Gyanm general awareness_JUNE_2016

GENERAL AWARENESS – JUNE 2016 1
GENERAL AWARENESS
JUNE 2016
Vol. 4, Issue 12
A PUBLICATION OF GYANM EDUCATION &
TRAINING INSTITUTE PVT. LTD.
SCO 13-14-15, 2ND FLOOR, SEC 34-A, CHANDIGARH
Contents
CURRENT AFFAIRS
FEB TO APRIL 2016
01-37
BULLET NEWS
NOV 2015 TO JAN 2016
38-60
LATEST 100 GK MCQs 61-65
SSC CORNER 67-71
SBI - CLERK (PRELIM)
MODEL TEST PAPER
72-80
FOUR MONTHS GK BYTES 81-100
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
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
Financial Secrecy Index 45th
Ease of Doing Business (World Bank) 130th
Number of Startups 03rd
Global Competitiveness Index, WEF 55th
Protection of Minority Investors 08th
NATIONAL NEWS
APRIL 2016
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 TOPS IN ATTRACTING FDI
As per a report by The Financial Times Limited, India was the highest-ranked
country in terms of attracting FDI, receiving $ 63 billion worth of FDI projects
in 2015. India is closely followed by USA and China.
INDIA PLACED 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 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 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.

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.
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’.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
 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.
MARCH 2016
INDIA TO HOST 8TH BRICS SUMMIT
India will host the eighth annual
summit of BRICS from October 15-
16 in Goa, in its capacity as chair of
the influential bloc comprising five
countries — Brazil, Russia, India,
China, South Africa.
The logo for the summit is a lotus
with colours from all the five member-countries and a
traditional ‘namaste’ in the centre.
MODI GOES FOR A THREE COUNTRY TRIP
Prime Minister Narendra Modi left for a three - nation
tour to Belgium, the US and Saudi Arabia from March 30
to April 2. He attended India-EU summit in Brussels. In
USA, he attended the fourth Nuclear Security Summit in
Washington D.C. Before returning to India, he stopped in
Saudi Arabia to hold talks with their leaders.
WORLD CULTURE FESTIVAL AT YAMUNA BANK
The first World Culture Festival, a three-day event
celebrating cultural diversity and Art of Living's 35
years of service to humanity, was held on Yamuna bank
in New Delhi on March 11-13. Over 36,000 artists from
155 countries took part in the event.
The Art of Living is a global spiritual movement founded
by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.
NEW SHIPPING SERVICE TO BANGLADESH
A new beginning was made in maritime trade and
bilateral cooperation between India and Bangladesh
with the launch of direct shipping service between
Krishnapatnam in Nellore, Andhra Pradesh and
Chittagong in Bangladesh. The new service will lower
the transportation cost thereby boosting the exports.
COURT ALLOWS PHOTOS OF LEADERS IN ADs
Supreme Court has now allowed use of pictures of Chief
Ministers, Governors and Cabinet ministers in the
government's media advertisements. Earlier, in May
2015, court had imposed a ban on publishing such
photos treating it as misuse of public funds.
WORLD’s LONGEST ALL WOMEN FLIGHT
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 flight covered a
distance of around 14,500 km in close to 17 hours. It
was operated as part of International Women’s Day
celebrations.
FOREIGN MINISTRY HOLDS RAISINA DIALOGUE
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. The
summit is seen as India’s flagship conference of
geopolitics and geo-economics, designed to explore
prospects and opportunities for Asian integration.
PAK BETTER THAN INDIA IN HAPPINESS
When it comes to happiness quotient, India lags behind
neighbors like China, Pakistan and Bangladesh, ranking
118th in a study of 156 nations, according to The World
Happiness Report 2016, prepared on behalf of the
United Nations. Denmark takes the top spot displacing
Switzerland.
The report takes into account GDP per capita, life
expectancy, social support and freedom to make life
choices as indicators of happiness.

IMF TRAINING CENTRE IN DELHI
India and the IMF (International Monetary Fund) have
signed an agreement to set up a South Asia Regional
Training and Technical Assistance Centre (SARTTAC) in
Delhi for training officials in dealing with macro-
economic and financial issues on behalf of IMF.
INDIAN WOMEN LAG BEHIND IN BUSINESS
As per the Grant Thornton’s Women in Business 2016
report of 36 countries, Russia held the top spot with 45
percent of senior-business roles occupied by women;
and Japan held the lowest spot at 7%. India faired very
poorly in this regard, being ranked at a lowly 34th spot.
BANGALORE, MUMBAI ARE MOST INEXPENSIVE
In a list compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit that
compares the cost of a basket of goods in 133 cities
across the world, the cheapest were Lusaka, the capital
of Zambia, followed by Bengaluru and Mumbai in India.
Singapore is most expensive, followed by Zurich, Hong
Kong, Geneva and Paris.
INDIA DISAPPOINTS IN ENERGY SECTOR
Global Energy Architecture Performance Index compiled
by the WEF for 126 countries to assess their ability to
deliver secure, affordable and sustainable energy,
placed India pretty low at 90th rank. Top rank was
secured by Switzerland followed by Norway.
 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 has been
declared as the world’s number one airport in 25-40
million passengers per annum (MPPA) category by
the Airports Council International.
FEBRUARY 2016
ABU DHABI PRINCE VISITS INDIA
Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin
Zayed Al Nahyan visited India. The two countries signed
nine agreements covering cooperation in the fields of
currency swap, culture, and investments in the
infrastructure sector, renewable energy, space research,
insurance supervision, cyber security, skill development
and commercial information sharing.
MYSURU IS THE CLEANEST CITY
Swachh Survekshan-2016 conducted by the Quality
Council of India to rank the Indian cities on the basis of
cleanliness has ranked Mysuru at number one, followed
by Chandigarh and Tiruchirapalli. The least clean cities
included Dhanbad (Jharkhand), Asansol (West Bengal).
Among the cities in the Smart City Mission,
Bhubaneswar has emerged as the top.

ANSARI VISITS BRUNEI, THAILAND
Vice President Hamid Ansari paid a five day (Feb 1-5)
visit to South East Asia covering Brunei and Thailand to
boost the bilateral relations and trade prospects.
Agreements were signed with Brunei in the fields of
defence, health and sports.
NATIONAL AROGYA FAIR HELD IN DEHRADUN
The 4-day National Arogya Fair organised by the central
and state government in collaboration with CII was held
in Dehradun, Uttarakhand to showcase and promote the
strengths, efficacy and affordability of the AYUSH
(Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and
Homoeopathy) systems of medicines.
Rs.580 CRORE FOR BANGLA RAIL LINK
The Indian government has finally sanctioned Rs.580
crore for the vital Agartala (India)-Akhaura
(Bangladesh) rail link, a project that was finalized in
January 2010. This project will reduce rail distance
between Kolkata and Agartala from 1700 kms (via
chicken neck) at present to 350 kms.
NATIONAL DEWORMING DAY–FEB 10
India observed the first National Deworming Day on Feb
10 in schools and preschools (anganwadis) to combat
parasitic worm infections among children.
Free Albendezole deworming tablets were provided to
children across the country.
INDIA ASEAN HOLD DELHI DIALOGUE
The eighth Delhi Dialogue was held in New Delhi to
discuss politico-security, economic and socio-cultural
engagement between the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) and India. The theme for this year's
dialogue is ASEAN-India Relations: A New Paradigm.
COINS IN MEMORY OF LAJPAT RAI
Ministry of Culture released a
commemorative coin of 150
rupees and a circulation coin of
10 rupees on the occasion of
150th birth anniversary of great
freedom fighter Lala Lajpat Rai.
ROAD TO RESILIENCE PROGRAMME
The Road to Resilience, an initiative of the World Bank
to survey the entire Indian coastline was completed on
15 February 2016. It aims to implement support for six
coastal disaster management and climate resilience
projects covering all ten coastal states of India.
3 INDIANS IN TOP 50 RICHEST IN WORLD
Three Indians — Mukesh Ambani (Reliance Group),
Azim Premji (Wipro) and Dilip Shanghvi (Sun Pharma)
—have made it to a global list of 50 wealthiest people at
27th, 43rd and 44th place, respectively. The list compiled
by Wealth-X in collaboration with Business Insider is
topped by Bill Gates.
JNU STIRRED BY ANTI NATIONAL SLOGANS
Nation’s prestigious university caught attention of
intellectuals around the world, although for non
academic reasons. A group of students of Jawaharlal
Nehru University, New Delhi staged a demonstration
and raised anti national slogans leading to arrest of
Kanhaiya Kumar, President of JNU students union and
two other student leaders on charges of sedition. The
issue raised a storm in the country with different groups
favouring and opposing the charge of sedition against
the students.
INDIA HAS 111 BILLIONAIRES
The total number of billionaires from India has risen to
111, consolidating the country's third position after
China and the US, according to Hurun Global Rich List
2016. The list is topped by Bill Gates while Mukesh
Ambani is the richest Indian at 21st rank.
GREAT BACKYARD BIRD COUNT IN INDIA
Birdwatchers from all over India took part in four day
annual Great Backyard Bird Count and shared the
information online. With more than 7,000 lists, totaling
735 species, India has second rank in world. House
crow, common myna, Asian koel and black drongo were
the most common species reported in India.
INDIA VERY POOR IN PROTECTING IPR
In a survey of top 38 countries to assess the protection
of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), India ranked 37th
on the 2016 Intellectual Property Index released by the
Global Intellectual Property Centre, USA. The top rank
was secured by USA, followed closely by UK, Germany
and France while Venezuela was ranked last – 38th.

ANTI-LEPROSY DAY–30TH JANUARY
Anti-Leprosy Day was observed on 30 January
nationwide in the memory of Mahatma Gandhi, who
attained martyrdom on 30 January 1948, to honour his
selfless efforts to care for the people affected by this
infectious disease.
 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 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 Ahmedabad
from Feb 27-29 with the theme 'Target 2020: Clean,
Safe and Sustainable Supply Chain'.
NEWS FROM STATES
APRIL 2016
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 S
C candidate will be required to be at least 8th standard
pass. Minimum educational qualification for SC women
candidates will be 5th standard pass.
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.
WORLD RECORD: PLANTING 208751 SAPLINGS
Talwandi Sabo Power Ltd., a subsidiary of the
global mining giant Vedanta Resources, has set the
Guinness World Record for planting 2,08,751 saplings at
a single location in less than an hour, around their plant
in Mansa, Punjab.
 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. It will seek all the documents from the
landowners, and will verify it against records held by
the state.
 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.

MARCH 2016
PRESIDENT RULE IMPOSED IN UTTRAKHAND
Central government recommended to the President to
invoke Article 356 in Uttarakhand to impose the
President’s rule in the state as the present government
led by Harish Rawat lost the majority support.
On March 18, the state govt failed to secure majority vote
for passing the bill. This caused a constitutional crisis as
no state govt can spend money from April 1 based on a
failed Appropriation bill.
UNESCO SELECTS AGASTHYAMALA BIOSPHERE
UN’s top cultural body UNESCO has included
Agasthyamala biosphere reserve in its World Network
of Biosphere Reserves. Located in the Western Ghats, in
the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the Agasthyamala is
home to 2,254 species of higher plants and has three
wildlife sanctuaries.
ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS ANNOUNCED
Election Commission has announced the schedule for
the forthcoming Assembly elections in April in four
States and one UT - Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal,
Assam and Puducherry. The Counting for all five will be
held on 19th of May.
MUZIRIS HERITAGE PROJECT
India’s largest heritage conservation project - Muziris
Heritage Project (MHP) was inaugurated by the
President at Trissur in Kerala. It is the ancient port city
dotted with monuments up to 3000 years old.
KERALA GOES FULLY DIGITAL
Kerala has been declared as the first digital state of India
for achieving digital connectivity of all villages and
panchayats. The state has achieved 100 per cent mobile
connectivity and 75 per cent Internet literacy.
 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.
 The HPV vaccine protects people against the
group of 150-odd HPVs, some of which can cause
cervical cancer.
 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, an
autonomous institution to promote the gender equity
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 SINGED BY JAT AGITATION
Prosperous state of Haryana suffered big loss due to
widespread violent agitation by its Jat community
demanding reservation for Jats in government jobs. The
stir claimed around 30 lives, leaving over 300 as injured.
The Supreme Court had rejected inclusion of Jats into the
Central OBC list on ground that National Commission of
Backward Castes does not consider them socially and
economically backward in Haryana.
LONGEST RAIL BRIDGE TO COME UP AT KATNI
Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has
approved construction of India’s longest railway bridge
on Katni – Bina route in Madhya Pradesh. This 14 kms
long bridge is three and half folds longer than the
present longest Vembanad rail Bridge 4.6 Km in length,
in Kerala.
VARANASI HAS WORST AIR QUALITY
Central Pollution Control Board released its National Air
Quality Indices (NAQI) for 24 cities. The index has a
colour code and a numerical value to help in comparing
pollution levels in different cities. Varanasi in Uttar
Pradesh and Muzzafarpur in Bihar topped the list for the
worst air quality.

HARYANA TO CONDUCT AQUIFER MAPPING
Haryana to become the first state in the country to have
aquifer mapping done for its groundwater resources by
May 2016.
An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing rock,
from which groundwater can be extracted.
 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.
GOVERNMENT
INITIATIVES
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.
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.

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
 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.
MARCH 2016
WOMEN TRANSFORMING INDIA INITIATIVE
The NITI Aayog has launched the Women Transforming
India initiative in partnership with the UN in India and
MyGov. It will invite success stories from women
making efforts for empowerment of women, to
encourage and recognize them.
‘SETUBHARTAM’ - CROSSING FREE HIGHWAYS
Govt has launched the Setubharatam project on Mar 4 to
make all national highways free of railway crossings by
2019. Some 208 such points have been identified for
construction of rail over-bridges or underpasses.

NEW COLOUR SCHEME FOR POLLUTION LEVELS
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 purpose of the categorization is to ensure that the
industry is established in a manner which is consistent
with the environmental objectives.
ONE CRORE HOUSES IN RURAL AREAS
The Union Cabinet has approved the construction of one
crore houses in next three years in rural areas under
‘Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana – Gramin’ to achieve the
objective of ‘Housing for All’. The scheme replaces be
earlier Indira Awas Yojana.
A financial assistance of Rs.1.20 lakh will be provided for
construction of pucca houses to homeless families in plain
areas and Rs. 1.30 lakh in hilly and difficult areas. The
beneficiary will also be entitled to 90 days of unskilled
labour from MGNREGA.
STUDENTS TO ACT AS ‘PARYATAK MITRA’
Union Ministry of Tourism has launched the ‘Paryatak
Mitra’ (tourist’s friend) programme to inculcate
appropriate tourism traits and knowledge amongst the
college students enrolled in NCC/NSS to enable them to
act/work as Tourist Facilitators.
‘UJALA’ SCHEME FOR LED BULBS
Govt has announced the ‘UJALA' scheme for the LED
based Domestic Efficient Lighting Programme, which is
currently running successfully in over 120 cities across
India to replace incandescent bulbs with LED bulbs.
UJALA is an acronym for Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs
for All.
WOMEN CONQUER ITBP FORTE ALSO
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. The
four other paramilitary forces – CRPF, CISF, BSF and SSB
have already been allowed to recruit women officers in
the combat roles.
BRIGHT DAYS AHEAD FOR HOUSE BUYERS
The Rajya Sabha passed the landmark Real Estate
(Regulation and Development) Bill, 2015 on March 10 to
address corruption and inefficiency in the sector. The
bill aims to protect house buyers from the widely
prevalent opaque and fraudulent practices in the real
estate sector. Lok sabha has already passed this bill.
PRADHAN MANTRI UJWALA YOJANA
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA)
approved the Pradhan Mantri Ujwala Yojana for
providing 5 crore free LPG connections to women from
below poverty line (BPL) households at a cost of Rs
8,000 crore.
GOVT STARTS HEALTHCARE ATMs
Union Health Ministry has started, on trial basis, five
healthcare ATMs in four states — Madhya Pradesh,
Himachal Pradesh, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. The
ATMs combine telemedicine with a rudimentary free
drugs programme.
Each ATM will be manned by a multipurpose public
health worker (MPHW) or an auxiliary nurse midwife
(ANM) armed with a multi-parameter patient vital
monitor and other devices required for checking basic
health parameters.
AADHAAR BILL PASSED BY PARLIAMENT
The Aadhaar (Target Delivery of Financial and Other
Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Bill, 2016 has been
passed by the Parliament to provide a legal back up to
the usage of Aadhaar card for various social welfare
schemes. It will empower the states to distribute
resources to deserving people and save the resources
that undeserving people get

UNIVERSITIES TO HAVE WEB PAGE FOR SC/ST
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has asked
varsities and colleges across the country to launch a
special page on their websites for checking
discrimination against SC/ST students.
The move comes amidst the debate on the issue of alleged
discrimination in higher educational institutions in the
aftermath of Rohith Vemula's suicide at Hyderabad
Central University.
UNRESERVED TICKET VALID FOR 3 HOURS
As per new rules, from March 1, an unreserved train
ticket for travelling up to 199 kms will no longer be
valid after 3 hrs of purchase of the ticket, or up to the
departure of first train for the destination, whichever is
later.
ENEMY PROPERTY ACT, 1968 AMENDED
Lok Sabha passed a bill to amend the Enemy Property
Act, 1968. The properties covered by the Bill are those
left behind by people who became Chinese or Pakistani
nationals, after leaving India in the wake of wars fought
with these countries. The new bill also ensures that the
law of succession does not apply to enemy property.
 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
20 SMART CITIES ANNOUNCED
Central government has announced the names of the
first 20 urban areas that will be developed as smart
cities. The selected cities will be equipped with basic
infrastructure, efficient urban mobility and public
transport, IT connectivity and e-governance
mechanisms. The 20 selected cities are from 11 states
and UT of Delhi.
1. Bhubaneswar 2. Pune 3. Jaipur
4. Surat 5. Kochi
6. Ahmedabad 7. Jabalpur
8. Vishakapatnam 9. Sholapur
10. Davangere 11. Indore 12. New Delhi
13. Coimbatore 14. Kakinada 15. Belagavi
16. Udaipur 17. Guwahati 18. Chennai
19. Ludhiana 20. Bhopal
RURBAN MISSION LAUNCHED IN DONGARGARH
The ambitious Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban (rural-
urban) Mission was launched from Chhattisgarh's
Dongargarh block. It aims to draw an investment of
over Rs 5,000 crore in three years to transform rural
areas to economically, socially and physically
sustainable spaces aimed at minimising rural migration
to cities through skill development programmes.
GOVT TO SET UP AIM AND SETU
The Union Cabinet has approved establishment of Atal
Innovation Mission (AIM) and Self Employment and
Talent Utilisation (SETU) in NITI Aayog to encourage
innovations and entrepreneurship in the country.
APP LAUNCHED FOR CLEAN TOURIST CENTERS
Ministry of Tourism has launched a mobile app ‘Swachh
Paryatan’ to facilitate the public to communicate their
complaints about any unclean area/garbage piles in and
around 25 listed prime tourist destinations.
E-TOURIST VISA FOR 37 MORE COUNTRIES
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. The new countries
include Austria, Brunei, Denmark, Greece, South Africa,
Switzerland and Tajikistan.

EPFO COVERAGE FOR 10 WORKER UNITS
The Union Labour Ministry has decided to halve the
threshold for coverage of firms under the Employees’
Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) from 20 at present
to 10 workers. This will benefit over 50 lakh workers.
YOU TUBE CHANNEL FOR FINANCE MINISTRY
Finance Ministry has launched its official YouTube
channel with a view to disseminate information to the
public on a real-time basis. The channel showcases
videos featuring schemes like Jan Dhan Yojana, Pradhan
Mantri Mudra Yojana, Insurance schemes, among
several others.
PROJECT SUNRISE LAUNCHED TO FIGHT AIDS
Government has launched Project Sunrise for
prevention of AIDS in the 20 districts of eight North-
Eastern states. The project seeks to improve
interventions against human immunodeficiency virus
infection and acquired immune deficiency syndrome
(HIV/AIDS) among people who inject drugs (PWID).
24x7 TOLL FREE TOURIST INFOLINE
Union Ministry of Tourism has launched the 24x7 Toll
Free Tourist Infoline in 12 International Languages
including Hindi and English in New Delhi. It will assist
the callers, particularly those who know little about
India, with advice on action to be taken during times of
distress while travelling in India to ensure a hassle free
comfortable journey.
TATA TO HEAD RAIL RESEARCH TEAM
Government plans to set up a dedicated, cross functional
team called Special Unit for Transportation Research
and Analytics (Sutra) headed by veteran industrialist
Ratan Tata for carrying out detailed analytics leading to
optimised investment decisions and operations in
railways.
NDRF RAISES ‘DOG SQUAD’
In a maiden initiative, the National Disaster Response
Force (NDRF) has raised a squad of 162 dogs to aid its
personnel in rescuing people trapped under debris in
the aftermath of natural calamities like earthquake.
 India’s first-ever Aviation Park will come up near
Bagodara village in Ahmadabad to strengthen the
aviation sector. The park will promote special units
to manufacture spare parts for aircrafts.
 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.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
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.
INDIA POISED TO GROW BY 7.5% - IMF
As per the World Economic Outlook report by
IMF, India's growth is projected to reach up to 7.5 per
cent in 2016-17, overtaking China's GDP by more than 1
per cent. It said, growth will continue to be driven by
private consumption, which has benefited from lower
energy prices and higher real incomes.
FITCH / W B PUT INDIA’s GROWTH AT 7.7%
Fitch Ratings expects India to be on the top of global
growth ladder, expanding by 7.7 per cent in the current
fiscal due to higher disposable income and a likelihood
of a normal monsoon. The World Bank also projected
India’s growth at 7.7 per cent.
“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.
IIP MOVES UP BY 2%
Factory output measured in terms of the index of
industrial production grew by mere 2 per cent in
February month. Growth of the core sector comprising
of eight infra industries, rose to a 15-month high of
5.7% in February due to sharp pick-up in natural gas,
refinery products, fertiliser, cement and electricity
generation.

TRADE DEFICIT SINKS TO $ 5.07 BILLION
According to data released by the Commerce Ministry,
exports contracted by 5.47 per cent to $22.71 billion in
March. Imports also declined by 21.56 per cent to
$27.78 billion, mainly due to fall in crude prices, leaving
a trade deficit of $5.07 billion. Trade deficit for the year
2015-16 is now only $118.46 billion as compared to
$137.69 billion last year.
 India's foreign exchange reserves surged by $ 333.7
million to reach a fresh life-time high of $ 360.25
billion in the week ended 15th April.
 As per Arvind Panagariya, Vice Chairman, Niti
Aayog, India may achieve 8% growth on the back of
satisfactory progress in infrastructure development.
MARCH 2016
FITCH PUTS INDIA’s GROWTH AT 7.5%
Fitch Ratings has lowered India’s economic growth
forecast for next fiscal to 7.7 per cent, but maintained
the GDP projection for current fiscal at 7.5 per cent.
FEBRUARY 2016
INDIA RECORDS 7.3% GROWTH IN OCT-DEC QR
According to the Central Statistics Office (CSO), growth
of the Gross Domestic Product is estimated at 7.3% in
the October-December 2015 quarter. The economy is
projected to record a five-year high growth rate of 7.6%
in 2015-16 with consumption supporting growth and
manufacturing being a surprise performer.
GDP GROWTH TUNED DOWN TO 7.2%
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% after factoring in the
latest data on agriculture and industrial production.
The real GDP or GDP at constant prices (2011-12) for
the year 2014-15 stands at Rs 105.52 lakh crore.
The per capita Net National Income at current prices is
estimated as Rs 79,412 and Rs 86,879, respectively for the
years 2013-14 and 2014-15. For 2015-16, the Net
National Income at Current Prices is expected to be Rs.
93,231.00
MOODY’s PUTS INDIA’s GROWTH AT 7.5%
Moody’s Investors Services has projected that Indian
economy will grow at 7.5% in 2016 and 2017 as it is
relatively less exposed to external headwinds like
China’s slowdown and will benefit from lower
commodity prices.
ECONOMY & INDUSTRY
APRIL 2016
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.
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 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
 The total telephone subscriber base in the country
rose to 105.18 crore in February on the back of
growth in wireless users (102.66 crore) even as
landline base continues to decline.

MARCH 2016
100% FDI ALLOWED IN E-COMMERCE
The government has allowed 100% foreign direct
investment (FDI) in the marketplace format of e-
commerce via the automatic route but not under the
inventory led model. This means that companies such as
Amazon and Alibaba can set up an online marketplace
legally now where sellers can hawk their products.
‘NO’ TO ‘WILLFUL DEFAULTERS’ – SEBI
To curb the menace of willful defaulters, the Securities
and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has barred them
from making a public issue or acquiring another listed
entity.
The RBI defines a willful defaulter as an entity that
defaults on its payment obligations even if it has the
capacity to pay back debts.
INDIAN LOCOMOTIVES FOR MYANMAR
Railways have signed a contract to supply eighteen
Meter Gauge 1350 HP Diesel Electric Locomotives to
Myanmar Railways. The engines will be manufactured
by the Diesel Locomotive Works, Varanasi.
URIDASHI MASALA BONDS LAUNCHED BY IFC
International Finance Corporation (IFC) launched its
first Uridashi Masala Bonds (Japanese bonds) to
mobilise Rs 30 crore from Japanese retail investors. The
proceeds will be used for promoting private sector
development in India.
Masala bonds are rupee-denominated instruments sold
only to foreign investors.
INDIA HIKES QUOTA IN IMF
The government has decided to invest Rs. 69,575 crore
towards increasing India’s quota in the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) from 2.44% to 2.75% to have
increased voting rights of 2.6% from the previous
2.34%.
INDIA’s BIGGEST EVER CREDIT LINE
India signed its biggest ever overseas credit line,
extending $2 billion loan facility to Bangladesh,
repayable over 20 years. Managed by the Exim Bank,
the funds will be used for development of infrastructure
and social sector.
ALTO FIRST CAR TO CROSS 3 MILLION SALES
Maruti’s hatchback Alto has achieved cumulative sales
of three million units in the Indian market. It has taken
15 years and 6 months to achieve this record and is the
only Indian auto brand to cross this milestone. Around
2.50 lakh Alto are sold annually.
MAHINDRA ONLINE TRACTOR RENTING
India’s number one tractor producer, Mahindra&
Mahindra plans to launch Trringo – a digital app, to start
online tractor rental business. It will offer a digital
platform to connect those looking to hire tractors and
those willing to rent their self-owned machines.
CALL DROPS NOT TO EXCEED 2% - S C
The Supreme Court has asked telecom operators to give
an undertaking that they have not exceeded the two
percent threshold limit of call drops as mandated in the
regulations of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.
 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 relaxed FDI norms for the insurance
sector to allow 49% foreign stake in local insurance
companies 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
10,000 Cr FUND FOR ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY
In a bid to kick start manufacturing in the electronics
sector, government has launched a Rs. 10,000-crore
Electronic Development Fund. It will provide risk
capital to companies developing new technologies in
electronics, nano-electronics and information
technology.
‘MAKE IN INDIA WEEK’ INAUGURATED
Prime Minister Mr. Modi inaugurated the Make in India
Week on Feb 13 in Mumbai. He told representatives
from 68 countries participating in the event that India
was blessed with Democracy, Demography, and
Demand, and his government has added 4th D –
Deregulation, making it a four-dimensional India
waiting for foreign investment and manufacturing
companies.
The week attracted investment commitments of over
Rs.15 lakh crore.
15.27 LAKH COMPANIES IN INDIA
As per the latest data released by the Ministry of
Corporate Affairs, the total number of companies
registered in the country rose to more than 15.27 lakh
in January 2016. However, only 10.76 lakh of them
were active ones.
G I TAG FOR BASMATI OF 7 STATES
The Intellectual Property Appellate Board has directed
Geographical Indications Registry, Chennai to issue
‘Geographical Indication’ tag for basmati rice to 7 states
in the Indo-Gangetic Plains. These states are Punjab,
Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, parts of Uttar
Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir. This tag will help to
preserve the unique identity of India’s aromatic basmati
rice in the international market.
FIRST PETROCHEMICAL PLANT IN NORTH EAST
Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Limited (BCPL)
started the Assam Gas Cracker project, the first ever
Petrochemical project in entire North East India. The
plant at Lepetkata near Dibrugarh, Assam will produce
High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) and Linear Low
Density polyethylene (LLDPE) totaling 2, 20,000 Tonnes
per Annum (TPA) and 60,000 TPA of Polypropylene
(PP) for downstream plastic processing industries.
TRADE FACILITATION AGREEMENT APPROVED
Union Cabinet has approved (TFA) of the World Trade
Organization (WTO), becoming 71st country to do so.
The TFA seeks to ease customs procedures to boost
commerce.
eKYC LAUNCHED FOR MUTUAL FUNDS
India’s leading transfer agency for most of the mutual
funds-CAMS (Computer Age Management Services) has
launched Aadhaar-based eKYC app using OTP (one-time
password) authentication to make mutual fund account
opening and transactions a paperless and presence less
process through the app myCAMS at
www.camsonline.com .
PARADIP REFINERY STARTS PRODUCTION
Indian Oil Corporation’s latest oil refinery in Paradip,
Odisha started production of petrol from the Rs. 34,555-
crore facility that took over 14 years to complete. The
Refinery, largest on the eastern coast, will primarily be
producing BS-IV fuels for local consumption and for
exports.
With this refinery, IOC has now become country’s largest
refiner, overtaking Reliance Industries Ltd.
TRAI RULES IN FAVOUR OF ‘NET NEUTRALITY’
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has
barred telecom service providers from charging
differential rates for data services, effectively
prohibiting Facebook’s Free Basics and Airtel’s Airtel
Zero platform. TRAI said a fine of Rs. 50,000 would be
levied per day, subject to a maximum of Rs. 50 lakh, for
any violation of these regulations by the service
providers.
INDIA TO GIVE $150 MN FOR CHABAHAR PORT
India has approved a $150 million credit line for the
development of Iran’s Chabahar port. The port in
southeast Iran will allow direct trade with Iran, avoiding
Pakistan and open up a new route to Afghanistan.

INS VIKRANT REBORN AS ‘V’ MOTOR BIKE
Bajaj Auto has launched a 150-cc motor bike named ‘V’
that contains metal sourced from India’s first aircraft
carrier, INS Vikrant. The ship was decommissioned in
Jan 1997 and was sold as scrap in November 2014.
 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.
BANKING & FINANCE
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.
The move is likely to lower the rate of interest on bank
loans, facilitating the pace of economic growth.
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’.
 State Bank of India has launched 'NO
Queue' Mobile app to save its customers time to avail
banking services.
MARCH 2016
BANKS TO PAY Q’LY INTEREST ON SB A/Cs
RBI has asked banks to pay interest on savings accounts
on a quarterly basis or a shorter duration, a move which
will benefit crores of savings account holders.
At present, the interest is credited in savings bank
accounts on a half-yearly basis. Banks are free to decide
rate of interest on savings bank accounts. It is calculated
on the daily balance basis.
SMALL SAVINGS RATES SLASHED
The government has reduced interest rates payable on
small savings including Public Provident Fund, National
Savings Certificate and Kisan Vikas Patra to align them
closer to market rates. From 1st of April, PPF and NSC
will earn 8.1 per cent and KVP 7.8 per cent.
BANKERS MEET ‘GYAN SANGAM’ IN GURGAON
The two day meet of public sector banks and insurance
companies and other financial institutions with the
government officials - Gyan Sangam, was held in
Gurgaon, Haryana on March 5-6 to discuss their
performance with particular focus on mergers, bad
debts (NPAs) and credit growth.
It was indicated that the government may go in for the
consolidation of banks, led by 6-10 major public sector
banks acting as ‘anchor banks’, to strengthen weak banks.
ACCOUNT AGGREGATOR NBFCs
RBI has come out with a draft regulatory framework for
new kind of Account Aggregator Non-Banking Financial
Companies (NBFC) which would act as an account
aggregator to help people view their accounts across
financial institutions in a common format.
ICICI BANK STARTS ‘WORK FROM HOME’
Keeping in mind the difficulties faced by the
women who very often opt to drop out from the
workplace at key life stages, ICICI Bank has announced
an initiative called iWork@home that uses technology to
enable women employees to work from home for an
extended period of time depending on their needs.
 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
NO RATE CHANGE BY RBI
The Reserve Bank maintained a status quo in its sixth
bi-monthly monetary policy review for year 2015-16
announced on Feb 2 by not changing any of the policy
rates. Stating that current momentum of growth is
reasonable, RBI maintained the FY 16 growth at 7.4 per
cent, with downward bias.
BANKS TO FOLLOW ‘IND AS’ NORMS
The Reserve Bank has advised that banks should follow
accounting standard ‘Ind AS’ converged with
International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) from
April 1, 2018. Ind AS implementation is likely to
significantly impact the financial reporting systems and
processes such as profit planning and budgeting, capital
planning, and impact on capital adequacy.
P G APTE REPORT RELEASED ON IROs
The Reserve Bank of India has released the Report of the
Working Group (Chairperson: Prof. P.G. Apte) on
Introduction of Interest Rate Options in India. The
report recommends liberalization of the interest rate
derivatives market by allowing simple call and put
Options, caps, floors and collars.
PUBLIC SECTOR BANKS HIGH ON NPAs
Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance headed
by M. Veerappa Moily, a senior Congress MP submitted
the report on the Net Non performing Assets (NPAs) of
Public Sector Banks (PSBs). As per the report, NPAs in
the country’s PSBs were around 205,024 crore rupees
till September 2015 and the Gross NPAs during the
same period were around at 369,990 crore rupees.
S C ASKS RBI TO DISCLOSE BIG DEFAULTERS
The Supreme court has asked the
Reserve Bank of India to submit
within six weeks a list of the
companies which are in default of
loans by the banks and financial
institutions in excess of Rs 500
crore or whose loans have been
restructured under corporate debts restructuring
scheme. The list is to be furnished in a sealed cover to
maintain confidentiality about the identity of defaulters.
INCOGNITO VISITS TO CHECK CUSTOMER CARE
Reserve Bank has decided to undertake ‘incognito visits’
by its officials to bank branches to check culture
towards customer complaints and how banks have
implemented Charter of Customer Rights.
FDI RULES RELAXED FOR START UPS
The Reserve Bank has relaxed several rules including
foreign direct investment norms to boost start-up
activity in the country. Now the start-ups are allowed to
receive foreign funds irrespective of the sector in which
they operate.
SBI LAUNCHES "FLEXIPAY HOME LOAN"
State Bank of India launched a new home loan scheme
"FlexiPay Home Loan", offering higher amount and up to
five years of interest moratorium to young professionals
in the age group of 21 to 45 years. Borrowers will have
the option of paying only interest during the
moratorium (pre-EMI) period and thereafter pay
moderated EMIs.
 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.
DEFENCE, SCIENCE
& TECHNOLOGY
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 that allows the two
militaries to use each other's land, air and naval bases
for resupplies, repair and rest.
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.
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
soldiers' uniforms, it can save many lives at the Siachen
Glacier.
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.
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.
MARCH 2016
‘FORCE 18’ HELD IN PUNE
The multinational mega Military Exercise Force 18 was
held in Pune, Maharashtra from March 2 to 8. Hosted by
Indian Army, it included 18 forces from ASEAN and
several other countries.
The theme of the exercise was `Humanitarian Mine
Action’ (HMA) and `Peacekeeping Operations’ (PKO).
 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.
NATIONAL SCIENCE DAY – FEB 28
It was observed Feb 28 with the theme “Scientific Issues
for Development of the Nation”. The day is observed to
mark the discovery of the Raman Effect (phenomenon of
scattering of photons) by Indian physicist Sir C V
Raman, Nobel laureate on 28 February 1928.
ISRO PUTS UP SPACE RESEARCH RADAR
A new 30MHz radar system, Gadanki Ionospheric Radar
Interfereometer (GIRI), second largest in the world, has
been established at National Atmospheric Research
Laboratory (NARL) at Gadanki in Andhra Pradesh for
ionospheric, meteor and space weather research in a
comprehensive way. NARL functions under ISRO.
ISRO LAUNCHES 6TH IRNSS SATELLITE
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on 10
March launched the country’s sixth Indian Regional
Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS)-1F, on board its
launch vehicle PSLV C-32 from Sriharikota, Andhra
Pradesh. IRNSS is a set up of seven satellites to serve as
GPS (global positioning system) of India.
‘EXOMARS’ LAUNCHED TO STUDY MARS
ExoMars 2016, an unmanned spacecraft was launched
jointly by Europe and Russia on a Russian Proton rocket
from Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to study the
Mars' atmosphere for gassy evidence that life once
existed on the Red Planet.
 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
FLEET REVIEW OF NAVY HELD IN VIZAG
Indian President and the Prime Minister inspected one
of the largest maritime events in the recent past – the
International Fleet Review 2016 held on 4 Feb to 8 Feb
at Visakhapatnam coast. The theme of event was United
through Oceans and mascot concept was Dolphin. Close
to 75 Indian warships and 52 from Navies across the
globe took part in the grand event.
INS ARIHANT BECOMES OPERATIONAL
The Indian Navy's first locally developed nuclear
submarine INS Arihant is now ready for full fledged
operations after passing a number of deep sea diving
drills as well as weapons launch tests.
INS VIRAAT TO RETIRE IN JUNE 2016
After nearly 60 years of sailing across the oceans, the
Indian Navy's warhorse 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. Government of Andhra
Pradesh has agreed to base the ship off Visakhapatnam
coast, converting it into a luxury hotel for promotion of
tourism in the State.
INDIA LARGEST IMPORTER OF ARMS
A study by the Stockholm-based think-tank SIPRI states
that India continues to be the world’s largest importer
of arms, accounting for 14% of global arms imports in
the period 2011–15. China ranks second with 4.7%,
followed by Australia (3.6%), Pakistan (3.3%).
PRITHVI II TESTED SUCCESSFULY
Indigenously developed Prithvi-II missile, capable of
carrying 500 kg to 1000 kg of warheads up to 350 kms,
was tested successfully as part of a user trial by the
Army from a test range near Chandipur, Odisha.

INDIA HOLDS JOINT NAVAL FEAT - IBSAMAR
The fifth edition of 'Exercise IBSAMAR' (India, Brazil,
South Africa Maritime) between the navies of Brazil,
India and South Africa was held off the Goa coast from
Feb 19 t0 29. This is for the first time that India is
hosting this exercise.
LIGHT REVOLVER ‘NIDAR’ LAUNCHED
India’s first indigenously developed lightest revolver
Nidar, weighing just 250 grams, was launched under the
"Make In India" initiative by the state-run Ishapore Rifle
Factory in West Bengal.
‘COBRA GOLD 2016’
Indian Army participated in the ‘Cobra Gold 2016’ – the
biggest multilateral military exercise hosted by
Thailand, along with its counterparts from 35 countries,
including USA, China and Pakistan.
“SINO-INDIA COOPERATION 2016’’
Focusing on humanitarian aid and disaster relief, the
Indian and Chinese troops held their first joint tactical
exercise “Sino-India Cooperation 2016’’ in Chushul-
Moldo area of Ladakh border with China.
MAHINDRAS TO M 777 HOWITZERS IN INDIA
Leading gun-maker BAE Systems, the UK based
multinational company has announced selection of
Mahindra as its Indian partner for the around $700-
million deal for the supply of 145 M777 ultra light
howitzers to the Indian Army—the first new artillery
guns after the Bofors scandal.
The gun, with a strike range of 25 km, will form the
backbone of the Mountain Strike Corps, being raised by
the government for the mountainous borders with China.
 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 fighter aircraft.
 The 4th India-Myanmar Coordinated Patrol was
conducted jointly by both navies along the
International Maritime Boundary Line 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.

‘KSHEER-SCANNER’ TO DETECT MILK PURITY
Government has launched a device developed by the
CSIR –CEERI, Pilani, Rajasthan, named ‘Ksheer-Scanner’
that instantaneously detects the adulterants like urea,
salt, detergent, soda etc in milk.
YOUTUBE RED LAUNCHED
YouTube has launched its YouTube Red service. The
original movies and show are part of Google parent
Alphabet Inc's efforts to offer more to customers on
YouTube Red, the $10-a-month service that allows
viewers to watch videos across YouTube without ad
breaks.
ELUSIVE GRAVITATIONAL WAVES DISCOVERED
After decades of search for Scientists working with the
gigantic optical instruments in the LIGO [Laser
Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory], USA,
have detected for the first time, signals of gravitational
waves 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.
NOD FOR GRAVITATIONAL WAVE DETECTOR
Union Cabinet has given ‘in principle’ approval for a
proposal to have a gravitational wave detector in India
under LIGO-India Project. It would cost at least Rs.
1,200 crore and may take at least eight years to be
operational.
JAPANESE SATELLITE TO STUDY BLACK HOLES
The Japanese space agency has successfully launched a
new X ray astronomy satellite – Astro–H to study the
origin of black holes. The satellite has four telescopes
that will enable the space agency to peer into far off
galaxy clusters, providing data on how they were
formed.
5 NEW JUPITER LIKE PLANETS DISCOVERED
Scientists have discovered five new Jupiter-like planets
having similar characteristics to the biggest planet in
our solar system and orbit very close to their host stars.
Newly discovered planets have been named as WASP-
119 b, WASP-124 b, WASP-126 b, WASP 129 b and
WASP-133 b.
 Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)
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.
INTERNATIONAL
APRIL 2016
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.
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.

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.
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.
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.
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.
 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.
 Stealth technology gives radar dodging ability to the
jet.
 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. The
country had the highest dengue incidence in the West
Pacific region.
 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 tens of millions of children and
young people on the move globally (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 against
them.
 In one of the largest environmental settlement in the
US history, oil and gas giant 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.
MARCH 2016
UN TO SET UP ‘BLUE DOTS’ FOR REFUGEES
The United Nations has
decided to set up 20 child
and family support hubs
known as "Blue Dots" from
Turkey, through Greece all
the way to Slovenia as
special support centres for
migrant children and families along the most travelled
route in Europe.
The centres will be looked after by the United Nations
High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and the United
Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF).

USA STARTS NEW CHAPTER WITH CUBA
US President Barack Obama scripted history by
becoming first US President to visit its island neighbour
Cuba, after 88 years of strained relations. The US
snapped ties with Cuba in 1959 when the Cuban
revolutionaries led by Fidel Castro ousted a pro-
American government.
USA TOPS IN INNOVATIONS
According to the latest figures released by the Geneva-
based World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO),
the US continued to dominate the world of innovation
and inventions by filing 57,385 international patent
applications last year, followed by Japan and China. In
comparison India lagged behind by filing for only 1423
patents. In terms of companies, Huawei Technologies of
China with 3,898 applications was at top.
WORLD’s COSTLIEST RAILWAY STATION
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. It' will serve
250,000 daily commuters and 11 subway lines.
GATE CONTINUES TO BE RICHEST
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.
Ranked 36th, Mukesh Ambani, with a net worth of $20.6
billion, leads the pack of 84 Indian billionaires in the list.
WORLD CONGRESS OF BIOSPHERE RESERVES
was held at Lima in Peru from 14-17 March 2016 to
address different issues related to the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) for promotion of biosphere
reserves across the world.
 According to a new law in Uganda, parents who fail
to vaccinate their children will face six months in jail.
It also requires children to have an immunisation
card to allow them to go to school.
 9th International Abilympics started at Bordeaux in
France.
 Abilympics is coined from 'Olympics of abilities' of
persons with disabilities. It is a global work skills
competition 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 to prepare for the UN
General Assembly Special Session on the World Drug
Problem to be held in April 2016.
 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 for 2016 in a range of 6.5 to
7 per cent.
FEBRUARY 2016
DAWN OF DEMOCRACY IN MYANMAR
Myanmar embarked upon a new democratic era on Feb
1 as the MPs of National League for Democracy party
lead by the democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, took their
seats in the parliament, marking end to the military rule
since 1962.
A RAY OF HOPE IN SYRIA
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.
BRITAIN TO HOLD REFERENDUM ON ‘BREXIT’
Britain is facing a big debate these days on the issue of
‘Brexit’–Britain’s exit from the European Union.
Opinions are widely divided. Leaving EU has its own
pros and cons. To decide the issue, it has been decided
to conduct a referendum on June 23, 2016.
WHO DECLARES ZICA EMERGENCY
World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared Public
Health Emergency of International Concern over the
explosive spread of the mosquito-borne Zika virus,
which is linked to birth defects in the Latin American
countries like Brazil, Mexico and even USA.

ONE HUMANITY: SHARED RESPONSIBILITY
United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon has
released a report called 'One Humanity: Shared
Responsibility' which has called for a global campaign to
prevent the destruction of humanitarian laws and to
protect civilians in conflict. The report is a part of the
World Humanitarian Summit to be held in May, 2016.
FRANCE BANS WASTING OF FOOD
France has become the first country in the world to
legally ban supermarkets from throwing away or
destroying unsold food, forcing them instead to donate
it to charities and food banks. Non compliance will
attract fines and jail up to two years.
WORLD GOVERNMENT SUMMIT IN DUBAI
The three day annual World Government Summit was
held in Dubai. 4500 participants from more than 130
countries participated to discuss challenges and
opportunities before present and future governments
worldwide.
WORLD’s LARGEST SOLAR POWER PLANT
The Noor Ouarzazate Solar Complex, world’s largest
solar power plant’s first phase started operations on
February 4 in the Souss-Massa-Drâa area in Morocco.
The plant holds the capacity to produce 580 MW to
power over one million homes by 2018 and reduce
carbon emissions by an estimated 760000 tons per year.
WORLD’s LONGEST TRAIN ROUTE OPENS
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 from Yiwu near
Shanghai on China’s eastern coast to Bander Abbas port
in Iran. The 10,400 kms trip took just 14 days, a full 30
days shorter than the maritime voyage from Shanghai’s
port to the Iranian port.
HISTORICAL MEET OF TWO CHRISTIAN HEADS
Nearly 1,000 years after the Eastern and Western
branches of Christianity split apart, a first ever meeting
between a Roman Catholic Pope and a Russian Orthodox
patriarch took place on Feb 12 in Havana, Cuba. Pope
Francis, head of Roman Catholics and Orthodox
Patriarch Kirill embraced and kissed each other and
issued a global appeal for the protection of Christians
under assault in the Middle East.
USA LEADS HISTORICAL TRADE DEAL
The Trans-Pacific Partnership deal, lead by USA, one of
the biggest trade deals in history, was signed in New
Zealand on Feb 4. The deal aims to eliminate nearly all
tariffs among the 12-member nations, accounting for
about 40 per cent of the global economy.
BANK OF JAPAN IMPOSES -IVE INTEREST RATE
In a historic measure intended to boost the growth of
the world's third largest economy, 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. The decision, which penalises financial institutions
for storing excess funds, aims to stimulate investment
and credit and is meant to force a reduction of interest
rates applied by banks.
ALPHABET IS MOST VALUABLE COMPANY
Alphabet, the company that owns Google, has overtaken
rival Apple Inc in terms of value of market capitalisation
on Feb 1 to emerge as the most valuable company of the
world, having a market cap of $ 547.1 billion, higher
than Apple's $529.3 billion.
MERCER PLACES VIENNA AT THE TOP
The survey of 230 cities for assessing quality of life by
the global consulting firm Mercer has placed Austria’s
capital Vienna at the top, followed by Zurich,
Switzerland and Auckland in New Zealand. The worst
life quality was in Baghdad, Iraq. New Delhi was placed
at 142nd rank.
 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 United Nations' (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.

PERSONS IN NEWS
APRIL 2016
SACHIN TENDULKAR: The Ministry for Skill
Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has named
cricket icon as brand ambassador of the 'Skill India'
campaign.
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.
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.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE: A host of commemorations
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.
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 who spent 45
years serving the poor and sick on the streets of Kolkata
in her Missionaries of Charity, till her death in 1997, was
in news as the Pope Francis, religious chief of Christians,
has announced to confer Sainthood on her on
September 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. Record for longest stay in space is
held by Russia’s Valeri Polyakov, 437.7 days.
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. He took over as Sebi
chairman in 2011.
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.
APPOINTMENTS
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

MARCH 2016
VINOD RAI: Former Comptroller and Auditor General
(CAG) has been appointed as the first Chairman of Banks
Board Bureau (BBB). BBB will start functioning from
April 1, 2016 to approve the appointments of banks’ top
executives and improve their governance.
JUSTICE BALBIR SINGH CHAUHAN: appointed as the
chairperson of the 21st Law Commission. He is a former
Supreme Court judge.
HTIN KYAW: elected as the first civilian President of
Myanmar to lead the country after 53 years of military
rule. He is a close aide of the iconic crusader of
democracy Aung San Suu Kyi.
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.

Gyanm general awareness_JUNE_2016

Gyanm general awareness_JUNE_2016

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (18)

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (16)

Similar to Gyanm general awareness_JUNE_2016

Similar to Gyanm general awareness_JUNE_2016 (20)

More from Grover's Gyanm

More from Grover's Gyanm (9)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Gyanm general awareness_JUNE_2016