Gyanm general awareness_july_2016

GENERAL AWARENESS – JULY 2016 1
GENERAL AWARENESS
JULY 2016
Vol. 5, Issue 01
A PUBLICATION OF GYANM EDUCATION &
TRAINING INSTITUTE PVT. LTD.
SCO 13-14-15, 2ND FLOOR, SEC 34-A, CHANDIGARH
Contents
CURRENT AFFAIRS
MARCH TO MAY 2016
01-34
BULLET NEWS
DEC 2015 TO FEB 2016
35-59
LATEST 100 GK MCQs 60-65
SSC CORNER 66-73
FIVE MONTHS GK BYTES 74-100
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
Renewable Energy Index 3rd
World Press Freedom Index 133rd
Rank in Manufacturing Countries 6th
World Happiness Index 118th
Intellectual Property Index -2016 37th
Overall Growth Prospectus 5th
Global Talent Competitiveness Index 89th
Nuclear Security Index 21st
Ease of Doing Business (Forbes) 97th
Human Development Index 130th
ICT Development Index 131st
Rank in Brand Value 7th
Legatum Prosperity Index 99th
Global Terrorism Index 06th
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
MAY 2016
INDIA COMPLETES ITS GPS NETWORK
With successful launch of IRNSS-1G on April 28, the seventh and last in
constellation of satellites that make up the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite
System (IRNSS), India completed its mission for a regional navigational system
on a par with US-based GPS. The system will be called NAVIC (Navigation with
Indian Constellation).
The IRNSS would aid terrestrial, aerial, marine navigation, fleet tracking
and disaster management. The service can also be integrated with mobile phones
in the country.
INDIA OFFERS $100 MILLION LOAN TO PAPUA
During the President Pranab Mukhaejee’s visit to Papua New Guinea, India
offered a $100 million line of credit for development of infrastructure to
explore and develop nation’s vast oil and gas resources. Several other
agreements were also signed for cooperation in the field of information
technology, agricultural research and health.
President also visited New Zealand and signed the Air Services Agreement to
enhance the air connectivity between the two countries.
MODI VISITS IRAN
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Iran on May 22 and 23. The visit focused
mainly on connectivity and infrastructure, energy partnership and boosting
bilateral trade. On May 23rd, India, Iran and Afghanistan signed an agreement
on developing Chabahar port in Iran.
INDIA 3RD IN RENEWABLE ENERGY
Due to strong focus of the Indian government on renewable energy and timely
implementation of renewable energy projects India has been placed at the third
position after the United States and China in the 'Renewable Energy Country
Attractiveness Index' prepared by global firm E Y.

LODHA COMMITTEE TO REVIEW MCI
The Supreme Court has appointed a three-member
panel headed by former Chief Justice of India RM Lodha
to review the functions of the Medical Council of India -
the regulator of medical profession and education in
India.
SOLAR TRAIN TRIAL IN JODHPUR
The Indian Railways plans to conduct trial of its first
solar panel-powered train in Jodhpur, Rajasthan.
Though the train would be pulled by conventional
diesel-run engines, the solar energy will be used for
internal electricity gadgets.
INDIA HAS 248.8 MILLION HOUSEHOLDS
A latest release of the Census 2011 data shows that
there are total 248.8 million households in the country
of which 202.4 million are of Hindus, 31.2 million belong
to Muslims, 6.3 million belong to Christians, 4.1 million
of Sikhs and 1.9 million belong to Jains.
WORLD’s LARGEST AIRCRAFT LANDS IN INDIA
The world’s largest cargo aircraft, Ukraine’s Antonov AN
-225 Mriya — or the Dream, made its first landing in
India on May 13 at the Rajiv Gandhi International
Airport at Hyderabad. The wide body aircraft is
powered by six turbofan engines and is the longest and
heaviest airplane ever built, with a maximum takeoff
weight of 640 tonnes.
RAIL HUMSAFAR SAPTAAH
The Ministry of Railways launched Rail Humsafar
Saptaah from May 26 to June 1 to highlight significant
achievements made by Indian Railways in all spheres.
Every day of the week will be devoted to a particular
aspect of passenger service.
100 CR PENALTY FOR WRONG INDIA MAP
According to the draft 'The Geospatial Information
Regulation Bill 2016', wrong depiction of the map of
India could land the violators in jail with a maximum
term of seven years and fine up to Rs 100 crore.
4 INDIAN CITIES IN TOP 5 POLLUTED CITIES
Of the five cities in the world with the worst air
pollution, four are in India, says a report by the World
Health Organisation. These four cities are Ludhiana,
Khanna, Amritsar and Gobindgarh. The dirtiest air was
recorded at Zabol in Iran while Delhi was ranked at 9th
place.
 President Pranab Mukherjee visited China from May
24 to 27, starting his trip from the highly
industrialised Chinese city Guangzhou.
 President of Sri Lanka Maithripala Sirisena arrived in
New Delhi on May 13 for a two day visit.
 International Vichar Mahakumbh was held in Ujjain
in Madhya Pradesh from May 12 to 14.
 The H.R. Nagendra Committee on Yoga Education in
Universities has recommended seven programmes for
implementation in Indian universities.
 To mark the 155th birth anniversary of Rabindranath
Tagore, India organized a cultural festival in Cairo,
Egypt from May 8 to 12.
 A study by Assocham-KPMG shows that India is the
fifth largest producer of e-waste, discarding roughly
18.5 lakh metric tonnes of electronic waste each year.
 Govt has granted status of ‘classical language’ to six
languages - Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam,
Sanskrit and Odia.
APRIL 2016]
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 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.

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.
‘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.
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
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.
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’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.
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.
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.
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.
NEWS FROM STATES
MAY 2016
5 STATES ELECT THEIR CHIEF MINISTER
Tamil Nadu: Jayalalitha reelected leading the AIADMK -
All India Anna Dravida Munetra Kazhagam.
West Bengal: Mamta Banerjee reelected leading the
Trinamool Congress.
Assam: Sarbananda Sonowal becomes the first BJP
Chief Minister.
Kerala: Pinarayi Vijayan of the CPI (M) led the left
democratic front – LDF to become the Chief Minister.
Puducherry: V. Narayanasamy of Congress elected as
the new Chief Minister.
The World’s largest Single Rooftop Solar Power
Plant with capacity of 11.5 MegaWatt (MW) has been
installed at Dera Baba Jaimal Singh of Radha Swamis at
Beas, in district Amritsar, Punjab.
 Madhya Pradesh Tourism has won the award for the
Best Indian Destination for Wildlife. The state has 25
wild life sanctuaries including nine National Parks.
 Rajasthan State Transport Corporation has launched
20 Nirbhaya buses with multiple safety measures to
better protect women passengers.
APRIL 2016
EDUCATION BAR FOR ULB SEATS
Any male person desiring
to contest for Urban
Local Bodies in Haryana
will now have to be
matriculate and have a
functional toilet at home
while a woman and a SC
candidate will be
required to be at least
8th standard pass. Minimum educational qualification
for SC women candidates will be 5th standard pass.
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.
 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.
GOVERNMENT
INITIATIVES
MAY 2016
MULTILINGUAL PORTAL ‘BHARATAVANI’
Ministry of HRD has launched the portal ‘Bharatavani’ -
the largest online repository of dictionaries in India. It
is a single point source for multiple language learning,
content and technology in 22 scheduled languages,
which eventually will be extended to 100 more
languages.
NATIONAL IPR POLICY ANNOUNCED
The govt has approved the National Intellectual
Property Rights (IPR) policy with a view to promoting
creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship. The policy
aims to push IPRs as a marketable financial asset,
promote innovation and entrepreneurship.
‘UJJWALA’ TO GIVE LPG TO BPL FAMILIES
The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) was
formally launched by the Prime Minister at Ballia, Uttar
Pradesh. The scheme aims to provide cooking gas
connections to five crore below-poverty-line
beneficiaries over the next three years. The connections
will be given in the name of women beneficiary.
UJALA SCHEME LAUNCHED FOR LED BULBS
Union Minister of State for Energy and Coal Piyush
Goyal formally launched the energy-efficient LED bulbs
distribution scheme UJALA (Unnat Jyoti by Affordable
LEDs for All) at Bhopal for the state of Madhya Pradesh
and Maharashtra.
The scheme aims to replace all the conventional bulbs
with the LED bulbs for reducing drastically power
consumption and emission of carbon gasses.

PORTAL LAUNCHED FOR SCHOOL STUDENTS
The Union Ministry of Human Resource Development
(HRD) has decided to launch ASMITA, an online student
tracking system for 25 crore students of India from class
I to XII. ASMITA is acronym for All School Monitoring
Individual Tracing Analysis and shall be launched under
Shala Asmita Yojana (SAY).
COMMITTEE TO REVIEW FRBM
Govt has constituted a five Member Committee headed
by former Revenue and Expenditure Secretary N.K.
Singh to comprehensively review and give
recommendations on the Fiscal Responsibility and
Budget Management (FRBM) road map for the future.
NITI AAYOG TO LAUNCH 15 YEAR PLAN
Govt has decided to replace the five year plans with 15
year vision documents. The NITI Aayog has been
directed to prepare a vision document for this purpose.
It will be implemented after the 12th five year plan
which is ending in March, 2017.
COMMITTEE FOR TAXI OPERATORS
The Union Government has constituted a committee
headed by Sanjay Mitra, Secretary of Union Ministry of
Road Transport & Highways to prepare a policy
framework for taxi and other transport operators.
UNIQUE BUSINESS IDENTIFICATION NUMBER
The Government plans to issue a UBIN for budding
entrepreneurs to start up their new businesses without
any delay. The number will be issued by the
Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion.
SINGLE EMERGENCY NUMBER - 112
Govt has approved the
single emergency number
‘112’ to help people access
directly emergency
services like police,
ambulance and fire
fighting. The number will
be operational throughout
India from January 1, 2017.
LOK SABHA PASSES BANKRUPTCY BILL
The Lok Sabha has passed the Insolvency and
Bankruptcy Code Bill 2016. The bill aims to improve
conditions for ‘Ease of Doing Business’.
Broadly speaking, Insolvency is a financial
situation where a person or business entity is not in a
position to repay its debts. When this status is confirmed
by courts, it is called Bankruptcy, a legal status.
 A Parliamentary Standing Committee headed by J C
Divakar Reddy, MP has been formed to tackle
misleading advertising as well as to fix liability
on endorsers/celebrities.
 Parliament has passed two Bills- The Appropriation
Acts (Repeal) Bill 2015 and The Repealing and
Amending (Third) Bill, 2015 to repeal outdated 1053
old laws which had become redundant legislations.
 Union Cabinet has approved a national policy on
capital goods which aims at creating more than 2
crore new jobs and tripling the production of capital
goods to Rs 7.5 lakh crore by 2025.
 The Department of Empowerment of Persons with
Disabilities will now be known as 'Divyangjan'
Sashaktikaran Vibhag in Hindi, dropping the word
'viklangjan' from its previous nomenclature.
 Govt has constituted the Investor Education and
Protection Fund Authority to strengthen the
framework for safeguarding the interest of investors.
 The trial run of India's first ever Metro train equipped
to run in the driverless mode was conducted in New
Delhi on May 18 by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation.
 The Income Tax department has launched an
electronic grievance redressal system named ‘e-
nivaran’ to fast track taxpayers’ complaints and to
ensure their early resolution.
 Government has selected 13 more cities for the smart
cities mission. The list is topped by Lucknow. Already
20 cities have been selected for this mission.
 Moving towards environment friendly solutions,
Prime Minister Modi launched e-rickshaws and solar
powered boats in Varanasi.
 EPFO has decided to increase benefits under the
Employees' Deposit Linked Insurance scheme from Rs
3.60 lakh to Rs 6 lakh.
Be stubborn about
your goals, and
flexible about your
methods...!!

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.
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.

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.
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 thee
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.
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.
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.
PRADHAN MANTRI UJJWALA YOJANA
The Cabinet Committee on
Economic Affairs (CCEA)
approved the Pradhan
Mantri Ujjwala 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.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
MAY 2016
INDIA POISED TO GROW BY 8%
In its latest Global Economic outlook, Fitch Ratings, USA
has said that it expects India's real GDP growth to rise to
8 percent by 2018-19, from 7.9 percent in 2017-18 and
7.7 percent in 2016-17 driven by the gradual
implementation of structural reforms, higher disposable
income and improvement in economic activity.
UN REPORT PUTS INDIA’S GROWTH AT 7.3%
A UN report ‘The World Economic Situation and
Prospect’ says that notwithstanding delays in domestic
policy reforms, India’s economy is “slowly gaining
momentum” and is projected to grow by 7.3 per cent
this year and is expected to achieve a growth of 7.5 per
cent in 2017.
IMF KEEPS INDIA’s GROWTH RATE AT 7.5%
The IMF has retained its growth forecast for India at
7.5% for the year 2016-17, largely driven by private
consumption even as weak exports and sluggish credit
growth weigh on the economy. It said structural
reforms, including GST and in areas like land and labour,
will be the key to boost India’s economic growth.
TRADE DEFICIT SLIPS BELOW $5 BILLION
Exports continued to fall for the 17th month in a row,
shrinking by 6.74% to $20.5 billion in April, owing to
muted global demand. Imports, too, dipped by 23.1% to
$25.4 billion in April, leaving a trade deficit of
$4.9billion.
INDUSTRIAL GROWTH SHRINKS TO 0.1%
Growth in the country's industrial production measured
in terms of the Index of Industrial Production, IIP,
slowed to 0.1 per cent in March this year, due to poor
performance of the manufacturing and mining sectors,
and a sharp fall in capital goods output.
 Core sector industries grew by 6.4 percent in March
on the back of high production rate of fertilizer,
cement, petroleum and electricity.
 Global rating agency, Moody's has forecast a growth
rate of about 7.5 percent for the Indian economy in
2016 and 2017, driven largely by private
consumption growth.
APRIL 2016
RBI MAINTAINS GROWTH RATE AT 7.6%
The Reserve Bank in its first policy review of the year
expects the economy to grow by 7.6 per cent in the
current fiscal on the back of favourable monsoon,
slightly lower than the upper end of government’s
projected rate of 7-7.75 per cent.
ADB PUTS INDIA’s GROWTH AT 7.6 %
With the failure of the government to push through the
Goods and Services Tax and the Land and Labour
Reforms, the Asian Development Bank has lowered
India’s growth forecast to 7.4 per cent from an earlier
estimate of 7.6 per cent for the financial year ending
March 31, 2017.
“NO BPL POPULATION BY 2032” - KANT
In a presentation made by Niti Aayog Chief Executive
Officer Amitabh Kant, it was stated that India will
achieve growth of 10% by 2032 to become a $10-trillion
economy, creating 175 million jobs and leading to zero
per cent of Below Poverty Line (BPL) population.
 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.

ECONOMY & INDUSTRY
MAY 2016
WB LOAN FOR ROOFTOP SOLAR POWER
The World Bank has approved $625 million loan to
India to support the rooftop solar power generation
across the country. The project will be implemented
through the State Bank of India, which will on-lend the
funds to solar photovoltaic developers and end-users.
FSSAI BANS USE OF POTASSIUM BROMATE
After the alert raised by the
Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) that 84 per
cent of the 38 popular brands of
breads contained cancer-causing
chemicals, the Food Safety and
Standards Association of India
(FSSAI) has recommended
banning Potassium Bromate as a food additive.
INDIA RANKS 9TH IN ‘CRONY CAPITALISM’
A study by the leading financial magazine, The
Economist shows that in terms of ‘crony capitalism’,
India is ranked at ninth position with crony sector
wealth accounting for 3.4 per cent of the GDP. Russia
tops the list where wealth from the country's crony
sectors amounts to 18 per cent of its GDP.
Crony capitalism is a kind of economy where success in
business depends on close relationships between business
people and government officials as the later shower
favours on the selected few corporates.
PRESIDENT HONOURS EXPORTERS
President Pranab Mukherjee presented Niryat Shree
and Niryat Bandhu Awards in New Delhi to honour
exporters for their excellent business achievements.
Both Awards were instituted by the Federation of Indian
Export Organization (FIEO) in the year 1995-96 with the
aim to motivate exporters.
‘DHAN WAPSI’ SCHEME wef JUNE 1
The govt has announced The Income Declaration
Scheme, 2016 – ‘Dhan Wapsi’, an amnesty scheme for
declaring domestic black money, from June 1 till Sep 30.
Individuals willing to declare their black money in the
country will have to pay tax and a penalty, totalling 45
per cent.
INCOME TAX DATA MADE PUBLIC
In a landmark development towards greater
transparency, the income tax department has released
its key data, though after a lapse of 16 years. Taxpayers
account for just about one per cent of India's population.
Total income tax collections in 2015-16 were 2.86 lakh
crore rupees.
NEW DTAA SIGNED WITH MAURITIUS
India and Mauritius have signed a protocol amending
the double tax avoidance arrangement between the two
countries. Now India gets the right to tax capital gains
on investments routed through Mauritius, from April 1,
2017.
 MMTC has launched in collaboration with Swiss gold
company Pamp, a new gold coin ‘Tola’ of 11.6639
grams on the occasion of ‘Akshya Tritya’, May 9.
 World Bank has agreed to provide $ 100 million loan
to support ‘Karnataka Urban Water Supply
Modernization project’.
 The Tata Group has made a foray into the e-
commerce market through TataCLiQ.com to sell
apparel, electronics and footwear, etc.
 India and Slovenia have signed a protocol to amend
the double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA) to
include exchange of information to curb tax evasion.
 Union cabinet has approved Rs.1,983 crore package
for widening of the 19-km stretch between Delhi-
Uttar Pradesh border of the Delhi-Meerut
Expressway.
APRIL 2016
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.
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

BANKING & FINANCE
MAY 2016
BANKS ASKED TO SHIFT TO EVM CARDS
The Reserve Bank of India has instructed banks to shift
from magnetic stripe based ATM and debit cards to EMV
chip and Pin based cards to ensure protection of cards
from cloning, skimming and other forms of frauds which
can happen on a magnetic strip.
WILFUL DEFAULTERS OWE Rs. 66,190 CRORE
As per a written statement made in Rajya Sabha by
Union Minister of state for Finance, there were 7,686
wilful defaulters owing Rs 66,190 crore to state-owned
banks as of December 2015.
The cumulative gross NPAs of 24 listed public sector
banks, including SBI group, stood at Rs.3,93,035 crore as
on 31 December 2015.
As per RBI, an asset becomes non-performing when it
ceases to generate income for the bank or the repayment
due is delayed for more than 90 days.
SEBI SHUNS WILLFUL DEFAULTERS
SEBI has prohibited willful defaulters from making a
public issue of shares, setting up market intermediaries
like mutual funds and brokerage firms. Nor they will be
allowed to take control of any listed company.
An individual or a company is declared a 'willful
defaulter' for deliberate non-payment of dues despite
adequate cash flow and good net worth.
NEW DEVELOPMENT BANK SELECTS ICICI
The ICICI bank has become the first financial institution
in the country to be selected by the BRICS’s New
Development Bank to explore opportunities around
bond issuance, co-financing, treasury management and
human resources in India.
INDIA’s FIRST ‘MOBILE ONLY’ BANK
The DBS, Singapore's largest bank, has launched India’s
first mobile only bank named ‘digibank’. It uses
technologies such as bio metrics and artificial
intelligence, to enable paperless, signature less and
branch less banking.
 Union Bank of India has launched e-SBTR (Electronic
Secured Bank Treasury Receipt), a single window
facility for payment of both - stamp duty and
registration fee for home purchase in Maharashtra
 Saudi Arabia based Islamic Development Bank has
announced to open its first branch in India at
Ahmadabad, Gujarat to offer interest free banking
services as per the Muslim law – Shariat.
 UK based banking giant, HSBC Holding Plc has
decided to close its 24 branches in India, out of total
50.
 The RBI has released ‘Draft Guidelines for on tap
Licensing of Universal Banks in the Private Sector’ to
receive comments / suggestions from the public.
 A commemorative coin of 100 rupees and a
circulation coin of ten rupees have been released on
the 475th birth anniversary of Maharana Pratap.
APRIL 2016
REPO RATE LOWERED TO 6.50%
The RBI announced a 25 basis cut in its policy interest
rate on April 5, lowering it to more than five-year low.
The new repo rate now stands at 6.50 per cent.
However, the reverse repo rate has been hiked by 25
basis points to 6 per cent. The new Marginal Standing
Facility and Bank Rate stand at 7.00 percent.
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.
DEFENCE, SCIENCE
& TECHNOLOGY
MAY 2016
NAVAL EXERCISE WITH ASEAN FORCES
The ADMM-Plus (ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting
Plus) Exercise on Maritime Security and Counter
Terrorism (Ex MS & CT) was held in Brunei. The nine
day naval exercise aims to strengthen the strong
bilateral ties and extensive maritime interactions
between India and ASEAN countries.
BRAHMOS TESTED SUCCESSFULLY
The supersonic ballistic missile BrahMos was test fired
successfully from an aircraft in the air to land mode at
the Pokaran field firing range in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. It
has flight range of up to 290 km.
PRITHVI II MISSILE TESTED BY DRDO
India successfully test fired its indigenously developed
nuclear weapon capable Prithvi-II missile from the
Abdul Kalam Island, off Odisha coast. It has a strike
range of 350 kilometer.

INDIA TEST FIRES ANTI-BALLASTIC MISSILE
India successfully test-fired its indigenously developed
supersonic interceptor missile, capable of
destroying any incoming hostile ballistic missile. The
Advance Air Defence (AAD) missile dubbed as Ashwin
was fired from the Adbul Kalam Island (formerly known
as Wheeler Island), off the Odisha coast.
IAF LAUNCHES E-MAINTENANCE SYSTEM
Indian Air Force launched an Electronic Maintenance
Management System (e-MMS), one of the biggest
automated military maintenance systems in the world,
at the Air Force Station in Pune. The system would
seamlessly connect all the squadrons, wings, commands
with the Air Headquarters, after its implementation.
NAVY SAYS GOOD BYE TO ‘SEA HARRIERS’
The Indian Naval Air Squadron 300- ‘White Tigers,’ bid
farewell to the British Sea Harriers fighter aircrafts on
May 11. They will be replaced by the new generation
MiG 29K/Kub fighters. Sea Harriers joined the Indian
Navy in 1983.
 Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha became the first Chief of
Air Staff to fly the indigenously designed and
produced Light Combat Aircraft Tejas in Bengaluru.
 Indian Army conducted its major military training
exercise ‘Chakravyuh-II’ in Suratgarh, Rajasthan.
 INS Kalvari (sea tiger shark), the first of the six
indigenous Scorpene-class submarines set out for sea
trials off the Mumbai coast.
 India signed 4 MoUs for cooperation in defence sector
with Oman in Muscat.
 The indigenously built Offshore Petrol Vessel ICGS
Shaurya joined the Indian Coast guard at Vasco, Goa.
ICGS = Indian Coast Guard Ship
 Indigenously built Fast Patrol Vessel ICGS Arush
joined the Indian Coast Guard at Cochi, Kerala.
 The 27th edition of the India-Indonesian CORPAT
(Coordinated Patrol) between their navies was held
off the coast of Belawan, Indonesia.
 India’s first indigenously built fast attack waterjet
craft INS Tarmugli was inducted in Indian Navy at
Visakhapatnam.
 The Indian Navy has decided to decommission two of
its warships – INS Veer and INS Nipat.
ISRO TESTS RE-USABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE
India successfully tested its first-ever indigenously built
space shuttle - the Re-Usable Launch Vehicle -
Technology Demonstrator or RLV-TD on May 23 from
Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. Re-usable technology
aims to help reduce the cost of launching satellites by 10
times.

WHO TO PROMOTE ‘AYUSH’
India and the World Health Organization have signed
an agreement in Geneva for cooperation in promoting
quality, safety and effectiveness of service provision in
traditional Indian systems of medicine, called AYUSH.
GOOGLE CHROME IS TOP BROWSER
As per a global market research, Google Chrome,
claiming 41.7 per cent of desktop browser share has
become the top Internet browser, ending the long reign
of Microsoft Internet Explorer. Mozilla’s Firefox browser
stands at third place.
 In the first global assessment of the world's flora by
the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (London), it is
estimated that there are about 390,900 plants.
 In a rare astronomical phenomenon, planet Mercury
was seen as a moving dot on the solar disc, from
various places of India, on May 9.
 University of Cambridge researchers have built the
world's smallest working engine. The device, powered
by light, is just millionths of a millimeter in size.
 China successfully launched its remote sensing
satellite ‘Yaogan-30’ into space atop a Long March
2D rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.
APRIL 2016
ARMY RAISES NEW ‘GORKHA BATTALION’
The Army has raised a new Gorkha battalion comprising
entirely of Gorkha troops of Indian domicile. The new
battalion, the Sixth Battalion of the First Gorkha Rifles
(6/1GR), christened “Kanchi Paltan”, has been raised at
Sabathu in the Shivalik foothills near Shimla, that houses
the 14 Gorkha Training Centre.
DEAL FINALISED FOR 36 RAFALE JETS
India has finalised the deal to purchase 36 Rafale fighter
jets from Dassault Aviation of France for 7.89 billion
euros (Rs. 59,000 crore). The Indian team managed to
bring down the deal price by 11 billion euros. The first
set of jets would be delivered within 18 to 20 months.
K-4 MISSILE TESTED SUCCESSFULLY
India has successfully tested its most ambitious weapon
system - a long range submarine-launched ballistic
missile, codenamed K-4, capable of striking targets upto
3,500 kilometres away. The missile was tested 40 kms
off the Vishakhapatnam coast.
INDIA MAKES FIRST SONAR DOME
India’s first indigenous composite sonar dome, a ship’s
underwater eyes and ears, was launched at Goa.
Designed and produced by DRDO, it is a rare
achievement as very few companies in the world have
technology to make sonar domes.
INDIA 4TH IN DEFENCE SPENDING
India has become the world’s fourth largest spender on
defence, following a 13.1% increase in its 2016-17
defence budget of Rs. 2,58,000 crore, according to US
research firm IHS Inc. USA is the largest spender in the
world, followed by China and Saudi Arabia.
INDIA – US TO SHARE MILITARY LOGISTICS
To counter the growing maritime assertiveness of China,
India and the United States have ‘agreed in principle’ to
share their military logistics.
IAF TO TAKE PART IN NATO EXCERCISE
12 IAF aircrafts will take part in the prestigious 'Red
Flag' air exercise alongside NATO forces from April 28
to May 13 in skies over Alaska. It is seen as a complex
and advanced network centric operation -- the toughest
test for flying machines and men.
 ICGS Shoor, an offshore patrol vessel was inducted in
the Indian Coast Guard at it Mangalore base.
 The 11th Indo-Mongolia joint army training exercise,
titled ‘Nomadic Elephant - 2016’ commenced on 25
April in Mongolia to share skills for handling Counter
Insurgency and Counter Terrorism events.
 The 22nd Indo-Thai Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT)
was held from 19-27 April in the Andaman
Sea. Missile Corvette INS Karmuk and Dornier
Maritime Patrol Aircraft took part in this exercise.
 The Indian Army conducted its major war exercise
named ‘Shatrujeet’ (winning the enemy) in the Thar
Desert of Rajasthan.
LIGHTEST EVER SYNTHETIC MATERIAL
Scientists at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (of
ISRO), Thiruvananthapuram, have developed the
world's lightest ever synthetic material called ‘silica
aerogel’ or ‘blue air’ or ‘frozen smoke’. It has an
excellent thermal resistance and if used as filler in
uniforms, it can save many lives at the Siachen Glacier.

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.
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.
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.
‘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.

INTERNATIONAL
MAY 2016
KENYA DESTROYS HUGE STOCK OF IVORY
In one of the largest stockpile of elephant tusks (ivory)
destroyed in Africa, Kenya's president set fire to 105
tonnes of elephant ivory and more than one tonne of
rhino horn, seized from smugglers and poachers. The
ivory is reported to be worth over $150 million in the
open market and the rhino horn could raise as much as
$80 million.
WB LAUNCHES EMERGENCY FUND FOR ZIKA
World Bank Group has launched the Pandemic
Emergency Financing Facility (PEF) to protect and
support poorest countries against deadly pandemics
like Ebola, Zika. The PEF will ensure fast disbursement
of global financing.
ROYAL CAMPAIGN FOR MENTAL HEALTH
British Royals Prince William, Princess Kate and Prince
Harry launched the ‘Heads Together’ campaign in
London to spread and promote public awareness about
mental health and wellbeing.
 Heads of state and government from G-7 nations,
USA, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and host
Japan held their meet in the Japanese city of Ise
Shima.
 Finance ministers and central bank governors meet
of G-7 nations held in Sendai, Japan.
 A two day International Buddhist conference was
held at the birth place of Lord Buddha, Lumbini,
Nepal to celebrate his 2,560th birth anniversary.
 The first-ever World Humanitarian Summit was held
in Istanbul from 23 to 24th May.
 The First World Conference on Tourism for
Development was held in Beijing, China from May 18-
21.
 Harmony of the Seas, world’s biggest-ever cruise ship,
capable of accommodating more than 8,000
passengers and crew in the most luxurious conditions,
was unveiled in France.
 USA decided to fully lift its embargo on sales of lethal
weapons to its one-time arch enemy, Vietnam, after a
gap of over 32 years.
 Kenya to close World's biggest refugee camp in
Dadaab, citing threat to internal security. About
3,28,000 refugees, mostly from Somalia are staying in
this camp.
 USA has approved selection of animal ‘Bison’ as the
first national mammal of the country. This is in
addition to the present national symbol - Bald Eagle’.
 The European Central Bank (ECB) has decided to stop
printing of the 500 euro banknote by the end of 2018
with a view to curb illicit activities.
It is one of the highest value (Rs 38,0000
roughly) circulating banknotes in the world.
 The International Bank Note Society has declared
New Zealand’s five-dollar note as the Banknote of the
Year for 2015 in a study of 40 notes from 20
countries.
APRIL 2016
WORLD’s WHO’s WHO IN PANAMA LEAK
A massive leak of 11.5 million documents from a law
firm in Panama reveals how the world's current rich
people, politicians and celebrities hide their money in
Panama. The documents, dubbed the Panama Papers,
were obtained by a Munich-based daily newspaper.
The names figuring in the leak included aides to Russian
President Vladimir Putin, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib
Razak's son Nazifuddin, family of Chinese President Xi
Jinping, Amitabh Bachchan.
USA TOPS IN ICT USAGE
A study of 50 nations by Chinese IT giant Huawei for
investment and deployment of Information and
Communications Technology (ICT) has placed USA at
top, followed by Singapore, Sweden. Huawei Global
Connectivity Index 2016 places India at 44th rank.

AUSTRALIA SUFFERS LOSS IN REEF TOURISM
Australian scientists have reported that over 90 per cent
of the Great Barrier Reef has been affected by mass
bleaching that is likely to destroy half the coral. Reef
tourism generates around $4 billion every year for
Australia.
Bleaching occurs when the water is too warm, forcing
coral to expel living algae and causing it to calcify and
turn white.
IMF & WB TO WORK FOR TAX IMPROVEMENT
The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank
have joined hands with the United Nations and the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development, to form a new group which will work for
building effective tax systems in developing countries
and avoiding tax base erosion.
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.
WORLD DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS
The World Bank released the 2016 edition of the World
Development Indicators (WDI). It includes 1400
indicators for over 200 economies to measure the 169
targets of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
set by UNO.
TOP 'GLOBAL GAME CHANGERS'
American business magazine Forbes has ranked some of
the biggest names in business as the 'Global Game
Changers'. The selected 30 businessmen have exhibited
growth and innovation, and their examples have had
been adopted and copied by rivals the world over.
The list is topped by Marcs Benioff, CEO of
Salesforce.com, followed by Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com.
It includes three Indians - Rahul Bhatia of Inter Globe
Enterprises, Cyrus Poonawalla of Serum Institute of India,
and Sunny Varkey of GEMS Education at 3, 23 and 26
positions respectively.
 The annual Spring Meeting of IMF & WB was held at
Washington. Finance Ministers and Governors of
Central Banks from G-20 nations attended the meet.
 Heads of about 53 countries took part in the
4th Nuclear Security Summit held in Washington, USA.
 Nauru, the tiny South Pacific island nation has become
the 189th member of the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) and the World Bank.
 Summit of the foreign ministers of the G-7 countries
was held at Hiroshima, Japan on April 11.
 Japan has become fourth country in world to
successfully test its first stealth fighter jet – X 2, the
other three being USA, Russia and China.
 The latest World Malaria Report from WHO says that
Europe has become the world’s first region to wipe out
malaria with zero cases reported last year.
 The 13th Islamic Summit Conference was held in
Istanbul, Turkey. This year’s theme was Unity and
Solidarity for Justice and Peace.
 The world’s first public dengue vaccination
programme was launched in the Philippines.
 In UK, Britain's Royal Mail has launched a set of
special postage stamps to mark the 400th death
anniversary of the great playwright William
Shakespeare.
 Bangladesh’s top court has rejected a 28-year-old
petition to remove Islam as official religion of the
country, disappointing the activists who wanted the
country to remain secular.
 UNICEF launched a series of animated films, called
Unfairy Tales, to help frame positive perceptions
towards the 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
 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
 World's first fully electric double decker bus service
was launched by London's transport authority. The
buses have been made by China automaker BYD.
 China's National People's Congress has set the
country's growth target at 6.5 to 7 % for 2016.

PERSONS IN NEWS
MAY 2016
UDAY KOTAK: Kotak
Mahindra Bank Chief, is
the only Indian in Forbes'
'Money Masters: The Most
Powerful People in the
Financial World' list of 40
persons.
Lt. Col. RANVEER JAMWAL: An officer in the Jat
regiment of Indian Army successfully completed his
third Everest expedition, the earlier ones being in 2012
and 2013.
YASH CHOPRA: A life size bronze statue of the late
film-maker was installed by the govt of Switzerland in
Kursaal area to honour the film maker who shot most of
his romantic dramas in the lush mountains of
Switzerland.
RISHI NAIR: A 6th grade Indian American student won
the prestigious National Geographic Bee competition
2016 at Washington DC, USA.
NIHAR JANGA & JAIRAM HATHWAR: Two Indian-
American students scripted history by becoming the
joint winner of the US Scripps National Spelling Bee
Contest. Nihar, a 5th grader, is the youngest winner of
the 91 year old contest while Jairam is in 7th grade. Each
will get a prize of $ 40,000.
FATMA SAMOURA: The Senegalese UN diplomat was
named as the first ever female Secretary General of the
international football body, FIFA.
DILMA ROUSSEFF: 68 years old Brazilian President
was suspended on May 12 after several weeks of
nationwide protests for her removal. Senate has decided
to initiate impeachment proceedings against her on
charges that she broke budget accounting laws.
CRAIG WRIGHT: The Australian entrepreneur has
publicly identified himself as creator of virtual
cash/currency – Bitcoin, under the fake name of Satoshi
Nakamoto. This ends years of speculation about who
came up with the original ideas underlying the digital
cash system.
LHAKPA SHERPA: A 42-year-old Nepalese woman of
USA climbed Mount Everest for the seventh time on May
20, creating a record for the most summits of the
world’s highest mountain by a woman.
APRIL 2016
SACHIN TENDULKAR: The Ministry for Skill
Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has named
cricket icon as brand ambassador of the 'Skill India'
campaign.
P SUSHEELA MOHAN: Renowned playback singer has
been recognized by the Guinness World Records for
singing the most number of songs in Indian languages -
17,695 solo, duet and chorus-backed songs in 12 Indian
languages.
NITA AMBANI: Reliance
Foundation Chairperson has
been named the most powerful
businesswoman in Asia by
Forbes, leading a list of 50
women leaders from the region
that includes only eight from
India.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE: A host of celebrations were
held in England and several other parts of the world to
observe 400th death anniversary of legendary
playwright, also known as The Bard of Avon. His
famous works include masterpieces like Othello,
Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet.
QUEEN ELIZABETH II: The world’s oldest-serving
royal and the longest-reigning and longest-lived British
monarch turned 90 on April 21, receiving the greetings
of thousands of British citizens as well as wishes from
all over the world.
ARSENIY YATSENYUK: Ukrainian Prime Minister
announced his resignation in the wake of a month-long
political crisis that paralysed his government and frozen
the release of vital Western aid.
Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson: Iceland’s Prime
Minister resigned reportedly after his name figured in
the mushrooming worldwide scandal over hidden
offshore financial dealings exposed in the so-called
Panama Papers leak.
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.
APPOINTMENTS
MAY 2016
3 NEW CHIEF MINISTERS
Sarbananda Sonowal: Assam, from BJP
Pinarayi Vijayan: Kerala, from CPI (M)
V. Narayanasamy: Puducherry, from Congress
KIRAN BEDI: Appointed as the new Lieutenant
Governor of Union Territory of Puducherry.
VICE ADMIRAL SUNIL LANBA: Appointed as the next
Chief of Indian Navy, in the rank of Admiral.
S K BHAGAT: Appointed as Director General of the
Railway Protection Force (RPF).
S K SHARMA: Renowned scientist has been appointed
the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Nuclear
Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL).
ANURAG THAKUR: The BJP M P from Hamirpur in
Himachal Pradesh, was elected as the President of the
Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI).
SHASHANK MANOHAR: Former BCCI President, who
resigned recently, was elected unopposed as the first
independent Chairman of International Cricket Council,
for two years.
ATMA RAM NADKARNI: Appointed as the Additional
Solicitor General in Supreme Court for a period of three
years.
BINALI YILDIRIM: Elected as the new Prime Minister
of Turkey.
Ms. TSAI ING-WEN: elected as the first women
President of Taiwan
BACIRO DJA: Appointed as the new Prime Minister of
Guinea Bissau, a small country in Western Africa.
RODRIGO DUTERTE: Elected as the New President of
the Philippines. He is the Mayor of Davao City in
Philippines. He is very popular and is known as ‘Digong’.
ENDA KENNY: Re elected as the Prime Minister of
Ireland
APRIL 2016
JUSTICE (retd.) PERMOD KOHLI: Appointed as the
new Chairman of Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT).
C P GURNANI: Elected as the new Chairman of the
National Association of Software and Services
Companies (Nasscom) for 2016-17. He is the MD & CEO
of Tech Mahindra.
MEHBOOBA MUFTI: Elected as the first woman Chief
Minister of Jammu and Kashmir
LOBSANG SANGAY: Re-elected as the Prime Minister
of the Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharmsala,
Himachal Pradesh.
CLEMENT MOUAMBA: Appointed as the new Prime
Minister of Republic of Congo.
IDRISS DEBY: Elected for the 5th time as the
President of Chad, a country in Central Africa.
BOUNNHANG VORACHIT: Elected as the new
President of Laos
THONGLOUN SISOULITH: Elected as the new Prime
Minister of Laos
VOLODYMYR GROYSMAN: Elected as the new Prime
Minister of Ukraine
SOORONBAI JEENBEKOV: New Prime Minister of
Kyrgyzstan.
HASHIM THACI: Elected as the President of Kosovo, a
small country in southeast Europe.

SIGURDUR INGI JOHANNSSON: Elected as the new
Prime Minister of Iceland after the earlier Prime
Minister resigned due to his name coming in ‘Panama
Leaks’.
NGUYEN XUAN PHUC: Elected as the new Prime
Minister of Vietnam.
TRAN DAI QUANG: Elected as the new President of
Vietnam.
FAUSTIN ARCHANGE TOUADERA: Elected as the new
President of Central African Republic.
Ahmed Obeid bin Daghr: Appointed as the new Prime
Minister of Yemen
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.
AWARDS & HONOURS
MAY 2016
‘ORDER OF THE RISING SUN,
GOLD AND SILVER’: Former
bureaucrat and parliamentarian
N. K. Singh was selected for
Japan’s highest civilian honour,
for promoting economic,
educational and cultural ties
between India and Japan.
MAN BOOKER INTERNATIONAL PRIZE: South Korean
author, Han Kang, has won the prestigious prize for her
novel 'The Vegetarian'. The writer and her British
translator Deborah Smith will share the $72,000 prize
money.
This prize is given every year for the best book translated
in English and published in U K.
MILLENNIUM TECHNOLOGY PRIZE: US engineer
Frances Arnold has become first woman to win this
prize for pioneering directed evolution.
The award, given by the Technology Academy, Finland,
carries a cash prize of Euro one million.
Palme d'Or: Award for the best film at Cannes Film
Festival won by the film ‘I, Daniel Blake’ by British
director Ken Loach.
PEN’s LITERARY SERVICE AWARD: Won by British
author J.K. Rowling for her dedication to free speech and
social justice. The award is given by PEN, a USA based
NGO for excellence in promoting peace, harmony and
human rights through literature.
COMMONWEALTH SHORT STORY PRIZE: (for Asia
region) won by Prashar Kulkarni for his story ‘Cow and
Company’.
“NORTH STAR": Highest civilian award of Mongolia
conferred upon two noted Indian scholars-Lokesh
Chandra and Mansura Haider for their contribution to
Mongolian studies.
Sudarsan Pattnaik: Renowned sand artist won the gold
medal at the 9th Moscow Sand Sculpture Championship
in Russia.
APRIL 2016
SARASWATI SAMMAAN: Prestigious prize for
literature given to the Jammu-born poet and novelist
Padma Sachdev for her autobiography ‘Chitt-Chete’
written in Dogri language. The award carries award
money of 15 lakh rupees, a citation and a plaque.

FBB FEMINA MISS INDIA WORLD 2016
Winner: Priyadarshini Chaterjee
First runners-up: Sushruthi Krishna
Second runners-up: Pankhuri Gidwani
DADASAHEB PHALKE AWARD: won by renowned
actor Manoj Bajpayee for the movie Aligarh.
Please note that this is NOT the national award
rather it is the regional award in Maharashtra, given
by Dada Saheb Phalke Foundation.
'Officier de l Ordre national de la Legion d
Honneur’: (Officer of the Legion of Honour), highest
French civilian honour conferred upon Former Army
Chief General (retd) J J Singh.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred Saudi
Arabia’s highest civilian honour- the king Abdulaziz
Sash. The award is named after Abdulaziz Al Saud, the
founder of the modern Saudi state.
MARCH 2016
63rd NATIONAL FILM AWARDS
Best Feature Film: Baahubali - The Beginning by S S
Rajamouli
Best Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali for 'Bajirao
Mastani'
Best Actor: Amitabh Bachchan for 'Piku'
Best Actress: Kangana Ranaut for 'Tanu Weds Manu
Returns'
Best Hindi Film: Dum Laga Ke Haisha by Sharat
Katariya
Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome
Entertainment: Bajrangi Bhaijaan by Kabir Khan
Most Film- Friendly State Award: Gujarat
DADA SAHEB PHALKE AWARD - 2015: Awarded to
veteran actor and film maker Manoj Kumar who played
the patriotic Indian in most of his films, becoming
famous as ‘Bharat Kumar’. His superhit movies
included Upkaar, Purab aur Pashchim, Kranti.
The award is the highest official recognition in Indian
cinema from the govt. It consists of a golden lotus, a cash
prize of Rs 10 lakh and a shawl.
‘KRISHI KARMAN AWARD’: Given to Himachal
Pradesh for its landmark achievement in showing
highest production of food grains in year 2014-15,
despite adverse weather conditions and rain-fed
farming in the state.
CHAMELI DEVI JAIN AWARD: Priyanka Kakodkar and
Raksha Kumar won the award for 2015-16 for their
excellent work in journalism to highlight social issues.
The award is given only to women journalists.
SKOCH LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: Union
Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu for his
contributions to inclusive growth and towards poverty
alleviation in India.
‘KAYAKALP’ AWARD: The Post Graduate Institute of
Medical Education and Research bagged the top
government award for best hospital cleanliness and
infection control, winning prize money of Rs 5 crore
while AIIMS, New Delhi, came second and got a reward
of Rs 3 crore.
88TH OSCAR AWARDS
Los Angeles, USA, Feb 29, 2016
Given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and
Sciences, USA to recognize excellence in cinematic
achievements, they are regarded as the highest
recognition in world of cinema.
Best Picture: Spotlight by Tom Mc Carthy
Best Director: Alejandro Iñárritu (The Revenant)
Best Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)
Best Actress: Brie Larson (Room)
ABEL PRIZE (for maths): Sir Andrew Wiles, an Oxford
University professor has won the 5,00,000 pounds prize
for cracking a 300-year-old mystery mathematical
theorem.
The prize, popular as the Nobel of Mathematics, is given
by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters.
GOLDEN CITY GATE AWARD: Prestigious award from
the world's leading travel trade show Internationale
Tourismus-Borse Berlin (ITB-Berlin) 2016 won by
Kerala Tourism's campaign on responsible tourism.

GLOBAL TEACHER PRIZE: The one million dollar prize
for innovative teaching has been won by Hanan Al
Hroub for her innovative approach in teaching to
overcome tense environments of the region under the
shadow of the Israel-Palestine conflict. She is a
Palestinian teacher from a refugee camp in Al-Bireh,
Palestine
Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur: (Knight of the
Legion of Honour), one of the highest civil honour by the
French government was conferred upon Anand
Mahindra, CMD, Mahindra & Mahindra.
BOOKS & AUTHORS
MAY 2016
Vanishing Shangri La by K N Raghavan.
The Drowned Detective by Neil Jordan,
Blood on my Hands: Confessions of Staged
Encounters by Kishalay Bhattacharjee
The Outside Lands by Hannah Kohler
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
APRIL 2016
An Economist in the Real World by Kaushik Basu,
Chief Economist at World Bank
Swimmer Among the Stars by Kanishk Tharoor
Mercedes-Benz - Winning by Adil Jal Darukhanawala
Friends in Wild Places by Ruskin Bond.
Safeguarding India by NN Vohra.
The Making of India: The Untold Story of British
Enterprise by Kartar Lalvani
Advantage India — From Challenge to Opportunity by
APJ Abdul Kalam and Srijan Pal Singh.
A State in Denial by B G Verghese
The Kiss of Life by Imraan Hashmi
The Mountain of Shiva by Dr Karan Singh. He is a
member of Rajya Sabha.
MARCH 2016
East of Suez by Alice Perrin
Buddhist Biology by David P. Barash
Standing Guard—A Year in Opposition by P
Chidambaram.
Our Impossible Love by Durjoy Dutta
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
Life Mantras by Subrata Roy Sahara
Gandhi: An Illustrated Biography by Pramod Kapoor
Fixed: Cash and Corruption in Cricket by
Shantanu Guha Ray
Who Was Shivaji by Govind Pansare
Indigo —Selected Stories by Satyajit Ray
A Handbook for My Lover by Rosalyn D’Mello.
OBITUARY
MAY 2016
BABA HARDEV SINGH: Spiritual leader and Head of
Nirankari Mission was killed in a road accident in
Montreal, Canada. He was 62.
BALRAJ MADHOK: Former President of Bharatiya Jan
Sangh (BJS) and veteran RSS leader died in Delhi. He
was 96.
TONY COZIER: Famous West Indian cricket writer,
commentator and journalist passed away at the age of
75.
APRIL 2016
POORNIMABEN PAKVASA: Great social worker from
Gujarat, known for her exceptional work towards
educating tribal girls, passed away at the age of
103. Mother of famous classical dancer Padma
Vibhushan Sonal Mansingh, she was a Padma Bhushan
awardee.
SATYANAND MUNJAL: The co-founder of Hero Cycles
group, a great philanthropist, passed away in Ludhiana,
Punjab. He was 99.
PRATYUSHA BANERJEE: TV actress, known for her
role of Anandi in the popular serial “Balika Vadhu”,
allegedly committed suicide at her Kandivali residence
in Mumbai.
GUY HAMILTON: Veteran British movie director, who
directed four hugely popular James Bond films, passed
away at the age of 93. The four superhits include
Diamonds are Forever, Live and Let Die and The Man
With The Golden Gun and Goldfinger.
ROGERS NELSON: Pop music superstar, popularly
known as Prince in USA, died aged 57. He won seven
Grammy Awards and earned 30 nominations.

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