1) States asked to convert 3,784 urban areas into statutory Urban Local Bodies.

• Ministry of Urban Development has asked 28 States to take immediate and necessary action to convert 3,784 Census Towns into statutory Urban Local Bodies to promote planned urban development.
• Shri Rajiv Gauba, Secretary (Urban Development) in a letter to the Chief Secretaries of these States has highlighted the need for statutory Urban Local Bodies for planned and coordinated infrastructure development, enhancement of revenues and efficient delivery of services to citizens leading to overall growth of economic activities.
• The opportunity of planned urban development might get lost if unplanned construction and ad hoc provisioning of infrastructure is allowed to take place over a long time.
• A Census Town is an area with urban characteristics like a minimum population of 5,000, at least 75% of the male main working force engaged in non-agricultural activities and population density of at least 400 persons per sq.km. As per 2011 Census, there are 3,784 Census Towns as against 1,362 in 2001.
• Shri Gauba also informed the States that conversion of Census towns into statutory ULBs entitle them to Central assistance as per the guidelines of 14th Finance Commission. Under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), 50 & weightage is given to the number of statutory towns in any State/UT in allocation of funds among States/UTs.

2) WCD Minister Smt Maneka Gandhi releases Draft National Policy for Women, 2016 for consultation.

• Union WCD Minister Smt Maneka Sanjay Gandhi released the draft National Policy for Women, 2016 for stakeholder comments and consultations. Releasing the draft policy at a press conference in New Delhi,
• The Minister stated that the Policy is being revised after 15 years and is expected to guide Government action on Women’s issues over the next 15-20 years.
• The Minister stated that several things have changed since the last Policy of 2001 especially women`s attitude towards themselves and their expectations from life. In view of this the new draft Policy shifts the focus from entitlements to rights and from empowerment to creating an enabling environment.
• She has requested for widespread comments on the draft policy so that the final policy document can be a true reflection of the voice of all women.

3) India’s first national social security platform to be developed by DeitY.

• India`s first national social security platform will be developed by the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY), which has been entrusted with the task following the intervention of the Prime Minister`s Office to end the tug of war between three central ministries.
• The PMO stepped in after the ministries of labour, finance, and communications and IT could not reach consensus on who should set up the backbone for distributing social security benefits.
• It has been decided that DeitY will use the socio-economic caste census to establish the identity of all resident beneficiaries.
• This will be seeded with Aadhaar and Jan Dhan accounts of all the beneficiaries for direct transfer of benefits as we go forward, according to a senior official, requesting not to be identified. DeitY will develop the platform while the other ministries will use this platform to authenticate their beneficiaries.

4)`Tatkal` system to expedite patent examination.

• The government has amended rules and introduced several measures including a system similar to ‘tatkal’, to expedite examination of patent applications by start-ups as well as entities choosing India for the first filing of patent. This comes in the backdrop of 2.37 lakh patent applications pending in the country.
• The government, incidentally, is aiming to bring down the time period for initial examination of patent applications from the present 5-7 years to 18 months by 2018. It had also last week announced the National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy to push IPRs as a marketable financial asset and economic tool, promote innovation and entrepreneurship/ start-ups, while protecting public interest.
• Under the ‘tatkal’-like system applicants can opt for the `expedited examination` - route on the grounds that they have chosen India as the competent International Searching Authority or International Preliminary Examining Authority in the corresponding international application, and file their applications first in India.
• Under the ‘expedited examination’ route, the fees for individuals and start-ups have been fixed at Rs. 8,000, while for small firms it is Rs. 25,000 and for large companies, the fee is Rs. 60,000.

5) Odisha to launch Green Passage Scheme for Orphan Students.

• The Odisha government launched Green Passage scheme for orphan students to ensure that they get free of cost higher education in the state.
• A proposal of the higher education department was approved by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. As per the scheme, orphan students pursuing higher education from Plus-II level to post-graduation level, will no longer have to bear the education expenses.
• As many as 16,382 orphan students lodged in 272 institutions across the state, will be exempted of admission fee, tuition fees and laboratory fees for higher studies. In this Green Passage scheme will be provided free hostel facilities and food.
• All government, private, government aided colleges and universities to ensure that the orphan students are not charged in any form.

6) Ola signs MoU with govt. to benefit `Safai Karamcharis`.

• Mobile app for transportation Ola a MoU with National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation (NSKFDC) established under the aegis of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to focus on building a sustainable framework by supporting entrepreneurship, skill development training and self-defence courses for Safai Karamcharis and Scavengers.
• The Ola-NSKFDC partnership has the potential to generate synergies that will result in a better future for driver entrepreneurs by creating sustainable careers and livelihoods for them.
• Aimed at socio-economic development of Safai Karamcharis/ Scavengers, the MoU will aim at benefitting these people and their dependents by enabling livelihood opportunities, especially for women beneficiaries identified by NSKFDC.

7) Inauguration of Intelligent Operations Centre and Launch of Mobile APP `Monitor` for Smart President’s Estate.

• The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated an Intelligent Operations Centre (IOC) in Rashtrapati Bhavan and launch a Mobile App `Monitor` for transformation of President`s Estate into a smart township at a function to be held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
• The IOC is a software solution designed by IBM which helps collect and make sense of the rich data streaming in from several sources within the Estate to provide intelligent insights. It offers integrated data visualization, near real-time collaboration and deep analytics that will help agencies prepare for problems, coordinate and manage response efforts and enhance efficiency of services.
• The "Monitor" mobile application is a Residents collaboration tool of the Intelligent Operation Center. This will help residents and domain (Energy, Water, Horticulture, Waste and Security) supervisors to collaborate in a smarter way for their observations.

8) Assembly results in five states.

• In an emphatic mandate, the BJP has won 86 of Assam`s 126 assembly seats, with the Congress, which ruled for the last 15 years, getting only 26.
• Kerala too has delivered an unambiguous verdict. The Left Democratic Front (LDF) won 91 seats with the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) at 47 in a state that has stuck to its trend of not voting the same government in twice. Pinarayi Vijayan is set to become the next Chief Minister of Kerala.
• J. Jayalalithaa a second successive term. The AIADMK won 134 seats, well past the half-way mark at 118, while the DMK-Congress got 98 seats.
• In West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee has constructed another sweep, with her Trinamool Congress winning 211 of the state`s 294 seats. The Left-Congress alliance was far behind at 77.
• Good news comes to congress its way from Puducherry, where it won 17 of 30 seats.

9) Himachal CM launches PEHAL programme.

• The Shimla District Administration introduced PEHAL programme in the district.
• The Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh launched the programme from the historic Ridge Maidan.
• The aim of the programme is to identify certain thrust areas which have a direct bearing on the lives of the people at grassroots.
• The five areas identified under PEHAL are Primary Education, Forest Rights, Health and Sanitation, Campaign against drugs and skill development and Women Empowerment.
• Shimla is the first district in the state to launch such different programme to work as a team with the people.

10) BHEL commissions 250 MW thermal unit in Maharashtra.

• State-owned BHEL has commissioned a 250 MW thermal unit in Maharashtra .
• The unit has been commissioned at Parli Thermal Power Station (TPS), located in Beed district in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra.
• The project is owned by Maharashtra State Power Generation Company (Mahagenco). This is the eighth coal-based unit commissioned by BHEL at Parli TPS.

11) Health Minister launches `Kayakalp Fortnight` to be observed across the country in Central Government hospitals.
To implement the vision and philosophy behind Swachch Bharat Abhiyaan launched by the Hon. Prime Minister, the Health Ministry launched the Kayakalp initiative to set protocols for hygiene and sanitation at government health facilities.

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• The initiative towards total ``Swacchta`` in public health facilities is aimed towards building confidence of the users in public health facilities, provide quality service and encourage team work.
• The initiative will encourage every public health facility in the country to work towards standards of excellence to help the facilities stay clean and hygienic.
• The Union Health Minister was speaking at the launch of the `Kayakalp Fortnight` which shall be observed throughout the country in various central government hospitals with a view to intensifying the Kayakalp initiatives under the Swachch Bharat Abhiyaan.
• Shri Nadda launched the Kayakalp Fortnight at AIIMS, New Delhi. Shri Nadda stated that as part of the various activities to be taken up during the fortnight, senior officers of the Ministry will be inspecting various Central Hospitals in the country to take stock of the existing status and to intensify the Swachhta drive.

12) Dr. Mahesh Sharma inaugurates exhibition `frontier Gandhi and the Indian Freedom Movement` to commemorate 125th birth anniversary of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan.

• Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State (I/C) for Culture and Tourism inaugurated an exhibition entitled ‘Frontier Gandhi and the Indian Freedom Movement’ on the occasion of commemoration of ``125th Birth Anniversary of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan`` organized by Ministry of Culture.
• Ministry of Culture has been celebrating the 125th Birth Anniversary of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan during 2015-16. As a part of activities under the commemoration and Nehru Memorial Museum & Library, New Delhi has organized this exhibition and programme.
• The Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan was a great person who was devoted to the Freedom of India and Hindu-Muslim unity. It is a great moment that his family members are present in this function. Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan and Gandhi ji were complementary to each other and we will keep his memories alive for the decades to come.

13) WCD Ministry and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation sign MoC for technical support to strengthen the nutrition programme in India.

• The Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) to provide technical support at the National and State level for strengthening the delivery of nutrition goals, especially during pre-conception, pregnancy and first two years of life.
• Further, the Gates’ Foundation will support an enhanced framework of collaboration in Information and Communication Technology enabled Real Time Monitoring (ICT-RTM) of Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and technical support on nutrition.
• Improving the health and lives of women and children in India, by strengthening nutrition programs in order to promote their holistic development is one of the topmost priorities of the Government. In sync with this focus, the four priority areas.

This MoC would include:

1. Development and deployment of ICT solutions for improving and strengthening ICDS Service Delivery System.
2. Support Ministry of Women & Child Development in developing a shared national communications campaign for maternal and child nutrition among target populations.
3. Provision of technical support for the National Nutrition Mission, Restructured ICDS Systems Strengthening and Nutrition Improvement Project (ISSNIP) and Restructured ICDS through a Technical Support Unit at the national and state level for strengthening their capacities to deliver nutrition especially during pre- conception, pregnancy and first two years of life.
4. Technical support and Knowledge management support to strengthen human resource capabilities at various levels in order to deliver effective nutrition interventions.

14) India lauded for Medicines with the Red Line campaign on antibiotics.

• India’s idea of putting a red line on antibiotic packages to curb their over-the-counter sale is now being cited as a model that can be used globally to counter the rising threat of superbugs.
• In its final report on tackling drug resistant infection released, the global Review on Antimicrobial Resistance - commissioned by UK Prime Minister David Cameron and chaired by economist Jim O’Neill - says India has led the way so far with its idea of a ‘Red Line Campaign’ for antibiotics packaging, launched earlier and should be considered as a starting point. It recommends that the labelling and symbols used can be improved if needed and then expanded globally.
• Common labelling standards of this type could become a condition of sale of antibiotics around the world,” the report notes, while stressing that convincing people to stop using antibiotics would not be effective unless they recognize antibiotics.
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15) Government takes measures to set up science cities, science centers.

• The union government will soon launch a hub and spoke model to set up science cities and science centers to encourage science and technology (S&T) incubators and create an enabling environment, according to YS Chowdary, Minister of State for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences.
• The entire country can be divided in five zones so that each zone can have a science city, so that number of science centers can be there whereby rural population and youngsters can have a lot of access.
• There is a need for us to spend more time on blueprint rather than on trying to execute, particularly from government’s point of view, as once blueprint is prepared properly with all kinds of IT tools the execution can be done perfectly.

16) Bihar govt bans gutka and paan masala.

• The Bihar government has cracked down on gutka and pan masala, banning the sale, distribution, storage and publicity of such tobacco products.
• The government issued an order authorizing officials to conduct raids and inspections and take action against those flouting the guidelines.
• The ban, which will remain effective for the next one year, on edible items having tobacco content, both packaged and unpackaged, aims at preventing the deterioration of public health.

17) Centre sets up panel to relook defence spend.

• The NDA government has appointed a committee of experts to recommend measures to enhance the combat capabilities of the over 13-lakh strong armed forces and "re-balance" the overall defence expenditure in view of the escalating salary and pension bills.
• The 11 member committee led by former Lt Gen D.B. Shekatkar, which includes several other top military officers as well as civilian experts, has been given three months to chalk out an action plan.
• The overall aim is to ensure India`s combat capabilities and potential are enhanced, with a better teeth-to-tail combat ratio, within budgetary constraints. The committee will hold its first meeting with defence minister Manohar Parrikar.
• This comes a year after Parrikar first underlined the need to slash the non-operational "flab" of the Army, Navy and IAF after a detailed review to ensure leaner, meaner and cost-effective fighting forces.

18) Centre urges States to exempt pulses from local taxes.

• To check spiraling prices of pulses, the Centre urged the States to exempt it from value-added tax (VAT) and other local taxes.
• It may help cool the prices of the pulses by 5-7 per cent while briefing the media after a meeting of State Food Minister to draw an action plan to check prices of essentials, such as pulses, edible oil and sugar.
• The State Food Ministers’ conference also noted that the prices of the specified food items, such as pulses, sugar, edible oils shoot up abnormally due to hoarding, profiteering and cartelling by traders and middlemen, with farmers ending up as the biggest losers.
• There is a need that all States and Union Territories impose and implement stock limits, which should follow a logical and scientific formula separately in consuming States and surplus States.
• The meeting adopted an action plan to improve availability and contain prices of essential food items, which includes rationalization of imposition of stock limits, streamlining of the price monitoring mechanism, utilization of full potential of the Price Stabilization Fund (PSF) and States to consider setting up own PSFs.

1) India, World Bank signs US $100 Million agreement for Karnataka Urban Water Supply Modernization.

• The Loan and Project Agreements for World Bank (IBRD) assistance of US $100 million for the Karnataka Urban Water Supply Modernization project were signed between Government of India/Government of Karnataka and the World Bank.
• The objective of the project is to provide city-wide access to a continuous piped water supply in the eligible cities in the State of Karnataka and to strengthen the service delivery arrangements at the city level.
  
• KUIDFC is the implementing agency for the project.
  

The project would have four broad components:

(i) Capital Investment Program

(ii) Institution Building

(iii) Technical Assistance for Sector Development
(iv) Project Management.

1. The project will be implemented over a period of six years, initially in the twin cities of Hubballi-Dharwad, with provision for other eligible cities to join the project at a later date.
2. Under the project, the Hubballi Dharwad Municipal Corporation has hired a professional water supply operating company for improving the water supply system, as also to manage the refurbished system through a 12-year contract in accordance with strict performance criteria.
   
3. The project will benefit about one million residents of the Hubballi- Dharwad, including estimated 160,000 slum dwellers.
   

2) City Union Bank net up 13% in fourth quarter.

• City Union Bank (CUB), among the oldest private sector banks in the country, has managed to register growth while maintaining its asset quality amid prevailing concerns over bad loans in the Indian banking sector.
• For the quarter ended 2016, the bank posted a 13 per cent increase in net profit to Rs. 112 crore, from Rs. 99 crore in the year-ago period, on the back of strong growth in operating profit.
  
• Its operating profit grew 25 per cent to Rs. 224 crore (Rs. 179 crore in Q4 FY15), aided by a rise in net interest income, which went up 22 per cent to Rs. 264 crore (Rs. 205 crore in the year-ago period).
  
• For the full year, net profit grew 13 per cent to Rs. 445 crore (Rs. 395 crore in FY15). Operating profit was robust at Rs. 833 crore (Rs. 693 crore).
  
• Net interest income rose 22 per cent to Rs. 981 crore (Rs. 807 crore). Net interest margin (NIM) stood at 3.81 per cent compared with 3.44 per cent.
  

3) US court tosses out $1.3 billion penalty on Bank of America.

• A US appeals court threw out a nearly $1.3 billion penalty against Bank of America, concluding the bank had not committed fraud amid the housing bust.
• The federal court ruling overturned 2013 jury verdict that Countrywide`s sale of bad loans to mortgage finance firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac constituted fraud.
  
• A federal judge subsequently had sentenced Bank of America, which acquired Countrywide in 2008, to a $1.27 billion penalty.
  
• The US Justice Department had alleged that Countrywide had, under the so-called "Hustle" program, eliminated key checkpoints on loan quality and compensated employees solely based on loan volumes.
  

4) Lohia Auto Industries ties up with IndusInd Bank.

• Lohia Auto Industries announced its tie up with private sector lender IndusInd Bank for financing their diesel three wheelers.
• Through this partnership the bank will offer retail finance at an attractive rate of interest to the customers of Lohia Auto for all Lohia 3-wheeler models. This partnership will be able to provide hassle-free loan facility at competitive interest rates to its customers.
  
• The loan facility will be available across the stat states of Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Odissa, AP, R&T and Coastal Andhra.
  
• A huge segment of customers will be benefited by this alliance. This partnership will also help both the Lohia Auto and IndusInd Bank in increasing the number of customers, thus enabling widening of the market for the products.
  

5) Govt waives over Rs. 9,000 crore loans of HFCL.

• Union Cabinet waived off loans worth more than Rs. 9,079 crore owed by Hindustan Fertilizer Corporation Ltd (HFCL) as part of a financial restructuring package for the PSU.
• The Cabinet approved waiver of government loan of Rs. 1,916.14 crore, 2015 and the outstanding interest amount of Rs. 7,163.35 crore as on same date, according to an official statement.
  
• The Cabinet also approved transfer of 56 acres of ash dyke land of Barauni unit to Bihar State Power Generation Company Ltd to settle dues of HFCL for faster revival of the unit.
  
• Waiving off the outstanding amount will facilitate de-registration of HFCL from Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) by making its net worth positive. It will clear the way for faster revival of Barauni unit of HFCL.
  
• This unit will create 400 direct and 1,200 indirect employment opportunities.
  

6) EU releases $28 million to help Greece handle refugee crisis.

• The European Commission has awarded 25 million euros ($28 million) in emergency funding to the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) to enhance its support to the Greek authorities.
• These additional resources will be used to support the implementation of the EU-Turkey resolve and the EU emergency relocation scheme, Xinhua news agency reported.
  
• The latest funding was part of the emergency response plan developed together by the European Commission, the Greek authorities and other stakeholders to address the ongoing humanitarian situation.
  
• The funding will allow for the deployment of additional member state experts and interpreters, and set up mobile offices to assist with processing asylum applications.
  
• The statement also called on the European Union (EU) member states to quickly make available the necessary staff to help EASO deliver the support and give a boost to the EU relocation scheme.
  

7) Bad loans bite: BoI loss soars to Rs. 3,587 crore.

• Bank of India reported a net loss of Rs. 3,587 crore for the March 2016 quarter, following the balance sheet clean-up imposed on banks by the RBI.
• It had reported a loss of Rs. 56 crore in Q4 FY15. Bank of India’s total provisions rose 142 per cent to Rs. 5,470 crore in the quarter ended March.
  
• The bank’s net interest income rose 12 per cent year-on-year to Rs. 3,187 crore while the net interest margin was 2.43 per cent.
  
• For the full fiscal year, the bank reported a net loss of Rs. 6,089 crore, compared with a profit of Rs. 1,709 crore in FY15.
  
• The bank’s percentage of net NPAs (non-performing assets) stood at 7.79 per cent.
  

8) Aditya Birla Fashion buys India rights of Forever 21.

• Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail, part of Aditya Birla Group, has acquired the rights for global fashion chain Forever 21 in the country for an undisclosed sum.
• Forever 21 had a three year old tie up with DLF Brands and wanted to exit the partnership for a much aggressive play in the country.
  
• Aditya Birla Fashion has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the US based Forever 21 to acquire its exclusive online and offline rights for Indian market and its existing store network in India from the current franchisee Diana Retail.
  
• The proposed acquisition is in line with our strategic intent to create the largest integrated branded fashion player in the country.
  

9) SEBI likely to delist 4,200 firms; warns erring promoters.

• In a mammoth clean-up exercise, markets regulator Sebi is planning to push for delisting of over 4,200 listed companies whose shares are not being traded, and promoters refusing to give exit opportunity to investors would face strict penal actions.
• These include over 1,200 companies whose shares are listed on national bourses BSE and NSE but where trading has been suspended for various non-compliance issues for over seven years. Besides, there are over 3,000 companies listed on various regional stock exchanges that have become defunct.
  
• Auditors cannot go scot-free if they have been certifying the books for years without pointing finger at the lapses.
  
• The exercise for over 4,200 listed firms would be completed this year.
  

10) Cabinet nod for YES Bank proposal to increase foreign investment limit.

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved YES Bank’s proposal to increase foreign investment limit to 74 per cent, from the existing foreign equity of 41.87 per cent.
• The limit can be increased by way of issue of non-equity shares and/or other permissible instruments to eligible non-resident investors.
  
• This will result in a Foreign Direct Investment of $1 billion in the country.
  
• The mode of instruments includes Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) of equity shares and/or issue of ADRs/ GDRs and/or QFIs/ FPIs under the Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS) by acquisition of permissible securities on stock exchange (except NRIs).
  

11) Cabinet clears Railway projects worth Rs. 11,000 crore.

• Railway projects worth Rs. 10,736 crore were cleared by the government for improving infrastructure in various states, including Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat that go to polls next year.
• The projects, including three for doubling of existing rail lines and two for laying a third rail line on busy routes, were cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA).
  
• The CCEA has approved projects worth Rs. 10,736 crore for doubling and tripling (of railway lines). There are a total of five new projects, three doubling projects for 763 kms and two third line projects for 514 kms.
  
• The benefit of these projects obviously will go to several states but two important states will benefit immensely, one is Gujarat and the other is Uttar Pradesh.
  
• Providing details of the projects, in Gujarat the CCEA has given approval for doubling of Surendranagar-Rajkot project at an estimated cost of Rs. 1,002.39 crore with expected completion cost of Rs. 1,137.17 crore with 5 per cent escalation per annum.
  
• The length of the railway line will be 116.17 kms. The completion period will be four years.
  

12) Biocon gets Karnataka govt nod for Rs. 1,060 crore plant.

• Biotech major Biocon will invest Rs. 1,060 crore to set up a manufacturing plant near Bengaluru.
• The State government cleared the company’s proposal to set up a plant to manufacture injectables, monoclonal antibodies and oral solid dosage (OSD) forms as part of its biosimilars, generics formulation and novel molecules businesses. Monoclonal antibodies are specific antibodies that are made in a lab to mimic the body’s immune system.
  

Job creation:

1. The plant is expected to create 750 jobs.
2. Pharmacokinetics is the study of the movement of drugs in the human body.
   
3. The Karnataka State High Level Committee Meeting also cleared PepsiCo’s plan to set up a beverage and snack manufacturing unit at an investment of Rs. 590 crore at Nanjangud (Mysuru district).
   
4. That project is likely to create 900 jobs.
   

13) Godrej to invest over Rs. 200 crore in capacity expansion.

• India’s green technology pioneer Godrej Appliances, part of Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Company Ltd, will invest Rs. 200 crore on expanding production capacities, and is set to use solar energy in a big way for 50 per cent of its requirements over the next couple of years.
• The company, with manufacturing facilities at Shirwal, 50 km from Pune, and at Mohali (near Chandigarh), will invest Rs. 100 crore at each of these two plants to set up additional sheds for expanding capacities of production of air-conditioners, washing machines, refrigerators and microwave ovens, among others.
  
  

14) Tech Mahindra to acquire UK-based Target Group.

• Tech Mahindra Ltd will acquire UK-based Target Group in a bid to strengthen its BFSI portfolio. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of FY17, subject to the receipt of regulatory approvals. The deal size was not disclosed.
• The acquisition catapults Tech Mahindra to one of the top 3 processors in UK financial services for certain complex lending and investment product categories. It also strengthens Tech Mahindra’s European presence and adds several new clients
  
• The acquisition strengthens Tech Mahindra’s BFSI practice by access to IP and a platform which helps automate end-to-end processes in the lending, investments and insurance market.
  
• The acquisition will enhance Tech Mahindra’s capabilities and allow Tech Mahindra to capture a larger share of the GBP 45-60 billion annual spend by UK BFSI companies on software and services. Tech Mahindra intends to leverage its global footprint and enhance the platform to service other markets.
  

15) FDI inflows up 16.5% at $2.5 billion.

• Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into India increased by 16.5 per cent to $2.46 billion this year.
• FDI inflows were at $2.11 billion in the same month last year, according to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) data.
  
• For the entire 2015-16 fiscal ended March 31, the inflows grew 29 per cent to $40 billion from $30.93 billion in 2014-15.
  
• FDI inflows for 2015-16 were the highest since 2000-01. Services segment attracted the highest investments of $6.88 billion followed by computer hardware and software ($5.90 billion), trading business ($3.84 billion) and automobile industry ($2.52 billion).
  
• Singapore toppled Mauritius as the top FDI source for FDI in India last fiscal.
  
• The government has taken several steps to promote investments through a liberal FDI policy.
  
• It is expected to soon take a decision on permitting 100 per cent FDI in the food processing sector through the FIPB approval route.
  

16) Rs. 12,139 crore provision sees SBI Q4 net dive 66%.

• State Bank of India reported a 24 per cent drop in net profit for fiscal year 2015-16 - its sharpest annual fall in five years. India’s largest bank posted a net profit of Rs. 9,950.65 crore for the year against the Rs. 13,101 crore it recorded in the previous fiscal year.
• Net profit for the fourth quarter ended March declined 66.23 per cent to Rs. 1,264 crore. NPA provisioning for the quarter stood at Rs. 12,139.17 crore (Rs. 4,985.8 crore).
  
• The lower profit was a reflection of higher provisioning and cleansing of the balance sheet.
  
• The SBI scrip shrugged off the disappointing results and rose 6.42 per cent to close at Rs. 195.55 on the BSE. The bank’s board recommended a dividend of Rs. 2.60, or 260 per cent, for 2015-16.
  

17) FPIs pull out Rs. 5,986 crore from debt market in May.

• Foreign investors pulled out close to Rs. 6,000 crore from the Indian debt market in May after pumping in huge money in the preceding month.
• However, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) are bullish on the stock market as they put in Rs. 1,495 crore during the same period.
  
• Market experts attributed the outflow to weakening of the rupee. Besides, possible action by the US Federal Reserve has also hit investor sentiment.
  
• The recent changes in Mauritius tax treaty might have prompted FPIs to pull out of debt, step back and consider their tax implications.
  
• Capital poured in by FPIs is often referred to as ‘hot money’ because of its unpredictability although they continue to remain the most important drivers of Indian stock markets.
  
• This year, FPIs have invested Rs. 14,406 crore in equities, while withdrawing Rs. 6,925 crore from the debt market, resulting in a net inflow of Rs. 7,481 crore.
  

18) J&K govt spent Rs. 322 crore on assistance to migrants.

• Jammu and Kashmir government has spent over Rs. 300 crore for providing cash assistance to Kashmiri migrants during the last two financial years.
• The government has incurred Rs. 321.948 crore on account of providing cash assistance to Kashmiri migrants. An amount of Rs. 18.76 crore was also used for providing food grains to the migrants registered under relief category in Jammu.
  
• Under the package, those Kashmiri migrants who propose or intend to return to their original place of stay, there is a component of financial assistance of Rs. 7.50 lakh for construction of the house.
  
• In addition, 6000 government jobs and 9000 additional jobs through establishing income generating units are also being provided to Kashmiri migrant Pandits under the PM`s package.
  

19) Central Bank posts Rs. 898 crore loss.

• Central Bank of India reported a loss of Rs. 898 crore for the quarter ended March, 2016, as compared to a profit of Rs. 174 crore during the same period of the previous year due to increase provisioning for non-performing assets.
• Its gross non-performing assets (NPAs) almost doubled to Rs. 22,720.88 crore as on March end which was 11.95 per cent of gross advances as of March 2016, from 6.09 per cent year ago.
  
• The bank has made a provisioning of Rs. 2,286 crore for the fourth quarter. For the full year, it reported a consolidated loss of Rs. 1,396.37 crore as compared to a profit of Rs. 666.06 crore in the previous fiscal.
  

20) GDP can rise by $1 trillion over 100% internet access.

• Four of five Indians could afford internet if data costs fell by 66%, according to a Facebook-commissioned report on internet access. But Indian telecom operators already run data services at a 11% loss, making cost-cutting difficult.
• The statistics mean that a data plan, currently priced at Rs. 100 should not cost more than Rs. 34, if India has to make the internet affordable for 80% of its population.
  
• But the adverse economics imply that this cannot happen without intervention from the government - who’s Rs. 20,000 crore ($2.9 billion) plan to connect each of India’s 250,000 panchayats (a village administrative unit) with broadband by 2018.
  
• The internet reached 29% of Indians 354 million users in 2015, IndiaSpend reported. It could rise to 39%, or 462 million users.
  
• But if it were to reach 100%, India’s GDP could be increased by an extra $1 trillion by 2020, according to the Facebook-commissioned report published. To put this in perspective, India’s GDP crossed the $2 trillion mark for the first time in 2014.
  

21) Yes Bank ties up with online payment solutions startup Click&pay.

• Private sector lender Yes Bank has partnered with Click&pay, T-Hub`s portfolio company and a mobile-based payment solutions enterprise, to facilitate cashless, secure and flexible transactions for customers.
• As a part of this alliance, Click&pay will issue Yes Bank sponsored mobile wallets and employ Yes Bank`s immediate payments service (IMPS) payments platform which will help Click&pay to process instant proximity transactions with merchants and person to person.
  
• Yes Bank signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with T-Hub, a unique public/ private partnership between the government of Telangana, three of India`s premier academic institutes (IIIT-H, ISB & NALSAR) and key private sector leaders.
  

22) Hyderabad Angels invests Rs. 15 crore in 12 start-ups in 2015-16.

• Hyderabad Angels, which had either invested in or committed around Rs. 15 crore to a dozen start-ups last fiscal, plans to grow its portfolio by adding 12 more companies in the current financial year.
• Of the 12 companies in which Rs. 15 crore was invested in 2015-16, two were follow-on rounds and the remaining new additions. Some of them were yet to go public with the fund raising news.
  
• The Hyderabad Angel’s current portfolio covers a range of industry verticals. The GIBSS, NowFloats, Betaout, Explara, Indian Money, Thrillophilia, Spareshub and Evibe form part of the portfolio.
  

23) Kellton Tech plans Rs. 120 crore QIP.

• Kellton Tech is planning to hire 2,000 more employees and raise Rs. 120 crore as it aims to reach a turnover of Rs. 2,000 crore by 2019. It presently has about 1,200 employees, of which half came on board last year.
• IT services firm would go for a qualified institutional placement to rise about Rs. 120 crore.
  
• The company is in the process of acquiring a couple of firms in the SMAC (Social, Mobility, Analytics and Cloud) and Internet of Thing areas.
  

24) UAE’s Thumbay group to invest Rs. 100 crore for multi-specialty hospitals.

• The United Arab Emirates (UAE) based Thumbay group is planning to invest Rs. 100 crore in setting up multi-specialty hospitals in India.
• The group will be opening super specialty hospitals in Mangalore, Bengaluru, Mysore and Mumbai shortly.
  
• The 250-bed Thumbay New Life Hospital has been set up with in investment of over Rs. 30 crore by taking over already existing New Life Hospital. Another hospital will be opened in Jubilee Hills - Hitech city zone soon.
  
• The group, which is one of the largest private healthcare providers in the Middle East region, plans to train its health university students in India in its hospital.
  

25) JICA to provide Rs. 1,548 crore for TN urban healthcare.

• The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has signed an agreement with the Government of India to provide a loan of Rs. 1,548 crore to improve the quality of urban healthcare services in Tamil Nadu.
• The Japanese Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan will be provided at 0.3 per cent interest rate for a period of 40 years (including 10 years of grace period). The assistance will be utilized for increasing the capacity of key hospitals, upgrading facilities and equipment and human resources with the focus on non-communicable diseases.
  
• It will be implemented in 17 cities in Tamil Nadu with focus on upgrading tertiary hospitals, strengthening referral and secondary care hospitals, improving hospital management and primary healthcare.
  
• The project will provide access to advanced healthcare services in urban areas and promote healthy lifestyle. Training to improve the skills of health personnel will also be covered under this project.
  
• JICA has given Rs. 19,870 crore through ODA loans since 1981 for comprehensive development in Tamil Nadu.
  

26) BSE plans to sell up to 30% stake within 2016-17.

• BSE, Asia’s oldest stock exchange, plans to sell up to 30 per cent stake in its much-awaited initial public offer (IPO), which is expected to hit the market this financial year.
• The exchange plans to file draft papers with the capital markets regulator SEBI.
  
• BSE (formerly known as Bombay Stock Exchange) has already appointed Edelweiss Financial Services as the lead merchant banker and AZB & Partners and Nishith Desai Associates as legal advisors to the issue.
  
• The total size of the issue will not exceed 30 per cent, according to a notice of AGM.
  
• The IPO could be a combination of an offer for sale and fresh issue for up to a maximum of 30 per cent of the post-issue issued equity share capital of the company, subject to regulatory requirements.
  
• BSE has also proposed to create an advisory committee that would consist of selling shareholders for transparency in the listing process.

1) Djokovic meets 200 weeks at number 1 in the ATP rankings.

•  Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic has remained as number one ranked player for 200 weeks, there by becoming the fifth player in the history of the sport to achieve this fest. 
•  He is also one week shy of 100-stright weeks at the top rank.
•  The Serbian tennis player reaches a milestone before only Ivan Lendl, Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer had gotten
•  The other four players are, Jimmy Connors (268), Ivan lendl (270), Pete Sampras (286), Roger federer (302).

•  Indian para-athlete Amit Kumar Saroha from Haryana won the gold medal in men`s club throw (F-51) at the recently concluded 2016 French Open Athletics Championship in Paris.
•  Amit`s effort of 26.58m broke the Asian record which he had himself set at World Championships in Doha on the way to winning a silver.
•  He has already qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics.
•  He is one of India`s most decorated para-athletes and has won medals across multiple international competitions including Asian Para Games. 
•  He was awarded with Arjuna Award by the Union government.

•  Maria Sharapova has been named in Russia`s tennis team for August`s Rio Olympics, despite currently serving a doping suspension.
•  The 29-year-old Maria Sharapova tested positive for meldonium at January`s Australian Open.
•  The International Tennis Federation (ITF) provisionally suspended the five-time Grand Slam champion.
•  The World Anti-Doping Association then admitted in April that scientists were unsure how long meldonium stayed in the system, suggesting athletes who tested positive for the substance before 1 March could avoid bans.

4) Sanjay Bangar given the reins for Zimbabwe ODI, T20Is tour.

•  Former India all-rounder Sanjay Bangar was appointed national head coach for the limited overs tour of Zimbabwe.
•  Besides his appointment BCCI also appointed Abhay Sharma as fielding coach and Koka Ramesh as the administrative team manager for the tour.
•  Before this appointment he worked as the assistant coach (batting) for the team at the World T20 Cup in March and April 2016, under team director Ravi Shastri.
•  The BCCI is looking forward to appointing a full-time head coach for the national team after the tenure of team director Ravi Shastri has come to an end in April 2016. 

•  Sonia Lather went down fighting 1-2 to Italy’s AlessiaMesiano in the Featherweight (57 kg) finals at the AIBA Women`s World Boxing Championships.
•  The 24-year-old Sonia, who is a 2012 Asian Championships silver-medallist, defeated Khojabekova 3-0 to set up a clash with Italian Alessia Mesiano.
•  Overall in the featherweight category, India finished 10th, tied with Thailand, Russia and Netherlands.
•  However, the tournament saw India lose out on an Olympic quota in the three featured categories, Flyweight, Lightweight and Middleweight.

•  Real Madrid have now defeated Atletico Madrid twice in three years in the UEFA Champions League Final, this time to clinch their 11th title by 5-3 goals in penalty shootout.
•  In the final played, both teams scored 1–1 goals in regulation period leading to draw. For the Real Madrid goal was scored by Captain Sergio Ramos (15 minutes) and for Atletico Madrid was scored by Yannick Carrasco (79th minutes).
•  In tie-breaker penalty shootout Real Madrid FC scored 5 goals against Atletico Madrid which scored only 3 goals.

1.  UEFA Champions League (simply known as the Champions League) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the UEFA.
2.  It is contested by top-division European club and is considered as one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world.
3.  It is also most prestigious club competition in European football, played by the national league champion and for some nations of each UEFA national association.

7) Lewis Hamilton wins 2016 Monaco F1 Grand Prix.

•  Lewis Hamilton won the 2016 Monaco F1 Grand Prix. He emerged victorious in a close battle with Red Bull`s Daniel Ricciardo.
•  The Formula One motor race was held at the Circuit de Monaco, a street circuit that runs through the Principality of Monaco. It was the sixth round of the 2016 season.

1.  Lewis Hamilton is a British Formula One racing driver from England. He currently races for the Mercedes AMG Petronas team.
2.  He is the 2008, 2014 and 2015 Formula One World Champion.
3.  In his first season in Formula One, he set numerous records while finishing second in the 2007 Formula One Championship.
4.  In 2015, he became the first British driver in history to win consecutive F1 titles. 

•  Asian Games discus throw gold medal winner Seema Punia qualified for the Rio Olympics with a 62.62m effort at the Pat Young`s Throwers Classic 2016 at Salinas in the United States.
•  Punia crossed the Rio Games qualification standard of 61.00m.
•  Seema Punia from Haryana defeated 2008 Olympic discus throw champion Stephanie Brown-Trafton of United States of America for the gold.
•  This will be Punia’s third Olympic Games appearance. She took part in the games in 2004 and 2012.
•  She is the 19th Indian track and field athlete to have qualified for Rio Olympics.

•  National football team goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu became the first Indian to play top-tier European football league match.
•  He turned out for Norwegian side Stabaek FC in Norwegian Premier League (Tippeligaen).
•  Tippeligaen is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs.
•  It is the country`s primary football competition which was founded in 1937. It was expanded to 12 teams in 1972 and the league was renamed Tippeligaen in 1990.

1.  He made his debut for the Indian national team against Turkmenistan in 2013.
2.  He was trained in the Tata Football Academy and represented India at the Under-19 and Under-23 levels.
3.  He played his first Tippeligaen (Norwegian Premier League) for Stabaek FC on 29 may 2016 and helped the team to claim a dominant 5-0 triumph over IK Start. 

•  England cricket captain Alastair Cook became youngest Cricketer to score 10000 test runs.
•  Cook achieved the fete on the fourth day of the second test against Sri Lanka at Chester-le-Street. It was his 128th Test.
•  The previous record was held by Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar who reached the landmark score against Pakistan at Eden Gardens in 2005.

1) Indian-American Rishi Nair wins 28th annual National Geographic Bee Competition.

• Indian American student Rishi Nair won the prestigious National Geographic Bee competition 2016.
• He also won a trip to Alaska and Glacier Bay National Park.
• This is the fifth consecutive year of National Geographic Bee championship in which an Indian-American has won the prestigious national tournament.

First Place:

Rishi Nair. He received a 50000 US dollars college scholarship and a lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society. He is a sixth grader from Florida.

Second Place:

Saketh Jonnalagadda. He received a 25000 US dollars college scholarship. He is Eighth-grader from Massachusetts.

Third place:

Kapil Nathan. He received a 10000 US dollars college scholarship. He is a sixth-grader from Alabama.

2) Telangana govt enters Limca Book of Records.

• The Telangana government has entered the Limca Book of Records for conducting the most intensive household survey by a state.
• In August 2014, four lakh government employees covered over 1.09 crore households between 7 am and 8 pm in one day.
• The survey was ordered after Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao assumed office.

3) Arunachal tiger reserve bags biodiversity award.

• Arunachal Pradesh`s Pakke Tiger Reserve of East Kameng district has received the `India Biodiversity Award 2016` in one of its four categories.
• The Hornbill Nest Adoption Programme of the Pakke Tiger Reserve was awarded with the prize under the category, "conservation of threatened species". This is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, National Biodiversity Authority and United Nations Development programme.
• The Hornbill Nest Adoption Programme has been a major step towards conservation of four hornbill species that are found in the adjoining areas of Pakke Tiger Reserve.
• Under this programme, urban citizens contribute money to protect hornbill nests around Pakke Tiger Reserve. This programme is the collaboration of Ghora-Aabhe Society, Nature Conservation Foundation and the Forest Department.

4) Indian author Aditi Krishnakumar wins Asian Book Award.

• A 31 year old Indian woman author, Aditi Krishnakumar has won the `Scholastic Asian Book Award` for her 32,000-word manuscript rooted in "love of Indian history".
• It was second time lucky for Indian author Aditi Krishnakumar. She has won the Singapore dollar 10,000 award for her manuscript "Codex: The Lost Treasure of the Indus" after being narrowly beaten to the biennial prize in 2014.
• The Scholastic Asian Book Award (SABA) is the joint initiative of the National Book Development Council of Singapore (NBDCS) and Scholastic Asia.
• Aditi beat four other writers, including home-grown writer and historical researcher Stephanie Ho, who came in second runner-up, for the prize.

5) Indian-American scientist Arnab De wins Springer Theses Award.

• Indian-American scientist Arnab De has received the prestigious Springer Theses Award. He was nominated by New York’s Columbia University for his PhD thesis.
• He was selected for the award for his outstanding research on developing transgenic mice to study a critical tumor-suppressor A20.
• Arnab De also has developed peptide-based prodrugs as therapeutics for diabetes. For this he was awarded `Young Investigator Award` at the American Peptide Symposium.

About Springer Theses Award:
The Springer Theses Award is awarded in recognition of outstanding PhD research at international level.
Internationally top-ranked research institutes select their best thesis annually for publication in the book series Springer Theses: Recognising Outstanding PhD research.
The winners get a cash prize of 500 euros and their research work is highlighted by the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO).

6) President Pranab Mukherjee presents Malti Gyan Peeth Puraskar 2016.

• The President of India Pranab Mukherjee presented the Malti Gyan Peeth Puraskar for the year 2016 at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
• The award was conferred upon 15 teachers from Punjab for their rare contribution in the field of education.
• The awardees were facilitated with 1 lakh rupees cash, certificate of excellence, a Robe of Honour and a medal.
• The initiative was mainly taken to promote the quality teaching in the schools besides encouraging the hundred percent attendances of girl students in the government schools.
• The Malti Gyan Peeth Puraskar was instituted by Mohinder Singh Syngle Education & Research Society. It was instituted in honour of its founder Malti Mohinder Singh Syngle, eminent educationist and social worker.

7) CEAT Cricket Awards 2016 conferred.

• CEAT Cricket Awards 2016 were conferred on the players in a function of 20th edition of CEAT awards at Mumbai.
• The CEAT awards honors the best of the cricketers based on their performances in international cricketing in all formats - Test, ODI and T20 - as rated by the CEAT Cricket ratings (CCR) over a period of 12 months from 1st May to 30th April.

List of the award winners:

Lifetime Achievement Award: Dilip Vengsarkar
International Cricketer of the Year: Joe Root
International Batsman of the Year: Joe Root
International Bowler of the Year: Ravichandran Ashwin
Test Cricketer of the Year: Kane Williamson
ODI Cricketer of the Year: Martin Guptill
T20 Player of the Year: Virat Kohli
Indian Cricketer of the Year: Rohit Sharma
Domestic Cricketer of the Year: Shreyas Iyer
Young Player of the Year: Rishabh Pant
Special Award: Ajinkya Rahane

8) A.R. Rahman conferred with Japan`s Fukuoka prize 2016.

• Renowned Indian music composer A.R. Rahman was awarded with the Japan`s Fukuoka prize 2016 for his outstanding contribution towards creating, preserving and showcasing South Asian traditional fusion music.
• He will receive the award alongside Philippines’ historian Ameth R Ocampo and Pakistan`s Yasmeen Lari.
• For the year 2015, noted Indian Historian Ramchandra Guha was conferred with Fukuoka Prize in academic category.

About Fukuoka prize:

1. The Fukuoka Prize is an award established by the city of Fukuoka and the Yokatopia Foundation to honour the outstanding work of individuals or organizations in preserving or creating Asian culture.

There are three prize categories:

1. Grand Prize, Academic Prize, and Arts & Culture Prize.
2. Previous winners of Fukuoka Prize from India include sitar player Ravi Shankar, dancer Padma Subrahmanyam, historian Romila Thapar, sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan and historian Ramachandra Guha.

1) Colombo to set up Office on Missing Persons.

• The Sri Lankan government has decided to set up an Office on Missing Persons (OMP), one of the four mechanisms proposed to deal with the civil war-related grievances.
• The OMP will not engage in prosecutions. However, it will have the power to investigate for the purpose of clarifying the fate of missing persons and the circumstances related to the disappearance, and communicating the status to relatives of the missing persons.
• Decision on a new office was taken after undertaking a ``rigorous review of best practices`` both in Sri Lanka and across the world including Uganda, Bolivia, Argentina, and Uruguay which have all had missing person’s offices.

About Sri Lanka:

Capital: Colombo
Prime minister: Ranil Wickremesinghe
President: Maithripala Sirisena
Currency: Sri Lankan rupee

2) China sign two agreements with Sudan to build nuclear reactor.

• China has signed agreements with Sudan, to build 600-MW atomic reactor, the first such project in the African country.
• Two framework deals have been signed by state-owned China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) with Sudan on nuclear power development.
• China already is having a long standing nuclear cooperation with Pakistan as it has built several nuclear power reactors and is currently building two 1100 mw reactors in Karachi.
• Sudan has faced power shortages in recent years and is seeking to build two 600-mw pressurised water reactors to meet the growing demand for electricity, with construction on the first one starting in 2021.

3) New French Law Makes It Illegal To Email Employees After Work Hours.

• A new labour agreement in France means that employees must ignore their bosses` work emails once they are out of the office and relaxing at home even on their smartphones.
• A company of 50 employees or more, you cannot email an employee after typical work hours.
• The amendment has come about because studies show that in the digital age it’s become increasingly difficult for people to distance themselves from the workplace during their off hours.
• New law allows people to get the full advantage of their time off.

About France:

Capital: Paris
Prime minister: Manuel Valls
President: François Hollande
Currencies: Euro, CFP franc

4) Child sex offenders in Indonesia to face execution or chemical castration.

• Child sex offenders could be executed or chemically castrated in Indonesia under a crackdown following the brutal gang rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl.
• Indonesian President Joko Widodo announced a regulation - effective immediately - that would allow judges to sentence child rapists to death or order that they be chemically castrated.
• Additional punishment could include publicly announcing the sex offender`s identity and requiring those on parole to wear an electronic monitoring device.

About Indonesia:

Capital: Jakarta
Prime minister: Jusuf Kalla
President: Joko Widodo
Currency: Indonesian rupiah

5) Finance minister to leave for Japan on 6-day official visit.

• The Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley will leave on 6-day official visit to Japan.
• On arrival in Tokyo he will have meetings with CEOs of Japanese Companies (Soft Bank/ JBIC).
• Finance Minister will attend the 22nd International Conference on ``The Future of Asia`` organized by Nikkei Inc.
• Finance Minister will have Bilateral Meetings with the Prime Minister of Japan Mr. Shinzo Abe, METI Minister (Economy, Trade & Industry) and Health Minister.
• Finance Minister will deliver a Lecture on ``India: Political, Social and Economic Change (TBC) at Osaka University and participate & address the ``Make in India- Investment Promotion Seminar.

About Japan:

Capital: Tokyo
Prime minister: Shinzo Abe
Currency: Japanese yen

6) EU-India Make Co-ordinated Proposal for KP Chair in 2018 and 2019.

• Official representatives of the European Union and India participating in the Kimberley Process (KP) Intersessional, currently under way in Dubai, made a co-ordinate proposal under which EU will assume responsibility as KP Vice-Chair in 2017 and as KP Chair in 2018, while India will become KP Vice-Chair in 2018 and assume the position of KP Chair in 2019.
• The two delegations were making this announcement as responsible KP partners, and ``offering a common solution`` so as to ``(avoid) situations of conflict and (provide) stability to the KP in the next crucial years to come``.

Following goals that EU and India shared for the KP:

(1) Enhance cooperation and partnership with the United Nations’ system and with the international financial institutions; explore how the KP can contribute to the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

(2) Work towards an agreement on ensuring the effectiveness of the KP scheme and further strengthening its implementation and enforcement.

(3) Renew and reinforce the engagement with Industry and Civil Society by actively promoting an open, constructive and substantial dialogue among the three constitutive pillars of the KP.

7) Pakistan bans TV contraceptive adverts.

• Pakistan has banned advertisements for contraceptive products on television and radio over concern that they expose inquisitive children to the subject of sex.
• The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) was acting in response to complaints from parents and its ban covered all contraceptive, birth control and family planning products.
• The ban comes despite a government initiative to encourage the use of birth control in the country, a conservative Muslim country where talking about sex in public is taboo.

About Pakistan:

Capital: Islamabad
Prime minister: Nawaz Sharif
President: Mamnoon Hussain
Currencies: Pakistani rupee

8) India-Russia Agree To Export BrahMos.

•  India and Russia have agreed `in principle` to export the world`s fastest anti-ship cruise missile, BrahMos, to third countries - the UAE, Vietnam, South Africa and Chile.
• Talks with the UAE, Chile, South Africa and Vietnam are in advanced stage concerning export.
• Compared to existing state-of-the-art subsonic cruise missiles, BrahMos has: 3 times more velocity, 2.5 to 3 times more flight range, 3 to 4 times more seeker range, 9 times more kinetic energy
• BrahMos is a short-range ramjet supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft or land.

About Russia:

Capital: Moscow
Prime minister: Dmitry Medvedev
President: Vladimir Putin
Currency: Russian ruble

9) Vice President Hamid Ansari to leave on a 5-day visit to Morocco and Tunisia.

• Vice President Mr. Hamid Ansari is leaving to Morocco and Tunisia on a 5 day visit. During the visit, he will hold deliberations with top leaders of both the countries, with an aim to strengthen bilateral relations and explore new areas of co-operation.
• Issues of terrorism, expansion of United Nations Security Council, investment, ways to strengthen outreach to Africa and regional matters are likely to figure during the talks.
• A number of MoUs in various fields including education and IT, capacity building and cultural exchange are also expected to be signed.

About Morocco:

Capital: Rabat
Prime minister: Abdelilah Benkirane
King: Mohammed VI
Currency: Moroccan dirham

About Tunisia:

Capital: Tunis
Prime minister: Habib Essid
President: Beji Caid Essebsi
Currency: Tunisian dinar

10) IAF Participation in Ex Desert Eagle – II at UAE.

• Indian Air Force and United Arab Emirates (UAE) went into a bilateral exercise of Second Edition named Eagle-II at Al-Dhafra Air Base in UAE.
• Su-30 MkI of the Indian Air Force and Mirage 2000-9, F-16 of UAE Air Force are participating in the exercise.
• The exercise will be played under multiple simulated scenarios. Exchange sorties for aircrew of both the Air Forces have also been planned.
• These air combat exercises provide exposure towards mission planning and execution in a simulated high threat combat environment besides building up crew confidence and bonhomie with friendly Air Forces of India and United Arab Emirates.

11) 650 migrants saved by Italian, Irish, German ships.

• Ships saved 668 migrants from smugglers’ boats in distress in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Libya, by bringing the week’s total of migrants rescued from the sea to a staggering 13,000 people.
• The rescues by the Italian coast guard and navy ships, aided by Irish and German vessels and humanitarian groups, are the latest by a multinational patrol south of the Italian island of Sicily.
• Many migrant boats in the past few years apparently have sunk without a trace in the Mediterranean, with the dead never found. Often the only news about them comes when family members in Africa or Europe tell authorities that their loved ones never arrived after setting sail from Libya.

12) IS slaps $100 fine for shaving beard.

• Islamic State (IS) has imposed new taxes and fines like a $100 penalty for shaving a beard and $50 for trimming it and $5 for men not properly wearing the traditional izar (a long garment).
• Women being charged $25 for wearing cloaks deemed too tight, according to analysis released by IHS Inc.
• Trucks crossing check points now have to pay between $600 and $700 while last summer the fee was $300.
• Between December 2015 and March 2016, the IS lost about 22 per cent of its territory.

13) North Korea’s missile launch fails.

• North Korea failed an attempted missile launch, the latest in a series of setbacks for a ballistic weapons programme that aspires to threaten the U.S. mainland.
• One missile was test-fired from the eastern city of Wonsan.
• The missile apparently flew for about two or three seconds and then exploded.
• Initial reports suggested it was an intermediate-range Musudan missile, according to a U.S. defense official confirmed; it would be the fourth time North Korea has tried and failed to launch this type of missile.
• The North Korea is banned by the UN from using any ballistic missile technology.

About North Korea:

Capital: Pyongyang
Supreme leader: Kim Jong-un
Premier: Pak Pong-ju
Currency: North Korean won

14) Iran demands social media data.
Iran has announced that all social media sites must store any data relating to Iranian citizens only on servers inside the country’s borders.
Iran has set a one-year deadline for foreign social media to hand over data on their Iranian users.
Decision was taken at a meeting of an Iranian committee on the use of cyberspace headed by President Hassan Rouhani.
The measure will affect, in particular, Telegram, a messaging app with more than 20 million users in the country, with a population of 80 million.
Iran has incredibly strict digital controls in place. In the past, it’s even considered unplugging from the Internet, hiding, and making its own network.

About Iran:

Capital: Tehran
Currency: Iranian rial
President: Hassan Rouhani
Supreme leader: Ali Khamenei

1) F45 India appoints ex-cricketer Brett Lee as brand ambassador.

• A master franchise of Australia based functional training system for fitness; F45 India has announced the appointment of former Australian cricketer Brett Lee as brand ambassador for the country.
• The Director of F45 India, Mr. Pradeep Palli stated that the company is also planning to open as many as 300 outlets under the franchise model.
• Presently the fitness company is having their headquarter in Jubilee Hilss, Hyderabad and planning to explore the country by the end of this year. F45 is the most innovative, challenging and systematized team training workout in the world.

• Nikesh Arora, the Indian-born president of SoftBank Group, received a salary package of $73 million or Rs. 500 crore in 2015-16.
• He is one of the top paid executives in the world for the second straight year.
• As per the report, Arora`s pay package stood in the same bracket as those of Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook and Walt Disney Co.’s Bob Iger.
• Patrick Soon-Shiong is currently the highest-paid CEO, with compensation valued at $329.7 million at NantKwest Inc., a cancer-research company.
• Among non-CEOs in the U.S., only Blackstone Group LP President Hamilton Evans James had a bigger pay package than Arora.

3) Sunil Bharti Mittal Receives 2016’s Harvard Alumni Award.

• Bharti Enterprises founder and Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal was bestowed with 2016 Harvard Business School Alumni Achievement Award.
• Sunil Mittal is Indian telecom tycoon, entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is the founder, chairman and Group CEO of Bharti Enterprises, which has interests in telecom, financial services, and retail and agri business.
• The Group flagship Bharti Airtel, with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa and has customer base of over 275 million. It is India’s largest telecom company and world’s third largest mobile operator.
• He is listed as the eight richest people in India by Forbes with a Net worth of 7 billion dollars. In 2007, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India’s third highest civilian honour.

• According to regulatory filings, Wipro CEO Abidali Neemuchwala received Rs. 12 crore in salary for the year ended March 2016, his first year at the company.
• T.K. Kurien, Wipro’s last CEO and current Executive Vice Chairman, earned Rs. 14 crore.
• Wipro rivals TCS and Infosys CEOs N. Chandrasekaran and Vishal Sikka received Rs. 25 crore and Rs. 49 crore in salaries respectively.

5) Sachin launches his clothing brand `True Blue`.

• Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar launched his premium menswear and accessories brand, and film star Riteish Deshmukh walked the ramp for it.
• Sachin has launched True Blue in association with Arvind Fashion Brands.
• They also announced the launch of a store in Mumbai and plan to open 25-30 stores and aim to get a turnover of Rs. 200 crores in the next five years.

• Rodrigo Digong Duterte was officially declared to be the president-elect by the parliament of Philippine.
• He won a landslide victory in the presidential election taking about six million votes more than his competitor.
• The joint session of the House of Representatives and the Senate also proclaimed Maria Leonor Leni Robredo as vice-president.
• They both will assume the charge on 30 June 2016 and serve a single six-year term.

• Pakistan-born Bollywood singer and actress Salma Agha will get an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card that will offer her multiple entries, multi-purpose lifelong visa to visit India and exemption from reporting to police.
• As the Home Ministry took the decision to grant her OCI card, Agha met Home Minister Rajnath Singh, apparently to express her gratitude for the gesture.
• Agha had applied for the OCI card and her application was approved after taking into consideration various aspects.

• Bollywood Actor R Madhavan has become the goodwill ambassador of LEPRA India organization that fight against diseases like leprosy and tuberculosis.
• LEPRA India is a non-government organisation working in the fields of leprosy, tuberculosis, malaria, HIV or AIDS and community health.
• It is also known as the Lepra Society.
• Lepra Society was registered in Hyderabad in 1989 and becomes Lepra India Trust in New Delhi in 1996.
• Presently, Lepra Society is working in 54 districts of Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh and since its inception has cured 3.6 lakh persons affected by leprosy and treated 67,000 patients with disabilities.

• Singapore Embattled commodity trader Noble Group announced the resignation of CEO Yusuf Alireza and planned to sell a U.S. unit to bolster its balance sheet as it seeks to regain investor confidence.
• Alireza, a former Goldman Sachs banker had drive Asia`s biggest commodity trader to sell assets, cut business lines and take big write-downs as it battled weak commodity markets and the fallout from an accounting dispute.
• Noble came under the spotlight when it was accused by Iceberg Research of overstating its assets by billions of dollars, claims which Noble rejected.

• Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has decided to test an Air-breathing Propulsion System after successful test of Reusable launch Vehicle - Technology Demonstration (RLV-TD).
• The system aims to capitalize on the oxygen in the atmosphere instead of liquefied oxygen while in flight.
• The air-breathing propulsion system uses natural oxygen present in the atmosphere up to 50 km from the earth’s surface to burn the fuel stored in the rocket.
• This system would help in reducing the lift-off mass of the vehicle as there will be no need of carrying liquefied oxygen on board the vehicle.
• In turn help in increasing the energy efficiency of the rocket and also make it cost-effective.
• ISRO is now evolving and testing various technologies to bring down the cost of launch vehicles. 

• A series of giant tsunamis swept across an ocean on Mars 3.4 billion years ago.
• The impacts kicked up enormous waves that raced across the water and swamped the shoreline.
• Imagine this enormous red wave coming towards you, up to 120 meters (393.7 feet) high. Rodriguez and his colleagues mapped traces of two of these tsunamis.
• It may help resolve long-standing arguments about whether Mars had an ancient northern ocean.
• Mega tsunamis could have wiped away some of that shoreline, happening as often as every 3 million years. 

3) Indian Coast Guard Ship `ARUSH` Commissioned.

• The Indian Coast Guard ship `Arush`, the seventeenth in the series of twenty Fast Patrol Vessels (FPVs), designed and built by M/s Cochin Shipyard Limited, was commissioned at Kochi.
• The special features of the ship include an Integrated Bridge Management System (IBMS) and Integrated Machinery Control System (IMCS).
• The ship has been named ICGS `Arush`, literally meaning `first ray of sun`.
• The Indian Coast Guard will be a 150 ships/ boats and 100 aircraft maritime force in next few years.
• In addition to these operational assets, a coastal surveillance network is being established with 46 stations to ensure real-time coastal surveillance.
• The 50-meter indigenous FPV displaces 421 tonnes and can achieve a maximum speed of 33 knots with an endurance of 1500 nautical miles at economical speed of 13 knots, equipped with state-of-the-art weaponry and advanced communication and navigational equipment.

• Microsoft and Facebook have joined hands to lay a giant state-of-the-art sub-sea cable across the Atlantic Ocean connecting the US with Europe and beyond so as to facilitate faster speed and access to the Internet.
• The 6,600 km MAREA cable will be the highest-capacity subsea cable to ever cross the Atlantic - eight fiber pairs and an initial estimated design capacity of 160 terabits per second of bandwidth (Tbps).
• Microsoft and Facebook are collaborating on this system to accelerate the development of the next-generation of Internet infrastructure and support the explosion of data consumption and rapid growth of their respective cloud and online services
• The submarine cable system, to be operated and managed by Telxius.

• The Indian Air Force (IAF) successfully test-fired an advanced version of BrahMos land-attack supersonic cruise missile at the Pokhran field firing range in Rajasthan`s Jaisalmer district.
• Two squadrons of IAF already have been equipped with the land-attack version of the missile version (One squadron has about 70 to 80 missiles).
• IAF is deploying this version of the missile in the border areas to take out the enemy’s communication towers, runways, and radar in case of a conflict.
• BrahMos supersonic cruise missile has been designed and developed by BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture of India and Russia.
• It has derived its name from the names of two rivers, India’s Brahmaputra River and Russia’s Moskva River.
• It can strike a target at maximum range of 290 km. It is two-stage missile, the first one being solid and the second one ramjet liquid propellant.

• Microsoft and Facebook have joined hands to lay a giant state-of-the-art sub-sea cable across the Atlantic Ocean connecting the US with Europe and beyond so as to facilitate faster speed and access to the Internet.
• The 6,600 km MAREA cable will be the highest-capacity subsea cable to ever cross the Atlantic - eight fiber pairs and an initial estimated design capacity of 160 terabits per second of bandwidth (Tbps).
• Microsoft and Facebook are collaborating on this system to accelerate the development of the next-generation of Internet infrastructure and support the explosion of data consumption and rapid growth of their respective cloud and online services
• The submarine cable system, to be operated and managed by Telxius.

• Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning to test an air-breathing propulsion system, which aims to capitalise on the oxygen in the atmosphere instead of liquefied oxygen while in flight.
• The mission would be on a sounding rocket.
• Generally, vehicles that are used to launch satellites use combustion of propellants with oxidiser and fuel. The air-breathing propulsion system aims at using oxygen present in the atmosphere up to 50 km from the earth’s surface to burn the fuel stored in the rocket.
• This system, when implemented, would help in reducing the lift-off mass of the vehicle since liquefied oxygen need not be carried on board the vehicle. This would also help increasing the efficiency of the rocket and also make it cost-effective.

• US space agency NASA successfully deployed the first experimental inflatable room attached to the International Space Station.
• NASA Astronaut Jeff Williams began introducing air into the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, but he only filled air into the spacecraft for a very short time, ranging from one to 30 seconds, each time.
• The 1,400 kg Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) was built by Las Vegas-based Bigelow Aerospace under a $17 million NASA contract.
• BEAM was launched to the orbiting lab last month in an effort to test and validate expandable habitat technology.
• Inflatable habitats are designed to take up less room on a spacecraft, but provide greater volume for living and working in space once expanded, according to NASA. 

1) Cabinet approves deal between India, Mauritius on cooperation in cooperatives

• Current Affirs The Cabinet has given its approval for signing of an Inter-Governmental Agreement between India and Mauritius on cooperation in cooperatives and related fields. The Agreement between the two countries will be for duration of five years after which it will be automatically extended for another five years.
• The Agreement provides for promoting cooperation through short and medium term programmes within the framework of the joint activities mentioned in the Agreement. A work plan will also be drawn up by mutual Agreement between the two parties to give effect to the objectives of this Agreement.
• The Cabinet also gave its nod to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA), Abu Dhabi for mutual co-operation and technical assistance.
• The MoU will promote will help create conditions for development of securities markets in the two countries. It will also contribute towards strengthening the information sharing framework between the two regulators.
• The Union Cabinet was apprised of a General Framework Agreement, GFA on Renewable Energy Cooperation between India and United Arab Emirates, UAE. The GFA was signed, in New Delhi on 11th February this year during the state visit of Crown Prince of UAE.
• The objective of this GFA is to establish the basis for a framework through which extensive projects, investments, cooperation in research and development in renewable and clean energy, and knowledge sharing platforms could be enacted on the basis of mutual benefit, equality and reciprocity between the Parties.

2) India, WHO sign treaty for Global promotion of Traditional Systems of Medicine

• Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India and the World Health Organization have signed an historic Project Collaboration Agreement (PCA) for cooperation on promoting the quality, safety and effectiveness of service provision in traditional and complementary medicine.
• The PCA aims to support WHO in the development and implementation of the `WHO Traditional and Complementary Medicine Strategy: 2014-2023` and will contribute to the global promotion of traditional Indian Systems of Medicine.
• The PCA for the period 2016-2020 will deliver for the first time WHO benchmark document for training in Yoga, and WHO benchmarks for practice in Ayurveda, Unani and Panchakarma.
• These will contribute significantly to the strengthening of national capacities in ensuring the quality, safety and effectiveness of traditional medicine including in establishing regulatory frameworks for traditional medicine products and practice and promote their integration in national healthcare systems.
• Minister of State (Independent Charge) of AYUSH Mr. Shripad Yesso Naik recalled the history and rich heritage of Indian traditional medicines and its growing relevance in providing comprehensive health care.
• He also mentioned that the initiatives and activities undertaken by India within the country align with the WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy 2014-2023. He added that India, sets a unique example for adopting a pluralistic health care delivery system that allows every recognized medical system to develop and be practiced with a view to provide integrated and holistic healthcare services.

3) India, New Zealand sign landmark Air Services Agreement

• Current Affirs India and New Zealand today signed a landmark Air Services Agreement paving the way for introduction of direct flights between the two countries. The agreement was signed by Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmer Welfare, Dr Sanjeev Baliyan on behalf of India and Transport Minister of New Zealand Simon Bridges in the presence of the President Mr Pranab Mukherjee and the New Zealand Prime Minister Mr John Key.
• Business, Education and Tourism have grown exponentially between India and New Zealand in the recent years. There are nearly 1,75,000 persons of Indian origin in New Zealand of which about 15,000 are Indian students. The two-way trade between the two countries has doubled in the last few years. The two-way tourist traffic has also witnessed sharp rise, partly due to the exotic and pristine locales of New Zealand shown in Indian movies.
• President Mukherjee said the agreement will lead to easier connectivity that has inhibited both business travel and people- to- people contact in the past. New Zealand Prime Minister John Key also held talks with Mr Mukherjee. According to Secretary East in the Ministry of External Affairs Preeti Saran, both sides agreed to expedite negotiations for an early conclusion of a Free Trade Agreement.
• President Mukherjee also addressed a large gathering of Business Leaders today. He said despite sluggishness in World Economy, India is progressing at a healthy 7.2% rate of growth and it will certainly be better in coming years.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 1st May launched 11 solar-powered "e-boats" at the Assi Ghat in Varanasi. He said this step is in line with his government`s focus on making long-term interventions to empower the poor in their fight against poverty.
• The Prime Minister said his government has made schemes, which empower the poor to fight and defeat the poverty themselves. Reaching out to the backward fishermen and boatmen communities and addressing them as brothers, the Prime Minister said his government is for the poor.
• Earlier, the Prime Minister held a `chaupal` with the rickshaw pullers in his Parliamentary constituency and expressed his feelings before handing over e-rickshaws to them. He interacted with 16 select rickshaw pullers of the total 1000, who were giving e-rickshaws, replacing their old paddle rickshaws with e-rickshaws. 

1) Railway Minister to inaugurate number of amenities through remote control from Dadar East station.

• Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu inaugurated a number of amenities through remote control from Dadar East station.
• Railway has recently completed construction of a new platform, foot over bridge, escalator, booking office and a toilet block at Kanjur Marg station on Central Suburban Railway.
• Minister of State for Power, Coal and New and Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal and cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and other state ministers and dignitaries will grace the occasion.
• The Railway Minister will also attend the informal gathering of Station masters Association in Mumbai.

2) NDA framed NITI Aayog to replace 5-year plans with 15 year vision document.

• The National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has decided to get rid of the Nehruvian five-year plans, and replace them with 15-year vision documents.
• These will be framed keeping in mind the country`s social goals and the sustainable development agenda. The NITI Aayog has been directed to prepare a vision document at the earliest. The current 12th Five-Year Plan will be terminated in the current financial year, 2016-17.
• The first 15-year vision document will start from 2017-18, along with a seven-year National Development Agenda which will lay down the schemes, programmes and strategies to achieve the long-term vision.
• The mid-term appraisal of the 12th Plan was also not done, though it was due after the completion of two-and-a- half years.

3) Cabinet approves country’s first Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) policy.

• The Cabinet has approved the national intellectual property rights (IPR) policy with a view to promoting creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship.
• The aim is to create awareness about economic, social and cultural benefits of IPRs among all sections of society.
• The window for trademark registration will be brought down to one month. The policy aims to create and exploit synergies between all forms of intellectual property (IP), statutes concerned and agencies.
• There are seven objectives that guided the policy mechanism, which include IPR public awareness, stimulation of generation of IPRs, need for strong and effective laws and strengthening enforcement and adjudicatory mechanisms to combat infringements.
• This policy shall weave in strengths of the government, research and development organizations, educational institutions, corporate entities, including MSMEs, start-ups and other stakeholders towards creation of an innovation-conducive environment.

4) Modi, Maithripala Sirisena released `Simhastha Declaration` in Ujjain.

• Releasing the ‘Simhastha Declaration’ in Ninora village in Ujjain, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the capacity of Kumbh organisers.
• Mr. Sirisena, who is in India for a visit, accompanied Mr. Modi to the Vaichaarik Mahakumbh.
• Both leaders addressed the concluding session of the 3 day International Vichar Mahakumbh for the month-long Simhastha Mela. Sri Lankan President Sirisena was on a two day visit to India from 13 May to 15 May 2016.
• 51 sacred points have been included in this declaration for betterment of mankind and these elixir points will start new discourse for India and the world.

5) Shri J.P. Nadda lays Foundation Stone for three new Medical Colleges at Rajouri, Anantnag and Baramulla.

• Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Shri J.P. Nadda laid the foundation stone for three new medical Colleges at Rajouri, Anantnag and Baramulla districts in Jammu and Kashmir.
• The new Medical Colleges will strengthen the medical infrastructure and give a big boost to tertiary healthcare and medical education in the region. The total outlay of 189 crore each, the three new Medical Colleges will add 300 MBBS seats per year in the States with 100 seats per College. In addition, the medical infrastructure in the districts will be strengthened with addition of a 300 bed facility attached to each college.
• The Government Medical College, Jammu and Government Medical College, Srinagar in the State of J&K have been taken up for up gradation under PMSSY with an outlay of 120 Crore (i.e. Central contribution of 15 Crore and State share of 5 Crore) for each medical college.

6) Parkash Singh panel submits report on Jat quota Agitation.

• The Prakash Singh probe panel constituted to probe lapses on part of civil and police administration officials during Jat agitation has castigated over 90 officers including IAS/IPS officers besides various state cadre officers for lapses on their part. The Committee produced a comprehensive report within a period of 71 days.
• After submitting it to the Chief Minister, Prakash Singh addressed media and briefly described about what the report was all about. Prakash Singh mentioned that the committee headed by him had not gone into the political aspect of the agitation.
• He mentioned that the committee has examined 143 video footages pertaining to the arson during Jat agitation and shall be submitting over 10 hours of video recorded statements to the home department for further necessary action.

7) Rajasthan to be 1st state to issue ads to appoint V-Cs.

• Rajasthan will become India’s first state to issue newspaper advertisements to select vice-chancellors for state universities.
• Governor Kalyan Singh issued guidelines advertisements seeking applications for vice-chancellor positions in state universities will be published in two national newspapers.
• The move is aimed at ensuring better-qualified candidates apply for the job and greater transparency in the process.
• The ads will also appear on the website of the concerned institute and the governor, who is the chancellor of the state’s 15 state universities.
• This new process of selection will not only attract a large pool of candidates, it will also ensure transparency in the recruitment process and universities will be provided vice chancellor in due time.
• We want that the young generation studies more and more. This process will improve the education quality in state and set new benchmarks.

8) NIA has become `Namo Investigation Agency`.

• The Congress changed NIA (National investigation agency) as "NAMO Investigation Agency", alleging there was "politically partisan misuse" in the Malegaon blast case after the agency in a complete U-turn dropped all charges against Sadhvi Pragya Thakur and five others.
• Separately, the party`s Chief spokesman Randeep Surjewala stats that "The NIA under Modi ji has become `Namo Investigation Authority` purely aimed at giving clean chit to the BJP, RSS affiliated leaders in various criminal cases``.
• Gogoi claimed that whatever instructions come from the "leadership in Delhi", that approach will be taken by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and this bias was also confirmed by the Public Prosecutor.
• Gogoi made a strong pitch for a Supreme Court monitored probe in the case. He wanted strictest standards of investigation to be conducted in terror cases.

9) Centre Approves Proposal To Set Up Kalinganagar National Investment Manufacturing Zone.

• The Centre has approved the Odisha Government`s proposal to set up Kalinganagar National Investment and Manufacturing Zone in Jajpur district.
• The Zone will be a mega industrial zone having a world-class township to cater to the needs of the investors. This is the third Investment and Manufacturing Zone of India involving a massive area of 163 square kilometer.
• According to reports, the project is expected to invite 1 lakh crore rupees investment and generate 1 lakh 50 thousand direct jobs.
• Notably, the State Government had envisaged the major project as part of `Ease of Doing Business`. It had committed to providing 24x7 power, dedicated industrial feeder and quality physical infrastructure and common facilities for the project.

10) India Post Goes High-Tech, Geo-Tags Post Offices On Bhuvan.

• The good old Postal Department is going hi-tech by geo-tagging the post offices and has begun monitoring timely clearance of the letter boxes through a mobile app.
• In collaboration with the Department of Space, India Post has geo-tagged over 1.5 lakh post offices on the indigenous geo-portal Bhuvan, developed by ISRO, to help people search the nearest post office and know about services and timings.
• India Post has over 1.55 lakh post offices of which more than 1.39 lakh are in the rural areas. The remaining post offices would also be geo-tagged soon on Bhuvan, a Hindi word for `universe`.
• More than 1.5 lakh post offices have been geo-tagged and their exact location on a GIS satellite imagery map along with photograph, services and office timings, etc, have been made available on the portal.
• Bhuvan, developed by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), is providing visualization services and earth observation data to users in public domain.

11) Shri Nitin Gadkari Launches INFRACON, ePACE and up-Scaled INAM PRO.

• Shri Gadkari launched ePACE, INFRACON and an updated version of INAMPRO, three innovative IT initiatives of the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, developed in house by NHIDCL (National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd.)
• EPACE (Projects Appraisal & Continuing Enhancements) is an online integrated Management Information System that brings projects from all wings of the Ministry under a common platform, ensuring their effective and real time tracking. The portal can be freely accessed by anybody, and information regarding projects in any particular state can be found at the click of a button. The portal also allows for validation checks to prevent wrongful entries, making it difficult to fudge figures.
• INFRACON is the National Portal for Infrastructure Consultancy Firms and Key Personnel. This portal acts as a kind of bridge between consultancy firms working in the road engineering and construction sector and domain experts and key personnel who are deployed both for project preparation and supervision. The portal hosts the credentials of consultancy firms and key personnel and has linkages to Aadhar and Digi-locker for data validation and purity
• INAM PRO has been developed as a web-based application (www.inampro.nic.in) for Infrastructure and Material Providers. It is a kind of a web based market place that brings together the material providers and the prospective buyers on a common platform.

12) Government constitutes a five Member Committee to comprehensively review and give recommendations on the FRBM roadmap for the future.

• In pursuance of the Budget Announcement 2016-17, the Government has constituted a five Member Committee to comprehensively review and give recommendations on the FRBMI (Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management) roadmap for the future.

The composition of the FRBM Review Committee is as follows:

1. Shri N.K. Singh (Chairman), Shri Sumit Bose (Member), Dr. Arvind Subramanian (Member), Shri Urijit Patel (Member) and Shri Rathin Roy (Member).

The Terms of Reference (ToR) of the Committee are as under:

1. To review the working of the FRBM Act over last 12 years and to suggest the way forward, keeping in view the broad objective of fiscal consolidation and prudence and the changes required in the context of the uncertainty and volatility in the global economy.
2. To look into various aspects, factors, considerations going into determining the FRBM targets.
3. To examine the need and feasibility of having a ‘fiscal deficit range’ as the target in place of the existing fixed numbers (percentage of GDP) as fiscal deficit target.
4. To examine the need and feasibility of aligning the fiscal expansion or contraction with credit contraction or expansion respectively in the economy.
5. The Budget Division of Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance will provide necessary secretarial and logistics support to the Committee.

13) The Empowered Institution (EI) approves VGF Support for two PPP Projects of Government of Rajasthan.

• The Empowered Institution (EI), under the Government of India’s Scheme for Financial Support to Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) in Infrastructure, met for its Seventy-First meeting.
• The Meeting was chaired by the Additional Secretary (Investment), Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance and approved Viability Gap Funding (VGF) support to two projects of the Government of Rajasthan.
• One project, in the Road Sector for Development and Operation of Chomu Chandwaji - Highways Project, was granted in-Principle approval while the other project, in the Power Sector, granted final approval of the VGF support, was for the development of the 400 kV Bikaner-Sikar Transmission Line Project .

14) Rehabilitation of Bonded Labourer Scheme – 2016 to be Made Central Sector Scheme.

• The Government is revising the rehabilitation of bonded labour scheme and increasing the quantum of financial assistance from Rs. 20 thousand to one lakh rupees.
• The Scheme proposes to increase the budget provision from Rs. 5 crores to about Rs. 47 crores per annum. This was proposed by Shri Bandaru Dattatreya, the Minister of State (IC) labour and Employment.
• While the most deprived and marginalized like the disabled, female and children rescued from trafficking, sexual exploitation and transgender will get Rs. 3 lakhs, the next in order is the special category comprising of females and the minors who will now get Rs. 2 lakhs. A normal adult male bonded labour will get Rs. 1 lakh.
• New package the money will remain in an annuity account, controlled by the District Magistrate (DM) and a monthly earning will flow to the beneficiary account for his/her comfortable living. The corpus remains untouched until decided by the DM.
• One of the special features of the new scheme is that it aims to address new forms of bondage such as organized begging rings, forced prostitution and child labour for which females, disabled and transgender are mercilessly used by the powerful elements.

1) Bajaj Auto Finance inks pact with India Post.

• Motorcycle finance company Bajaj Auto Finance has entered into an arrangement with post offices across India to enable buyers get information through brochures available at post offices, as well as apply for two-wheeler loans from the company.
• Subsequently, customers can also make loan repayments by depositing money in post offices.
  
• The project is being launched with Tamil Nadu as pilot/nodal office and the arrangement will initially be rolled out across 18 locations in the State.
  

2) Manappuram Fin net up 30% in FY16.

• Manappuram Finance posted a 30 per cent increase in net profit at Rs. 353.36 crore in FY16 compared with Rs. 271.31 crore profit reported in FY15.
• The operating income stood at Rs. 2,360.23 crore, an 18.8-per cent growth compared to Rs. 1,986.42 crore recorded in the previous fiscal.
  
• The company’s consolidated assets under management (AUM) also improved to Rs. 11,433 crore from Rs. 9,593 crore recorded in the previous fiscal.
  
• The recent diversification into new business areas has gained traction and new businesses contributed 12 per cent to its consolidated AUM. Its microfinance subsidiary Asirvad Microfinance Pvt Ltd ended the year with AUM of Rs. 998.82 crore, a growth of 210 per cent over Rs. 322 crore earlier.
  

3) Piramal to buy Pfizer’s brands for Rs. 110 crore.

• Piramal Enterprises is set to acquire four brands from multinational drug maker Pfizer Ltd for Rs. 110 crore, a move that will strengthen Piramal’s presence in the consumer products segment.
• The acquisition includes names that many associate with their childhood, like Ferradol and Waterbury’s Compound, besides Neko and Sloan’s. The agreement would also include the trademark rights for Ferradol and Waterbury’s Compound in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
  
• These brands have both a legacy and high consumer pull and are available in India for over 30 years, it targeted a marketplace that is pegged at Rs. 7,000 crore.
  

4) EPFO paid Rs. 8,200 crore as monthly pension in 2015-16.

• The Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) disbursed Rs. 8,200 crore as monthly pensions and Rs. 47,630 crore as member benefits in 2015-16.
• The retirement fund body, however, a mismatch between EPF and Aadhaar data in respect of date of birth and name of pensioner was noticed in certain cases. It has, therefore, advised members to either correct their details provided to EPFO offices or those given in Aadhaar, whichever is correct.
  
• The retirement fund body also noted that a number of online transfer applications by members were pending with employers for attestation and verification of member details. It has asked its field offices to take up the matter on priority with employers.
  
• With regard to compliance, the process of digitizing the reporting system was on.
  

5) Frontier Lifeline ties up with Russian institute to produce artificial hearts.

• Frontier Mediville, a SEZ Medical Park 45 km north of Chennai, will partner with a Russian medical institution to produce artificial hearts at an affordable price.
• The device developed at the Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics at the Russian Academy of Sciences, tested at Meshalkin Novosibirsk State Research Institute of Circulation Pathology, Siberia, will bring down the cost to about Rs. 20 lakhs, as opposed to Rs. 68 lakhs for an equivalent product now available in the market.
  
• Meshalkin Novosibirsk State Research Institute will invest in India to mass produce the artificial heart. It will collaborate with Frontline Mediville for preclinical trials on animals and transfer technology know-how for production.
  
• The operating cost for mechanical and biological heart transplants stand at Rs. 20 lakhs. But in case of biological heart which can last for up to 20 years, the patients have to spend an additional Rs. 3.6 lakhs annually on medicines, for anti-rejection therapy.
  
  

6) BHEL wins Rs. 1,600 crore order from the joint venture of NTPC and SAIL.

• State-run engineering firm BHEL has bagged a Rs. 1,600 crore order from a joint venture company of NTPC and SAIL to set up a coal-based thermal power project in Odisha.
• The 1x250 MW coal-based thermal unit will be set up at Rourkela Power Project on engineering, procurement & construction (EPC) basis.
  
• The Rs. 1,600 crore order for Stage-III of the Brownfield power project, located in Rourkela district of Odisha has been placed on BHEL by NTPC-SAIL Power Company (NSPCL).
  
• The key equipment for the contract will be manufactured at BHEL’s Trichy, Haridwar, Bhopal, Ranipet, Hyderabad, Jhansi, Thirumayam and Bengaluru plants, while the company’s power sector division shall be responsible for civil works and erection/ commissioning of the equipment.
  

7) Pfizer to buy Anacor Pharma in $5.2 billion deal.

• Pfizer will acquire Anacor Pharmaceuticals Inc. in a deal valued at about $5.2 billion.
• Anacor`s topical treatment for eczema, called crisaborole, is currently under review by the Food and Drug Administration. If approved, Pfizer believes peak year sales could reach or exceed $2 billion. Anacor, based in Palo Alto, California, also holds the rights to a topical treatment for toenail fungus called Kerydin.
  
• Albert Bourla, group president of Pfizer`s global innovative pharma and global vaccines, oncology and the buyout is attractive because it provides an opportunity to address a significant unmet medical need for a large patient population with eczema
  
• Pfizer Inc. will pay $99.25 per Anacor share. That`s a 55 per cent premium to its closing price of $64.03.
  
• 
  

8) India Power posts Rs. 586 crore revenue.

• India Power Corporation Ltd (IPCL), a power utility company, has reported gross revenue for 2015-16 at Rs. 586 crore against Rs. 618 crore in the previous fiscal.
• Its PBT improved to Rs. 43.54 crore during FY 15-16 against last year`s PBT of Rs. 36.60 crore. The board recommended a dividend of 5 per cent.
  
• It commissioned 220/33 kV substation at J.K. Nagar in the Asansol subdivision of West Bengla in last year connecting IPCL to the national grid and flexibility to source power.
  
  

9) WPI inflation positive for 1st time in 18 months.

• The Wholesale price index-based inflation turned positive after a gap of 17 months, rising 0.34 per cent year-on-year in April against -0.85 per cent in the previous month, as food and manufactured items turned dearer while deflation in fuel products narrowed sharply.
• On a seasonally adjusted basis, the headline WPI inflation rose 0.86 per cent month-on-month, the strongest pace of sequential jump in the last 32 months.
  
• Coming on the back of a spike in retail inflation to 5.39 per cent in April from 4.83 per cent in the previous month, the latest WPI data dashed hopes of a rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) at its next monetary policy review meeting.
  

10) 2,891 kg of gold deposited under monetisation scheme.

• The Centre has collected 2,891 kg under the Gold Monetisation Scheme.
• It also plans to start the tradability in Sovereign gold bonds by the end of the month and will launch a fourth tranche of the bonds soon.
  
• These issues were discussed at a meeting called by the Finance Ministry to review the progress under the Gold Monetisation Scheme and the Sovereign Gold Bond scheme.
  
• Banks were also asked to promote the two schemes.
  

11) CCEA gives approval to proposal for offering improved VRS package.

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave its approval to the proposal for offering an improved Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) package based on 2007 notional pay scales for the employees of Hindustan Vegetable Oils Corporation (HVOC).
• The government`s assistance would be in the form of non-plan grant of approximately Rs. 27.56 crore to the company.
  
• HVOC is a Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) under the Department of Food and Public Distribution, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.
  
• The employees of HVOC have been adversely impacted due to sickness of the company.
  
• They are in very old pay scales of 1992. The improved VRS package will give fair amounts of compensation to the employees and help them in their post retirement rehabilitation.
  

12) World Bank approves $625 million loan to support rooftop solar programme in India.

• The board of World Bank has approved a $625 million loan to support the central government’s programme to generate electricity from rooftop solar power plants.
• The board also approved a co-financing loan of $120 million on concessional terms and a $5 million grant from the Climate Investment Fund’s Clean Technology Fund.
  
• The sanctions will help finance installation of at least 400 MW of grid connected rooftop solar photovoltaic projects across India. These installations will provide clean, renewable energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by displacing thermal generation. The project will also strengthen the capacity of key institutions and support the development of overall solar photovoltaic market.
  
• State Bank of India will on-lend funds to solar photovoltaic developers and end-users who wish to invest in mainly commercial and industrial rooftop solar power systems. The financing will be provided to those with sound technical capacity, relevant experience and creditworthiness as per State Bank of India’s standards.
  
• 
  

13) NTPC tied-up with Coal India Limited to foray into Fertilizer Sector.

• State-run power producer NTPC signed a joint venture agreement (JVA) with state-run miner Coal India to revive plants of the Fertilizer Corporation of India Limited (FCIL).
• The joint venture company will take up the revival of FCIL plants at Sindri in Bihar and Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh by setting up an ammonia urea plant at each location.
  
• The JV Company would initially be incorporated with 50:50 equity participation from both, but also contains provision of inducting strategic partners at a later date depending upon business requirement of JV Company.
  
• 
  

14) PNB’s Rs. 5,367 crore shocker.

• Punjab National Bank (PNB) posted the worst-ever quarterly loss by an Indian bank after an RBI diktat on asset quality review (AQR) led to a surge in provisions for bad debt.
• PNB’s fourth-quarter net loss stood at Rs. 5,367 crore. This is the first time in recent history that the public sector lender is reporting a loss.
  
• It had last reported technical losses in the mid-1990s after the takeover of New Bank of India.
  
• PNB reported a net profit of Rs. 306 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.
  
• For fiscal year 2015-16, PNB reported a net loss of Rs. 3,690 crore despite its operating profit coming in at Rs. 13,100 crore. For five consecutive years now, PNB has recorded operating profits in excess of Rs. 10,000 crore.
  

15) BHIVE raises Rs. 6.5 crore from Blume Ventures.

• BHIVE Workspace, a co-working space in Bengaluru catering to over 150 ventures, has raised about Rs. 6.5 crore ($1 million) in funding led by Blume Ventures.
• The company, which now operates from four locations covering 50,000 sq ft and has over 800 active members, will use the money to expand in Bengaluru.
  
• It will also establish a presence in the top six cities in the country, attract top talent and build technology.
  
• BHIVE offers a range of facilities and services to corporates, small businesses and freelancers.
  

16) ECGC net rises 53% to Rs. 276 crore in FY16.

• ECGC reported a 53 per cent jump in net profit at Rs. 276 crore in the financial year 2016 as against Rs. 180 crore in the year-ago period.
• The profits are up despite the Corporation paying higher claims of Rs. 1,122 crore (Rs. 590 crore in the previous financial year) to banks and exporters and setting aside more as claim provision (Rs. 1,249 crore in FY2016 vs Rs. 897 crore in FY2015).
  

Investment income:

1. Robust investment income of Rs. 633 crore (Rs. 544 crore) supported the wholly-owned government entity’s bottomline.
2. Global economic slowdown had a cascading effect, with overseas buyers defaulting on payments to Indian exporters and the latter, in turn, failing to pay banks, thereby triggering the insurance claims.
   

17) MFI loan securitization more than doubles to Rs. 11,500 crore.

• Microfinance institutions (MFIs) have securitized Rs. 11,500 crore loan receivables in fiscal 2016 compared with Rs. 5,075 crore in 2015.
• The 125 per cent growth in securitization in the previous fiscal occurred as MFIs opted for this funding route to churn capital faster and fuelling growth.
  

PTCs preferred:

1. Crisil observed that pass-through certificates (PTCs) continued to be the preferred route (85 per cent in fiscal 2016), whereas in the overall securitization market, direct assignments rule the roost, accounting for two-thirds of new transaction volumes.

18) IFC to invest $20 million in FCEL.

• Future Consumer Enterprise Ltd (FCEL) has informed the stock exchanges that International Finance Corporation (IFC) will invest $20 million in the company through equity-linked instruments.
• It will use the funds to support growth plans and strengthen its balance-sheet. The company had also recently raised $55 million from US-based Proterra Partners (previously known as Black River Asset Management) and the promoters of the company and this completes the current fund raising plan of $75 million.
  
• Other investors in FCEL include Brussels-based Verlinvest and Singapore-based Arisaig Partners.
  

19) World Bank arm IFC to invest $68 million in Apollo Health.

• World Bank arm International Finance Corporation (IFC) is looking to invest $68 million or Rs. 460 crore in Apollo Health & Lifestyle Limited, which runs the hospital chains small format centers.
• The proposed investment is part of the overall raise by the unit of $135 million or Rs. 900 crore.
  
• IFC is considering an equity investment of approximately $68 million, including approximately $34 million for its own account and approximately $34 million for IFC`s Asset Management Company.
  
• IFC has earlier invested in the parent company of Apollo Health & Lifestyle, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited.
  

20) Sebi tightens P-note norms to keep vigil on foreign investments.

• Tightening its norms to check any misuse of participatory notes (P-Notes) for laundering of black money, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) made it mandatory for users of these controversy-ridden overseas instruments to follow Indian anti-money laundering law and report any suspicious transactions immediately.
• Acting upon recommendations of the Supreme Court - appointed Special Investigation Team on black money, Sebi also tightened the due-diligence requirements for issuance and transfer of these instruments and put the onus on the original issuer for compliance to Anti-Money Laundering Regulations.
  
• The issuers would have to conduct periodic review and report the complete transfer trail of Offshore Derivative Instruments (ODIs) - P-Notes - to Sebi on a monthly basis in addition to the present requirement of reporting details of their holders.
  
• P-Notes are instruments issued by registered foreign institutional investors to overseas investors.
  
• At about Rs. 2.2 lakh crore, P-Notes now make up for about 10% of total foreign investment inflows into Indian markets, as against over 55% at the peak of stock market Bull Run in 2007.
  

21) Karnataka Bank net profit declines 20.5% to Rs. 106.79 crore in Q4.

• Karnataka Bank reported a 20.5 per cent decline in net profit at Rs. 106.79 crore in the fourth quarter of 2015-16, compared with Rs. 134.42 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.
• There was growth in operating profit and net interest income. However, net profit fell slightly because of higher provisioning.
  
• The bank made a provision of Rs. 112.50 crore during the fourth quarter of 2015-16 as against Rs. 63.11 crore in the third quarter of 2015-16. However, there was a reversal of provisioning of around Rs. 4.49 crore during the fourth quarter of 2014-15.
  

22) KKR to invest Rs. 145 crore in Mantri’s Bengaluru projects.

• Bengaluru-based realtor Mantri Developers has signed an agreement with global investment firm KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) to raise Rs. 145 crore.
• The funds will be deployed in 1.3 million sq ft of luxury residential projects in Bengaluru.
  
• A global investor like KKR has shown confidence in our high-end project and is confident about the real estate market in Bengaluru.
  

23) Altico to invest Rs. 130 crore in NCR, Mumbai projects.

• NBFC Altico has closed two deals aggregating Rs. 130 crore in NCR and Mumbai.
• The first investment, of Rs. 50 crore, is in Noida-based Lotus Greens Group’s residential project named Arena I. The project is part of a larger sports city development in Noida.
  
• The funding proceeds will be utilized in the construction of the project. Through this transaction Altico Capital has strengthened its existing relationship with Lotus Greens. It had in the recent past funded the group for a 300-acre Sports City project in Sector-150, Noida, wherein, it invested Rs. 450 crore along with a co-lender.
  
• The company has also closed a Rs. 80 crore transaction with Mumbai-based Shree Sai Group for a residential project named The Nest in Andheri West.
  
• The project is being developed in a joint venture with Wadhwa Holdings. Shree Sai will use the proceeds of the funding to refinance existing debt and to finish project construction.
  

24) IDBI Bank posts loss of Rs. 1,736 crore in Q4 as loan loss provision surges.

• Huge loan loss provisioning led IDBI Bank to report a loss of Rs. 1,736 crore in the fourth quarter ended 2016, as against a profit of Rs. 546 crore in the year-ago period.
• In the preceding quarter, the government-owned bank had reported a loss of Rs. 2,184 crore.
  

Full-year loss:

1. In the financial year ended 2016, the bank logged a loss of Rs. 3,665 crore (against Rs. 873 crore profit in the previous year).
2. Loan loss provisions in the reporting quarter jumped to Rs. 4,275 crore (Rs. 1,393 crore).
   
3. Net interest income (the difference between interest earned and interest expended) was down 14 per cent at Rs. 1,428 crore (Rs. 1,660 crore).
   
4. Net interest margin edged lower to 1.67 per cent (2.10 per cent).
   

25) World Bank launches $500 million insurance fund to fight pandemics.

• The World Bank was launching a $500 million, fast-disbursing insurance fund to combat deadly pandemics in poor countries, creating the world`s first insurance market for pandemic risk.
• Japan has committed the first $50 million towards the facility, which will combine funding from reinsurance markets with the proceeds of a new type of World Bank-issued high-yield pandemic.
  
• In the event of a pandemic outbreak, the facility will release funds quickly to affected poor countries and qualified international first-responder agencies.
  
• 
  

1) Indian Archers Deepika, Bombayla, Laxmirani Named For Rio Olympics.

•  A three-member Indian women`s archery team comprising Deepika Kumari, Bombayla Devi and Laxmirani Majhi was named for the Rio Olympics.
•  India`s women archers earned three individual berths and a team quota by virtue of the team`s performance at the World Championships in Copenhagen in 2015.
•  Archery Association of India (AAI) selected Deepika Kumari, Bombayla Devi and Laxmirani Majhi to represent India in the games.
•  During a series of selection trails, they underwent rigorous six stages of selection trials and training.

•  The Indian 4x100m Women relay team broke the 18-year-old National record to finish in 4th position at the IAAF World Challenge held in Beijing, China.
•  The 4x100m women relay team comprising Dutee Chand, Srabani Nanda, H.M. Jyoti and Merlin Joseph clocked 44.03s to finish the race.
•  The clocked time broke the 18-year-old record of 44.43s created by the quartet of Saraswati Dey, Rachita Mistry, EB Shyla and PT Usha on July 22, 1998, in Fukuoka, Japan.
•  The China A and the China B team grabbed the first and third position respectively while Japan finished second.

3) Sevilla wins third straight Europa League title.

•  Spanish football club Sevilla FC defeated English football club Liverpool 3-1 in the 2016 UEFA Europa League Final at St. Jakob-Park in Basel, Switzerland.
•  Daniel Sturridge had given the Reds the lead in the first half before Sevilla stormed back in the second half to score thrice and defend their title.
•  Kevin Gameiro scored one goal and Coke grabbed a brace for Sevilla.
•  Daniel Sturridge was the only scorer for Liverpool, which also made him the first English player to score in the Europa League final since 2001. 

•  FC Barcelona has retained the Spanish league title La Liga with 3-0 score against Granada in the final match.
•  Luis Suarez finished as top scorer, being the first player apart from Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to do so since the 2008–09 season.
•  It is Barcelona FC’s fifth straight win and eighth league title in 12 seasons. Football Club Real Madrid finished second with a 2-0 win over Deportivo.
•  Real Madrid had won the title for a record 32 times and Barcelona has won it 24 times.

•  La Liga is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system.
•  It is contested by 20 teams, with the three lowest-placed teams relegated to the Segunda Division and replaced by the top two teams in that division plus the winner of a play-off.

•  Roger Federer’s incredible 17-year run of grand-slam appearances is over after he pulled out of the French Open.
•  The 34-year-old did not play in the Madrid Open after hurting his back during practice for the tournament.
•  Federer returned for the Italian Open but was beaten in the third round by Dominic Thiem.
•  The former world number one returned for the Monte Carlo Masters and reached the quarter-finals, where he was beaten by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
•  Federer, winner of the 2009 French Open, has played in just four events in 2016.
•  Skipping the French Open will give Federer more time to prepare for Wimbledon, a tournament he has won a record-tying seven times.
•  Because of Federer’s withdrawal from the tournament in Paris, nine-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal will move up to No. 4 in the seedings, meaning he will avoid a possible quarterfinal match against top-ranked Novak Djokovic.

•  Belgian Mourad Laachraoui has won gold in the European Taekwondo Championships. Now he will compete in this summer`s Rio Olympics.
•  He has beaten Spaniard Jesus Tortosa 6-3 in the 54 kg final in Montreux, Switzerland.
•  He has won silver medal at the Summer Universiades in 2015 and has qualified for the Rio Games in August.
•  He is the brother of Najim Laachraoui, was one of the two suicide bombers who struck Brussels airport on March 22, while a third attacker blew himself up at on a metro train, with the two attacks killing 32 people.

7) Denmark beat Indonesia to win first Thomas Cup title.

•  Denmark has won the 2016 Thomas Cup badminton tournament. In the final match played at Kunshan, China, the Danish team defeated Indonesia 3-2.
•  Ending a 67-year wait, this was Denmark’s first ever win in the international tournament.
•  Denmark is also the first European nation to win the Thomas Cup.
•  The final was Indonesia and Denmark`s fifth meeting in the Thomas Cup final, with Indonesia having won on all previous occasions, in 1964, 1973, 1979 and 1996.
•  The Uber Cup (Women’s World Team Championships) was won by China. In the final, China defeated South Korea 3-1. This was China’s 14th Uber title. 
•  Indian women`s team won bronze title at the Championship.

1.  The Thomas Cup known as Men’s World Team Championships is an international badminton competition. It was first staged in 1948-49.
2.  The Uber Cup or Women’s World Team Championships was added for the first time in 1956-57.
3.  Thomas Cup, taking place every three years, was the BWF’s first major international tournament. 

•  The Mohun Bagan has clinched the Federation Cup title for the 14th time.
•  In the final played at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati, Bagan defated Aizwal FC 5-0.
•  The Kolkata giant produced one of its finest runs of success, scoring 17 goals and conceding just two in the five matches it played in the tournament and in the process extending the record of winning the title to 14.
•  Bagan won this tournament after a gap of 8 years (in 2008), when it defeated Dempo 1-0.
•  In the quarterfinals, the Aizwal FC defeated the I-League champions Bengaluru FC. In semi-finals, it defeated Sporting Clube de Goa to book its place in the final for the first time.

•  Pankaj Advani of India created history in Abu Dhabi by winning the Asian 6 Red Snooker title.
•  Advani thus became the first in the world to hold both world and continental titles in 6-red snooker at the same time.
•  The double International Billiards & Snooker Federation (IBSF) World Six-Red Snooker Champion stamped his authority again in the short format of the game, defeating top seeded Malaysian Keen Hoh Moh by 7-5.
•  He is the first cueist in the world to win the Grand double three times in 2005 and 2008 respectively.
•  Advani will now spearhead the Indian challenge in the team event with Aditya Mehta, Manan Chandra and Kamal Chawla.

•  The Sports Ministry has stated that the winners from the upcoming Rio Games will be considered for Khel Ratna and Arjuna Awards 2016.
•  The step has been taken to ensure that Olympic medalists get immediate recognition. So that athletes need not wait for one full year after their medal-winning performances at the Olympic Games.
•  The medal winners in individual events who have already not been conferred with Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in the past will be considered for the highest sporting honour.

1) 5 Indians posthumously awarded with Dag Hammarskjold Medal of UN.

• Four Indian peacekeepers and a civilian have been chosen posthumously for United Nation’s Dag Hammarskjold Medal for their courage and sacrifice.
• Head Constable Shubhkaran Yadav, Rifleman Manish Malik, Havildar Amal Deka, Naik Rakesh Kumar and Gagan Punjabi will be honoured with the Dag Hammarskjold Medal awarded posthumously.
• They are among the 124 police, military and civilian personnel who have been posthumously awarded a prestigious UN medal. They will be honoured on the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers (observed annually on 29 May).

Five Indians are:

About Head Constable Shubhkaran Yadav: Head Constable Shubhkaran Yadav served in the U.N. Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). He made the supreme sacrifice in April 2015.

About Rifleman Manish Malik: Rifleman Manish Malik also served in the U.N. Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He died in August 2015 during the mission.

About Havildar Amal Deka: Havildar Amal Deka served in the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF).He died in June 2015.

About Naik Rakesh Kumar: Naik Rakesh Kumar served in the U.N. Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). He died in January 2015.

About Gagan Punjabi: Gagan Punjabi was serving in MONUSCO in a civilian capacity under the U.N. Volunteers programme and died in an incident in January 2015.

2) Indian-American Teen Syamantak Payra Wins Intel Young Scientist Award.

• Syamantak Payra, a 15-year old Indian-American student has won the prestigious Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award for developing a low cost electronic device for people who cannot walk well through disease or injury.
  
• He tested his prototype on two people partially disabled by polio. His device is both inexpensive and easy to use.
  
• Syamantak Payra, a Texas resident, won the USD 50,000 award along with 17-year-old Kathy Liu.
  
• The award was given by Intel Corporation and the Society for Science and the Public (SSP) at the 2016 `Intel International Science and Engineering Fair` in Arizona last week.
  

3) J.K. Rowling receives highest French civilian honour.

• Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has been made an honorary Knight in the French Legion of Honour, France`s highest civilian award.
• J.K. Rowling, who is also known as Robert Galbraith, is a British novelist, screenwriter and film producer.
  
• Rowling, has also written many award winning novel like - The Causal Vacancy, The Cuckoo`s Calling, The Silk Worm and Career of Evil etc but mainly very famous for her Harry Potter series.
  
• The title was created by Napoleon Bonaparte in the early 19th century and constitutes the country`s elite national merit society.
  

4) Joe Root bags hat-trick of England cricket awards.

• Joe Root, an England cricketer has bagged a hat-trick of awards, as he was named Test Player of the Year, Limited Overs Player of the Year and Fans` Player of the Year at the England`s annual awards ceremony.
• The 25 year old Root, who has been in an outstanding form in the last 12 months, has posted 2,228 in 2015, which is the most by an English batsman in a calendar year.
  
• He has been in contention with Australia`s Steven Smith and New Zealand`s Kane Williamson for the top spot in the ICC Test rankings. Smith currently leads the table and Root stands second, trailing by 36 points.
  
• Medium pacer Anya Shrubsole bagged the England women`s cricketer of the year and Callum Flynn was named the best cricketer with a disability.
  
• David Lloyd was given the ECB`s special achievement award, for his 50-year stint as a player, umpire, commentator and coach.
  

5) Indian-American Rupa Iyer awarded highest teaching award in US.

• An Indian-American biotechnologist Rupa Iyer has been awarded Distinguished Leadership in Teaching Excellence Award, University of Houston’s highest teaching award.
• She was bestowed with this award for her sustained and significant contributions in the field of education. Presently, she is Associate Dean, Research and Graduate Studies at the University of Houston’s College of Technology.
  

About Rupa Iyer:

• She is founding director of the biotechnology programme in the College of Technology since its inception.
• Her lectures are based on format training on diverse biotechnology systems and develop presentation skills, enabling them to thrive in the workplace.
  
• Iyer has been part of the College of Technology since 2005 as a credentialed associate professor. Later in 2014 she was named Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Studies.
  
• Indian-American Rakesh K. Jain received US National Medal of Science 2015 from Barack Obama.
  

6) Indian American professor Rakesh K. Jain received the US National Medal of Science from the US President Barack Obama.

• He received the honour along with 16 other winners of the National Medal of Science and National Medal of Technology and Innovation at a White House ceremony.
• Jain is a professor at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Tumour Biology Laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital.
  

About Professor Rakesh K. Jain:

1. He holds a B.Tech degree in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology- Kanpur.
2. He is regarded as a pioneer in the area of tumour micro-environment and widely recognized for his seminal discoveries in tumour biology, drug delivery, in vivo imaging and bioengineering.
   

7) Mumbai based Mukesh Ambani honored with Othmer Gold Medal for Entrepreneurial Leadership.

• United Based Chemical Heritage Foundation honored the Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani with prestigious Othmer Gold Medal for his entrepreneurial leadership.
• He was awarded for Expansion of India’s petroleum refining industry and Generation of the Jamnagar Refinery in Gujarat – the largest grassroots petroleum refinery in the world. Major initiatives in oil and gas exploration.
  
• He was awarded during the occasion of the Heritage Day of the Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF).
  
• Award was presented by Carsten Reinhardt, President & CEO of CHF and Raj Gupta, Chairman of Delphi Automotive (formerly Chairman, President & CEO of Rohm and Hass).

8) Ken Loach wins second Cannes Palme d’Or with `I, Daniel Blake` award.

• Veteran British director Ken Loach film I, Daniel Blake has won the his second Palme d’Or at the 69th Cannes Film Festival, France.
• Ken Loach, is one of only nine directors to have won the top prize at Cannes twice. Loach had won in 2006 with The Wind That Shakes the Barley.
  
• The other includes, Kent-born director Andrea Arnold won the competition`s Jury Prize for her road movie American Honey.
  
• The Iranian film Forushande (The Salesman) by Asghar Farhadi received two awards, for Best Screenplay and for Best Actor, won by Shahab Hosseini.
  
• Jaclyn Jose won Best Actress for her role in Ma’ Rosa, a brutal dive into the Manila underworld directed by Brillante Mendoza.
  
• Jean-Pierre Leaud, one of the most famous faces of the French New Wave, received the Palme d’Or d’Honneur, a lifetime achievement award.
  

9) India-Pak student exchange program gets innovation award.

• India-Pakistan school Students Exchange Program has won innovation award. The students have been interacting with each other through handwritten letters, Audios and Visual recording that are reflective of a shared history of the two neighbors before Partition.
• This has been done under the `Student Exchange Program` which is a year-long dialogue comprising a sustained exchange of written, visual and oral histories connecting school children aged between 10-14 years across the cities of India and Pakistan was initiated by NGO `Routes 2 Roots`.
  
• The NGO has recently been awarded the "The Inter-cultural Innovation Award 2016` from United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) in Baku, Azerbaijan for this programme. Earlier in its first year in 2010, the program attracted between 2400 children from 10 schools across four cities of India and Pakistan.
  
• Students who hails from diverse socio-economic backgrounds from selected schools participate in the five-phased program which aimed to improving ties between the two countries and the exchange of letters, postcards, pictures, artwork and videos encourage children to form their own opinions and have a clearer understanding of history, culture and lifestyle through cross cultural communications.
  

10) Evolutionary engineer Frances Arnold wins €1m tech prize.

• US biochemical engineer, Frances Arnold has won the Millennium Technology Prize for her work `directed evolution` in Finland. Directed evolution is a method of rewriting DNA to improve medicines and develop green fuels.
• With this Arnold has become the first female winner in its 12 year of history and awarded with the 1 million euro prize. The award was presented by the Technology Academy Finland.
  
• The 59 year old, Arnold is a professor of chemical engineering at California Institute of Technology and her method of creating new proteins with desired properties is being used to convert renewable resources like sugar cane into bio fuels and to improve everyday products such as laundry and dish washing detergents to enhance their performance in cold temperatures. She recognizes developments that change people`s lives for the better.
  

11) Getting in rhythm: Over 31,000 in China set dance record.

• 31,697 people set a Guinness World Records for mass plaza dancing in multiple locations.
• Over 31,000 people in Beijing, Shanghai and four other cities in china have created a new feet by performing choreographed dance moves together for more than five minutes.
  
• The participants include generally middle-aged and elderly women, such dancers are a common site in parks, plazas and other public areas.

1) Emergency Lessons` campaign highlights importance of education for children in conflict and disaster zones.

• The European Union and UNICEF launched ``Emergency Lessons``, a new campaign to highlight the importance of education for children affected by emergencies.
• The social media-driven public awareness campaign aims to reach 20 million Europeans, especially those 25 and under, in Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Slovenia, Slovakia, and the United Kingdom and inspire them to raise their voices on behalf of millions of children and adolescents whose education has been interrupted by emergencies.
• The Emergency Lessons campaign draws on the real-life experiences of children living through emergencies in countries such as Guinea, Iraq, Nepal and Ukraine.
• Nearly one in four of the world’s school-aged children – 462 million – now lives in 35 countries affected by crises, including an estimated 75 million children who are in desperate need of educational support.
• The campaign also celebrates the other benefits of going to school – the friends made, the teachers who support children through trauma, the stability found in the routine of attending classes.

About UNICEF:

Headquarters: New York, United States
CEO: Anthony Lake

Parent organization: United Nations Economic and Social Council

Founded: December 11, 1946
About European Union

Headquarters: City of Brussels, Belgium

Member states: 28 states

2) U.S. eases sanctions on Myanmar in bid to promote reforms.

• The United States eased some sanctions on Myanmar to support ongoing political reforms, but maintained most of its economic restrictions.
• US easing sanctions to encourage the "historic" progress in Myanmar, including the formation of the country`s first democratically elected government in more than 50 years.
• The moves included removing Myanmar state-owned banks from a U.S. blacklist and the lifting of sanctions against seven key state-owned timber and mining companies.
• However, most restrictions on trade and investment with Myanmar`s still-powerful army remained in place.
• Despite the sanctions lifting, Washington has deep concerns about alleged human rights violations in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar, particularly violence against the minority Rohingya Muslims.

About Myanmar:

Capital: Naypyidaw
President: Htin Kyaw
Currency: Burmese kyat

3) US Senate passes bill allowing 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia.

• The U.S. Senate passed legislation that would allow families of Sept. 11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia`s government for damages, setting up a potential showdown with the White House, which has threatened a veto.
• The "Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act``, or JASTA, passed the Senate by unanimous voice vote. It must next be taken up by the US House of Representatives, where no vote has yet been scheduled.
• The Saudis, who deny responsibility for the 2001 attacks, strongly object to the bill. They announced that they might sell up to $750 billion in U.S. securities and other American assets in retaliation if it became law.

About United States of America:

Capital: Washington, D.C
President: Barack Obama
Currency: United States dollar

4) India and Slovenia have signed Protocol amending the India-Slovenia Double Taxation Avoidance Convention.

• India and Slovenia have signed a Protocol amending the existing Convention and Protocol between the two countries for avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income in Ljubljana.
• The Protocol was signed by Mr. Sarvajit Chakravarti, Ambassador of India to Slovenia on behalf of India and Mr. Dusan Mramor, the Slovenian Minister of Finance on behalf of Slovenia.
• The Protocol will broaden the scope of the existing framework of exchange of tax related information which will help curb tax evasion and tax avoidance between the two countries and will also enable mutual assistance in collection of taxes.

About Slovenia:

Capital: Ljubljana
Currency: Euro
Prime minister: Miro Cerar
President: Borut Pahor

5) India rushes two naval ships and C-17 aircraft to cyclone-hit Sri Lanka.

• India is extending a helping hand to cyclone-hit Sri Lanka which is battling torrential rains and landslides which have caused significant devastation and loss of life.
• India sends two naval ships and a C-17 aircraft with relief material like medicines and tents along with teams of rescue experts to Sri Lanka which has been severely battered by tropical cyclone Roanu.
• Naval off Shore Patrol Vessel (NOPV) INS Sunayna and survey vessel INS Sutlej are being sent to Colombo coast from Southern Naval Command in Kochi.
• The cyclone has wreaked havoc along Sri Lankan coast. 63 people have been killed and 134 were missing following massive landslides and floods in Aranayake and Bulathkohupitiya areas.
• Over 300,000 people are housed in relief camps. 354 homes have been totally destroyed.
• The cyclone has also put coastal states in India on high alert.

About Sri Lanka:

Capital: Colombo
Prime minister: Ranil Wickremesinghe
President: Maithripala Sirisena
Currency: Sri Lankan rupee

8) Killing of bulls is banned at Toro de la Vega festival in Spain.

• A bull-lancing festival known as "Toro de la Vega" (Bull of the Plain) which has spurred controversy in Spain will take place as usual in September but participants will no longer be allowed to kill the bull, Spanish authorities ruled.
• The centuries-old event about 200 kilometers (120 miles) northwest of Madrid has drawn increasing protests in recent years, with animal rights activists denouncing it as cruel and calling for a ban.
• Government looks set to end bull killing at the region`s annual Toro de la Vega festival in Tordesillas, where men on horseback chase down a bull and spear it in front of onlookers.
• A survey conducted by animal protection charity Humane Society International (HSI) showed 74 per cent of 16 to 65-year-olds in the country want the bloody `fiesta` to end.
• The Toro de la Vega is one of thousands of violent fiestas which cause animals suffering and distress every year.

About Spain:

Capital: Madrid
Prime minister: Mariano Rajoy
Currency: Euro

9) US House of Representatives passes bill for greater defence ties with India.

• The U.S House of Representatives has passed amendments to the National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA)-2017, seeking to enhance the country’s defence cooperation with India.
• Amendment would "seek to promote greater defence trade and encourage additional military cooperation between the United States and India.
• The bipartisan move of the U.S Congress seeks to bring India at par with NATO allies for technology and equipment sale.
• Once signed into law by the president, these provisions will liberalise the sale of a wide range of technologies to India, bypassing bureaucratic and legislative approvals.
• Open a special office in the Pentagon dedicated exclusively to the U.S.-India Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI).
• A similar kind of bill named US-India Defence Technology and Partnership Act is under the consideration in the US Senate as well.

About United States of America:

Capital: Washington, D.C
President: Barack Obama
Currency: United States dollar

10) First metro line to the sea opens in Los Angeles.

• The USD 1.5 billion, 6.6-mile Expo Line extension from downtown Los Angeles to Santa Monica marks the return of commuter train service to the sea following a six-decade gap in rail operations.
• Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti was among hundreds on hand for a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Santa Monica, arriving on the train platform with a surfboard.
• The ride from downtown Los Angeles to Santa Monica will take about 50 minutes.
• The new line marks the first time since the 1950s when the city`s electric streetcars stopped operating that Santa Monica has been accessible by rail.

11) India, Oman sign four bilateral agreements on defence cooperation.

• India and Oman signed four Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) on defence cooperation in Muscat.
  
• MoU signed during the visit of Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar to Oman.
  
• The two sides inked the agreements after Mr. Parrikar held bilateral talks with his Oman`s counterpart Bader Bin Saud Bin Harib Al Busaidi, Minister Responsible for Defence Affairs.
  
• MOU on Defence Cooperation between the Ministry of Defense of Sultanate of Oman and Ministry of Defence of India.
  
• MOU on Maritime Issues was signed between the Government of India and the Government of Sultanate of Oman.
  
• MOU in the field of Marine Crime Prevention at Sea was signed between the Indian Coast Guard and the Royal Oman Police (Coast Guard).
  
• Protocol on Flight Safety information Exchange was signed between Royal Air Force of Oman and the Indian Air Force.
  
• Both sides noted that defence cooperation is a key facet of their bilateral strategic partnership, which is based on historical ties as well as mutual trust and shared interests.

About Oman:

Capital: Muscat
Currency: Omani rial
Sultan: Qaboos bin Said al Said
Deputy Prime Minister: Fahd bin Mahmoud al Said

12) Obama lifts U.S. arms ban on Vietnam.

• U.S President Barack Obama announced that the United States is fully lifting a decades-long ban on the sale of military equipment to Vietnam.
• Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang and U.S. President Obama take part in a joint press conference at the International Convention Center in Hanoi.
  
• The embargo on lethal military equipment had been partially lifted in 2014; now it will be raised fully.
  
• It was the desire to continue normalizing relations between the United States and Vietnam and to do away with a ban "based on ideological division between our two countries.
  

About Vietnam:

Capital: Hanoi
Prime minister: Nguy?n Xuân Phúc
President: Tran Dai Quang
Currency: Vietnamese dong

13) India pledges $1 million for Afghan school.

• India has signed a pact to grant assistance worth $1 million over the next 10 years to a Habibia School in Kabul ,Afghanistan.
• The funds will be used for modernization, civil repairs and annual maintenance as well as teachers` training.
  
• India has pledged the amount as a part of its support to the war-torn country`s education sector.
  
• The school is one of the largest and most reputed schools in Afghanistan. It was established in 1904 by King Habibullah. An Indian, Dr Abdul Ghani, was the school`s first principal.
  

About Afghanistan:

Capital: Kabul
President: Ashraf Ghani
Currency: Afghan afghani

14) Government bars Indians from travelling to Libya.

• India has banned its nationals from travelling to Libya, irrespective of the purpose of the visit, in view of the security situation in the North African country.
• Asking Indian nationals for compliance, the External Affairs ministry announced the travel ban is effective from 3 May, 2016 till further orders.
  
• The MEA`s announcement came a day after reports of a Libyan former minister being killed in clashes between unity government forces and fighters of the ISIS group in Sirte. Libya is witnessing increased violence due to clashes between them.
  

About Libya:

Capital: Tripoli
Prime minister: Fayez al-Sarraj
Currency: Libyan dinar

15) India, Thailand, Myanmar to be connected with a 1400 km road.

• India, Thailand and Myanmar are working on a 1,400 kilometre long highway that will link India with Southeast Asia by land for the first time in decades, giving a boost to trade and cultural exchanges between the three countries.
• There are 73 bridges totally in Myanmar, built more than seven decades ago were being repaired with funding from India for highway safe movement.
  
• The repair work will be completed in 18 months, the highway could be opened to traffic from all three countries.
  
• The negotiations are currently underway to conclude a tri-nation motor vehicle agreement for the use of the 1,400 km road that will reach Thailand at Tak, Mae Sot district.
  
• The planned highway starts in the eastern region of India from Moreh to Myanmar`s Tamu city.
  
• India is also preparing to negotiate a Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) which includes the 10-country grouping, on top of the current India-Asean free-trade agreement (FTA).
  

About Myanmar:

Capital: Naypyidaw
President: Htin Kyaw
Currency: Burmese kyat

About Thailand:

Capital: Bangkok
Prime minister: Prayut Chan-o-cha
Currency: Thai baht

16) Cyclone Roanu hits Bangladesh: 24 dead, thousands left home.

• Thousands of Bangladeshis were left homeless after Cyclone Roanu battered the impoverished southern coastal region, ripping apart flimsy houses and killing at least 24 people.
• The storm ploughed through low-lying villages in the Chittagong and Barisal regions, where residents described seeing metres-high walls of water that caught some unaware.
  
• Authorities evacuated more than 500,000 people to shelters before the cyclone hit with winds of up to 88 kilometres (54 miles) per hour.
  
• Across the country road networks have been disrupted after strong winds uprooted trees blocking highways. The cyclone makes Shah Amanat International Airport, Chittagong to suspend all of its flight operations.
  

About Bangladesh:

Capital: Dhaka
Prime minister: Sheikh Hasina
President: Abdul Hamid
Currency: Bangladeshi taka

17) INSV Mhadei Sails to Mauritius with an all Women Crew.

• Indian Naval Sailing Vessel Mhadei (INSV Mhadei) sailed from Goa with an all-women crew for a voyage to Port Louis, Mauritius.
• This would be the first open-ocean voyage of the Navy’s all-women crew of Mhadei, who are currently training to undertake a circumnavigation of the globe in 2017.
  
• The crew would be undertaking this arduous voyage through rough seas and heavy weather, expected during the Monsoons, in the Arabian Sea.
  
• This is a training voyage to expose the young crew to weather that would be faced by them during the circumnavigation in 2017.
  

About Mauritius:

Capital: Port Louis
Prime minister: Anerood Jugnauth
President: Ameenah Gurib
Currency: Mauritian rupee

18) Switzerland to open world`s longest and deepest train tunnel after 17 years.

• Switzerland will inaugurate the opening of the world`s longest and deepest train tunnel which will reduce travel times between cities by up to a full hour.
• The tunnel was first conceived in sketch-form in 1947 but construction began 17 years ago. It consists of two single-track tunnels connecting Erstfeld (Uri) with Bodio (Ticino) and passing below Sedrun.
  
• The Gotthard Base Tunnel will open for the first time June 1, extending 57km in length into the bowels of the Earth 2,300 metres below the Gotthard massif in the Swiss Alps.
  
• With speeds reaching up to 250km/h, the travel time from one end of the tunnel to the other will take just 20 minutes.
  
• The Gotthard Base Tunnel enters into regular operation on Dec 11, 2016.
  

1) `Lady Singham` Manzil Saini becomes first woman SSP of Lucknow.

• Uttar Pradesh government, appointed Manzil Saini as the new Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) of state capital Lucknow. Saini has replaced Rajesh Pandey who has been attached to the DGP office.
• Popularly known as `Lady Singham` in her work circles, Saini cracked the Civil Services examinations to become the country`s first married woman IPS officer.
• A 2005 batch officer, Saini is the first woman officer in the history of the state to take charge of Lucknow.
• The police officer was earlier posted in Badayun, Muzaffarnagar and Mathura.
• She launched a crackdown against unauthorized usage of party flags by Samajwadi Party workers in four-wheelers and also penalizing them for bearing tinted windows during her tenure as an SSP in Etawah.

• Yoga guru and businessman Baba Ramdev and Amit Agarwal, the head of Amazon India, have been named in a list of most creative business people by American magazine Fast Company.
• Ramdev was ranked 27th in the magazine’s 2016 list of ‘Most Creative People in Business’, while Agarwal was ranked 10th.
• The magazine named Lin-Manuel Miranda, writer of the rap-musical Hamilton as the most creative person in business.
• Miranda was followed by Divya Nag, who heads Apple’s ResearchKit team and American comedian and writer, Jill Soloway. Others in the list include fourth-ranked Jean Liu, president of Didi Kuaidi and Valentino co-creative director Marla Grazla Chlurl.

3) Nirankari mission gets its first woman chief: Savinder Kaur.

• After the death of spiritual leader Baba Hardev Singh, his wife Sawinder Kaur has been named the next spiritual head of the Sant Nirankari Mission.
• Mataji, fondly called by followers, will be the first woman spiritual head and the fifth in line to the sect that was founded in 1929 and has over 10 million followers.
• An alumnus of Convent of Jesus and Mary School Mussoorie, Sawinder Kaur is originally from Farooqabad in Uttar Pradesh.
• She married Hardev Singh in 1975 and since then had been accompanying her husband to every congregation home, getting equal respect and love from their followers.
• An official announcement was made in New Delhi by Rev HS Upashak in the presence of thousands of devotees of the Mission.

• Tsai Ing-wen has sworn-in as the first female and 14th President of Taiwan in front of national flag. She succeeds outgoing President Ma Ying-jeou.
• She is the leader of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) which favours independence from China.
• Earlier, Tsai led the DPP had won the Parliamentary and Presidential elections.
• Ms. Tsai’s victory was the biggest mandate ever won by a DPP President and is only the second-ever victory for the DPP since Taiwan split with China in 1949.
• The first was Chen Shui-bian who also was pro-independence (from China) advocate. During his time as President between 2000 and 2008 tensions had escalated with China.

• Lhakpa Sherpa,US-based Nepali climbed Mount Everest for the seventh time , breaking her own record for the most summits of the world’s highest mountain by any woman.
• Sherpa was accompanied to the top by a Nepalese guide. After her, eight members of a Russian team and eight guides climbed the same northern route.
• She works in a 7-Eleven shop in Connecticut in the US.
• Two Sherpa climbers share between them the record of 21 ascents of Everest, the most number of climbs by men.

• The petroleum exploration arm of London-listed Vedanta Resources Cairn India’s managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) Mayank Ashar has resigned from his post.
• He will be replaced by the company’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Sudhir Mathur as the interim CEO.

1. Cairn India is an oil and gas exploration and production company, headquartered in Gurgaon, India.
2. It is a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources.
3. It was founded in 2007.

7) Nepal confers literary award on Sikkim CM Pawan Chamling.

• Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Chamling was conferred with the Yug Kavi Siddhicharan Award, one of the Nepal’s prestigious literary award.
• The award was bestowed upon him by Nepal Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli for his commendable contributions in promoting Nepali literature in India.
• The award ceremony was organised by Siddhicharan Shrestha Academy on the occasion of 105th birth anniversary of the late poet Shrestha. Yug Kavi Siddhicharan Award carries a certificate of appreciation and a sum of 100,000 Nepali Rupees.
• Pawan Chamling is an author of many books in Nepali, English and Hindi. He is also a publisher. He has been awarded twice by the Sikkim Sahitya Parishad for the best poem Chintan Puraskar in 1987 and Bhanu Puraskar in 2010.
• His other works in Nepali include Prarambhik Kavita (1978), Antyaheen Sapana: Mero Bipana (1985), Ma Ko Hoon! (1992) and Sikkim ra Nariko Maryada.

• FIFA acting Secretary General Markus Kattner was dismissed from his position with immediate effect.
• He was removed after FIFA’s internal investigation uncovered breaches of his fiduciary responsibilities in connection with his employment contract. He was accused of paying himself bonuses worth millions of pounds.
• The German took over as acting General Secretary after Jerome Valcke was sacked for irregularities.
• Kattner joined FIFA in 2003 as Director of Finance, becoming Deputy Secretary General in 2007. His salary and bonuses were part of a contract that was unseen by relevant FIFA committees.

• Britain has granted political refugee status to ousted former President of Maldives Mohamed Nasheed. His lawyer Hasan Latheef claimed that Nasheed had been granted political refugee status but the British government is yet to comment.
• Maldives` first democratically elected president, Nasheed had been allowed to go to Britain in January for spinal cord surgery following a deal brokered by Sri Lanka, India and the UK.
• Nasheed became Maldives` first democratically elected leader in 2008 but was toppled in a coup backed by the military and police. He was jailed for 13 years on terrorism charges after allegedly illegally ordering the arrest of a judge in a trial that put a spotlight on instability in the Maldives.

• Australian researchers built the world’s first scanning helium microscope (SHeM).
• It was made by the scientists belonging to the University of Newcastle.
• The new microscope will enable scientists to study human, animal and plant samples, as well as computer chips and pharmaceutical drugs, without damaging or changing them.
• It will be useful in major industries such as solar energy, defence, explosives and information technology.
• SHeM could help with the clean-up of toxic or even radioactive spills, without harming the surrounding flora or fauna.

• NASA successfully launched a super pressure balloon from New Zealand`s South Island Wanaka Airport.
• The launch marks the fifth attempt to get the massive balloon airborne, with previous bids thwarted by bad weather.
• The balloon is 532,000 cubic metres and aims to remain airborne for more than 100 days.
• Long-duration balloon flights at constant altitudes play an important role in providing inexpensive access to the near-space environment for science and technology.
• It is expected to circumnavigate the globe in the mid-latitudes of southern hemisphere once every one to three weeks, depending on wind speeds in the stratosphere.
• The balloon`s operational float altitude is 33.5 kms (20.8 miles) and it will be visible from the ground, particularly at sunrise and sunset, in the southern hemisphere`s mid-latitudes.
• Its flight operations throughout the mission will be controlled by NASA’s balloon experts at Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility and NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia.

• Prithvi-II surface-to-surface missile was successfully test-fired from a test range at Chandipur in Odisha.
• It was carried out by Strategic Force Command (SFC) from a mobile launcher at launch complex-3 from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur in Odisha.
• Prithvi-II is a tactical short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) developed by indigenously by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
• It is the first missile indigenously developed by DRDO under India’s prestigious Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP).

1. The twin-engine Prithvi-II is 8.56 metre in length, 1.1 metre in width and weighs 4,600 kg.
2. It has the ability to dodge enemy missiles and uses advanced inertial guidance system with manoeuvring trajectory to hit its target.
3. Capable of carrying 500 kg to 1,000 kg of nuclear as well as conventional warheads.

• A multidisciplinary research team from the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) have developed world’s first genetically engineered clone of the Zika virus strain.
• The development of complementary DNA (cDNA) clone, as it is called, is expected to speed up many aspects of Zika research, including vaccine and therapeutic development.
• The clone comprises of five fragments of complete zika viral genome which were individually cloned and assembled into the full-length Zika virus clone.
• It will help scientists to quickly develop countermeasures and also to explore evolution of Zika virus.
• It will also help to find how the Zika virus has evolved to spread more quickly and cause more severe diseases in people.
• This biological breakthrough will also aid the development of vaccine and therapies against the infection of vector borne Zika virus which has been linked to serious birth defects.

• A joint US-Australian military research team successfully tested a hypersonic technology in the Australian desert.
• The team was running a series of 10 trials of the hypersonic technology at the world’s largest land testing range located at Woomera in Australia and at Norway’s Andoya Rocket Range.
• Scramjet attached to a rocket booster was successfully sent to an altitude of 278 km at Mach 7.5 (seven times the speed of sound).
• Scramjet is a supersonic combustion engine that uses oxygen from the atmosphere for fuel. It is lighter and faster than fuel-carrying rockets and is suitable for flying at hypersonic (Mach 5 and above) speed.
• Hypersonic flight involves travelling at more than 5 times the speed of sound (Mach 5).
• It is a game-changing technology that could revolutionise global air travel, and also provide cost-effective access to space.
• It can be very useful as an alternative to a rocket for putting satellites into space. 

• The indigenously developed fecal incontinence management system ‘Qora‘was launched by Minister of State for Science & Technology Y.S. Chowdary in New Delhi.
• The FIMS-Qora was developed under the Union Ministry of Science & Technology’s Department of Biotechnology (DBT) Bio design Programme by M/s. Consure Medical, New Delhi.
• It is aimed to train the next generation of medical technology innovators in India to develop innovative and affordable medical devices to augment unmet clinical needs of India.
• FIMS-Qora help in reducing skill level required to use a device, and introducing a new level of care for patients outside the ICU.
• This affordable novel technology will help to address the clinical and economic implications of FI by expanding indications for use.

1. Fecal incontinence (FI) is a medical condition marked by inability to control one’s bowel movements. It causes feces (stool) to leak unexpectedly from the rectum.
2. This medical condition worldwide affects nearly 100 million bed ridden patients. Furthermore, about 50% of the psychiatric ward patients due to long-term neurological diseases have FI.

• Three Indian naval ships arrived at Port Sultan Qaboos (PSQ) on a four-day visit.
• The ships INS Deepak, INS Tarkash and INS Delhi, arrived under the command of Rear Admiral Ravneet Singh, Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet.
• During the visit, the crew of IN ships will undertake professional interactions with the Royal Navy of Oman pertaining to nuances of maritime operations, including means of combating maritime terrorism and piracy.
• In addition, calls on senior Government and military authorities, sporting and cultural interactions and sharing of best practices, aimed at enhancing cooperation, strengthening ties and mutual understanding between the two navies.
• Bilateral relations between India and Oman have been historically strong based on deep cultural affinity and vibrant economic linkages.
• Since then, naval cooperation between the countries has progressed steadily with increased port visits by naval ships and training of RNO personnel by the Indian Navy in hydrography, diving, training, logistics and dockyard management. 

• Scientists have used sunlight to efficiently turn seawater into hydrogen peroxide, which can then be used in fuel cells to generate electricity.
• It is the first photo-catalytic method of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) production that achieves a high enough efficiency so that the H2O2 can be used in a fuel cell.
• The most earth-abundant resource, seawater, is utilised to produce a solar fuel that is H2O2.
• Researchers developed a new photo-electrochemical cell, which is basically a solar cell that produces H2O2.
• When sunlight illuminates the photocatalyst, it absorbs photons and uses the energy to initiate chemical reactions seawater oxidation and the reduction of O2 in a way that ultimately produces H2O2.
• The researchers expect that the efficiency can be improved in the future by using better materials in the photo-electrochemical cell, and they also plan to find methods to reduce the cost of production.

• Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully launched its maiden indigenous winged Reusable Launch Vehicle - Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD) from Sriharikota spaceport in Andhra Pradesh.
• It was carried up on a solid rocket motor (SRM). The 9 ton SRM was designed to burn slowly to accommodate the vertical lifting of winged body.
• The launch was part of a series of technology demonstration missions, which is considered as a first step towards realising a Two Stage To Orbit (TSTO) fully re-usable vehicle.
• After launch RLV-TD glided back onto a virtual runway in Bay of Bengal and re-entered the atmosphere after reaching a height of over 70 km.

1. RLV-TD is winged body aerospace vehicle that operated in hypersonic flight regime.
2. It is capable of launching satellites into orbit around earth and then re-enter the atmosphere.
3. The RLV-TD was 6.5 meter long and has aeroplane like structure. It weighs about 1.75 tonnes and is very similar to the retired US space shuttle.

• The Indian Navy has commissioned indigenously built highly maneuverable Fast Attack Craft INS Tarmugli at the commissioning ceremony held in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
• It would be deployed for coastal patrol and surveillance operations along the East Coast of India.
• INS Tarmugli is indigenously conceived, designed and built by M/s Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd (GRSE).
• INS Tarmugli weighs 320-tonne and is 48 meters in length. It can achieve speeds in excess of 30 knots.
• It is capable of operating in shallow waters at high speeds and is equipped with enhanced fire power.
• It is equipped with of a 30 mm CRN 91 gun, an electronic day-night fire control system namely Stabilised Optronic Pedestal (SOP), two 12.7 mm heavy machine guns (HMG) and multiple medium machine guns. 

1) India, Australia sign pact to boost horticulture research

• Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), a not-for-profit public sector enterprise, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Horticulture Innovation Australia to jointly fund and support research and development in horticulture.

2) India, U.S. hold first maritime security dialogue Current Affairs

• Towards deepening the evolving partnership in the maritime domain, India and the U.S. held the first round of discussions under the recently-constituted maritime security dialogue between officials of Defence and External Affairs ministries and their U.S. counterparts.
• Among the issues discussed were Asia-Pacific maritime challenges, naval cooperation, and multilateral engagement.
• The dialogue was one of the several new initiatives agreed between Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and his U.S. counterpart Ashton Carter during the latter’s visit to India last month as part of the maritime security objectives under the India-US Joint Strategic Vision for the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean Region.

3) Exploring opportunities

• They also agreed to launch a bilateral Maritime Security Dialogue, co-chaired by officials at the Joint Secretary/Assistant Secretary-level of the Indian Ministries of Defence and External Affairs and the U.S. Departments of Defence and State
• A head of the discussions that being the first dialogue both sides are looking to explore the scope of maritime cooperation under the framework of this maritime dialogue at the bilateral and multilateral level to be taken up.
• The other initiatives agreed include the conclusion of a “white shipping” technical arrangement to improve data sharing on commercial shipping traffic and Navy-to-Navy discussions on submarine safety and anti-submarine warfare.

4) India, Slovenia sign pact to amend tax treaty

• India and Slovenia have signed a protocol to amend the bilateral double taxation avoidance agreement, broadening the pact to include exchange of information to curb tax evasion. The two countries signed the protocol amending the existing convention and protocol for avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income on May 17 in Ljubljana.

1) Uma Bharti launched first trash skimmer for River Yamuna for skimming of solid waste material.

• Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti has launched the first trash skimmer for River Yamuna for skimming of solid waste material and a sum of 850 crore rupees have been approved for the third phase of Yamuna action plan Yamuna.
• The money will be utilized to clean up the stretch of Yamuna from Wazirabad to Okhla.
• These floating trash skimmers is to be used for cleaning the river of all kinds of floating materials like plastic bags, bottles, cans, food packets, coconuts among others, dumped into the river by humans.

2) 55,669 villages to have mobile connectivity by 2019.

• Government plans to provide mobile connectivity in 55,669 villages by 2019 in a phased manner.
• It will also commission a project to connect 8,621 villages in the north-eastern region by installing 321 mobile tower sites by 2017, Department of Telecom (DoT) about the progress made during the last two years of the NDA government.
• A comprehensive telecom development plan for the north-eastern region at an estimated cost of Rs. 5,336.18 crore approved.
• On connecting rural India through high-speed broadband, the department has completed lying of optic fiber in 48,199 gram panchayats.
• For deeper digital penetration in rural areas, the government has taken up the BharatNet project in mission mode to connect all 2.50 lakh gram panchayats, which have over 600 million people. BharatNet will support e-governance services, e-commerce, tele-medicine, tele-education, financial services, among others.

3) Sulabh group to set up `hybrid toilet complexes` in 9 Odisha cities.

• The Odisha government signed a memorandum of understanding with Sulabh International Social Service Organisation (SISSO) for construction and maintenance of ‘hybrid toilet complexes’ in its nine cities.
• The hybrid toilet complexes having 5,957 seats will come up in urban centres such as Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Berhampur, Sambalpur, Rourkela, Baripada, Balasore, Bhadrak and Puri covered under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) yojna.
• The State Cabinet had earlier given approval to partner with SISSO for setting up of toilet complexes. As per the Housing and Urban Development department, the existing community and public toilet facilities in the ULBs of Odisha are seemingly inadequate to cater to the need of this deprived population alone.
• According to the HUD department, SISSO will prepare the design and estimate as per the current schedule of rates and lead of the particular places, which needs to be approved by the concerned urban local body.

4) Single emergency number `112` to be operational throughout India from 2017.

• The single emergency number `112` will be operational throughout India 2017 to help people reach immediate services of police, ambulance and fire department.
• Telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has approved the provision of a single number for various emergency services that would be similar to the `911` all-in-one emergency service in the US.
• The service will also be accessible even through those SIMs and landlines whose outgoing call facility has been stopped or temporarily suspended.
• A person in distress will need to call only 112, which will direct the call to concerned departments immediately for help. All existing emergency numbers will be phased out within a year of rolling out 112, depending upon the awareness about this new facility.
• The panic button will enable users to make emergency call or send alerts to multiple numbers just by pressing a button.

5) Environment Minister launches Web-Based Application on Integrated Waste Management System.

• The Government has launched a web-based application on Integrated Waste Management System (IWMS) for better management of waste. The Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Prakash Javadekar launched the app; it will provide an opportunity to all the industries dealing in hazardous waste, to apply online.
• The user-friendly application can also track the movement of hazardous waste and will also help in ensuring its proper management. There are an estimated 43000 industries dealing in hazardous waste, of which about 30000 industries have been mapped through this application.
• The objective of the web-based application is to enhance transparency in the working of the Ministry and other Centre/State level regulatory bodies and also to reduce the time taken for processing applications, seeking various types of permissions under the recently notified waste management regulations.
• In addition to being a single window access, this application is expected to expedite the way the permission is granted and way the analysis could be done not only for authorization and consents, but also for import/export permission under the rules.

6) Railways sets up directorate to generate funds via advertisements.

• In yet another move, albeit an incremental one, aimed at restructuring the railways board on functional lines, the national transporter has set up a new directorate to generate funds in a big way through advertisements and find the right players for commercial exploitation of its land.
• The railways is trying to raise resources from non-tariff sources, but the setting up of the `non-fare revenue directorate`, which comes after a `mobility directorate` was formed, indicates rail minister Suresh Prabhu`s strategy to slowly push structural reforms in the mammoth PSU.

7) Mahesh Sharma Releases Commemorative Coin on Maharana Pratap.

• As a part of 475th Birth Anniversary celebrations of Maharana Pratap Union Minister for Culture and Tourism Dr. Mahesh Sharma released a Commemorative coin of Rs. 100 and a Circulation coin of Rs. 10 in New Delhi.
• Ministry of Culture has been celebrating the 475th Birth Anniversary of Maharana Pratap in association with the State Government of Rajasthan. A Conference and Special Lecture on Maharana Pratap was organized by Nehru Memorial Museum & Library (NMML) in the University of Rajasthan, Jaipur on March 04, 2016. This was fully financed by the Ministry of Culture.
• The Government of India and the State Government of Rajasthan have decided to create a multi-purpose indoor stadium at Khel Gaon, Udaipur in his memory. Ministry of Culture has agreed to give a sum of Rs. 9.50 crore to the State Government for this purpose.

8) DBT scheme for Odisha farmers.

• Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched the ‘Direct Benefit Transfer’ (DBT) scheme for farmers and promised digging of at least one lakh borewells to enhance irrigation facilities in the State.
• Patnaik was addressing a meeting marking the celebration of the Akshya Trutiya festival at laxminarayanpur village near Pipili. The day is also observed as the ‘Krushak Divas.’ Under the DBT scheme, the farmers would get the subsidy amount in their bank accounts directly.

9) Parliament Passes Anti-Hijacking Bill.

• Parliament has passed the Anti-Hijacking Bill, 2016 to widen ambit of law dealing with this anti-hijacking crime. The Bill was first passed in the Rajya Sabha and later in the Lok Sabha in 2016.
• Now the Bill will go for Presidential assent as per Article 111 of Indian Constitution.
• The Bill defines hijacking as seizing control of an aircraft in service, unlawfully and intentionally, by coercion, technological means or by exercising force or any other form of intimidation. It covers several acts within the definition of hijacking.

It includes:

1. Attempt and abetment of hijacking
2. Organizing or directing others to commit hijacking and
3. Making a credible threat to commit hijacking.

10) WiFi at 5 railway stations.

• Google announced the launch of its free high-speed public WiFi service at Ujjain, Jaipur, Patna, Guwahati and Allahabad railway stations.
• This is in continuation with its project to provide high-speed public WiFi service at 100 Railway stations across India by end of the year.
• Minister of Railways Suresh Prabhu will formally inaugurate the service at these stations soon. It has been deploying the service over the extensive fiber network of Indian Railway’s arm Railtel which provides Internet services as RailWire.

11) Three-member panel to prepare policy framework for taxi operators.

• The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has set up a three-member committee to prepare a policy framework for taxi and other transport operators.
• The panel will be headed by Sanjay Mitra, Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways and have the Joint Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways and the Delhi Transport Commissioner as its members.
• A group of taxi and other transport operators had met Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari , apprising him of the situation that has emerged following the Supreme Court’s order banning diesel taxis in the NCR, and the various problems they are facing as a result of the ban.
• The Ministry has decided to set up a committee to look into these issues and come up with appropriate policy recommendations to address the same in a time-bound manner.

12) Harish Rawat set to return as Uttarakhand CM.

• Congress leader Harish Rawat is all set to be reinstated as the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, over six weeks after he was ousted by the Centre, with the Supreme Court its stamp of approval on the floor test in the Assembly.
• Rawat gets 33 votes out of 61 in the floor test. No irregularities were found in the voting. 9 MLAs could not vote due to their disqualification an apex court Bench and directed revocation of the President’s rule forthwith so that 68-year-old Rawat can assume office as Chief Minister.
• The developments have come as a major loss of face for the Modi Government at the Centre which had dismissed the Congress government and imposed President’s rule after nine Congress MLAs sided with the BJP on the Appropriation Bill.

13) Gujarat announced `Agri Business Policy-2016`.

• Gujarat government announced its `Agri Business Policy-2016` with a special emphasis on promoting food processing industry, applying new techniques to convert agriculture waste into value-added products and developing the entire value chain of exporting locally grown farm produces.
• The new policy was announced by Chief Minister Anandiben Patel while inaugurating this year`s `Krishi Mahotsav` in Anand town of Kheda district.
• The policy aims at increasing farmers` income by strengthening agriculture-related infrastructure and promoting food processing industry, which at present provides employment to around 10 lakh people in the state.
• As per the policy document, any new projects of agro food processing will get 25 per cent subsidy, maximum of Rs 50 lakh, on the total cost of establishing or upgrading such units in the state.
• Projects related to cold chain, food e-radiation, packaging houses and food parks will get 25 per cent subsidy in the limit of Rs. 5 crore, on the total cost of establishment of any such unit.

14) Parliament passes bill on potable alcohol.

• Parliament passed the Industries (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, which seeks to transfer from the Centre to states the control over industries engaged in the production of potable alcohol, with Lok Sabha approving some technical amendments.
• The bill in the Lok Sabha was introduced by Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and was later approved by the House amid din.
• The Industries (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill seeks to amend a schedule to exclude production of alcohol for potable purposes from the ambit of the Act.
• According to the Bill, the central government would continue to be responsible for formulating policy and regulating foreign collaboration (FDI and foreign technology collaboration agreements) for all products of fermentation industries, including industrial and potable alcohol.

15) First AIIMS-like institution on Ayurveda to come up in Delhi.

• The first AIIMS-like institution on Ayurveda will be inaugurated in Delhi within three months as part of steps to popularize the Indian system of medicine.
• There is an AIIMS for allopathy, the first AIIMS for Ayurveda is going to start in Delhi. The AYUSH is trying to have AIIMs like Centre on Ayurveda in all state capitals.
• The All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) is coming up at Jasola in Delhi. A 200-bed hospital will also become functional.
• The government allocated Rs. 16032 lakh to these centers and allocated Rs. 6949.81 lakhs.
• The National Free Drugs Initiative under the National Health Mission does not specify the number of drugs to be provided free of cost. While the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) includes 376 medicines, the number of drugs that states decide to provide free of cost varies.
• The decision to increase, decrease the number of essential medicines to be provided free of cost is to be taken by respective state/ union territory governments.

16) I-T Dept`s PAN-Aadhaar linkage crosses 50 lakh.

• The Income Tax department`s ambitious plan to link its PAN number database with Aadhaar has crossed the 50 lakh.
• The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the policy-making body for the IT department, had launched the initiative of linking the two databases Permanent Account Number and Aadhaar.
• I-T Dept to start a safe and quick electronic regime for taxpayers when it comes to filing income tax returns and subsequent ensuring of a host of tax-related services.
• The department wants these numbers to grow so that the full e-regime in the delivery of taxpayer services can be ushered in as soon as possible.
• The new e-filing system allows online verification of a person’s ITR by using the Aadhaar number, internet banking or bank account along with email and mobile number, thereby ending the practice of sending paper acknowledgement to the Centralized Processing Centre (CPC) of the department located in Bengaluru.

17) Government inks MoU with NDTV Ethnic Retail Ltd. to popularize India Handloom products.

• A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between The Development Commissioner (Handlooms), Ministry of Textiles, Government of India and NDTV Ethnic Retail Ltd. for popularizing India Handloom textiles as a fashionable product for youth.
• The joint endeavor will endorse and launch a project, Indian roots Fashion Accelerator (IFA), a project by NDTV to support fresh talent and to support new and innovative ventures in fashion industry. Government will support the project with incubation and production support.
• India Handloom Brand will also provide an interface where fashion professionals will be able to accesses facilities such as Weavers Service Centers and handloom clusters. The initiative will connect fashion designers with Handloom sector in an organized manner.

18) Maharashtra government declares `drought` in 29,000 villages.
Maharashtra government has declared drought in over 29,000 villages of the state, most of them in parched Marathwada and Vidarbha regions.
The government issued a corrigendum clarifying that wherever reference is made to a `drought-like situation`, it would be read as `drought`.
The government had earlier this month given an assurance to the Bombay High Court. The state government has already taken drought relief measures in villages where the anewari (proportion of failed crops) is below 50 paise in Kharif and Rabi season.
In the wake of acute water shortage in various parts of Maharashtra, the state government had informed the High Court that it would declare drought in over 29,000 villages in the state and all relief prescribed in the Drought Manual.

19) UIDAI launched special enrolment drive in 4 States/UTs.

• The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) launched a unique initiative to enroll left over population for Aadhaar, in four States and Union Territories, viz., Haryana, Goa, Chandigarh and Puducherry, where the Aadhaar saturation levels are more than 100% (as per projected population figure of last year).
• Aadhaar saturation can cross 100% when the migrant population also enrolls in that particular state. In 2016 over 101.26 crore Aadhaar numbers have been generated across the country.
• As part of the initiative, people who have not yet enrolled in Haryana, Goa, Chandigarh and Puducherry are being asked to register themselves at https://wenrol.uidai.gov.in. On completing the simple registration formality, such people would be enrolled for the Aadhaar number on a priority basis.
• This exercise has been initiated to ensure that no one is left without an Aadhaar number in these four States/UTs which has more than 100% Aadhaar saturation, statistically speaking.

20) Committee on Estimates recommends PM-headed authority on Ganga Rejuvenation.

• Ganga being declared one of the 10 most polluted rivers in the world, a parliamentary committee recommended setting up of an overarching authority headed by the Prime Minister to cut down on red tape so that the river is restored to its pristine glory.
• The Estimates Committee of Parliament, in its report on Ganga Rejuvenation tabled, an "overarching and fully empowered" authority headed by the Prime Minister was required to cut down on the red tape involving various ministries and state governments.
• Committee Chairman and BJP veteran Murli Manohar Joshi it would be preferred that the recommended body is created by a statute and it submits its report to Parliament on a regular basis.
• The need for such a body when the Prime Minister himself was monitoring the Namami Gange programme, personal monitoring was not "enough" and he should head the body so that inter-ministry and inter-state issues are settled without wasting time.

21) Research wing now compulsory in dental colleges.

• When majority of medical institutions in India that are engaged in active research complain about lack of funds, support and due recognition for their work, research in the field of dental sciences is completely ignored and lagging behind in the country.
• The Dental Council of India (DCI) has now made it mandatory for every dental college across the country to have a research wing.
• There is a lack of research in dental sciences. Only few dental colleges in India have research centers. In a bid to promote the research in the dental field, we have made it mandatory that every dental college should have research wing associated with it.
• The rule will apply to all dental colleges, i.e., already existing and those who are making fresh applications for establishing a dental college.
• Recently the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) research across the country is stuck due to lack of funds. A recent study published in Journal of Pharmacy and Bio-allied Sciences stated that "research in the dental field is progressing at mightier speed worldwide, but unfortunately representation of India at this platform is negligible".

1) Novak Djokovic Wins 2016 Mutua Madrid Open.

•  Serbian Tennis player Novac Djokovic (World No. 1) won the 2016 Mutua Madrid Open title in the men’s single category.
•  Novak Djokovic defeated Andy Murray 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 to conquer the Mutua Madrid Open title in Madrid, Spain.
•  With his win, Djokovic has moved ahead of Spain’s Rafael Nadal with a record 29 ATP Masters 1000 titles. It was also Djokovic’s fifth win in the last 6 ATP 1000 competitions.
•  Romanian tennis player Simona Halep (World No. 6) has won the women singles title of the Madrid Open.
•  In the final match played at Madrid (Spain), she defeated Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia by 6-2, 6-4 score. This was her third Madrid title and first title of 2016 season.

1.  Novak Djokovic was born on 22 May 1987 is a Serbian professional tennis player who is currently ranked world No. 1 in men`s singles tennis by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).
2.  He is generally considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time.
3.  Djokovic has won numerous awards, including the 2012, 2015, and 2016 Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsman of the Year. 

•  Indian boxers won four medals at the 7th Asian Youth Championshipsby finishing third in the overall standings with three silver and a bronze medal in the tournament held in Pavlodar, Kazakhstan.
•  National champion Ankush Dahiya (60 kg), Ashish Kulhirya (64 kg) and Reyal Puri (81 kg) fetched silver medals for the contingent, while Manjeet Singh (+91 kg) contributed the solitary bronze.
•  Kazakhstan topped the medal tally with 6 gold, 1 silver and 3 bronze medals followed by Uzbekistan at second position with 3 gold, 3 silver and 3 bronze medals.
•  The best boxer of the National Youth Championships, Ankush Dahiya lost to Uzbekistan`s Bilolbek Mirzarakhimov with the score of 0-3 while Ashish Kulhirya lost to Kazakhstan`s Ayatulla Takizhanov by the same margin.
•  Reyal Puri was beaten 0-3 by Uzbekistan`s Sanjar Tursunov.
•  Earlier in the semifinals, Manjeet lost to Nurdaulet Ulanuly of Kazakhstan by 0-3, thus settling for bronze. 

•  Golden State superstar Stephen Curry was named the NBA`s Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the second straight year.
•  It is the first time in the National Basketball Association`s 61-season history that a player has been the blanket first pick for the award.
•  No player, not even Michael Jordan has been a unanimous choice for MVP.
•  Curry is the 11th person to win back-to-back MVP awards and joins an illustrious club which includes the likes of James, Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.

4) Charlotte Edwards, England Women’s Cricket Captain, Retires From International Cricket.

•  England women`s captain Charlotte Edwards has retired from international cricket.
•  In her 20-year cricket career, she captained England for 10 yrs and became one of the most influential women in British Sport.
•  She has scored more than 10,000 runs in all forms of cricket. 
•  She is the most successful England captain having won the Ashes, World Cup and ICC World.
•  Edwards took the decision following England`s 2016 World T20 campaign, where they lost in the semi-finals against Australia.
•  The 36-year-old, Edwards will continue to play at domestic level including the first edition of the forthcoming Women’s Super League. 

•  The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced that it has lifted the provisional suspension imposed on Sri Lanka wicket-keeper batsman Kusal Perera.
•  The decision was taken after withdrawal of the disciplinary charges against Perera that were made in December 2015.
•  Perera`s urine sample was provided for a random test by the International Cricket Council during the home series against Pakistan in May 2015.
•  However, the cricketer stated that he took some medicines for a leech bite.
•  After the A sample became positive, he himself with the help of Sri Lanka Cricket Board asked for the testing of B sample, which was tested at Qatar.
•  The pronouncement came after the WADA-accredited laboratory in Qatar withdrew its original Adverse Analytical Finding following further investigations.
•  As a result, Perera can now return to domestic and international cricket with immediate effect.

•  For the first time two women wrestlers from India have qualified for the Olympics.
•  Wrestlers Ravinder Khatri and Babita Kumari have secured spots at the upcoming Rio Olympics after their rivals failed a dope test, taking the total number of quota places from India to eight.
•  Ravinder Khatri was awarded the place in the Greco-Roman 85 kg after Kenzheev Zhanarbek of Kyrgystan tested positive at the Asian Olympic qualifier.
•  Babita gets a shot at competing in Rio with Mongolian wrestler Sumiya Erdenechimeg failing the dope test in 53 kg freestyle, also at the Asian qualifier.
•  While Vinesh won a gold in 48 kg category, Sakshi bagged a silver in 58kg class as they booked a Rio Games quota place each for the country.

•  India captain Anil Kumble has been re-appointed ICC (International Cricket Council) Cricket Committee chairman for the second term of 3-years.
•  A right-arm leg spin (leg break googly) bowler, he took 619 wickets in Test cricket and remains the third-highest wicket taker only behind Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne as of 2015.
•  Earlier he was appointed as the chairman for his first term in 2012 and now he will continue to head the panel until 2018. Anil Kumble is all-time highest wicket-taker for India.
•  Former India captain Rahul Dravid and ex-Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardena have been appointed to the ICC Cricket Committee.
•  Rahul Dravid and Mahela Jayawardene have played 1,161 international matches between them from 1996 to 2015, and each was appointed for a 3-year term.
•  Former Australia off-spinner Tim May has been elected as current player representative and shall replace Laxman Sivaramakrishnan, who has completed his three-year term. 
•  Three-time ICC Umpire of the Year Richard Kettleborough also has been appointed as umpires’ representative in the committee.

•  Rwandan national captain Eric Dusingizimana, has set a new Guinness world record by batting out a straight 51 hours.
•  Earlier the longest individual net session, beating the record set last year by India`s Virag Mane, who had batted a straight 50 hours.
•  Pakistan`s Hanif Mohammad, who batted over a period of three days during his epic match-saving knock of 337 against West Indies in 1958, is currently the record holder for batting the longest period of time in a cricket match.
•  He had spent a total of 16 hours and 10 minutes at the crease.

•  Max Verstappen of Red Bull became Formula One’s youngest race winner at age 18 with a victory at the Spanish Grand Prix 2016.
•  He was able to win the Spanish Grand Prix by maintaining lead position after Mercedes teammates Lewis Hamilton and Nico Roseberg crashed into each other in the 1st lap of race.

•  Indian boxing star Vijender Singh registered his sixth straight professional boxing victory with a Technical Knockout over Poland`s Andrzej Soldra in a Super Middleweight contest at Boltan in UK.
•  Soldra is the most experienced opponent Vijender has faced so far with 12 wins out of the 17 bouts he has fought so far.
•  Vijender Singh had previously won all his five fights by technical knockouts in only 14 rounds of action.
•  Vijender Singh will now contest for the World Boxing Organisation`s (WBO) Asia title on his home turf in Delhi.

•  Britain’s Andy Murray (World No. 3) has won the 2016 Italian Open title of Tennis in the men’s singles category held in Rome, Italy.
•  It was Murray’s first Italian Open title.
•  Andy Murray defeated Novak Djokovic (World No. 1) for the first time on the clay court by 6-3, 6-3 score.
•  Andy Murray is second British male tennis player to win Italian Open title after George Patrick Hughes who had won it in 1931.

•  Serena Williams (World No. 1) from United States has won the 2016 Italian Open title of Tennis in the women’s singles category and she defeated Madison Keys by 7-6, 6-3 score.

•  Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan pair from United States has won the the2016 Italian Open title in the men’s Doubles category. In the final match, they defeated pair of Vasek Pospisil (Canada) and Jack Sock (United States) by 2–6, 6–3, [10–7] score. 

•  India’s Sania Mirza and her Swiss partner Martina Hingis (World No. 1 pair) have won the2016 Italian Open title in the Women’s Doubles category.
•  In the final match, the World Number One pair defeated the 7th seeded Russian pair of Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina by 6-1, 6-7, 10-3 score.
•  This was the season`s fifth title for the Indo-Swiss pair after Sydney, Brisbane, Australian Open and St Petersburg.

•  Indian athlete Sudha Singh has created history by breaking the national record in women`s 3,000m steeplechase event in the Diamond League Meet in Shanghai.
•  Guangzhou 2010 Asian Games gold medalist and London 2012 Olympian as well, Sudha Singh clocked 9 minutes, 26.55 seconds to finish a creditable eighth.
•  This is a far and fair improvement from her stint at the Federation Cup, where she had clocked 9 minutes, 31.86 seconds to make the cut for Rio 2016.

1) Kalyan Jewellers eyes Rs. 13,000 crore turnover on Rs. 900 crore expansion.

• Kerala-based Kalyan Jewellers is eyeing a turnover of Rs. 13,000 crore this fiscal (FY-17) banking primarily on its Rs. 900 crore retail expansion plans through 20 stores in India and in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
• The company, which has PE investor Warburg Pincus as a minority shareholder, will fund expansion plans mostly through own resources. It has 76 stores in India and 21 in Qatar, Kuwait and the UAE.
  
• The company has already invested Rs. 300 crore towards six of the 15 showrooms it planned to set up in the country this fiscal. Three stores have come up in Rajasthan and another three are expected in Kolkata. While five stores are in the works in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, the rest nine will be in South India.
  
• 
  

2) Knowlarity acquires customer engagement platform Smartwards.

• Knowlarity Communications, Asia’s leading cloud telephony company, announced the acquisition of Delhi-based Smartwards, a customer engagement platform that simplifies loyalty for local businesses and their customers.
• As part of the move, Shantanu Mathur and Dhanraj Singh Bisht - the co-founders of Smartwards, will lead the India operations for Knowlarity. The deal will see Knowlarity integrating the Smartwards product and technology into its own product ecosystem to provide enterprise software solutions to small & medium businesses.
  
• Smartwards started operations in 2013 with a team of 6. The company‘s proprietary technology enables SMBs to identify, reward, engage customers, in-store and out-of-store. With presence in over 150 locations across 8 cities, Smartwards provided engagement solutions to local businesses, including restaurants, cafes, cinemas, salons and retail outlets.
  

3) Quickr acquires beauty services provider Salosa.

• Online classifieds player Quikr has acquired Salosa, an on demand in-home beauty services provider.
• This strategic acquisition is a part of Quikr`s plan to invest Rs. 250 crore in its home services vertical, `QuikrServices`.
  
• This investment will enable the company go deeper and faster in key categories under QuikrServices.
  
• Salosa which has been a partner to QuikrServices will further strengthen its beauty services offerings with stylists that have undergone a rigorous process of quality and background checks along with required training.
  
• QuikrServices has 250,000 service providers offering over 80 types of services for consumers and is being used by 1,00,000 customers every day.
  

4) GMR Infra sells 30% in energy arm to Tenaga for Rs. 2,000 crore.

• GMR Infrastructure is selling a 30 per cent equity stake in its subsidiary GMR Energy Ltd (GEL) to Malaysia’s Tenaga Nasional Berhad for Rs. 2,000 crore ($300 million). The Malaysian power major has an option to invest further in more GEL assets.
• The firm would use the proceeds to retire GEL’s debt. After the funding infusion, the energy arm’s debt will come down to Rs. 750 crore, resulting in a saving of Rs. 250 crore a year in interest payments.
  
• GMR Infrastructure’s total debt stands at Rs. 43,439.60 crore. The firm had launched an asset-light strategy a couple of years ago to reduce its mounting debt burden.
  
• The Management Committee of GMR Infrastructure has approved Tenaga Nasional Berhad’s investments in ``select`` GEL assets.
  
• A power utility major in Malaysia, Tenaga has a total installed capacity of 10,818 MW and a share of 50 per cent in the grid’s generation capacity.
  

5) NRI deposit flows touch $15.9 billion in FY16.

• Attractive interest rates in India saw overseas Indians pour $1.92 billion more into non-resident Indian (NRI) deposits in FY2016 vis-à-vis FY2015, according to Reserve Bank of India data.
• Overall, NRI deposit inflows in FY2016 amounted to $15.977 billion ($14.057 billion in FY2015).
  
• In FY2015, NRI deposit inflow had dropped to $14.057 billion after topping $38.406 billion in FY2014.
  
• Year-on-year, NRI deposits increased by about 10 per cent to stand at $126.854 billion as at March-end 2016. Carry trade (NRIs borrowing in foreign currencies and parking these funds as deposits with banks in India) may have lured overseas Indians to save money with banks in India.
  
• NRIs parked $2.492 billion as against $1.001 billion in the year-ago period in FCNR (B) deposits, according to RBI’s monthly bulletin.
  

6) Government fixes ceiling price of 54 drug formulations.

• Pharma prices regulator NPPA has fixed ceiling price of 54 drug formulations used for treatment of cancer, diabetes rheumatoid arthritis, bacterial infections and hypertension.
• It has also fixed the retail price of 11 drugs.
  
• National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has fixed/ revised ceiling prices of 54 scheduled formulations of Schedule-I under Drugs (Price Control) Amendment Order, 2016 and Retail Price of 11 formulations under DPCO, 2013.
  
• Last month also it had fixed prices of some drug formulation packs.
  
• The government fixes the prices of essential drugs based on the simple average of all medicines in a particular therapeutic segment, having sales of more than 1 per cent.
  
• Besides, it regulates the prices of all other medicines, while companies are allowed to hike prices of such drugs by up to 10 per cent in a year.
  

7) FarEye to raise Rs. 35-40 crore from venture capital firm SAIF Partners.

• SaaS-based mobile workforce management software FarEye is in an advanced stage to raise about Rs. 35-40 crore from leading venture capital firm SAIF Partners.
• Founded in 2013, New Delhi-based FarEye is a mobile workforce management platform that helps organizations schedule jobs, track execution and evaluate performance, all in real time. The start-up helps companies to generate more revenue by increasing productivity and customer satisfaction.
  

RoboticWares:

1. FarEye is part of RoboticWares Pvt Limited that built India’s first desi GPS-based vehicle security device that provides customers with a web-based, centralized tracking tool to keep track of personal vehicle/ fleets. It also has features such as ignition alerts and anti-theft SMS alerts.
2. RoboticWares was founded in 2009. It was incubated at the Technology Business Incubator at Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Bhubaneswar. It is also the only Indian company to design, develop and manufacture GPS tracking system indigenously in India.
   
3. FarEye’s services include real-time coordination with mobile workforce, task automation, constant job updates, tracking workers, identification of best worker to perform a task, reduction in manual work, analytical reports and smarter decision making.
   
4. 
   

8) Govt approves Rs. 1,984 crore Delhi-Meerut Expressway stretch.

• The government approved widening of the crucial UP Gate to Dasna stretch of the Delhi-Meerut Expressway, to be built at an estimated cost of Rs. 1,983 crore, which will ease traffic congestion in the national capital.
• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given its approval for development of 8/6 laning of Delhi-Meerut Expressway - Package-II-Uttar Pradesh Border to Dasna Section of NH-24 in Uttar Pradesh.
  
• The cost of the project is estimated to be Rs. 1,983.51 crore including cost of land acquisition, resettlement and rehabilitation and other pre-construction activities.
  
• The total length of the road will be approximately 19 kms.
  
• This work will be under the National Highways Development Project (NHDP) Phase-VI. The approval is in Hybrid Annuity Mode.
  

9) Union Cabinet approves for MoU between SEBI and FSRA Abu Dhabi.

• The Union Cabinet approved signing of a pact between markets regulator Sebi and Financial Services Regulatory Authority, Abu Dhabi for mutual co-operation and technical assistance.
• The Sebi`s pact with its Abu Dhabi counterpart will promote further development of economic links and cooperation between the two signatories and will help create conditions for development of securities markets in the two countries.
  
• It would also contribute towards strengthening the information sharing framework between the two regulators.
  
• The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval for signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Sebi and Financial Services Regulatory Authority, Abu Dhabi, for mutual co-operation and technical assistance between the two regulators.
  
• In order to encourage the exchange of information and assistance, Sebi has been signing pacts with the jurisdictions who are yet to become a signatory to the multilateral MoU of International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).
  

10) Start-up Raw Pressery to raise $20 million.

• Two-year-old start up Raw Pressery is planning to raise $20 million from the same set of investors since the time it started making cold pressed fresh juices. Having raised $7.2 million from investors such as Sequoia India, Saama Capital and DSG Capital, its next round is expected to be a bigger one for expanding its beverage portfolio to foods such as vegetable chips and health bars.
• It is likely to be the same set of investors and will help us raise $ 20 million in the next 10-12 months. Investors like Sequoia, Saama Capital and DSG have been growing with us and kept faith in our business model.
  
• Having created the raw cold pressed juice category in the country, the Mumbai-based start-up has been steadily raising funds to build its Mumbai-based plant and distribution network while a slew of others like Divine Jus, Rejeuve and Juice Up have also entered the category.

1) BAFTA TV Awards announced for the year 2016.
The British Academy Television Awards have been announced for the year 2016 by British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA).

Leading Actress: Suranne Jones.
Leading Actor: Mark Rylance.
Supporting actor: Tom Courtenay.
Supporting actress: Chanel Cresswell.
Entertainment performance: Leigh Francis.
Male performance in a comedy programme: Peter Kay.
Female performance in a comedy programme: Michaela Coel.
BAFTA TV Fellowship Recipients: Ray Galton & Alan Simpson.

2) MP Tourism wins Best Indian Destination for Wildlife Award.

• Madhya Pradesh Tourism (MPT) received the Best Indian Destination for Wildlife Award. The award was presented by the Lonely Planet Group.
• Actress Amy Jackson presented the award to MPT at a function held in Mumbai.
  
• On behalf of MPT Chairman, his Officer on Special Duty (OSD), Vinod Kumar Amar received the award.
  
• The state government launched number of programmes for the conservation of flora and fauna because of which Kanha and Pench were regarded as the most beautiful national parks in Asia.
  
• Madhya Pradesh has 25 wild life sanctuaries including nine National Parks. Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Pench, Panna, and Satpura National Park are managed as project tiger areas.
  

About Lonely Planet:

1. Lonely Planet is the largest travel guide book publisher in the world.
2. The company is owned by American billionaire Brad Kelley`s NC2 Media, which bought it in 2013 from BBC Worldwide for 77 million US dollar.
   
3. As of 2014, Lonely Planet`s largest office is located in Footscray, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia.

3) US President honours Indian-American elementary teacher Revathi Balakrishnan.

• US President Barack Obama has honoured an Indian-American elementary teacher Revathi Balakrishnan from Texas at the White House.
• She was honoured for her excellent work in the field of education as part of the ‘National Teacher of the Year Programme’.
  

About Revathi Balakrishnan:

1. Ms. Balakrishnan teaches math classes in third through fifth grade at Patsy Sommer Elementary School, Texas. Prior to becoming teacher she was a systems analyst with Liberty Mutual for about 12 years.
2. Balakrishnan has taught at ‘Sommer Elementary’ for six years before teaching at Forest North Elementary for three years. Earlier, she was also named as 2016 ‘Texas Elementary Teacher of the Year’.
   
   

4) Hockey India recommended Ritu Rani and V.R. Raghunath for Arjuna Award.

• Hockey India recommended Indian women’s team captain Ritu Rani and senior men’s team drag-flicker V.R. Raghunath along with Dharamvir Singh for Arjuna Award.
• It also recommended Sylvanus Dung Dung for Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award and veteran coach C.R. Kumar for Dronacharya Award.
  

C.R. Kumar:
He is best known for guiding the Indian junior men’s hockey team to glory in the 2011 Junior World Cup in Hobart when he had served as the team’s Head Coach.
He has also served as Assistant Coach of the Indian senior men’s team at the 1998 Utrecht World Cup and 2002 Kuala Lumpur World Cup.

Sylvanus Dung Dung:

1. He was part of the Indian team that won the gold at the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games wherein he had scored the golden goal against Spain.

5) President Pranab Mukherjee confers Florence Nightingale Awards to 35 Nurses.

• President Pranab Mukherjee has presented the National Florence Nightingale Awards to thirty-five nursing personnel from across the country.
• They were presented with the award at a function held in Rashtrapati Bhavan on the occasion of International Nurses Day (12 May).
  

About National Florence Nightingale Award:

1. The Florence Nightingale Award was established by the Union Health Ministry to honour the selfless services rendered by Nurses with devotion, sincerity, dedication and compassion.
2. These awards are given to the outstanding nursing personnel employed in Union, State/ Union Territories.
   
3. Nurses working in government, voluntary organizations, mission institutions and the private institutions can apply with the due recommendation of concerned State Government.
   
4. The awards carry 50000 rupees cash prize, a certificate, a citation certificate and a Medal.
   
5. The award is named after Florence Nightingale, founder of modern nursing. She was born on May 12, 1820 and the day is celebrated as International Nurses Day all over the world.
   

6) Indian artist wins award at UN poster contest on N-disarmament.

• Anjali Chandrashekar, a New York-based designer and "artivist", won the third prize in UN Poster for Peace contest presented by the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (ODA) to raise awareness of the need for nuclear disarmament.
• Titled `Cutting Barriers through Peace`, the poster features a peace dove slicing through a nuclear weapon. Another poster `Break Free` by the Chennai girl, that shows doves flying out of a bird cage at the top of a nuclear weapon, received an honorable mention.
  
• She was appreciated by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon for the poster depicts a peace dove slicing through a nuclear weapon.
  
• The 1st prize went to Ivan Ciro Palomino Huamani from Peru for his `Spinning Peace`, which features a nuclear weapon being unraveled into string which is then used to fly kites and balloons, and to jump rope.
  

7) Celina Jaitly has been honoured with the Harvey Milk Award.

• Bollywood actress Celina Jaitly has been honoured with the Harvey Milk Award.
• She has dedicated it to two Bangladeshi activists who were murdered and wants to share it with Indian LGBT activists Ashok Row Kavi, Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, Prince Manvendra Singh Gohail, Sridhar Rangayan, Harish Iyer, The Naz Foundation, Humsafar Trust and Geeta Kumana.
  
• The award is in the name of Harvey Bernard Milk, an American politician who became the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in California. He won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
  
• She was flanked by Charles Radcliffe of the UN Human Rights Commission and Milk’s inspiring nephew, Stuart Milk.
  

8) U.R. Rao becomes first Indian to be given IAF Hall of Fame Award.

• Former ISRO Chairman and space scientist Prof Udupi Ramachandra Rao became the first Indian to be given ‘Hall of Fame’ Award by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF)
• Mr. Rao has been selected for the prestigious award for his outstanding contribution to the progress of astronautics within the framework of the IAF activities.
  
• The scientist will be presented with the certificate at the 67th International Astronautical Congress, which will be held in Guadalajara in Mexico on 30 September 2016.
  

Udupi Ramachandra Rao:

1. U.R. Rao is the former chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation. He had served as Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) from 1984 to 1994.
2. Under his leadership, India had initiated the development of the geostationary launch vehicle GSLV and the development of cryogenic technology in 1991.
   
3. He was also responsible for successful launch of INSAT satellites during his stint at ISRO.
   
4. He also had served as the first Chairman of Antrix Corporation, the commercial arm of the ISRO.
   
5. Presently, he is the Chairman of Governing Council of the Physical Research Laboratory at Ahmadabad and he is also Chancellor of Indian Institute for Space Science and Technology (IIST) at Thiruvananthapuram.
   
   

9) IIT student Nandini Bhandaru wins Young Scientist Award of European Material Science Research Society.

• Nandini Bhandaru, a PhD student at IIT-Kharagpur has won the Young Scientist Award of the European Materials Research Society’s (E-MRS) for contribution to materials science.
• She had won the award for her outstanding contribution to materials science and nanotechnology, particularly nano-patterning of soft films and surfaces.
  
• Presently, Ms. Bhandaru is working at the Instability and Soft Patterning Laboratory of the institute IIT-Kharagpur. Her area of doctoral research is on nano-fabrication, including soft-lithography, polymer blend films, thin film dewetting and self-assembly.
  

Innovation proposed by Nandini on nanofabrication:

1. She proposed an innovation through which possibility of fabricating nano scale patterned surfaces can be done at an extremely low cost and using an inherently simple methodology.
2. With this technique, the fabrication costs of these surfaces can be reduced to one tenth of the current Photolithography or Electron Beam Lithography based methods which require high end expensive instrumentation.
   

10) South Korean author Han Kang wins 2016 Man Booker International Prize for `The Vegetarian`.

• South Korean author, Han Kang, has won the 2016 Man Booker International Prize for her novel ‘The Vegetarian’.
• With this Han becomes the first South Korean to win this prestigious literary prize. The writer and her British translator Deborah Smith will share the 72,000 dollars prize money.
  
• Han’s novel ‘The Vegetarian’ tells a story of a wife (Yeong-hye lead character) who decides to become a vegetarian. The decision provokes cruelty from her husband, and from her father, and obsession from her sister’s husband, as the woman, she dreams obsessively about becoming a tree.
  
• The novel was picked unanimously by the panel of five judges chaired by Boyd Tonkin. It was chosen amongst six other novels.

1) Greece passes pension, tax reform bill.

• Greece`s Parliament approved a bill reforming the debt-ridden country`s pension and tax systems.
• The bill, introduced as part of the requirements the country must meet under its third international bailout, is set to increase social security and pension contributions, and raise taxes for most people.
• The bill was passed by the 153 lawmakers of the ruling Syriza-Independent government coalition in voting.
• The government now expects creditors will move to lighten its debt burden, but most of those owed oppose forgiving part of Greece’s massive debt.

About Greece:

Capital: Athen
Currency: Euro
Prime Minister: Alexis Tsipras

2) Air show opens in Dubai.

• The Airport Show, whose 16th edition will be held from May 9 - 11 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC).
• Over 300 leading global companies are expected to participate at the 2016 event, showcasing their latest technology, innovation and product offerings to a projected 7,500 attendees, including 150 hosted buyers and over 50+ regional aviation authorities expected to attend the event.
• The Airport Show is an ideal platform for showcasing the latest technologies and learning about emerging trends and networking with key decision-makers and getting first-hand knowledge about the US $100 billion regional airport expansion and modernization programmes.
• The show has recorded a 30 per cent growth in participants for the Business Connect programme with an all-time high participation of 154 buyers. This year`s show will see buyers from - Algeria, Armenia, Bahrain, Botswana, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Zimbabwe and the host country, UAE.

3) Norway sets up Panama Papers hotline.

• Norway`s white-collar crimes police unit established a telephone hotline for people seeking to confess to tax evasion linked to the Panama Papers documents leak and those who come forward could expect more lenient treatment.
• The initiative was announced one day after the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) released a database containing a small fraction of the more than 11.5 million documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, making it possible for anyone to search the released documents.
• Oekokrim has set up a phone number that can be used by those who wish to put their cards on the table and provide information about potential income or capital abroad which is not available to the Norwegian tax authorities the agency responsible for tackling economic crime.

4) Obama 1st serving US President to visit Hiroshima.

• Barack Obama becomes the first U.S. President to visit Hiroshima, the first target of an atomic bomb 70 years ago.
• The Republicans have accused Mr. Obama of being on a perpetual global apology tour - referring to his various remarks that sought to recalibrate U.S. positions towards Europe, the Muslim world and the war on terror.
• Many conservative commentators and politicians think Mr. Obama’s foreign policy has diminished the superpower status of the U.S. Republican candidate Donald Trump’s ‘Make American Great Again’.

5) France to set up deradicalisation centres.

• France will create centers in each region of the country to de-radicalise people or prevent them becoming involved in jihadist groups. The fight against jihadism is without doubt the big challenge of our generation.
• The plan, which will cost an additional 40 million Euros (USD 45.5 million) by 2018 on top of the current funding, aims to double existing efforts to try to help people already in jihadist networks or those likely to join such groups.
• The measures are a response to the deaths of 147 people in jihadist attacks in France last year.
• Jihadist gunmen stormed the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo satirical newspaper and a Jewish supermarket, killing 17 people, and then 130 people were killed in coordinated attacks on the capital claimed by the Islamic State group.

6) India committed to a strong partnership for protection of children within SAARC countries.

• The three day meeting of SAARC Countries on protection of children ended with the Ministerial Meeting in New Delhi. The meeting of South Asia Initiative to End Violence against Children (SAIEVAC) was held to assess the progress made in collective effort to promote child rights and make the SAARC region safe for children.
• The Union Home Minister, Shri Rajnath Singh the SAARC region is home to the world’s largest population of children. Children are our most precious resource and it is most critical to safeguard the innocence and security of childhood.
• Highlighting the importance of SAIEVAC, it is a coalition of States which aims at protection of the rights of children, particularly protection of children from all forms of discrimination, abuse, neglect, exploitation, torture, trafficking i.e. any kind of violence.
• The SAIEVAC meeting will provide the subsequent agenda in terms of strengthening the institutional and coordination mechanisms and to develop a regional strategy that defines clear milestones towards the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

About SAARC:

Headquarters: Kathmandu
Secretary-General: Arjun Bahadur Thapa

7) US-India Defence Cooperation Act introduced in Senate.
Two top American senators have introduced a legislation which if passed by Congress would elevate the status of the Indo-US defence relationship on par with that of America`s closest allies like NATO and Israel.

• The US-India Defence Technology and Partnership Act was introduced in the Senate by Senators Mark Warner and John Cornyn - co-chairs of the Senate India Caucus.
• The legislation, a similar version of the bill was introduced in the House of Representatives, institutionalizes the US government`s focus on the US-India security relationship while sending a powerful signal to India that the US is a reliable and dependable defence partner.
• This bill supports strengthening our bilateral relationship, particularly in defence, and bestows upon India the status it deserves as a partner in promoting security in Asia and around the world issued by US India Business Council (USIBC) which applauded the bill.
• As an important partner with a flourishing economy, India has huge potential as a market for US defence manufacturers, which support millions of American jobs.

8) India, China, 3 others sign pact on tax info sharing.

• India and five other nations, including China and Israel, signed a pact for automatic exchange of information on tax issues and develop new tools and standards for tackling tax base erosion and evasion.
• As part of continuing efforts to boost transparency by multinational enterprises (MNEs), Canada, Iceland, India, Israel, New Zealand and the People`s Republic of China signed the Multilateral Competent Authority agreement for the automatic exchange of Country-by-Country reports, bringing the total number of signatories to 39 countries.
• The signing ceremony took place Beijing. The pact allows all signatories to bilaterally and automatically exchange Country-by-Country Reports with each other.
• It will help ensure that tax administrations obtain a complete understanding of how MNEs structure their operations, while also ensuring that the confidentiality of such information is safeguarded.
• The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) issued final tax policy recommendations stemming from its Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project.

9) Islamic State releases app for children.

• ISIS has launched its first mobile app for children to teach them the Arabic alphabet and the vocabulary taught by it includes jihadist themes along with words like ‘tank’, ‘gun’ and ‘rocket’.
• The Islamic State’s ‘Library of Zeal’ has released an application for teaching the Arabic alphabet to children on Android devices.
• The vocabulary taught within the application includes jihadist themes. The application was released through Islamic State Telegram channels and on other file sharing websites.

10) WHO proposes faster test for superbug form of TB.

• The World Health Organization recommended a speedier, cheaper treatment plan for patients with superbug forms of tuberculosis (TB) - a change that should help cure thousands of the killer disease.
• The WHO`s leading TB expert was a critical step forward in tackling the "public health crisis" of multi drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), the Geneva-based health agency that the new treatment plan could now be completed in 9-12 months rather than the two years previously recommended.
• The shorter treatment regimen also costs significantly less - at just under $1,000 per patient in developing countries
• The new WHO recommendations offer hope to hundreds of thousands of MDR-TB patients who can now benefit from a test that quickly identifies eligibility for the shorter regimen, and then complete treatment in half the time and at nearly half the cost.

11) Pakistan set to get $510 million from IMF.

• Pakistan is poised to get USD 510 million from the IMF as part of a three-year, USD 6.7 billion assistance programme.
• The International Monetary Fund reviewed Pakistan`s economic performance before saying that USD 510 million will be available under a three-year, USD 6.7 billion financial assistance programme.
• The agreement was reached after the IMF mission held discussions with Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Ashraf Wathra and other senior officials in Dubai.
• Dawn reported that the money will be provided when the review is approved by the IMF`s management and executive board.
• After productive discussions, the mission and the Pakistani authorities have reached staff-level agreement on the completion of the eleventh review under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement.

12) U.S. lauds Belgium for starting air strikes in Syria against Islamic State.

• Belgium will extend its F-16 air strikes against Islamic State jihadists in Iraq into Syria, as it grapples with the aftermath of deadly IS-claimed bomb attacks in Brussels in March.
• Belgium launched its first attacks against IS in Iraq in late 2014 as part of the U.S led coalition, but decided against strikes in Syria amid public fears over getting dragged into a wider conflict.
• However, the November 13 Paris attacks which left 130 people dead brought home the IS threat to the heart of Europe and changed sentiment sharply.
• The Belgium government was reconsidering its position, as it did not make sense to attack IS in Iraq but not in Syria.
• The Paris and Brussels attacks have both been linked to the same jihadist cell with links to Islamic State in Syria.

13) China launches a remote sensing satellite to carry out land surveys.

• China successfully launched a remote sensing satellite to carry out land surveys and disaster relief.
• The satellite named Yaogan-30 was launched from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwestern China`s Gobi Desert.
• The satellite will be used for experiments, land surveys, crop yield estimates and disaster relief, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
• Yaogan-30 was carried by a Long March-2D rocket, the 227th mission for the Long March rocket family.

14) White House launched project to study microbes.

• The White House is launched the National Microbiome Initiative (NMI) - an ambitious plan to better understand the microbes that live in humans, other animals, crops, soils, oceans, and more.
• These miniscule organisms are attracting mammoth budgets: federal agencies are committing $121 million to the NMI over the next two years, while more than 100 universities, non-profits, and companies are chipping in another $400 million.
• There’s a tendency of read “microbiome” and automatically see “human” before it. But that’s a narcissistic view.

15) New York-based law firm hires 1st ever AI lawyer.

• New York-based law firm BakerHostetler recently hired ROSS, `the world`s first artificially intelligent lawyer`, which is powered by Watson, an IBM-developed AI system capable of processing natural language.
• After being asked a question, ROSS reads through the law and gathers evidence to give relevant and evidence-based answers. It also monitors the law for changes that can affect a certain case.

16) British royals launch campaign to tackle stigma of mental health.

• British Royals Prince William, Princess Kate and Prince Harry launched the Heads Together campaign at Queen Elizabeth Park in East London.
• Campaign aims to work with charities "to change the national conversation on mental wellbeing".
• Campaign will be executed the Royal Foundation in partnership with eight charities that have decades of experience in tackling stigma and raising awareness. It is the single biggest project the three British Royals have undertaken together so far.
• Prince William will target young men at risk for suicide and Princess Kate will focus on childhood mental health.
• Prince Harry will focus on military members and veterans and help them cope with the mental health challenges.

17) Italy Approves Same-Sex Civil Unions.

• After decades of struggle by gay rights groups, and months of contested political negotiations, the Italian Parliament on gave final approval to a law recognizing civil unions of same-sex couples.
• With this, Italy has become the last country in Western Europe to do so. However, the bill has yet to be assented by the Italian President.
• More than 20 countries have legalized gay marriage. The law also makes this right available to unmarried heterosexual couples.
• The proposed law legalize same-sex couples many of the same rights as married heterosexual couples. Partners in a civil union can apply for public housing as couples.
• They can also inherit their partners’ pensions. Assets inheritance guidelines will be the same as for married couples.

About Italy:

Capital: Rome
Currency: Euro
President: Sergio Mattarella
Prime minister: Matteo Renzi

1) Indian scientist Manvendra K. Singh bags SGD 3 million grant from Singapore`s NRF.

• Dr. Manvendra K. Singh, a scientist from Uttar Pradesh`s Gorakhpur city, was awarded a grant of SGD 3 million (about 14.7 crore rupees) by Singapore’s National Research Foundation (NRF).
• Dr. Singh’s name was announced that he is among the seven young scientists from across the world to be endowed with the Singapore NRF fellowship.
  
• The scientist has been awarded the fellowship to pursue research in the field of congenital and adult cardiovascular diseases.
  

About Manvendra K. Singh:

1. He works as an assistant professor in the cardiovascular and metabolic disorders programme at Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore.
2. He is also an adjunct assistant professor at National Heart Research Institute Singapore and Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Pennsylvania, USA.
   
3. He obtained his masters degree in Biotechnology from Madurai Kamaraj University.
   
4. After completing his masters, he joined MD/ Ph.D program in Molecular Medicine at Hannover Medical School, Germany.
   

2) Shashank Manohar resigns as BCCI president.

• Shashank Vyankatesh Manohar resigned as the President of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
• He also stepped down as the BCCI representative in the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Asian Cricket Council (ACC).
  
• He had succeeded Jagmohan Dalmiya as the cricket body’s president after the former’s demise in October 2015.
  
• It was Manohar’s second stint as the president of the BCCI. Earlier, he served as the president of the cricketing body from 25 September 2008 to 19 September 2011.
  
• He is holding the office of the president of the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) who is one of the three full members in the state of Maharashtra.
  
• He is also referred to as Mr. Clean and is also known for his spotless track record and integrity in cricketing circles.
  
• 
  

3) Bangladesh executes Jamaat chief Nizami for war crimes.

• Bangladesh executed Islamist party Chief Motiur Rahman Nizami for convicted criminal during the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan.
• The Jamaat leader was hanged at Dhaka Central jail, after the Supreme Court rejected his final plea against a death sentence imposed by a special tribunal for genocide, rape and arranging the massacre of top intellectuals during the war.
  
• He became the fourth Jamaat leader and the fifth person hanged after being convicted of war crimes by one of the two International Crimes Tribunals.
  
• The war crimes tribunal set up by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2010 has erupted violence and drawn criticism from opposition politicians, including leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami.
  

4) Shashank Manohar elected unopposed as ICC`s first independent chairman.

• Veteran cricket administrator Shashank Manohar was elected unopposed as ICC’s (International Cricket Council) first independent Chairman.
• He was the sole nominee for the position and the ICC Board has unanimously supported his appointment. He will have tenure of two years.
• He was elected to the post after the ICC Full Council’s approval of constitutional amendments proposed by the Board following its April 2016 meeting.
• In order to comply with provisions of ICC rules, Shashank Manohar had resigned from the post of BCCI president.

About Shashank Manohar:

1. Shashank Manohar by profession is a prominent lawyer.
2. He had twice served as the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), from 2008 to 2011 and from November 2015 to May 2016.
3. As a cricket administrator he is known for his impeccable clean image and track record & integrity in cricketing circles.

5) A.R. Rahman named Goodwill Ambassador for Olympics.

• Renowned Music composer A.R. Rahman has accepted the Indian Olympic Association`s offer to become the Goodwill Ambassador for Rio Olympics.
• Rahman is India`s fourth Goodwill Ambassador after Bollywood actor Salman Khan, Olympic gold medalist Abhinav Bindra and cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar.
• Notably, this time, India is to send its largest ever contingent of about 90 athletes to the Rio Olympics starting August 5.

6) Brazil new interim President Michel Temer calls for trust in values for Brazil`s recover.

• Brazil new interim President Michel Temer has addressed the nation after the Senate voted to back the impeachment trial of Dilma Rousseff.
• He has named a business friendly cabinet that includes respected former central bank chief Henrique Meirelles as Finance Minster.
  
• Mr. Temer, has now taken over as President for up to 180 days, the maximum time allowed for the impeachment trial of Ms Rousseff.
  
• Earlier Brazil`s president Dilma Rousseff was suspended for at least six months after the country`s Senate voted 55-22 to impeach and put her on trial.
  
• The Senate`s upper house will try Rousseff for allegedly manipulating the government`s accounts ahead of the last election.
  
• The judges will reportedly be Senators, many of whom are accused of more serious crimes.
  

7) ASI core committee chairman G.C. Mitra resigns from his post.

• Archeological Survey of India (ASI) technical core committee chairman G.C. Mitra, who is looking after the repair work of Jagamohan, the chamber facing the sanctum sanctorum of Sri Jagannath Temple in Puri, resigned from his post.
• Mitra has sent his resignation letter to ASI DG and the superintendent.
  
• It is believed he might have taken the decision after ASI rejected the estimation and the repair plan of Jagamohana at Srimandir prepared by the core committee.
  

Archaeological Survey of India:

Inception: 1861
Headquarters: New Delhi.

• Scientists from the Queen’s University (Canada) have developed the world’s first holographic flexible Smartphone named HoloFlex.
• HoloFlex, is capable of rendering 3D images with motion parallax and stereoscopy to multiple simultaneous users without head tracking or glasses.
• HoloFlex features a high-definition Flexible Organic Light Emitting Diode (FOLED) touch-screen display.
• Images are rendered into 12-pixel wide circular blocks rendering the full view of the 3D object from a particular viewpoint.
• These pixel blocks are projected through a 3D printed flexible micro lens array consists of over 16,000 fish-eye lenses.
• The Smartphone is also equipped with a bend sensor which allows the user to bend the phone. It helps in moving objects along the z-axis of the display.

• UK’s first baby named Biagio Russo was born in Oxford using Next-generation DNA sequencing (NGS) method.
• This method uses a revolutionary In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) technique resulting in better selection of embryos to transfer during the treatment.
• NGS also known as high-throughput sequencing is bio medical process that allows doctors to easily choose the embryos which have the strongest chance of growing into healthy babies.
• This method helps doctors to move away from traditional manually count and identify problems caused by embryos produced in IVF having the wrong number of chromosomes.
• Unlike traditional screening methods, NGS can spot embryos that have more subtle DNA faults and embryos that have only some cells with chromosomal defects.

• Multinational company Google has announced the launch of its free high-speed public WiFi service at Ujjain, Jaipur, Patna, Guwahati and Allahabad railway stations.
• Google has been deploying the service over the extensive fibre network of Indian Railway`s arm Railtel which provides Internet services as RailWire.
• The service is now available in 15 stations across India.
• This is in continuation with its project to provide high-speed public WiFi service at 100 Railway stations across India by end of the year.
• Google Covering 100 of the busiest train stations in India, the project will be eventually rolled out to cover 400 train stations across India.

• NASA’s unmanned Kepler space observatory has discovered the largest trove of exoplanets outside our solar system.
• It has discovered total of 1,284 exoplanets and it is more than double the number of known exoplanets found with the Kepler space telescope.
• The new trove of 1,284 exoplanets nearly 550 are said to be rocky planets like Earth, based on their size.
• NASA has discovered nearly 5,000 total planet candidates, of them more than 3,200 have been verified and 2,325 of these were discovered by Kepler.

1. The unmanned Kepler space observatory was launched in 2009 and was tasked with determining how commonly, Earth-like planets occur throughout the Milky Way galaxy.
2. The Kepler observatory works by observing a dimming in the light of a star, known as a transit, each time an orbiting planet passes in front of it. 

• The Indian Navy decommissioned its fleet of iconic Sea Harriers at a function organised at INS Hansa base in Vasco, Goa.
• The Harriers will be replaced by a squadron of Russian MIG 29k jets and the retired aircrafts will be put on display in museums.

1. The aircraft was developed by the British in the 1960s. It was used for both reconnaissance and strike.
2. In India Sea Harriers were inducted in 1983 and played a pivotal role in various operations.
3. It is best known for the ability to take off and land vertically. It is only class of jet that can hover like a helicopter.
4. During their service, the aircrafts had operated from both INS Vikrant and INS Viraat aircraft carriers. 

• Reliance Jio has quietly launched its new wallet app on the Apple and Android app stores.
• The new app, which joins Jiochat Messenger and My Jio apps in the respective stores, is called JioMoney Wallet.
• JioMoney is a semi-closed prepaid wallet that aims to enable mobile-based transactions. Using it customers can store money and use it for purchasing goods and services.
• Customers can use JioMoney’s digital wallet, a Jio Money card or any other credit/ debit card directly from the wallet to pay merchant seamlessly and instantly.
• JioMoney digital wallet also gives consumers the option of opening a Digital Bank Account or linking their existing account.
• The service will enable customers to make bill payments, mobile and DTH recharges, send/receive money and insurance premium payments, as well as for online shopping.
• It also allows users to send and receive money to and from family and friends.

• The Indian Air Force has launched its Electronic Maintenance Management System (e-MMS) Project, an automated military maintenance system.
• It was inaugurated by the Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha at the Air Force Station in Pune, Maharashtra.
• The system would transform the manner in which the maintenance activities are executed and managed by the IAF.
• The e-MMS project is one of the largest Maintenance Repair Overhaul (MRO) IT implementation in the world.
• The project has been designed and developed by the Indian IT giant Wipro.
• It will transform IAF’s paper-based legacy maintenance system to an online system as it will be implemented in IAF’s hierarchy and functioning.
• It will help to transform work environment of IAF to become more efficient.
• And help to monitor the operational availability of all fleets and systems in real time at various hierarchical levels.

• The Islamic State’s ``Library of Zeal`` has released an application for teaching the Arabic alphabet to children on Android devices.
• The vocabulary taught by it includes jihadist themes along with words like ‘tank’, `gun` and `rocket`.
• The IS’s ‘Library of Zeal’ has released an application, titled Huroof, for teaching the Arabic alphabet to children on Android devices.
• The alphabet application is not the Islamic State’s first mobile application, however it is the first to be directed exclusively at children.

• National Aluminium Company (Nalco) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai, for Research and Development (R&D) in fields of mutual interest.
• Extraction of Gallium from Bayer Liquor will be NALCO`s first R&D project with BARC with an objective to develop indigenous technology for this strategic metal.
• Its integrated operations cover the entire aluminium production value chain from mining bauxite, refining alumina, smelting aluminium, captive power generation to a strong logistic network in terms of rail & port facilities.
• Nalco has the largest integrated alumina-aluminium complex of Asia. 

• The United States has activated a land-based missile defence station (Aegis Ashore Missile Defence System) in Deveselu, Romania.
• The missile defence station is part of NATO’s larger European shield to protect member countries from short and medium-range missiles, particularly from the Middle East.
• Deveselu missile defence station has uses powerful computer and radar technology to track and guide weapons to destroy enemy targets.
• It also allows on-shore sites and warships to shoot down enemy ballistic missiles while they are still in space.
• US has spent 800 million dollars on the site in Romania.

• The multilateral Red Flag Aerial combat exercises between US, NATO and allied forces and India Air Force (IAF) concluded in Alaska, US.
• This was the second time India had participated in such an exercise after 2008.
• IAF’s participation in this inter-continental exercise was to showcase its capability in undertaking integrated air operations and gain also operational lessons.
• The exercise was conducted multiple simulated scenario to provide realistic settings with a Red Force, defending their airspace and assets and a Blue Force acting as offensive side.
• Red Force was constituted by US F-16 fighters, while the IAF planes along with other USAF aircraft such as F-15, F-16 and F-22 and US Navy F-18, constituted the Blue Force.

• India successfully test fired an indigenously developed Advanced Air Defence (AAD) interceptor missile, Ashwin.
• It was launched from the complex of Abdul Kalam Island (formerly known as Wheeler Island) off Odisha coast.
• This was the 12th test in the series to develop interceptor missiles.
• It was test fired to validate various parameters of the interceptor in flight mode.
• AAD interceptor missile Ashwin is the advanced version of low altitude supersonic ballistic interceptor missile.
• It is indigenously developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and is capable of destroying any incoming hostile ballistic missile.
• It weighs around 1.2 tonnes and has a diameter of less than 0.5 meter.
• The missile also has its own mobile launcher, secure data link for interception, independent tracking and homing capabilities and sophisticated radars.
• With this, India became the fourth country to have successfully developed this anti-ballistic missile system. The other three are United States, Russia and Israel.

• China has successfully launched Yaogan-30 remote-sensing satellite into sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) using the Long March-2D rocket.
• Yaogan-30 was carried by a Long March-2D rocket, the 227th mission for the Long March rocket family.
• The rocket was launched from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center located in Gobi desert in northwest China’s Gansu Province.
• The Yaogan-30 satellite was built by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST).
• It is part of second generation of the Yaogan series inaugurated in 2008. The first Yaogan satellite was launched in 2006.
• It has two deployable solar arrays along with batteries. It uses the CAST-2000 platform, which has a dry mass of about one metric ton.
• The satellite will be used for experiments, land surveys, crop yield estimates and disaster relief. 

1) India, Iran sign 12 key agreements

• Current Affirs India and Iran on 23rd May signed 12 key agreements in various fields. The agreements included pacts on developing Chabahar port. Also, pacts in fields of science and technology, transportation, academic cooperation, culture, economy and trade were inked
• The agreements were signed after Delegation-level talks held between the two countries on a wide range of issues.
• Narendra Modi became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Iran on a bi-lateral visit in 15 years
• Prime Minister Modi said that agreement to develop the Chabahar port and related infrastructure as well as availability of about 500 million dollars from India is a key milestone.
• India and Iran exchanged views on the emerging regional situation and global issues of common concern. He said that the agenda and scope of our partnership is truly substantial.

2) Agreements with Iran

• The agreement to develop Phase I of Chabahar port is seen as India`s counter to the development of the deep-sea port of Gwadar, in Balochistan in Pakistan, located just 72 km away.
• The development of Chabahar port will allow India to circumvent Pakistan and open up an alternative land-sea route for its trade with Afghanistan and beyond to Central Asia.
• India has already spent $100 million in building the 220-km Zaranj-Delaram highway in Afghanistan, also known as Route 606, which connects to Chabahar.
• India committed around $500 million for the important port in Iran`s southern coast, which will serve as a "point of connectivity" between India, Afghanistan, Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries and East Europe.
• Terming terrorism as a "big problem running rife and rampant in the region", Rouhani said that both the nations have discussed the issue and agreed to share intelligence to combat the menace.
• The two countries discussed about political issues as well and how they can cooperate on intelligence sharing and how they can get closer to each other in the fight against terrorism and extremism and how they can contribute to peace and stability in the whole region
• As regards the economic cooperation, besides developing the Chabahar port, India and Iran also signed agreements in diverse fields like trade credit, culture, science and technology as well as railways.

• Indian President Pranab Mukherjee had meeting with the top Chinese leader including his counterpart Mr. Xi Jinping and the Prime Minister LI keqiang on bilateral, multilateral and global issues in Beijing on 26th May
• Leaders from the both countries discussed expansion of finance and trade, flagship programmes, border issues, terrorism and nuclear issues
• The two countries resolved to cooperate in UN masoor Azhar issue. On border disputes both sides acknowledged that as neighbours, it is natural to have some differences but must find convergences to move ahead.
• India and China on 26th May signed eleven MOUs on academic co-operation.
• From Indian side, they included Nalanda university, IIT Delhi, IIM Calcutta, Central University of Gujrat, Visvesvarya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur and IIT, Bhubaneshwar with Peking University, Chang`an University, East china university of Political science and Law, Beijing Foreign University, Jinan university from China side.
• The area covered under the agreement include Science, engineering, research, academic exchange, computer science and engineering, urban planning and climate change.

4) Cabinet clears India, Japan pact on thermal power

• The Cabinet has given ex-post facto approval to the MoU between India and Japan for promoting sustainable, stable and low-carbon    thermal power development in India. The Cabinet also granted ex-post facto approval to the cadre review of the Indian Postal Service.
• The cadre review will enable the Department of Posts to meet the functional requirements and strengthening the cadre structure both in the headquarters and in the field on the basis of functional requirement.It will lead to creation of new posts at DG, ADG, SAG, JAG and JTS levels by decreasing Senior Time Scale posts.

1) EPFO Launches a Special Drive: Mission Consolidation ``One Empployee-One Account`` on May Day.

• Shri. Bandaru Dattatreya, the Union Minister for Labour & Employment (Independent Charge) launched a special Mission consolidation drive ``One Employee-One EPF Account`` for members of the EPFO.
• EPFO has taken several IT based initiatives to provide convenient and efficient services to its stakeholders. The initiative of launching the Mission consolidation ``One Member One EPF Account`` is a step towards encouraging EPF members to access enhanced IT enabled services through UAN accounts that are linked with Aadhaar.
• Sh. Dattatreya also informed this drives, would result in EPF members having just one EPF account and multiple conveniences. The Universal Account Number that is Aadhar seeded will consolidate multiple past service accounts, across various spells of employment during working life of an EPF member.

2) Maharashtra government launched online app for caste certificates.

• The Maharashtra government released Adi Praman, an online application for validating tribal caste certificates which would make it a simple and transparent process for Scheduled Tribes to get bar-coded caste certificates.
• The web-based application and its user manual were launched by Maharashtra Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Tribal Development Minister Vishnu Savra at a function held at the Raj Bhavan. Maharashtra has become the first state to issue caste validity certificates online.
• The web-based application for caste validity certificates would help the government achieve the goal of inclusion as envisioned under the Digital India programme. The government is working towards the goal of digital administration, which would have minimum human intervention.
• The validity certificate will be bar-coded with a unique identification number and enable authorities to directly verify the status of validity certificate using the unique barcode number.

3) PM launched Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana.

• The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, launched the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana at Ballia. The scheme aims to provide cooking gas connections to five crore below-poverty-line beneficiaries over the next three years.
• The Union Government’s primary focus has been the welfare of the poor the Prime Minister mentioned various steps for labour welfare taken by the Union Government over the last two years.
• The Ballia is the land of the revolutionary Mangal Pandey, while the development of Eastern Uttar Pradesh has suffered for decades connectivity is now being strengthened in the region. The Union Government is allocating tremendous resources for the development of Uttar Pradesh.
• The Prime Minister emphasized that schemes must be designed keeping in mind the welfare of the poor, and not merely to derive electoral benefit. The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana will benefit the poor, especially the women.

4) Diesel run taxis are ban in Delhi.

• Applying the brakes on diesel-run cabs in Delhi, the Supreme Court ordered that only taxis running on compressed natural gas (CNG) will be allowed from May 1.
• In a day-long special hearing convened on a weekend disregarding objections raised by the Centre, a three-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur. Two extensions had been given to taxi operators to shift from diesel to CNG in the larger effort to curb air pollution.
• In Delhi 60,000 taxis are registered and of them 21,000 run on diesel. About 40 lakh vehicles ply on Delhi’s roads daily, including 10 to 12 lakh floating vehicles. A significant majority of these are goods carriers and cabs registered in Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon, Faridabad and other parts NCR.

5) Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Ministry of Railways and Forest Department of Haryana & Punjab.

• Minister of Railways, Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu and Minister of State (IC) for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding ``plantation of trees alongside Railway Track on Railway Land Boundary`` was signed.
• The care and conservation of the trees is not only the responsibility of the Ministry of MOEFCC but it is the responsibility of every citizen of India to protect trees and thus Railways initiated the step of providing railway land for the use of plantation.
• The Railways wants to take integrated steps to maintain in the field of forest, water, energy, solar system etc. All States should be sensitized to establish Nurseries in their respective State.
• The plantation alongside the Railway Track will stop soil erosion which has been a reason of rail accidents in recent past. Instead of exotic trees indigenous trees should be grown according to the climate.

6) Parliament passes Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill, 2016.

• Parliament has passed Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2016. The Bill amends the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957. The amendment Bill was in the Rajya Sabha.

Key facts:

Transfer of mining leases: The Bill provides for transfer of mining leases, which have been granted through procedures other than auction and where minerals are used for captive purpose.
This provision will allow for merger and acquisition of companies with captive mining leases.

Leased area: The also bill adds the definition of leased area as the area within which mining operations can be undertaken.
This will also include the non-mineralized area required and approved for the activities defined under Mines Act 1952.

7) Monitoring of `Make in India`.

• The Government has unveiled two dashboards to monitor the progress made in its ‘Make in India’ initiative and rank States on real-time basis based on ‘Ease of Doing Business’.
• The Make in India Dashboard will allow Ministries concerned to update progress made by them on short-term and medium-term targets, facilitate timely delivery of identified action points and facilitate monitoring and identification of delays in implementation.
• The Ease of Doing Business Dashboard will facilitate States to report progress made by them on State Level Business Reforms Action Plan and validation of responses received from the States/UTs by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion.

8) Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Programmes.

• Ministry of Commerce & Industry is implementing two schemes relating to Skill Development viz. Indian Leather Development Programme (ILDP) and Training for Technology Upgradation.
• ILDP is for leather sector and it aims to augment raw material base through modernization and technology upgradation of leather units, addressing environmental concerns, human resource development, supporting traditional leather artisans, addressing infrastructure constraints and establishing institutional facilities.
• Training for Technology Upgradation is for salt sector and aims to educate salt workers and artisans for improving the quality of salt to meet the stringent standards of industrial and edible salt to compete in the domestic and international market.

9) Union Railways Ministry launches E-enabled PMIS app for proper monitoring of projects.

• Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu, Minister of Railways launched E-enabled project, namely, Project Management & Information System (PMIS).
• The Indian Railways has numerous big projects throughout the country which are of crores of rupees and have many complexities. Proper monitoring and management of these big projects is the demand of the Indian Railways.
• To provide best railway network in the country, Indian Railways needs two things; one is money and the second is proper monitoring of projects in which that money is to be spent.
• It is necessary to keep proper monitoring and management of the existing projects instead of keep on launching new projects. This new PMIS system will contain all the information about the ongoing projects which will help in reducing the completion time of the project. This Application will help in fixing the responsibility for delay in projects on the other hand officers would be awarded for timely/early completion of projects.

10) BHEL commissions 600 MW thermal power plant in MP.

• State-run Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) announced the commissioning of a 600 MW coal-based thermal power plant in Madhya Pradesh.
• The unit has been commissioned at the 1x600 MW Jhabua Thermal Power Project (TPP) located in Seoni district in Madhya Pradesh.
• The project has been developed by Jhabua Power Ltd (JPL), a subsidiary of Avantha Power & Infrastructure Limited (APIL).
• BHEL’s scope of work in the contract envisaged design, engineering, manufacture, supply, erection and commissioning of steam turbine, generator and boiler, along with associated auxiliaries and electricals, besides controls and Instrumentation and electrostatic precipitators.

11) Supreme Court panel to monitor MCI.

• Former Chief Justice of India RM Lodha gets the responsibility to reform the Medical Council of India (MCI). The Supreme Court appointed a three-member panel headed by Lodha to oversee how the regulator of medical profession and education in India functions.
• Besides Lodha, the panel has former CAG Vinod Rai and Dr. S.K. Sareen.
• The court appointed the Lodha panel to oversee the MCI because the regulator is often accused of indulging in corrupt practices. It referred to reports of a government panel and a parliamentary standing committee that indicted the MCI for various malpractices.
• The MCI was repeatedly found short of fulfilling its mandated responsibilities medical graduates lacked competence in performing basic healthcare tasks. Instances of unethical practices continued to grow.
• Private medical colleges cannot be given the unfettered right to devise their own admission procedure and fee structure because it will ``impinge upon the right to equality of students``.

12) Ministry of AYUSH supports large scale cultivation to produce quality medicinal plants raw material under NAM.

• To promote export of medicinal plants/ herbs, the National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB), Ministry of AYUSH under its National AYUSH Mission (NAM) is supporting large scale cultivation to produce quality medicinal plants raw material.
• There is provision to set up National Institute of Medicinal Plants (NIMP) under Ministry of AYUSH in the country.
• Centrally Sponsored Scheme of National AYUSH Mission (NAM) having a component on ``Medicinal Plants`` which is primarily aimed at supporting cultivation of medicinal plants on farmers land with backward linkages through establishment of nurseries for supply of quality planting material, and forward linkages for post-harvest management.
• The cultivation of medicinal plants was being supported under Centrally Sponsored Scheme of ``National Mission on Medicinal Plants`` of NMPB.

13) Commerce Ministry launches web-based dashboard for export, import data.

• Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched the portal DashBoard with Export & Import (EXIM) Analytics developed by Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics for disseminating information regarding foreign trade.
• The user-friendly EXIM Analytics dashboard enables analysis of the country`s trade information and provides analysis of export-import data, destinations or countries of origin, and ports.
• The data for analysis, including of the trade balance, is presented as a month`s aggregate at levels like of country, region, commodity and port.

14) Shri Piyush Goyal to Launched Portal for Contract Labour Payment Management System.

• Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy Shri Piyush Goyal, launched `Contract Labour Payment Management System` - a portal of Coal India Limited.
• The web portal is created for monitoring compliance of labour payment and other benefits to the contract workers under the Contract Labour (Regulation & Abolition) Act. 1970.
• It is an integrated system for all subsidiaries of CIL. The in-house developed application will maintain a comprehensive database of all contract workers engaged by different contractors in CIL and all its subsidiaries.
• The portal provides access to all contract workers, through a Workers Identification Number (WIN), to view their personal details and payment status. Contract workers can also register their grievance through this portal.
• It has been planned to make payment to the contractors only after submitting a system generated declaration of compliance.

15) MP first state to provide subsidised food to SC, ST persons.

• Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan provide subsidized wheat, rice and salt at Re. one per kg to non-income tax payee SC, ST persons. And education would also be given to students belonging to these classes.
• The chief minister laid foundation stone for buildings of schedule caste girl student hostels at Panchsheel Nagar. Slum dwellers will be given pucca houses. Gradually, all Garib Bastis will be made slum-free.
• The state government is extending maximum cooperation to the poor to provide Roti, Kapada and Makan. For this, government is helping them getting employment, cloths, houses, subsidized food grains, free medicines, education of children etc.
• SC and ST students will also be provided laptops on securing 75 percent marks in class XII and smart phones on taking admission in colleges. The government is also bearing their fee in higher education institutions and assistance for foreign studies.

16) Union Cabinet gives nod to India-EU agreement on S&T cooperation.

• The Union Cabinet has given its approval to the renewed Agreement for Scientific and Technological Cooperation with European Union (EU) for another period of 5 years.
• Decision in this regard was taken by Union Cabinet Meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. The agreement will be retrospectively effective from 17 May 2015 until 2020.

Key facts:

1. The agreement will reaffirm India-EU’s shared commitment to research and innovation as drivers of social and economic development.
2. The Agreement’s purpose is to strengthen the co-operation in R&D activities in science & technology fields of common interest between the research institutions of the EU Member States and India.

17) Projects worth Rs. 2446 Crore approved under Namami Gange Programme.

• Namami Gange programme the Empowered Steering Committee (ESC) of the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) has approved projects for Development of Ghats and crematoria in the banks of river Ganga.
• The total estimated cost of the projects is Rs. 2446 crore. These projects have been carved to improve the facilities of Ghats and crematoria for reduction of pollution load into river Ganga. All the projects will be implemented under centrally sponsored scheme of Namami Gange and Government of India would bear 100% costs.
• The major project components are implementation of Forestry Interventions in Five States at the banks of River Ganga strengthening Knowledge Management and National Capacity for Forestry Interventions and conservation of Rivers and scaling up and replication of successful models of Forestry interventions and Rivers cape. The estimated cost of the project is Rs. 2294 crore for the duration of five years.

18) Setting up of New Airports.

• Government of India (GoI) has granted `in-principle` approval for setting up of 14 Greenfield airports namely, Mopa in Goa; Navi Mumbai, Shirdi and Sindhudurg in Maharashtra; Shimoga, Gulbarga,Hassan and Bijapur in Karnataka; Kannur in Kerala; Pakyong in Sikkim; Datia/ Gwalior (Cargo) in Madhya Pradesh; Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh; Karaikal in Puducherry; and Dholera in Gujarat.
• Government has laid down Route Dispersal Guidelines (RDG) of air transport services taking into account the need for air transport services of different regions of the country. However, it is up to the airlines to provide services to different regions depending on their commercial viability subject to compliance of RDG.

19) Government clears adoption of UN principles of official statistics.

• The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given approval to adoption of United Nations Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics.
• According to the statement, the adoption will lead to professional independence, impartiality, accountability and transparency in methods of collection, compilation and dissemination of official statistics, besides ensuring international standards.
• It is also expected to pave the way for devising a National Policy on Official Statistics for improving systems, procedures and institutions consistent with these principles.

20) NASSCOM, Facebook ink MoU to engage with India’s entrepreneurs.

• The trade body of Indian IT firms NASSCOM has signed a MoU with Facebook to build a product design initiative to engage the country’s young entrepreneurs into becoming problem solvers and solution builders.
• NASSCOM-Facebook initiative is likely to propel innovative thinking and approaches to build solutions in key sectors where technology can play a transformational role.
• A joint initiative to catalyze the innovation ecosystem and to help design thinking. An infliction point where the industry is at the next phase of revolution and moving towards the whole startup and innovation part, which is coming on the heels of the two decades old of the growth of the services company.

21) NMDC ties up with ISRO for mineral mapping.

• National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) Ltd has teamed up with Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to make use of satellite-based geological mapping capability for mineral exploration.
• A memorandum of understanding was signed between NMDC and ISRO’s National Remote Sensing Centre opening up the possibilities for NMDC to use satellite technology for mineral exploration and a host of other related ventures.
• NMDC becomes the first company under the Ministry of Steel to use satellite-based geological mapping.
• Under the memorandum, NMDC will establish a Remote Sensing and GIS Laboratory at its head office in Hyderabad for interpretation of satellite data.

22) Bankruptcy Bill passed in Lok Sabha.

• The Lok Sabha passed the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code Bill 2016, which is seen as a ``transformational`` legislation that will help improve India’s ranking in the World Bank’s ‘Ease of Doing Business’ index.
• Jayant Sinha, Minister of State for Finance, in the Lok Sabha that the Government had ``in toto`` accepted the report of the Joint Committee of Parliament that went into the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code Bill.
• This would lead to ``friction-free`` market processes that will help create jobs. Accepting the Joint Committee report in toto meant that the new legislation has also provided for cross-border insolvency (which was not covered in the original Bill introduced in 2015).
• The Bill has also strengthened workmen rights as well as creditor rights. It has sought to provide a better deal for workmen in the waterfall (priority of repayment of dues post liquidation).

23) Government clears Infosys proposal to set up SEZ in Bengaluru.

• The government has approved the proposal of Infosys to set up an IT/ITeS special economic zone in Bengaluru in an area spread over 4 hectares.
• The decision was taken by an inter-ministerial Board of Approval (BoA), headed by Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia.
• The Board noted that the developer is in possession of the land. It decided to grant formal approval to the proposal. The Board also granted more time to as many as 20 developers to complete their projects.
• Those that got additional time include Mayar Infrastructure Development for a biotechnology SEZ in Haryana, Wipro for IT SEZ in Karnataka and Vedanta for its sector-specific SEZ for manufacturing and exports of aluminium in Odisha.

24) All India Institute of Ayurveda being set up at Delhi.

• Government has approved for establishment of All India Institute of Ayurveda at Sarita Vihar, New Delhi. The Institute has been conceived as an apex Institute of Ayurveda with 200 bedded referral hospitals and to impart education in the field of Ayurveda at M.D. and Ph.D level.
• The total project cost is Rs. 157 crore. The institute is to be functional during 2016-17; an amount of Rs.40.00 Crore has been allocated in the B.E.
• This information was given by the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for AYUSH, Shri Shripad Yesso Naik.

25) Lok Sabha passes Finance Bill 2016.

• The Lok Sabha approved the Finance Bill 2016, the legislative vehicle containing the FY17 Budget proposals, including a monetary policy committee that would now set interest rates in tune with an inflation-targeting approach adopted by the Reserve Bank of India.
• Finance minister Arun Jaitley secured the Lower House’s assent for the Bill retaining the contentious 1% excise duty on non-silver jewellery, though only jewellers with more than `12 crore annual turnover will have to pay the duty.
• The Bill, which mainly comprises tax proposals, was passed by the Lok Sabha with the amendments by voice vote.
• A key proposal to reform how the Reserve Bank of India sets monetary policy is now closer to reality. The Bill gives the central bank a mandate to target inflation, guided by a six-member committee that would set interest rates through a majority vote, a practice followed by major central banks in the world.
• The committee would constitute of three external members appointed by the government and three members from RBI, including its governor who would have a casting (extra) vote in the event of a tie. At present, the RBI governor is the sole authority to decide on monetary policy.

26) Recommendations of Committee on Yoga Education in Universities.

• A committee was constituted by the Government 2016 on yoga education in universities under the chairpersonship of Prof H.R. Nagendra, Chancellor, Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana, Samsthana in Bangalore.
• The Terms of Reference (ToRs) of the committee included identification of courses and programmes in yogic art and science and the level at which it can be offered; to determine the eligibility qualifications for students for joining yoga education programme at different levels; to prescribe recommendations for qualifications for faculty of yoga etc.

27) Union Government starts UBIN drive for budding entrepreneurs.

• The government has started the process for issuance of Unique Business Identification Number (UBIN) to enable budding entrepreneurs set up their business without any delays.
• Delivering his remarks at a seminar, that top bureaucracy has been activated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to produce results well within targeted time and in India it is no longer a business as usual, according to a release issued by PHD Chamber of Commerce.
• This number would automatically be moved on to MCA portal after it is issued to the intended beneficiary and subsequently sent to the CBDT which would nomenclature it as PAN for Unique Business Identification Number.
• On the issue of ease of doing business and minimum government and maximum governance, bureaucracy has been activated so much that it has become target oriented as each month the PMO is undertaking a review monitoring meeting on projects implementation.

28) Indian Railways launches Bharat Darshan Tourist train for pilgrims.

• Railways have launched the Bharat Darshan Tourist train for pilgrims to visit Shirdi, Tirupati, Jagannath Puri, Gangasagar, Baidyanath Dham and Jyotirlingams and others.
• Comprising 10 coaches, the train begins the "East Darshan`` from Chandigarh and travelling from Delhi Cantonment to cover Jagannath Puri, Gangasagar, Baidyanath Dham, Gaya, Banaras and Ayodhya.
• The bookings are being done by IRCTC and it has firmed up a budget-friendly package for pilgrims, According to the package, a person has to pay Rs 830 per day to selected destinations in the east or south of the country or packages that cover major religious sites.
• The package includes train journey, road transportation, accommodation, sightseeing at tourist locations and onboard and off-board meals.
• Bharat Darshan will also cover "7 Jyotirlinga" package beginning from Chandigarh through Delhi Cantonment.

1) Archery World Cup: India wins one silver and two bronze medals.

•  Indian women’s team has won silver medal in the recurve team final of Archery World Cup held at the Yuanshen Stadium in Shanghai, China.
•  Women’s team comprised of Deepika Kumari, Bombayla Devi Laishram and Laxmirani Majhi. In the final match they lost to Chinese Taipei team by 2-6 score.
•  Men’s trio and mixed pair won their respective bronze playoffs in the first stage of Archery World Cup.
•  Indian men’s recurve team comprised of Atanu Das, Jayanta Talukdar and Mangal Singh Champia. They defeated British team by 6-0 to bag the bronze medal.

•  Indian boxer Vijender Singh recorded his 5th consecutive victory in Professional Boxing. 
•  Vijender Singh earned this victory in professional boxing by defeating French boxer Matiouze Royer in five rounds.
•  Royer was Vijender`s most experienced rival , with 44 bouts, including 14 wins, under his belt before the match. Vijender, whose last four wins were all knock-outs or technical knock-outs, was declared the winner in the fifth round of the six-round super middleweight contest.

•  Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber won Munich’s ATP tournament for the third time after defeating Austrian Dominic Thiem.
•  He has won the 2007 and 2012 titles.
•  Kohlschreiber, ranked 27th in the world, steamrolled his way to his fifth Munich final after winning over Florian Mayer, Juan Martin del Potro and Fabio Fognini en route.

•  Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei defeated his and World No. 1 Chen Long of China in the final of the Asia Badminton Championships.
•  It is his third title this year and his second badminton Asia championship; he last won it in 2006. Lee Chong Wei is currently ranked second in the world.
•  In the women’s singles, China’s Wang Yihan defeated Li Xuerui of China clinching her third Asian title.

•  Indian shooters won 3 gold medals and a bronze on the opening day of the ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany.
•  Indian shooters won two gold medals in the team events of men’s 25m standard pistol and women’s 50m rifle prone competitions respectively.
•  India’s Rituraj Singh also won an individual gold medal in the men’s 25m standard pistol competition through.
•  Gaayathri Nithyanadam won the bronze medal in the women’s 50m rifle prone competition. 

•  German Formula One Driver Nico Rosberg from Mercedes team has won 2016 Russian Grand Prix held at the Sochi Autodrom in Sochi, Russia.
•  Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of United Kingdom stood second and Ferrari driver Kimi Räikkönen of Finland secured 3rd place in the tournament.
•  It was Rosberg’s fourth consecutive win in the 2016 season and overall eighteenth championship title of F1 in his career.
•  Russian Grand Prix was the fourth race of the 2016 season of Formula One in which total 11 teams had participated and was contested over fifty-three laps.

 7) Leicester City crowned English Premier League champions for 1st time.

•  Leicester City FC was crowned champions of the of English Premier League title for 2015-16 season without playing as nearest challenger Tottenham Hotspur FC.
•  They were crowned after its nearest challenger Tottenham Hotspur FC had 2-2 draw with Chelsea FC. The draw placed Tottenham at second position and was not able to surpass Leicester City FC’s seven point lead at the top of the table.
•  This is the first time in the Leicester City FC’s 132-year history it became the champion of the England.

1.  The English Premier League is professional league for men’s association football clubs.
2.  It was founded in 1992 and is England’s primary football competition. It is at the top of the English football league system.
3.  It is contested by 20 clubs and it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Football League.

•  Leicester City striker forward Jamie Vardy is named as 2015-16 Footballer of the Year by the Football Writers Association (FWA). 
•  He would be honoured with the prestigious FWA accolade, which has been running since 1948, at a gala dinner in London.
•  With this he joined the Bobby Moore, George Best, Eric Cantona, Thierry Henry and Cristiano Ronaldo among its past winners. Vardy, who topped the vote among FWA members, scored 22 goals in 34 Premier League appearances the season. 

•  Lili Das of West Bengal smashed the women’s 1500m record by close to seven seconds in the 14th junior Federation Cup National athletics championship at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium.
•  The 17-year-old led from the outset and increased her lead with every passing lap to break Haryana’s Pinki Kumari’s record (4:27.26s, Chennai, 2014). 

•  Ace snooker player Mark Selby (World No. 1) from England has won the 2016 World Championship title of Snooker.
•  In the final match played in Sheffield, Selby defeated China’s Ding Junhui by 18-14 score. 
•  This was Selby’s second World Snooker title after he had won it in 2014 for the first against Ronnie O’Sullivan.
•  This was Selby’s second title of the year 2016 after he had won minor Gdynia Open event held in Poland.
•  So far Mark Selby has won Welsh Open title (2008), Shanghai Masters final (2011), UK Championship (2012), World Championship (2014), German Masters (2015), China Open (2015).

•  Seven Indian shuttlers, including Saina Nehwal and PV?Sindhu who have qualified for the Rio Olympics.
•  India is one of only eight countries in the world to book two entries in a category - women’s singles, with PV Sindhu (ranked No. 10) joining Saina Nehwal (ranked No. 8).

1.  Women’s Singles Saina Nehwal & PV Sindhu
2.  Women’s Doubles Jwala Gutta & Ashwini Ponnappa
3.  Men’s Singles Kidambi srikanth
4.  Men’s Doubles Manu Attri and Sumeeth Reddy

•  Former England all-rounder Matthew Fleming is the next President of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).He would take up the post on October 1.
•  He was nominated by the current President Roger Knight at MCC’s Annual General Meeting, which took place at Lord’s in London. 
•  Mathew Fleming is the youngest MCC president in 36 years, after Peter May served in 1980. 

1.  Matthew Valentine Fleming is a former cricketer who represented Kent and England.
2.  The England all-rounder played 11 One-Day Internationals for England.
3.  Fleming`s first 2 scoring shots in first class cricket were sixes.
4.  He played 219 first-class games for Kent scoring 9206 runs at an average of 30.18 and took 290 wickets at 35.91.
5.  He captained Kent for several seasons. Fleming was a very effective all-rounder, hard hitting batsman and medium-pace bowler, in the one day game for Kent and briefly for England.

13) Shooters finish fourth at Junior World Cup.

•  India ended their campaign at the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany.
•  India got fourth place, while Italy finished at the top spot in the medals table.
•  A total of 585 junior athletes from 48 countries participated in the event and only 24 countries made it to the medals table.
•  The Indian juniors had an overall tally of three Gold, four Silver and three Bronze medals .While Italy added seven Gold, four Silver and one Bronze medal to their kitty.
•  India, Rituraj Singh was the most successful performer with two Gold medals in both the individual and team events of the Men`s 25M Standard Pistol. 
•  Shivam Shukla also turned in impressive performances in pistol events winning one Gold and one Silver medal.
•  Arjun Das also won one Gold and one Bronze medal for Team India.
•  Junior women, Yashaswini Singh Deswal was the most impressive with her two Silver medals, both in the individual and team sections of the 10M Air Pistol event.

•  Pakistan has won the third edition of the Asian Kabaddi Championship 2016 (Circle Style) by defeating India.
•  In the final match held at Pakistan Ordinance Factory Sports Complex in Wah Cantonment.
•  Pakistan achieved 50 points against 31 by India in the final of the tournament.
•  It is second successive win for Pakistan in the Asian Kabaddi title as they won it in 2012.

•  Top seeds Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis lost went down in straight sets to Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic in the women’s doubles final of the Madrid Masters Tennis tournament.
•  The Indo-Swiss pair struggled to find their rhythm as they lost 4-6 4-6 to their fifth seeded French opponents.
•  Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis have already won titles in Sydney, Brisbane, Australian Open and St Petersburg this season. 
•  The loss meant that Sania and Hingis remained on four titles this season. 

•  Former South African cricketer Mickey Arthur has been appointed as cricket team’s head coach. It was announced by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
•  This appointment he fills the role vacated by Waqar Younis’ resignation following Pakistan’s early exit from the T20 World Cup 2016. 
•  Earlier Arthur coached South Africa from 2005 to 2010 and Australia from 2011 to 2013.

1.  John Michael "Mickey" Arthur (born 17 May 1968) is a South African cricketer who played South African domestic cricket from 1986 to 2001.
2.  He coached the South African national team from 2005 to 2010.
3.  South Africa had won first series in England in over 40 years in 2008 and their maiden series victory in Australia in 2008-09 and leading them to the No. 1 ranking in Tests.
4.  Australia won 10 of their 19 Tests but the team had an uneasy relationship with him.
5.  Arthur in his cricket career lasting a decade and a half had played 110 first-class matches in a South Africa domestic cricket.

•  Two Indian women wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik have qualified for 2016 Rio Olympics scheduled to be held in August 2016.
•  This is the first time two female Indian wrestlers will compete at the Olympics.
•  Vinesh sealed her place for the Olympic berth after defeating Avin Demirhan of Turkey 12-2 in the 48 kg category. 
•  In the semi-final match of the Olympic world qualifying tournament held at Istambul in Turkey. Now she will now fight for gold medal against Ivona Neena Matkovaska.
•  Sakshi Malik also entered the final in the 58 kg category and qualified for Rio Olympics. In the Semi-final she defeated Len Jhang. 
•  In the final she will play against Russian Valeria Koblova Jholobova in the final.

1) Rs. 1,900 crore provision for stressed assets drags State Bank of Hyderabad net.

• State Bank of Hyderabad has posted a 19.15 per cent drop in its net profit at Rs. 1,064.93 crore for the financial year 2016, as against Rs. 1,317.13 crore made during 2014-15.
• For the fourth quarter, the bank posted a profit of Rs. 253.13 crore, down 43.18 per cent.
• Provision during the year and also allocations made to take care of future requirements of other assets under stress has had a direct impact on the overall profitability of the bank. The bank had made a provision of Rs. 1,900 crore this year, which has impacted its profitability.

Impressive growth:

1. The operating profit has shown impressive growth of 13.01 per cent year-on-year to reach Rs. 3,293 crore and the net profit was Rs. 1,065 crore. Adequate provisions suggested by the RBI in respect of stressed assets accounts identified under early recognition process have been made by the bank.

2) Paytm ties up with Wipro for payments bank.

• Paytm, India`s largest mobile payments, has joined hands with Wipro Ltd to create the requisite technology infrastructure for its upcoming payments bank business.
• According to Paytm, Wipro will be implementing the core banking solution for Paytm and also programme managing the integration of other key systems like the anti-money laundering solution and the regulatory reporting solution.
• Wipro will play a crucial role in helping Paytm interface its existing systems with the core banking solution. It will also put in place and manage the data centres for the payments bank in order to ensure smooth functioning of the new unit.
• This part of the series of tie-ups, the firm has planned in run-up to its launch of its much-awaited payments banks. Technology is an integral part of the value proposition.
• Paytm had received an in-principle approval to set up a payments bank. Payments banks can accept demand deposits and savings bank deposits from individuals and small businesses, up to a maximum of Rs. 1 lakh per account.

3) Airtel and GBI announce partnership for West Asia.

• Airtel Business, the enterprise arm of Bharti Airtel, has partnered with networking player GBI to increase its direct reach in West Asian countries.
• GBI being a key network asset for the region will not only improve our customers` experience and reach but would also enable GBI`s customers to experience a seamless extension on the Airtel Global network spanning across 50 countries across 5 continents.
• Airtel Business only offers enterprise services to its clients in Middle East.
• The partnership will help "extend our network reach to Airtel`s customers and to further enhance the benefits of our value propositions for customers and partners".
• GBI owns and operates a multilayer carrier neutral network providing connectivity to West Asian countries.
• The partnership is in line with the long-term strategy of Airtel Business, considering the long-term potential for the Middle East market.

3) L&T Finance Q4 net rises 15%.

• L&T Finance Holdings reported a 15 per cent increase in year-on-year consolidated net profit at Rs. 237 crore in the fourth quarter ended 2016, as compared with Rs. 206 crore in the year-ago quarter.
• The financial holding company’s net profit was almost flat at Rs. 857 crore (Rs. 855 crore in FY15).
• The board of directors of the company recommended dividend of Rs. 0.80 per equity share of face value Rs. 10 each.
• The Larsen & Toubro-promoted company, which is registered with the Reserve Bank of India as a ‘non-deposit taking, systemically important, core investment company’, has seven wholly-owned subsidiaries, including L&T Finance, L&T Infrastructure Finance Company, L&T Investment Management, L&T Capital Markets, and L&T Housing Finance.

Loan disbursement:

1. Year-on-year (y-o-y), loan disbursements were up 20 per cent at Rs. 10,688 crore in the reporting quarter. Loans and advances grew 22 per cent y-o-y to Rs. 57,831 crore.
2. The company moderated its growth in the farm equipment business due to the challenging environment in this sector.
3. The growth has been led by healthy disbursements in key areas - operational projects in renewable energy and roads and retail products - housing, microfinance and two-wheelers.
4. Net interest margin has been maintained in the 5.5 per cent to 5.8 per cent band in the last eight quarters.

4) Government must boost supply of `India Gold Coins`.

• The World Gold Council has called upon the government to increase the supply of ‘India Gold Coins’ to encourage people to invest in the yellow metal.
• At present, these coins are available only through MMTC outlets and select banks and its distribution should be accelerated by adding more features, such as buyback arrangements in banks.
• The total recycled gold in India in 2015 was 80.2 tonnes.
• The launching of the Gold Coins will prompt temples to deposit their gold in banks, as devotees may prefer gold-coin offerings instead of jewellery.
• Gold savings should flow through the banking system for the benefit of the economy and it would encourage savings, promote financial inclusion, and leverage passion for gold.

Marginal increase:

• Demand for gold last year had registered a marginal increase to 849 tonnes against 828 tonnes in 2014. In the fourth quarter, demand grew 6 per cent to 233 tonnes from 220 tonnes in the same period last year.

5) India rated 9th in FDI Confidence Index.

• India has secured ninth position in the 2016 Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index, a global management consulting firm, Underlining that the country is ``finally`` embarking on a growth path that will see it ``unlock its full potential``.
• India jumped two places to rank number 9 in this year’s AT Kearney Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Confidence Index.
• India has emerged as the fastest growing economy in the world, surpassing China as well as Brazil, Russia and South Africa, the other members of BRICS - an acronym of five major fast-growing emerging economies.
• The Index of a London-based consulting firm is a forward looking analysis of how political, economic, and regulatory changes will likely affect FDI inflows into countries in the coming years. The Index is constructed using primary data from a proprietary survey administered to senior executives of the world’s leading corporations.

6) Commerce Ministry launches web-based dashboard for export, import data.

• The Commerce Ministry launched a web-based dashboard to provide an easy access to detailed trade data of the country.
• The dashboard would give an accurate perspective to the general public on the facts around the trade performance in India.
• `EXIM Analytics` would provide data graphically exposing patterns, trends and correlations that might go undetected in text based data.
• It also gives a graphical collection of exports and imports from India for example the export turnover of the country, how it performs over time and what are the export destinations.

7) LIC itself has bad loans of well over Rs. 12,000 crore.

• India’s leading life insurer, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), has non-performing assets (NPAs) of its own to worry about.
• According to LIC’s 2014-15 annual report, it had gross NPAs amounting to 3.3 per cent (Rs. 12,230 crore) of its total ``debt`` (the term it uses). This had risen to 4.23 per cent as of 2015.
• LIC’s bad loans have been steadily rising over the last five years. In 2010-11, its GNPAs were at just 0.95 per cent. LIC’s total ``debt`` of about Rs. 3,70,625 crore as of 2015, is actually higher than HDFC Bank’s loan book of about Rs. 3,65,495 crore in the FY15 fiscal.
• Aside from its investments in debentures and bonds, LIC has extended loans to the Centre and State governments, banks and financial institutions and companies, which amounted to about Rs. 1 lakh crore as of March 2015.

8) Uber ties up with Alipay globally.

• Online cab aggregator Uber announced a global partnership with third-party payment platform, Alipay, to enable Chinese travellers avail of rides through this solution in more than 400 cities.
• Uber riders in India can avail of the facility through Paytm platform. China’s Alibaba Group and its affiliate Ant Financial had earlier picked up stake in One97 Communications, the parent company of Paytm.
• Alipay’s collaboration with Uber reflects a step forward of Ant Financial’s global strategy, and it also extends to the Alipay’s strategic global partners like Paytm in India.
• The tieup aims to bring better experiences for our users globally.

9) NSE to launch platform for financing SMEs against bills.

• The National Stock Exchange (NSE) is planning to launch a new trading platform for bill discounting or trade receivables of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME). The country’s largest exchange has forged a joint venture with the Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi) for the new platform, which is likely to go live by the end of this calendar year.
  
• The new electronic trading platform is aimed at easing the liquidity constraints of MSMEs. Bill discounting is a concept where a firm sells its accounts receivables to a bank or a factoring firm. Selling bills or accounts receivables helps the firm generate cash, which would otherwise have got realised at a future date.
  
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had issued the final guidelines for setting up a Trade Receivables Discounting System in 2014.
  
• 
  

10) Wilful defaulters owe Rs. 66,000 crore to govt banks.

• There were 7,686 wilful defaulters owing Rs. 66,190 crore to state-owned banks as of 2015.
• The total outstanding amount in top 100 non-performing accounts (NPAs) with public sector banks (PSBs) was Rs. 1.73 lakh crore as of 2015.
  
• The number of wilful defaulters of PSBs rose from 5,554 to 7,686 in three years to 2015 while the amount involved more than doubled to Rs. 66,190 crore from Rs 27,749 crore.
  
• The total exposure of top 50 defaulters of PSBs as of 2015 was Rs. 1,21,832 crore.
  

11) IMF retains India growth forecast at 7.5 per cent.

• The International Monetary Fund has retained its growth forecast for India this year at 7.5 per cent, largely driven by private consumption even as weak exports and sluggish credit growth weigh on the economy.
• India`s growth momentum is expected to be underpinned by private consumption, which has benefited from lower energy prices and higher real incomes.
  
• In its latest Regional Economic Outlook for Asia and the Pacific, weak exports and sluggish credit growth (stemming from weaknesses in corporate sector and public sector banks` balance sheets) will weigh on the economy.
  
• India has benefited from lower oil prices and remains the fastest-growing large economy in the world, with GDP expected to increase by 7.5 per cent this year and next.
  

12) Special Financial Package for North East.

• Rs. 33097.02 crore has been allocated for the North Eastern Region by 56 Central Ministries/ Departments including Rs. 2400 crore provided to the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER).
• The budget allocation to Ministry of DoNER includes funds for the Non-Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR) scheme and the scheme of North Eastern Council (NEC). In addition to the above, an amount of Rs. 1000 crore has been allocated for grants to Autonomous Councils, areas covered under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
  
• The Ministry has also been receiving, from time to time, proposals from State Governments including through their priority lists for possible funding under the NLCPR scheme and NEC schemes which have been taken up within the budgetary provisions of the Ministry.
  

13) Jindal Brothers Sign Rs. 6,500 Crore Power Deal.

• Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Energy agreed to buy out Brother Naveen Jindal’s debt-laden Jindal Steel and Power’s 1000 megawatt power plant in Chhattisgarh for an enterprise valuation of Rs. 6,500 crore.
• The cost of the deal is linked to an initial enterprise value of Rs. 4,000 crore, which may be increased to Rs. 6,500 crore if pre-agreed fuel supply and power offtake arrangements are met. Under the terms of the deal, an interest-bearing advance of Rs. 500 crore is to be paid after shareholders’ approval of both firms and the competition watch dog CCI.
  

14) CCEA approved two laning with formation of four lane of Shimla Bypass on NH-22.

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval for development of two laning with formation of four lane of Shimla Bypass (Kaithlighat to Shimla section) on National Highway-22 in Himachal Pradesh.
• This work will be under the National Highways Development Project (NHDP) Phase-III. The approval is in Hybrid Annuity Mode.
  
• The cost is estimated to be Rs.1583.18 crore including cost of land acquisition, resettlement and rehabilitation and other pre-construction activities. The total length of the road will be approximately 28 kms.
  
• The main object of the project is to expedite the improvement of infrastructure in Himachal Pradesh and also in reducing the time and cost of travel for traffic, particularly heavy traffic, plying on the Kaithlighat to Shimla section on National Highway-22.
  

15) Snapdeal acquires TargetingMantra.

• Snapdeal.com, India’s second largest e-commerce company has acquired TargetingMantra (Insightful Pvt. Ltd), a Gurugram-based marketing and personalization services company for an undisclosed amount.
• The Targeting Mantra team comes with valuable experience in driving superior customer experience through machine learning.
  
• The companies did not disclose the financial details of the transaction. The TargetingMantra’s team will help in building the customer experience solutions that will personalize shopping experiences for customers.
  

16) Lenskart raises Rs. 400 crore from IFC, Ratan Tata.

• Online eyewear seller Lenskart has raised about Rs. 400 crore ($60 million) in Series D from a group of investors led by IFC, an arm of the World Bank.
• While IFC has invested Rs. 171 crore in the Delhi-based firm, other marquee investors who also participated in the current round were IDG Ventures, TPG Growth and Adveq Management. In addition, Ratan Tata and Kris Gopalakrishnan (co-founder of Infosys) invested in their personal capacity.
  
• Lenskart’s total funding stands at $95 million (Rs. 640 crore, approximately) and is valued at Rs. 1,200 crore, according to industry experts. Ronnie Screwvala’s Unilazer Ventures is also an investor in the company.
  
• Lenskart, which started as an online player in 2010, has over the past few years adopted an omni-channel way to expand its business. At present, it has over 100 stores across more than 65 cities and sells over 10,000 different styles of eyewear across brands.
  

17) Indian Railways creates Non-Fare Revenue Directorate to explore advertising in train coaches.

• Railways have created a new directorate to carry out advertisements in rail coaches, along the track and near stations in a big way to increase the revenue substantially from non-tariff sources.
• Named as `Non-Fare Revenue Directorate`, the new wing would explore getting advertisements on coaches, wagons, locomotives and at stations and commercial exploitation of vacant rail land among others.
  
• The directorate would be headed by a senior-level railway official and the new wing will focus on various ways to enhance revenues by 10 per cent to 20% from the current 5 per cent from the non-tariff sources.
  
• Action plan to increase the non-fare revenue was a Rail Budget proposal this year.
  

1) Indian-American journalist receives Edgar A Poe award.

• An Indian-American journalist Neela Banerjee was felicitated with a prestigious Edgar A Poe award along with of her colleagues from Inside Climate News.
• She was felicitated by US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle during the annual White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington.
  
• The award was shared by Terrence McCoy of the Washington Post, who explored the issue of lead poisoning among poor black children in Baltimore after Freddie Gray died in custody in a high-profile case of alleged police abuse.
  

About Neela Banerjee:

1. Neela Banerjee is Washington based journalist from Inside Climate News.
2. She is a graduate of Yale University and had served as a Moscow correspondent with The Wall Street Journal.
   
3. Before joining Inside Climate News, she was energy and environmental reporter for the Los Angeles Times’ Washington bureau. In her journalistic career, she had covered global energy, Iraq War and other issues with The New York Times.
   

2) Three Indian Scientists elected as Fellows of The Royal Society.

• Three eminent Indian Born scientists listed in the fifty scientists elected as Fellows of the Royal Society, a premier scientific academy of the U.K and the Commonwealth.
• Their names are Physicist Sriram Ramaswamy, Biochemist Ramanujan Hegde, Applied mathematician Lakshminarayanan Mahadevan.
  

About three Scientists:

1. Physicist Sriram Ramaswamy, Director of TIFR Centre for Interdisciplinary Sciences, Hyderabad and and is on leave from the Indian Institute of Science(IISC), Bangalore.
2. His research helped found the field of Active Matter, which studies the collective behaviour of objects, such as motile organisms.
   
3. Biochemist Ramanujan Hegde, MRC Laboratory of Microbiology, U.K.
   
4. Ramanujan Hegde is a whose research has deepened humans’ understanding of how newly made proteins are localised correctly inside cells.
   
5. Applied mathematician Lakshminarayanan Mahadevan, Harvard University.
   
6. Lakshminarayanan Mahadevan’s work attempts to understand the geometrical and dynamical patterns of shape and flow in physical and biological matter.
   
7. His work has been recognized by awards that include the Edgerton Prize at MIT and the Ledlie Prize at Harvard.
   

3) BCCI recommends Virat Kohli for Khel Ratna, Ajinkya Rahane for Arjuna Award.

• BCCI has nominated Indian Test captain Virat Kohli for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award and his teammate Ajinkya Rahane for Arjuna Award.
• Virat kohli is also at the top of his game in the preceding ICC World T20, singlehandedly guiding India to wins over Australia, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
  
• Rahane equalled the record of holding the highest number of catches in a Test innings during India’s series win against Sri Lanka under Kohli’s leadership.
  
• Other sports bodies and associations are also in the process of sending their nominations.
  
• Sports persons nominated for the Khel Ratna Award so far are Incheon Asian Games gold medallist shooter Jitu Rai, squash star Dipika Pallikal, athlete Tintu Luka and ace golfer Anirban Lahiri.
  
• For Arjuna Awards, Athletes Lalita Babar and O.P. Jaisha, shooters P.N. Prakash and Apurvi Chandela, and archer Laxmirani Majhi have been nominated.
  
• The Khel Ratna award carries a cash prize of Rs. 7.5 lakh along with a citation while the Arjuna Award will carries a cash prize of Rs. 5 lakh and a citation.
  

4) Space boffins win $3m prize for discovering gravitational waves.

• Scientists and engineers of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, who detected gravitational waves and reported their discovery, have been awarded a $3 million Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics.
• The three founders of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observaton (LIGO) are Rainer Weiss, emeritus professor of physics at MIT; Kip Thorne, Caltech’s Richard P. Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics, emeritus; and Ronald Drever, emeritus professor of physics at Caltech.
  
• Founded by a group of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, the Breakthrough Prizes recognize the world’s top scientists in life sciences, fundamental physics, and mathematics.
  
• The LIGO team’s observation of gravitational waves brought a 50-year search to a spectacular conclusion.
  
• Using twin instruments sensitive enough to detect distortions in spacetime as small as one thousandth the diameter of an atomic nucleus.
  
• And also they recorded the gravitational shudders released when two black holes spiralled ever closer together and ultimately collided in a violent merger.
  

5) President Pranab Mukherjee confers Niryat Shree and Niryat Bandhu Awards.

• President Pranab Mukherjee has conferred the 15th set of Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) Niryat Shree and Niryat Bandhu Awards in New Delhi.
• The awards were presented at the Golden Jubilee celebrations of Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO).
  
• The awards were conferred to the companies from various sectors of exports besides service providers, banks, and various facilitating agencies which are promoting exports during the year 2015-16.
  

List of award recipients:

Reliance Industry: It was awarded as the top foreign exchange earner and leading exporter of last 50 years.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS): It won the Gold Award in IT services.

State Bank of India (SBI): It won the Gold award among the supporting institutions.

6) Angelique Kidjo honoured with Amnesty International top human rights award.

• Amnesty International has given its top 2016 human rights award to Grammy award-winning musician Angélique Kidjo and to three African youth activist movements for their work standing up to injustice.
• The award will be shared between the singer and the activist groups Y’en a marre from Senegal, le Balai Citoyen from Burkina Faso and Lutte pour le Changement (LUCHA) from DRC. All will be honoured at the awards ceremony in Dakar, Senegal.
  
• Last year it was awarded to Chinese artist Ai Weiwei and American singer-songwriter Joan Baez.
  

7) Corporation Bank gets ``Excellence Award on Empowering MSMEs 2016``.
Corporation Bank has been awarded the ``Excellence Award on Empowering MSMEs 2016`` instituted by the Federation of Industry, Trade and Services [FITS].
Bank Managing Director and CEO Jai Kumar Garg received the award from Kalraj Mishra, Union Minister for MSMEs, at New Delhi.
Steps taken by the Corporation Bank:
The bank ensures collateral-free loans up to Rs. 1 crore under Credit Guarantee Scheme of CGTMSE and bears the cost of guarantee cover for loans up to Rs. 10 lakh.
Corporation Bank is offering 25 bps concessions in interest rate to women beneficiaries in addition to 50 bps concessions available to guarantee covered accounts.
Corporation Bank has also adopted Environment and Social Risk Framework guidelines of World Bank/SIDBI for SME borrowers to make MSMEs lending environmentally sustainable.

8) Switzerland Government honours Yash Chopra with special statue.

• Switzerland Government has honoured late veteran filmmaker Yash Chopra by unveiling bronze statue at Interlaken.
• The bronze statue weighing about 250 kilos was inaugurated by his wife Pamela Chopra and daughter-in-law Rani Mukerjee.
  
• Chopra was known for opening a legacy of South Asian tourists flocking to Switzerland and spend much time in the country besides shooting his movies.
  
• This statue has been installed at the heart of Interlaken, inside the Kursaal area near the Congress Centre which is a prime, popular spot with tourists.
  
• Earlier in 2011, government of Interlaken awarded him the honorary title of Ambassador of Interlaken and Jungfrau Railways had named a train after him – an honour shared only with the railway’s founder, Adolf Guyer.
  

9) Indian Parashar Kulkarni wins 2016 Commonwealth Short Story Prize for Asia Region.

• Indian Parashar Kulkarni won the Commonwealth Short Story Prize for 2016, for the Asia region. He was awarded for his politically grounded unpublished short fiction `Cow and Company`.
• He would receive a cash prize of 2500 pounds (3835 US dollars).
  
• The story `Cow and Company` narrates the story of four men in search of a cow. The story manages to keep the reader engaged through twists and turns show the connections between culture and commercial interests.
  
• Parashar Kulkarni is an assistant professor in Social Sciences at Yale NUS College Singapore.
  

 
10) President presents Gallantry Awards and Distinguished Service Decorations to Defense personnel.

• President Pranab Mukherjee has presented Gallantry Awards and Distinguished Service Decorations to Defence personnel at a ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi.
• Constable Gautam Koch of Assam Armed Branch who made supreme sacrifice fighting UPLA insurgents in Assam`s Difu was awarded Kirti Chakra posthumously.
  
• Naib Subedar Rajesh Kumar Singh who made supreme sacrifice while fighting terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir was awarded Kirti Chakra posthumously.
  
• Civilian Bikaramjeet and Rakesh Sharma who displayed bravery and apprehended a dreaded militant in Jammu and Kashmir was also awarded Shaurya Chakra.
  
• President also conferred the Param Vishisht Seva Medal,Kirti Chakra, Uttam Yudh Sewa Medal, Atti vishisht Sewa Medal and Shaurya Chakra.
  
• Thirteen personnel were awarded Param Vishisht Seva Medal and Twenty Five Personnel were awarded Ati Vishisht Seva Medal which included Director General of NCC Lieutenant General Aniruddha Chakravarty. Two personnel were given Uttam Yudh Seva Medal and Ati Vishist Seva Medal Bar.
  
• Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Three services Chiefs were present in the ceremony.

1) ADMM Plus Exercise on Maritime Security and Counter Terrorism.

• The ADMM-Plus (ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting Plus) Exercise on Maritime Security and Counter Terrorism (Ex MS&CT) begins in Brunei and culminates at Singapore, with various drills and exercises in the South China Sea.
• ADMM plus Ex MS & CT is aimed at enhancing mutual understanding with respect to maritime security issues and streamlining drills on counter-terrorism operations at sea.
  
• The Indian Navy has been a regular participant in maritime exercises conducted by the ADMM countries.
  
• The Indian Navy has sent one of its three Shardul-classes amphibious warfare ships INS Airavat to a maritime security and counter-terrorism exercise.
  
• INS Airavat, is a Landing Ship Tank (Large), indigenously designed and built at GRSE, Kolkata. The ship has a lift capability of 500 troops, 10 tanks and 11 Combat Trucks, which allows to be effectively tasked for a variety of missions ranging from amphibious operations to Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR).
  
• During the exercise, the Indian Navy would engage with participating navies from Brunei, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar, China, Japan, Russia, Australia, Republic of Korea and US, through professional interactions in harbour and complex operations at sea.
  

2) Venezuela raises minimum wage as high inflation bites.
Thousands of workers in Venezuela will receive a pay rise of 30 percent as the country`s socialist government works towards improving its deteriorating economy.
Introduction of the minimum wage is aimed at calming tensions caused by runaway inflation and food shortages.
President Nicolas Maduro`s government has been rocked by protests in response to the crisis.

About:

Capital: Caracas
President: Nicolás Maduro
Currency: Venezuelan bolívar

3) Japan Announces $7 Billion Plan to Develop Mekong Region.

• Japan’s Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida has announced a multi-billion dollar initiative to promote development in the Mekong region, which encompasses parts of Vietnam, Laos and Thailand through which the river flows.
• Mr. Kishida affirmed the importance of Southeast Asia’s economic prosperity to Japan. He pledged 750 billion yen ($7 billion) in funding during the next three years to support development and growth in the region.
  
• The initiative will help promote "connectivity" within Southeast Asian countries and Japan through funding in infrastructure and development of human resources.
  
• Kishida also renewed his call for the establishment of a code of conduct in the South China Sea and that prosperity can only achieved if there is peace and stability in the region.
  

About Japan:

Capital: Tokyo
Prime minister: Shinzo Abe
Currency: Japanese yen

4) First US Cruise Ship Sails To Cuba Since 1978.

• A US cruise ship has docked in the Cuban capital, Havana, after sailing from Florida - the first such crossing in more than 50 years.
• The Adonia was the first U.S.-owned ship to sail to Cuba from the United States since Fidel Castro`s 1959 revolution.
  
• Hundreds of tourists and a handful of emotional Cuban-Americans arrived on the cruise ship to sail to Havana.
  
• The cruise trip went ahead after Cuba scrapped a ban on its citizens entering or leaving the island by sea.
  
• It was another first for the two countries since U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro announced a historic rapprochement in 2014.
  
• The US Company Carnival operating the cruise had been given permission by both governments to sail ships between Florida and Cuba.
  

About Cuba:

Capital: Havana
President: Raúl Castro
Prime minister: Raúl Castro
Currencies: Cuban peso

5) Financial inequality highest in India, China – IMF.

• Financial inequality is highest in India and China among Asia Pacific countries despite the two being among the fastest growing economies, IMF announced.
• According to IMF, China and India have grown rapidly and reduced poverty sharply.
  
• This impressive economic performance has been accompanied by increasing levels of inequality.
  
• In China, rapid industrialisation in particular regions and the concentration of foreign direct investment in coastal areas have led to substantial inequalities between coastal and interior regions.
  
• In India, differences between rural and urban areas have increased, and have been accompanied by rising intra-urban inequality.
  
• Many factors have been identified as key drivers of the inequality between rural and urban areas in China and India.
  
• Rising inequality in India has been found to be primarily an urban phenomenon.
  

About China:

Capital: Beijing
Currency: Yuan Renminbi
President: Xi Jinping

6) South Korea, Japan, China agree to ensure financial stability.

• Top financial officials and central bank governors from South Korea, Japan and China agreed to make joint efforts in battling economic and financial uncertainties at both the national and regional levels.
• The trilateral agreement has been inked in Frankfurt, Germany.
  
• Countries pledged to closely monitor capital flows and risks stemming from capital flow volatility as well as carefully calibrate and clearly communicate our macroeconomic and structural policy actions.
  
• Discussed current economic and financial situations at national, regional and global levels.
  

About China:

Capital: Beijing
Currency: Yuan Renminbi
President: Xi Jinping

About Japan:

Capital: Tokyo
Prime minister: Shinzo Abe
Currency: Japanese yen

About South Korea:

Capital: Seoul
President: Park Geun-hye
Prime minister: Hwang Kyo-ahn
Currency: South Korean won
 

7) Zimbabwe to print own version of US dollar.

• Zimbabwe is set to print its own version of the US dollar in order to ease a cash shortage in the country.
• The government adopted US and South African currencies in 2009 after hyperinflation rendered the national currency unusable as the economy collapsed.
  
• Zimbabwe must be the only place in the world to have eight currencies as legal tender.
  
• A recent shortage of foreign notes led Reserve Bank Governor John Mangudya to unveil a raft of radical measures, including limiting withdrawals to $1,000 or 20,000 South African rand per day.
  
• The bank will introduce the note of $2, $5, $10, and $20, which will hold the same value as their US dollar counterparts.
  
• The Central bank was still working on a design for the new notes, but they should be in circulation "within the next two months``.
  

About Zimbabwe:

Capital: Harare
President: Robert Mugabe

8) Alberta declares state of emergency as wildfire forces Fort McMurray evacuation in Canada.

• The Canadian province of Alberta has declared a state of emergency after a raging wildfire destroyed dozens of homes, engulfed several neighborhoods and forced the hurried evacuation of the entire city of Fort McMurray.
• Wind whipped wildfires, which broke out, have destroyed at least 1600 buildings and forced more than 80000 residents to flee.
  
• Fort McMurray is the hub of the province’s main oil sands region.
  
• Officials warned that the fire had the potential to destroy much of the town with a few neighborhoods already destroyed.
  

About Canada:

Capital: Ottawa
Prime minister: Justin Trudeau

9) China bug declared world’s longest insect.

• The insect, named Phobaeticus chani or Chan`s megastick was discovered two years ago in the southern province of Guangxi, China declared the world’s longest insect.
• A stick insect measuring 62.4 centimeters broken the record for length amongst the world’s 807,625 known insects.
  
• The previous record-holder was a Malaysian 56.7 centimetre long stick insect discovered in 2008 and now on display in London’s Natural History Museum.
  
• More than 3,000 varieties of stick insects have been discovered so far.
  
• The species was also listed as one of the top 10 discoveries of the decade in the BBC television documentary Decade of Discovery.
  

10) Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia Agree on New Joint Patrols Amid Kidnappings.

• Indonesia, Malaysia, and Philippines agreed to conduct coordinated maritime patrols as part of a broader plan to tackle rising security challenges in the waters bordering the three countries.
• The countries’ foreign ministers and military officials reached an agreement in the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta. The meeting was prompted by the recent kidnapping of 10 Indonesian sailors in the southwestern Philippines by Abu Sayyaf.
  
• Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines share maritime borders along the Sulu and Celebes seas, through which 55 million tons of goods and over 18 million people pass each year.
  

11) UN launches multi-partner trust fund for Zika virus response.

• United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced the establishment of the UN Zika Response Multi-Partner Trust Fund (MPTF) to finance critical unfunded priorities in the response to the Zika outbreak.
• The Fund, which aims to provide a rapid, flexible and accountable platform to support a coordinated response from the UN system and partners.
  
• It will directly support the Zika Strategic Response Framework, developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) in consultation with UN agencies, partners and international epidemiological experts.
  
• Donors contribute to a central point and an Advisory Committee directs funds to the highest-priority activities in the affected countries.
  
• Since January 2015, 61 countries and territories have reported local transmission of Zika virus.
  
• The Zika Strategic Response Framework aims to investigate and respond to the cluster of microcephaly and other neurological complications linked to Zika virus, increase preventive measures, communicate risks and provide care and support to those affected.
  

1) Australian Craig Wright claims to be Bitcoin creator.

• Australian entrepreneur Craig Wright has reportedly confirmed that he created digital payment system bitcoins and provided technical proof for his claims.
• The creator of bitcoin had earlier developed it under the pseudonym `Satoshi Nakamoto`.
  
• Bitcoins is a virtual currency system in which users exchange bitcoins for transactions and `mine` bitcoins by sharing their computing power.
  

About Craig Steven Wright:

1. Craig Steven Wright (born October 1970) is an Australian computer scientist and businessman.
2. He completed 18 SANS Institute courses and was the world`s first person to receive GIAC certification in Compliance and Audits and was a SANS Institute Mentor.
   
3. He is the founder of the cybersecurity and computer forensics company Panopticrypt Pty Ltd.
   

2) Rohit Sharma signs as Brand Ambassador for Hublot watches.

• Indian opener Rohit Sharma became the `Brand Ambassador` of world famous watch brand Hublot.
• He is the second renowned cricketer after former Australian captain Michael Clarke to be associated with the brand.
  
• Rohit Sharma would be seen promoting the company`s signature `Classic Fusion Aerofusion Chronograph` edition.
  

Rohit Sharma:

1. Rohit Gurunath Sharma is an Indian cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and an occasional right-arm off break bowler who plays for Mumbai in domestic cricket. He is the captain of the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League.
2. Rohit Sharma is the highest individual ODI scorer with 264 runs against Sri Lanka at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. He also the only player to hit two double hundreds in ODI cricket match.
   
3. Sharma received the Arjuna Award, which is presented every year by the Government of India to recognize outstanding achievements in national sports in India.
   

3) Sachin Tendulkar to be India`s goodwill ambassador at Rio Olympics.

• Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar to be the India`s Olympic goodwill ambassador for the 2016 Rio Olympics.
• He alongwith actor Salman Khan and Shooter Abhinav Bindra are also to be the India`s Olympic goodwill ambassador for Rio Olympics.
  
• A.R. Rahman was also approached by Indian Olympic Association to become goodwill ambassadors of Indian contingent for 2016 Rio Olympics.
  
• This comes after superstar Salman Khan`s appointment as goodwill ambassador created furore, with top athletes like Milkha Singh and Yogeshwar Dutt criticizing the move.
  

4) SC Collegium recommended transfer of Uttarakhand Chief Justice to Andhra Pradesh.

• The Supreme Court (SC) Collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India TS Thakur, recommended transfer of Uttarakhand High Court Chief Justice KM Joseph to Andhra Pradesh High Court.
• K.M. Joseph was appointed as the Chief Justice of the Uttarakhand High Court by President in July 2014. He was elevated to the post of Chief Justice on recommendation of then CJI Rajendra Mal Lodha.
  
• This is the first set of recommendations made by the SC Collegium for appointment as judges of the apex court after the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act was struck down by a Supreme Court bench on 16 October 2015.
  

About Justice K.M. Joseph:

1. He passed out of the Government Law College in Ernakulam. His father KK Mathew was a judge of the Supreme Court of India.
2. He enrolled himself as an advocate in Delhi in 1982.
   
3. In 1983, he shifted his practice to High Court of Kerala, Ernakulam.
   
4. He had served as a Judge of Kerala High Court for more than 9 years.
   

5) UN selects Mexican diplomat Patricia Espinosa as next chief of its climate change body.

• UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has selected Mexico`s ambassador to Germany, Patricia Espinosa, as the executive secretary of the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change).
• She will replace the incumbent Christiana Figueres when her term ends in July.
  
• She will play an important role in implementing the Paris Agreement on climate change that was approved by 195 countries in Paris, France.
  
• Earlier she had served as Mexico’s representative at the UN in New York for drug traffic, human rights, women promotion, social development and children’s rights.
  

6) Rohit Sharma unveils India’s first sports expo.

• Cricketer Rohit Sharma inaugurated the Pune International Sports Expo at the Agriculture College Ground. Shooter Gagan Narang was also present on the ceremony.
• It is the first sports expo being held in the country organised by city-based Steps Sports Entertainment Private Limited and will be open for public till May 8.
  
• It is organised to showcase various products and modern technologies for fitness and sports by Indian as well as multinational brands.
  
• The events will also see Zaheer Khan, Dhanraj Pillai, Sunil Chettri, Prarthana Thombe and Milkha Singh on the dais.
  
• A special event of ‘Bokwa Sessions’ has been organised by fitness expert Paul Mavi, and will have six sessions of ‘Bokwa’ every day throughout the expo.
  

7) Sadiq Khan becomes first Muslim mayor of London.

• Sadiq Khan,was declared the new mayor of London becoming the most powerful Muslim politician in Europe.
• A transport minister in the Labour government of former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Khan came under severe attack during the campaign from his Conservative opponent, Zac Goldsmith, for sharing platforms with extremists during his earlier career as a human rights lawyer.
  
• Khan emerged victorious in the 2016 mayoral elections after defeating Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) Zac Goldsmith by 1310143 votes to 994614.
  
• Khan succeeds Conservative Party Mayor Boris Johnson.
  

About Sadiq Khan:

1. Sadiq Aman Khan is a British politician. A member of the Labour Party, he is situated on the party`s soft left and has been ideologically characterised as a social democrat.
2. Born in London to a working-class British Pakistani family, he gained a degree in Law from the University of North London.
   
3. He subsequently worked as a solicitor specialising in human rights. He chaired Liberty for three years.
   
4. Before being sworn in as the Mayor of London, he previously served as MP for Tooting.
   
5. He was a Councillor for the London Borough of Wandsworth from 1994 to 2006 before being elected MP for Tooting in 2005.
   
6. Under the Labour government of Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Kahn was appointed Minister of State for Communities in 2008. He later became Minister of State for Transport.
   

8) Ali al-Naimi, Saudi Arabia’s powerful oil minister.

• Ali al-Naimi, Saudi Arabia’s powerful oil minister, was removed from his post. He is replaced by Khalid-al Falih, the chairman of the country’s state oil company, Saudi Aramco.
• Al-Naimi gained global respect for turning the biggest oil cartel in the world, known as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), into a respectable organization.
  
• He was known to some as the Alan Greenspan of the oil world.
  
• Al-Naimi had reportedly led the organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decision in 2014 to not restrain oil production amid global oversupply.

• Kalvari`, Indian Navy`s first indigenous Scorpene-class stealth submarine, sailed out for first sea trial in the Mumbai naval dockyard.
• INS Kalvari is also known as Tiger Shark (or S50).
• It is a diesel-electric attack submarine which is built under the strategic Project 75 by Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) in collaboration with French naval defence and Energy Company DCNS.

• It has superior stealth capability and is designed to operate in all theatres including the tropics.
• It can undertake various operations including multifarious warfare, Anti-submarine warfare, Intelligence gathering, mine laying, area surveillance etc.
• It can launch attack on the enemy using precision guided weapons and attack can be launched from underwater or on surface.
• It is equipped with Weapons Launching tubes (WLT) that can carry weapons on board and can be easily reloaded at sea.

• The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has launched mobile app ``Indian Customs- Guide to Travellers`` for dissemination of information about Customs Baggage Rules.
• `Indian Customs- Guide to Travellers` mobile app has been developed by Bengaluru Customs to inform international travelers - who may be traders, exporters or importers about the customs baggage rules.
• It is available on Android Play store, Apple Store and Windows Store.
• The app serves as a useful tool for quick information on the baggage rules and entitlements and thus serves to clarify doubts and concern of international passengers.

• The Hubble Space Telescope has spotted a galaxy hidden in the night sky, located just over 110 million light-years away in the constellation of Pisces.
• The galaxy UGC 477 is a low surface brightness (LSB) galaxy. LSB galaxies like UGC 477 are more diffusely distributed than galaxies such as Andromeda and the Milky Way.
• With surface brightnesses up to 250 times fainter than the night sky, these galaxies can be incredibly difficult to detect.
• Many of the matter current in LSB galaxies is within the type of hydrogen fuel, somewhat than stars.
• The centres of LSB galaxies don’t include giant numbers of stars.
• Astronomers suspect that this is because LSB galaxies are mainly found in regions devoid of other galaxies, and have therefore experienced fewer galactic interactions and mergers capable of triggering high rates of star formation.
• LSB galaxies reminiscent of UGC 477 as a substitute look like dominated by darkish matter.

• An international team of scientists have discovered a trio of Earth-like exoplanets using the TRAPPIST telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory.
• These planets were found orbiting an ultra-cool dwarf star just 40 light-years from Earth and are likely comparable in size and temperature to Earth and Venus.
• Michael Gillon-led team of astronomers of the University of Liege in Belgium used the TRAPPIST telescope to observe the ultra-cool dwarf star 2MASS J23062928-0502285, now also known as TRAPPIST-1.
• TRAPPIST-1 is about one eighth the size of the Sun (barely larger than Jupiter) and significantly cooler.
• Two of the planets have orbital periods of about 1.5 days and 2.4 days respectively, and the third planet has a less well-determined orbital period in the range 4.5 to 73 days.
• Three planets were found to orbit very close to their host dwarf star, the inner two planets only receive four times and twice, respectively, the amount of radiation received by the Earth.
• The third, outer, planet’s orbit is not yet well known, but it probably receives less radiation than the Earth does. 

• Scientists have developed world’s Smallest (Nano) Thermometer using DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid) structures that can fold and unfold at specifically defined temperature functions.
• The University of Montreal researchers created a programmable DNA thermometer that is 20,000 times smaller than a human hair.
• It was developed using basic idea of the DNA molecules which unfold when heated to certain temperatures. RNA, proteins and other bio-molecules in the DNA fold and unfold.
• It can help in understanding of natural and human designed nanotechnologies by enabling to measure temperature at the nanoscale.
• Play a crucial role in answering a number of debatable questions in the field of science and technology. It may be used to create super-strong structures, repair cells and help nano-computing become more efficient.

• A group of researchers from University of Cambridge have built the world’s smallest (nanoscale) working engine.
• They have named the microscopic engine as ANTs (Actuating Nano-Transducers).
• The prototype engine was made of tiny charged particles of gold. It was bound together with temperature-responsive gel-like polymer called pNIPAM.
• The nanoscale engine is just a few billionths of a metre in size and uses light to power itself.

1. On heating the engine above critical temperature with a laser it stores large amounts of elastic energy in a fraction of a second.
2. The elastic energy is mainly produced after the gold particles are bound tightly together with the polymer through intermolecular attraction. When it falls below critical temperature, the polymer suddenly absorbs water and expands and the gold particles are pushed rapidly apart like a spring.
3. This stored energy generates a propulsive force on a microscopic scale that is a hundred times greater per unit weight than any known motor or muscle.
4.  
5. This engine can help to navigate in water, even enter living cells to fight disease or sense the environment around them.

• The US Navy conducted an initial test run of the world’s largest unmanned ocean-going vessel, 132-foot ship designed to travel thousands of miles at sea with no human crew.
• The vessel is called as ``Sea Hunter``, will allow the US to patrol waters without the risk of casualties should the ship come under attack.
• "Sea Hunter" has the potential to revolutionize not only the military`s maritime operations but commercial shipping, according to military officials.
• It could usher in the arrival of unmanned cargo vessels moving between countries.
• The military’s research arm, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), in conjunction with the Navy will be testing the ship off the San Diego coast
• ``Sea Hunter`` relies on radar, sonar, cameras and a global positioning system.Unmanned ships will supplement missions to help keep service members out of harm’s way.

• India has 34 Indian satellites are operational in the space.
• Which 13 are for communication, 12 for the purpose of earth observation and seven for navigation purpose and two space science satellites namely the Mars Orbiter Mission and Astrosat.
• It was also mentioned that about 30 service providers are utilising Ku-band (a part of K band) transponders onboard indigenous communication satellites for various communication applications.
• These applications include Direct-To-Home Television (DTH), Digital Satellite News Gathering, telecommunication, VSAT services for banking, tele-education and business communication etc.

• Aurobindo Pharma has received final approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to manufacture and market Fenofibrate tablets in 48 milligram (mg) and 145 mg dosage forms.
• Fenofibrate is used to treat high levels of cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood.
• The approved abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) is the generic version of AbbVie Inc.’s Tricor tablets.
• This is the 75th ANDA to be approved out of the Unit VII formulation facility in Hyderabad for manufacturing oral non-antibiotic products.
• Aurobindo now has a total of 259 ANDA approvals, including 222 final and 37 tentative approvals from FDA. 

• The south Goa-based defence shipyard, Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) launched Shourya.
• The fifth of a series of six Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) designed in-house and built by GSL.
• It was launched by the Governor of Goa, Mridula Sinha, in the presence of GSl and ICG officials.
• The vessel is 105-metre long and is capable of cruising at a speed of 23 knots. It has a range of 6000 nautical miles.
• It is powered by twin diesel engines and carries four boats for boarding party operations. It is fitted with state-of-the-art navigation and communication equipment.
• The ship’s weaponry package has one 30 mm gun and two 12.7 mm guns associated with fire control system.
• It will also be deployed for monitoring sea lanes of communication and ocean surveillance.

• United states (US) based private space transport service company, SpaceX has successfully launched Japanese JCSAT-14 communication satellite into space.
• The satellite was place into its intended preliminary geostationary transfer orbit by SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket which was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, US.

1. JCSAT-14 Satellite is owned by Sky Perfect JSAT Corporation. The satellite will boost the company’s fleet of relay stations to 17.
2. The satellite is built by Space Systems/ Loral and is equipped with 26 C-band and 18 Ku-band transponders.
3. It has design life of 15 years and replaces the aging JCSAT-2A.
4. Sky Perfect JSAT Corporation is the only non-governmental provider of multi-channel pay television and satellite communications in Japan.

• NASA researchers have detected atomic oxygen in Mars` atmosphere for the first time since the last observation 40 years ago.
• It was detected using an instrument onboard the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA).
• SOFIA is a Boeing 747SP jetliner modified to carry a 100-inch diameter telescope. It is a joint project of NASA and the German Aerospace Centre.
• The detected atomic oxygen was found in the upper layers of the Martian atmosphere known as the mesosphere.
• The observations were possible due to SOFIA’s airborne location, flying between 37,000 - 45,000 feet, above most of the infrared-blocking moisture in Earth’s atmosphere.
• Atomic oxygen in the Martian atmosphere is notoriously difficult to measure as far-infrared wavelengths are needed to detect it.
• However SOFIA help to detect it as it has highly sensitive instruments including spectrometer.

• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has unveiled the first global digital elevation (topographic model) of Mercury.
• The model was unveiled by NASA’s MESSENGER (MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging) mission
• The MESSENGER mission shows stunning detail the topography across the entire innermost planet of our solar system.
• The model was created using more than 100,000 images acquired by the MESSENGER mission.
• These images were acquired with a large range of viewing illumination and geometries conditions, which help to determine the topography across Mercury’s surface.
• The new topographic map provides an unprecedented view of the region near Mercury’s North Pole which was earlier not available. 

1) India-Russia agree to export BrahMos, world’s fastest anti-ship cruise missile

• India and Russia have agreed ‘in principle’ to export the world’s fastest anti-ship cruise missile, BrahMos, to UAE, Vietnam, South Africa and Chile.
• Several structural changes were made in the defence exports policy and these were yielding results. As far as the BrahMos missile is concerned, talks with countries like UAE, Chile, South Africa and Vietnam are in advanced stages.
• Since Russia is the partner country in the BrahMos joint venture with its consent discussions with several other countries, including Philippines, South Korea, Algeria, Greece, Malaysia, Thailand, Egypt, Singapore, Venezuela and Bulgaria have now been taken to the next level.
• While defence minister Manohar Parrikar will be visiting Vietnam soon, where the talks for closing deal with the ASEAN member country could be discussed, the source revealed that by the year end, the BrahMos Aerospace is expected to ink the deal with UAE by the year end as both India and Russia have good relations with the country and there is conflict of interest there, hence there will no problems in exporting the missile to that country.
• In the case of Vietnam, China has expressed its reservations against India’s policies to supply weapons. In the South China Sea, China and Vietnam are locked in a conflict over maritime boundaries.
• The Indo-Russian joint venture will soon be testing it cruise missiles on Russian Su-30 Flanker C multi-role fighter aircraft for which the ground tests are already done.
• BrahMos is a short-range ramjet supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft or land. It is a joint venture between Russia’s NPO Mashinostroeyenia and the Defence Research and Development Organisation of India. They have formed BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited to make the missile. The name BrahMos is a portmanteau formed from the names of two rivers, the Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia.
• The Indian government has been receiving proposals for BrahMos from countries as diverse as Vietnam to Chile. The missile system has caught the attention of a number of countries in the Latin America such BRICS member South Africa, and other countries in that region including Venezuela, Chile, as it has been developed at a low budget of $300 million.

2) India, Morocco ink MoUs on cultural cooperation, training of professionals

• India and Morocco on 31st May signed Memoranda of Understanding in the fields of cultural exchange and training of professionals. The MoUs were signed during delegation-level talks in the presence of Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari and Moroccan Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane at Dar al-Kakhzen, the official residence of the King of Morocco in Rabat. Three MoUs in various fields were also finalised.
• In a joint statement after the talks, the Vice President said, India sees Morocco as a trusted partner in a number of fields. He said, during talks with the Moroccan Prime Minister, they reviewed all aspects of their bilateral co-operation and emphasised the need to identify new areas of collaboration.
• The Vice President said, wide ranging discussions on global and regional developments were also held during the talks. Mr Ansari appreciated Morocco’s support for India’s candidature to the expanded United Nations Security Council. The Vice President also invited Mr Benkirane to pay a visit to India to which the Moroccan Prime Minister said, he will visit in the coming months.
• Mr Ansari also held one-to-one talks with the Moroccan Prime Mininster in which the two leaders discussed a range of issues, including terrorism. Indian Ambassador to Morocco

• The Cabinet has given its approval for signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between India and Qatar for cooperation in skill development and recognition of qualifications. It will facilitate workforce mobility, skill development and placement of youth in overseas jobs in Qatar.
• The Cabinet also gave its nod to signing of MoU between the two countries for strengthening cooperation in the field of tourism. It will create favourable conditions for long-term co-operation in the field of tourism for the mutual benefits.
• It also approved signing and ratification of agreement between India and Qatar on co-operation and mutual assistance in customs matters.

4) India, Iran, Afghanistan ink historic trilateral transit pact

• India, Iran and Afghanistan have inked a historic trilateral transit agreement in the Iranian capital Tehran on 23rd May. The pact was signed by representatives of the three countries in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Hassan Rouhani of Iran and the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani after their formal talks in the Saadabad Palace.
• The trilateral agreement would facilitate hassles-free transport of goods between India and Afghanistan via the Chabahar port that is strategically located in the South East of Iran.
• The trilateral pact is set to get the port project more viable and also give a fillip to economic activities in the region. India and Iran have termed the Chabahar project as the symbol of renewed friendship between the traditional allies.
• The Indian Prime Minister said decisions taken by Iran and India will also help in generating employment for the youth. He hoped that agreement will bring India, Iran and Afghanistan close and facilitate greater connectivity between the three countries. He said there is a need to expand cooperation between the three countries in several areas including IT and Education.