DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 17 APRIL 2016

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 17 APRIL 2016

(Daily News India)

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1. PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI INAUGURATED MARITIME INDIA SUMMIT 2016

i. The two days Maritime India Summit 2016 has been inaugurated by Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi.

ii. It is India’s 1^st Maritime Summit organised by Union Ministry of Shipping in Goregaon Mumbai from 14th April to 16 April, 2016.

iii. More than 50 other maritime nations have been invited to come to India to explore potential business opportunities in Indian Maritime Sector.

v. The summit will project large investment opportunities in each of the Indian Maritime States and Union Territories.

2. BRICS BANK DISBURSES $250 MILLION LOAN FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECT TO CANARA BANK

i. The New Development Bank has sanctioned  a fund of $250 million to India’s renewable energy projects.

ii. The NDB approved four green renewable energy projects from India, Brazil ,China and South Africa of $811 million.

iii. The project from India entails provisioning of multi-tranche loan of $250 million to Canara Bank for lending to renewable energy projects.

3. JHARKHAND GOVERNMENT LAUNCHED BHIMRAO AMBEDKAR AWAS YOJANA FOR WIDOWS

i. The Chief Minister of Jharkhand Raghubar Das has launched the "Bhimrao Ambedkar Awas Yojana" for widows.

ii.The yojna is  launched on the 125^th  birth anniversary of B R Ambedkar.

ii. The main purpose of the scheme is to create equality and harmony in society, ensuring all round development.

iii. The scheme is aimed to build 11,000 houses for the current financial year

4. 69TH HIMACHAL DAY OBSERVED ON 15^TH APRIL

i. Himachal Pradesh is celebrating 69th Himachal Day on 15^th April.

ii. After independence, the Chief Commissioner's Province of Himachal Pradesh came into existence on 15 April 1948.

iii. The himachal Pardesh is formed after the merger of 28 petty princely states

CHIEF MINISTER OF HIMACHAL PARDESH: VIRBHADRA SINGH

5. INDIAN ARMY CONDUCTS SHATRUJEET BATTLE EXERCISE IN RAJASTHAN

i. ‘Shatrujeet’ the battle exercise is conducted  in  Indian Army in the Thar Desert of Rajasthan.

ii. The main purpose of the exercise was to evaluate the capability of the Indian Army.

iii. The another main objective is to fine tune army’s proactive war strategy to respond swiftly to any threat to nation’s security.

6. AUSTRALIA WINS 2016 SULTAN AZLAN SHAH HOCKEY TOURNAMENT

i. Australia has won the 25th edition of Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament 2016 .

ii. In the final match Australia defeated India by 4-0 goals.

iii. Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament is an annual international men’s field hockey tournament held in Malaysia.

iv. It is named after 9th king of Malaysia and ‘Father of Malaysian Hockey’ Sultan Azlan Shah.

7. US COURT IMPOSED 940 MILLION DOLLARS FINE ON TWO TATA GROUP COMPANIES

i. The federal grand jury in the US State of Wisconsin has slapped 940 million US dollars fine against two companies of India’s Tata group.

ii. These two companies are Tata Consultancy Services  and Tata America International Corp.

iii. They were fined in a trade secret lawsuit filed against them by the US based electronics medical records vendor Epic Systems.

iv. The US based company in its lawsuit has alleged that TCS employee reviewed its intellectual property under the pretence of doing consulting work for Kaiser Permanente, the largest managed health care company in the US.

v. While doing so he downloaded Epic’s proprietary software to help build a rival system.

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DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 16 APRIL 2016

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 16 APRIL 2016

(Daily News India)

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1. NAURU BECOMES 189TH MEMBER OF IMF AND WORLD BANK

i. South Pacific island nation Nauru has become the 189th member of the International Monetary Fund  and the World Bank.

ii. Nauru applied for membership in April 2014, after joining the United Nations in 1996 as the world’s smallest independent republic.

iii. Now it becomes the smallest member of the World Bank

 iv. World bank and IMF also known as Bretton-Woods institutions

2. CABINET NOD TO ADOPT STATUTE OF SAWEN TO CHECK WILDLIFE CRIMES

i. Union Cabinet has given its approval for India adopting the Statute of the South Asia Wildlife Enforcement Network  known as SAWEN.

ii. SAWEN is formed with an objective of taking initiatives for bringing harmonization and standardization in laws and policies of member countries concerning conservation of wild fauna and flora

iii. It will also strengthen ties with the member countries in controlling the trans-boundary wildlife crime through communication, coordination, collaboration, capacity building and cooperation in the region.

3. SUSHILA KARKI BECAME THE FIRST FEMALE CHIEF JUSTICE OF NEPAL’S SUPREME COURT

i. Nepal has selected Justice Sushila Karki for the post of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court

ii. She will become 26th chief justice of the apex court and the first female CJ in Nepal’s history.

4. PM MODI LAUNCHED GRAM UDAY SE BHARAT UDAY ABHIYAN

i. PM Narendra Modi launched 'Gram Uday Se Bharat Uday Abhiyan' at Mhow in Madhya Pradesh.

ii. The Abhiyan is launched on the 125th birth anniversary of Babasaheb Ambedkar at his birthplace to strengthen Panchayati Raj in villages and ensure social harmony in villages.

iii. Gram Uday Se Bharat Uday Abhiyan launched to promote rural development and foster farmers’ welfare and livelihoods to poor.

iv. National Panchayati Raj Day observed on 24^th  April 2016.

5. MARY KOM NAMED AIBA AMBASSADOR FOR WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

i. Indian woman boxer M C Mary Kom has been as the named one of the eight ambassadors for the upcoming World Championships by the International Boxing Association.

ii. Mary Kom has won five World Championship gold medals.

iii. The will be Hosted by Canada on 28^th March–4^th  April

6. PANAGARH AIRBASE RENAMED AFTER FORMER IAF CHIEF ARJAN SINGH

i. Panagarh Air Force Base of West Bengal was renamed as Air Force Station Arjan Singh.

ii. It is a rare honour to the nation’s oldest soldier Marshal of Air Force Arjan Singh.

iii. Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh had led the Indian Air Force in the 1965 India-Pakistan war.

iv. He was the first Indian Air Chief to be elevated to the rank of Air Chief Marshal on 16 January 1966.

7. SUSMITA PANDE APPOINTED AS CHAIRPERSON OF NATIONAL MONUMENT AUTHORITY

i. Union Government appointed Susmita Pande as the chairperson of the National Monument Authority.

ii. She will replace Himanshu Prabha Ray.

iii. National Monuments Authority is responsible for the protection and preservation of monuments and sites.

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DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 15 APRIL 2016

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 15 APRIL 2016

(Daily News India)

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1. UNION GOVERNMENT IMPOSES ANTI-DUMPING DUTY ON N-BUTYL ALCOHOL

I. The Union Government has imposed an anti-dumping duty on imports of N-Butyl Alcohol from five countries.

ii. The duty is imposed on European Union, Malaysia, Singapore and US.

iii.Normal Butanol, or N-Butyl Alcohol exported from five countries mentioned above was found to be below normal value compared to domestic value.

2. INDIA AND SOUTH KOREA INK MOU FOR COOPERATION AND MUTUAL ASSISTANCE IN DEVELOPMENT OF PORTS

i. India and South Korea have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation and mutual assistance in development of ports.

ii. The MoU will help both countries to boost maritime relationship as well as encourage and facilitate the development of ports, port related industry.

iii. It will encourage cooperation in sharing of technology, experiences in the fields of port operation and development

3. MASTERCARD CEO AJAY BANGA APPOINTED AS MEMBER OF US CYBERSECURITY BODY

i. US President Barack Obama has nominated MasterCard’s Indian-American CEO Ajay Banga as a member of the Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity.

ii. The commission was established in February 2016 to make detailed recommendations to strengthen cybersecurity in both the public and private sectors while protecting privacy, ensuring public safety and economic and national security

4. PM NARENDRA MODI LAUNCHES NATIONAL AGRICULTURE MARKET PORTAL ENAM

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched National Agriculture Market portal eNAM to connect e-mandis in several States.

ii. ENam is an online inter-connectivity of e-mandis, aimed at agriculture marketing reforms to enable farmers to get better price of their produce.

iii. E-National Agriculture Market is a pan-India e-trading platform.

iv. Farmers can showcase their produce online from their nearest market and traders can quote price from anywhere.

5. PM NARENDRA MODI INAUGURATES MARITIME INDIA SUMMIT 2016

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Maritime India Summit 2016 in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

ii.This is India’s first ever Maritime Summit and the flagship event organised by Union Ministry of Shipping.

iii. South Korea is the partner country for the summit and will be represented by a high level ministerial and business delegation.

iv. The main focus of summit is to give impetus to Make In India and blue economy under the Union Government’s ambitious Sagarmala Project for ports development.

6. PM NARENDRA MODI LAUNCHES GRAM UDAY SE BHARAT UDAY ABHIYAN

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched ‘Gram Uday Se Bharat Uday Abhiyan’ also known as Village Self Governance Campaign.

ii. The campaign is launched to strengthen Panchayati Raj in villages and ensure social harmony in villages.

iii. It was launched on the occasion of 125th birth anniversary of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar at his birthplace at Mhow in Madhya Pradesh.

iv. Panchayati Raj Day is observed on 24th April.

7. INDIA WORLD’S LARGEST REMITTANCE RECIPIENT IN 2015 A REPORT BY WORLD BANK

i. According to the report released by World Bank India remained the world’s largest remittance recipient in 2015.

ii. It was revealed in the World Bank’s annual report Migration and Development.

iii.India attracted about 69 billion US dollars in remittances followed by china, phillippines, mexico , and Nigeria .

8. AKASH MISSILE SYSTEM SUCCESSFULLY TEST FIRED

i. Indigenously developed surface-to-air supersonic Akash missile System was successfully test fired from Chandipuri in Odisha.

ii. Akash Missile is a mid-range surface-to-air missile.

iii. It is medium range nuclear capable supersonic missile developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation.

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DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 14 APRIL 2016

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 14 APRIL 2016

(Daily News India)

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1. MAHARASHTRA BECOMES FIRST STATE TO PASS LAW AGAINST SOCIAL BOYCOTT

i. The Maharashtra legislature has passed the Maharashtra Prohibition of People from Social Boycott (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Bill, 2016.

ii. The bill is passed to end the menace social boycott practiced by extra-judicial institutions like caste and community panchayats.

iii. Maharashtra became first state in the country to adopt a law to end a parallel justice delivery system in the name of age old traditions, caste and religion.

2. PRESIDENT PRESENTS PADMA AWARDS TO 56 EMINENT PERSONALITIES

i. President Pranab Mukherjee has presented the Padma awards to the 56 eminent personalities from various fields in a at Rashtrapati Bhawan New Delhi.

ii. The name of the persons honoured with awards are:

 Padma Vibhushan-

a.    Superstar Rajnikant,

b.   classical singer Dr Girija Devi

c.     journalist Ramoji Rao

 Padma Bhushan awards to:

a.    Singer Udit Narayan

b.   Tennis player Sania Mirza

Padmashree awards given to:

a.    Actor Priyanka Chopra,

b.   writer Dhirendra Nath Bezbaruah

3. PM TO INAUGURATE 3RD ASIA MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE ON TIGER CONSERVATION

i. The three day 3rd Asia Ministerial Conference on the Tiger Conservation is inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on 12th April.

ii. To attend this conference more than 700 tiger experts, managers, scientists, donors and other stakeholders are gathering to discuss issues related to tiger conservation.

iii. The event is organised to promote Tiger population as it has declined to very low level.

4. INDIA TO ATTEND OECD MEET IN PARIS REGARDING PANAMA PAPERS

i. India will take part in a special meeting of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris.

ii. The meet is going to be held to firm up cooperation between countries in the wake of the 'Panama Papers' leak.

iii. The government had also set up a Multi-Agency Group to investigate the Indian names and entities holding offshore assets in the tax haven as reported in the leaks.

iv. Panama Papers are a leaked set of 11.5 million confidential documents that provide detailed information about more than 214,000 offshore companies listed by the Panamanian corporate service provider Mossack Fonseca.

 v. The documents show how wealthy individuals, including public officials, hid their assets from public scrutiny

5.  SHAN-E-PUNJAB EXPRESS BECOMES INDIA'S FIRST TRAIN FITTED WITH CCTV CAMERAS

i. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu inaugurated the fitment of CCTV in Train Shan-e-Punjab Express through video-conferencing from Rail Bhawan premises, New Delhi.

ii. CCTV surveillance cameras in the Shaan-e-Punjab Express is one more step towards improving security in Indian trains.

iii. The CCTV system on the Shaan-e-Punjab Express includes 4 to 6 cameras per coach strategically located so that the entire area can be covered. 

iv. The system will facilitate facial recognition of the target person by giving high resolution images.

6. LAVA INTERNATIONAL ANNOUNCES MS DHONI AS ITS BRAND AMBASSADOR

i. Noida based handset manufacturer Lava International has announced Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni as it's new brand ambassador.

ii. The present plant of the company in Noida is aligning itself with the Government of India’s ‘Make in India’ initiative.

7. VARANASI KATHAK DANCER BREAKS WORLD RECORD

i. Kathak dancer from Varanasi has broken the world record of longest dance performance by continuously dancing for 123 hours and 30 minutes.

ii. She broke the previous record of Hemlata Kundalu, who performed Mohiniattam for 123 hours and 20 mins.

8. VIRAT KOHLI NAMED AS BRAND AMBASSADOR OF PREMIER FUTSAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE

i. Premier Futsal is the newer and shorter five a side variant of soccer appointed Virat Kohli as its brand ambassador.

ii. This is the world's first multinational Futsal league which is all set to take place across eight Indian cities from July 15.

iii. The league is governed by the Futsal Association of India with accreditation from the international governing body.

iv. Around 50 international futsalers, from 4 continents and 21 countries are expected to participate in the game.

9. INDIAN TEAMS GRABBED ASIAN KHO KHO CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE

i. India's men's and women's teams have won championship titles at the third Asian Kho-Kho championship organised in Indore.

ii. Both men and women teams defeated Bangladesh team in finals.

iii. Sarika Kale won the women’s match-winner title and Aniket Pote won the men’stitle.

Asian Kho Kho Association secretary: Qazi Rau-uddin Ahmed Choupal

10. SERENA WILLIAMS MAINTAINS TOPPED IN WTA RANKINGS

i. American tennis star Serena Williams topped it thee women's rankings followed by Polish Agnieszka Radwanska.

ii. In the women's doubles India's Sania Mirza and her Swiss partner Martina Hingis topped the list.

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DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 13 APRIL 2016

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 13 APRIL 2016

(Daily News India)

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1. INDIA TO GROW AT 7.5 % GROWTH RATE IN 2016–17 REPORT BY IMF

i. International Monetary Fund  has forecasted the India's growth at  7.5% in 2016-17. 

ii. It also forecasted India will overtake the China's GDP by more than 1%.

iii. The growth in India is increasing due to increased industrial activity.

2. INDIA, AND US 'AGREE IN PRINCIPLE' GREEMENT ON SHARING MILITARY LOGISTICS

i. India and the United States inked an in-principle logistics exchange agreement.

ii. The agreement is inked to enable the militarizes of both the countries to use each other’s assets and bases for repair and replenishment of supplies.

iii.US is going  to provide technology for making seaborne aircraft carriers and shared two new projects for making fighter jets in India to promote  ‘Make in India’ programme in defence.

3. INDIA RANKS 44^TH IN 2016 GLOBAL CONNECTIVITY INDEX

i. The Global Connectivity Index report  is  released  in Shenzhen China.

ii. The list is topped by United States followed by Singapore, sweden etc while  Indis is ranked  at 44^th  place.

iii. The report is based on the progress of 50 nations in investment and deployment of Information and Communications Technology.

4. INDIA AND GERMANY SIGNED AGREEMENT ON NAMAMI GANGE PROGRAMME

i. Union Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation and German International Cooperation inked  an agreement for Ganga Rejuvenation under the Namami Gange Programme in New Delhi.

ii. The project will Support to National Urban Sanitation Policy and Sustainable Environment-friendly Industrial Production.

iii. The country will help to clean Ganga.

6. HARYANA GOVERNMENT DECIDED TO RENAME GURGAON AND MEWAT

i. Haryana Government has decided to rename Gurgaon as Gurugram and Mewat as Nuh.

ii. The decision to change the name of Gurgaon was taken as Gurgaon had been a centre of learning where the princes used to get education and known as Gurugram since the times of Guru Dronacharya.

iv. Mewat is not a town,it is a geographical and cultural unit spread beyond Haryana in the adjoining States of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

v. The Headquarters of Mewat district is at Nuh town so they had been demanding that the name of Mewat be changed as Nuh.

7.  AISHWARYA RAI WON GLOBAL INDIAN OF THE YEAR AWARD

i. Actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has won the ‘Global Indian of the Year’ award.

ii. She was honoured at NRI of the Year award function held in Mumbai.

iii. The NRI of the Year Award recognizes outstanding achievements of the Indian diaspora globally.

iv. Apart from her tennis player Sania Mirza has also honoured at the NRI of the year award 2016.

8. FORMER ARMY CHIEF GENERAL JJ SINGH CONFERRED HIGHEST FRENCH CIVILIAN HONOUR

i. Former Army Chief General Joginder Jaswant Singh has been conferred with the highest French civilian honour 'Officier de l Ordre national de la Legion d Honneur'.

ii. He is chosen for modernizing the Indian Army and initiating robust exchanges between the Indian and French armies.

iii. The Officier de l Ordre national de la Legion d Honneur' is the highest civilian award given by the French Republic for outstanding service to France, regardless of the nationality of the recipients.

9. WOMAN BIKER VEENU PALIWAL DIED IN A ROAD ACCIDENT

i. Former Indian woman biker Veenu Paliwal has died in a road accident in Vidisha district, Madhya Pradesh.

ii. The accident took place when she was on a national wide tour on her Harley Davidson.

iii. At the time of accident she was undertaking the trip from Kashmir to Kanyakumari with her fellow biker and companion Dipesh Tanwar.

v. Veenu Paliwal had recently been named as the Lady of the Harley 2016.

10. PADMA SACHDEV SELECTED FOR SARASWATI SAMMAN 2015

i. Author and poet Padma Sachdev has been selected for the Saraswati Samman for 2015

ii. She will be honoured for her autobiography titled Chitt-Chete, written in Dogri language.

ii. The book explains the personal trials and tribulations of the author with issues concerning society, nation and the world at large.

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