rockets in New Delhi.

Indian women boxers won 4 gold, 9 silver and 9 bronze medals at the 5th Amateur International Boxing Association (AIBA) Nations Cup in Ruma, Serbia.

The 61st National School Athletic Meet held at Kozhikode, Kerala from Jan 29.

Justice (Retd) R M Lodha committee appointed by the S C to look into the affairs of BCCI has recommended sweeping reforms that include a bar on ministers from occupying positions, putting a cap on the age and tenure of the office-bearers and legalising betting.

Japan's Izumo Takuto and Hong Kong's Zhu Chengzhu won the boys' and girls' table tennis titles, respectively, in the 11Even Sports 2015 ITTF World Junior Circuit Finals in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.

FIFA Ballon d'Or award: Lionel Messi of Argentina won the World Player of the Year Award for the fifth time.

FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year: Carli Lloyd, US midfielder claimed her first award.


INTERNATIONAL HOCKEY FEDERATION ANNUAL AWARDS 2015 Player of the Year (men): Robert Van der Horst, The Netherlands Player of the Year (women): Lidewij Welten, The Netherlands World champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway won the Qatar Masters Open Chess Tournament.

Ronnie O'Sullivan of Britain won his sixth World Snooker Masters title after defeating Barry Hawkins in London.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul: The West Indies batsman announced his retirement from international cricket

Veteran tennis star Marat Safin became the first Russian player to enter the prestigious International Tennis Hall of Fame, USA.

2015 BRISBANE INTERNATIONAL Tennis Tournament at Brisbane, Australia. Men’s Singles: Milos Raonic of Canada defeated Roger Federer Women’s Singles: Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) beats A Kerber Men’s Doubles: Henri Kontinen & John Peers Women’s doubles: Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis

Australia has declined to take part in forthcoming Under-19 World Cup Tournament in Bangladesh citing security reasons.

BOOKS & AUTHORS

MARCH 2016

BOOK AUTHOR East of Suez Alice Perrin Buddhist Biology David P. Barash Standing Guard—A Year in Opposition

P Chidambaram.

Our Impossible Love Durjoy Dutta The Girl on the Train Paula Hawkins Life Mantras Subrata Roy Sahara Gandhi: An Illustrated Biography

Pramod Kapoor

Fixed: Cash and Corruption in Cricket

Shantanu Guha Ray

Indigo —Selected Stories Satyajit Ray A Handbook for My Lover Rosalyn D’Mello.

Who Was Shivaji Govind Pansare An Economist In The Real World

Kaushik Basu

Bullets and Bylines Shyam Bhatia, noted journalist

Lal Bahadur Shastri: Netritva ke Sutra

Anil Shastri and Pawan Chowdhary

Dial D for Don — Inside Stories of CBI Case Missions

Neeraj Kumar, former Police Commissioner of

Delhi Ancestral Affairs Keki Daruwalla. Why We Love the Way We Do

Preeti Shenoy

The Bestseller She Wrote Ravi Subramanian In Other Words Jhumpa Lahiri Nathuram Godse - The Story of an Assassin

Anup Sardesai

Transendence – a book Former President APJ Abdul Kalam based on his spiritual experiences with Pramukh Swami Maharaj.

‘Azad Bachpan ki Aur’ Kailash Satyarthi, Nobel Peace prize winner

The Turbulent Years – 1980-1996

Pranab Mukherjee, President of India

India’s Foreign Policy Muchkund Dubey, a former Indian Foreign

Secretary The Z Factor: My Journey as the Wrong Man at the Right Time

an autobiography of Subhash Chandra, media moughal, founder of Zee

TV. Maru Bharat Saru Bharat (My India Noble India) written

Jain Acharya Ratnasundersuriswarji

Maharaj. This is the 300th book written by

Maharaj ji. Go Set a Watchman, the second novel

Harper Lee, topped the US bestseller list in 2015,

selling 1.6 million copies. A God in Ruins Kate Atkinson - The book

won the novel-of-the-year prize at Britain's Costa

Book Awards 2015.

'Anything But Khamosh' – biography of Shatrughan Sinha written

Bharathi S Pradhan.

The Bose Brothers and Indian Independence – An Insider’s Account

Madhuri Bose, the grand-niece of Netaji Subhas

Chandra Bose.


On My Terms: From the Grassroots to the Corridors of Power

an autobiography of Sharad Pawar

This Unquiet Land Barkha Dutt Diary of a Wimpy Kid Jeff Kinney See Me Nicholas Sparks Rogue Lawyer John Grisham Combating Hunger and Achieving Food Security

M.S. Swaminathan

Chronicles of Time and Chance

Raymond Francis Isar

Because We Say So Noam Chomsky Why India Is Not A Great Power (Yet)

Bharat Karnad

My Gita Devidutt Pattnaik The Mare's Trap Wendy Doniger. What Happened to Netaji Anuj Dhar Rebooting India: Realizing a Billion Aspirations

Nandan Nilekani and Viral Shah

India-Myanmar Relations Rajiv Bhatia The Clintons' War on Women

Roger Stone and Robert Morrow

Mrs Funnybones Twinkle Khanna To the Brink and Back: India’s 1991 Story

Jairam Ramesh.

A Children’s History of India Subhadra Sen Gupta. The Country of First Boys Amartya Sen Baat Niklegi toh Phir Sathya Saran Dreaming Big: My Journey to Connect India

– an autobiography of Sam Pitroda, noted

technocrat who brought telecom revolution in

India. The Chinar Leaves veteran Congress leader

and close aide of the Gandhi family M L

Fotedar Neither a Hawk nor a Dove: An Insider’s Account of Pakistan’s Foreign Policy

Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, ex Foreign Minister of

Pakistan. The Courage to Act - A Memoir of a Crisis and Its Aftermath by

Ben S. Bernanke. The author is the ex governor of the Federal Reserve of

USA and the book is about the lessons learnt from

the recessions like 2008 Financial Crisis.

The Outsider: My Life in Intrigue

an autobiography of Frederick Forsyth, noted

thriller novelist. Two Years Eight Months and Salman Rushdie.

Twenty Eight Days The Monsoon War: Young Officers Reminisce 1965 India-Pakistan'

Capt Amarinder Singh and Lt. Gen. Tajindar

Shergill The Curse of Surya Dev Prasad. Hubris: Why Economists Failed to Predict the Crisis and How to Avoid the Next One

Meghnad Desai.

The Power of Meow David Michie Muslim Cosmopolitanism in the Age of Empire

Seema Alavi

Portrait of a Serial Killer Khushwant Singh (edited by Mala Dayal)

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Latest MCQs ON CURRENT AFFAIRS

JUNE GK TEST – 01 1. The __________ has made it mandatory for

Participatory Note (P-Note) users to follow Indian anti-money laundering laws. A. Reserve Bank of India B. Securities and Exchange Board of India C. Export-Import Bank of India D. Industrial Finance Corporation of India E. Finance Ministry

2. Which of the following is the India’s first reusable space shuttle, successfully launched from Sriharikota? A. SLV-TD B. MLV-TD C. PLV-TD D. RLV-TD E. GSLV-TD

3. Which committee has recently submitted its report on the New Education Policy? A. Ashok Dalwai committee B. JS Rajput committee C. T S R Subramanian committee D. Sudhir Mankad committee E. None of these

4. A locker holder in a bank is the same as a/an ______ is to a _______ . A. owner, building B. tenant, building C. creditor, debtor D. debtor, creditor E. partner, another partner

5. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s maiden visit to Iran resulted in A. A pact on developing the Chabahar Port

B. A trilateral transit pact including Afghanistan C. The launch of a multimedia website and mobile app D. All of these E. Only A

6. Pick the odd one out. A. Piyush Goyal B. General VK Singh C. Suresh Prabhu D. Uma Bharti E. Sarbanand Sonowal

7. Find the wrong pair. A. GST: Taxation B. FRBM: Fiscal deficit C. GAAP: Accounting norms D. FATCA: Taxation compliance E. GAAR: International trade

8. The tropical cyclone ‘Roanu’ had recently hit A. Russia B. India C. The United States D. Japan E. The Philipines

9. The Pench National Park is located in which state of India? A. Rajasthan B. Madhya Pradesh C. Uttar Pradesh D. Gujarat E. None of these

10. Which of the following is NOT true of a Reverse Mortgage Loan? A. The borrower has the right to dispose of the mortgaged property. B. The bank pays the borrower regular EMIs of a pre-determined amount as part of the loan deal. C. The mortgaged asset in case of such a loan has to be a residential unit. D. The borrower can occupy, use and maintain the mortgaged property as per his will. E. All of these are true.

11. Which IPL franchise took home the winner’s trophy in 2016? A. Kings XI Punjab B. Mumbai Indians C. Hyderabad Sunrisers D. Kolkata Knight Riders E. Rajasthan Royals

12. Which TV serial recently earned a place in the Guinness Book of World Records? A. Siya Ke Ram B. Balika Vadhu C. Devon Ke Dev Mahadev D. Naagin E. Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlaata Hai

13. The 42nd G7 summit was held in A. Japan B. Canada C. France D. Germany E. Russia

14. Which state ranks first in the implementation of MGNREGA? A. Goa B. Meghalaya C. Punjab D. Tripura E. Himachal Pradesh

15. The book “Gujarat Files: Anatomy of a Cover Up” has been written by A. SK Mishra B. Hari More C. Amrish Tripathi D. Rana Ayyub E. Teesta Setalvad

16. Mt. Sinabung volcano, which erupted recently, is located in A. Indonesia B. Japan C. Mexico D. The USA E. The Phillipines


17. Which is the first Union Territory in India have signed a 24×7 Power for All document with Government of India? A. Daman and Diu B. Puducherry C. Chandigarh D. Lakshadweep E. New Delhi

18. Which of the following defines the role of a bank most appropriately? A. Financial intermediary B. Custodian of public money C. Financial services provider D. Provider of loans E. Depository of excess money

19. The topmost authority for customer complaint redressal within a bank is the A. CEO B. Chairman C. Internal Ombudsman D. RBI Ombudsman E. Managing Director

20. Hotlisting a credit card implies A. Cancelling the credit card B. Declining a card due to its exceeding the credit limit C. Disabling a card as it has been lost/ misplaced by its owner D. Giving preferential treatment to a credit card owner E. None of these

21. The acronym EMV refers to a technology used in A. Medical science B. Computers C. Construction D. Banking E. Stock markets

22. The new name given to India Post will be A. Post Bank of India B. India Post Payment Bank C. Ind Post Bank D. Post India E. India Post Bank

23. ASHA, Kilkari, NRHM – all these programmes are meant for A. a cleaner India B. financial aid to SC/STs C. health promotion D. newborn children E. None of these

24. Which of the following is/are true of Savings Bank Accounts and Current Accounts in India? 1. The use of cheque book is allowed in both the types of accounts 2. Both the accounts can be run as long as the customer wants to 3. The KYC requirement can be waived off for certain categories of savings accounts. A.1 only B.1 and 3 C. 2, 3 D. 2 only E.1, 2 and 3

25. Which one is NOT a popular stock market index? A. Kospi B. NASDAQ

C. NYMEX D.CAC 40 E. Mid Dax

26. The acronym FCCB refers to the A. Money raised through domestic bonds B. Money raised abroad through rupee bonds C. Money raised abroad through bonds D. Money raised using equity E. Full convertibility of rupee

27. Which of the following words/expressions denotes paperless trading in shares? A. CDSL B. ASBA

C.T + 2 D. Trading ring E. Demat

28. Which one does NOT gel with the rest of the group? A. Virtual banking B. Internet banking C. Branchless banking D. Brick and mortar banking E. Mouse and Click banking

29. The loan/s to which of the following is/are NOT priority sector loan/s in India? 1. Farmers 2. Minorities 3. Exporters 4. Big industries A.1, 2 B.1, 3 C. 4 D.1, 4 E. All of these

30. Which sportsperson was caught in a legal wrangle over his selection for the Indian contingent to the Rio Olympics? A. Yogeshwar Dutt B. Saina Nehwal C. Laxmi Narain Maanjhi D. Geeta Phogat E. None of these

31. The Indian economy grew by _______% in the last financial year. A. 8.9 B. 7.9 C. 7.4 D. 7.6

E. 8.6 32. Which Indian actress is playing a lead role in

the popular American TV serial Quantico? A. Deepika Padukone B. Anushka Sharma C. Priyanka Chopra D. Shabana Azmi E. Kangana Ranaut

33. Mohammad Ali, who died recently, was a professional boxer from A. United States B. Pakistan C. India D. Kazakhstan E. Iraq

34. What is the India’s rank in the 2015 Good Country index? A. 106th B. 70th C. 111th D. 119th E. 117th

35. The boxer Mohammed Ali was originally named A. Jude Flyod B. Cassius Pellen C. Robert Flangen D. Cassius Clay E. None of these


36. The newly set up Bank Board Bureau is designed to A. Help with top level appointments and strategic management in public sector banks B. Grant new bank licenses in India C. Make top level appointments in banks D. Suggest ways to handle the problem of rising NPAs in banks E. Both A and C

37. If I am a male and if I start earning salary income during the financial year 2016-17, my income up to ________ would be totally exempt from income tax. But if it crosses this threshold, I need to pay slab-wise income tax @ ________ on my income, as is the case. A. 3 lakh, 10%, 20%, 30% B. 3 lakh, 5%, 20%, 30% C. 2.5 lakh, 10%, 20%, 30% D. 2.5 lakh, 10%, 15%, 20% E. 3.5 lakh, 10%, 20%, 30%

38. Which two new cesses have been imposed over and above the service tax, making it 15%? 1. Beti Padhao cess 2. Swachh Bharat cess 3. Krishi Kalyan cess 4. Mahila Suraksha cess A. 2, 4 B. 2, 3 C. 1, 2 D. 3, 4 E. 1, 4

39. In the acronym IPR, the letter I stands for A. Intellectual B. Indian C. Internal D. International E. Interest

40. Which movie ran into troubles with the Censor Board recently? A. Saade CM Sahib B. Udta Punjab C. Once Upon A Time In Amritsar D. Qaum De Heere E. Jinda

41. Debt-to-equity ratio implies the ratio of A. Paid up capital to authorized capital B. Loan of share capital to capital C. Loan amount to share capital D. Rate of interest to dividend rate E. Share capital to loan amount

42. Which player faces a 2-year ban on doping charges? A. Lance Armstrong B. Maria Sharapova C. Sebastian Vettel D. Tiger Woods

E. None of these 43. Which of these signifies a demand loan?

A. Durable loan B. Home loan C. Cash Credit Limit D. Personal loan

E. Education loan 44. What is the approximate contribution of

agriculture to India’s GDP? A.7% B. 9% C. 16% D. 25% E. 20%

45. Which of the following best exemplifies a footloose industry? A. Nanotechnology B. Coal

C. Cement D. Oil refinery E. Steel 46. Match the following pairs.

1. Templeton Prize P. Sports coaching 2. Abel Prize Q. Mathematics 3. Dronacharya Award R. Journalism 4. Chameli Devi Jain Prize S. Spirituality 5. Magasasay Award T. Public service

A. 1 -S, 2-Q, 3-P, 4-R, 5-T B. 1 -S, 2-Q, 3-P, 4-R, 5-T C. 1 -P, 2-S, 3-P, 4-R, 5-T D. 1 -S, 2-P, 3-Q, 4-R, 5-T E. 1 -S, 2-T, 3-P, 4-R, 5-Q

47. Which of the following is/are major achievement/s of PM Narendra Modi’s visit to the USA? 1. India’s entry in MTCR 2. India’s inclusion in NSG 3. Permanent membership of UN Security Council

4. Supply of Uranium A. 2, 3 B. 1, 2, 3 C. 1, 2, 3, 4 D. 2, 3, 4 E. 1, 2

48. The interest rates of Fixed Deposits in India are fixed by the A. Reserve bank of India B. Bank itself C. Banking Department D. Finance Ministry E. None of these

49. If a cheque is returned due to “insufficient funds”, its issuer can be prosecuted under the A. Payment and Settlement Systems Act B. Banking Regulation Act C. Payment Instruments Act D. Reserve Bank of India Act E. Negotiable Instruments Act

50. Assertion (A): India has faced two consecutive agricultural droughts in the past two years. Reasoning (R): The emergence of El Nino, an oceanic phenomenon, created conditions which led to scanty rainfall. A. Both A and R are correct and R correctly explains A. B. Both A and R are correct but R does not correctly explain A. C. A is correct but R is wrong. D. R is correct but A is wrong. E. Both A and R are wrong

You practice and you get better.

It's very simple..!!


JUNE GK TEST – 02 1. SPM, the amount of which is a prime indicator

of air quality, stands for A. Simple Particulate Matter B. Sulphurous Particulate Matter C. Suspended Particulate Matter D. Subordinate Particulate Matter E. Superfine Particulate Matter

2. Which of the following is/ are TRUE of MUDRA, a new financial institution launched recently? 1. It has a corpus of Rs 20,000 crore to give credit to small businesses. 2. Three main loan schemes - Shishu for loans up to Rs 50,000, Kishor for loans of Rs 50,000 - 5 lakh and Tarun for loans between Rs 5 lakh-10 lakh. 3. It will regulate micro-finance institutions to promote their growth and job creation. A. 1, 3 B. 1, 2 C. 1 only D. None of these E. 1, 2, 3

3. The Hague Code of Conduct (HCoC) is a global initiative to A. prevent ballistic missile proliferation B. control the spread of nuclear weapons C. charter to eliminate malnutrition D. treaty to enforce the CoP21 targets E. None of these

4. The acronym NADA refers to A. National Anti-Doping Agency B. New Anti-Dowry Act C. National Anti-Dowry Agency D. National Anti-Drug Agency E. National Action on Doping Act

5. Inflation targeting refers to A. Fixing producer prices to contain inflation B. Change the fiscal policy to contain inflation C. The Central Bank trying to tinker with the monetary policy to maintain the inflation rate within a target range D. Controlling money supply to contain inflation E. The Central Bank fixing a target for inflation in agreement with the government for a particular period and trying to stick to it

6. Which of the following cities has become India’s first to have its own “City Animal”? A. Shillong B. Guwahati C. Lucknow D. Hyderabad E. Chandigarh

7. Where are the headquarters of National Film Archive of India (NFAI) located? A. Pune B. Chennai C. Bangalore D. Mumbai E. Mysore

8. The G7 summit in 2016 was held in A. Japan B. Canada C. France D. Germany E. Russia

9. Match the following sensitive index-stock exchange pairs: P. Dow Jones 1. New York Q. Bolsa 2. London R. FTSE 3. Tokyo S. Nikkei 4. Frankfurt T. Mid Dax 5. Mexico

P Q R S T A. 1 5 2 3 4 B. 3 5 2 1 4 C. 2 3 2 5 4 D. 4 3 1 4 5 E. 3 4 1 4 5

10. Which state assembly DID NOT go to elections in 2016? A. Tamil Nadu B. Puducherry C. Kerala D. West Bengal E. New Delhi

11. Which one has become the first Indian state to give pension and food benefits to the transgender community? A. Rajasthan B. Odisha C. Uttar Pradesh D. Gujarat E. West Bengal

12. The Net Asset Value (NAV) of a mutual fund unit is calculated in terms of A. (Total assets) / number of units B. (Value of assets – Total liabilities) / number of unit holders C. (Total fund value – Liabilities) / number of units D. (Total assets) / number of unit holders E. (Total value of all shares + Total liabilities) / number of units

13. Who has been named an ambassador for Swachh Bharat Mission’s youth wing ‘Swachh Saathi’? A. Dia Mirza B. Sania Mirza C. Saina Nehwal D. Priy anka Chopra E. Vidya Balan

14. Which one of the following is NOT a banking term? A. Scheduled bank B. Net Interest Margin C. Private equity D. Spread E. Foreclosure

15. The Human Development Index report is issued every year by A. IMF B. World Bank C. UNCTAD D. UNO E. UNDP

16. The Triple Vaccine commonly administered in India DOES NOT cover which of these illnesses?


1. Diptheria 2. Tetanus 3. Whooping Cough (Pertussis) 4. Polio A. 1 only B. 4 only C. 2 only D. 3 only E. All these diseases are covered

17. Which of the following is a west-flowing river in India? A. Godavri B. Jamuna C. Cauvery D. Ganga E. Narmada

18. Janani Sewa is a newly introduced scheme by the A. Ministry of AYUSH B. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare C. Ministry of Railways D. Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment E. None of these

19. Who has been ranked No.1 according to the Forbes’ 2016 list of world’s 100 highest-paid athletes? A. Roger Federer B. Novak Djokovic C. Christiano Ronaldo D. Lionel Messi E. Maria Sharapova

20. Which of the following was/were the reasons for India not being a part of the NSG till now? 1. India did not sign the CTBT 2. India did not sign the NPT 3. India had carried out nuclear tests in 1998. A. 1, 3 B. 2 C. 1, 2 D. All of the above E. None of these

21. Factoring is A. An easy way of raising capital from a factoring company by small business B. Selling of account receivables on a contract basis for cash payment to a factor before it is due C. An arrangement for raising short term money against prepaid expenses D. A method of discounting long term bills E. Basically asset reconstruction.

22. What happens if a cheque is post dated? A. The Bank on which it is drawn will not honour the cheque before the date of the cheque B. The Bank on which it is drawn has to honour the cheque before the date of the cheque C. The Bank on which it is drawn has to refer to the RBI to honour the cheque before the date of the cheque D. The Bank on which it is drawn has to refer to court to honour the cheque before the date of the cheque E. The cheque will be encashed immediately.

23. What is the expanded form of the term ALM used in the banking sector? A. Asset Liability Maintenance B. Asset Liability Management C. Asset Liability Manipulation

D. Asset Liability Maximization E. Asset Liability Momentum

24. Subprime Lending is a term applied to the loans made to A. Those borrowers who do not have a good credit history B. Those borrowers who have a good credit history C. Those borrowers who do not have a good debit history D. Those borrowers who have a good debit history E. Those borrowers who want small loans

25. The micro finance company that became the first to start operation as a commercial bank was A. PayTm Bank B. Vodafone m-Paisa Bank C. Yes Bank D. Bandhan Bank E. India Post

26. In which year was the Banking Regulation Act passed? A. 1949 B. 1955 C. 1959 D. 1969 E. 1980

27. Which was the first bank to be established in India? A. Bank of Calcutta B. Bank of Hindustan C. General Bank of India D. State Bank of India E. Punjab National Bank

28. President Pranab Mukherjee embarked on a six day visit to 3 African nations

A. Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone B. Ghana, Mozambique, Madagascar C. Ghana, Ivory Coast and Namibia D. South Africa, Ivory Coast and Namibia E. None of the above

29. Name the Orlando Florida shooter involved in the gay nightclub attack in June 2016. A. Oman Ali B. Oman Shahzad C. Oman Maneet D. Onam Mateen E. Ittehad Muslmeen 30. The USA has recognised India as a major defence partner following its entry into the MTCR regime. What does MTCR stand for? A. Missile Technology Control Regime B. Missile Technology Competence Regime C. Mission Technology Counter Regime D. Marginal Technology Control Regime E. None of the above

31. Which Maharashtra Minister resigned following allegations of corruption in land dealings? A. Eknath Khadse B. Narayan Rane C. Chhagan Bhujbal D. Both A and C E. None of the above


32. The voters of which country rejected a proposal for a minimum government -guaranteed pay irrespective of whether they work or not? A. Norway B. Switzerland C. Sweden D. Norway E. Luxembourg

33. India’s per capita income rose by what percent to INR 93, 293? A. 7.3 B. 7.4 C. 7.5 D. 7.6 E. None of these

34. Which renowned music composer won the Fukoka prize 2016? A. AR Rahman B. Illyaraja C. Anu Malik D. Suleiman Merchant E. KJ Yesudas

35. The government has enhanced the age of superannuation for all government doctors to A. 64 years B. 65 years C. 66 years D. 67 years E. 32 years

36. What is India’s current position in terms of crude oil consumption worldwide as per the BP Statistical review of World Energy? A. Third B. Fourth C. Fifth D. Sixth E. Second

37. Which of the following countries has become the first one in the world to ban deforestation? A. Paraguay B. Norway C. Bolivia D. Argentina E. None of these

38. If many banks allow credit facilities to a party in coordination with each other, the process is called A. Amortization B. Consortium C. Moratorium D. Subvention E. Escrow

39. Which major IT company has acquired the professional networking website LinkedIn? A. Apple B. IBM C. Microsoft D. Dell E. None of these

40. What is the full form of LIBOR? A. Local Indian Bank Offered Rate B. London-India Bureau of Regulations C. Liberal International Bank Official Ratio D. London Inter Bank Offered Rate E. None of these

41. Which ace Indian shuttler won the Australian Open 2016? A. PV Sindhu B. Raina Sen C. Saina Nehwal D. Geeta Phogat E. None of these

42. Share price x Number of outstanding ordinary shares of a company will equal its A. Market Capitalization B. Market Price C. Market Trend D. Treasury Stock E. EBIDTA

43. What does 'Nomination' for a deposit account in the bank mean?

A. Mandate given by the close relatives of the depositor to settle the death claim in case of death of the depositor B. Mandate decided by the bank to settle the death claim of its depositor C. Mandate of the depositor in favor of one or more persons to claim the amount on death of the depositor D. Mandate of the depositor in favor of a close relative who can claim the amount on death of the depositor E. None of these

44. What does the second 'M' in the acronym MSME mean as used in financial jargon? A. Maximum B. Medium C. Market D. Mutual E. Mobilization

45. Which city in India is actually located on Elphinston Islands? A. Mumbai B. Kolkata C. Kochi D. Trivandrum E. Bengaluru

46. An Orange Alert refers to A. excessive atmospheric pollution B. excessive noise pollution C. infiltration D. circulation of fake currency E. Terrorist attack

47. As a customer of the locker facilities offered by a bank, you pay an annual charge called A. Locker Management Fee B. Rent C. Storage Fee D. Subvention E. Custodial charge

48. Which one of the following is the special drawing right given by the International Monetary Fund to its member countries? A. Cold money B. Hot money C. Paper gold D. Line of Credit E. None of these

49. Punjab National Bank was established in A. 1881 B. 1895 C. 1913 D. 1917 E. 1935

50. Which of the following is/are true regarding an Office of Profit, which was embroiled in a controversy of late? 1. An Office of Profit is defined in the Representation of People Act, 1951. 2. The Parliament can change rules and laws to allow its members to hold certain offices of profit. 3. A person holding such an office is not eligible for elections in India. A. Only 1 B. Only 2 C. Both 1 and 2 D. Neither 1 nor 2 E. Both 2 and 3

For answer key see page no. 34


SSC CORNER

FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS INTRODUCTION The framers of the Indian Constitution provided some Fundamental Rights for Indian citizens. The inclusion of Fundamental Rights prevents the government from becoming despotic. Fundamental Rights are essential for moral and material development of the people. Though these rights are guaranteed by the Constitution, the state can take back these rights temporarily during an emergency to maintain public order, security and so on. At the same time, these rights are justiciable. The courts can protect and safeguard them, if they are violated. MEANING OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS Fundamental Rights fulfill some basic conditions of good life for human progress. These are constitutionally protected and guaranteed to the citizens while ordinary rights are protected by the ordinary law of the country. Fundamental Rights are inviolable in ordinary situations and only under reasonable circumstances can these rights be suspended temporarily. If anyone’s Fundamental Rights are violated, he or she can go to the court seeking legal assistance. The Fundamental Rights are contained in Part III of the Constitution.

IMPORTANT FEATURES Fundamental Rights are not absolute. Therefore, within some reasonable restrictions, the citizens can enjoy them. Fundamental Rights are suspendable during an emergency and the rights of the citizen are curtailed temporarily except the right to life and personal liberty (article-20-21)

Fundamental Rights are justiciable i.e. a citizen can go to the court for the enforcement of his Fundamental Rights. Under Article 32 and Article 226, a citizen can approach the Supreme Court and High Courts respectively in this regard.

Some Fundamental Rights are limited to citizens only, such as freedom of speech, assembly, and cultural and educational rights, but others like equality before the law, religious freedom etc. are available to both citizens and aliens.

TYPES OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS I. Right to Equality (Art 14 – 18) II. Right to Freedom (Art 19 – 22) III. Right against Exploitation (Art 23 – 24) IV. Right to Religion (Art 25 – 28) V. Right to Culture and Education (Art 29 – 30) VI. Right to Constitutional Remedies (Art 32) The Right to Property, earlier a fundamental right, has been deleted from the list by the Forty-Fourth Constitution Amendment Act, 1978.

The six categories of Fundamental Rights are: I. RIGHT TO EQUALITY ((Art 14 – 18)

It implies equality before the law and equal protection of the laws within India. Every person is subject to the ordinary law and amenable to the jurisdiction of ordinary tribunals. Any discrimination is prohibited and equality of opportunity in public employment under the state is ensured. There is no distinction between officials and private citizens and no discrimination on caste, creed, religion, sex etc. But the right to equality does not mean absolute equality or universal application. Some exceptions allowed by the Indian Constitution:

the President/ Governor of a state is not answerable to any court for the power exercised or the acts done by him.

no criminal proceedings shall be instituted against the President or the Governor during their term of office

exemption from taxes to certain classes of property imposition of taxes on different trades and

professions making special provisions for women and children making special provisions for advancement of any

socially, economically and educationally backward classes like SCs and STs including special employment opportunities.


II. RIGHT TO FREEDOM (Art 19 – 22) This right is the most significant for the citizens. This right confers some positive rights to promote liberty. Article 19 guarantees six freedoms to all citizens. These are – 19 (1) All citizens shall have the right (a) to freedom of speech and expression; (b) to assemble peacefully and without arms; (c) to form associations or unions; (d) to move freely throughout India; (e) to reside and settle in any part of India; and (g) to practice any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business Article 20 and 21 guarantee the right to life, dignity and status. Under Article 20, no person accused of any offence shall be compelled to be a witness against himself. Similarly, under Article 21, no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except by law.

Article 22 provides safeguards against arbitrary arrest and detention. Like the Right to Equality, the Right to Freedom is also not absolute. The state can impose reasonable restrictions on these rights to maintain a balance between individual liberty and overall social good.

III. RIGHT AGAINST EXPLOITATION (Art 23– 24) The right against exploitation prohibits traffic in human beings and forced labour and employment of children in factories, mines or in any other ‘hazardous employment’. No child below the age of 14 years shall be employed to in any factory or mine or engaged in any other hazardous employment (Art 24).

IV. RIGHT TO RELIGION (Art 25-28) The Indian Constitution adopts a secular ideology and declares India a secular state, which observes an attitude of neutrality and impartiality towards all religions. There is no state religion in India. The state will neither establish a religion of its own nor confer any special patronage upon any particular religion. Every person is guaranteed the freedom to profess, practice and propagate his own religion subject to public order, morality and health. Every religious group is free to manage its own

religious affairs, acquire movable and immovable property and administer such property in accordance with law. However, the state can intervene if a religious activity creates public disorder, immorality and so on.

V. RIGHT TO CULTURE AND EDUCATION (Art 29 – 30) The Constitution guarantees cultural and educational rights for all sections irrespective of religious, racial and cultural diversities. To serve the religious and cultural interests of each community, the Constitution incorporated these cultural and educational rights under Articles 29 and 30. Article 29 guarantees to every minority section the right to preserve its language, script and culture.

The state shall not impose on a minority group any culture other than the community’s own. (Art 29(1). Article 30 provides that all communities have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.

VI. RIGHT TO CONSTITUTIONAL REMEDIES (Article 32) A right without a remedy is a meaningless formality. To make them effective, there are some remedies in the form of Right to Constitutional Remedies under Article 32. Article 32 guarantees to every citizen the right to move the Supreme Court or High Courts for enforcement of Fundamental Rights. Both the Supreme Court under Article 32 and the High Courts under Article 226 can issue necessary writs for the purpose. When a citizen’s Fundamental Rights are violated, he can move the court for redressal. The Supreme Court and High Courts may issue writs like habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, quo warranto and certiorari to safeguard the Fundamental Rights. The courts can enforce Fundamental Rights by issuing these writs. The Constitution lays down that any act of the executive or the legislature which violates Fundamental Rights shall be void and the courts are empowered to declare it void (Art. 13). Thus, the judiciary is “the protector and guarantor of Fundamental Rights”. This Constitutional right is the “heart and soul” of the Constitution as only this thing can make Fundamental Rights effective.


GYANM QUIZ - 15 How much do you know about the world around you? Take the quiz below to find out for yourself and WIN some exciting prizes as rewards.

1. The country on the top of the Ease of Doing Business Index 2015, is A. Australia B. Dubai C. Singapore D. Switzerland

2. The famous patriotic song Saare Jahan Se Achha.. was penned by A. Mohammed Ali Jinnah B. Dr. Mohammed Iqbal C. Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan D. Rabinder Nath Tagore

3. The second most widely spoken language in the world is A. Mandarin B. French C. Hindi D. English

4. The Mahabharata was earlier known as A. Santati B. Jaya C. Purana D. Garuda

5. The Supreme Court of India normally holds its sittings in A. Delhi B. Delhi or any state capital C. any part of India as decided by the Parliament

D. Delhi/ NCR

6. Which of the following was voted as the Most Important Invention of the 20th century? A. Printing B. Electricity C. Computer D. Television

7. The sports activity that requires the maximum calories per minute is A. Hurdle race B. Marathon C. Mountaineering D. Swimming

8. Which of the following structures is created by a river in its upper course? A. Canyon B. Delta C. Ox Bow Lake D. Meander

9. The Silicon Valley in America is, in reality, an area called A. Redmond Hills B. Santa Clara C. Alabama desert D. Palo Alto

10. To an astronaut in a spaceship, the Earth appears to be A. Brown B. Black C. White D. Blue

Heartiest congratulations to the winners of Gyanm Quiz-14!

1. Sachin Kumar – Kanpur 2. Madhvi – Lucknow

The winners are being informed by post. Name: ______________________________________ Address: ____________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ PIN: _____________________ Mobile: ___________________________________ _ My answers to Gyanm Quiz - 15 are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Signature _______________

TERMS AND CONDITIONS 1. Please send your responses to the quiz, along with

your COMPLETE ADDRESS and PIN CODE, by 25th July, 2016. The responses can be sent By e-mail to [email protected] OR On Whatsapp mobile number 09646888377 OR By post to Gyanm College of Competitions, SCO 13-15, 2nd Floor, Above Domino’s, Sector 34-A, Chandigarh-160034

2. ONLY the residents of India are eligible to participate.

3. In case of multiple correct entries, a draw will be held to decide the winner/s.

4. The Prize/s CANNOT be exchanged for cash. 5. The decision of the jury shall be FINAL and

BINDING on all the participants. 6. The winners’ names shall be announced in the

September, 2016 issue.


Profit And Pleasure

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

Profit and Pleasure not only tickles your nerve cells but also makes you learn interesting facts about the world. This time around, we are focusing on some organizations and what they do. Here we go! 1. This grouping represents the most highly advanced

economies in the world. These economies are among the most prosperous and the richest in the world. Here’s a hint for you: India is not a part of this grouping. Which grouping are we talking of?

2. This grouping of 28 countries shares a common

currency. The economically integrated union was created after the Masstricht Treaty. Most likely, the grouping in question is called …….

3. These countries (numbering five) are among the

fastest growing, emerging economies worldwide. The focus of the next wave of global economic growth, they also have large domestic populations, which drive their consumption significantly. Which grouping do the preceding lines talk of?

4. This body has been plagued by rumours of

corruption and other wrongdoings in the past 4-5 years. It is the richest and the most powerful sporting body in the world and oversees a highly popular game played in most of Europe and America. Here’s a hint for you: The police have arrested many of its officials recently after the cash-for-games scandal broke out. Which sporting body has been referred to here?

5. This closed group of oil-producing nations can hold

the entire world to ransom as it has almost total power to dictate crude oil prices globally. Based in Vienna, it has the sole power to decide crude oil prices at the global level, depending on demand and supply variables. Can you identify this one?

6. This organization, based in Geneva, works to create a level-playing field for all member countries in terms of international commerce. Its precursor GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) had been governing international business until it was formed in 1995 after hectic negotiations and many roadblocks. Which organization are we talking about?

7. This Paris-based international organization helps track criminals wanted the world over upon a request by the police forces of different countries. Can you recognize this important law-enforcement agency?

8. Human rights violations anywhere in the world always invite its attention. In particular, it works for the cause of illegal detainees across the world. In recognition of its good work, it received the Nobel Peace Prize too. Which organization has been referred to in the preceding lines?

9. The Brettenwood Twins were formed in the 1940s in

the backdrop of the Second World War to help war-damaged economies rebuild themselves. The two institutions have played an important role in shaping the present-day world economy. Which two sister organizations are we talking about?

10. India has been an observer member of this powerful regional grouping for long. But in all probability, India will never become a full-fledged member of this regional bloc. Can you identify this one?

KEY 1. G-8 2. European Union 3. BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) 4. FIFA 5. OPEC (Oil and Petroleum Exporting Countries) 6. World Trade Organization 7. Interpol 8. Amnesty International 9. International Monetary Fund, World Bank 10. ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations)


How much well-equipped are you with vocabulary to express yourself in different situations? Take the quiz below to find out for yourself and also learn some new words as a BONUS!

Directions: Given below are certain words printed in BOLD letters, followed by four choices in each case. Find out the choice which best conveys the meaning of the word in question. You will find the detailed solution to this exercise in this issue only. 1. VOCIFEROUS

A. Through voice B. Critical C. In disagreement D. Loud

2. MUTE

A. Stay at a place B. Silent C. Closed D. Change dramatically

3. GARRULOUS

A. Aged B. Abusive C. Excessive talker D. Fond of writing

4. RETICENT

A. Speaking little B. Decent C. Connected D. Related to eyes

5. BELLIGERENT

A. Trigger-happy B. Roundabout way C. Peace-loving D. Pungent

6. TERRIFIC

A. Horrible B. Looking like a terrorist C. Enjoyable D. Highly commendable

7. DELUGE

A. Going deep into a river B. A bunch of some objects C. Flexibility D. Flood

8. PACIFIC

A. Broker B. Full of love C. Peace-loving D. Related to oceans

9. APOCRYPHAL

A. Related to mythology B. Historical C. Of heights D. Unproven

10. SUAVE A. Sophisticated B. Having holes

C. Well-educated D. Practical 11. DILIGENT

A. Hardworking B. Lazy C. Sensible D. Urgent 12. SPRIGHTLY

A. Swaying B. Confused C. Likely D. Lively

13. REFLECTIVE

A. Shining B. Praiseworthy C. Thoughtful D. Reckless

14. ASSIDUOUS

A. Persistent B. Dirty C. Interesting D. Worthy of hatred

15. GERMANE

A. Smooth B. Relevant C. Handsome D. From Germany

MY SCORE RATING 0-3 Get going! 4-7 Work hard! 8-11 Great, you’re almost there! 12-15 Wow!

SOLUTIONS

1. Vociferous: adjective: loud, vocal, forceful Popular synonyms: voluble, strident Examples: A. The opposition MPs made a vociferous demand for the Prime Minister’s resignation over the corruption scandal. B. There is a vociferous opposition to the government proposal to make the Aadhar card compulsory.

2. Mute: verb, adjective: silent, to silence Popular synonyms: dumb Derivation: Muted Examples: A. We cannot become mute spectators to this murder of democracy by the state. B. The Ghadar leaders had come to gather the Panjabis’ support but the people’s response to the appeal was muted. C. I put my TV set on the mute mode as the jarring sound gave me a headache.


3. Garrulous: adjective: excessive talker (esp. an old man) Popular synonyms: vocal, voluble Examples: A. We failed to make any sense of the garrulous speech made by the man in his 80s. B. The garrulous address of the politician could be safely cut down to half by a good editor.

4. Reticent: adjective: silent, speaking very little

Popular synonym: taciturn Derivation: Reticence Examples: A. Many people are recent at social gatherings but you will find them very vocal with their friends. B. To become a public speaker, you need to get rid of your reticence.

5. Belligerent: adjective: fighting, contentious

Popular synonyms: bellicose, pugnacious Derivation: Belligerence Examples: A. Belligerent nations like North Korea always keep global tensions alive with their nuclear threats. B. The belligerent attitude she carried to the meeting did not let reach a compromise with others.

6. Terrific: adjective: great, highly commendable

Popular synonyms: superlative, first-rate Examples: A. Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s terrific acting helped the movie become a super hit. B. The smartphone specifications look terrific on paper but the users will reveal the truth about it.

7. Deluge: noun: great excess, abundance

Popular synonym: flood Examples: A. The reputed college has received a deluge of applications for admissions this year. B. The deluge of 600+ TV channels gives the viewers an unlimited choice to suit their tastes and preferences.

8. Pacific: adjective: related to peace, peace-loving

Popular synonyms: serene, tranquil, pacifist Derivation: Pacifism Examples: A. The pacific global environment of today’s world has a lot to do with the formation of UNO. B. She was known to have a pacific nature and often made peace between the warring parties in her college.

9. Apocryphal: adjective: of doubtful origin, un-

historical Popular synonym: legendary, unsubstantiated Examples: A. Several apocryphal stories about the freedom struggle are quite popular but most historians do not accept them.

B. The great storyteller often narrates many apocryphal incidents, which are often taken to be true by lay people.

10. Suave: adjective: sophisticated, well-bred

Popular synonym: debonair Examples: A. A diplomat needs to display suave manners at all times while dealing with his foreign counterparts. B. The girl’s suave nature greatly helped her bag the job of an airhostess.

11. Diligent: adjective: persevering, hardworking

Popular synonyms: industrious, sedulous Derivation: Diligence Examples: A. Her diligent managerial work was finally recognized by her boss with a promotion. B. One may be extremely intelligent, but without diligent application of mind, one cannot hope to get success.

12. Sprightly: adjective: joyful, joyous, lively

Popular synonyms: gay, vivacious, animated Examples: A. The flowers swayed in a sprightly dance as the breeze swept the landscape. B. Her sprightly manners had the potential to turn every party into a super hit event.

13. Reflective: adjective: serious, in a thinking mood

Popular synonyms: thoughtful, pondering, cogitative Derivation: Reflection Examples: A. Newton was sitting under a tree in a reflective mood as an apple fell into his lap. B. As opposed to her reflective husband, who mostly wore a serious look, she was an outgoing friendly person.

14. Assiduous: adjective: hardworking, persistent

Popular synonyms: sedulous, persevering Examples: A. Every new business requires assiduous planning and thorough execution of projects. B. The mantra of success in life is getting up after every failure and doing assiduous hard work to overcome weaknesses.

15. Germane: adjective: related, relevant, to the

point Popular synonyms: pertinent Examples: A. Your ideas were rejected as they were not germane to the discussions going on. B. All the issues germane to better Indo-Pak relations will be taken up at the summit-level talks.


CLASSES BY PROFESSIONAL

EXPERTS


Latest G.K. Bytes

JUNE – 2016 1) Name the two African countries visited by the

Vice President Ansari in May end: Morocco and Tunisia

2) _______________________ is the capital of Morocco: Rabat

3) ________ is same in Morocco as Mumbai, financial capital of India: Marrakech

4) Recently Finance Ministry has hiked financial powers of Ministers to sanction expenditures up to Rs. _________ crore: 500

5) Muslims Against Partition is a book written by which author: Shamsul Islam

6) Name the England captain who became the first English cricketer and also the youngest one to reach the 10,000 runs milestone in Test cricket: Alastair Cook

7) Name the high speed train which was tested in India for speed up to 115 kph between Bareilly and Moradabad in UP: Talgo

8) The proposed high speed Talgo train is being provided by which country: Spain

9) Name the team that won the 9th Indian Premier League: Sunrisers Hyderabad

10) Hani Al Mulqi has been appointed as the new _________ of Jordan: Prime Minister

11) For what reasons Gotthard Base Tunnel was in news recently: It is the world's longest rail tunnel open for operations

12) Gotthard Base Tunnel has been opened in which country: Switzerland

13) Seema Punia won a gold medal in the women’s __________ at the Pat Youngs Throwers Classic in California, USA: Discus Throw


14) ___________ has become first Union Territory in India to assure 24x7 power to its residents: Lakshadweep

15) Railways have started a new weekly train from____________, Assam to Vaishno Devi Katra (J&K), linking the two very prominent pilgrimage centers: Kamakhya

16) The T S R Subramanian committee has submitted its report on which issue to the Ministry of HRD: The New Education Policy

17) Aditi Krishnakumar won which award for her manuscript “Love of Indian History": Scholastic Asian Book Award

18) _________ of Mercedes won the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton

19) Where in Maharashtra the Central Ammunition Depot of Indian Army was in news due to a huge fire: Pulgaon

20) Govt. has levied which new cess of 0.5 per cent on the service tax: Krishi Kalyan Cess

21) On account of new Krishi Kalyan Cess, how much extra money will have to be paid on any taxable service for Rs. 1000: Rs. 5

22) Asia’s largest technology trade show COMPUTEX was hosted by which country: Taiwan

23) According to the report by New World Wealth, India has been ranked _______ in the list of top 10 wealthiest countries in the world: Seventh

24) According to the report by New World Wealth, ____________ is the richest country in the world: USA

25) Retirement age of doctors in the Govt. service has been hiked to ______ years: 65

26) Govt. has levied 1% TCS on cash purchases of more than Rs. 2 lacs. What is TCS: Tax Collected at Source

27) Data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows that the economy grew at an accelerated pace of _______in the fourth quarter of 2015-16: 7.9%

28) _______ is the capital of Tunisia: Tunis 29) Which Indian Statesman visited Tunisia on June

03: Vice President 30) Which country has been declared free from Ebola

by the WHO on June 01: Guinea 31) Which Indian authority has launched a mobile

application for telecom subscribers to register their complaints against pesky calls and SMSs:

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)

32) Recently the govt. hiked the Minimum Support Price - MSP of which season crops: Kharif (Summer crops)

33) ________ is the main crop of the Kharif season: Paddy

34) Which daal (Pulse) has been given the highest MSP of Rs. 5225 per qtl: Moong

35) Govt. has approved setting up of a bank by the Department of Posts. What is its name: India Post Payments Bank

36) Razak Khan, a veteran Bollywood actor who died recently was famous for which type of roles: Comedy

37) _________ became the first tennis player in the history to cross the $100 million prize-money mark in his career: Novak Djokovic

38) The government has exempted PF withdrawals of up to Rs. __________ from tax deduction at source: 50,000

39) The Japan International Cooperation Agency has granted a loan of Rs. 1,548 crore to ____________ for improving the quality of urban healthcare services: Tamil Nadu

40) Ashok Lavasa has been appointed as the new Union ________ Secretary: Finance

41) Fukuoka Prize is given in which country: Japan 42) Name the Indian Music composer who has been

honoured with Fukuoka Prize: A R Rahman 43) ___________ has been declared the Ceat T20 Player

of the Year - 2016: Virat Kohali 44) Name the cricketer honoured with the Ceat

Lifetime Achievement Award - 2016: Dilip Vengsarkar

45) Which FI has agreed to provide a $ 9.2 million grant for financing the Efficient and Sustainable City Bus Service Project in selected Indian cities: World Bank

46) India has joined The Hague Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation for what purpose: For preventing the spread of ballistic missiles

47) Name the author of the book "The Unseen Indira Gandhi": Dr. K P Mathur

48) __________ has been appointed first ever chief executive officer (CEO) of the BCCI: Rahul Johri

49) The “Sendai Framework" is related with which


activity: Disaster Management 50) June 1 is observed as the World ____ Day across

the globe: Milk 51) Which UN organisation promotes the World Milk

Day: Food and Agriculture Organisation 52) Name the world famous boxer, popular as 'the

greatest', who died in June: Muhammad Ali 53) In the recent five nations trip of Shri Modi, which

was the last country visited by him: Mexico 54) In the recent five nations trip of Shri Modi, in

which country he addressed the Parliament of that country: USA

55) Which country honoured our Prime Minister by the Amir Amanullah Khan Award: Afghanistan

56) What was the original name of the world famous boxer Muhammad Ali: Cassius Clay

57) Name the veteran Indian tennis star who won the mixed doubles in the French Open with Swiss partner Martina Hingis: Leander Paes

58) According to the 'Good Country' Index 2015 __________ is the world's best country: Sweden

59) According to the 'Good Country' Index 2015, India has been placed at which rank: 70th

60) In which city of UP took place the unfortunate incidents of Jawahar Bagh Police clash: Mathura

61) In which European city heavy floods of river Seine caused wide spread damage: Paris

62) Name the first Indian woman to be nominated to the International Olympic Committee: Nita Ambani

63) According to the Global Slavery Index 2016 of 167 countries, _______ has largest number of people in modern slavery: India

64) Which country will be hosting 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics: South Korea

65) ‘Soohorang’, the official mascot for 2018 winter Olympics represents which animal: White Tiger cub

66) Latest FIFA rankings have placed which country on top: Argentina

67) The Pakke Tiger Reserve that won the India Biodiversity Award is in which state: Arunachal Pradesh

68) Manohar Aich, A prominent sports person famous as the 'Pocket Hercules' was associated with which sports: Body Building

69) Why Mr. Manohar Aich was famous as the 'Pocket Hercules': Because of his short height

70) What is the popular name for the French Open Tennis tournament: Roland Garros

71) Men's title in French open was won by which player: Novak Djokovic

72) Garbine Muguruza who won the women's title in French Open, is from which country: Spain

73) Jauna Murmu, Ashwini Akkunji, Anilda Thomas and MR Poovamma represent India at the world level in which sports event: Women’s 4x400m relay race

74) Name the special tourist train launched to spread awareness among people regarding tiger conservation: Tiger Express

75) Name the first Indian state to grant social benefits to transgender: Odisha

76) Which global aircraft company has unveiled the world's first 3D-printed aircraft THOR: Airbus

77) Sulabha Deshpande who passed away in Mumbai was a eminent personality from which filed: TV and Film Actor

78) Suresh Chatwal who passed away in Mumbai was a eminent personality from which filed: TV and Film Actor

79) World environment day is observed on which date: June 05

80) In terms of retail development, in a world study, India has been placed at which rank: 02nd

81) Dinesh and Tarkeshwari Rathod have become the first Indian couple to achieve which milestone in Mountaineering: Climbing the Mount Everest

82) Which Indian city has adopted Gangetic River Dolphin as its mascot: Guwahati

83) ADB will provide a $200 million loan to upgrade 176-km roads in which state: Jharkhand

84) Name the Indian sand artist who won gold medal at the world championship festival of sand sculpting in Bulgaria: Sudarsan Pattnaik

85) Shangri-La Dialogue is the Asia's largest annual summit on what issue: Security Scenario in Asia-Pacific region

86) In which country 77 per cent voters overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to introduce a guaranteed basic income for all: Switzerland

87) N Ramachandran, the President of Indian Olympic Association (IOA) was in news for what reasons: He was awarded Olympic Order by the IOC

88) ADB has agreed to provide $ 12 crore loan to improve irrigation and water management


infrastructure in which state: Odisha 89) Tintu Luka won a silver medal in which event in

the Athletics Meet in Prague: 800 mts race 90) Name the lady who became first woman to lead a

major American political party for President’s post in the 240 years of democracy in USA: Hillary Clinton

91) India has been admitted as the 35th member of the elite 34 nations MTCR Group. What is MTCR: Missile Technology Control Regime

92) India will get what major benefit by joining MTCR group: India can now buy and sell missile technology to other nations

93) Government has launched a campaign ‘Swachh Yug’ to make villages located along which river free from open defecation: Ganga

94) Who has been named the ambassador for Swachh Bharat Mission's youth-based 'Swachh Saathi' (student internship) programme: Dia Mirza

95) Exercise Desert Eagle II was held between Indian Air Force and which other country's Air Force: United Arab Emirates

96) Name the four-time Soviet chess champion, Grandmaster who died aged 85 in Switzerland: Viktor Korchnoi

97) Which Indian broadcasting organization celebrated completion of 80 years of its existence on June 8: All India Radio

98) The World Bank has projected a growth rate of _______ per cent for the world in 2016: 2.4

99) The junior men's hockey World Cup will be hosted by ________from the 8th of December this year: Lucknow

100) Govt plans to raise a new Indian Reserve Police Battalion named after Maharana Pratap in which state: Rajasthan

101) The Forbes “100 Most Powerful Women” in the world list 2016 has been topped by which lady: German Chancellor Angela Merkel

102) India has surpassed which country to become the world’s third-largest oil consumer: Japan

103) Government has launched a GPS based mobile app named ‘Surya Mitra’ for what purpose: To facilitate repair and maintenance of solar equipments

104) Which country returned over 200 stolen cultural artifacts to India, some dating back 2,000 years, valued at around $100 million: USA

105) World Oceans Day is observed on which date: June 08

106) What is the theme of this year's World Oceans Day: Healthy Oceans, Healthy Planet

107) Which international organization has recognised Thailand, Armenia, Belarus and Moldova for eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV and Syphilis: WHO

108) As per the Global Peace Index 2016 _____ is the most peaceful country: Iceland

109) As per the Global Peace Index 2016, what is India's rank: 141st

110) Champaran Satyagrah Express train has been started from _________ to Anand Vihar, Delhi: Bapudham, Motihari (Bihar)

111) Pedro Pablo Kuczynski has been elected new President of which South American country: Peru

112) Which French city is hosting Europe's biggest football extravaganza, Euro 2016: Saint Denis

113) Who has been named highest paid sports person in the Forbes annual list of the World's 100 Highest Paid Athletes: Cristiano Ronaldo

114) What was the name of the biggest ever joint military exercise held recently by NATO members: Anaconda-16

115) Ranjit Sub-1 and Bahadur Sub-1 are the names of variety of which item: Two new rice varieties

116) A joint military exercise named ___________was held between the naval forces of India, Japan and the USA: Malabar

117) The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has chosen ___________ as the flag-bearer of the Indian contingent at the Rio Games’ opening ceremony: Abhinav Bindra

118) US administration has given what name to the Prime Minister Modi’s vision of Indo-US ties for promoting peace, prosperity and stability from Asia to Africa, from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific: Modi Doctrine

119) Which index is used in India to measure the level of industrial production: Index of Industrial Production - IIP

120) Which award was won by Akhil Sharma for his novel 'family life': International Dublin Literary Award

121) Internet search giant Google has tied up with Tata Trusts to launch which programme to empower rural women: Internet Saathi


122) Which Indian bank raised $500 million at the London Stock Exchange after it launched India’s first internationally-listed certified green bonds: Axis Bank

123) As per the Malware Infection Index 2016, which country faces highest malware encounters: Pakistan

124) For the first time in the history of the Indian Air Force, 3 women pilots have been commissioned into which stream: Flying fighter jets

125) China launched its 23rd satellite BeiDou Navigation Satellite System for what purpose: Strengthening of GPS

126) Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal recently won which international title: Australian Open Super Series

127) Which USA city was in news for having witnessed one of the worst mass shootout in the history: Orlando

128) Name the three African countries visited by our President in second week of June: Ghana, Ivory Coast and Namibia

129) Which African country conferred its highest civil honour on our President: Ivory Coast

130) Name the veteran journalist who passed away at a Delhi hospital at the age of 68: Inder Malhotra

131) ___________has become the first state in India to have an open government data portal to facilitate free usage of govt data by general public: Sikkim

132) Which is the first country in world to prohibit deforestation of rain forest to preserve the balance of ecosystem: Norway

133) International Labour Organisation observes June 12, as which global day: The World Day Against Child Labour

134) The national summit by the name 'Rajasva Gyan Sangam' was held for top brass of which two govt. organization: CBDT and CBEC

135) RBI has announced the S4A scheme to handle the high value bad loans. What is the full form of S4A: Scheme for Sustainable Structuring of Stressed Assets

136) Microsoft has announced to acquire which professional networking website for $26.2 billion: LinkedIn

137) Which athletics team from India created a new national record at the International Sprint and Relay Teams Cup at Erzurum, Turkey: Men's

4x400m relay team 138) Lewis Hamilton who won the Formula 1 Canada

Grand Prix title at Montreal, Canada is from which country: Britain

139) World Blood Donor Day is observed on which date: June 14

140) What is the theme of this year's World Blood Donor Day: Blood connects us all

141) Which Indian organization recently launched three service initiatives, namely- a Janani Sewa for mothers, optional catering and a children’s menu: Indian Railways

142) Peter Thomson, Permanent Representative of Fiji, was elected as the President of which important UN forum: UN General Assembly

143) ________ was a distinguished Hindi writer and veteran intellectual who passed away at the age of 82 in Lucknow: Mudrarakshasa

144) Government has approved the National Civil Aviation Policy 2016, capping fares at Rs _______ for one-hour flights: 2,500

145) In the context of National Civil Aviation Policy, what is meant by 5/20 rule: Only airlines with 5 years of domestic flying and minimum 20 aircrafts, will be allowed to fly international

146) SBI has announced merger of its ___________ subsidiaries with itself: Five

147) 'Jal Marg Vikas' (National Waterway-1) project is for developing a 1620 km thorough waterway between ________ in Uttar Pradesh and __________in West Bengal: Allahabad, Haldia

148) Bramble Cay Melomys found only on a single island off Australia is the world's first mammal to be declared as extinct. What type of animal it is: Small rodent (Rat)

149) General Prayut Chan-O-Cha, Prime Minister of __________ arrived in New Delhi on a three day visit to India: Thailand

150) __________ Chairman of Bharti Enterprises (Airtel), elected as the Chairman of International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) based in Paris: Sunil Mittal

151) What is the official slogan of the forthcoming Rio Olympic games: "A new World"

152) Against which country India won the three-match One-Day International (ODI) cricket series by 3-0: Zimbabwe

153) Which country has launched the world’s biggest nuclear icebreaker ship 22220 Arktika: Russia


154) Railway has started India's first timetabled freight train, named ___________ from Delhi to Bengaluru: Cargo Express’

155) HRD Ministry has launched Vidyanjali scheme for govt. schools for what purpose: For participation of volunteers from public for teaching

156) Who is Anne Hathaway who has been appointed as global Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women: Famous US actress and singer

157) Government has allowed which category of persons to open National Pension Scheme (NPS) accounts online if they have Aadhaar Card or PAN card: Non Resident Indians (NRIs)

158) Hero Hockey Champions Trophy Tournament was held at which place: London

159) In the finals of Hero Hockey Champions Trophy Tournament, which country won the cup by defeating India: Australia

160) The book 'The Spy' is written by which famous author: Paulo Coelho

161) A Life in Diplomacy is a book written by M K Rasgotra. Who is he: Former Foreign Secretary of India

162) Old History New Geography is a book written about bifurcation of which Indian state: Andhra Pradesh

163) Name the two-seater basic trainer aircraft designed and developed by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited made its inaugural flight successfully: Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40

164) Government has approved 100 per cent FDI in which three sectors under the government approval route: Aviation, Defence and E-commerce

165) Which UN organization supports the observation of the World Refugee Day on June 20: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

166) Name the first State that has obtained a telecom license from the Telecom Ministry: Andhra Pradesh

167) Ms Supriya Sahu has been appointed as the Director General of which national organization: Doordarshan

168) Which state's tourism corporation won four awards at ‘FilmAT’, one of the biggest

international film festivals dedicated to tourism, art and ecology, held in Poland: Kerala

169) To promote and facilitate South Korean Investments in India, a new forum named _________ has been launched: Korea Plus

170) The Government has taken a considered decision to allow export of _______ missile systems to 'certain' countries that have friendly relationship with India: Akaash

171) Main function of International Yoga Day on June 21 was held in which city in India: Chandigarh

172) Govt. has allowed premature closure of PPF accounts after how many years: Five

173) Who has written the book titled "Favourite Ghost Stories From Around The World": Ruskin Bond

174) India signed two agreements with __________for boosting cooperation in culture and educational sectors: Thailand

175) In a recent study of super computers, which country has been declared to have fastest super computer: China

176) Scientists from which country created the world's first microchip that has 1,000 processors: USA

177) Name the Kannada film that won the best film award and best script writers award at the Asia New Talent Awards in the 19th Shanghai International Film Festival: Thithi

178) European Grand Prix F1 race is hosted by which city in Azerbaijan: Baku

179) The Indian ___________team of Deepika Kumari and Atanu Das won the silver medal at the Archery World Cup in Antalya, Turkey: Recurve

180) ISRO created a record on June 22 by launching 20 satellites in one go. How many of them were foreign satellites: 17

181) Prime Minister Modi visited___________, Uzbekistan to attend the two-day summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation: Tashkent

182) The central government has sanctioned Rs. ____________ crore 'Fund of Funds for Startups' to boost self-employment in the country: 10,000

183) Name the famous Sikh General of yore on whose 300th martyrdom day a special commemorative silver coin has been released: Banda Singh Bahadur

184) As per the World Investment Report 2016 by the UNCTAD, what is India's rank in attracting FDI:


10th 185) As per UNCTAD report, which country received

highest amount of FDI in 2015: USA 186) Which Indian city has signed a sister city

agreement with the Chinese city Jinan: Nagpur 187) All India Football Federation plans to

launch ‘Mission 11 Million’ in 30 Indian cities with the support of FIFA for what purpose: To engage more than 11 million children in football-related activities

188) RBI plans to put into circulation Rs.10 coins bearing the portrait of Swami _____________ to commemorate his birth centenary: Chinmayananda

189) Chairman of which public sector insurance company was in news for resigning nearly two years ahead of completion of his five-year term: LIC of India

190) The United Public Service Day is observed on June 23 for highlighting role of which segment of society: Public Servants

191) World Hydrography Day is observed on June 21 to commemorate establishment of which international organization, some 95 years ago on this day: International Hydrographic Organization

192) Government has asked all state governments to link Aadhaar number with caste and domicile certificates of school students for what purpose: To facilitate timely grant of scholarship

193) Name the CEO of the SoftBank Group Corp. who was in news for resigning abruptly from the post, despite being one of the highest paid CEO: Nikesh Arora

194) In the referendum held on June 23 in Britain, voters decided to come out of European Union. What were the two options given to the voters: Leave, Remain

195) The plenary meeting of the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group, NSG was held in which place: Seoul

196) Which country objected to India's membership to NSG: China

197) What was China's objection to India's membership to NSG: India has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, NPT

198) RBI has released the ‘Payment and Settlement Systems in India: Vision-2018’ for what purpose:

To promote mobile banking services 199) Name the former spinner who has been selected

as the new coach of Indian Cricket Team for one year: Anil Kumble

200) Prime Minister Modi formally launched the ‘Smart City Project’ from which city: Pune

201) BrahMos Aerospace successfully tested the integration of BrahMos missile with which fighter aircraft: Sukhoi - 30

202) Name the neighbours of India who were among the first four countries to that a loan from Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank: Pakistan and Bangladesh

203) Name the Anglo-Indian community icon credited with pioneering the quiz in the country, who died in Kolkata: Neil O'Brien

204) ADB to grant $500 million loan to build a 9.8 km long bridge (longest in India) across the _______ River in, Bihar: Ganges

205) International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards festival was held in_______, Spain on June 23: Madrid

206) RBI data shows that banking transactions through mobile apps have increased _________fold in three years, between 2013 and 2016: Seven

207) Grand Master Harika Dronavalli won the best women's player award in the Eurasian Blitz _______ tournament in Kazakhstan: Chess

208) Sanjay Mittal, Professor in IIT - Kanpur won which award for scientific research: G D Birla Award

209) Government has launched a pilot programme to run two-wheelers on which gas in New Delhi to curb air pollution: Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)

210) IIFA award for the best feature film was claimed by which movie: Bajrangi Bhaijaan

211) Deepika Padukon got the IIFA award for best actress for which film: Piku

212) Ministry of Defence has approved the purchase of 145 artillery guns from which global arms supplier: The BAE systems of USA

213) Which wing of Indian army plans to deploy the proposed 145 artillery guns: Mountain Strike Corps

214) The BAE systems of USA shall be producing The 155 MM, M777 ultra light howitzer guns in India in collaboration with which Indian


company: Mahindra Defence Systems 215) Name the 3rd century BC archaeological site in

Bogra, Bangladesh that has been declared as the SARRC cultural capital for the year 2016-17: Mahasthangarh

216) Which country has signed a historical ceasefire agreement with the guerrilla organization FARC to put an end to more than 50 years of bloodshed: Colombia

217) Why the International Olympic Day is celebrated every year on June 23: First modern Olympic Games were held on this day in 1894 at Sorbonne in Paris

218) To promote people centric planning, execution and monitoring of new urban development schemes, govt has approved setting up of which new committees: District Level Advisory and Monitoring Committees - DLAMC

219) Which representative of people shall be heading the proposed DLAMCs: Senior most local M P

220) _____________ is the most expensive city in India according to the 2016 Cost of Living Survey by Mercer of USA: Mumbai

221) Copa America Football Championship is hosted by which country: USA

222) Argentina was defeated by which country in the finals of Copa America Football Championship: Chile

223) Wimbledon Tennis Championships are hosted by which city: London

MAY – 2016 224) Deepika Kumari equalled the world record in

women's recurve event in which sports: Archery 225) Archery world Cup was held at which place in

China: Shanghai 226) _________re-elected as the Prime Minister of the

Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharmsala, Himachal Pradesh: Lobsang Sangay

227) Railways has decided to create a 1 lakh crore rupees Rashtriya Rail Sanrakshan Kosh (RRSK) for what purpose: To strengthen safety measures on the rail network to prevent accidents

228) IRNSS is a setup of how many satellites: Seven 229) ________appointed as Director General of the

Railway Protection Force (RPF): S K Bhagat 230) The prestigious civil award ‘Order of The Rising

Sun, Gold and Silver’ is conferred by which

country: Japan 231) Which Indian bureaucrat was recently honoured

with ‘Order of The Rising Sun, Gold and Silver’ award: N. K. Singh

232) Which major step has recently been taken by the Income Tax department to achieve more transparency in its working: It made public the data on tax payers

233) Renowned sand artist __________ won the gold medal at the 9th Moscow Sand Sculpture Championship in Russia: Sudarsan Pattnaik

234) The International Cricket Council has suspended which country from its membership: Nepal

235) A Parliamentary Standing Committee headed by J C Divakar Reddy, MP has been formed for what purpose: To tackle misleading advertising as well as to fix liability on endorsers/celebrities

236) Which foreign bank has launched India’s first mobile only bank named ‘digibank’: DBS Bank, Singapore

237) Garima Chaudhary won gold medal at the 2016 Commonwealth ______ Championship finals at Port Elizabeth in South Africa: Judo

238) North Star is the highest civilian award of which country: Mongolia

239) Name the author of the book ‘Blood on my Hands: Confessions of Staged Encounters’: Kishalay Bhattacharjee

240) The International Bank Note Society has declared which country’s five-dollar note as the Banknote of the Year for 2015: New Zealand

241) Batsman Iraq Thomas created a record by scoring 21-ball century. He is from which country: Tobago

242) In which state massive forest fires in its 16-17 districts posed a serious problem: Uttrakhand

243) Indian shooters claimed three gold medals and a bronze in the ISSF Junior World Cup held at which place: Suhl, Germany

244) Name the first of the six indigenous Scorpene-class submarines that was set out for sea trials off the Mumbai coast: INS Kalvari

245) Name the Formula One champion from Germany who won his seventh race in a row at the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi, Russia: Nico Rosberg

246) Lee Chong Wei, winner of Asia Badminton Championship, is from which country: Malaysia

247) Govt has launched UJALA scheme for what


purpose: For distribution of LED bulbs 248) What is the full form of the acronym UJALA:

Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All 249) Which UN organization promotes the observance

of International Labour Day: International Labour Organization (ILO)

250) Govt has launched Ujjwala scheme for what purpose: For distribution of LPG connection to BPL families

251) Govt has granted status of ‘classical language’ to how many languages: Five

252) Which are the five languages that recently have been given the status of Classical Language: Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Odia

253) Malayalam is spoken in which state of India: Kerala

254) Telugu is spoken in which state of India: Telangana and Andhra Pradesh

255) Which UN organization supports the propagation of World Press Freedom Day: UNESCO

256) We hear a lot about the term NPA these days. What it is: Non Performing Asset

257) What is NPA: It is a loan account in default where delay in payment of dues is more than 90 days

258) As per a global market research, _______, claiming 41.7 per cent of desktop browser share has become the top Internet browser: Google Chrome

259) World Snooker Championship title was won by Mark Selby. He is from which country: England

260) The Supreme Court has appointed a three-member panel headed by former Chief Justice of India RM Lodha to review the functions of which apex professional body: Medical council of India

261) The European Central Bank (ECB) has decided to stop printing of the _____ euro banknote by the end of 2018 with a view to curb illicit activities: 500

262) Scientists of which university have built the world's smallest working engine: University of Cambridge

263) Who has been Appointed as the next Chief of Indian Navy: Vice Admiral Sunil Lanba

264) Chief of the Indian Navy is appointed in which rank: Admiral

265) What is the purpose of the proposed Geospatial Information Regulation Bill 2016:To punish the

wrong depiction of the map of India 266) A life size bronze statue of which Indian film-

maker was installed by the govt of Switzerland to honour him: Yash Chopra

267) What is the main objective of recently passed Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code Bill 2016: To promote conditions for ‘Ease of Doing Business’

268) Fort Mcmurray, city in state of Alberta in Canada was in news for what reasons: A massive wild fire around it almost destroy the city, forcing more than 80,000 residents to flee

269) Name the public sector trading giant that recently launched a new gold coin named ‘Tola’: MMTC

270) Which Indian bank has been selected by the New Development Bank as its partner for operations in India: ICICI Bank

271) ‘Cow and Company’, a story by Prashar Kulkarni won which international award: Commonwealth Short Story Prize

272) Enda Kenny has been re elected as the Prime Minister of which country: Ireland

273) The H.R. Nagendra Committee has been appointed by the govt. for which purpose: For Yoga Education in Universities

274) In a rare astronomical phenomenon on May 09, which planet was seen as a dot moving on the solar disc: Mercury

275) As per a recent global study, India was ranked _____ in terms of ‘crony capitalism’: 9th

276) Which country tops in promotion of ‘crony capitalism’: Russia

277) The Indian Naval Air Squadron 300- ‘White Tigers,’ bid farewell to which fighter aircrafts: The British Sea Harriers

278) Which are the new fighter aircraft that have replaced the British Sea Harriers: MiG 29K

279) The Drowned Detective is a book written by which author: Neil Jordan

280) With which country India has signed an MoU for mutual corporation in the field of sports: Japan

281) According to Royal Botanic Gardens, world has over 390,900 plant species. Where is this garden: London

282) Which country hosted the 7th Asian Youth Championship: Kazakhstan

283) Govt has approved the single emergency number______ to help people access directly


emergency services like police, ambulance and fire fighting: 112

284) What is the full form of the acronym UBIN: Unique Business Identification Number

285) What is the purpose of issuing UBIN: To expedite establishment of new startups

286) A commemorative coin of hundred rupees and a circulation coin of ten rupees have been released on the 475th birth anniversary of which great warrior: Maharana Pratap

287) Which national day is observed on April 11: National Technology Day

288) Indian Army conducted its major military training exercise ‘Chakravyuh-II’ at which place: Suratgarh, Rajasthan

289) Which country elected a dashing flamboyant Mayor Rodrigo Duterte as its President: Philippines

290) Which Indian state has won the award for the Best Indian Destination for Wildlife: Madhya Pradesh

291) Atma Ram Nadkarni has been appointed as the Additional ___________ in Supreme Court for a period of three years: Solicitor General

292) Govt of America has approved selection of animal ________ as the first national mammal of the country: Bison

293) The RBI has released ‘Draft Guidelines for on tap Licensing of which type of banks recently: Universal Banks in the Private Sector

294) Name the President of Sri Lanka who visited India for two days on May 13 - 14: Maithripala Sirisena

295) In a global study by WHO of the cities with worst air pollution, four of the five worst polluted cities are in which country: India

296) Union cabinet has approved Rs.1,983 crore package for widening of the 19-km stretch of which expressway: Delhi-Meerut expressway

297) What is the name of this President: Dilma Rousseff

298) Govt. has formed Sanjay Mitra Committee for what purpose: To prepare a policy framework for taxi and other transport operators

299) Why international nurses day is observed on May 12: It is the birthday of famous nurse Florence Nightingale

300) Nursing community of India is honoured by the

President on this day by which awards: Florence Nightingale Award

301) Shashank Manohar has been elected as the first independent Chairman of which international cricket body: ICC-International Cricket Council

302) Name the four Goodwill Ambassadors appointed by the Indian Olympic Association for the Rio Olympics: AR Rahman, Salman Khan, Abhinav Bindra and Sachin Tendulkar

303) Who is the only Indian in Forbes' 'Money Masters: The Most Powerful People in the Financial World' list of 40 persons: Uday Kotak

304) Who is Uday Kotak: Chief of Kotak Mahindra Bank

305) Baba Hardev Singh, a spiritual leader who died in a car accident, was the head of which sect: Nirankari Mission

306) Name the world’s biggest – ever cruise ship, recently launched in France: Harmony of the Seas

307) Govt has decided to replace the five year plans with which new concept: 15 year vision document

308) Country is going through the 12th five year plan. When will it come to an end: 31st March, 2017

309) Govt. has recently approved the National IPR Policy. What is IPR: Intellectual Property Rights

310) Which wing of the defence forces has launched one of the biggest automated military maintenance systems in the world: Indian Air Force

311) The Electronic Maintenance Management System of the Indian Air Force will be based at which air force station: Pune

312) Max Verstappen, winner of the Spanish Grand Prix F1 Championship was in news for what reasons: He is the youngest (18 years) winner of F1 championship

313) Name the India’s indigenously developed supersonic interceptor missile, capable of destroying any incoming hostile ballistic missile: Ashwin

314) The First World Conference on Tourism for Development was held in_______, China: Beijing

315) The Indian Railways plans to conduct trial of its first solar panel-powered train in which place: Jodhpur, Rajasthan

316) Eric Dusingizimana, captain of cricket team of


Rwanda has set a new Guinness world record for what achievement: Batting continuously for 51 hours

317) With which global organization India has signed a MoU for promotion of traditional Indian system of medicine: WHO – World Health Organization

318) Man Booker International Prize is given for which achievement: For the best book translated in English and published in U K

319) Name the winner of the 2016 Man Booker International Prize: Han Kang, South Korea

320) Which novel has been selected for the 2016 Man Booker International Prize: The Vegetarian

321) The World Bank has approved $625 million loan to India to support the rooftop solar power generation. This loan will be disbursed through which Indian bank: State Bank of India

322) Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha was in news for flying which air craft: Tejas

323) Which country launched its remote sensing satellite ‘Yaogan-30’ May 2016: China

324) As per the Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index' prepared by global firm E & Y, India has been placed at which rank: 03rd

325) The World’s largest Single Rooftop Solar Power Plant has been established is in which city in Punjab: Dera Beas (Amritsar )

326) Govt. has formed NK Singh committee for review of FRBM road map. What is full form of FRBM: Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management

327) Name the British author who won the PEN’s Literary Service Award: J. K. Rowling

328) The acronym PEN stands for what: Poets, Essayists and Novelists

329) Under the Dhan Wapsi scheme for declaration of domestic black money, how much tax and penalty is payable: 45%

330) The Asian team squash women championship was won by which country: Malaysia

331) What was India’s rank in the Asian team squash women championship: Second

332) Name the electronic grievance redressal system recently launched by the Income Tax Department: e-nivaran

333) World Hypertension day is observed on which date: May 17

334) What is the theme of this year’s World Hypertension Day: Know Your Numbers

335) Ms. Tsai Ing-wen has been elected as the first women President of which country: Taiwan

336) On his recent visit to Iran, PM Modi signed an agreement for development of which important port in Iran: Chabahar

337) Which three countries have joined hands to develop the Chabahar port: India, Iran and Afghanistan

338) Name the Indian states that were hit hard by the strong cyclone Roanu: Andhra Pradesh and Odisha

339) Lhakpa Sherpa, the 42 year old mountaineer created which new record: Climbing Mount Everest by a Lady for maximum number of times – 7

340) Name the athlete who bagged two gold medals by winning the women's 100m and 200m race at the Taiwan Open Athletics Championships: Dutee Chand

341) Federation Cup is associated with which sports in India: Football

342) Federation Cup 2016 was won by which team: Mohun Bagan

343) What is the popular name of the French Open, second tennis grand slam: Roland Garros

344) Thomas Cup and Uber Cup are associated with which sports: Badminton, Men and Women, respectively

345) Name the country that won the Thomas Cup: Denmark

346) Name the country that won the Uber Cup: China 347) Binali Yildirim has been elected as the new Prime

Minister of which country: Turkey 348) The 27th edition of the India-Indonesian CORPAT

was held in which country: Indonesia 349) Which wing of armed forces of India and

Indonesia took part in recent CORPAT: Navy 350) In which Indian city the trial run of India's first

ever Metro train equipped to run in the driverless mode was conducted: New Delhi

351) Government has constituted the IEPF Authority to strengthen the framework for safeguarding the interest of investors. What is the full form of IEPF: Investor Education and Protection Fund

352) With which mini European country India has signed a protocol to amend the DTAA: Slovenia

353) India successfully tested its first-ever indigenously built space shuttle – RLV – TD


on May 23. Write full form of RLV-TD: Re-Usable Launch Vehicle - Technology Demonstrator

354) What is the main benefit of the space shuttle: Heavy cost reduction in satellite launching

355) Who has been elected as the new President of Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI): Anurag Thakur

356) ______ has been Appointed as the new Lieutenant Governor of Union Territory of Puducherry: Kiran Bedi

357) Palme d’Or is the price for the best film at which famous film festival: Cannes, France

358) Which film won the Palme d’Or for 2016: I, Daniel Blake

359) Who is the director of the film I, Daniel Blake: Ken Loach, UK

360) Name the India’s ace cueist who won the Asian 6-Red Snooker Title: Pankaj Advani

361) USA decided to fully lift its embargo on sales of lethal weapons to its one-time arch enemy, _______ after a gap of over 32 years: Vietnam

362) World Bank Group has launched the Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility (PEF) for what purpose: To protect and support poorest countries against deadly pandemics like Ebola, Zika

363) Govt. has decided to replace the word ‘Viklangjan’ for disabled persons with which new word: Divyangjan

364) Millennium Technology Prize is given in which country: Finland

365) INS Tarmugli, recently inducted in Indian Navy is what type of ship: Fast attack water jet craft

366) World Bank has agreed to provide $ 100 million loan to support ‘Urban Water Supply Modernization project’ of which state: Karnataka

367) Government has selected _____more cities in the first phase of the smart cities mission: 13

368) S K Sharma has been appointed the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of which national scientific organization: Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL).

369) Heads of state of G-7 nations held their annual summit at which place in Japan: Ise Shima

370) A joint study by Assocham-KPMG shows that India is the ____largest producer of e-waste, discarding roughly 18.5 lakh metric tonnes of electronic waste each year: Fifth

371) ____ has been elected as the new and the first BJP Chief Minister of Assam: Sarbananda Sonowal

372) Pinarayi Vijayan has been elected as the Chief Minister of which state: Kerala

373) Recently FSSAI has recommended banning the use of which chemical in the making of bread: Potassium Bromate

374) What is the name given to the India’s new GPS system: NAVIC

375) What is the full form of the acronym Navic: Navigation with Indian Constellation

376) Employee Provident Fund Organization has decided to increase benefits under the Employees' Deposit Linked Insurance (EDLI) scheme from Rs 3.60 lakh to _____rupees: Six lakh

377) Amit Kumar Saroha won the gold medal in which game at the French Open Athletics Championship in Paris: Men's club throw

378) Recently approved national policy on capital goods which aims to _____ the production of capital goods to Rs 7.5 lakh crore by 2025: Triple

379) The Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has decided to launch an online system ASMITA for what purpose: Student tracking system programme

380) What is the full form of ASMITA: All School Monitoring Individual Tracing Analysis

381) Name the new multilingual portal launched by the ministry of HRD: Bharatavani

382) Which State Transport Corporation has launched 20 Nirbhaya buses with multiple safety measures to better protect women passengers: Rajasthan

383) Which Saudi Arabia based bank has offered to open Islamic banking branch in India: Islamic Development Bank

384) First bank branch offering Islamic banking is proposed to be opened by a foreign bank in which city: Ahmadabad

385) Rishi Nair, a 6th grade Indian American student won which prestigious competition in USA: National Geographic Bee competition

386) The Ministry of Railways launched Rail Humsafar Saptaah from May 26 to June 1 for what purpose: To highlight significant achievements made by Indian Railways

387) India recently tested air to land version of its supersonic ballistic missile BrahMos at which place: Jaisalmer, Rajasthan


388) Which type of bank borrowers have been prohibited by SEBI from making public issue of shares: Willful defaulter

389) The 148-year-old Tata Group has made a foray into which new field recently by the name TataCLiQ.com: E-commerce

390) The RBI has instructed banks to shift from magnetic stripe based ATM and debit cards to which type of cards: EMV chip and Pin based cards

391) Which bank has launched e-SBTR (Electronic Secured Bank Treasury Receipt) for payment of both - stamp duty and registration fee for home purchase in Maharashtra: Union Bank of India

APRIL – 2016 392) A massive leak of 11.5 million documents from a

law firm in which country revealed how the world's current rich people, politicians and celebrities hide their money: Panama

393) Ahmed Obeid bin Daghr has been appointed as the new Prime Minister of which country: Yemen

394) Where in India World’s maiden white tiger safari was opened up: Mukundpur, Madhya Pradesh

395) ____________elected as the first woman Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir: Mehbooba Mufti

396) India has been ranked ______ among the world's Top-Ten largest manufacturing countries: Sixth

397) In terms of manufacturing level, which country is ranked no. one in world: China

398) Name the cricketer who was named as Player of the tournament in the world T-20: Virat Kohli

399) Who is Dr. Karan Singh, author of the book 'The Mountain of Shiva': He is a member of Rajya Sabha

400) Where in India the Army has raised a new Gorkha battalion comprising entirely of Gorkha troops of Indian domicile: Sabathu, Himachal Pradesh

401) The government has launched a portal ‘The Indian IP Panorama’ to act as a single window interface for providing information on which subject: Intellectual property maters

402) This portal is a customised version of IP Panorama Multimedia toolkit, developed by WIPO. What is WIPO: World Intellectual Property Organization

403) Germany’s Development Bank KfW has agreed to provide loan assistance of 3750 crore rupees for

the development of metro system for which Indian city: Nagpur

404) World Autism Awareness Day was observed across the globe on April 2. What is Autism: A serious developmental disorder in children that impairs the ability to communicate and interact.

405) The government has issued a new set of income tax return (ITR) forms that require people with an income of Rs. ______lakh and above per annum to disclose their assets: 50 lakh

406) Which stock exchange has launched a new index Nifty MidSmallcap 400 representing 150 midcap and 250 small cap companies: National Stock Exchange

407) The Airports Authority of India has signed an MoU with ________ to provide scientific parameters for construction of airports across the country: ISRO

408) Name the new interest mechanism that requires banks to set rates based on their marginal cost of funds rather than their average cost of funds: marginal cost of funds-based lending rate (MCLR)

409) India has become the world’s _______ largest spender on defence, following a 13.1% increase in its 2016-17 defence budget: Fourth

410) Which country is the largest spender on defence in world: USA

411) Zaha Hadid, renowned Iraq-born British __________ passed away due to heart attack: Architect

412) Name the campaign that was launched on April 14 to strengthen Panchayati Raj in villages, empowerment of women and upliftment of farmers: Gram Uday Se Bharat Uday Abhiyan

413) As per a global study, India ranks third among countries with high number of financial Trojan infections. What is Trojan infection: Transactions where cybercriminals defraud customers of online banking services

414) UNICEF launched a series of animated films, called Unfairy Tales to create awareness about which group of people: Refugees

415) P Susheela Mohan, renowned playback singer has been recognized by the Guinness World Records for which achievement: For singing the most number of songs in Indian languages - 17,695

416) Where in India Asia's biggest telescope has been launched: Devasthal, Nanital


417) The European Investment Bank has agreed to give Euro 450 million towards constructing the metro rail line in which Indian city: Lucknow

418) Name the India's first semi high speed train launched on April 5: The Nizamuddin-Agra Gatimaan Express

419) Which country conferred its highest civilian honour- the king Abdulaziz Sash on the Prime Minister Modi: Saudi Arabia

420) Govt has launched the mobile application 'Vidyut Pravah' for what purpose: for information on 24x7 power from The States

421) The HRD ministry released first-of-its-kind NIRF for ranking the higher education institutions. What is NIRF: National Institutional Ranking Framework

422) As per NIRF _______ has been declared as the no. 1 management institute in the country: IIM Bangalore

423) The Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore has been placed at No. 1 in which category by NIRF: Best University

424) As per NIRF rankings, which is the top engineering institute of India: IIT Chennai

425) Where in India a company of Vedanta Resources set the Guinness World Record for planting 2,08,751 saplings at a single location in less than an hour: Mansa, Punjab

426) With which country India signed an agreement for a new Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) project in India: USA

427) India’s first indigenous composite sonar dome was launched at Goa. What is its function: It acts as ship’s underwater eyes and ears

428) The RBI announced a 25 basis cut in which of its policy rates: Repo Rate

429) What is the new repo rate after April 5: 6.50% 430) On April 5, RBI hiked the reverse repo rate by 25

basis points to _______ per cent: 6%


431) W.E.F. April 5, RBI has revised Marginal Standing Facility and Bank Rate to ______ per cent: 7%

432) What is the likely impact of recent lowering of repo rate on the rate of interest on bank loans: They may be reduced

433) With a view to protect which Indian industry, the government has extended safeguard duty of 20 per cent on import of this product till March 2018: Steel

434) Companies with a net worth of Rs. 500 crore or more will have to follow new Ind AS from April 1. What is Ind AS: Indian Accounting Standards

435) World Bank has agreed to provide a $1.5 billion loan for implementation of which national level mission: Swachh Bharat Mission

436) Which bank has launched 'NO Queue' Mobile app to save its customers time to avail banking services: State Bank of India

437) Under Stand-up India scheme banks have been asked to provide loans up to _____ crore rupees to SC/ST and women entrepreneurs: One

438) The loans under Stand-up India may be provided without collateral. What is collateral: No need to offer land or building or any other security

439) Britain's Royal Mail has launched a set of special postage stamps to mark the 400th death anniversary of which great playwright: William Shakespeare

440) Which railway zone has topped in terms of largest Freight Loading in 2015-16: The East Coast Railway

441) Bihar has become the _________ state in the country to ban sale and consumption of liquor: Fourth

442) In one of the largest environmental settlement in the US history, which oil and gas company has been asked to pay over $20 billion towards damages: British Petroleum

443) The world’s first public dengue vaccination programme was launched recently in which country: Philippines

444) World Health Day is observed on which date: April 07

445) World Health day this year shall be focusing on control of with disease: Diabetes

446) Nguyen Xuan Phuc has been elected as the new Prime Minister of which country: Vietnam

447) Name the team that won the Asian Nations Cup Chess tournament: India

448) Govt has constituted a high-level committee headed by former Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta for what purpose: to suggest ways to strengthen the border protection along the border with Pakistan

449) Govt has launched a low cost micro solar device, Surya Jyoti for what purpose: To meet lighting needs in areas without electricity

450) International conference on zero was hosted by which European city: Paris

451) According to Arvind Panagariya India is close to achieving 8% GDP growth on the back of satisfactory progress in infrastructure development. Who is he: Vice Chairman at Niti Aayog, India

452) Name the lady who has been named the most powerful businesswoman in Asia by Forbes Magazine: Nita Ambani

453) Which global body has revised its 2016 global trade forecast downward by more than one percentage point to 2.8 per cent: WTO-World Trade Organization

454) Who has been elected as the new Chairman of the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) for 2016-17: C P Gurnani

455) Mission Indradhanush covers how many vaccine preventable diseases: Seven

456) 25 Ministries and Departments of the Union Government have joined IMPacting Research INnovation and Technology (IMPRINT) for what purpose: To establish a single window mechanism to shortlist research projects

457) Name the country’s first train with CCTV cameras in all coaches: Shan-E-Punjab Express

458) Hindus in north India observed April 8 as the beginning of their traditional new year. Can you name the year: Vikram Samvat 2073

459) In Andhra and Karnataka, April 8 was observed as ________ festival: Ugadi

460) In which Indian state April 8 was observed as Gudi Padwa: Maharashtra

461) The first ever two day North East-ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Business Summit was hosted by which city: Imphal, Manipur

462) Name the author of the book 'A State in Denial': B G Verghese

463) Govt has launched a tablet-based application


‘ANMOL’ that allows ANMs to enter and update data for the beneficiaries. What is ANM: Auxiliary Nurse Midwife

464) Which temple was in news due to a worst-ever pyrotechnics tragedy claiming over 110 lives: Puttingal Devi Temple near Kollam, Kerala

465) Govt plans to construct five lakh irrigation ponds under which scheme: Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana

466) Malaysian Open Badminton title was won by Lee Chong Wei of which country: Malaysia

467) "Advantage India - From Challenge to Opportunity" is a book written by one of the ex-Presidents of India. Can you name him: APJ Abdul Kalam

468) Name the winner of the FBB Femina Miss India World 2016 contest: Priyadarshini Chaterjee

469) In the abbreviation FBB Miss India World, FBB stands for what: Fashion at Big Bazaar

470) For which city in Maharashtra, in a first in the history, a train was used to supply 25 lac liters of water: Latur

471) A portal was launched in New Delhi for for registration and allotment of ISBN. What is the full form of ISBN: International Standard Book Number

472) __________ has become the first state to pass land title bill for verification of land records: Rajasthan

473) A statue of which Indian Maharaja will be installed in France's Saint-Tropez town in September this year: Maharaja Ranjit Singh

474) Who has been named as the brand ambassador of the Skill India Campaign: Sachin Tendulkar

475) Danny Willett who won the US Masters Golf Championship for the year 2016 is from which country: Britain

476) Why World Homoeopathy Day is observed on 10th April: It is the birthday of Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, a German Physician who developed system of Homoeopathy

477) To which country India has offered to invest up to $20 billion in new petrochemicals, fertiliser and LNG facilities and sought land and cheaper natural gas for this: Iran

478) Saraswati Sammaan is given for excellence in literature in which language: Any language recognized by Indian constitution

479) Poet and novelist Padma Sachdev won Saraswati Sammaan for her autobiography ‘Chitt-Chete’ written in which language: Dogri

480) Union government plans to lay more emphasis on promoting MICE tourism in India. What is MICE: Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events

481) Which European country has offered to help in ‘Namami Gange’ project for cleaning of Ganges like their rivers Rhine and Danube: Germany

482) The fire services day is observed on which day of April: 14th

483) In which state people celebrate Vishu festival on April 14th to mark beginning of their new year: Kerala

484) As per a recent World Bank report, which country received largest amount of inward remittances in 2015: India

485) Which country conferred its highest civilian honour upon Former Army Chief General(retd) J J Singh: France

486) A study of 50 nations for investment and deployment of Information and Communications Technology has placed which country at top: USA

487) India has successfully tested its K-4 ballistic missile. What is the launch pad of this missile: Submarine

488) India has decided to become a formal member of the regional group SAWEN for what purpose: For combating wildlife crime and illegal trade

489) What is the full form of SAWEN: South Asia Wildlife Enforcement Network

490) Airtel M Commerce Services Limited (AMSL) has been granted the India’s first _________ bank license by RBI: Payment

491) Which National Institute of Technology in India has developed the fastest super computer 'Param Kanchenjunga': Sikkim

492) The recently launched E-National Agriculture Market covers agriculture markets from how many states: Eight

493) Which tiny South Pacific island nation has become the 189th member of the IMF and the World Bank: Nauru

494) India has finalised the deal to purchase 36 ________ fighter jets from Dassault Aviation of France: Rafale

495) Jharkhand govt launched the Bhimrao Ambedkar Awas Yojana for construction of houses for which


category of persons: Widows 496) Which country in South America continent was

shaken by several rounds of severe earthquake, claiming over 654 lives: Ecuador

497) Friends in Wild Places is a recent book written by which famous author: Ruskin Bond

498) Which Indian bank got the first loan of $ 250 million from the newly established BRICS New Development Bank: Canara Bank

499) In a study of 50 cities conducted by the IT firm Dell - ‘Future-Ready Economies Model’, city of San Jose was ranked no. 1. Where is this city: California, USA

500) Satyanand Munjal, a great philanthropist and industrialist, passed away in Ludhiana, Punjab at the age of 99. He was the co-founder of which industrial group: Hero Cycles

501) The annual Spring Meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank was held at which city in USA: Washington DC

502) World Hemophilia Day is observed on April 17. Hemophilia is what type of ailment: Non-clotting of blood

503) Sultan Azlan Shah Cup is associated with which sports: Hockey

504) City of Ipoh hosted the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in which country: Malaysia

505) What was the rank of India in Sultan Azlan Shah Cup: Second

506) Which country won the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup by beating India: Australia

507) Name the girl from Agartala, Tripura who created history by becoming the first Indian gymnast to qualify for the Olympics: Dipa Karmakar

508) Name the gymnastic feat preformed by Dipa Karmakar as it is one of the extremely difficult and most dangerous form: Produnova vault

509) Name the Indian who has been ranked third in the Forbes list of top 30 Global Game Changers: Rahul Bhatia of Inter Globe Enterprises

510) Govt has released a Commemorative Coin of 200 rupees and a Circulation Coin of 10 rupees to mark the 200th Martyrdom Day of Tatya Tope. Who was he: A war hero of 1857 war of Independence

511) The 13th Islamic Summit Conference was held in________, Turkey: Istanbul

512) IMF and world bank have joined hands with the

United Nations and OECD for improvement of tax systems world over. What is OECD: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

513) ________ has been declared the Laureus Best Sportsman of the year: Novak Djokovic, Serbia

514) ________ has been declared the Laureus Best Sportswoman of the year: Serena Williams, USA

515) Which sports team won the Laureus Best Sports Team of The Year Award: New Zealand's Rugby World Cup-winning team

516) Name the Silicon Valley’s veteran adviser, mentored of Steve Jobs, Larry Page, who died recently: Bill Campbell

517) India, Afghanistan and Iran have agreed for joint work on development of Chabahar port in which country: Iran

518) With which country India has signed an MoU on cooperation in the field of traditional system of medicine and Homoeopathy: Mauritius

519) The ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ programme has been extended to additional 61 low CSR districts. The term CSR stands for what: Child Sex Ratio

520) Which famous temple was in news for depositing 1,311 kg of gold in a public sector bank under Gold Monetisation Scheme?: Tirupati Balaji Temple, Andhra Pradesh

521) As per the 2016 ‘World Press Freedom Index’, which country enjoys the number one position for the functioning of journalist: Finland

522) As per the 2016 ‘World Press Freedom Index’, what was the rank of India: 133rd

523) Scientists have reported that over 90 per cent of the Great Barrier Reef has been damaged by mass bleaching. It is in which country: off the Australian coast

524) Rahul Johri has been appointed as the first Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of which major Indian sports body: BCCI- Board of Control for Cricket in India

525) As per the latest World Malaria Report from WHO, ________ has become the world’s first region to wipe out malaria with zero cases reported last year: Europe

526) Which day is observed as the Earth Day all over the world: April 22

527) What is the theme for the Earth Day this year: Trees for the Earth

528) Name the leading Bollywood actress who has


been named by Time magazine in its list of the '100 Most Influential People in the World': Priyanka Chopra

529) Civil servants all over India observe April 21 as ________ day to re-dedicate and re-commit themselves to the cause of the people: Civil Service Day

530) Why April 21 has been selected as the Civil Service Day: On this day in 1947, Sardar Patel addressed the first batch of Indian civil servants

531) The Olympic Torch for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics was ceremoniously lighted at the Temple of Hera in which place: Ancient Olympia, Greece

532) The Rio Olympics beginning on August 5 will be the ____ edition of modern Olympic games: 31st

533) A statement by Amitabh Kant says that India will be free of BPL population by 2032, attaining a growth of 10%. Who is he: CEO of Niti Aayog

534) Rogers Nelson, pop music superstar, popularly known as _________ in USA, died aged 57: Prince

535) Which Indian city is the host for the popular religious event Simhastha Kumbh: Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh

536) Simhastha Kumbh is being held in Ujjain on the banks of which river: Kshipra

537) As per a report by The Financial Times Limited, which country in world received highest FDI in 2015: India

538) Where in world, representatives of 175 nations signed the historic Paris Climate Agreement: New York

539) The Paris Climate Agreement aims at limiting global temperature rise to well below ____ degrees Celsius, and to strive for ______ degrees Celsius: 2, 1.5

540) Name the famous Malayalam actor who has been nominated as a Rajya Sabha MP: Suresh Gopi

541) England and several other parts of the world are celebrating 400th death anniversary of a legendary playwright. Can you name him: William Shakespeare

542) What is the popular other name for the William Shakespeare: The Bard of Avon

543) Name any two famous master pieces written by William Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet

544) Name the world’s oldest-serving royal and the longest lived monarch who turned 90 on April 21: Queen Elizabeth II

545) The Department of Disinvestment has been renamed as Department of Investment and Public Asset Management or 'Dipam'. It is in which ministry: Union Finance Ministry

546) With which country India launched a $1 trillion Potential Solar Programme under the International Solar Alliance: France

547) Name the India’s first online interactive heritage portal launched recently: Sahapedia

548) Which UN agency organizes activities for promotion of World Book Day on April 23: UNESCO

549) Japan has become fourth country in world to successfully test its first stealth fighter jet – X 2. What is stealth technology: Ability to avoid detection by Radar

550) An Economist in the Real World is a book written by Kaushik Basu. Who is he: Chief Economist at World Bank

551) What is the full form of the word CORPAT: Coordinated Patrol (Indo-Thai)

552) The joint army training exercise, titled ‘Nomadic Elephant - 2016’ was held between which two countries: India and Mongolia

553) Scientists at which Indian organization have developed the world's lightest ever synthetic material called ‘silica aerogel’: Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre

554) Govt. has decided to increase minimum wages of contract workers to Rs. _________ at the national level: 10,000/-

555) Which country has ordered a two-day working week for public sector workers as a temporary measure to help it overcome a serious energy crisis: Venezuela

556) Union Sports Ministry has decided to provide one lakh rupees per month to sportspersons preparing for Olympics under TOP Scheme. TOP stands for what: Target Olympic Podium

557) Govt has set up a committee headed by Ashok Dalwai, for what purpose: To suggest ways to double farm incomes by 2022

558) The government has made it mandatory that no mobile can be sold in India without an in-built ________button, starting January 1, 2017: Panic


MARCH – 2016 559) Indigo —Selected Stories is a collection of stories

by which famous film maker: Satyajit Ray 560) 88TH Oscar Awards, 2016 were held in which city

of USA: Los Angeles 561) The Oscar for the best director was won by the

film ‘The Revenant’. Name the director: Alejandro Iñárritu

562) Film ____________ won the 2016 Oscar for the best feature film: Spotlight

563) The Oscar for the best actor has been won by ___________ for the film ‘The Revenant’: Leonardo DiCaprio

564) Gurmeet Singh and Khushbir Kaur won the gold in the national championship for which event: Race Walking

565) According to Forbes’ annual ranking of billionaires, __________ has been ranked at No. 1 in the world with a net worth of $75 billion: Bill Gates

566) __________ has been declared as the world’s number one airport in its category by the Airports Council International: Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi

567) Rahul Sachdev recently won the all India championship in which event: Snooker

568) Defence Ministry has issued an order worth Rs 22,000 crores for purchase of Chinook and Apache helicopters from which country: USA

569) What type of helicopter is CH-47 Chinook: Heavy transport

570) What type of helicopter is AH-64 Apache: Multirole Attack

571) Vinod Rai, Former Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) was in news recently for what reasons: He has been appointed as the first Chairman of Banks Board Bureau

572) What is the basic objective of the newly formed organization Banks Board Bureau: To approve the appointment of banks’ top executives and improve their governance

573) On which date we celebrate National Science Day: Feb 28

574) The National Science Day is observed on Feb 28 as on this day discovery of __________ was made in 1928: Raman Effect

575) Name the Indian scientist who won the Nobel prize for discovery of Raman Effect: Sir C. V.

Raman 576) ________ has been declared as the first digital state

of India for achieving digital connectivity of all villages and panchayats: Kerala

577) India’s largest heritage conservation project - Muziris Heritage Project is located at which place: Trissur, Kerala

578) Govt. has launched _________ project to make all national highways free of railway crossings by 2019: Setubharatam

579) The UGC has asked varsities and colleges to launch a special page on their websites for checking discrimination against which category of students: SC/ST students

580) Which Union Ministry organized The Raisina Dialogue, a project to explore prospects and opportunities for Asian integration: Ministry of External Affairs

581) Name the mega military exercise that was held jointly by Indian and armies of ASEAN countries: Force 18

582) Mega military exercise Force 18 was held at which place: Pune, Maharashtra

583) World Bank has agreed to grant $ 300 million loan for the Higher Education Quality Improvement Project in which state: Madhya Pradesh

584) In a recent study of energy effectiveness of the countries, India was placed at 90th rank. Which was the best country: Switzerland

585) Name the veteran actor and film maker who has been awarded Dada Saheb Phalke Award – 2015: Manoj Kumar

586) What is the amount of cash prize given to the winner of Dada Saheb Phalke Award: Rs. 10 lac

587) Col C K Nayudu Trophy is associated with which sports: Cricket

588) ___________ won the 2016 C K Nayudu trophy: Mumbai

589) Finals of C K Nayudu trophy were held in ___________, Madhya Pradesh: Indore

590) Indian shooter ___________clinched the 50m pistol gold at the ISSF World Cup in Bangkok,Thailand: Jitu Rai

591) World’s costliest railway station was opened to public on March 3 in which city: New York

592) ‘Who Was Shivaji’ is a book written by which author: Govind Pansare


593) The United Nations has decided to set up 20 ‘Blue Dots’ in Europe for what purpose: As child and family support hubs for refugees

594) Which two UN organizations have been given the task of lookin after of ‘Blue dots’: UNHCR and UNICEF

595) On March 03 we celebrate which day associated with the wild animals: World Wildlife Day

596) Which animal is the main focus of 2016 World Wildlife Day: Elephant

597) Which UN body organizes the Zero Discrimination Day on March 1 across the world: UNAIDS

598) India observes National Safety Day on March 04 to promote which aspect of life: Safety awareness among people

599) Uridashi Masala Bonds are issued in which country: Japan

600) Which Indian state has taken first of its kind initiative by launching the Air Ambulance in the state: Kerala

601) Ray Tomlinson, a veteran IT expert of USA passed away recently. He is known for invention of which IT application: E-mail

602) Which country won the both, men’s and women’s category in the World Table Tennis Team championship: China

603) Which country has agreed to promote three Indian as smart cities: Germany

604) Germany has assured help for promoting which 3 cities as smart city in India: Kochi, Bhubaneswar and Coimbatore

605) Air India on March 6 flew the “world’s longest” all-women operated and supported flight, nonstop, from New Delhi to____________, USA: San Francisco

606) In terms of women occupying top positions in business in 36 countries, what was India’s rank: 34th

607) __________ occupies the top spot in terms of women occupying top positions in business: Russia

608) Name the former world number one tennis star who failed a drugs test at the Australian Open: Maria Sharapova

609) Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur is one of the top civil honour of which country: France

610) Name the Indian industrialist who has been honoured with Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur: Anand Mahindra, CMD

611) International Women's Day was observed across the world on which date: 8 March

612) _________ is the first bank to get the licence for the small finance bank: Capital Local Area Bank Ltd.

613) Govt has launched the new ____ colour scheme for re-classification of industries based on the Pollution Index (PI) scores: Four

614) In the context of score on pollution index, ______ colour shows the highest level of pollution: Red

615) In the context of score on pollution index, ______ colour shows the lowest level of pollution: White

616) In a recent survey of 133 cities for cost of living, which two Indian cities figure among the most in expensive cities: Bengaluru and Mumbai

617) Lok Sabha passed a bill to amend the Enemy Property Act, 1968. It relates to properties of which persons: People who became Chinese or Pakistani nationals, after leaving India in the wake of wars fought with these countries

618) ISRO launched IRNSS – 1 F satellite for what purpose: To provide GPS facility

619) Indian GPS system-IRNSS is a setup of _________ satellites: Seven

620) India signed its biggest ever overseas credit line, extending $2 billion loan facility to which country: Bangladesh

621) Which Indian bank will look after the $2 billion loan line to Bangladesh: Exim Bank

622) Scott Kelly who returned to earth on March 1, completing 340 days stay in space, created which record: American with longest stay in space

623) As per new rules, unreserved train ticket for travelling upto 199 kms will no longer be valid after _____ hours of purchase of the ticket: Three

624) The first-ever auction of a gold mine in the country was held in Baghmara. It is in which state: Chhattisgarh

625) India’s first gender park has been started in which state to promote the participation of women in development: Kerala

626) __________ has become the first state in the country to launch the HPV vaccine as a public health programme for school children: Delhi

627) What is the full form of HPV: Human Papilloma Virus

628) March ___ is commemorated as National Security Day to praise the work of security forces: 4

629) Ahmed Abul Gheit, veteran Egyptian diplomat has


been named as new Secretary General of which international body: The Arab League

630) Irani Cup is associated with which sports: Cricket 631) Irani Cup 2016 was lifted by __________ team by

beating Mumbai: Rest of India 632) Govt. has launched Pradhan Mantri Ujwala Yojana

for what purpose: To provide free LPG connections to women in BPL households

633) Justice __________ Chauhan has been appointed as the chairperson of the 21st Law Commission: Balbir Singh

634) What is the purpose of setting up the law commission: To review the existing laws for improvement

635) The government has decided to invest Rs 69,575 crore towards increasing India’s quota in which international organization: IMF-International Monetary Fund

636) Garuda Shakti was the joint army training exercise between ________ and India: Indonesia

637) Garuda Shakti joint military exercise was hosted by which country: Indonesia

638) Govt. has started which new technological initiative for primary health care in four states: Healthcare ATMs

639) George Henry Martin, popular as the "Fifth Beatle", passed away in England. He was a prominent figure from which field: Music

640) Name the bill recently passed by the Parliament that aims to protect house buyers from the widely prevalent opaque and fraudulent practices in the real estate sector: Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2015

641) What is the name of the online service launched by the railways to facilitate passengers for cleaning of their coaches: Clean My Coach

642) The one million dollar prize for innovative teaching- Global Teacher Prize has been won by Hanan Al Hroub. She is from which country: Palestine

643) Santosh trophy is associated with which sports: Football

644) Santosh Trophy 2016 was won by _________ team: Services

645) All England Open Badminton Championship was hosted by which city in UK: Birmingham

646) ___________ of China won the All England Open Badminton Championship: Lin Dan

647) Government has recently allowed women to be inducted as officers in combat roles into which paramilitary force: ITBP

648) What is the full form of ITBP: Indo-Tibetan Border Police

649) SEBI has disallowed which type of borrowers from making a public issue or acquiring another listed entity: Willful defaulters

650) Golden City Gate Award is given for excellence in which field: Tourism

651) Which Indian body won the Golden City Gate Award-2016: Kerala Tourism

652) 4th World Congress of Biosphere Reserves was held at Lima in ______from 14-17 March: Peru

653) ________ elected as the first civilian President of Myanmar to lead the country after 53 years of military rule: Htin Kyaw

654) ExoMars 2016, an unmanned spacecraft has been launched jointly by Europe and Russia for what purpose: To study the Mars' atmosphere

655) FSSAI has launched the 'Clean Street Food Project' in Delhi to sensitise the street food vendors about health and hygiene aspects of food. What is FSSAI: Food Safety and Standards Authority of India

656) World's first fully electric double decker bus service has been launched in which international metro: London

657) Governor of the Central Bank of which country recently resigned as the bank's account in USA were hacked causing a loss of over $100 million: Bangladesh

658) In which country an Indian-origin Sikh has become the Police Commissioner of its capital: Malaysia

659) Gandhi: An Illustrated Biography is a book written by which author: Pramod Kapoor

660) Chameli Devi Jain Award are given for excellence in which field: Journalism by women

661) Which bank has launched a contactless mobile payment solution ‘Touch & Pay’: ICICI Bank

662) What was the theme of this year's World Consumer Rights Day: Antibiotics off the Menu

663) The World Consumer Rights Day is observed across the globe in March on which date: 15

664) World Kidney Day is observed globally on which date: March 10

665) The 59th Session of Commission on Narcotic Drugs was held in________, Austria: Vienna


666) Which global prize is famous as Nobel for Mathematics: Abel Prize

667) Abel prize is given by which country: Norway 668) In a study of 156 nations in the World Happiness

Report 2016, India has been ranked as ________ place: 118th

669) As per the World Happiness Report 2016 which country is the happiest in the world: Denmark

670) Indian Air Force conducted its biggest fire power combat exercise at Pokhran in Rajasthan on March 18. What was its name: Iron Fist 2016

671) The Pope Francis, religious chief of Christians, has announced to confer Sainthood on the social worker who spent 45 years serving the poor and sick on the streets of Kolkata. Name her: Mother Teresa

672) Name the hospital that bagged the top government award ‘Kayakalp’ for best hospital cleanliness and infection control, winning a prize money of Rs. 5 crore: PGIMER, Chandigarh

673) Michelle Yeoh has been appointed as United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Goodwill Ambassador. Who is she: Famous action heroine of Malaysia-China

674) Name the American actor and activist who has been appointed as the Goodwill Ambassador of the UNFPA: Ashley Judd

675) What is the full form of UNFPA: United Nations Population Fund

676) Which railway station has stood first in India in terms of cleanliness, as per a survey conducted by the Ministry of Railways: Surat, Gujarat

677) The government has reduced interest rates payable on small savings w.e.f. April 01, 2016. Name two small savings schemes: Public Provident Fund, National Savings Certificate

678) __________Airport in Singapore has been voted the World’s Best Airport for the fourth year in a row at the 2016 World Airport Awards: Changi

679) Railways have tied up with which organization to leverage the space technology for providing the passenger information in all trains: ISRO

680) Parsi Zoroastrians of India celebrated their ___________festival on March 21to mark beginning of their new year: Navroz

681) Who created history by becoming the first Indian athlete to clinch a gold medal in the Asian 20 km Race Walk Championships: Gurmeet Singh

682) UNESCO has included Agasthyamala biosphere reserve in its World Network of Biosphere Reserves. Where is it in India: In the Western Ghats

683) Which Bank has become the first bank to commence the sale of Indian Gold Coin (IGC) in the domestic market: Indian Overseas Bank

684) What are the three weight categories in which India Gold Coins are available: 5, 10 and 20 gram

685) US President Barack Obama scripted history by becoming first US President by visiting which country after 88 years of strained relations: Cuba

686) The United Nations appointed 'Red' as an envoy to inspire climate action toward a sustainable and happier future for all. Who is 'Red': Leader of the "Angry Birds" mobile game characters

687) March 21 was observed as the ___________ day across the world to promote the importance of forests and trees in our lives: World Forestry Day

688) March 22 was observed as the __________ day with the theme Water and Jobs: World Water Day

689) The World Sparrow Day is observed across the world on which date: March 20

690) The World Meteorological day is observed on March 23 for what purpose: To spread awareness about climate change

691) 9th International Abilympics started at Bordeaux in France. Who are the participants in this: Skilled persons with disabilities

692) Which Indian city will host the eighth annual summit of BRICS from October 15-16: Goa

693) Which flower has been selected in a symbolic form as the logo for the 8th Brics Summit: Lotus

694) _________ won the Krishi Karman Award for its landmark achievement in showing highest production of food grains in year 2014-15: Himachal Pradesh

695) The government has formally withdrawn the recognition of which Stock Exchange after it was de recognised by SEBI: Delhi

696) Govt has launched the new drug Bedaquiline to combat drug resistant form of which disease: Tuberculosis (TB)

697) _______was observed as the World Tuberculosis day: March 24

698) Subrata Roy Sahara, promoter of Sahara Group who is in Tihad Jail, has written a book about his


experiences. What is the name of this book: Life Mantras

699) The Girl on the Train is a famous novel written by ___________: Paula Hawkins

700) Which country signed a MoU for construction of six nuclear reactors at Jaitapur in Maharashtra: France

701) Name the govt. scheme that aims to achieve the objective of ‘Housing for All’: Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana

702) A financial assistance of Rs.__________ lakh will be provided for construction of pucca houses to homeless families in plain areas: 1.20

703) A financial assistance of Rs.__________ lakh will be provided for construction of pucca houses to homeless families in hilly and difficult area: 1.30

704) RBI has asked banks to pay interest on savings accounts on a ______basis or a shorter duration: Quarterly

705) Rate of interest on savings bank accounts in banks in India is decided by which authority: Banks themselves

706) India’s number one tractor producer, Mahindra& Mahindra plans to launch Trringo – a digital app for what purpose: To start online tractor rental business

707) Which country has made a law to jail the parents who fail to vaccinate their children: Uganda

708) Who is the only Indian leader in the world’s 50 greatest leaders list compiled by Fortune magazine: Arvind Kejriwal

709) RuPay, the domestic card payment service provider by NPCI plans to issue which new type of card: Credit Card

710) Which Indian state was put under President's rule in last week of March, 2016: Uttarakhand

711) Name the famous ancient city of Syria that was recently recaptured by Syrian troops: Palmyra

712) ISRO has establish world's second largest Ionospheric Radar at which place in Andhra Pradesh: Gadanki

713) Who is the director of the film 'Baahubali' that won the national award for best feature film: S S Rajamouli

714) The film Bajrangi Bhaijaan won the national award for best film in which category: Most popular film

715) Name the three countries visited by prime

minister modi in the last week of march: Belgium, USA and Saudi Arabia

716) India has started a new direct shipping service to Chittagong in Bangladesh from which port in India: Krishnapatnam in Nellore, Andhra Pradesh

717) The World Bank has agreed to provide $250 million loan for improving the performance of electricity distribution in which state: Rajasthan

718) H Deep Saini, noted Indian scholar and plant physiologist has been appointed as the Vice Chancellor of which global university: University of Canberra, Australia

719) Which bank has announced an initiative called iWork@home that uses technology to enable women employees to work from home for an extended period: ICICI Bank

720) The first World Culture Festival, a three-day event celebrating cultural diversity was held on the bank of which river: Yamuna

721) The World Cultural Festival was organized by which organization: Art of Living

722) Which e-retailer has been ranked as the most trusted online shopping brand in India: Amazon

723) According to the latest figures released by the Geneva-based World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), ___________ is the top most country in filling patents: USA

724) The Telecom Commission has approved which number as a common number for emergencies such as police, fire, ambulance, etc. all over India: 112

725) The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Asian Development Bank have signed a MoU to provide $ 848 million for which purpose: To develop solar parks across India

FEBRUARY – 2016 726) First Grand Slam of Tennis 2016 was held at

which place: Melbourne, Australia 727) _____________ won the Men’s Singles title of

Australian Open: Novak Djokovic 728) _____________ won the Women’s Singles title of

Australian Open: Angelique Kerber 729) Angelique Kerber, winner of Women’s title in

Australian Open, is from which country: Germany 730) Which Union Ministry has decided to reduce the

threshold for coverage of firms under the EPFO: Labour Ministry


731) What is the full form of EPFO: Employees’ Provident Fund Organization

732) The threshold for coverage of firms under the EPFO has been reduced to _________ workers from 20 at present: 10

733) ICC has decided upon what new measures for the safety of the umpires: They will be provided by specially designed helmets

734) The Indian women’s cricket team made history by clinching its maiden T20 series against which country: Australia

735) Name the author of the book Why we love the way we do: Preeti Shenoy

736) Nathuram Godse - The Story of an Assassin is a book written by which author: Anup Sardesai

737) What is the name of the book by Former President APJ Abdul Kalam based on his spiritual experiences with Pramukh Swami Maharaj: Transendence

738) What is the name of the indigenously developed Light Combat Aircraft which is about to replace the MiG fighters: Tejas Mark 1-A

739) The GDP growth for 2014-15 has been scaled down to 7.2% from the earlier estimate of 7.3%, by which Government organization: Central Statistics Office (CSO)

740) As per latest CSO data, per capita income during 2015-16 is likely to be above ________ thousand rupees: 77

741) As per a list compiled by Wealth-X in collaboration with Business Insider, _______ is the 2nd richest person in India: Ajim Premji

742) Henri Tiphagne, founder of NGO People’s Watch was recently awarded which international honour: Human Rights Award

743) Human Rights Award is given by which global organization: Amnesty International, Germany

744) Anti-Leprosy Day is observed on 30 January in the honour of which national leader: Mahatma Gandhi

745) What is the full form of NTPC Ltd: National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd.

746) Which country has produced the fifth-generation stealth fighter jet- X-2-‘Shinshin’: Japan

747) Which paramilitary force of India has appointed, for the first time a woman as its Director General: Sahastra Seema Bal

748) Name the newly appointed Director General of

Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB): Archana Ramasundaram

749) Sahastra Seema Bal looks after the security of which part of border of India: Nepal and Bhutan

750) K Durga Prasad, a senior IPS officer has been appointed Director General of which paramilitary force: CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force)

751) __________ has been appointed as the Director General of Border Security Force: K K Sharma

752) Which global social networking application recently crossed the one billion user milestone: WhatsApp

753) President of India recently conferred the honorary rank of General of the Indian Army to Chief of Army of which country: Nepal

754) Which state won the 61st National School Athletics championship: Kerala

755) Dial D for Don is a book written by former Police Commissioner of Delhi. Name him: Neeraj Kumar

756) Ancestral Affairs is a book written by which author: Keki Daruwalla

757) World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared Public Health Emergency of International Concern over the explosive spread of which disease: Zika Virus

758) As per recent market reports, which is the largest company of the world in terms of market capitalization: Alphabet

759) 2021 World Aquatics Championships will be hosted by _______city of Japan: Fukuoka

760) Which company has launched a 150-cc bike named ‘V’ that contains metal sourced from India’s first aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant: Bajaj Auto

761) Men’s Singles Title in the Syed Modi International Badminton Championships was won by which player: Kidambi Srikanth

762) Name the veteran wildlife filmmaker who won the V Shantaram Lifetime Achievement Award: Naresh Bedi

763) Name the Indian film that won the Best First Foreign Film Award given by the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics: Titli

764) D J Pandian, former Chief Secretary of Gujarat has been appointed vice-president and chief investment officer of which newly formed global financial institution: Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank


765) Which govt organization has launched the country's first anti-diabetic ayurvedic drug BGR -34 for Diabetes type 2 patients: Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)

766) For what purpose the Government has decided to infuse about 5,000 crore rupees capital in the public sector banks: To strengthen their balance sheet for compliance of Basel III capital norms

767) Hyderabad-based biotechnology research company Bharat Biotech has announced that it has developed the world’s first vaccine against which major disease: Zika Virus

768) Name the major employment scheme run by govt. that completed 10 years in February: Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)

769) Name the state that won the Dr BC Roy Trophy for the National Junior Football Championship: Punjab

770) The Trans-Pacific Partnership deal, led by ______, one of the biggest trade deals in history, was signed in New Zealand on Feb 4: USA

771) The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has barred telecom service providers from charging differential rates for data services. This is in promotion of which concept: Net neutrality

772) The eighth Delhi Dialogue was held in New Delhi to discuss politico-security, economic and socio-cultural engagement between the ________ and India: Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

773) Reserve Bank has decided to undertake which step to check handling of customer complaints and how banks have implemented Charter of Customer Rights: Incognito visits to bank branches

774) Which country won the highest number of medals in the 12th South Asian Games: India

775) India emerged number one in the 12th South Asian Games by winning total _______ medals: 308

776) Name the ace Indian Shooter who won record six medals in the 12th South Asian Games: Chain Singh

777) 13th SAG will be hosted by Nepal in Kathmandu in which year: 2019

778) As per Swachh Survekshan-2016 conducted by the Quality Council of India to rank the Indian cities on the basis of cleanliness, _________ has been

ranked no. one: Mysuru 779) Central Bank of which major economy has

imposed, for the first time, a negative interest rate of minus 0.1 per cent for certain bank deposits placed with it: Japan

780) BAFTA awards 2016 were given away in London on Feb 14. What is the full form of BAFTA: British Academy of Film and Television Awards

781) Which film won the BAFTA award for the best film: The Revenant

782) World’s longest train route, running for 10,400 kms, starts from and ends at which place: Yiwu (China) and Bander Abbas (Iran)

783) What is the formal name given to this 10,400 kms rail route: Belt and Road connectivity initiative

784) Mr. Modi has been highlighting the 4D blessings of Indian economy. What are these 4Ds: Democracy, Demography, Demand and Deregulation

785) World famous Grammy Awards are given for excellence in which field: Music

786) 58th Grammy Awards ceremony was held on 15th February at which place: Los Angeles, USA

787) Grammy for Record of the Year was won by Uptown Funk by which artist: Mark Ronson

788) Taylor Swift won the Grammy for the Album of the Year. What is the name of the Album: 1989 Taylor Swift

789) What is the title of the latest book written by Shyam Bhatia, noted journalist: Bullets and Bylines

790) Leading gun-maker BAE Systems, the UK based multinational company has selected which Indian corporate as their partner for manufacturing M777 howitzers in India: Mahindra’s

791) M777 howitzer guns will be used as major weapon by which proposed army formation: Mountain Strike Corps

792) Govt. proposes to assign the security of which border area to Mountain Strike Corps: Mountainous borders with China

793) National Arogya Fair was organized to showcase and promote the strengths, efficacy and affordability of the AYUSH. What is the full form of AYUSH: Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy

794) First phase of world’s largest solar power plant, with a capacity to produce 580 mw was started in


which country on Feb 4: Morocco 795) Name the batsman from South Africa who became

the quickest and the youngest batsmen to score 10 centuries in ODIs: Quinton De Kock

796) Which global organization has released a report called 'One Humanity: Shared Responsibility': UNO

797) Which deworming tablet is provided free to school and pre-schools children who fight worm infections: Albendezole

798) The Reserve Bank of India has released the Report of the Working Group (Chairperson: Prof. P.G. Apte) on which topic: Introduction of Interest Rate Options in India

799) What is the name of the 9th edition of India-Nepal Combined Military Exercise: Surya Kiran IX

800) Surya Kiran IX military exercise was held in which area: Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand

801) Indian and Chinese troops held their first joint tactical exercise “Sino-India Cooperation 2016’’ for what purpose: For joint operation on humanitarian aid and disaster relief

802) Which ministry has launched the 24x7 Toll Free Tourist Infoline in 12 International Languages to facilitate tourists: Union Ministry of Tourism

803) Government has launched ____________for prevention of AIDS in the 20 districts of eight North-Eastern states: Project Sunrise

804) Indian Oil Corporation’s latest oil refinery started production in Paradip in which state: Odisha

805) Government has decided to set up the National Organic Farming Research Institute in which state: Sikkim

806) Indian Army participated in the ‘Cobra Gold 2016’– the biggest multilateral military exercise. It was hosted by which country: Thailand

807) Golden Conch Award is given for excellence in which field: Documentary Films

808) Golden Conch Award is given at which film festival: Mumbai International Film Festival

809) What was this year’s theme for the World Cancer Day: We can, I can

810) In a global survey by Brand Finance for brand power, which Indian firm has been rated as the World’s Most Powerful Brand in IT Services: TCS – Tata Consultancy Services

811) Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has launched the BGR-34, country's first

ayurvedic drug for treatment of which major disease: Diabetes type - II

812) In the anti-diabetic drug, acronym BGR stands for what: Blood Glucose Regulator

813) Aruna Sethi has been appointed as the first women head of the which all India administrative service: Indian Cost Accounts Services

814) Pandit Bhimsen Joshi Classical Music Award for 2015-2016 was conferred on Pandit Ram Narayan. He is a master player of which instrument: Sarangi

815) Parameshwaran Iyer, a World Bank’s water and sanitation specialist has been selected by the Indian govt. to head which major national mission: Swachh Bharat Mission

816) The app myCAMS has been launched for what purpose in context of mutual fund business: To facilitate paperless eKYC

817) National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has raised a special squad of which animal to boost its rescue efforts in earthquake hit areas: Dogs

818) Geographical Indications Registry, Chennai has issued ‘Geographical Indication’ tag for which item to 7 states in the Indo-Gangetic Plains: Basmati Rice

819) The first ever Petrochemical project in entire North East India was started in February in Dibrugarh in which state: Assam

820) The ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2017 will be hosted by ________________ in June 2017: England

821) The Indian government has finally sanctioned Rs.580 crore for the vital Agartala-Akhaura rail link with which country: Bangladesh

822) India’s first-ever Aviation Park will come up near Bagodara village in which state: Gujarat

823) What is the objective of setting up aviation park: To promote special units to manufacture spare parts for aircrafts

824) Scientists have detected for the first time, signals of ________________waves emanating from two merging black holes 1.3 billion light years away: Gravitational

825) Prediction about gravitational waves was made about 100 years ago by which great scientist: Albert Einstein

826) The gravitational waves have been discovered after decades of research by scientists at LIGO, USA. Expand LIGO: Laser Interferometer


Gravitational-wave Observatory 827) U K Sinha, the Chairman of Securities and

Exchange Board of India (Sebi) was in news for what reasons: He has been given extension for one year

828) Name the India’s first indigenously developed lightest revolver weighing just 250 gms: Nidar

829) Name the Bollywood’s popular lyricist who made into the Guinness Book of World Records for writing the most number–3524 of songs for Bollywood films: Sameer Anjaan

830) Government has launched a Rs. 10,000-crore Electronic Development Fund for what purpose: To promote manufacturing in the electronics sector

831) Which country launched a massive military exercise – ‘North Thunder’ that included troops from 20 nations: Saudi Arabia

832) _____________ has been appointed as the new Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh: Kalikho Pul

833) Name the America's celebrated novelist whose 1960 masterpiece "To Kill a Mockingbird" was read by millions worldwide: Harper Lee

834) Christine Lagarde, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund was in news recently for what reasons: She has been re-appointed for a second five-year term

835) Amit Mitra has been appointed as the new chairman of the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers on GST. Who is he: West Bengal Finance Minister

836) Name the New Zealand cricketer who smashed the fastest ever Test century in just 54 balls: Brendon McCullum

837) _____________, ace sprinter set a new national record in the 60m dash in 7.28 seconds at the 7th Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in Doha: Dutee Chand

838) _____________, has been appointed as the new Director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai: K N Vyas

839) What is the title of the recent book by Jhumpa Lahiri: In Other Words

840) An Economist in the Real World is a book written by the Chief Economist of the World Bank. Name him: Kaushik Basu

841) Name the Indian film that won the 2016 Crystal Bear Award: Ottaal (The trap)

842) Berlin Film Festivals top prize for the best feature film is named as ______________: Golden Bear Award

843) The Golden Bear Award for 2016 was won by an Italian film. What was its name: Fuocoammare (Fire at sea)

844) The Mahamaham festival, celebrated once in 12 years, also known as Kumbh Mela of South is held at which place: Kumbakonam

845) The book ‘Playing It My Way’ has entered the Limca Book of Records in the category of best-selling books, with 1,50,289 copies sold. This is the autobiography of which person: Sachin Tendulkar

846) Government has launched a device developed by the CSIR –CEERI, Pilani, Rajasthan, named ‘Ksheer-Scanner’ for what purpose: To detect adulteration in milk

847) The Road to Resilience, a survey of the entire Indian coastline for promoting six coastal disaster management projects is an initiative of which global organization: World Bank

848) The survey of 230 cities for assessing quality of life by the global consulting firm Mercer has placed _____________at the top: Austria’s capital Vienna

849) Name the former Chief Justice of India who has been appointed as the Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission: Justice H L Dattu

850) Mobile app ‘Swachh Paryatan’ has been launched by which ministry to promote cleanliness of prime tourist destinations: Ministry of Tourism

851) As per a global study, India is the top importer of arms. Which is at the 2nd rank: China

852) Parliament of ___________ has become the world’s first parliament to run fully on solar power: Pakistan

853) RBI has extended the $2 billion currency swap arrangement to __________nations till mid-November 2017 to enhance economic cooperation: SAARC

854) What is the full form of the term IBSAMAR: India, Brazil, South Africa Maritime

855) The Indian Navy's first locally developed nuclear submarine _____________is now ready for full fledged operations: INS Arihant

856) Aryabhata award 2013, the prestigious honour by Astronautical Society of India has been conferred


upon which scientist: Dr. Avinash Chander, former chief of DRDO

857) Goverdhan Mehta, renowned researcher in Chemical Sciences, has been honoured with the prestigious Cross of the Order of Merit by which country: Germany

858) Which Indian bank has won the Green Bond Pioneer Award for promoting Green Infrastructure Bonds: Yes Bank

859) _________ has been elected as the new President of world Football body –FIFA: Gianni Infantino

860) __________won the prestigious Ranji trophy cricket championship defeating Saurashtra: Mumbai

861) Government plans to set up a dedicated, cross functional team called Special Unit for Transportation Research and Analytics (Sutra) for improvement in which area: Railway

862) The innovative team Sutra is proposed to be headed by which person: Ratan Tata

863) The Union Cabinet has approved establishment of AIM and SETU in which organization to encourage innovations and entrepreneurship in the country: NITI Aayog

864) The acronyms of AIM and SETU stands for: Atal Innovation Mission and Self Employment and Talent Utilisation

865) Jnanpith Award is given for excellence in which field: Literature

866) Jnanpith Award is given for excellence in literature in which language: All 22 Indian languages approved by the Constitution

867) Name the winner of the Jnanpith Award 2015: Raghuveer Chaudhary

868) Shri Raghuveer Chaudhary is a noted novelist of which language: Gujarati

869) Vijay Hazare Trophy is associated with which sports: Cricket

870) Government has announced that taxpayers with an annual income of more than Rs. ______ lakh will not get subsidised LPG cylinders from January, 2016: Ten

871) Dr. Harpal Singh Kumar was conferred with Knighthood Honour in UK for what achievement: For his influential work on prevention and treatment of cancer

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