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General Awareness Bullet- 2016

(Comprehensive summary of current affairs for June 2016)

Dear PaGaLGuY readers,

This General Awareness Bullet is a comprehensive summary of important news and events that occurred in
June 2016. This bullet is relevant for Banking, SSC, Insurance and UPSC Exams. We intend to release monthly
bullets for various exams.
Do print out a hard copy of this for your regular use. Our goal is to ensure that you have the necessary material
readily available to prepare thoroughly and perform well in your exams.
To access all of the material that we provide, log on to http://www.pagalguy.com
Prepared by—
Onkar Dichwalkar
(http://www.pagalguy.com/@omidichwalkar)
Edited by —
Mahalakshmi Subramanian
(http://www.pagalguy.com/@mahalakshmi.s)

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in News

Current Policy Rates and Reserve Ratios:

Repo Rate 6.50%

Reverse Repo Rate 6.00%

Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) 4.00%

Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) 21.25%

Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) 7.00%

Bank Rate 7.00%

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1. RBI announces second bi-monthly monetary policy review: The Reserve Bank
of India has chosen to maintain status quo on policy rates in its second bi-monthly
monetary policy review. So, the repo rate will be unchanged at 6.50%. RBI had re-
duced the repo rate from 6.75% to 6.50% in its first bi-monthly monetary policy re-
view in April 2016. RBI has also kept the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) and Statutory
Liquidity Reserve (SLR) unchanged. This decision of wait and watch will be con-
tinued till the assessment of monsoon this year and its effect on food prices. Infla-
tion target remains unchanged at 5% for January 2017 with upward bias. It has
pegged the growth forecast at 7.6% for the current fiscal. The policy has recom-
mended to keep a watch on the impact of firming crude oil prices, implementation
of Seventh Pay Commission recommendations. To aid credit flow RBI stressed on
timely capital infusion in PSU banks.

2. RBI introduces scheme for Sustainable Structuring of Stressed Assets: To

strengthen banks’ ability to deal with stressed assets and to put real assets back on
track by enabling restructuring of financial entities facing genuine difficulties, the
Reserve Bank of India has issued guidelines on a ‘Scheme for Sustainable Structur-
ing of Stressed Assets’.
Highlights of the Scheme:
 RBI formulated the Scheme for Sustainable Structuring of Stressed Assets (S4A) as an optional framework for
the resolution of large stressed accounts.
 The S4A envisages determination of the sustainable debt level for a stressed borrower.
 It also envisages bifurcation of the outstanding debt into sustainable debt and equity/quasi-equity instruments
which are expected to provide upside to the lenders when the borrower turns around.
 To ensure the transparency of exercise, S4A envisages that the resolution plan will be prepared by credible pro-
fessional agencies.
 An Overseeing Committee will independently review the processes involved in preparation of the resolution
plan for reasonableness and adherence to the provisions of these guidelines. It will be set up by the Indian Banks
Association and will comprise of eminent experts.
 The scheme is meant for projects that have started commercial operations having an outstanding loan of over
500 crore rupees.

Financial and Banking News

1. No tax deduction for PF withdrawals of up to Rs. 50,000 from June 1: The government recently notified raising of
the threshold limit of PF withdrawals for Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) from the existing Rs.30,000 to Rs.50,000 due
to Finance Act, 2016 amendment in section 192A of Income Tax Act, 1961. Initially, the government had proposed to
deduct TDS on PF withdrawals to prevent withdrawals and encourage long-term savings. With the new rule, TDS will
be deducted at the rate of 10% provided PAN is submitted. The changes were effective from June 1, 2016. However, in
case Form 15G or 15H is submitted at the time of withdrawal, TDS will not be deducted.

2. Centre approves setting up of India Post Payments Bank: The Union cabinet recently approved the setting up of the
India Post Payments Banks (IPPB) as a public limited company under the Department of Posts with 100% government
equity. An initial corpus of Rs.800 crores will be allotted for IPPB, of which, Rs.400 crores will be equity and Rs. 400
crores will be grant. Cabinet approved establishment of 650 branches of IPPB in the country that will be linked to rural
post offices. The branches will get operational licence by September 2017 after they obtain their banking licence from
RBI in March 2017. India has 154,000 post offices, of which 139,000 are rural post offices. At present the core banking

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network of post offices is highest in the country. IIPB will enable financial inclusion of a large chunk of the Indian pop-
ulation in rural areas.

3. BRICS bank to issue first yuan denominated bonds: Shanghai-based New Development Bank (NDB) is set to issue
its first yuan-denominated bonds, and is eyeing future funding for infrastructure projects. The bank's first five-year yu-
an-denominated bonds, also referred as green bonds, will be issued after receiving a rating from international ratings
agencies as well as getting authorities' approval. India is the only country among BRICS nations whose GDP continues
to grow above 7% while the rest of the economies, including that of China, have reported a sharp slowdown.
4. ICICI Bank cuts lending rate by 0.05%: ICICI Bank recently cut its marginal cost of funds based lending rate
(MCLR) by 0.05% to remain in competition against rates offered by SBI and HDFC Bank. This will help reduce rate of
interest to new borrowers. From 1st June, ICICI Bank, reportedly, gave loans to new borrowers at 8.95% while the one-
year MCLR, to which its housing loans are linked, now comes down to 9.15 %.
5. Green signal for BSE’s online bidding platform for SGBs: Asia's oldest bourse, BSE, received a nod from RBI to
start an online bidding platform for Sovereign Gold Bond (SGB) scheme. SGBs—government securities denominated in
grams of gold—provide an alternative to holding gold in physical form. The RBI issues SGBs on behalf of the govern-
ment and investors can apply for them at price as circulated by the apex bank. This bidding platform is part of the IBBS
(Internet-based Book Building System) – the exchange's existing web-based online bidding platform for IPO, Offer for
Sale, Offer to Buy issues.
6. World Bank cuts global growth forecast to 2.4%: The World Bank has lowered its forecast for global growth in 2016
to 2.4%, cautioning that the world economy is facing stronger headwinds. India will remain one of the fastest growing
major economies, ahead of China, for the next three years, the report said. Further, developing economies are to expand
by 3.5% in 2016, 0.6 % lower than its January's projection; advanced economies are expected to grow 1.7% this year,
0.5 lower than its January's forecast. Global slump and fall in prices have reduced world trade projections. While India
has benefitted from the reduction in oil prices, its exports have been on the fall for 17 consecutive months.

7. Forex reserves hit record high of $363.46 billion: India's foreign exchange reserves hit a record high at $363.46 bil-
lion. It is due to the central bank’s taking delivery of its forwards-dollar contracts and dollar buying in spot foreign ex-
change markets.

8. DCB Bank launches Aadhaar-enabled ATM in Bengaluru: The Development Credit Bank (DCB Bank) recently
launched an Aadhaar-based ATM machine in Bengaluru. The ATM accepts Aadhaar number and Aadhaar fingerprint
(biometric) instead of ATM / debit card and PIN for cash transactions. The bank had, in April, launched a pilot
Aadhaar-based ATM in Mumbai and later in Odisha and Punjab.
9. DBS Bank appoints Neeraj Mittal as institutional banking head: Neeraj Mittal has been appointed as MD and Head
of Institutional Banking for DBS (Development Bank of Singapore Ltd.). Mittal previously worked at The Royal Bank
of Scotland NV (RBS), where he served as its MD and Head of Institutional Banking (North India).
10. SBI floats Rs.200 crore fund to assist fintech firms: To provide assistance to start-ups in the fintech space, State Bank
of India has floated Rs.200 crores. The fund named ‘IT Innovation Start-up Fund’ will consider assistance of up to Rs.3
crores to a firm registered in India for promoting their business innovations using technology in financial services. SBI
has also formed a mentoring team to assist start-ups, which will support, monitor and make a report on the progress and
utilisation of funds by the venture.
11. SBI named in Hall of Shame list of banks funding cluster bomb producers: State Bank of India (SBI) figures in an
index titled ‘Hall of Shame’ which comprises 158 banking and financial institutions that have invested millions of dol-
lars in companies which are making cluster bombs (those that release a number of projectiles on impact). Globally pub-
lished by Dutch campaign group PAX, this list includes financial giants like JP Morgan, Barclays, Bank of America and
Credit Suisse. These companies have invested over $28 billion in seven producers of cluster munitions between June
2012 and April 2016. The convention on cluster munitions (CCM) was signed by 94 signatories in 2008 which prohibits

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use, production, stockpiling and transfer of cluster munitions. Most of the names enlisted in the PAX’s list are not
among the signatories of this convention. Highest number of banks i.e. 74 are from the US, followed by China (29) and
South Korea (26). SBI is the only financial institution from India which is mentioned in this list as it had provided $87
million to ‘Orbital ATK’, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of ammunition and leading supplier of electronic
warfare.
12. Centre approves 49% FDI in defence: To boost employment opportunities and job creation, the Union cabinet has
radically liberalised the FDI policy regime. It has decided to permit 100% FDI under government approval route for
trading, including through e-commerce, in food products manufactured or produced in India. In the defence sector, FDI
above 49% has been permitted through government approval route in cases resulting in modern technology. The new
FDI limit has also been made applicable for Manufacturing of Small Arms and Ammunitions covered under Arms Act
1959. In Broadcasting Carriage Services, 100% FDI is allowed in teleports, DTH services, cable networks, mobile TV,
headend-in-the sky (HITS) operators, etc. The existent policy on pharmaceutical sector provides for 100% FDI under
automatic route in greenfield pharma and FDI up to 100% under government approval in brownfield pharma. Further,
100% FDI is permitted in aviation under automatic route in brownfield projects. FDI up to 49% is now permitted under
automatic route in private security agencies sector and FDI beyond 49% and up to 74% would be permitted with gov-
ernment approval. FDI in animal husbandry (including breeding of dogs), pisciculture, aquaculture and apiculture is al-
lowed 100% via automatic route under controlled conditions.
13. Jaitley releases silver coin to mark Martyrdom Day of Banda Singh Bahadur: A commemorative silver coin to
mark the 300th martyrdom day of Sikh military commander Banda Singh Bahadur was released on 21st June by Union
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. Banda Bahadur established his rule to protect the honour and tradition of his people by
defeating Mughals in 1710. Later in 1716, at the age of 46 he was captured and executed by Mughals in Delhi.

14. South Indian Bank launches Remit2 India Service: Remit2 India, a secure online money transfer service for NRIs,
has been launched by the South Indian Bank. NRI customers will get a cashback of Rs.600 for the first three transac-
tions as a part of the inaugural offer. This facility is available for remittances from Europe, Australia, the UAE and Sin-
gapore.

15. Union cabinet approves establishment of Fund of Funds for start-ups: The Cabinet has approved establishment of
Fund of Funds for Start-ups (FFS) at Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI). The fund aims to contribute
to various Alternative Investment Funds (AIF), registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)
which would extend funding to start-ups. It is a part of the government’s ambitious Start-up India Action Plan launched
in January 2016. The corpus of FFS is Rs.10,000 crore. It is expected to provide employment to around 18 lakh people.
Further provisions will be made as grant assistance through Gross Budgetary Support by Department of Industrial Poli-
cy and Promotion (DIPP) which will monitor and review performance in line with the Start-up India Action Plan.

Reports and Studies

1. Central Statistical Office releases National GDP Provisional Estimates for 2015-16: The provisional estimates of
National GDP for 2015-16 was recently released by Central Statistical Office (CSO). It shows the growth at 7.9% in the
4rth quarter of 2015-16 and 7.6% growth in the whole 2015-16. In 2013-14, fiscal deficit was 4.7% and in 2015-15 it
was 4.1%. Fiscal deficit of India’s GDP stood at 3.9% in 2015-26 as estimated in Budget Expenditure and Revenue
Expenditure of 2015-16. It has also shown a good improvement in the Revenue deficit of 2015-16. The revenue deficit

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of 2015-16 is 2.5% against the 3.2% in 2013-14 and 2.9% in 2014-15. This has happened due to the capital expenditure
by the central government. The plan expenditure of 2015-16 is 4,71,081 cores which is almost more than 8,437 cores
than that of in 2014-15. The Gross tax Collection has also shown 17% growth if compared to the fiscal 2014-15. It has
also shown around 10.74% improvement in GDP in 2015-16. The non-tax receipts in 2014-15 were of 1,97,766 crores.
In 2015-16, they are improved to 2,50,744 crores.

2. India among top five innovation destinations- Capgemini report: As per the report released by consulting major
Capgemini, in the six-month period till February this year Innovation centres in the country doubled to 16. India has be-
come among top five global locations for innovation centre. Bengaluru added four of the eight new innovation centres
to emerge as the fifth global hub for innovation in a list led by Silicon Valley, London, Paris and Singapore. The report
also added that, 42 % of the leading financial organisations had innovation centres in February 2016 as compared to 28
% in July 2015.
3. Sweden best country in the world: Good Country 2015 index: As per the Good Country 2015 index, Sweden has
been voted as the best country in the world. The report ranked a total of 163 countries taking 35 different UN and
World Bank indices into account, including global contributions to science, culture, peace and security, climate change
and health and equality. The top ten best countries in the world are Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, the UK, Germa-
ny, Finland, Canada, France, Austria and New Zealand. Libya was ranked as the least “good” country in the world. In-
dia has been given the 70th rank. India stood 62nd in Science and technology and 37th in health and wellbeing. It was
ranked 119th in culture, 106th in climate and 100th in world order.
4. India ranked 141 on Global Peace Index, Syria least peaceful: In a recent report, India ranked 141st on the Global
Peace Index out of 163 countries on the list. Syria has been named as the least peaceful. Syria is followed by South Su-
dan, Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia. Iceland has been ranked as the most peaceful country which is followed by Den-
mark and Austria at number 2 and 3 positions, respectively. The tenth edition of GPI report highlights the distinct dif-
ferences between most and least peaceful countries and that the gap between the two countries to increase. India deterio-
rated by 5% in the last decade while three of the five biggest declines in peace occurred in the region including Yemen,
Libya and Bahrain.

5. Centre releases Road Accidents in India 2015 Report: The Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin
Gadkari recently launched ‘Road Accidents in India 2015’ report prepared by the Transport Research Wing. As per the
report, the total number of accidents increased by 2.5% in 2015 as compared to 2014. The total number of persons killed
in 2015 also increased by 4.6%. Road accident injuries increased by 1.4%. Every day around 1374 accidents and 400
deaths take place on Indian roads. People aged between 15-34 years were around 54.1% of the total number of people
killed in accidents. Around 86.7% of road mishaps are from 13 Indian states, namely Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Madhya
Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, UP, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Har-
yana. Among cities, Mumbai had the highest number of road accidents while Delhi had the highest road accident deaths.
The main cause of accidents has been stated to be ‘driver’s fault’.

6. UNEP, INTERPOL release Rise of Environmental Crime report: The United Nations Environmental Programme
and INTERPOL jointly released a report titled as ‘The Rise Environmental Crime’ which notifies 26% growth in envi-
ronmental crime vis-a-vis estimates from 2014. After drug smuggling, counterfeiting, human trafficking, environmental
crime is considered the 4th largest criminal enterprise. The report focuses on illegal trade in wildlife, corporate crime in
forestry, illegal exploitation and sale of gold and other minerals, illegal fisheries, trafficking of hazardous waste and
carbon credit fraud. As per this report, weak laws and poor funding of security forces promotes international criminal
network and armed rebels. As per the report, transnational organised criminal networks are using environmental crime
to launder drug money. This decade has seen environmental crime rise by 5-7% and such crimes are growing 2-3% fast-
er than global GDP.
7. Mercer's Cost of Living Survey 2016 released; Mumbai costliest in India: As per the recently released Mercer’s
Cost of Living Survey 2016, Mumbai (82nd position) is still the most expensive city in India, followed by New Delhi &
Chennai. Kolkata is the cheapest to live in. Hong Kong is the most expensive city in the world for expatriates. It has

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pushed Angola’s capital Luanda to the 2nd position while Zurich and Singapore take the 3rd and 4th place. This data
helps Mercer derive the cost of living for expatriates across the globe. Data is annually collected in March and the rank-
ings are released in May-June.

8. UNCTAD releases World Investment Report 2016: The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development has
released the World Investment Report 2016 – Investor Nationality: Policy Challenges. It analyses international produc-
tion by multinational enterprises (including sales, exports, employment and value-added), and their ownership structures
and control of affiliates. According to the report, in terms of FDI inflow in 2015, the USA surpassed China & Hong
Kong with $380 billion. India has maintained 10th position with $44 billion. Considering total global investment, FDI
inflows rose by 38% to their highest level since the global economic crisis in 2008-09. Inward FDI flows to developed
economies nearly doubled to $962 billion. The report expects upcoming decline by 10-15% in 2016. Asia has shown a
record breaking 16% growth as regards FDI inflows due to strong performance of east and south Asian countries. The
report advises policy makers to work towards striking a balance between liberalisation and regulation in pursuing the ul-
timate objective of promoting investment for sustainable development.

9. Excessive blue light emitted by LED can adversely impact human health: AMA: According to a report of the
American Medical Association (AMA) Council on Science and Public Health, excessive blue light emitted by light
emitting diodes (LED) can harm human health. The human eye perceives the large amount of blue light emitted by
some LEDs as white. Blue light directly affects sleep by suppressing the production of the hormone melatonin, which
mediates the sleep-wake cycle in humans. According to the report, compared to conventional street lighting, the blue-
rich white LED street lighting is five times more disruptive to sleep cycle. Glare forms a veil of luminance that reduces
the contrast, thus in turn reducing the visibility of a target. The report also notes that unshielded LED lighting causes
papillary constriction, leading to “worse night-time vision between lighting fixtures.” Intense blue spectrum can even
damage the retina.

10. World Bank releases India Development Update 2016: As per World Bank’s latest India Development Update, Indi-
an economy expanded at a faster pace in FY 2016. It is a biannual report on the Indian economy and its prospects. As
per the findings, the economy was lifted to a higher growth path by demand from urban households and public invest-
ments, despite the fact that other key growth engines had stalled. Regarding the Indian financial sector, it is performing
extremely well as compared to the last three decades. Implementation of 14th Finance Commission on India’s states re-
sulted in varied gains throughout the states. While health and education expenditures increased in almost every state,
Rajasthan and Kerala stood out as spending over 70 % of additional resources on health, education, and infrastruc-
ture. Uttar Pradesh spent over one-third of its additional resources on health and education.

11. UNICEF releases State of the World's Children 2016 Report: The United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund
(UNICEF) has released the World’s Children 2016 Report which highlights the condition of vulnerable children across
the world.

Key Highlights of the report are as follows:

 Unless we accelerate our progress, nearly 70 million children may die before celebrating their fifth birthdays –
3.6 million in 2030 alone, the deadline year for the Sustainable Development Goals.
 Children in sub-Saharan Africa are 10 times more likely to die before their fifth birthdays than children in high-
income countries.
 Over 60 million primary school-aged children will be out of school – approximately the same number as those
out of school today. More than half will be from sub-Saharan Africa.
 Around 750 million women will have been married as children – three quarters of a billion child brides.
 The report also states investing in vulnerable children can not only make their lives better but also make the so-
ciety richer in every sense.
 India in the report: India is among five nations who will bear maximum under five deaths, others being Nigeria,
Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola.
 The average annual rate for reduction in neonatal mortality required for India to reach the target is almost dou-
ble the current level

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12. India ranked 105th on WEF's Human Capital Index: Out of 130 countries, India has been ranked 105th on the
World Economic Forum's Human Capital Index. It measures countries’ ability to nurture, develop and deploy talent for
economic growth. As per the Index, India has optimised only 57% of its human capital endowment. Though the coun-
try's educational attainment has clearly improved across age groups, its youth literacy rate is still only 90% (103rd in the
world). Finland topped the Index while India’s neighbouring countries China and Bangladesh stood 71st and 104th re-
spectively.

13. BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2016 released: BP Statistical Review of World Energy for 2015 was recently
released. It provides an objective global overview of energy production, consumption, trade, reserves and prices.

Highlights of the BP Statistical Review are as follows:

• Rise of 1% in global primary energy consumption in 2015, similar to the below-average growth recorded in 2014
(+1.1 %) and well below its 10-year average of 1.9 %.
• Oil remained the world’s leading fuel accounting for 32.9 % of global energy consumption. It gained market share for
the first time since 1999.
• Global oil consumption grew by 1.9 million barrels per day (b/d), or 1.9 % which was nearly double the recent histori-
cal average (+1 %) and significantly stronger than the increase of 1.1 million b/d seen in 2014.
• Natural gas market share of primary energy consumption was 23.8%.
• Global crude runs rose by 1.8 million b/d (+2.3 %) which was more than triple their 10-year average growth, although
there were declines in South & Central America, Africa and Russia.
• 1.7 % increase in world natural gas consumption, a significant increase as compared to 2014 but still below the 10-
year average of 2.3 %.
• 1.3 % increase in global nuclear output with China (+28.9 %) accounting for the increase. China leads to become the
fourth-largest supplier of nuclear power.
• Renewable energy sources reached 2.8 % of global energy consumption in 2015, a rise of 0.8 % in a decade.

14. Index of Industrial Production of 8 core industries released: As per the recently released Index of Industrial Produc-
tion (IIP) for April 2016, the combined index of eight core industries stands at 176.4 in April 2016, an 8.5% growth
compared to April 2015. The eight core industries comprise 38% of the weight of items included in the index. The eight
sectors — coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity — grew 6.4% in March
2016 and had shrunken by 0.2% in April 2015. This is more than a two-year high and marks the fifth consecutive month
of positive growth in the core sector industries. Among these core industries, petroleum refinery products performed the
best, and grew at 17.9% in April, followed by electricity production that rose 14.7%.

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Important Committees/Panels

Committee/Panel head(s) Objective of the Committee

1. Rajiv Gauba An inter-ministerial committee on ‘Decongestion of Traffic in Delhi’ under the chair-
manship of Rajiv Gauba has submitted report to the Union Ministry of Urban Devel-
opment recommending a four-pronged strategy detailed below:

i) Improving Public Transport and Disincentivising use of private vehicles;

ii) Promoting Road Safety and efficient Traffic Management;
iii) Setting up Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority and enhancing institutional
capacity; and
iv) Promotion of Transit Oriented Development through integrated land use and trans-
portation planning.

The committee recommended moving people more efficiently than moving cars and
suggested creation of infrastructure to promote walking and cycling in Delhi. It has
raised concerns over rise of gated communities that compelling local traffic to come
on main roads by preventing shortcuts for movement of people. The committee has
suggested setting up of a Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority for better coordi-
nation, quick decision making and execution.
2. Mirza Imtiyaz commission UP CM Akhilesh Yadav ordered a judicial probe for investigation of the recent Ma-
thura violence. Retired Allahabad High Court judge Justice Mirza Imtiyaz Murtaza
will head this judicial commission and submit report in two months.
The armed conflict between state police and followers of ‘Swadhin Bharat’ in the Ja-
wahar Bagh Public Park in Mathura claimed 24 lives including two police officials.
The commission will inquire into the reasons of origin of such violent incident and
lapses on the part of police and intelligence bodies and review readiness of the state
and district administrative machinery.

3. Satish Chandra committee The Centre recently set up a committee to make recommendations on revisions in pay
scale of executives of Union public sector undertakings (PSUs). Chaired by retired
justice Satish Chandra, the committee will submit report within the next six months. In
this report, the committee will recommend the matter to the government, covering
Board level functionaries, Below-Board level executives and non-unionised superviso-
ry staff of CPSEs. It will also consider the Seventh Pay Commission’s report. Jugal
Mohapatra, Ex-IAS Officer; Manoj Panda, Director, Institute for Economic Growth
Delhi and Shailendra Pal Singh, Executive Director (HR), NTPC Ltd. are also part of
this 3rd pay revision committee.

4. Kishor Tiwari Maharashtra government recently launched a task force called Vasantrao Naik Shet-
kari Swavalamban Mission (VNSSM) which is to be headed by agriculture field ex-
pert Kishor Tiwari. The core objective is to bring at least 80% of farmers under the
purview of institutional credit net. For this, the Mission has laid a five-point agenda.
They have suggested a crop loan helpline in 14 suicide prone district of Vidarbha. As
per their suggestion, village and taluka level crop committees should be set up to make
a list of hardships faced by credit starved farmers. It should also be empowered to take
necessary action for the disbursement of loan. Action should be taken against banks
that do not comply with government norms of for loan.

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Committee/Panel head(s) Objective of the Committee
5. Anand Desai An expert committee has been set up under Anand Desai to examine the Specific Re-
lief Act, 1963, submitted its report to Union Law and Justice Minister Sadananda
Gowda. Modifications proposed by the committee are as follows:
· To change the approach, from damages being the rule and specific performance be-
ing the exception, to specific performance being the rule, and damages being the alter-
nate remedy.
· To provide guidelines for reducing the discretion granted to courts and tribunals
while granting performance and injunctive reliefs.
· To introduce provisions for rights of third parties (other than for government con-
tracts).
. To consider addressing unconscionable contracts, unfair contracts, reciprocity in con-
tracts etc. and implied terms.

Summits/Conferences around the World

1. 42nd G7 Summit concluded in Japan: The 42nd G7 Summit recently concluded in Japan. Besides discussing several issues
of global significance, countries also approved the G7 Ise-Shima Leaders’ Declaration. Issues pertaining to climate change,
renewable energy, health, global economy and trade, development, and quality infrastructure investment were discussed.
This was the first one to be held after the adoption of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda by the UN in September
2015 and thus assumed greater importance.

2. AYUSH minister inaugurates National Health Editors’ meet on Yoga: Minister of State for AYUSH Shripad Naik has
inaugurated the National Health Editors’ meet on Yoga. The theme of this conference was ‘Yoga for Holistic Health - Recent
Researches’. Its objective was to propagate benefits of Yoga. The Minister also announced the introduction of a new Interna-
tional Yoga Award Scheme. This meet was organised by Ministry of AYUSH in association with Press Information Bureau.

3. Asia's largest tech trade show COMPUTEX kicks off in Taipei: COMPUTEX, Asia’s largest technology trade show, re-
cently began in Taipei and saw participation of over 1600 companies from 30 countries to showcase their latest products.
Taiwan’s HTC drew the most media attention for its Virtual Reality (VR) headset ‘Vive’ that debuted in February 2016. MSI
came up with its first backpack-sized PC for VR gaming. It allows players to carry the computer around without tripping
over wires while playing with VR headsets. COMPUTEX became the biggest trade show with the highest number of nations
participating in last five years.

4. Asia’s largest annual security forum Shangri-La Dialogue inaugurated in Singapore: Asia’s largest annual security fo-
rum Shangri-La dialogue began in the 15th Asia Security Summit. The Summit was held at Singapore to discuss the security
issues in the Asia-Pacific region like territorial disputes in the South China Sea, military provocations of North Korea, Islam-
ist extremism and cybersecurity, etc. The Asia Security was first launched in 2002 by the Singaporean government along
with British think tank the International Institute for Strategic Studies. The forum is organised by London-based International
Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).

5. Review meeting of Indo-EU ‘Water4crops’ project held: A review and planning meet on the Indo-EU ‘Water4crops’ pro-
ject was recently held in New Delhi. Water4crops Project is a €9 million Indo-EU project on water-scarce agricultural sector.
This review meeting was held on the occasion of completion of 4 years of the project. Water4Crops stands for “integrating
bio-treated wastewater reuse and valorisation with enhanced water-use efficiency to support Green Economy in Europe and
India”. Through Department of Biotechnology under the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Indian government has co
funded this project. The project was framed in 2012. Through the 7th framework programme funded €6 million and Indian
government funded €3 million. The project facilitates development of new techniques for wastewater treatment at the local
scale and its possible use in agriculture.

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6. Hamid Ansari inaugurates a two-day international conference on yoga: Vice President Hamid Ansari recently inaugu-
rated a two-day conference on ‘Yoga for Body and Beyond’ organised by Ministry of AYUSH as a part of International Yo-
ga Day celebrations. The conference witnessed a participation of over 70 delegates over 35 countries including Iraq, Afghan-
istan, Algeria, Malaysia, Spain, Russia, Portugal, Australia, Belgium, China, Egypt, Iceland, Japan, Kuwait, Korea, Kenya,
Slovenia, Uzbekistan and U.A.E. The nine sessions of the conference saw lectures by eminent yoga gurus, exponents and ex-
perts elaborating on various topics like “Yoga and Physical Well Being”, “Insights from Yoga Scholars”, “Integration of Yo-
ga in Healthcare Delivery System”, “Yoga for Mental health”, “Yoga for Body and Beyond”.

Appointments – India & Abroad

INDIA
1. Director General of West Bengal Police - Surjit Kar Purkayastha

2. Finance Secretary– Ashok Lavasa

3. UPSC member – BS Bassi

4. CEO of BCCI– Rahul Johri

5. MD of State Bank of Mysore– N K Chari

6. Director General of National anti-doping agency –Navin Agarwal

7. MD of State Bank of Travancore – C R Sasikumar

8. Member of International Olympic Committee– Nita Ambani

9. Director of Airtel Business– Ashok Ganapathy

10. Adobe MD for South Asia– Kulmeet Bawa

11. Ambassador for Swachh Sathi Programme– Dia Mirza

12. India MD for Facebook– Umang Bedi

13. Director of Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia– Shashid Rasool

14. Chairman to IATA’s Board of Governors– Naresh Goyal

15.Chief Executive of Nuclear Fuel Complex–G Kalyankrishnan

16. Member of Law Commission– Satya Pal Jain

17. Chief Justice OF Manipur HC–Justice Rajesh Ranjan Prasad

18. Head of RBL Bank– Brijesh Mehra

19. Director General of Doordarshan– Supriya Sahu

20. Chief of International Chamber of Commerce–Sunil Mittal

21. Union Law Secretary–Suresh Chandra

22. CFO of IndiGo – Rohit Philip

23. President of Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry – Bipin R Patel

24. Chairman of National Institute of Fashion Technology– Chetan Chauhan

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25. Indian cricket team’s head coach– Anil Kumble

26. India’s country manager and MD of PayPal–Anupam Pahuja

27. India head of Nokia– Sanjay Malik

28. Members of Khelo India – Anju Bobby George and Pullela Gopichand

29. President of Tamil Nadu Cricket Association – N Shrinivasan

30. CEO of National Investment and Infrastructure Fund - Sujoy Bose

31. Deputy Governor of RBI – N S Vishwanathan

32. Additional charge of CMD, MTNL – PK Purwar

33. Editor of The Telegraph – R Rajagopal

34. Editor of Anandbazar Patrika – Anirban Chattopadhyay

ABROAD
1. CEO of Nestle - Ulf Mark Schneider

2. President of 71st session of UNGC – Peter Thompson

3. President and COO of SoftBank Group – Ken Miyaushi

4. CEO of Suzuki Motors - Scion Toshihiro Suzuki

Bills and Amended Acts

1. Draft Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill 2016 released: The Draft Trafficking of
Persons (prevention, Protection & Rehabilitation) Bill, 2016 was recently launched by Union Women and Child Develop-
ment minister Maneka Gandhi. The bill aims to prevent trafficking of persons and enable their rehabilitatation. The bill fills
several loopholes in the age-old laws against human trafficking such as, Indian Penal Code, 1860, Criminal Procedure
Code, 1973 and Offenders Act, 1958. It recognises new offences such as disclosure of identity of the victim and witness,
use of narcotic drug/psychotropic substance/alcohol for the purpose of trafficking and use of chemical substance for exploi-
tation. As per this bill, trafficking related offence is a cognisable and non-bailable offence notwithstanding anything con-
tained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. Special courts to tackle the trafficking cases will be created under this bill.
Special investigating agencies, investigative officers can be created against trafficking. The bill has a provision for estab-
lishment of Protection Homes and Special Homes for short-term and long-term rehabilitation support. It envisages creation
of an Anti-Trafficking Fund for implementation of act and rehabilitation of victims. It has also made provisions for 3-tier
institutional mechanism at Centre, state and district level.

2. Central Port Authorities Act, 2016 drafted to replace the Major Port Trust Act, 1963: The Union Ministry of Ship-
ping has prepared a draft bill of 'The Central Port Authorities Act' 2016 '. This will replace the existing 'Major Port Trust
Act, 1963'. It aims to give more autonomy and flexibility to major ports and make their governance more professional.
Highlights of the bill:
 The board will comprise nine members including 3-4 independent members instead of the 17-19 members under
the Port Trust Model.
 The new bill also has provisions like the disqualification of the appointment of the Members of the Board, du-
ties of the Members and provision of the meetings of the Board through video conferencing and other visual
means.
 It defines the port related and non-port related use of land in terms of approval of leases.
 The Port Authorities are empowered to lease land for Port related use for up to 40 years and for non-port related
use up to 20 years.

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3. Ministry of Civil Aviation proposes passenger centric amendments to CARs: In a presentation made by DGCA related
to passenger centric initiatives, first set of amendments was made in category of Civil Aviation Requirements (CARs) re-
garding ‘refund of air tickets’. As per proposed amendments, the refund process should be completed within 15 working
days in case of domestic travel and 30 working days in case of international travel. Also, statutory taxes and user develop-
ment fee/airport development fee/passenger service fee shall be refunded in case of cancellation of tickets. The second cat-
egory of CARs is related to ‘denied boarding, flight cancellation and flight delays’. The third category of CARs relates to
facilities to be provided to ‘persons with reduced mobility’. With regard to checking baggage charges, the Ministry has
proposed that the airline should restrict additional baggage charge Rs.100 per kg for baggage between 15 to 20 kg.
4. Assam passes Ease of Doing Business Bill, 2016: Assam Ease of Doing Business Bill was recently passed by the state as-
sembly with the aim of facilitating enterprises attract most number of investors just by using an easy computerised clear-
ance system. The bill provides for speedy processing of applications and issue of clearance for setting up new industries.
The bill also provides for establishment of Assam Bureau of Investment Promotion (ABIP) to supervise and administrate
the speedy process of application clearance. This bureau will comprise Chief Minister as chairman, industry minister as
vice-chairman, ministers and senior-most secretaries of all the line departments as members. At least three representatives
from industry bodies will be present and the CEO of the single window agency will be the member-secretary of the board.
5. Right to Public Grievance Redressal Act, 2015 launched in Bihar: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar recently launched the
“Right to Public Grievance Redressal Act - 2015” on the occasion of Jayprakash Narayan’s Sampoorna Kranti Diwas. The
Act aims to empower people to seek redressal of grievances in a time-bound manner. He also inaugurated the State Public
Grievances Receipts centre in Patna. The state government had already established Public Grievances Redressal Offices
and Grievance Receipts centres in all 38 districts and 101 sub-divisional headquarters across the state.
6. Gujarat unveils IT and Electronics Start-up Policy 2016: The Gujarat government recently launched its first IT and
Electronics Start-up Policy which will focus on subsidies and state assistance for start-ups over the next five years. The pol-
icy aims to raise an investment of Rs.7,000 crore and establish 50 incubators to help as many as 2,000 start-ups flourish
over the next five years. The policy will be applicable to IT and electronics-related startups. Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana,
Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have already put in place IT policies and state assistance to
promote start-ups.
7. Draft National Water Framework Bill, 2016 released: The Central government recently released the draft National Wa-
ter Framework Bill, 2016 to invite comments and suggestions from public. The bill aims to establish a national legal
framework for protection, conservation, management and regulation of water. Though the draft law is prepared by the Un-
ion water resources ministry, ‘water’ is a part of the State List of the Indian Constitution. So the act will be applicable only
after the state legislature’s approval. The bill strives to ensure ‘Right to Water for Life’ i.e. grant every citizen the right to
have access to sufficient quantity of safe water for life. It recognises water as a common heritage and resource which
should be held in public trust.
8. Union cabinet approves bill to fast track recovery of bad loans: The Union cabinet recently approved the bill intended
to amend debt recovery laws with an overall objective of improving ease of doing business, facilitate investment leading to
higher economic growth and development. The bill seeks to amend four existing legislations namely Securitisation and Re-
construction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (SARFAESI) Act, 2002, Recovery of Debts due to
Banks and Financial Institutions (RDDBFI) Act, 1993, Indian Stamp Act, 1899 and Depositories Act, 1996.

Highlights of the Bill are as follows:

 Amendments to the SARFAESI Act, 2002: The SARFAESI Act permits secured creditors to take possession over a
collateral, against which a loan had been provided, upon a default in repayment. This can be done with the assistance
of the District Magistrate.
 The Bill provides a timeline of 30 days for the completion of process by the District Magistrate.
 In addition, the Bill empowers the District Magistrate to assist banks in taking over the management of a company, in
case the company is unable to repay loans.
 This will be done in case the banks convert their outstanding debt into equity shares, and consequently hold a stake of
51 % or more in the company.

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 It empowers the RBI to examine statements and information about Asset Reconstruction Companies related to their
business.
 The Bill further empowers the RBI to carry out audit and inspection of these companies.

Government Policies & Schemes

1. PM releases India’s first National Disaster Management Plan: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has released India's first
ever National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP). The plan aims to tackle national disasters, to make the country disaster
resilient and reduce loss of lives and assets during calamities. NDMP has incorporated four priorities provided in the Sendai
Framework into the planning framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. NDMP’s five thematic areas for action are,
 Understanding Risk
 Inter-Agency Coordination
 Investing in DRR - Structural Measures
 Investing in DRR - Non-Structural Measures
 Capacity Development

The Response part of the Plan has identified 18 broad activities which have been arranged to serve as a ready reckoner—
Early Warning, Maps, Satellite inputs, Information Dissemination, Evacuation of People and Animals, Search and Rescue
of People and Animals, Medical Care, Drinking Water/ Dewatering Pumps/ Sanitation Facilities/ Public Health, Food &
Essential Supplies, Communication, Housing and Temporary Shelters, etc. The NDMP provides a framework and direction
to government agencies for all phases of disaster management cycle.

2. Direct Tax Dispute Resolution Scheme 2016 comes into force: On June 1st, 2016, the Direct Tax Dispute Resolution
Scheme 2016 came into force. It was unveiled in the 2016 fiscal budget and is incorporated in Chapter X of the Finance
Act, 2016. Declarant can do a file declaration in Form-1 to the designated authority not below the rank of Commissioner.
In 60 days from the date of declaration, the designated authority will determine the amount payable by the declarant. After
passing such order by designated authority, the declarant will pay the sum within 30 days and furnish a proof of the sum.
Any amount paid in pursuance of the declaration shall not be refundable. This scheme aims to resolve cases pending in var-
ious courts, tribunals, arbitrations or are in mediation under the Bilateral Investment Protection Agreement (BIPA). This
scheme will be more beneficial for companies like Vodafone and Cairn which have been facing multi-billion-dollar tax lia-
bility following retrospective tax amendments made in 2012. Besides this, 6% Equalisation Levy, which will be applicable
to all cross-border digital transactions.

3. Swachh Yug campaign to make gram panchayats along Ganga open defecation free: The Union Ministry of Drinking
Water & Sanitation recently launched the Swachh Yug Campaign in partnership with Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports,
and Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation. The campaign aims to make villages situ-
ated along the banks of Ganga river open defecation free. The villages will be from five states namely Uttarakhand, Uttar
Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. There are around 5,169 villages present on the banks of Ganga. A nodal of-
ficer will be appointed for each district to make his/her district open defecation free. The government will also provide in-
terpersonal behaviour-change communication training to local trainers through a network of virtual classrooms.

4. Centre announces new Print Media Advertisement policy: The Union Information and Broadcasting ministry recently
released a new print media advertising policy for Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP). The basic objec-
tive of this policy is to ensure transparency and accountability in issuance of advertisements in print media. The Policy has
introduced a new marking system based on 6 objective criteria to incentivise newspapers. The newspaper implementing this
policy will have a better professional standing and can get their circulation verified by Audit Bureau of Circulations or Reg-
istrar of Newspapers for India. The policy mandates that DAVP will release payment of advertisement bills in the name of
newspaper or company account directly through ECS or NEFT. It has classified newspaper and journals in three categories
namely
 Small: publishing upto 25,000 copies per day,
 Medium: between 25,001 and 75,000 copies
 Big: 75,000 copies or more.

5. Centre approves Measures for Conservation & Preservation of Lakes in Bengaluru: The government recently ap-
proved a series of measures for the abatement of pollution and for the preservation of lakes in Bengaluru. The initiative will

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involve 24x7 online monitoring of all sewage water plants and quality of lake waters. Lakes will be restored in a bio-
diverse manner in Public-Private Partnership mode. Some of the other actions that have been agreed upon include:
 All residential group housing projects/apartments with >20 units and total build-up area of 2000 sq.mt. to install STP.
 Re-use of treated sewage and dual piping system to be prescribed in apartments/commercial establishments for re-use of
treated sewage.
 Regular monitoring of STPs to be carried out by State Pollution Control Board.
 Retrofitting of existing STPs to meet the revised effluent norms.
 Proper management of plastic waste to ensure that it is not dumped in the lakes.
 Madivala Lake to be developed as a biodiversity park along the lines of Yamuna Biodiversity Park under the guidance
of Karnataka Knowledge Commission.
 Lake Wardens to be appointed for involvement of public in lake conservation.
 CSR funds to be tapped for conserving and developing lakes. The progress will be monitored every six months.

6. Centre launches Scheme for setting up 1000 MW CTU-connected Wind Power Project: A new scheme for setting up
of 1000 MW Wind Power Project connected to transmission network of Central Transmission Utility (CTU) was recently
launched by Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). This scheme is aimed at supply of wind power to the
non-windy states at a price discovered through transparent bidding process. Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) will
act as a nodal agency for implementation of this scheme. This scheme will encourage the competition through scaling up of
project size and introduction of efficient and transparent e-bidding and e-auctioning processes. It will also facilitate fulfil-
ment of Non-Solar Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) requirement of non-windy states.

7. National Civil Aviation Policy 2016 released: The Union government recently replaced the decade-old rule of allowing
new domestic airlines set up in India to fly on international routes. National Civil Aviation Policy 2016 aims to pro-
vide safe, secure, affordable and sustainable air travel for passengers and air transportation of cargo with access to
various parts of India and the world.

Highlights of the NCAP 2016 are as follows:

 Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS): Charges for one-hour flight between two cities will not exceed Rs. 2,500/-
 Code-share agreements: Indian carriers will be free to enter into code-share agreements with foreign carriers for any
destination within India on a reciprocal basis.
 Encourage Private Security: Use of private security agencies at airports for non-core security functions will be encour-
aged.
 No-Frills Airports: They will be built at an indicative cost of 50 crores to 100 crore rupees.
 Viability Gap Funding (VGF): It will be shared between MoCA and the state government in the ratio of 80:20 while it
is 90:10 for the North Eastern States.
 5/20 Rule: The requirement for 5/20 is modified and all airlines are allowed to carry international operations if they
deploy 20 aircraft or 20 % of total capacity.
 Bilateral Traffic Rights: Under this, the government will enter into an ‘Open sky’ ASA on a reciprocal basis with
SAARC countries and countries with territory located entirely beyond a 5000 kilometers radius from New Delhi.
 India has Air Service Agreements (ASA) with 109 countries covering aspects relating to the number of flights, seats,
landing points and code-share.
 Upgradation of Airports: Airport Authority of India (AAI) will modernize the existing airports and upgrade the quality
of its services. It will also maintain an ASQ rating of 4.5 or more across all airports which have a throughput above
1.5 mppa and ASQ rating of 4.0 or more for the rest.
 Ground Handling Agencies (GHA): The airport operator will ensure that there will be three Ground Handling Agen-
cies (GHA) including Air India's subsidiary/JV at all major airports as defined in AERA Act 2008 to ensure fair com-
petition.
 Advanced Cargo Information system: It will be implemented in a phased manner after a universally accepted interna-
tional template has emerged.
 Growth of helicopters: number of helicopters will be increased for remote area connectivity and separate regulations
for helicopters will be notified by DGCA.

8. Draft National Wind-Solar Hybrid Policy 2016 released: The Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has re-
leased the draft National Wind-Solar Hybrid Policy 2016. This policy will help India reach the target of 175 gigawatts
(GW) of installed capacity from renewable energy sources by 2022 which includes 100 GW from solar and 60 GW from

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wind. The policy also aims to encourage new technologies and methods involving combined operation of wind and solar
PV plants. Superimposition of wind and solar resource maps indicate that there are vast stretches of areas where both wind
and solar have high to moderate potential. Existing wind farms have scope of adding solar PV capacity and similarly there
may be wind potential in the vicinity of existing solar PV plant. Under the category of wind-solar hybrid power plants,
wind and solar PV systems will be configured to operate at the same point of grid connection. Government will encourage
development of wind solar hybrid systems.

9. AIFF to launch 'Mission 11 Million' for football: The All India Football Federation is set to launch a football programme
targeting 11 million children across India. ‘Mission 11 Million’ will start in October 2016 and will be launched across 30
cities. AIFF hopes to tap the Indian diaspora in countries that already have a strong football infrastructure (Germany, US,
Australia). The success and popularity of the under-17 World Cup, which India is hosting in October 2017, will be inci-
dentally a year after ‘Mission 11 Million’ and may indeed be shaped by this programme.

10. Centre launches India’s first pilot programme to run two-wheelers on CNG: The Union government has launched a
pilot programme to run two-wheeler vehicles on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) in New Delhi. Indraprastha Gas Ltd
(IGL) & GAIL India Ltd is jointly implementing this programme under Hawa Badlo movement (to curb air pollution).
Two-wheelers will get installed with the new 50 CNG kits, which are approved by Automotive Research Association of In-
dia (ARAI) as well as Delhi’s Transport Department. The CNG cylinders will have 4.8 litres of water capacity and each can
be filled up with 1 kg of CNG. In a single fill, the vehicles can travel up to 120 km. These two-wheelers will emit 75% less
hydrocarbon and 20% less carbon monoxide than those running on petrol.

11. Internet Saathi launched in West Bengal: A joint initiative of Google and Tata Trust called ‘Internet Sathi’ was recently
launched in Kolkata to empower rural women by providing basic training for internet usage. It will help in reducing the
digital gender gap in rural areas of India. The programme has been launched in five different Indian states from July
2015. Google helps in training the Saathis and provides data-enabled devices along with the training material. Tata trust
supports the local NGOs to conduct training classes for these women.

12. Odisha launches Kalinga Siksha Sathi Yojana: Chief Minister of Odisha state, Naveen Patnaik has launched a new
scheme called Kalinga Shiksha Sathi Yojana. The aims to provide education loan at 1% interest to students for pursuing
higher studies. Odisha government will provide Rs.500 crore fund for this scheme. This scheme will prove beneficial to
poor students of Odisha while pursuing the higher education. Naveen Patnaik dedicated this scheme to Biju babu on his
birth centenary as he had instituted ‘Kalinga UNESCO’ award for the popularisation of science when he was only 35 years
old.

13. Union cabinet clears National Mineral Exploration Policy: To attract private sector investment, the Union cabinet has
approved the National Mineral Exploration Policy to attract both domestic and foreign mining companies in exploration
jobs. The decision comes after the lack of exploration opportunities due to limited capabilities of the Geological Survey of
India and Mineral Exploration Company Ltd. The policy will pave the way for competitive bidding of prospective mineral
blocks through the process of e-auction. Also, the exploration companies will be given an option of annuity or upfront
payment to collect their revenue share.

Persons in News

1. Sachin Tendulkar: Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar will be a part of the Kerala government's awareness campaign against
alcohol and drugs.

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2. Neerja Sethi and Jayshree Ullal: Two Indian-origin women, Neerja Sethi and Jayshree Ullal, have been listed on the
Forbes' annual list of America's 60 wealthiest and most successful self-made women entrepreneurs. India-born Neerja Sethi
(61), co-founder of IT consulting and outsourcing firm Syntel (with her husband Bharat Desai), ranked 16th on 'America's
Richest Self-made Women' list, while President and CEO of Arista Networks, Jayshree Ullal (55) stood 30th on the list.
Diane Hendricks, the owner of ABC Supply, the largest wholesale distributor of roofing and siding in the country, topped
the list with a net worth of $4.9 billion.
3. Narendra Yadav: Narendra Kumar Yadav, Chairman and MD of state-run MTNL will soon step down from his position
owing to the completion of his tenure. Director (finance) P K Purwar has been given additional charge of the CMD's post.
4. Ranu Langthasa: Ranu Langthasa was unanimously chosen as the chairperson of the NC Hills Autonomous Council in
Assam. She is the first woman chairperson to be appointed since the formation of N C Hills Autonomous Council in 1951.
5. First batch of three female fighter pilots commissioned: Recently, the Indian Air Force commissioned its first batch of
three female pilots — Avani Chaturvedi, Bhawana Kanth and Mohana Singh. Earlier, six women were shortlisted for initial
training. Having cleared the first two stages successfully and gained over 150 hours of flying experience each, the trio will
now proceed for a six-month Stage-III dedicated fighter training on Advanced Jet Trainer, the BAE Hawk at Bidar in Kar-
nataka. On completion, they will be assigned different fighter aircraft and will join mainstream fighter squadrons.
6. N Ramachandran: The International Olympic Committee has awarded the Olympic Order to Indian Olympic Association
President N. Ramachandran for his outstanding services to the Olympic movement. He is an Indian squash administrator
and became the president of Indian Olympic Association (IOA) in February 2014. He is the second sports administrator to
receive this honour. Former IOA president, the late BS Adityan was the other Indian to be honoured with the same award in
1995.
7. Six Indian WW1 warriors: Britain has launched a new digital archive which mentions inspiring stories of war heroes
which includes six Indians. The archive is a part of UK government’s centenary celebrations to mark World War I. 175
soldiers from 11 overseas countries were awarded with the highest British award for valour, the Victoria Cross (VC) during
the war. This list includes six soldiers who were honoured in a commemorative plaque given in 2014 to India. The six Indi-
ans to be honoured are: Risaldar Badlu Singh from Punjab, Sepoy Chatta Singh from U.P, Lance Naik Lala from Himachal
Pradesh, Naik Darwan Singh Negi and Rifleman Gabar Sing Negi from present-day Uttarakhand, Lance-Dafadar Gobind
Singh from Rajasthan. Apart from India, the other countries to be included in the archive are: Canada, Australia, New Zea-
land, South Africa, the US, Pakistan, Nepal, Denmark, Belgium and Ukraine.
8. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: An honorary fellowship was bestowed on the spiritual guru Shri Shri Ravi Shankar by National In-
dian Students and Alumni Union (NISAU). He was honoured for his contributions to world peace and culture. NISAU
mentioned his efforts towards a violence-free society, his social and cultural contributions to India and for furthering yoga,
meditation and spiritual studies in a global context.
9. Zubaida Bai: Indian social entrepreneur Zubaida Bai has been named among the 10 '2016 Global Compact SDG Pioneers',
an initiative launched by the UN to search for "entrepreneurs" who can play a vital role. Zubaida is the founder of 'ayzh', a
for-profit social venture providing health and livelihood solutions to impoverished women worldwide. UN Global Compact
is the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative that supports companies to do business responsibly by aligning their
strategies and operations with ten principles of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption; and to take strategic
actions to advance broader societal goals. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced the 10 pioneers at the Global
Compact Leaders Summit.
10. Yasmin Sooka: Indian-origin lawyer and human rights activist of South Africa Yasmin Sooka was recently appointed to
chair a UN commission to monitor the human rights situation in South Sudan and suggest measures for improvement. She
will serve the commission along with Kenneth Scott from the US and Godfrey Musila of Kenya. The commission aims to
provide guidance to the South Sudan government on transitional justice, accountability and reconciliation issues. Sooka is
currently the Executive Director of the Foundation for Human Rights (FHR) in South Africa. She had previously served the
South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) established by former President Nelson Mandela from 1996-

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2001. She was also a part of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Sierra Leone from 2002-2004, as well as advising
the UN Secretary General on accountability for war crimes committed during the final stages of the war in Sri Lanka.
11. Kamala Shirin Lakhdhir: US President Barack Obama nominated Kamala Shirin as US Ambassador to Malaysia. Indian
origin diplomat Lakhdhir will replace Joseph Y Yun. Graduate from Harvard College, Lakhdhir served as a Political Of-
ficer at the US Embassy in Beijing, China from 2001 to 2005.
12. Virginia Raggi: Anti-establishment Five Star movement candidate Virginia Raggi has become the first female Mayor of
Rome. She received around 2/3rd of votes against Roberto Giachetti of Renzi's centre-left Democratic Party (DP). Five Star
movement (M5S) emerged as the main opposing force against the Matteo Renzi, Italy’s Prime Minister. This result is a
blow to the Renzi’s bloc and bright prospect for the M5S, the anti-establishment party founded by comedian turned politi-
cian Beppe Grillo.
13. Anne Hathaway: American actress Anne Hathaway, appointed as UN Women Goodwill Ambassador, will now promote
gender equality and empowerment of women. Hathaway has previously served as an advocate for Nike Foundation. She
travelled to Kenya and Ethiopia to raise awareness on child marriage. Hathaway will join Nicole Kidman, Emma Watson
and Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol of Thailand as fellow women goodwill ambassadors.
14. Serena Williams: Forbes magazine recently reported that Serena Williams has overtaken Maria Sharapova as the world’s
highest paid sportswoman. Russian Tennis ace Sharapova held the first position on the list for the past 11 years. But this
time, Williams topped the list by earning $28.9 million over the past 12 months.
15. Angela Merkel: German Chancellor Angela Merkel has topped the Forbes ‘100 Most Powerful Women’ list. This list in-
cludes the world’s smartest and toughest female personalities from business women & entrepreneurs to scientists and poli-
ticians. This list also includes four Indian women, namely SBI Managing Director Arundhati Bhattacharya, Biocon Found-
er Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, ICICI Bank MD Chanda Kochhar & HT Media head Shobhana Bhartia. Arundhati Bhattacharya
is at the top among Indian women at 25th spot. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has secured the first place for the sixth
consecutive year. US Democratic Party presidential candidate Hillary Clinton bagged the 2nd rank.
16. Major General Per Lodin: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon recently approved appointment of Per Lodin, Major Gen-
eral of Sweden, as the Head of the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP). Major General Lodin
will succeed Major General Delali Johnson Sakyi of Ghana. Major General Delali Sakyi will complete his two year term as
the head of UNMOGIP on 2nd July, 2016. Major general Lodin is currently serving as the head of Strategic Material Man-
agement at Forsvarets materielverk (FMV), the Swedish Defence Ministry’s procurement and logistics arm. Major Lodin
has also served as the head of the task force centre of Kosovo Force (KFOR), the multi-national peacekeeping mission led
by NATO in 2006-2007.
17. Cristiano Ronaldo: Forbes magazine recently released a list of the world’s highest paid athletes. With total earnings of
$88 million, ace football player Cristiano Ronaldo has topped the list. Americans and baseball players dominated this list.
With earnings of $81.4 million Argentinian football player Lionel Messi took the 2nd position followed by NBA’s Lebron
James at the third position. Roger Federer is the highest earning athlete in individual athlete category. Novak Djokovic has
also made it to the top 10 for the first time. Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova are the only female athletes to figure on
this list.

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Deaths

Name Field of work & Nationality

1. D Javare Gowda Noted Kannada writer

2. Rudra Madhab Ray Senior BJP leader and former MP

3. Razzak Khan Popular TV actor and comedian

4. Sulabha Deshpande Hindi and Marathi actor

5. Manohar Aich India’s first Mr. Universe

6. K K Katyal Journalist (Indian)

7. T S John Former Kerala assembly speaker

8. M S Krishna Bhat Former chairman of Karnataka Bank

9. Inder Malhotra Eminent journalist

10. Achyut Lahkar Playwright and actor

11. Mudrarakshas Hindi novelist and critic

12. Anjan Datta Congress leader and former MLS from Assam

13. Manimala Devi Odia actress

14. Jeppiaar Educationist

15. Guda Anjaiah Telugu poet and lyricist

16. Kavalam Narayana Panicker Malayalam theatre artist

17. Xerxes Sapur Desai Founder of Titan company

18. Isak Chishi Naga militant leader

19. Neil O’Brien Quiz master and former MP of Lok Sabha

20. K G Subramanyan Painter and Potter

21. Muhammad Ali Boxing champion

22. Amber Gurung Composer of Nepali national anthem and father of modern Nepali music

23. Victor Korchnoi Chess Grandmaster

24. Kimbo Slice Mixed martial art fighter

25. Gordie Howe Ice hockey player

26. Donald Carr Former captain of English cricket team

27. Gregory Rabassa Translator of Spanish & Portuguese

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Name Field of work & Nationality

28. Ann Morgan Guilbert TV actress

29. Bill Cunningham Street style fashion photographer

Science, Technology and Environment

1. TRAI launches mobile app for subscribers to register complaints against pesky calls, SMSes: Coming down hard on
telemarketers, TRAI has launched a mobile application for telecom subscribers to register their complaints against pesky
calls and SMSes easily. It will be available on Android and Apple iOS. Earlier options of filing a complaint included for-
warding the SMS to 1909 and mentioning the mobile number or informing telecom operators through customer care number
or through e-mail. However, the app will show an SMS in a list form and mobile numbers from the source. Customers need
to click on the check box to select such SMSes or calls and then click on report option to file complaint. TRAI has mandated
all telecom operators to disconnect telephone numbers from which such calls or SMSes originate.
2. World's first 3D-printed aircraft THOR displayed at International Aerospace Exhibition: World first-ever 3D printed
aircraft called THOR by Airbus was recently displayed at the International Aerospace Exhibition in Schoenefeld. THOR is
short for Test of High-tech Objectives in Reality. It is a 3 part windowless, 3D printed aircraft which weighs just 21 kg. It is
less than 4 metres in length and printed using a substance called Polyamide. The giant aviation companies like Airbus and
Boeing already use 3D printing technology to create various parts used in their huge passenger planes.
3. Large amount of ammonia gas detected on Jupiter: Massive amounts of ammonia gas has been observed on Jupiter by
researchers from The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley). Jupiter’s thermal radio emissions are partially ab-
sorbed by ammonia gas. So, on the basis of the amount of absorption, researchers can determine the amount of ammonia
present on Jupiter and its depth. These observations will further help to learn the regions of Jupiter’s atmospheres, cloud
formation and global circulation of Jupiter. The studies will also shed light on other giant planets in the solar system. Jupi-
ter’s ammonia-rich gases form upper cloud layers, where the ammonium hydrosulphide cloud (-73 degrees) & ammonia ice
cloud (-113 degrees) are formed.
4. Astrophysicists discover Canarias Einstein Ring in space: An international team of astrophysicists discovered a new op-
tical Einstein ring called Canarias Einstein Ring (two perfectly aligned galaxy, namely source galaxy and lens galaxy). Ein-
stein Ring is a distorted image of a galaxy, the source galaxy is 10,000 million light years away and lens galaxy is 6,000 mil-
lion light years away from earth. The research findings were published in the monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical
Society. The discovery was done by doctoral student Margherita Bettinelli from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias
(IAC) and the University La Laguna (ULL) of Spain. The chance discovery was made when Bettinelli was examining data
taken through the "Dark Energy Camera" (DECam) of the 4m Blanco Telescope at the Cerro Tololo Observatory in Chile.

5. Scientists identify process to remove DNA molecules from X-Files: As per findings published in the journal titled ‘Nature
Structural & Molecular Biology’, scientists from University of Sheffield have decoded process of removal of branched DNA
molecules from the iconic double-helical structure. In reality, far from being alien in origin, branched DNA are formed in
the blood. These branches are essential intermediates formed during the process of copying our DNA. The discovery shows
how Flap EndoNuclease (FENs) trim branched DNA molecules after the cells divided. The scientists found the FEN threads
the free end of the branch through a hole in the enzyme before sliding along to the trunk where it acts like a pair of molecu-
lar clippers, trimming the branch and restoring the iconic double-helix. Understanding the working mechanism of FENs will
help to engineer better and more reliable tests and tools for laboratory research and hospital diagnostics labs or pave the way
for discovery of new drugs.

6. IUPAC adds 4 new elements to the Periodic Table: The International Union of Pure & Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) re-
cently added four new elements to the Periodic table. Nihonium, Moscovium, Tennessine, and Oganesson are the recom-
mended names for elements 113, 115, 117, and 118 respectively. Nihonium, named after Japan (Nippon is a Japanese word
for Japan), has an atomic number of 113 and its symbol is Nh. Moscovium (Mc), element 115, named after the Russian capi-
tal city. Tennessine (Ts), 117, named after the state of Tennessee. And 118 is Oganesson (Og), which bears the name of
Russian physicist Yuri Oganessian, who led several elemental discoveries. The names will be confirmed after five months of
public review.

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7. LISA Pathfinder mission demonstrates ways to detect gravitational waves: LISA Pathfinder, a mission led by the Euro-
pean Space Agency (ESA) with contributions from NASA, has successfully tested a key technology needed to build a space-
based observatory for detecting gravitational waves. These tiny ripples in the fabric of space which were predicted by Albert
Einstein a century ago, were seen last year for the first time by the ground-based Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave
Observatory (LIGO).The primary goal of ESA's LISA Pathfinder mission is to test current technology by flying around an
identical pair of 1.8-inch (46 millimeter) cubes made of a gold-platinum alloy, a material chosen for its high density and in-
sensitivity to magnetic fields.

8. China launches 23rd BeiDou Navigation Satellite: To support its global navigation and positioning network China has
launched its 23rd BeiDou satellite which has been developed as an alternative to US’ GPS. The satellite was launched from
the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre from Sichuan province in South China. It was the 229th launch of the Long March car-
rier rocket.
9. Jupiter-like planet, Kepler-1647b discovered: Scientists, using NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope, have discovered a Jupi-
ter-like planet orbiting a system of two stars, making it the largest such cosmic body ever found. Kepler-1647 is 3,700 light-
years away and about 4.4 billion years old and it also has one of the longest orbits ever recorded for a transiting planet, tak-
ing 1,107 days to complete its circuit. Kepler-1647b is a gas giant making the planet unlikely to host life. Yet if the planet
has large moons, they could potentially be suitable for life.
10. NASA spots single methane leak from space using Hyperion spectrometer: For the first time ever, a methane leak has
been measured on Earth’s surface with an instrument onboard of an orbiting spacecraft called Earth Observing -1 (EO-1).
EO-1’s Hyperion spectrometer has proved its ability to measure and monitor emissions of this potent greenhouse gas from
space. The current leak is observed over Aliso Canyon near Porter Ranch in California.
11. LIGO team announced second detection of gravitational waves: Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory
(LIGO) team recently announced second detection of gravitational waves while witnessing the merging of a second black
hole pair. These detections are made from their twin wave detectors located at Livingston, Louisiana, and Hanford, Wash-
ington in US on 26th December, 2015. The entire signal coming from 1.4 billion light years away, lasted just one second.
These two black holes are of approximately 14 & 8 times the mass of the sun. During their cataclysmic merging, they have
released around one solar mass within short interval. Two black holes spiraled toward each other in deep space with their
tremendous mass warping space time and propagating gravitational waves across the fabric of the universe at light-speed.
12. SpaceX successfully launches two commercial satellites: US based private space transport service company SpaceX suc-
cessfully launched two commercial satellites namely EUTELSAT 117 West B and ABS-2A. This mission was SpaceX’s
second dual-satellite launch. The launch was using SpaceX’s reusable Falcon 9 rocket which had lifted off from Cape Ca-
naveral Air Force Station in Florida, US. These geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) satellites will provide global communica-
tions services to their users. However in this mission, the reusable rocket was lost before it could land on a drone ship plat-
form in the Atlantic Ocean.
13. NASA unveils X-57 Hybrid Electric Research Plane: Experimental electric plane designated as X 57 has been launched
by NASA. The hybrid electric research plane will have 14 electric motors to turn the propellers located on the long narrow
wings. The X series first product, also known as Maxwell, is named behind James Clerk Maxwell, the 19th century Scottish
physicist who did groundbreaking work in electromagnetism. It incorporates new propulsion technology which not only
makes planes quieter but also more efficient and environmentally friendly. The planes will function only using batteries thus
completely eliminating carbon emissions.
14. ISRO launches record 20 satellites from Sriharikota: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) recently launched a
record 20 satellites in 26 minutes. The rocket blasted off from the southern spaceport of Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sri-
harikota, Andhra Pradesh. The 20 satellites including India’s latest earth observation satellite Cartosat-2 was launched
onboard Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV C-34. The other 19 satellites were from the US, Germany, Canada and Indo-
nesia. Two satellites were from Sathyabama University, Chennai, and the College of Engineering, Pune. Most of the satel-
lites that entered the orbit are intended to observe Earth’s atmosphere while the other will provide service for amateur radio
operators. With this, ISRO has broken its own record of launching 10 satellites in 2008. However, Russia leads the pack
with the launch of 37 satellites in single mission in 2014.
15. NASA discovers K2-33b, a newborn Exoplanet around a young star: Astronomers at NASA have detected a newborn
fully-formed exoplanet, (planets that orbit stars beyond the Sun) for the first time detected around a young star. The discov-
ery was made using NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope and its extended K2 mission. The newfound planet named K2-33b is a
bit larger than Neptune and whips tightly around its star every five days. Of the 3,000 exoplanets discovered so far with their

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age ranging in few billion years, this planet is only five to ten million years old and will help us better understand how plan-
ets form, which is important for understanding the processes that led to the formation of the Earth.
16. China launches second Shijian-16 series satellite: Recently, China launched its second Shijian-16 series satellite. It was
carried by a Long March-4B rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China. This satellite is intended
for space environment measurements, radiation and its effects as well as technology testing. First introduced in May 1999,
Long March-4B rockets are used to launch sun-synchronous orbit meteorological satellites. The first Shijian-16 satellite was
launched in October 2013.

17. Scientists make world's first 1,000-processor microchip: Scientists from University of California have designed the
world's first microchip that has 1,000 processors and is deemed to be the fastest chip designed in a university lab. Fabricated
by IBM, this chip is energy efficient and has a maximum computation rate of 1.78 trillion instructions per second and con-
tains 621 million transistors. Named as KiloCore, it has the highest clock-rate processor and also is individually clocked
which shuts down when not in use thus saving energy. The KiloCore was presented at the 2016 Symposium on VLSI Tech-
nology and Circuits in Honolulu recently.
18. China’s Sunway Taihu Light declared world’s fastest supercomputer: China’s Sunway Taihu Light has been declared
the world’s fastest supercomputer. It has topped the list of 500 supercomputers around the world, thereby thrusting China to
top the list for the seventh consecutive time. It has been developed by the National Research Centre of Parallel Computer
Engineering and Technology (NRCPC). This supercomputer can make 93 quadrillion calculations per second with its pro-
cessing capacity of 125.436 petaflops (PFlops) per second. It is the first supercomputer to achieve speeds in excess of 100
PFlops.
19. Scientists announces Human Genome Project-Write to synthesise entire genome: In a project called Human Genome
Project Write (HGP-Read), a team of 25 scientists published their proposal to synthesise entire human genome from scratch.
The core objective of this project is to reduce the engineering the DNA segments in library. This project will be implement-
ed through a new non-profit organisation called the Center of Excellence for Engineering Biology. This project will facili-
tate growing new human organs for transplant and development of new vaccines. It will also make possible the engineered
immunity against viruses via genome wide recording. This might also make possible to engineer cancer resistance into new
therapeutic cell lines and accelerating high-productivity, cost-efficient vaccine and pharmaceutical development using hu-
man cells and organoids.
20. Maharashtra reports India’s 1st case of Harlequin Ichthyosis: India’s first case of Harlequin Ichthyosis reported in Nag-
pur at Lata Mangeshkar hospital. The baby girl was born to a farmer’s family. Harlequin Ichthyosis is a rare genetic disorder
in which the child is born without external skin. The baby was covered with hardened cracked skin and her internal organs
were visible.
21. Researchers in Assam develop two rice variants, Ranjit Sub-1 & Bahadur Sub-1, for submerged areas: Two new rice
varieties namely Ranjit Sub-1 & Bahadur Sub-1 was recently developed by researchers at Assam Agricultural University.
These rice varieties will give better yields under submerged conditions in Assam, mainly in Barak valley. These rice varie-
ties are suited for the submerged areas in Kharif season. They are better versions of the Ranjit and Bahadur rice varieties. To
develop this new varieties, the researchers have incorporated a new gene which will ensure the increase in productivity even
if the crops remain submerged in the flash floods.

22. Scientists develop bio-ink for 3D printing with stem cells: Researchers at the University of Bristol have developed a new
kind of bio-ink, which could eventually allow production of complex tissues for surgical implants. The new stem cell con-
taining bio-ink allows the 3-D printing of live tissues which is known as bio-printing. The research findings are featured in
the journal Advanced Healthcare Materials. The research could possibly lead to the ability to print complex tissues using the
patient's own stem cells for surgical bone or cartilage implants, which in turn could be used in knee and hip surgeries.

23. Darjeeling zoo to receive snow leopard from London’s Dudley Zoological Gardens: One of the highest high altitude
zoos in the country, the Padma Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park (PNHZP) in Darjeeling will soon receive a snow leopard
from London’s Dudley Zoological Garden. This snow leopard is named Makalu after one of the world’s highest peak
(27,765 feet) situated on the southeast side of Mount Everest. Snow leopard (Panthera uncial) is listed as endangered species
in International Union of Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) red list.

24. Endangered species of bird comes spotted after 178 years: A team of ornithologists from the Bird Education Society and
the Nepalese Ornithologists Union (NOS) recently spotted red-faced Liocichla of Liocichla Phoenicea spices, a rare and en-

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dangered species, at Chisapani in Dahakhani. This bird was first spotted in Chitwan by a foreigner ornithologist some 178
years ago. With this discovery, Chitwan now boasts being a home to 631 species of birds. Simrikane Lito Shila' is the Nepali
name for this bird.
25. Underwater robots to be used to study Indian monsoon: To better forecast monsoons, scientists from India and Britain
will release underwater robots into the Bay of Bengal. Scientists from the University of East Anglia (UEA) will release sev-
en underwater robots from an Indian ship next week to study how ocean processes influence monsoon rainfall. Also, col-
leagues from the University of Reading and climate experts in India will use instruments on board the plane flying from the
southern city of Bangalore to measure heat and moisture in the air. Better forecasting will improve the livelihood of over
200 million Indian farmers and agricultural labourers, who are reeling from devastating drought.
26. Bramble Cay melomys is first mammal declared extinct from human-caused climate change: As per Australian re-
searchers, Bramble Cay melomys from the Great Barrier Reef islands is first mammal to be declared extinct from human-
caused climate change. As per the report compiled by researchers from the University of Queensland, sea-level rise caused
by human-induced climate change destroyed the habitat on the island and possibly drowned the melomys. The Bramble Cay
melomys, or Bramble Cay mosaic-tailed rat was a species of rodent in the family Muridae.
27. Indus Valley Civilization is 8000 years old: IIT Kharagpur Research: Research findings from various institutes like IIT
Kharagpur, Institute of Archaeology, Deccan College, Pune, Physical Research Laboratory and Archaeological Survey of
India indicate that the Indus Valley Civilization is much older than thought before and climate was not only the cause behind
the collapse of the Harappan civilization. The findings were published in the prestigious journal Nature Scientific and state
that the Indus Valley Civilization existed well before the Egyptian (7000 BC to 3000 BC) and Mesopotamian (6500 BC to
3100 BC) civilizations. Also, 'optically stimulated luminescence' was incorporated to date pottery shards of the Early Mature
Harappan time which was found to be nearly 6,000 years. As per the report, the research could lead to a major shift in the
study of ancient civilizations.
28. India to double investment in clean energy research in next five years: Union Minister for Science and Technology
Harsh Vardhan announced India's plan to double the investment for its clean energy research in the next five years. This de-
cision would hike India's current investment from $72 million to $145 million. The announcement was made along with
other MI partner countries who also released plans to double the clean energy research and development funding over the
next five years. India announced its collaboration with Britain by setting up a Joint Virtual Clean Energy Centre to address
the challenges in solar energy and launching a new Research Track on Smart Energy Grids and Energy Storage under the
India-US Partnership to Advance Clean Energy Research.
29. Asia's first Gyps Vulture Reintroduction Programme launched: To promote breeding and conservation of vultures,
Haryana government has launched Asia's First 'Gyps Vulture Reintroduction Programme' at Jatayu Conservation Breeding
Centre, Pinjore. Vultures play an important role in keeping the environment clean. However, due to indirect consumption of
Diclofenac (used for treating cattle) through cattle carcasses the number of vultures began to decline significantly. With this
achievement, the country hopes to have four crores vultures in the next 10 years.
30. NASA scientists find 39 unreported man-made sources of toxic sulfur dioxide emissions: Scientists at NASA and two
universities have located 39 unreported and major human-made sources of toxic sulfur dioxide emissions with the help a
new satellite-based method. A known health hazard and contributor to acid rain, sulfur dioxide (SO2) is one of the six air
pollutants regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Currently, SO2 monitoring activities include the use of
emission inventories that are derived from ground-based measurements and factors, such as fuel usage. The research team
also located 75 natural sources of sulfur dioxide like non-erupting volcanoes slowly leaking the toxic gas throughout the
year. The study was published in the Nature Geoscience journal.

31. Iceland scientists turn CO2 into Stone under CarbFix Project: Researchers in Iceland have discovered a new way to trap
greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) deep underground by changing it into rock. As per the CarbFix project, injecting CO2
into volcanic rocks triggers a reaction that rapidly forms new carbonate minerals—potentially locking up the gas. This car-
bon capture and storage (CCS) technique gives a new hope for handling the CO2 emissions safely and disposing it in a more
reliable way. It is identified as a potential way to combat climate change.
32. Rajasthan Government launches mobile app RajVayu on air quality index: A mobile application called RajVayu was
recently launched by Rajasthan government for sharing information about air quality index of Jaipur, Udaipur & Jodhpur.
The information on this app will be based on data collected by air quality monitoring equipment and weather sensors. It will
provide details about air quality and level of pollutants like SO2, NO2, CO2 and Ozone in the air. It will also provide detailed
information about temperature, wind speed, humidity, weather forecast and advisories. This app is designed by Rajasthan
State Pollution Control Board (RSPCB) jointly with Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM). It is based on the Sys-

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tem of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting Research (SAFAR-India) which is presently connected in Delhi, Mumbai and
Pune.

33. Himachal Pradesh becomes first state to launch green-concept based State Data Centre: Himachal Pradesh becomes
the first state in the country to have a State Data Centre (SDC). Developed using green data centre concept, it will provide
101 people-oriented service online through an integrated database. To promote online and paperless governance, the SDC
would integrate websites of various departments and all services could be accessible through integrated data base, saving
time and money spent on creation of infrastructure. SDC would further help departments to roll out more government-to-
citizen-services and people can avail them from anywhere and anytime.

34. ZSI to record climate change impact on Himalayan animals: Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) has started five long-term
monitoring plots in the Himalayan region to document the impact of climate change on animals. The project will be funded
by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Species like fish, butterflies, bees and other insects will be
monitored for the changes in their distribution due to climatic changes. The current monitoring will be compared to the old
data of ZSI in terms of climate change on the survival of the species. The project will run for three years in states like West
Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.

Defence

1. Desert Eagle II military exercise concluded: Desert Eagle II, which was second in the series of bilateral exercises between
Indian Air Force (IAF) and United Arab Emirates Air Force (UAE AF), recently concluded. It was a ten-day air combat ex-
ercise which took place at Al-Dhafra Air Base, Abu Dhabi. India & UAE had signed a defence co-operation agreement
called ‘Agreement of Defence Co-operation’ in 2003. India’s IAF Su 30MKI & Mirage 2000-9 participated in the exercise.
From UAE Air Force F-16 block 60 took part. Both the countries previously took part in the Desert Eagle military exercise
in 2008.
2. India, Japan, and the US begin Malabar Exercise near the South China Sea: India, Japan & US recently held their joint
marine exercise called Malabar Exercise near the near Okinawa Island - about 400 kilometres from the contested Senkaku
Islands in Japan. Though usually held in Malabar between India and US, this year Japan took charge of the overall exercise.
Over hundreds of warships, fighters and surveillance aircraft will take part in this exercise. One key element of the exercise
is anti-submarine warfare where three forces will create a scenario of hunting down Chinese submarines. The location cho-
sen for this exercise has a strategic importance due to the current Chinese incursions in the area. China had already claimed
many islands in the East and South China Sea. China had also completely ignored protests from Japan, USA, the EU & Aus-
tralia and established an Aircraft Defense Identification Zone in the East China Sea.
3. HAL unveils indigenous basic trainer aircraft HTT-40: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has inaugurated indige-
nous basic trainer aircraft HTT-40 in Bengaluru. Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40 (HTT-40) is a two seater aircraft designed and
developed by HAL. It is used for the first-stage training for all flying cadets of the three services. The programme aims to
achieve its operational clearance by 2018.
4. Defence Ministry approves purchase of 145 Ultra-Light Howitzers from the US: The Defence Ministry recently ap-
proved the purchase of 145 Ultra-Light Howitzers, worth about $750 million, from the US. It also approved bulk production
of 18 Dhanush artillery guns, the first acquisition of such weapon systems by the Army in three decades. Acceptance of Ne-
cessity (AON) was also issued to the proposal of building six next-generation missile vessels under 'Buy Indian' category for

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Rs.13,600 crore. The navy will be allowed to issue tenders for the same. While 25 guns will come to India in a fly away
condition, the rest will be assembled at the proposed assembly Integration and test facility for the weapon system in India in
partnership with Mahindra.

5. Rajnath Singh inaugurates HQ of Jharkhand's anti-Maoist force: Union home minister Rajnath Singh recently inaugu-
rated the newly-constructed anti-Maoist force Jharkhand Jaguar’s (JJ) headquarters in Ranchi. It is intended to be the land-
mark in progress of JJ, (also known as Special Task Forces), toward becoming a substitute for the central forces engaged in
anti-guerrilla operations in 22 of the state's 24 Maoist-hit districts. Built on a stretch of 173 acres, the JJ camp will have anti-
guerrilla warfare training facilities, functionally rich barracks, parade grounds, firing range besides administrative block and
officers' mess. The training centre will also have a helipad built to facilitate emergency evacuation and helidrops, especially
in Maoist-hit regions located around Ranchi, namely Chatra, Latehar, Lohardaga, Khunti, Gumla and Saranda (West
Singhbhum and Saraikela.

6. Exercise ‘Jalrahat’ held in Assam: Exercise ‘JALRAHAT’ recently commenced in Assam. It is a joint initiative of the
state government and the armed forces led by GAJRAJ Corps with full support from HQ Eastern Command. The exercise
ended on June 30. The name ‘Jalrahat’ is a combination of all three branches of the Indian Armed Forces, namely the Army,
Navy and Air Force as the relief work will be carried out by all three branches. The Indian Navy will be carrying out Exer-
cise Prakampana based on relief and assistance in case of a super cyclone at Vizag, Andhra Pradesh in August 2016. Indian
Air Force will be undertaking Exercise Sahayta based on relief and assistance in case of a major earthquake at Bhuj, Guja-
rat.

7. Navy inducts Indigenous Heavyweight Torpedo 'Varunastra': Indigenously developed heavyweight torpedo Varunastra
was inducted in the Indian Navy on 29th June. Developed by Naval Science and Technological Laboratory of the DRDO for
the Indian Navy, it weighs 1.25 tonnes. It carries the torpedo carries about 250 kg of explosives at a speed of around 40 nau-
tical miles an hour. Torpedo is a self-propelled weapon, with an explosive head that can be launched above or below water
surface directed towards a target. Earlier, Torpedo Varunastra was showcased for the first time during the 2016 Republic
Day parade at Rajpath.

Awards and Honours

Award Winner Details

1. Fukuoka Prize A R Rahman Oscar-winning Indian music composer AR Rah-

man has been conferred with the top Japanese
honour Fukuoka Prize 2016 in the arts and cul-
ture category for his remarkable contribution to-
ward creating, preserving and showcasing South
Asian traditional fusion music. The Fukuoka
Prize is an award founded by the city of Fukuoka
and the Yokatopia Foundation to honour individ-
uals/organisations for promoting the Asian cul-
ture. The prize is given across three categories
namely Grand Prize, Academic Prize, and Arts
and Culture Prize. Last year, noted Indian histo-
rian Ramachandra Guha was conferred with the

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Fukuoka Academic Prize.

2. CEAT cricket awards Lifetime Achievement Award - Dilip CEAT Cricket Awards 2016 were recently con-
Vengsarkar ferred on players.
International Cricketer of the Year - Joe
Root
International Batsman of the Year - Joe
Root
International Bowler of the Year -
R 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

3. Green Economy Vi- Raghavan Seetharaman Indian banker Raghavan Seetharaman, Group
sionary Award CEO of Doha Bank, was honoured with the
'Green Economy Visionary award' at the 2016
Union of Arab Banks International Banking
Summit held in Rome. He has been awarded for
his contribution in environment-friendly activi-
ties and for promoting green economy for nearly
two decades. Business magazine Forbes had also
ranked Seetharaman 6th in the Forbes’ Top Indi-
an Leaders in the Arab World 2015 list.

4. National Award for Ex- V O Chidambaranar Port V.O. Chidambaranar Port won the National
cellence in Cost Manage- Award for Excellence in Cost Management for
ment 2015 from the Institute of Cost Accountants of
India under Public Service Sector- Small catego-
ry. This is the third time this port is receiving the
award, earlier in 2008 and 2012.

5. People’s Choice Prize Sudarsan Pattnaik Internationally-renowned sand artist Sudarsan

Pattnaik has won gold medal in People's Choice
Prize at the world championship festival of sand
sculpting Russe, 2016, Bulgaria for his sand
sculpture "Drugs Kill Sports ". A Padma Shri
awardee Sudarsan has participated in more than
50 international sand sculpture championships
and festivals around the world and won many
prizes. His sculptures are based on social issues.
Recently, he won gold medal in Moscow for cre-
ating a sand sculpture on peace and non-violence.

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6. Miss USA 2016 Deshauna Barber Twenty-six-year-old Deshauna Barber, a serving
U.S. Army officer and an IT analyst at the U.S.
Department of Commerce, has been declared as
Miss USA 2016. She hails from a military fami-
ly, her father a retired Army Master Sergeant.
She was commissioned as Quartermaster Officer
in 2011 and is currently a Logistics Commander
for the 988th Quartermaster Detachment Unit
based at Fort Meade, Maryland. She will now
represent the United States in the Miss Universe
pageant.

7. Regius Professorship in Lord Kumar Bhattacharya Indian-origin Professor Lord Kumar

Manufacturing Bhattacharyya has been awarded the prestigious
Regius Professorship in Manufacturing by Queen
Elizabeth II. Lord Bhattacharyya is currently the
chairman and founder of Warwick Manufactur-
ing Group (WMG). He founded WMG in 1980
with an aim to energise UK’s manufacturing sec-
tor with modern ideas. He has advised the UK
government on manufacturing, innovation, and
technology, including former Prime Ministers
Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair. The Regius
Professorship is approved by the Queen herself
after ministerial advice.

8. Russia’s Order of Ban Ki-moon UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has been
Friendship honored with Russia's Order of Friendship for his
efforts to strengthen peace, friendship, coopera-
tion and mutual understanding between peoples.
Past awardees include Prince Michael of Kent,
Oscar Niemeyer, the architect of the Brazilian
capital, and former President of the International
Olympic Committee, Jacques Rogge. The order,
set up in 1994, recognises Russian citizens and
foreign nationals for outstanding accomplish-
ments in strengthening peace and cooperation
with Russia, as well as for charity activities.

9. Ministry of New and Tata Power Solar Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
Renewable Energy award (MNRE) award was bagged by Tata Power Solar
in the Channel Partner/EPC contractor category
at the first National Excellence Awards 2016 in-
stituted by MNRE. Tata Power Solar won this
award for their rooftop solar power initiative.
Central government has a target of bearing
around 100 MW solar capacity by 2022. Rooftop
solar power plants constitute around 40% of this
target.

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10. Dublin International Akhil Sharma Veteran Indian-origin American author Akhil
Literary award Sharma recently won the Dublin International
Literary award for his second novel ‘Family
Life’. Dublin International Literary award is con-
sidered the world’s richest literary award as it
presents €1,00,000 to the winner. It is conferred
on books published in English or those translated
to English and which are nominated by public
libraries from around the world. Akhil Sharma
had also bagged the 2015 Folio Prize worth
£40,000 for his autobiography.

11. National Award for The Airport Authority of India The Airport Authority of India was recently con-
Best Performing Central ferred with the National Award for Best Perform-
PSU ing Central PSU for its Rooftop Solar Power ini-
tiatives. AAI these green energy initiatives in
2010 with a visionary approach called ‘Invest in
the Sun’. AAI has also installed 4.8 MWp roof-
top solar plants at 13 airports. They are also
working on for 4.9 MWp at 14 airports.

12. Sansad Ratna Conferred on 5 MPs: Former RBI Governor C Rangarajan gave away
* BJP's PP Chaudhary (representing Pali) Sansad Ratna awards to five Members of Parlia-
* BJP’s Heena Vijaykumar Gavit (Nan- ment for their performance in parliament. Prime
durbar) Point Foundation instituted this award on the
* Shivsena’s Shrirang Appa Barne (Ma- suggestion of India’s former president Dr. A P J
val) Abdul Kalam. The 5 MPs received this award for
* Congress’ Rajeev Shankarrao Satav their participation in several debates, moving a
(Hingoli) number of private member bills, raising over
* CPI (M) MP P Rajeev (Kerala) 300-500 questions individually and a high at-
tendance percentage in Parliament.

13. National Order of the President Pranab Mukherjee President Pranab Mukherjee was honoured with
Republic of Ivory Coast the National Order of the Republic of Ivory
Coast, the highest civilian award of the West Af-
rican country by Ivory Coast President Alassane
Ouattara. It is the first such honour accorded to
President Mukherjee by a country. The honour
was given to him during his two-day visit to the
country from 14 June to 15 June, 2016.

14. 2016 PEN Pinter Prize Margaret Atwood Canadian novelist and poet Margaret Atwood
was recently awarded with the PEN Pinter Prize
2016. The prize was founded by Nobel Prize-
winning playwright Harold Pinter in 2009. Pre-
vious winners include Tom Stoppard, Salman
Rushdie and poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy.
Atwood is the first non-British writer to win the
award, which from this year is also open to writ-
ers from the Commonwealth and the Republic of
Ireland, as well as the UK.
She was shortlisted for the Booker Prize five
times, and won it once for her novel The Blind
Assassin. Some of her finest works include The

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Handmaid's Tale, The Robber Bride, The Year of
the Flood, etc.

15.Vivian Fonseca Scholar Shashank S Shah Top diabetes specialist Shashank S Shah has
Award 2016 been honoured with the American Diabetes As-
sociation's (ADA) Vivian Fonseca Scholar
Award 2016 for his pioneering research on the
disease in South Asia. He was selected for his
research titled ‘Gastric Bypass vs. Medi-
cal/Lifestyle Care for Type-2 Diabetes in South
Asia with BMI 2540 kg/m2 – The COSMID
Randomised’.
One of India’s pioneering bariatric surgeons and
laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy in Asia, the
Solapur-born medico is currently the Director of
Laparo-Obeso Centre in Pune.
The ADA's meeting is the world's largest confer-
ence, providing participants an access to over
2,500 original research presentations, interactions
with leading diabetes experts and other joint aca-
demic sessions.

16. Mohan Bagan Ratna Syed Nayeemuddin Syed Nayeemuddin will be honoured with Mo-
hun Bagan Ratna for his overall contribution to
the club and the country both as a player and as a
coach. He is the only sportsperson to win both
the Arjuna and Dronacharya Awards in the field
of football.
The Mohun Bagan Ratna is awarded annually to
talented football players and is presented to win-
ners on 29 July, which is celebrated as Mohun
Bagan Day. In 2015, Karuna Sankar Bhattachar-
ya was honoured posthumously with the honour.

17. CFBP Jamnalal Bajaj Karnataka Bank CFBP (Council for Fair Business Practices) Jam-
Award nalal Bajaj award was recently conferred upon
Karnataka Bank for its fair business practices
under the category ‘Service Enterprises – Large’.

18. Best Film in 19th Kannada film ‘Tithi’ Kannada film ‘Tithi’ bagged top awards at the
Shanghai International 19th Shanghai International Film Festival. It won
Film Festival the Best Film and Best Script Writers in the Asia
New Talent Awards.

19. 2015-16 Calder Me- Artemy Panarin Hockey winger of Russian Hockey team Artemi
morial Trophy Panarin recently bagged the 2015-16 Calder
Memorial Trophy. Artemi plays for Chicago
Blackhawks team. He received votes on all 150
ballots and he was the top choice on 88 for 1258
voting points. Shayne Gostisbehere of the Phila-
delphia Flyers stood at the second position and
Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers bagged
the third place. In the total 80 matches played by

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Artemi in 2015-16, he scored 30 goals, 47 as-
sists, 77 points, 8 power play goals, 24 power
play points and 7 game winning goals. He also
created history by becoming the fourth rookie in
franchise history to reach the 30-goals milestone.

20. G D Birla Award Sanjay Mittal IIT-Kanpur professor Sanjay Mittal bagged the
prestigious G D Birla Award for Scientific Re-
search for 2016. Mittal (48) is a professor in the
Department of Aerospace Engineering at Indian
Institute of Technology, Kanpur and has been
chosen for his contribution in the area of Me-
chanics. Mittal has made significant contribution
to development of finite element algorithms for
high performance computing (HPS).

21. International Indian Best Film: Bajrangi Bhaijaan The 17th edition of International Indian Film
Film Academy awards Academy (IIFA) awards ceremony was recently
2016 Best Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali for held in Madrid, Spain.
Bajirao Mastani
Best Actor (Male): Ranveer Singh for
Bajirao Mastani
Best Actor (Female): Deepika Padukone
for Piku
Best Actor in Supporting Role (Male):
Anil Kapoor for Dil Dhadakne Do
Best Actor in Supporting Role (Female):
Priyanka Chopra for Bajirao Mastani
Best Actor in Negative Role: Darshan
Kumar for NH10
Best Performance in Comic Role:
Deepak Dobriyal for Tanu Weds Manu
Returns
Best Story: Juhi Chaturvedi for Piku
Best Playback Singer (Female): Monali
Thakur for Moh Moh Ke Dhaage
Best Playback Singer (Male): Papon for
Moh Moh Ke Dhaage
Best Lyrics: Varun Grover for Moh Moh
Ke Dhaage
Special Award: Woman of the Year -
Priyanka Chopra
Best Cinematography: Sudeep Chatterjee
for Bajirao Mastani
Best Screenplay: Kabir Khan, Parveez
Shaikh, V. Vijayendra Prasad for Ba-
jrangi Bhaijaan
Best Background Score: Sanchit Balhara
for Bajirao Mastani

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Important News - India & World
1. India, Morocco finalise five MoU to enhance cooperation: To improve bilateral relations, India and Morocco recently
signed five Memoranda of Understanding. Two MoU on cultural cooperation and institutional training were signed to en-
hance cultural exchange and institutional training for Foreign Service officers. The other three MoU are about water re-
sources, television broadcasting and education. The two nations identified new areas of mutual cooperation, including IT.

2. India, US sign an agreement on 'exchange of terrorist screening information: India and the US recently signed an
agreement for exchange of intelligence on terror on a real-time basis that includes biographic information of known and
suspected terrorists. With signing of the key pact, India has formally entered into the US Homeland Security Presidential
Directive-6 (HSPD-6) which is a model text agreement for exchange of terrorist-screening information between Terrorist
Screening Centre (TSC) of the US and an Indian agency. It will enable access of 'unclassified biographic information of
known and suspected terrorists' maintained by the US on a reciprocal basis. The agreement is expected to enhance counter
terrorism cooperation between India and US.
3. PM inaugurates Friendship Dam in Afghanistan: Indian PM Narendra Modi recently inaugurated the Afghan-Indian
Friendship Dam with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. The dam is a 1,700 crore project in the strategically important Herat
province. It reflects strong commitment of India toward reconstruction of Afghanistan. The project has been executed and
implemented by WAPCOS Ltd, a Government of India undertaking under Ministry of Water Resources, River Development
and Ganga Rejuvenation. This dam was earlier known as Salma Dam built on the river Chisht-e-Sharif. It will irrigate
75,000 hectares of land and generate 42 MW power.
4. India, Qatar ink 7 agreements to boost cooperation: PM Narendra Modi concluded 7 major agreements with Qatar dur-
ing his five nations visit to Afghanistan, Qatar, Switzerland, United States and Mexico. The deals were made in presence of
Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani. These MoUs are signed in the sectors like infrastructure investment,
Customs administration, financial intelligence unit, skill development, tourism, Health and Youth & sports. These agree-
ments will benefit in strengthening the bilateral ties between India & Qatar.

5. India becomes co-chair of Working Group on Maritime Situational Awareness under CGPCS: India was recently
chosen to co-chair working group on Improving Maritime Situational Awareness (MSA) in the region through consensus.
This decision was taken at Mahe, Seychelles during the 19th Plenary Session of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast
of Somalia (CGPCS).The CGPCS was set up as a group of interested and affected nations, industry associations and multi-
lateral agencies to take pro-active steps for checking piracy in the Indian Ocean Region through a UN Security Council
resolution. It is dealing with piracy off the coast of Somalia through Working Groups putting their efforts towards Capacity
Building on legal, judicial framework and processes, and poverty alleviation in Somalia, Improving Maritime Situational
Awareness in Indian Ocean Region and coordinating efforts for Disrupting Piracy Networks. Seychelles is the current
Chairman of the CGPCS for the biennium 2016-17.

6. US returns 200 artifacts worth $100 mn to India: The US recently returned around 200 cultural artifacts worth Rs.100
million to India. These artifacts include religious statues, bronzes and terra cotta pieces, some dating back 2,000 years, loot-
ed from some of India’s most treasured religious sites. It also contains, a valuable statue of a Hindu Mystic and saint poet
Manikkavachakar. This statue is worth 1.5 million. These statues were seized by US Homeland Security Investigation called
Operation Hidden Idol. Subhash Kapoor, Owner of Art of the Past Gallery, had imported this shipment. He is currently un-
der Indian custody and awaiting trial.

7. NPCI and Westinghouse agree to begin engineering work on 6 N-reactors: Nuclear Power Corporation of India & US
firm Westinghouse recently signed agreement to start engineering and site design work for six AP1000 nuclear power reac-
tors in India. The project will further strengthen India-US civil nuclear agreement and provide assistance to India to reduce
its dependence on fossil fuels. The two organisations will finalise agreement by June 2017.

8. India, US set up 2 clean energies financial support programmes for $60 mn: India along with US has announced estab-
lishment of two new financial assistance programmes worth $60 million in order to provide necessary financial assistance to
India’s clean energy initiatives, including the solar power and other initiatives. US & India will also prove their equal sup-
port to creation and maintenance of the US-India Clean Energy Finance (USICEF) initiative worth $20 million & US-India
Catalytic Solar Finance Programme worth $40 million. Both the countries are committed to establish a US-India Clean En-
ergy Hub as a coordinating mechanism to increase renewable energy investments in India.

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9. India overtakes Japan to be third-largest oil consumer: India has surpassed Japan to become the third-largest consumer
of oil globally. With a demand of 4.1 million barrels a day, India accounted for 4.5 % of world oil consumption in 2015. Oil
remained the world’s leading fuel, accounting for 32.9% of global energy consumption and is gaining market share for the
first time since 1999. Coal came in as the second-largest fuel by market share (29.2 %).

10. ADB approves $100 mn loan for irrigation system in TN: Asian Development Bank said it has approved a USD 100 mil-
lion (around Rs. 660 crore) loan to strengthen a key irrigation system and improve water management in the Vennar sub-
basin of Cauvery Delta in Tamil Nadu. The project will strengthen the embankments of six major irrigation water channels
in Vennar system to make them more resilient to floods and upgrade water regulators, sluices, and pump stations. This pro-
ject will also support both physical improvements and stronger water management, giving a significant boost to the lives of
coastal communities who often go without sufficient irrigation water.

11. PM Modi concluded five-nation tour to Afghanistan, Qatar, Switzerland, the USA and Mexico: Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modi recently concluded his 5-nation tour to Afghanistan, Qatar, Switzerland, the USA and Mexico. Modi was
conferred with Afghanistan’s highest civilian honour, the Amir Abdullah Khan award. India & Qatar signed seven bilateral
agreements in various fields. Both countries also gathered to constitute a high-level inter-ministerial joint committee to re-
view bilateral matters. Switzerland supported India’s membership to the 48-member NSG group, while promising support
India in fighting against the black money and tax evasion. The country also agreed to set up new vocational and educational
training centres. Modi attended a joint session in US congress and 40th US India Business Council in Washington. India and
US launched a $20 million US-India Clean Energy Finance (USICEF) initiative to mobilise up to $400 million to provide
clean and renewable energy to upto 1 million households by 2020. The two nations signed six bilateral agreements and 2
documents in total in various fields. Foreign ministers of India and Mexico are instructed to develop a roadmap of Privi-
leged Partnership suitable for the 21st Century, in the framework of the Seventh Mexico-India Joint Commission Meeting to
be held in Mexico in 2016.

12. India, and Ghana sign three pacts: India and Ghana signed three bilateral agreements to strengthen co-operation in varied
fields. The agreements were signed during the six-day African tour of President Pranab Mukherjee to Ghana. The three
agreements signed with Ghana, after delegation level talks between Mukherjee and his Ghanaian counterpart John Dramani
Mahama, included one for visa waivers for holders of diplomatic and official passports and one for setting up a Joint Com-
mission. The commission will periodically review various aspects of the multidimensional ties between the two countries. A
mutually convenient date for its first meeting will be decided later. After hosting the third India Africa Forum Summit
(IAFS) in New Delhi in October 2015, India is working on a plan to consolidate and further strengthen its engagement with
Africa.

13. India to provide Rs.48 mn for building colleges in Nepal: India has vowed a financial aid of Rs. 48 million to Kathmandu
for building and development of colleges. Ambassador of India to Nepal Ranjit Rae laid the foundation stone of the building
for Koteshwor Multiple Campus in Kathmandu district. The campus building is constructed through aid from India and the
project is being executed through District Development Committee of Kathmandu. The India-Nepal Economic Cooperation
Programme has an outlay of over Rs.76 billion with more than 529 large and small development projects completed or be-
ing implemented in almost all the districts of Nepal mainly in the sectors of education, health and infrastructure develop-
ment. Previously, India had provided a sum of Rs.501 million to Nepal in the financial year 2015-2016 to help the quake-
struck country restore and upgrade its various religious, cultural and educational institutions.
14. India’s membership to International Continental Scientific Drilling Program approved: The Union cabinet has ap-
proved India’s membership to the International Continental Science Drilling Programme consortium. This paves way for
signing of MoU with the GFZ - Helmholtz Centre Potsdam (German Research Centre for geosciences). The MoU will be in
force for the next 5 years and it will enable India in engaging internationally renowned experts with profound expertise in
different aspects of scientific drilling. The drilling investigations will be conducted in Koyna region in Maharashtra. After
becoming the member, India will get a seat Executive Committee (EC) and Assembly of Governors (AOG). ICDP will pro-
vide technical and operational support for capacity building. ICDP will also support workshops for the Koyn scientific deep
drilling project. Being a member of ICDP, India can access all data results from ICDP projects which will help in under-
standing the process of earthquake.
15. Kolkata-Ashuganj-Tripura transit facility becomes operational between India and Bangladesh: India Bangladesh
Transit facility has recently become operation between Kolkata-Ashuganj-Tripura. This transit facility is under the revised
Inland Water Transit & Trade Protocol. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has signed the transit facility when he was on
the Bangladesh’s tour in June, 2015 to facilitate trade and movement of goods through Bangladesh. The trans-shipment op-
erations were launched at the Ashuganj port with a cargo vessel unloading the maiden consignment to be transported to

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Tripura through Bangladeshi territory. The first ship carrying 1000 tons of steel and iron sheets reached Ashuganj river port
from Kolkata.
16. India signs 2 MoU with Namibia on capacity building for civil servants, centre of excellence in ICT: India recently
signed two important MoU with Namibia, of which one is for capacity-building of civil servants of Namibia and another for
setting up of Centre for Excellence in Information & Communication Technology (ICT). The Namibian govt. has expressed
commitment to the pact signed in 2009 to supply Uranium to India. The two nations have also discussed further path of mu-
tual co-operation in mining and exploration of other minerals including zinc and marble.
17. India, South Korea launch Korea Plus, an initiative to strengthen relations: To boost Korean investments in India,
South Korea and India have launched a special initiative named ‘Korean plus’. MoU for establishing was signed earlier in
January 2016 which came after PM Modi’s visit to South Korea in 2015.

Key Highlights of the initiative:

(i) It covers the entire investment spectrum including supporting Korean enterprises dealing with India for the first time.
(ii) It will play as mediator for arranging meetings, assisting in public relations and research/evaluation.
(iii) It will counsel the investors and provide necessary information while investing in India.
(iv) It will handle issues faced by Korean companies doing business in India and policy advocacy to the Union Government
on their behalf.

18. Subhash Chandra Bose's statue unveiled in Malaysia: A bronze statue of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose has been un-
veiled at the Indian Cultural Centre in Malaysia. This was witnessed by nine Indian National Army (INA) veterans, includ-
ing three women. It marked a historic moment for INA, the Rani of Jhansi regiment, Balak Sena and the veterans of the INA
in Malaysia. PM Modi had announced renaming of the Indian Cultural Centre here as Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Indian
Cultural Centre during his visit to Malaysia last year. The High Commission of India hosted the first-ever Festival of India
in Malaysia last year. The bronze bust of Netaji was sculpted by Ram Sutar and sponsored by the Indian Council for Cultur-
al Relations.

19. PM Narendra Modi, Sri Lankan President inaugurate Duraiappah stadium in Jaffna: PM Modi jointly inaugurated
Duraiappah stadium with Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena in Jaffna. Named in the honour of a former mayor of
Jaffna, Alfred Thambirajah Duraiappah, the stadium has been renovated by the Indian government at a cost of more than
Rs.7.1 crore. With a seating capacity of 1,850, the stadium will provide necessary infrastructure to promote sports and assist
overall development of youth of the war-torn Northern Province.

20. India, Thailand sign 2 agreements on cooperation in culture and education sectors: India and Thailand have signed two
agreements to enhance mutual cooperation in culture and education. These agreements were signed during Thailand's Prime
Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha’s recent visit. One of these agreements aims to extend cultural programme for 2016-19.
An MoU was also signed between Nagaland University and Thailand’s Chiang Mai University. India & Thailand also dis-
cussed other issues like maritime security, cyber security, military and intelligence cooperation, etc.
21. Cabinet approves MoU between India and Germany: The Union cabinet recently approved an MoU with German com-
pany Steinbeis GmbH Co. KG on technology resourcing in manufacturing, including sub-sectors of capital goods. This Mou
was signed during the Industrial Exhibition Hannover Messe 2016 in Hannover, Germany. The two parties will collaborate
in profiling of specific technologies, technology road-mapping for specified capital good sub-sectors, assessment of tech-
nology status of Capital Goods Cluster, cooperation in events on technology, upgrading existing technology institutes / set-
ting up Greenfield institutes in India and other technology related co-operation and collaboration.

22. Nagpur and China's Jinan become 'sister cities': Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) and Jinan, Municipal People's
Republic of China, have signed an agreement to develop sister city relationship between the two cities. This is for the first
time that a city has developed sister city concept with any foreign city. The agreement, which will be executed for five
years, also allows Nagpur to seek financial assistance from Jinan to execute development projects. Jinan has an urban popu-
lation of over 46 lakh similar to Nagpur in terms of agriculture produce market, textile industry, flour mills, steel units, IT
industry and educational facilities. Thus the concept is to have a regular exchange in various areas. The pact is signed as a
part of a 2013 agreement between the two countries to develop the concept of sister cities.

23. Mahasthangarh declared SAARC cultural capital for 2016-17: Mahasthangarh, the 3rd century BC archaeological site
in Bogra, Bangladesh, has been declared the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation SAARC cultural capital for
2016-17. As a SAARC cultural capital, the historic place will host festivals on literature, films, foods and dances from Oc-

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tober 2016 to September 2017.The year 2016-17 has also been declared as the SAARC Year of Cultural Heritage. Ma-
hasthangarh is one of the earliest urban archaeological sites discovered in Bangladesh.

24. ADB extends $500-million loan for river bridge in Bihar: The Asian Development Bank has approved $500 million for
the construction of bridge across the Ganga. The 9.8 km bridge to be built in Bihar will be India’s longest. It would provide
vital transport links between the northern and southern parts of the state and with neighbouring country Nepal. The project
will run for four years and is expected to be complete by December 2020.

25. India becomes 35th full member of Missile Technology Control Regime: To enhance its non-proliferation credentials,
India has joined the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). The entry also marks India's entry into any multilateral
export control regime. India’s inclusion to the Missile Technology Control Regime means strengthening its own export con-
trols, which will help it justify transferring sensitive technology to India in front of other MTCR members. MTCR member-
ship will enable India to deal in high-end missile technology.

26. BHEL commissions two hydel units in Afghanistan: State-run Bharat Heavy Electronics recently commissioned two
hydel units at Salma Hydro electric project in Afghanistan. Each of these units are of 14 MW capacity.

27. World Bank approves the Tejaswini Project in Jharkhand: The World Bank Board has approved of the $63 million
Tejaswini Projects, the first World Bank project for the development and support of women and adolescent girls. Tejaswini:
Socioeconomic Empowerment of Adolescent Girls & Young Women Project in Jharkhand will support adolescent girls and
young women, aged between 14-24, to complete their secondary-level education and acquire relevant skills for the job mar-
ket. The project will focus on socio-economic empowerment of adolescent girls and young women in 17 select districts of
Jharkhand. It is expected to benefit about 680,000 adolescent girls and young women. In the 17 project districts, there are
about 2.1 million adolescent girls and young women in the 14-24 age group, of which 13 % belong to Scheduled Castes and
25 % to Scheduled Tribes.

Important News: World

1. World’s longest rail tunnel set to run in Switzerland: World’s longest and deepest rail tunnel—Gotthard Base tunnel—
is set to run through Alps after 17 years of investment. It is also the first flat low-level route through the Swiss Alps. With a
length of 57.09 km and a total of 151.84 km of tunnels, it is expected to make rail freight more efficient partly by support-
ing heavier cargo, which should reduce the number of smoke-emitting and heavy vehicles on the roads, thereby improving
traffic and curbing pollution.
2. Gudni Johannesson wins Iceland presidential elections: A history professor, Gudni Johannesson has recently won the
Iceland’s presidential election. He was benefitted with the anti-establishment sentiment among the voters of Iceland after
the infamous Panama papers leak which implicated many top Icelandic officials. With 39.1% votes, he won the election
against Halla Tómasdóttir, a businesswoman without party affiliation who received 27.9% votes. Jóhannesson will now re-
place Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, 73, who served 20 years as head of state.
3. Pedro Pablo Kuczynski is the next President of Peru: Peruvian economist Pedro Pablo Kuczynski has been elected to
become Peru’s next President. With 95.5% of votes counted, 77-year-old former World Bank executive Pedro Pablo
Kuczynski had a lead of 0.28% points over Keiko Fujimori.
4. China launches Ziyuan III 02 and two other foreign satellites: China successfully launched a new civilian high-
resolution mapping satellite, Ziyuan III 02, along with two NewSat satellites developed by URUGUS S A. Ziyuan III 02
will join its predecessor Ziyuan III 01, launched in January 2012, to form a network and capture high-definition 3D images
and multispectral data. Ziyuan III 02 satellite took off on the back of a Long March 4B rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite
Launch Centre in northern Shanxi Province. All the three satellites launched have successfully entered its preset orbit. The

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Ziyuan III 02 satellite will be used for land resource surveys, natural disaster prevention, agricultural development, water
resource management and urban planning, among other applications.
5. German Parliament passes Resolution to recognise Massacre of Armenians as Genocide: The German parliament re-
cently recognised atrocities inflicted on 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turks starting 1915. Turkey, on the other side,
denies the killing and terms it as victims of civil war and unrest. Turkey has also objected the word ‘genocide’ used in this
context. This decision of Germany will hamper Turkish-German relations and concerns are made over already fragile Tur-
key-EU deal over how to handle the ongoing migrant and refugee crisis.
6. Switzerland voters reject unconditional basic income proposal in referendum: 77% of the Swiss voters have rejected
unconditional basic income proposal and remaining 23% have backed it. The proposal had called for adults to be paid an
unconditional monthly income, whether they worked or not. The supporters of this proposal have proposed a monthly in-
come of 2,500 Swiss francs every month for adults whether they work or not. The proposal was mainly criticised as there
was no plan for funding this costly policy. Even, no parliamentary party has backed the proposal.
7. World’s space companies come together against climate challenges: Space agencies of more than 60 countries came to-
gether under the impetus of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) & French Space Agency (CNES). These agencies
have decided to engage their satellites, to coordinate their methods and their data to monitor human-induced greenhouse
gas emissions. Without the support of satellites, it was impossible to recognise the issue of global warming and the subse-
quent historic agreement at UN headquarters which was signed on 22nd April, 2016. 26 out of 50 essential climate varia-
bles which are being monitored at the present time can be measured only from space i.e. rising sea level, sea ice extent, etc.
Through the New Delhi declaration, these world space agencies have decided to establish an independent, international sys-
tem to centralise data from their Earth-observing satellites.
8. Walmart tops the Fortune 500 list: Retail giant Walmart has topped the Fortune 500 list for the fourth consecutive time.
Fortune’s annual list features 500 US companies based on their revenue. Walmart is followed by oil and gas firm Exxon
Mobil and Apple, the top tech company on the list. While Amazon has been ranked 18th, Facebook has jumped 85 spots to
be ranked 157th.
9. IMF approves $1.5 billion loan to Sri Lanka: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved $1.5 billion loan to
Sri Lanka was recently approved by International Monetary Fund (IMF). A 36-month extended arrangement was recently
accepted the executive board of the IMF. This funding aims to meet balance of payments needs arising from external envi-
ronment and pressures, raising revenue through new taxes & financing the additional budget spending.
10. WHO validates elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis in four countries: The World Health
Organisation (WHO) recognised Thailand, Armenia, Belarus and Moldova for eliminating mother-to-child transmission of
HIV and Syphilis. This is a step forward in Thailand's aggressive campaign to reduce new cases of Aids virus, but experts
warn many other problems still exist —including a rising rate of new HIV infections among gay men and transgender peo-
ple. WHO and partners in 2014 developed a global criterion to validate the elimination of transmission of both infections
through a rigorous review of country progress. Last year, Cuba was the first country to have successfully eliminated moth-
er-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis. Eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis is key to the
global effort to combat sexually transmitted infections and to end AIDS by the year 2030.
11. NATO launches biggest ever Joint Military Exercise Anaconda-16 in Poland: The biggest-ever joint military exercise
called Anaconda-16 was recently launched by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in Poland. The exercise has
been launched at the crucial time when Eastern and Central European countries are concerned over the Russian progres-
sions in the region. This exercise was organised and coordinated by Polish military’s operational command. It will involve
some 31000 troops from Poland, the US and 17 other NATO member nations and from five partner nations out of which
12000 of the troops are from Poland, almost 14000 from the US and some 1000 from Britain.
12. Pakistan tops 2016 Malware Infection Index: Microsoft Asia announced the launch of its Malware Infection Index 2016
(MII2016), which identifies the key malware threats in the region and ranks markets in Asia Pacific according to how much
they are affected. According to the index, India ranks 8th while Pakistan tops the list. Asia pacific appears to be the most
vulnerable with emerging markets most at risk of malware threats. Of the top five locations across the globe most at risk of
infection, Pakistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Nepal, top the rankings at first, second, fourth and fifth places respectively.
The top three most encountered malware include Gamarue, a malicious computer worm that is commonly distributed via
exploit kits and social engineering; and Skeeyah and Peals which are trojans that try to look innocent to convince you to in-
stall them. They can steal personal information, download more malware or give a malicious hacker access to the comput-
ers.

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13. Norway becomes first country to ban deforestation: Norway Parliament recently pledged to make government’s public
procurement policy deforestation-free. With this, Norway becomes the first country in the world history to ban deforesta-
tion. This means that the parliament will no longer award government contracts to any company that cuts down and de-
stroys forests. Norway had pledged to do that at the U.N. Climate Summit in 2014, alongside Germany and the United
Kingdom. This step is taken with an intent to save rainforests which play important role in absorption of carbon dioxide
and stability of ecosystem. Norwegian lawmakers are also committed to find a way to source essential products such as
palm oil, soy, beef and timber so that they leave little to no impact on their ecosystems.
14. Israel wins UN committee chair for the first time: Israel has won an election to chair the United Nations' legal commit-
tee. For the first time that it will head one of the world body's six permanent committees since joining the UN in 1949. Also
knows as sixth committee, the committee oversees issues related to the international law. The UN General Assembly has
six standing committees that report to it, on: disarmament, economic and financial issues, human rights, decolonization, the
UN budget, and legal issues. Israel was a candidate for the regional Western European and Others Group (WEOG) and re-
ceived a comfortable majority of votes - 109 out of 175 valid votes cast in the 193-nation assembly. Sweden was runner-up
with 10 votes.
15. Russia launches most powerful nuclear icebreaker Arktika: The world’s biggest and most powerful icebreaker Arktika
was recently launched by Russia at St. Petersburg. The Arktika is 568 feet long and 34 meters wide. It can break through
ice 13-feet deep. It has dual-draft design which makes it possible to use it in Arctic waters and in estuaries of polar rivers.
Arktika is powered by two next generation RITM-200 nuclear-reactors. These reactors will be supplied with nuclear be
produced by the TVEL fuel company.
16. North America to have its first sanctuary for dolphins: First ever sanctuary for marine mammals will be built in North
America. Baltimore’s National Aquarium announced its plan to create an oceanside dolphin sanctuary. After years of re-
search on dolphin behaviour, the National Aquarium in Baltimore has decided to move the marine mammals to a sanctuary.
The aquarium will move its colony of eight Atlantic bottlenose dolphins to an outdoor facility with natural seawater by
2020. The venue will lie in a tropical or subtropical location will also contain natural stimuli for the dolphins, such as fish
and sea plants.
17. China prepares to launch Mars probe in 2020: As per the recent announcement of Xu Dazhe, the director of the China
National Space Administration, China’s Mars exploration program has been formally approved by the central Chinese au-
thorities. The core module for the space station would be called the Tianhe-1 which is the Chinese word for galaxy. This
core module will be launched in 2018 and China will have its permanent manned space station in service by 2022. China
plans to send a rover to Mars around 2020, and land by 2021, to explore the red planet and launch 150 long range carrier
rockets in the next five years for its ambitious space missions. The Mars probe will orbit the red planet, land and deploy a
rover all in one mission.
18. Rio declares ‘public calamity’ few weeks ahead of Olympics: Rio de Janeiro recently declared a “state of public calami-
ty” due to severe financial difficulties. This announcement comes less than 50 days before the start of Olympics. This
means that public sector workers and pensioners are owed wages in arrears, and hospitals, police stations have been unable
to get basic supplies. However, this will have no negative impact on the games said the organising committee’s official.
19. Bone artefacts used by early humans discovered in Kuumbi Cave: Bone tools were used for hunting, and even as poi-
son arrow tips, in eastern Africa over 13,000 years, suggests a recent study in Kuumbi Cave, Zanzibar. Kuumbi Cave is one
of a group of caves that underlie a flight of marine terraces in Pleistocene limestone in eastern Zanzibar. The research find-
ings suggest that bone technology was a central element to the Kuumbi Cave’s inhabitants over 13,000 years ago. This
technology was a crucial element to people from Stone Age around 60,000 years ago. By analysing the artefacts with a
camera and microscope, the results showed that the bone projectile points are likely to have been used for poison arrows,
partly due to the slender and short nature of the arrow heads, and partly supported by a previous discovery of charcoal from
the Mkunazi plant, which is known to have poisonous fruit. The research was published in the journal Azania: Archaeolog-
ical Research in Africa.
20. Pakistani Sufi singer Amjad Sabri shot dead in Karachi: Renowned Pakistani singer Amjad Sabri was shot dead in the
southern city of Karachi. According to reports, Sabri, 45, was travelling in a car with an associate in a car when unknown
gunmen on motorbikes opened fire at his vehicle in the city's Liaquatabad area. Sabri was the son of renowned qawwali
singer Ghulam Farid Sabri whose family is famous in the subcontinent for their contribution to this Sufi art and mystic po-
etry. Known for his soul-stirring renditions of mystic poetry, he was one of the finest Pakistani qawwali singers.

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21. EU reached agreement on new border force to tackle migrant crisis: An agreement for setting up a new Border and
Coast Guard Force to curb the influx of migrants recently received a nod from European Union. The EU parliament will
soon take up a vote on this issue. This force is considered as the expansion of the size and task of the existing Warsaw
based Frontex border agency. This force will bear the right to intervene in front line countries like Greece and Italy.
22. Britain decides to exit from European Union: In a historic referendum, 51.9% voters of UK have voted for Brexit, while
48.1% of UK voters have favoured to remain in the European Union. Northern Ireland, London and Scotland staunchly
supported remaining with the EU. Wales and English shires supported the Brexit instead. The Brexit might weaken Eu-
rope’s unity and stability which is required to face issues like Greece's financial crisis and huge influx of refugees across
Europe. This move led to major stock markets witnessing a fall. The international price of oil decreased but the price of
gold showed a sharp rise. In India, BSE Sensex index notified a fall up to 4.04 %. The Indian rupee also fell to its lowest
since February 2016 to 68.14 against a dollar. PM of UK David Cameron announced his resignation a few hours after the
Brexit vote. Cameron and his conservative party advocated to remain with the EU.
23. Sri Lanka's parliament votes in favour of Right to Information Bill: The Sri Lankan parliament has unanimously
passed the Right to Information Bill which aims to restore transparency and good governance in the country plagued by
corruption and misrule. It will allow the citizens to access public information except for personal data, national security in-
formation, financial and commercial policy decisions, intellectual property and medical reports. The RTI bill is likely to
make moderate changes to uphold transparency in the functioning of the state.
24. US to provide Afghan forces $3 billion for 2018-2020: The United States plans to provide more than $3 billion a year in
support for the security and reconstruction of Afghanistan from 2018 through 2020. It is also contributing $20 million in
humanitarian aid to the UN effort to help the thousands of refugees who have fled fighting in the Iraqi city of Fallujah. The
UN Central Emergency Relief Fund released 17.5 million dollars to help. The US also urged other countries to help meet
the UN's call for more money to help the refugees.
25. Nepal bans citizens from working in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Libya: Nepal has banned its nationals from working
in Afghanistan, Iran & Syria. This government initiated this move after 13 Nepali security guards were killed by a Talibani
suicide bomber in Kabul. PM K P Oli has ordered a parliamentary panel to track down traffickers who send a large number
of Nepali migrants to these war torn countries for employment. Over 30% of the country’s GDP is due to remittances sent
by Nepali workers working in Middle East, India and Malaysia.
26. China launches first Dark Sky Reserve in Tibet to limit light pollution: China recently launched its first ever Dry Sky
reserve in Ngari Prefecture in Tibet to limit light pollution and preserve sites for making astronomical observations. This
dry reserve covers an area of 2,500sq.km. It is above 4,500 metres above sea-level in northwest Tibet which is why it is one
of the best sites in the world for astronomical observations. This dark reserve is jointly launched by the China Biodiversity
Conservation and Green Development Foundation and the regional government of Tibet.
27. Colombia government, FARC rebels sign ceasefire pact: The leftist FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia)
rebels and the Colombian government have signed a ceasefire deal, thereby ending over five decades of conflict. The cere-
mony was witnessed by Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos, FARC chief Timoleón Timochenko Jiménez, the UN
Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, Cuban president, Raúl Castro and Venezuela’s Head of State, Nicolás Maduro. The peace
talks had five core areas—reforms, the rebels' future role in political life, a definitive end of hostilities, fighting the illegal
drug trade and the situation of the victims.
28. Newly expanded Panama Canal reopens after 9 years of work: Newly expanded Panama Canal has been opened for
business now. The Chinese-owned container ship Cosco Shipping Panama was the first to cross the canal. The Panama Ca-
nal expansion project is called the third set of Locks project which began in 2007. The project has built two new sets of
locks, one each on the Atlantic and Pacific sides, and excavated new channels to the new locks. It has doubled the capacity
of Panama Canal. It has also raised the maximum operating water level of Gatun Lake. Due to this expansion, the canal can
allow larger number of ships for transport. Larger ships can also pass through the canal due to the increase in the width and
depth of newly expanded Panama Canal. The new larger size of ships is called New Panamax.
29. Sweden inaugurates world’s first electric road: World’s first-ever electric road has been inaugurated in Sweden. It was
built by Swedish government in conjunction with truck manufacturer Scania. It a 2-km freeway in central Sweden with
power lines attached. Hybrid trucks specially fitted with a device called a 'pantograph power collector' can drive underneath
the lines and tap into the power. When connected to the lines, they run completely on electricity. When they drive out of the
right lane, the onboard engine kicks on, as it reverts back to hybrid mode.

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30. IMF clears payment of $501 mn to Pakistan: The IMF has cleared immediate disbursement of $501 million to Pakistan,
taking the total amount given to the country since 2013 to $6.1 billion. The approval was given after conclusion of 11th re-
view of Pakistan's economic performance under a three-year programme supported by an Extended Fund Facility (EFF) ar-
rangement. IMF also reminded Pakistan that the current exports of $25 billion were not enough for an economy of over
$280 billion and that it should aim to double the figure. This can be achieved by making concerted efforts to broaden tax
bases, strengthening tax compliance and rationalising tax system in an efficient and equitable manner.
31. No detention for illegal migrants under 2008 Return Directive: EU Court: As per the recent ruling by the European
Court of Justice, non-EU (European Union) migrants who illegally entered an EU member state should not face detention.
Under the Europe's 2008 Return Directive, migrants staying illegally should return back to their country of origin. This rul-
ing is applicable to the migrants crossing borders within the Schengen passport-free zone and on leaving the zone. Under
the 2008 Return Directive, the migrant is asked to voluntarily leave the Union within 30 days. After which, the removal
should not involve excessive force or place the person’s life in danger.
32. Martian crater named after Nepal quake-hit village Langtang: The International Astronomical Union has named a
Martian crater after ‘Langtang’, one of the worst-hit villages in the 2015 Nepal earthquake. Langtang is a popular trekking
site which was destroyed when an earthquake-triggered avalanche swamped the village.
33. Ethiopia, Bolivia, Sweden, Kazakhstan elected non-permanent UNSC Members: All the 193 members of the UN Gen-
eral Assembly elected Sweden, Bolivia, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan to serve on the UN Security Council (UNSC). This selection
has been made for a period of two years starting 1st January, 2017. The newly-elected countries will replace Spain, Malay-
sia, New Zealand, Angola and Venezuela. As the voting between Italy and Netherlands yielded no clear winner, both the
countries will share the two-year term, each for a one-year period. Bolivia and Ethiopia were chosen by their regional
groups and had no competitors. Kazakhstan won the seat reserved for Asia Pacific against Thailand, while Italy, the Nether-
lands and Sweden had competed for two seats for Western Europe.
34. AIIB approves first loans for projects in four countries: The China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment bank (AIIB) has
announced four loans of total $509 million with three of them co-financed with other multilateral development banks. The
four approved loans include the following—
 $165 million for a power distribution system in Bangladesh.
 $100 million for a section of a highway in Pakistan, co-financed with Asian Development Bank and the United King-
dom's Department for International Development.
 $27.5 million for improving a border road in Tajikistan, co-financed with the European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development.
 $216.5 million for a slum upgrading project in Indonesia, co-financed with the World Bank.

Books
Title of the Book Author

The Unseen Indira Gandhi Dr. K P Mathur

A Life in Diplomacy M K Rasgotra

The Birds of Banni Grassland Scientists of Gujarat Institute of Desert Ecology

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Important Agreements and Deals: National & International
1. India and US to sign 2 key pacts during Homeland Security Dialogue: In July, the two countries are expected to ink
two key agreements that would exempt well-known Indian citizens from immigration checks in America and create oppor-
tunities for information exchange on terrorists on a real-time basis. The two pacts on Global Entry are: a US Customs and
Border Protection programme which will enable speedy clearance of pre-approved, low-risk travellers upon arrival in
America and the Homeland Security Presidential Directive-6 (HSPD-6), which will allow access to information on terror-
ists. These are to be signed during the Homeland Security Dialogue. The US has been insisting for India's inclusion in the
Global Entry so that dignitaries like former Presidents, former Prime Ministers, former Union Ministers, film stars, indus-
trialists, etc. could have a hassle-free journey. The HSPD-6 proposes exchange of terrorist screening information between
Terrorist Screening Centre (TSC) of the US and an Indian agency.

2. Cabinet approves pact for avoidance of double taxation with Belgium: The Union Cabinet gave green signal for the
signing of a protocol amending the existing Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with Belgium. The aim is to
curb the tax evasion and tax avoidance between the countries. This protocol will broaden the scope of the current frame-
work of exchange of tax-related information between the two countries.

3. India and World Bank sign agreement for efficient bus service: A $9.2 million grant agreement was recently signed be-
tween India & the World Bank for the ‘Efficient and Sustainable City Bus Service Project’. The grant is given under World
Bank- Global Environmental Facility (GEF) Programme. This project is aimed at improving the efficiency of the transport
and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Demonstration cities where the various initiatives for improving city bus services
will be undertaken are Mira Bhayandar in Maharashtra, Chandigarh, Jaipur, and Bhopal. The project will focus on modern-
izing the city bus service through modern depots to improve the maintenance. The project will also bring modern intelligent
transport systems and management information system.

4. India and Morocco launch Chamber of Commerce and Industry: India & Morocco have jointly launched the Chamber
of commerce & Industry to boost bilateral commercial engagements. It was launched by visiting Vice President Hamid An-
sari and Moroccan Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane. The bilateral trade between the two countries stood at $ 1.26 bil-
lion in 2015 with Indian exports forming roughly 25 % of the trade volume. Various Indian firms now favouring Morocco
as an investment destination. Till now, Indian firms have invested &320 million in Morocco including in the flagship pro-
ject, the Indo-Maroc Phosphore SA joint venture.

5. Union Cabinet gave green signal for MoU between DGCA and French Civil Aviation Authority: Union cabinet has
recently given it’s nod for a MoU between the Directorate General of Civil Aviation of India (DGCA) and the French Civil
Aviation Authority – Direction Generale de l’Aviation Civile (DGAC) of France to implement Technical Cooperation Pro-
gramme. The basic objective of this MoU is to promote and implement the Standards and Recommended Practices of the
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The MoU will also prove beneficial for the enhancement of skills of of-
ficers, training of engineers, technicians and managers of both the countries. The MoU is valid for a term of four years. The
common action plan for both the parties is as follows,
 By exchanging information concerning the various techniques used to reach the objectives;
 By sending French experts or instructors to India for training missions; and
 By receiving experts, or instructors of India, in France for training missions.

6. India - US MoU on enhancing cooperation in Wildlife Conservation approved: India and the United States recently
signed an MoU to strengthen mutual cooperation on conserving wildlife and combating its trafficking. It was signed by In-
dian Ambassador to the US, Arun K Singh, and Catherine Novelli, Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy
and the Environment, at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department. Under the MoU, the two countries agreed
to cooperate and boost their capacities for wildlife conservation and management in India, including efforts to protect criti-
cal habitats. India and the US also committed to cooperate regionally and globally for combating of illegal trade in wildlife
through capacity building, strengthening cooperation and sharing best practices.

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7. ADB, India ink $200 million loan agreement for Jharkhand roads: A $200 million loan agreement is recently signed
between Indian government and Asian Development Bank (ADB). The agreement is aimed at upgrading 176 km roads in
the Jharkhand. The Jharkhand State road II project will upgrade the existing sections of four state roads to two lane stand-
ard and design improvement. It will also help in developing an international standard road safety master plan for promoting
road safety in Jharkhand. The ADB is supporting the Jharkhand state in improving the road connectivity. The two projects
are rehabilitating 487 kilometres of state highways in Jharkhand.

8. India, ADB sign $120 mn loan pact for irrigation in Odisha: A $120 million agreement was recently signed between In-
dian government and the Asian Development bank (ADB) to improve irrigation and water management infrastructure in the
state of Odisha. The loan will be provided to the Orissa Integrated Irrigated Agriculture and Water Management Investment
Program.It will be used for modernising seven irrigation subprojects resulting in improved irrigation in over 1,00,000 hec-
tares and strengthening of Water User Associations (WUAs) and the institutional capacity of Odisha's Department of Water
Resources. The project aims to improve existing irrigation infrastructure, operation and maintenance and water use effi-
ciency that will lead to higher agricultural productivity.

9. India signs MoU with US to facilitate hassle-free entry of Indians to US: India & US has recently signed a memoran-
dum of understanding to provide expedited security clearance which will ease the immigration process for Indian entering
into US. This MoU will further support to grow the people to people ties in both the countries which will further strengthen
the bilateral relationship between India & US. Currently, the Global Entry Programme is available at 12 pre-clearance loca-
tions in the US and more than 40 US airports. By this date, more than 1.8 million people have already enrolled for this pro-
gramme.

10. India-US inked 8 MoUs to bolster economic growth & sustainable development: India and the United States (US)
signed/ finalized eight agreements/ Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) in various fields including exchange of Terror-
ist Screening Information, cooperation on Energy Security, Clean Energy and Climate Change among others. The MoUs
include:
a. Arrangement for the exchange of Terrorist Screening Information
b. MoU to enhance cooperation on Energy Security, Clean Energy and Climate Change
c. MoU to enhance co-operation on Wildlife Conservation, management and Combating Wildlife Trafficking
d. MoU for the Development of an International Expedited Traveler Initiative (the Global Entry Programme)
e. Technical Arrangement concerning Unclassified Maritime Information Sharing
f. MoU for Cooperation in Gas Hydrates
g. Information Exchange Annex (IEA) to the Master Information Exchange Agreement concerning Aircraft Carrier
Technologies.
h. Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement

11. India signs Europe-led clampdown on tax evasion and corruption: India has recently joined a group of 40 nations by
signing a Europe led clamp down on tax evasion and corruption. These signatories have committed to automatically ex-
change information on beneficial ownership. The group is working towards development of a global standard for this ex-
change of beneficial ownership data between law enforcement agencies and tax authorities of partner countries. Some
countries outside of Europe are also in the list of signatories which include Afghanistan, Nigeria, Mexico and the UAE.
Most of the European countries have signed this agreement except a tax haven like Switzerland.

12. ONGC Videsh signs pact with SOCAR Trading: The overseas arm of ONGC, ONGC Videsh Ltd. has recently signed a
pact with Azerbaijan's state-owned energy company SOCAR to enter oil trade. The pact is aimed at exploring the possibil-
ity of joint marketing of OVL’s crude oil portfolio by leveraging SOCAR experience in oil trading. OVL had earlier bought
a 2.7% stake in Azerbaijan’s Azeri-Chirag-Guneshlithe (ACG) field from US-based Hess for $1 billion. SOCAR Trading is
the marketing and development arm of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR). It was established in De-
cember 2007 with a mandate to market Azeri barrels produced from the ACG field and other surrounding fields in the
country.

13. Indian Railways, PEC sign MoU to set up Kalpana Chawla Chair on Geospatial Technology: The Union Ministry of
Railways and PEC University of Technology, Chandigarh have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to set up

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Kalpana Chawla Chair on Geospatial Technology for Indian Railways at the University. The objective is to promote re-
search in geospatial technology and to strengthen Indian Railways, especially railway projects. It is named after late Kal-
pana Chawla, who was an Indo–American Astronaut and student of PEC during 1978-82.

14. NIIF, Qatar Investment Authority signed MoU to facilitate investment in Indian infrastructure sector: National In-
vestment and infrastructure fund (NIIF) has recently signed an MoU with Qatar investment authority to attract investments
from Qatar under the umbrella of NIIF. The MoU was signed by Mr. Abdullah Bin Mohammed Al Thani, CEO of Qatar
Investment Authority (QIA) and Mr. Amar Sinha, Secretary (Economic Relations), Ministry of External Affairs on behalf
of NIIF Ltd. The Qatar investment authority will study the investment opportunities in the infrastructure sector in India and
develop a framework for exchange of information with regard to such investments opportunities, in order to enable both
sides to decide on joint investments.

15. Union Ministry of Railways signs JV Agreement with Odisha Government: Ministry of Railways signed a joint ven-
ture agreement with government of Odisha for development of state railway infrastructure.

Highlights of the JV Agreement:

* The MoU envisages formation of a Joint Venture company having 51 % stake of the State Government and 49 % stake of
Ministry of Railways.
* The company will primarily identify projects and possible financing avenues for the same.
* After finances for a project are tied up, project specific special purpose vehicles shall be formed.
* These SPVs can have other stakeholders from Industries, Central PSUs, state PSUs etc. However, the JV companies shall
be mandatory stake holders with a minimum 26 % share.
* A concession agreement of 30 years with the project SPV for safe and sound operation, revenue sharing and providing
technical & marketing logistics to the SPV will be signed by Railways Ministry.
* At the end of concession period, the railways will have option to take over the assets at a nominal price.
* The most important aspect of this MoU is that the ownership of the land shall vest with the SPVs which is a departure
from previous practice. This will give financial leverage to the company to exploit commercial potential of the land.

16. Florida’s Stonegate Bank to issue first US credit card for use in Cuba: First US credit card intended to be used in Cuba
has been launched by Florida’s Stonegate Bank, which will make travelling and work easier for Americans. US travelers
will be able to use Mastercard to charge purchases at Cuban state-run businesses and some private businesses. Initially, the
bank will issue only 1000 cards with an artwork by celebrated Cuban painter Michael Mirabal. The card will help US visi-
tors to avoid Cuban 10% penalty on the dollar. Pompano-beach based Stonegate is also the first US bank to introduce a
debit card for use in Cuba.

17. Cabinet approves India, Taiwan agreements on bilateral relations: The Union cabinet has approved two major pacts
with Taiwan in agricultural and aviation sector. An air services agreement was signed between India-Taipei Association in
Taipei (India’s representative office in Taiwan) and Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in India (Taiwan’s representative
office in India). This agreement is considered to bring greater trade, investment, tourism and cultural exchanges between
the two parties. A MoU between Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre in India and India Taipei Association in Taipei also
received nod from Union Cabinet. This MoU will facilitate mutual cooperation between India & Taiwan in the fields of
Agriculture, Horticulture, Animal Husbandry, Fisheries, Aquaculture and Food Processing, Genetic Resources as well as
Environmental Sustainability. To identify the priority areas of mutual interest a joint working committee will also be
formed under this MoU.

18. Cabinet approves India, ISA contract for exploration of Polymetallic Sulphides in Indian Ocean Region: The Union
cabinet has approved signing of a 15-year contract by the Ministry of Earth Sciences with the International Seabed Authori-
ty (ISA) for undertaking exploration and other developmental activities related to Polymetallic Sulphides in the Indian
Ocean Region. It will be done in parts of Central and Southwest Indian Ridges (SWIR), located in the Ocean. The contract
confirms India’s exclusive rights for exploration of Polymetallic Sulphides in the region. Deep seabed Polymetallic Sul-
phides (PMS) containing iron, copper, zinc, silver, gold, platinum in variable constitutions are precipitates of hot fluids
from upwelling hot magma from deep interior of the oceanic crust discharged through mineralised chimneys.

19. DRDO inks MoU with Kolkata’s JU to establish Rs.100 cr research centre: The Defence Research & Development
Organisation (DRDO) is joining hands with Jadavpur University to launch a research centre worth Rs.100 crores at Jadav-

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pur varsity to develop technologies related to cyber security and robotics for the defence forces. The centre will focus on
pursuing collaborative advanced research, starting with secure systems and cognitive technologies, directed energy, un-
manned and robotics technologies and later venturing towards other futuristic technologies. The centre is expected to be
ready in the next two years and will act as a self-accounting unit of the DRDO.

20. IWAI and IPGPL ink MoU on Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project: The Inland Waterways Authority has
signed a Memorandum of Understanding with India Ports Global Private for projects worth Rs.476 crores to facilitate con-
nectivity and trade. Union Ministry of External Affairs is administering the Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project
(KMTTP) in Myanmar. This project aims to facilitate connectivity between the mainland and the north-east through mari-
time shipping, inland waterways and roads of Myanmar. Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) is appointed as the
project development consultant by MoEA for implementation of the Port and Inland Water Transport (IWT) component of
the Kaladan Project. India Ports Global Private (IPGPL) has been established as a joint venture between the Kandla Port
Trust and the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust for the purpose of development of ports overseas.

21. Union Cabinet approves MoU between UPSC and Royal Civil Service Commission of Bhutan: An MoU has been
signed between Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and Royal Civil Service Commission (RCSC), Bhutan. The
MoU aims to strengthen the existing relationship between UPSC and RCSC. It will facilitate sharing of experience and ex-
pertise of both parties in the area of recruitment. As per the MoU draft, sharing of experience and expertise in civil service
matters, on use of Information Technology (IT) and digitisation of records, storage and display of historical records will be
done.

22. FSSAI signs MoU with ASCI: The Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has signed an MoU with Adver-
tising Standards Council in India (ASCI) against misleading ads to monitor and keep a check on misleading and uncorrobo-
rated ads in the food and beverage sector. FSSAI has made it compulsory to ASCI to keep check upon the process of com-
plaints against misleading ads by food companies. The CEO of FSSAI Pawan Agarwal opined that the MoU would effec-
tively help in handling misleading ads related to food and provide a paradigm shift toward handling such scenarios and
bring transparency and accountability with the stakeholders’ participation.

India and the States

1. Aadhaar to be linked with caste, domicile certificates: To speeden the allotment of scholarships and to avoid harassment
to SC/ ST students, all state governments have been asked to link Aadhaar with caste and domicile certificates that are is-
sued to school students. A first of its kind initiative, it will help students avail benefits or concessions and facilities available
to the category of students concerned. The state government may also try to get the information of students fed into the me-
ta data to be made online and may link it to Aadhaar enabled data. The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is-
sues Aadhaar which is a 12-digit number that acts as a proof of identity and address, anywhere in the country.

2. Cabinet approves largest-ever spectrum auction: The Union cabinet has approved the sale of all available spectrum
which could bring around Rs. 5.5 lakh crores. The 700 MHz band will be put on offer at a reserve price of Rs. 11,485 crores
per MHZ pan India. Apart from the 700MHz band, the airwaves will be sold in the frequencies of 800MHz, 900MHz,
1,800MHz, 2,100MHz, 2,300MHz and 2,500MHz.

3. Cabinet approves Rs. 6,000 crores package for textiles: The Union cabinet recently approved a Rs.6,000 crores special
package for the textiles & apparel sector to attract investments worth $11 billion. This is to increase exports worth $30.4
billion and to create 1 crore new jobs in 3 years. The package includes incentives for duty drawback scheme for garments,
flexibility in labour laws to increase productivity as well as tax and production incentives for job creation in garment manu-
facturing. As the garment industry has around 70% women workforce, new jobs will mostly be for women.

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4. Centre approves setting up of District Level Advisory and Monitoring Committees: The Union government gave its
nod to the proposal of setting up of District Level Advisory & Monitoring Committee to be formed by state governments to
promote new urban development schemes launched by the Centre such as affordable housing and urban poverty alleviation
programmes, Swachh Bharat Mission, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation, Heritage City Develop-
ment and Augmentation Yojana, etc. The seniormost MP in the district will be appointed as the chairperson of the commit-
tee. Two more MPs, one each from the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha, would be the co-chairpersons. This committee will
comprise MLAs from respective districts representing the urban local bodies, mayors and chairpersons of civic bodies and
chief executives of urban development authorities in districts.

5. Rajnath Singh inaugurates 22nd meeting of Eastern Zonal Council at Ranchi: The Union Home Minister Rajnath
Singh headed the 22nd meeting of the Eastern Zonal Council held at Ranchi, Jharkhand. The Eastern Zonal Council, includ-
ing the states of Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha and West Bengal, discussed the issues like modernisation of State Police Forces,
measures to curb communal tension and Left Wing Extremism (LWE), curbing of drug trafficking, measures for bringing
Green Revolution to Eastern India, issues relating to fisheries, productivity of livestock and poultry to usher Blue Revolu-
tion. Issues of internal security, sharing of water of major rivers, development of railways, construction of Dedicated
Freight Corridor (DFC) and Multi Sectoral Development Programme in the Eastern Zone were also discussed.

6. Centre bans use of Potassium Bromate as food additive: The Union government has banned Potassium Bromate as food
additive. This step was taken as a study by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has shown that 84% of 38 com-
monly available brands of pre-packaged breads, including pav and buns, tested positive for potassium bromate and potassi-
um iodate. According to CSE studies, ‘Potassium bromate increases dough strength, leads to higher rising and uniform fin-
ish to baked products while potassium iodate is a flour treatment agent.’ The Food Safety Standards Authority of India
(FSSAI) has banned Potassium Bromate. The recommendation for removal of Potassium iodate is referred to the scientific
panel.
7. Piyush Goyal launches Vidyut Pravah and Urja mobile app in Goa to enhance consumer connectivity: A new mobile
called Urja - Urban Jyoti Abhiyan was recently launched by Union Minister of State for Power, Coal and New and Renew-
able Energy Piyush Goyal. The app is developed by Power Finance Corporation on behalf of Ministry of Power for Urban
Power Distribution Sector to enhance consumer connect with the Urban Power Distribution sector by providing information
of IT-enabled towns on important parameters which concern consumers like outage information, timely release of connec-
tions, addressing complaints, power reliability, etc. Goyal also launched the Pradhan Mantri UJALA (Unnat Jyoti by Af-
fordable LED for all) Yojana in Goa with a target of replacing approximately 15 lakh LED, bulbs impacting nearly five
lakh households. Under the scheme, consumers are entitled to three LED bulbs at a subsidised rate of Rs. 25/- as against the
market price of Rs.300-350. An app called Vidyut Pravah was also launched. By covering banking mechanism and the me-
dium term procurement of power it is possible to expand the scope of “DEEP” (Discovery of Efficient Electricity Price) e-
Bidding and e-Reverse Auction Portal.

8. Narendra Modi outlines RAPID, five-point charter for tax administrators: A new five-point mantra called RAPID was
recently given by Indian PM Narendra Modi while inaugurating a two-day annual conference of senior tax administrators in
New Delhi called Rajasva Gyan Sangam. In RAPID, R stands for Revenue, A for Accountability, P for Probity, I for Infor-
mation and D for Digitisation. It will help people respect the rule of law as well as and inculcate fear the long arm of the
law for those who evade taxes.
9. Centre notifies 10 coastal police stations extending their jurisdiction to 200 nautical miles: The Union government has
allowed police stations on land to extend their jurisdiction to 200 nautical miles (from the existing 12 nautical miles) into
the high seas. Post 26/11 terror attacks, the coastal police was given the responsibility to guard coastal waters. Thus, the ex-
tension of jurisdictional limits will help the local police dealing with cases of smuggling and terrorism to guard the 7516-
km long coastline. On the other hand, the Union Home Ministry has also approved the Maharashtra CM’s proposal to create
a Central Marine Police Force for patrolling and protecting the coastline.
10. NRIs can now join NPS online through eNPS: As the finance ministry’s announcement, non-resident Indians (NRIs) can
now open National Pension Savings (NPS) accounts online. For this they need to have Aadhaar Card or PAN card. Till
now, NRIs could open an NPS account only through paper applications by approaching banks. They will be able to open
NPS accounts both on repatriable (ability of an asset to be transferred from a foreign country back to an investor's home
country) and on non-repatriable basis.

11. International Day of Yoga observed with release of new Yoga geet: The Centre celebrated the National Event of Mass
Yoga Demonstration at the Capitol complex in Chandigarh to mark the International Yoga Day. The UN General Assembly
adopted 21st June as the International Yoga Day. AYUSH minister Shripad Naik released a Yoga geet which was shortlist-

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ed from around 1,000 entries. The three-minute-and-15-second song has been written and produced by Dheeraj Saraswat.
Gandhar T D Jadhav and Gatha Jadhav have sung the song and Sumanto Ray is the composer.
12. Jal Marg Vikas Project on river Ganga to enable commercial navigation: 'Jal Marg Vikas' (National Waterway-1) pro-
ject, which envisages developing a fairway between 1,620km Allahabad and Haldia stretch, has taken off with a $3.5 mil-
lion funding from the World Bank. The project involves construction of multi modal terminals, jetties, river information
system, channel marking, navigational lock, river training and conservancy works. The project is expected to be complete in
six years. The fairway with three metres depth is expected to enable commercial navigation of at least 1500 ton vessels on
the river.

13. Centre launches Vidyanjali mobile app for volunteer work at government schools: Union HRD minister Smriti Irani
launched Vidyanjali Scheme to boost community participation by inviting volunteers to hold public speaking, storytelling,
play-acting sessions and participate in other co-scholastic activities. From 21 states, around 2,200 schools will be participat-
ing in the pilot launch of the programme. The activities would include reading to children, helping them with creative writ-
ing, public speaking, play acting and preparing story books with children. Under the scheme, schools will be able to through
an app contact people who are willing to volunteer for their services to children. Vidyanjali will also cover initiatives under
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
14. Government raises retirement age of doctors to 65: Government recently raised the retirement age of doctors of central
services to 65 years of age to strengthen the healthcare sector and improve public health service in the country. The move
will enable government to retain experienced doctors for a longer period, and provide better services in its public health fa-
cilities, particularly to the poorest, who are entirely dependent on public facilities. According to WHO criteria, the number
of doctors needed were very less in India i.e. 1 per 1700 people instead of 1 per 1000 people and this step will help in
providing additional doctors in the health pool of the country.

15. Union government launches Surya Mitra mobile app: A mobile app called Surya Mitra was recently launched by Union
Power Minister Piyush Goyal in New Delhi. The app will help customers by providing quality installation, repair, and Ob-
servations and Measurements (O&M) services. This app was developed by National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) which
is an autonomous institution of Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE). The app will be used for maintenance of
off-grid Solar PV system to keep it in good condition. It will also help solar entrepreneurs to connect with customers. It will
prove useful in maintaining the existing solar water heater systems and Repair and maintenance of solar pumps.

16. Railways flags off 1st time-tabled freight train: Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu recently flagged off an inaugural
time-tabled freight train named ‘Cargo Express’. The train ran from Domestic Container Terminal (Okhla) to Bengaluru. To
allow allowing differently-abled persons to avail concessions while traveling alone and liberalised a new policy called
‘Comprehensive Parcel Leasing Policy’ (CLIP) is also launched by railway ministry.
17. Indian Railways launches Janani Sewa, optional catering Scheme on pilot basis: Railway minister Suresh Prabhu has
launched three passenger service initiatives—a Janani Sewa for mothers, optional catering in Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains
on a pilot basis and a children’s menu on trains. Janani Sewa includes hot milk, hot water and baby food which will be
available at 25 railway stations including New Delhi, Mumbai, Howrah, Chennai, Surat and Lucknow. Originally, the ser-
vice was meant to have been introduced on trains. The catering charges of Rs.340 for 1 AC and Rs.295 on 2AC/ 3AC
would be deducted from the cost of the Rajdhani ticket for passengers opting out from catering services. Similarly, for
Shatabdi ticket, Rs.260 and Rs.220 for executive and chair car categories would be deducted respectively. The railways
have launched items like French fries, noodles, burgers and meal combos through IRCTC to enhance the travelling experi-
ence of children. Food items can be ordered by the passengers through e-catering website of IRCTC, a specified phone
number, SMS, mobile app or a four-digit all-India toll free number—1323.

18. Centre’s green signal for Chennai Metro Rail Project Phase-I: Union cabinet has approved proposal for Chennai Metro
Rail Phase-I Project from Washermanpet to Wimco Nagar. It will cover a length of 9.051 km. The expected budget is
Rs.3770 crores. The project will be executed by the existing SPV of Government of India and the Government of Tamil
Nadu having 50:50 equities of each i.e. Chennai Metro Rail Ltd. The project is expected to be complete by March 2018.
This extension will provide improved access to public transport for dense population comprising predominantly industrial
workers to move towards the central business district of the city for work.
19. UP approves project report of Varanasi Metro Rail: The Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the Metro Rail Project in Va-
ranasi was recently approved by Uttar Pradesh government. Prepared by RITES, an Indian railway undertaking, the report
states that corridors of 29.23km length have been proposed, of which one will be of 19.35 km between BHEL to BHU and

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another of 9.885 km between Beniya Bagh to Sarnath. There will be 17 stations between BHEL & BHU whereas between
Beniya Bagh to Sarnath, there will be total of 9 stations. The estimated cost of the project is Rs. 13,133 crore.

20. Government approves Mau-Tarighat new railway line project: The Union cabinet approved new broad gauge line be-
tween Mau Station of North-Eastern Railway and Tarighat Terminal station of East Central Railway which aims to provide
an easy transit to areas separated by river Ganga and boost socio-economic development. With a length of 51 kilometres,
the new line runs through the river Ganga at the downstream of the existing road bridge for NH 97 and is located almost
parallel to it and joins the existing BG line from Tarighat to Dildarnagar. It will be alternative route for train passing from
Howrah to New Delhi and back. Construction of this line will provide a link to Allahabad-Patna double line electrified sec-
tion but will decongest the Allahabad-Mughalsarai-Patna route particularly around Mughalsarai yard.
21. Suresh Prabhu flags off Champaran Satyagrah Express train in Bihar: Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu flagged
off the weekly Champaran Satyagraha Express at Motihari, Bihar. He had also inaugurated six new rail facilities in Bihar
which includes three Road Over Bridges (ROBs) at Danapur (Patna), Motihari and Begusarai railway stations, the broad
gauge conversion work of Banmankhi-Purnea rail section, besides converting Piprahan station into a crossing station. The
Champaran Satyagraha was the first rebellion in India against the British which was led by Mahatma Gandhi in 1917. This
train is launched to mark the completion of 100 years to the historic moment of Champaran Satyagraha. The train will run
between Bapudham, Motihari and Anand Vihar, Delhi.

22. NBCC to launch Ganga cleaning project in Bihar: Government-run NBCC is set to launch a Ganga cleaning project in
Bihar. It will carry out cleaning of debris, construction of new ghats and modernisation of existing ones, cleaning of the riv-
er surface, construction of crematoriums, toilets, etc. It will also set up a village drainage system in order to curb waste dis-
charges into the river. It will carry out projects in 19 towns in Bihar with a budget of Rs.600 crores.

23. Odisha becomes first state to give social welfare benefits to transgenders: Odisha has become the first state in India to
give social benefits like pension, housing and food grains to transgenders. These benefits aim to improve overall social and
economic status which is in a bad state. They very often do not get employment easily. They also have to face ostracism and
discrimination, as well as verbal, physical and sexual abuse. The Odisha government is planning to give Below Poverty
Line (BPL) cards to people from this community to enable them to claim benefits from government schemes and policies.
24. Khattar inaugurates ‘Jai Jawan Awas Yojna’ to provide affordable housing to serving, retired JCOs: It is an initia-
tive to provide affordable housing to serving and retired JCOs and other ranks, Haryana CM has launched ‘Jai Jawan Awas
Yojna’. The project is being executed by Army Welfare Housing Organization and aims to provide low cost housing. This
housing project has been named in the memory of Late Major Rajiv Joon, recipient of Ashok Chakra and Shaurya Chakra,
who had attained martyrdom fighting militants in Anantnag district of Jammu & Kashmir.
25. Guwahati becomes the first city to have a ‘city animal’: Assam's Guwahati became the first city in the country to have
its own city animal with the district administration declaring the ‘Gangetic river dolphin’ as the mascot. The decision was
made after an online/offline voting organised by the district administration nominating three animals for the mascot which
are on the verge of extinction. The animals included Gangetic river dolphin (Sihu), lack softshell turtle (Bor Kaso) and
greater adjutant stork (Hargila). Of the 60,003 participants, Gangetic river dolphin (Sihu) receives maximum share of votes.

26. Delhi government approves solar policy with 1 GW target by 2020: The Delhi government recently announced imple-
mentation of its solar policy to make the national capital a solar city with installation of 1 GW solar power capacity by
2020. This target is proposed to double it to 2 GW in the next five years. The key highlights of the policy include: mandato-
ry deployment of solar panels in govt. institutions, virtual net metering to give access to solar net metering facility for peo-
ple who cannot install solar system, building bylaws amendment for rooftop solar installations, tax breaks, benefits and sub-
sidies, and solar system up to 200 KWp being exempt from certification by an electrical inspector.

27. Maharashtra to observe 21st of every month as Yoga Day: The 21st of every month will be observed as Yoga Day
across all schools, colleges and universities in Maharashtra. This is because 21st June is celebrated as International Yoga
Day. Every year a Yoga Mahotsav will also be celebrated in the state from 12 -21 January. Every district will have to set up
a Yoga Day Committee to celebrate Yoga Mahotsav. A state-level committee will also be formed to monitor the district
level yoga committees.

28. Telangana to set up 12,500-acre Pharma City near Hyderabad: As per the state government’s recent order, a Pharma
City will soon be established on 12,500 acres of land in Ranga Reddy and Mahbubnagar districts of Telangana. Telangana
State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TSIIC) will soon send a detailed project proposal for this city to state govern-

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ment. Being a bulk drugs capital of India, around ⅓ of the total drug production is carried out in Telangana. This newly
proposed Pharma City will become a hub of pharmaceutical companies with most modern facilities available.
29. Machilipatnam Town-Sanctioned For Development under AMRUT Scheme: The Union Urban Development Ministry
has signed Rs. 37.5 crores for the development of the Machilipatnam town under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and
Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme. The allocated funds will be used mainly for the beautification of the town and
establishing amusement parks. The funds will also be used for development of cemeteries.
30. Essar Power to start 500 MW Hazira plant: Private utility Essar Power is planning to start operations for its 500 MW
natural gas based power plant at Hazira in Gujarat. It is a natural gas-fired combined-cycle captive power plant. The
Bhander Power-Hazira plant was commissioned in 2006 and commenced full commercial operations in October 2008. But
it was closed down as the company could not spare high prices of fuel.

31. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar launches Child Labour Tracking System: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar recently inaugurated ‘Child
Labour Tracking System (CLTS)’ to keep track of rescued child labour victims for their proper rehabilitation. Also, a finan-
cial help of Rs.25,000 will be given to every rescued child from Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. The money credited in chil-
dren’s account will instill a sense of confidence and security in the child. Also, the tracking system would assure if the child
is pushed back into the trap again. The prominent demands of rescued children are — more schools with all facilities, resi-
dential schools for such children, training facilities in order to get job, a year be declared and celebrated as child year, etc.

32. Gujarat’s Shiyal Bet gets electricity after 70 years of independence: Shiyal Bet, an island located off Pipavav port in
Amreli district, Gujarat, got electricity for the first time since Independence. Gujarat CM Anandiben Patel inaugurated the
Rs.18.35-crore project to supply grid power to the island through marine cables. The 18.5 crore project completed in two
years span mainly involved laying of cables in high density polyethylene pipes on the seabed, installation of transformers,
transmission and feeder lines and 500-2000 power connections. Located around 1.5 kms away from Pipavav port in Amreli,
state-run Paschim Gujarat Vij Company Limited (PGVCL) is supplying power to the island through a 6-km undersea cable
through Chanch Island in neighboring Bhavnagar district.

33. Maharashtra decides to use plastic waste in building roads: Maharashtra government has decided to use plastic waste in
building new roads. The plastic waste will be used with tar to improve the durability and longevity of asphalt roads to im-
prove the quality. For every 100 kg of tar, around 3-6 kg of plastic will be used. As this plastic will be from garbage, it will
also reduce soil pollution. Plastics waste have great potential for use in bituminous construction as its addition in small dos-
es, about 5-10 % by weight of bitumen, helps in substantially improving the Marshall stability, strength, fatigue life and
other desirable properties of bituminous mix, leading to improved longevity and pavement performance
34. Haryana government approves Rs. 25 cr agriculture project: Haryana government has approved an agriculture project
worth 25 crores to make agriculture production system more flexible to climate change. Chairman of state-level steering
committee, chief secretary D S Dhesi approved the detailed project report. This project will be implemented in Northern
Haryana and it will benefit to around 75,000 in the state. This project will help farmers to adopt climate resilient technolo-
gies to enhance the production of the crops without deteriorating soil health. The project will be beneficial to the farming
community of Haryana mostly the women farmers.
35. BHEL commissions 195 megawatt unit at Muzaffarpur Thermal Power Plant: A 195 megawatt (MW) unit thermal
power plant station was recently commissioned by public sector power equipment manufacture company BHEL. This pow-
er plant is located in Muzaffarpur, Bihar. This is the second 195 MW thermal power plant commissioned by BHEL at the
2x195 MW Muzaffarpur Thermal Power Station Stage-II of Kanti Bijlee Utpadan Nigam Limited (KBUNL). The first 195
MW plant was commissioned by BHEL in 2015. KBUNL is the joint venture of National Thermal Power Corporation
(NTPC) and Bihar State Power Holding Company Limited (BSPHCL).
36. 3,049 people perform largest Karma dance in Madhya Pradesh, create Guinness record: To celebrate the culture and
history of Gond tribes, 3,049 people took part in the largest Karma dance ever recently in Madhya Pradesh. Organised by
District Administration Mandla, participants formed 61 large circles of 50 people and performed the tribal dance in spectac-
ular synchronicity. The choreographed Karma dance sequence continued for a minimum of five minutes in accordance with
the Guinness World Records guidelines. All the participants were dressed in traditional clothing to complete the attempt,
and the folk dance was accompanied by live music.

37. Government approves Rs 2,070-crore highway project in Punjab: The Union cabinet recently approved Rs.2,070 crore
highways project in Punjab in hybrid annuity mode. This project aims to achieve faster movement of traffic between Chan-
digarh & Ludhiana as the existing one is a two-laned highway. With this, a 76-km highway stretch will be created. Of the
total, 54 km will be widened to six lanes and the remaining 22 km will have broadened to four lanes. The project was later

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reconstructed in two parts —Chandigarh-Kharar and Kharar-Ludhiana —due to non-viability. The Chandigarh-Kharar sec-
tion has already been awarded on engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) mode.

38. Andhra Pradesh to start Internet-based phone service: Andhra Pradesh will soon become the first state in India to
launch an internet-based phone service. The state government has acquired a telecom licence and soon they are planning to
issue phone numbers starting with the 797 series this year. The state has obtained permission from the Telecom Ministry for
starting its own IPTV — Internet Protocol-based Television Network — as part of its Fibre Grid project.

39. Punjab launches Mukh Mantri Punjab Hepatitis C Relief Fund: Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal recently launched the
‘Mukh Mantri Punjab Hepatitis C Relief Fund’ with initial contribution of Rs.20 crores to provide free treatment to patients
affected by Hepatitis C. With this, Punjab has become the first state in India to provide free treatment for Hepatitis C.
40. Andhra’s Mori village chosen for development as smart village: Mori village from East Godavari district of Andhra
Pradesh has been chosen to be developed as a smart village of global standards. Under this project the Mori village will be
developed as a self-contained sustainable business model. The prototype of the project will be ready by mid-December,
2016. The project will incorporate the use of digital tools, real-time information and uninterrupted fibre optic internet con-
nectivity with 15 Mbps speed. This cashew exporting village in Andhra Pradesh will receive e-commerce facility and 24x7
uninterrupted power supply. The project will encourage use of organic farming for shrimp hatcheries in the village. The
project involves the Innovation Society of the Andhra Pradesh Government, the University of California at Berkeley,
Google, Cisco, IBM, Ericsson, etc.
41. Andhra postal circle releases stamps on Yoga booklet: To mark second anniversary of International Day of Yoga, An-
dhra Pradesh postal circle released “Information booklet, Stamps on Yoga” and “12 stamps on Suryanamaskarams”. The
booklet contains illustrations and descriptions of 24 yoga asanas (postures) along with a brief descriptions on the various
Yoga postures depicted in the original stamps. The booklet contains four commemorative stamps released in 1991 on vari-
ous yoga postures—Bhujangasana, Dhanurasana, Ushtrasana and Utthita Trikonasana.
42. Centre approves proposal for greenfield electronic park in Odisha: Department of Electronics and Information Tech-
nology has approved setting up of a greenfield electronic park within the Infovalley complex, a dedicated IT hub, on the
outskirts of Bhubaneswar, Odisha. The park will be set up under Electronic Manufacturing Cluster (EMC) on 203 acres of
land. The estimated cost for this development is 205 crores of which 95 crores will be given by the government of India,
rest will be invested by the state government. Apart from developed land, road, power, water and recreation facilities, the
park intends to provide common facilities for training, incubation and R&D activities to the interested entrepreneurs.

43. Assam government launches Maitri Ek Gyan Yatra to link primary schools to col-
leges: Maitri Ek Gyan Yatra is an initiative launched to link primary schools to high
schools to colleges in Assam’s Sivasagar district. The programme intends to improve the
quality of school students. College teachers will take up classes in high school and high
schools teachers will teach in primary schools voluntarily. The implementation of this
programme is also to change the mindset of teachers as in some places in the state teach-
ers of a school considered it below their dignity to teach the lower level students. It is
meant to increase the synergy in education sector.

44. Maharashtra cabinet approves minority status for Jews: The Maharashtra cabinet
has granted minority status to the Jew community. This decision aims to benefit students
from these communities to avail scholarships. It also aims to enable setting up of educa-
tional institutions. The decision was made on the basis of the Maharashtra State Minori-
ties Commission Act, 2004, which vests the government with the power to grant minori-
ty status to a community. The Jewish community can now take advantage of government
schemes, get their marriage registrations done with ease, set up educational institutions
and practise and promote their own culture.
45. Ambubachi Mela held at Kamakhya temple: The four-day annual Ambubachi Mela
began in the Kamakhya Temple with several lakh pilgrims already arriving from differ-
ent parts of the country. The authorities are expecting over 25 lakh pilgrims in the next
four days. The state tourism department has mounted a massive campaign to showcase the Ambubachi Mela as a major at-
traction for pilgrims as well as other visitors from across the country. Kamakhya is also the most important centre for prac-
tice and study of tantra and shaktism is also an added attraction.

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46. Nagaland governor launches women's helpline number '181': Nagaland Governor has launched women’s helpline num-
ber 181 and a one-stop centre named ‘Sakhi’ intended to support women affected by violence both in private and public
spaces. The helpline and centre will provide integrated assistance, medical, legal and psychological counselling to women
affected by violence. The two initiatives aim to bolster women’s safety and reduce violence against them.

47. Rare stone inscription on Kapalikas found: A professor of Kannada University recently discovered a 1000-year old rare
stone inscription on Kapalikas. Kapalikas were the worshippers of Bhairava, an incarnation of Shiva. The mysterious cult is
believed to have practised human sacrifice and immolation. The stone inscription found in Raichur district is presumed to
have been be written around 1000 AD in ancient Kannada language. This inscription refers to a ‘Kankala Gorava’ who had
mastered Soma Siddhanta or Kapalika Siddhanta. This inscription will be very useful in throwing a light on Kapalikas cult
where there are very less evidences available on them.

48. Cabinet approves four-laning of Hubli-Hospet section of NH-63 in Karnataka: The Union cabinet has approved four-
laning of Hubli-Hospet section of NH-63 in Karnataka. The total length of the road to be developed is approximately 144
kms. The work will be done under the National Highways Development Project (NHDP) Phase-IV on Engineering, Pro-
curement and Construction (EPC) basis. This project will help to ease traffic and reduce travel time between Hubli to
Hospet.

49. All natural calamities to be treated as state disaster - UP govt.: As per UP government’s recent declaration, all natural
calamities including unseasonal heavy rain, lightning, Loo and storm, etc. will be treated as state disaster. So, from now
onward victims of these disasters will be given relief as per the provisions made under State Disaster Relief Fund by the
Union government. The compensation provided by the local authorities to the victims of these natural disasters is quite less.
The state disaster relief fund will provide and ample compensation and it will prove beneficial to the victims.

50. PM Narendra Modi launches projects for 20 Smart Cities in Pune: India’s PM Narendra Modi has launched India’s
flagship programme Smart City Mission in 20 cities across the country from Pune. He said, “Apart from projects in Pune,
as many as 69 such works will be launched on the same day in the other 'smart cities' entailing a total investment of about
Rs 1,770 crore.” These projects are related to solid waste management under Swachh Bharat Mission, water supply pro-
jects, sewage treatment plants and development of open and green spaces under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban
Transformation (AMRUT).

51. Majuli in Assam becomes India’s first island district: In a first, Majuli, a 400 sq.km island in river Brahmaputra in As-
sam, has been granted district status. Its area has shrunk from about 1250 sq kms in 1891 to about 515 sq kms in recent
times due to massive river-bank erosion caused by the Brahmaputra. It has been vying for a spot in the list of World Herit-
age Sites of UNESCO. With 22 satras (Vaishnavite monasteries) – and home to the colourful Mising tribes, Majuli has
emerged as a major tourist destination despite seasonal floods and erosion.

Corporate News

1. Snapdeal opens data sciences centre in California: Online marketplace Snapdeal has set up a data sciences centre in San
Carlos, California to attract top global talent and create high-value solutions. The centre will focus on big-data and advanced
analytics to add clarity to Snapdeal's consumer-centric initiatives, help mould business strategy and optimise the operational
efficiencies using data. Headed by Nitin Sharma, the centre houses experienced data scientists from leading global brands
like Groupon, Google, Yahoo and Amazon.

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2. JICA to provide Rs. 1,548 cr for TN urban healthcare: The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has made an
agreement with the Indian government to provide a loan of Rs.1,548 crores to enhance the quality of urban health care ser-
vices in Tamil Nadu. The Japanese Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan will be provided at an interest rate of 0.3%
for 40 years (including a 10-year grace period). It will be used to increase the capacity of key hospitals, upgrading facilities,
equipment and human resources. The aim is to reduce cases of non-communicable diseases.

3. HDFC Ergo buys L&T Insurance for Rs 551 crore: HDFC Ergo, a joint venture between home loan major HDFC and
German Insurer Ergo International, will buy L&T General Insurance for Rs.551 crore. This acquisition will help HDFC Ergo
become the third-largest private general insurer, after ICICI Lombard and Bajaj Allianz General Insurance. The combined
size and expertise will result in improved cost efficiencies in the merged entity and benefit policyholders and other stake-
holders. The acquisition also aims to strengthen company’s position in the market.
4. Axis Bank launches India’s first certified green bond at London Stock Exchange: Axis Bank has launched India’s first
certified green bond at London Stock Exchange to finance the climate change solutions across globe. Axis Bank raised a
$500 million at London Stock Exchange. Axis Bank said the proceeds of the bond will be invested in green energy, transpor-
tation and infrastructure projects, reinforcing India's commitment to produce 175,000 MW of renewable power by 2022.
London Stock Exchange is a world leader in green bond listings, home to international green finance from India and China.

5. FCI inks pact with Adani Group: Adani Group and Food Corporation of India recently inked an infrastructure pact. As per
this agreement, the Adani Group will build two silos to store wheat, at an estimated cost of about Rs.80 crore. These two si-
los have the storage capacity of 75,000 tonnes combined. These silos will be built at Kotkapura in Punjab and Katihar in Bi-
har in the next two years. A silo is a steel structure, comprising large size cylindrical shape bins normally each with a capaci-
ty of about 12,500 tonnes, where grains can be stored without jute bags for longer duration.

6. FICCI to be national partner at 8th Vibrant Gujarat Summit: Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry
(FICCI) will be the national partner for the eighth edition of the biennial industrial global summit called Vibrant Gujarat
2017. FICCI will partner jointly with the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII). The core theme of the 8th Vibrant Gujarat
Summit is ‘Connecting India to the World'.
7. SBI, CaixaBank ink pact to fund Indo-Spanish joint ventures: A financial pact was inked between State Bank of India
and CaixaBank to provide loans to Indo-Spanish joint ventures. Both the banks will jointly fund the Indo-Spanish joint ven-
tures and Indian local enterprises by expanding the bank’s guarantee transactions. Both the banks will also collaborate to in-
troduce new business opportunities and partnering possible infrastructure funds. The areas of mutual interests would be syn-
dicated loan business, guarantee transactions, trade finance and export credit agency finance, infrastructure finance and net-
working services, among others.
8. Microsoft to buy LinkedIn for $26bn: Microsoft struck a landmark deal to acquire LinkedIn for $26 bn. This deal is one of
the biggest tech deals in history. The deal combines Microsoft, which dominates the global market for computer systems,
with LinkedIn, known as the main social network for professionals. Microsoft wants to use LinkedIn as a database of profes-
sional information and distribution channel for its software systems. LinkedIn gains additional financing and access to mil-
lions of people who could potentially join its network. The purchase of LinkedIn will allow Microsoft to link the professional
network with its intelligent digital assistant, Cortana, and its customer relationship management software.

9. Tata Power signs agreement to acquire Welspun Renewables: In a bid to expand its clean energy portfolio, power pro-
ducer Tata has agreed to acquire renewable energy company Welspun Renewables Energy Pvt. Ltd. It is the largest transac-
tion in renewables space in India to be made at an enterprise value of Rs.9249 crore. The company has about 1,140 mw of
renewable power projects which includes about 990 mw solar power projects - largest solar projects in the country and about
150 mw of wind power projects spread across ten states in India.

10. Uber enters into pact with Tata: Uber Technologies Inc and the Tata Group recently announced a partnership in which
Tata will provide a comprehensive vehicle and ownership solution to Uber's drivers. As part of the agreement, Uber's drivers
can buy Indica and Indigo cars from Tata Motors at discounted rates, with loans offered by Tata Capital Financial Services
and Tata Motors Finance at attractive terms, and affordable insurance provided by Tata AIG. This is a pan-India initiative,
which has been rolled out first in Hyderabad. Over the next one year, the initiative aims to fuel micro-entrepreneurship
across India by enabling over 20,000 drivers to start their own business on the Uber platform.

11. Microsoft & AICTE sign pact to build app for HRD ministry's SWAYAM platform: Microsoft & AICTE have signed
an agreement to build an app for Indian HRD Ministry’s SWAYAM platform. The platform will launch 2000 Massive Open
Online Courses (MOOC) for over three crore students in 2016. Microsoft has signed a deal of Rs.38 crores with the All India

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Council of Technical Education (AICTE) to create and run the app for three years. Later, it will be taken over by AICTE.
The ministry has approved UGC (Credit Framework for online learning courses through SWAYAM) Regulation, 2016 for
successful implementation of the app. Physical facilities like laboratories, computer facilities, library, etc. will be available
for free by the parent institution. A certificate will be issued upon successful completion of the MOOCs by the parent institu-
tion and issued through the host institution.

12. Tata, Boeing establish aerospace facility in Hyderabad: Boeing and Tata Advanced Systems have launched a new facility
in Hyderabad for its joint venture TATA Boeing Aerospace Ltd. (TBAL). The joint venture aims to co-produce Boeing AH-
64 Apache helicopter fuselages and other aero structures, as well as to pursue integrated systems in aerospace. The Hydera-
bad production facility will eventually be the sole producer of AH-64 fuselages globally. The Apache has been flown or se-
lected for acquisition by the US and 15 other nations, including India.

Sports News

Tennis

1. Leander Paes wins to complete mixed doubles Career Slam: Indo-Swiss pair of
Leander Paes and Martina Hingis clinched the French Open 2016 mixed doubles title
by defeating Indo-Croatian team of Sania Mirza and Ivan Dodig. With this win, Le-
ander Paes has become the 3rd man to complete a double career Grand Slam (men’s
and mixed). The other winners of French Open 2016 are as follows:
Men’s Singles: Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
Women’s Singles: Garbine Muguruza (Spain)
Men’s Doubles: Feliciano Lopez & Marc Lopez (both Spain)
Women’s Doubles: Caroline Garcia & Kristina Mladenovic (both France)

2. Andy Murray wins record fifth Queen's Club title: Britain’s Andy Murray has
bagged 2016 Queen’s Club title for the fifth time in his career, defeating Canada’s
Milos Raonic. Murray won the final match 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 6-3. With this, he has
equaled the record of winning the Queen’s Club title five times with veteran tennis
players like John McEnroe, Boris Becker and Roy Emerson.

Cricket

1. Alastair Cook becomes youngest cricketer to score 10000 Test runs: England’s
cricket team captain Alastair Cook has become the youngest cricketer to score 10,000
runs in Test cricket. He achieved this feat while playing the second Test match in Sri
Lanka. He replaced former captain Andrew Strauss in 2011 and became the permanent Test captain in 2012. Cook scored
his 23rd century against India in 2012 to become the highest Test century-maker for England, and became the youngest
player to pass the 7,000-run mark. He surpassed Graham Gooch’s 8,900-run mark against New Zealand in 2015 to become
England’s leading Test-run scorer. He is the 12th player from any country to score 10,000 runs in Test matches.

2. Sri Lanka's Nuwan Kulasekara announces his retirement from Test Cricket: Sri Lankan pace bowler, Nuwan Ku-
lasekera, announced his retirement from Test cricket with immediate effect. The 33-year-old played the last of his 21 Tests
against England at Lord’s two years ago but has been a standout performer in one-day matches, with 186 wickets from 173
matches, and was ranked the top ODI bowler in March 2009.

3. Eden Gardens hosted India's first pink ball match: Eden Gardens ground in Kolkata held India’s first pink ball match in
June 2016. A pink Kookaburra ball was used in the finals of the local super league held to select players for the state’s Ranji
Trophy team. Pink balls were developed in the 2000s to enable Tests and first-class matches played at night. The red ball is
unsuited to night tests due to poor visibility, and the white ball is unsuited to first-class cricket because of its rapid deterio-
ration.

4. India wins three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe: India recently won the three-match One Day International (ODI)
series against Zimbabwe 3-0. In the third and final match played at Harare, India defeated Zimbabwe by 10 wickets. The ti-

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tle for Man of the Series was given to Lokesh Rahul. Including this match, India got it’s a third successive series clean-
sweep in Zimbabwe after the triumphs in 2013 and 2015. The ODI series will be followed by 3 Twenty-20 matches that will
begin on 18 June 2016.

5. ICC suspends Sri Lankan pacer Shaminda Eranga for illegal bowling: The International Cricket Council has banned
Sri Lankan pace bowler Shaminda Eranga from in international cricket. This decision was taken after assessment of his
bowling. The assessment revealed that all deliveries exceeded the 15 degrees level of tolerance permitted under regulations.
The test was performed at the National Cricket Performance Centre in Loughborough. In accordance with article 6.1 of the
regulations, Eranga’s international suspension will also be recognised and enforced by all national cricket federations for
domestic cricket events played in their own jurisdiction. But, he can play domestic cricket in Sri Lanka, with the consent of
the country's cricket board.

6. BCCI suspends Goa Cricket Association officials for misappropriation of funds: BCCI has suspended and issued show
cause notices to the Goa Cricket Association President Chetan Desai and Secretary Vinod Phadke. The two were arrested
for alleged misappropriation of organisation funds (sum of Rs.3.13 crore). BCCI has decided to investigate into the matter.
Also, a span of 15 days (effective from 18th June 2016) has been given to the two to submit written replies to the BCCI.

7. BCCI to host mini IPL in September 2016: BCCI is set to introduce a mini IPL in September 2016 outside India includ-
ing all the eight teams. Also known as overseas IPL, it will be held every September and is expected to finish within a two
weeks with less number of matches.

8. India maintains 3rd position in ICC ODI team rankings: In the recently released ICC ODI team rankings, the Indian
cricket team has maintained its third spot. With 123 points, team Australia is at the top position followed by New Zealand.
India has 110 points in total. South African batsman AB De Villiers has yet again topped the list of ODI batsmen. In this
list, India’s Virat Kohli is placed second, while Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan occupy the sixth and eighth positions
respectively. No Indian features in the top 10 of the ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers which has been topped by West
Indian Sunil Narine, followed by New Zealand’s Trent Boult and Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan. The latter ranks first in the
ICC Player Rankings for ODI all-rounders.

Formula One

1. Lewis Hamilton wins 2016 Canadian Grand Prix of Formula 1: Veteran F1 racer Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes won the
Formula 1 Canada Grand Prix 2016 title. He defeated his competitor Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari in the final race held in Mon-
treal, Canada. This is Hamilton's fifth win in his career and 2nd win in the row. He has recently won the Monaco Grand Prix
this year. Previously, he had secured titles in 2007, 2010, 2012 & 2015.

2. Nico Rosberg wins 2016 Europe Grand Prix: German F1 driver Nico Rosberg has won the European Grand Prix champi-
onship which was held in Baku, Azerbaijan. The Mercedes driver defeated compatriot and Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel in
the final race.

Badminton

1. Saina Nehwal lifts Australian Open Super Series Badminton trophy: India’s ace badminton player Saina Nehwal
emerged victorious in the finals of Australian Open Super Series Badminton trophy 2016. She defeated veteran Chinese
badminton player Sun Yu by 11-21, 21-14, 21-19 in a 72-minute-long thrilling match at the Sydney sports centre. This is
Saina’s 2nd Australian open title, with this she has become the first shuttler in the world to win the Australian open twice.

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Football

1. Argentina retains top spot in FIFA rankings: Argentina continues to hold its first position while Belgium ranks 2nd on
the latest FIFA rankings. India has fallen down one spot to 163, while England has been replaced in the top 10 by Austria.
FIFA rankings were introduced in December 1992 and teams of Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, the
Netherlands and Spain have held the top positions consistently, of which Brazil has topped the list highest number of
times.

2. Chile beat Argentina to win 2016 Copa America Football tournament: Chile emerged victorious against Argentina in
the finals of 2016 Copa America tournament. No goals were scored during regulation time and extra time. The match went
to the penalty shootout to decide the results. In shootout, Chile dominated over Argentina and won the cup with a 4-2 to-
tal. Lionel Messi and Lucas Biglia missed their spot kicks for Argentina.

3. Lionel Messi retires: After the stunning defeat against Chile in the finals of Copa America 2016, Argentinian football ace
Lionel Messi announced his plans to retire from International football. Messi made his debut for Argentina in 2005 and has
hitherto played 113 matches for the team. He has won eight La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues with Spanish side
Barcelona.

Other Sports:

1. Anilda Thomas bags gold in women’s 400m: Former winner of Federation Cup Indian Athlete Anilda Thomas has
bagged gold in women’s 400m Sprints & Riley cup. She defeated the Romanian team member Adelina Pastor by giving
her best and clocking 52.60s.

2. Sprinter Dutee Chand qualifies for Rio Olympics: India’s sprinter Dutee Chand finally won her battle against the In-
ternational Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) and got qualified for the 100m event in the Rio Olympics. She
was barred from competing in 2014 for failing a hormone test under the IAAF's rules on hyperandrogenism, a condition
which produces higher than normal testosterone levels in women. IAAF has suspended the regulation for two years in
order to gather evidence on whether athletes with hyperandrogenism do gain any performance advantage.

3. India wins silver at Archery World Cup in Antalya: The Indian mixed recurve team of Deepika Kumari and Atanu
Das has won silver at the Archery World Cup in Antalya, Turkey. In the final crash, however, India lost to South Korea.
4. Jitu Rai wins silver in ISSF World Cup: India’s shooter Jitu Rai won the silver medal in the 10m air pistol at the ISSF
World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan. It was his 6th world cup medal. Felipe Almeida Wu of Brazil received the gold medal
and Jin Jongoh of Korea stood third. It was the second medal in a World Cup this season for the 28-year-old Jitu, who
had won the free pistol gold in the first World Cup in Bangkok.

5. India to host Junior Men's Hockey World Cup in December: Lucknow will be hosting the Junior Men’s Hockey
Cup this year in December. The event will feature 16 teams - defending champions Germany, Argentina, Australia,
Austria, Belgium, Canada, Egypt, England, Germany, India, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, South Africa, New Zealand,
Pakistan and Spain. Before this tournament, the women’s Hockey Junior World Cup will take place in Santiago, Chile,
from 24th November to 4th December.

6. Australia wins Hero Hockey Champions Trophy 2016: Australia has won Hero Hockey Champions Trophy 2016 at
the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre in London. It defeated India 1-0 in a shoot-out. With this, Australia has
claimed the Champions Trophy title for the 14th time. Germany defeated Great Britain to win the bronze medal.
7. Indian Paralympic Committee gets recognition: The Paralympic Committee of India has recently recognised by the
International Paralympics Committee (IPC). The Indian Paralympic Committee is headed by Rao Inderjit Singh, who is
the President.

8. India set for the maiden show at U17 Futsal World Cup: India has been invited by futsal’s (a variant of association
football) governing body the Association Mundial de Futsal (AMF), by a wild card entry to take part in U17 Futsal
World Cup. The event will be held in month of July from 11 July to 20th July. Total 12 competing countries will take
part in this tournament.

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9. USA wins FINA Women's Water Polo World League final: Defending champion US has defeated Spain by 13-9 at
the 2016 FINA Women’s Water Polo World League super final. Australia bagged the bronze medal by defeating China
11-3. USA's player Courtney Mathewson was named the most valuable player, the best scorer went to Spain’s Roser
Tarrago and Australia's Lea Yanitsas was named the best goalkeeper.
10. Usain Bolt wins 100m race in 9.88 seconds at Racers Grand Prix 2016: Top ace Jamaican athlete Usain Bolt has
bagged the men’s 100 metres at the inaugural Jamaica National racers grand prix. He completed the distance in just 9.88
seconds giving his second best timing ever. Nickel Ashmeade (9.94s) & Yohan Blake (9.94s) came at the second and
third position respectively.

11. Argentina women win record seventh FIH Champions Trophy title: Argentinian women's team has claimed their
seventh Champions trophy over reigning World and Olympic champions, The Netherlands, in the finals. The Final was
played at the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre. They recorded a win over the Netherlands with 2-1. In the bronze
medal game, USA battled to a shootout victory over Australia, giving the team a first Champions Trophy medal since
winning bronze at the 1995 event in Mar del Plata, Argentina.

12. 'A new world' is official slogan of Rio Olympics: The Rio Olympics organizing committee has revealed the official
slogan for the first Olympic and Paralympic Games in South America: “A New World”. The motto and manifesto for
Rio Olympics 2016 was revealed in a ceremony at Barra Olympic Park. For Rio 2016, the core values of the slogan and
the manifesto are unity, respect for diversity and the will for change.

13. Sanjeev Rajput wins silver in ISSF World Cup: Indian shooter Sanjeev Rajput has bagged the silver medal in the
men’s 50 metre rifle 3 position event of the ISSF World Cup in Baku. Rajput shot 456.9 points in this tournament. Croa-
tia’s Petar Gorsa won the gold medal with 457.5, while Hyeonjun Kim of Korea bagged the bronze after he shot 445.5.

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Important Days of the Month

Date Name Theme

June 1 World Milk Day -

June 5 World Environment Day Zero tolerance for the illegal trade in
wildlife
June8 World Oceans Day Healthy Oceans, Healthy Planet

June 13 International Albinism Awareness Day -

June 14 World Blood Donor Day Blood connects us all

June 15 World Elder Abuse Awareness Day -

June 17 World Day to Combat Desertification and Draught -

June 19 International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Con- -

flict
June 20 World Refugee Day -
June 21 International Yoga Day -
June 21 International Hydrography Day Hydrography – the key to well-
managed seas and waterways

June 23 International Widows Day -

June 23 United Nations Public Service Day -
June 23 International Olympics Day -
June 25 Day of Seafarer At sea for all
June 26 International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking Listen first
June 26 International Day in Support of Victims of Torture
June 29 10th National Statistics Day Agriculture & Farmer’s Welfare

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