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  1. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched record 20 satellites in a single mission from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, using Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C-34. It's ISRO;s Highest number of Satellites launched in a single mission -
    1. Main satellite in this mission was Indias latest earth observation satellite Cartosat-2. It was PSLVs 35th continuous successful launch of its total 36th flight.
    2. Other 19 satellites were from USA (13), Canada (2), Germany (1) and Indonesia (1). 2 satellites were from Chennais Sathyabama University and College of Engineering, Pune (COEP).
    3. Cartosat-2 will be used for mapping and Land Information System (LIS) and Geographical Information System (GIS).
    4. The total weight of all the satellites launched by PSLV-C34 were 1,288 kg, with the 19 co-passenger satellites weighing 560kg.
    5. At the internationla scale, NASA in 2013 launched 29 satellites in a single mission and Russia in 2014 launched 33 satellites in one launch.
    6. Other satellites
      1. LAPAN A3 (Indonesia) - Micro-satellite to be used for earths magnetic field monitoring and surveillance purpose.
      2. BIROS (Germany) - To be used for remote sensing of high temperature events.
      3. SKYSAT GEN 2-1 - Micro -satellite developed by Googles subsidiary company Terra Bellas.
      4. Flock-2P Earth imaging satellites (USA)
      5. 12 Dove Earth Imaging Satellites (USA)
      6. M3MSAT (Maritime Monitoring and Messaging Microsatellite) (Canada) - To be used for study and collection of automatic identification system signals from low earth orbit.
      7. GHGSat-D (Canada) - Earth observation satellite. It will be used for measuring the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases (GHGs) especially Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and Methane (CH4).
      8. Sathyabamasat (From Chennai's Sathyabama University) - to collect data on greenhouse gases (GHGs).
      9. Swayam (by College of Engineering, Pune) - Aims to provide point to point messaging services to the HAM (amateur radio) community.
  2. IT Firm Tech Mahindra acquired UK-based digital transformation firm BIO Agency Ltd in an all-cash deal of 45 million pounds.
  3. Mercer's Cost of Living Survey 2016 -
    1. The ranking for 2016 includes 209 cities across five continents. New York City is used as the base city for all comparisons and currency movements are measured against the US dollar.
    2. Kinshasa, which is ranked sixth in the survey, appears for the first time in the top 10 cities.
    3. Five Indian cities were also ranked in the list. They are:
    4. Indian Cities - Mumbai (82), New Delhi (130), Chennai (158), Kolkata (194), Bangalore (180)
    5. Top 10 cities in list -

      Rank

      City

      Country

      1

      Hong Kong

      China

      2

      Luanda

      Angola

      3

      Zurich

      Switzerland

      4

      Singapore

      Singapore

      5

      Tokyo

      Japan

      6

      Kinshasa

      Democratic Republic of the Congo

      7

      Shanghai

      China

      8

      Geneva

      Switzerland

      9

      N'Djamena

      Chad

      10

      Beijing

      China

  4. International Cricket Council (ICC) suspended Sri Lankas fast bowler Shaminda Eranga from bowling due to illegal bowling action.
  5. World Bank Group released mid-year India Development Update 2016 Financing Double-Digit Growth
    1. It says that economy was lifted to a higher growth path by demand from urban households and public investments, despite the fact that other key growth engines (Rural households, Trade, Agriculture) are stalled.
    2. Oil bonanza directly benefited government and exceeded its revenue collection targets.
    3. Manufacturing and services sectors expanded 7.4 and 8.9 %, respectively.
    4. Inflation abated primarily because of lower food prices. Lower inflation raised real incomes and allowed RBI to cut interest rates, which favored financially-connected urban households.
    5. To remain on this growth path, challenge for India is to activate stalled engines - agricultural growth, rural demand and trade.
    6. It expects Indias economic growth to be at 7.6 % in 2017, followed by a 7.7 % in 2017-2018 and 7.8 % in 2018-2019
    7. States are responsible for 57 % of the spending, which is 16 % of GDP.
    8. Transfer of grants to states increased by 0.7 % of GDP in FY16 compared to the budget estimate of a net increase of 0.5 %.
    9. Rajasthan and Kerala spent over 70 % of additional resources on health, education and infrastructure.
    10. Key Reform resuired for Financial Sector - Accelerate ongoing structural transformation of sector toward one that is more market-oriented and competitive. Second, address NPA challenge.
  6. 21 June - Second UN International Yoga Day.
    1. 2016 Theme - Connect the Youth.
    2. This years observance highlights important role healthy living plays in realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which were adopted by all 193 UN member states in 2015.
    3. Government organised National Event of Mass Yoga Demonstration at the Capitol Complex in Chandigarh.
    4. Andhra Pradesh Postal circle released Information booklet, Stamps on Yoga” and 12 stamps on Suryanamaskarams”.
    5. first-ever ‘National Yoga Olympiad organized by NCERT for all government and government-aided schools students from June 18 to 21, 2016. Theme of Olympiad is ‘Yoga for Health and Harmony.
    6. History - International Yoga Day was pitched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in September 2014. In December 2014, UNGA had unanimously adopted India-led resolution to observe 21st June as ‘International Day of Yoga.
    7. Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das today said Yoga education will be included in the state's school curriculum.
  7. 21 June - World Hydrography Day. Hydrography – the key to well-managed seas and waterways.
  8. Qatar-based Indian banker Raghavan Seetharaman has been awarded by Green Economy Visionary award at 2016 Union of Arab Banks International Banking Summit held in Rome.
  9. Founder and Chairperson of Reliance Foundation, Nita Ambani became first Indian to be nominated as a member of International Olympic Committee (IOC) headquartered at Lausanne, Switzerland. Election will be held at 129th IOC Session in Rio de Janeiro in August 2016. If elected, she will continue as an IOC member until age of 70.
  10. Indian Field athlete Tintu Luka won silver medal in 800 meters in Josef Odlozil Memorial Athletics Meet in Prague (Czech Republic).
  11. Switzerland voters rejected an unconditional basic income (UBI) proposal in referendum that proposed to provide a fixed Unconditinal Basic Income (UBI) to all Swiss citizens and foreigners who have been residents in Switzerland for at least 5 years. Amount suggested was 2500 US dollars a month to each adult and 640 US dollars for each child. It would have cost additional 25.62 billion USD to the government.
  12. Rajiv Gauba Committee on Decongestion of Traffic in Delhi submitted its report to Ministry of Urban Development.
  13. India signed MoU with USA to facilitate hassle-free entry of Indians into America at selected airports, with quick security clearances for pre-approved, low-risk travellers from India.
  14. Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) commissioned a 195 megawatt (MW) unit at Muzaffarpur thermal power station in Bihar.
  15. Uttar Pradesh Government appointed judicial commission under Mirza Imtiyaz Murtaza to probe into recent Mathura violence.
  16. Ridley Scott will be honoured with 30th American Cinematheque Award.
  17. Pedro Pablo Kuczynski elected as President of Peru.
  18. Gunit Chadha resigned as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Asia Pacific region of Deutsche Bank.
  19. Maharashtra Government decided to use plastic waste, along with tar, to build roads. It is aimed at improving durability and longevity of asphalt roads and reducing soil pollution caused by plastic.
  20. 20 June - World Refugee Day.
  21. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley released commemorative silver coin to mark 300th martyrdom day of Sikh General Banda Singh Bahadur. He was given title of Bahadur by 10th Sikh Guru Guru Gobind Singh.
  22. Mori village in East Godavari (Andhra Pradesh) will be developed as a smart village of global standards by using digital tools, real-time information, and uninterrupted internet connectivity.
  23. Annual Ambubachi Mela held at Kamakhya temple (Assam).
  24. USA will provide over 3 billion USD support to Afghan forces by 2020 and donated 20 million aid to United Nations' effort to help refugees who fled fighting in Iraqi city of Fallujah.
  25. Nagpur (Maharashtra) and Chinese city of Jinan signed pact for becoming sister cities, to exchange ideas and technology in field of education, urban planning, youth affairs, and sports.
  26. As per list by Dutch campaign group PAX Worldwide, State Bank of India (SBI) is only Indian bank named in Hall of Shame list of 158 banking institutions that have invested heavily in companies making cluster bombs. Maximum number of 74 banks are from US, followed by China (29) and South Korea (26).
  27. South India Bank announced its Remit2India Service, Currently available for remittance from Europe, Australia, UAE, and Singapore.
  28. Book A Life in Diplomacy , written by Maharajakrishna Rasgotra has been released.
  29. Six Indian World War I (WW-I) heroes become part of Britains new digital archive - Risaldar Badlu Singh (Punjab), Chatta Singh (Uttar Pradesh), Darwan Singh Negi (Uttarakhand), Lance Naik Lala (Himachal Pradesh), Gabar Sing Negi (Uttarakhand), Gobind Singh (Rajasthan).
  30. S.K. Roy resigned as chief of Life Insurance Corp (LIC).
  31. Anju Bobby George resigned as President of Kerala Sports Council.
  32. Leading Payments platform PayPal appointed Anupam Pahuja as Managing Director (MD) and Country Manager for India operations.
  33. British tennis star Andy Murray won Queen's Club tournament for record fifth time. He defeated Milos Raonic (Canada).
  34. Mercedes  F1 driver Nico Rosberg (Germany) won 2016 European Grand Prix.
    1. 2016 Formula One season -
      1. Total 21 Grand Prix Races to be organized across the world in 2016. Calendar is -
        1. Grand Prix Date Winner
          Australia 20 March Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Baharain 3 April Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          China 17 April Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Russia 1 May Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Spain 15 May Max Verstappen (Netherlands)
          Monaco 29 May Lewis Hamilton (Britain)
          Canada 12 June Lewis Hamilton (Britain)
          Europe 19 June Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Austria 3 July  
          Britain 10 July  
          Hungary 24 July  
          Germany 31 July  
          Belgium 28 August  
          Italy 4 September  
          Singapore 18 September  
          Malaysia 2 October  
          Japan 9 October    
          USA 23 October  
          Mexico 30 October  
          Brazil 13 November  
          Abu Dhabi 27 November  
  35. Government approved a Special Package for employment generation and promotion of exports in Textile and Apparel sector -
    1. Major benefits to textile and apparel sector in 3 years include increase of 30 billion USD, Investment of 74000 crore rupees and Creation of 1 crore jobs. Salient features of package are -
      1. Employee Provident Fund Scheme Reforms - Government shall bear entire 12 % of employers contribution of EPF Scheme for new employees of garment industry for first 3 years who are earning less than 15000 rupees per month. Ministry of Textiles shall provide additional 3.67 % % of employers contribution amounting to 1170 crore rupees over next 3 years. EPF shall be optional for employees earning under 15000 rupees, so that workers will be left with more money in hands.
      2. Increasing overtime caps - Overtime hours for workers will not be exceeded 8 hours per week in line with International Labour Organisation (ILO) norms.
      3. Introduction of fixed term employment
      4. Additional incentives under ATUFS - Package breaks new ground in moving from input to outcome based incentives by increasing subsidy under Amended-Technology Up gradation Fund Scheme (TUFS) from 15 to 25 % for garment sector as a boost to employment generation.
      5. Enhancing scope of Section 80JJAA of Income Tax Act, 1961 - Looking at the seasonal nature of garment industry, the provision of 240 days under Section 80JJAA of Income Tax Act would be relaxed to 150 days for garment industry.
  36. Government approved for amending Agreement between India and Belgium for avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income. 
  37. Government asked all state governments to link Aadhaar with caste and domicile certificates to be issued to school students. It is first initiative to be undertaken by Government to issue these certificates to the students within 60 days when they are studying in Class V or VIII.
  38. Ken Miyauchi has been appointed as President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group.
  39. Government extended deadline for implementing Ujjwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY) by a year to March 31, 2017. With this, states shall take over 75% of ailing DISCOM (Power Distribution companies) debt as on 30th September, 2015 by 31st March, 2017 by issuing Bonds.
  40. Government approved mega auction of all available spectrum (more than 2300 Megahertz) across 7 bands, to make way for largest-ever spectrum auction in country. Airwaves in 7 spectrum bands to be auctioned are 700, 800, 900, 1800, 2100, 2300 and 2500 MHz.
    1. This auction for the first time will sell 700 MHz band which is preferred for offering high-speed broadband services. 700 MHz band is approximately 70% cheaper than in the 2100 MHz band (used for 3G services). Thus will increase internet penetration in country.
  41. Government approved to set up a 10000 Crore Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS) under Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) for extending support to Startups, in line with Start up India Action Plan. FFS will be used for the contribution of various Alternative Investment Funds (AIF) registered with Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to extend funding support to Startups.500 crore rupees already has been provided to the corpus of FFS in the fiscal 2015-16 and 600 crore rupees has been earmarked for 2016-17.
  42. Expert Committee under Anand Desai has submitted its report about examining Specific Relief Act 1963. Committee recommended that courts intervention in public works should be minimal, specific performance of contracts be made the rule and damages or compensation be the exception and a separate class of contracts for public utility contracts should be created.
  43. Book All of Us in Our Own Lives, authored by Manjushree Thapa has been released.
  44. Government decided to allow export of missile systems to certain friendly countries. 10 % of missile capacity will be permitted to be exported if producers manage to get export orders subject to parameters set by government.
  45. A bronze statue of Shri Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose been unveiled at the Indian cultural centre premises in Malaysia.
  46. Bipin R Patel appointed as President of Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) for2016-17.
  47. Department of electronics and information technology (DeitY) approved setting up a greenfield electronic park within Infovally complex IT hub in Bhubaneswar (Odisha).
  48. Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) and Boeing laid foundation laying of a new facility in Hyderabad for its joint venture named Tata Boeing Aerospace (TBAL), to co-produce Boeing AH-64 Apache helicopter fuselages and other aerostructures.
  49. 2016 World Investment Report by UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) -
    1. India ranks 10th in FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) inflows. Indias FDI inflows have increased to 44 billion dollars in 2015 as compared to 35 billion dollars in 2014.
    2. Top 10 Countries are: United States, Hong Kong, China, Ireland, Netherlands, Switzerland, Singapore, Brazil, Canada and India.
    3. United States with 380 billion dollars FDI inflows has topped the list. China with FDI inflows at 136 billion dollars is ranked third.
  50. Maharashtra Government gave minority status to Jews in state as per the provisions of the Maharashtra State Minorities Commission Act, 2004.
  51. Report The Rise of Environmental Crime has been released by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and INTERPOL. As per report, environmental crimes grew up by 26 % larger than previous estimates. Environmental crime is the 4th largest criminal enterprise after drug smuggling, counterfeiting and human trafficking.
  52. 9th India Chem 2016 event will be held in Mumbai from September 1-3, 2016. Purpose is to develop Indian Chemical and Petrochemical Industry.
  53. Noted Indian footballer Syed Nayeemuddin will be conferred with the 2016 Mohun Bagan Ratna (Mohun Bagan Jewel) Award.
  54. Navy Officer Ashutosh Pednekar became first Indian to participate and win International tournaments in sport of Racketlon.
  55. Rashmi Narzary has won the 2016 Sahitya Akademi Bal Puraskar award (English) for her collection of short stories His Share of Sky.
  56. Lakshmi Saravana Kumar, Tamil writer won 2016 Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar award (Tamil) for his novel “Kaanakan”.
  57. Haryana government will set up an AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy) University, the first-of-its-kind in India. It will be formed by upgrading Shri Krishna Government Ayurvedic College in Kurukshetra.
  58. Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) launched ‘IRCTC Air mobile app to enable booking of air tickets for travel within India and abroad at lower prices.
  59. Kerala Tourism won 4 awards at the 11th ‘FilmAT international film festival dedicated to tourism, art and ecology in Poland.
    1. Responsible Tourism initiative of Kerala Tourism won - Best Promotional Social Campaign, Protection of Nature, and Eco-Food categories.
    2. Tourism boards ad film The Great Backwaters of Kerala” won ‘Best Editing Award.
  60. Maharashtra won first edition of Indias Bad Bull Softball League by defeating Punjab.
  61. Geneva-based NGO Advisors 2016 Top 500 NGOs List -
    1. Bangladesh-based Non-Government organization (NGO) BRAC ranked No. 1 in the list of World rankings. BRAC has acquired top position because of its holistic approach to fight against poverty. Doctors Without Borders (Switzerland) is at second place.
  62. Parliamentary committee under chairmanship of E.M. Sudarsana Natchiappan has been constituted to review Model code of conduct (MCC) for election polls and suggest ways to check malpractices ahead of polls.
  63. Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has set up Suresh Mathur committee to study scope of title insurance in Indian market.
  64. Former MP and cricketer Chetan Chauhan has been appointed as chairman of National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT).
  65. India and UAE will set up a joint parliamentary panel to enhance relations and facilitate their visits to promote cooperation to tackle security issues and challenges facing the region.
  66. Scientists at USA's University of California created worlds first microchip that has 1,000 processors, fastest chip designed in a university lab. This energy-efficient microchip is named as KiloCore and has a maximum computation rate of 1.78 trillion instructions per second and contains 621 million transistors.
  67. 17 June - World Day to Combat Desertification. 2016 theme is Inclusive cooperation for achieving Land Degradation Neutrality.
  68. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) unveiled Basic Trainer Aircraft (BTA) HTT-40. HTT-40 stands for Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40.
  69. Ministry of Power launched URJA- Urban Jyoti Abhiyaan Mobile application for Urban Power Distribution Sector. It has been developed by Power Finance Corporation (PFC).
  70. PM Narendra Modi inaugurated Duraiappah Stadium in Jaffna (Sri Lanka), which was renovated by India. PM Modi joined in via video conferencing.
  71. Indian mixed recurve team of Deepika Kumari and Atanu Das won silver medal at Archery World Cup held in Antalya (Turkey).
  72. International Astronomical Union (IAU) named a crater on Mars as Langtang after one of villages most affected by 2015 earthquakes in Nepal.
  73. Virginia Raggi has been elected as first female mayor of Italy's capital Rome.
  74. Kannada Movie Thithi won 2 awards - Best Film and Best Script Writers at 19th Shanghai International Film Festival, under Asia New Talent Awards Category.
  75. Punjab became first state to launch a special fund Mukh Mantri Hepatitis C Relief Fund to provide free treatment for patients affected by Hepatitis C.
  76. Government banned use of potassium bromate (KbrO3) as a food additive as it is carcinogenic (Causes Cancer). A study by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) found that it is widely used in bread and refined flour. Study found that 84% of 38 commonly available brands of pre-packaged breads, including buns and pav tested positive for potassium bromate and potassium iodate.
  77. 2016 Top 500 list of supercomputers -
    1. Chinas Sunway TaihuLight supercomputer is worlds most powerful supercomputer system Sunway-TaihuLight can perform calculations with speed of 124.5 petaflops per second (Pflops). It is worlds first system to surpass 100 petaflops. Sunway TaihuLight has been developed by the Chinas National Research Centre of Parallel Computer Engineering and Technology (NRCPC). It can perform 93 quadrillions calculations per second.
      1. One petaflop is equal to one quadrillion sustained floating point operations per second.
    2. Other supercomputers in list -
      1. Second - Intel-based Chinese Tianhe-2 supercomputer (speed of 33.86 Pflops)
      2. Third - Titan of the Department of Energy (speed of 17.59 Pflops)
  78. Assam Government launched Maitree Ek Gyan Yatra initiative to link primary schools to high schools to colleges. Purpose is to change the mindset of teachers, as in some places in states teachers of a school considered it below their dignity to teach lower level students.
  79. Government eased foreign direct investment (FDI) norms for 9 sectors to for job creation and ease of doing business in country. With these changes, India becomes most open economy in world for FDI.
    1. Food products - 100% FDI under government approval route has been approved.
    2. Defence - FDI beyond current limit of 49% has now been permitted through government approval route, in cases resulting in access to modern technology in country or for other reasons.
    3. Pharmaceutical - 74% FDI under automatic route in greenfield pharma and brownfield pharma has been approved and require government approval for over 74%.
    4. Aviation - 100% FDI (upto 49 % under automatic route).
    5. Greenfield and Brownfield Airport Projects - 100% FDI (upto 49 % under automatic route).
    6. Animal Husbandry - 100% FDI allowed in Animal Husbandry (including breeding of dogs), Aquaculture, Pisciculture and Apiculture under Automatic Route.
    7. Single Brand Retail Trading - Entities undertaking single brand retail trading have been relaxed from local sourcing norms up to 3 years. Entities engaged in single brand retail trading of products having ‘state-of-art and ‘cutting edge technology have been relaxed from local sourcing norms up to 5 years.
  80. Noted Telangana poet and lyricist Guda Anjaiah passed away.
  81. Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) and India Ports Global Private Limited (IPGPL) signed MoU for implementation of additional works on the Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project (KMTTP) in Myanmar.
  82. Government imposed 20 % customs duty on sugar exports to boost domestic supply and check prices.
  83. Joo Hyunghwan, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy of South Korea Visited India. During His visit, India and South Korea launched a platform ‘Korea Plus’ to promote and facilitate Korean Investments in India.
  84. Noted Odia film actress Manimala Devi passed away.
  85. Bharti Group Chief Sunil Bharti Mittal has been elected chairman of International Chambers of Commerce (ICC).
  86. PM Narendra Modi outlined RAPID as a five-point mantra to tax officials to reform and broaden direct tax net base. RAPID Stands for Revenue, Accountability, Probity, Information, Digitization. It was announced during 2 day Rajasva Gyan Sangam held in New Delhi.
  87. Finance Ministry announced that non-resident Indians (NRIs) can now open National Pension Savings (NPS) accounts online i.e. through eNPS (using Aadhaar Card / PAN card). Earlier, NRIs could open NPS accounts only through paper based applications by approaching Bank offices.
  88. US President Barack Obama nominated Indian-origin Kamala Shirin Lakhdhir as USA's ambassador to Malaysia.
  89. US based private space company SpaceX successfully launched 2 commercial satellites - EUTELSAT 117 West B and ABS-2A, using SpaceXs reusable Falcon 9 rocket.
  90. Scientists from USA proposed an ambitious project Human Genome Project-Write (HGP-Write), to create a genetic blueprint or synthetic human genome. The project aims to develop technologies to more efficiently and more cheaply write DNA (synthetic genome).
    1. The objective HGP-Write is to write genetic code (DNA of life) rather than reading the genetic code. The project envisions on same scale as the Human Genome Project-Read (HGP-Read) which had sequenced human genome in 2003. It seeks to reduce cost of engineering DNA segments synthetically in laboratory.
  91. Microsoft will design mobile application for Human Resources Development (HRD) Ministrys SWAYAM platform. Under this, ministry will launch 2000 Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) for over 3 crore students in 2016.
  92. The Indian Air Force (IAF) inducted 3 women fighter pilots for first time - Bhawana Kanth, Avani Chatuvedi and Mohana Singh.
  93. Railway Ministry launched 2 policies related to Parcel Cargo Train Express and Parcel Leasing - Liberalised Comprehensive Parcel Leasing Policy (CPLP) and Liberalised policy on Parcel Cargo Express Trains (PCET).
  94. AYUSH Ministry released a Yog Geet (Yoga song) for celebrating 2nd International Yoga Day on 21 June 2016. It has been written by Dheeraj Saraswat, Music by Sumanto Ray and sung by Gandhar T. D. Jadhav and Ms. Gatha Jadhav.
  95. State Bank of India (SBI) launched IT Innovation Start-up Fund of 200 Crores to support start-ups in financial technology (fintech) space. It will provide assistance of up to 3 crore rupees to a company registered in India for promoting information technology for banking and related activities.
  96. Australia won 2016 Champions Trophy of Hockey by defeating India by 3-1 score. It was played in London (UK).
  97. Book Goa Undercover has been authored by Madhumita Bhattacharyya.
  98. Yuzvendra Chahal is only player to represent India in chess and cricket. His name is listed in World Chess Federations official site. Beside this, he is playing for Indian national cricket team, which is touring Zimbabwe.
  99. Andhra Pradesh obtained a telecom licence and will issue phone numbers starting with the 797 series from August 2016. It indirectly got the opportunity to start an internet based telephone service ‘without requiring any further registration’ after it obtained permission from the Telecom Ministry for starting its own IPTV — Internet Protocol based Television network — as part of its Fibre Grid project.
  100. Supriya Sahu appointed as Director General of Doordarshan.
  101.  Suresh Chandra is appointed as Union Law Secretary.
  102. Prayut Chan-o-cha, Thailand's Prime Minister Visited India.
    1. Two agreements signed between India and Thailand - MoU between Indias Nagaland University and Thailands Chiang Mai University, Agreement for extension of Cultural Exchange Programme (CEP) between both countries.
  103. Baltimores National Aquarium will create an Oceanside dolphin sanctuary. It will be first of its kind sanctuary for marine mammals in North America.
  104. 14 June - World Blood Donor Day. 2016 Theme Blood connects us all and 2016 Slogan is Share life, give blood.
  105. Indian diabetes specialist Shashank S Shah conferred with Vivian Fonseca Scholar Award 2016.
  106. Karnataka Bank won CFBP (Council for Fair Business Practices) Jamnalal Bajaj award for fair business practices.
  107. Russia launched world's biggest, most powerful icebreaker, named Arktika. It is 568 feet long and powered by 2 nuclear reactors. It can break through ice 13 feet deep. Russia is only nation to possess Nuclear Powered Ice Breakers.
  108. Kiran Bedi (Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry) launched a mobile app (HelpAge SOS App) to help senior citizens in distress.
  109. St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) summit held in Russia. Attended by Dharmendra Pradhan (Minister of State (I/C) for Petroleum and Natural Gas) on India's Behalf.
  110. 3,049 people registered in Guinness book of world records for performing largest Karma dance ever. Event was held inDistrict Mandla (Madhya Pradesh).
  111. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu flagged off India's first timetabled freight train, Cargo Express, from Delhi to Bengaluru. Aims is to reduce delay and uncertainty over the time schedule for delivery of goods.
  112. Ganges-Danube Cultural Festival of India held in Hungary. Festival showcases Indian culture, i.e. dance, music, yoga, film and exhibitions.
  113. Kolkata-Ashuganj-Tripura transit facility under revised Inland Water Transit and Trade Protocol between India and Bangladesh became operational. The facility is running through a land and river route crossing Bangladesh territory cuts the Kolkata-Agartala distance via Siliguris ‘chicken neck from 1600 km to 800 km and reduced time of journey from 30 days (via Siliguri corridor) to 10 days.
  114. Noted Hollywood actress Anne Hathaway named as Global Goodwill Ambassador for UN Women.
  115. As per recent study by International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), hot drinks (beverages) consumed at temperatures above 65 Celsius can cause esophageal cancer. Report states that drinks are not carcinogenic, but actually the high temperatures at which they served causes cancer.
  116. Scientist Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic (Columbia University) has grown a living bone in lab to repair large defects in head and face of patient. The new technique uses autologous stem cells derived from a small sample of the recipients fat and precisely replicates the original anatomical structure of the bone.
  117. Government approved Ramayana and Krishna Circuits under Swadesh Darshan Scheme -
    1. Ramayana Circuit - 11 tourist destinations across 6 states. Uttar Pradesh: Ayodhya, Shringhverpur Nandigram and Chitrakoot (ii) Bihar: Sitamarhi, Buxar and Darbhanga (iii) Telangana: Bhadrachalam (iv) Chattisgarh: Jagdalpur (v) Karnataka: Hampi (vi) Tamil Nadu
    2. Krishna Circuit - 12 destinations across 5 states. (i) Gujarat: Dwarka (ii) Rajasthan: Nathdwara, Jaipur and Sikar (iii) Uttar Pradesh: Mathura, Vrindavan, Barsana, Gokul, Nandgaon and Govardhan (iv) Odisha
  118. United States launched its secret spy satellite NROL-37 by United Launch Alliances (ULA) Delta IV Heavy rocket, worlds most powerful rocket.
  119. 13 June - United Nations International Albinism Awareness Day.
  120. India's First case of a baby born with a rare genetic disorder called ‘Harlequin Ichthyosis‘ occured in Nagpur (Maharashtra). This disease affects 1 in 3 lakh babies and causes thickening of the skin across body.
  121. Ranu Langthasa appointed as chairperson of NC Hills Autonomous Council.
  122. Former captain of England Cricket team, Donald Carr passed away.
  123. USA Womens Team won FINA Women Water Polo World League Super Final in China by defeating Spain.
  124. Mercedes  F1 driver Lewis Hamilton from Britain won 2016 Canada Grand Prix.
    1. 2016 Formula One season -
      1. Total 21 Grand Prix Races to be organized across the world in 2016. Calendar is -
        1. Grand Prix Date Winner
          Australia 20 March Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Baharain 3 April Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          China 17 April Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Russia 1 May Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Spain 15 May Max Verstappen (Netherlands)
          Monaco 29 May Lewis Hamilton (Britain)
          Canada 12 June Lewis Hamilton (Britain)
          Europe 19 June  
          Austria 3 July  
          Britain 10 July  
          Hungary 24 July  
          Germany 31 July  
          Belgium 28 August  
          Italy 4 September  
          Singapore 18 September  
          Malaysia 2 October  
          Japan 9 October    
          USA 23 October  
          Mexico 30 October  
          Brazil 13 November  
          Abu Dhabi 27 November  
  125. India approved assistance of Rs 4.8 Crore to Nepal for construction of a college building in capital Kathmandu (Koteshwor Multiple Campus).
  126. Brijesh Mehra is appointed as head of corporate banking at RBL (Formerly Ratnakar Bank Limited).
  127. DBS Bank appointed Niraj Mittal as Managing Director and Head of Institutional Banking for India.
  128. Stonegate Bank (Based in Florida, USA) issued first credit card that can be used in Cuba. Until now, Americans have generally had to bring cash to Cuba and change it either at state institutions that impose a 10 % penalty or informal exchanges with locals.
  129. DCB Bank launched Bengaluru's first ATM that accepts Aadhaar number and Aadhaar fingerprint (biometric) instead of ATM/Debit Card and PIN to dispense cash.
  130. To make agriculture production system more flexible to climate change, Haryana government approved a Rs 25 crore project that will benefit 75,000 farmers.
  131. Government is developing National Waterway-1 (NW-1) under Jal Marg Vikas Project with assistance from World Bank. NW-1 refers to 1620 km Haldia-Allahabad stretch of River Ganga. The project would be completed over a period of six years at an estimated cost of Rs. 4,200 crore.
  132. Railways signed agreement with Odisha Government for formation of joint venture Company to develop railway infrastructure in state.
  133. Rio Olympics 2016 organising committee revealed official slogan for first Olympic and Paralympic Games in South America - A new world.
  134. 12 June - World Day Against Child Labour. 2016 Theme is End child labour in supply chains – Its everyones business.
  135. Australian Open Badminton 2016 -
    1. Men's Singles - Hans-Kristian Vittinghus (Denmark) won by defeating Jeon Hyeok-Jin (South Korea)
    2. Women's Singles - Saina Nehwal (India) won by defeating Sun Yu (China)
  136. Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal has been re-elected to IATA(International Air Transport Association)'s Board of Governors for 5th successive tenure.
  137. Maharashtra government will celebrate 21st day of every month as Yoga day across all schools, colleges and universities in state.
  138. Telengana Government will set up a Pharma City on 12,500 acres of land in Rangareddy and Mahbubnagar districts.
  139. Urban Development Ministry sanctioned 37.5 crore rupees for development of Machilipatnam town (Andhra Pradesh) under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme.
  140. Vibrant Gujarat summit will be held during January 10 to 13, 2017 with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) as its national partner.
  141. State Bank of India (SBI) and Spain's CaixaBank signed pact to provide loans to Indo-Spanish joint ventures and local enterprises.
  142. Sansad Ratna Awards given to 5 MPs - BJP's PP Chaudhary, Heena Vijaykumar Gavit, Shrirang Appa Barne, Raajeev Shankarrao Satav, Shivaji Adhalrao Patil and P Rajeev.
  143. Government made a selection committee headed by P K Sinha to shortlist candidates for Reserve Bank of India governor post.
  144. M Beena is appointed as Managing Director of Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation.
  145. Bihar Government inaugurated 'Child Labour Tracking System (CLTS)' in order to keep track of rescued child labour for their proper rehabilitation and financial help of Rs 25,000 for every rescued child labour.
  146. Software Firm Microsoft announced to acquire professional social platform LinkedIn for $26.2 Billion USD.
  147. Israel elected to chair a UN committee for first time in 71-year history of United Nations. Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon won the chair of the legal affairs committee of General Assembly by picking 109 Votes from 193 members.
  148. Shiyal Bet Island in Gujarats Amreli district got electricity supply for the first time since independence after Pashchim Gujarat Vij Company Limited (PGVCL) started supply to island through a 6-km undersea cable.
  149. CR Sasikumar is appointed as Managing Director of State Bank of Travancore (SBT).
  150. Indian Boxing Council (IBC ), a licensing body for professional boxers in India has been granted affiliation by Commonwealth Boxing Council.
  151. Haryana Government laid foundation stone of Jai Jawan Awas Yojna (JJAY) at Bahadurgarh. It is an initiative to provide affordable housing to serving and retired JCOs and Other Ranks.
  152. HDFC Ergo General Insurance acquired L&T General Insurance for Rs 551 crores.
  153. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar launched Right to Public Grievance Redressal Act for quick redressal of peoples' complaints / grievances from Government officials within 60-days.
  154. Facebook appointed Umang Bedi as managing director for India Operations.
  155. Bharti Airtel appointed Ashok Ganapathy as Director (Airtel Business).
  156. Adobe appointed Kulmeet Bawa as Managing Director (MD) for South Asia.
  157. Deshauna Barber, a serving Army Reserve officer has crowned as Miss USA 2016. She became first Military Person to be crownwd Miss USA. Miss Hawaii Chelsea Hardin came first runner-up and Miss Georgia Emanii Davis is second runner-up.
  158. Fortune 500 Top Companies List 2016 (62nd Annual Rankings). Top 10 Companies are - Walmart ($482 Billion Revenue), Exxon Mobil ($246 Billion), Apple ($233 Billion), Berkshire Hathaway ($210 Billion), McKesson ($181 Billion), United Health Group ($157 Billion), CVS Health ($153 Billion), General Motors ($152 Billion), Ford Motor ($149 Billion).
  159. USA returned over 200 stolen cultural artifacts to India, some dating back 2,000 years. The estimated cost of these artifacts is around US$ 100 million.
  160. 4 Indian women - Arundhati Bhattacharya (SBI Chief), Chanda Kochhar (ICICI Bank Chief), PepsiCo Chief Indra Nooyi and Biocon Founder Kiran Mazumdar are in new list of Forbes worlds 100 most powerful women. List is topped by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
  161. Shahid Rasool has been appointed as new director of Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA).
  162. Noted Russian Chess Player Victor Korchnoi passed away.
  163. International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved 1.5 billion USD loan to Sri Lanka to support its economy.
  164. Peter Thomson (Fiji) has been elected as President of 71st session of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
  165. Noted Hindi novelist Mudrarakshas passed away.
  166. Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) launched a scheme for setting up of 1000 Mega Watt (MW) Wind Power Project connected to transmission network of Central Transmission Utility (CTU), to facilitate supply of wind power to the non-windy states at a price discovered through transparent bidding process.
  167. Australian Great Barrier Reef rodent (known as Bramble Cay melomys) has become the first mammal species driven to extinction by human-induced climate change.
  168. Government approved Civil Aviation Policy 2016 -
    1. This is for the first time since Independence that an integrated Civil Aviation Policy has been brought out by the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA).
    2. Civil Aviation Policy 2016 aims at -
      1. Make India 3rd largest civil aviation market by 2022 from current 9th position.
      2. Increase domestic ticketing to 30 crore by 2022 from 8 crore in 2015.
      3. Increase airports having scheduled commercial flights from 77 in 2016 to 127 by 2019.
      4. Increase cargo volumes to 10 million tonnes i.e. by 4 times by 2027.
    3. Under Regional Connectivity Scheme - enabling Indians to fly at Rs. 2,500 per hour at unserved airports.
    4. For starting international operations, requirement of 5 years of domestic flying removed.
    5. Ensure availability of quality certified 3.3 lakh skilled personnel by 2025.
    6. Development of green-field airports and heliports.
    7. Areas covered in the Policy - Regional connectivity, 5/20 Requirement for International Operations, Safety, Air Transport Operations, , Route Dispersal Guidelines, Bilateral traffic rights, Code-share agreements, Fiscal Support, Immigration and Customs, Airports developed by State Governments (Private / PPP mode), Aeronautical ‘Make in India.+
  169. Indian tennis player Leander Paes become only tennis player in world and first Indian to make 7th appearance at the Olympics. He will participate in Rio Olympics in August 2016.
  170. Bethool Ajmal from Kerala named as winner of The Little Miss Princess of Asia 2016 at a beauty pageant held in Georgia.
  171. G Kalyanakrishnan is appointed as Chief Executive of Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC).
  172. India announced to sell its Home-made Supersonic Cruise Missile to Vietnam.
  173. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Visited Japan.
  174. Prime Minister Narendra Modi completed his 5 Nations Visit to Afghanistan, Switzerland, Qatar, USA, Mexico. Highlights are -
    1. Afghainistan
      1. PM Narendra Modi conferred with Amir Amanullah Khan Award, Afghanistan’s highest civilian honour.
      2. PM Narendra Modi and Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani jointly inaugurated Afghan-India Friendship Dam in Herat province in Western Afghanistan. This Dam was earlier known as Salma Dam. It is built on Hari River amd meant to generate 42 MW of power and irrigate 75000 hectares of land.
    2. Qatar
      1. India and Qatar signed 7 agreements which include agreement to share intelligence to combat ‘hawala’ transactions and terror financing between the two countries. Other Agreements are -
        1. National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), Ministry of Finance, Government of India and Qatar Investment Authority (QIA)
        2. Cooperation and Mutual Assistance in Customs Matters
        3. Financial Intelligence Unit – India (FIU-IND) and the Qatar Financial Information Unit (QFIU) concerning cooperation in the exchange of intelligence related to money laundering, 
        4. Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, the Government of Republic of India and the National Qualifications Authority/Supreme Education Council, Government of the State of Qatar
        5. Tourism 
        6. Health 
        7. Youth and Sports
    3. Switzerland
      1. Switzerland supported India's membership in the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). Switzerland agreed to provide mutual support to India for becoming non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.
    4. USA
      1. PM Modi delivered an address to the joint meeting of the USA Congress.
      2. USA welcomED India entry into Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR).
      3. USA recognised India as an important strategic partner in defense which will give India access to better quality and dual-use technology.
      4. There was also forward movement on the proposal to set up six nuclear reactors in India. Nuclear Power Corporation of India and Westinghouse Electric Co., a U.S. unit of Toshiba Corp., will begin engineering and site-design work for reactors.
      5. Further Agreements between India and USA Include exchange of Terrorist Screening Information, co-operation on Wildlife Conservation and Combating Wildlife Trafficking, Technical Arrangement between the Indian Navy and the United States Navy concerning Unclassified Maritime Information Sharing and Cooperation in Gas Hydrates.
      6. India and US WILL set up 2 financial assistance programmes worth $60 million for supporting Indias clean energy initiatives including solar power and other renewables (includes creation of a $20 million US-India Clean Energy Finance (USICEF) initiative).
      7. India signed Pact with USA for co-operation in development of INS Vishal (India's second Aircraft Carrier). It is scheduled to be commissioned in 2025.
    5. Mexico
      1. Mexico also supported India's membership of Nuclear Suppliers Group or NSG, a 48-member club of nations that control trade in advanced nuclear technologies.
  175. Airports Authority of India (AAI) is conferred with National Award for its Roof Top Solar Power initiatives. AAI has installed 4.8 megawatt peak power (MWp) rooftop solar plants at 13 airports, generating 51 lakh units of solar energy.
  176. According to Forbes 2016 list of worlds 100 highest-paid athletes, Portugese Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo is at top with earnings of $88 million, followed by Lionel Messi, LeBron James, Roger Federer, Kevin Durant and Novak Djokovic.
  177. Book Indias Wars: A Military History (1947-1971) has been authored by Air Vice Marshal Arjun Subramaniam.
  178. Indias First Mr. Universe Manohar Aich passed away. He won Mr. Universe title in 1952 and was nicknamed ‘Pocket Hercules due to his shiort height.
  179. Scientists of University of Sheffield identified process of removal of DNA molecules from iconic double-helical structure. New research has unlocked a crucial part of mystery as to how human DNA can replicate and repair itself.
  180. Government approved MOU with Taiwan for co-operation in Agriculture and Allied Sector, Air Services.
  181. Government approved MoU between ISRO and Canadian Space Agency (CSA) on cooperation in field of outer space.
  182. Government approved Indian membership of International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) by signing MOU with Helmholtz Centre Potsdam GFZ German Research Centre for geosciences.
  183. Government approved enhancement of retirement age Non-Teaching and Public Health Specialists of Central Health Service from 62 years to 65 years and and Doctors of General Duty Medical Officers (GDMOs) sub-cadre of Central Health Service (CHS) to 65 years.
  184. Government approved Agreement with Saudi Arabia on Labour Co-operation for General Category Workers’ Recruitment.
  185. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved disinvestment of 10% equity of Housing and Urban Development Corporation Ltd. (HUDCO), from Government's shareholding of 100%. Equity capital of HUDCO is Rs.2001.90 crore and Net worth is approximately Rs. 7,800 Crore.
  186. India and Switzerland signed an early agreement for implementation of AEOI (Automatic Exchange of Information) between two countries, to curb flow of Black money.
  187. To boost community participation in government schools, HRD ministry launched Vidyanjali scheme inviting volunteers to hold public speaking, story telling, play acting sessions and participate in other co-scholastic activities.
  188. Government approved signing 15 years contract with International Seabed Authority for undertaking exploration and other developmental activities related to Poly-Metallic Sulphides (PMS). The exploration and other developmental activities has been allotted in the area of 10,000 sq km in parts of Central and South – West Indian Ridges (SWIR), in Indian Ocean.
  189. Canadian novelist Margaret Atwood chosen for 2016 Pen Pinter Prize.
  190. 8 June - World Oceans Day. Theme for 2016 is Healthy oceans, healthy planet.
  191. A cheerful white tiger cub “Soohorang” has been named as official mascot for South Korea’s 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.
  192. government constituted Financial Sector Search and Recruitment Committee headed by P K Sinha to decide on members and heads of financial regulatory agencies.
  193. Sudarsan Pattnaik, noted Indian sand artist won gold medal in Peoples Choice Prize at 2016 world championship festival of sand sculpting Russe in Bulgaria for his sand sculpture Drugs kill Sports.
  194. Tata Power Renewable Energy Limited will acquire renewable energy company Welspun Renewables for 9,249 crores, considered largest transaction in renewables space in India. This will help Tata Power to grow its clean energy portfolio to 2.3 gigawatts (GW).
  195. Rakesh Ranjan Prasad appointed as Chief Justice of Manipur High Court.
  196. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued guidelines on Scheme for Sustainable Structuring of Stressed Assets (S4A), with an aim to strengthen lenders ability to deal with stressed assets and to put real assets back on track. Highlights of the Scheme. RBI formulated the Scheme for Sustainable Structuring of Stressed Assets (S4A) as an optional framework for resolution of large stressed accounts.
  197. First All India Women Journalists Workshop organized by Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) in New Delhi.
  198. 2019 AFC Asian Cup to be hosted by United Arab Emirates (UAE). It is a quadrennial (once in 4 years) men’s football championship organised by Asian Football Confederation.
  199. Government launched campaign ‘Swachh Yug’ to make all villages along banks of Ganga Open Defecation Free (ODF).
  200. 5th edition of joint naval exercise 2016 Sahyog-Hyeobleod between Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and South Korea held in Bay of Bengal (Chennai).
  201. N Ramachandran, president of Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has been honoured with Olympic Order by International Olympic Committee (IOC) for his outstanding services to the Olympic movement.
  202. As per recent reports, Pollutants PM2.5 and ground level Ozone are responsible for maximum number of premature mortalities in India.
  203. T Haque is appointed head of newly created land policy cell in NITI Aayog.
  204. 10-day long military exercise Anakonda 2016 started in Poland as largest training exercise of Polish Armed Forces in 2016. Purpose is to check abilities of NATO to defend territory of theeastern flank of North Atlantic Alliance. It involves 31,000 soldiers from 19 NATO countries and five partner countries.
  205. India joined a group of nearly 40 nations that have signed a Europe-led clampdown on tax evasion and corruption.
  206. NR Visakh from Tamil Nadu became first Indian to win Mumbai Mayor’s International Open Chess Tournament 2016 (9th edition).
  207. Book The Gene: An Intimate History has been written by Siddhartha Mukherjee.He is Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Emperor of All Maladies.
  208. University Grants Commission (UGC) has constituted a 5-member committee under V S Chauhan for pay revision of academic staff of Universities and Colleges.
  209. Karnataka government announcemd to abolish tax on agricultural income in State Budget for 2016-17.
  210. Per Lodin (Sweden) appointed as chief military observer and head of UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP).
  211. Axis Bank launched India's first internationally-listed certified green bond to finance climate change solutions around the world at London Stock Exchange (LSE). Proceeds of the bond will be invested by Axis Bank in green energy, transportation and infrastructure projects, to play a role in reinforcing India’s commitment to produce 175,000 MW of renewable power by 2022.
  212. Legendary Canadian ice hockey player Gordie Howe passed away.
  213. Google and Tata Trusts jointly launched Internet Saathi program in Purulia (West Bengal), as part of Googles Helping Women Get Online campaign.
  214. Railways Ministry flagged off Champaran Satyagrah Express train in Motihari (Bihar), to mark 100 years of the historic Champaran Satyagraha (movement) launched by M K Gandhi in 1917.
  215. Global Peace Index (GPI) 2016 by global think Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) for 163 countries -
    1. India ranked 141 on List (Up from 143 in 2015).
    2. Top 5 peaceful countries - Iceland (1st), Denmark (2nd), Austria (3rd), New Zealand (4th), Portugal (5th).
    3. Least 5 peaceful countries - Syria (163rd), South Sudan (162nd), Iraq (161st), Afghanistan (160th), Somalia (159th), Yemen (158th) .
    4. Indias neighbours -Bhutan (13th), Nepal (78th), Bangladesh (83rd), Sri Lanka (97th), China (120th) and Pakistan (153rd).
  216. V. Vaithilingam is elected as Speaker of Puducherry legislative Assembly.
  217. Sikkim became first state to have an open government data portal at sikkim.data.gov.in.
  218. Satya Pal Jain appointed as a part-time member of 21st Law Commission of India.
  219. Railways launched 3 passenger service initiatives - Janani Sewa for mothers (hot milk, hot water and baby food will be available at railway stations), optional catering in Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains and children's menu on trains.
  220. Noted journalist Inder Malhotra passed away.
  221. Noted theatre personality Achyut Lahkar passed away . He was konwn as father of the Bhryamyman (Mobile Theatre of Assam).
  222. Scientists from Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in Iceland's Columbia University discovered a way to trap greenhouse gas (GHG) carbon dioxide (CO2) deep underground by changing it into a rock, as part of CarbFix project.
    1. In CarbFix project, scientists pumped CO2 and water, 540 metre underground into volcanic rock at Hellisheidi geothermal power plant. In this method, CO2 is dissolved with water (carbonation) is pumped into volcanic rocks called basalts. Later, CO2 solidifies into a storable solid mineral (calcite).
    2. In the research it was found that 95% of the gas was captured and converted in two years.
  223. Indian American author Akhil Sharma won 2016 International Dublin Literary Award for his semi-autobiographical novel Family Life.
  224. China successfully launched 23rd BeiDou Navigation Satellite to support its global navigation and positioning network. It is 23rd satellite in BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, which is being developed as an alternative to GPS (Global Positioning System) of USA.
  225. Norway became first country in world to prohibit deforestation and make government's public procurement policy deforestation-free.
  226. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) announced proposed names for 4 new elements that were added in periodic table in January 2016.
    1. All these 4 elements are super heavy and are synthetic in nature (created in laboratory). They completed seventh row of periodic table of elements.
    2. These new elements are
      1. Nihonium (Nh) - Created by a group of Japanese researchers. Nihon means Japan in Japanese.
      2. Moscovium (Mc) - Named after Russian Capital Moscow.
      3. Tennessine (Ts) - Named after American state of Tennessee. Indian scientist Susanta Lahiri played important role in discovering it
      4. Oganesson (Og) - Named after Russian researcher Yuri Oganessian. It is second element to be named after a living scientist.
  227. Assams Guwahati became first city to have its own city animal after Kamrup metropolitan district administration declared Gangetic River dolphin (Locally known as Sihu) as its official mascot. Less than 2,000 Gangetic river dolphins remain in Brahmaputra River along Guwahati.
  228. Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed loan agreement with India for providing new loan of 200 million USD to upgrade 176 km of roads in Jharkhand.
  229. Lucknow city of Uttar Pradesh will host 2016 Junior Mens hockey World Cup.
  230. Election Commission (EC) asked Government to amend electoral law Representation of People Act (RPA), 1951 to empower it to postpone or cancel elections if evidence emerges of use of money to influence voters in affected areas, by inserting new clause 58 B in RPA 1951. It will allow declaring invalid of election if money is used to lure voters.
  231. Government decided to form a new reserve battalion to be named after great warrior Maharana Pratap. It will be called Maharana India Reserve Battalion.
  232. Amber Gurung, Known as Father of modern Nepali music and composer of Nepals national anthem passed away.
  233. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its second bi-monthly monetary policy review 2016-17 has kept key policy rates unchanged. Current Rates are -
    1. Policy Rates
      1. Repo - 6.50 %
      2. Reverse repo - 6.0 %
      3. Marginal standing facility (MSF) rate - 7.00 %
    2. Reserve Ratios
      1. Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) - 4.0 %
      2. Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) - 21.25 %
    3. Other forecast
      1. Growth forecast - Unchanged at 7.6% for current fiscal
      2. Inflation target - Unchanged at 5% for January 2017
  234. As Per World Health Organization (WHO), Thailand became first Asian country to eliminate mother-to-child HIV transmission.
  235. International Tennis Federation banned tennis player Maria Sharapova (Russia) for 2 years over doping charges.
  236. World Bank report on global economic -
    1. Global growth forecast is cut to 2.4% in 2016 and at 2.8% in 2017, due to slower recovery in advanced economies.
    2. India will remain one of fastest growing major economies, ahead of China, for next 3 years. Indias growth projections have been marginally lowered by 0.2% to 7.6% for 2016-17 and 7.7% in 2017-18.
  237. BP Statistical Review of World Energy -
    1. India surpassed Japan to become worlds third-largest oil consumer. Top 4 are - USA (19.39 million bpd), China (11.96 million bpd), India (4.1 Million bpd), Japan (3.9 Million bpd).
    2. Oil remained the world’s leading fuel, accounting for 32.9% of global energy consumption. sCoal is second-largest fuel by market share (29.2%). Natural gas’ market share of primary energy consumption stood at 23.8%.
    3. In 2015, global demand for primary energy grew only 1% which is slower than 10-year average.
  238. Microsoft's Report on Malware Infection Index (MII) in the Asia-Pacific region -
    1. Pakistan topped in list of 19 countries, having maximum Infections. India is placed at 8th position.
    2. Top 5 Malware Infected Nations are - Pakistan (1st), Indonesia (2nd), Bangladesh (3rd), Nepal (4th), Vietnam (5th).
  239. Indian-origin professor Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya awarded prestigious Regius Professorship in Manufacturing by Queen Elizabeth II. He is founder of Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) and has been granted Regius Professorship for his contribution in manufacturing.
  240. Russia has honoured UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon with Order of Friendship Award.
  241. Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved 100 million USD loan to strengthen irrigation system and improve water management in Vennar sub-basin of Cauvery Delta in Tamil Nadu.
  242. 5 June - World Environment Day. 2016 Theme is Go Wild for Life (ZERO TOLERANCE FOR THE ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE). Host Country is Angola.
    1. Indian Navy Pledges 1.5 Per Cent of its Works Budget Towards Renewable Energy Generation.
    2. Government committed to take up massive tree plantation drive in upto 200 cities across country to create Urban Forests. Environment Ministry launched ‘Urban Forestry Scheme in Pune, where 6000 saplings will be planted to create an ‘urban jungle on 80 acres of land.
    3. Minister of Railways Suresh Prabhu flagged off Tiger Trail Circuit Train between Mumbai and Delhi.
  243. India and USA signed MoU to join global terror database maintained by Terrorist Screening Center (TSC) of USA. USA recognised India as a major defence partner which will pave way to bring it closest US allies for defence related trade and technology transfer.
  244. 2015 Good Country Index (GCI)
    1. Top 5 Countres - Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Germany.
    2. Libya was ranked as the least good country in the world in 2015 .
    3. India has been placed at 70th position in list of 163 countries n Overall Index. India's Rank in sub-indexes -
      1. International peace and security - 27th
      2. prosperity and equality - 124th
      3. Health and wellbeing - 37th
      4. Science and technology - 62nd
      5. Culture - 119th
      6. Climate - 106th
  245. Noted American boxer Muhammad Ali passed away. He was former three times world heavyweight champion (1964, 1974 and 1978). He was also known globally for his civil rights activism.
  246. Assam Assembly passed Ease of Doing Business Bill 2016 to facilitate ease of doing business in state, to attract fresh investment in state.
  247. Scientists from Harvard University (USA) created a unique bionic leaf (2.0) that solar energy to split water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen and hydrogen-eating bacteria to produce liquid fuels from CO2. It can convert solar energy to biomass with 10% efficiency, much higher than the 1% seen in fastest growing plants.
  248. Indian judoka Avtar Singh qualified for 2016 Rio Olympic Games to be held in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil).
  249. French Open 2016 -
    1. Men's Singles - Novak Djokovic (Serbia) defeated Britains Andy Murray. It was Djokovics 12th major title and he became the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four Grand Slams at once.
    2. Women's Singles - Garbine Muguruza (Spain) won by defeating Serena Williams (USA).
    3. Men's Doubles - Spanish pair of Feliciano López and Marc López won by defeating Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan pair from USA.
    4. Women's Doubles - French pair of Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic defeated Russian pair of Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina.
    5. Mixed Doubles - Leander Paes (India) and Martina Hingis (Switzerland) won b6y defeating Sania Mirza (India) and Ivan Dodig (Croatia).
  250. World's first 3D-printed aircraft THOR (Test of High-tech Objectives in Reality) unveiled by Airbus at International Aerospace Exhibition in Germany.
    1. THOR has just 3 parts, makin its lighter, faster and cheaper. It weighs 21 kilo grams and less than 4 metres long. All it parts (except electrical elements) are 3D printed from a substance called polyamide.
  251. Himachal Pradesh became first state to have a State Data Centre (SDC), designed using green data centre concept. It will offer 101 people-oriented services online through an integrated data base. It would integrate websites of various departments and all services can be accessed through the integrated data base, saving time and money spent on creation of infrastructure.
  252. Delhi government approved its first Solar Policy, aiming at making Capital an environment-friendly solar city. It Recommends installation of 1 GW (1,000 Mega Watts) solar power capacity in Delhi by 2020, which is proposed to be doubled to 2 GW by 2025.
  253. Gujarat government announced its first IT and Electronics Start-up Policy,wapplicable only to IT and electronics related start-ups. Under this, State Government will develop 50 new incubators to mentor and guide 2,000 start-ups in the next five years.
  254. Rajasthan Government launched mobile application RajVayu for sharing information about air quality index of Jaipur, Udaipur and Jodhpur. Rajasthan becomes first state in country to launch such app for sharing information about air quality index of cities.
  255. 2016 Global Retail Development Index (GRDI) released by London-based business consultancy A T Kearney -
    1. India is ranked at second position, jumping 13 positions from last year (2015) among 30 developing countries on ease of doing business.
    2. Sharp pick up in GDP growth and better clarity regarding FDI regulations have helped India achieve a second ranking.
    3. Indias retail sector expanded at annual growth rate of 8.8% between 2013 and 2015, with annual sales crossing US 1 trillion dollars.
  256. Bollywood actress Dia Mirza was named as the ambassador for Swachh Saathi (student internship) programme.
  257. 04 June - United Nations’ (UN) International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression.
  258. Under impetus of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and French Space Agency (CNES), space agencies of more than 60 countries agreed to engage their satellites, to coordinate their methods and their data to monitor human-induced greenhouse gas emissions.
  259. 15th Asia Security Summit 2016 organized by International Institute of Strategic Studies in Singapore. Attended by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on India's Behalf.
  260. 19th Plenary Session of Contact Group on Piracy off Coast of Somalia (CGPCS) held in Mahe (Seychelles). India chosen to co-chair important Working Group on Improving Maritime Situational Awareness (MSA) in Region.
  261. OP Jindal Global University (JGU) launched book The Education President, highlighting President Pranab Mukherjee's contribution to field of higher education.
  262. India and Asian Development Bank Signed 120 Million USD Loan Agreement to Modernize Irrigation and Improve Water Management in Odisha.
  263. Plenary session of 105th Session of International Labour Conference held in Geneva (Switzerland), attended by Shankar Aggarwal (Secretary (Labour and Employment)).
  264. Piyush Goyal (Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy) launched Surya Mitra mobile App, developed by National Institute of Solar Energy. This App can handle thousands of calls simultaneously and can efficiently monitor all visits of Suryamitras.
    1. National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) is organizing Suryamitra skill development programs at various locations across country. Duration of this skill development program is approx 90 days, sponsored by Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, Govt. of India.
  265. Paradip Port Trust received Best Performance Award from Shipping Ministry, in efficiency parameters for year 2015-16.
  266. Noted journalist K.K. Katyal passed away. 
  267. Ministry of Commerce & Industry approved establishment of Mega Leather Cluster at Nellore district (Andhra Pradesh).
  268. Jadavpur University (Kolkata) won 12th National Youth Parliament Competition for Universities and Colleges conducted by Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.
  269. Book The World in 2050- Striving for a More Just, Prosperous and Harmonious Global Community, written by Harinder S. Kohli has been released.
  270. Andhra Pradesh Government's AP Food Processing Society signed agreement with National Research Development Corporation (Ministry of Science & Technology) to strengthen agribusiness & food processing sector by establishing Smart Agribusiness Platform Networks of Andhra Pradesh (SAPNAP). These will focus on creation of enabling ecosystem for accelerated growth of agribusiness by involving all the stakeholders.
  271. 20th Ex MALABAR-2016, Joint Naval Exercise of India, USA & Japan started. Harbour phase will be held at Sasebo (Japan) from 10 - 13 June 16 and sea phase in Pacific Ocean from 14 - 17 June 16.
  272. Ministry of Heavy Industry & Public Enterprises constituted 3rd Pay Revision Committee for executives of Central Public Sector Undertakings under chairmanship of Justice Satish Chandra (Retd.).
  273. Ministry of Information & Broadcasting framed New Print Media Advertisement Policy for Directorate of Advertising & Visual Publicity (DAVP), to promote transparency and accountability in issuing of advertisements in print media -
    1. Policy introduces a New Marking System for newspapers. Advertisements shall be released by DAVP to Newspapers based on marks obtained by each newspaper
      1. Circulation certified by ABC/RNI (25 marks)
      2. EPF subscription for employees (20 marks)
      3. Number of pages (20 marks)
      4. Subscription to wire services of UNI/PTI/Hindustan Samachar (15 marks)
      5. Own printing press (10 marks)
      6. Annual subscription payment to PCI (10 marks)
    2. Certification by RNI/ABC if circulation exceeds 45,000 copies per publishing day, for circulation upto 45,000 copies per publishing day certificate from Cost/Chartered Accountant/ Statutory Auditor Certificate/ ABC is mandated.
    3. Policy also stipulates empanelment procedure for Multi-Editions of a newspaper. It states that, whenever copies of one edition of a newspaper are printed from more than one centre and if contentcis different, they would be treated as different editions. Each edition is required to have a separate RNI registration number.
    4. Policy has classified Newspaper/Journals into three categories namely Small (<25,000 copies per publishing day), Medium (25,001-75,000 copies per publishing day) and Big (>75,000 copies per publishing day).
  274. Bombay Stock Exchange received RBI approval to start an online bidding platform for Sovereign Gold Bond scheme, to offer an online bidding platform for collecting bids from members and their clients for SGB issue.
  275. P Dhanapal re-elected as Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Speaker.
  276. Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) signed agreement with Gujarat International Finance Tec-City Company Limited (GIFTCL) and GIFT SEZ Limited (GIFT SEZ) to establish a representative office in India.
  277. German Parliament passed resolution to recognize massacre of Armenians by Ottoman forces during First World War (1915) as genocide.
  278. Kerala Government announced to use Cricket Legend Sachin Tendulkar's name in campaign against liquor and drug abuse in state.
  279. Ashok Lavasa appointed as Finance Secretary of India.
  280. Book The Unseen Indira Gandhi , authored by KP Mathur has been released.
  281. National Buildings Construction Corporation Limited (NBCC) will launch cleaning River Ganga Project in Bihar. In December 2015, the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation hired NBCC to carry out feasibility study of river for entry-level activities in Bihar.
  282. 7th Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM7) and the inaugural Mission Innovation (MI) Meet held at San Francisco (USA). India was represented by Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences Harsh Vardhan. India announced to double investment in Clean Energy Research in next five years (72 million USD to 145 million dollars).
  283. A.K. Mittal appointed as Member Engineering of Railway Board.
  284. Dr. Thomas Mathew appointed as Additional Secretary to the President 
  285. Prabhas Kumar Jha appointed as Secretary in Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.
  286. Government approved setting up India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) as a Public Limited Company under Department of Posts with 100% Government of India equity. Total expenditure is 800 Crores.
  287. Asian Development Bank and Government of India signed agreement for $200 million loan to upgrade 176 Kilometers of State roads Jharkhand.
  288. Government started Asia's First Gyps Vulture Re-introduction Programme on Pinjore (Haryana).
  289. Asia's largest technology trade fair Computex Taipei 2016 held in Taiwan, to promote internet computing ecosystems.
  290. Switzerland-based International Institute for Management and Development (IMD)s world competitiveness rankings 2016 -
    1. Hong Kong is at top, followed by Switzerland, USA, Singapore, Sweden, Denmark, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway and Canada.
    2. India has been ranked 41 out of 61 countries in the IMD
    3. The IMD measures how well countries manage all their resources and competencies to facilitate long-term value creation.
  291. Noted actor and Comedian Razzak Khan passed away.
  292. Sri Lankan Bowler Nuwan Kulasekara retired from Test Cricket.
  293. Serbian Tennis Player Novak Djokovic became first tennis player to earn more than $100 million in prize money. He is followed by Switzerland's Roger Federer.
  294. Forbes' America's Richest Self-made Women' list 2016 -
    1. Diane Hendricks (owner of ABC Supply) is at top with worth of 4.9 billion USD.
    2. Two Indian-origin women on List - Neerja Sethi (Syntel), Jayshree Ullal (Arista Networks)
  295. India gifted 2,000 bicycles to poor dalit girls in government schools of Nepal to encourage them to enrol in schools.
  296. K Chari is appointed as Managing Director of State Bank of Mysore (SBM).
  297. India joined Hague Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation (HCoC), a global ballistic missile proliferation regime. India has joined to highlight its readiness to further strengthen global non-proliferation objectives.
  298. 1 June: Global Day of Parents.
  299. 1 June - World Milk Day, started by UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 2001. Noted that India's National Milk Day is celebrated on 26 November, in memory of Verghese Kurien (Father of India's White Revolution).
  300. Government extended retirement age of government doctors to 65 years, to strengthen healthcare sector in the country.
  301. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar inaugurated a submarine assembly workshop at Mazgaon Dock Shipbuilders in Mumbai.
  302. Government signed MOU with USA to enhance cooperation in field of wildlife conservation and combating wildlife trafficking.
  303. India and Morocco launched India-Morocco Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IMCCI) in Rabat (Moroccan capital), on the occasion of Indian Vice President Hamid Ansari visiting Morocco.
  304. R Seetharaman (Group CEO of Doha Bank) has been honoured with 2016 Green Economy Visionary Award for his contribution in environment-friendly activities.
  305. Government approved MOU with French Civil Aviation Authority (Direction Generale de lAviation Civile (DGAC)) to implement Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) for implementation of Practices of International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
  306. PM Narendra Modi released National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP) to make India more disaster resilient. It is based on 4 priority themes of Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-30 - Understanding disaster risk, Improving disaster risk governance, Investing in disaster risk reduction and Disaster preparedness.
  307. Odisha became first state to give social welfare benefits to transgender people, including BPL Cards, housing, pension and food grains.
  308. Navin Agarwal appointed as Director General (DG) of National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA).
  309. P Sreeramakrishnan elected as speaker of 14th legislative assembly of Kerala.
  310. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) launched DND (do not disturb) mobile app for telecom subscribers to register their complaints against pesky calls and SMSes.
  311. BRICS' New Development Bank (NDB) will issue its first yuan-denominated bonds to finance sustainable development projects, after receiving a rating from international ratings agencies as well as getting authorities approval.
  312. Asias largest annual security forum Shangri-La Dialogue held in Singapore to talk about security issues in Asia-Pacific region, organised by London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). India represented by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.
  313. India and Tunisia signed MoU for co-operation in Information Technology (IT) and promotion of traditional handicrafts.
  314. Government approved MOU with Brunei Darussalam for co-operation in Youth and Sports Affairs.
  315. 23 June - International Widows Day
  316. 23 June - United Nations Public Service Day.
  317. 23 June - International Olympic Day.
  318. Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Harsh Vardhan visited UK for 5th Indo-UK Science and Innovation Council Meeting (SIC) in London. UK and India agreed to work in two major initiatives in Solar Energy and Nano Material Research.
  319. Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) signed MoU with Jadavpur University (Kolkata) to establish Jagadish Chandra Bose Centre for Advanced Technology (JCBCAT).
  320. MOU signed between Rural Development Ministry and ISRO for geo-tagging assets created under MGNREGA in each gram panchayat, to check leakages and for effective mapping of terrain for future developmental works.
  321. Andhra Pradesh joined Centre's debt revival scheme for state power distribution companies - Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY). It will bring benefits of approx 4400 crores. Under UDAY, 13 states have signed MoU till date. Andhra Pradesh being latest.
  322. Sujoy Bose has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) Ltd.
  323. PM Narendra Modi released book The Birds of Banni Grassland, prepared by Scientists of Gujarat Institute of Desert Ecology (GUIDE). It is a compilation of the research work, relating to more than 250 species of birds found in the Banni area of Kutch (Gujarat).
  324. Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare Minister Radha Mohan Singh launched Crop Manager for Rice-based Systems (CMRS), a web based App for better crop and Nutrient management released for farmers in bihar.
  325. Government approved MoU with Tanzania for cooperation in water resources management and development. 
  326. Government approved MoU between Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and Royal Civil Service Commission (RCSC) Bhutan, to strengthen relationship between both. 
  327. National Institute of Animal Welfare (NIAW) and Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi (JNU) signed Agreement to conduct academic programmes to focus on development of Animal Welfare Sciences.
  328. Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) signed MoU with Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) to launch Initiative on Solar for Healthcare. It will focus on providing effective health care delivery at the last mile.
  329. Indian Naval ship Satpura arrived in Hawaii to participate in 25th edition of Exercise RIMPAC.
    1. Exercise RIMPAC is largest biennial multilateral naval exercise in world, held in Western Pacific Ocean.
    2. Current (25th) edition of the exercise is scheduled off Hawaii from 30 June - 04 August 16 and is likely to be attended by 27 countries.
  330. Minister for Human Resource Development, Smriti Zubin Irani launched Prashikshak - teacher education portal. Vision is to strengthen District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs) and bring quality teachers into Indian school education system. 
  331. Minister of Railways Suresh Prabhu launched NIVARAN portal as an online system for redressal of service related grievance of railway employees.
  332. IIT-Kanpur professor Sanjay Mittal has been awarded 25th GD Birla Award for Scientific Research for 2015, for his contributions in area of Mechanics.
  333. Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) appointed Anil Kumble as head coach of Indian Cricket Team.
  334. Neil O'Brien, a pioneer of quizzing in India and educationalist passed away.
  335. Russian ice hockey winger Artemi Panarin won 2015-16 season Calder Memorial Trophy at US National Hockey League (NHL’s) Rookie of the Year at NHL Awards ceremony.
  336. Mahasthangarh, 3rd century BC archaeological site in Bogra (Bangladesh) has been declared as South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) cultural capital for 2016-17.
  337. Scientists at University of California have developed worlds first 1,000-processor chip, named KiloCore. It has 1000 independent programmable processors and has highest clock-rate processor ever designed at university level.
  338. China established its first dark sky reserve for astronomical observation in Tibetan prefecture of Ngari.
    1. Dark-sky reserve is an area that is kept free of artificial light pollution, with purpose of promoting astronomy.
  339. Colombian government and FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) rebels signed a historic ceasefire and disarmament agreement. It is considered as one of last steps toward ending a half-century conflict that has killed thousands of people in Colombia.
  340. Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved 500 million USD loan to build a bridge across Ganga River in Bihar. Loan funds will be used to build 9.8 km road bridge in Bihar on Ganga River. It will be Indias longest river bridge.
  341. People of United Kingdom (UK) in a historic Brexit referendum voted in favour of leaving European Union (EU) by 52 % votes in Favor.
    1. This is second referendum on UK’s relationship with the EU. In 1975, in a referendum on whether the UK should stay or leave the EU, the country voted for staying with 67.2% votes.
    2. UK Prime Minister David Cameron announced resignation, wef from October 2016.
    3. Leaving the EU now has triggered a 2-year ‘withdrawal process’ which will determine future of UK’s relationship with EU. At the end of withdrawal process, UK exits single market and EU countries will start imposing tariffs on British products.
    4. Why UK wants to leave EU
      1. Since formation of EU, several countries joined it and UK thinks that since then EU’s hold over everyday aspects of these countries has increased.
      2. Britain can save billions of pounds every year that it spends as EU fees, without much gain in return.
      3. UK also thinks that EU’s some constraints have imposed many opposing rules on Britain’s business.
    5. What does UK’s exit means
      1. Henceforth, UK will be able to secure independent trade deals with important countries such as India, China and US.
      2. It will have control over wide areas like employment, health, law and safety and immigration policies.
    6. What critics believe
      1. By leaving EU, UK would not be able to obtain better trade terms with other countries. It would face problems with different regulations of EU.
      2. Leaving EU will not help UK to reduce immigration as countries that trade with EU from outside have higher rated of immigration, including from EU countries.
    7. Impact on India
      1. UK’s exit from the EU will affect the flow of FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) in India over the short-medium term and long term periods.
      2. Indian information technology (IT) companies based in the UK with large work forces that offer services to Europe Union member countries will be hit.
      3. Indian Rupee may get hit and may get weakned due to strenthening of USD (United States Dollar).
  342. Scientists at University of Bristol (England) have developed a new stem cell-containing bio-ink that allows 3D printing of complex living tissues that may be used for surgical implants.
  343. South African Indian-origin lawyer Yasmin Sooka has been appointed to chairman of UN commission (committee) to monitor human rights situation in South Sudan.
  344. Indian social entrepreneur Zubaida Bai has been named among ten 2016 Global Compact SDG Pioneers, an initiative launched by United Nations.
  345. Indian sprinter Dutee Chand has qualified for 2016 Rio Olympics in womens 100metre event scheduled to be held in August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil).
  346. Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approved purchase of 145 Ultra-Light Howitzers (ULH) guns from USA, at cost of approx 4875 Crores.
  347. 25 June - Day of the Seafarer. 2016 Theme is At Sea For All.
  348. BrahMos Aerospace for the first time demonstrated integration of supersonic cruise missile system BrahMos on Sukhoi SU-30 MKI fighter aircraft.
  349. PM Narendra Modi launched ‘Smart City Mission involving 83 projects from 20 different cities in the country, at a cost of 1770 crore rupees. These projects are related to water supply projects, sewage treatment plants, solid waste management under Swachh Bharat Mission and development of green and open spaces under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT).
  350. Chile won 2016 Copa America Football tournament by defeating Argentina in a penalty shootout. Host country was USA.
  351. Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park (PNHZP) in Darjeeling (West Bengal) received a male snow leopard named Makalu from Londons Dudley Zoological Gardens. The male snow leopard will be used for breeding conservation programme at PNHZP.
  352. Beijing Based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) approved first set of loans totalling US 509 million dollars to finance projects in four countries viz. Bangladesh, Pakistan, Indonesia and Tajikistan. These loans will have an interest rate of London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) plus 1.15 % and a repayment period of 25 years with 5 years in grace period.
    1. Bangladesh - US 165 million USD loan for a Power Distribution System Upgrade and Expansion Project.
    2. Indonesia - US 216.5 million USD loan for a National Slum Upgrading Project.
    3. Pakistan - US 100 million USD loan for Shorkot-Khanewal Section of National Motorway M-4.
    4. Tajikistan - US 27.5 million USD loan for the Dushanbe-Uzbekistan Border Road Improvement Project.
  353. Lionel Messi announced retirement from Argentinean Football team. He made this announcement after Argentina was defeated by Chile in the 2016 Copa America final in penalty shootout, in which he missed the penalty.
  354. India became 35th member of Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). It would be mutually beneficial in furtherance of international non-proliferation objectives.
    1. India was able to successfully enter this multilateral export control regime with the unopposed support of all 34 MTCR Partners. Earlier in 2015, Indias bid for the membership to the group had failed after it was blocked by Italy.
    2. By becoming MTCR member, India will now be able to buy high-end missile technology and also can enhance its defence joint ventures with Russia. Indias inclusion to the MTCR will also strengthen its own export controls.
  355. Indian shooter Jitu Rai won silver medal at ISSF (International Shooting Sport Federation) Shooting World Cup held in Baku (Azerbaijan).
  356. Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) launched BGR-34, an anti-diabetic ayurvedic drug designed for type 2 Diabetes mellitus, jointly developed by National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) and Central Institute for Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP).
  357. Expanded Panama Canal reopened by Panama Government, with much-larger generation of container ships opw able to pass through isthmus of Panama.
    1. Panama Canal expansion project was approved in October 2006 after it was favoured by national referendum by a 76.8% majority. Estimated cost for project was $50 billion.Panama Canal expansion project is also called as the Third Set of Locks Project.
    2. New lane of canal runs for 77km. It doubles the existing capacity of the Panama Canal by adding a new lane of traffic allowing for a larger number of ships.
    3. About Panama Canal -
      1. Panama Canal is an artificial 77 km waterway that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across Isthmus of Panama and is a key conduit for international maritime trade.
      2. It was opened in 1914 to provide alternative route to lengthy sea voyage around southernmost tip of South America via Drake Passage or Strait of Magellan.
  358. Gudni Johannesson won 2016 Presidential elections of Iceland.
  359. Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India Shashi Kant Sharmahas been conferred with honorary professorship by Nanjing Audit University (China).
  360. Nagaland Government launched women helpline 181 and Sakhi-One Stop Centre, to provide integrated assistance including medical, legal and psychological counselling to women affected by violence. Sakhi-One Stop Centre is a centrally sponsored scheme by Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) to be funded through Nirbhaya Fund.
  361. Sweden becomes first country to have electric road. It inaugerated test stretch of an electric road in Sandviken to conduct tests with electric power for hybrid heavy transports. Tests will be conducted upto 2018 on parts of road E16.
  362. CSIR-Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research (CSIR-CIMFR) signed MoU with coal supplying companies and power utilities for quality analysis of coal supplied.
  363. Assam Government granted district status to Majuli, a 400 square kilometres island in Brahmaputra River. With this, Majuli became Indias first island district. Majuli island is 34th district of Assam (splitted from jorhat district). Majuli island is mostly inhabited by Mishing tribal people.
  364. Government appointed NS Vishwanathan as deputy governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Other 3 Deputy RBI Governors are - R Gandhi, S S Mundra, Urjit Patel.
  365. United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) elected Ethiopia, Bolivia, Sweden and Kazakhstan as non-permanent members of United Nations Security Council (UNSC), for 2 year term. They will replace Spain, Malaysia, New Zealand, Angola and Venezuela.
  366. Indigenously-built anti-submarine torpedo Varunastra has been inducted in Indian Navy, making India one of eight countries to have capability to design and build such anti-submarine torpedo system. It weighs around 1.25 tonnes and carries about 250 kg of explosives at a speed of around 40 nautical miles an hour.
  367. 26 June : International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. 2016 theme is Listen First.
  368. 26 June: International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.
  369. Noted Sculptor and painter KG Subramanyan passed away.
  370. Four Indian-Americans honoured with Great Immigrants: The Pride of America Award 2016.
    1. Sunder Pichai - CEO of Google.
    2. Hari Sreenivasan - Broadcast journalist associated with the PBS NewsHour.
    3. Vikram Malhotra - McKinsey.
    4. Bharati Mukherjee - Professor emerita in department of English at University of California (Berkeley).
  371. China launched its second Shijian-16 series satellite for space research and experiments, on board of Long March-4B rocket.
  372. Government approved National Mineral Exploration Policy (NMEP), aiming at accelerating exploration activity through enhanced participation of private sector.
    1. Policy emphasizes on making available baseline geoscientific data of world standards in public domain, quality research in a public-private partnership (PPP).
    2. It also seeks to undertake quick aerogeophysical surveys of country and creation of dedicated geoscience database etc.
    3. Ministry of Mines will carry out auctioning of identified exploration blocks for exploration by private sector. It will be done on the revenue sharing basis in case their exploration leads to auctionable resources.
  373. Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) launched long-term monitoring studies project to document the effect of climate change on animal biodiversity in states of Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh.
  374. Medium range surface-to-air missile missile (MRSAM) developed jointly by India and Israel was successfully test-fired. MR-SAM has strike ranges from 50 to 70 km.
  375. Hockey Champions Trophy 2016 -
    1. Men - Australia won by defeating India. It was australia's 14th title.
    2. Women - Argentina won by defeating Netherlands. It was argentina's 7th Title.
  376. Government decided to enhance financial powers of its Ministries, for approval of Non-Plan Schemes or Projects. The new approval limits are
    1. Projects Under Expenditure 300 Crores - Standing Finance Committee of Concerned Ministry or concerned ministry.
    2. Projects with expenditure over 300 Crores - Committee on Non-Plan Expenditure (CNE) (earlier limit was 75 crores).
    3. Minister-in-charge of administrative Ministry now can approve Non-Plan schemes costing less than 500 crore rupees (Earlier limit was 150 crore rupees).
    4. Projects with expenditure of 500 - 1000 crore -> These will be approved by Finance Minister.
    5. Projects with expenditure of over 1000 crores - Cabinet or Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs will final these proposals.
    6. Financial Adviser now can appraise upto 20% increase in firmed up cost estimates.
    7. If absolute cost escalation is upto 75 crore rupees it has to be approved by Secretary of concerned administrative Department. In case the absolute cost escalation is above 75 crore rupees, the Administrative Minister-in-charge will approve it.
  377. World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim visited India.
    1. World Bank signed agreement with International Solar Alliance (ISA) to provide over 1 billion USD to support India’s solar initiatives.
      1. World bank will provide 625 million dollars to India’s grid-connected rooftop solar programme that will finance the installation of at least 400MW of solar photovoltaic installations.
      2. ISA is Gurgaon (India) based first international organization comprising of 121 Countriesw, with United Nations as Strategic Partner. It was jointly launched by India and France in November 2015 during United Nations climate change conference (COP21) in Paris.
  378. India's first integrated Defence Communication Network (DCN) launched by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. It will enable Indian Army, Air force, Navy and Special Forces Command to share situational awareness for faster decision-making.
  379. First squadron of indigenously made Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas inducted into Indian Air Force (IAF), by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). First squadron of LCA Tejas has been named as ‘Flying Daggers., with Its base in Sulur (Tamil Nadu).
  380. Indias largest food products marketing organization Amul become official sponsor of Indian contingent to 2016 Rio Olympics. Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which sells its product under brand Amul signed agreement with Indian Olympic Association (IOA).
  381. Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) signed MoU with Advertising Standard Council of India (ASCI) to check misleading advertisements in the food and beverages sector.
  382. Sports Ministry granted recognition to Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) after the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) lifted temporary suspension on it.
  383. Reliance Industries and State Bank of India (SBI) signed Subscription and Shareholders' Agreement to set up payments bank. RIL will be promoter with a 70 % equity and SBI will have 30 % equity contribution.
  384. 2016 Human Capital Index (HCI) by World Economic Forum (WEF) -
    1. Report was released in Tianjin (China), at WEF Annual Meeting of New Champions. It is also known as `Summer Davos summit.
    2. Top 10 Countries - Finland, Norway, Switzerland, Japan, Sweden, New Zealand, Denmark, Netherlands, Canada and Belgium.
    3. India ranked 105th, as compared to 100th in 2015.
    4. Indias Neighbours - Sri Lanka (50th), China (71st), Bhutan (91st), Bangladesh (104th), Nepal (108th) and Pakistan (118th).
    5. BRICS - Russia (28th), China (71st), Brazil (83rd) and South Africa (8th).
  385. Kerala became fourth state to ban e-cigarette (electronic cigarette) as its use can cause cancer and heart ailments. Punjab was first to ban e-cigarettes in November 2014, followed by Maharashtra and Karnataka.
    1. e-cigarettes - These are handy battery-powered devices that emit doses of vaporised nicotine. It produces the feel of tobacco smoking.
  386. Indian Navy launched INS Tarasa - fourth and last ship in series of the Water Jet Fast Attack Craft (WJFAC).
  387. Logistics Performance Index (LPI) 2016 of World Bank Group report - Connecting to Compete 2016: Trade Logistics in the Global Economy -
    1. India ranked 35th among 160 countries with score 3.42. India has improved its ranking by jumping 19 positions compared to 54th rank in 2014 LPI.
    2. For third time, Germany topped ter list . Top 5 countries - Germany (score: 4.23 points), Luxembourg (4.22), Sweden (4.20), Netherlands (4.19) and Singapore (4.14).
  388. Book A Life in Diplomacy”, authored by Maharajakrishna Rasgotra has been released.
  389. Book “Chandigarh is in India” has been authored by Shanay Jhaveri.
  390. Novel “Once Upon a Time in India: The Marvelous Adventures of Captain Corcoran” was written in the 1860s, by a Frenchman Alfred Assollant, about India. It has been translated into English for the first time by Sam Miller.
  391. International Conference on Social Statistics in India held in Patna (Bihar). The conference has been organised by Asian Development Research of India.
  392. Indias first pilot programme to run two wheelers on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) has been launched by Government in New Delhi to curb air pollution in cities.
  393. Indias first sunken (Underwater) museum will be set up at World Heritage Site of Humayuns Tomb in New Delhi. It will open to public in early 2018 and will display a mix of artifacts locked up in reserve collections of National Archives and museums of Archaeological Survey of India.
  394. 2017 Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) will be hosted by India. GES is initiative of USA President Barack Obama to bring entrepreneurs from across the globe on one platform.
  395. Legendary Music Composer R D Burman's Biography R.D.Burmania –Panchamemoirs has been authored by noted journalist Chaitanya Padukone.
  396. Government of India (GoI) extended ban on import of milk and its products from China till June 2017.
  397. City of Fallujah in Iraq has been officially declared fully liberated from terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), after military operation of Iraqi Army.
  398. 56th edition of National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships 2016 started in Hyderabad (Telangana). Its a qualifying event for Rio Olympics.
  399. Uttar Pradesh government declared that all natural calamities including unseasonal heavy rain, lightning, Loo and storm etc. will be treated as state disaster.
  400. Odisha government has signed a pact with WorldFish, an international non-profit research organization, to boost fish production in the state.
  401. Assam Government and Armed Forces launched “Exercise Jalrahat” for flood relief in Assam at Narangi cantonment of Army.
  402. Tathagata Roy, Governor of Tripura has been given additional charge of Governor of Arunachal Pradesh.
  403. Athletic World Championship medalist Anju Bobby George and national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand have been made members of Khelo India, national programme for development of sports in India.
  404. Nokia appointed Sanjay Malik as new head for India operations.
  405. Odisha government launched scheme Kalinga Siksha Sathi Yojana (KSSY) with an aim to provide education loan at 1 % interest to students for pursuing higher studies.
  406. Cabinet approved recommendations of 7th Pay Commission. The salaries and arrears, effective from 1 January 2016, will be made applicable now
    1. Commission recommended 23.55 % hike in pay and allowances of government employees.
    2. Minimum pay for government employees is to be set at 18000 rupees per month, while maximum is 225000 rs / month for Apex Scale and 250000 rs / month for Cabinet Secretary.
    3. Increase in pay will be 16 %, increase in allowances will be 63 % and increase in pension will be 24 %.
  407. Ministry of Urban Development approved setting up of District Level Advisory and Monitoring Committees to promote people centric planning and execution of new urban development schemes. These committees will comprise of elected representatives (Members of Parliament (MP) and Members of Legislative Assembly (MLA)).
  408. Odisha government approved proposal of the Panchayati Raj department to add 500 new gram panchayats before 2017 three-tier panchayat polls.
  409. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released its Vision-2018 document - Payment and Settlement Systems in India: Vision-2018. It aims at building efficiecnt payment systems for a ‘less-cash India and ensuring access to mobile banking services to even basic phone users.
  410. Report by consulting firm Capgemini -
    1. Millionaires in Asia are wealthier than Millionaires in other regions of the world, including North America and Europe.
    2. Asian millionaires wealth is 17.4 trillion dollars in 2015, more than 8.4 trillion in 2006.
    3. There are 5.1 million Asian millionaires in 2015, Majority of 2.7 million from Japan and 1 million from China.
  411. Exide Life Insurance appointed cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni as its brand ambassador, to be featusred in its marketing campaign - Lamba saath, bharose Ki baat.
  412. Indian Grand Master Harika Dronavalli won best women's player award in Eurasian Blitz chess tournament in Kazakhstan.
  413. Sri Lanka parliament passed Right to Information (RTI) bill, to restore transparency and good governance in country.
  414. Home Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated 22nd meeting of Eastern Zonal Council at Ranchi (Jharkhand). He also inaugurated headquarters of Jharkhand's special anti-Maoist force 'Jharkhand Jaguar' in Ranchi.
  415. Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) commissioned 2 units of 14 Megawatts each at Salma Hydro Electric Project in Afghanistan.
    1. Salma dam, or the Afghan-India Friendship dam, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his recent visit.
  416. National Indian Students and Alumni Union (NISAU) awarded Spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar with Honorary Fellowship in UK for his contributions to world peace and culture.
  417. N Srinivasan re-elected as president of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) for 15th consecutive term. 
  418. Noted Malayalam theatre artist and poet Kavalam Narayana Panicker passed away.
  419. 2016 IIFA awards (17th International Indian Film Academy Awards) held in Madrid (Spain). Winners List -
    1. Best Picture -  Bajrangi Bhaijaan
    2. Best Direction - Sanjay Leela Bhansali for Bajirao Mastani
    3. Best Actor (Male) Award - Ranveer Singh for Bajirao Mastani
    4. Best Supporting Actor (Male) - Anil Kapoor for DilDhadhakne Do
    5. Best Actor (Female) - Deepika Padukone for Piku
    6. Best Supporting Actor (Female) - Priyanka Chopra for Bajirao Mastani
    7. Other Awards
      1. Best Music Direction: Ankit Tiwari, Meet Bros, Anjjan and Amaal Mallik forRoy
      2. Best Story - Juhi Chaturvedi for Piku
      3. Best Performance in Negative role Award: Darshan Kumaar for NH 10
      4. Best Performance in a Comic Role Award: Deepak Dobriyal for Tanu Weds Manu Returns
      5. Best Male Playback Singer Award: Papon for 'Moh Moh Ke Dhaage', Dum Laga Ke Haisha
      6. Best Female Playback Singer Award: Monali Thakur for 'Moh Moh Ke Dhaage', Dum Laga Ke Haisha
      7. Best Lyric Writer: Varun Grover for 'Moh Moh Ke Dhaage', Dum Laga Ke Haisha
      8. Special award for Woman of the Year: Priyanka Chopra
  420. Washington DC-based International Monetary Fund (IMF) cleared payment of $501 million for Pakistan after completing 11th review of Pakistans economic performance under a three-year program supported by an Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement.
  421. Two Indians - Kartik Sawhney and Neha Swain won 2016 Queen's Young Leaders award in United Kingdom.
  422. Noted Industrialist Xerxes Sapur Desai (founder of largest watchmaker company Titan) has passed away.
  423. 29 June - National Statistics Day. It is celebrated annually on occasion of Birth anniversary of Indias eminent statistician Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis. 2016 Theme is Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
  424. Medium range Surface-to-Air ballistic missile Barak-8 has been test fired. It has been developed in collaboration with Israel. It is 4 meter long ballistic missile which can hit target within 70 km.
  425. Five-time World chess Champion Viswanathan Anand has been conferred with Honoris Causa Doctor of Science by Indian Institute Of Technology Kanpur (IIT-K) during its 49th convocation ceremony.
  426. Two women - Noor Huda Roslan and Nenney Shuhaidah Shamsuddin have been appointed as judges of Malaysias Islamic Shariah High Court for first time in history of judiciary of Malaysia.
  427. Reserve Bank of India will set up a committee to study use of Blockchain technology for reducing use of paper currency.
    1. Blockchain technology - Blockchain database consists of blocks that hold time-stamped batches of valid transactions. Digital records are put together into blocks and then leaped together cryptographically and chronologically into a chain using algorithms. Encryption process is termed ‘hashing.
    2. Blockchain database helps in reducing use of paper currency as it makes hard for hackers to attack it as hackers need access to every copy of database simultaneously. As the hash cannot be converted back into the original data,the blockchain database keeps data secure.
  428. Matthew Gdovin, associate professor in University of Texas (USA) has developed a newly patented method to kill cancer cells.
    1. Research involved injecting a chemical compound, nitrobenzaldehyde into tumour and allowing it to diffuse into tissue. A beam of light was aimed at tissue, which caused the cells to become very acidic inside. It forced the cells to commit suicide. It was estimated that up to 95 % of the targeted cancer cells were dead within 2 hours.
  429. United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) released State of Worlds Children 2016 report -
    1. Unless world focuses more on plight of its underadvantaged children by 2030
      1. 7 Crore children may die before reaching their 5th birthdays, mostly sub-Saharan Africa.
      2. Over 6 crore primary school-aged children will be out of school.
      3. Some 7.5 crore women will have been married as children.
    2. Boys and girls attend primary school in equal numbers in 129 countries.
    3. The number of people living in extreme poverty worldwide is almost half what it was in the 1990s.
    4. About 12.4 crore children today do not go to primary and lower-secondary school.
    5. India in report
      1. Report states that 5 countries will account for more than half of the global burden of under-five deaths - India (17 %), Nigeria (15 %), Pakistan (8 %), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (7 %) and Angola (5 %).
      2. In India, being born into poorest households carries a learning ‘penalty relative to children from richest households. Penalty widens between ages 7 and 11, reaching a 19 % gap in students ability to subtract.
  430. World Bank approved 63 million USD project - Tejaswini: Socioeconomic Empowerment of Adolescent Girls and Young Women in Jharkhand.
  431. Nepal banned its citizens from working in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Libya. Owing to security concerns.
  432. Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA) launched by Government, to boost health care facilities for pregnant women (especially poor). Under this, pregnant ladies will be given free health check-up and required treatment for free on 9th of every month. The scheme is applicable only to the women in their pregnancy period of 3 to 6 months.
  433. Food and Beverage multinational firm Nestle named Ulf Mark Schneider as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
  434. Suzuki Motor Corp appointed Toshihiro Suzuki as its next Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
  435. India Post opened up ongoing scheme of customized printing of ‘My Stamp for individuals and corporate also. Under this, individual or a corporate entity can get their photo or logo printed inside postage stamp at a price of 12 lakh rupees.
  436. World Bank approved 201.50 million USD Laon for Technical Education Quality Improvement Project III (TEQIP III) in India to improve quality of engineering education in select Indian states.
  437. Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit 2016 held is Tashkent (Uzbekistan).
  438. QS University Rankings 2016
    1. Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore and IITs of Mumbai (35th), Delhi (36th), Madras (43r) and Kanpur (48th) have figured in list of Asias top 50 universities. IISc is 33rd this year and it was 34th last year. IIT-Kharagpur was placed 51st and two other IITs --Roorkee (78) and Guwahati (94), made it to the top 100. Delhi University has been ranked 66th.
    2. National University of Singapore (NUS) has been ranked best university in Asia, followed by University of Hong Kong.
    3. Indias performance -
      1. India is fifth best among 17 countries featured in ratings, with 23 universities in list of top 350.
      2. India is behind Taiwan (34), South Korea (54), Japan (72) and China (82)
      3. IISc, Bangalore, which emerged as the top Indian institution in the QS rankings, was also rated as the best Indian university in the HRD ministrys first ever National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) released earlier this year.
  439. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley visited China.
    1. He attended First Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors’ of Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank in Beijing.
      1. Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank was started in December 2015. Headquarters is in Beijing (China).
      2. It has capital of $100 Billion USD.
      3. India has state of 8.52 % in it. India will pay $334.7m annually till 2019-20 for 8.52% stake in AIIB.
      4. China has highest stake in AIIB - 30.34 %.
      5. Jin Liqun is first and current president of AIIB.
    2. He attended 8th India-China Financial Dialogue.
  440. Indian President Pranab Mukherjee visited Ghana, Ivory Coast and Namibia -
    1. Ghana
      1. Pranab Mukherjee become first Indian president to visit Republic of Ghana.
      2. India and Ghana have signed 3 agreements to strengthen co-operation in - visa waivers for holders of diplomatic, official passports, setting up a Joint Commission.
      3. India is the largest foreign investor in Ghana with more than 700 projects. Bilateral trade between India and Ghana increased to 1.2 billion dollars from 538 million dollars in 2010. India mainly imports Gold from Ghana.
    2. Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
      1. Pranab Mukherjee become first Indian president to visit Ivory Coast.
      2. President of India honoured with highest national award of Cote d’Ivoire - Grande Croix Commandeur in National Merit Order / National Grand Crois.
    3. Namibia
      1. India and Namibia have signed two Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) - MoU on Capacity building for civil servants of Namibia and Mou on setting up of centre of excellence in Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
  441. May 31 - World No-Tobacco Day. 2016 Theme is World No Tobacco Day – Get ready for plain packaging. The theme seeks to highlight this new trend packing trend in global efforts to control tobacco products.
    1. Plain packaging of tobacco products prohibits or restricts the use of logos, brand images, colours and promotional information on packaging other than brand and product names displayed in a standard colour and font style. It reduces the attractiveness of tobacco products.
  442. 57km (35-mile) twin-bore Gotthard base tunnel opened in Switzerland. It is now world's longest Train Tunnel and will provide high-speed rail link under Swiss Alps between northern and southern Europe. It is meant to revolutionise European freight transport. The tunnel has overtaken Japan's 53.9km Seikan rail tunnel as the longest in world.
    1. Diameter is 8.5 Metres, 2300 Metre Depth and it has been built by cost of 12.27 Billion USD (80000 Crore Approx).
    2. About India - India's Longest rail tunnel is Pir Panjal Railway Tunnel in Jammu and Kashmir with Length of 11.215 KM.
  443. As per Government Data, India's per capital income rose by 7.4 % to Rs 93,293 in 2015-16, compared to Rs 86,879 in the 2014-15.
  444. As per Government Data, India's GDP Growth rate in Last Quarter of 2015-16 (Jan - Mar 2016) stayed at 7.9 %, Taking India's GDP growth rate during 2015-16 to 7.6 %. In 2015-16, India's quarter wise GDP Growth has been -
    1. First Quarter (April 2015 - June 2015) - 7.5 %
    2. Second Quarter (July 2015 - September 2015) - 7.6 %
    3. Third Quarter (October 2015 - December 2015) - 7.2 %
    4. Fourth Quarter (Jan 2015 - March 2016) - 7.9 %
  445. Ministry of Railways launched Rail Humsafar Saptaah as a week-long initiative to highlight significant achievements made by Indian Railways in all spheres during last 2 years -
    1. 26th May - Swachchta Diwas
    2. 27th May - Satkar Diwas
    3. 28th May - Sewa Diwas
    4. 29th May - Satarkata Diwas
    5. 30th May - Saamanjasya Diwas
    6. 31st May - Sanyojan Diwas
    7. 1st June - Sanchaar Diwas
  446. Indian boxer Sonia Lather won silver medal at AIBA Women's World Championships in Astana (Kazakhstan). She was defeated by Mesiano Alessia.
  447. 20th CEAT Cricket Awards 2016 -
    1. Lifetime Achievement - Dilip Vengsarkar
    2. International Cricketer - Joe Root (England)
    3. International Batsman - Joe Root (England)
    4. International Bowler - Ravichandran Ashwin
    5. Test Cricketer - Kane Williamson (NZ)
    6. ODI Cricketer - Martin Guptill (NZ)
    7. T20 Player - Virat Kohli
    8. Indian Cricketer - Rohit Sharma
    9. Young Player - Rishabh Pant
    10. Special Award – Ajinkya Rahane
  448. Noted actor Suresh Chatwal passed away.
  449. Noted Kannada writer D Javare Gowda passed away.
  450. England cricketer Alastair Cook became youngest Cricketer to score 10000 test runs. He achieved this at age of 31 years, during test match against Sri Lanka.
  451. President Pranab Mukherjee presented Malti Gyan Peeth Puraskar 2016 to 15 teachers from Punjab for their contribution in education.
  452. Indian Pharmaceutical Firm Strides Shasun received tentative approval from U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for Efavirenz HIV tablets USP, 600 mg. Efavirenz is a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) that is used as part of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) for treatment of a Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) type 1.
  453. Surajit Kar Purkayastha appointed as Director General of West Bengal Police.
  454. 29 May - International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers. 2016 theme is Honouring Our Heroes.
  455. Government approved investment of over 5500 crore rupees for basic urban infrastructure in six states - Madhya Pradesh,Gujarat, Rajasthan,Odisha, Jharkhand and Meghalaya. It has been done under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation, AMRUT.
  456. According to Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, first bullet train will run in India in 2023. It will connect Mumbai and Ahmedabad and is expected to cover 508 km in 2 hours, running at maximum speed of 350 kmph.
  457. According to USA based global rating agency Fitch, India's economic growth rate will accelerate to 8% by 2018-2019. India's GDP to grow 7.5% in 2015-2016 and improve to 7.7% in 2016 - 2017 and 7.9% in 2017-2018.
  458. As per Forbes, India's HDFC has been ranked 7th among world's top 10 biggest and most powerful companies in consumer financial services sector. List is topped by global major American Express. In overall list of world's 2,000 largest companies, HDFC is ranked 404th with total 56 Indian companies on list, in which Reliance Industries ranked India's highest.s
  459. Google won US court battle with software firm Oracle after a jury ruled it did not unfairly appropriate parts of the Java programming language. Oracle had argued that Google had infringed its copyright and had sought nearly 9 billion dollars in damages.
  460. Sanjay Bangar appointed as India's head cricket coach for team's tour to Zimbabwe. 
  461. Bihar government MDM scheme, UNICEF and Bihar based Rajendra Agriculture University signed agreement to curb malnourishment among women and children in the state.
  462. RBL Bank will launch an Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) programme for fintech start-ups, to enhance engagement with start-ups.
  463. Tata Group entered into e-commerce with launch of 'Tata CliQ'. Products purchased through this platform will be accepted for return at physical stores of Westside or Croma.
  464. IT services Firm Tech Mahindra will acquire UK based Target Group to strengthen its BFSI portfolio, for $164 million USD.
  465. Ashok Leyland re-appointmented Vinod K Dasari as Managing Director(MD) for 5 years.
  466. Indian Har Parkash Rishi made Guinness World Record for fitting nearly 500 straws and over 50 burning candles in his mouth. He already holds world record for having maximum number of flags (366) tattooed on his body.
  467. Mercedes  F1 driver Lewis Hamilton from Britain won 2016 Monaco Grand Prix.
    1. 2016 Formula One season -
      1. Total 21 Grand Prix Races to be organized across the world in 2016. Calendar is -
        1. Grand Prix Date Winner
          Australia 20 March Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Baharain 3 April Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          China 17 April Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Russia 1 May Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Spain 15 May Max Verstappen (Netherlands)
          Monaco 29 May Lewis Hamilton (Britain)
          Canada 12 June  
          Europe 19 June  
          Austria 3 July  
          Britain 10 July  
          Hungary 24 July  
          Germany 31 July  
          Belgium 28 August  
          Italy 4 September  
          Singapore 18 September  
          Malaysia 2 October  
          Japan 9 October    
          USA 23 October  
          Mexico 30 October  
          Brazil 13 November  
          Abu Dhabi 27 November  
  468. Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to win its First IPL (Indian Premier League) title.
  469. Bollywood Actor R Madhavan became goodwill ambassador of LEPRA India organization that fights against diseases like leprosy and tuberculosis.
  470. V Narayanaswamy elected as Congress Legislature Party leader, to become Chief Minister of Puducherry.
  471. China will launch world's first quantum communication satellite in July 2016, to improve security of data transmission. It will use quantum photons, which cannot be separated or duplicated, making communication immune to wiretapping or interceptions.
  472. Gujrat government launched 2 state-wide campaigns - Bal Amritam and Mission Shakti , against malnutrition. As part of these campaigns, iron-rich supplementary food would be provided to children and women.
  473. Indian Railways conducted first ever trial run for high-speed Talgo trains of Spain on Bareilly-to-Moradabad stretch in Uttar Pradesh with speeds averaging 80-115 kmph. Talgo consumes 30% less energy and can run on curves without decelerating. It can complete journey between Delhi and Mumbai in about 12 hours against present 17 hours.
  474. National Meet on Mining Sector held in Jaipur (Rajasthan).
  475. Baciro Dja named as new Prime Minister of Guinea Bissau (Country in West Africa).
  476. Telangana state Government entered Limca Book of Records for its Intensive Household Survey conducted in August 2014, that compiled all kinds of information about each household in state with an aim to prepare a data-bank for its social welfare and development programmes.
  477. IT & Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad stated that payments bank of India Post will start functioning from March 2017.
  478. Indian para athlete and Arjuna Awardee Amit Kumar Saroha from Haryana won gold medal in mens club throw (F-51) at 2016 French Open Athletics Championship in Paris. He broke Asian record with a throw 26.58m.
  479. Mount Sinabung volcano in Karo plateau of Indonesia erupted.
  480. 42nd G7 summit held in Ise-Shima (Japan). G7 Consits of Japan, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, USA.
  481. Tripura ranked first in overall performance in Implementation of MGNREGA. Testing was done on basis of 3 indicators - efficiency in providing guaranteed 100 days of employment, regular wage payment, work completion rate.
  482. Neeraj Kumar Gupta committee constituted by government and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to boost cashless transactions.
  483. Book Gujarat Files: Anatomy of a Cover Up, authored by Rana Ayyub has been released.
  484. Discus thrower Seema Punia qualified for Rio Olympics with a 62.62m throw at Pat Youngs Throwers Classic 2016 at Salinas in USA. She crossed 61 Metre Olympics qualification standard.
  485. Noted Marathi litterateur R G Jadhav passed away.
  486. Mamata Banerjee sworn-in as Chief Minister of West Bengal for second successive five-year term.
  487. Pakke Tiger Reserve in East Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh won India Biodiversity Award 2016 in conservation of threatened species category for its Hornbill Nest Adoption Programme. Under this Programme, urban citizens contribute money to protect hornbill nests around Pakke Tiger Reserve.
  488. Indian Air Force (IAF) successfully test-fired a land-attack version of supersonic cruise missile BrahMos at Pokaran (Rajasthan). It is capable of carrying a warhead of 300 kilogram and has top supersonic speed of Mach 3 (thrice the speed of sound). It can strike a target at maximum range of 290-km.
  489. India's BIRAC (Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council) and Horticulture Innovation Australia signed MOU to enhance research and development capabilities in biotechnology.
  490. Indian author Aditi Krishnakumar won prestigious 2016 Scholastic Asian Book Award for her 32,000-word manuscript Codex: The Lost Treasure Of The Indus.
  491. Indian-American scientist Arnab De received Springer Theses Award for his research on developing transgenic mice to study a critical tumor-suppressor A20.
  492. Real Madrid FC won 2016 UEFA Champions League for record 11th time by defeating Atletico Madrid FC by 5-3 goals.
  493. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) successfully deployed first experimental inflatable room attached to International Space Station (ISS). Experimental inflatable room is dubbed as BEAM (Bigelow Expandable Activity Module), built by Nevada Company Bigelow Aerospace.
  494. China launched 3 (1 domestic (Ziyuan III 02 ) and foreign (NewSat)) by a Long March 4B rocket. Ziyuan III 02 satellite is a new civilian high-resolution mapping satellite and second in remote-sensing mapping system that China plans to build by 2030.
  495. Oscar winning Legendary Indian music composer A R Rahman honored by Japan's Fukuoka prize 2016 in Grand Prize category for his outstanding contribution towards showcasing South Asian traditional fusion music.
  496. Nokia Technologies and HMD global Oy (HMD) signed 10-year licensing agreement to market Nokia-branded phones and tablets.
  497. 102 years old, world's oldest Olympic champion Sandor Tarics passed away. He was member of Hungarian Waterpolo team that won in Berlin Olympics staged by Nazi government in 1936.
  498. PM Modi Visited Iran. 12 MoUs signed with Iran on this occasion. Some are -
    1. India, Iran and Afghanistan signed three-way land transit agreement on Iran’s strategic southern port of Chabahar.
    2. National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) signed MoU with Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO), to explore possibility of setting up smelter- cum-gas based power plant on joint venture in Iran for proposed smelter plant in Chabahar Free Trade Zone. NALCO will supply alumina from its refinery in India.
    3. MoU between EXIM Bank and Irans Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO).
    4. Confirmation Statement between EXIM Bank and Central Bank of Iran (CBI).
    5. IRCON and CDTIC - to enable IRCON to provide requisite services for the construction of Chabahar-Zahedan railway line.
    6. MoU on India-Iran Cultural Exchange Programme (CEP).
    7. MoU on Policy Dialogue between Governments and Interaction between Think Tanks.
    8. MoU between Foreign Service Institute, MEA and School of International Relations, Irans MoFA.
    9. Implementation Protocol on Cooperation in Science and Technology.
  499. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) released report Global Environment Outlook (GEO-6): Regional assessment for Asia and the Pacific -
    1. As per report, India is at top with nearly 4 crore Indians will be at risk from rising sea levels by 2050 as  worst impacts of climate change are projected to occur in the Pacific and South and South-East Asia.
  500. United Nations Environment Programme released report Actions on Air Quality, during second United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-2) in Nairobi (Kenya). As per report, with decline of global air quality, action in some air quality areas points to political will to tackle it.
  501. British director Ken Loach's film I, Daniel Blake won Palme d'Or at Cannes Film Festival. It was Loach's second award for best picture at the festival after 2006's The Wind That Shakes the Barley.
  502. Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman visited Bahrain.
  503. Indian Coast Guard ship Arush has been commissioned.
  504. Bilateral Air Force exercise between India and United Arab Emirates (UAE) - Ex-Desert Eagle-I held in UAE.
  505. Committee headed by T S R Subramanian set up to formulate new National Education Policy submitted its report to Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry.
  506. Lakshadweep became first Union Territory (UT) to sign 24x7 Power for All document, that states a plan to increase solar capacity of the region from 2.15 MW to 8.45 MW. As part of energy efficiency measures, 1 lakh LED bulbs will be distributed by UT administration through Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) and Incandescent lamps/CFL bulbs will be replaced with LED bulbs under UJALA programme.
  507. Ministry of Power and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) launched Indias first integrated web portal (www.nzeb.in) designed to promote and mainstream Net Zero Energy Buildings (NZEB) in India. Portal provides complete information about Net Zero Energy Buildings (those that generate as much energy as they use).
  508. Government will launch Mission 11 Million to engage more than 11 million children in activities relating to Football in October, 2016. Note that FIFA U-17 Football world cup will be held in India.
  509. Girish Luthra appointed as Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Western Naval Command while AR Karve as Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Southern Naval Command.
  510. Railways signed MOU with PEC University of Technology for setting up Kalpana Chawla Chair on Geospatial Technology for Indian Railways at PEC University, Chandigarh.
  511. Sunil Lamba appointed as Chief of Indian Navy while Karambir Singh appointed as Vice Chief of Indian Navy.
  512. India Signed An agreement for Global Environmental Facility (GEF) Grant of USD 9.20 Million with World Bank for"Efficient and Sustainable City Bus Service Project. 
  513. Bhim Sain Bassi appointed as Member of Union Public Service Commission.
  514. Indian-American student won 2016 National Geographic Bee championship, securing first three positions in 28th annual National Geographic Bee Competition in Washington. This is fifth consecutive year of National Geographic Bee championship in which an Indian-American has won. Winners - Rishi Nair (1st), Saketh Jonnalagadda and Kapil Nathan.
  515. Bharti Enterprises founder Sunil Bharti Mittal honored with 2016 Harvard Business School Alumni Achievement Award.
  516. Barack Obama became first incumbent USA president to visit Hiroshima memorial site in Japan. It is worlds first atomic bombing dropped on August 6, 1945 and killed over 140,000 people.
  517. As per report by Assocham-KPMG, India emerged as worlds fifth largest electronic waste (e-waste) producer and India discards 18.5 lakh tonnes of e-waste each year. India is worlds second largest mobile market with 1.03 billion subscribers, nearly 25% of it end up in e-waste annually.
  518. For effective waste management in an eco-friendly manner, Sikkim government banned disposable foam food containers like cups, plates, spoons, containers, etc., and has restricted the use of mineral water bottles in government programmes all over the state.
  519. Retirement fund body EPFO decided to almost double maximum sum assured under its insurance scheme from 3.6 lakh to Rs 6 lakh for its 4 crore subscribers.
  520. Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari launched 20 Nirbhaya buses of Rajasthan State Transport Corporation with multiple safety measures to better protect women passengers. These include Vehicle Tracking System (VTS), CCTV and panic buttons on every seat.
  521. Telangana government signed MoU with US-based healthcare tech firm Eclat Health Solutions. Eclat will invest USD 15 million in state to provide 1000 jobs.
  522. Saudi Arabia based Islamic Development Bank (IDB) will open its first branch in India at Ahmedabad (Gujarat).
  523. China signed agreements with Sudan to build 600-megawatt atomic reactor.
  524. Book A Call to Mercy: Hearts to Love, Hands to Serve has been released. It is collection of previously unreleased writings by Mother Teresa and has been compiled by Rev. Brian Kolodiejchuk.
  525. BJP formed NEDA (North East Democratic Alliance) to boost development agenda in North-Eastern states.
  526. HRD Minister Smriti Zubin Irani launched multilingual knowledge portal www.bharatvani.in as largest online repository of dictionaries in India. It has been launched in 22 scheduled languages, which eventually will be extended to 100 more languages and will help showcase the Indian culture and heritage to the world.
  527. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) launched inaugural World Wildlife Crime Report, highlighting how poaching and illegal trade of thousands of different species across globe present real environmental dangers.
  528. Book My Favourite Nature Stories authored by famous author Ruskin Bond has been released.
  529. World Health Organisation released World Health Statistics 2016 - Monitoring Health for the SDGs. Global life expectancy for children born in 2015 was 71.4 years (73.8 years for females and 69.1 years for males), while in India it was 68.3 (66.9 for males and 69.9 for females). Highlights of World Health Statistics 2016 -
    1. With average lifespan of 86.8 years, women in Japan live longest while Switzerland's men have longest average 81.3 years lifespan.
    2. People in Sierra Leone have world’s lowest life-expectancy for both - 50.8 years for women and 49.3 years for men.
    3. Globally, life expectancy increased by 5 years between 2000 and 2015, the fastest increase since the 1960s.
    4. Increase was greatest in the African Region of WHO where life expectancy increased by 9.4 years to 60 years.
    5. Healthy life expectancy, a measure of the number of years of good health that a newborn in 2015 can expect, stands at 63.1 years globally (64.6 years for females and 61.5 years for males)
    6. Every year -
      1. 303000 women die due to complications of pregnancy and childbirth
      2. 5.9 million children die before their fifth birthday
      3. 2 million people are newly infected with HIV, and there are 9.6 million new TB cases and 214 million malaria cases
      4. 800000 people commit suicide, 1.25 million from road traffic injuries, 4.3 million due to air pollution by cooking fuels, 3 million due to outdoor pollution and 475 000 people are murdered.
  530. USA Senate approved 1.1 billion USD emergency funding to combat Zika virus in 2016 and 2017.
  531. Five Indian car models failed in crash tests by Global New Car Assessment Programme (Global NCAP). Cars that failed are - Renault Kwid, Maruti Suzukis Celerio and Eeco, Mahindra Scorpio and Hyundai Eon.
  532. Noted Tennis Player Roger Federer withdrawn from 2016 French Open due to back injury.
  533. Government constituted Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF) Authority, to strengthen framework for safeguarding interest of investors. This is a step closer to setting up IEPF, which will be utilized for multiple purposes for protecting investors.
  534. Denmark won Thomas Cup badminton tournament for the first time by defeating Indonesia.
  535. India banned its nationals from travelling to Libya, in view of prevailing security situation in that country.
  536. Rajasthan's Bundi is stepping into virtual world with an 'e-municipal council' to make all informative rsources digitally accessible.
  537. Britain granted political refugee status to ousted former President of Maldives Mohamed Nasheed.
  538. S K Saini appointed as new commandant of Indian Military Academy (IMA).
  539. Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities will now be known as 'Divyangjan' Sashaktikaran Vibhag in Hindi and dropped word 'viklangjan'.
  540. USA's Frances Arnold won the Technology Academy's (Finland) Millennium Technology Prize for her work 'directed evolution' (method of rewriting DNA to improve medicines and develop green fuels). She is first female wo win this 1 million euro prize.
  541. Digital payments platform FreeCharge named Kunal Shah as chairman, and Govind Rajan as CEO.
  542. Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd commissioned first 800 MW super critical thermal unit in Karnataka. This is the highest rating unit in the state.
  543. Automobile giant Mahindra & Mahindra incorporated its agricultural equipment rental services arm Trringo.com as a wholly-owned subsidiary.
  544. First-ever World Humanitarian Summit since World War II, held in Istanbul (Turkey).
  545. University Grants Commission (UGC) brought out new norms for deemed universities. An institution will be eligible to become a deemed university if -
    1. It has undergraduate and 5 post-graduate programmes with research in existence for 3 years.
    2. A deemed university should have a min 40 % open space of total built up area.
    3. Institution must have either highest NAAC or NBA accreditation rating for three cycles consecutively or an ‘A’ grade at the time of application and a position among top 20 institutions under the National Institute Ranking Framework (NIRF).
    4. Deemed universities will be able to open off-campus centres only after five years of their existence.
  546. Government approved revised guidelines of Performance in Credit Rating Scheme , to increase its effectiveness for both borrowers and banks.
    1. Fee to be reimbursed by the MSME Ministry will constitute 75 % of the fee charged by the rating agency subject to a ceiling of
      1. 15000 - For turnover up to 50 lakh rupees
      2. 30000 - For turnover between 50 lakh and 2 cr
      3. 40000 - For turnover above 2 cr
  547. Government approved MOU with Japan for promoting sustainable, stable and low-carbon thermal power development in India.
  548. Government approved financial restructuring of Hindustan Fertilizers Corporation Limited (HFCL), including loan waiver of over 9000 crores and transfer of 56 acres of Ash Dyke land of Barauni unit to Bihar State Power Generation Company Limited (BSPGCL) to settle dues of HFCL for faster revival of Barauni Unit.
  549. Government approved undertaking cadre review of Indian Postal Service for enabling Department of Posts to meet the functional requirements and strengthening cadre structure.
  550. Government approved MoU between Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and United Arab Emirates Space Agency (UAESA) for cooperation in exploration and user of outer space for peaceful purposes.
  551. Government approved MOU with Maldives for cooperation in field of tourism.
  552. Government approved financial restructuring of Hindustan Steel Works Construction Limited (HSCL) and its takeover by National Buildings Construction Corporation Limited (NBCC).
  553. Government modified list of Scheduled Tribes (STs) in Assam, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Tripura and Puducherry -
    1. Sl.No.

      State / Union Territory

      Inclusion / Exclusion / Rectification / Identification

      Community

      1.

      Assam

      Inclusion

      Boro, Boro Kachari, Bodo, Bodo Kachari, Karbi (Mikir)

       

      2.

      Chhattisgarh

       

       

       

       

       

       

      Chhattisgarh

      Inclusion

       

       

       

       

       

       

      Rectification of Hindi Version of the Notification

       

      iii) Bhuinya, Bhuiyan, Bhuyan

      iv) Dhanuhar / Dhanuwar

      v) Kisan

      vi) Saunra, Saonra

      vii) Dhangad

      3.

      Jharkhand

      Inclusion

      viii) Bhogta, Deshwari, Ganjhu, Dautalbandi (Dwalbandi), Patbandi, Raut, Maajhia, Khairi (Kheri)

      ix)  Puran

       

      4.

      Tamil Nadu

      Inclusion

       x) Malayali Gounder

      xi) Narikoravan, 

           Kurivikkaran

       

      5.

      Tripura

      Inclusion

      xii) Darlong

       

      6.

      Puducherry

      Identification (First Order)

      xiii) Irular (including Villi and Vettaikaran)

  554. Government approved proposal of Yes Bank for increase in foreign investment limit to 74% from existing foreign equity of 41.87 %.
  555. Government approved establishment of National Institute of Technology (NIT) Andhra Pradesh. It was on August 20, 2015 registered as a Society in the state under Andhra Pradesh Societies Registration Act, 2001.
  556. National Academy For Training & Research In Social Security (NATRSS) has been renamed as Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya National Academy of Social Security (PDUNASS).
  557. After successful test of Reusable launch Vehicle- Technology Demonstration (RLV-TD), Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) will test an Air-breathing Propulsion System, aimed to capitalize on oxygen in atmosphere instead of liquefied oxygen while in flight. These activities are part of ISRO's efforts to to bring down cost of launch vehicles.
  558. Government approved to amend Institutes of Technology (IIT) Act, 1961 for incorporation of 6 new IITs - Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh), Palakkad (Kerala), Dharwar (Karnataka), Bhilai (Chhattisgarh), Goa, Jammu (Jammu and Kashmir).
  559. Government approved National Capital Goods Policy 2016 by Ministry of Heavy Industry & Public Enterprise for capital goods sector -
    1. Policy Objectives
      1. Increase production of capital goods from 2,30,000 crore rupees in 2014-15 to 7,50,000 crore rupees in 2025.
      2. Raise employment from current 84 lakh to 3 crore.
      3. Increase exports from 27% to 40% of production.
      4. Increase share of domestic production in Indias demand from 60% to 80%.
    2. Aim of Policy
      1. Facilitate improvement in technology depth across sub-sectors
      2. Ensure mandatory standards
      3. Increase skill availability and promote growth
      4. Capacity building of MSMEs.
  560. Scientists from Trinity College Dublins School of Physics and CRANN Institute discovered a new property of light based on Angular Momentum, opening up ways to alter basic understanding of fundamental nature of light.
    1. Unexpected new property of light was seen based on concept called ‘angular momentum, during passing of light through crystals.
    2. Earlier, physicists thought that in all forms of light, angular momentum (measures how much a beam of light is rotating) is multiple of Plancks constant (physical constant that sets the scale of quantum effects). But now scientists found angular momentum of each photon (a particle of visible light) takes only half of this value.
    3. This new property causes a beam of light to be confined to fewer than three dimensions.
    4. Significance - Help in study of light waves in areas such as secure optical communication which will open up new means for faster internet connections.
  561. Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani has been conferred the prestigious Othmer Gold Medal by Chemical Heritage Foundation, for his entrepreneurial leadership.
  562. China won Uber Cup badminton championship by defeating India in China. It was china's 14th Uber cup title.
  563. Bihar Government announced ban on sale, distribution, storage, manufacture, consumption and publicity of tobacco products like gutka and pan masala.
  564. World Bank's subsidiary International Finance Corporation (IFC) will invest US$68 million (about INR 460 crore) in Apollo Health & Lifestyle ltd (AHLL) and $20 million in FCEL (Future Consumer Enterprise Ltd). 
  565. Binali Yildirim chosen as Turkey’s Prime Minster.
  566. Belgium's Mourad Laachraoui won gold in European Taekwondo Championships and will nocompete in this summer's Rio Olympics. Note that hs is brother of Paris Blasts Accused  Najim Laachraoui.
  567. National Green Tribunal (NGT) banned over 10 years old diesel vehicles in six cities of Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Kollam, Thrissur, Kozhikode and Kannur.
  568. Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) launched ASMITA (All School Monitoring Individual Tracing Analysis ) under Shala Asmita Yojana (SAY).
    1. SAY aims to track educational journey of school students from Class I to Class XII across 15 lakhs schools in country.
    2. ASMITA will be an online database with information of student attendance and enrolment, learning outcomes, mid-day meal service and infrastructural facilities.
  569. Chief Executive Office of Apple Inc., Tim Cook Visited India.
    1. Apple opened a new Development Office in Hyderabad, Telangana.The facility will focus on development of Maps for Apple products, including iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch. This investment will accelerate Maps development and create up to 4000 jobs.
  570. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal released draft of State of Delhi Bill 2016 that seeks to establish State of Delhi as 30th State in country.
  571. Military tourism initiative Veer Yatra has been launched by Maharashtra Ex-servicemen's Corporation (MESCO) in Pune (Maharashtra) to strengthen bond between military establishment and civilians.
  572. Book Making It Big: The inspiring Story of Nepals first billionaire in his own words has been authored by Binod Chaudhary, Nepal's first billionaire.
  573. 2016 Women Economic Forum (WEF) hosted by New Delhi (India) under theme Women: Uplifting and Uniting the World.
  574. International Buddhist conference held in Lumbini (Nepal) with theme Lumbini, Nepal: the birth place of Lord Buddha and the fountain of Buddhism and world peace.
  575. Tsai Ing-wen appointed as first female President of Taiwan.
  576. Book Dr. Ambedkar: Life and Mission has been authored by Dhananjay Kheer.
  577. Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) made mandatory for Participatory Notes (P-Notes) users to follow Indian anti-money laundering laws and report any suspicious transactions. Issuers of P-Notes will report transfer trail of P-Notes to SEBI on monthly basis in addition to present reporting details of their holders.
    1. P-Notes are instruments issued by registered foreign institutional investors to overseas investors, who wish to invest in Indian markets without registering themselves directly in India to save time.
  578. Indian 4x100m womens relay team broke 18-year-old national record to finish 4th at IAAF World Challenge in Beijing (China). Team included Dutee Chand, Srabani Nanda, HM Jyoti and Merlin Joseph clocked 44.03 seconds to finish race.
  579. US-based Nepali Lhakpa Sherpa climbed Mount Everest for seventh time, breaking her own record for the most summits of the world’s highest mountain by any woman.
  580. May 22 - International Day for Biological Diversity (IBD). Theme for 2016 is Mainstreaming Biodiversity; Sustaining People and their Livelihoods.
  581. Health Minister J P Nadda launched Kayakalp Fortnight at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) New Delhi with aim of intensifying Kayakalp initiative under Swachch Bharat Abhiyaan.
  582. May 21 - Nationsl Anti-Terrorism Day. It Marks death anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi who was assassinated at an election rally near Chennai by a suicide bomber from LTTE on 21 May 1991.
  583. Government launched affordable Faecal Incontinence Management System (FIMS) Qora.
    1. Fecal incontinence (FI) is a medical condition marked by inability to control ones bowel (Intestine) movements.
    2. It causes feces (stool) to leak unexpectedly from the rectum.
  584. United Nations (UN) appointed Mary Robinson and Macharia Kamau as UNs Special Envoys for El Nino and Climate.
  585. Ratan P Watal appointed as Principle Adviser for social sector in NITI Aayog.
  586. Himachal Pradesh fisheries department started an artificial propagation programme for conservation of Golden Mahseer fish.
  587. Government constituted 11 members committee under D B Shekatkar to recommend measures to enhance combat capabilities of armed forces and re-balance overall defence expenditure.
  588. US House of Representatives passed amendments to National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA)- 2017 to enhance countrys defence cooperation with India and bring India at par with USs NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) allies for technology and equipment sale.
  589. Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Chamling conferred with Yug Kavi Siddhicharan Award, one of the Nepals prestigious literary award.
  590. Anurag Thakur elected as 34th President of BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) till September 2017.
  591. Global Review on Antimicrobial Resistance appreciated Indias Medicines with Red Line campaign on antibiotics. Global review was commissioned by UK Prime Minister David Cameron and was chaired by economist Jim ONeil.
    1. As per report, Indias model of putting a red line on antibiotic packages to curb their over-the-counter sale can be used globally to counter rising threat of superbugs.
  592. Gujarat Government launched Smart Village program to improve public facilities in villages. Under this, 300 villages will be selected for Smart Village program.
  593. J Jayalalithaa sworn in as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for record sixth time. Her party AIADMK Party won 134 / 234 seats in State Assembly elections 2016.
  594. Mohun Bagan FC won 2016 Indian Federation Cup football tournament title for 14th time, defeating Aizawl FC.
  595. USA lifted its embargo on sales of lethal weapons to Vietnam, its one-time enemy in 1970's.
  596. India's Biliards player Pankaj Advani won Asian 6-Red Snooker title in Abu Dhabi. He became first in world to hold both world and continental titles in 6-red snooker at same time.
  597. Noted scientist S K Sharma appointed as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL).
  598. Odisha Government promulgated Odisha Official Language (Amendment) Ordinance 2016 to ensure use of Odia in all government systems.
  599. Routes 2 Roots, Delhi-based Non-profit organization (NGO) has been awarded Inter-cultural Innovation Award 2016 by United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) in Azerbaijan. The award was bestowed upon NGO for their unique Student Exchange Program, which allowed children in schools from India and Pakistan to connect with each other.
  600. Ministry of Urban Development shortlisted 13 cities in list of 2nd batch of Smart Cities Mission, topped by Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh. 13 shortlisted smart cities (Rank wise) are
    1. Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh).
    2. Warangal (Telanagana).
    3. Dharmashala (Himachal Pradesh).
    4. Chandigarh (UT of Chandigarh).
    5. Raipur (Chattisgarh).
    6. New Town Kolkata (West Bengal).
    7. Bhagalpur (Bihar).
    8. Panaji (Goa).
    9. Port Blair (UT of Andaman & Nicobar Islands).
    10. Imphal (Manipur).
    11. Ranchi (Jharkhand).
    12. Agartala (Tripura).
    13. Faridabad (Haryana).
  601. World Bank Group launched Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility and launched a $500 million fund to fight Pandemics in poor countries and creating the world's first insurance market for pandemic risk. FEP is a financing mechanism designed to quickly mobilize funds to tackle global disease outbreaks and create a new insurance market for pandemic risk. It was unveiled at G-7 Finance Ministers Summit in Ise-Shima (Japan).
  602. Jitendra Singh has been assigned Independent charge of Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports after resignation of Sarbananda Sonowal.
  603. Kiran Bedi has been appointed as Lt. Governor of Union Territory of Puducherry.
  604. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar visited Oman.
  605. Indian Space Research Organization successfully tested a Reusable Launch Vehicle-Technology Demonstrator at Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh). With this, India moved a step close to developing a space vehicle that can fly numerous times into space.
  606. Indian Navy commissioned Fast Attack Craft INS Tarmugli.
  607. Indian Signed loan agreement with World Bank for US$ 100 million for Karnataka Urban Water Supply Modernization project.
  608. Indian Person Philip Abraham elected as Deputy Mayor of Loughton town in United Kingdom.
  609. Noted Gujarati singer Diwaliben Bhil passed away.
  610. A joint US-Australian military research team successfully tested a hypersonic technology in Australian desert. During the test, scramjet attached to a rocket booster was successfully sent to an altitude of 278 km at Mach 7.5 (seven times speed of sound).
    1. Hypersonic flight involves travelling at more than 5 times the speed of sound (Mach 5). For this, scientists are working in Hypersonic International Flight Research Experimentation (HIFiRE) programme.
    2. Scramjet is a supersonic combustion engine that uses oxygen from the atmosphere for fuel. It is lighter and faster than fuel-carrying rockets and is suitable for flying at hypersonic (Mach 5 and above) speed. Scramjet engines do not have moving parts, It has rotating compressor and turbine in a jet engine.
    3. Scramjet technology can revolutionise global air travel and also provide cost-effective access to space.
  611. Coalition of Left Democratic Front (LDF) won 2016 Kerala Assembly Elections by winning 91 / 140 seats . Communist Party of India (Marxist) became largest party by winning 58 seats. Pinarayi Vijayan will be next chief minister of Kerala.
  612. Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and its alliance partners won majority in 2016 Assam state assembly election by winning 87 / 126 seats. BJP won 60 seats. Sarbananda Sonowal will be next chief minister of Assam.
  613. President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated Intelligent Operations Centre (IOC) desiged by IBM in Rashtrapati Bhavan and a mobile application Monitor.
  614. Minister of Health and Family Welfare J P Nadda launched Centre for Environmental Health in New Delhi to assess impact of environment-related problems on health.
  615. All India Trinamool Congress Party (TMC) under leadership of Mamata Banerjee won 2016 West Bengal Assembly Elections by winning 211 / 295 seats.
  616. First World Conference on Tourism for Development (WCTD) held in Beijing (China) with theme Tourism for Peace and Development.
  617. Himachal Pradesh Government has launched ‘PEHAL, a vision document of the Shimla District administration for raising education standards.
  618. Australian researchers at University of Newcastle built worlds first scanning helium microscope (SHeM). It would enable scientists to study human, animal and plant samples, as well as pharmaceutical drugs and computer chips in their true state.
  619. Italian parliament passed legislation legalizing same-sex civil unions. With this, italy became last country in Western Europe to do so. The new law grants same-sex couples many of the same rights as married heterosexual couples.
  620. Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry named as NBA (National Basketball Association)'s Most Valuable Player for second straight year.
  621. A Genetic study confirmed that Bene Israel community living in the western part of India has roots of Jewish Religion.
  622. Tinlianthang Vaiphei appointed as acting Chief Justice of Tripura High Court.
  623. May 18 - International Museum Day. 2016 theme is Museums and Cultural Landscapes.
  624. Global rating agency Moody's has forecasted growth rate of 7.5 % for Indian economy in 2016 and 2017.
  625. Government revised rehabilitation of bonded labour scheme, bringing it into the Central sector. Scheme proposes to increase the Budget provision from rs. 5 crore to about Rs. 47 crore per annum.
  626. SBI's Overseas subsidiary, Nepal SBI Bank launched payment gateway to facilitate transactions between Nepal and India.
  627. Public sector Bank Punjab National Bank reported largest net loss of rs. 5,367.14 crore for 4th quarter ended 31st of March, 2016. This is the biggest quarterly loss in Indian bank history. 
  628. Ola signed MoU with National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation (NSKFDC) to Build a sustainable framework by supporting entrepreneurship and self-defence courses for Safai Karamcharis and Scavengers.
  629. Japanese financial company Nomura exited its mutual fund joint venture with India's Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC).
  630. Tata Power Renewable Energy will develop 2 solar-grid connected photovoltaic projects of 50 mw capacity each in Pavagada Solar Park in Tumkur district of Karnataka.
  631. Council for Scientific and Industrial Research appointed Rakesh Kumar Mishra appointed as Director of Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB).
  632. As per World Cities Report 2016 – Urbanization and Development: Emerging Futures report by UN Habitat -
    1. Urban areas contributing 60% of the GDP and an extra 30 crore urban residents are projected by 2050. Government of India will need to build 100 new cities with low infrastructure, denser and low energy to tackle needs of such population growth.
  633. Rupa Iyer, Indian-American bio-technologist received University of Houston's highest teaching award for her contributions to education in USA.
  634. Sevilla named champions of UEFA Europa League for third straight year after they defeated Liverpool. 
  635. 17 May - 2016 World Telecommunication and Information Society Day. Theme is ICT entrepreneurship for social impact.
  636. 17 May - World Hypertension Day. Theme is Know Your Numbers
  637. Michel Temer appointed as president of Brazil after 6-months Suspension of Dilma Rouseff.
  638. FC Barcelona were crowned La Liga champions for second straight time and 24th time overall, after they defeated FC Granada.
  639. Rio Olympics qualified sprinter Sudha Singh set a new national record in 3,000-meter steeplechase category by clocking 9 minutes and 26.55 seconds in IAAF Diamond League race in Shanghai.
  640. Malaysia won women's Asian Team squash Championships in Chinese Taipei, by defeating India.
  641. Actress Celina Jaitly honoured by Harvey Milk Foundation for her contribution to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) equality as a United Nations Equality Champion.
  642. Deepak Shodhan, India's oldest Test cricketer and 2nd Indian to score a memorable test century in his debut innings, has passed away.
  643. Han Kang became First South Korean author to win Man Booker International Prize after she won 2016 Prize for her novel The Vegetarian.
  644. India and Bangladesh concluded a nuclear agreement to engage bilateral neighborhood relationship. Indian nuclear deal will equip and train Bangladesh to import their first nuclear power plant from Russia.
  645. Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited got 1,600 crores order from joint venture company of National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) and Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) to set up a coal based thermal power project in Odisha.
  646. India’s renewable energy sector has been ranked third in the Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index (RECAI) with China at second and the US on top. Index ranks 40 markets on the attractiveness of their renewable energy investment and deployment opportunities.
  647. UK-based Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) will shut down its corporate, institutional and retail banking operations in India. RBS currently operates 10 retail branches in India employing 400 people.
  648. Pfizer Inc (USA) will buy Anacor Pharmaceuticals (USA) in a $5.2-billion (£3.61 billion).
  649. British Royals launched Heads Together campaign at Queen Elizabeth Park in East London, with aim of changing national conversation on mental health and wellbeing.
  650. Renowned author of Harry Potter series, JK Rowling has been honoured with highest French civilian honour French Legion Of Honour.
  651. French astrophysicist Andre Brahic, knwon for discovery of Neptune's rings, Passed away.
  652. 3-member Indian women's archery team comprising Deepika Kumari, Bombayla Devi and Laxmirani Majhi named for Rio Olympics after several selection trials.
  653. IndiGo airlines appointed Rohit Philip as its new Chief Financial Officer.
  654. Shell India has announced Nitin Prasad as its new India head.
  655. England Cricket Awards 2016 -
    1. Joe Root won 3 awards - Test Player of the Year, Limited Overs Player of the Year and Fans' Player of the Year.
    2. Anya Shrubsole - women's cricketer of the year
    3. Callum Flynn - best cricketer with a disability.
    4. David Lloyd - special achievement award, for his 50-year stint as a player, umpire, commentator and coach.
  656. 16 May - National Day for Disease of Dengue. Government of India recently declared May 16 as National Dengue Day to mark the toll the deadly disease has been taking in terms of lives and to reaffirm nationwide efforts to tackle it.
  657. Indian non-fiction short film on girl child education Beti has been invited for a special screening at 42nd edition of Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) 2016b (Washington DC).
  658. Rajasthan became first Indian state to issue newspaper advertisements for the post of Vice Chancellor (VC) of government universities.
  659. As per National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), Indias GDP growth rate is projected to 7.6 % in FY 16 (2015-16) and 7.7 % FY 17 (2016-17) because of a favourable monsoon.
  660. Rwanda hosted 26th World Economic Forum on Africa (WEF) in its capital Kigali. Theme is - Connecting Africa's Resources through Digital Transformation.
  661. Iran has stopped free shipping of oil to Indian refiners from April 2016. Note tat Iran since 2013, has offered free shipping due to international sanctions imposed on it because of its nuclear program.
  662. National Aluminium Company (Nalco) signed MoU with Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) for Research and Development (R&D) in fields of mutual interest.
  663. Kotak Mahindra Bank Chief Uday Kotak (Net worth $7.1 billion), is sonly Indian in Forbes' 'Money Masters: The Most Powerful People In The Financial World' list of 40. List topped by Blackstone Group's CEO Stephen Schwarzman (worth $10.2 billion).
  664. Music composer AR Rahman has been made Goodwill Ambassador for Rio Olympics. Rahman is India's fourth Goodwill Ambassador after Bollywood actor Salman Khan, Olympic gold medalist Abhinav Bindra and cricketer Sachin Tendulkar.
  665. Central Asian state leaders inaugurated Central Asia South Asia (CASA-1000) transmission line in Tajikistan to link Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan and Pakistan and to promote regional stability.
  666. Parkash Singh committee submitted its report on Jat Quota in Haryana.
  667. Securities and Exchange Board of India approved appointment of Ashok Chawla as National Stock Exchange (NSE)'s new Chairman.
  668. Rwandan cricket captain Eric Dusingizimana has set a new Guinness world record by batting out a straight 51 hours as longest individual net session. He beat record set last year by India's Virag Mane (50 hours).
  669. Postal department of India went high tech by geo tagging 1.5 Lakh post offices on Bhuvan Portal (ISRO) and monitoring timely clearance of letter boxes through a mobile app.
  670. Government approved Odisha Government's proposal to set up Kalinganagar National Investment and Manufacturing Zone in Jajpur district with cost approx 4200 crores. This is third Investment and Manufacturing Zone of India involving a massive area of 163 sqr km.
  671. 15 May - International Day of Families. Theme for 2016 is Families, healthy lives and sustainable future.
  672. Government approved joint issue of UN Women HeForShe postage stamp and a MoU has been signed between Department of Posts and United Nations Postal Administration (UNPA) in for this purpose.
  673. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved offering an improved Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) package based on 2007 notional pay scales for employees of Hindustan Vegetable Oils Corporation (HVOC). It will bring relief to employees of HVOC. that were suffering due to financial sickness of the company.
  674. Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama, Prime Minister of Fiji visited India.
  675. Cyclonic storm ROANU over west central Bay of Bengal Hits Indian Coastal states of Odisha, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh.
  676. India and Slovenia signed Protocol amending existing Convention and Protocol between two countries for avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion.
  677. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) conducted trial run of countrys first ever driverless Metro train. Driverless trains will run on over 58 km-long Majlish Park-Shiv Vihar (Line 7) and over 38 km-long Janakpuri (West)- Botanical Garden (Line 8) corridors of Phase-III.
  678. Indian American professor Rakesh K. Jain will be presented 2015 National Medal of Science of USA.
  679. Indian American teenager from Texas Syamantak Payra won $50,000 Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award for his work in making a low-cost electronically-aided knee brace device which allows people with weakened legs to be able to walk better.s
  680. Income Tax (IT) department launched electronic grievance redressal system e-nivaran to fast track taxpayer grievances and ensure early resolution of their complaints.
  681. World's largest single rooftop solar power plant of 11.5 MegaWatt (MW) capacity inaugurated at Dera Baba Jaimal Singh in Beas near Amritsar in Punjab. It is spread over 82 acres of rooftop in single campus with installed capacity of 19.5 MW. Cost has been around 139 crores and would generate clean and green energy sufficient to power approximately 8,000 homes. It will also help in abating 4-lakh tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) in next 25 years.
  682. Odisha Government launched Green Passage scheme for orphan students to ensure that they get free of cost higher education in the state.
  683. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) successfully launched a super pressure balloon to conduct near-space scientific investigations, from South Island Wanaka Airport (New Zealand). The balloon is 532,000 cubic metres and aims to remain airborne for more than 100 days.
  684. Indigenously developed nuclear capable Prithvi-II surface-to-surface missile successfully test-fired. It is Capable of carrying 500 kg to 1,000 kg of nuclear as well as conventional warheadsm with Strike Range 350 km.
  685. World's first robot lawyer ROSS has been employed by a US law firm BakerHostetler. It will assist the law firm in legal research.
  686. State Bank of India decided to merge its five associate public sector banks (PSBs) and Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) with itself. 5 subsidiary banks are - State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Patiala and State Bank of Travancore.
  687. Government opened a special Tatkal like window to expedite examination process of patent applications by start-ups as well as of entities choosing India for filing first patent. It is aiming to reduce time frame for grant of patents to 18 months from the present 5-7 years by March 2018.
  688. HDFC Bank launched SmartUp, a dedicated solution for startups to fulfil all their banking needs. It was launched in association with Mumbai-based accelerator Zone Startups India (ZSI).
  689. Scientists from University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) developed world's first genetically engineered clone of Zika virus strain. They dubbed it as infectious complementary DNA (cDNA) clone.
  690. 14 May - World Fair Trade Day (Second Saturday of May Each Year).
  691. India's Mukul Mudgal appointed as Deputy Chairman of FIFA Governance Committee. While General Luis Miguel Maduro from Portugal was appointed as Chairman of FIFAs governance committee.
  692. Income Declaration Scheme 2016 / 4 month window for declaration of domestic black money (Dhan Wapsi) will be effective from 1st June 2016. It provides an opportunity to all persons who have not declared income correctly in earlier years to declare their undisclosed incomes. Under this,
    1. Declared income would be taxed at rate of 30 % plus ‘Krishi Kalyan cess of 25 % on taxes payable and a penalty at rate of 25 % of taxes payable. Thus, total tax to be paid will be 45% of income declared.
    2. Declarations can be filed online or with the Principal Commissioners of Income-tax. The surcharge and penalty must be paid by 30th November, 2016.
  693. Red Bull F1 driver Max Verstappen (18 years age) from Netherlands became Formula Ones youngest winner, after he won 2016 Spanish Grand Prix.
    1. 2016 Formula One season -
      1. Total 21 Grand Prix Races to be organized across the world in 2016. Calendar is -
        1. Grand Prix Date Winner
          Australia 20 March Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Baharain 3 April Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          China 17 April Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Russia 1 May Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Spain 15 May Max Verstappen (Netherlands)
          Monaco 29 May  
          Canada 12 June  
          Europe 19 June  
          Austria 3 July  
          Britain 10 July  
          Hungary 24 July  
          Germany 31 July  
          Belgium 28 August  
          Italy 4 September  
          Singapore 18 September  
          Malaysia 2 October  
          Japan 9 October    
          USA 23 October  
          Mexico 30 October  
          Brazil 13 November  
          Abu Dhabi 27 November  
  694. Italian Open Tennis 2016 -
    1. Men's Singles - Andy Murray (Britain) defeated Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
    2. Womens Singles - Serena Williams (USA) defeated Madison Keys (USA).
    3. Womens Doubles - Sania Mirza (India) and her Swiss partner Martina Hingis. defeated Russian pair of Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina.
    4. Mens doubles - Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan (USA) defeated pair of Vasek Pospisil (Canada) and Jack Sock (United States).
  695. Former ISRO Chairman Udupi Ramachandra Rao became first Indian to be given Hall of Fame Award by International Astronautical Federation (IAF).
  696. China successfully launched Yaogan-30 remote-sensing satellite into sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) using Long March-2D rocket.
  697. India Successfully tested Advanced Air Defence (AAD) interceptor missile - Ashwin. During Test, It hit target missile which another ballistic missile (Prithvi). Ashwin AAD is capable of destroying any incoming hostile ballistic missile. It is 7.5-meter long and weighs around 1.2 tonnes.
  698. 5 Indians - Shubhkaran Yadav, Manish Malik, Rakesh Kumar and Amal Deka have been chosen posthumously for United Nations Dag Hammarskjold Medal for their courage and sacrifice. They are among 124 personnel who have been posthumously awarded a prestigious UN medal.
  699. India and United States (US) held their first Maritime Security Dialogue in New Delhi for deepening evolving partnership in maritime domain.
  700. Deepak Gupta sworn-in as Chief Justice (CJ) of Chhattisgarh High Court.
  701. NTPC signed a joint venture agreement (JVA) with Coal India to revive plants of Fertilizer Corporation of India Limited (FCIL).
  702. Nandini Bhandaru, a PhD student at IIT-Kharagpur won Young Scientist Award of European Materials Research Societys (E-MRS) for contribution to materials science, for her contribution to materials science and nanotechnology, particularly nano-patterning of soft films and surfaces.
  703. World Bank approved 625 million USD loan to support Indias grid connected rooftop solar programme to generate clean energy. Loan has maturity of 20 years and a 19.5 year grace period.
  704. Book White magic: A story of heart break , Hard Drugs and Hope has been authored by Arjun Nath.
  705. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) established Nozzle Testing Laboratories (NTL) at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram (Andhra Pradesh) to carry out advanced R&D esearch in area of rocket nozzle.
  706. Tony Cozier, legendary West Indies commentator passed away.
  707. Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh organized 3-day International Vichaar Mahakumbh conference at Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh.
  708. Book Chaos and Caliphate: Jihadis and the West in the Struggle for the Middle East, has been authored by Patrick Cockburn (Ireland).
  709. Hindupur Pradeep Rao appointed as Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).
  710. US President Barack Obama honoured Indian-American elementary teacher Revathi Balakrishnan from Texas for her excellent work in field of education.
  711. Shashank Manohar elected as ICCs (International Cricket Council) first independent Chairman for 2 years.
  712. President Pranab Mukherjee presented National Florence Nightingale Awards to 35 nursing personnel from across the country.
  713. National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) fixed ceiling price of 54 drug formulations used for treatment of cancer, bacterial infections, diabetes and hypertension.
  714. Supreme Court of India ruled that Telecom companies will not compensate mobile phone users for inconvenience caused by call drops and the TRAI Regulation that made it mandatory for telecom companies to compensate subscribers for call drops from January 2016, stands illegal.
  715. Indian Air Force launched its Electronic Maintenance Management System (e-MMS) Project, an automated military maintenance system
    1. The e-MMS project is one of largest Maintenance Repair Overhaul (MRO) IT implementation in world.
    2. It has been developed by Wipro, for which contract was signed in 2013. e-MMS will help IAF to get rid of paper works and heavy logbooks.
  716. 19 Singaporean terms and 13 Hong Kong terms were added into Oxford English Dictionary (OED) and became officially recognised as acceptable English. Some of words are -
    1. Wah - expression of delight or surprise.
    2. Shiok - cool / great / delicious / superb.
    3. Yum cha - a type of Chinese brunch.
    4. Wet market - a market selling fresh meat and produce.
    5. Blur - confused / ignorant.
    6. Sabo - to harm or play a prank on.
    7. Sandwich class - informal term used to refer to middle class
    8. Milk tea - drink made from black tea and milk
    9. Shroff - a cashier, especially at a car park
  717. As per recent World Health Organisations (WHO) Urban Air Quality Data -
    1. Top 10 Polluted Cities - Irans Zabol (217), Indias Gwalior (176) and Allahabad (170), Saudi Arabias Riyadh (156) and Al Jubail (152), Indias Patna (149) and Raipur (144), Cameroons Bamenda (132), Chinad Xingtai (128) and Baoding (126).
  718. United States (US) President Barack Obama appointed Indian-American engineer Manjit Singh as member of President's Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships (PACFBNF).
  719. India and Canada, Iceland, Israel, New Zealand and China have signed OECD’s (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement, for boosting automatic exchange of information on tax issues and developing new tools to tackle tax evasion.
  720. ICICI Bank launched India's first contactless business credit card in association with Jet Airways for small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs), named as Jet Airways ICICI Bank Business Advantage Card. Card is powered by VISA payWave contactless technology.
  721. Kenyan Government hasdecided to close Dadaab refugee camp, referred to as worlds largest refugee camp having 330000 refugees mostly from Somalia.
  722. USA activated a land-based missile defence station (Aegis Ashore Missile Defence System) in Romania, as part of NATOs larger European shield to protect member countries from short and medium-range missiles, particularly from Middle East.
  723. Cricketer Anil Kumble has been re-appointed ICC (International Cricket Council) Cricket Committee chairman for second term of 3 years. Rahuil dravid has been elected as a member.
  724. NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog decided to come up with a 15-year vision document in relation with global trends and economic growth. It will replace five-year plans continued since 1951.
    1. First 15-year vision document will come into effect from 2017-18 after end of 12th Five year plan.
    2. It will be formulated with central objective of eradication poverty.
    3. It will come along with a seven-year National Development Agenda which will lay down the programmes schemes, and strategies to achieve the long-term vision.
  725. Naveen Sinha appointed as 31st Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court.
  726. Senegal's UN diplomat Fatma Samba Diouf Samoura named First Female as Secretary General of FIFA (International Federation of Association Football) Council.
  727. Red Flag Aerial combat exercises between US, NATO and allied forces and India Air Force (IAF) concluded in Alaska (USA). This was second time India in such an exercise after 2008.
  728. India signed Project Collaboration Agreement (PCA) with World Health Organization (WHO) for cooperation on promoting effectiveness of traditional and complementary medicines. PCA aims at supporting WHO in development of WHO Traditional and Complementary Medicine Strategy.
  729. Indian artist Anjali Chandrashekar won 3rd prize in UN Poster for Peace contest, presented by UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (ODA) to raise awareness of need for nuclear disarmament. Her poster Cutting Barriers through Peace featured a peace dove slicing through a nuclear weapon.
  730. Government approve MoU between Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi for co-operation and technical assistance.
  731. Government approved status of Central University for Rajendra Agriculture University, PUSA, Samastipur (Bihar).
  732. Foreign Secretary of India, S Jaishankar visited Bangladesh.
  733. H.E. Maithripala Sirisena, President of Sri Lanka visited India. PM Narendra Modi along with Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena released ‘Simhastha Declaration’ at Ninora village in Ujjain.
  734. Sweden's Minister for Justice & Migration, Morgan Johansson visited India.
  735. MoU signed between Ministry of Textiles and NDTV Ethnic Retail Ltd. for popularizing India Handloom textiles as a fashionable product for youth.
  736. Book Tagores Vision of the Contemporary World, written by Indra Nath Choudhuri has been released.
  737. Book Tagore and Russia, written by Reba Som and Sergei Serebriany has been released.
  738. Government approved National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy 2016 to promote IP regime and to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship with theme - Creative India; Innovative India. The Policy lays down seven objectives - IPR Awareness, Generation of IPRs, Advertisement Legal and Legislative Framework, Administration and Management, Commercialization of IPRs, Enforcement and Adjudication and Human Capital Development.
  739. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries organized national conference on ‘Gaushalas (cowsheds) in New Delhi.
  740. Road, ransport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari launched ePACE, INFRACON and an updated INAMPRO IT initiatives, developed by National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd.
    1. ePACE(Projects Appraisal & Continuing Enhancements) - integrated Management  Information System that brings projects from all wings of Ministry under a common platform,  ensuring  their effective and real time tracking.
    2. INFRACON is the National Portal for Infrastructure Consultancy Firms and Key Personnel.
    3. INAM PRO has been developed as a web-based application (www.inampro.nic.in) for Infrastructure and Material Providers.
  741. Commerce & Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman visited Myanmar for India-Myanmar Business Conclave at Yangon.
  742. Government constituted a 5 Member Committee under N.K. Singh, to give recommendations on FRBM (Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management) roadmap for future In pursuance of Budget Announcement 2016-17.
  743. Railways renamed Bengaluru city station after Karnataka's 19th century revolutionary freedom fighter and warrior Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna.
  744. 11 May - National Technology Day. 2016 Theme is Technology enablers of Startup India'. The day marks several technological achievements for India including -
    1. First of five tests of Operation Shakti (Pokhran-II) nuclear test, held on 11 May 1998 in Pokhran, Rajasthan.
    2. First indigenous aircraft Hansa-3 was test flown at Bangalore and successful test of Trishul missile held on the same day.
  745. Government approved to allow flexibility in optimal use of domestic coal to reduce cost of electricity generation and purchase. It will leverage coal to electricity conversion and also optimize transportation cost.
  746. Indian Railways created a Non-Fare Revenue Directorate to carry out advertisements in rail Assets, to increase revenue substantially from non-tariff sources. Mobility Directorate will also be constituted, to focus on areas like speed enhancement.
  747. A massive wildfire struck city of Fort McMurray in Alberta province of Western Canada, causing huge damages.
  748. International Cricket Council (ICC) lifted provisional suspension imposed on Sri Lanka wicket-keeper batsman Kusal Perera.
  749. President Pranab Mukherjee approved appointment of 4 judges to Supreme Court. These names were recommended by Supreme Court Collegium headed by Chief Justice of India TS Thakur.
    1. AM Khanwilkar, DY Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan, and L Nageshwar Rao.
    2. With this, judicial strength of Supreme Court moved up to 28. Max being 31 (30 Justices + 1 Cheif Justice of India).
  750. Charlotte Edwards, Englands women cricket team captain announced her retirement.
  751. Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademark granted patent to USA's Gilead Sciences for its Hepatitis C drug Sofosbuvir (brand name Sovaldi) in India.
  752. South American nation Argentina adopted the Social Fridge Policy to to feed needy ones who are facing hardship due to increase in job cuts and inflation in the country.
    1. Genesis of‘social fridge or ‘solidarity fridge is in recent economic crisis of Europe during which countries like Spain and Germany saw the mushrooming of such fridges. It is called so because people leave food in outdoor "social fridges" for those who need it.
  753. Book Chaos and Caliphate: Jihadis and the West in the Struggle for the Middle East authored by Patrick Cockburn has been released.
  754. Google launched Free Public Wi-Fi Service at 5 Indian Railway Stations (Ujjain, Jaipur, Patna, Guwahati and Allahabad) as part of RailWire initiative of RailTel Corporation .
  755. Book India vs Pakistan: Why Cant we just be Friends, written by Husain Haqqani has been released.
  756. Indian-American Revathi Balakrishnan is honoured by USA as 2016 Texas Elementary Teacher of the Year for her excellent work in the field of education.
  757. 10 May - World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) with 2016 theme Stop the Illegal Killing, Taking and Trade of Migratory Birds.
  758. Indian boxers won 4 medals at 7th Asian Youth Championships in Kazakhstan.
  759. Noted US actor William Schallert passed away.
  760. Tech Firm Apple appointed Sanjay Kaul as Head for Apple India.
  761. Classifieds business Quikr acquired Salosa, an on-demand in-home beauty services provider.
  762. Karnataka Bank launched cash back campaign for its VISA debit cardholders.
  763. India will to develop regional connectivity projects worth $5 billion in South Asia, including road corridors connecting India with Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan through West Bengal and India-Myanmar through Manipur.
  764. India and Mauritius signed protocol for amendment of Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) for checking Tax Evasion.
  765. Indian Navy launched new Harbour Defence Systems at Naval Dockyard in Visakhapatnam, including Integrated Underwater Harbour Defence and Surveillance System (IUHDSS) and Mine Warfare Data Centre (MWDC).
  766. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released consultation paper on Peer to Peer (P2P) lending to classify it as Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC).
    1. Peer to Peer lending is a form of crowd -funding which can be defined as the use of an online platform that matches lenders with borrowers in order to provide unsecured loans.
  767. US jury of St Louise ordered Johnson & Johnson (J&J) to pay 55 million USD to Gloria Ristesund, who claimed that companys talcum powder caused her ovarian cancer.
  768. 51 Enclaves (Approx 7000 acres) in Coochbehar district of West Bengal voted for the first time since independence. They came into India in 2015 after an agreement signed between India and Bangaldesh in 1974 was bought into force on 31-07-2015.
  769. Astronomers discovered 3 planets with similar size and temperatures as those of Venus and Earth, using TRAPPIST telescope at ESOs La Silla Observatory. They ar orbiting an ultra-cool dwarf star at approx 40 light-years from Earth.
  770. International Monetary Fund Economic Outlook for Asia and Pacific -
    1. Indias growth rate will be at 7.5 % in 2016-17.
    2. Growth in Asia and the Pacific is expected to be 5.3 % in 2017
    3. China's growth is forecast to moderate from 6.9 % in 2015, to 6.5 % in 2016 and 6.2 % in 2017.
    4. Japan's growth will be 0.5 % in 2016 and -0.1 % in 2017.
  771. USA Navy tested world's largest unmanned surface vessel named Sea Hunter. It is a self-driving 132-foot ship able to travel up to 10000 nautical miles on its own.
  772. 9 May, 2016 - 475th Birth Anniversary of Maharana Pratap . Government released a Commemorative coin of Rs. 100 and a Circulation coin of Rs. 10 on this occasion. 
  773. IREDA (Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency) will be converted into a Green Bank to enable its access funding from overseas banks, to entitled it to avail of certain benefits supported by Power Ministry.
  774. National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) approved projects worth Rs. 2446 crores for Development of Ganga Ghats.
  775. Musician Angelique Kidjo (USA) along with three inspirational African youth activist movements have been declared joint winners of Amnesty International top 2016 human rights award.
  776. Google partnered with Idea Cellular to offer direct carrier billing in India. Idea users will now be able to make purchases on Google Play Store directly through their postpaid and prepaid accounts.
  777. E-commerce Firm Snapdeal acquired Gurgaon-based predictive marketing technology startup TargetingMantra for  undisclosed amount.
  778. Somnath Ghosh is appointed as next Ambassador of India to Tajikistan.
  779. E-commerce Firm Flipkart will launch its own map services in tie up with MapUnity, to better handle its shipping activities.
  780. Yes Bank received Custodian of Securities licence from SEBI to allow Yes Bank to offer custodial services to financial market participants (FIIs , foreign portfolio investors).
  781. Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines will conduct coordinated sea patrols and establish a hotline to combat piracy and kidnappings in waters bordering the three nations.
  782. Australian state of Victoria, Swinburne University sigend two agreements with India in medical technology to address major health challenges in India.
  783. Nepal recalled its Ambassador to India (Deep Kumar Upadhyaya) over charges of non-cooperation and indulging in anti-government activities.
  784. Enda Kenny has been re-elected as Ireland's Taoiseach (prime minister of Ireland) for a second term.
  785. Kerala based South Indian Bank tied-up with National Australian Bank (NAB) for online inward remittances from Australia at a competitive rate.
  786. England automative brand Jaguar Land Rover tied up with UK-based Bullitt Group to develop mobile devices and a range of accessories.
  787. Infosys Foundation signed pact with Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Pune to support students from economically weaker section to pursue ‘high quality’ education.
  788. Ministry of Environment and Forests launched a web-based application on Integrated Waste Management System (www.iwms.nic.in), for better management of waste.
  789. Government allowed 100 % foreign direct investment (FDI) in asset reconstruction companies (ARCs) under automatic route, up from 49%.
  790. Leading cloud telephony company, Knowlarity acquired Delhi-based customer engagement platform Smartwards.
  791. 8 May - Birth anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. India held a cultural festival in Egypt on this occasion.
  792. Mikhail Myasnikovich, Chairman of Council of Republic of National Assembly of Belarus Visited India.
  793. PM Narendra Modi has launched India's first solar powered e-boats at Assi Ghat in river Ganga, Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh).
  794. All four Southern languages - Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Odia are now Included in classical languages of India, Earlier, Sanskrit alone had this status.
  795. e-Commerce Firm PayTm has tied up with Wipro IT services for implementing technology infrastructure for PayTm's upcoming Payment bank business.
  796. Indian Boxer Vijender Singh recorded his 5th consecutive victory in Professional Boxing after defeating Matiouze Royer (France).
  797. Jammu and Kashmir government signed MoU with Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi for setting up an IIT in Jammu.
  798. IT services Firm Wipro inaugurated Saudi Arabia's first all women business and technology park (WBP) in Riyadh.
  799. Bharti Airtel and networking player GBI partnered to increase Airtel's reach in West Asian countries.
  800. Leicester City's Jamie Vardy named 2015-16 Footballer of Year by Football Writers Association (FWA).
  801. Cricketr Rohit Sharma became Brand Ambassador of world famous Swiss luxury watch maker Hublot.
  802. Future Groups Chief Executive Kishore Biyani has been appointed managing director of Bharti Retail after merger of Retails Businesses of Future Group and Bharti Retail in 2015.
  803. Sameer Chadha appointed as partner and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of KPMG India.
  804. Italian sports car manufacturer Ferrari appointed Sergio Marchionne as new CEO.
  805. Government launched named MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) initiative for up gradation of tourism sector in India.
  806. JSW Energy bought a 1,000 MW power plant of Jindal Steel and Power, located in Chhattisgarh.
  807. National stock exchange will launch a new trade receivable and credit exchange platform for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). This It will help MSMEs to file their bill against large companies.
  808. According to IMF (International Monetary Fund), Financial inequality is highest in India and China among Asia Pacific countries. China and India's rapid growth has been accompanied by increasing levels of inequality. Inter provincial inequality is lower in India than in China, and rising inequality in India is primarily in urban phenomenon.
  809. European Central Bank (ECB) announced to stop producing 500 euro banknote by the end of 2018.
  810. Corporation Bank received excellence award on empowering MSMEs by Federation of Industry, Trade and Services (FITS).
  811. 7 May - World Athletics Day.
  812. Book Exploring Marxist Bengal, authored by Debraj Bhattacharya has been released.
  813. Madhya Pradesh government will launch Nagaroday Abhiyan, under Gramoday Se Bharat Uday Abhiyan in July-August 2016, with focus on welfare of people of urban localities.
  814. Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has been made Indias goodwill ambassador for the 2016 Rio Olympics, along with Actor Salman Khan and Olympic shooting champion Abhinav Bindra.
  815. Ashok Kumar became first Indian Kabaddi Refree to officiate in 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
  816. AP Disaster Recovery Project (APDRP) will be funded jointly by World Bank and Andhra Pradesh government in ratio 68 (World Bank) : 32 (AP Govt.). World Bank will finance 1,550 crore and AP government will spend 670 crore) in the project.
  817. As per SocialCops' analysis of World Bank data -
    1. India is 137th out of 210 countries on electrification with 78.7% of its population having access to electricity.
    2. There are 87 countries with 100% access to electricity, 40 countries with 90-99%, and 6 countries with 80-89%.
  818. Report Protecting People through Nature: Natural World Heritage Sites as Drivers of Sustainable Development by World Wildlife Fund for nature (WWF) -
    1. As per study, 114 World Heritage sites out of 229 in 96 countries have oil, gas or mining concessions overlapping them or are under threat from at least one harmful industrial activity.
  819. 2016 Malabar trilateral naval exercise will be hosted by Japan with naval ships of USA, India and Japan participating in it.
  820. Book Incarnations : India in 50 lives, is authored by Sunil Khilnani.
  821. Zimbabwe will print its own version of US dollars i.e. bond notes in order to ease cash shortage. Specially-designed $2, $5, $10 and $20 bond notes will have same value as their US dollar equivalents.
  822. Nagaland Police department won National Award for Smart Policing in the category of Road Safety and Traffic Management for initiative of SMS based Vehicle Monitoring System, by FICCI.
  823. 11th Habitat Film Festival 2016 Held in New Delhi with showcasing some of best films of 2015-2016.
  824. Kalraj Mishra, Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) inaugurated Harmukh Khadi Gram Udyog Sansthan in Srinagar (Jammu & Kashmir).
  825. Book Anubandh: Building 100-mile communities is authored by Ela Bhatt.
  826. Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) commissioned a 600 MW coal-based thermal power plant in at Jhabua Thermal Power Project (TPP) in Seoni (Madhya Pradesh).
  827. H.R. Nagendra Committee on Yoga Education in Universities submitted its report to the Government .
  828. A bug over half a metre long (62.4 centimetres ) discovered in southern China has been declared worlds longest insect amongst 807,625 known insects.
  829. USA President Barack Obama approved National Bison Legacy Act for officially making American bison the country's first national mammal.
  830. Rodrigo Digong Duterte won Presidential Presidential Elections of Philippines.
  831. NASA's unmanned Kepler space observatory discovered largest trove (group) of exoplanets outside our solar system. Of the new trove of 1,284 exoplanets, nearly 550 are said to be rocky planets like Earth.
  832. Harish Rawat led Congress Government won floor test in Uttarakhand legislative assembly. Mr Rawat will now assume as Chief Minister after Presidents rule revoked in state recently.
  833. Uttar Pradesh Government will develop over 197 km long bicycle highway from Agra up to the lion safari in Etawah to encourage eco-tourism in vicinity of Taj Mahal.
  834. Reliance Jio Infocomm launched digital wallet service named JioMoney Wallet. It's prepaid wallet that will easy mobile-based transactions for Indians for purchasing goods and services.
  835. Book Great Acceleration: How the World is Getting Faster, Faster, is authored by Robert Colvile.
  836. Andhra Pradesh will become first Indian State to make all of its urban areas Open Defecation Free by October 2016.
  837. Andhra Pradesh Government launched Chandranna Bima Yojana as an insurance scheme for working class people in State. Under this, Rs. 5 lakh would be paid if insured worker met with an accidental death or permanent disability and 3 lakh for partial disability.
  838. 6th Senior Mens National Hockey championship 2016 won by Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) by defeating Hockey Punjab.
  839. Nour El Sherbini (Egypt, age - 20) became youngest ever Women's squash World champion by defeating Laura Massaro of England.
  840. BCCI nominated Virat Kohli for prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award 2016 and Ajinkya Rahane for Arjuna Award.
  841. Ajay Mittal appointed as Secretary in Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.
  842. According to a study by Organisation Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and European Unions Intellectual Property Office, India is 5th biggest exporter of fake goods in world. List is topped by China, followed by Turkey, Singapore and Thailand.
  843. Three Indian names selected to list of 50 scientists elected as Fellows of Royal Society (premier scientific academy of UK and Commonwealth). Indians are - Sriram Ramaswamy (TIFR Centre for Interdisciplinary Sciences, Hyderabad), Ramanujan Hegde (MRC Laboratory of Microbiology, UK) and applied mathematician Lakshminarayanan Mahadevan(Harvard University).
  844. Book Politics of the United Nations Peacekeeping Operations, authored by Yeshi Choedon has been released.
  845. Nico Rosberg (Germany) won 2016 Formula One Russian Grand Prix 2016.
    1. 2016 Formula One season -
      1. Total 21 Grand Prix Races to be organized across the world in 2016. Calendar is -
        1. Grand Prix Date Winner
          Australia 20 March Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Baharain 3 April Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          China 17 April Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Russia 1 May Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Spain 15 May  
          Monaco 29 May  
          Canada 12 June  
          Europe 19 June  
          Austria 3 July  
          Britain 10 July  
          Hungary 24 July  
          Germany 31 July  
          Belgium 28 August  
          Italy 4 September  
          Singapore 18 September  
          Malaysia 2 October  
          Japan 9 October    
          USA 23 October  
          Mexico 30 October  
          Brazil 13 November  
          Abu Dhabi 27 November  
  846. Fourth South Asia Initiative to End Violence Against Children (SAIEVAC) Ministerial Meeting held in New Delhi.
  847. Gujarat Government has accorded minority status to Jain community in state.
  848. Scientists have detected atomic oxygen in the atmosphere of Mars for the first time. It was detected using an instrument onboard the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA).
  849. As per recent study by The Economist , -
    1. India is ranked ninth in 2015 Crony-Capitalism Index with crony sector wealth accounting for 3.4 % of gross domestic product (GDP). In India, non-crony sector wealth is 8.3 % of GDP.
    2. Top countries in the list: Russia (1st), Malaysia (2nd), Philippines (3rd) and Singapore (4th). Top ranking in the list indicates countries are engaged more in crony capitalism.
    3. Crony capitalism is a term describing an economy in which success in business depends on close relationships between business people and government officials.
  850. United Nations launched UN Zika Response Multi-Partner Trust Fund (MPTF) to finance critical unfunded priorities in the response to the Zika outbreak.
  851. Single emergency number, 112 will be operational throughout India from January 1, 2017 to help people reach immediate services of police, ambulance and fire department.
  852. Indian-origin lawyer Murali Pillai from Singapore's ruling Peoples Action Party (PAP) has been elected as a member of parliament of Singapore.
  853. Mrugank Paranjape appointed as managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) of Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX).
  854. Bombay High Court Advocate Atma Ram Nadkarni is appointed as Additional Solicitor General.
  855. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) unveiled first global digital elevation (topographic model) of Mercury, made by 10000 images captured by NASAs MESSENGER ((MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging) mission.
  856. Mutua Madrid Open Tennis title -
    1. Men's Singles - Novac Djokovic (Serbia) defeated Andy Murray (Britain)
    2. Womens Singles - Simona Halep (Romania) defeated Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia.
  857. Government launched 9 projects initiatives for rural sanitation initiatives for conservation of river Ganga in Jharkhand. Under this, villages located on 83 Km. stretch of Ganga River in Jharkhand will be covered to improve the health and quality of life.
  858. Indian Army conducted major military training exercise 2016 Chakravyuh-II in Suratgarh (Rajasthan), in conjunction with the Indian Air Force (IAF).
  859. United Kingdoms first baby named Biagio Russo was born in Oxford using Next-generation DNA sequencing (NGS) method. This method uses a revolutionary In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) technique resulting in better selection of embryos to transfer during the treatment.
  860. Scientists from Queen’s University (Canada) developed world’s first holographic flexible smartphone named HoloFlex, that lets users to interact with 3D Media without using any headgear or glasses. HoloFlex features a high-definition Flexible Organic Light Emitting Diode (FOLED) touch-screen display.
  861. Shashank Manohar resigned as President of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
  862. Indian Navy decommissioned aging fleet of Sea Harriers, to be replaced by a squadron of Russian MIG 29k jets.
  863. Madhya Pradesh Tourism (MPT) won the Lonely Planet Groups Best Indian Destination for Wildlife Award.
  864. Government constituted a committee under Sanjay Mitra (Secretary of Union Ministry of Road Transport & Highways), to prepare a policy framework for taxi and other transport operators.
  865. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will issue banknotes of 1000 rupees denominations with inset letter R in both the number panels.
  866. 4 May - International Firefighters' Day (IFFD).
  867. Government approved for adoption of 10 United Nations Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics.
  868. Government announced that currently 34 Indian satellites are operational in space. These satellites are
    1. 13 Communication Satellites: INSAT-3A, INSAT-3C, INSAT-4A, INSAT-4B, INSAT-4CR, GSAT-6, GSAT-7, GSAT-8, GSAT-10, GSAT-12, GSAT-14, GSAT-15 and GSAT-16.
    2. 12 Earth Observation Satellites - Resourcesat-2, RISAT-1, RISAT-2, Cartosat-1, Cartosat-2, Cartosat-2A, Cartosat-2B, Oceansat-2, SARAL, Kalpana-1, Megha-Tropiques and INSAT-3D.
    3. 7 Navigational Satellites - IRNSS-1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E, 1F and 1G.
    4. 2 Space science Satellites: Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) and Astrosat
  869. President Pranab Mukherjee conferred 15th Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) Niryat Shree and Niryat Bandhu Awards - .
    1. Reliance Industry - top foreign exchange earner and leading exporter of last 50 years.
    2. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) - Gold Award in IT services.
    3. State Bank of India (SBI) - Gold award among supporting institutions.
  870. Indian author Parashar Kulkarni won regional Commonwealth Short Story Prize for 2016 for Asia region, for his politically grounded, funny fiction story Cow and Company (about four men in search of a cow).
  871. NASSCOM (National Association of Software and Services Companies) signed MoU with Social network Facebook to build a product design initiative for Indian entrepreneurs.
  872. Bangladesh Government approved Anil Ambani-led Reliance Powers first phase of the 3,000 MW LNG-based power plant at Meghnaghat in Narayanganj district. It will be largest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Bangladesh with a potential investment of over 8,700 crore rupees (1.3 billion dollars).
  873. Seven Indian shuttlers (Badminton players) earned qualification for forthcoming Rio Olympics in August 2016 in Brazil. They are - Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu, K. Srikanth, Jwala Gutta, Ashwini Ponnappa, Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy.
  874. Lok Sabha passed Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2015 that seeks to ensure time-bound settlement of insolvency. The Code creates time-frame of 180 days for resolution of insolvency of companies and individuals. If insolvency is resolved in stipulated time, assets of borrowers may be sold to repay creditors.
  875. Sadiq Khan of British Labour party became first Muslim to be elected as Mayor of London (UK).
  876. Government approved proposal of Infosys to set up an IT/ITeS special economic zone (SEZ) in Bengaluru, Karnataka in an area spread over 4 hectares.
  877. Former South African cricketer Mickey Arthur is appointed as Pakistan cricket teams head coach.
  878. Pakistan won 3rd edition of Asian Kabaddi Championship 2016 (Circle Style) by defeating India.
  879. Switzerland Government honoured late Indian filmmaker Yash Chopra by unveiling bronze statue at Interlaken, weighing about 250 kilos.
  880. Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) launched Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) Shaurya.
  881. ICICI Bank signed MoU with BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) for partnership in bond issuances, co-financing, treasury management and human resources.
  882. USA's private space transport service company, SpaceX launched Japanese JCSAT-14 communication satellite by SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
  883. Noted actor Shashi Kapoors biography Shashi Kapoor – the Householder, the Star has been released. It has been written by Film Journalist Aseem Chhabra.
  884. To Promote ease of doing business, Government started process for issuance of Unique Business Identification Number (UBIN) to help budding entrepreneurs.
  885. Railways launched Bharat Darshan Tourist train for pilgrims to visit several Pilgrims.
  886. Karnataka Government decided to establish Asia's first Rice Technology Park at Gangavati in Koppal district. A Maize Technology Park will be established at Ranebennur in Haveri district.
  887. 3 May, 2016 - World Asthma Day (First Tuesday in May every year). 2016 theme is You Can Control Your Asthma.
  888. 3 May - World Press Freedom Day, observed by United Nations. 2016 Theme is Access to Information and Fundamental Freedoms – This Is Your Right!”. 2016 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize has been honoured to Khadija Ismayilova, an investigative journalist from Azerbaijan.
  889. HASE Hiroshi, Japan's Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology visited India.
  890. Manohar Kumar appointd as Director (Engineering) of National Projects Construction Corporation Limited (NPCC).
  891. Kumar Rajesh Chandra appointed as Director General in Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS).
  892. ADMM-Plus (ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting Plus) Exercise on Maritime Security and Counter Terrorism (Ex MS & CT) held in Brunei. Indian Navy Ship INS Airavat participated in it.
  893. Government launched Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) for providing free of cost LPG (cooking gas) connections to women from BPL Households. It was launched by PM Narendra Modi from Ballia (Uttar Pradesh) with tagline - Swachh Indhan, Behtar Jeevan.
    1. Under PMUY, each of the beneficiaries will receive monetary support of about 1,600 rupees to get a connection of cooking gas. It includes administrative cost, pressure regulator booklet and safety hose.
  894. Leicester City named champions of English Premier League 2015-16 season. They were crowned after nearest challenger Tottenham Hotspur FC had 2-2 draw with Chelsea FC. The draw placed Tottenham at second position and was not able to surpass Leicester City FCs seven point lead at top of table.
  895. Supreme Court appointed 3-three-member committee under RM Lodha to oversee functions of Medical Council of India (MCI).
  896. Indian American Harmeet Kaur Dhillon elected to newest national committee woman, a key position of Republican National Committee of USA.
  897. Mark Selby from England won 2016 World Championship title of Snooker by defeating China's Ding Junhui.
  898. Google acquired business technology startup Synergyse founded by an Indian-origin entrepreneur Varun Malhotra.
  899. Mexican diplomat Patricia Espinosa is appointed as executive secretary of UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change).
  900. Australian entrepreneur Craig Wright publicly identified himself as creator of virtual currency Bitcoin. He claimed that he is real person behind pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, creator of Bitcoin which was launched in 2009. Satoshi Nakamotos online cash system work in 2009 was the key for creation of online cash system, but he remained anonymous since then.
  901. Scientists at University of Montreal (Canada) developed worlds Smallest (Nano) Thermometer using DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid) structures that can resize at specifically defined temperature functions. Worlds smallest thermometer is 20,000 times smaller than a human hair and is fully programmable.
  902. Group of researchers from University of Cambridge built worlds smallest (nanoscale) working engine, led by Jeremy Baumberg from Cavendish Laboratory. They named it ANTs (Actuating Nano-Transducers). This Nanoscale engine is just a few billionths of a metre in size and uses light to power itself.
  903. Andhra Pradesh Agriculture Project won World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) 2016 prize in e-Agriculture category. Harita-Priya (Harmonized Information of Agriculture, Revenue and Irrigation for a Transformation Agenda – Precision Technology for Agriculture) Project is meant to collect very specific climate data from farms and give farmers personalised information through SMS.
  904. Government launched EXIM Analytics Dashboard to provide easy access to detailed trade data of the country. This web-based dashboard will provide an accurate perspective to the general public on the facts around the trade performance in India.
  905. PP Khandekar assumed charge as Air Officer-in-Charge Maintenance.
  906. Annual Master General of Ordnance (MGO) Industry Cooperation Meet (AMICOM-2016) held in Delhi with theme Indigenisation. AMICOM Series is an initiative of Indian Army to engage with indigenous defence industry.
  907. 49th Annual Meeting of Board of Governors of Asian Development Bank (ADB) held in Frankfurt (Germany), attended by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on India's Behalf.
  908. Minister of Railways launched an application - Project Management & Information System (PMIS) for proper Monitoring of all Railway projects throughout country.
  909. Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics Given to Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) for momentous detection of gravitational waves. The $3 million award will be shared between two groups - 1 Milion for three founders of LIGO (Ronald W. P. Drever, Kip S. Thorne, Caltech, Rainer Weiss) and 2 Million will be distributed to 1012 contributors.
  910. Memorandum of Understanding signed with Qatar for cooperation in Information Communication Technology.
  911. Government approved MoU between Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Central Bank of United Arab Emirates (UAE) on co-operation concerning currency swap agreement.
  912. Government approved Memorandum of Co-operation (MoC) between Ministry of Women & Child Development (MWCD) and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) for cooperation in Information and Communication Technology enabled Real Time Monitoring (ICT-RTM) of Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and other related technical matters.
  913. Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) is putting studying rain formation in clouds through a research program called Cloud Aerosol Interaction and Precipitation Enhancement Experiment (CAIPEEX). Under this experiment, air borne observations are taken through randomized cloud seeding and the impact is recorded.
  914. Radha Binod Barman is appointed as Chairperson of National Statistical Commission.
  915. Han Zheng, Party Secretary of Shanghai and Member of Politburo of Communist Party of China Visited India.
  916. Vice Admiral Sunil Lanba will be next (23rd) Chief of Indian Navy.
  917. Vijay Shankar Madan is appointwed as Secretary in Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation and Girish Shankar appointed as Secretary in Department of Public Enterprises (Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises).
  918. Ministry of Women & Child Development has been administering Support to Training and Employment Programme for Women (STEP) Scheme since 1986-87, to impart training to women in modern skills as well as traditional ones and enable women to become self-employed/ entrepreneurs.
  919. 1 May - Labor Day / International Workers' Day / May Day.
  920. Maharashtra Government has launched Adi Praman web based application for states tribal population to get caste validity certificates online. It was launched along with portal named etribalvalidity.mahaonline@gov.in.
  921. Madhya Pradesh High Court termed reservation in promotions in state as unconstitutional.
  922. South Indias first underground metro services flagged of in Bengaluru i.e. at East-West corridor (Purple Line) of Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL).
  923. ISSF (International Shooting Sport Federation) Junior World Cup held in Suhl (Germany).
  924. MoU signed between India and Maldives for Conservation and Restoration of Ancient Mosques and other Historical Monuments in Maldives. 
  925. Indian-American journalist Neela Banerjee honored with Edgar A Poe award by USA along with her 3 colleagues from Inside Climate News.
  926. INS Kalvari, Indian Navy's first indigenous Scorpene-class stealth submarine, launched for first sea trial in Mumbai naval dockyard.
  927. Two Indian Naval Ships (INS) Veer and Nipat have been decommissioned.
  928. 3 Indian origin persons have been named among 100 highest-paid CEOs globally. PepsiCo’s Indra Nooyi (22.2 Million USD), LyondellBasell’s Bhavesh Patel (24.5 Million), Microsoft's Satya Nadella ($18.3 Million).
  929. MOU Signed Between NITI Aayog and Singapore Cooperation Enterprise for launching the Urban Management Programme in India, to tap expertise of Singapore in urban sector to build capacities.
  930. Zimbabwe (Country in South Africa) decided to put some of its wild animals for sale, in view of severe drought and worsening finances.
  931. India Finished 4th in Commonwealth Judo Championship 2016 in Port Elizabeth (South Africa) with 12 Medals (5 Gold). South Africa stayed at top with 266 Medals (65 Gold).
  932. Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Ministry of Railways and Forest Department of Haryana & Punjab for plantation of trees alongside Railway Track on Railway Land Boundary.
  933. Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy launched Contract Labour Payment Management System for Coal India Limited.
  934. 4th Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) Held in Washington, USA, to discuss issues related to nuclear security. India represented by PM Narendra Modi.
  935. Uttarakhand's Power Corporation Limited (UPCL) signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) under UDAY Scheme (Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana).
    1. Under UDAY, 10 states have so far signed MoU till date. Combined DISCOM debt of these states is around Rs.1.96 lac crore, approximately 45% of total outstanding DISCOM debt of Rs.4.3 lac crore.
  936. German Governments Development Bank KfW will provide loan of EUR 500 million (about Rs.3,750 cr) for Nagpur city Metro Rail System.
  937. Rajiv Gauba appointed as Secretary in Ministry of Urban Development.
  938. Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani Participated in International Conference on the Zero at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris (France).
  939. Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) generated 100th Crore Aadhaar Cards so far, touching this landmark in 5.5 years. Aadhaar coverage now is at 93 percent among people above age of 18.
  940. Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Services Export Promotion Council (SEPC) will organize 2nd Global Exhibition on Services in Greater Noida (Uttar Pradesh).
  941. India organized 22nd meeting of BASIC Group (Brazil, South Africa, India and China) in New Delhi. Aim is to further consolidate positions of countries before 196 UNFCCC member countries meet for first time in May 2016 after adoption of Paris Agreement adopted in December 2015.
  942. HRD Minister Smriti Zubin Irani Released India Rankings 2016 as Indias First Ever Rankings of Indian Institutions, under first National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) -
    1. RANK

      University

      Engineering

      Management

      Pharmacy

      1

      Indian Institute Of Science Banglore, Karnataka.

      Indian Institute Of Technology, Madras, TamilNadu.

       

      Indian Institute Of Management, Bangaluru, Karnataka.

       

      Manipal College Of Pharmaceutical Sciences-Manipal, Karnataka.

      2

      Institute Of Chemical Technology, Mumbai, Maharashtra

      Indian Institute Of Technology, Bombay, Maharashtra.

      Indian Institute Of Management, Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

      University Institute Of Pharmaceutical Sciences-Chandigarh

      3

      Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi

      Indian Institute Of Technology, Kharagpur, UttarPradesh

       

      Indian Institute Of Management, Calcutta, West Bengal.

       

      Jamia Hamdard, Delhi.

      4

      University Of Hyderabad-Hyderabad, Telangana.

      Indian Institute Of Technology, Delhi

       

      Indian Institute Of Management, Lucknow, UttarPradesh.

       

      Poona College Of Pharmacy, Erandwane, Pune-Pune, Maharashtra

      5

      Tezpur University, Tezpur, Assam.

      Indian Institute Of Technology, Kanpur, UttarPradesh.

       

      Indian Institute Of Management, Udaipur, Rajasthan.

       

      Institute Of Pharmacy, Nirma University, Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

      6

      University Of Delhi, Delhi.

      Indian Institute Of Technology, Roorkee, Uttarakhand.

       

      Indian Institute Of Management, Kozhikode, Kerala.

       

      Bombay College Of Pharmacy-Mumbai, Maharshtra

      7

      Banaras Hindu University, Uttar Pradesh


      Indian Institute Of Technology, Hyderabad, Telangana.

       

      International Management Institute-New Delhi, Delhi.

      Birla Institute Of Technology, Ranchi, Jharkhand.

      8

       

      Indian Institute Of Space Science And Technology, Kerala.

       

      Indian Institute Of Technology, Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

       

      Indian Institute Of Forest Management, Indore, MadhyaPradesh.

       

      Amrita School Of Pharmacy, Kochi Kerala.

      9

      Birla Institute Of Technology & Science –Pilani, Rajasthan

      Indian Institute Of Technology, Ropar-Rupnagar, Punjab.

       

      Indian Institute Of Technology, Kanpur, UttarPradesh.

       

      Jss College Of Pharmacy, Ootacamund, TamilNadu.

      10

      Aligarh Muslim University, Uttar Pradesh

      Indian Institute Of Technology, Patna, Bihar.

       

      Indian Institute Of Management, Indore-Indore, MadhyaPradesh.

       

      Jss College Of Pharmacy, Mysore

  943. E-commerce Firm Flipkart acquired Bengaluru-based mobile payments company PhonePe , for an undisclosed sum.
  944. Indian boxer Shiva Thapa won silver at Asian/Oceania Qualifying Tournament in China.
  945. Worlds first White Tiger Safari inaugurated in Satna district of Madhya Pradesh, adjacent to Mukundpur Zoological Park. It is spread over 25 hectares.
  946. Scientists at Institute of Advance Study in Science & Technology (Guwahati (Assam)) have developed an eco-friendly biopolymer using nanotechnology for water purification applications. This eco-friendly biopolymer is created using a naturally occurring substance, called chitosan.
  947. United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) 2015 Yearbook report -
    1. India is ranked 6th among worlds Top-Ten manufacturing countries, compared to 9th position previously.
    2. Top 5 are China, United States, Japan, Germany and South Korea. Indonesia is at 10th.
    3. Global growth rate of manufacturing production slowed to 2.8 %.
    4. In India - Manufacturing grown by 7.6 % in % 2015 as compared 2014.
  948. World's first public dengue vaccination programme launched in Philippines with a French drug Dengvaxia (worlds 1st dengue fever vaccine) to combat mosquito-borne disease.
  949. 2 April - World Autism Awareness Day. Theme is Autism and the 2030 Agenda: Inclusion and Neurodiversity.
  950. Miami Open Tennis 2016 -
    1. Men's Singles - Novak Djokovic (Serbia) by defeating Kei Nishikori (Japan).
    2. Womens Singles - Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) by defeating Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia).
    3. Mens Doubles - French pair of Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut.
    4. Womens Doubles - Bethanie Mattek-Sands (US) and Lucie afářová (Czech Republic).
  951. Nico Rosberg (Germany) won 2016 Formula One Baharain Grand Prix.
    1. 2016 Formula One season -
      1. Total 21 Grand Prix Races to be organized across the world in 2016. Calendar is -
        1. Grand Prix Date Winner
          Australia 20 March Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Baharain 3 April Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          China 17 April  
          Russia 1 May  
          Spain 15 May  
          Monaco 29 May  
          Canada 12 June  
          Europe 19 June  
          Austria 3 July  
          Britain 10 July  
          Hungary 24 July  
          Germany 31 July  
          Belgium 28 August  
          Italy 4 September  
          Singapore 18 September  
          Malaysia 2 October  
          Japan 9 October    
          USA 23 October  
          Mexico 30 October  
          Brazil 13 November  
          Abu Dhabi 27 November  
  952. Haryana Assembly passed 2 bills to make minimum educational qualification criteria mandatory for the urban local bodies election (ULBs) - Haryana Municipal (Amendment) Bill 2016 and Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2016. Key features Include -
    1. Minimum qualification for contesting ULBs election will be - General - Class X, Female from General and Male from SC - 8th pass, SC women - 5th pass.
  953. Cyprian Kotut from Kenya won 40th Paris marathon in Men's Category. Women's title was won by Visiline Jepkesho (Kenya).
  954. Tran Dai Quang elected as 9th President of Vietnam.
  955. Government released Indian Intellectual Property (IP) Panorama to increase awareness about SME sector. The toolkit will cater start-ups and SMEs especially Indias ICTE sector based on agreement between DeitY and WIPO. IP Panorama is customized version of IP Panorama Multimedia toolkit by World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). 5 modules of Indian IP Panorama - Importance of IP for SMEs, Trademark, Industrial design, Invention and Patent Information.
  956. Government extended safeguard duty on import of some steel products till March 2018. Safeguard duty will be reduced to 10% in stages till 2018 from current 20%.
  957. Noted USA Actor Patty Duke passed away.
  958. India will institute its first Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) chair in the Arab world at Ain Shams University (ASU) in Cairo, Egypt.
  959. Government has released Rs. 25,834 crore to FCI (Food Corporation of India) as Food Subsidy.
  960. 5 times world chess champion Viswanathan Anand will be honoured with Hridaynath Award, which felicitates and recognises successful individuals across country from various walks of life.
  961. Noted Italian Footballer Cesare Maldini passed away.
  962. Noted USA actor Larry Drake passed away.
  963. As per USA research firm IHS , India is now fourth largest spender on defence, following a 13.1% increase in its 2016-17 defence budget. Indias defence expenditure is now $50.7 billion, Higher than that of Russia and Saudi Arabia. Increase in military pay and one rank, one pension (OROP) are main reasons for higher defence Budget of India. Indian defence budget is expected to be $64.8 billion by 2020.
  964. UltraTech Cement bought Jaypee Group's Cement Trade for Rs 15,900 crores.
  965. India's first arbitration centre for dealing the financial disputes will be opened soon in Mumbai. Till now, financial disputes of India were dealt in Singapore Arbitration centre.
  966. Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) signed MoU with Airports Authority of India (AAI) to provide scientific parameters for construction of airports. ISRO also signed MoU with postal department to provide space technology helpful in tracking parcel movements.
  967. National Stock Exchange (NSE) launched a new index Nifty - MidSmallcap 400. It will represent mid and small market capitalization segments and will comprise of 400 companies of Nifty Midcap 150 and Nifty Smallcap 250 indices.
  968. Maharashtra tied up with Tata Trusts to link all government colleges and medical colleges to the national cancer grid for uniform cancer profiling and quality treatment, for improvement of infrastructure for cancer cure.
  969. President Pranab Mukherjee promulgated Uttarakhand Appropriation (Vote on Account) Ordinance 2016 to authorize expenditures Rs 13642 Crores in the state that has come under a political crisis.
  970. Bhartiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Ltd (BHAVINI) appointed Kallol Roy as its new chairman and managing director (CMD).
  971. Actor Ranveer Singh will be Honored as 'Lokmat Maharashtrian of The Year' award. He played role of Maratha warrior Peshwa Bajirao II in Bajirao Mastani.
  972. Government issued a new set of income tax return (ITR) forms that require people with an income of Rs 50 lakh and above per annum to disclose their assets.
  973. Australian Fast Bolwer Clint McKay announced retirement from international cricket.
  974. Noted journalist and writer Babu Bharadwaj passed away.
  975. Reserve Bank of Indias first bi-monthly policy review -
    1. Repo rate reduced by 25 basis points to 6.5 %.
    2. Reverse repo rate increased to 6 %.
    3. GDP growth is projected to improve to 7.6 % in 2016-17.
    4. Marginal standing facility (MSF) rate reduced to 7%.
  976. Gatiman Express, India's fastest train Completed its First Run From Delhi to agra in 100 Minutes. Its Top speed is 160 KMPH.
  977. Tslc Limited launched its mobile-only lending platform CASHe, providing users a personalized experience to borrow cash within minutes.
  978. April 4 - International Day of Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action.
  979. Chandigarh Becomes First Kerosene-Free City with sale of subsidised cooking and lighting fuel being stopped in Chandigarh completely.
  980. North Korea imposed ban on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and South Korean websites, due to its concern on spreading Information Online.
  981. Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid passed away. She was first woman and Muslim recipient of Pritzker Prize, known as the Nobel for architecture.
  982. India's first special purpose vehicle (SPV) on smart city - Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited has been launched. It has been set up as per Smart City Mission Guidelines to enable faster execution of projects.
  983. PEN America will confer PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award upon imprisoned Egyptian novelist Ahmed Naji. PEN/Allen Foundation Literary Service Award will be given to Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling.
  984. Shri Trimbakeshwar Devasthan Trust (STDT) in Nashik (Maharashtra) banned all persons (men and women) from entering the Temple. Only hereditary priests will be allowed to enter the sanctum of Trimbakeshwar temple.
  985. International Cricket Council (ICC) Team Rankings for Test, ODI and T20I cricket. -
    1. Test Cricket - Australia at Top, India at 2nd
    2. ODI - Australia at Top with India at 3rd
    3. T20I - India at Top with West Indies at 2nd 
  986. Japanese electronics giant Panasonic appointed Indian Manish Sharma to its global Top executive council.
  987. India and Sri Lanka signed MoU to provide 150 fishing boats and fishing equipment to 300 Tamil fishermen from Mullaithivu in North Sri Lanka as part of Indias assistance programme in Sri Lanka.
  988. PM Narendra Modi launched Stand Up India Scheme to promote entrepreneurship among Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes and Women entrepreneurs. It will facilitate minimum 2 projects per bank branch and expected to benefit at least 2.5 lakh borrowers within 3 years.
    1. Stand up India provides refinance window through Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) with initial amount of 10000 crore rupees.
    2. It will create credit guarantee mechanism through National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC).
  989. Indian Air Force (IAF) will participate in Red Flag air exercise along with US, NATO and allied forces. It is scheduled in April - May 2016 in Alaska.
  990. DCB Bank became First bank to launch an Aadhaar-based Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) facility where a customer can transact using his biometric details instead of the PIN.
  991. Delhi High Court ruled that keeping a criminal case pending for indefinite period amounts to violation of constitutional rights of accused recognized under Article 21 (right to life) of Constitution of India.
  992. President Pranab Mukherjee presented National Geoscience Awards - 2014 to honour scientists for their outstanding contributions in Geosciences, Mining and Allied areas. For 2014, Ashok Kumar Singhvi was conferred with highest honour National Geoscience Award for Excellence for his contributions in sedimentary technologies. 32 other geoscientists were honored on this Occasion.
  993. Minister of State (IC) for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Rajeev Pratap Rudy launched Transnational Skill Standards. 2 MoUs signed between National Skill Development Council (NSDC) and UK Organizations on this Occasion.
  994. World Health Organisation (WHO) and United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) released Global report on urban health: equitable, healthier cities for sustainable development, 2016. It documents actions required to realize goals of Sustainable Development Agenda 2030 through universal urban health coverage. Report stated that India’s urban population will increase from 38 Crore (33 %) in 2014 to 60 Crore (40 %) by 2031.
  995. 5th April : National Maritime Day. 2016 Theme is Ease of doing business in the maritime sector.
  996. Prime Minister Narendra Modi Completed His Tri-nation Visit to Belgium, UAE and USA
    1. Belgium -
      1. Attended 13th India-EU summit in Brussels
      2. Activated Asia's largest 'general purpose' optical telescope installed in 'Devsthal', 60 km from Nainital, throug 'Remote Activation.
      3. Joint Declaration on India-EU Water Partnership adopted to enhance cooperation on environment issues.
    2. UAE -
      1. India and Saudi Arabia signed five agreements and MoUs. Agreements are in Labour Co-operation, Technical Cooperation Program,. Cooperation in Handicrafts, Exchange of Intelligence related to Money Laundering, Terrorism Financing and Related Crimes, Framework for Investment Promotion Cooperation.
      2. Modi gifted Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud a gold-plated replica of Cheraman Juma Masjid of Kerala. The mosque in Thrissur is first mosque built in India by Arab traders around 629 AD.
      3. PM Modi was conferred Saudi Arabia’s highest civilian honour the King Abdulaziz Sash.
    3. USA -
      1. Attended 4th Nuclear Security Summit in Washington.
      2. India signed MoU with USA for setting up Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) in India.
      3. India announced 1 million USD to Nuclear Security Fund of International Atomic Energy Agency.
  997. ICC World T20 Cricket 2016
    1. Men's - West Indies won by defeating England. Its second T20 title for WI after they won it first in 2012.
    2. Women's - West indies won By defeating Australia.
  998. Finance Minister Arun jaitley visited Australia and attended Make in India conference in Sydney.
  999. Scientists discovered a rare triple-star system named KELT-4Ab with a gas giant planet similar in size to Jupiter. It was discovered at Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics (USA).
  1000. Ministry of Home Affairs constituted committee under former Union Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta to suggest ways to tighten security along India-Pakistan border.
  1001. Government approved MoU with Sweden on Technical Cooperation in Railway Sector.
  1002. The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) appointed CP Gurnani as its Chairman for 2016-17 and Raman Roy as vice chairman.
  1003. Retd. Chief Justice of Sikkim HC Permod Kohli appointed as in Chairman of Central Administrative Tribunal.
  1004. Third phase of Health Ministrys universal vaccination programme Mission Indradhanush began. Under it, 39 lakh children have been vaccinated against seven preventable diseases in last 2 phases.
  1005. East Coast Railway (ECoR) Zone headquartered in Bhubaneswar (Odisha) emerged as largest Freight Loading Railway Zone in 2015-16. ECoR loaded 173.49 million tonnes of freight in 2015 - 16 with earning of 15978.28 crores.
  1006. Hashim Thaci appointed as President of Kosovo.
  1007. North East-ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Business Summit held in Imphal (Manipur) with focus on road connectivity, trade and tourism.
  1008. Sigurdur Ingi Johannsson appointed as new Prime Minister of Iceland. He has been appointer after Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson resigned due to his name being revealed in Panama papers leak.
  1009. Human Resource and Development Minister Smriti Irani attended International Conference on Zero in Paris (France). She unveiled a bronze bust of Indian mathematician Aryabhatta.
  1010. 6 Aprol - United Nations International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP).
  1011. Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) commissioned a seasonwise tiltable canal top solar PV plant at Bhimavaram, Andhra Pradesh. It is first canal top project in Andhra Pradesh.
  1012. Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh laid foundation stone of Haryana State University of Horticultural Sciences at Karnal.
  1013. India won 2016 Asian Nations Cup Chess by defeating Vietnam in Abu Dhabi.
  1014. Odisha Government launched Adarsh Vidyalaya (AV) project to provide modern schools facilities in underdeveloped rural areas of the state.
  1015. Saudi Arabia and Egypt will build bridge connecting each other over the Red Sea to boost trade and commerce. The bridge would be approx 16 KM in Length.
  1016. Minster of Human Resource Development Smriti Zubin Irani launched portal for registration and allotment of International Standard Book Number (ISBN).
  1017. Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry constituted a Committee under former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) B B Tandon, to check violations of guidelines set for government advertisements by Supreme Court.
  1018. For the first time, United Nations (UN) will observe birth anniversary of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar on April 13, 2016 (a day before his date of birth).
  1019. British boxer Anthony Joshua won 2016 International Boxing Federation (IBF) heavyweight title.
  1020. SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched first inflatable habitat room that will attach to International Space Station (ISS) for a 2 year test. The reusable main stage booster of Falcon 9 rocket landed off coast of Florida. The inflatable room has been named as Bigelow Expandable Actitvity Module (BEAM) and is the first such habitat to hold humans in orbit. It expands in space and takes minimal space, where astronauts can live and work.
  1021. Rajasthan assembly passed Urban Land (Certification of Titles) Bills 2016 for providing statutory backing to land records. With this, Rajasthan became first state to pass land title bill for effectively guaranteeing land and property ownership.
  1022. Traditional festival of Sajibu Cheiraoba celebrated in Manipur to mark beginning of a new year with cultural gusto and religious fervor.
  1023. World Trade Organization (WTO) revised its 2016 global trade updated forecast to 2.8% from 3.9%. The main reasons for cutting the forecast rate is slowdown in China and broad market volatility that continues to threaten growth.
  1024. Government approved country's first Metrino Pod project i.e. personal rapid transit (PRT) network for Gurgaon (Haryana). It will be completely private project. The pilot project will span a 13 km stretch from Gurgaon-Delhi border to Badshapur Mod on Sohna Road.
  1025. 07 April - World Health Day. 2016 theme is Beat Diabetes. World Health Organisation (WHO) released first Global Report on Diabetes on this occasion. Globally, 42.2 crore people were living with diabetes in 2014, compared to 10.8 crore in 1980.
  1026. Malaysian Open Badminton 2016 -
    1. Men's Singles - Lee Chong Wei (Malaysia) won by defeating Chen Long (China)
    2. Womens singles - Ratchanok Intanon (Thailand).
    3. Mens doubles - South Korean pair, Kim Gi-jung and Kim Sa-rang.
    4. Womens doubles - Chinese pair, Tang Yuanting and Yu Yang
    5. Mixed doubles - Indonesian pair, Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir.
  1027. Pakistan test fired anti-ship surface to sea Zarb missile. It is the Chinese C-602 Missile which is export version of YJ-62. It has range of 280 kms.
  1028. NASA's Kepler spacecraft has gone into emergency mode (lowest operational mode) some 75 million miles from Earth. EM of spacecraft was discovered during undertaking a microlensing observing campaign.
    1. Kepler spacecraft hunts for Earth-like planets orbiting other stars. It was launched in March 2009. Since its launch, it has found over 1,000 alien planets.
  1029. Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk resigned.
  1030. IIT Kharagpur won National Intellectual Property (IP) Award in academic institutes category. Institute will be awarded Top prize for Academic Institute for Patents 2016 on World IP Day (26 April 2016).
  1031. Investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova of Azerbaijan has been chosen for 2016 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize.
  1032. Chinese researchers (Ocean University of China and Yunnan Normal University) developed Graphene based all-weather solar cell that can generate electricity even during rains.
  1033. Maldives President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom visited India. Six Agreements were signed - Agreement for Avoidance of Double Taxation of income derived from International Air Transport, Exchange of Information with respect to Taxes, Orbit Frequency Coordination of South Asia Satellite (SAS) proposed at 48oE, Cooperation in conservation and restoration of ancient mosques in Maldives, Cooperation in Tourism, Action Plan for Defence Cooperation.
  1034. Reserve Bank of India gave final approved to Bharti Airtel's payments bank venture - Airtel M Commerce Services Ltd (AMCS). With this, AMCS became first entity to receive final approval from the RBI to start a payments bank. Airtel M Commerce is subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, a telecom company. Kotak Mahindra Bank has upto 19.9 % stake in Airtel M Commerce. Payments Banks are not allowed to lend, so tie-up with banks will help them source loans for their customers.
  1035. Danny Willett from England won 2016 US Masters Golf tournament.
  1036. World Bank unveiled Climate Change Action Plan (CCP) to tackle climate change by 2020. It will help countries to deliver their targets set in national climate plans submitted for climate agreement reached at COP21 in Paris in December 2015.
  1037. United Kingdoms Awards 2016 for recognition of exemplary achievements of people within the global Asian community
    1. Founders Award - Mother Teresa
    2. Community Service - Rami Ranger
    3. Business Leader - Prakash Lohia
    4. Outstanding achievement in Television - Kunal Nayyar
    5. Outstanding Achievement in Cinema - Asif Kapadia
    6. Outstanding achievement in Sports - Son Heung-Min
    7. Entrepreneur - Anil Agrawal(founder of Vedanta Resources Corporation)
    8. Outstanding achievement in Science and Technology - Shuji Nakamura
  1038. Researchers at University of Georgia and Ben-Gurion University of the Nege have developed worlds smallest nanoscale diode or molecular rectifier that could impact development of molecular electronic devices.
  1039. Pakistan and China held their joint bilateral air force exercise named Shaheen (Eagle) 5.
  1040. Sri Lankan Government resumed work on stalled Chinese Colombo Port City project.
  1041. Priyadarshini Chatterjee won FBB Femina Miss India World 2016. She will represent India at Miss World 2016 pageant.
  1042. Priyanka Chopra will be given Dadasaheb Phalke Film Foundations Best Actress of the Year award.
  1043. Book Indias War: The Making of Modern South Asia 1939-1945, has been authored by historisn Srinath Raghavan.
  1044. 31-year-old Kathak dancer Soni Chaurasiya of Varanasi broke previous record of marathon dancing of 123 hours and 20 minutes. Soni broke record previously held by Keralas Hemlatha.
  1045. Indian-origin researcher Ratnakumar Bugga has been recently selected for NASAs Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) programme for his concept Venus Interior Probe Using In-situ Power and Propulsion . Purpose of programme is to revolutionise future space missions to Mars and beyond.
  1046. B.G. Verghese is author of book A State in Denial – Pakistans Misguided and Dangerous Crusad.
  1047. Major Fire broke out at Puttingal temple (Kerala), claiming several hundred lives.
  1048. Gujarat launched Maa Annapurna Yojna to provide cereals at concessional rates to poor and middle class families under National Food Security Act (NFSA).
  1049. First National Tribal Carnival will be held in Delhi from April 29 - May 02, 2016 to promote various facets of tribal life relating to culture, tradition, customs and their skills.
  1050. Myneni Hari Prasad Rao, chief architect of Madras Atomic Power Station (MAPS) passed away.
  1051. India launched Transnational Skill Standards to support international mobility of Indian workforce and also prepare them to work in international companies having their operations in India. These standards in skill development are benchmarked to the skill standards in United Kingdom across 82 identified job roles.
  1052. 2016 Water Film Festival (a part of India Water Week 2016 celebrations) started at Water Expo-2016 in New Delhi. It is organized by Water and Power Consultancy Services (WAPCOS).
  1053. Vodafone moved to International Court of Justice (ICJ) seeking appointment of a third arbitrator in its Rs 20,000-crore tax dispute with India.
  1054. Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca & Co. received worldwide attention when an enormous cache of its documents was provided to news media in Panama Papers leak of information on off-shore tax havens.
  1055. Palaniappan Chidambaram has wrote book Standing Guard – A Year in Opposition.
  1056. Indian Army's Western Command launched a think tank on Defence and Strategic Affairs - Gyan Chakra, aimed at providing an outlet to veterans for pursuing research on strategic and national security issues.
  1057. Government launched low cost micro solar device - Surya Jyoti. The solar dome would help rural and urban population to have a reliable access to electricity.
  1058. Group of 7 (G-7) countries foreign ministers meet held in Hiroshima (Japan). During the summit, Joint Declaration has been called for a world without nuclear weapons. G7 Consists of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, and United States.
  1059. India signed memorandum of understanding with Islamic Development Bank (IDB) for $100 million line of credit to simplify exports to IDBs member countries.
    1. Islamic Development Bank is headquartered in in Jeddah(Saudi Arabia). It was founded in 1973 and has 56 member nations.
  1060. Mother Dairy partnered with Indian Premium League (IPL) cricket team Delhi Daredevils as its principal sponsor. Kansai Nerolac Ties Up With Gujarat Lions as associate sponsor.
  1061. Minister of Textiles Santosh Kumar Gangwar inaugurated 3 mega textile projects in Nagaland - Apparel and Garment Making Centre in Dimapur, Muga P3 Basic Seed Station Kobulong in Mokokchung district and newly Integrated Eri Silk Development Project under North East Textile Promotion Scheme (NERTPS).
  1062. Future Group acquired online home furnishings and décor business company FabFurnish.
  1063. Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) upheld complaints against 51 out of 102 reported advertisements for possible viloations of ASCI Norms.
  1064. S Balaji Arunkumar is appointed as deputy chairman of Kolkata Dock System.
  1065. To promote the Swachh Bharat Mission, Urban development Minister Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated 20 Namma Toilets in Delhi.
  1066. Forbes Asia 50 Power Businesswomen 2016 List -
    1. Reliance Industries director Nita Ambani and State Bank of India chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya have been ranked top 2 in List.
    2. 6 other Indian business women have been included in list- Mu Sigma CEO Ambiga Dhiraj (14), Dipali Goenka(16 - Welspun), Vinita Gupta (18- Lupin), Chanda Kochhar (22 - ICICI Bank), Vandana Luthra(26- VLCC), Kiran Mazumdar Shaw (28 - Biocon).
  1067. American music legend Merle Haggard passed away.
  1068. Noted Journalist Yogendra Bali passed away.
  1069. Book The Kiss of Life: How a superhero and my son defeated cancer, written by Bilal Siddiqi and Emraan Hashmi has been Launched.
  1070. Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) Academy appointed D. Vasu as Director.
  1071. Debraj Pradhan is appointed as Ambassador of India to Norway.
  1072. e-Commerce Firm Snapdeal has partnered with 9 non governmental organisations (NGOs) to launch Snapdeal Sunshine, a platform where users can make donations to causes under education, health, sports, women empowerment, disaster relief and old age care.
  1073. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) cleared conversion of Working Capital Term Loan (WCTL) of Bank of Baroda's (BoB) 29.91 crore rupees loan to Andrew Yule & Co. Ltd. (AYCL) into equity shares.
  1074. Information technology company HR (Hewlett-Packard) launched eight new personal products including world's thinnest laptop - Spectre (10.4 mm thickness).
  1075. 10 April - World Homeopathy Day. Central Council for Research in homoeopathy (CCRH) signed two MOUs with institutions of higher education of Canada and Armenia on World Homoeopathy Day.
  1076. Credit Suisse Emerging Consumer Scorecard 2016 -
    1. Indian consumers remain most optimistic, among nine nations surveyed by Credit Suisse. So Average Indian respondent's income has increased compared with a decline for the emerging markets average.
    2. China and Saudi Arabia shared the second position.
  1077. Bharti Airtel announced the acquisition of 20 MHz spectrum in eight circles from Aircel for Rs 3,500 crore.
  1078. Shareholders of Turkmenistan- Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) Pipeline Company Limited signed an agreement to invest $200 million in studies and engineering for $10 billion project to transport natural gas to participating countries.
  1079. Indian Private Sector's Federal Bank signed a strategic partnership with Phillip Capital (India) for managing NRI Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS).
  1080. Statue of Great Sikh Warrior Maharaja Ranjit Singh will be installed in France's Saint-Tropez town in September 2016.
  1081. Central Government has recommended 1,304 crore rupees for drought relief to Uttar Pradesh under National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF).
  1082. Government will issue universal identity cards to physically challenged with objective of providing them easy access to various benefits being extended by the government. It is being done is wake of issues arising due to some states not accepting cards of other states.
  1083. Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan visited Iran and Offered $20 Billion Indian Investment In Iran.
  1084. China launched a retrievable scientific research satellite SJ-10, to study micro-gravity and space life science. The Chinese satellite carries six titanium cylinders, each with a milliliter of crude oil compressed to more than 400 times. By bringing crude oil into space, international researchers will be able to find more of it underneath the Earth's crust.
  1085. Ministry for skill development and entrepreneurship (MSDE) named Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar as brand ambassador of 'Skill India' campaign.
  1086. Special meeting held by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris (France) to firm up cooperation between countries in wake of 'Panama Papers' leak. During the meet, International Monetary Fund, Wolrd Bank, United Nations And OECD decided to Form a New Group To Stop Tax Erosion.
  1087. CCTV Camera System has been integrated in Train Shan-e-Punjab Express. It includes 4 to 6 cameras per coach strategically located so that the entire area can be covered.
  1088. Tata Steel soild its loss-making 4.5-million tonne (mt) long-product Scunthorpe steel plant in Britain to UK-based investment firm Greybull Capital for Little over a Pound (Approx 85 Rupees).
  1089. Sanmar Chemicals, India's private sector petrochemical firm, will receive Rs.1,996 crore equity investment from Fairfax India Holdings for 30% Minority Stake.
  1090. Handset manufacturer Lava announced Cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni as it's new brand ambassador.
  1091. Cricketer Virat Kohli is named as Brand Anbassador of Premier Futsal, a newer and shorter five-a-side variant of soccer (football). World's first multinational Futsal league will be held in 8 Indian cities from July 15 to 24, 2016.
  1092. India's men's and women's teams have won both categorys championship titles at third Asian Kho-Kho championship in Indore, Beating Bangladesh in both cases.
  1093. WTA Tennis Rankings -
    1. American Serena Williams maintained top spot. Top 10 are - 1 - Serena Williams, 2. Agnieszka Radwanska, 3. Angelique Kerber, 4. Garbine Muguruza, 5. Victoria Azarenka, 6. Simona Halep, 7. Petra Kvitova, 8. Roberta Vinci, 9. Maria Sharapova, 10. Belinda Bencic
  1094. Government approved increasing framework agreement between Exim Bank of India and Central Bank of Iran for financing purchase of goods and services from India to Rs.3000 crore from Rs. 900 crore. It will be done by utilising Export Development Fund (EDF) of EXIM Bank.
  1095. Tax collections for FY 2015-16 stood at Rs. 14.60 Lakh Crore, as compared to Estimates of Rs 14.55 Lakh Crores. Growth is 17.6% as compared to last year. Indirect Tax revenue collections are Rs. 7.11 Lakh Crores and Direct Tax revenues stand at 7.48 Lakh crores.
  1096. 3rd SAARC Agriculture Ministers' Meet held in Dhaka (Bangladesh). Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Radha Mohan Singh attended on India's Behalf.
  1097. Government launched 2 schemes - National Energy Efficient Agriculture Pumps Programme and National Energy Efficient Fan Programme in Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh), to make country more energy efficient. These will be implemented by Energy Efficiency Services Limited.
  1098. Ashwani Kumar Kapoor appointed as New Member Electrical, Railway Board.
  1099. National Conference on Agriculture for Kharif Campaign held in Delhi.
  1100. Government appointed Meeran C.Borwankar as Director General in Bureau of Police Research & Development (BPR&D).
  1101. Former Indian Army Chief JJ Singh conferred with Officer of the Legion of Honour, highest French civilian distinction.
  1102. Haryana Government renamed Gurgaon as Gurugram and Mewat as Nuh.
  1103. India and United States signed Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) to ramp up bilateral defence ties, during US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter's visit to India.
  1104. Dogri Poetess and novelist Padma Sachdev has been chosen for prestigious Saraswati Samman for 2015 for her autobiography Chitt-Chete, published in 2007.
  1105. Government approved extension of MoU with Bangladesh on cooperation in Fisheries.
  1106. As per World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Global Tiger Forum (GTF), global tiger population has increased by 22 % after a century of constant decline. Number of wild tigers across globe are now 3,890. India at top with 2226 tigers, followed by Russia (433), Indonesia (371), Malaysia (250), Nepal (198), Thailand (189), Bangladesh (106) and Bhutan (103).
  1107. Third Asia Ministerial Conference on Tigers Conservation started at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi.
  1108. England Cricketer James Taylor announced his retirement at age of 26 due to ill health.
  1109. Federal Bank tied up with Chillar Payment Solutions to promote Its 'Campus Wallet', a student Identity Card integrated with banking technology.
  1110. Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation and German International Cooperation (GIZ) signed Implementation agreement for Ganga Rejuvenation under Namami Gange Programme.
  1111. Jammu and Kashmir Government approved Mufti Mohammad Sayeed Food Entitlement Scheme (MMSFES) to supplement National Food Security Act (NFSA). Under this, all those persons who are covered under States public distribution system will get additional 5 kgs of ration per person in addition to 5 kgs of ration they are entitled to get under NFSA (National Food Security Act).
  1112. Huawei's 3rd Global Connectivity Index report (announced at Global Analyst Summit 2016 in Shenzhen (China)) -
    1. USA, Singapore and Sweden are at top in connectivity rankings while India is ranked 44.
    2. Indian government's Digital India initiative is driving growth, and improved broadband penetration.
  1113. International Monetary Fund (IMF) declared that India's growth will reach 7.5% in 2016-17 and India will overtake China's GDP growth rate by over 1%.
  1114. 12th April - International Day of Human Space Flight. On this day in 1961, Yuri Gagarin, a Soviet Union (USSR) cosmonaut undertook first successful first human space flight.
  1115. Government approved adopting South Asia Wildlife Enforcement Network (SAWEN).SAWEN is regional inter-governmental wildlife law enforcement support body launched in January, 2011 in Paro, Bhutan.
  1116. India and the United States announced an in-principle logistics exchange agreement to enable their militarizes to use each other’s assets and bases for repair and replenishment of supplies.
  1117. Actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan won Global Indian of the Year award at NRI of the Year awards.
  1118. Parliament of Vietnam approved Nguyen Xuan Phuc as Vietnam's 8th Prime Minister.
  1119. National Summit on Family Planning held in New Delhi with theme New Choices, New Horizons.
  1120. Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) released Trends in world military expenditure 2015 report -
    1. USA remained as worlds biggest spender in 2015, India moved up one spot to 6th in global rankings.
  1121. First edition of original First Folio authored by William Shakespeare found at Mount Stuart House off the western coast of Scotland. It was first published in 1623, seven years after Shakespeare death.
  1122. Delhi High Court ruled that keeping a criminal case pending for indefinite period is violation of constitutional rights of accused recognized under Article 21 (right to life) of Constitution of India.
  1123. Government approved Recommendations on Fiscal Deficit Targets and Additional Fiscal Deficit to States during Fourteenth Finance Commission (FFC) award period 2015-20. Recommendations Include -
    1. Commission adopted fiscal deficit threshold limit of 3 % of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) for States, with additional headroom of 0.5 % above normal limit of 3 % given to States.
    2. States won't get any benefit of additional borrowings for 2015-16 as the year is already completed. Implications for remaining period of FFC award (2016-20) would depend on respective States eligibility based on criteria noted by FFC.
  1124. Golden Tobacco became first company in India to implement Health Ministrys Cigarettes Packaging Amendment Rules 2014 that require both sides of cigarette packs to display specific health warnings in 85 % of area (presently 40 %).
  1125. NASA astronaut Scott Kelly will write a memoir titled Endurance: My Year in Space and Our Journey to Mars.
  1126. Jharkhand Government Ragbubar Das announced reserve 2 % employment in various departments for meritorious sportspersons of the state.
  1127. National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) partenered with Rainbow Agrilife India Private Limited for commercialization of the NEMHARI-A, a plant based Formulation for Management of Mulberry Root Knot Disease.
  1128. Scientists from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) discovered a way to forecast earthquakes based on tremors or earthquakes below a Richter scale of 2. The study has been led by Indian-origin researcher Deepa Mele Veedu.
  1129. Royal Mail of British honoured playwright William Shakespeare by issuing a set of special postage stamps to mark the 400th anniversary of his death.
  1130. PM Narendra Modi launched online national agricultural products market platform to integrate wholesale markets across India, named as National Agricultural Market (e-NAM). National Agricultural Market (NAM) platform mooted by the government to integrate agricultural mandis across the country in order to provide better price discovery and wider market access to farmers. 200 mandis will be Linked within five Months and 585 Mandis by March, 2018
  1131. Government reconstituted Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (IGNCA) Trust with Ram Bahadur Rai as its President.
  1132. Jamia Millia Islamia recognized in-service training of Indian Navy Sailors personnel for award of Graduation Degree.
  1133. Dharmendra Pradhan, MoS(I/C) Petroleum and Natural Gas visited Saudi Arabia.
  1134. Viwwing huge dip in freight traffic volume resulting in massive financial losses to the Indian Railways, Government decided to withdraw Port Congestion Surcharge in order to attract imported freight traffic including Containers, Coal, Iron ore etc which are being diverted to road. Port congestion surcharge levy is 10 % of basic freight rate.
  1135. Indian Army conducted major Exercise SHATRUJEET by elite STRIKE 1 in Rajasthan, With about 30,000 soldiers in action.
  1136. A Wave Rider Buoy deployed to Seychelles by India for improved Ocean State Forecasts for the Indian Ocean Islands, As part of 'Integrated Ocean Information System' for Indian Ocean Countries.
  1137. Minister for Health & Family Welfare, J P Nadda visited Japan for meeting of Health Ministers from WHO South East Asia Region and Western Pacific Region countries. Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) of Japan signed Letter of Intent on the occasion.
  1138. National Mission for Clean Ganga in collaboration with Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IITK) announced launch of Centre for Ganga River Basin Management and Studies (CGRBMS) in New Delhi. It Includes 10 year Agreement with IITK for support in implementation of Ganga River Basin Management Plan.
  1139. Government appointed Deepak Mishra as Addl. Director General in CRPF.
  1140. Government Appointed P.C.Thakur as Director General, Fire Services, Civil Defence and Home Guards (FS,CD&HG).
  1141. Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal and New and Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal released Report of Technical Committee on Large Scale Integration of Renewable Energy. Committee suggested 15 point Action Plan for facilitating large scale integration of renewables in India.
  1142. Government approved Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bhutan on technical cooperation in capacity building, benchmarking and bilateral exchange in infrastructure engineering.
  1143. Insdia approved signing Paris Agreement adopted at 21st Conference of Parties of UNFCCC held in Paris in December 2015. Paris Agreement on climate change is meant to enhance implementation of Convention.
    1. Key features of Paris Agreement are - Rights of Developing Countries, Sustainable Development, Implementation of the Convention and Financial support from Developed countries. Purpose of financial support from developed countries is to achieve goal of mitigating climate change jointly providing US 100 billion dollars by 2020.
  1144. Government approved operationalisation of new Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) at Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh.
  1145. Minister of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Harsh Vardhan launched Twinning Network Programme on Chemical Ecology of North Eastern Region at Nagaland Science & Technology Council (NASTEC).
  1146. Government approved MoU with United Arab Emirates (UAE) on cooperation in preventing and combating of Human Trafficking.
  1147. Sushila Karki is appointed as First Ever Female Chief Justice of Supreme Court of Nepal.
  1148. National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) launched Unified Payments Interface (UPI), to revolutionise mobile payment system in country. 29 banks have agreed to join the platform.
    1. UPI provides uniform mobile payment system that powers multiple bank accounts into a single mobile application of a participating bank by merging several banking features, Making it single app for accessing different bank accounts. It provides an option for scheduling push and pull transactions for various purposes like sharing bills among peers. UIP is an advanced version of NPCIs Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) that's a 24X7 funds transfer service.
  1149. Nauru became 189th member of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank. Its initial subscription quota for IMF will be of SDR (Special Drawing rights) 2 million or about $2.81 million. It will be the second smallest member of IMF after Tuvalu.
    1. Nauru is tiny South Pacific island nation in Pacific Ocean (Northwest of Australia)
  1150. US President Barack Obama nominated MasterCards Indian-American CEO Ajay Banga as a member of Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity of USA.
  1151. Surface-to-air supersonic Akash missile System successfully tested. Akash Missile is a mid-range surface-to-air nuclear capable supersonic missile with speeds ranging from Mach 2.8 to 3.5. It can target up to a range of 25 kms.
  1152. As per a report by World Bank, India remained world's largest remittance recipient in 2015 with 69 billion USD remittances in 2015 (down from 70 billion in 2014). India was followed by China (64 billion USD), Philippines (28 billion), Mexico (25 billion) and Nigeria (21 billion USD). Global remittances declined by 1.7% to 581 billion USD compared to 592 billion in 2014.
  1153. Nuclear capable submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLMB) code named K-4 successfully test fired in Bay of Bengal.
    1. K-4 is part of K-family of missiles, a series of SLBMs (Submarine-launched ballistic missile). The series is named after former president and scientist A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. It will arm Arihant-class submarines.
    2. It has reduced length compared to Agni series. K-4 missile has range of over 3500 km and is 12 metres long.
  1154. Government appointed Susmita Pande as chairperson of National Monument Authority (NMA).
  1155. Delhi government banned all forms of chewable tobacco for 1 year in interest of public health.
  1156. As per report Future-Ready Economies Model by Dell, Delhi is ranked 44th among worlds 50 future-ready economies cities that are embracing technology for growth. The list is topped by San Jose, followed by San Francisco, Singapore and London.
  1157. South Korean Oceans and Fisheries Minister Minister Kim Young Suk visited India and signed MoU for cooperation in development of ports.
  1158. Government imposed anti-dumping duty of up to US 149 dollars on imports of N-Butyl Alcohol from European Union (EU), Malaysia, Singapore and USA, as per recommendation of Directorate General of Anti-dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD).
    1. N-Butyl Alcohol is a by-product of the fermentation of sugar and other carbohydrate and used as artificial flavorant and is present in many foods and beverages.
  1159. Co-founder of Hero Cycles group, Satyanand Munjal passed away.
  1160. Indian boxer Mary Kom named among eight ambassadors for the upcoming World Championship of AIBA scheduled in May 2016 in Astana (Kazakhstan).
  1161. Supercomputer Param Kanchenjunga unveiled at National Institute of Technology (NIT) Sikkim. It has been named after Kangchenjunga mountain (8,586 m), third highest mountain in the world. It is fastest supercomputer among all the 31 NITs, developed by Centre for Development of Advanced Computing ‘C-DAC Pune and NIT Sikkim at 3 crore rupees cost.
  1162. Government renamed Panagarh Air Force Base of Indian Air Force in West Bengal as Air Force Station Arjan Singh, in honour of the Marshal of Air Force Arjan Singh. It was renamed on the occasion of 97th birthday of Arjan Singh. It's first time that a military installation has been named after individuals, especially when they are alive.
  1163. Jharkhand Government launched Bhimrao Ambedkar Awas Yojana for widows to create equality and harmony in society.
  1164. Spain's Rafael Nadal won 2016 Monte Carlo Rolex Masters title of Tennis, by defeating Gael Monfils of France.
  1165. Delhi Government launched second phase of odd-even car rationing scheme to check pollution. It will be effective between 15 - 30 April 2016. Delhi Government launched PoochhO Carpool app to help people explore carpooling options.
  1166. Indian gymnast Dipa Karmakar created history by becoming first Indian woman gymnast to qualify for Olympics. She achieved this after strong performance at final qualifying which helped her to book 2016 Rio Olympics Games to be held in August 2016.
  1167. Gujarat government appointed Geeta Johri as Director General of Police (DGP) of Gujarat.
  1168. European Parliament approved creation of a European passenger name records (PNR) system to combat terrorism. Now EU Nations have two years to turn it into national law. PNR is a joint system for security agencies to access airline passenger data on all flights to and from the EU.
  1169. Noted Malian photographer Malick Sidibe passed away.
  1170. Noted Sri Lankan spinner Rangana Herath retired from T20 and One Day International Cricket (ODI).
  1171. BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) approved its first package of loans worth 811 million USD for four renewable energy projects in Brazil, China, South Africa and India. NDB will provide $300 million to Brazil, $250 million to India (Through Canara Bank), $180 million to South Africa and $81 million to China. These funds will be used for renewable energy projects of 2.37MW and will reduce harmful emissions by 4 million tons annually.
  1172. Australia won 25th Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament 2016 by defeating India in Ipoh (Australia). It was Ninth Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament Title for Australia.
  1173. Nico Rosberg (Germany) won 2016 Formula One Chinese Grand Prix.
    1. 2016 Formula One season -
      1. Total 21 Grand Prix Races to be organized across the world in 2016. Calendar is -
        1. Grand Prix Date Winner
          Australia 20 March Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Baharain 3 April Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          China 17 April Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Russia 1 May  
          Spain 15 May  
          Monaco 29 May  
          Canada 12 June  
          Europe 19 June  
          Austria 3 July  
          Britain 10 July  
          Hungary 24 July  
          Germany 31 July  
          Belgium 28 August  
          Italy 4 September  
          Singapore 18 September  
          Malaysia 2 October  
          Japan 9 October    
          USA 23 October  
          Mexico 30 October  
          Brazil 13 November  
          Abu Dhabi 27 November  
  1174. Federal grand jury in US's Wisconsin State has put 940 million USD fine against two companies of Indias Tata group – Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Tata America International Corp, accusing them of ripping off its software and punitive damages.
  1175. India, Afghanistan and Iran finalized draft of Chabahar Trilateral Agreement on Transport and Transit Corridors, during second technical meeting of experts in New Delhi.
  1176. Maharashtra Government banned digging of borewells beyond 200 feet in order to check steep decline in ground water level across state.
  1177. Maharashtra Government made it mandatory to have a hologram on every alcohol bottle manufactured and sold in the state in order to check sale of spurious liquor.
  1178. 14th meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Russia, India and China (RIC) Forum held in Moscow (Russia). External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj attended on India's Behalf. Cooperation in combating terrorism was theme of the meet.
  1179. April 17 - World Haemophilia Day.
  1180. Ceasefire between Government and NSCN-IM (National Socialist Council of Nagaland- Isak Muivah) extended by April 2017, to bring long lasting peace in Nagaland.
  1181. India's Durga Thakur has been promoted to international outdoor umpire by International Hockey Federation (FIH).
  1182. Noted Hollywood actress Doris Roberts passed away.
  1183. Government extended Beti Bachao Beti Padho Scheme to additional 61 districts across 11 States and Union Territories with low Child Sex Ratio.
  1184. Laureus Sports Awards 2016 -
    1. Sportsman of the Year - Novak Djokovic (Nation - Serbia, Sport - Tennis, Won - 2nd Time)
    2. Sportswoman of the Year - Serena Williams (Nation - USA, Sport - Tennis, Won - 4th time)
    3. Team of the Year: New Zealand Rugby team
    4. Comeback of the Year - Dan Carter (Rugby), New Zealand.
    5. Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability: Daniel Dias (Paralympic swimmer), Brazil.
    6. Action Sportsperson - Jan Frodeno (Triathelete), Germany.
    7. World Sports Lifetime Achievement Award: Niki Lauda (former Formula One racer), Austria.
    8. Spirit of Sport Award - Johan Cruyff (Football), Netherlands
  1185. India and Mauritius signed MoU for cooperation in traditional medicine and homeopathy.
  1186. RBL Bank (formerly Ratnakar Bank) became first private sector bank in India to open dedicated branch for startups. The branch was inaugurated at Koramangala, Bengaluru by noted entrepreneur Nandan Nilekani.
  1187. United States (US) President Barack Obama nominated Indian-American Geeta Pasi as the USA's new envoy to central African nation Chad.
  1188. France's Reporters Without Borders (RWB) 2016 World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) -
    1. India ranked 133rd out of 180 nations with score of 43.17. It is better from 136th position in 2015.
    2. Top 5 - Finland (1st), Netherlands (2nd), Norway (3rd), Denmark (4th), New Zealand (5th) Finland with the score of 8.76 has retained its top spot for the sixth consecutive year.
    3. Indias Neighbours - Bhutan (94), Nepal (105), Afghanistan (120), Sri Lanka (141), Bangladesh (144), Pakistan (147) and China (176).
  1189. Rahul Johri has been appointed as the first Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
  1190. National Security Adviser Ajit Doval visited China for 19th round of boundary talks between India and China.
  1191. According to FDI Intelligence Report by Financial Times Limited -
    1. India replaced China as top Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) destination by attracting $63 billion worth FDI projects in 2015. India overtook US ($59.6 billion greenfield FDI) and China ($ 56.6 billion).
    2. Greenfield FDI inflow in India and China was followed by Indonesia ($38.5 billion), Mexico ($24.3 billion) and Brazil ($17.3 billion).
    3. In India - Gujarat was on top with $12.4 billion FDI, followed by Maharashtra ($8.3 billion).
  1192. Government merged Rajiv Gandhi Khel Abhiyan (RGKA) with Khelo India Programme for development of sports. RGKA was a centrally sponsored scheme launched by UPA government in 2014. Urban Sports Infrastructure Scheme (USIS) and National Sports Talent Search Scheme (NSTSS) were also merged under Khelo India.
  1193. Idriss Deby won fifth term as President of Chad (Northern Central Africa).
  1194. Commerce and Industry Ministry launched a new service Twitter Seva to address issues and grievances of startups, exporters and importers, and other stakeholders.
  1195. Goa Government appointed P.K.Mishra as Lokayukta of Goa.
  1196. Uttarakhand High Court ruled that legitimacy of Presidents decision to suspend state assembly under Presidents rule is subject to judicial review.
  1197. As per World Health Organization (WHO), Europe become world's first region to eliminate mosquito-borne disease Malaria. Malaria cases in europe fell to zero from 90,712 between 1995 and 2015.
  1198. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Scientists developed worlds lightest synthetic material called silica aerogel or blue air.
  1199. Government released Commemorative Coin of Rs. 200 and Circulation Coin of Rs. 10 on Tatya Tope on occasion of his Martyrdom Day (18-04-2016).
  1200. Global Exhibition on Services 2016 held at India Expo Centre & Mart, Greater Noida (Uttar Pradesh).
  1201. 18 Apr - World Heritage Day / International Day for Monuments and Sites.
  1202. 2016 Pulitzer Prize Winners -
    1. Books, Drama and Music
      1. Fiction - The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen.
      2. Drama - Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda.
      3. History - Custers Trials: A Life on the Frontier of a New America by T.J. Stiles.
      4. Biography: Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life by William Finnegan.
      5. Poetry: Ozone Journal by Peter Balakian.
      6. Music: In for a Penny, In for a Pound by Henry Threadgill.
    2. Journalism
      1. Public Service - Associated Press.
      2. Breaking News Reporting: Los Angeles Times Staff.
      3. Investigative Reporting: Leonora LaPeter Anton and Anthony Cormier of the Tampa Bay Times and Michael Braga of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
      4. Explanatory Reporting: Christian Miller of ProPublica and Ken Armstrong of The Marshall Project.
      5. Local Reporting: Michael LaForgia, Cara Fitzpatrick and Lisa Gartner of the Tampa Bay Times.
      6. National Reporting: The Washington Post Staff.
      7. International Reporting: Alissa J. Rubin of The New York Times.
      8. Feature Writing: Kathryn Schulz of The New Yorker.
      9. Commentary: Farah Stockman of The Boston Globe.
      10. Criticism: Emily Nussbaum of The New Yorker
  1203. Mohammad Aamir Khan wrote Book Framed As a Terrorist: My 14-Year Old Struggle to Prove My Innocence. Its about a Delhi based Author who was proved innocent 14 years after being charged in 18 bomb blast cases.
  1204. Government launched DEEP web portal as an e-Bidding & e-Reverse Auction portal for acquisition of short-term power by Distribution Companies (DISCOMs). DEEP stands for Discovery of Efficient Electricity Price and is meant to ensure continuous flow of power from seller to the buyer.
  1205. Jonathan Bairstow (England), Ben Stokes (England), Brendon McCullum (New Zealand), Kane Williamson (New Zealand) and Steven Smith (Australia) have been named as the Wisden Almanacks Five Cricketers of the Year 2015 for their outstanding performance in a year.
  1206. India's Cochin (Kochi) airport became first airport in world to completely run on solar power. It now produces 50,000 - 60,000 units of electricity per day, enough for all its operational functions.
  1207. 4th retreat of Supreme Court Judges 2016 held at National Judicial Academy in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
  1208. India's first online interactive heritage portal Sahapedia has been launched by Union Government. It will be a collaborative knowledge resource on arts, culture and heritage of India.
  1209. Regional Conference of North Eastern States on Child Adoption held at State Convention Centre in Shillong, Meghalaya.
  1210. 3th Islamic Summit Conference concluded in Istanbul (Turkey) with theme Unity and Solidarity for Justice and Peace.
  1211. As per ASSOCHAM-SREI report - PPP Investment in Indian Infrastructure: Need for growth and development, Uttar Pradesh acquired top position with highest share (15%) in Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects across India, followed by Maharashtra (11%), Haryana (8.5%), Gujarat (6%) and Madhya Pradesh (4.5%).
  1212. In Telangana, Balamallupalli village in Karimanagar district has been awarded as the best Panchayat in India.
  1213. Inzamam-ul-Haq, former Pakistan captain, has been appointed as the chief selector of Pakistan.
  1214. Minister of Science and Technology Harsh Vardhan inaugurated India's first Cellulosic Alcohol Technology Demonstration Plant (Second Generation Ethanol Plant) at Kashipur, Uttarakhand.
  1215. USA's Pop music star Prince Rogers Nelson (Prince) passed away.
  1216. Bhupendra Kainthola appointed as Director of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII).
  1217. Mouamba Clement is appointed as new Prime Minister of central African country Congo.
  1218. China and Pakistan signed agreement for launch of a special satellite to monitor the development of multi-billion dollars China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects. Pakistan Remote Sensing Satellite (PRSS-1) System will be developed and a satellite will be launched in June 2018.
  1219. President Pranab Mukherjee nominated 6 eminent members to Rajya Sabha - Mary Kom (Boxer and Olympic bronze medallist), Narendra Jadhav (economist and former member of National Advisory Council), Suresh Gopi(Noted Malayalam actor), Swapan Dasgupta (Noted Journalist), Subramanian Swamy (Senior BJP leader), Navjot Singh Sidhu (Noted cricketer-turned-politician).
    1. As per Article 80 (Part V) of the Constitution, President can nominate 12 members in the Council of States (Rajya Sabha).
  1220. Noted Actor Salman Khan named as goodwill ambassador of Indian contingent for upcoming Olympics to be held in August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
  1221. India ratified WTOs (World Trade Organisation) Trade Facilitation Agreement that aims at easing customs procedures to boost commerce. India is 76th WTO member to ratify TFA.
    1. TFA is WTOs first-ever multilateral accord that aims to simplify customs regulations for the cross-border movement of goods.
  1222. India and France launched a programme with $1 trillion Potential Solar Programme under International Solar Alliance (ISA). It is a solar finance programme that aims at helping developing countries to fully harness their solar resources for a clean energy future.
  1223. Japan successfully tested its first domestically developed single-pilot stealth fighter jet X-2. Japan became fourth country (after United States, Russia and China) to have indigenous full-size stealth combat aircraft.
  1224. India will host Commonwealth Judo Championships in Jaipur (Rajasthan) in 2018.
  1225. Parliament passed Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Bill, 2016 to remove exception given to Sahjdhari Sikhs in 1944 to vote in elections to members of Board and Committees constituted under parent Act.
  1226. Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. become first Indian company to sign up for EP100, a global energy productivity campaign. Singatories of this campaign have to double their energy productivity by 2030.
  1227. Government constituted 8-member committee under Ashok Dalwai (Additional secretary at Agriculture Ministry ) to prepare a blueprint for doubling farmers' income by 2022.
  1228. Lok Sabha passed Regional Centre for Biotechnology Bill 2016 to provide statutory status to existing Regional Centre for Biotechnology in Faridabad (Haryana). It will provide legislative backing to Regional Centre and also confers upon it the status of an institution of national importance.
  1229. Eleventh edition of India-Mongolia joint military training Exercise Nomadic Elephant – 2016 held in Mongolia.
  1230. Indias Mairaj Ahmed Khan won silver in men's skeet event at ISSF World Cup held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
  1231. Indian rower Dattu Baban Bhokanal qualified for 2016 Rio Olympics to be held in August 2016 in Brazil. He qualified Rio Olympics after winning a silver medal in single sculls event in South Korea.
  1232. The book The Story of Kashmir through the Ages, written by Arjan Nath Chaku and Inder K Chaku has been released.
  1233. President Pranab Mukherjee Presented Hindi Sevi Samman Awards for years 2012, 2013 and 2014 t0 42 people in 7 categories. These Awards were instituted by Central Hindi Institute, Agra in 1989.
    1. Dr George Grieson Award -
      1. 2012 - Alka Dhanpat
      2. 2013 - Ge Fuping
      3. 2014 - Shichiro Soma
    2. Ganga Sharan Singh Award -
      1. 2012 - B Satyanarayan, Radhakant Mishra, R Surendran
      2. 2013 - Shirda Kumar Shakya, T S K Krishnan, Ravindranath Mishra, D N Savitri
      3. 2014 - M Venkateswar, V D Hegde, Deven Chand Das (Sudama), Beena Budki
    3. Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Award -
      1. 2012 - Mahesh Darpan, Viswanath Sachdev
      2. 2013 - Rajeev Katara, B Ve Lalitamba
      3. 2014 - Devendra Kumar, Shatrughan Prasad
    4. Atmaram Award -
      1. 2012 - Om Prakash Sharma, Ganesh Shankar Paliwal
      2. 2013 - Balendu Sharma Dhadeech, Dinesh Mani
      3. 2014 - Suresh Kumar Jindal, Suresh Tiwari
    5. Subramanhyam Bharti Award -
      1. 2012 - S Vijya
      2. 2013 - I N Chandrashekhar Reddy, Mukta
      3. 2014 - Narendra Kohli, Syoraj Singh 'Bechain'
    6. Mahapandit Rahul Sankratiyayan Award -
      1. 2012 - S Rahamtullah, G Gopinathan
      2. 2013 - Viswanath Prasad Tiwari, Pooran Singh Dabas
      3. 2014 - Suresh Gautam, Baldev Vanshi
    7. Moturi Satyanarayan Award -
      1. 2012 - Sushma Bedi
      2. 2013 - Sneh Thakur
  1234. Mumbai-born David and Simon Reuben topped The Sunday Times Britain's Rich List 2016 with a fortune of 13.1 billion pounds, followed by Hinduja brothers at 13 billion pounds.
  1235. Google India named as Most Attractive Employer in 6th Randstad Awards 2016 for 2nd consecutive year. Mercedes-Benz India was the runner-up. Sectorwise - Dell India (IT), Samsung India (Consumer Electronics) and Amazon India (E-Commerce).
  1236. World Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank signed first co-financing framework agreement between two institutions.
  1237. Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma will chair newly formed Payments Banks Group at industry body Internet and Mobile Association of India​ (IAMAI).
  1238. In view of Public Health, Delhi Government banned chewable tobacco for 1 year.
  1239. 2 days Maritime India Summit 2016 held in Mumbai.
  1240. Volodymyr Groysman appointed as new prime minister of Ukraine.
  1241. The World's largest wooden Charkha (spinning wheel, weighing 4 tonnes) will be installed at Terminal 3 of Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. It is made by KVIC (Khadi and Village Industries Commission ).
  1242. Forbes First Global Game Changers List of 30 powerful business leaders worldwide -
    1. Topped by Mark Benioff of Salesforce.com.
    2. Indians - Rahul Bhatia of InterGlobe Enterprises (Rank 3), Cyrus Poonawalla of Serum Institute of India (Rank 23), and Sunny Varkey of GEMS Education (Rank 26).
  1243. Mumbai Press Club selected T N Ninan for RedInk Award for Lifetime Achievement in Journalism 2016.
  1244. Mandd Sobhan, a Konkani cultural organisation, will set up a Konkani museum in Mangaluru (Karnataka).
  1245. According to agency Carat, India's 2016 advertising growth rate will be fastest at 12%, which is ahead of global average of 4.5%. India's ad growth rate will also be ahead of most other markets including the USA (4.7 %), the UK (6.2 %), Russia (0.2 %), China (5.8 %), Japan (1.8 %), and Brazil (6.8 %).
  1246. 21 April - National Civil Services Day. It Marks Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel's addresss to first batch of probationers at All India Administrative Service Training School at Metcalfe House, New Delhi in 1947.
  1247. FICCI Ladies Organization (FLO) will set up 2 Mahila Huts in Gujarat for upliftment of women belonging to all sections of society through education and training.
  1248. Prime Minister Awards for Implementation of Priority Programmes -
    1. Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJSY) - Nagaon (Assam) in North East and Hill States, Chandigarh in UTs and North 24 Parganas (West Bengal) in Other States.
    2. Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) - West Sikkim in North East & Hill states and Bikaner (Rajasthan) awarded in Other States category.
  1249. Haryana Government notified Affordable Plotted Housing Policy 2016 for low and medium potential towns also known as Deen Dayal Jan Awas Yojna, to enable creation of additional affordable housing stock in low and medium potential towns of state. Projects under this policy will have min and max net planned area between 5 - 15 acres.
  1250. Panasonic and AES India will construct a 10 MW energy storage array at Panasonic's Technopark manufacturing facility in Jhajjar, Haryana. It is first large-scale battery-based energy storage project in India.
  1251. Sri Lanka's Sri Jayewardenepura University signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Japan and India on collaboration in science and technology.
  1252. International Cricket Council (ICC) renewed its deal with Emirates Airline for further seven years.
  1253. Indian diplomat in UK, Amitav Banerji has been conferred with one of highest awards of Cyprus (Island country in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea).
  1254. A Ajith Kumar is appointed as Kerala-based Rubber Board's chairman.
  1255. Bounnhang Vorachith is appointed as President of Laos and Thongloun Sisoulith is appointed as Prime Minister of Laos.
  1256. Indian tyre manufactures JK Tyre acquied tyre, tube and flap maker Cavendish Industries for Rs 2200 crores.
  1257. Department of Disinvestment is renamed as Department of Investment and Public Asset Management or 'Dipam'. It has been mandated to advise government in the matters of financial restructuring of central public sector enterprises.
  1258. TIME's 100 most influential people List -
    1. Indians - Raghuram Rajan (RBI Governor), Priyanka Chopra (Actress), Sania Mirza (Tennis), Sunita Narain (environmentalist), Sachin and Binny Bansal (Flipkart Co-founders), Sundar Pichai (Google CEO)
  1259. 8th International Seminar on Wheat and Wheat Products will be held in Panaji (Goa) in July 2016 with theme New Ideas and Innovation for Growth.
  1260. Airline Vistara signed agreement with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) for a broad range of information technology (IT) services.
  1261. 22 April, 2016 - Earth Day (46th). 2016 Theme is Trees for the Earth!.
  1262. Indian IT services company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is recognized as one of United Kingdom's leading employers for women in a list published by The Times.
  1263. MK Gandhi's granddaughter Tara Gandhi Bhattacharjee is conferred with Order of Arts and Letters, one of Frances top honours, for her work for promoting peace, solidarity, culture, education, and development.
  1264. Anti-slavery crusader Harriet Tubman will become first African-American on face of US paper currency, as she will replace former President Andrew Jackson on $20 bill.
  1265. India signed historic Paris climate agreement along with over 170 nations during a UN General Assembly Ceremony at UN Headquarters in New York City (USA). It is a significant step that for cutting down greenhouse gas emissions to combat global warming. Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar attended on India's Behalf.
  1266. Cab aggregator Uber signed agreement with Gujarat Tourism and FICCI to facilitate training for Uber driver-partners. Uber also signed pact with Election Commission in Tamil Nadu to spread awareness on voting among the electorate.
  1267. BCCI will host its first-ever day and night cricket Test with pink ball during New Zealand tour to India in 2016.
  1268. ICC suspended Hong Kong all rounder Irfan Ahmed for 2.5 years as he admitted to breach the ICC's Anti-Corruption Code.
  1269. Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers Ananta Kumar announced to provide a plastic park to Andhra Pradesh. Foundation stone for Central Institute of Plastic Engineering and Technology (CIPET) near Vijayawada has been laid out.
  1270. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) sanctioned loan of Rs 1,000 crore to Haryana State Warehousing Corporation (HSWC) for purchase of wheat during ongoing rabi marketing season.
  1271. Tata Trusts signed pact with Odisha government to achieve elimination of Malaria from state by 2030.
  1272. Cadbury India (part of Mondelez International) inaugurated its $190 million factory in Sri City SEZ, on the border of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. It companys largest plant in Asia Pacific.
  1273. India banned import of milk and milk products, certain mobile phones and a few other items from China after finding them sub-standard or not following security codes.
  1274. Actor Manoj Bajpayee chosen for Dadasaheb Phalke Award in Best Actor (Critics Choice) category for his role in Aligarh Movie.
  1275. 23 Apr - World Book and Copyright Day. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) first observed in 1995.
  1276. 23 April - Khongjom Day of Manipur. It pays tribute to war heroes of Anglo-Manipur War 1891 who sacrificed their lives fighting against British to protect freedom of Manipur.
  1277. Heart of Asia conference held in New Delhi with an aim to bring peace to Afghanistan and speeding up its reconstruction process.
  1278. Sports Ministry will provide lakh rupees monthly allowance to sports persons under Target Olympic Podium (TOP) scheme for their preparation for Olympics and Paralympics Games at Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). 77 Indian athletes in eight disciplines have qualified for the Olympics till date and more are likely to qualify in the next two months. 
  1279. INS Karmuk along with a Dornier Maritime Patrol Aircraft participated in 22nd Indo-Thai Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) in Andaman Sea.
  1280. Football club Mohun Bagan's striker Jeje Lalpekhlua named as Football Players Association of India (FPAI) Player of The Year.
  1281. Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) founder Amanullah Khan passed away.
  1282. Hero MotoCorp will set up a factory in Andhra Pradesh with investment of 3000 crores and 1.8 million units annual capacity.
  1283. Videocon d2h announced that its over 1.5 crore consumers can now recharge their d2h service using Vodafone m-pesa. It will allows Videocon d2h customers a simple recharge facility using m-pesa platform.
  1284. Kalash indigenous Community residing in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan is reportedly facing existential Threat. They currently have a Population of around 3000.
  1285. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) took over infrastructure of abandoned Tapti gas field in western offshore from its joint venture partners Reliance Industries and BG. It will save ONGC an investment worth up to 4000 crore rupees to bring neighbouring Daman block into production before schedule.
  1286. World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) revoked accreditation of Moscow Antidoping Center of Russia. It was suspended in November 2015.
  1287. Infosys launched new app named Itihaasa that chronicles Indian IT journey since 1950s.
  1288. The making of India: The untold story of British Enterprises has been authored by Kartar Lalvani.
  1289. Himachal Pradesh High Court issued notice to Union and State governments on issue of declaring monkeys as vermin for six months in Shimla. It means anyone can kill monkeys anywhere in Shimla without official permission.
  1290. 24 April - Panchayati Raj Day. It marks passing of the Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992 that came into force with effect from 24 April 1993. It helped in decentralization of political power to the grassroots level through institutionalization of Panchayati Raj (PR) through village, Intermediate and District level Panchayats.
  1291. United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) released report titled Fairness for Children: A league table of inequality in child well-being in rich countries. It incdicates inequalities in child well-being in 41 countries of European Union (EU) and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Denmark is at the top of the overall league table with lowest inequality among children. Israel ranked lowest across all domains.
  1292. High-intensity earthquake of magnitude 7.8 on Richter scale struck South American country of Ecuador.
  1293. International Hockey Federation announced a new annual global home and away league, involving world's leading hockey nations, to be launched in 2019. It will replace Hockey World League (HWL) Semi-Finals and Finals and the Champions Trophy.
  1294. Bollywood actress Radhika Apte won best actress in an international narrative feature honour at Tribeca Film Festival 2016 for her performance in anthology film Madly.
  1295. Andhra Pradesh Government inaugurated state's interim government complex named AP Government Transitional Headquarters at Velagapudi village in capital region Amaravati.
  1296. World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) suspended accreditation of National Anti-Doping Laboratory of Beijing and prohibits the Chinese laboratory from carrying out any WADA-related anti-doping activities including all analyses of urine and blood samples.
  1297. Interim Administrative Cell of International Solar Alliance (ISA Cell) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) announced to promote solar energy globally, during side event on International Solar Alliance at UN Headquarters in New York.
  1298. 25 April - World Malaria Day. 2016 Theme is End Malaria For Good.
    1. Madhya Pradesh Government signed agreement with Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Sun Pharma for research and innovation in preventive health, for Malaria Free India.
  1299. Barcelona open Tennis 2016 -
    1. Men's Singles - Rafael Nadal defeated Kei Nishikori of Japan.
    2. Men's Doubles - Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan of USA.
  1300. Stuttgart Grand Prix Women's Tennis 2016 -
    1. Doubles - Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic (France)
    2. Singles - Angelique Kerber (Germany).
  1301. World Bank Group released 2016 edition of World Development Indicators (WDI) that provides high-quality cross-country statistics about development and people's lives around the globe. WDI includes 1400 indicators for over 200 economies and has moved from MDGs to SDGs in 2016 edition. 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have 169 targets, built on previously used 8 goals and 18 targets of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
    1. WDI 2016 now includes estimates of global and national extreme poverty rates at international poverty line of 1.90 US dollars/day per person. These show that 13 % of the global population lived in extreme poverty in 2012, down from 37 percent in 1990. 
  1302. Bharat Petroleum Corporation got approval for its 694-crore rupees project at Haldia Dock Complex in West Bengal for developing LPG import terminal, storage and distribution facilities. It will boost supply and help achieve government's target of making LPG available to each household by 2018. Domestic production of LPG is around 12.38 million metric tonne per annum (mmtpa, lower than estimated demand of 18.65 mmtpa in 2016.
  1303. Riyad Mahrez (Algeria) became first African footballer to win Professional Footballers Associations (PFA) Player of the Year award for 2015 - 16.He second non-European, after Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez, to grab the award. Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Dele Alli was named Young Player of the Year.
  1304. K Ashok Kumar, a research scholar from IIT Kharagpur won prestigious International Plant Nutrition Scholar Award for his work on project aimed at studing soil nutrient dynamics under organic and inorganic nutrient management to improve crop yield and quality of rice-chickpea cropping system in lateritic soil.
  1305. Tourism Ministry launched NOC Online Application and Processing System (NOAPS) Web Portal of National Monuments Authority. It is developed through technology of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), who mapping 3686 ASI monuments and sites in country.
  1306. Operation Sulaimani is an initiative to eradicate poverty by feeding needy in Kozhikode (Kerala) hotels, aimed at avoiding food wastage in district.
  1307. 26 April - World Intellectual Property Day. 2016 Theme is Digital Creativity: Culture Reimagined.
  1308. India Pride Project (IPP) initiative launched by 2 NRIs Vijay Kumar and Anurag Saxena with an aim to bring back lost artefacts to India and restore Nations pride through restoring its culture. IPP is managed by several volunteers around the world, which identifies stolen art, traces its route and attempts to restore it back to its rightful place through use of Twitter to spread the message.
  1309. World Immunization Week 2016 organised across between 24 - 30 April 2016 with campaign theme Close the Immunization Gap and it seeks to achieve global vaccination targets by 2020. It will be 2nd year of Close the Immunization Gap campaign.
  1310. Bangladesh approved draft of Supreme Court Judge (Investigation Act) 2016, to empower Parliament to impeach a judge in Supreme Court in case of misconduct or incapacity of the Judge.
  1311. Saudi Arabia approved Vision 2030 as an economic reform plan with roadmap for diversifying Saudi economy in next 14 years and to ensure that Saudi Arabia can live without oil by 2020. It includes forming public investment fund, boosting affordable housing and giving expats long-term residence.
  1312. The Border Security Force will hoist tallest national flag by January 2017 at Attari-Wagah Joint Check Post (the Wagah border). The national flag will be 350-feet high and will be visible from Pakistan's largest city Lahore.
  1313. Beijing Olympics gold medalist and ace shooter Abhinav Bindra Joined Salman Khan as India's Goodwill Ambassador for Rio Olympics 2016.
  1314. Odisha Government launched 100 piped water supply projects for rural areas and promised to make piped water provision in all gram panchayats by 2017, on occasion of 'Utkal Gaurab Madhusudan Das anniversary.
  1315. Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) and Saarc Development Fund (SDF) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for mutual cooperation and collaboration.
  1316. Nagalands capital Kohima has been declared as a smoke-free city.
  1317. Book Blood on my Hands: Confessions of Staged Encounters is written by Kishalay Bhatacharjee.
  1318. Government banned import of dogs for commercial breeding. The imports are allowed only for research or defence purposes.
  1319. South Africa sports ministry imposed sanctions on Cricket South Africa (CSA) along with other three federations, which disallow them to host or bid for any major international tournaments. Decision will be reviewed in 2017.
  1320. South Korea announced that its Olympic athletes will wear uniforms that have been infused with insect repellent to keep mosquitoes carrying Zika virus.
  1321. Kane Williamson appointed 29th test cricket captain of New Zealand cricket Team.
  1322. Tobago batsman Iraq Thomas created a record by scoring 21-ball century in Tobago Cricket Associations T20 tournament at Louis D'or. He broke previous record made by Chris Gayle when he made century in 30 balls in IPL Match against Pune Warriors.
  1323. Government approved utilization of 400 hectares of un-cultivable farm land at Central State Farm (CSF), Jetsar in Sri Ganganagar District, Rajasthan for setting up of a solar Power Plant of capacity 200 MW. Land is presently in possession of National Seeds Corporation (NSC).
  1324.  Government allowed States to impose stock limits to check price rise in sugar, keeping in view recent upward trend in sugar prices. Step was taken after recent proce rises came under Government's notice, inspite of sufficient availability of sugar stocks with Sugar Mills.
  1325. Government approved MoU with Papua New Guinea on cooperation in Healthcare and Medical Sciences.
  1326. Government approved MoU between Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) and Insurance Authority of United Arab Emirates for cooperation in field of insurance supervision.s
  1327. India will Launch GSAT-11 spacecraft by first quarter of 2017. GSAT-11 is a first generation high throughput communication satellite with mass of about 5600 kg, operating in Ka/Ku bands. It is a multi-beam satellite with 32 user beams and 8 hub beams over India. At present, India does not possess capability to launch this weight class of satellite is not available, so the laich services will be procurred.
  1328. Rahuri Municipal Council of Ahmednagar district in Maharashtra became first Municipal Council to attain status of integrated with digital locker for issuance of all essential Documents, as part of Digital India Programme.
  1329. Govenment appointed S. K. Bhagat as Director General of Railway Protection Force.
  1330. Government revised stuition fee in IITs (Indian Institute of Technology) to 2 lakh per annum from 2016-17 with complete waiver for SC/ST/PH students. All students shall have access to interest free loan under Vidyalaxmi scheme for total payable tuition fee. 
  1331. MoU signed between Mahindra Intertrade and MSTC Limited for setting up Joint Venture Company for establishing first Auto Shredding Plant in India in New Delhi.
  1332. Central Institute of Medicinal & Aromatic Plants (CIMAP) Lucknow reported that novel use of cow urine distillate (Kamdhenu Ark) can enhance killing activities of different antibiotics on bacteria Cow urine distillate possess property of bio-enhancement of an anti-cancer natural agent Taxol (paclitaxel). A US patent on the research finding has also been obtained.
  1333. Asian Development Bank (ADB) has forecast growth rate at 7.4% in 2016-17 as against 7.6% during 2015-16.
  1334. Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) launched mobile app Indian Customs- Guide to Travellers, to inform international travelers about Customs Baggage rules, who may be traders/exporters/importers.
  1335. Based on data by International Trade Centre, India's share in international food trade in 2014 is estimated at 2.5%.
  1336. Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation approved investment of 9005 crore for construction of 73,205 more houses for Economically Weaker Sections under Prime Minister’s Awas Yojana in Maharashtra, Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir. 
  1337. Ministry of consumer affairs, food and public distribution announced that food grains under Mid-Day Meal (MDM) scheme will now be supplied to states at further subsidized rates as prescribed under National Food Security Act, instead of prescribed BPL rates. New Rates for food grains will be under MDM Scheme will be applicable for first two quarters of 2016-17.
    1. Now, food grains will be supplied at NFSA rate of Rs 3 per kilo for rice and Rs 2 per kilo for wheat with effect from April 1, 2016. 10.2 crore children across country get hot cooked meals in 11.56 lakh elementary schools across country.
    2. Previously, 23.19 lakh tonnes of rice and 4.56 lakh tonnes of wheat was allocated to States and UTs at BPL rates of Rs 5.65 per kilo for rice and Rs 4.15 per kilo for wheat.
  1338. Railway Minister announceD 2 passenger friendly services -
    1. Cancellation of PRS counter tickets through IRCTC website and 139 - The passenger has to dial 139 giving details of the confirmed ticket for cancelling it and the sender will get a one-time password (OTP). Passenger has to reach the Passenger Reservation System (PRS) counter and reveal the OTP to claim refund.
    2. Acceptance of International Debit and Credit Cards for payment for e-ticketing.
  1339. Government's LED programme - Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) launched in Madhya Pradesh with objective of distributing three crore LED bulbs over six months.
  1340. 28 April - World Day for Safety and Health at Work. 2016 Theme is Workplace Stress: a collective challenge.
  1341. Supreme Court approved a single common entrance test National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to MBBS and BDS courses for 2016-17. All India Pre-Medical Test (AIPMT) fixed for May 1, 2016 will now be treated as NEET-1.
  1342. Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) successfully launched Indias 7th navigation satellite IRNSS 1G to complete Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS). Satellite was launched into a Sub-Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit by Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C-33 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh, with a lift-off mass of 1425 kg.
    1. IRNSS 1G satellite is last space segment satellites of the IRNSS system. With this, India joined group of nations with their own GPS (Global Positioning System) or navigation system. Other nations are USs GPS , Russias Glonass, Japans Quasi Zenith, Europes Galileo and Chinas Beidou.
    2. It equipped with 2 types of payloads - navigation payload and ranging devices. Navigation payload will be used to transmit navigation service signals to the users and ranging payload consists of a C-band transponder that will facilitate determination of range of satellite.
    3. IRNSS System -
      1. It consists of seven satellites of which three are geostationary and four are non-geostationary.
      2. 4 Geosynchronous satellites will be orbiting in pairs in two inclined geosynchronous orbits. When observed from the ground, these 2 pairs of satellites will appear to travel in figures of ‘8.
      3. 3 Geostationary satellites will be placed in geostationary orbit over the equator.
      4. Services - IRNSS will provide real-time accurate position information of objects to users in an area of 1,500 km with 2 types of services - Restricted Service (encrypted service provided to authorised users maily military) and Standard Positioning Services to all users.
  1343. Indias Deepika Kumari equalled world record set by South Koreas Ki Boe Bae in Womens Recurve event at qualifying stage of Archery World Cup held in Shanghai (China) by scoring 686 out of 720 to finish 1st in qualifiers.
  1344. Railway Ministry decided to create 1 lakh crore rupees safety fund named Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh to strengthen safety measures on rail network to prevent accidents.
  1345. Russia successfully launched first rocket (unmanned Soyuz-21a) from its newly built Vostochny Cosmodrome in Amur Oblast, Far East region bordering China.
  1346. Indian academician Radha Kumar appointed as United Nation's University Council along with other 11 people by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
  1347. Noted Kerala cartoonist V T Thomas passed away.
  1348. Parliament passed Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order (Amendment) Bill 2016 to amend list of list of Scheduled Castes (SC) from 4 states
    1. Chhattisgarh - Inclusion of Sais, Sahis, Sarathi, Soot-Sarathi, Thanwar communities in list.
    2. Haryana - Inclusion of Aheria, Aheri, Hari, Heri, Thori, Turi and Rai Sikh communities in list.
    3. Kerala - Inclusion of Peruvannan community and Modification in area of specification of Malayan community.
    4. West Bengal 0 Removal of area restriction of Chain community.
    5. Odisha - Exclusion of Bariki and Kummari communities in list.
  1349. Tibetan government-in-exile re-elected Lobsang Sangey as Prime Minister for second consecutive term.
  1350. Government made mandatory for mobile manufacturers to add in-built panic button from January 1, 2017 and global positioning system (GPS) in all phones from Jan 1, 2018.
  1351. China successfully launched Kunpeng-1B sounding rocket equipped with a new altitude control system, aimed at carrying measurements in upper atmosphere and to help in high-speed flight and space tourism research.
  1352. Indian Navy inaugurated naval detachment at Androth Island of Lakshadweep archipelago, to strengthen maritime security around Arabian Sea and enhance surveillance of crucial shipping lanes.
  1353. Shyam Benegal headed committee submitted its report to I&B minister Arun Jaitley. Committee was tasked to look into measures for revamping functioning of Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).
  1354. Gujarat Government will provide 10 % reservation for economically backward classes (EBCs) in general category in government jobs and admission to educational institutions from next academic year.
  1355. India's Nand Kishore Singh has been selected for prestigious Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver, Japans highest civilian award for promoting economic, educational and cultural ties between India and Japan.
  1356. Chinese researchers developed world's first graphene electronic paper which is is more pliable and has more intensity as compared to traditional e-papers. It has high-light transmittance means optical displays will be much brighter.
  1357. IT major Mindtree co-founder Subroto Bagchi has been appointed as head of Odisha Skill Development Authority.
  1358. Reliance Defence signed agreement with 3 Ukrainian firms (Ukroboronprom, Spetstechno Exports and Antonov) to collaborate on range of military products.
  1359. Pakistani women's rights activist from Swat valley Tabassum Adnan has won prestigious 2016 Nelson Mandela Graça Machel Innovation Award.
  1360. 29 April - Inrternational Dance Day.
  1361. 29 April: Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare.
  1362. Election Commission of India launched innovative mobile application e-voter with comprehensive details about forthcoming 2016 Assembly polls in Kerala.
  1363. Indian women's team (Deepika Kumari, Bombayla Devi Laishram and Laxmirani Majhi) won silver in recurve team final of Archery World Cup in Shanghai (China). They lost to Chinese team in Final.
  1364. Book No Time to Pause has been authored by Pavithra Ramesh.
  1365. New Zealand's $5 polymer note won IBNS Bank Note of the Year Award 2015. This award is an initiative of International Bank Note Society (IBNS) to recognize an exceptional banknote issued each year.
  1366. PM Narendra Modi will address joint meeting of United States Congress during his visit to Washington in June 2016.
  1367. World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) annual report for 2014 -
    1. India is ranked 3rd in Anti-Doping Rule Violations Report (ADRVs) in 2014, with 96 of 1,693 doping violations cases.
    2. List is topped by Russia (148), followed by Italy (123), India (96), Belgium (91), France (91).
  1368. Sudarsan Pattnaik, renowned sand artist from India has won gold medal at 9th Moscow Sand Sculpture Championship The magical world of sand at Moscow (Russia).
  1369. Book The Great Indian World Trip is authored by Tushar Agarwal.
  1370. Uttar Pradesh police launched Operation Milan in Lucknow to rescue abducted youths and minors and reunite them with their families.
  1371. Bhupender Yadav Committee on Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2015 submitted report. As per report -
    1. Any person adjudged as insolvent may also be covered under definition of bankrupt.
    2. Provident fund, pension fund and gratuity which provide social safety net of employees should be secured in the event of liquidation of a Company.
    3. New provisions relating to cross-border insolvency should also be Inserted.
  1372. Andhra Pradesh Eastern Power Distribution Company Limited (APEPDCL) become first e-office electricity distribution company with purpose of clearing files without any delay and ensuring transparency and accountability.
  1373. Book Alphabet Soup for Lovers is authored by Anita Nair.
  1374. Noted Actor Jeetendra is honoured with 2016 Lifetime Achievement of Master Dinanath Mangeshkar Award.
  1375. Book Flying in High Winds: A Memoir is authored by S.K. Mishra.
  1376. Chithirai festival celebrated at Meenakshi Temple in Madurai (Tamil Nadu), for symbolizing unity of saivitism and vaishnavism.
  1377. Book Param Vir: A War Diary is written by Manju Lodha.
  1378. Kerala state branch of Indian Medical Association (IMA) has partnered with UNICEF to promote safe and healthy practices for improving maternal and child health in the state.
  1379. Noted Sanskrit scholar Vijayveer Vidyalankar is selected for 25th Yudhvir Foundation Memorial Award for his work on the Rasa Sddhant and Vedas.
  1380. India extended Line of Credit (LoC) of 1 billion USD to Mongolia, on occasion ofg Mongolian Foreign Minister Lundeg Purevsuren visiting India.
  1381. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) entered into collaboration with Germany for a special programme on ‘Soil Protection and Rehabilitation for Food Security‘.
  1382. 2016 Spring Meetings of World Bank and IMF Held in Washington DC (USA). Attended by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on India's Behalf.
  1383. 6th Economic and Financial Partnership Dialogue between India and USA held in Wahington DC (USA). India and USA will enhance collaboration on tackling offshore tax evasion and increase co-operation in sharing of cross-border tax information.
  1384. BRICS New Development Bank Board of Governors Meeting and BRICS Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting held in Washington DC (USA). Attended by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on India's Behalf.
  1385. G-20 Session for Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors held in Washington DC (USA). Attended by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on India's Behalf. G20 countries sought a crackdown on tax heavens, shell companies and terror financing in wake of the ‘Panama Papers’ scandal.
  1386. President Pranab Mukherjee visited Papua New Guinea and New Zealand -
    1. New Zealand
      1. Air Services Agreement signed for introduction of direct flights between India and New Zealand.
    2. Papua New Guinea -
      1. $100 Million Credit Line from India to Papua New Guinea for projects in Transport and infrastructure sectors.
      2. MoU in field of Health Care and Medical Science, Agriculture, Information Technology.
  1387. Government has set minimum wage for contract workers to Rs. 10,000 per month.
  1388. Government approved public disclosure of scores and ranking of candidates who appear for recruitment examinations conducted by various public recruitment agencies for benefit of employers in public and private sector seeking qualified candidates through a portal.
  1389. Government disinvested its 11.36% shares in National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) to raise about Rs. 2,700 crores.
  1390. Isuzu Motors opened its manufacturing plant in Andhra Pradesh and rolled out its India-made D-Max pick-up.
  1391. Badminton Player Nandu Natekar became first non-Cricketer to be inducted into Legends Club founded by late Cricket Club of India (CCI) president Raj Singh Dungarpur.
  1392. International Cricket Council suspended Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) due to lack of leadership and misgovernance.
  1393. New emblem of Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympic Games has been unveiled. Logo features a circular Japanese traditional checkered pattern.
  1394. Singapore's largest bank, DBS unveiled mobile only bank in India - digibank. It uses technologies such as bio metrics and artificial intelligence to enable paperless and branch less banking.
  1395. Global data services company Experian launched its Hunter Fraud Score in India as a new scoring mechanism. It will help measureing probability of fraud in a credit application across banking and insurance industries.
  1396. BSE (Bombay Stopck Exchange) signed MoU with Korea Exchange (KRX) of South Korea for listing S&P BSE Sensex-based derivatives contracts on KRX.
  1397. 2016 Commonwealth Judo Championships held in South Africa. India will host Commonwealth Judo Championships in Jaipur (Rajasthan) in 2018.
  1398. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) announced appointment of Sanath Jayasuriya as chief selector of Sri Lankan Cricket team.
  1399. Mongolia conferred its highest civilian award "North Star" to 2 noted Indian scholars-Lokesh Chandra and Mansura Haider for their contribution to Mongolian studies.
  1400. Government approved Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) to invest Rs. 3,000 in Bharat Oman Refineries Limited (BORL).
  1401. Government will to make it mandatory to set aside 1 % of total cost of any highway project for road safety.
  1402. 1 Mar - Zero Discrimination Day. Theme is Stand Out.
  1403. 1 Mar - 40th Civil Accounts Day of India.
  1404. Government approved setting up 36th International Geological Congress society under Society Registration Act 1860 for organizing 36th International Geological Congress (IGC) in 2020 and promoting geoscience in Indian subcontinent. Event will be held in NCR, Delhi in March 2-6, 2020 with budget of 52 crores.
  1405. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved winding up of National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council (NMCC) as it has fulfilled mandate for which it was constituted. NMCC was established in 2004 as a forum for policy dialogue to sustain growth of manufacturing industr.
  1406. Multinational Field Training Exercise (FTX) FORCE 18, involving ASEAN Plus countries held in Pune (Maharashtra). Sofia Qureshi became first woman officer to lead Indian Army contingent at a multi-national military exercise.
  1407. World Bank approved IDA credit of US$ 300 Million for Madhya Pradesh Higher Education Quality Improvement Project.
  1408. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Economy of Luxembourg, Etienne Schneider visited India.
  1409. Government will launch 'Setubharatam' project to make all National Highways railway crossing free by 2019 by cost INR 10,200 crores.
  1410. First U.S India Workshop on Traditional Medicine held in New Delhi.
  1411. Government announced exclusive and unique Organic Value Chain Development scheme for Rs. 115 crore for North Eastern Region. It is aimed at boosting organic Farming entrepreneurship in North East.
  1412. Retreat for Banks and Financial Institutions called Gyan Sangam held at State Bank Academy, Gurgaon (Haryana).
  1413. Punjab signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) under Scheme UDAY – Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana and became 7th state to do so. Combined DISCOM debt to be restructured for 7 participating states is 1.6 lakh crores. Total outstanding DISCOM debt is 4.3 lakh crores.
  1414. RK Dhowan, Chief of Naval Staff Visited United Kingdom.
  1415. Secretary General of Geneva (Switzerland) Based World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Petteri Taalas visited India.
  1416. Minister of Women and Child Development, Maneka Sanjay Gandhi launched Mahila e-Haat as online marketing platform for women. It is a unique online platform where participants can display their products, as part of Digital India and Stand Up India initiatives.
  1417. Noted playwright and director Ratan Thiyam has been selected for prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award for 2016 at Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards (META).
  1418. Slovenian high-jumper Rozle Prezelj has been elected as chairman of International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Athletes' Commission.
  1419. MS Swaminathan Research Foundation signed MOU with Bhubaneswar-based Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) to establish a Research Chair, named after MS Swaminathan (father of Indian Green Revolution).
  1420. Government constituted a committee under Mahesh Kumar Singla, to consider Scheduled Tribe status to six Communities of Assam (Koch Rajbongshi, Moran, Matak, Tai Ahom, Chutia and Adivasi).
  1421. Haryana Government changed name of Mustafabad village in Yamuna Nagar district to Saraswati Nagar (derived from mythological Saraswati River).
  1422. Rahul Sachdev won first All India Open Invitational Snooker Championship 2016 at Aurangabad (Maharashtra).
  1423. Peru declared emergency for 3 weeks after a major oil (3000 Barrels) pipeline burst in northeast region affecting two rivers Chiriaco and Morona.
  1424. Three British scientists Timothy Bliss, Graham Collingridge and Graham Collingridge have won 2016 Grete Lundbeck European Brain Research Prize (also known as Brain Prize) for giving vital insight how human brain remembers, learns and navigates.
  1425. International Finance Corporation (IFC) of World Bank launched its first Uridashi Masala Bonds (Japanese bonds), to mobilise 30 crore rupees from Japanese retail investors and will be sold to Japanese household investors. The proceeds from these bonds will be used for promoting private sector development in India.
    1. Masala bonds are rupee-denominated instruments sold only to offshore investors by Indian corporates for raising money from overseas investors.
  1426. Noted poet Bhagwati Lal Vyas has been selected for 2015 Bihari Puraskar for his anthology of Rajasthani poems Katha Sun Aawe Hai Sabad, published in 2010.
  1427. Finance Ministry approved proposal of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Chattisgarh states for issuance of Ujjwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY) bonds. These states have 35% of all outstanding loans of State electricity distribution utilities in India. These bonds will allow state governments to take over 75 % of power distribution companies (DISCOMs) debt and pay lenders by issuing bonds.
  1428. Delhis Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) won 3 international awards for 2015 by Airports Council International (ACI) with score of 4.96 / 5. Awards are - Number one airport for consecutive second year in 25 to 40 Million Passengers Per Annum (MPPA) category, Best airport by size & region Asia Pacific and Second best airport by region (Asia Pacific).
  1429. Former New Zealand cricket captain Martin Crowe passed away.
  1430. Cabinet Committee on Security approved purchasing 2 Phalcon Airborne Warning and Control Systems (AWACS), surveillance aircrafts from Israel, at cost of 7,500 crores.
  1431. Parliament passed Carriage by Air (Amendment) Bill 2015 to amend Carriage by Air Act 1972 to empower Union government to revise limits of liability for airlines and compensation as per Montreal Convention that India accepted in 2009. Now Bill will go for Presidential assent as per Article 111 of Constitution.
  1432. Mrugank Paranjape is appointed as managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) of Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX).
  1433. Mumbai under-23 team won Col CK Nayudu cricket Trophy 2015-16 by defeating Madhya Pradesh.
  1434. Mumbai won Ranji Cricket Trophy for 41st time, beating saurashtra.
  1435. South Korea passed its first anti-terror bill that was first proposed 15 years ago in 2001 after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in US.
  1436. Forbes 30th annual billionaires list 2016 -
    1. Microsoft Co-founder Bill Gates remains worlds richest person for 17th time in last 23 years, with a net worth of $75 billion.
    2. Total billionaires in world are 1810 (190 are women) with their net worth of $6.48 trillion.
    3. USA leads with 540 billionaires, followed by China (251), Germany (120) and India (84).
    4. Top 5 - Bill Gates ($75 billion), Amancio Ortega ($67 billion), Warren Buffett ($60.8 billion), Carlos Slim Helu ($50 billion), Jeff Bezos ($45.2 billion).
    5. Youngest billionaire - 19 year old Norwegain Alexandra Andresen (1.76 Billion USD).
    6. India - Mukesh Ambani (38th ranks with $20.6 billion), Dilip Shanghvi (44th), Azim Premji (55th).
  1437. Global Energy Architecture Performance Index (GEAPI) Report by World Economic Forum (WEF) -
    1. India ranked at 90th out of 126 countries on the basis of their ability to deliver secure, affordable and sustainable energy.
    2. Top 10 countries - Switzerland (1st), Norway (2nd), Sweden (3rd), France (4th), Denmark (5th), Austria (6th), Spain (7th), Colombia (8th), New Zealand (9th) and Uruguay (10th).
    3. Among BRICS - Brazil (25th), Russia (52nd), India (90th) and China (94th).
  1438. 3rd MARCH - World Wildlife Day. 2016 theme is The future of wildlife is in our hands.
  1439. United Nations Security Council adopted toughest sanctions ever imposed on North Korea in response to its fourth nuclear test and rocket launch.
  1440. Delhi became first state to launch Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine as a public health programme for school children.
  1441. Indian-American investor Sunil Sabharwal took charge as Alternate Executive Director at International Monetary Fund (IMF).
  1442. Indian shooter Jitu Rai won Gold in 50m Pistol Men final event at International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) World Cup held in Bangkok (Thialand).
  1443. World's most expensive train station opened at 9/11 site in New York (United States), named as World Trade Center Transportation Hub. It was constructed at cost of 3.85 billion USD and designed by the Spanish-Swiss architect Santiago Calatrava.
  1444. Former Lok Sabha Speaker Purno Agitok Sangma passed away.
  1445. International Hockey Federation promoted Hockey India national-level umpire Nepoleon Singh as International Outdoor Umpire.
  1446. India's noted film archivist and scholar Paramesh Krishnan Nair passed away.
  1447. Traditional festival of Chapchar Kut of Mizos celebrated across north-eastern state of Mizoram. This spring festival celebrated every year in March after Jhum (shifting agriculture by clearing jungle by burning and cultivating in remnants of burning).
  1448. Noted Actor Manoj Kumar selected for 47th Dadasaheb Phalke Award 2015.
  1449. First Raisina-Dialogue 2016, a flagship conference on Geopolitics and Geo-economics Held in New Delhi. It is joint initiative of Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and Observer Research Foundation (ORF) with theme - Asia: Regional and Global Connectivity.
  1450. PM Narendra Modi selected Nagepur village in Varanasi Constituency (Uttar Pradesh) under Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY).
  1451. State Bank of India has been granted approval to operate in Myanmar by Myanmar Government along with three other Asian banks - Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam, Sun Commercial Bank of Taiwan and Shinhan Bank of South Korea.
  1452. Noted Malayalam actor Kalabhavan Mani passed away.
  1453. Patna Pirates won 3rd season of Star Sports Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) by defeating U Mumba.
  1454. India won 2016 Asia Cup T20 Cricket trophy for 6th time after beating Bangladesh. Man of the series - Sabbir Rahman (Bangladesh). Most runs - Sabbir Rahman (176) Bangladesh. Most wickets - Al-Amin Hossain (11) (Bangladesh).
  1455. Researchers discovered new species of burrowing snake named Melanophidium Khairei or Khaires Black Shieldtail in Northwestern Ghats.
  1456. India filed complaint against United States in World Trade Organisation, accusing USA of high fees on L-1 and H-1B categories of temporary working visas. As per India, It would impact Indian IT professionals as it makes Indian IT companies less competitive in that market.
  1457. President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated National conference on ‘Women Legislators: Building Resurgent India in New Delhi.
  1458. Mar 4 - National Safety Day/ Week Campaign in India. 2016 theme is Strengthen Safety Movement to Achieve Zero Harm.
  1459. Dogri poetess and writer Padma Sachdev is awarded by Krutitava Smagra Samman 2015.
  1460. Internet pioneer and e-mail inventor Raymond Tomlinson passed away. He Picked @ symbol for Email addresses.
  1461. Jalandhar based Capital Local Area Bank (CLAB) Limited became first entity in India to get Small Financial Bank Licence by Reserve Bank of India (RBI). CLAB ltd has 44 branches in 5 districts of Punjab. It will start opearting on April 13, 2016.
    1. Small finance banks will undertake basic banking activities of acceptance of deposits and lending to underserved people to promote financial inclusion.
    2. Difference in Payment Banks and Small Finance Banks -
      Title Small Finance BankPayments Bank
      EligibilityProfessionals with 10 years in financial services or promoter group with 5 year track recordCard Issuers, Finance Companies, Business Correspondents, Telecom Companies, Retailers etc.
      Capital RequirementRs. 100 Crore Equity CapitalRs. 100 Crore Equity Capital
      Scope of ActivityProviding basic banking facilities to poor and small businessmen Accept Deposits, Issue Debit Cards, Remittance services. Can not issue credit cards and can not give Loans
      Promoter ContributionPromoters initial contribution should be 40% lowered to 26% in 12 yearsPromoters should retain a 40% stake for first five years.
  1462. Amrita Patel conferred with prestigious 2016 Mahindra Samriddhi India Agri Lifetime Achievement Award also known as Krishi Shiromani Samman.
  1463. Russian Tennis player Maria Sharapova provisionally suspended after failed drugs test at Australian Open.
  1464. Indian Railways has formed a new Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to implement Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Bullet Train project. Entity is named as National High Speed Rail Corporation (NHSRC) Limited.
  1465. Telangana and Maharashtra Governments have signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) to set up an inter-state water board construct 5 barrages across Godavari and Pen Ganga rivers.
  1466. Air India successfully flew Worlds longest all-woman operated flight from New Delhi to San Francisco (United States). Flight was operated as part of International Women's Day celebrations and travelled a distance of around 14,500 kilometres in 17 hours.
  1467. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) released Four-colour Classification Scheme for industries based on their pollution potential. Based on Range of Pollution Index‘, industrial sectors are categorised into 4 colours category -
    1. Red - Severe Pollution with PI score of 60 and above. These include sugar, thermal power plants, paints are under in it.
    2. Orange - High Pollution with PI score of 41 - 59. Includes 83 industries like coal, washeries and automobile servicing.
    3. Green - Low Pollution with PI score of 21 - 40. Includes 63 industries in it.
    4. White - Less Polution with PI score under 20. They are 30 non-polluting industries.
  1468. Germany will help developing Kochi (Kerala), Bhubaneswar (Odisha) and Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu) as smart cities.
  1469. Indian scientists claimed to have developed herbal medicine against mosquito borne dengue fever using alcoholic extract of Cissampelos pariera Linn (Cipa extract) derived from velvetleaf, a species of flowering plant.
  1470. Armaan Ebrahim won 2015 FMSCI Motorsports Man of the Year Trophy by Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India.
  1471. PM Narendra Modi constituted a task force under Rajiv Kumar (Additional Secretary in Department of Personnel and Training) to rationalise central government staff and ensure their maximum optimisation.
  1472. Indian author Jerry Pinto won 2016 Windham-Campbell Prize for his novel Em and The Big Hoom in fiction category at Yale University (USA).
  1473. Government announced to digitally connect all 1,29,323 gramin dak sewak post offices in rural areas across country by March 2017.
  1474. Book Fixed! Cash and Corruption in Cricket, authored by Journalist Shantanu Guha Ray has been launched.
  1475. India's first 75-seater solar powered ferry will come up in tourism spot of Kerala Allepey (the Venice of the East).
  1476. India's first self cleaning smart toilets (Around 180) have been installed in Chennai (Tamil Nadu).
  1477. United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have launched Blue Dot hubs to boost protection for children and families on move across Europe.
  1478. PepsiCo became BCCI's official associate sponsor for all international matches in India for 4 years.
  1479. Basant Bahadur Singh Rana won gold in mens 50km race walk event in 3rd edition of National Race Walking Championships in Jaipur.
  1480. Zee Media will acquire 80 % stake in India Today group's loss-making e-commerce and TV entities - Today Merchandise and Today Retail Network Pvt Ltd for 166 crores.
  1481. NASA Invited India to jointly explore Mars and send Indian Astranauts to Mars in Joint Mission. Director of Jet Propulsion Laboratory of NASA, Charles Elachi said that India and US could jointly explore Mars.
  1482. South Asian Public Affairs Council (SAPAC) in Australia honored Actor Randeep Hooda with achievement award for making his mark in film industry.
  1483. Japanese government stipulated long-term goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 80 % by 2050.
  1484. Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi) will be raising 10000 crores for 'Stand Up India Fund' from RBI, which will be disbursed to Dalit and women entrepreneurs.
  1485. India issued an order to USA for buying 15 CH-47 Chinook and 21 AH-64 Apache Helicopters worth Rs 22,000 crores.
  1486. Aditya Birla Group's UltraTech acquired JP Groups cement plants for Rs 16,500 crores.
  1487. Indian Leading IT Services Provider Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is recognized as Global Top Employer by Top Employers Institute. The assessment was done among 1,072 companies worldwide across 9 core HR areas.
  1488. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) revised norms on capital recognition, making available an additional Rs.40,000 crore to Indian banks. It is big relief for public sector banks as they are facing low profitability issues due to rise in Non Performing assets.
  1489. NASA's Expedition 46 Commander Scott Kelly and his Russian counterpart Mikhail Kornienko returned to Earth After historic 340-day stay at International Space Station.
  1490. Noted American Actor George Kennedy passed away.
  1491. NHAI (National Highways Authority of India) tied up with Indian School of Business (ISB) Hyderabad as a significant step in ensuring development of management competencies of manpower.
  1492. Transport Ministry cancelled a contract with IRB Infrastructure to build a $1.5 billion (10500 Crore) Tunnel of Length 14.8 KM (Zoji La Pass) in Jammu and Kashmir.
  1493. e-Commerce company Flipkart launched its own advertisement platform in name Brand Story Ads with over 50 leading brands on board. Noted Brands like Yes Bank, LOreal, Micromax, Intel, Gillette, Datsun and Sony have signed up with Flipkart to launch their ads campaigns on the platform.
  1494. Noted American singer Stevie Wonder honoured with Global Green Hero award at 13th Annual Global Green USA Pre Oscar party.
  1495. Memorandum of Understanding signed between Indian Army and Induslnd Bank on Defence Salary package.
  1496. Advertising Club Madras conferred its 1st Distinguished Service Award on Srinivasan K Swamy, CMD OF R K Swamy BBDO for contribution to advertising industry.
  1497. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) CEO Natarajan Chandrasekaran is appointed as non-official directors to board of Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
  1498. Election Commission announced schedule for Assembly polls in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and for UT of Puducherry. In Assam and West Bengal, elections will be held in April while In Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Kerala, elections will be held on May 16. Results will be out on May 19.
  1499. TRA Brand Trust Report, India Study 2016 -
    1. Amazon is India's most trusted online shopping brand followed Snapdeal and Flipkart.
    2. Ebay, Myntra, Yepme, Jabong, Naaptol, Shopclues and Askmebazaar in top 10 online brands.
  1500. Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gases laid foundation stone of Country's 1st its of kind Octomax unit at Mathura refinery. It will help in production of high octane gasoline.
  1501. France awarded Legion dHonneur, Frances highest honour to visiting Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Nayef.
  1502. US and South Korean began their largest ever military exercises. These bilateral exercises come just after UN passed sanctions against North Korea following its recent nuclear test and rocket launch. 8-week long drills will involve 300000 South Korean and 15000 US personnel.
  1503. Japanese investment bank SoftBank Group has announced to separate its profitable domestic mobile business from its international business. Both subsidiaries will be completely owned by SoftBank.
  1504. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced to withdraw proposal to tax Employee Provident Fund (EPF) withdrawals. As per Union Budget 2016-17, 60 % of amount deposited in EPF account of the employee would be taxable at time of withdrawal, and 40 % would be tax free.
  1505. Global rating agency Fitch predicted India's growth forecast at 7.5 % for 2015-2016 and also sees higher growth around 7.7 % & 7.9 % over next 2 years.
  1506. India's largest selling car, Maruti Alto crossed lifetime sale milestone of 30 Lakh Units in 15 years. It is only Indian auto brand to cross this milestone.
  1507. As per new Restrictions imposed by Railways, An unreserved train ticket for travelling up to 199 km distance will no longer be valid after 3 hours of purchase of the ticket. So journey has to be started within 3 hours in case of Unreserved tickets for distances up to 199 km.
  1508. Ratings agency Moody's cut its outlook for China from stable to negative, based on expectations that fiscal strength of China would be sliding down and negative outlook comes on heels of fresh data suggesting economy of China is continuing to lose steam.
  1509. Australian golfer Adam Scott won 2016 WGC-Cadillac Championship at Florida (USA).
  1510. Sirshendu De of IIT Kharagpur selected for Innovation Award 2016 by Indian Desalination Association (IDA) South Zone for developing ultra low-cost eco-friendly laterite based arsenic water filter.
  1511. Government provided loan of 1000 crore rupees to Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore (FACT) Limited, to be repaid within 5 years.
  1512. Sri Lankan Cricket Board constituted new National Cricket Selection Panel headed by Arvinda de Silva.
  1513. Reserve Bank of India released Non-Banking Financial Company - Account Aggregator Directions, 2016
    1. Net Owned Fund should not be less than 2 crore rupees.
    2. An account aggregator will not be able to undertake any other business other than account aggregation.
    3. Initially, only financial assets whose records are stored electronically and under regulation of financial sector regulators like RBI, SEBI, IRDA, and PFRDA shall be considered for aggregation.
    4. No financial asset related customer information pulled out account aggregator from financial service providers.
    5. An account aggregator will not support transactions in financial assets.
    6. About Account Aggregator -
      1. At present, persons holding financial assets such as savings bank deposits, mutual funds, insurance policies etc do not get a consolidated view of their financial asset holdings. Account aggregator collects and provides information of customers financial assets in a consolidated and organised manner to customer.
  1514. Book Who was Shivaji? authored by Govind Pansare launched.
  1515. Whitfield Diffie and Martin Hellman honoured with Association for Computing Machinery's 2015 A.M. Turing Award.
  1516. Rajya Sabha passed Bureau of Indian Standards Bill, 2015 that will replace Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 1986.
    1. It extends ambit of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) to include services, processes and products while ensuring production of world class goods.
    2. It also proposes to make BIS a national standards body, introduce mandatory hallmarking of precious metals, prevent misuse of standard marks and provides for recall of ISI marked products not conforming to relevant standards.
    3. Earlier, the Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on 3 December 2015.
  1517. As per research of Lancet journal of Oxford Martin Future of Food Programme -
    1. Climate change will result in over 5 Lakh adult deaths by 2050 worldwide due to changes in diets and bodyweight from reduced crop productivity.
    2. China will see more deaths than any other country with 251 deaths per one million population. India is ranked 7 overall with deaths of 105 per million.
  1518. International Labour Organization (ILO) released report Women at Work: Trends 2016 as a picture of womens position in labour markets
    1. Report says that gender equality in workplace remains questionable.
    2. Between 1995 and 2015, global female labour force participation decreased from 52.4 to 49.6 % while that for men decreaed from 79.9 to 76.1 %.
    3. Women are more likely to be unemployed than men, with global unemployment rates of 5.5 % for men and 6.2 % for women.
    4. Since 1995, women’s employment in services has increased from 41.1 to 61.5 %.
    5. Gender wage gap is 23 %, it means that women earn 77 % of what men earn.
    6. 65 % of people above retirement age without any regular pension are women.
  1519. 08 March - International Womens Day. Theme is Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality. The campaign theme for the day is #PledgeForParity. NITI Aayog launched Women Transforming India initiative in partnership with UN.
  1520. Indian men's and women's team won gold at Second Division of World Team Table Tennis Championship held in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia).
  1521. Combat operation of Meghalaya police, Hillstorm 3 launched in Garo Hills and West Khasi Hills districts against GNLA (Garo National Liberation Army) militants.
  1522. Indian Railways appointed Ernst & Young (EY) as consultant to analyze advertising potential in trains and railway stations.
  1523. Madhya Pradesh government announced inclusion of widow marriage under MP's Mukhyamantri Kanya Vivah Yojana.
  1524. Mahindra & Mahindra Group CMD Anand G Mahindra conferred with Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour) by France.
  1525. ICICI Bank launched iWork@Home programme for its women employees to enable them to work from home. By using the platform, employees can carry out multiple daily banking tasks from home.
  1526. Karnataka Government launched Mukhyamantri Santwana Harish Yojana to provide free treatment to road accident victims for first 48 hours in nearest hospital.
  1527. United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) jointly launched Global Programme to Accelerate Action to End Child Marriage.
  1528. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) approved 2.3 million euro initiative to help Latin American and Caribbean countries fight against Zika virus. IAEA will transfer Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) as a pest control that uses ionizing radiation to sterilize male insects mass-produced in special rearing facilities.
  1529. Ministry of Women & Child Development gave Nari Shakti Puraskar 2015 to 15 women, 5 organisations, one state and panchayat on occasion of International Women's Day.
    1. Haryana awarded for improving Child Sex Ratio (CSR) and Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) in 2015.
    2. Anganwadipuram Gram Panchayat in Mallapuram of Kerala awarded for work for women empowerment. 
    3. Rani Lakshmibai Award (Nari Shakti Puraskar 2015) also given to Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) for its work under KIRAN-IPR for women empowerment in R&D through Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) training.
  1530. Saudi Arab Foreign Minister Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir visited India.
  1531. 57 countries will take part in first Maritime India Summit 2016 to be held in April 2016 in Mumbai (Maharashtra).
  1532. India will host BRICS Friendship Cities Conclave in Mumbai (Maharashtra) in April 2016.
  1533. Iran test-fired several ballistic missiles and breached United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions that compel it to refrain from any work on ballistic missiles for 8 years.
  1534. Sun Pharma appointed Cricketer MS Dhoni as Brand ambassador for its top selling health supplement Revital H.
  1535. NTPC won Research Investor Communication Award among Large Corporates n an independent poll of over 3000 Fund Managers/Analysts/Non Institutional Investors.
  1536. Digital payments platform FreeCharge partnered with Mexico-based chain of movie theatres, Cinepolis to provide its customers an easy way of making payments.
  1537. 108 feet tall idol of Lord Rishabhdeva, the first Teerthankar of Jains, carved out of a single rock, has entered Guinness World Records as worlds tallest Jain statue. It is located on Mangi Tungi mountain near Teharabad village of North Maharashtra district (Maharashtra).
  1538. 10 MARCH - World Kidney Day (Second Thursday of March). Theme for 2016 is Kidney Disease & Children. Act Early to Prevent It!.
  1539. Tezpur University won annual Visitor’s Award for ‘Best University’ and Prof. Rakesh Bhatnagar and Molecular Parasitology Group of JNU won Visitor’s Awards for ‘Research’ and ‘Innovation’.
  1540. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launhed Sixth of Seven Satellites of India's navigation satellite system IRNSS-1F (Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System). Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C32 carrying 1,425kg satellite lifted off from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
  1541. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana - Scheme for Providing Free LPG connections to Women from BPL Households at cost of 8000 crores. Undet this, five crore LPG connections will be provided to BPL households with financial support of 1600 for each LPG connection.
  1542. Lok Sabha passed Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Bill 2016 to make amendments to Enemy Property Act, 1968.
  1543. Noted Brazil musician Nana Vasconcelos passed away.
  1544. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bank of Israel (BOI) for exchange of information pertaining to banking supervision.
  1545. Fourth India-Indonesia Joint Training Exercise Garuda Shakti held in Indonesia.
  1546. India became 56th nation to sign Raptor MoU, Memorandum of Understanding on conservation of birds of prey in Africa and Eurasia.
  1547. Parliament passed National Waterways Bill 2015 for conversion of 106 rivers and creeks across India into national transport waterways.
  1548. Rest of India won Irani Cup Cricket 2015-16 by defeating Mumbai.
  1549. India signed second line of credit (LOC) agreement for providing 2 billion dollars in development financing to Bangladesh for various development projects. It will be provided through Export Import Bank of India.
  1550. Government approved MoU with United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Technical Cooperation in Combating Cyber-Crime.
  1551. Government approved signing of Bay of Bengal Initiative on Multi Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters.
  1552. Rajya Sabha passed Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill 2015 to protect interests of consumers and enhance growth of construction sector -
    1. Establishes state level regulatory authorities called Real Estate Regulatory Authorities (RERAs) and tribunals called Real Estate Appellate Tribunals (REAT) to settle disputes.
    2. 70% of the amount collected from buyers must be maintained in a separate bank (escrow) account and must only be used for construction of that project.
    3. Real estate contributes nine per cent to the national GDP.
  1553. Government appointed Balbir Singh Chauhan as Chairman of 21st Law Commission of India (LCI).
  1554. Egyptian Ahmed Abul Gheit has been selected as Secretary General of Arab League. Arab League also declared Lebanese movement Hezbollah, a Shia political organisation as a terrorist group.
  1555. Japanese researchers successfully isolated a bacterium species Ideonella sakaiensis 201-F6 that is capable of breaking down plastic polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or polyester.
  1556. India and USA launched Fulbright – Kalam Climate Fellowship , enabling Indian research scholars to work with American institutions in field of climate change. It will sponsor up to 6 Indian post-doctoral researchers to work in US for 1 year.
  1557. N P S Hira is appointed as Deputy Chief of Indian Army.
  1558. International Monetary Fund Chief Christine Lagrade visited India to participate in MOF - IMF Meet in Delhi with Theme Advancing Asia: Investing for the Future. She announced that IMF and India will jointly set-up South Asia Regional Training and Technical Assistance Center in Delhi.
  1559. Lok Sabha passed Aadhaar (Target Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Bill 2016 as a Money Bill for giving statutory backing for transferring government subsidies and benefits to targeted people by assigning them Aadhaar unique identity numbers.
    1. Under Aadhaar scheme, Biometric data of 99 crore Indians have been collected so far and kept in encrypted and secure form.
  1560. Power Ministry gave named UJALA (Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All) for LED based Domestic Efficient Lighting Programme (DELP). DELP programme was launched in January 2015 for energy conservation by replacing 77 crore incandescent lamps with LED bulbs.
  1561. National Special Olympic for special children organized in Shimla (Himachal Pradesh). winners will participate in world winter games in Austria from 14th to 25th March, 2016.
  1562. Book The Culture Heritage of Trans Himalayas-Kinnaur has been written by P.S. Nagi Loktus.
  1563. A new frog species that lives in clean mountain brooks and produces a special sound during mating season has been found in southwest Chinas Yunnan Province, named Leptolalax tengchongensis (Asian litter frog).
  1564. Government announced that in 2014-2015, 116 Public Sector Enterprises (PSUs) spent Rs 2448 Crores on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities.
  1565. Five healthcare ATMs opened in four states - MP, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. These ATMs would tide over shortage of doctors will also save from the risk of pilferage in free drugs programmes.
  1566. Government will announcd a policy to give incentives including interest discount of 0.25 % for increasing capacity of Wind mills of up to 1MW. Most of wind-turbines installed are of capacity below 500 kW and at sites with high wind energy potential. It will increase in wind energy capacity by 3000 MW.
  1567. Yes Bank launched an all-women operated bank branch Yes Grace aimed at offering customised banking solutions to women.
  1568. Sudhakar Rao will be new Chairman and Public Interest Director of BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange).
  1569. Noted music producer George Henry Martin (UK) passed away.
  1570. Actress Sonakshi Sinha become a Guinness World Records title-holder as she along with several other women participated in an initiative to set a record for most people painting their fingernails simultaneously.
  1571. Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) entered into 4 year partnership with Hyundai Motors as an associate sponsor for all international matches at home.
  1572. Noted actress Kangana Ranaut is chosen as brand ambassador of Reebok India.
  1573. NALCO's Chief Tapan Kumar is appointed as chief of Aluminium Association of India.
  1574. India will launch 25 foreign satellites of seven countries in 2016-17, most of USA (12). So far, 57 foreign satellites from 21 countries have been launched using Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).
  1575. Project Mausam of Ministry of Culture is implemented by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for exploring Indian Ocean world collating archaeological and historical research. It documents diversity of Indian Ocean from East Africa to Southeast Asian archipelago.
  1576. ICICI Bank launched a credit-linked subsidy scheme for home loans under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY). Under this, eligible customers will get subsidy at 6.5 % per annum on Rs 6 lakh or loan amount, whichever is lower, for upto 15 years.
  1577. Gujarat topped list of 21 states with most investment potential, as per report by NCAER. Gujarat is followed by Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.
  1578. Jean Arnault (France) is appointed as head of United National Political Mission in Columbia.
  1579. Railways Firm RITES Lmited signed contract to supply 18 Meter Gauge 1350 HP Diesel Electric Locomotives to Myanmar Railways, to help Myanmar meet increasing demand for traffic.
  1580. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu launched Clean My Coach service to allow travelers to get their compartments cleaned by sending SMS or using app / website.
  1581. Ajit Singh was sworn in as Chief Justice (CJ) of the Gauhati High Court.
  1582. Kerala Tourism's campaign New Worlds won Golden City Gate Award at Internationale Tourismus-Borse Berlin (ITB-Berlin) 2016.
  1583. Services won 70th Santosh Trophy Football Championships 2016 by defeating hosts Maharashtra.
  1584. Palestinian teacher Hanan Al Hroub has been awarded with one million dollar 2016 Global Teacher Prize for her outstanding contribution to the profession. Finalists also included Indias Robin Chaurasiya who runs a not-for-profit school in Mumbai for girls from.
  1585. 2016 All England Super Series Badminton Championships -
    1. Men's Singles - Lin Dan (China) won by defeating Tian Houwei (China)
    2. Womens singles - Nozomi Okuhara (Japan) won by defeating Wang Shixian (China)
    3. Mens Doubles - Russian pair Vladimir Ivanov and Ivan Sozonov won by defeating Japanese pair Hiroyuki Endo and Kenichi Hayakawa.
    4. Womens Doubles - Japanese pair Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi won by defeating Chinese pair Tang Yuanting and Yu Yang
    5. Mixed Doubles - Indonesian Praveen Jordan and Debby Susanto defeated Denmark's Joachim Fischer Nielsen and Christinna Pedersen
  1586. China announced to set up its own International Maritime Judicial Centre (IMJC) to handle territorial disputes and protect its sea rights.
  1587. Noted American mathematician and Nobel Prize-winner Lloyd Stowell Shapley passed away.
  1588. Noted British author and art historian Anita Brookner passed away. She won Man Booker Prize in 1984 for her novel Hotel du Lac and was bestselling author with around 25 books.
  1589. Noted Indian scholar and plant physiologist H Deep Saini appointed as Vice Chancellor of University of Canberra, Australia.
  1590. Mother Teresa, a Roman Catholic religious sister and missionary will be elevated to Sainthood (will be made a saint of Roman Catholic Church) on September 4, 2016.
    1. As per rules, being recognized as beatification (blessed) requires one miracle while Canonization (sainthood) requires two miracles.
    2. For Mother Teresa, she was beatified in 2003 by then late Pope John Paul. Now, Pope Francis has approved recognising a second miracle for Mother Teresas intercession with God that involved healing of a man who was suffering from a deadly brain disease.
  1591. Htin Kyaw is elected as first civilian (non-military) President of Myanmar after 53 years of military rule.
  1592. An unmanned spacecraft ExoMars 2016 launched jointly by Europe and Russia to search for biosignatures on Mars. It was launched on a Proton-M rocket. ExoMars 2016 is first of a two-phase of ExoMars (Exobiology on Mars) program.
  1593. Government announced that out of 96,000 animal species found in India, more than 50 animals have been assessed as critically endangered (CR) and 310 as endangered (EN).
  1594. Government notified maximum sale price (MSP) of Bt cotton seed for 2016-17. As per notification, Price of BG-I version of Bt cotton hybrid is set at 635 rupees while Price of BG-II version is fixed at 800 rupees.
  1595. Power generation unit 1 of Kakrapar Atomic Power Station (Gujarat) shut down after leakage of heavy water.
  1596. India announced to become first nation to formally adopt United Nations (UN) agenda for the worlds sustainable development and 17 goals identified for its implementation, during 11th National Convention on Sustainable Development Goal (NCSDG) organized by Global Compact Network in Mumbai.
  1597. Indigenously developedsurface-to-surface ballistic missile Agni-I successfully test-fired.Designed to carry both conventional and nuclear payload of about 1000 kg. Speed and Range: It can travel at a speed of 2.5 km/s with range upto 1250 kms.
  1598. Sri Lankan Parliament adopted a resolution to convert itself into a Constitutional Assembly.
  1599. Google DeepMind's Go-playing Artificial Intelligence AlphaGo defeated South Korea's top player Lee Se-dol.
  1600. EIUs Worldwide Cost of Living survey -
    1. Singapore remains worlds most expensive city for third year in a row, top 5 costliest cities are -
      1. Singapore
      2. Zurich (Switzerland)
      3. Hong Kong
      4. Geneva (Switzerland)
      5. Paris (France)
    2. Top 5 cheapest cities - Lusaka (Zambia), Bangalore (India), Mumbai (India), Almaty (Kazakhstan) and Algiers (Algeria)
  1601. Guinness World Records confirmed Mr Israel Kristal of Israel as worlds Oldest living man at age of 112 years.
  1602. Government approved amending Sikh Gurdwaras Act 1925 to remove exception given to Sehajdhari Sikhs in 1944 to vote in elections for selecting members of board and the committees constituted under the Act.
  1603. India's GDP will grow by 7.9 % in 2016-17, as predicted by credit rating agency CRISIL.
  1604. Ride sharing service provider Uber opened its first Asian engineering center in Bengaluru highlighting focus on India to solve challenges of Uber users in India.
  1605. Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat (Karnataka) conducted a honey festival in Mangaluru.
  1606. 13th meeting of Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development held in Dubai (United Arab Emirates).
  1607. 4th World Congress of Biosphere Reserves held at Lima (Peru). Aim is to address different issues related to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Post 2015 Development Agenda. My Biosphere, My Future campaign of UNESCO was launched on this occasion.
  1608. Noted British musician (Rock) Keith Emerson passed away.
  1609. ICICI Bank tied up with sports car maker Ferrari to launch co-branded credit card.
  1610. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) launched free 4G Wifi services at Srinagar international airport (J & K).
  1611. Indian boxer Vijender Singh won his fourth successive knockout win in professional boxing circuit, beating Hungarys Alexander Horvath in under three rounds in Liverpool.
  1612. India Post selected Deloitte as consultant for setting up a payments bank. Public Investment Board has approved 800-crore proposal of India Post for the setting up a payment bank.
  1613. YES Bank signed Memorandum of Understanding with India Brazil Chamber of Commerce (IBCC) for cooperation in knowledge partnerships, B2B opportunitiesa and technology initiatives.
  1614. Anil Wadhwa appointed Ambassador of India to Republic of San Marino.
  1615. Indian Air Force's Exercise - Iron Fist 2016 held in Pokhran (Rajasthan). It is a biennial event that showcases firepower capacity of Indian Air Force.
  1616. India Signed USD 35 Million Loan Agreement with World Bank for Madhya Pradesh Citizen Access to Responsive Services Project.
  1617. Global Bamboo Summit 2016 to be held in India in April 2016 at Indore (Madhya Pradesh).
  1618. Anirudh Singh Yadav appointed as chairman of Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC).
  1619. Government imposed anti-dumping duty of up to 44.7 % on import of plastic-processing machines from Chinese Taipei, Malaysia, Philippines and Vietnam for five years.
  1620. United Nations suspended Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova as Goodwill Ambassador after she was tested positive on doping allegations.
  1621. ICICI Bank launched contactless mobile payment solution iTA, Touch & Pay based on Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. It will enable ICICI customers to make payments by waving their smartphones near an NFC-enabled merchant terminal, by leveraging Host Card Emulation technique.
  1622. Haryanas New Secretariat Building in Chandigarh has become first building in the country to have an early Earthquake Warning and Security system (onsite).
  1623. 31st edition of largest fair on Food and Hospitality Sector in India, AAHAR 2016 held in New Delhi.
  1624. Lok Sabha passed Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order (Amendment) Bill 2016 to amend list of Scheduled Castes (SC) from 4 states -
    1. Chhattisgarh - Inclusion of Sais, Sahis, Sarathi, Soot-Sarathi, Thanwar communities
    2. Haryana - Inclusion of Aheria, Aheri, Hari, Heri, Thori, Turi and Rai Sikh communities
    3. Kerala - Inclusion of Peruvannan community.
    4. Exclusion of Bariki and Kummari communities.
  1625. India Aviation 2016, an international exhibition and conference on civil aviation held in Hyderabad (Telangana).
  1626. 4-day World Sufi Forum meeting held in Delhi. It is organized by All India Ulama and Mashaikh Board (AIUMB).
  1627. Time Magazine 2016 list of 30 most influential people on internet -
    1. Top 5 are - Kanye West (US), Joy Cho (South Korea), James Corden (UK), Laci Green (US), Josh Holz and Daniel Lara (US)
    2. Indian PM Narendra Modi ranked at 15th Place.
  1628. 4th United Nations World Happiness Index (WHI) 2016 (published by Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN))-
    1. Top 10 - Denmark, Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Finland, Canada, Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia and Sweden
    2. Last 10 - Rwanda (152nd), Benin (153rd), Afghanistan (154th), Togo (155th), Syria (156th) and Burundi (157th).
    3. India ranked at 118th place, Nepal (78th), China (83rd), and Pakistan (104th).
    4. BRICS - Brazil (17th), Russia (56th), China (83rd), South Africa (116th) and India (118th).
  1629. Bangladesh Government appointed Fazle Kabir as new Governor of Bangladesh's central bank.
  1630. 15 March - World Consumer Rights Day. 2016 Theme is Antibiotics off the menu.
  1631. SAARC ministerial meet Held in Nepal, Attended by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on India's Behalf.
  1632. USA President Barack Obama nominated Merrick Garland to be next US Supreme Court Justice.
  1633. Eminent Shehnai expert Ustad Ali Ahmad Hussain Khan passed away.
  1634. British mathematician Andrew Wiles won prestigious 2016 Abel Prize. He was selected by Norwegian Academy of Sciences and Letters for solving a centuries old hypothesis (equation), Fermats Last Theorem.
  1635. Goa government classified Feni, country liquor as heritage spirit of the state. It is a distilled brew made from coconut or cashew fruits. It was accorded Geographical indication (GI) tag in 2000.
  1636. Punjab Government notified swine flu (H1N1) under Epidemic Disease Act to prevent spread of disease in Punjab.
  1637. Food and public Distribution Minister Ram Vilas Paswan launched Depot Online System of Food Corporation of India (FCI) to bring transparency and minimise storage losses of foodgrains.
  1638. British astronomers discovered largest sample cluster of 9 monster stars named as R136 using NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.
  1639. India's Meteorology Department deployed indigenously developed Drishti, an instrument that will provide real time visibility information to pilots.
  1640. Art of Living's World Culture Festival organised at Yamuna Flood Plains, New Delhi from March 11 to 13, 2016. Art of Living is founded by Spiritual Leader Sri Sri Ravishankar.
  1641. Uttar Pradesh launched awareness campaign at school levels to create awareness about conservation of birds (Sparrows).
  1642. World’s first fully electric-powered double-decker bus launched in London (UK). It is built by Chinese manufactur BYD and will be able to travel 180 miles on a  single charge.
  1643. Suryassangyini Chaudhary become youngest girl to climb 16,300 feet high Mt. Kangchenjunga base camp in Sikkim, at age of 6 years.
  1644. India's Abdulqadir Rashik won first prize in UN #LinksSDGs Data Visualization Challenge. He is awarded for his submission Links to Sustainable Cities, an interactive visualization that identifies links between Sustainable Development Goal 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) and other 16 Goals.
  1645. United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) appointed Ashley Judd as its Goodwill Ambassador.
  1646. First of two 600 MW power generation units at Singareni Thermal Power Plant (STPP) in Adilabad District (Telangana) has been synchronised.
  1647. Ministry of Tourism and Ecotourism Society of India (ESOI) signed Memorandum of Understanding to promote Sustainable tourism.
  1648. Jammu and Kashmir became 9th state to sign MOU with Government under UDAY (Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana), for financial turnaround of State's Power Distribution facilities.
  1649. This year, Reserve Bank of India and Other Government Banks are expected to pay Rs.69,897 crores dividend to Government. RBI will have approx 57000 Crores in this. It is lesser than last year in which government received 73,905 crores as dividends from government banks and RBI.
  1650. As per data by CB Insights, 14 Indian investors have been featured a list of top 100 venture capitalists in world.
  1651. India's largest telecom operator Bharti Airtel acquired Videocon Telecom for Rs 4,428 crores.
  1652. Noted UK Television magician Paul Daniels passed away.
  1653. Air Asia India appointed Amar Abrol as new CEO.
  1654. Hitachi-Omron Terminal Solutions has established a new company in Bengaluru as an ATM manufacturing company, to produce 1,500 units of ATMs per month.
  1655. Surat railway station is cleanest in country, followed by Rajkot and Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh), as per a survey by Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC).
  1656. India IT Major Tata Consultancy Services partnered for enhancing digital experience of participants in London Marathon.
  1657. Indian Railways signed agreement with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for using space technology for providing passenger information in all trains.
  1658. Government notified Plastic Waste Management Rules 2016 that includes increasing minimum thickness of plastic carry bags from 40 to 50 microns.
  1659. Government notified interest rates payable on small savings for Quarter April 1 - June 30, 2016 -
    1. Public Provident Fund - 8.1 % (Previously 8.7 %)
    2. Kisan Vikas Patra - 7.8 % (Previously 8.7 %)
    3. Five-Year National Savings Certificates - 8.1 % (previously 8.5 %)
    4. Five-year Monthly Income Account - 7.8 % (previously 8.4 %)
    5. Girl-child saving scheme, Sukanya Samriddhi Account - 8.6 % (previously 9.2 %)
    6. Senior citizen savings scheme - 8.6 % (previously 9.3)
  1660. Anil Kumar Singh Gayan, Minister of Health of Mauritius visited India.
  1661. Finance Minister Aurn Jaitley launched Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and Unified Package Insurance Scheme. Revamped insurance scheme will be launched from April 1, 2016 to cover Kharif crops. Farmers' premium would be 2% for Kharif foodgrains and oilseeds crops and 1.5% for rabi crops.
  1662. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley launched NABARD Agri-Credit Monitoring portal, which will help financial institutions to monitor status of agricultural loans given to farmers. He also unveiled Roadmap of E-Shakti Expansion Programme of digitization of Self-Help Groups (SHGs).
  1663. Tenure of A P Shah Committee looking into dispute between ONGC and RIL regarding blocks in KG basin has been extended till 31st July, 2016.
  1664. 8th BRICS Summit will be hosted in Goa on 15-16 October 2016.
  1665. Lori Robinson appointed as head of US militarys Northern Command amd became first woman to head a US combatant command.
  1666. Indian Geetakshi Arora has been awarded First Noor Inayat Khan Prize for her excellent dissertation on Goddess Myths in Graphic Novels: Reimagining Indian Feminity.
  1667. S Sridhar is appointed as managing director of Pfizer India.
  1668. Tikka Shatrujit Singh is conferred with Knight of the Legion of Honour by French Government.
  1669. PM Narendra Modi conferred 2014-15 Krishi Karman Awards during Krishi Unnati Mela in Delhi -
    1. Individual Crops -
      1. Haryana, Assam - Rice
      2. Rajasthan - Wheat
      3. Chhattisgarh - Pulses
      4. West Bengal - Oil Seeds
    2. Total foodgrain production - 5 winning states were awarded in different categories. Each state was awarded a trophy, a citation and prize of 5 crore rupees. These states are -
      1. Madhya Pradesh - For production greater than 10 million tonnes
      2. Himachal Pradesh and Odisha - For production between 1 and 10 million tonnes
      3. Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya - For production less than 1 million tonnes
  1670. PM Narendra Modi launched Kisan Suvidha mobile application for farmers to provide agricultural relevant basic information quickly. It will provide basic information on market prices, seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, weather and agriculture machinery etc.
  1671. Yogeshwar Dutt won Gold in Asian Olympic Qualification tournament at Astana (Kazakhstan). Hardeep Singh won Silver Medal.
  1672. 2016 Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament -
    1. Men's Singles - HS Prannoy (India)
    2. Womens Single - He Bingjiao (China)
    3. Mens Doubles - Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen (Denmark)
    4. Womens Doubles - Shizuka Matsuo and Mami Naito (Japan)
  1673. Health and Family Welfare Ministry launched new anti-TB (Tuberculosis) drug Bedaquiline.
  1674. India's Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve included in World Network of Biosphere Reserves of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). It was included along with other 19 sites at International Coordinating Council of the Man and the Biosphere (ICCMAB) programme of UNESCO that concluded in Lima (Peru). India now has 10 of its 18 biosphere reserves listed as UNESOC's World Network of Biosphere Reserves.
  1675. Nepal has been made a dialogue partner of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a Beijing-based regional security grouping. SCO has 8 Members - China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan.
  1676. Government approved 2 development projects with Bangladesh. These projects are 100 MW power export via transmission lines between Surjamaninagar (Tripura) and South Comilla in Bangladesh and India’s 3rd Internet Gateway optical fibre connection between Cox Bazaar in Bangladesh and Agartala (Tripura).
  1677. India and France signed Memorandum of Understanding for construction of 6 nuclear reactors at Jaitapur nuclear park in Maharashtra.
  1678. Government approved Ashgabat Agreement, an international transport and transit corridor established in 2011. It establishes transport corridor between Central Asia and Persian Gulf countries with Uzbekistan, Iran, Turkmenistan and Oman and Kazakhstan as founding members.
  1679. Fast patrol vessel of Indian Coast Guard ICGS Arnvesh has been commissioned.
  1680. 10th edition of World Wide Fund for Natures (WWFs) Earth Hour observed across World.
  1681. Indian Navy for first deployed a P8I maritime reconnaissance aircraft to Seychelles for surveillance in Exclusive Economic Zone of Seychelles.
  1682. Noted fashion designer Ritu Beri is appointed as advisor to Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) for promotion of khadi in India and across world.
  1683. Nepal signed an agreement with China to build a strategic railway link between two countries through Tibet.
  1684. HL Dattu is appointed as member of International Coordinating Committee Bureau (ICCB) of National Human Rights Institutions (NHRI-ICC) Bureau in Geneva (Switzerland).
  1685. International Cricket Council suspended Bangladesh bowlers Taskin Ahmed and Arafat Sunny illegal bowling action.
  1686. Agreement between European Union (EU) and Turkey to tackle migrant crisis came into effect. Under this agreement, migrants arriving in Greece will be sent back to Turkey if their asylum claim is rejected.
  1687. Urban Development, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu has been conferred with Skoch Lifetime Achievement Award during 43rd SKOCH summit in New Delhi.
  1688. 10th Asian film Awards (Macau, China)
    1. The Assassin won 8 awards in different categories. It is a 2015 martial arts film based on story of highly trained female assassin and is directed by Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-Hsien.
    2. Best Film: The Assassin.
    3. Best Director: Hou Hsiao-Hsien (The Assassin)
    4. Best Actor: Lee Byung-hun (The Inside Men).
    5. Best Actress: Shu Qi (The Assassin).
    6. Best Supporting Actor: Tadanobu Asano (Journey to the Shore).
    7. Best Supporting Actress: Zhou Yun (The Assassin).
  1689. Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEFCC) notified new environment standards for Gensets running on various kinds of fuels including LPG, petrol and diesel in various cities, aiming to control air and noise pollution emanating from Gensets.
  1690. Permod Kohli is appointed as Chairman of Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT).
  1691. Scientists at Lucknow​ based Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP​) found that mint plant has medicinal values that can cure cancer.
  1692. Government approved implementation of rural housing scheme of Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana- Gramin, for providing assistance for construction of pucca houses to all houseless in dilapidated houses.
    1. Expenditure involved is Rs.81975 crore in a 3 years (2016-17 to 2018-19) for one crore households for construction of pucca house. Delhi and Chandigarh are excluded from scheme.
    2. Cost of houses would be shared between Centre and States Governments in the ratio 60:40 in plain areas and 90:10 for North Eastern and hilly states.
    3. Beneficiary will also be entitled to 90 days of unskilled labour from MGNREGA.
    4. Government will construct 2.95 crore houses in rural areas under its ambitious Housing for All by 2022 scheme.
    5. Assistance of 1.20 lakh to those in plain areas and 1.30 lakh to those in hilly and difficult areas.
  1693. Noted US actor Garry Shandling passed away.
  1694. Australian cricketer Shane Watson announced retirement from all forms of International Cricket after end ongoing ICC World Twenty20 2016.
  1695. Noted Dutch football player Johan Cruyff passed away.
  1696. 20 March - world sparrow day.
  1697. 20 March - International Day of Happiness. 2016 theme is Angry Birds Happy Planet.
  1698. Government approved MoU with United Arab Emirates to mobilise long-term investment in National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF).
  1699. Commerce and Industry Ministry approved foreign direct investment (FDI) upto 49% in insurance and pension sector.
  1700. India Post released commemorative stamp on Hindustan Aeronautical Limited (HAL) in recognition of HAL's 75 years of service.
  1701. Kerala's noted Malayalam actor V D Rajappan passed away.
  1702. Thailand government will implement curfew during 2016 Songkran festival to show solidarity with farmers hit by drought. Songkran festival is Worlds biggest water festival, celebrated every year in Thailand from 13 to 15 April.
  1703. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Institute of Physics released e-Atlas of Gender Inequality in Education.
  1704. Media Foundation's Chameli Devi Jain award for 2015-16 has been jointly awarded to Priyanka Kakodkar and Raksha Kumar.
  1705. India's first state-wide broadband project AP FiberNet launched by Andhra Pradesh government.
  1706. Indian Overseas Bank became first bank to commence sale of Indian Gold Coin (IGC) in the domestic market with a tie up with Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation (MMTC).
  1707. Book Gandhi: An Illustrated Biography is authored by Pramod Kapoor.
  1708. Nico Rosberg (Germany) won 2016 Formula One Rolex Australian Grand Prix.
    1. 2016 Formula One season -
      1. Total 21 Grand Prix Races to be organized across the world in 2016. Calendar is -
        1. Grand Prix Date Winner
          Australia 20 March Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Baharain 3 April  
          China 17 April  
          Russia 1 May  
          Spain 15 May  
          Monaco 29 May  
          Canada 12 June  
          Europe 19 June  
          Austria 3 July  
          Britain 10 July  
          Hungary 24 July  
          Germany 31 July  
          Belgium 28 August  
          Italy 4 September  
          Singapore 18 September  
          Malaysia 2 October  
          Japan 9 October    
          USA 23 October  
          Mexico 30 October  
          Brazil 13 November  
          Abu Dhabi 27 November  
  1709. Noted Malayalam writer M Sukumaran has been chosen for CV Kunhiraman Literary Prize.
  1710. 9th International Abilympics (IA) Games started at Bordeaux, France. Abilympics, coined from ‘Olympics of abilities’ of persons with disabilities, is a global work skills competition held every four years.
  1711. Indian Golfer Shiv Shankar Prasad Chawrasia won 2016 Hero Indian Open in New Delhi.
  1712. 21st March - World Down syndrome Day (WDSD). 2016 theme is My friends, My Community.
  1713. 21st March - International Day of Forests. Theme for 2016 is Forests and water.
  1714. 21 March - International Day for Elimination of Racial Discrimination. 2016 theme is Challenges and Achievements of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action.
  1715. 21 March - World Poetry day.
  1716. Hinduja brothers (GP Hinduja and SP Hinduja) named richest Asian-origin entrepreneurs in Britain for 4th consecutive year with personal fortune of 16.5 billion pounds. List is compiled by UK-based publishing house Asian Media and Market.
  1717. Finance Minister Arun Jailey presented 5th National Photography Awards -
    1. In addition to the Life Time Achievement Award, a total of 12 awards were presented.
    2. Life Time Achievement - Bhawan Singh
    3. Professional Photographer Award -Javed Ahmed Dar
    4. Amateur Photographer - Himanshu Thakur
  1718. According to WaterAid report - Water: At what cost?, The State of the Worlds Water, India has highest number of 7.6 crore people in world without access to safe water supply, followed by China and Nigeria.
  1719. Government approved 1500 million US dollar project of World Bank to support Swachh Bharat Mission – Gramin (SBM-G).
  1720. Akamai's State of the Internet report -
    1. South Korea has fastest average connection speed in the world at 26.7 Mbps, Sweden second with average speed of 19.1 Mbps and followed by Norway at 18.8 Mbps.
    2. India is at 114th position with an average internet speed of 2.8 Mbps. China is 89th with average speed of 4.1Mbps.
  1721. Congo Republic President Denis Sassou Nguesso won re-election for president post.
  1722. India ovrertook China in terms of direct equity allocation by US investors. As per US Treasury, India makes up 1.8% of US foreign equity holdings as against 1.6% of China. US investors direct investment in Indian equities risen from $7 billion in September 2013 to $12 billion in December 2015. While that for in Chinese equities declined from $12.8 billion to $11.1 billion.
  1723. Mehbooba Mufti will become the first woman Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir.
  1724. Pakistan ratified 2005 Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM) that expands its scope to cover atomic facilities and material in peaceful use and storage.
  1725. Gurmeet Singh became first Indian athlete to win gold medal in Asian 20 Kilometer (km) Race Walk Championships in Japan.
  1726. Indian Professor TV Paul took over as 56th president of International Studies Association (ISA).
  1727. Russia's own credit-ratings firm, ACRA started functioning after Moodys and Fitch Ratings decided to stop issuing local ratings for Russian Companies.
  1728. 22 March - World Water Day. 2016 Theme is Better Water, Better Jobs. On this occasion, Swedish furniture firm IKEA announced to contribute 12.4 million euro (Rs 92.84 crore) to provide safe water and sanitation to 10 lakh people in India and Indonesia through Water Org.
  1729. United Nations appointed Red, leader of Angry Birds mobile game characters as an envoy to inspire climate action.
  1730. American company Cisco Systems will invest over $100 million in India over next 2 years to support India's plan to connect thousands of its villages to the internet and create jobs. Around 250,000 students will be trained by CISCO by 2020.
  1731. One of Mumbai oldest colleges, Wilson College adopted Charni Road Railway station for cleanliness and upkeep as part of Swachch Bharat Abhiyan.
  1732. Britain's Prince Harry visited nepal to mark 200th anniversary of bilateral ties.
  1733. Argentinian Football Player Lionel Messi has been named as global ambassador for Chinese tech company Huawei.
  1734. Cinema exhibition chain PVR cinemas and e-Commerce Firm Paytm tied up to sell PVR Movie Tickets at Paytm's e-commerce platform.
  1735. Government formally withdrawn recognition of Delhi Stock Exchange (DSE) after allegations of serious irregularities in its functioning.
  1736. Health Minister JP Nadda launched Cartridge Based Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (CBNAAT) machines for quick diagnosis of Tuberculosis (within two hours).
  1737. India distributed scholarships to over 800 Bangladeshi students under 'Muktijodha Scholarship Scheme'.
    1. India in 2006 started this scholarship scheme to strengthen historic legacy with Bangladesh.
    2. Under the scheme, descendants of freedom fighters get selected on merit basis to pursue undergraduate studies. By far, over 9500 students have been benefited from this scheme.
  1738. IRDAI, Regulatory authority of Insurance sector has approved Life insurance company of India (LIC)'s investment proposal in Public Sector Banks.
  1739. India's current account deficit (CAD) came down to 1.3% of gross domestic product (GDP) ($34 billion) in third quarter (October 2015 to December 2015) from 1.5% in the year-earlier period ($38.6 billion ).
  1740. National Food Security Act (NFSA) will be implemented in 10 more states from April 1, 2016. Total number of states implementing NFSA will rise to 21.
  1741. India's DRDO has developed a radar that can look through a wall of 20-30 CM Thickness, using thermal imaging. The Imaging Radar is named as Divyachakshu and developed by Electronics & Radar Development Establishment (LRDE) based in Bangalore.
  1742. Hinduja Groups Ashok Leyland Defence Systems Ltd (ALDS) tied up with US-based defence contractor Lockheed Martin Corp. to develop combat vehicles for Indian Army.
  1743. 23rd March - World Meteorological Day. Theme for 2016 is Hotter, Drier, Wetter. Face the Future.
  1744. Government approved extension of time period of Special Industry Initiative for J&K, Udaan scheme till 2019-20. Udaan provides exposure to youth of Jammu and Kashmir to best of corporate India and corporate India to rich talent pool available in the State.
  1745. Committee made by Central Board of Direct Taxes under Akhilesh Ranjan, to examine business models for e-commerce and identify direct tax issues in relation to e-commerce transactions has submitted its report.
  1746. South Indian Bank announced to have achieved ISO 9001:2008 certification.
  1747. Bajaj Finance announced to enter 20,000-crore life care segment.
  1748. India's Hero Cycles, world's largest bicycle manufacturer by volume has acquired 60 % stake in Sri Lanka's bicycle manufactur BSH Ventures.
  1749. Private sector Bank Lakshmi Vilas Bank tied up with National Bulk Handling Corporation (NBHC) for collateral management and warehousing services.
  1750. Domestic card payment service provider RuPay will launch its credit card segment in September 2016 by issuing 1 lakh Credit Cards. Note that Rupay has increasing its market share to 38 % in debit card segment.
  1751. Microsoft launched artificial intelligence (AI)-powered bot Tay on Twitter, for a playful chat with people.
  1752. Department of heavy industry approved Himachal Road Transport Corporation and Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority to introduce zero-emission retrofitted electric buses.
  1753. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal named among world's 50 top leaders by Fortune magazine.
  1754. 7th meeting of Indo-German Science and Technology Centre (IGSTC) held in Delhi.
  1755. Bharti Airtel will buy Videocon Telecom's 4G spectrum in six circles for Rs 4,428 crores. It will extend Bharti Airtel's 4G footprint across bands to 19 circles from 15.
  1756. Ali Mohamed Shein won Presidential Elections of semi-autonomous region Zanzibar.
  1757. 24 March - World Tuberculosis (TB) Day. 2016 Theme is Unite to End TB.
  1758. Supreme Court directed telecom operators to ensure threshold limit of call drops of 2 percent % as mandated in regulations of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
  1759. Delhi won 20th Lloyd Business Today Pro-Am of Champions golf tournament.
  1760. Jammu & Kashmir State Administrative Council (JKSAC) approved 10 year Industrial Policy-2016, aimed at attracting over 2000 crore rupees investment per annum. It Includes creating 15000 employment opportunities annually and creation of land bank of 2500 acres across state. An asset reconstruction company in partnership with J&K Bank will also be set up.
  1761. United Kingdom Anti-Doping (UKAD) is granted role of organising a worldwide fight against performance-enhancing drugs in the run-up to 2016 Olympic Games in Rio (Brazil).
  1762. Malawi Government and UNICEF successfully tested use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs / drones) to explore cost effective ways of reducing waiting times for HIV testing of infants.
  1763. Uttar Pradesh Government approved policy for senior citizens. Under this, UP government will set up old age homes and also announced increase in monthly pension from existing 300 to 400 rupees.
  1764. Minister for Health & Family Welfare JP Nadda launched Project Clean Street Food of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). It aims to raise safety standards of foods sold on streets across Delhi.
  1765. Maharashtra Cabinet approved Prohibition of Social Boycott Bill, 2016 that aims for prohibition of social boycott of a person / group by groups like Caste Panchayat. After approval of this bill, Maharashtra will become the first Indian State to enact a law against social boycott.
  1766. Indian Advertising Association (IAA) Awards 2016 -
    1. Sanjay Gupta (Jagran Group CEO) - Editor of the Year
    2. Brand Endorser - Varun Dhawan (Actor)
    3. TV Anchor - Rajat Sharma (India TV)
    4. Media Person - Raj Nayak (Colors)
    5. CEO of the year - Kumar Mangalam Birla
  1767. Pune-based Maharashtra Institute of Technology (MIT) has set up India's first education technology accelerator called Edugild. It will focus on Startups focusing education sector.
  1768. Indian Pharmaceutical Firm Glenmark received final approval from US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to manufacture and market Frovatriptan Succinate tablets in USA.
  1769. Novak Djokovic (Serbia) and Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) won men's and womens singles titles of BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells Tennis Garden (Southern California). Tournament is also known as Indian Wells Open.
  1770. Finance Ministry constituted a Sub-Committee under High Level Committee (HLC) to review issues related to excise duty. The sub committee will be headed by Ashok Lahiri and will review excise duty imposed on different jewellery articles in Budget 2016-17.
  1771. London & Partners, official promotional company for London announced that India has became second biggest investor in London after USA, with 117 % increase in Indian companies investing in London since 2005.
  1772. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) appointed Actress Michelle Yeoh as Goodwill Ambassador.
  1773. National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) gave License Agreement to Kudos Laboratories for commercialization of Ayush-82, an Ayurvedic formulation for prevention and management of diabetes. Ayush-82 was developed by CCRAS (Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences).
  1774. Punjab Assembly passed Punjab Sutlej Yamuna Link Canal land (Transfer of Proprietary Right) Bill, 2016 that seeks to provide transfer of proprietary rights back to land owners free of cost from whom land was acquired by Puinjab government for construction of Sutlej Yamuna Link.
  1775. 25th March - Mar 25 - International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.. 2016 Theme is Remember Slavery: Celebrating the Heritage and Culture of the African Diaspora and its Roots.
  1776. Minister for Minority Affairs Najma Heptulla launched innovative entrepreneurship and skill development programme of Maulana Azad National Academy for Skills (MANAS). It will use leading celebrities belonging to Minority communities in various skill sets as driving force behind skill skill development projects.
  1777. Syrian Army regained control of ancient city of Palmyra from Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group.
  1778. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) installed Gadanki Ionospheric Radar Interferometer (GIRI) Radar System at National Atmospheric Research Laboratory (Andhra Pradesh). Primary objective is to Carry out unattended observations for studying forcing from sun like variation in solar flare and solar flux.
  1779. Iran and Pakistan mutually agreed to boost bilateral cooperation on regional security and trade.
  1780. Indian-American Nandita Bakshi is appointed as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bank of the West, a subsidiary of French banking giant BNP Paribas.
  1781. 2016 Hockey India Annual Awards -
    1. Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award -Shankar Laxman
    2. Dhruv Batra Player of Year - P.R Sreejesh (male), Deepika (female).
    3. Baljit Singh Goalkeeper of Year - Savita. Pargat Singh
    4. Defender - Kothajit Singh, Midfielder - Ritu Rani, Forward - Rani.
    5. Upcoming Player - Harjeet Singh (male), Preeti Dubey (female)
    6. Presidents Award for Outstanding Achievement - Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy.
  1782. India-born academician Surya Deva appointed as United Nations (UN) Adviser on Human Rights and Businesses.
  1783. Andhra Pradesh government inaugurated India's first river linking project, Pattiseema lift irrigation project connecting Godavari River with Krishna River from ongoing Polavaram Multi-purpose Irrigation Project. It has been completed in an year by Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited (MEIL).
  1784. Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment report of UN Environment Programme (UNEP) -
    1. India and China led developing countries in investments made in renewable energy in 2015.
    2. Commitments of emerging economies in renewable energy has surpassed those by wealthy nations.
    3. Developing nations committed 156 billion dollars in new renewable energy in 2015 year (19% more from 2014), mainly by India, China and Brazil. Developed countries' contribution came down by 8 % cent in 2015 to 130 billion dollars.
    4. China's investment was 102.9 billion dollars, India invested USD 10.2 billion.
    5. United States, Japan, UK Brazil, South Africa, Mexico and Chile were also in top 10 investing countries in 2015.
  1785. Mizoram and Japanese International Cooperative Agency (JICA) signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Capacity Enhancement for Sustainable Agriculture and Irrigation Development.
  1786. Haryana Assembly passed Backward Classes Reservation Bill, 2016 -
    1. It will provide reservation in services and admission in educational institutions to backward classes including Jats and five other castes, divided into Block A, Block B and Block C. Jats, Jat Sikhs, Ror, Bishnoi, Tyagi and Mulla/Muslim Jat are included in Block C.
    2. It provides 10 % reservation to these castes for class III and class IV posts and 6% in class 1 and class 2 posts, along with 10 % reservation for admission in educational institutions.
  1787. Russia's Sergey Karjakin won FIDE World Chess Candidates Tournament by defeating American Fabiano Caruana.
  1788. Noted singer P. Susheela Mohan created world record for singing highest number of songs. Guinness Book of World Records and Asia Book of Records credited her for singing record 17,695 songs in 12 Indian languages.
  1789. Government unveiled Defence Procurement Procedure 2016 (DPP 2016), during Defexpo-2016 held in Goa.
    1. DPP 2016 will replace DPP 2013, on the recommendations of the Dhirendra Singh Committee.
    2. DPP 2016 will ensure timely procurement of defence (military) equipments through optimum utilization of allocated budgetary resources.
    3. Capital Acquisitions Schemes are classified into 3 categories -
      1. Buy scheme - Outright purchase of equipments under this scheme are further categorized as Buy (Indian- IDDM), Buy (Indian), and Buy (Global). IDDM stands for Indigenously Designed Developed and Manufactured.
      2. Buy and Make scheme - Procurements are categorized as Buy and Make and Buy and Make (Indian).
      3. Make category Scheme: It seeks developing long-term indigenous defence capabilities. It empowers Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) to take fast-track route to acquire weapons, which were limited to the armed forces till now.
      4. Procurement of defence equipment : Arranged in decreasing order of priority are categorized as (i) Buy (India-IDDM). (ii) Buy (Indian). (iii) Buy and Make (Indian). (iv) Buy and Make. (v) Buy (Global).
  1790. Haryana became first state to implement use of injectable contraceptives as a family planning measure, under Project Salamati in assistance of Pathfinder International.
  1791. Russian Government approved a deal of ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) to acquire 15% stake in Vankor oilfield from Rosneft.
  1792. China successfully launched 22nd new generation satellite as part of its domestic BeiDou Navigation System (BDS) as a rival to the USs Global Positioning System (GPS). Launched using Long March-3A carrier rocket.
  1793. Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Unites States Agency for International Development (USAID) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for development of solar parks in India. It will facilitate 848 million US dollars in funding to develop solar parks across India, with initiall focus on state of Rajasthan.
  1794. Telecom Commission approved number 112 as single emergency number for India, similar to 911 of United States (US) and 999 of United Kingdom (UK). From now onwards, Indian citizens in distress will be able to get all emergency services such as police, fire department and ambulance by just dialling 112. It will direct the call to concerned departments immediately for help.
  1795. Indias biggest defece security exhibition Defence Expo 2016 held in Goa. Theme for 9th edition of DEFEXPO is Rise of Futurism.
  1796. Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) commissioned second 40 MW hydropower generating unit at Teesta low dam hydroelectric project (HEP) in West Bengal.
  1797. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch record number of 22 satellites in a single mission in May 2016, Polar rocket PSLV C34. It will carry Indias Cartosat 2C along with 21 other satellites from other countries including US, Canada, Indonesia and Germany. Earlier in 2008, ISRO had sent ten satellites into orbit in a single mission. US's NASA holds current world record for sending highest number of satellites in single launch when it launched 29 satellites in a single launch in 2013.
  1798. Central Board of Direct Taxes signed 11 unilateral Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs), taking number of into APAs to 59. Advance Pricing Agreement (APA) programme was introduced in 2012 to provide a predictable tax regime and reduce litigation in transfer pricing regime.
  1799. Mohamad Al-Bacha from Denmark won 2016 FIFA Interactive World Cup (FIWC) in USA. He He defeated Sean Allen from England.
    1. FIFA Interactive World Cup (FIWC) annual international competition of football video games is held with partnership from EA Sports and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe.
  1800. Aruna Gali won award for Laadli Media and Advertising Gender Sensitivity 2014-2015 for Her Telugu blog Vivakshaku Mugimpu Palakaali, selected under web category for bringing to fore core issues faced by women in agriculture sector.
  1801. Karnataka developed mobile application MGNREGA M-platform to help implementation of monitoring Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.
  1802. India will supply 100 megawatt of electricity to Bangladesh in return for 10 gigabits per second internet bandwidth. Aim is to provide internet connectivity to North-Eastern states.
  1803. Aishwaryaa Dhanush, Indian film artist has written her autobiography - Standing On An Apple Box. She is daughter of legendary actor Rajinikanth and wife of Kollywood actor Dhanush.
  1804. 17th edition of FIFA under-17 World Cup football tournament 2017 will be hosted by India. It will be first time India will host an international football competition.
  1805. Haryana Government launched scheme Adapting Homes for the Differently-abled, under which 6 months pension will be given in advance to such persons for adapting their homes as per their requirement.
  1806. Indo Tibetan Border Polices (ITBP) modern weapon and support weapon training centre will be set up in Damoh, Madhya Pradesh at cost of 2,100 crores.
  1807. 27 March - World Theatre Day. Russian Dramatist Anatoly Vasiliev was World Theatre Day International Message Author 2016.
  1808. During 5th National Industrial & Trade Fair organised by Dalit Indian Chamber Commerce & Industry (DICCI), Government announced to aim at creating 2.5 lakh new SC / ST entrepreneurs in country, under Stand up India Start up India initiative.
  1809. Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) commissioned a 600 Mw coal-based thermal power plant of upcoming 2x600 Mw Singareni power project in Adilabad district of Telangana.
  1810. Iran signed an oil agreement with France's Total to develope South Azadegan oil field shared by Iran and Iraq.
  1811. President's Rule has been imposed in Northern State of Uttarakhand.
  1812. Government launched vaccine for Rotavirus vaccine as part of Universal Immunization Programme to prevent child mortaility due to Rotavirus diarrhoea.
  1813. Federal Bank will open startup incubation centers for startups in Bangalore (Karnataka) and Ernakulam (Kerala).
  1814. China launched its first cyber security public organization aimed at better safeguarding national cyber security and guiding Internet companies.
  1815. Economist and former Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India, Rakesh Mohan joined Nestle India as an Independent Non-Executive Director.
  1816. UP's Pallavi Fauzdar made a record in Limca Book by becoming first solo woman to ride across Mana Pass in Uttarakhand. She droove her way to altitude of 5,638 m (18,497 ft) above sea level, on border between India and Tibet.
  1817. World Bank Approved Loan of $100 Million for Jordan to help create 100,000 jobs for Syrian refugees and its own citizen.
  1818. After delay of over 20 years, Myanmars stock exchange opened for its first day of business with trading of a single company. It came after Myanmars development accelerating with a democratic government being formed after five decades of Military Rule.
  1819. USA returned an ancient statue of Hindu god Rama stolen from Cambodia during Cambodias civil war in 1970s. The statue stands 157 centimetres tall and is missing its head, arms and feet.
  1820. Himachal Pradesh Government released its 6th Economic Census report. It was started in 2012 and completed in two phases. Himachal Pardesh is first state to complete economic census and release report.
  1821. Government will organize a ‘Gram Uday Se Bharat Uday Abhiyan (Village Self Governance Campaign) between 14th April 2016 (Bhimrao Ambedkars 125th Birth Anniversary) to 24th April 2016 (Panchayati Raj Day). It aims to generate efforts to increase social harmony across villages, strengthen Panchayati Raj and promote rural development. PM Narendra Modi will inaugurate Gram Uday se Bharat Uday Campaign in Madhya Pradesh.
  1822. 1st direct container vessel between India and Bangladesh sent off from Krishnapatnam port, carrying cotton set. It is part of coastal shipping agreement between two countries to facilitate easy trade.
  1823. As per security solutions firm Symantec, India ranked 3rd in number of financial Trojan infections where cybercriminals defraud customers of online banking services. India moved up from 5th position in 2014 to 3 in 2015. Note that global detections have dropped by 73%.
  1824. India's first indigenous composites sonar dome Designed by Defence and Research Development Organisation (DRDO), has been delivered to Mazgaon docks in Mumbai. All anti-submarine warfare (ASW) ships have a sonar array fitted to ship structure below waterline. It acts as ships underwater eyes and ears.
  1825. Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has permitted 100% FDI in e-commerce retailing (Like Flipkart and Snapdeal), to attract more foreign investors.
  1826. UNICEF launched a series of animated films to help frame positive perceptions towards crores of Migrants globally, Called Unfairy Tales.
  1827. Bangladesh's supreme court rejected a 28-year-old petition to remove Islam as official religion of country. Islam was introduced as state religion in the Bangladeshi constitution in 1988 and a group of 15 Individuals filed a Petition against it.
  1828. Japan NTT Data has acquired Dell's IT Services arm for over 20000 Crores.
  1829. Reliance Defence inked pact with Israel's Rafael Advanced Defence System to set up a JV in India for specialised areas including air- to-air missiles, with investment of USD 10 billion.
  1830. India signed MoU with USA for building a Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) project for research on gravitational waves. The Project is called IndIGO (Indian Initiative in Gravitational-wave Observations).
  1831. J P Nadda, Minister of Health and Family Welfare launched two major Digital initiatives to provide easy access to health services - GIS-enabled HMIS application and self-printing of e-CGHS cards.
  1832. After IRDAI's approval of Life insurance company of India (LIC)'s investment proposal in Public Sector Banks, LIC announced to buy Additional stake in Public Sector Banks - Dena Bank and Andhra Bank. Dena bank sold shares worth Rs 65 crore to LIC and Andhra Bank sold 4.23 % equity to LIC.
  1833. Oscar winning Noted USA actress Patty Duke passed away.
  1834. Faustin Archange Touadera took charge as new president of Central African Republic.
  1835. Indian Direct Selling Association (IDSA) announced Jitendra Jagota as new Chairman.
  1836. It firm Wipro appointed Paypal Executive Patrick Dupuis as an Independent Director on Wipro's Board.
  1837. Adani Group unit Aero Defence Systems & Technologies Ltd signed agreement with Elbit-ISTAR of Israel and India's Alpha Design Technologies to work in field of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).
  1838. Kachhabali village in Rajsamand district become 1st Liquor Free Vilage in state of Rajasthan.
  1839. 63rd National Film Awards for year 2015 -
    1. Best feature film - Baahubali : The Beginning (directed by S. S. Rajamouli)
    2. Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment  - Bajrangi Bhaijaan
    3. Best Actor - Amitabh Bachchan (Piku).
    4. Best Actress - Kangana Ranaut (Tanu Weds Manu Returns).
    5. Best Direction - Sanjay Leela Bhansali (Bajirao Mastani).
    6. Best Film on Social Issues - Niranayakam (Malayalam)
    7. Best Supporting Actor - Samuthirakani for Visaranai (Tamil).
    8. Best Supporting Actress - Tanvi Azmi for Bajirao Mastani (Hindi).
    9. Best Childrens Film - Duronto (Hindi)
    10. Best Child Artist - Gaurav Menon for Ben (Malayalam).
    11. Special Jury Award - Margarita with a Straw (Hindi) directed by Kalki Koechlin.
    12. Best Cinematography - Remo DSouza for Bajirao Mastani.
    13. Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Director - Neeraj Ghaywan for Masaan (Hindi).
    14. Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration - Nanak Shah Fakir (Punjabi)
  1840. Researchers from Purdue University in Indiana in United States revealed first 3D map of the Zika virus structure.
  1841. Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) launched Startup India portal (http://startupindia.gov.in) and mobile application.
  1842. Vietnam's National Assembly elected Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan as country`s first female house speaker.
  1843. Supreme Court approved Government's guidelines to protect Good Samaritans, who help road accident victims, from being unnecessarily harassed by police or any other authority. These guidelines are based on recommendations of K S Radhakrishnan committee.
  1844. Telangana Government launched M-Wallet mobile app to facilitate citizens to get digital copies of documents like driving licence and registration certificates.
  1845. Researchers discovered Sand-eating tadpole species named Micrixalus herrei in Western Ghats. The tadpole belongs to Indian Dancing Frog family, Micrixalidae.
  1846. Bihar Assembly passed Bihar Excise (Amendment) Bill 2016 to enforce ban on country made liquor from 1 April 2016.
  1847. According to a report by New World Wealth -
    1. India saw 4th biggest outflow of High Net Worth Individuals (HNWI) globally in 2015 with shifting of 4,000 millionaires overseas.
    2. France saw the maximum outflow of millionaires (10,000), followed by China (9,000) and Italy (6,000).
  1848. Japan committed for Official Development Assistance loan of an amount of Approx. Rs.14,251 Crores for Transmission System Strengthening in Madhya Pradesh, Odisha Integrated Sanitation Improvement Project, Dedicated Freight Corridor Project (Phase 1), North East Road Network Connectivity Improvement Project (Phase 1) and Jharkhand Horticulture Intensification by Micro Drip Irrigation Project.
  1849. Power Minister Piyush Goyal launched mobile application Vidyut PRAVAH - Electricity, Price Availability and Highlights that can give information related to electricity availability, shortage and pricing on mobile phones.
  1850. India signed Loan agreement of USD 250 Million For First Programmatic Electricity distribution Reform Development Policy Loan for Rajasthan.
  1851. At end of December 2015, India's external debt stood at US$ 480.2 billion, increase of US$ 4.9 billion (1.0 per cent) over March 2015. Rise in debt is due to long-term external debt particularly commercial borrowings and NRI deposits.
  1852. Government informed that in 2015-16, there has been highest ever production of urea in country since independence. 245 lakh MT Ureas was produced in India in 2015-16, 20 lakh MT more than last year.
  1853. Government launched Inclusiveness and Accessibility Index under Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan campaign, in collaboration with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). This Index will help corporates to participate in Accessible India Campaign (AIC) by evaluating their readiness for making workplace accessible for Persons with Disabilities.
  1854. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare launched Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI). It will survey more than 60000 elderly over 25 years plan and will provide validated data on various issues of the elderly.
  1855. Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh launched Pusa Krishi mobile app at Krishi Unnati Mela in New Delhi. It will help farmers to find solutions to problems in their farm fields and also getting information about weather.
  1856. Year 2014 recorded highest anthropogenic carbon released in past 6.6 crore years, as per a study at University of Hawaii. Current carbon emissions are mainly from burning fossil fuels, amounting 10 billion tonnes a year. At this pace, temperatures will rise by up to 4.8 degrees Celsius by 2100. It may cause floods, droughts and more powerful storms.
  1857. United Nations Security Council extended UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) till 31 March 2017. Resolution was approved to support a transparent electoral process in 2016 and universal elections by 2020.
  1858. The Biography of Actor and Politician Shatrughan Sinha - Anything But Khamosh has been released.
  1859. Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released electronic format for exchange of Country-by-Country (CbC) reports between jurisdictions -- CbC XML Schema. The CbC reports assist tax administrations in obtaining a complete understanding of how Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) operate.
  1860. To help farmers in switching to unconventional methods of farming, Gujarat state government will set up country's first university exclusively focusing on organic farming.
  1861. Karnataka High Court ruled that report of Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) cannot be sole basis for any liability being caused or for prosecution to be launched.
  1862. Noted USA writer Jim Harrison passed away, best known for his 1979 novel Legends of the Fall.
  1863. Tata Motors signed contract with Indian Army to supply 619 units of its high-mobility vehicle (HMV) 6X6 multi-axle trucks to Army.
  1864. Pranab Mukherjee conferred Padma Awards 2016. It Included Haldhar Nag, 66-year-old poet in Kosli language who was highlightened as he used to be a 3rd Class passout and now is acclaimed as among top Poets in Country with 5 Thesis written for him. Complete List of Padma Awardees is as given -
    1. Padma Vibhushan -
      1. Ms. Yamini Krishnamurthi — Art-Classical dance — Delhi
      2. Rajinikanth — Art-Cinema — Tamil Nadu
      3. Smt Girija Devi — Art-Classical Vocal — West Bengal
      4. Ramoji Rao — Literature & Education-Journalism — Andhra Pradesh
      5. Dr Viswanathan Shanta — Medicine-Oncology — Tamil Nadu
      6. Ravi Shankar — Others-Spiritualism — Karnataka
      7. Jagmohan — Public Affairs — Delhi
      8. Dr Vasudev Kalkunte Aatre — Science & Engineering — Karnataka
      9. Avinash Dixit(Foreigner) — Literature & Education — USA
      10. Late Dhiru Bhai Ambani (Posthumous) — Trade & Industry — Maharashtra
    2. Padma Bhushan
      1. Anupam Kher — Art-Cinema — Maharashtra
      2. Udit Narayan Jha — Art-Playback Singing — Maharashtra
      3. Ram V Sutar — Art-Sculpture — Uttar Pradesh
      4. Heisnam Kanhailal — Art-Theatre — Manipur
      5. Vinod Rai — Civil Service — Kerala
      6. Dr Yarlagadda Lakshmi Prasad — Literature & Education — Andhra Pradesh
      7. Prof NS Ramanuja Tatacharya — Literature & Education — Maharashtra
      8. Dr Barjinder Singh Hamdard — Literature & Education - Journalism — Punjab
      9. Prof D Nageshwar Reddy — Medicine-Gastroenterology — Telangana
      10. Swami Tejomayananda — Other-Spiritualism — Maharashtra
      11. Hafeez Contractor — Others-Architecture — Maharashtra
      12. Ravindra Chandra Bhargava — Public Affairs — Uttar Pradesh
      13. Dr Venkata Rama Rao — Alla Science & Engineering — Andhra Pradesh
      14. Ms Saina Nehwal — Sports-Badminton — Telangana
      15. Ms Sania Mirza — Sports-Tennis — Telangana
      16. Ms Indu Jain — Trade & Industry — Delhi
      17. Late Swami Dayanand Sarawasati (Posthumous) — Others-Spiritualism — Uttarakhand
      18. Robert Blackwill (Foreigner) — Public Affairs — USA
      19. Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry (NRI/PIO) — Trade & Industry — Ireland
    3. Padma Shri
      1. Smt Prathibha Prahlad — Art- Classical Dance — Delhi
      2. Bhikhudan Gadhvi — Art- Folk Music — Gujarat
      3. Sribhas Chandra Supakar — Art- Textile Designing — Uttar Pradesh
      4. Ajay Devgn — Art-Cinema — Maharashtra
      5. Ms Priyanka Chopra — Art-Cinema — Maharashtra
      6. Pt Tulsidas Borkar — Art-Classical Music — Goa
      7. Dr Soma Ghosh — Art-Classical Vocal — Uttar Pradesh
      8. Nila Madhab Panda — Art-Film Direction and Production — Delhi
      9. SS Rajamouli — Art-Film Direction and Production — Karnataka
      10. Madhur Bhandarkar — Art-Film Direction and Production — Maharashtra
      11. Prof M Venkatesh Kumar — Art-Folk Artist — Karnataka
      12. Ms Gulabi Sapera — Art-Folk Dance — Rajasthan
      13. Smt Mamta Chandrakar — Art-Folk Music — Chhattisgarh
      14. Ms Malini Awasthi — Art-Folk Music — Uttar Pradesh
      15. Jai Prakash Lekhiwal — Art-Miniature Painting — Delhi
      16. K Laxma Goud — Art-Painting — Telangana
      17. Bhalchandra Dattatray Mondhe — Art-Photography — Madhya Pradesh
      18. Naresh Chander Lal — Art-Theatre & Cinema — Andaman & Nicobar
      19. Dhirendra Nath Bezbaruah — Literature & Education — Assam
      20. Prahlad Chandra Tasa — Literature & Education — Assam
      21. Dr Ravindra Nagar — Literature & Education — Delhi
      22. Dahyabhai Shastri — Literature & Education — Gujarat
      23. Dr Santeshivara Bhyrappa — Literature & Education — Karnataka
      24. Haldar Nag — Literature & Education — Odisha
      25. Kameshwaram Brahma — Literature & Education -Journalism — Assam
      26. Prof Pushpesh Pant — Literature & Education-Journalism — Delhi
      27. Jawaharlal Kaul — Literature & Education-Journalism — Jammu & Kashmir
      28. Ashok Malik — Literature & Education — Delhi
      29. Dr Mannam Gopi Chand — Medicine-Cardio Thoracic Surgery — Telangana
      30. Prof Ravi Kant — Medicine-Surgery — Uttar Pradesh
      31. Prof Ram Harsh Singh — Medicine- Ayurveda — Uttar Pradesh
      32. Prof Shiv Narain Kureel — Medicine- Paediatric Surgery — Uttar Pradesh
      33. Dr Sabya Sachi Sarkar — Medicine -Radiology — Uttar Pradesh
      34. Dr Alla Gopala Krishna Gokhale — Medicine-Cardiac Surgery — Andhra Pradesh
      35. Prof TK Lahiri — Medicine-Cardio Thoracic Surgery — Uttar Pradesh
      36. Dr Praveen Chandra — Medicine-Cardiology — Delhi
      37. Prof (Dr) Daljeet Singh Gambhir — Medicine-Cardiology — Uttar Pradesh
      38. Dr Chandrasekar Shesadri Thoguluva — Medicine-Gastroenterology — Tamil Nadu
      39. Dr (Mrs) Anil Kumari Malhotra — Medicine-Homeopathy — Delhi
      40. Prof MV Padma Srivastava — Medicine-Neurology — Delhi
      41. Dr Sudhir V Shah — Medicine-Neurology — Gujarat
      42. Dr MM Joshi — Medicine-Ophthalmology — Karnataka
      43. Prof (Dr) John Ebnezar — Medicine-Orthopaedic Surgery — Karnataka
      44. Dr Nayudamma Yarlagadda — Medicine-Paediatric Surgery — Andhra Pradesh
      45. Simon Oraon — Other -Environment Conservation — Jharkhand
      46. Imitiaz Qureshi — Other-Culinary — Delhi
      47. Piyush Pandey — Others-Advertising & Communication — Maharashtra
      48. Subhash Palekar — Others-Farming — Maharashtra
      49. Ravinder Kumar Sinha — Others-Wildlife Conservation — Bihar
      50. Dr HR Nagendra — Others-Yoga — Karnataka
      51. MC Mehta — Public Affairs — Delhi
      52. MN Krishna Mani — Public Affairs — Delhi
      53. Ujjwal Nikam — Public Affairs — Maharashtra
      54. Tokheho Sema — Public Affairs — Nagaland
      55. Dr Satish Kumar — Science & Engineering — Delhi
      56. Dr Mylswamy Annadurai — Science & Engineering — Karnataka
      57. Prof Dipankar Chatterji — Science & Engineering — Karnataka
      58. Prof(Dr) Ganapati Dadasaheb Yadav — Science & Engineering — Maharashtra
      59. Smt (Prof) Veena Tandon — Science & Engineering — Meghalaya
      60. Onkar Nath Srivastava — Science and Engineering — Uttar Pradesh
      61. Ms Sunita Krishnan — Social Work — Andhra Pradesh
      62. Ajoy Kumar Dutta — Social Work — Assam
      63. M Pandit Dasa — Social Work — Karnataka
      64. PP Gopinathan Nair — Social Work — Kerala
      65. Smt Madeleine Herman de Blic — Social Work — Puducherry
      66. Srinivasan Damal Kandalai — Social work — Tamil Nadu
      67. Sudhakar Olwe — Social Work — Maharashtra
      68. Dr TV Narayana — Social Work — Telangana
      69. Arunachalam Murugantham — Social Work — Tamil Nadu
      70. Ms Deepika Kumari — Sports-Archery — Jharkhand
      71. S Sushil Doshi — Sports-commentary — Madhya Pradesh
      72. Mahesh Sharma — Trade & Industry — Delhi
      73. Saurabh Srivastava — Trade & Industry — Delhi
      74. Sh Dilip Sanghvi — Trade & Industry — Maharashtra
      75. Dr Keki Hormusji Gharda — Trade & Industry — Maharashtra
      76. Late Prakash Chand Surana (Posthumous) — Art -Classical Music — Rajasthan
      77. Late Saeed Jaffrey (NRI/PIO/Posthumous) — Art-Cinema — UK
      78. Michael Postel (Foreigner) — Art-Archaeology — France
      79. Salman Amin Sal Khan (NRI/PIO) — Literature & Education — USA
      80. Smt Hui Lan Zhang (Foreigner) — Others-Yoga — China
      81. Predrag K Nikic (Foreigner) — Others-Yoga — Serbia
      82. Dr Sundar Aditya Menon (NRI/PIO) — Social Work — UAE
      83. Ajaypal Singh Banga (NRI/PIO) — Trade & Industry — US
  1865. Taiwan's Foxconn Technology will acquire Japans Sharp Corporation for 3.5 billion US dollars.
  1866. France announced to end its Operation Sangaris in Central African Republic in 2016.
  1867. Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) increased Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPI) investment limit in Government securities from 135400 to 140000 crores. It will boost inflows of foreign funds into Indian capital markets. Limit will further be increased to 144000 crore rupees from 5 July 2016.
  1868. Indian Institute of Technology Patna organised First International Symposium on Fifth Generation (5G) technology, to bring organizations to share views over possible 5G technologies.
  1869. Indian Medicine Maker Biocon Ltd got Japan's approval for selling its biosimilar Insulin Glargine in Japan.
  1870. National level AROGYA Fair organized by Ministry of AYUSH in Goa.
  1871. Indian Naval ship Beas visited Qatar to participate in 5th edition of Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition (DIMDEX).
  1872. 13TH India-EU Summit held in Brussels (Belgium) -
    1. PM Narendra Modi Visited on India'a Behalf. It is part of his Tri Nation Journey to Belgium, USA ad Saudi Arabia.
    2. PM Modi and his Belgian counterpart Charles Michel from Belgium Remotely Launched Asias largest optical telescope Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) at Devasthal in Nainital District, Uttrakahnd. It has been located at a height of 2,500 metres at Devasthal in Nainital district and has mirror of 3.6 m diameter.
    3. European Investment Bank (EIB), will lend India 450 million (approximately Rs. 3,300 crore) towards constructing a 23-km long Lucknow Metro rail line and a purchasing a fleet of new trains. EIB also approved to set up Its regional representation for South Asia in New Delhi.
    4. EU-India Agenda for Action 2020 - India and EU endorsed agenda to concrete road-map for EU-India Strategic Partnership for upto 2020.
    5. EU-India Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) - India and EU agreed to further negotiations on early conclusion of BTIA.
    6. Joint Declaration on the India-EU Water Partnership was adopted to enhance cooperation on environment issues, including on the ‘Clean India' and ‘Clean Ganga’ flagship programmes.
  1873. Chief Executive of Afghanistan, Abdullah Abdullah visited India to Participate in Conference on Counter-terrorism-2016 being held in Jaipur.
  1874. Memorandum of Understanding signed Between National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) of India and Rusnano OJSC of Russia to Set-Up High Technology Private Equity Fund for Joint Implementation of Investments into Projects in India.
  1875. Government has set-up Tax Policy Research Unit (Under Revenue Secretary) and Tax Policy Council (Finance Ministry) to bring consistency in Tax Policy as per Tax Administration Reform Commission (TARC) recommendations.
    1. Currently, Handling of handling of tax policy and related legislation is done by CBDT and CBEC, independently in Tax Research Unit (TRU) and Tax Policy and Legislation (TPL) wings.
    2. TAX POLICY RESEARCH UNIT (TPRU)
      1. It will Carry-out studies on various topics of fiscal and tax policies referred to it by CBDT and CBEC and will provide independent analysis on such topics.
    3. TAX POLICY COUNCIL
      1. The Tax Policy Council will look at all the research findings coming from Tax Policy Research (TPRU) Unit and suggest broad policy measures for taxation.
  1876. Central Institute of Plastic Engineering & Technology (CIPET) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Karnataka Government to set up Advanced Polymer Design and Development Research Laboratory cum High Learning Centre at Bengaluru.
  1877. Ramayyagari Subhash Reddy is appointed as Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court.
  1878. Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) and Qualcomm Ventures announced QPrize Make in India contest of US$ 350,000 (Rs 2 Crore) in equity investment as prize money for winning company. Goal is to catalyze Indian entrepreneurs and start up community.
  1879. India signed agreement to acquire status of an Associate Member State of European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO) to strengthen scientific interaction and collaborative research with Europe. EMBO is an organization of leading researchers that promotes excellence in life sciences.
  1880. India and Afghanistan signed agreement for visa-free travel for diplomatic passport holders.
  1881. Japan's ShinMaywa will set up manufacturing plant of US-2 amphibious aircraft in India under ‘Make in India initiative to cater to international demands.
  1882. K Durga Prasad is appointed as Director General (DG) of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
  1883. Saroj Kumar Jha is appointed as Senior Director for Fragility, Conflict and Violence Group in World Bank.
  1884. Noted Urdu fiction novelist Intizar Husain passed away.
  1885. Alphabet (parent company of Google) overtook Apple as most valuable company in world with valuation at 548 billion dollars (Apple worth 534 billion). Alphabet reported revenues worth 74.5 billion dollars in 2015 and profit of 23.4 billion dollars.
  1886. Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) launched country's first anti-diabetic ayurvedic drug named BGR-34 for type two Diabetes mellitus. BGR-34 stands for Blood Glucost Regulator and offers effective solution for managing type two Diabetes.
  1887. Kanu Behl directed ‘Titli’ won Best First Foreign Film Award in French Syndicate of Cinema Critics 2016 (FSCC).
  1888. 2 February - World Wetland Day. Theme for 2016 is Wetlands for our Future – Sustainable Livelihoods.
  1889. Jai Shanker Menon has been appointed as Head of Mission and Force Commander of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF).
  1890. D J Pandian is appointed as vice-president and chief investment officer (CIO) of Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
  1891. General John Nicholson is appointed as commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan.
  1892. Aruna Sethi appointed as head of Indian Cost Accounts Service (ICoAS). She is first lady officer to this post.
  1893. Former Lok Sabha Speaker Balram Jakhar passed away.
  1894. Former RBI Deputy Governor S S Tarapore passes away.
  1895. Maharashtra government announced Bharatratna Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Special Collective Incentive Scheme for economically backward Dalit entrepreneurs.
  1896. Kerala won 61st National School Athletics championship that concluded in Kozhikode (Kerala). Kerala won the event for 19th consecutive time.
  1897. World Health Organisation (WHO) accorded PQP (Pre-qualification of Medicines Programme) certification to Chennai based GreenSignal Bio Pharma for manufacturing a BCG (Bacillus Calmette–Guérin) vaccine.
    1. PQP certification helps pharmaceutical companies to participate in the global immunisation programme facilitated through international procurement agencies such as UNICEF.
  1898. Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech announced a breakthrough in developing world’s first Zika vaccine by developing two candidates.
  1899. Sarangi maestro Pandit Ram Narayan is chosen for prestigious Pandit Bhimsen Joshi Classical Music Award for 2015-2016.
  1900. PM Narendra Modi inaugurated Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Limited (BCPL) at Lepetkata, Assam. It is first petro-chemical plant in North-East India, built at cost of 10000-crore rupees.
  1901. United States (US) Astronaut Edgar Mitchell passed away. He was sixth person to walk on Moon.
  1902. International Fleet Review (IFR) 2016, international Navy exercise hosted by Indian Navy inaugurated in Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh). Theme of IFR 2016 is United through Oceans”. Naval ships from 50 countries to participate in event.
  1903. Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare will set up National Organic Farming Research Institute (NOFRI) in Sikkim by upgrading existing Gangtok based Regional Centre of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
  1904. Government launched Project Sunrise for prevention of AIDS specially among people injecting drugs in 8 North-Eastern states.
  1905. India ratified Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC), 1997 which sets parameters on a nuclear operators financial liability. It will boost Indias nuclear commerce with international partners.
    1. Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC) Seeks to establish a uniform global legal regime for compensation to victims in event of a nuclear accident.
    2. It was adopted on 12 September 1997 and can enter into force after ratification by at least 5 countries with min 400,000 units of installed nuclear capacity.
  1906. Maharashtra Government started Deradicalisation Programme for minority community to counter extremism at local and global level (Islamic State (IS)).
  1907. Intellectual Property Appellate Board ordered Geographical Indications Registry (GIR) to issue ‘Geographical Indication tag for basmati rice grown in 7 states - Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, parts of Uttar Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir.
    1. This tag will help preserve unique identity of Indias aromatic basmati rice in international markets.
  1908. PM Narendra Modi inaugurated campus of National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER) in Bhubaneswar (Odisha).
  1909. 12 Pacific Rim countries (Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei Darussalam, Japan, Canada, United States, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Australia and New Zealand) signed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement in New Zealand. It is one of biggest trade deals ever.
    1. TPP is Free Trade Area with 80 crore people and 40% global trade.
    2. Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement Objectives are Lower trade barriers such as tariffs, common framework for intellectual property, Enforce standards for labour law and environmental law and an investor-state dispute settlement mechanism.
  1910. India and China held their first joint tactical exercise (Sino-India Cooperation 2016) in Jammu & Kashmir.
  1911. Indian Oil Corporation’s (IOC’s) new refinery at Paradip (Odisha) has been started. It is IOC’s 11th refinery and has capacity of 15 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA), Built at cost of 34,555 crores.
  1912. Scientists from National University of Singapore (NUS) successfully converted paper waste into green nontoxic cellulose aerogels for the firs time. Aerogels are among lightest solid materials and are also among finest insulation materials.
  1913. 30th Surajkund International Crafts Mela-2016 started in Faridabad (Haryana) with Telangana chosen as theme state.
  1914. Software Firm Infosys will build world's tallest free-standing clock tower (135 Metres) at its global education centre in Mysuru.
  1915. Kerala government will launch India's First Gender Taxi, operated by transgenders.
  1916. International Swimming Federation announced Japanese city of Fukuoka as host of 2021 World Aquatics Championships and Qatari capital Doha As host of 2023 World Aquatics Championships.
  1917. Japanese company Spread will open world's first robot-run farm of about area 4,400 square metres. All taks except Seed planting will be done by industrial robots.
  1918. 4 February - World Cancer Day (WCD). Theme for 2016 is We can. I can.
  1919. Rewati Chetri from India won Miss Asia (Best in Asia Continent) at 2016 World Miss University pageant in Beijing (China).
  1920. Manipuri documentary film ‘Phum Shang won Golden Conch Award for best documentary at 14th Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) 2016.
  1921. Malayalam actress Geetu Mohandas won 2016 Global Filmmaking award at Sundance Film Festival 2016 for script of her upcoming film Insha Allah.
  1922. Indias top IT company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is rated as worlds most powerful brand in Information Technology Services by Brand Finance. TCS earned an AA+ rating with score of 78.3 points. Besides , Disney is rated as most powerful brand and Apple as most valuable brand for 2016.
  1923. Actor Amitabh Bachchan is honoured with lifetime achievement at NDTV Indian of the Year 2015 awards.
  1924. Global Go to Think Tank Index Report (GGTTI) 2015 -
    1. Topped by United States of America (USA) and followed by China, UK, India and Germany.
    2. Six Indian think tanks figured in top 175 - Centre for Civil Society (CCS), Institute For Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), Observer Research Foundation (ORF).
  1925. India will participate in 2016 Cobra Gold exercise (annual Thai-U.S joint and multinational military exercise).
  1926. Sri Aurobindo International Centre for Education (SAICE), Puducherry became Indias first fully solar-powered educational institute. It generates 3 times the electricity it consumes through solar power plants.
  1927. Renana Jhabvala has been invited to serve as a panelist on a UN panel on women's economic empowerment.
  1928. India announced to host first-ever Global Maritime Summit in April 2016.
  1929. India conferred honorary General of the Indian Army rank to Nepalese Army Chief General Rajendra Chettri.
  1930. Shane Watson (Australia) became most expensive player in 2016 Indian Premier League(IPL) auction when Royal Challengers Bangalore bought him for Rs 9.5 Crore. Pawan Negi became costliest Indian player at Rs 8.5 Crore.
  1931. North Korea successfully launched a Kwangmyongsong-4 earth observation satellite.
  1932. Muktesh Kumar Pardeshi appointed as Indias Ambassador to Mexico.
  1933. Datta Padsalgikar appointed as Commissioner of Mumbai Police.
  1934. India's Under-19 Cricketer Rishabh Pant made fastest U-19 international half century ( 18 balls) against Nepal.
  1935. As per records, National Pension System now has 1.15 crore subscribers, each with an average INR 95,000 of assets under management.
  1936. Karnataka Government started Invest Karnataka 2016 to attract Global Investors. Central government announced to spend Rs 1 lakh crore for development of road infrastructure in Karnataka.
  1937. Government appointed Jai Kumar Garg as Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Corporation Bank.
  1938. HL Samariya is appointed as Central Provident Fund Commissioner (CPFC) for three months.
  1939. Chinese technology company ZTE has inked a pact with the Andhra Pradesh government to work on smart city projects in the state.
  1940. Haryana and Province of Ontario in Canada signed an MoU for enhancing commercial and cultural ties.
  1941. Anil Ambani's Reliance Entertainment announced joint venture with Neeraj Pandey and Shital Bhatia's Friday Filworks. Akshay Kumar starrer Rustom will be first movie under the banner, Plan C Studios.
  1942. Mobile messaging app WhatsApp crossed one billion user milestone globally.
  1943. State Bank of India tied up with travel related financial services company Thomas Cook to offer online customers a recurring deposit that helps them save toward an inflation proof holiday.
  1944. Government will infuse about Rs.5,000 crore capital in public sector undertaking (PSU) banks in the current fiscal (Fourth Quarter) to strengthen their balancesheet.
  1945. BSE and International Finance Corporation (IFC) partnered to develop a corporate governance scorecard that seeks to help companies assay their corporate governance performances against national or international-benchmarked practices.
  1946. Reliance Group announced to establish Dhirubhai Ambani Centre for Innovation and Research in Bengaluru. The centre is expected to generate over 1,500 highly skilled jobs and support governments plan for indigenous development of defence equipment.
  1947. Government appointed World Bank’s water and sanitation specialist, Parameshwaran Iyer as Secretary of the Drinking Water and Sanitation Department. He will lookm over Swachh Bharat Mission for 2 years.
  1948. 6 February - International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation.
  1949. Reliance Infrastructure signed a share purchase agreement with Birla Corporation for selling its cement assets to Birla Corp for Rs.4,800 crore.
  1950. Finance Ministry's Official YouTube Channel launched.
  1951. Capital markets regulator Sebi has set up a task force to review risk management norms for national-level commodity Exchanges.
  1952. BSE Institute launched a new accelerator for start-ups​. It will focus on scalable, technology start-ups and will help recreate in India the successful model of Digital Media Zone (DMZ) - Ryerson's flagship programme in Toronto which has incubated over 150 start-ups since 2010.
  1953. Gurdeep Singh appointed Chairman and Managing Director of NTPC.
  1954. Noted dancer-choreographer Ananda Shankar Jayant addressed India Conference at Harvard (USA).
  1955. Noted Former Cricketer Rahul Dravid has been named in ICC's Anti-Corruption Oversight Group.
  1956. Noted Political Catooninst Sudhir Tailang passes away.
  1957. Corporation Bank signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Universal Sompo General Insurance Company for providing accident death coverage to its savings bank account holders.
  1958. Indian Origin Person Vishal Mehta appointed President of newly- formed International Grown Diamond Association (IGDA).
  1959. Indian Crticketer Virat Kohli ranked as Top T20 International Batsman by ICC by replacing Aaron Finch (Australia).
  1960. Ministry of Urban Development approved projects worth over Rs 12 crore for tourist infrastructure in heritage locations in Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh) and Warangal (Telangana).
  1961. India and Sri Lanka signed memorandum of understanding (MoUs) in health sector and renovation of schools with Sri Lanka.
  1962. 24th National Homoeopathic Congress ‘Homeo-Vision 2016 inaugurated in Nagpur (Maharashtra).
  1963. Swachh Survekshan-2016 report by Urban Development Ministry -
    1. Top 10 Cleanliest Cities - Mysuru (1st), Chandigarh, Tiruchirapalli, New Delhi, Visakhapatnam, Surat, Rajkot, Gangtok, Pimpri Chindwad and Greater Mumbai
    2. Bottom 10 cities - Kalyan Dombivili, Varanasi, Jamshedpur, Ghaziabad, Raipur, Meerut, Patna, Itanagar, Asansol and Dhanbad (Ranked 73).
  1964. ICICI Academy and RSETIs (Rural Self Employment Training Institutes) will train over 45,000 candidates in 2017. The academy has already trained over 25000 youths since its inception in 2013.
  1965. Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brijbhushan Sharan Singh is appointed as president of South Asian Wrestling Federation (SAWF).
  1966. Noted Hindi and Urdu Poet Muqtida Hasan Nida Fazli passed away.
  1967. Indian Coast Guard will induct 38 more aircraft and helicopters by 2020, to take total strength of 62 airplanes / helicopters.
  1968. Ashok Chawla is Appointed As New Chairman of TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute). Previous DG R.K. Pachauri is appointed Executive Vice Chairman.
  1969. Nepal's former prime minister Sushil Koirala passed away.
  1970. Government announced that Loans worth over Rs 1 lakh crore have been sanctioned to small entrepreneurs under Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana,in line with Government's vision of turing youth to be job creators and not job seekers.
  1971. New Zealand Cricketer Brendon Mccullum retired from One day Internationals.
  1972. R. K. Verma appointed as Secretary in Railway Board.
  1973. Government announced Prime Ministers Shram Awards 2014 on 54 people -
    1. Shram Ratna - No Awardee
    2. Shram Bhushan - 9 Awardees
    3. Shram Vir/Shram Veerangana - 19 Awardees
    4. Shram Shree/Shram Devi - 26 Awardees
  1974. 4-day National Arogya Fair held at Dehradun (Uttarakhand), organized by Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa Rigpa & Homoeopathy (AYUSH).
  1975. Sultan Al Mansoori, Economy Minister of UAE visited India.
  1976. Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Minister Radha Mohan Singh announced establishment of National Organic Farming Research Institute (NOFRI) at Gangtok (Sikkim). Note that Sikkim has recently been declared as the first organic state in India.
  1977. Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Visited India. India And UAE Signed 9 Agreements To Boost Bilateral Cooperation.
  1978. Governmemt launched National Framework for Malaria Elimination (NFME) that outlines strategy for elimination of Malaria by 2030.
  1979. National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) signed an agreement with Indian Institute of Chemical Biology to promote entrepreneurship.
  1980. Government launched First Mega Food Parks in states of Madhya Pradesh (Khargone District) and Jharkhand (Getalsud (Ranchi)).
  1981. Government will organize a mega Make in India Week event in Mumbai from February 13-18, 2016.
  1982. Textile Ministry has bestowed Indian Handloom Brand tag on Chettinad cotton saris for its unique designs and identity.
  1983. Ministry of Petroleum and Natural gas released Hydrocarbon Vision 2030 for north-east India.
  1984. Index of Internet Readiness of Indian States (IIRIS) by Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) -
    1. Top 5 states - Maharashtra (1st), Karnataka, Gujarat, Telengana and Tamil Nadu.
    2. Among smaller states - Delhi is topmost in terms of Internet readiness index followed by Puducherry and Goa.
  1985. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has barred telecom service providers (TSPs) from offering or charging discriminatory tariffs for data services on the basis of content accessed by a consumer. In this regard, TRAI issued Prohibition of Discriminatory Tariffs for Data Services Regulations 2016.
    1. These Regulations ensure that consumers get non-discriminatory and unhindered access to internet and Data tariffs will be non-discriminatory on basis of the content (website visited).
    2. Note that Facebook had started a Free Basics Campaign that promoted Differential Pricing of Internet access based on Data / website accessed. TRAI has now ruled out against this and Facebook has taken back its campaign against India's Net Independence and Neutrality.
  1986. Biologists discovered a new species of hydroid polyps emitting green fluorescence in Red Sea (lying between Africa and Asia).
  1987. Four Indian-Americans have been selected to the prestigious US National Academy of Engineering (NAE) - Anil K. Jain, Arati Prabhakar, Ganesh Thakur and K R Sridhar.
  1988. Noted film director Aurobindo Mukherjee passed away.
  1989. Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) released National Air Quality Indices (AQI) for 24 cities. Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) and Muzzafarpur (Bihar) were on top with an AQI value of 409 points each and were coded as severe in terms of air pollution. Delhi ranked 6th.
  1990. Gujarat state government will set up India's first aviation park near Bagodara village in Ahmedabad district to strengthen the aviation sector.
  1991. United States unveiled a cyber-security national action plan to boost security awareness amid of growing risks from new technologies. Under this action plan, President Obama in his budget request asked for 19 billion US dollars for cyber-security efforts.
  1992. Government sanctioned 580 crore rupees for Agartala-Akhaura railway link Project to connect Kolkata (West Bengal) with Tripura via Bangladesh. It is a 15 km long strategic railway route that would connect Indian and Bangladesh Railways.
  1993. UAE's Abu Dhabi National Oil (ADNOC) Company will store crude oil in Indias maiden Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPRs) storage. It will be first deal in which India has partner with other country for storing crude oil in SPR storage for emergency purpose.
    1. Strategic Petroleum Reserves - India is building underground SPR storages at Visakhapatnam (1.33 million tonnes capacity), Mangalore (1.5 million tonnes) and Padur (2.5 million tonnes) to store about 5.33 million tonnes of crude oil.
  1994. Indian-origin Harinder Sidhu has been appointed as Australian High Commissioner to India.
  1995. Indian-origin Person Davinder Singh has been named as Vice-Chairman of International Chamber of Commerce Commission (ICC) on Corporate Responsibility and Anti-corruption.
  1996. Ministry of Railways launched 3 IT (Information Technology) enabled apps.
    1. Hand Held Terminals for TTEs (Northern Railway)
    2. Paperless unreserved ticketing mobile application
    3. E-booking of disposable linen on trains
  1997. Noted Russian football Player Anatoly Ilyin passed away.
  1998. Karnataka's flagship mobile-one governance application won gold medal at fourth World Government Summit in Dubai (UAE) in m-governance category.
  1999. North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and European Union (EU) signed an agreement to improve Cooperation in Cyber Defence to counter modern forms of hybrid warfare.
  2000. First phase of worlds largest concentrated solar power (CSP) plant launched in Morocco as part of Noor Ouarzazate Solar Complex to produce energy for over a million Moroccan households by 2018. Project will be implemented in 3 phases involving Noor I (160MW), Noor II (200MW) and Noor III (150MW).
  2001. Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) banned Pakistani umpire Asad Rauf for five years in IPL after being found for guilty corrupt practices.
  2002. Study claimed that extracts derived from neem tree can treat pancreatic cancer without harming normal cells.
  2003. Tamar Hahn (Israel) has been appointed as Director of United Nations Information Centre (UNIC).
  2004. Intellectual Property Index (IPI) by United States Chamber of Commerce (USCC)
    1. India ranked 37th among 38 countries. Venezuela ranked lowest (38th).
    2. Top 10 - US, UK, Germany, France, Sweden, Singapore, Switzerland, Australia, Japan and South Korea.
  2005. India's IT Firm Wipro has acquired US based healthcare technology firm HealthPlan Services for USD 460 million.
  2006. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has declared Wild Pig (sus scrofa) as vermin (अपराधी) in Uttarakhand for an year.
  2007. Canada, United States (US) and Mexico signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Climate Change and Energy Collaboration to tap into energy cooperation among three countries.
  2008. West Indies won their first ever ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup by defeating India. Event was hosted by Bangladesh.
  2009. Noted Malayalam poet and lyricist O N V Kurup passed away.
  2010. Vilas A. Tonapi is appointed as Director of Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR).
  2011. Scientist have discovered Gravitational Waves (GW) hypothesised by Albert Einstein in 1916. These waves were detected by scientists at LIGO(Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory) facilities in USA. These are produced by collision of two black holes located 1.3 billion light years away from earth.
  2012. Nagaland is changing, But film directed by Gurmeet Sapal has won Golden Beaver Best Film Award in institutional category and technical excellence award for best sound design at 6th National Science Film Festival in Mumbai.
  2013. India's Ambassador to Tajikistan Biraja Prasad passed away.
  2014. Bollywood actress Vidya Balan has been awarded with Pride of Kerala Award by World Malayalee Council and Kairali TV.
  2015. 69th British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards -
    1. Best Film - The Revenant
    2. Outstanding British Film - Brooklyn
    3. Best Director - Alejandro G. Inarritu (The Revenant)
    4. Best Actor - Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)
    5. Best Actress - Brie Larson (Room)
    6. Best Supporting Actor - Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies)
    7. Best Supporting Actress - Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs)
    8. Best Original Music - Ennio Morricone (The Hateful Eight)
    9. Best Visual Effects - Star Wars :The Force Awakens
    10. Best Animated Film - Inside Out
    11. Best Documentary - Amy
  2016. 10 February - National Deworming Day. Government launched National Deworming Initiative on this occasion, to benefit over 27 crore children.
  2017. Government approved Memorandum of Understanding with Singapore for Cooperation in Urban Planning and Governance.
  2018. Government approved nomination of Chief Executive Officer of NITI Aayog (Presently Amitabh kant) as part-time member of Telecom Commission in place of Secretary of erstwhile Planning Commission.
  2019. Government approved proposal for commitments under Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) of World Trade Organization (WTO). This agreement is part of WTO's Bali ministerial package 2013 containing provisions for expediting movement, release and clearance of goods including goods in transit.
  2020. Government approved LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory in India) science proposal for research on gravitational waves. LIGO-India project will establish a gravitational wave observatory in India in collaboration with LIGO Laboratory (USA). The Project is called IndIGO (Indian Initiative in Gravitational-wave Observations).
  2021. Government approved Agreement for co-operation in Traditional Medicine between Ministry of AYUSH and World Health Organization.
  2022. Government launched Geological Survey of India's (GSI) 'Operation Khanij Khoj' to speed up mineral exploration activity across India.
  2023. From 01-04-2016 onwards, Government announced to reset Interest rates of small savings such as Kisan Vikas Patra, National Savings Certificate and post office recurring deposit schemes every quarter to align it with market rates. It is expected to being Interest rates on these popular schemes.
  2024. Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited commissioned a 101 MW (Mega Watt) gas-based Combined Cycle Power Plant (CCPP) at Monarchak in Tripura.
  2025. Devaraja Reddy is elected as President of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) for 1 year.
  2026. Sindh became first Pakistani province to adopt landmark Hindu Marriage Bill, 2015 in order to allow minority Hindu community to register their marriages.
  2027. 58th Annual Grammy Awards by Recording Academy -
    1. Best album of the year  - 1989 (Taylor Swift)
    2. Best record of the year  - Uptown Funk (Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars)
    3. Best song of the year  - Thinking Out Loud Ed Sheeran & Amy Wadge
    4. Best new artist – Meghan Trainor
    5. Children’s Album  - Home (Tim Kubart)
    6. Best Pop solo performance  - Thinking Out Loud (Ed Sheeran)
    7. Best Pop Duo/Group Performance  - Uptown Funk (Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars)
    8. Best Music Film - Indo-British filmmaker Asif Kapadia (Amy).
  2028. Government unveiled National Capital Goods Policy 2016 to upgrade capital goods sector and Make in India initiative. Key Features ar -
    1. Increase exports of capital goods from the current 27% to 40 % of production.
    2. Increase share of domestic capital goods production in terms of demand from 60% to 80% in order to make India a net exporter of capital goods.
    3. Enhance Indian made capital goods export through a ‘Heavy Industry Export & Market Development Assistance Scheme (HIEMDA)
  2029. Former United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali passed away.
  2030. Commemoration 200th Birth Anniversary of Tatya Tope, one of notable generals in India's First War of Independence (1857-58) observed in New Delhi.
  2031. India's first indigenously developed lightest revolver (gun) Nidar weighing 250 grams has been successfully launched. It has been manufactured by Rifle Factory Ishapore (West Bengal).
  2032. First long distance cargo train between Iran and China arrived in Iranian capital city Tehran, covering 9,500-kilometres.
  2033. India and Sweden inked Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Technical Cooperation in Rail Sector.
  2034. Finance Ministry launched Non-Tax Receipt Portal (NTRP) to electronically collect non-tax receipts as part of Digital India campaign. It has been develped by Office of Controller General of Accounts and will reduce manual work involved in non-tax revenues.
  2035. Noted music director Rajamani passed away.
  2036. Swachh Sarvekshan 2016 -
    1. Cleanliest Cities of India -
      1. Mysore (Karnataka) (Most Clean)
      2. Chandigarh
      3. Tiruchirapalli (Tamil Nadu) (Also ranked as best performer city in Behavioral change Communication)
      4. New Delhi
      5. Visakhapatnam
      6. Surat
      7. Rajkot
      8. Gangtok
      9. Pimpri Chinchwad
      10. Greater Mumbai
    2. Dirtiest Cities in India -
      1. Dhanbad (Jharkhand) (Dirtiest)
      2. Asansol
      3. Itanagar
      4. Patna
      5. Meerut
      6. Raipur
      7. Ghaziabad
      8. Jamshedpur
      9. Varanasi
      10. Kalyan Dombivili
  2037. NRDC has signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with IACS for commercialisation of technologies and intellectual properties (IP) developed at IACS (Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science).
  2038. St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy -
    1. Singles - Roberta Vinci (Italy) won by defeating Belinda Bencic (Switzerland).
    2. Doubles - Indo-Swiss pair Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis won by defeating Russian-Czech team of Vera Dushevina and Barbora Krejcikova
  2039. Jharkhand became first state to auction two of its limestone blocks through an electronic platform after passage of MMDR Act by Parliament.
  2040. Virender Sehwag's Gemini Arabians defeated Brian Laras Leo Lions to win inaugural Masters Champions League Cricket title.
  2041. Jaipur International Airport became first one to develop a colour-coded map as part of Indian government easing rules for granting construction permits around airports and monuments by developing colour-coded maps, to give fillip to urban growth.
  2042. Rajasthan government launched an initiative called School on Wheels in Jaipur to educate tribal and nomadic children in association with NGO Taabar Society.
  2043. Chhattisgarh government launched Udyam Aakansha Scheme for promoting micro, small and medium enterprises in the stat.
  2044. According to recent data, India is biggest milk producer in world with 146.31 million tonnes produced in 2014-15. India is followed by USA, China, Pakistan and Brazil.
  2045. Thailand's Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn has been conferred with first world Sanskrit Award.
  2046. Maharashtra government will set up India's first international arbitration centre in Mumbai (Mumbai Centre for International Arbitration (MCIA)).
  2047. Actress Kajol has been appointed as part-time member of Prasar Bharati board.
  2048. Delhi Police partnered with ISRO for effective use of space technology-based tools (Crime Mapping, Analytics and Predictive System (CMAPS)) for ensuring internal security using a predictive policing and live crime mapping mechanism.
  2049. India's first disable friendly beach will come up at Tithal beach in Valsad (Gujarat).
  2050. Book A Kingdom For His Love, written by Vani Mahesh and Shinie Antony has been launched.
  2051. UNESCO world heritage site Elephanta Island (City of Caves, Maharashtra) will be completely electrified by Independence Day 2016.
  2052. Davinder Singh has been named as Vice-Chairman of International Chamber of Commerce Commission (ICC) on Corporate Responsibility and Anti- corruption.
  2053. Vedanta Group's owner Anil Agarwal has announced that his firm Twinstar Display Technologies will set up India's first LCD manufacturing facility (Panel FAB) in Maharashtra with investment of $10 billion.
  2054. Indian lawyer Abhinav Bhushan has been appointed as regional director for South Asia in International Court of Arbitration under International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).
  2055. Uttar Pradesh Land Revenue Act 2015 came into effect. It replaced 39 old land revenue acts and will enable Dalits to sell their land to non-Dalits without approval of administration.
  2056. Tamil Nandu Government announced Amma Kudineer Thittam scheme for supplying drinking water to those who cannot afford to buy purified drinking water.
  2057. Air vice marshal RD Mathur promoted to rank of Air marshal of Indian Air Force.
  2058. Saudi Arabia launched North Thunder at King Haled Military City (KKMC) with 20 countries from Arab, Islamic and friendly countries. Aim of this military Exercise is to preserve peace and stability in region and world.
  2059. Wworld's oldest aircraft carrier, INS Viraat will be converted into a luxury hotel to attract tourists once it is decommissioned from Indian Navy service in June 2016.
  2060. England will host Women's Cricket World Cup 2017 while final will be played at Lord's.
  2061. 13 February - World Radio Day. Theme for 2016 is Radio in Times of Emergency and Disaster. International Radio Fair 2016 held at Bhubaneswar (Odisha) on this occasion.
  2062. 6th National Science Film Festival & Competition (NSFF) held at Nehru Science Center in Mumbai, jointly organised by Nehru Science Centre and Vigyan Prasar.
  2063. Siachen Avalanche Survivor Lance Naik Hanamanthappa Passed Away.
  2064. Draft National Wildlife Action Plan (2017-2031) prepared by Committee under JC Kala has been released. Committee was constituted by MoEF (Ministry of Environment and Forests) to review implementation of National Wildlife Action Plan (2002-2016) and to suggest a new Plan of Action for Wildlife Conservation.
  2065. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has directed banks to accelerate provisioning requirement from April 1 2016 for existing stock of restructured stressed loans.
    1. Banks have to increase provisioning by 2.5 % every quarter starting April 1, 2016 so that by 2017.
    2. Banks have provided only 5 % for restructured loans on accounts identified by RBI. However, banks are not allowed to classify these accounts as non-performing assets.
    3. RBI has given four quarter to banks starting April 1, 2016 to make full provisioning for identified accounts.
  2066. Noted Composr and Pulitzer Winner, Leslie Bassett Passed Away.
  2067. India's Anirban Lahiri won Hilton Asian Tour Golfer of the Year award.
  2068. Lupin's CEO Vinita Gupta and MD Nilesh Gupta have been chosen for EY Entrepreneur Of Year 2015.
    1. They will now represent India at EY World Entrepreneur of Year Award (WEOY) in Monte Carlo in June 2016.
    2. Jury led by Adi Godrej selected the winners.
    3. F. C. Kohli, former Vice-Chairman of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is honored with Lifetime Achievement Award.
  2069. IT Firm Oracle's CEO Safra Catz visited India. Oracle will set up its campus in Bengaluru. It will be Oracle's second largest campus after USA.
  2070. US Trade and Development Agency signed MoU with Andhra Pradesh on funding for drawing up master plan for Visakhapatnam Smart City and consortium of US companies - AECOM, KPMG and IBM.
  2071. Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) launched a mobile application 'DIAL Cargo' for cargo operations to reduce paperwork and track movement of shipments on real time basis.
  2072. Government will distribute 14 crore Soil Health card by March 2017. Steps taken to achieve the target -
    1. Foundation stone of Agriculture Technology Application Research Institute laid in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim. New institute will work as the nodal agency of all Krishi Vigyan Kendras for three states.
  2073. Albert Pahimi Padacke is appointed as new prime minster of Chad (Central Africa).
  2074. American publishing company Time announced winners of inaugural TIME India awards -
    1. Best in class manufacturing - Tata Steel
    2. Manufacturing innovator of the year - Hero MotoCorp
    3. Young maker of the year - Yogesh and Rajesh Agrawal of Ajanta Pharma Limited
  2075. UK Sinha got one year extension as chief of India's capital and commodities market regulator SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India).
  2076. Mahamagam festival held in Kumbakonam (Tamil Nadu) with devotees taking holy dip in Mahamagam tank. This Festival comes once in 12 years is often termed equivalent to grand religious event Kumbha in Allahabad.
  2077. Apple will make 1st technology centre in India at Hyderabad at a cost of $25 million.
  2078. Yogesh Tyagi is appointed as Vice Chancellor of Delhi University (DU).
  2079. Sri Srinivasan will become first Indian-American Judge of U S Supreme Court. He will replace Justice Antonin Scalia after his passing away.
  2080. Uttar Pradesh Government will celebrate State Tourism day annually on February 14 to highlight its tourism potential.
  2081. LAMITYE 2016, the 7th Joint Military Training Exercise between Indian and Seychelles Peoples Defence Forces conducted at in Seychelles.
  2082. Banaras Hindu University (BHU) founded by Freedom fighter Pt Madan Mohan Malviya turned 100 years.
  2083. Indo-Nepal Battalion Level Combined Exercise Surya Kiran IX held.
  2084. India's Vice President Hamid Ansari Visit Thailand and Brunei.
  2085. US Based GFI (Global Financial Integrity)'s Black Money Report - Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries: 2004-2013
    1. At $51 billion per annum, India ranks 4th in black money outflow.
    2. China is at top with $139 billion average outflow, followed by Russia ($104 billion) and Mexico ($52.8 billion).
    3. China also had largest illicit outflows of any country in 2013, amounting $258.64 billion in just one year.
  2086. 12th South Asian Games 2016 -
    1. Host cities - Guwahati (Assam) and Shillong (Meghalaya)
    2. Motto is Play for Peace, Progress and Prosperity
    3. Nations participating - 8, Athletes participating - 2,672
    4. Mascot - Tikhor (baby Rhino)
    5. India ended up as overall champions with record 308 medals (Gold - 188, Silver - 90 and Bronze - 30). Followed by Sri Lanka (186) and Pakistan (106 Medals)
    6. India also completed winning 1000 gold medals in South Asian Games.
    7. Nepal will host the 13th South Asian Games (SAG) in 2018.
  2087. Noted British television and radio personality Terry Wogan passed away.
  2088. International Swimming Federation (FINA) announced that Japanese city of Fukuoka will host 2021 World Aquatics Championships and Qatar's capital Doha will host 2023 event.
  2089. India's National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with RUSNANO OJSC of Russia to set-up Russia-India High Technology Private Equity Fund.
  2090. World Bank approved 35 million US dollars Loan for improving access to selected public services for state of Madhya Pradesh.
  2091. Government inaugurated construction of Borehole Geophysics Research Laboratory (BGRL) at Hazarmachi, Karad (Maharashtra). BGRL's Purpose is to address challenges of seismological problems (natural calamities) of societal relevance in Koyna Region through drilling investigation.
  2092. Supreme Court appointed a committee under former Chief Justice RM Lodha to sell assets of Pearls Agrotech Corporation Ltd (PACL) and refund 49 thousand crore rupees to investors.
  2093. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved Rajasthan Electronics and Instruments Limited (Jaipur) to delink from its parent company Instrumentation Limited and turn into an independent Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) under Department of Heavy Industry.
  2094. European Commission (EC) and USA signed a new framework for transatlantic data flows, known as EU-US Privacy Shield and will enable government agencies to transfer data relied on by Facebook and Google across the Atlantic.
  2095. Odisha Government extended Aahar cheap meal scheme to 29 districts in State through 58 centres to provide subsidized food to urban poor.
  2096. Kerala's taxi cab service 'She-Taxi', country's first 24x7 taxi network by women for women, has won Chief Minister's Award for Innovation in Public Policy 2014 in 'developmental interventions' category.
  2097. Tea Board of India issued Version 5.0 of Plant Protection Code (PPC) by expanding list of pesticides and chemicals to 37 from previous 35. 2 new additions in list are Emamectin Benzoate 5 SG and Flubendiamide 20 WG.
  2098. European Union approved 3.3 billion Euros funding to Turkey for coping with issue of approx 3 Million Syrian migrants.
  2099. Odisha government lifted 3 year long ban on visit of foreign tourists to certain tribal areas.
  2100. United Nations Postal Administration launched six commemorative stamps to promote UN Free & Equal, a global United Nations campaign for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality.
  2101. First machin harvestable chickpea variety, NBeG 47 released in Andhra Pradesh by International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid-Tropics (ICRISAT). New variety will be harvested in just 75 minutes while normal process of harvesting 2.25 tons of chickpea takes 3 days.
  2102. Zimbabwe declared state of disaster in rural parts of country hit by a drought. It will allow international donors to raise money quickly to provide food aid to the nation.
  2103. Directors Guild of America (DGA) awards -
    1. Feature film - Alejandro Gonzalez (The Revenant)
    2. Drama series - David Nutter (Mother’s Mercy)
    3. Comedy series - Chris Addison (Election Night)
    4. Children’s award - Kenny Ortega (Descendants)
  2104. Storm Imogen battered parts of southern Britain with heavy rain and winds up to 96 miles per hour.
  2105. France become first country to ban supermarkets from throwing away or destroying unsold food, forcing them instead to donate it to charities and food banks.
  2106. Ministry of Tourism launched 24×7 Toll Free Multi-Lingual Tourist Info Line for international tourists in 12 international languages - English, Hindi, French, Arabic, Italian, German, Korean, Japanese, Portuguese, Chinese, Russian and Spanish.
  2107. Mukesh Ambani and Sam Pitroda have been elected to National Academy of Engineering (USA).
  2108. Dhirendra Hiralal Waghela appointed as Chief Justice of Bombay High Court.
  2109. Royal Navy of United Kingdom (UK) will officially study India's Huge humanitarian rescue operation in Yemen in 2015.
  2110. NASA announced that first launch of its new rocket, Space Launch System (SLS) with 13 CubeSats and an uncrewed Orion Spacecraft will be in 2018.
  2111. United Nations launched report One Humanity: Shared Responsibility, calling for a global campaign to prevent erosion of humanitarian law and protect civilians in conflict. First-ever World Humanitarian Summit will be held 23 May -24 May 2016 with theme One Humanity: Shared Responsibility.
  2112. Quinton de Kock (South Africa) became fastest to make 10 One Day International (ODI) centuries. He overtook virat kohli who took 80 innings to achieve this.
  2113. Bangladesh cancelled Chinas proposal to develop a deep sea port on Sonadia island that lies in Bay of Bengal. The island is seen as potential deepwater port that could serve thelandlocked parts of India, Myanmar and China.
  2114. Sikkim government announced to construct a Mini Sikkim in South Sikkim district, which will be a centre for showcasing state's diverse culture.
  2115. National Assembly, Lower House of Parliament of France passed proposal to strip people convicted of terrorist offences of their French nationality.
  2116. Marine Museum inaugurated at Marine Aquarium and Regional Centre (MARC) of Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) in Digha(West Bengal), during 1 day Seminar on Coastal Zone Management and Marine Biodiversity at East Medinipur district of West Bengal.
  2117. YES Bank announced to tie-up with Smartbox Ecommerce Solutions for solving challenges related to last mile delivery for e-commerce firms. Yes bank will help power payment solutions for Smartbox network of Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals.
    1. Cash on delivery (COD) model accounts for over 50 % of e-commerce market which will reach of 100 billion USD by 2020.
  2118. UNESCO report Colour? What Colour? has been presented with measures to fight on racism and discrimination in football sport.
  2119. International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) named Adele as Global Recording Artist of 2015 across all music formats.
  2120. Assam Government unveiled a draft document, 'Vision Assam-2030: Everything for Everyone-Achieving inclusive and Sustainable Development', aimed at ensuring sustainable development of state. With this, Assam became first state to have a vision document on sustainable development goals.
  2121. Two sportspersons from Odisha, Sprinter Jauna Murmu and archer Ranjit Nayak were included in Target Olympic Podium (TOP) Scheme of Government for 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games.
  2122. ICC Cricket for Good, United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and BCCI launched clinics during ICC WT20 Host City Tour, aiming to build a social movement for sanitation across India.
  2123. 2016 UNESCO Medals -
    1. Name

      Country

      Contribution

      Isamu Akasaki

       Japan

      Created the blue light-emitting diodes, which resulted in the discovery of white light sources for illumination.

       

      Lei Jiang

      China

      Designed and fabricated the bio-inspired surfaces with specific wettability.

      Philippe Pernod

      France

      Worked on active nanostructured magnetic and multiferroic films, Micro-Magneto-Electro-Mechanical Systems and their applications, and multistable nanostructures.

       

      Nicholas Kotov

      USA

      Worked on biometric self-organization of Nano colloids, ultra-strong nanocomposites, tissue engineering with nanomaterials, and nanoscale drugs.

      Gennady Krasnikov

      Russia

      For his efforts to broaden the use of nanotechnologies in manufacturing industries

      Igor Ashurbeyli

      Russia

      For his work in the field of the development of new generation microelectronic devices, information systems and technologies.

       

      Mikhail Dubina

      Russia

      For his work in research and development of new medical technologies based on the use of nanostructures in the earlier on-line diagnostics as well as the creation of new nano biotechnological devices that could influence the   bioprocesses in the human body.

       

      Natalya Mikhaylova Russia For her work on the application of nanotechnologies in aesthetic medicine, in the fields of cosmetology, polysaccharide development, cancer therapy, reconstructive and plastic surgery.
  2124. West Bengal government launched Utkarsh Bangla Scheme, a welfare scheme for school-dropouts.
  2125. Indian Railways won 36th National Chess team Championship in Odishaby defeating Life Insurance Corporation (LIC).
  2126. South Korean state of Chungcheongbuk and Haryana signed a sister-statehood relationship for development.
  2127. Odisha government introduced a self-certifying scheme for non-hazardous industries to ease process of doing business by shortening inspection process in non-hazardous industries.
  2128. E-commerce Firm Amazon launched Tatkal, an initiative that enables small and medium businesses (SMBs) to go online and sell products on Amazon. It offers all selling related activities to be completed in about 60 minutes.
  2129. Jharkhand government and Adani Group signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for investment of 15000 crore rupees in state to set up a 1600 MW capacity thermal power plant.
  2130. Tata Motors, Bharat Forge and USA-based General Dynamics tied up for defense bid under Future Infantry Combat Vehicle programme. FICV involves development of compact combat vehicles for Indian Army with cost approx 10 billion USD, known as Indias largest indigenous defense program.
  2131. Renowned Indologist Professor David Shulman won prestigious Israel Prize for Religious Studies for his research into literature and culture of southern India.
  2132. United Nations and Colombia launched a new multi-partner trust fund to respond to stabilization and peacebuilding needs.
  2133. Tamil Nadu government announced free bus pass scheme for senior citizens.
  2134. Fashion designer Manish Arora awarded with Chevalier de la Legion dHonneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour), France's highest civilian honour.
  2135. Paani Foundation (started by Actor Aamir Khan)tied up with Maharashtra government to work for solving water crisis in state.
  2136. 4th India-Myanmar Coordinated Patrol (IMCOR) held in Andaman Sea along International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL).
  2137. Sergo Karapetyan, Armenian Agriculture Minister visited India and signed MoU on Agriculture Cooperation with India.
  2138. Eastern Command Hospital , Kolkata awarded with Best Service Hospital in Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS).
  2139. West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra appointed as Chairman of Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers on Goods and Services Tax (GST).
  2140. Prasar Bharati signed MoU with Brazil's Empressa de Brazil Communicacao (EBC) for several broadcast related activities.
  2141. Google's Hi-Speed Inrernet Project Loon began its operations in Sri Lanka after first helium-filled balloon landed in Gampola town.
  2142. Noted singer Ustad Abdul Rashid Khan passed away.
  2143. Make in India event concluded in Mumbai(Maharashtra)
    1. Week-long event secured investment commitments of over 15 lakh crores. Maharashtra alone accounted for 8 lakh crore rupees investment.
    2. 102 countries represented in expo with over 8 lakh visitors.
    3. 17 Indian states and 3 countries - Germany, Sweden and Poland had pavilions in Make in India Centre.
  2144. Government approved amending section 9 of Representation of People Act, 1950 and section 11 of Delimitation Act, 2002 by introducing Election Laws (Amendment) Bill 2016.
    1. It will give voting rights to people who became Indian citizens after exchange of enclaves between India and Bangladesh. Election Commission will be able to carry out limited delimitation of Constituencies in Cooch Behar District of West Bengal.
  2145. Noted Malayalam writer Akbar Kakkattil passed away.
  2146. Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways launched Website for Maritime India Summit 2016 www.maritimeinvest.in. Maritime India Summit is scheduled to be held in Mumbai in April 2016.
  2147. Japan launched ASTRO-H space observation satellite to probe mysterious black holes.
  2148. State Bank of India (SBI) launched Japan Desk single window for inbound Japanese investments in India and vice-versa. It is first initiative that seeks to facilitate Japanese corporates looking to invest in India with banking and advisory services.
  2149. Government cuts interest rates on short-term small saving schemes below five years of maturity by 0.25 % including post office deposits and Kisan Vikas Patras to align interest rates on small savings with market rates and help economy move to lower overall interest rate regime. Interest rate on Employees’ Provident Fund also hiked to 8.8% from 8.75% .
  2150. Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar launched Environment Information System (ENVIS) (envis.nic.in) portal and mobile application. ENVIS works on improving digital literacy in environment sector and deliver services digitally.
  2151. Scientists' team in US led by Indian-origin Ashutosh Tiwari discovered Tin Monoxide (SnO) conductor to replace silicon. SnO is a new 2D semiconducting material for electronics that opens door for speedier computers and smartphones that consume less power.
  2152. mRUPEE (Subsidiary of Tata Teleservices) tied up with Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) to provide additional payment gateway for users.
  2153. South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL) will set up India's largest coal washery with capacity of 25 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) in Korba district of Chhattisgarh.
  2154. Dominic Thiem (Australia) won Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Argentina Open 2016 by defeating Nicolas Almagro (Spain).
  2155. Nepal's Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli visited India. Signed 7 Agreements with India -
    1. Post-earthquake reconstruction assistance - about utilization of USD 250 million Grant by India for nepal for for Post-earthquake reconstruction of Nepal.
    2. MOU for Strengthening of road infrastructure in Nepal, Performing arts:, Exchange on Transit Routes and Rail Transport etc.
  2156. India's Robin Chaurasiya, who runs a not-for-profit school in Mumbai for girls has been named in top 10 shortlisted for $1 Million Global Teacher Prize 2016.
  2157. Warren Richardson (Australia) Won World Press Photo of 2015.
  2158. Rio Haryanto will become Indonesia's first Formula One driver as will participate in Australian Grand Prix on 20 March 2016.
  2159. TAL Manufacturing Solutions(Tata Group company) will launch first ever India-made robot named Brabo, development at cost of Rs 10 crores.
  2160. Alok Verma will be appointed as new Delhi Police Commissioner.
  2161. Punjab government will sign MoU with British Pig Association (BPA) to promote piggery in the State.
  2162. Karnataka Bank won IBA Banking Technology Award in category of Best Risk and Fraud Management Initiative - Runner Up.
  2163. YES Bank partnered with UltraCash Technologies to launch payments processing through sound waves. UltraCash utilises a patent-pending technology through which payment data is securely transferred using unique ultra-high frequency sound waves.
  2164. Jayant Misra is appointed as Director General of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence.
  2165. e-Commerce Flipkart appointed Nitin Seth as its Chief People Officer.
  2166. Popular lyricist Sameer Anjaan incuded into Guinness Book of World Records for writing most number of Bollywood songs. He wrote 3,524 songs for 650 Bollywood movies.
  2167. Uber signed MoU with Maharashtra governments Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Department (SDED) to help create 75,000 entrepreneurship opportunities across state over 5 years.
  2168. World Bank announced $150 million aid to combat Zika Virus in Latin America and the Caribbean.
  2169. Nepal Government constituted a committee under Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Kamal Thapa to study demarcation of federal states on the constitution.
  2170. United States (US) approved new law imposing sanctions against North Korea titled North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act of 2016, aimed at punishing North Korea for its provocative recent nuclear test and rocket launch.
  2171. Former West Indies cricketer Andy Ganteaume passed away.
  2172. Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) commissioned a 270 MW generation unit at Goindwal Sahib Thermal Power Project of private producer GVK Power & Infra in Punjab.
  2173. February 20 - World Day of Social Justice.
  2174. Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan Government have set up Special Purpose Vehicles (SPV) for implementation of Smart City Plans for five cities – Jabalpur, Indore and Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh and Jaipur and Udaipur in Rajasthan.
  2175. Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) launched Swachh Himachal – Padhai bhi, Safai bhi campaign.
  2176. Second Vibrant North East event concluded in Guwahati (Assam). It was jointly organized by Centre for Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD) and ASSOCHAM.
  2177. Christine Lagarde from France has been appointed as Managing Director (MD) of the International Monetary Fund for second five-year term.
  2178. New Zealand's Cricketer Brendon McCullum scored fastest ever Test century off 54 balls, playing against Australia in his last international test match.
  2179. Noted Italian writer and philosopher Umberto Eco passed away.
  2180. Noted USA writer Harper Lee passed away, famous for her novel ‘To Kill a Mockingbird released in 1960.
  2181. United States International Trade Commission (USITC) imposed anti-dumping investigations into certain category of tyres imported from India and Sri Lanka.
  2182. Kalikho Pul has been appointed as 9th Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh.
  2183. Faustin Archange Touadera won 2016 Presidential election of Central African Republic.
  2184. Medaram Jatara tribal festival celebrated in Warangal district of Telangana.
  2185. Noted Malayalam novelist and short story writer Akbar Kakkattil passed away.
  2186. Indian Pharmaceutical giant Cipla acquired 2 US generic drug companies - InvaGen Pharmaceuticals and Exelan Pharmaceuticals.
  2187. Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Uma Bharti inaugurated Jal Manthan -2 with theme Integrated Approach for Sustainable Water Management.
  2188. World Bank decided to lend support to Rajasthan government on energy reforms.
  2189. Aditya Birla Nuvo tied up with Idea Cellular for creation of Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank Ltd.
    1. As per norms by RBI, payments bank can accept deposits up to Rs 1 lakh from customers, issue ATM and debit cards, offer payments and remittance services, and act as a distributor of simple financial products such as mutual funds units and insurance products. Payments banks can not give loans.
  2190. Cricket Legend Sachin Tendulkars autobiography - Playing It My Way entered Limca Book of Records with 1,50,289 copies sold.
  2191. Sikkim Govt will introduce Contract farming in State alongwith One Village One Crop Scheme where one identified potential crop will be cultivated in each village.
  2192. Barack Obama became first U.S. president to visit Cuba in over 80 years.
  2193. 6 Indian Origin Persons won Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) by USA Government. Winners are - Shwetak Patel, Rahul Mangharam, Sachin Patel, Milind Kulkarni, Vikram Shyam and Kiran Musunuru.
  2194. Indian Air Force Chief Marshal Arup Raha Visited Bangladesh.
  2195. Election Commission of India hosted 4th Executive Board meeting of the Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB) in New Delhi.
  2196. Bihar signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) under Scheme UDAY – Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana” adn became 6th state for joining the Scheme.
  2197. Government launched Swachh Parayatan Mobile App and shall be monitored by Project Monitoring Unit of Swachh Bharat Mission in Ministry of Tourism.
  2198. Fiji got hit by heacy cyclone Winston.
  2199. Punjab Warriors won fourth edition of Coal India Hockey India League by defeating Kalinga Lancers.
  2200. Jayant Misra is appointed as Director General (DG) of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI).
  2201. Noted Odia singer Bhubaneshwari Mishra passed away.
  2202. Vinay Kumar Singh appointed as Managing Director of National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC).
  2203. February 21 - International Mother Language Day. Theme for 2016 is Quality education, language(s) of instruction and learning outcomes.
  2204. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched National Rurban Mission (NRM) from Rajnandgaon district of Chhattisgarh. Mission is also dubbed as Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Rurban mission (SPMRM) and aims to spur development in rural areas by developing cluster of 300 Smart Villages over 3 years. Coastal and plain areas must have population of 25000 - 50000 and Hilly, desert or tribal areas must have 5000 - 15000.
  2205. West Bengal government planning to get Geographical Indication (GI) tag for four traditional sweet delicacies of the state - Moa, Sarpuria, Mihidana and Sitabhog.
  2206. 66th Berlin International Film Festival (American actress Meryl Streep was President of Jury)
    1. Golden Bear - Italian documentary film Fuocoammare (Fire at Sea) directed by Gianfranco Rosi
    2. Honorary Golden Bear - Michael Ballhaus
    3. Silver Bear (best director) - Mia Hansen-Løve (France) for Things to Come
    4. Silver Bear (Best Actress) - Trine Dyrholm (Denmark) for The Commune
    5. Silver Bear (Best Actor) - Majd Mastoura (Tunisia) for Hedi
    6. Silver Bear (Best Script) - Tomasz Wasilewski for United States of Love
    7. Crystal Bear (best short film) - El inicio de Fabrizio for Argentinian film Fabrizios Initiation
    8. Malayalam film Ottal (The Trap) won best feature-length and best short films in children’s category
  2207. India1's Kumaravel Prem Kumar won silver in long jump in Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in Doha (Qatar).
  2208. KN Vyas appointed as Director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) for three years.
  2209. Vineet Saran is appointed as Chief Justice of Orissa High Court.
  2210. Udai Kumar appointed as Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Metropolitan Stock Exchange of India (MSEI).
  2211. Tamil film Kanavu Variyam won 2016 Remi Award in United States. It has been directed and produced by Arun Chidambaram and Karthik Chidambaram.
  2212. India will host Asia Ministerial Conference on Tiger Conservation to save tigers. It will be third such conference on tiger conservation to be hosted by India.
  2213. World's first anti-rabies drug Rabies Human Monoclonal Antibody (RMAb) will be launched in India by Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII).
  2214. Indian-origin person Ismail Mahomed from South Africa has been honored by Knight of the Order of Arts and Literature by France for his lifelong devotion to promotion of arts.
  2215. Pakistan's Parliament building in Islamabad became first in world to completely run on solar power.
  2216. 42nd Khajuraho Dance Festival began at Khajuraho in Chhatrapur District in Madhya Pradesh.
  2217. Fifth IBSAMAR 2016 trilateral naval exercise between Brazil, India and South Africa started in Goa.
  2218. India's first indigenously built nuclear armed submarine INS Arihant successfully passed several deep sea tests and became ready for formal induction into Indian Navy.
  2219. Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Dubai Exports to boost trade and explore business opportunities.
  2220. Indian-origin Sikh Amar Singh appointed as Police Commissioner of Malaysias capital Kuala Lumpur.
  2221. Ukraine's Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk Football Club became first European team to win Sait Nagjee International Club Football Tournament by defeating Brazilian FC Atletico Paranaense. It was held in Kerala.
  2222. Haryana became first state to complete aquifer mapping for its groundwater resources by May 2016. Aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing rock from which groundwater can be extracted.
  2223. As per report by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), India remains worlds largest arms importer, accounting for 14% of global arms imports in 2011-2015.
    1. Largest Importers - India (14%), China (4.7%), Australia (3.6%), Pakistan (3.3%), Vietnam (2.9%) and South Korea (2.6%).
    2. India has spent over 120 billion dollars on arms acquisitions over the last 15 years.
    3. United States is largest exporter, followed by Russia and China.
  2224. Government approved 150 million dollars credit for Development of strategically important Chabahar Port in Iran. Credit will be operationalized through EXIM Bank.
  2225. Government approved establishment of Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) and Self Employment and Talent Utilisation (SETU) in NITI Aayog. It seeks to give boost to innovation ecosystem and catalyse entrepreneurial spirit in country.
  2226. Subhro Kamal Mukherjee appointed as 28th Chief Justice of High Court of Karnataka.
  2227. To Boost Production, Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs hiked Minimum Support Price (MSP) of raw jute from 2,700 to 3,200 rupees per quintal for 2016-17.
  2228. Reserve Bank of India extended currency swap arrangement to South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) nations till November 2017. All 7 SAARC members - Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Maldives, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka can avail facility in which RBI offers swap amount of US 2 billion USD.
  2229. India's Yes Bank awarded with inaugural Green Bond Pioneer Award in United Kingdom for its efforts in Green Bonds market including issuance of India's first ever Green Infrastructure Bonds.
  2230. Government approved Agreement with Maldives for avoidance of double taxation of income from international air transport.
  2231. Government appointed former Chief Justice of India H L Dattu as new Chairman of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).
  2232. Yoichiro Ueno appointed as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Honda Cars India.
  2233. Hyderabad-based GVK Biosciences awarded Global CSR Excellence & Leadership Award in category of Best Environment Friendly Project for its Go Green, Grow Green plantation drive.
  2234. Second edition of Law and Sports in India-Development, Issues and Challenges written by Mukul Mudgal and Vidushpat Singhania launched.
  2235. Odisha Government launched Pucca Ghar Yojana for construction workers. Houses will be built for 50,000 construction workers with cost of Rs. 500 crore.
  2236. Government set up committee headed by Union Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu to look into demand of Jats for reservation in central government jobs.
  2237. China and Indonesia won Badminton Asia Team Championships in women and mens categories respectively in Hyderabad.
  2238. Rajendra Singh is appointed as Director General (DG) of Coast Guard.
  2239. Hurun (Shanghai-based) report on Billionaires across the world -
    1. Beijing is new Billionaire Capital, with now 100 billionaires living in Beijing (China). It left new york behind which has 95 Billionaires. Moscow third (66 billionaires).
    2. India now has total 111 Billionaires with Mukesh Ambani ($26 Billion) and Sub Pharma's Dilip Singhvi ($18 Billion) being top two. Cumulative Indian billionaires’ wealth is $308 billion.
    3. Globally, 99 new billionaires added in 2016 to take total billionaires to 2,188.
  2240. Dinesh Maheshwari sworn-in as chief justice of Meghalaya High Court.
  2241. Public Investment Board (PIB) cleared 800 crore porpsal for a payments bank to be started by India Post.
  2242. New Envoys Appointed - Sujan R. Chinoy (republic of Marshall Islands), Ketan Shukla (Botswana).
  2243. Ministry of Road Transport and Highways formed Empowered Group of State Transport Ministers to suggest measures to boost transport sector, improve public transport and minimise road accidents. It will be headed by Yunus Khan, the PWD and Transport Minister of Rajasthan.
  2244. Government sold 5 % stake in largest power producer NTPC to raise Rs 5,030 crore Government's Holding will now come down to 69.96 % (74.96 % currently).
  2245. 24 Feb - Central Excise Day.
  2246. Scientists discovered 5 new Jupiter-like planets similar to our solar systems biggest planet. Named - WASP-119 b, WASP-124 b, WASP-126 b, WASP-129 b and WASP-133 b.
  2247. Armenia's Agriculture Minister Sergo Karapetyan visited India.
  2248. Printing and IT solutions firm Ricoh (Japan) won order of Rs 344 crore from Kerala State Electronics Development Corporation to supply computer hardware to 2,000 government schools in Odisha.
  2249. Ri Myong Su Appointed New Military Chief Of North Korea.
  2250. ONGC approved investment of 5,050 crore in Tripura for producing 5.1 mmscmd gas from states fields, as part of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas' Hydrocarbon Vision 2030.
  2251. Katni (Madhya Pradesh) will have Indias longest railway bridge of 14 km in length (3.5 folds larger than Vembanad rail Bridge connecting Edappally and Vallarpadam). This Project under west central railways will take 5 years for completion with cost 600 crores.
  2252. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully tested high-thrust cryogenic engine CE-20 of GSLV Mark 3 (LVM3) rocket, paving way for first developmental flight of GSLV Mark 3 in December 2016.
  2253. UNDP Bangladesh appointed Cricket ODI and T20 Captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza as United Nations Development Programmes (UNDP) national goodwill ambassador for youth.
  2254. Jet Airways appointed Rahul Taneja as chief people officer.
  2255. 18th Mercer Quality of Life study report -
    1. Austrias capital Vienna is best place in world to live, followed by Zurich, Auckland, Munich and Vancouver. Baghdad (Iraq) is worst.
    2. India - Hyderabad topped with 139th position, followed by Pune (144), Bangalore (145).
  2256. Facebook launched Telecom Infra Project,to develop new technologies to build and deploy telecom infrastructure. The Project is working on providing currently unserved rural communities with wireless network efforts.
  2257. Mastercard will launch new technologies to allow customers to authenticate their online purchases using selfies or fingerprints.
  2258. Government will set up wi-fi facilities at 25,000 spots by March 2016, up from 300 spots across India currently.
  2259. State Bank of India launched e-Smart SME, a working capital loan offering for sellers on ecommerce platforms. With this, sellers can apply for loan online on e-commerce platform and get instant sanctioning.
  2260. President Pranab Mukherjee dedicated India's first Information Technology (IT) co-operative society in UL CyberPark in Kozhikode, Kerala. He also inaugurated India's first Gender Park at Kozhikode.
  2261. Former Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Vinod Rai is appointed as first Chairman of Banks Board Bureau (BBB).
    1. BBB will consist eminent professionals from public sector banks (PSBs) to replace Appointments Board of Government. BBB was announced by Government in August 2015 as part of 7 point Indradhanush Mission to revamp PSBs.
  2262. Noted pre-independence cricketer Bindiganavile Krishnaswamy Garudachar passed away at age of 99.
  2263. Gianni Infantino of Switzerland has been elected as new President of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), global governing body of football.
  2264. 13th World Spice Congress (WSC) began in Ahmedabad, Gujarat with theme Target 2020: Clean, Safe and Sustainable Supply Chain.
  2265. Committee under Ajay Shanka submitted its report to DIPP (Department Of Industrial Policy & Promotion) for examining Possibility of Replacing Multiple Prior Permissions with Pre-Existing Regulatory Mechanism.
  2266. Former DRDO Director-General (DG) Avinash Chander is awarded prestigious Aryabhata Award of Astronautical Society of India. He was chief architect of Agni series of ballistic missiles and is known as Agni man of India.
  2267. Government has appointed three Information Commissioners in Central Information Commission - Amitava Bhattacharya, Bimal Julka and Divya Prakash Sinha.
  2268. Government extended e-Tourist Visa Scheme to 37 more countries, to take total count of countries under scheme at 150.
  2269. Chemical scientist Goverdhan Mehta has been conferred with Germanys prestigious Cross of the Order of Merit (Bundesverdienstkreuz) Award.
  2270. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch countrys first solar mission called Aditya-L1.
    1. Aditya-L1 satellite will be placed in an orbit about 15 lakh kilometres from earth in a halo orbit around L1 Lagranian point. It will be launched by PSLV XL.
    2. Primary objective will be to study solar corona and chromosphere in different wavebands, dynamic nature of suns outer most layers, and collect data about Coronal Mass Ejections (CME).
  2271. India lost solar case against United States at World Trade Organisation (WTO) for breaching of international trade rules. WTO ruled that Indias domestic content requirement for National Solar Mission (NSM) discriminated against imported solar technology.
    1. About case - USA dragged India to WTO in 2013 alleging that domestic content requirement on solar power developers discriminated against American and other imported solar technology USA's solar equipments manufactured are looking India's NSM (National Solar Mission) as a big business potential. NSM has set ambitious target of generating 20,000 Mega Watts solar power by 2022.
  2272. India's Ministry of Science and Technology signed MoU with a United Kingdom (UK) for joint India-UK collaboration programme in crop science.
  2273. Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is working to establishment a Satellite Tracking & Data Reception Station and Data Processing Facility for ASEAN Member countries in Vietnam.
  2274. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu presented Railway Budget 2016-17. It was second railway budget for Suresh Prabhu and third rail budget of PM Narendra Modi. Highlights are -
    1. Capital plan for Budget is Rs 1.21 lakh crore.
    2. Operating ratio kept at 92% FY17 as against 90% in FY16.
    3. Target is to generate revenues of Rs.1,84,820 cr, 10.1% higher than current year.
    4. Theme of Budget - ‘Chalo, Milkar Kuch Naya Karen. Three pillars strategy - Nav Arjan, Nav Manak andNav Sanrachna.
    5. Railway Plans to generate 9 crore man-days employment by 2017-18 and 14 crore man-days by 2018-19.
    6. Railway Targets To commission 2800 km of new tracks in 2016-17.
    7. No new hike in passenger fares and Freight fares.
    8. New Initiatives For unreserved passenger
      1. Antyodaya Express - superfast unreserved service.
      2. Deen Dayalu unreserved coaches with more facilities.
    9. For Reserved Passengers -
      1. Humsafar Train - Air-conditioned service with an optional service for meals.
      2. Tejas Train - It will operate at speeds of 130 kmph and above with onboard services such as local cuisine, entertainment, WiFi, etc.
      3. UDAY (Utkrisht Double-Decker Air-conditioned Yatri) Express - Double-decker express on busiest routes with Potential to increase carrying capacity by almost 40%.
      4. SMART (Specially Modified Aesthetic Refreshing Travel) Coaches - coaches with more modern facilities.
    10. Cleanliness - SMS service ‘Clean my Coach, ranking of A1 and A railway stations based on passenger feedback.
    11. Awareness - Waste segregation, recycling centres, 30,000 bio-toilets etc.
    12. Women Quota - 33 % sub-quota for women will be provided under all reserved categories.
    13. Rail Mitra Sewa - Strengthening existing services for enabling passengers to book battery operated cars, porter services, etc. Expanding Sarathi Seva in Konkan Railway to help disabled and old passengers.
    14. Ticketing - Capacity of e-ticketing system has been enhanced from 2000 tickets per min to 7,200 per min. Introducing 1,780 ticket-vending machines.
    15. High Speed Rail - Mumbai to Ahmedabad will be undertaken with assistance of Japan.
    16. Developing Rail side logistics parks and warehousing in PPP mode, TRANSLOC (Transport Logistics Company of India) will develop 10 goods sheds in 2016-17.
    17. Indias first rail auto hub will be inaugurated in Chennai. Rail University will come at Vadodara, Gujarat.
    18. Process Improvements - Finalization of EPC projects standard document to implement at least 20 projects in 2016-17. In future, endeavouring all works valuing above Rs. 300 crore through EPC contracts.
    19. Rail Development Authority - It will be established as statutory body to enable fair pricing of railway services and promote competition, protect customer interests and determine efficiency standards.
    20. Tourism - Railways will partner with States for operating tourist circuit trains, promotion of tourism through UNESCO world heritage Railways and Railway museums.
    21. Railway budget allocation for Himachal Pradesh increased from 255 crore in 2015-16 to 310 crore in 2016-17.
    22. Setting up a R&D organization -‘SRESTHA (Special Railway Establishment for Strategic Technology & Holistic Advancement) for driving long term research. It will be independent from Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) that tackles day to day issues.
    23. A Special Unit for Transportation Research and Analytics (SUTRA) would be set up for carrying out detailed analytics leading to optimized investment decisions and operations.
    24. An Innovation Committee would be set up Under Ratan Tata for seeking solutions to Indian Railway’s most critical problems through an Innovation Challenge.
    25. LIC to invest Rs. 1.5 lakh crore over 5 years.
    26. All unmanned level crossing to be eliminated by 2020.
  2275. President Pranab Mukherjee has formally declared Kerala as the countrys first digital state, on occasion of launching a digital empowerment campaign (Kanivu).
  2276. Noted pre-independence cricketer Bindiganavile Krishnaswamy Garudachar passed away at age of 99.
  2277. Noted Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali and actor Ranveer Singh have been chosen for 2016 Pandit Dinanath Mangeshkar Award.
  2278. Eastern coast of India will get its Sixth doppler radar in Gopalpur in Odisha to boost weather forecasting system.
  2279. 2016 Dubai ATP Tennis title -
    1. Men's Sunlges - Stan Wawrinka (Switzerland) won by defeating Marcos Baghdatis (Cyprus)
    2. Womens Singles - Sara Errani (Italy) won by defeating Barbora Strýcová (Czech Republic)
    3. Mens Doubles - Italian pair of Simone Bolelli and Andreas Seppi
    4. Womens Doubles - Chuang Chia-jung (Chinese Taipei) and Darija Jurak (Croatia)
  2280. Micro blogging site Twitter launched #Positionofstrength campaign in India to empower women to raise voices against any form of discrimination.
  2281. Government released Seismic Microzonation reports for Delhi and Kolkata, highlighting vulnerability of specific areas in these megacities and minimizing effects of earthquakes.
  2282. President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated Kerala Tourisms Muziris Heritage Project (MHP) at Trissur to reinstate historical and cultural significance of Muziris.
  2283. Dinesh Sharma is elected as Chairperson of International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) (ROME).
  2284. 88th Academy Awards (Oscars) -
    1. Best Picture - Spotlight.
    2. Best Actor -Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant).
    3. Best Actress - Brie Larson (Room).
    4. Best Supporting Actor - Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies).
    5. Best Supporting Actress - Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl).
    6. Best Director - Alejandro G. Iñárritu (The Revenant).
    7. Best Original Song: Writings on the Wall (Spectre).
    8. Best Original Score: The Hateful Eight (Ennio Morricone).
    9. Best Foreign Language Film: Son of Saul (Hungary).
    10. Best Documentary Feature: Best Documentary Short Subject: A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness.
    11. Best Animated Feature Film: Inside Out.
    12. Best Animated Short Film: Bear Story.
    13. Most awards: Mad Max: Fury Road (6 Awards) followed by The Revenant (3) and Spotlight (2).
    14. Most nominations in 88th Academy Awards: The Revenant (12), Mad Max: Fury Road (10) and The Martian (7)
    15. Other Awards -
      1. Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Lesley Vanderwalt, Elka (Mad Max: Fury Road).
      2. Best Costume Design: Jenny Beavan (Mad Max: Fury Road).
      3. Best Visual Effects: Mark Williams Ardington, Sara Bennett, Paul Norris and Andrew Whitehurst (Ex Machina).
      4. Best Editing: Margaret Sixel (Mad Max: Fury Road).
      5. Best Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki (The Revenant).
      6. Best Production Design: Colin Gibson and Lisa Thompson (Mad Max: Fury Road).
      7. Best Original Screenplay: Tom McCarthy (Spotlight).
      8. Best Adapted Screenplay: Adam McKay (The Big Short).
      9. Best Sound Editing: Mark A. Mangini and David White (Mad Max: Fury Road).
      10. Best Sound Mixing: Chris Jenkins, Gregg Rudloff and Ben Osmo (Mad Max: Fury Road).
  2285. Sound designer Resul Pookutty won prestigious American Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE) Golden Reel Award for documentary Indias Daughter, directed by Leslee Udwin and based on Delhi gangrape incident of December 2012.
  2286. Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) named Long distance runner Lalita Babar as Sports Person of Year in Sports Awards 2015 during Turf 2015-16. She has recently qualified for Rio Olympics in 3000m steeplechase event.
  2287. Kerala's Kasaragod became state's second district to be declared as Zero Landless District, after Kannur.
  2288. Scriptwriter Sagar Sarhadi to be honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award at 2nd International Film Festival of Prayag (IFFP).
  2289. Maharashtra Economic Development Council formed Deepak Naik committee to work towards reviving river Godavari.
  2290. Bengaluru based Ather Energy launched India's first electric scooter S340, that covers distance of 60 Km in one single charge and have Lithium Ion battery pack IP67.
  2291. New Zealand's Kathleen Cross and Clarie Polosak of Australia became first women umpires to be included in ICC Women's World Twenty20 cricket to be held in 2016.
  2292. Odisha government introduced 50 vehicles equipped with Global Positioning System (GPS) to transport medicines to hospitals in remote areas, under Niramaya Yojana.
  2293. NDDB foundation for Nutrition (NFN) launched its novel Gift Milk initiative to provide nutritional support for school children in Ranga Reddy District of Telangana.
  2294. Retirement fund body EPFO (Employees Provident Fund Organisation) tightened norms on withdrawal of provident fund and investment in Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana for its five crore subscribers -
    1. As per new norms, subscribers will not be able to claim withdrawal of their provident fund after attaining age of 54 years. Earlier, EPFO allowed claiming 90 % accumulations in PF account at age of 54 years. Now EPFO made it mandatory to wait till age of 57 for claiming PF for transferring it to the Insurance Corporation of India for investment in Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana.
    2. Now, Now subscribers can directly file their claims like PF withdrawals without attestation of present or previous employers.
  2295. Ashwini Nangia appointed as Director of CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune.
  2296. Japanese Carmaker Nissan has named Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma as their new global ambassador.
  2297. SEBI approved IDBI Bank to raise Rs 3,771 crore through issue of shares to qualified institutional playersa (QIP). It will reduce government's Holding in IDBI Bank by 36.6 % from currently 80.16 %.
  2298. Taxi aggregator Ola signed agreement with Uttar Pradesh government to create over 50,000 entrepreneurship opportunities across state.
  2299. OYO Rooms tied up with Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) to offer convenient booking platform to travellers. OYO Rooms will power IRCTC hotel-booking page, offering their inventory and standardised amenities to passengers, consisting approx 45,000 rooms in over 170 cities.
  2300. Diageo-controlled United Spirits USL) appointmed MK Sharma as chairman, after Vijay Mallya resigned from the post.
  2301. Economic Survey 2015 - 16
    1. GDP Growth - Growth rate of GDP at constant market prices will increase to 7.6% in 2015-16 from 7.2% in 2014-15. Real GDP growth for 2015-16 is expected to be 7% to 7.75%.
    2. GDP Components - Services Sector - 66.1%. Industry andf agriculture sector account of remaining 34% withb agricuture sector being 11 - 13 %.
      1. Services - 9.2 % (2015-16), 10.3 % (2014-15), 7.8 % (2013-14)
        1. India showed fastest service sector growth with a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 8.6% followed by China at 8.4%.
      2. Industry - 7.3 % (2015-16), 5.9 % (2014-15), 7.3 % (2013-14)
        1. Industrial sector broadly comprising mining, manufacturing and electricity attained 3.1 % growth during April-December 2015-16 as compared to 2.6 % during 2014- 15.
      3. Agricuture - 1.1 % (2015-16), -.2 % (2014-15), 4.2 % (2013-14)
    3. Over 122 lakh toilets constructed in rural areas since beginning of Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) for improving sanitation in rural India.
    4. India's Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) goals for renewable energy sector aim of achieving 60 GW of wind power and 100 GWs of solar power installed by 2022.
    5. Industrial sector performed well and growth is expected to strengthen to 7.3 % for 2015-16. Within industrial sector, manufacturing to register a growth of 9.5 5.
    6. JAM Trinity - Jan dhan, Aadhaar, Mobile can help in implementing large-scale Direct Benefit Transfers (DBTs) to improve economic lives of Indias poor. First variety of JAM- PAHAL scheme of transferring LPG subsidies via DBT has reduced leakages by 24 per cent. JAM has three Components - Identification or First-Mile (Identification of beneficiaries), Transfer or Middle-Mile (Transfer of fund to beneficiaries) and Access or Last-Mile (Access of fund by beneficiaries)
    7. Agriculture -
      1. India ranks first in milk production with 18.5 % of world production with milk production growth rate of 6.26 %.
      2. Percentage share of horticulture output in agriculture is over 33 %
      3. Share of plan outlay for horticulture, which was 3.9 % during 9th Plan, has increased to 4.6 % during 12th Plan.
    8. Labour Force -
      1. Proportion of economically active population (15- 59 years) increased from 57.7 to 63.3 % during 1991 to 2013.
      2. Employment growth in organized sector increased by 2% in 2012 over 2011
      3. As per Fourth Annual EmploymentUnemployment Survey by Labour Bureau, Unemployment Rate is 4.7 % in rural areas and 5.5% in urban areas while total unemployment rate reported is 4.9%. Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) is 52.5 %. 
      4. Under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, 3.63 crore households Were provided employment of 134.96 crore person days during Current Year.
    9. Human Capital -
      1. Expenditure on Social Services including Education, Health, Social Security etc was 7 % of GDP in 2014-15 while it was 6.5% during 2013-14. In this, 19.5 % was spent on Health.
    10. Climate Change -
      1. India has second highest number of projects registered under CDM of UNFCCC, with 1593 out of 7685 projects.
      2. National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change (NAFCC) has been established with cost of 350 crore for 2015-16 and 2016-17
    11. Food Security -
      1. According to 66th National Sample Survey (2009-10) - average dietary energy intake per person per day was 2147 Kcal for rural and 2123 Kcal for urban India
      2. India has second highest number of undernourished people (19.4 crore)
      3. Total Foodgrains Production stood at 253.16 million tonnes in 2015-16, higher than 252.02 MT in 2014-15
    12. Economy -
      1. Over 20 Crore bank accounts opened under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojan (PMJDY) and world’s largest direct benefit transfer programme in case of LPG with 15.1 crore people receiving 29000 crore.
      2. 4 R - Recognition, Recapitalization, Resolution, and reform required to resolve twin balance sheet challenge of Public Sector Banks (PSBs).
      3. Fiscal Deficit target of 3.9% for 2015-16 seems achievable.
      4. Total expenditure for 2015-16 was estimated at Rs.17.77 lakh crore which was 5.7 % higher than estimates of 2014-15.
      5. Direct taxes grew by 10.7% in the first 9 months of 2015-16 while indirect taxes were also pleasing.
      6. Aggregate capital expenditure increased by 0.6% in 2015-16
      7. During April-November 2015-16, FDI inflows were 34.8 billion USD as compared to 27.7 billion USD during April-November 2014-15.  FDI equity inflows also increased from 18.9 billion USD to 24.8 billion USD in same period.
      8. Overall exports declined by about 18% in the first three quarters
      9. Trade deficit declined to 106.8 billion USD in April-January 2015-16 from 119.6 billion USD in corresponding period of 2014-15. Exports remained 217.7 Billion USD (17.6% decline) and imports remained 324.5 billion USD (15.5% decline).
      10. India's Forex Reserves Stand at 351.5 Billion USD.
      11. By September 2015, India’s external debt was in safe limits, with long term debt being 82.2%. External debt to GDP ratio of 23.7% and debt service ratio of 7.5% in 2014-15.
      12. Out of the 23 states and UTs, services sector accounted for 87.5 % of Delhi’s GSDP, followed by Maharashtra at 63.8 %.
      13. Foreign Touruist Arrivals registered growth of 10.2 % and 9.7 % growth in Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEE) in 2014-15.
      14. Government’s plan to change 77 crore conventional bulbs and 3.5 crore conventional street lights with LED range would save Rs 45,500 crore by reducing 21,500 MW electricity demand
      15. Number of technology start ups grown by 40 % to over 4,200, making India 3rd largest base of technology start-ups in the world, creating 80000 jobs in 2015.
      16. CPI (Consumer Price Index Remained) 4.9 % in 2014-15 while WPI (Wholesale Price Index) remained -2.8%.
      17. IT-BPM sector touched share of 9.5% of GDP and over 45% in total services export in 2015-16.
    13. Power -
      1. During 2014-15, electricity generation was 1048.4 billion units (BU), registering growth of 8.4 %. 2014-15 had highest ever increase in generation capacity of 26.5 GW compared to average annual addition of around 19 GW over past 5 years.
      2. 3030 MW of grid-connected power generation capacity from renewable energy sources like solar and wind added during April – December 2015
    14. Roads -
      1. Under National Highways Development Project (NHDP), total 26, 177 km road has been completed as on 31 December 2015.
    15. Civil aviation -
      1. It witnessed improvement of 20.4 % in domestic traffic and 7.8 % in international traffic during April - November 2015-16.
  2302. Atul Kumar Jain appointed as Chief of Eastern Naval Command and Bimal Verma appointed as Chief of Andaman and Nicobar Naval Command.
  2303. February 28 - National Science Day. Theme for 2016 is Scientific Issues for Development of the Nation. It marks discovery of Raman Effect by Indian physicist Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman (CV Raman) on February 28, 1928. This discovery was awarded with the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930.
  2304. Ronnie O'Sullivan (UK) won Welsh Open snooker title by beating Neil Robertson (Australia).
  2305. Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation apprpved construction of 82000 houses for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in urban areas of 163 cities of West Bengal, Telangana, Bihar, Mizoram, Rajashtan, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand.
  2306. Rio Open 2016 -
    1. Men's Singles - Pablo Cuevas (Uruguay)
    2. Women's Singles - Francesca Schiavone (Italy)
    3. Men's Doubles - Colombia 's Juan Sebastián Cabal and Robert Farah
    4. Women's Doubles - Verónica Cepede Royg (Paraguay) and María Irigoyen (Argentina)
  2307. Road to Resilience initiative of World Bank, under which a team undertook a bus trip along entire Indian coastline, covering 10000 kilometers. It provided chance to implement support for 6 coastal disaster management and climate resilience projects covering all 10 coastal states, supported by Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR).
  2308. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cancelled certificate of registration of 26 non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) as per Section 45-IA (6) of Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.
  2309. Assam Government approved setting up Guwahati Metro Rail Corporation Limited (GMRCL).
    1. 203 kilometres Metro corridor will be completed in three phases. Phase I will cover a length 61.4 kilometres and 54 stations in first phase.
    2. Trains will have carrying capacity of 975 passengers. Estimated projected cost is 18020 crores.
  2310. National Food Security Act 2013 launched in Mizoram. State decided to allocate 3 kilogram of rice in addition to 5 kilogram covered by Food Security Act. Total 644882 people will be covered by Food Security Act.
  2311. West Bengal Government constituted two task forces for development of Adivasis and Gorkhas living in state. One task force will work for tribals of Terai-Dooars and other for Gorkhas in Darjeeling Hills region.
  2312. Australia won Trans-Tasman Cricket Trophy against New Zealand and became World Number 1 in ICC Test ranking.
  2313. Forbes released its inaugural 30 Under 30 Asia List, including 56 Indians -
    1. Some noted Indians inlcluded are - Sania Mirza, Virat Kohli, Saina Nehwal, Shraddha Kapoor (Actress), Arunima Sinha (Mountaineer), Ritesh Agarwal (Co-founder OYO Rooms).
  2314. Punjab government imposed a ban on sale of army uniforms across the state.
  2315. Hashim Thaci elected as president of Kosovo (Southeastern Europe). 
  2316. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik elected as president of Biju Janata Dal (BJD) for 7th consecutive term.
  2317. Famous Tamil Comedy actor Kumarimuthu passed away.
  2318. Union Budget 2016-17 - Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented Union Budget 2016-17 in Lok Sabha. It was second full year Budget of NDA government and Third budget of Arun Jaitley. Main Points are -
    1. Expenditures (Total 1978060 Crores) (9.02 % )
      1. Planned Expenditure - 550010 Crores
      2. Non-Planned Expenditure - 1428050 Crores.
    2. Receipts (Total 1978060 Crores) (9.02 % )
      1. Revenue Receipts - 1377022 Crores
        1. Tax Revenue - 1054101 Crore Rupees
        2. Non Tax Revenue - 322921 Crore Rupees
      2. Capital Receipts - 601038 Crore Rupees (Recoveries of Loans + Other Receipts + Borrowings and other liabilities)
    3. Revenue Deficit - 354015 (2.3 % of GDP), Definition - (Revenue Expenditure - Revenue Receipts)
    4. Fiscal Deficit - 533904 Crore Rupees (3.5% of GDP), Definition - (Total Expenditure - (Revenue Receipts + Recoveries of Loans + Other Receipts))
    5. Primary Deficit - 41234 Crore Rupees (.3 % of GDP), Definition - (Fiscal Deficit - Interest Payments)
    6. Capital Given to States - 937735 Crores (11% )
    7. Government Earning and Expenditure Structure -
      1. Earning (Every One Rupee earned by government) -
        1. 21 Paise - Borrowings & Other liabilities
        2. 19 Paise - Corporation-tax
        3. 14 Paise - Income-tax
        4. 13 Paise - Non-tax Revenue
        5. 12 Paise - Union Excise Duties
        6. 9 Paise - Customs
        7. 9 Paise - Service tax & other taxes
        8. 3 Paise - Non-debt Capital receipts
      2. Expenditure (Every One Rupee Spent by government) -
        1. 23 Paise - States' share of taxes & duties
        2. 19 Paise - Interest Payments
        3. 12 Paise - Central Plan
        4. 12 Paise - Other Non-Plan Expenditure
        5. 10 Paise - Subsidies
        6. 10 Paise - Defence
        7. 9 Paise - Plan Assistance to State & UT
        8. 5 Paise -Non-Plan Assistance to State & UT Govts.
    8. Central Assistance for State and Union Territory Plans - 241900 Crores (12 % of Total Expenditure)
    9. Centrally Sponsored Schemes Allocation - 226820 Crores (11 % of Total Expenditure)
      1. Core of Core Schemes -
        1. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme - 38500 Crores
        2. National Social Assistance Programme - 9500 Crores
        3. Schemes for SC / ST / OBC / Minorities Development - 8186 Crores
      2. Core Schemes -
        1. National Education Mission - 28010 Crores
        2. Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna - 20075 Crores
        3. National Health Mission - 20037 Crores
        4. Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna - 19000 Crores
        5. Integrated Child Development Scheme - 16119 Crores
        6. Green Revolution - 12980 Crores (Krishonnati + Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna) Crores
        7. Swachh Bharat Abhiyan - 11300 Crores
        8. Mid-day Meal - 9700 Crores Crores
        9. Urban Rejuvenation Mission (AMRUT and Mission for Development of 100 Smart Cities) - 7295 Crores
        10. Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojna - 5717 Crores Crores. Irrigation projects to get Rs 86500 over next five years.
        11. National Rural Drinking Water Programme - 5000 Crores
        12. National Livelihood Mission - 3325 Crores
        13. Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana - 1700
        14. Rashtriya Swastha Suraksha Yojna - 1500 Crores
        15. Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme - 1439
        16. White Revolution - 1274 Crores Crores
        17. Blue Revolution - 575 Crores Crores
        18. Stard Up India. Stand up India - 1100 Crores
    10. Subsidies - 250432 Crores
    11. Defence Expenditure - 2.58 lakh crore (1.74 % of GDP)
    12. Taxation -
      1. No Change in Income Tax Slabs.
      2. Imposing a Cess, called Krishi Kalyan Cess of 0.5% on all taxable services. New effective service tax will be 15%.
      3. Raise tax rebate under section 87A from 2000 to 5000 for individuals with income upto 5 lakhs.
      4. Increase limit of deduction of rent paid under 80 GG from Rs 24,000 per annum to Rs 60,000 to provide relief to those who live in rented houses.
      5. Increase turnover limit under Presumptive taxation scheme to 2 crores as relief to a large number of assessees in MSME category.
      6. Service tax exemption for construction of affordable housing up to 60 sq. mt. under state and central housing schemes.
      7. Extend presumptive taxation scheme to professionals with gross receipt up to Rs 50 lakh with presumption of profit being half of gross receipt.
      8. 100% deduction of profits for 3 years for startups setup during April 2016 to March 2019.
      9. Rate of security transaction tax in auction to be increased from 0.17% to 0.15%.
      10. 1% infrastructure cess on small LPG cars.
      11. Clean energy cess for coal at Rs 400 per tonne (from 200 per tonne).
      12.  Limited tax compliance window offered from Jun 1 - Sep 30 for declaring undisclosed income at 45% including surcharge and penalties. It includes 7.5 % Krishi Kalyan Cess.
      13. Commitment to implement General Anti Avoidance Rules (GAAR) from 1.4.2017.
      14. Exemption of service tax on services provided under Deen Dayal Upadhyay Grameen Kaushalya Yojana and Niramaya Health Insurance Scheme launched by National Trust for Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disability.
      15. For investors receiving dividend over Rs 10 lakh per annum, an additinal tax of 10% of dividend amount in addition to applicable DDT (Dividend Distribution Tax).
      16. Surcharge to be raised from 12% to 15% on persons having income above 1 crore.
      17. New Dispute Resolution Scheme to be introduced. No penalty in respect of cases with disputed tax up to 10 lakh. Cases with disputed tax over 10 lakh to be subjected to 25% of minimum of imposable penalty.
      18. Penalty rates to be 50% of tax in case of underreporting of income and 200% of tax where there is misreporting of facts.
      19. 13 cesses, levied by various Ministries in which revenue collection is less than ` 50 crore in a year to be abolished.
      20. What Will be Costlier -
        1. Cigarettes - Excise duty increased by 10-15%
        2. Branded retail garment - 6% excise on price more than Rs.1,000.
        3. Cars - For cars of over 10 Lakh, 1% tax on gasoline engines, 2.5% tax on diesel and 4% tax on high engine-capacity and sports utility vehicles.
        4. Imitation jewellery - Basic customs duty increased from 10% to 15%.
        5. Mobile phones and accessories - exemption from basic customs duty, CV (countervailing) duty and SAD is being withdrawn. CV duty is imposed at 12.5% and SAD at 4%.
      21. What will be Cheaper
        1. Refrigerators - Basic customs duty on refrigerated containers being reduced 10% to 5% and excise duty reduced 12.5% to 6%.
        2. Solar lamps - Exempt from excise duty from 12.5% earlier.
        3. Perfumes and deodorants
    13. Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare -
      1. Total Allocation - 35984 Crores
      2. Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana to cover 28.5 lakh hectares
      3. Long Term Irrigation Fund to be created in NABARD with initial corpus of 20,000 crores
      4. Programme for sustainable management of ground water resources with cost of 6,000 crore to be implemented through 3 multilateral funding
      5. To reduce burden of loan repayment on farmers, 15,000 crores alotted towards interest subvention.
      6. Prime Minister Fasal Bima Yojana - 5,500 crore
      7. 850 crore dairying projects - Pashudhan Sanjivani, Nakul Swasthya Patra, ‘E-Pashudhan Haat and National Genomic Centre for indigenous breeds
      8. Aim to double Farmers' earnings in 5 years.
      9. Agriculture credit target is 9 Lakh Crore for 2016-17
    14. Rural Sector
      1. 2.87 lakh crore as Aid to Gram Panchayats and Municipalities as per recommendations of 14th Finance Commission
      2. Allocation for rural sector - 87,765 crore
      3. Distressed Blocks to be takedn up under Deen Dayal Antyodaya Mission
      4. 100% village electrification by 1st May, 2018.
      5. New scheme Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan proposed with allocation of 655 crore.
    15. Social Sector and Health Care -
      1. Allocation for social sector including education and health care – 1,51,581 crore.
      2. 2,000 crore for providing LPG connections to BPL families.
      3. New health protection scheme will provide health cover up to One lakh per family. For senior citizens an additional package up to 30,000 will be provided.
      4. 3,000 Stores under Prime Minister’s Jan Aushadhi Yojana will be opened during 2016-17.
      5. Stand Up India Scheme to facilitate at least 2 projects per bank branch, to benefit min 2.5 lakh entrepreneurs.
      6. Allocation of 100 crore each for celebrating Birth Centenary of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay and 350th Birth Anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh
    16. Education, Skills and Job Creation
      1. 62 new Navodaya Vidyalayas will be opened
      2. Higher Education Financing Agency to be set-up with initial capital base of 1000 Crores
      3. Government will pay 8.33% for of all new employees enrolling in EPFO for first 3 years of employment. Budget provision of 1000 crore for this scheme.
      4. 1500 Multi Skill Training Institutes to be set-up
      5. 1804 Crores alloted for skill development.
      6. Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) will be created to empower Higher Educational Institutions so that they become world class. It will be set up an initial capital base of 1000 crore rupees.
      7. Digital Literacy Mission Scheme to be launched to spread digital literacy in rural India. It is in addition to existing National Digital Literacy Mission and Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (DISHA) and will cover 6 crore households by the end of 2018-19.
    17. Transport and Infrastructure -
      1. Total investment in road sector including PMGSY is 97,000 crore during 2016-17. Total outlay for infrastructure is 2,21,246 crore.
      2. 100% FDI through FIPB route in marketing of food products manufactured in India.
      3. Govt plans to revive 160 airports; each to cost Rs 50-100 cr.
    18. Financial Reforms
      1. Amendments in SARFAESI Act 2002 (Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest ) to enable sponsor of an ARC (Asset Reconstruction Company) to hold up to 100% stake in ARC and permit non institutional investors to invest in Securitization Receipts.
      2. Allocation of 25,000 crore for recapitalisation of Public Sector Banks.
      3. Target of amount sanctioned under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana increased to 1,80,000 crore.
      4. General Insurance Companies owned by Government to be listed in stock exchanges.
      5. Impose tax at time of withdrawal on 60% of contributions made after April 1, 2016, to EPF and other schemes. At present, social security schemes of EPFO are tax free. Withdrawal from NPS corpus of up to 40% at the time of retirement has been made tax exempt.
      6. Raise exemption limit from Rs 1 to 1.5 lakh for annual contribution in superannuation fund and non-levy on taxes upon death of an employee under NPS.
      7. 100% deduction for profits of a housing project for flats upto 30 sq. metres in four metro cities and 60 sq. metres in other cities, approved during June 2016 to March 2019.
      8. First-time home buyers will get a deduction of an additional interest of Rs 50,000 per annum for loan upto Rs 35 lakh, during 2016-17, provided the house value does not exceed Rs 50 lakh.
    19. Ease of Doing Business
      1. Bill for Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services by using the Aadhar framework to be introduced, it will provide Aadhaar a legal tag for Larger Role.
      2. Price Stabilisation Fund with of 900 crores to help maintain stable prices of Pulses.
      3. Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat programme to link States and Districts in an annual programme that connects people through exchanges in language, trade, culture, travel and tourism.
  2319. Per capita income of India at current prices for 2015-16 is Rs.93,231, as compated to Rs 86,879 in 2014-15.
  2320. Ramendra Kumar and Gurudas Dasgupta re-elected as President and General Secretary respectively of the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC). 
  2321. Government appointed a one person committee under Kamlesh Chandra, Retired Member of Postal Services Board, to Review Wage Structure of Gramin Dak Sevaks.
  2322. Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria appointed as Deputy Chief of Air Staff of Indian Air Force.
  2323. India signed an agreement with World bank for IDA assistance of US$ 50 million for Nai Manzil- Education and Skills Training for Minorities programme. Total project budget is 100 million USD.
  2324. Ministry of Home Affairs enhanced honorarium of Special Police Officers (SPOs) of Jammu and Kashmir to 6000 from Rs. 3000 per month. The honorarium is given by State Government and reimbursed by Central Government under Security Related Expenditure (SRE) scheme.
  2325. A Pakistani Artist, Adnan Sami has been presented with Certificate of Naturalization by Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri Kiren Rijiju. It grants Adnan with the citizenship of India.
  2326. Ministry of information and broadcasting constituted a committee under noted film-maker Shyam Benegal to suggest measures to revamp workings of Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) in line with best practices followed globally.
  2327. PM Narendra Modi inaugurated 21st International Conference on Frontiers in Yoga Research and its applications (INCOFYRA) at Jigani (Bengaluru).
  2328. BCCI Awards 2014-2015
    1. C.K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement -Syed Mujtaba Hussain Kirmani
    2. Polly Umrigar Award - Virat Kohli (Cricketer of The Year)
    3. A. Chidambaram Trophy for Best Cricketer - Almas Shaukat (Under-23), Anmolpreet Singh (Under 19), Shubman Gill (Under 16)
    4. A. Chidambaram Trophy Best Woman Cricketer: Mithali Raj (Sr), Devika Vaidya (jr)
    5. Lala Amarnath Award for Best all-rounder - Jalaj Saxena (Ranji Trophy), Deepak Hooda (Domestic Limited-Overs)
    6. Madhavrao Scindia Award Highest Scorer in Ranji Trophy - Robin Uthappa (Karnataka)
    7. Madhavrao Scindia Award Highest Wicket-Taker in Ranji Trophy - R Vinaykumar, Shardul Thakur
    8. Best Umpire In Domestic - O Nandan
    9. Best Overall Performance - Karnataka State Cricket Association
  2329. Indian-origin cancer research expert Harpal Singh Kumar has been honoured with Knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II for his influential work on prevention and treatment of cancer.
  2330. Indias gas importer Petronet LNG signed a contract with RasGas of Qatar to import gas at significantly lower price (6-7 dollar per million British thermal units (mmBtu) ) than earlier (12-13 dollar mmBtu). Under the contract, Rasgas will supply 7.5 million tonnes of LNG to India until April 2028.
  2331. India and Pakistan exchanged list of nuclear installations under Agreement on Prohibition of Attack against Nuclear installations. This exchange is done on 1st of January every year. It was 25th such exchange, starting in 1992.
  2332. India won 2015 South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) championship for record seventh time. In finals played at Thiruvanantapuram (Kerala), India defeated Afghanistan by 2-1 score.
  2333. Government will start LPG - like Direct Benefit Transfer scheme for kerosene from 1st April 2016, Initially in 26 districts of eight states. Under the scheme, People will buy kerosene at market rate and will get subsidy directly in their bank accounts. Subsidy paid will be difference between Public Distribution System (PDS) price and market rate of kerosene.
  2334. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Hyderabad-based National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) for web-based monitoring of watershed projects.
    1. Web-based monitoring will be undertaken for India-German Watershed Development (IGWDP) projects in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Telangana.
    2. NRSC will create a page for NABARD on Bhuvan web-portal and will develop software tools for real time monitoring of projects.
  2335. India's mountaineer Arunima Sinha successfully scaled Mount Aconcagua in Argentina as 5th successful summit of her Mission 7 Summits. She became First Female amputee in world to climb 5 highest Mountains of the World. Mt. Aconcagua (6,960.8 metres) is highest mountain outside Asia.
  2336. Noted Classical vocalist Sanjay Subrahmanyam has been conferred with prestigious 2015 Sangita Kalanidhi award by Madras Music Academy in Chennai.
  2337. Ilaiyaraja has been selected for Kerala Tourism’s Nishagandhi Puraskaram 2016. Award carries Rs 150000, citation and a statuette.
  2338. Noted Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Ardhendu Bhushan Bardhan passed away.
  2339. German - American software engineer Ian Murdock passed away. He was founder of Debian GNU/Linux distribution project, one of Linux’s most popular open-source operating systems.
  2340. Presdent Pranab Mukherjee given assent to five key bills -
    1. Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act, 2015 - Facilitates an arbitrator will have to settle a case within 18 months.
    2. Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015 - Aims to prohibit commission of offences against members of SCs and STs and establishing special courts for trial cases of such offences.
    3. Atomic Energy (Amendment) Act, 2015 - It will allow Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) to have joint ventures with other public sector undertakings in nuclear field.
    4. Payment of Bonus (Amendment) Act, 2015 - Enhances monthly bonus calculation ceiling to Rs. 7,000 per month from Rs. 3,500. It also enhances eligibility limit for payment of bonus from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 21,000 per month.
    5. Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts Act, 2015 - It enables setting up commercial benches in select high courts.
  2341. India asked Iran for early completion all necessary procedures for India's participation in $5 billion Farzad-B gas field project, during Iranian Finance Minister Ali Taiebnia's Visit to India.
  2342. Paris based Reporters Without Borders (RWB) stated that India is Asias deadliest country for journalists. Out of 110 journalist dying in 2015, 9 were Indians.
  2343. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) suspended its InSight Mars mission due to vacuum leak in critical seismometer instrument. It was scheduled to lift off in March 2016.
  2344. D.K.Hota to be new CMD of defence PSU BEML (Bharat Earth Movers Limited).
  2345. Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin became No. 1 Test bowler in latest ICC Rankings.
  2346. Magnus Carlsen (Norway) won Qatar Masters Open chess tournament.
  2347. RBI asked Banks to open more branches in villages with no banking facilities and population over 5000.
  2348. Telangana become first state to accept e-motor insurance policies (e-Vahan Bima).
  2349. According to the 2011 census, Sikh community have lowest sex ratio with 828 girls on every 1000 boys in age of 0 - 6 years. Jains have second worst sex ratio (889), followed by Hindu (913), Muslim (943) and Christians (958). Overall child sex ratio in country was 918 girls against 1,000 boys.
  2350. Jetha Bharwad elected as first Vice-Chairman of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) that sells its dairy products under brand name Amul.
  2351. PM Narendra Modi inaugurated five-day 103rd Indian Science Congress (January 3 to 7, 2016) in Mysore (Karnataka) Theme of ISC 2016 is Science and Technology for Indigenous Development in India.
  2352. Atul Sobti took charge as CMD of Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) for a period of five years.
  2353. Javed Ahmed appointed as Director General of Police (DGP) of Uttar Pradesh.
  2354. Four States - Uttar Pradesh , Bihar , Odisha and Maharashtra joined UDAY (Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana). So far, 15 States /UTs have voluntarily joined UDAY which covers 90 % of total debt of Discoms.
  2355. IT Firm Wipro appointed Abid Ali Z. Neemuchwala as new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and T K Kurien elevated as Vice Chairman.
  2356. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed penalty of 1 crore on State Bank of Travancore for violation of RBI Norms.
  2357. Friendship bus service between India and Nepal flagged off via Uttarakhand after a gap of 27 years.
  2358. Justice RM Lodha Committee submitted its report to Supreme Court suggesting reforms in Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
    1. No Minister or government servant should become a BCCI office-bearer.
    2. BCCI officers' term should not exceed more than two consecutive terms and no one will hold more than two posts at the same time.
    3. One association from each state should be a member of the BCCI.
    4. Members like Railways and Services who don't have competitive presence should be relegated to affiliate status without voting rights.
    5. A steering committee headed by G K Pillai with Mohinder Amarnath, Diana Eduljee and Anil Kumble as members should be created to decide on creating a Players' association.
    6. Management of the BCCI should be conducted by a CEO, who should be assisted by six managers.
    7. Creation of 3 Committees for smooth functioning of BCCI - Ombudsman, Ethics Officer and Electoral Officer.
  2359. Andhra Pradesh government launched Janma Bhoomi – Maa Vooru (My native place – My village) campaign to focus on welfare schemes across the state.
  2360. Tamil Nadu government launched Amma Seeds scheme to provide certified quality seeds to farmers to increase agricultural production.
  2361. Paytm acquired Shifu for $8 million (about 50 crore) to offer more personalised user experience. Shifu is a context-aware personal assistant application. It mines smartphone usage patterns and makes personalised recommendations.
  2362. India successfully test-fired Pinaka II multi barrel rocket launcher (MBRL) System at Pokhran in Rajasthan. Pinaka is an unguided rocket system capable of neutralising large areas with rapid salvos. Range of Pinaka II is 60 km.
  2363. Indian consulate in Afghanistan city of Mazar-i-Sharif attacked by unidentified gunmen.
  2364. LIC is offering a new limited-premium non-linked and with-profit endowment assurance plan Jeevan Labh from ages 8 to 59 years. Premium is payable for a limited period while risk is covered for whole policy term. Plan is available. Maximum age at maturity is 75 years.
  2365. Pakistani Terrorists attacked IAF Airbase at Pathankot (Punjab).
  2366. England's cricketer Matthew Hobden passed away.
  2367. Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal announced setting up of CCL (Central Coalfields Limited) Sports University in Jharkhand with capacity of 1400 students and 15 sports academies.
  2368. 4 January - World Braille Day. Marks birth anniversary of Louis Braille (04-01-1809).
  2369. Central Government, Jharkhand state Government and JBVNL (Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) under the UDAY (Ujjwal Discom Assurance Yojana) Scheme. It is First MOU Signed under UDAY.
  2370. Former Chief Justice of India Sarosh Homi Kapadia passed away.
  2371. Friends of Marine Life (FML) NGO Workers discovered fast-growing alien species Snowflake Coral (Carijoa riisei) off coast of Thiruvananthpuram and Kanyakumari.
  2372. Denmark's pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk appointed Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar as brand ambassador for disease awareness campaign 'Changing Diabetes' initiated by Novo Nordisk in India.
  2373. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) won 26th Lal Bahadur Shastri Hockey tournament by defeating Indian Railways.
  2374. Filippo Grandi (Italy) has been appointed as UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
  2375. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) announced discovery of synthetic elements with atomic numbers 113, 115, 117 and 118. These eleents complete 7th row of periodic table. IUPAC has invited suggestions related to permanent names and symbols from scientists who discovered these.Temporary Naming of elements is -
    1. Element 113 - Temporary working name - ununtrium, Symbol - Uut
    2. Element 115 - Temporary working name - ununpentium, Symbol - Uup
    3. Element 117 - Temporary working name - ununseptium, Symbol - Uus
    4. Element 118 - Temporary working name - ununoctium, Symbol - Uuo
  2376. State election commission of Bihar announced that having toilets at home for all candidates to contest in panchayat elections.
  2377. Union Ministry of Shipping will launch River Information System (RIS) for Inland Waterways to improve navigation as government is set to expand the network across the country through National Waterways Bill, 2015.
  2378. Mary Barra elected as Chairman of General Motors (GM) Board of Directors.
  2379. Nokia Corporation completed acquiring French telecom equipment company Alca-Lucent for 15.6 billion euros.
  2380. Professional networking platform LinkedIn appointed Akshay Kothari as Country Manager for India.
  2381. Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das inaugurated state's land bank web portal, jharbhoom.nic.in, that will help investors know land-related information.
  2382. Sterlite Grid commissioned Transmission Project to Rajasthan Atomic Power Project (RAPP) ahead of schedule under Tariff Based Competitive Bidding (TBCB) incentive regime.  RAPP is first power transmission line to be been commissioned ahead of schedule since implementation of TBCB scheme.
  2383. Supreme Court directed Gujarat government to make functional the Gujarat State Cooperative Tribunal by filling up vacant posts.
  2384. Costa Book Awards 2015 -
    1. First Novel Award - The Loney by Andrew Michael Hurley
    2. Novel Award - A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson
    3. Biography - The Invention of Nature: The Adventures of Alexander Von Humboldt, The Lost Hero of Science by Andrea Wulf
    4. Poetry - 40 Sonnets by Don Paterson
    5. Children's Book - The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge
  2385. IRB Infrastructure Developers got tender for 10050 crore Zojila Pass tunnel road project in Jammu and Kashmir. This tunnel project is countrys biggest road project by cost. Zojila Pass tunnel (14.08 KM) will be longest in South Asia once completed. Presently, Chenani-Nashri tunnel (9 km) is countrys longest road tunnel.
  2386. Ministry of Road Transport & Highways decided to skip BS V Emission Norms and upgrade from BS-IV to BS-VI emission norms directly by 01-04-2020.
  2387. Government approved India-Bahrain Agreement on Cooperation in Combating Terrorism and Trafficking in Illicit Drugs, Narcotic and Psychotropic Substances and Precursors Chemicals.
  2388. Government approved creation of a Credit Guarantee Fund for Micro Units Development Refinance Agency (MUDRA) loans and to convert MUDRA Ltd. into MUDRA Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) Bank as a wholly owned subsidiary of SIDBI. The Fund is expected to guarantee more than Rs 1,00,000 crore worth of loans to micro and small units in the first instance.
  2389. Government approved "Stand Up India" scheme to foster entrepreneurship among 250,000 women and scheduled castes and tribes people, with a corpus of Rs.10,000 crore, and extend loans up to Rs.1 crore for new projects.
  2390. Government approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Civil Aviation with Singapore.
  2391. Competition Commission of India approved Reliance Capital Asset Management's takeover of Goldman Sachss mutual funds and exchange-traded funds business in India for 7132 crore rupees.
  2392. Government launched Ganga Gram Yojana to develop 1600 villages in Uttar Pradesh (UP) situated along banks of Ganga River.
  2393. Government approved Memorandum of Understanding with Bangladesh for Mode of Operation of Border haats on India-Bangladesh Border signed in 2010.
  2394. Government approved 33 % posts of Constables for women in Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) to enhance their representation.
  2395. Government abolished export duty on iron ore pellets to make it more competitive amid weakening prices due to subdued demand.
  2396. 15-year-old cricketer Pranav Dhanawade created world record by scoring 1009 runs (not out) in HT Bhandari Cup, an under-16 inter-school tournament in Mumbai (Maharashtra).
  2397. Andhra Bank launched Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) at all its branches across to provide inter-bank electronic fund transfer service.
  2398. Book Jinnah Often Came To Our House, written by Kiran Doshi has been released.
  2399. Forty-five Indian - origin people named in Forbes' annual list of global achievers under age of 30, out of total 600 names.
  2400. Australia withdrew from Under-19 Cricket World Cup Tournament to be held in Bangladesh due to security reasons.
  2401. Wayne Rooney has been voted 2015 England Player of the Year for fourth time.
  2402. Book Go Set a Watchman written by Harper Lee topped 2015 US bestseller list with Around 1.6 million copies sold.
  2403. World's largest blue star sapphire that weighs 1404.49 carats has been discovered in a mine in Sri Lanka. It is worth 100 million USD.
  2404. Indian shooter Apurvi Chandela broke world record (score 211.2) as she won gold in the women's 10 metre air rifle event at Swedish Cup Grand Prix.
  2405. Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed Passed Away.
  2406. INS Kadmatt, second ship of Project Kamorta class Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Corvettes has been commissioned into Indian Navy.
  2407. For the first time in history of India's Republic Day parade, a contingent of 130 French soldiers will march down the Rajpath along with Indian troops in presence of France's President Francoise Hollande who will be chief guest this year.
  2408. Amitabh Kant appointed as CEO of NITI Aayog.
  2409. Shri Sailesh has been appointed as Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.
  2410. 24th New Delhi World Book Fair started with China as Guest of Honour country. Theme is Vivid Bharat – Diverse India.
  2411. Book MARU BHARAT SARU BHARAT (My India Noble India ) written by Jain Acharya Ratnasundersuriswarji Maharaj has been released.
  2412. Noted Gujarati writer and poet Labhshankar Thakar passed away.
  2413. Sam Pitroda has been appointed as Technology Advisor to Odisha Government.
  2414. ICICI Bank partnered with FINO PayTech to foray into payments bank space.
    1. FINO Paytech is among 10 entities that have received licence from RBI to start a payment bank.
    2. ICICI Group purchased about 16 % stake in FINO PayTech.
    3. Tie-up with ICICI Bank will help FINO to extend services which a payments bank is not allowed to offer.
  2415. India - France Joint military exercise Shakti-2016 began in Rajasthan.
  2416. Government decided to merge Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs with Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), to avoid duplication of work and improve efficiency.
  2417. Government appointed Devender Kumar Sikri as Chairman of Competition Commission of India (CCI).
  2418. Government reappointed Urjit Patel as Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for a second three-year term.
  2419. Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan has been conferred with Central Banker of the Year Award (Global and Asia Pacific) 2016 by The Banker, a monthly publication of Financial Times Group.
  2420. 2016 Brisbane International Tennis -
    1. Men's Singles - Milos Raonic (Canada)
    2. Women's Singles - Victoria Azarenka (Belarus)
    3. Men's Doubles - Henri Kontinen (Finland ) / John Peers (Australia)
    4. Women's Doubles - Martina Hingis (Switzerland ) / Sania Mirza (India)
  2421. Global Economic Prospect report by World Bank -
    1. India's Growth Rate in 2016 will be 7.8 % and 7.9 % in 2017 and 2018. Also, Failure to pass Goods and Services Tax bill may hamper governments ability to increase infrastructure spending.
    2. China will grow at 6.7 % in 2016 and 6.5 % in 2017 and 2018.
    3. South Asia Region will be a bright spot in developing economies with growth rate up to 7.3 % in 2016
  2422. Telangana government started 600 MW Kakatiya thermal power plant Stage-II at Bhoopalapally in Warangal district. It is first major power plant to be commissioned i Telangana after State's formation in June 2014.
  2423. Noted poet Balkrishna Garg has been honoured with second Harikrishna Devsare Baalsahitya Award 2015 for his collection of poems for children - BaalGeet.
  2424. Government permitted jallikattu, Tamil Nadus traditional bull-taming sport, ahead of the Pongal festival. It was prohibited in 2011.
  2425. World's first slum museum will be set up in Mumbai. It will showcase some of myriad of objects produced in Dharavi (Mumbai), one of Asia’s biggest slums.
  2426. According to Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings, Indian Siril Verma is been ranked as World No. 1 in junior men's singles category.
  2427. Achyuta Samanta is appointed as President of the 105th Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA) for 2017-18.
  2428. According to international real estate consultant JLL - Delhi and Mumbai are among world's top 30 most powerful, productive and connected cities. Mumbai is ranked 22nd while Delhi is 24th. List is topped by Tokyo (Japan).
  2429. Industry body Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) appointed Kunal Shah(FreeCharge co-founder) as its chairman.
  2430. Pavan Kapoor is appointed as India's ambassador to Israel.
  2431. AB Khare is appointed as Chairman and Managing Director of Madras Fertilzers Limited.
  2432. Cab aggregator Uber started a new partnership 'uberExchange' with Invest India to provide mentorship for Indian entrepreneurs.
  2433. Kerala Government approved implementation of Sampoorna Arogya Keralam Project with objective of bringing together major health services initiated by Keralas Government.
  2434. National Academy of Sciences of India will set up a Cauvery river gallery in Mysuru (Karnataka).
  2435. Quikr acquired property search website Commonfloor.com for an undisclosed amount.
  2436. North Korea claimed to have successfully tested a Hydrogen bomb (kind of a Nuclear Bomb). The strong explosion caused earthquake measuring about 5.1 on richter scale.
  2437. International electronics and technology trade show Consumer Electronics Show (CES) That brings together renowned companies and industry professionals under one roof, held in Nevada (USA).
  2438. International Short Film Festival srarted in Warangal (Telangana).
  2439. ISRO chairman A.S. Kiran Kumar received Reva University's Lifetime Achievement Award.
  2440. Bhanumurthy B M is appointed as chief operating officer (COO) of WIPRO.
  2441. Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas launched an online initiative to seek suggestions from LPG consumers, which will help in providing efficient and friendly service.
  2442. Israeli journalist Gideon Levy and Palestinian pastor Mitri Raheb won 2015 Olof Palme human rights prize for their fight against occupation and violence.
  2443. 10 Jan - 11th World Hindi Day.
  2444. Jin Liqun, President Designate of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (Headquarters - Beijing(China)) visited India.
  2445. Government approved New crop Insurance scheme - Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, aimed at farmers welfare.
    1. There will be a uniform premium of 2% to be paid by farmers for all Kharif crops, 1.5% for Rabi crops and 5 % for commercial and horticultural crops.
    2. There is no upper limit on Government subsidy and no capping on premium rate like it was before.
  2446. Government approved India becoming a member country of International Energy Agency - Ocean Energy Systems (IEA-OES). This will help in testing Indian prototypes as per international requirements and norms.
    1. Its an Inter-governmental organization established in 1974 as per framework of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Presently has 29 member countries with Headquarters in Paris (France).
  2447. Government approved setting up an Empowered Committee of Secretaries under Chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary in order to process recommendations of 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC) in an overall perspective.
  2448. Government approved Memorandum of Understanding with Maldives for cooperation in field of Health.
  2449. India signed a loan agreement of about Rs. 1000 crore with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for pollution abatement of River Mula-Mutha in Pune under National River Conservation Plan (NRCP). Interest rate is 0.30% per annum.
  2450. Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Motoo Hayashi visited India for participating in 8th India-Japan Energy Dialogue.
  2451. NHAI signed Memorandum of Understanding with National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) under Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and North East Centre for Technology Application and Research (NECTAR) for use of spatial technology for monitoring and managing National Highways.
  2452. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASAs) Kepler spacecraft discovered over 100 planets orbiting other stars.
  2453. Telangana beceme first State to introduce compulsory gender education at the graduate level. State government introduced bilingual textbook Towards a World of Equals in this regard.
  2454. Noted Hindi writer and journalist Ravindra Kalia passed away.
  2455. Central Institute for Research on Buffaloes (Hisar, Haryana) Scientists successfully produced a cloned buffalo offspring named Cirb Gaurav. CIRB became India's second (after National Dairy Research Institute) and world's third institute to produce cloned buffalo.
  2456. Stanislas Wawrinka (Switzerland) won 2016 Chennai Open tennis by defeating Borna Coric (Croatia). Its his 4th chennai open win.
  2457. E-commerce firm Flipkart appointed co-founder Binny Bansal as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) while formr CEO Sachin Bansal will be appointed as Executive Chairman.
  2458. 73rd Golden Globe Awards -
    1. The Revenant won 3 awards while The Martian and Steve Jobs won 2 awards each.
    2. Picture (Drama) - The Revenant
    3. Picture (Musical/Comedy) - The Martian
    4. Director(Drama): Alejandro Inarritu (The Revenant).
    5. Actor (Drama) - Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)
    6. Actress (Drama) - Brie Larson (Room)
    7. Actor (Musical / Comedy) - Matt Damon (The Martian)
    8. Actress (Musical / Comedy) - Jennifer Lawrence (Joy)
    9. Actor in a Supporting role - Sylvester Stallone (Creed)
    10. Actress in a Supporting role - Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs)
    11. Original Score - Ennio Morricone (The Hateful Eight)
    12. Foreign Language Film - Son of Saul (Hungary)
  2459. Noted Musician David Bowie (USA) passed away.
  2460. Jacob-Farj-Rafael Jacob passed away. He was vital in Indias victory in 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.
  2461. The first female F1 (Formula One) driver Maria Teresa de Filippis (Italy) passed away.
  2462. Kerala become first state to achieve 100 % primary education. Kerala was able to achieve it through its flagship primary education equivalency drive Athulyam Scheme.
  2463. World Health Organization declared end of Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa.
  2464. Indias grid-connected solar power generation capacity crossed 5,000 Mega Watt.
    1. Government plans to achieve 175 Giga Watt (GW) of power generation capacity from renewable sources by 2022. It includes 100 GW from solar and 60 GW from wind.
    2. Under National Solar Mission, Government increased solar power generation capacity target from 20,000 MW to 100 GW by 2022.
    3. Top grid-connected states are Rajasthan (1,264.35 MW) and Gujarat (1,024.15 MW).
  2465. State Bank of India launched dedicated specialized branch for start-ups called SBI InCube in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
  2466. 15th Joint exercise of Indian and Japanese Coast Guards - Sahayog-Kaijin 2016 started in Bay of Bengal.
  2467. President Pranab Mukherjee approved Sugar Cess (Amendment) Bill 2015 to raise the ceiling of a cess as an excise duty on the production of sugar. The Bill proposes to increase ceiling of sugar to Rs 200 per quintal from existing Rs 25 per quintal specified in principal Sugar Cess Act 1982.
  2468. Chinas country code domain .cn become worlds most commonly used in internet by surpassing Germanys .dedomain. According to the data by China Internet Network Information Centre (CNNIC) - .Cn had 1.63 crore users.
  2469. Asia's oldest stock exchange - BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange) will get its own postage stamp. BSE recently became fastest stock exchange clocking a median trade speed of six micro seconds.
  2470. Nati folk dance of Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh named in Guinness World Records Book as the largest folk dance in world. Kullu Dussehra is a centuries-old festival, dedicated to the girl child. In colourful Kullu folk dance (Nati), 20000 dancers performed at Dhalpur ground during Kullu Dussehra festival on October 26, 2015.
  2471. 20th National Youth Festival organized in Naya Raipur (Chhattisgarh) with mascot being state animal of Chhattisgarh - Wild Buffalo.
  2472. Vijay Chaudhari won 59th Maharashtra Kesri Wrestling Championship.
  2473. Argentina's Lionel Messi won 2015 Ballon dOr award for worlds best football player for record fifth time. USAs Carli Lloyd won women's world player of the year award.
  2474. Government constituted a committee under Arvind Panagariya (vice-chairman of NITI Aayog) to faten the implementation of Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail Corridor meant for bullet trains between Mumbai-Ahmedabad.
  2475. 12 Jan - Birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda. It is celebrated as National Youth Day in India.
  2476. Andhra Pradesh government organised Flamingo Festival from 9-10 January, 2016, to create awareness on conservation of these rare species.
  2477. Australia Green won Hopman Cup 28th edition by defeatig Ukraine in Australia.
  2478. Border Security Force launched Operation Cold along border in Rajasthan;s several areas with Pakistan to contain any infiltration in fog and cold wave weather conditions in western desert.
  2479. Employees' Provident Fund Organisation won National Award on e-Governance 2015-16 for launching Universal Account Number (UAN).
  2480. Nagjee International Club Football Tournament will be held in Kerala in February 2016. Brazil's Ronaldinho Gaucho will be its Brand Ambassador.
  2481. Mohammedan Football Club bestowed life-time membership to Actor Amitabh Bachchan. It is one of oldest and leading football clubs in India.
  2482. Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mohammed Mahmood Ali received World Peace and Prosperity Foundation Award 2016 from World Peace and Prosperity Foundation (London).
  2483. A T Kearneys 2016 Global Services Location Index rated India as top outsourcing destination in terms of financial attractiveness and business environment, out of 55 countries analysed. India is followed by China and Malaysia.
  2484. Illumina, world's largest DNA sequencing company launched GRAIL to develop blood-based cancer tests.
  2485. Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited signed Memorandum of Understanding with Andhra Pradesh government for investment of 38500 crore rupees to take up various projects at Visakhapatnam. It was signed during 22nd Confederate of Indian Industry (CII) Partnership Summit in Vishakhapatnam.
  2486. Airbus Group appointed Ashish Saraf as Vice-President (Industry Development, Strategic Partnerships and Offsets). He will look over Group's existing Make in India initiatives.
  2487. Organised by the Pune Construction Engineering Research Foundation (PCERF), 2016's Constro exhibition held in Pune with focus on Smart City concept.
  2488. Asian Development Bank will extend a $625 million loan for proposed $840 million Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor.
  2489. Railways inaugurated E-enabled Track Management System (TMS) and Mobile Application of TMS to bring efficiency in handling huge volumes of data statistics and dynamic analysis of various resources. Track Inventory Management System was also launched on Northern Railway to track materials inventory, construction and track machines organization in 225 units of Northern Railway.
  2490. Book Jawaharlal Nehru and The Indian Polity in Perspective, edited by Prof Alexander with contributions from several eminent persons. It was released by Vice President Hamid Ansari.
  2491. Chinese technology company Lenovo announced partnership with Google for project Tango. Lenovo will launch new smartphones that can map Physical world surroundings without external signals like satellite-based global positioning system (GPS). Googles Project Tango gives a mobile device the ability to navigate physical world, similar to humans.
  2492. Conference of Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) on Afghan Peace and Reconciliation process was held in Islamabad (Pakistan).
  2493. Reliance Defence Limited will set up a world class naval facility in Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) with Initial investment of 5000 crore rupees.
  2494. Prestigious Yale School of Management (USA) named its deanship in honour of PepsiCos India-born CEO Indra Nooyi as she gifted undisclosed amount to her alma mater (Yale School of Management).
  2495. Sikkim become India's first fully organic state by converting around 75,000 hectares of agricultural land into sustainable cultivation.
  2496. R Shivakumar appointed as Chairman of Assocham Karnataka Regional Council, new regional outfit of Assocham.
  2497. Subhashini Vasanth honoured with Neerja Bhanot Award for her endeavour to help people in distress and for empowering widows of martyrs and their families.
  2498. Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar launched two safety and awareness initiatives by Mumbai Railway Police - SAMEEP (Safety Alert Messages Exclusively For Passengers) and B-SAFE.
  2499. 11-year-old Indian-origin girl in UK, Kashmea Wahi achieved top possible score of 162 on a IQ test of Mensa. It has put her in league of scientists like Albert Einstein and Steven Hawking.
  2500. Indian Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar visited Sri Lanka.
  2501. A new social security agreement signed between India and Australia came into operation, enabling people of both nations to avail retirement benefits in each others country.
  2502. Walid Muallem, Syria's foreign minister Visited India.
  2503. As per a decision by NTPC and Odisha Pollution Control Board, Thermal Power companies in Odisha will have to transport fly ash free of cost to road construction site within 100 kms perimeter of their plant.
  2504. Philippines' Miguel Tabuena voted as Hilton Asian Tour Golfer of Month for December 2015.
  2505. South Korea's Parliament adopted a resolution, denouncing Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea)'s fourth nuclear test and urging DPRK to dismantle its nuclear programme.
  2506. Maharashtra Government issued norms for erecting memorials of national leaders, freedom fighters and politicians. The guidelines say that There will not be more than 2 memorials of a national leader in the state, both in 2 separate administrative divisions.
  2507. Kenya published new broadcast regulations that place strict limits on sexual content, In order to protect children.
  2508. Paul Kaba Thieba is named as Prime Minister of Burkina Faso.
  2509. International team of scientists led by Indian-American Sukanya Chakrabarti devised a new method - galactoseismology, to detect dwarf galaxies dominated by dark matter.
  2510. United States and Jordan signed a Joint Action Plan to improve efforts against nuclear and radiological smuggling.
  2511. U.S. India Business Council (USIBC) selected Edward Monser and Punit Renjen as Council board members.
  2512. Minister for Fertilizers and Chemicals Ananth Kumar announced sanction of greenfield petrochemical complex, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) in Visakhapatnam and a Central Institute of Plastics Engineering & Technology (CIPET) in Vijayawada.
  2513. Nepal elected to UNICEF executive board, representing group of Asia-Pacific countries for 2016-2018. Nepal's Permanent Representative to United Nations (UN), Durga Prasad Bhattarai elected as vice-president to Bureau of Executive Board of UNICEF for 2016.
  2514. Kayaker Rene Holten Poulsen named as Denmarks sportsperson of the year 2015.
  2515. Defence Acquisition Council approved major changes in new Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) 2016.
    1. It allows government funds up to 90 % of development costs to private companies to push research and innovation.
    2. A new category will be created to promote domestic manufacturing and it will be mandatory for 40 % of content to be sourced locally.
    3. Validity of Acceptance of Necessity has been brought down to six months from earlier one year. It will help the defence forces to issue tenders faster.
  2516. Jharkhand government added ongoing crisis of drinking water in list of special local disasters of the State.
  2517. Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari inaugurated Mumbai Port Trust's second liquid chemical berth at Mumbai. Cargo handling capacity of the Port will increase by 2.5 MMT (Million Metric Tonnes) per annum.
  2518. 15 January - Indian Army Day. On this day in 1949, Lt. General Kodandera Madappa Cariappa became first Indian Commander-in-Chief of Indian Army (independent India) by succeeding British Army General Roy Butcher (last British Commander-in-Chief of India).
  2519. For speedy trial of cases relating to witchcraft incidents, Jharkhand Government decided to set up fast track courts in five districts.
  2520. Madhya Pradesh Government signed four MOUs with Singapore to collaborate in urban planning, skill development, clean energy and food processing.
  2521. Book Objective Railway Engineering- Track, Works & Others has been issued. It Has been written by MM Agarwal.
  2522. Russia's Marat Safin has been inducted into International Tennis Hall of Fame.
  2523. Nepal Government formed a 4-member eminent persons group to look into India-Nepal ties in totality and review all bilateral treaties with India.
  2524. Government signed a loan agreement with World Bank for Neeranchal National Watershed Project. Total budget of Project is 2142 crore rupees, of which 50 % will be povided by World Bank.
  2525. Noted Actors Kamal Hassan and Gautam Ghosh included in Shyam Benegal Committee on functioning of Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).
  2526. Prime Minister Narendra Modi conferred Times Now Amazing Indians Awards 2016 -

    Name

    Category

    Late Kallen Pokkudan

    The Eco Saviours

    S Ramakrishnan

    Unstoppable Indians

    Sunita Aralikar

    Stree Shakthi

    Popatrao Pawar

    The Grass Roots Soldiers

    Timothy

    Indian at Heart

    Chintakindi Mallesham

    Incredible Innovators

    Malavath Poorna

    Young Indians, Big Achievements

    Damini Sen

    Young Indians, Big Achievements

    Murugan S

    Ordinary Indians,Extraordinary Achievement

    Mathews K Mathew

     Energising India

    Yashraj Khaitan

     Global Indians

    Ruma Roka

     Educators of India

  2527. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) Report Trends in International Migrant Stock : The 2015 Revision -
    1. Number of international migrants reached 24.4 crore in 2015 (41 % increase compared to 2000).
    2. India has largest diaspora with 1.6 crore Indisna living outside India.
    3. 17.7 crore of 24.4 crore migrants are of working age (20 - 64), 2 crore migrants are refugees.
    4. In Europe, Northern America and Oceania, international migrants are over 10 % of population.
    5. In in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Caribbean, less than 2 % of population are migrants.
    6. USA has 19 % of all migrants, followed by Germany, Russia, Saudi Arabia, UK and UAE.
  2528. Railways Minsiter Suresh Prabhu Visited USA.
  2529. Government will introduce a new category of award - Most Film Friendly State/UT under National Film Awards to be conferred at the 63rd National Film Awards in May 2016.
  2530. Govrnment increased Rate of basic customs duty on certain specified medical devices from 5% to 7.5% along with additional customs duty on these medical devices being 4%. Basic customs duty is being reduced to 2.5%.
  2531. Government approved establishment of two National Centres of Ageing-one each at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, and Madras Medical College, Chennai.
  2532. Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) successfully launched PSLV-C31 carrying IRNSS-1E, Indias fifth navigation satellite out of seven satellites constituting India Regional Navigation Satellite System.
  2533. Book The Z Factor written by Subhash Chandra has been released.
  2534. Memorandum of Understanding signed between Indian Space Research Organization and Kuwait Institute of Scientific Research for cooperation in area of outer space.
  2535. Government approved Memorandum of Understanding with United Kingdom in field of Public Administration and Governance Reforms.
  2536. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved setting up over 5,000 MW of Grid-Connected Solar PV Power Projects on build under Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM). Total investments expected under this scheme is about Rs 30,000 crore.
  2537. India Signed Loan Agreement with World Bank for US$ 250 million aid for Bihar Kosi Basin Development Project.
  2538. India Signed Loan Agreement with World Bank for US$ 250 million aid for Jhelum and Tawi Flood Recovery Project.
  2539. Noted Indian classical dancer Mrinalini Sarabhai passed away.
  2540. Mr. Soomilduth Sunil Bholah, Minister of Business, Enterprises and Cooperatives of Mauritius Visited India for 1st Joint Committee Meeting with India. Mauritius exclusively offered Biofarming Technology to India.
  2541. Joint Navy Exercise Between India and Oman - NASEEM AL BAHR Started.
  2542. Atulesh Jindal is appointed as Chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).
  2543. Government launched skill development programme for Muslim girls in Jammu and Kashmir under its Nai Manzil initiative.
  2544. WTA Apia Internatioanl Title -
    1. Women's Doubles - Sania Mirza (India) and Martina Hingis (Switzerland)
    2. Men's Singles - Viktor Troicki
    3. Women's Singles - Svetlana Kuznetsova
  2545. 61st Britannia Filmfare Awards -
    1. Bajirao Mastani won most awards (8).
    2. Best Actor: Ranveer Singh (Bajirao Mastani)
    3. Best Actress: Deepika Padukone (Piku)
    4. Best Film: Bajirao Mastani
    5. Best Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali (Bajirao Mastani).
    6. Lifetime Achievement : Moushumi Chatterjee
    7. Best Debutant (Male): Sooraj Pancholi (Hero)
    8. Best Debutant (Female): Bhumi Pednekar (Dum Laga Ke Haisha)
    9. Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Female): Priyanka Chopra (Bajirao mastani)
    10. Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male): Anil kapoor (Dil Dhadakne Do)
    11. Best Singer (male): Arijit Singh (Sooraj dooba hai from ‘Roy’)
    12. Best Singer (female): Shreya Ghoshal (Deewani mastani from ‘Bajirao Mastani’)
    13. Best Choreography: Birju Maharaj (Bajirao Mastani)
  2546. Tsai Ing-wen has been elected as first female and 14th President of Taiwan.
  2547. Noted filmmaker Anil Ganguly passed away.
  2548. Madhya Pradesh won Union Government's Krishi Karman Award in maximum food grains production category for year 2014-15 for 4th consecutive year. MP produced 328 lakh tonnes foodgrains in 2013-14 period. Other winners are - Chhattisgarh(growth in production of pulses), West Bengal (good agriculture production), Odisha (best performing state in foodgrains production among category-II states).
  2549. Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) officially started in Beijing (China) with Total 57 member nations and 100 billion USD Capital -
    1. Lou Jiwei elected as first Chairman of Bank’s Council and Jin Liqun elected its first President.
    2. China is highest contributor with 30.34 % stake in authorized capital and 26.06 % voting rights. India is second largest shareholder with 8.52 % stake and voting share of 7.5 %.
    3. India’s Dinesh Sharma has been elected to the board of directors of AIIB.
  2550. Delhi-based Journalist-writer Ankita Anand won prestigious Lorenzo Natali Media Prize for 2015 under Asia and the Pacific Amateur category for her article ‘Stirrings beneath the peepul.
  2551. Indian writer Anuradha Roy won $50,000 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature for her novel 'Sleeping on Jupiter'.
  2552. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) successfully launched SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying Jason-3 Ocean-monitoring satellite. It was 4th mission in joint US-European series of satellite missions that measure height of ocean surface.
  2553. Renowned Kannada filmmaker and lyricist Geethapriya passed away.
  2554. Tata Motors appointed Guenter Butschek as its chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director (MD).
  2555. France declared state of economic emergency to redefine France's economic and social model and tackle unemployment.
  2556. Chinese scientists have developed a new bio-artificial liver that can help patients to survive from liver failure long enough for an organ transplant.
  2557. USA removed various sanctions against Iran after International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed that Iran has met its commitments under Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPA) to stop its nuclear programme (known as Vienna agreement).
  2558. Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled Start-up India, Stand-up India action plan to boost startup ventures in the country -
    1. Start-up profits to be tax-free for 3 years and also no labour inspections for 3 years.
    2. Compliance regime based on self-certification for labour and environmental laws.
    3. Easy exit policy for start-ups with 90 days.
    4. Tax exemption to be provided on capital gains if money is invested in another start up.
    5. Government to create Rs. 10,000 crore corpus fund for development and growth of innovation driven enterprises. It will be Rs. 2500 crore a year for four years.
    6. Liberalised Fast-track mechanism for start-up patent applications under intellectual property rights protection with 80% cost rebate.
    7. Easy participation in public procurement by easing norms of minimum turnover/experience.
  2559. Jan 18 - National Immunization Day. President Pranab Mukherjee launched Pulse programme for 2016 on this occasion.
  2560. Bombay Stock Exchange launched a new service for algorithm trading test facility for investors on its derivatives and equity platform. It will Enable testing trading algorithms in different trading segments including equity, equity derivatives and currency derivatives, based on the live and historical market data.
  2561. Noted journalist and scholar Aroon Tikekar passed away.
  2562. Committee to simplify income tax laws headed by R.V. Easwar submitted its report -
    1. Deferring the contentious Income Computation and Disclosure Standards (ICDS) provisions and making the process of tax refunds faster.
    2. Deletion of a clause in IT Act, 1961 that allows the IT department to delay tax refund due beyond six months.
    3. Treat stock trading gains of up to 5 lakh rupees as capital gains and not business income.
    4. TDS rates for individuals must be reduced to 5 per cent from current 10 per cent.
    5. Exempting non-residents not having a Permanent Account Number (PAN), but seeking to provide their Tax Identification Number (TIN) for applicability of TDS at a higher rate.
    6. Eligibility criteria under presumptive tax scheme to be increased to 2 crore rupees from 1 crore rupees to make it easy for small businesses.
  2563. Maharashtra Government signed memorandum of understanding with Tata Trust for skill training programme for youth under Kushal Maharashtra, Rojgaryukt Maharashtra initiative.
  2564. Bihar Government approved 35 % reservation for women in government jobs in the state.
  2565. A new genus of tree hole-breeding frogs named Frankixalus and a new bird species named Himalayan Forest Thrush discovered in parts of northeast India bordering China.
  2566. INSEAD Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI) 2015-16
    1. It assessed 109 countries in terms of talent competitiveness of its human capital.
    2. India ranked 89th as compared to 78th rank in 2014-15.
    3. Top 5 - Switzerland (1st), Singapore (2nd), Luxembourg (3rd), United States (4th), Denmark (5th)
    4. Bottom 5 - Madagascar (109), Burkina Faso (108), Ethiopia (107), Tanzania (106) and Mali (105).
  2567. Annual World Economic Forum meeting held in Davos (Switzerland).
  2568. First phase of National Family Health Survey 4 -
    1. Out of 11 states and 2 UTs surveyed, Women’s literacy gone up by 12.15% while sex ratio declined to 985 females per 1000 males. Uttarakhand has highest sex ratio (1015), followed by Meghalaya (1005).
    2. Child marriage reduced by 13.17% for females and 6.7% for males.
    3. The NFHS-4 is the fourth in a series of national surveys after 2005-06 (NFHS-3), 1998-99 (NFHS-2) and 1992-93 (NFHS-1).
  2569. Government approval Policy on Promotion of City Compost to help circulating compost produced from city waste for purpose of farming and agriculture.
    1. Provision for Market development assistance of Rs. 1500 per tonne of city compost has been added.
    2. To ensure environment friendly city compost, eco-Mark standard has been made mandatory.
    3. It will be mandatory for Government companies to use City Compost for purpose of their horticulture.
  2570. 4th India - Africa Hydrocarbons Conference held in New Delhi, aimed at enhancing greater cooperation between India and African continent in field of Hydrocarbons.
  2571. Indian Bureau of Mines signed MoU with National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) to monitor mining activities in the country through satellite technology.
  2572. 19th National Conference on e-Governance held in Nagpur (Maharashtra).
  2573. Government approved amendments in Power Tariff Policy 2006 for betterment of power sector and also to achieve objectives of Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) with focus on 4 Es - Electricity for all, Environment for a sustainable future, Efficiency to ensure affordable tariffs, Ensure financial viability and Ease of doing business to attract investments.
  2574. As per World Economic Forum (WEF) report - oceans will have more plastics than fish by 2050 if ongoing practice of dumping plastics continues.
    1. Every year, 8 million tonnes of plastics leak into ocean, equivalent to dumping one garbage truck into ocean every minute.
  2575. Alejandro Aravena (Chile) won 2016 Pritzker Architecture Prize, best known for his work with “do tank” Elemental, an architecture group that aims to tackle poverty using a participatory approach that engages local communities in early stages of design process. He will receive a $100,000 grant and a bronze medal.
  2576. First woman Vice Chancellor of Kerala, Jancy James is selected for 2016 Prof MV Pylee Award as best academician of India.
  2577. Magh Bihu (harvest festival of Assam) celebrated accross Assam. It marks end of harvesting season.
  2578. 12 day Event Nandi Natakotsavam began in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh.
  2579. World bank approved 250 Million USD for Andhra Pradesh Disaster Recovery Projec. It includes 20 Million USD funding restoration of Indira Gandhi Zoological Park in Visakhapatnam. It was severely damaged during cylcone Hudhud recently.
  2580. Easterine Kire from Nagaland won Hindu Literary Prize 2015 for her novel When the River Sleeps.
  2581. National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog collaborated with IDFC Bank to conduct an enterprise survey of manufacturing firms to assess the ease of doing business.
  2582. World Economic Forum in its Global Risks Report 2016 said that involuntary migration and extreme weather events are top two risks for world in 2016.
  2583. IFC, a member of World Bank Group tied-up with Madhya Pradesh government to set up a 750-Mw Rewa ultra-mega solar power project. It will be largest single-site solar power project in the world.
  2584. The 4th All India Police Archery Championship held in Nagaland.
  2585. Revised World Economic Outlook (WEO) report by International Monetary Fund kept India's growth projection unchanged at 7.3 % in FY2016 and 7.5 % in FY2017.
  2586. Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) commissioned second of three 660MW units at 1,980MW Lalitpur super thermal power project (STPP) in Uttar Pradesh.
  2587. Russian Ivan Popov won 14th Parsvnath Delhi International Open Chess Title.
  2588. Human Resource Development ministry set up 12-member committee on Yoga Education in Universities, which is headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Yoga guru H.R. Nagendra.
  2589. India will host a 7-day military exercise Exercise Force Eighteen in March 2016 in Pune (Maharashtra).
  2590. Rajasthan government inaugurated state's second biological park Machia Biological Park in Jodhpur.
  2591. India's Jehan Daruvala won 2016 Lady Wigram Trophy motor race, which is one of New Zealand's prestigious sports events.
  2592. 20 Jan - Statehood day of Meghalaya, Manipur and Tripura. Three states were formed on 20 Jan, 1972.
  2593. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj visited Israel and Palestine.
  2594. Former Sikkim governor Rama Rao passed Away.
  2595. Delhi Acers won maiden Premier Badminton League title by beating Mumbai Rockets.
  2596. Cricketrs Ajit Chandila is banned for life while Hiken Shah banned for five years for involvement in match-fixing activities.
  2597. Andhra Pradesh government re-established 2 member Commission for Backward Classes under K.L.Manjunath.
  2598. Oldest Christian monastery in Iraq (approx 1400 years) has been destroyed by Terrorist group Islamic State.
  2599. 14th Tripadvisor Travelers Choice Awards - Umaid Bhawan Palace of Udaipur (Rajasthan) named As best hotel of 2016. Top 5 hotels are -
    1. Umaid Bhawan Palace Jodhpur – Jodhpur, India
    2. Shinta Mani Resort – Siem Reap, Cambodia
    3. Bellevue Syrene – Sorrento, Italy
    4. Hanoi La Siesta Hotel & Spa – Hanoi, Vietnam
    5. Achtis Hotel – Afitos, Greece
  2600. World Bank released report titled World Development Report 2016 : Digital Dividends. It explores impact of internet and mobile phones on economic development across the world.
    1. World Bank appreciated Aadhaar scheme of India as it saved 1 billion USD by bringing down corruption.
    2. Worlds offline population is mainly in India and China, but over 1.2 million people are still offline in North America. There are more contributions to Wikipedia from Hong Kong, China, than from all of Africa combined.
  2601. State Bank of Travancore (SBT) tied up with Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) to provide customers of to pay their electricity bills online.
  2602. Exim Bank and Andhra Pradesh Government signed an agreement for promotion of exports in Andhra Pradesh.
  2603. IT Firm Mindtree appointed Rostow Ravanan as CEO and MD.
  2604. Somnath Temple became Gujarats first temple to deposit its Approx 35 kg idle gold in Gold Monetisation Scheme of Government.
  2605. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa launched Amma Call Centre as an initiative for quick delivery of government services.
  2606. World’s oldest man, Yasutaro Koide (Japan) passed away at age of 112.
  2607. Ronnie O'Sullivan won his sixth Snooker Masters title after defeating Barry Hawkins in London (UK).
  2608. World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) released World Tourism Barometer report with trends in tourism for 2015.
    1. International tourist arrivals grew by 4.4 % in 2015 with total 118.4 crore in 2015. 2015 is 6th consecutive year of above-average growth from 2010 onwards.
  2609. Mamta Binani has been elected as President of Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) for 2016.
  2610. Government sanctioned 50000 crore rupees for development of infrastructure projects in Tamilnadu.
  2611. Amitabh Bachchan and Priyanka Chopra replaced Aamir Khan as 'Incredible India' brand ambassadors.
  2612. RBI asked banks to stop Rs 1,000 notes without security thread after receiving complaints.
  2613. Uttar Pradesh won Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy by defeating Baroda.
  2614. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation signed agreement with Kerala Rapid Transit Ltd (KRTL) for Rs. 6,728-crore 'light metro' in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode.
  2615. Three Mi-25 gunship helicopters of Indian Air Force supplied by India to join Afghan Air Force. Decision for delivery of Mi-25 gunship helicopters was made during recent visit of Afghan National Security Adviser Mohammad Hanif Atmar to India.
  2616. Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) released first report of Alternative Investment Policy Advisory Committee (AIPAC) headed by N R Narayan Murthy, to suggest measures for development of alternative investment funds (AIFs) and startup eco-system in India.
    1. For creating a favourable tax environment, exempted income of AIFs should not suffer tax withholding of 10 %.
    2. Indirect transfer provisions of IT Act should not apply in case of transferring investments in an India-centric vehicle to another investor.
    3. Clarify rules for investment by non-resident Indian investors in AIFs.
  2617. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (OSCAR Academy) presented Technical Award to Indian -origin actor, producer Rahul Thakkar and Cottalango Leon.
  2618. Pavel Filip appointed as new Prime Minister of Moldova.
  2619. Ravi Chellam appointed Executive Director of Greenpeace India, a Non-Government Organisation (NGO).
  2620. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley visited Uk and Switzerland.
  2621. Over 20 crore bank accounts opened under PMJDY Till Now with deposits of Over Rs. 30,000 crores.
  2622. Google and RailTel launched free Rail Wire Public Wi-Fi service for railway passengers at Mumbai Central Station.
  2623. India Decided to implement Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)'s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) guidelines from 01 April 2016.
    1. BEPS refers to tax planning strategies that would exploit gaps and mismatches in tax rules to artificially shift profits to low or no-tax locations where there is little economic activity, resulting in little or no overall corporate tax being paid.
    2. These norms were announced by OCED to close tax loopholes that cost countries upwards of 100 billion USD a year.
    3. With implementation of BEPS guidelines, it will become mandatory for Indian companies to make country-by-country reporting to follow guidelines. BEPS will be major significance for developing countries like India that strongly rely on corporate income tax.
  2624. 21st Critics' Choice Awards (USA BY Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) and Broadcast Television Journalists Association (BTJA) -
    1. DRAMA
      1. BEST PICTURE - Spotlight
      2. BEST ACTOR - Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)
      3. BEST ACTRESS - Brie Larson (Room)
      4. BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - Sylvester Stallone (Creed)
      5. BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS - Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl)
      6. BEST DIRECTOR - George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)
    2. Television
      1. BEST ACTOR (COMEDY) - Jeffrey Tambor (Transparent – Amazon)
      2. BEST ACTOR (DRAMA) - Rami Malek (Mr. Robot)
      3. BEST ACTRESS (COMEDY) - Rachel Bloom (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend)
      4. BEST ACTRESS (DRAMA) - Carrie Coon (The Leftovers)
  2625. India's Jet Airways entered into Frequent Flyer Partnership with Bangkok Airways with tie-up of loyalty and rewards management programme of Jet Airways named JetPrivilege and FlyerBonus (loyalty scheme of Bangkok Airways).
  2626. Clean energy firm ReNew Power Ventures commissioned 40 megawatt wind power project in Karnataka. Taking its total wind capacity to 693 megawatts.
  2627. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change held first national stakeholder consultation meeting for BIOFIN (Biodiversity Finance Initiative). BIOFIN is a global partnership seeking to address biodiversity finance challenge in a comprehensive manner to mobilise resources for biodiversity across the world.
  2628. Oxfam released report titled An Economy for the 1%, analyzing growing trends of concentration of wealth across the world.
    1. Report was named such by taking cue from report of Credit Suisse that revealed that the richest 1 % had accumulated more wealth than rest of the world put together.
    2. In 2015, just 62 individuals had same wealth as other 3.6 billion people. It was 388 individuals in 2010.
    3. Wealth of richest 62 people risen by 44 % since 2010 to 542 542 billion USD.
    4. Wealth of bottom half of Humanity fell by just over a trillion dollars in 2010-15.
  2629. Ministry of Shipping started Project Green Ports with two verticals - Green Ports Initiatives and Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan. Aim is to make Major Ports across India cleaner and greener.
  2630. Noted Kannada lyricist and film-maker  Lakshman Rao Mohite (Geethapriya) passed away.
  2631. Goa Government approved reclassification of coconut tree as palm through passage of Goa Preservation of Trees (Amendment) Bill, 2016. Bill seeks to omit Section 1-A of Goa, Daman and Diu Preservation of Trees Act, 1984 that included coconut under definition of tree.
  2632. Government granted Infrastructure Status to Shipyard Industry to ease its financial stress. The shipyards will be able to avail flexible long-term funding at lower costs.
  2633. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) formalized its ongoing program for detecting and tracking near-Earth objects (NEOs) as Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO). It will supervise all NASA-funded projects to find asteroids that pass near orbit of Earth around the sun.
  2634. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) revealed that global average temperature for 2015 was highest among all years since modern record keeping that began in 1880.
    1. During 2015, average temperature across globe was 1.62F (0.90C) above 20th century average. It surpassed previous record set in 2014 by 0.29F (0.16C).
  2635. 23 Jan - Birth Anniversary of Great Freedom Fighter Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. PM Narendra Modi declassified digital copies of 100 secret files relating to Netaji on this occasion.
  2636. Girls First initiative reportedly resulted in improving emotional and physical well-being of school children in Bihar. As per study, emotional resilience increased by 33 % and health knowledge by 99 %.
  2637. Japanese astronomers discovered second largest black hole in Milky Way. They mapped high-velocity compact cloud called CO-0.40-0.22 with a mass 100000 times that of the Sun around 200 light years away from the centre of Milky Way.
  2638. Noted Italian film director Ettore Scola passed away.
  2639. Indian Olympic Association (IOA) appointed Infinity Optimal Solutions (IOS) for managing sponsorship and public relations for IOA for all major events.
  2640. Eminent Tabla player Shankar Ghosh passed away.
  2641. Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) (USA) released 2016 Nuclear Security Index with theme Building a Framework for Assurance, Accountability, and Action.
    1. Index assessed global nuclear security conditions in 176 countries in potential theft of weapons and potential sabotage of nuclear facilities.
    2. Among 24 nations with over 1 kilogram of nuclear-usable weapons materials, ranks are
      1. Safest - Australia (1), Switzerland (2), Canada (3), Poland (4)
      2. Least Safe -India (21), Pakistan (22), Iran (23) and North Korea (24). India improved two ranks by participating in bilateral assistance activities with USA and putting in place the IAEA Additional Protocol. Japan is the most improved state.
  2642. US News and World Report, WPPs BAV Consulting and Wharton School of University of Pennsylvania released inaugural Best Countries report, evaluating 60 nations across wide range of criteria -
    1. Best Countries Rankings
      1. Germany
      2. Canada
      3. United Kingdom
      4. United States
      5. Sweden
      6. Australia
      7. Japan
      8. France
      9. Netherlands
      10. Denmark
    2. India is ranked as the 22nd best country in the World.
    3. Sweden is recognized as most modern, Best Country to Raise Kids and best for Green Living.
    4. Denmark is Best for Women.
    5. United States of America is named most powerful country
    6. India has No. 1 upcoming economy.
    7. Germany is best country for entrepreneurship
    8. Luxembourg is most business friendly.
    9. Italy is country with richest tradition
    10. Brazil is No. 1 nation to visit.
    11. Canada tops list of countries with best quality of life.
  2643. Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and Department of Telecommunication (DoT) signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop and implement National Action Plan for Skill Development in Telecom Sector.
  2644. After USA, Japan also lifted sanctions on Iran. It was decided by japan after United Nations atomic energy agency confirmed that Iran has fully taken steps to curb its disputed nuclear programme.
  2645. 24 Jan - National girl child day.
  2646. Government proposed Modifications in Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS) -
    1. Premature withdrawl under Medium and Long Term Deposits will be allowed after 3 years and any Long Term Deposit after 5 years, subject to a reduction in payable interest.
    2. Fees to be paid to Banks for their services will be 2.5 % for Medium and Long Term Gold Deposits
    3. Gold depositors can also give their gold directly to refiner rather than only through Collection and Purity Testing Centres (CPTCs).
    4. Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) modified licensing condition for refiners from existing 3 years refining experience to 1 year refining experience.
    5. Quantity of gold collected will be expressed up to 3 decimals of a gram, to give the consumer better value for gold deposited.
    6. CPTC/Refiner will test gold and determine its purity which will be basis on which the deposit certificate will be issued.
    7. Government also launched website www.finmin.nic.in/swarnabharat and toll free number 18001800000 to provide all information of the schemes.
    8. As on 20-01-2016, total of 900.087 kilo grams of gold have been mobilized through the scheme. It is expected that these modifications will make the scheme more attractive for potential depositors.
  2647. Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid foundation stone of International Solar Alliance (ISA) Headquarters and inaugurated interim Secretariat of ISA in National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) Gurgaon.
  2648. International Conference of Family Planning held at Bali (Indonesia). J P Nadda (Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare) attended on India's Behalf.
  2649. Government of India extended supported for Spirit of India Run by Mr. Pat Farmer (Australia), an ultra Marathon Runner. He will run over 4000 km in 60 days starting from Kanyakumari and finishing in Kashmir. He will initiate his run on January 26th, 2016 celebrating India's Republic Day and Australia Day.
  2650. Union Minister of Human Resource Development, Smriti Zubin Irani launched Veer Gaatha series of books on Param Veer Chakra awardees.
  2651. Government conferred Jeevan Raksha Padak Awards 2015 on 50 persons - Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak (03), Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak (09) and Jeevan Raksha Padak (38 persons).
    1. Winners of Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak are - Shri Ullas Unnikrishnan (Kerela),  Munna alias Ramdars Sisodiya, (Madhya Pradesh), Ankit Kumar  Mishra (Uttar Pradesh).
  2652. President Pranab Mukherjee Imposed Presidents Rule in Arunachal Pradesh and suspending Legislative Assembly of Arunachal Pradesh (As per article 356(1) of Constitution). It is to due to constitutional breakdown in Arunachal Pradesh as reported by Governor of Arunachal Pradesh.
  2653. Padam Awards 2016 -
    1. Padma Vibhushan -
      1. Ms. Yamini Krishnamurthi — Art-Classical dance — Delhi
      2. Rajinikanth — Art-Cinema — Tamil Nadu
      3. Smt Girija Devi — Art-Classical Vocal — West Bengal
      4. Ramoji Rao — Literature & Education-Journalism — Andhra Pradesh
      5. Dr Viswanathan Shanta — Medicine-Oncology — Tamil Nadu
      6. Ravi Shankar — Others-Spiritualism — Karnataka
      7. Jagmohan — Public Affairs — Delhi
      8. Dr Vasudev Kalkunte Aatre — Science & Engineering — Karnataka
      9. Avinash Dixit(Foreigner) — Literature & Education — USA
      10. Late Dhiru Bhai Ambani (Posthumous) — Trade & Industry — Maharashtra
    2. Padma Bhushan
      1. Anupam Kher — Art-Cinema — Maharashtra
      2. Udit Narayan Jha — Art-Playback Singing — Maharashtra
      3. Ram V Sutar — Art-Sculpture — Uttar Pradesh
      4. Heisnam Kanhailal — Art-Theatre — Manipur
      5. Vinod Rai — Civil Service — Kerala
      6. Dr Yarlagadda Lakshmi Prasad — Literature & Education — Andhra Pradesh
      7. Prof NS Ramanuja Tatacharya — Literature & Education — Maharashtra
      8. Dr Barjinder Singh Hamdard — Literature & Education - Journalism — Punjab
      9. Prof D Nageshwar Reddy — Medicine-Gastroenterology — Telangana
      10. Swami Tejomayananda — Other-Spiritualism — Maharashtra
      11. Hafeez Contractor — Others-Architecture — Maharashtra
      12. Ravindra Chandra Bhargava — Public Affairs — Uttar Pradesh
      13. Dr Venkata Rama Rao — Alla Science & Engineering — Andhra Pradesh
      14. Ms Saina Nehwal — Sports-Badminton — Telangana
      15. Ms Sania Mirza — Sports-Tennis — Telangana
      16. Ms Indu Jain — Trade & Industry — Delhi
      17. Late Swami Dayanand Sarawasati (Posthumous) — Others-Spiritualism — Uttarakhand
      18. Robert Blackwill (Foreigner) — Public Affairs — USA
      19. Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry (NRI/PIO) — Trade & Industry — Ireland
    3. Padma Shri
      1. Smt Prathibha Prahlad — Art- Classical Dance — Delhi
      2. Bhikhudan Gadhvi — Art- Folk Music — Gujarat
      3. Sribhas Chandra Supakar — Art- Textile Designing — Uttar Pradesh
      4. Ajay Devgn — Art-Cinema — Maharashtra
      5. Ms Priyanka Chopra — Art-Cinema — Maharashtra
      6. Pt Tulsidas Borkar — Art-Classical Music — Goa
      7. Dr Soma Ghosh — Art-Classical Vocal — Uttar Pradesh
      8. Nila Madhab Panda — Art-Film Direction and Production — Delhi
      9. SS Rajamouli — Art-Film Direction and Production — Karnataka
      10. Madhur Bhandarkar — Art-Film Direction and Production — Maharashtra
      11. Prof M Venkatesh Kumar — Art-Folk Artist — Karnataka
      12. Ms Gulabi Sapera — Art-Folk Dance — Rajasthan
      13. Smt Mamta Chandrakar — Art-Folk Music — Chhattisgarh
      14. Ms Malini Awasthi — Art-Folk Music — Uttar Pradesh
      15. Jai Prakash Lekhiwal — Art-Miniature Painting — Delhi
      16. K Laxma Goud — Art-Painting — Telangana
      17. Bhalchandra Dattatray Mondhe — Art-Photography — Madhya Pradesh
      18. Naresh Chander Lal — Art-Theatre & Cinema — Andaman & Nicobar
      19. Dhirendra Nath Bezbaruah — Literature & Education — Assam
      20. Prahlad Chandra Tasa — Literature & Education — Assam
      21. Dr Ravindra Nagar — Literature & Education — Delhi
      22. Dahyabhai Shastri — Literature & Education — Gujarat
      23. Dr Santeshivara Bhyrappa — Literature & Education — Karnataka
      24. Haldar Nag — Literature & Education — Odisha
      25. Kameshwaram Brahma — Literature & Education -Journalism — Assam
      26. Prof Pushpesh Pant — Literature & Education-Journalism — Delhi
      27. Jawaharlal Kaul — Literature & Education-Journalism — Jammu & Kashmir
      28. Ashok Malik — Literature & Education — Delhi
      29. Dr Mannam Gopi Chand — Medicine-Cardio Thoracic Surgery — Telangana
      30. Prof Ravi Kant — Medicine-Surgery — Uttar Pradesh
      31. Prof Ram Harsh Singh — Medicine- Ayurveda — Uttar Pradesh
      32. Prof Shiv Narain Kureel — Medicine- Paediatric Surgery — Uttar Pradesh
      33. Dr Sabya Sachi Sarkar — Medicine -Radiology — Uttar Pradesh
      34. Dr Alla Gopala Krishna Gokhale — Medicine-Cardiac Surgery — Andhra Pradesh
      35. Prof TK Lahiri — Medicine-Cardio Thoracic Surgery — Uttar Pradesh
      36. Dr Praveen Chandra — Medicine-Cardiology — Delhi
      37. Prof (Dr) Daljeet Singh Gambhir — Medicine-Cardiology — Uttar Pradesh
      38. Dr Chandrasekar Shesadri Thoguluva — Medicine-Gastroenterology — Tamil Nadu
      39. Dr (Mrs) Anil Kumari Malhotra — Medicine-Homeopathy — Delhi
      40. Prof MV Padma Srivastava — Medicine-Neurology — Delhi
      41. Dr Sudhir V Shah — Medicine-Neurology — Gujarat
      42. Dr MM Joshi — Medicine-Ophthalmology — Karnataka
      43. Prof (Dr) John Ebnezar — Medicine-Orthopaedic Surgery — Karnataka
      44. Dr Nayudamma Yarlagadda — Medicine-Paediatric Surgery — Andhra Pradesh
      45. Simon Oraon — Other -Environment Conservation — Jharkhand
      46. Imitiaz Qureshi — Other-Culinary — Delhi
      47. Piyush Pandey — Others-Advertising & Communication — Maharashtra
      48. Subhash Palekar — Others-Farming — Maharashtra
      49. Ravinder Kumar Sinha — Others-Wildlife Conservation — Bihar
      50. Dr HR Nagendra — Others-Yoga — Karnataka
      51. MC Mehta — Public Affairs — Delhi
      52. MN Krishna Mani — Public Affairs — Delhi
      53. Ujjwal Nikam — Public Affairs — Maharashtra
      54. Tokheho Sema — Public Affairs — Nagaland
      55. Dr Satish Kumar — Science & Engineering — Delhi
      56. Dr Mylswamy Annadurai — Science & Engineering — Karnataka
      57. Prof Dipankar Chatterji — Science & Engineering — Karnataka
      58. Prof(Dr) Ganapati Dadasaheb Yadav — Science & Engineering — Maharashtra
      59. Smt (Prof) Veena Tandon — Science & Engineering — Meghalaya
      60. Onkar Nath Srivastava — Science and Engineering — Uttar Pradesh
      61. Ms Sunita Krishnan — Social Work — Andhra Pradesh
      62. Ajoy Kumar Dutta — Social Work — Assam
      63. M Pandit Dasa — Social Work — Karnataka
      64. PP Gopinathan Nair — Social Work — Kerala
      65. Smt Madeleine Herman de Blic — Social Work — Puducherry
      66. Srinivasan Damal Kandalai — Social work — Tamil Nadu
      67. Sudhakar Olwe — Social Work — Maharashtra
      68. Dr TV Narayana — Social Work — Telangana
      69. Arunachalam Murugantham — Social Work — Tamil Nadu
      70. Ms Deepika Kumari — Sports-Archery — Jharkhand
      71. S Sushil Doshi — Sports-commentary — Madhya Pradesh
      72. Mahesh Sharma — Trade & Industry — Delhi
      73. Saurabh Srivastava — Trade & Industry — Delhi
      74. Sh Dilip Sanghvi — Trade & Industry — Maharashtra
      75. Dr Keki Hormusji Gharda — Trade & Industry — Maharashtra
      76. Late Prakash Chand Surana (Posthumous) — Art -Classical Music — Rajasthan
      77. Late Saeed Jaffrey (NRI/PIO/Posthumous) — Art-Cinema — UK
      78. Michael Postel (Foreigner) — Art-Archaeology — France
      79. Salman Amin Sal Khan (NRI/PIO) — Literature & Education — USA
      80. Smt Hui Lan Zhang (Foreigner) — Others-Yoga — China
      81. Predrag K Nikic (Foreigner) — Others-Yoga — Serbia
      82. Dr Sundar Aditya Menon (NRI/PIO) — Social Work — UAE
      83. Ajaypal Singh Banga (NRI/PIO) — Trade & Industry — US
  2654. Government approved enhancement of Authorized Share Capital of National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation (NSFDC) from 1000 crore to 1200 crores.
  2655. Social Justice and Empowerment Minsiter Thaawarchand Gehlot launched job portal for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) at URL - www.disabilityjobs.gov.in. PwDs can avail different facilities such as self employment loan, Skill training, scholarships and information about jobs on this platform.
  2656. Government announced to develop 36 projects in 2015-16 with investments of Rs.14,225 crores and capacity enhancement by 162 MTPA (million tonnes per annum). In 2014-15, total 26 projects were awarded with investment of Rs.10,543 crore and capacity enhancement of 155 MTPA.
  2657. Government approved agreement with Russia for joint research in Basic and Exploratory Sciences.
  2658. Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) signed by Railways with Governments of Kerala and Andhra Pradesh for Formation of Joint Venture Companies for Development of Railway Infrastructure in these States.
  2659. Government declared that Central Institute of Buddhist Studies (CIBS) (Jammu & Kashmir) shall be a deemed-to-be-university for five years from its disaffiliation from Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, Varanasi and Tibetan Medicines and Astrology Department, Dharamsala.
  2660. India and Armenia Signed Protocol amending Double Taxation Avoidance Convention.
  2661. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar gave away RakshaMantri Awards for Excellence -
    1. 2012 - 13
      1. Excellence in performance – HAL
      2. Best performance in Exports – BEML
    2. 2013 - 14
      1. Excellence in performance – BEL
      2. Best performance in Exports – BEL
  2662. Government approved Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) signed between Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) with its counterparts in Malaysia, Singapore and Japan.
  2663. 25 Jan - National Voters' Day. Being Celebrated from 2011. It marks formation of Election Commission of India on 25 January 1950.
  2664. 25 Jan - Statehood day of Himachal Pradesh. Created in 1971.
  2665. Government Issued list of 20 Smart Cities winning smart city challenge. Bhubaneswar (Odisha) placed at Top. Government will invest Rs 50,802 crore in the 20 cities and towns over five years.
  2666. Dr. Rafael Reif, President of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA) Visited India.
  2667. During second tranche of Sovereign Gold Bond (SGB) Scheme from 18 to 22nd January, 2016, 3.16 lakh applications were received for total subscription of 2790 Kilograms of gold worth Rs. 726 crores by Banks.
  2668. Asian Development Bank (ADB) and India signed an $80million loan agreement to continue improving infrastructure in two North Eastern State Capital cities - Agartala(Tripura) and Aizwal (Mizoram). It is third tranche of $200 million financing facility under North Eastern Region Capital cities Development Investment Program.
  2669. Ministry of Law & Justice constituted an expert committee to review Specific Relief Act, 1963 that provides for law relating to certain kind of specific relief and has not been amended since its inception.
  2670. Dr. Kamlesh Kumar Pandey has been appointed as Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities (CCPD) for a period of three years.
  2671. Government shipped First consignment of 6 Made in India Metro Train Coaches to Australia from Mumbai port. It is first shipment of planned 450 coaches to be exported to Australia over 2.5 years.
  2672. Krishan Kumar Jalan appointed as Secretary in Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
  2673. Shyam S Agarwal appointed as Secretary in Ministry of Tribal Affairs and Secretary in National Commission for Scheduled Tribes.
  2674. Rakesh Garg appointed as Secretary in Ministry of Minority Affairs.
  2675. Noted journalist Arindam Sengupta passed away. He was Managing Editor of Times of India.
  2676. 26 January - International Customs Day.
  2677. 26 Jan, 2016 - 67th republic day of india. It marks date on which Constitution of India came into force on 26 January 1950.
    1. French President Francois Hollande was chief guest of Republic Day function. With this he beamce 5th highest dignitary from France to be Chief Guest of Indian Republic Day parade.
    2. French Troops also Marched during Republic Day Ceremony. It was 76-member contingent 35th Infantry Regiment of the French Army led by Lt Col Paul Bury
    3. Parade was led by Lieutenant General Rajan Ravindran.
    4. Among Services category, Assam Regiment adjudged as best marching contingent. In category of Para-Military Forces and other auxiliary marching contingents, Border Security Force contingent adjudged best.
  2678. Girish Luthra appointed Chief of Southern Naval Command and Sunil Lanba appointed chief of Western Naval Command.
  2679. Noted Actress Rekha has been conferred with third Yash Chopra Memorial Award.
  2680. Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp. topped in global vehicle sales in 2015 by selling 10.151 million vehicles. Toyotya retained its status as top-selling automaker for fourth straight year. German automaker Volkswagen AG ranked second (9.93 million) and General Motors (GM) ranked third (9.8 million).
  2681. Three persons of Indian-origin - Chennupati Jagadis, Jay Chandra and Sajeev Koshy have been awarded 2016 Medal of Order of Australia, Australias highest civilian honour for their contribution in various fields.
  2682. As per recently released United Nations (UN) World Economic Situation and Prospects 2016 Report -
    1. India will be fastest growing big economy in world in 2016. Indias growth rate will be 7.3 % in 2016 and 7.5 % in 2017.
    2. In 2016 and 2017 - South Asia will to be the worlds fastest-growing region with India accounting for over 70 % GDP.
  2683. UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) 2015 human development index (HDI) -
    1. Norway at top of List, Australia 2nd with Switzerland at third place.
    2. India Ranked 130th with Sri Lanka being ranked 73rd (Best in South Asia Region). Others - China (90), Bhutan (132), Bangladesh (142), Nepal (145), Pakistan (147).
  2684. Mosquito-borne Zika virus has created a panic over birth defects in Latin America countries with Brazil experiencing largest impact. It causes babies being born with abnormal condition called microcephaly (smaller heads which can cause brain damage). Indian Government also formed a Panel for checking situation for same in India.
  2685. Digital payment startup TranServ launched India's first Social Mobile Wallet named Udio. The digital wallet seeks to address gap between real and virtual modes of payment as it has more social experience.
  2686. India's largest tricolour hoisted atop tallest pole in Ranchi. It is world's largest and highest hoisted Indian flag with Dimensions - 66 feet (height) * 99 feet (Width).
  2687. Eminent tabla player Pandit Shankar Ghosh passed away.
  2688. Indian Badminton Player Pusarla Venkata Sindhu won 2016 Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold Badminton title by defeating Scotland's Kirsty Gilmour.
  2689. Noted Malayalam film actress Kalpana Ranjani passed away.
  2690. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) received environmental clearance for a Rs 53000 project in Krishna-Godavari (KG) basin in Andhra Pradesh. Project includes drilling 45 development wells.
  2691. Government launched Sahaj Scheme for online booking of LPG cylinders as part of Governments 2016-Year of Consumers initiative.
  2692. Maharashtra's first Solar Power operated Mini-Water Supply Plant commissioned in Hingna village of Nagpur district. It will facilitate villagers to get pure water at low cost. It delivers 10,000 Litres of purified water every day and runs completely on solar power on 1800 Watt panels.
  2693. 27 Jan - International Holocaust Remembrance Day. It commemorates victims of Holocaust - estimated 11 million Jewish, Romani people being killed by German Nazi Forces.
  2694. President of France, Francois Hollande Visited India.
    1. He became Chief Guest of 67th Republic Day Ceremony of india.
    2. India and France singed 14 pacts for enhancing cooperation in various fields. Signed Agreements Include -
      1. French President Francois Hollande committed $325 million over next five years for global development of solar energy
      2. MoU on purchase of 36 Rafale Aircrafts.
      3. Space: Implementation Arrangement between ISRO and CNES (France)
      4. Railways - Agreement between Indian Railways and Alstom for production of 800 electric locomotives in Madhepura plant in Bihar and Agreement for joint study for renovation of Ambala (Punjab) and Ludhiana (Punjab) railway stations.
      5. Food safety, Public Administration.
      6. Cultural exchange -Declaration of Intent (DoI) for conducting Bonjour India (French festival) in 2017 and Namaste France (Indian festival) in 2016.
      7. Science & Technology,
      8. Higher Education & Research - MoU between IIT Mumbai and Thales Systemes Aeroportes for Industry Sponsored Ph.D (Doctorate) Fellowship.
  2695. Marvin Minsky, pioneer of artificial intelligence passed away.
  2696. Indian Air Force successfully tested Akash surface to air missile with supersonic speeds (Mach 2.8 to 3.5) and range of 25 kms.
  2697. Government approved raising 17 Indian Reserve Battalions in Jammu & Kashmir and 4 Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected states (J&K - 5, Chhattisgarh - 4, Jharkhand - 3, Odisha - 3, Maharashtra - 2). Major number of vacancies will be filled through local youths.
  2698. Sanjay Mishra has been appointed as Lokayukta of Uttar Pradesh.
  2699. Twitter appointed Leslie Berland as its Chief Marketing Officer (CMO).
  2700. United States (US) based software Firm Cognizant Technology acquired cloud-based computing firm KBACE Technologies.
  2701. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) members signed corporate tax avoidance agreement to stem fiscal (tax) evasion by multinational companies (MNCs), it is about sharing information between member nations.
  2702. Gurdeep Singh has been appointed as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC).
  2703. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved Hybrid Annuity Model for implementing National Highway Projects -
    1. Government will invest 40 % of construction cost and balance 60 % will come from private developer.
    2. Private developer will recover his investment from government by receiving annuity payments over 15 years.
    3. Toll collection - Highway toll tax will be collected by the government. Unlike in build, operate and transfer (BOT) toll model in which private sector collects it. Thus, private party does not have to bear traffic and inflation risks as the project cost are also inflation indexed.
  2704. India overtaken Thailand as the world's largest rice exporter in 2015 by shipping (exporting) 10.23 million tonnes of rice.
  2705. 2016 Syed Modi International Grand prix Gold Championship Badminton Title -
    1. Mens singles - Kidambi Srikanth by defeating Huang Yuxiang of China.
    2. Womens singles - Title Sayaka Sato (Japan) won by defeating Sung Ji Hyun (South Korea).
  2706. Brazilian racing driver Pietro Fittipaldi won 2015 MRF Challenge Formula 2000 in Sriperumbudur (Tamil Nadu).
  2707. Indian Author and foreign affairs expert Nisid Hajari has won the prestigious 2016 William E. Colby Award for his book Midnights Furies: The Deadly Legacy of India's Partition.
  2708. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has been chosen for K Veeramani Social Justice Award for his contribution for for upliftment of weaker and marginalised sections.
  2709. Puducherry Government launched MITRA (Mobile Initiated Tracking and Rescue) application to ensure protection of women, children and elderly in time of distress.
  2710. Morton Mower (US), Michael Marmot (UK) won 2015 Prince Mahidol Award for their achievements in healthcare sector.
  2711. International Monetary Funds (IMFs) Quota and Governance Reforms 2010 become effective -
    1. Gives boost to representation of emerging economies like India, China, Brazil, Russia. Indias voting rights increased from 2.3% to 2.6%. Chinas voting rights increased from 3.8% to 6 %.
    2. Capital resources of IMF doubled to $659 billion from $329 billion.
    3. Shares of European and Gulf countries reduced and that of emerging nations particularly China are increased. China now has 3rd largest IMF quota and voting share after US and Japan. India, Russia and Brazil are also among top 10 members of IMF.
  2712. 2015 Corruption Perception Index releases by Berlin-based Transparency International (168 Countries) -
    1. India - With score of 38 (out of 100), India ranked 76th. India improved its ranking compared to 85 and 94 in 2014 and 2013, respectively.
    2. Top 5 Countries - Denmark (1st with score 91), Finland, Sweden, New Zealand, Netherlands
    3. Bottom 5 Countries - Somalia (rank 168), North Korea (167), Afghanistan (rank 166), Sudan (rank 165), South Sudan (rank 164), Angola (163)
    4. BRICS - South Africa (61), India (76), Brazil (76), China (83) and Russia (119).
  2713. Wildlife filmmaker Naresh Bedi has been conferred with V Shantaram Life Time Acheivement Award at 14th edition of 2016 Mumbai International Festival (MIFF), Mumbai.
  2714. 28 Jan - Birth Anniversary of Noted Freedom Fighter Lala Lajpat Rai. Commemorative Coin of 150 rupees & Circulation Coin of 10 rupees released on this occasion.
  2715. Gallantry Awards 2016 -
    1. President approved 365 Gallantry awards and other Defence decorations to Armed Forces personnel including 1 Ashoka Chakra, 4 Kirti Chakras and 11 Shaurya Chakras.
    2. Ashok Chakra - Lance Naik Mohan Nath Goswami (Posthumous).
    3. Kirti Chakra - Subedar Mahendra Singh, Sepoy Jagdish Chand
    4. Shaurya Chakra - Santosh Yashwant Mahadik, Praphul Kumar Bhardwaj, Anurag Kumar, Sandip Yadav, Harjinder Singh, Satish Kumar, Naik Kheem Singh Mehra, Dharma Ram
  2716. India defeated Pakistan to win first Blind T20 Asia Cup in Kochi (Kerala).
  2717. Switzerland's Roger Federer became First male to win 300th matches at Grand Slams. He reached this milestone be defating Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria) at a match during Ausralian Open 2016. All time record is set by Martina Navratilova (306 wins at grand slams).
  2718. Sourav Kothari won National Billiards Championship by defeating Siddharth Parekh.
  2719. Goa government declared Feni as heritage brew outside the state. It attained Geographical Indication (GI) status in 2010.
  2720. PEN American Center gave its 2016 PEN/Allen award to author J.K. Rowling.
  2721. Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan joined a task force of World Economic Forum (WEF) to study future of global financial system.
  2722. Red Panda Winter Festival 2016 started in Sikkim. It will last till 31 January.
  2723. International Kolkata Book Fair (worlds largest non-trade book fair) held in Kolkata (West Bengal). Bolivia is theme country of this year.
  2724. All India Radio (AIR) launched audio broadcast channel for connoisseurs of art, especially classical music. The Channel is known as 'RAAGAM'.
  2725. Noted Marathi writer Dattatraya Bhikaji Kulkarni passed away.
  2726. Rajasthan government launched Mukhyamantri Jal Swavalamban Abhiyan scheme to ensure effective implementation of water harvesting and water conservation.
  2727. David Warner has been awarded 2016 Allan Border Medal by Cricket Australia. Other Awards are -
    1. Test Player - David Warner
    2. One Day International Player - Glenn Maxwell
    3. Twenty20 International Player - Not awarded
    4. Bradman Young Cricketer - Alex Ross
    5. State Player - Adam Voges
    6. Women's International Cricketer - Ellyse Perry
  2728. Indian lawyer and human rights defender Henri Tiphagne has been selected for 2016 Amnesty International Human Rights Award.
  2729. Aparna Kumar(IPS officer) from Uttar Pradesh, became Indias first civil servant to successfully scale Antarcticas highest peak Mount Vinson Massif (17,000-feet).
  2730. Janos Pasztor of Hungary is appointed as Senior Adviser to Secretary-General (Ban Ki Moon) on Climate Change.
  2731. Andhra Pradesh government appointed N Ramesh Kumar as state election commissioner.
  2732. Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented National Bravery Awards to 25 children. He also released book Life progression of ICCW National Bravery Awardees.
  2733. 34th National Rowing Championships held in Hyderabad (Telangana).
  2734. Bloombergs Billionaires Index -
    1. Top 6 Richest - Bill Gates ($78 billion), Amancio Ortega ($69.7 billion), Warren Buffett ($59.4 billion), Jeff Bezos ($55.8 billion), Carlos Slim ($48.6 billion), Mark Zuckerberg ($47.5 billion)
    2. India - Mukesh Ambani (31st), Ajim Premji (54th), Shiv Nadar (71st).
  2735. Bank of Japan announced to adopt a negative interest rate policy from February 2016. The Bank of Japan will charge 0.1% interest rate on some part of the deposits that commercial banks make with Bank of Japan. It means that instead of receiving money on deposits, commercial banks must pay interest to keep their money with the Central bank.
  2736. Asia Pacific 2016 Wealth Report by New World Wealth -
    1. Tokyo is the top Asia Pacific city with 2,64,000 millionaires. Indias Mumbai (41,200 millionaires) ranked 12th and delhi (20600) ranked 20th.
    2. Over past 10 years, Jakarta (Indonesia) was fastest growing major city in Asia Pacific in terms of millionaire growth., followed by Hangzhou, Tianjin, Mumbai and Delhi.
    3. Hong Kong topped list ofg Multi Millionaires (Worth Over 10 Million USD) with 9,650 such individuals, Mumbai ranked eighth (2,690) and Delhi 14th with 1,340 Multi Millionaires.
    4. There were, 12,60,000 millionaires in Japan, China second (654,000) and Australia third with 290,000 millionaires.
  2737. Australian Open 2016
    1. Men's Singles - Novak Djokovic (Serbia ) by defeating Andy Murray (UK)
    2. Women's Singles - Angelique Kerber (Germany) by defeating Serena Williams (United States)
    3. Men's Doubles - Jamie Murray ( United Kingdom)/ Bruno Soares (Brazil)
    4. Women's Doubles - Martina Hingis (Switzerland) / Sania Mirza (India)
    5. Mixed Doubles - Elena Vesnina (Russia) / Bruno Soares (Brazil)
  2738. Noted Hollywood actor Abe Vigoda passed away.
  2739. International Hockey Federation (FIH) Hockey Stars awards 2015 -
    1. Male Player of The Year - Robert Van der Horst (Netherlands')
    2. Female Player of the Year - Lidewij Welten (Netherlands)
    3. Goalkeeper of the year (Women) - Joyce Sombroek (Netherlands)
    4. Goalkeeper of the year (Men) - David Harte (Ireland)
    5. Rising Star (Women) - Lily Owsley (Great Britain)
    6. Rising Star (Men) - Chrisopher Rühr (Germany)
  2740. West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul announced his retirement from international cricket.
  2741. 30 Jan - Anti-Leprosy Day. It commemorates M K Gandhi, who was killed by Nahruram Godse on 30 January 1948.
  2742. Uttar Pradesh became Fourth state after Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh to formally join Centre's UDAY scheme meant for revival of Discoms (State Power Utilities).
  2743. Kerala will host a three-day Nypunyam International Skill Summit in Feb 2016 to bridge gap between job market requirement and skill level of available workforce.
  2744. Iran signed a deal to buy 118 Airbus planes worth $25billion USD (Approx 160000 Crore INR).
  2745. Somalia agreed on Election Model outlined by Mogadishu Declaration that calls for electoral process in Somalia to establish a new, bicameral Federal Parliament in 2016. Term of non-elected Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) will end in 2016 after serving for four years.
  2746. Goa Government launched Goa e-Suvidha Portal for tracking mechanism to fast track projects. It aims at resolving issues in setting up infrastructure and other large projects with targeted investment between 50 - 1,000 crores.
  2747. Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa won Presidential elections of Portugal.
  2748. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015 came into force to ensure more stringent provisions for prevention of Atrocities against Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.
  2749. Japan's Izumo Takuto and Hong Kong's Zhu Chengzhu won in boys' and girls' categories in Even Sports 2015 ITTF World Junior Circuit Finals in Indore (Madhya Pradesh).
  2750. Andhra Pradesh Government launched Giriputrika Kalyana Pathakam Scheme to support the tribal women in their livelihood.
  2751. Tennis's governing bodies constituted Adam Lewis headed Independent Review Panel (IRP) to safeguard integrity in tennis.
  2752. Ishika Shah won 12th Sub-Junior National Snooker championship in Indore (Madhya Pradesh).
  2753. Eritrea issued a law to make it mandatory for men to marry at least two wives (Polygamy).
  2754. Government approved fitting of roof top solar energy panels over 10000 houses of Economically Weaker Sections in Tamil Nadu at a cost of 253 crore rupees under Prime Minister's Awas Yojana (PMAY).
  2755. Denmark's Parliament (Folketing) apprpved to confiscate (Seize) asylum seekers personal possessions in order to pay their upkeep.
  2756. Navneet Kaur Santosh Kadale won two gold medals in 34th Senior National Rowing Championship in Hyderabad (Telangana).
  2757. South African Graham Xavier Ford named chief coach of Sri Lankan cricket team for second term.
  2758. United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) launched 2.8 billion USD appeal to reach 43 million children in humanitarian emergencies worldwide.
  2759. Second volume of memoirs of President Pranab Mukherjee The Turbulent Years – 1980-1996 has been released. In this book, he reminisced about crucial events of his political life including Indira Gandhi's assassination, Babri Masjid demolition, operation Blue Star and his ouster from Rajiv Gandhi's Cabinet.
  2760. Japan unveiled its first stealth fighter aircraft X-2.
  2761. Central Statistics Office (CSO) of Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation released first revised estimates of national income, consumption expenditure for 2014-15 and second revised estimates of to 2013-14 -
    1. Nominal Gross Domestic Product for 2014-15 was 124.88 lakh crore while in 2013-14 it was 112.73 lakh crore (10.8 % Growth)
    2. Real GDP (base year 2011-12) for 2014-15 and 2013-14 was 105.52 lakh crore and 98.39 lakh crore respectively. It means 7.2 % growth during 2014-15, and 6.6 % during 2013-14.
    3. Previous Real GDP estimates for FY 2014-15 and 2013-14 was 7.3 and 6.9 respectively.
    4. Per capita income - Estimated at 79412 and 86879 rupees respectively for 2013-14 and 2014-15.
    5. Per capita private final consumption expenditure (PFCE) for 2013-14 and 2014-15 was 52022 and 56772 respectively.
  2762. Nathuram Godse - The Story of an Assassin, written by Anup Ashok Sardesai has been released.
  2763. Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) of United Kingdom granted license to Francis Crick Institute to use new gene editing techniques on human embryos.
  2764. Bangladesh Cabinet approved a proposed Citizenship Law that expandes scope for dual citizenship for expatriate (Living outside) Bangladeshi nationals. Before this, a provision was available for Bangladeshis having nationality of the UK and the US only.
  2765. Archana Ramasundram appointed as Director General of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB). With this, Ramasundram became first woman to head a paramilitary force in India.
  2766. India and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will jointly explore environment of Ladakh under NASAs Spaceward Bound programme. During their 10-day expedition in August 2016, scientists will study similarities of certain parts of the regions topography and microbial life to the surroundings of Mars. Ladakh was chosesn as it offers cold, high altitude (3500 - 5500 meters ), high UV exposed with Mars analogue topological features.
  2767. Vietnam lifted temporary ban that it had put on import of Indian Groundnuts.
  2768. Himachal Pradesh Government will spend 15 crore rupees on Swachh Bharat Mission in tribal district of Kinnaur.
  2769. Virender Sehwag appointed as mentor of Kings XI Punjab team for season 9 of Indian Premier League (IPL).
  2770. BRICS Emerging Economies Universities Summit 2015 Held in Delhi, sponsered by TIMES Group.
  2771. 01 Dec - Statehood day of Nagaland. State was formed on 01 Dec, 1963.
  2772. 01 Dec - World AIDS Day (Held since 1988).
  2773. Noted Sarangi player,Ustad Sabri Khan Passed Away.
  2774. Government approved revised cost estimates of Rs. 4,799 crores for setting up five Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs) at Kolkata, Pune, Mohali, Bhopal and Thiruvananthapuram.
  2775. Government approved rehabilitation package of Rs 1110 Crores for Bangladeshi enclaves and Cooch Behar district (West Bengal) after transfer of enclaves between India and Bangladesh.
  2776. Government approved setting up six new Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) in Andhra Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, Goa, Jammu, Kerala and Karnataka.
  2777. Government approved agreements -
    1. Germany - Capital Goods Sector and Solar Energy.
    2. Japan - amending Double Taxation Avoidance Convention (DTAC) signed in 1989 for avoidance of double taxation and fiscal evasion
    3. Iran - visa facilitation for Diplomatic, Official/Service and Ordinary passport holders.
    4. Maldives - sports and youth affairs
    5. Israel - water resources management and development cooperation
    6. Korea - Air Services
  2778. Government approved introduction of Bill for establishment of a Regional Centre for Biotechnology in Faridabad (Haryana).
  2779. Southern Command of Army organized Command level exercise Drad Sankalp in Rajasthan.
  2780. Sixth Meeting of Group on Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) Group of Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes held in Delhi.
  2781. Abdulla Al Khalifa, Minister of Interior of Kingdom of Bahrain visited India.
  2782. Indian army and Air Force started Operation Madad for relief work in Heavy Floods in Chennai (Tamilnadu).
  2783. National Textile Corporation became First Textile Corporation, 51st Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) to sign Memorandum of Understanding with Transparency International India (TII) for adopting Integrity Pact (IP).
  2784. Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian led Committee recommendations for Tax Rates under GST Goods and Services Tax (GST) -
    1. Standard GST rate of 17 to 18 %. It is the rate at which most products would likely be taxed.
    2. Revenue-neutral rate of 15 to 15.5 %. It is a single rate at which there will be no revenue loss to the centre and states in the GST regime.
    3. Two options for states: Single rate of 1 % or a range of 17-18 %.
    4. Three-tier GST rate structure: Essential goods will be taxed at a lower rate of 12 %. Demerit goods such as luxury cars, aerated beverages, pan masala and tobacco products will be taxed at 40 % and remaining all goods will be taxed at a standard rate of 17 to 18 %.
  2785. Belgium ranks at top in employee happiness as per report Global Workforce Happiness Index by Universum.
  2786. Poland's footballer, Robert Lewandowski awarded with four separate official Guinness World Record certificates for scoring five goals in 9-minutes for German Football Club Bayern Munich against Wolfsburg.
  2787. Delhi Development Authority has been awarded with E-India award at E-India Summit 2015 for adopting technology to serve public better and using resources efficiently through mobile applications.
  2788. Ministry of Environment and Forest gave an environment clearance to the proposed Dholera International airport in Ahmedabad district.
  2789. 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference started in Paris (France) -
    1. It is 21st COP (Conference of Parties) for Planning Climate Change Actions and Combating Global Warming Issues.
    2. About 40,000 delegates from 195 nations are attended the summit. 183 countries submitted action plans to achieve the goal of limiting warming to 2 degree centigrade.
    3. Participating countries decided to double their clean energy research and development funding by 2020, as part of Mission Innovation for accelerating clean energy revolution across the world.
    4. Bill Gates led Breakthrough Energy Coalition formed to reduce demand for fossil fuels. It involves 28 rich people from different countries and works on five Investment Principles - Invest Early, Invest Broadly, Invest Wisely and Invest Together.
    5. United Nations and 13 agencies of UN system launched new initiative Anticipate, Absorb, Reshape to build climate resilience in world’s most vulnerable countries. The Iinitiative will enhance ability of the countries to anticipate climate hazards, absorb consequences and reshape development to reduce risks from climate hazards.
    6. Coalition of African countries launched African Restoration Initiative (AFR100) on with aim to restore 100 million hectares (250 million acres) of degraded African land by 2030.
    7. India and France launched International Solar Alliance (ISA) with an aim to harness solar power as a major step to mitigate carbon gas emissions.
      1. It will bring solar rich 121 tropical countries located between Tropic of Cancer and Capricorn together to tap solar energy.
      2. It will function from the Gurgaon based National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE).
      3. India will give assistance of $30 million for this initiative.
      4. PM Modi stated that India has solar capacity of 4GW and targets 100 GW by 2022. He called for developed countries to mobilise $100 billion annually by 2020 for mitigation and adaptation.
      5. France will invest 6 billion euros in 2016-2020 in Africa for enhancing renewable energy sources and cope with climate deterioration.
    8. Under Lima to Paris Action Agenda (LPAA) on climate change, A broad coalition of nations and river basin organisations across world announced Paris Pact on Water and Climater Change Adaptation. It aims to make water systems more resilient to climate change impacts and seeks to promote financial sustainability and new investment in water system management.
  2790. Government released two commemorative coins (Rs 10, Rs 125 denominations) as part of 125th birth anniversary year celebrations of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.
  2791. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, President of Mauritius Visited India.
  2792. 8th Joint Indian-Russian Navies Exercise INDRA NAVY edition of INDRA NAVY to be conducted in Bay of Bengal from 07-12 December 15.
  2793. Rajasthan became third state after Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand to join Centre's UDAY (Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana) Scheme, aimed at revival of debt-stressed power distribution companies.
  2794. 5th India International Science Festival (IISF) 2015 held in IIT Delhi. An attempt was made to set a new world record for largest practical science lesson by 2,000 schoolchildren from Delhi and NCR region here.
  2795. Janta Dal United's Vijay Kumar Chaudhary elected as new Speaker of Bihar legislative assembly.
  2796. Government will allow e-Postal Ballot System and Proxy voting to Overseas electors alternative voting options.
    1. e-Postal Ballot System - Blank ballots will be provided electronically to NRIs and thereafter after casting vote they can return it by normal post.
    2. Proxy voting - Appoint a proxy after following certain formalities and exercise his/her franchise.
  2797. Lok Sabha passed Bureau of Indian Standards Bill 2015 to establish Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) by replacing Bureau of Indian Standards Act 1986. BIS will be responsible for standardization and quality assurance of goods, articles and services etc. It will empower Government to make it mandatory to carry standard mark for certain notified goods and articles.
  2798. Government released commemorative postage stamp to mark Centenary year (100 year) of Zoological Survey of India (ZSI).
  2799. Australia passed Australian Citizenship Amendment (Allegiance to Australia) Bill, 2015 to strip citizenship of convicted persons on terrorism charges.
  2800. Scientist M Nair Rajeevan is appointed as Secretary of Union Ministry of Earth Sciences.
  2801. Goa Government launched National Food Security Act (NFSA) 2013 to benefit over 33 % of states population. Beneficiaries will receive 5 kgs subsidised rice or wheat at subsidised rate of 3 rupees per kg and wheat at the rate of 3 rupees per kg to target persons.
  2802. GAIL India Limited launched geo-portal ‘Bhuvan-GAIL Portal system for utilising space technology for its pipeline monitoring to address pipeline safety concerns, in collaboration with National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) of ISRO.
  2803. Delhi Assembly passed Delhi Jan Lokpal Bill, 2015 for establishment of statutory anti-corruption ombudsman to act against any government functionary through its own investigation wing.
  2804. Uttar Pradesh Government launched International festival on Birds at National Chambal Sanctuary to promote state as an international bird-watching destination.
  2805. Aditya Birla Group’s Idea Cellular signed Memorandum of Understanding with Akshaya Patra Foundation of Odisha for providing mid-day meals to school students in the state.
  2806. Axis Bank become Indias first bank to launch Display variant Debit Cards. The debit card has a display screen and touch-sensitive button that enables generating OTP on the card itself. This OTP will allow using internet banking and other facilities without having to wait for OTP delivery via SMS.
  2807. British astronaut Tim Peake will run London Marathon in space On 24 April 2016. He will run 26.2 miles on a treadmill on International Space Station (ISS) along with over 30,000 runners doing it in London Marathon.
  2808. Government will introduce system of e-transfer of wages to the MGNREGA scheme beneficiaries from January 1, 2016 in Kerala. This will try to prevent leakages in the scheme and If successful, then e-transfer of wages will also be introduced in other states
  2809. Noted Moroccan feminist writer and sociologist, Fatema Mernissi passed away.
  2810. 03 Dec - Birth Anniversary of Rajendra Prasad, first President of India.
  2811. 03 Dec - International Day of Persons with Disabilities. Theme for 2015 is Disabilities is Inclusion matters: access and empowerment for people of all abilities. Government launched Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan (Accessible India Campaign) to achieve universal accessibility to persons with disabilities.
  2812. Chinese President Xi Jinping announced 60 billion US dollars package to African nations during Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) held in Johannesburg, South Africa.
  2813. Allahabad High Court ruled that married daughters of deceased government employees will be eligible for appointments on compassionate grounds in government jobs.
  2814. Himachal Pradesh become first state to start Rotavirus vaccination project under Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP).
  2815. Australia won 2014-15 Mens Hockey World League Final by defeating Belgium. Final was played in Raipur (Chhattisgarh).
  2816. World Bank launched a $500 million dollars Transformative Carbon Asset Facility (TCAF) to help developing countries pay for emission reductions and combat climate change. Scheme will reward countries for reducing emissions by paying a fee for each tonne of carbon dioxide (CO2) reduced.
  2817. Singapore replaced Mauritius as top source of foreign direct investment (FDI) into India during first half of current fiscal year 2015-16. India received 6.69 billion dollars FDI from Singapore while it received 3.66 billion dollars from Mauritius.
  2818. Canada sent first consignment of 250 tonnes of uranium to India as part of bilateral civil nuclear cooperation between both countries.
  2819. Maharashtra become first state to launch an online mechanism for its members to send questions and move different motions in the House through website mls.org.in.
  2820. Seeking to fast-track nuclear power projects,Union Government has introduced Atomic Energy (Amendment) Bill, 2015 in Lok Sabha. The amendment seeks to facilitate fast expansion of nuclear power and utilities. The move will help in getting funds for big projects by enabling NPCIL to enter into joint ventures with other government undertakings.
  2821. Kaher Kazem is appointed as President and Managing Director of India operations of General Motors.
  2822. As per a report, Indias forest and tree cover increased by 5081 Square kilometres. Total forest and tree cover is 79.42 million hectare(24.16 % of total geographical area).
    1. 15 States/UTs have forest cover above 33 % of geographical area.
    2. State wise maximum increase in forest cover - Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Jammu & Kashmir
    3. Largest forest cover in terms of area: Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Chhattisgarh
    4. Highest %age of forest cover : Mizoram (88.93%) Lakshadweep (84.56%).
  2823. China approved production of first manned two seater electric aircraft RX1E known as RX1E. RX1E is electric light-sport aircraft powered by lithium batteries and capable of flying upto 3000 meters.
  2824. South Western Railways Zone introduced biodiesel for trains, operating under its zone with 5 % biodiesel blended with High Speed Diesel. Aim is to reduce greenhouse gases (GHGs) emission and make fuel more efficient.
  2825. United Kingdom has been selected as host for next Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in 2018.
  2826. Henk Bekedam (Netherlands) is named as new World Health Organisation (WHO) representative to India.
  2827. 6th Asian Business Leadership Forum (ABLF) in Dubai -
    1. Biocon Limited CMD Kiran Mazumdar Shaw honoured with 2015 Outstanding Business Achiever award.
    2. Hinduja brothers and GMR Group chairman G.M. Rao presented with Achievement Award of ABLF.
  2828. India launched injectable inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) as part of global polio eradication. IPV injection will be given to children below one year of age. First phase will include namely Assam, Gujarat, Punjab, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh.
    1. In India, Hyderabad-based Shantha Biotechnics Private Limited is manufacturing ShanIPV vaccine, which will be used in injectable IPV programme. Shantha will provide 2.3 million doses of ShanIPV in 2015, and 9 million in 2016.
  2829. 04 Dec - Indian Navy Day. It commemorates start of Operation Trident during Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. In one-night attack the Indian Navy sank three vessels near largest Pakistani port of Karachi.
  2830. Brazil's economy decreased by 1.7 % during July-September 2015. Since 1930s it is Brazils longest recession as Brazil's third consecutive quarter of contraction started from January 2015.
  2831. Renowned violinist Lakshminarayana Subramaniam to be honoured with Sangeet Samman at ITC Sangeet Sammelan 2015 in Kolkata.
  2832. Venkatraman Ramakrishnan assumed Presidency of Royal Society in London. He was elected by societys council earlier and will serve for five years.
  2833. Indias Thakur Anoop Singh won gold medal in 7th WBPF World Bodybuilding and Physique Championships.
  2834. Industrialist, founder of Chettinad Group, MAM Ramaswamy passed away.
  2835. Pulin Kumar (Adidas India Executive) conferred with Indian National Bar Association's (INBA) General Counsel of the year 2015 - Retail Award.
  2836. Indian-American Vijay M Rao named as chairperson of prestigious Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) Board of Directors.
  2837. YouTube and Subhash Ghai-owned film school Whistling Woods International opened its first video production studio in India.
  2838. Tata Sons Limited and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC) formed a long-term partnership, under which ICBC will become a strategic banking partner to the $108 Billion Tata group. ICBC will provide Tata group with financing products, cash management, consulting and various other services.
  2839. Reserve Bank of India announced revised Priority Sector Lending (PSL) norms for Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) -
    1. PSL target increased to 75 % of total outstanding from existing 60 %, effective from 01-01-2016.
    2. Under PSL, Loans to individual farmers was increased to 50 lakh from present 10 lakh rupees against pledge of agricultural produce for upto 12 months.
    3. RBI lowered quantum of loans that will qualify as PSL from 25 lakh to 20 lakh rupees.
  2840. Reserve Bank of India cancelled certificate of registration of 56 non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), including ABNL, Future Ventures India and Bajaj Finserve.
  2841. Cochin Shipyard Ltd launched nineteenth of 20 Fast Patrol Vessels being built for Indian Coast Guard. The vessel was named ICGS Atulya.
  2842. National Research Development Corporation signed memorandum of agreement with CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad for marketing its inventions, patents, formulations, processes and collection of royalties.
  2843. Railways flagged off first Goa to Mumbai double-decker Shatabdi train.
  2844. Tata Trusts and Khan Academy announced five-year partnership to enable free online education for Indian market.
  2845. 05 Dec - International Volunteer Day. Observed across the world with the theme The world is changing. Are you? Volunteer!
  2846. Government approved amendments inNational Waterways Bill, 2015 and declared 106 additional inland waterways as national waterways. Now total number of national waterways goes upto 111.
  2847. Government approved agreement with United Kingdom in field of cooperation in energy.
  2848. Government approved agreement with Indonesia in field of cooperation in renewable energy.
  2849. India and South Korea signed Memorandum of Understanding on suspension of collection of taxes during pendency of Mutual Agreement Procedure (MAP), to relieve burden of double taxation for taxpayers in both countries during the pendency of MAP proceedings.
  2850. India and United Kingdom launched joint initiative 2016: UK-INDIA Year of Education and Research. It will allow UK academicians to come to India under Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN) programme and will enhance partnership in research work under IMPRINT (IMPacting Research Innovation and Technology).
  2851. Finance Minister of British Columbia state of Canada, Michael de Jong, Q.C. visited India.
  2852. UDAY (Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana) Scheme joined by Punjab , J &K , Himachal Pradesh & Uttarakhand. Note that Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Rajasthan joined earlier.
  2853. Government will establish 2 new Indian Institutes of Science Education & Research (IISERs) in Nagaland and Odisha States.
  2854. President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated Umang 2015 (a Festival of Energy) in Delhi.
  2855. China issued first red alert on pollution it Capital Beijing due to hazardous air quality caused by severe air pollution.
  2856. Scientists at London based Imperial College genetically modified malaria-causing mosquito Anopheles gambiae species to fight disease of malaria.
  2857. Indian Institute of Science Bengaluru bagged United States military contract worth $52900 for research and development (R&D) on solar powered micro-grid.
  2858. Mauricio Macri sworn in as new President of Argentina.
  2859. Mexico approved worlds first-ever Dengue fever vaccine named Dengvaxia , manufactured by French pharmaceutical manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur.
  2860. India launched Indian Long Term Ecological Observatories (I-LTEO) programme to scientifically monitor 8 different biomes (natural landscapes) across the country. It aims to identify and monitor targeted socio-ecological challenges and help build capacity within India.
  2861. Indian Institute of Science (IISC) Bengaluru's Mr. U Ramamurty won 2015 Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) award in engineering. Jagdish Ladha (International Rice Research Institute, New Delhi) won in agricultural sciences and Sandip Trivedi (Tata Institute for Fundamental Research, Mumbai) in physics category.
  2862. Indian-American entrepreneur Frank Islam chosen for inaugural Uttar Pradesh Ratna Award for his achievements and outstanding contributions in a foreign country (USA).
  2863. Myanmar launched its first stock exchange named Yangon Stock Exchange.
  2864. Asian Development Bank released report Asian Economic Integration Report 2015. It examines current trends in trade, finance, migration, remittances and other economic activities and special economic zones (SEZs).
    1. Asia’s income elasticity of trade declined from 2.69 before the global financial crisis (2008-09) to 1.30 in 2015.
    2. Number of SEZs from 500 in 1995 to 4300 in 2015 shows strong and rising interest to this form of policy experiment.
    3. India has become the third largest source of inward FDI for the United Kingdom (UK) after the US and France in number of projects.
    4. For India, high technology and low technology exports constituted 4.1 and 58.8 respectively in 1990, they contributed to 8.6 and 35.0 % respectively in 2014.
  2865. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj Visited Pakistan.
  2866. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved creation of buffer stock of pulses to deal with fluctuation in prices of pulses and food inflation. Stock will consist about 50000 tonnes of kharif pulses and 1 lakh tonnes rabi Pulses from crops in 2015-16.
  2867. Time magazine named German Chancellor Angela Merkel as Person of Year 2015. Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is named runner-up.
  2868. Iran successfully carried out test of medium range Ghadr-110 ballistic missile with range 1,800 - 2000 km. With this, Iran so far has breached 2 United Nations Security Council resolutions that refrained Iran from any work on ballistic missiles for 8 years.
  2869. Lok Sabha passed Indian Trusts (Amendment) Bill 2015, to amend Indian Trusts Act 1882 to remove irrelevant archaic provisions from 133 year old legislation.
  2870. Parliament passed Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill 2015 to amend Negotiable Instruments Act 1881 to make cheque-bounce filing of cases more convenient for check payees.
  2871. Fifth edition of Heart of Asia conference started in Islamabad (Pakistan). It is annual regional gathering of Asian and other countries. External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj visited of India's Behalf.
  2872. India and Japan signed Protocol for amending existing convention for avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to income taxes.
  2873. Government imposed anti-dumping duty ranging from 5 - 57 % on import of cold-rolled flat products of stainless steel for 5 years. Hhighest duty of 57.39 % has been levied on steel imports from China, followed by European Union at 52.56 5. Imports from Thailand will have least imposition of 4.58 %.
  2874. Bollywood actor Naseeruddin Shah honoured with lifetime achievement award at 12th edition of Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF).
  2875. Pakistan successfully test-fired nuclear-capable Shaheen-III ballistic missile with range upto 2700 KM.
  2876. On My Terms: From the Grassroots to the Corridors of Power, autobiography of former Union Minister Sharad Pawar has been released.
  2877. Indian author Salman Rushdie awarded 2015 Mailer Prize for Lifetime Achievement.
  2878. London-based Asian Lite newspaper conferred its 2015 Person of Year honour on businessman K.T. Mohammed Rabeeh Rabeeulla.
  2879. Facebook set up a SME Council in India to help small ventures from various industries share feedback and discuss ideas around leveraging technology.
  2880. Haryana Government will celebrate Gita Jayanti Mahotsava in Dec 2015. Rs 10 lakh would be provided to each district for setting up of exhibition, tentage, craft work etc .
  2881. Goa is listed in top 10 Best Winter Locations of World by international agency Atlas Choices.
  2882. Central Research Institute in Yoga and Naturopathy will be set up in Khordha District, Odisha by Central Council for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy.
  2883. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) become first oil company from India to join the World Banks Zero Routine Flaring by 2030 Initiative, a global initiative to end routine gas flaring at oil production sites.
  2884. Carolina Marin of Spain won 2015 BWF Female Player of the Year Award. China’s Chen Long won prize in Male Category.
  2885. 07 Dec - Armed Forces Flag Day.
  2886. Teams from Pune and Rajkot will compete in Indian Premier League (IPL) replacing suspended Chennai Superkings and Rajasthan Royals for 2 years.
  2887. Memorandum of Understanding signed among Ministry of Textiles, Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) and National Textile Corporation (NTC) in order to set up a Technology Centre (Tool Room) at Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh).
  2888. India's National Stock Exchange signed an agreement with London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) for collaboration and setting up a Joint research centre.
  2889. India placed at 4th position in black money outflows among developing and emerging economies between 2004-2013, as per a report by Global Financial Integrity’s. China at top with 139 billion dollars average,Russia (104 billion dollars / annum), Mexico (52.8 billion dollars) and India fourth with 51 billion dollars black money outflowed per annum.
  2890. National Green Tribunal put complete ban on use of plastics along stretch of Ganga from Gomukh to Haridwar in Uttarakhand.
  2891. New Zealand formally become 9th founding member of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). New Zealand's ratification will contribute to AIIB reaching 50 % threshold needed for AIIB to establish operations. AIIB would have around 100 billion U.S. dollars of initial capital.
  2892. Karnataka government signed an Expression of Interest agreement with Reitzel Group.
  2893. India and Singapore signed an agreement for Singapore airport developer Changi being nominated for taking up management of the Indian airports - Ahmedabad and Jaipur.
  2894. Hyderabad based Hetero Drugs became first Indian company to receive DGCIs approval for hepatitis C drug in India, under product name Ledisof.
  2895. Government has set up A mechanism known as SETU (Self-Employment and Talent Utilisation) under NITI Aayog  to support all aspects of start-up businesses and other self- employment activities.
  2896. Two Indians, Kartik Sawhney and Neha Swain won 2016 Queen's Young Leaders award in United Kingdom for their exceptional work in transforming lives of others and making lasting difference in communities.
  2897. Luxembourg became 10th country to ratify Articles of Agreement (AoA) to lay legal framework for China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).Australia, Austria, Brunei Darussalam, China, Mongolia, Nepal, New Zealand, Singapore and United Kingdom have already ratified agreement so far. There are 57 founder-member countries of AIIB with its headquarters in Beijing.
  2898. Former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene awarded with an honorary life membership of Marylebone Cricket Club (UK).
  2899. Noted Electrical Equipment Manufacturer ABB India appointed Sanjeev Sharma as Managing Director.
  2900. Metropolitan Stock Exchange (formerly MCX Stock Exchange) appointed Udai Kumar as MD and CEO.
  2901. Kapil Chopra has been appointed as Chairman of World Travel & Tourism Council India Initiative (WTTCII) for 2016.
  2902. Government approved establishing 3 Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIITs) at Ranchi, Nagpur and Pune.
  2903. Myanmar launched its first United Nation Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Biosphere Reserve Inle Lake in Shan state.
  2904. Two Indian cities Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) and Jaipur (Rajashan) have been designated as members of UNESCO's Creative Cities Network (UCCN).
  2905. National Green Tribunal (NGT) banned on registration of new diesel vehicles in Delhi due to growing air pollution in city.
  2906. Noted agro-economist Sharad Anantrao Joshi passed away.
  2907. Prakash Kumar Singh appointed as chairman of Steel Authority of India (SAIL).
  2908. Indian IT Firm Wipro won 2015 Aegis Graham Bell Award for developing a solution for the Internet of Things (IoT), called Universal Data Parser (UDP).
  2909. Indian cyclist Deborah Herold became first Indian female cyclist to be ranked 4th in World Women Ranking for 500m time trial event by International Cycling Union. Indian team also improved to 13th rank.
  2910. India-Laos Cultural Conference held in Delhi.
  2911. National Commission for Safai Karamcharis Annual Report 2014-15 Recommendations -
    1. Make the Commission a permanent and statutory body with powers of Civil Court to lend it more credibility.
    2. Contract system should be abolished and ensure payment of minimum wages for Safai Karamcharis.
    3. Death victims among Safai Karamcharis should be compensated with minimum 10 lakh rupees.
    4. Protection of rights, ensuring risk allowance, implementation of effective financing schemes for rehabilitation of Safai Karamcharis, etc.
  2912. 9 December - International Anti-Corruption Day.
  2913. Russia and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) agreed to reform Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) that was suspended earlier due to scams.
  2914. Ola Cabs appointed Joy Bandekar as Corporate President.
  2915. Maharashtra defeated Punjab to win 2015 National Wheelchair Basketball Championship.
  2916. US House of Representatives passed Visa Waiver Program Improvement Act 2015. It will bar people who visited Iraq, Syria and countries after 1 March 2011 to participate in visa-free program.
  2917. Yes Bank announced to mobilize 5 billion USD by 2020 for climate action through lending, investing and raising capital towards climate changes actions. Bank also Targeted
    1. funding of 5000 MW of clean energy.
    2. Creating a carbon sink by planting 2 million trees.
    3. Touch 100 million lives through its safe and clean drinking water program.
  2918. Delhi Assembly passed three education bills - Delhi School Verification of Accounts and Refund of Excess Fee Bill, Delhi School Education (Amendment) Bill (DSEAA), and Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Delhi Amendment) Bill. These bills aim at reining in private schools and bringing in systemic reforms in education sector.
  2919. 10 Dec - Human Rights Day (HRD). It marks 10 Dec 1948 when the United Nations adopted Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Theme for 2015 is Our Rights. Our Freedoms. Always.
  2920. Cricketer Rohit Sharma became co-owner of Pro Wrestling League team UP Warriors.
  2921. Delhi Government announced vehicle rationing scheme to curb air pollution in the city. In first phase , vehicles with odd and even number plates would be allowed to run on alternate days between 1 January and 15 January 2016.
  2922. Supreme Court ordered Government to operationalise Organised Crimes Investigating Agency (OCIA) by 1 December 2016 to probe human trafficking cases.
  2923. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Handbook of Statistics Report 2015 -
    1. This annual publication provides statistics relevant to international trade, investment and development for 2014.
    2. Total global exports for 2014 were 24 trillion USD, up by 1.2 % compared with 2013. India's exports were 321 billion USD as compared to 314 billion USD in 2013.
    3. International service exports accounted for 21 % of total global exports.
    4. Merchandise Exports were total 19 trillion USD (79 %).
    5. Foreign Direct Investment : Total FDI inflows were 1.2 trillion USD, fell by 16 % in 2014 as compared to 2013.
  2924. Delhi Assembly passed Members of Legislative Assembly Salaries, Allowances, Pension Amendment Bill 2015. It seeks 400 % hike in salaries of Delhi MLAs. It is based on recommendations of three-member PDT Achary panel.
  2925. Aricent (USA) product engineering firm tied-up with India's Nasscom Foundation to launch Aricent Employability Programme aimed at creating employment opportunities for 2500 engineering graduates across Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Delhi NCR and Rajasthan.
  2926. United Nations agencies launched a 1.98 billion USD Sahel humanitarian appeal for 2016 to mobilise international support to tackle triple crisis of poverty, insecurity and climate change in 9 Nations in Sahel region in Africa.
  2927. Government approved 4000 crore rupees proposal for encouraging Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Industry.
    1. To counter cost-disadvantages, government will grant assistance of 20 % of contract price or fair price, following delivery of the ship. Assistance will be reduced by 3 % in every 3 years.
  2928. Government slashed Minimum Export Price (MEP) of onions to 400 USD per tonne from 700 USD. MEP is rate below which no exports are allowed for concerned goods. Rise in MEP restricts exports and improves domestic supply.
  2929. Supreme Court upheld Haryana Government's amendment to Haryana Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Act, 2015. The Act mandates educational qualifications and other eligibility criteria for candidates who aspire to contest the rural local body elections.
  2930. International Cricket Council announced new 4 year (2016 - 2020) global partnership with OPPO (Chinese Mobile Brand). In October 2015, ICC entered into an 8-year global partnership deal with Japanese car maker Nissan Motors.
  2931. United Nations Committee Against Torture (UNCAT) asked China to halt torture of detainees and oppression of human rights activists. Report is based on survey of eight countries - Liechtenstein, Azerbaijan, Austria, Denmark, China, Hong Kong China, Macao China and Jordan.
  2932. DuPont and Dow Chemical Company merged in an all-stock deal to create merged firm DowDuPont with combined market capitalization of approximately 130 billion USD.
  2933. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd acquired 112-year old English newspaper South China Morning Post.
  2934. Government appointed Justice L Narasimha Reddy as chief of Judicial Committee to look into implementation of One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme for Ex-Servicemen.
  2935. Government launched website of all 36 Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) Hospitals with URL www.esichospitals.gov.in. It will bring all 36 ESIC hospitals on one platform.
  2936. Arun Kumar Jain has been appointed as chief of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).
  2937. Mohd.Jamshed taken over as new Member Traffic, Railway Board.
  2938. India- OPEC Meet held in Delhi. Attended by Minister of State (I/C) for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan on India's Behalf.
    1. OPEC - Secretary General is Abdallah Salem el-Badri and Head quarters in Vienna (Austria)
    2. Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is an international organization of 13 member countries. Members are - Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela.
  2939. Government approved Memorandum of Understanding with Spain for cooperation in Port matters.
  2940. Government approved an MoU with BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries for strengthening and further developing of energy saving and energy efficiency cooperation.
  2941. 10th Ministerial Conference of WTO (World Trade Organization) held in Nairobi (Kenya). Attended by Ms Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State(Independent Charge) for Commerce and Industry on India's Behalf.
  2942. Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe visited India -
    1. India and Japan signed co-operation agreements in various fields Including
      1. Transfer of Defence Equipment and Technology Cooperation
      2. Amendment of Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement
      3. Technological Cooperation in Rail Sector
      4. Medical Products Regulation Dialogue and Cooperation Framework
      5. Forests
      6. Civil Nuclear Pact
      7. Co-operation to introduce High Speed Rail (HRS) on Mumbai Ahmedabad sector. It is a 508 km line connecting Mumbai and Ahmedabad with total cost 97,636 crores rupees and to be done in 7 years. It will reduce travelling time between the two cities from eight hours to around three. Japan will extend loan of 12 billion dollars (.1%) and technical assistance. Loan will be for 50 years.
  2943. World Bank approved $1.5 billion loan for clean India campaign to ensure all citizens in rural areas have access to improved sanitation and end open defecation by 2019.
  2944. ISRO Launched its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C29 successfully with six satellites from Singapore. Six satellites together weighed about 624 kg.
  2945. Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India launched $10 billion gas pipeline to help ease energy deficits in South Asia. Indian Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari attended on India'a Behalf. It is expected to build gas link with annual capacity of 33 billion cubic metres by end of 2018.
    1. TAPI project will cover 1,800 km, beginning from Turkmenistans Galkynysh field with gas reserves are 16 trillion cubic feet.
    2. It has capacity to carry 90 million standard cubic metres a day (mmscmd). Both India and Pakistan will get supply of about 38 mmscmd and Afghanistan will get 14 mmscmd supply of natural gas.
  2946. Powerful Typhoon Melor (also known as Nona) hit central Philippines with powerful wind of 200 kph followed by intense rainfall.
  2947. 14 Dec - National Energy Conservation Day. Government launched ‘Star Rating’ mobile app on this occasion. It is linked to Standards and Labeling database and provides platform to compare energy saving devices across and get real-time feedback from consumers. It will help make better purchase decisions.
  2948. Government appointed Ahmad Javed as Indias Ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
  2949. 10 Day Long Festival of Losar begun in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir to mark beginning of New Year in this Himalayan region.
  2950. Legendary actor Dilip Kumar has been conferred with prestigious Padma Vibhushan, countrys second highest civilian award.
  2951. Indian-origin writer Jamaludeen Mohamed Sali from Singapore has been awarded with 2015 South East Asia Write Award at annual ASEAN regional award for literary excellence in Bangkok (Thailand).
  2952. Indias golfer Anirban Lahiri won coveted Order of Merit crown of Asian Tour for year 2015.
  2953. Indian-origin Pravin Gordhan appointed as South Africa's Finance Minister.
  2954. Rajasthan become first state to submit smart city plans for three selected cities - Udaipur, Kota and Ajmer.
  2955. Israeli-American violinist Itzhak Perlman awarded 2016 Genesis Prize (also known as Jewish Nobel prize).
  2956. United Nations Development Programme's Human Development Index 2015 -
    1. India placed at 130th position in among 188 countries. with 0.609 score. In 2014, Indias rank was 135 with 0.586 score.
      1. Indias Life expectancy at birth - Increased to 68 years in 2014 from 67.6 in previous year and 53.9 in 1980.
      2. Gross National Income (GNI) per capita increased to $5,497 in 2014 from $5,180 in 2013 and $1,255 in 1980.
      3. Access to knowledge - Expected years of schooling remained at 11.7 since 2011. Mean years of schooling at 5.4 has not changed since 2010.
      4. Gender Development Index (GDI) of India is 0.795 in 2014. The female HDI value for India is 0.525 in contrast with 0.660 for males.
      5. Gender Inequality Index - India ranked 130th with value of 0.563 out of 155 countries in 2014.
    2. Top Three Countries - Norway, Australia and Switzerland (3rd).
    3. Indias Neighbours - : Sri Lanka (73), China (90), Bhutan (132), Bangladesh (142), Nepal (145), Pakistan (147) and Afghanistan (171).
    4. BRICS - Russia (50), Brazil (75), China (90), South Africa (116) and India (130)
  2957. International Atomic Energy Agency ended its 12-year investigation into Iran's developing nuclear weapons. Move is seen as key step towards lifting international sanctions agaist Iran. Earlier in July 2015, P5+1 nations and Iran had agreed Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to lift the sanctions.
  2958. To curb Increasing Pollution, Supreme Court banned registration of all diesel SUVs (Sports Utility Vechiles) and luxury cars in National Capital Region (NCR) of Delhi with engine capacity over 2000 cc.
    1. Trucks carrying goods for Delhi will have to pay environment compensation charge of 2,600 rupees for big trucks and 1,400 rupees for light commercial vehicles.
    2. All private cabs in Delhi should convert to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) by March 1, 2016.
  2959. Supreme Court appointed Virendra Singh as new Lokayukta of Uttar Pradesh.
  2960. Government approved introduction of Bill to amend Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 to modify list of Scheduled Castes in 5 States - Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Kerala, Odisha and West Bengal.
  2961. Government approved policy framework for development of Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) in unexplored coal and lignite bearing areas.
    1. Underground Coal Gasification is a clean coal extraction technology for extracting energy from coal seams and lignite resources which cannot be mined through traditional mining.
    2. In this, coal ias converted into product gases such as methane, hydrogen, CO and CO2 that are used for electricity generation.
    3. Gasification is carried out in non-mined coal seams using injection of oxidants that brings product gas to surface through production wells.
  2962. Government approved Google's Project Loon for providing Internet connectivity by using large balloons, Announced by Google CEO Sunder Pichai during His Visit in Delhi.
    1. Loon is Googles ambitious project that aims at providing low-cost Internet access to remote areas. Under this, high altitude floating telecom tower balloons are positioned at a height of 20 km for transmission of internet services. Each balloon can provide broadband internet coverage up to an area of 40 km.
  2963. Average temperature over Arctic land for year ending September 2015 was highest on record indicating that Arctic is warming twice as fast as other parts of Earth. It was announced by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of USA. Temperatures in Arctic were 1.3 degrees Celsius above average.
  2964. Combined Commanders Conference annual tri-services event chaired by PM Narendra Modi held on board INS Vikramaditya. It was first time when this conference was held outside Delhi.
  2965. Pakistan successfully tested nuclear-capable Shaheen-IA ballistic missile with a range of 900 km.
  2966. India will host ICC World Twenty20 Tournaments of Men and Women in 2016. Men's event will have total prize money of $5.6 million and prize money for women's event will be $400,000.
  2967. 26th conference of Southern Zonal Council hosted in Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh).
    1. Zonal Councils in India are created under State Reorganization Act, 1956. These are advisory bodies that discuss various matters of common interest. There are five Councils - Eastern, Western, Northern, Southern, and Central.
    2. Meeting of each Zonal Council needs to be held once in a year.
  2968. 11 December - International Mountain Day.
  2969. Health Minister Jaiprakash Nadda laid foundation stone for Indias largest National Cancer Institute at AIIMS campus in Haryanas Jhajjar district.
  2970. 12th South Asian Games 2016 will be jointly hosted by Guwahati and Shillong from February 6-16, 2016. TIKHOR, a one-horned rhino will br mascot of the games. Logo of the event is a flower with eight petals representing 8 - participating nations.
  2971. Turkmenistan hosted International conference on policy of neutrality on the occasion of 20th anniversary of status of permanent neutrality.
  2972. Gambia (West Africa) declared itself as an Islamic republic. About 90 % of Gambia’s 1.8 million people are Muslims.
  2973. Saudi Arabia announced launch of Islamic Military Coalition to counter terrorism with participation of 34 nations and operations center in Saudi Arabia’s capital (Riyadh).
  2974. Japanese Badminton Players Kento Momota and Nozomi Okuhara won Men's singles and Womens singles title respectively at BWF World Superseries finals in Dubai.
  2975. Maharashtra government constituted a task force for setting up an International Financial Service Centre in Mumbai. It will be headed by Union Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha.
  2976. Cricketer Rohit Sharma along with Graphic India will launch a new environmental superhero team called 'Hyper Tygers'.
  2977. Lalit Modi re-appointed as president of the Rajasthan Cricket Association after being ousted for 14 months.
  2978. Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation tied up with PayTm for making it easier for Train passengers to make online payments for food ordered through e-catering with IRCTC.
  2979. Bose Brothers and Indian Independence – An Insiders Account written by Madhuri Bose(Grand-niece of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose) has been released.
  2980. Government approved revised Model Text for Indian Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT).
  2981. 2nd World Internet Conference held in Zhejiang province of China.
  2982. 16 Dec - Vijay Diwas observed to remember martyrs who laid down their lives during Indo-Pak War of 1971.
  2983. Government asked states to start Operation Smile-II from 1 January 2016. Operation Smile-II is a campaign to rescue/rehabilitate the missing children.
  2984. World Bank and FIRST Initiative launched Principles for Public Credit Guarantee Schemes (CGSs). These provide generally accepted set of good practices that can serve as a global reference for the design, execution and evaluation of public CGSs that serve small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
  2985. 14th Meeting of Heads of Governments of SCO (Shanghai Co-operation Organization) Member States concluded in Zhengzhou (China).
  2986. Uttar Pradesh Government approved UP Revenue Code (Amendment) Ordinance 2015 to enable Dalits to sell their land to non-Dalits without administration approval.
  2987. West Bengal Government honoured Bappi Lahiri and Kumar Sanu with Lifetime Achievement Awards at annual Bangla Sangeet Mela. Musician Shantanu Moitra was awarded Sangeet Mahasamman Award.
  2988. Green Peace India released National Air Quality Index (NAQI) Report of 17 cities.
    1. Delhi is listed as most polluted city in world, while 13 Indian cities figured in 20 most polluted cities.
    2. World Health Organisation reported that estimated that outdoor air pollution caused 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2012.
    3. Delhi has PM2.5 Annual Average (µg/m3) Value of 153, most in the world. Followed by Patna and Gwalior.
  2989. Andhra Pradesh Government approved to abolish VAT (Value-added tax), CST (Central Sales Tax) on Sugar factories.
  2990. Federal Reserve, central bank of USA increased interest rate by 0.25 %. With this, interest rates in USA are now in range of 0.25 – 0.50 % as compared to 0 to 0.25 % earlier.
  2991. Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas appointed committee under Ajit Prakash Shah to look into dispute between Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) and Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) on Krishna Godavari (KG) gas fields.
  2992. Tata Starbucks appointed Sumi Ghosh as Chief Executive Officer.
  2993. Hindustan Unilever accquired Mosons Group's flagship brand Indulekha for 330 crore rupees.
  2994. World Trade Organisation approved Afghanistans membership as 164th Member at WTOs Tenth Ministerial Conference in Nairobi (Kenya).
  2995. Ministry of Finance raised monetary limit for filing appeals to 10 lakh rupees in Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) and 20 lakh rupees in High Court. Ministry seeks to reduce tax litigation by about 50 %.
  2996. Delhi became first to implement recommendations of Supreme Court appointed committee under KS Radhakrishnan To deal with traffic violations in the city.
  2997. United Nations-brokered Libyan Political Agreement on formation of a national unity government has been signed. Aim is to create a single set of institutions for a secure and prosperous Libya.
  2998. Open Government Partnership selected Indian-origin Sanjay Pradhan as its head.
  2999. Sanctuary Asia magazine Awards 2015 -
    1. Lifetime Service Award - Claude and Norma Alvares.
    2. Sanctuary Legend - Ashok Kumar
    3. Wildlife Service Awards - Varad Giri (National Centre for Biological Sciences),   Nandini Velho (organiser of first Arunachal Pradesh Bird Festival), Param Jit Singh, Yash Veer Bhatnagar (Snow Leopard Trust's India) and Gir Lion Protection Team.
  3000. India's Mahindra Group acquired Italian car designer Pininfarina SpA for 165 million USD.
  3001. 18 December - International Migrants Day.
  3002. Mr. Panos Kammenos, Defence Minister of Greece visited India.
  3003. R. K. Mathur has been appointed as Chief Information Commissioner in Central Information Commission.
  3004. Sahitya Akademi Awards 2015 in 23 languages -
    1. Jury headed by Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari. Award in Bengali is to be announced later
    2. Award carries plaque, shawl and a cheque of 1 lakh rupees and presented on 16 February 2016 during Festival of Letters (annual festival of Sahitya Akademi).
    3. Awardees -
      1. Poets - Brajendra Kumar Brahma, Dhian Singh, Ramdarash Mishra, KV Tirumalesh, Kshetri Ranjen, Ram Shankar Awasthi
      2. Short Stories - Kula Saikia, Man Mohan Jha, Gupta Pradhan, Bibhuti Pattanaik, Maya Rahi, Volga
      3. Novelists - Cyrus Mistry, KR Meera, Jaswinder Singh, Madhu Acharya
      4. Essayists - Rasik Shah, A Madhavan
      5. Play Writers - Uday Bhembre, Rabilal Tudu
      6. Authors of Books on Criticism - Bashir Bhadarwahi, Shamim Tariq
      7. Author selected for a book on memoirs - Arun Khopkar for Chalat Chitravyooh in Marathi
  3005. United Nations International Labour Organisation report Global Estimates on Migrant Workers -
    1. Number of Migrant workers are approx 15 crores while Number of Total International migrants are approx 23 Crores. Among migrant workers, 55.7 % are men.
    2. 48.5 % of migrant workers are in two sub-regions - Northern America and Northern, Southern and Western Europe.
    3. About ILO - Headquarters (Geneva, Switzerland), Chief - Guy Ryder
  3006. National Stock Exchange launched three separate indices on 3 corporate houses - Tata, Aditya Birla and Mahindra Group. Its first of its kind indices made to reflect performance of companies belonging to these corporate groups.
    1. Nifty Tata Group Index has 25 companies with market capitalisation of 7.51 lakh crore rupees and 7.83 % share in market capitalisation of companies listed on NSE
    2. Nifty Aditya Birla Group Index- It has 8 companies with market capitalisation of 2.08 lakh crores and represents 2.17 % of market capitalisation of companies listed on NSE.
    3. Nifty Mahindra Group Index has 7 companies with market capitalisation of 1.64 lakh crores and 1.71 %of market capitalisation of companies listed on NSE.
  3007. Renowned theatre artist and writer Chatla Sriramulu passed away.
  3008. Uttar Pradesh government baned use of polythene to protect environment and public health.
  3009. Noted British Novelist Peter Dickinson passed away. He was best known for childrens books and detective stories.
  3010. Zoological Survey of India Scientists discovered new species of eel named Bengal moray eel (Gymnothorax mishrai) in Purba Medinipur district of West Bengal.
  3011. West Bengal Government approved formation of 5 new districts, taking total number of districts to 25. New districts are -
    1. Kalimpong - Will be carved out from Darjeeling district.
    2. Sundarbans
    3. Basirhat - Will be formed from North 24 Parganas district.
    4. Burdwan (Industrial) - Will be made by dividing existing Burdwan district
    5. Jhargram - Will be made out of West Midnapore district
  3012. President Pranab Mukherjee has been awarded 2015 Garwood Award for Outstanding Global Leader in Open Innovation from UC Berkeley-Haas School of Business.
  3013. United Nations Security Council adopted resolution No. 2254 outlining a peace process in Syria to end Syria's five-year-long civil war.
  3014. Pia Wurtzbach of Philippines won Miss Universe 2015 (64th Miss Universe pageant) held in Las Vegas (USA).
  3015. Mother Teresa, a Roman Catholic religious sister and missionary will be given Sainthood and will be made a saint of Roman Catholic Church in September 2016.
  3016. India's biggest Wildlife Rescue Centre named as Gorewada Zoo and Wildlife Rescue Centre started in Gorewada (Near Nagpur), Maharashtra.
  3017. Ruling conservative Peoples Party of Spain led by Mariano Rajoy won 2015 general elections by winning 123 seats. It will form coalition government for another 4 years term.
  3018. Ministry of Defence launched website www.makeinindiadefence.com to make defence acquisition process simpler and to provide an interface with industry.
  3019. United States (USA) lifted 40 year ban on oil exports as part of a 1.1 trillion USD spending bill to fund US government until 2016. It would enable energy deficient countries including India to open up another frontier and diversify import basket of oil from US.
  3020. India's Cochin Shipyard Limited Received notice to build Liquefied natural gas (LNG) ships. Cochin Shipyard signed a license agreement with French technology company Gaztransport & Technigaz (GTT) in this Regard.
  3021. Barcelona FC won 2015 FIFA Club World Cup for record third time. Final match was played at International Stadium Yokoham in Japan and Barelona FC Defeated River Plate FC by 3-0 goals.
  3022. Chennaiyin FC won second edition of Indian Super League (ISL) Football tournament by defeating Goa FC.
  3023. United States (US) Senate ratified reforms in International Monetary Fund (IMF). Proposed reforms are -
    1. Put Brazil, China, India and Russia among IMFs top 10 shareholders and give emerging markets more influence in IMF.
    2. Chinas vote at IMF would increase to 6 % from 3.8 %.
    3. IMFs Board will entirely consist of elected Executive Directorsa and will end current category of appointment of Executive Directors by five largest quotas holders.
    4. Quotas of all 188 members will increase as Funds quota resources rise to about 477 billion special drawing rights (SDR) from 238.5 billion.
    5. Indias voting rights will also rise to 2.6 % from the current 2.3 % while those of US drop from 16.7 % to 16.5 %.
  3024. University of South Florida launched a postgraduate annual fellowship worth $156,000 in name of former Indian president Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam for Indian students. Recipients will obtain a fee waiver for 4 years and a stipend worth $18,000 every year.
  3025. Coal India become title-sponsor for 3 editions of Hockey India League beginning 2016. Tournament has six franchises - Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Mumbai, Ranchi, Odisha and Punjab.
  3026. India has been ranked 97th out of 144 nations on Forbes's annual list of best countries for doing business. Denmark topped the list. USA (22nd), United Kingdom (10th), Japan (23rd), China (94th) and Pakistan is 103rd.
  3027. Government lowered its economic growth forecast for 2015-16 to 7-7.5 % from 8.1-8.5 %. Finance ministry said it will stick to fiscal deficit target of 3.9 % for current year.
  3028. Mireia Lalaguna of Spain won Miss World 2015 (65th edition of Miss World pageant) held in Sanya (China).
  3029. Arunachal Pradesh's Legislative Assembly Members (MLA) passed a resolution to remove Speaker Nabam Rebia.
  3030. Jeff Williams appointed as Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Apple Inc.
  3031. Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health will open its First South Asian Centre in Mumbai (Maharashtra), in a bid to broaden its reach and improve health in India and world.
  3032. Defence Acquisition Council approved purchase of Russian advance S-400 Triumf Air Defence Missile Systems from Russia for approx 40000 crore rupees.
  3033. Pension fund regulator PFRDA started using PAN instead of Aadhaar for validation of new customers who can now be registered online under National Pension System (NPS) scheme.
  3034. United Nations Launched International Year of Pulses 2016 with theme nutritious seeds for a sustainable future.
  3035. Eugeneson Lyngdoh won Men's and Bala Devi won Women's 2015 All India Football Federation (AIFF) Player-of-the-Year Awards respectively.
  3036. Miss Iraq beauty pageant held for first time since 1972. Shaymaa Qasim Abdelrahman won Miss Iraq 2015.
  3037. Kane Williamson became first New Zealand cricketer to top International Cricket Council's (ICC's) Test rankings.
  3038. India’s Abhay Singh won Under-19 Singapore Squash Open by defeating Alwin Chai of Malaysia.
  3039. World Bank Groups Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development (KNOMAD) initiative released Migration and Remittances Factbook 2016 about latest statistics on Migration and remittance flows for 214 countries -
    1. Number of international migrants is expected to surpass 25 crore in 2015.
    2. Top migrant source countries - India, Mexico, Russia, China, Bangladesh and Top migrant destinations - USA, Saudi Arabia, Germany, Russia, UAE.
    3. India was largest remittance receiving country with 72 billion USD in 2015, followed by China (64 billion) and the Philippines (30 billion USD).
    4. United States was largest remittance source country with 56 billion USD outflows in 2014, followed by Saudi Arabia (37 billion) and Russia (33 billion).
  3040. Delhi Government appointed Gopal Subramanium Commission for enquiring DDCA (Delhi & District Cricket Association) scam.
  3041. Tata Motors named 49th in Top 50 in annual Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard for 2015, Prepared by the European Commission. List was topped by German automaker Volkswagen. Others in Top Five were Samsung, Microsoft, Intel and Novartis.
    1. Tata Motors moved up from last years 104th position and showed largest increase in R&D investments on the list.
    2. In the expanded list of world's 2500 top R&D firms, there are 26 Indian companies. 829 from US, 360 from Japan, 301 from China.
    3. In terms of number of companies on the list, India was overall placed at 15th position.
  3042. American aerospace company SpaceX successfully launched and landed Falcon 9 rocket along with 11 satellites to low-Earth orbit. It is the first time in history that a rocket has returned back after delivering a spacecraft to its orbit, so that it could potentially fly again. This will help in reducing cost of access to space making explorations a more realistic goal.
  3043. Noted German Music Conductor, Kurt Masur passed away.
  3044. Singapore Slammers defeated Indian Aces to win Indian Premier Tennis League (IPTL) - 2015.
  3045. Andy Murray (UK) received 2015 BBC Sports Personality of the Year award in London.
  3046. Digital media brand Arre from UDigital, acquired Apalya Technologies.
  3047. Government of Nepal amended Constitution to address two key demands of Madhesis -
    1. Madhesi people inhabit the flat southern region of Nepal known as the Madhesh.
    2. Their Demands are -
      1. Dissatisfaction with Pahadi (hill) communities getting 100 seats in parliiament while Madhesis got 65 only, being that both communities have equal participation in population.
      2. Secondly, Madhesis were also fighting against Constitutional scheme related to proposed boundaries of the new provinces.
  3048. New Zealand cricketer Brendon McCullum announced retirement from all forms of international cricket. He will retire after test series against Australia to be held in February 2016.
  3049. Gurgaon-based on-demand grocery service PepperTap acquired Bengaluru-based hyperlocal grocery delivery startup Jiffstore.
  3050. Odisha Government launched Anwesha scheme to provide free education to scheduled caste and scheduled tribe students. Under the scheme, 5000 SC and ST children will annually be enrolled into Standard I in leading private schools in urban areas.
  3051. 59th National Shooting Championships in New Delhi -
    1. Elizabeth Susan Koshy - Gold in Women's 50m Rifle 3 Positions
    2. Vijay Kumar - Gold in centre fire pistol
    3. Gurpreet Singh - 25m standard pistol
    4. Pemba Tamang - Rapid fire pistol
    5. Achal Pratap Singh Grewal - 25m sports pistol
    6. Apurvi Chandela - Gold in 10 metre Air Rifle
    7. Chain Singh - Gold in 50m rifle 3-position
  3052. 22 December - Indian National Mathematics Day. Marsks birth of great Indian Mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan on 22 Dec, 1887.
  3053. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved an umbrella scheme for integrated development and management of fisheries under Blue Revolution. Cost will be approx 3000 crores.
  3054. Under Ethanol Blending Programme (EBP), Government scaled up blending targets from 5% to 10% to promote blending of ethanol with petrol and its use as alternative fuel.
  3055. Devendra Chaudhary is appointed as Secretary in Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI).
  3056. Railways signed 3 Memorandum of Understanding with Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) at Kanpur, Madras and Roorkee for setting up of Centres for Railway Research.
  3057. President Pranab Mukherjee laid foundation stone for Karnataka state cancer institute of Kidwai memorial institute of Oncology in Bengaluru.
  3058. Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Minister Radha Mohan Singh launched two mobile apps for farmers.
    1. Mobile app Crop Insurance will help farmers in finding details about insurance cover available in their area and calculate insurance premium for notified crops, coverage and loan amount etc.
    2. Mobile apps AgriMarket Mobile can be used by farmers to get market prices of crops in mandis within 50 km radius of the device and other mandis in the country.
  3059. Pawan Kumar Agarwal appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Food Regulator Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
  3060. Jet Airways appointed Amit Agarwal as its Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
  3061. Philippines became first Asian country to approve sale of the worlds first ever dengue vaccine Dengvaxia manufactured by French pharmaceutical manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur.
  3062. Government approved revised c ost estimates to Rs 1775 Crore for Construction of Salma Dam Project in Afghanistan. It is one of important project implemented to generate goodwill for India in Afghanistan.
  3063. Government approved Lucknow Metro Rail Project Phase – 1 A. It will cover approx 23 km with 22 stations with cost of 6,928 crore rupees.
  3064. Reserve Bank of India extended deadline for exchanging pre-2005 currency notes of various denominations by another six months to June 30, 2016.
  3065. India's first indigenously designed warship INS Godavari has been decommissioned after 32 years of service.
  3066. Indian American professor Rakesh K. Jain has been selected for 2015 National Medal of Science of United States, along with 16 other winners.
  3067. Lok Sabha passed Payment of Bonus (Amendment) Bill 2015 to amend Payment of Bonus Act, 1965
    1. It seeks to raise eligibility limit for payment of bonus from a salary of 10000 to 21000 rupees.
    2. It seeks to raise this calculation ceiling of bonus to 7000 rupees per month or minimum wage under Minimum Wages Act 1948 (whichever is higher).
  3068. Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change notified revised standards for coal-based Thermal Power Plants with aim of minimising pollution.
    1. Thermal power plants are categorised into 3 categories - Installed before 31st December, 2003, Installed after 2003 and up to 31st December, 2016 and Installed after 31st December, 2016.
    2. It would help improving Nation Ambient Air Quality (AAQ) index around thermal power plants and reducing mercury emission to 70-90%.
  3069. Parliament passed Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2015 for trying juveniles as adults for heinous offences.
  3070. China launched Dark Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) satellite to shed light on mysterious dark matter and search for smoking-gun signals of dark matter, invisible material.
  3071. Indian Boxer Vijender Singh became first Indian to score Pro-Boxing hat-trick by winning third successive knockout against Bulgaria’s Samet Hyuseinov in England.
  3072. ITF (International Tennis Federation) World Champions 2015 -
    1. Women's Singles - Serena Williams (United States) - 6th Time
    2. Men's Singles - Novak Djokovic (Serbia) - 5th Time
    3. Womens Doubles - Martina Hingis (Switzerland) and Sania Mirza (India)
    4. Mens Doubles - Jean-Julien Rojer (Netherlands) and Horia Tecau (Romania)
    5. Junior World Champions - Dalma Galfi of Hungary (Male) and USAs Taylor Fritz (Female)
  3073. Zimbabwe adopted Chinese Yuan as legal tender in return for debt cancellation worth 40 million dollars. Yuan will now be acceptabile with customers in Zimbabwe.
  3074. Government approved investment of 5000 crore rupees by Oil and Natural Gas Company Limited (ONGC) into ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) by converting existing loan of equivalent amount into equity.
  3075. International Cricket Council (ICC) Awards 2015 in Dubai (UAE)
    1. Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy - Steven Smith (Australia)
    2. Test Cricketer of the Year - Steven Smith (Australia)
    3. ODI Cricketer of the Year - AB de Villiers (South Africa)
    4. Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year - Meg Lanning (Australia)
    5. Emerging Cricketer of the Year - Josh Hazlewood (Australia)
    6. Associate and Affiliate Cricketer of the Year - Khurram Khan (UAE)
    7. Twenty20 International Performance of the Year - Faf du Plessis (South Africa)
    8. David Shepherd Trophy for Umpire of the Year - Richard Kettleborough
    9. Spirit of Cricket Award - Brendon McCullum (New Zealand)
  3076. RBI created a dedicated helpline for startups (Email - helpstartup@rbi.org.in) in Forex Matters to provide guidance to startups for undertaking cross-border transactions.
  3077. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar approved Patna Metro Rail project's proposal to be presented for central government's clearance. Project cost is between -14000 - 17000 crores with total distance of 31km.
  3078. Idea Cellular became third mobile operator in India to launch 4G services in India after Bharti Airtel and Vodafone.
  3079. Gautam H Bambawale appointed as High Commissioner of India to Pakistan.
  3080. Bihar government banned 15-year-old diesel vehicles in Capital City of Patna, due to increasing pollution.
  3081. United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution Submitted by Japan to observe 5 November every year as World Tsunami Awareness Day.
  3082. Biocon launched generic version of hepatitis – C drug Harvoni in India with brand name CIMIVIR-L.
  3083. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar Inaugurated North India's first cable-stayed bridge (592-metre) in Basohali town of Jammu and Kashmir. It is constructed over river Ravi on Dunera- Basohli-Bhadharwah road to provide good connectivity between J&K, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. It has been named as Atal Bridge.
  3084. President Pranab Mukherjee dedicated National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) Bangalore to the nation.
  3085. As per Harvard researchers at Centre for International Development, India with annual growth rate of 7 % will be worlds fastest growing economy over 10 years. Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya will also rank in top 10 with 5.5 % Growth. US is expected to grow at 2.8 %.
  3086. 24 December - National Consumer Day. On this day in 1986, Consumer Protection Act received assent of the President.
  3087. Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance of Islamic Republic of Iran, Ali Tayyebnia visited India.
  3088. Telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad announced launch of India Post's Payment Bank by March 2017.
  3089. India's former cricketer Syed Kirmani has been selecte for BCCI Col. C.K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award 2015.
  3090. Noted Bollywood actress Sadhna Shivdasani passed away.
  3091. Noted American science-fiction writer George Clayton Johnson passed away. He was best known for dystopian novel Logan’s Run.
  3092. Indian luge Player Shiva Keshavan won silver at 2015 Asian Luge Championship in Nagano (Japan). First place was claimed by Japan's Hidenari Kanayama.
  3093. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully tested anti-jamming capability of Astra missile with ECCM (electronic counter-counter measure) features to overcome any jamming. It Has payload capacity of 15 kg with Shot Kill Probability (SSKP) and range 60-km.
  3094. China adopted it’s first Counter Terrorism Law, A law against domestic violence and officially abandoned its One Child Policy due to deepening crisis of shrinking workforce and aging population.
  3095. Government added 106 medicines and removed 70 medicines from National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM). With this, total number of essential medicines in list has gone up to 376 from 348 earlier.
  3096. Tech Mahindra launched India's first ‘Tap N Pay contactless digital payment wallet MoboMoney as a commercial NFC ecosystem that would allow converting cash into e-cash for payments. MoboMoney is prepaid wallet issued in form of Near Field Communication (NFC) contactless tag to be used to ‘Tap N Pay for goods.
  3097. Fortune 500 companies in India -
    1. Indian Oil Corporation is biggest Indian company in terms of annual revenue - 4,51,911 crore.
    2. Reliance Industries is second, Tata Motors (3), State Bank of India (4), Bharat Petroleum (5), Hindustan Petroleum (6), Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (7), Tata Steel (8), Hindalco Industries (9), Tata Consultancy Services (10).
  3098. Seychelles allowed India to build its first Naval Base on Assumption Island in Indian Ocean region as a joint project between both countries.
  3099. Reserve Bank of India introduced Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rate (MCLR) to calculate the banks lending rate to borrowers, To ensure better transmission of its rate cut to borrowers.
    1. All loans sanctioned and credit limits renewed w.e.f. April 1, 2016 will be priced with reference to MCLR method. Currently, many banks follow average cost of funds or ‘blended cost of funds (liabilities) method for calculating base rate.
    2. MCLR methodology will help borrowers to reap the benefit of lower lending rates. It will also improve transparency in the methodology followed by banks for determining interest rates.
  3100. Andhra Pradesh won bid to host 2019 National Games.
    1. Goa will hosting next (36th) National Games in 2016.
    2. National Games are held once in two years, year for next national games (37th) is adjusted to 2019 after Andhra Pradeshs request.
  3101. Gujarat became first state to take up Public-Private Partnership Projects for rehabilitation of slum dwellers in Ahmedabd, Surat, Rajkota and Vadodara under Prime Ministers AwasYojana (Urban).
  3102. Search engine Yahoo named Cow as Personality of the Year 2015 for India due to buzz around beef ban and associated discussions on intolerance in India in 2015.
  3103. Indian-American doctor Amit Majmudar has been named as first Poet Laureate by US state of Ohio for his various poetry styles.
  3104. President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated Sri Venkateswara Veda Patasala at I. Bhimavaram village in West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh.
  3105. Senior National Weightlifting Championships Organized in Patiala (Punjab).
  3106. 25 December - India's National Good Governance Day. It marks birth anniversary of former Prime Minister and Bharat Ratna recipient Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
  3107. Reserve Bank of India invited applications for Payment System Innovation Awards” to be organized by Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology to encourage innovative solutions in field of Payment and Settlement System.
  3108. Bangladesh signed deal with Russia to set up 2 nuclear power plants each of 1,200 MW capacity at investment of total $12.65 billion. Amount's 90 % will be provided by Russia as Loan.
  3109. Indian-origin software engineer Nandagopal Lakshminarayanan won a prestigious award in UK for creating an innovative electronic smart key system which enables creation of keys and locks that cannot be copied.
  3110. World Bank approved assistance of $35 million to Pakistan to support development of water resources in Indus River Basin. It is in addition to $38 million given earlier towards same cause.
  3111. Sri Lankan wicketkeeper Kusal Perera banned for four years after being tested positive for a banned substance.
  3112. Direct-selling firm Amway announced Actor Farhan Akhtar as its brand ambassador to promote Nutrilite range of products.
  3113. Government said to unveil action plan for ‘Start up India, Stand up India on January 16, 2016 Seeking to boost entrepreneurship at the grassroots level.
  3114. Reliance Jio Infocomm launched 4G telecom service. Currently it is limited to 85000 employees and their families, while commercial services will begin by April 2016.
  3115. Andhra Pradesh Government signed Memorandum of Understanding with Microsoft on a range of technology initiatives in the state.
  3116. Minister for Health and Family Welfare J P Nadda announced 4 new IT-based initiatives to provide citizen-centric health services and toll free number 1800-11–6666 to provide counselling for TB patients.
    1. Kilkari - It is an audio-based mobile service that delivers weekly audio messages to families about pregnancy and child care.
    2. Mobile Academy - It is a mobile application to provide training services to 9 million ASHAs to enhance their inter-personal skills.
    3. M-Cessation - It is an IT-enabled tool to help tobacco users to quit tobacco.
  3117. Former Chief Justice of Karnataka and Kerala High Courts Justice V S Malimath died.
  3118. Central Government will organize Make in India Week in Mumbai during February 13-18, 2016. The week-long event, being organised by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) will have investors meet for manufacturing sector under Make in India.
  3119. Sixth Globe Soccer Awards 2015 -
    1. Best Player - Lionel Messi
    2. Best President - Josep Maria Bartomeu
    3. Best Club - F.C. Barcelona
    4. Best Coach - Marc Wilmots
    5. Best Academy - Benfica
  3120. Karan Adani appointed CEO of Adani Ports and SEZ (APSEZ).
  3121. As Per Report by UK's Centre for Economics Business and Research -
    1. India will become world's third largest economy after 2030. India and Brazil will replace France and Italy in G8 group.
    2. China will overtake US as largest economy by 2029, with US slipping to second and India being Third.
    3. India's projected GDP in 2030 will be 10 Trillion USD. USA will be 32 Trillion and China 34 Trillion USD.
    4. India will become largest economy in Commonwealth by 2019 by leaving Behind UK.
    5. Britain will become fourth while Brazil completes at 5th place in world.
  3122. Mumbai Garuda beat Haryana Hammers to win Pro Wrestling League title.
  3123. Gujarat won Vijay Hazare Cricket Tournament by beating Delhi.
  3124. Pump manufacturer CRI Pumps won Export Quality Excellence award for 11th time in a row in the Engineering Export Promotion Council Awards 2015.
  3125. Government gave industry secretary Amitabh Kant an additional charge of post of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NITI Aayog.
  3126. Ali Tayebnia, Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance of Iran visited India for 18th India-Iran Joint Commission Meeting.
  3127. Union Ministry of Women and Child Development introduced e-office as an initiative to provide efficient services to the people by digitizing more than 12,000 files.
  3128. Government linked LPG subsidy to income of consumers to ensure that subsidy benefits go to targeted group. Now, LPG subsidy will not be available to consumers with taxable income of over 10 lakh rupees. It will affect 60 lakh of 16.5 crore LPG consumers and will save Rs. 113 crore for Government. Earlier under ‘Give it Up campaign, 57.50 lakh LPG consumers opted out of LPG subsidy voluntarily.
  3129. Reserve Bank of India released Report of Committee on Medium-term Path on Financial Inclusion headed by RBI Executive Director Deepak Mohanty. Recommendations Mainly include -
    1. Sukanya Shiksha - Banks should try to step up account opening for females belonging to lower income groups.
    2. Aadhaar should be linked to each individual credit account and must be shared with Credit information bureau to enhance stability of credit system.
    3. Banks business model should be changed as per mobile technology to improve service delivery.
    4. Digitisation of land records should be done to increase formal credit supply to all agrarian segments through Aadhaar-linked mechanism for Credit Eligibility Certificates (CEC).
    5. Companies should nurture self help groups as part of Corporate Social Responsibility initiative.
    6. Government should replace current agricultural input subsidies on fertilizers, irrigation and power by a direct income transfer scheme.
    7. Agricultural interest subvention Scheme should be phased out.
    8. Government should introduce universal crop insurance scheme covering all farmers with ceiling of Rs. 2 lakhs.
    9. Unique identification of MSME should be introduced for all MSME borrowers and information should be shared with credit bureaus.
  3130. Ministry of Finance released report of Committee on Revisiting and Revitalising Public Private Partnership (PPP) Model under Vijay Kelkar. Key recommendations are
    1. Amend Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 that does not distinguish genuine errors in decision making and acts of corruption.
    2. Do not adopt PPP structures for very small projects
    3. Banks should be encouraged to issue Deep Discount Bonds or Zero Coupon Bonds to mobilise long term capital at low cost.
  3131. Government approved Memorandum of Understanding with and Jordan for cooperation In Information Technology and Electronics.
  3132. Government approved MOU between SINTEF (Norway) and Central Public Works Department in Recycling of Construction and Demolition Waste.
  3133. Government approved signing of MOU between Ministry of Urban Development and Bloomberg Philanthropies (New York) to support development of Smart Cities.
  3134. Government approved the construction of 69 Bridges on Tamu-Kyigone-Kalewa (TKK) road section of Trilateral Highway in Myanmar for Rs.371.58 crores. It will enable all weather usability to TKK road section that is also part of proposed Imphal-Mandalay bus service.
  3135. Government approved signing MoU among BRICS countries on BRICS Network University for which negotiations were held during 3rd BRICS Education Ministers meeting in November 2015 in Russia.
  3136. Indian Navy successfully test fired newly developed Long Range Barak 8 Surface-to-Air Missile (LR SAM) from INS Kolkata. It is jointly developed with Israel. Range is upto 100 KM.
  3137. Govenment approved scaling up of budget from Rs, 600 crore to Rs. 5,000 crore for implementation of Grid Connected Rooftops systems upto 2019-20 under National Solar Mission (NSM) to support Installation of 4200 MW Solar Rooftop systems by 2020. Note that Government has revised the target of National Solar Mission (NSM) from 20,000 MWp to 1,00,000 MWp by 2022.
  3138. Giorgi Kvirikashvili has been elected as 12th Prime Minister of Georgia.
  3139. China launched its most sophisticated observation satellite Gaofen-4, as part of the high-definition (HD) earth observation Gaofen project.
  3140. Haryana Government fixed minimum educational qualification for contesting urban local bodies (ULB) elections after doing the same for panchayat polls. Minimum qualification for male candidates would be matriculation while for females it would be middle pass.
  3141. World Health Organization declared Guinea (West Africa) as Ebola-free.
  3142. Government approved aid of Rs. 6,794 crore for Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh affected by deficit rainfall in 2015.
  3143. Russias Rostech Corporation signed 1 Billion USD deal with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to manufacture 200 Kamov 226T light helicopters to replace ageing fleet of Cheetah and Chetak helicopters.
  3144. Government has set up the Rs. 40,000 crore National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF). Its chief executive will be finalised by January end. Government will invest Rs. 20,000 crore in NIIF while another 20,000 crore will come from private investors.
  3145. Noted singer Subir Sen passed away.
  3146. CDAC (Centre for Development of Advanced Computing) and Amrita CREATE (Centre of Research in Advanced Technologies for Education) created a virtual science-lab for Students who opted for Science stream at high school level but have no access to physical labs.
  3147. Government approved formation of joint venture companies (Initial capital 100 Crore) with state governments to mobilise resources for undertaking rail infrastructure projects.
  3148. Sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik created a 45 feet high Santa Claus sculpture that has been included in Limca Book of World Records as largest sand Santa Claus ever.
  3149. Noted Marathi poet Mangesh Padgaonkar passed away.
  3150. Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited commissioned a 660 MW unit of Prayagraj Super Thermal Power Project at Bara town in Allahabad (Uttar Pradesh).
  3151. Government has placed in public domain Medium-Term Debt Management Strategy (MTDS) for three years (2015 - 2018). MTDS is in consonance with Medium-Term Fiscal Policy Statement (MTFPS) and has been prepared based on international practices and domestic economic and financial conditions.
  3152. For implementation of FATCA and CRS, changes are made in Income-tax Act 1961 and Income-tax Rules 1962. Rules 114F, 114G & 114H and Form 61B have been inserted to frame legal basis for Reporting Financial Institutions (RFIs) for reporting information about Reportable Accounts
    1. An Agreement between India and USA was signed for implementation of Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).
    2. India also joined Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) for Automatic Exchange of Information as per Common Reporting Standard (CRS).
  3153. Indias External Debt at end of September 2015 stood at US$ 483.2 billion, an increase of US$ 8.0 billion (1.7 %) over end of March 2015. Rise is due to external debt including commercial borrowings and NRI deposits.
  3154. Gyanendra D. Bandgaiyan has been appointed as Director General in National Centre for Good Governance under Department of Personnel & Training.
  3155. Indo-Australian civil nuclear cooperation agreement has been approved by Union Cabinet. It was enacted on November 13, 2015.
  3156. Government approved Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) on Conservation of Migratory Birds of Prey in Africa and Eurasia. This MoU is also called as Raptor MoU under Convention on Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS). India became 54th signatory to the MoU.
  3157. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS) for technology upgradation of textiles industry to replace existing Revised Restructured Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (RR-TUFS).
    1. ATUFS targets Employment generation and global exports by Promoting Technical Textiles. and upgrading quality of existing looms.
    2. Two broad categories of ATUFS
      1. Apparel, Garment and Technical Textiles sectors would be provided on capital investment with 15 % subsidy, subject to ceiling of 30 crore for entrepreneurs over period of five years.
      2. Remaining sub-sectors of textile sectors would be provided subsidy at rate of 10 %, subject to ceiling of 20 crore.
  3158. Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan unveiled National Biotechnology Development Strategy (NBDS) 2015-2020 aimed at establishing India as a bio-manufacturing hub.
    1. It intends to launch a major mission under Make in India programme to boost creation of new biotech products.
    2. Key elements
      1. Skilled workforce - Includes dual degree programmes that cover aspect of core science and business applicability.
      2. Enhance research opportunities - In basic, disciplinary and inter-disciplinary sciences and also foster global and national alliances.
  3159. Drug Authentication and Verification Application (DAVA) project of Department of Commerce won the 2015 eASIA Award under Trade Facilitation category.
    1. Award was announced by Asia Pacific Council for Trade Facilitation (APCTF) and Tehran based (Iran) Electronic Business.
    2. eASIA award is administered by AFACT that aims development of trade facilitation, electronic business policies and activities in Asia Pacific.
  3160. Sweden's Bjorn Isberg has been appointed as Tournament Director of Coal India Hockey India League (HIL).
  3161. Japan and South Korea signed an Agreement on Issue of Comfort Women.
    1. It aims to resolve an old dispute over Korean women who were used as sex slaves by Japanese soldiers during World War II. This issue had been cause of tensions between Japan and South Korea for decades.
  3162. Asias largest underground railway station opened in Chinas city of Shenzhen. The three-storey ‘Futian High-speed Railway Station has area of 147,000 square meters with seating for 3,000 passengers. It is Asia's Largest and worlds second largest underground railway station (after the Grand Central Station in New York (USA)).
  3163. Second All Light India International Film Festival (ALIIFF) and Indywood Film Market will be held at Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad from August 17 - 21, 2016.
  3164. Andhra Pradesh Government hiked wages of Anganwadi workers from 4200 rupees to 7000 rupees and wages of Anganwadi helpers hiked to 4500 rupees.
  3165. Laxmi Ratan Shukla, former Indian cricketer from west begnal Bengal, announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.
  3166. Pandorum Technologies developed India's first artificial liver tissue with help of 3-D printing technology. It is major step towards on-demand manufacturing of 3D printed human organs. The artificial liver tissue performs all functions of a human liver including, metabolism, secretion of biochemicals.
  3167. Noted Telugu actor and dialogue writer Chilukoti Kashi Viswanath passed away.
  3168. Civil Aviation Ministry gave clearance for 4 greenfield airports. 3 airports will be in Andhra Pradesh and one international airport at Dholera (Gujarat).
  3169. Bharat Petroleum commissioned a new 6-million tonne Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) at its Mumbai refinery, which will take capacity of its oldest facility to 12 million tonne / annum with cost of 1419 crores.
  3170. SpiceJet Airlines launched an end-to-end travel solutions platform - SpiceVacations.com. It offers customized travel packages to customers while planning their holiday, at no added cost.
  3171. Noted American cinematographer Haskell Wexler passed away.
  3172. Gujarati litterateur Raghuveer Chaudhary has been selected for 51st Jnanpith award. He is fourth Gujarati litterateur to receive this prestigious honour. He wrote over 80 books including Amrita, Venu Vatsala, etc.
  3173. In a recent International Poll, Dubai's Burj Khalifas observation deck is named as worlds Best Attraction 2015. The Empire State Building named as best in Best Observation Deck category.
    1. Burj Khalifa has over 200 storeys and highest number of floors in world. Height is 829.8 meters.
  3174. Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) released 2015 OPEC World Oil Outlook (WOO) -
    1. Oil and gas, combined, are expected to supply around 53 % of global energy demand by 2040.
    2. Global energy demand will increase by almost 50 % by 2040, overall energy mix continuing to be led by fossil fuels will rise to 78 %.
    3. Medium-term oil demand will rise by 97 million barrels a day by 2020 and 110 mb/d by 2040.
    4. Developing Asia region will account for 70% of increase by 2040.
    5. Non-OPEC liquids supply increases from 56.5 mb/d in 2014 to around 60 mb/d in 2020.
    6. OPEC crude expands to 40.7 mb/d by 2040.
    7. Long-term value of OPEC Reference Basket is assumed to rise from more than 70 US dollars per barrel in 2020 to 95 US dollars per barrel by 2040 (both in 2014 dollars).
    8. Required cumulative distillation capacity additions are projected to be around 20 mb/d by 2040.
  3175. Prime Minister Narendra Modi Visited Russia, Afghanistan and Pakistan -
    1. Russia -
      1. India and Russia signed 16 agreements to expand cooperation in various sectors -
        1. India's Reliance Defence signed $6 billion pact with Russian arms firm Almaz-Antey. Two firms will work jointly on entire range of AD Missile and Radar Systems that are required for Indian defence forces.
        2. India's Indian Oil Corp. (IOC) and Oil India Ltd. (OIL) signed an agreement with Russian oil firm Rosneft to explore possibility of picking up stake in Taas-Yuryakh Neftegazodobycha oilfield in East Siberia.
        3. Agreement on Cooperation in field of Tourism, Helicopter Engineering, Railways, Solar Energy, Broadcasting, investment cooperation, geologic survey, exploration and production of hydrocarbons. 
        4. Cooperation between India's Central Board of Excise and Customs (India) and Russian Federation for combating Customs violations in 2015 – 2017.
        5. Agreement for co-operation in Atomic Energy (India's DAE and Russia's Rosatom for Localization of Manufacturing in India for Russian-Designed Nuclear Reactor Units.
        6. MoU for cooperation between HEC & CNIITMASH for development of Centre of Excellence for heavy engineering design at HEC and upgradation of HEC’s manufacturing facilities.
        7. Tripartite MOU between Centre for Development of Advance Computing (C-DAC), Indian Institute of Science Bangalore (IISc) and Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU).
        8. Tripartite MOU between CDAC, OJSC "GLONASS” and GLONASS Union.
    2. Afghanistan
      1. Modi inaugurates new Afghan Parliament built by India in Kabul.
  3176. Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) (Under Ministry of Communication and Information Technology)'s product Gyansetu has been named best product capable of bridging gaps in connectivity at vast rural part of India. during ITU Telecom World 2015 at Budapest (Hungary).
  3177. Krishna Swaminathan appointed as Commanding Officer of INS Vikramaditya, Indian Navy's new aircraft carrier commissioned in Russia in November 2013.
  3178. Muhammad Farid Habib, Chief of Bangladesh Navy visited India.
  3179. Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences Harsh Vardhan visited Japan.
  3180. Railways Minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu visited London (UK).
  3181. Railways organized an International Summit on Energy Efficient Technologies in Railways in partnership with United Nations Development Programme in New Delhi.
  3182. First international film festival for persons with disabilities (IFFPD) will be held in Delhi from 1st to 3rd December 2015.
  3183. Virender Mohan Khanna appointed as Air Officer-in-charge Maintenance of Indian Air Force.
  3184. Book President of India and the Governance of Higher Education Institutions written by faculty of O.P. Jindal Global University has been released.
  3185. Nov 1 - State Formation day of Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh.
    1. Chhattisgarh - 1 November 2000
    2. Karnataka - 1 November 1956
    3. Madhya Pradesh - 1 November 1956
    4. Haryana - 1 November 1966
  3186. Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram inaugurated National Tribal Crafts Mela ‘Aadishilp in New Delhi, Organized by Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Ltd. (TRIFED).
  3187. Noted Industrialist and Founder of Hero Cycles, Brijmohan Lall Munjal Passed away.
  3188. Minister of State (IC) Development of North Eastern Region, Jitendra Singh inaugerated 7th Nuclear Energy Conclave organised by India Energy Forum on theme Creating conditions for rapid capacity addition on nuclear power in India in Delhi. 
  3189. Vinod Zutshi, Secretary in Ministry of Tourism visited London (UK) for World Travel Market event. He said India is aiming to attract one million UK visitors by 2020.
  3190. Book Inter-linking of Indian Rivers written by Radha Kant Bharati has been released.
  3191. TN chief electoral officer Sandeep Saxena appointed as deputy election commissioner.
    1. Nasim Zaidi is Chief Election Commissioner while A K Joti and Om Prakash Rawat are election commissioners.
  3192. Railways signed Memorandum of Understanding with Odisha to form an SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) for Implementation of Railway Projects in Odisha.
  3193. USA's Sun Edison Won Auction for supplying 500 Megawatt Project in Andhra Pradesh at 4.63 Rupees Per Kilowatt-Hour.
  3194. Director General of Foreign Trade extended duty incentives under Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) from Rs 18,000 to Rs 21,000 crore to boost textile and apparel exports.
  3195. Bankruptcy Law Reform Committee under Chairmanship of T. K. Viswanathan submitted its report.
    1. Report is in two parts - Rationale and Design/Recommendations and A comprehensive draft Insolvency and Bankruptcy Bill covering all entities.
  3196. Government approved Memorandum of Understanding with Colombia for strengthening cooperation in Tourism.
  3197. Government approved Memorandum of Understanding with Belgium for co-operation in energy.
  3198. Goverment approved amending Double Taxation Avoidance Convention with Turkmenistan signed in 1997 for avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion.
  3199. Government approved returning 803 acres land in Kashipur under Nepa Limited to Government of Uttarkhand.
  3200. Madhya Pradesh proposed 1,656 cr AMRUT Action Plan to improve basic infra in 32 mission cities with 8,279 cr investment proposed in 5 years to ensure water and sewage connections in urban households.
  3201. Government approved Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojna (UDAY scheme) under Ministry of Power for financial turnaround of Power Distribution companies (DISCOMs).
    1. Power sector is seeing good growth but the weakest link in value chain is distribution - DISCOMs in the country have accumulated huge debts. Revival of these stressed DISCOMs is important for ensuring power supply for all.
    2. DISCOMs are trapped in cycle a where operational losses being funded by debt. This has increased Outstanding debt of DISCOMs from 2.4 lakh crore in 2011-12 to 4.3 lakh crore in 2014-15.
    3. Features of UDAY Scheme -
      1. States shall take over 75% of DISCOM debt as on 30 September 2015 over 2 years (50% in 2015-16 and 25% debt to be taken over in 2016-17).
      2. States will issue non-SLR including SDL bonds in the market or to banks holding DISCOM debt to the appropriate extent. DISCOM debt not taken over by State shall be converted by Bank into loans or bonds.
      3. States shall take over future losses of DISCOMs as follows:

        Year

        2015-16

        2016-17

        2017-18

        2018-19

        2019-20

        2020-21

        Previous Year’s DISCOM loss to be taken over by State

        0% of the loss of 2014-15

        0% of the loss of 2015-16

        5% of the loss of 2016-17

        10% of the loss of 2017-18

        25% of the loss of 2018-19

        50% of the previous year loss

      4. States accepting UDAY and performing well will be given additional funding under Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana,Integrated Power Development Scheme, Power Sector Development Fund or other schemes. States not meeting operational milestones will have their claims forfeited.
      5. UDAY is optional for all States. However, States are encouraged to participate.
  3202. Book From Fishing Hamlet to Red Planet released on second anniversary of launch of Mars Orbiter Mission Spacecraft.
  3203. 21st International Conference on ‘Frontiers in Yoga Research and its Applications (INCOFYRA) will be organized by Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Sansthana from 3rd to 7th January 2016 at Bengaluru with theme Yoga in Integrated Healthcare Systems.
  3204. Naushad award has been given to Sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan.
  3205. Li Yuanchao, Vice President of China visited India.
  3206. Government will impose Swachh Brarat Cess of 0.5% on all services liable to service tax from 15th November 2015. Proceeds from this cess will be exclusively used for Swachh Bharat initiatives.
  3207. SATYAM (Science and Technology of Yoga and Meditation) program has been launched to strengthen research in the areas of yoga and meditation.
  3208. Committee of Eminent Persons constituted by IIT Council under Chairmanship of Ashok Misra submitted its report about Major changes in structure of IIT - JEE from 2017 onwards.
  3209. India test fired Ssupersonic cruise missile BrahMos with strike range of over 290 Km from Navys stealth destroyer INS Kochi.
  3210. India moved up one position to become world’s seventh most valued ‘Nation Brand’ with increase of 32% in it’s brand value to 2.1 billion dollars. US remains on top with valuation of 19.7 billion dollars followed by China and Germany as per annual report on world’s most valuable nation brands by Brand Finance.
  3211. 2015 WTA Finals women's tennis tournament at Singapore -
    1. Singles - Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) won by defeating Petra Kvitova (Czech  Republic).
    2. Doubles - Martina Hingis (Switzerland) and Sania Mirza (India) defeated Spain’s Garbine Muguruza and Carla Suarez Navarro.
  3212. Navy's Fast patrol vessel ICGS Arinjay commissioned in Kochi.
  3213. Suresh N Patel is appointed as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Andhra Bank.
  3214. Nico Rosberg (Germany) won Mexican Formula One Grand Prix .
    1. 2015 Formula One season -
      1. Total 19 Grand Prix Races to be organized across the world in 2015. Calendar is -
        1. Grand Prix Date Winner
          Australia 15 March Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Malaysia 29 March Sebastian Vettel (Germany)
          China 12 April Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Baharain 19 April Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Spain 10 May Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Monaco 24 May Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Canada 7 June Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Austria 21 June Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Britain 5 July Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Hungary 26 July Sebastian Vettel (Germany)
          Belgium 23 August Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Italy 6 September Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Singapore 20 September Sebastian Vettel (Germany)
          Japan 27 September   Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Russia 11 October Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          USA 25 October Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Mexico 1 November Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Brazil 15 November
          Abu Dhabi 29 November
  3215. Russian and Indian defence ministers signed military-technical cooperation agreement.
  3216. 11th International Food Data Conference held at National Institute of Nutrition in Hyderabad. Conference jointly organised by International Network of Food Databases (Infoods), Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and National Institute of Nutrition (NIN).
  3217. Manpreet Vohra appointed India’s new envoy to Afghanistan.
  3218. Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik announced retirement from Test cricket.
  3219. Tropical Cyclone Chapala hits Yemen triggering heavy flooding.
  3220. President of Maldives Abdulla Yameen declared emergency for 30 days on grounds of threat to national security.
  3221. Justice T S Thakur will be next (43rd) Chief Justice of India. He will replace H L Dattu.
  3222. Former President APJ Abdul Kalams last book ‘Advantage India-From Challenge to Opportunity has been released. It has been co-authored by Srijan Pal Singh of Institute of Management-Ahmedabad.
  3223. Mysuru Railway Station (Karnataka) became first blind-friendly Railway Station in India after installation of blind - friendly facilities.
  3224. Forbes Worlds Most Powerful People 2015 List -
    1. List provides annual ranking of Worlds 73 Most Powerful People.
    2. List was topped by Russian President Vladimir Putin for the third year in a row. Putin is followed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel (rank 2), USA President Barack Obama (rank 3).
    3. Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi is ranked as worlds ninth most powerful person, up from 14th position in 2014.
  3225. Punjab Government will set up bio-ethanol refinery to tackle issues wheat and paddy straw burning for approx 950 crores.
    1. Bio-ethanol refinery will solve problem of straw burning of leftover agro-based produce especially from wheat and rice feedstocks. It will also Benefit farmers economically.
    2. What is Bioethanol - It is an alcohol derived by fermentation mostly from carbohydrates of plant produce and feedstocks. Commonly from sugarcane, corn, potato, grapes, banana etc. It can be used as a quasi-renewable energy that be blended with petrol / diesel making it sustainable transport fuel.
  3226. Noted archaeologist Virendra Nath Misra passed away.
  3227. New Zealand has won 2015 Rugby World Cup for third time by defeating Australia. was played in England.
  3228. Facebook partnered with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited for setting up 100 wi-fi (Wireless Fidelity) sites in rural India.
  3229. Odisha Government imposed seven-month ban on fishing along Puri coast in order to protect endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles.
  3230. Swiss Indoors Basel Men's Tennis Title 2015 -
    1. Singles - Roger Federer of Switzerland defeated Rafael Nadal of Spain.
    2. Doubles - Alexander Peya (Austria) / Bruno Soares(Brazil) defeated Rohan Bopanna (India) / Florin Mergea (Romania).
  3231. Oscar-winning British writer and actor Colin Welland passed away.
  3232. Meghalaya High Court asked Central Government to enforce Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), 1958 in militancy-hit Garo Hills region of Meghalaya.
  3233. Maharashtra Government approved APJ Abdul Kalam Amrut Yojna scheme to provide cooked nutritious food to pregnant, lactating women in tribal areas.
  3234. China's Parliament ratified Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank agreement that establishes legal framework for Bank. 54 founding members of bank signed agreement in June 2015 provides legal framework for Institution of AIIB.
  3235. E-commerce firm Flipkart appointed Surojit Chatterjee as Senior Vice President and Head of Consumer Experience and Growth.
  3236. Indian boxer Shiva Thapa attained second rank in latest international rankings of boxing in 56 kilogram category with 1550 points.
  3237. National Green Tribunal banned agricultural straw burning in New, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
  3238. Michelle Payne (Australia) become first female jockey to win Australia 's prestigious horse race Melbourne Cup 2015 of 6.2 million dollars.
  3239. United Nations General Assembly's Disarmament Committee / First Committee adopted draft resolution submitted by Japan calling for abolition of nuclear arms. Resolution was adopted by 156 countries, 17 abstained from voting and 3 voted in against.
  3240. PM Narendra Modi launched Gold Related Schemes along with First ever National Gold Coin minted in India with National Emblem of Ashok Chakra. Schemes launched are - Gold Monetisation Scheme, Gold Sovereign Bond Scheme and Gold Coin and Bullion Scheme.
    1. Gold Monetisation Scheme -
      1. Gold Deposit Scheme Guidelines -
        1. Minimum deposit shall be raw gold equivalent to 30 grams of gold of 995 fineness, with no maximum limit for deposit. 
        2. Gold will be accepted at Purity Testing Centres certified by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)
        3. Deposit certificates will be issued by banks in equivalence of 995 fineness of gold.
        4. Principal and interest of deposit under the scheme will be denominated in gold.
        5. Designated banks will accept gold deposits under Short Term (1-3 years), Medium (5-7 years) and Long (12-15 years).
        6. Interest rate  in Short Term Bank Deposit (STBD) will be determined by banks. Interest rate in medium term bonds is 2.25% and long term bonds will have 2.5% interest rate.
        7. Premature withdrawal will be available subject to a minimum lock-in period and penalty.
        8. Interest on deposits will start from date of conversion of gold deposited into tradable gold bars after refinement or 30 days after receipt of gold at CPTC or Bank. During the period between receipt and interest accounting, gold will be an item in safe custody held by bank.
      2. Utilisation of Gold mobilised under GMS
        1. Banks may sell or lend the gold to MMTC for minting India Gold Coins or to jewellers, or sell it to other designated banks participating in GMS.
      3. Risk Management under GMS
        1. Banks will keep a risk management mechanism to manage risk arising from gold price movements in respect of their net exposure to gold.
        2. Banks may access international exchanges, London Bullion Market Association or use over-the-counter contracts to hedge exposures to bullion prices.
    2. Gold Sovereign Bond Scheme
      1. Government will invite Applications for first tranche of Sovereign Gold Bonds from November 05- 20, 2015 and Bonds will be issued on November 26, 2015.
      2. Sovereign Gold Bond will be issued by RBI. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced in Union Budget 2015-16 for developing a financial asset, Sovereign Gold Bond, as an alternative to purchasing metal gold.
      3. Bonds will be in multiples of gram(s) of gold with a basic unit of 1 gram. Tenor of Bond will be 8 years with exit option from 5th year. Minimum investment will be 2 units (2 grams of gold) and maximum amount 500 grams per person per fiscal year.
      4. Investors will get interest of 2.75 % per annum payable semi-annually on initial value of investment.
    3. Gold Coin and Bullion Scheme
      1. Indian gold coin & bullion is a part of the Gold Monetisation Programme. Coin will be first ever national gold coin minted in India with National Emblem of Ashok Chakra engraved on one side and M K Gandhi on other side.
      2. Coin will be available in denominations of 5 and 10 grams. 20 gram bullion will also be available.
      3. Indian Cold coin & bullion will be of 24 karat purity and 999 fineness and hallmarked as per BIS standards.
      4. Coins will be distributed initially through MMTC outlets and later through specified banks and post offices.
  3241. 13th Asian Shooting Championships in Kuwait (Qatar)-
    1. Important -
      1. Women's 10 m Air Pistol - India's Heena Sindhu won Gold and Shri Nivetha Paramanantham won Gold in Junior Individual.
      2. Men's 50 m Pistol - Jitu Rai won Silver in Individual Category.
    2. Others
      1. Women's 25 m Pistol - Chinki Yadav Won Bronze in Junior Individual.
      2. Men's 25 m Standard Pistol - Shigvam Shukla won Gold in Junior Individual.
      3. Men's 50 m Rifle Prone - Swapnil Kusale won Gold in Junior Individual.
      4. Men's 10 m Air Rifle - Akhil Sheoran won Gold and Prashant Prashant won Bronze in Junior Individual.
      5. Women's 50 m Rifle Prone - Gaayathri Ithyanadam won Silver in Junior Individual.
      6. Women's 10 m Air Rifle - Prachi Gadkari won Bronze in Yiuth Individual.
    3. shooter became first Indian Senior Player to won silver in 50 metre pistol event at 13th Asian Shooting Championship in Kuwait (Qatar). In junior events, India won four silver and two Bronze.
  3242. President Pranab Mukherjee launched Impacting Research Innovation and Technology (IMPRINT) India to boost research in the country. Initiative is joint venture of Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institute of Science (IISC) and aimed at developing roadmap for research to solve major engineering and technology challenges.
  3243. Actor Vikram Gokhale has been awarded with Vishnudas Bhave Award for his contribution to Marathi Industry.
  3244. France will deploy its largest warship named Charles de Gaulle (R91) in to boost operations against Islamic State (IS) in Syria and Iraq.
  3245. Justin Trudeau of Liberal Party sworn in as 23rd Prime Minister of Canada.He appointed 4 Indo-Canadians as Cabinet ministers.
    1. Harjit Sajjan as Defene Minister.
    2. Amarjeet Sohi as Minister of Infrastructure and Communities.
    3. Navdeep Bains as Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development.
    4. Bardish Chagger as Minister for Small Business and Tourism.
  3246. International Terra Madre- 2015 started in Shillong (Meghalaya) with theme The Future We Want: Indigenous Perspectives and Actions. Five day event will have 100 tribes from 58 countries.
  3247. Supreme Court ruled that a daughter's right to ancestral property does not arise if father died before Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act 2005.
  3248. Ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) founded by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has won 2015 Parliamentary Elections (25th) of Turkey.
  3249. All India Radio's Programme on child labour Nilkkam Ivarkkoppam won first prize at 2015 Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) Prize ceremony at 52nd General Assembly of ABU in Ankara (Turkey).
  3250. World Health Organization officially declared African Nation Sierra Leone as Ebola-free.
  3251. Indian Railways won 32nd Indian Oil Surjit Hockey tournament for first time by defeating Indian Oil Mumbai in final match played in Jalandhar (Punjab).
  3252. Government announced Draft Aviation Policy 2015 -
    1. Aims to bring India to third position from the current 10th position in global aviation sector.
    2. Proposed hiking Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in domestic airlines to over 50 % in open skies policy, which is 49 % at present. Open skies policy - Under it overseas airlines can operate unlimited number of flights into and out of India.
    3. Ticketing:
      1. Airlines will not be allowed to charge over 2500 rupees for 1 hour flight between two small cities. under regional connectivity scheme.
      2. 2 % levy on all domestic and overseas tickets for funding the Scheme.
      3. Policy aims to create an eco-system to enable 30 crore domestic ticketing by 2022 and 50 crore by 2027. Similarly, international ticketing to increase to 20 crore by 2027.
  3253. Former Cabinet secretary T.S.R. Subramanian has been appointed chairperson of a committee set up by the Human Resource Development Ministry to draft the new education policy.
  3254. Anil Kumar Jha appointed as CMD of Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (subsidiary of Coal India).
  3255. Argentinian Footballer Lionel Messi has been made Global Ambassador of Tata Motors.
  3256. Reliance Communications accquired telecom business of Sistema Shyam Teleservices Ltd (SSTL) that operates MTS brand in a stock deal worth Rs.4,500 crores.
  3257. Uttarakhand approved names of former footballer and Asian games gold medallist Ram Bahadur Chetri for Khel Ratna and athletics coach Renu Kohli for Devbhoomi Uttarakhand Award. Weightlifter Hansa Manral Sharma wil be conferred life time achievement award.
  3258. Former Chief of Air Staff, Om Prakash Mehra passed away.
  3259. Committee on Agriculture under Chairmanship of Hukm Deo Narayan Yadav took up Subject ‘Comprehensive Agriculture Research based on Geographical Condition and Impact of Climatic Changes to ensure Food Security for examination and Report.
  3260. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism and Culture stated that India has set up target to achieve 1.00 % share of International Tourist Arrivals by 2016-17, which is at present 0.68%.
  3261. Government Signed Loan Agreement with Asian Development Bank (ADB) for $273 Million Loan under Rural Connectivity Investment Program for Improving Rural Roads in States of Assam, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal.
    1. ADB headquarters is in Manila (Phillpinnes) with Takehiko Nakao as its Current Chief.
  3262. Home Minister Rajnath Singh asked Central and State Governments to organise Qaumi Ekta Week to spread message of Communal Harmony and Integration -
    1. November 19, 2015 will be observed as National Integration Day
    2. November 20, 2015 will be observed as Welfare of Minorities Day
    3. November 21, 2015 will be observed as Linguistic Harmony Day
    4. November 22, 2015 will be observed as Weaker Sections Day
    5. November 23, 2015 will be observed as Cultural Unity Day
    6. November 24, 2015 will be observed as Women’s Day
    7. November 25, 2015 will be observed as Conservation Day
  3263. Indian Railways tied up with USA-Based Company GE Global Sourcing India Pvt. Limited for Setting Up Diesel Locomotive Factory (DLF) at Marhowra, Saran District, Bihar. Factory will Manufacture Diesel Electric Locomotives of 4500 HP and 6000 HP for Indian Railways. 1000 Locos to be Manufactured in Ten Years with Cost of About Rs.14,656 crores.
  3264. In October 2015, indirect tax revenue collections increased 36.8% as compared to October 2014.

    Tax

     

    October 2015

    April - October 2015

    2014-15

    2015-16

    % Growth

    2014-15

    2015-16

    % Growth

     Customs

    16800

    18998

    13.1

    104831

    122448

    16.8

    Central Excise

    13569

    22550

    66.2

    87588

    147685

    68.6

    Service Tax

    12528

    17143

    36.8

    89379

    112727

    26.1

     

    Total

     

    42897

     

    58691

     

    36.8

     

    281798

     

    382860

     

    35.9

  3265. Minister of State (I/C) for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan visited Doha (Qatar) for 6th Asian Ministerial Energy Roundtable.
  3266. India's latest communications satellite GSAT - 15 (3164 kg) launched successfully by European Ariane 5 VA-227 launch Vehicle.
  3267. ICAN (International Civil Aviation Negotiations) 2015 held in Antalya (Turkey). Indian signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with six countries - Finland, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Sweden, Norway and Denmark.
  3268. Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar launched new website – www.justclimateaction.org dedicated for climate change actions.
  3269. Former RBI Deputy Governor Subir Gokarn is appointed as Executive Director on board of International Monetary Fund (IMF). He will represent India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Bhutan on Washington-based IMF's Executive Board.
  3270. Seventh India-Russia Joint Military Exercise ‘Indra-2015 to be held 7-20 November 2015 in Bikaner (Rajasthan).
  3271. Arundhati Bhattacharya (SBI Chairman) is most powerful woman in Indian business in list of Fortune India. ICICI Bank’s Chanda Kochhar and Shikha Sharma of Axis Bank are second and third respectively. HPCL Chairperson and Managing Director (MD) Nishi Vasudeva is fourth, AZB Co-Founder Zia Mody and Aruna Jayanthi (Capgemini) are jointly at fifth.
  3272. Wasim Jaffer became first cricketer to score 10000 runs in Ranji Trophy history.
  3273. Santoor maestro Shiv Kumar Sharma has been honoured with Aditya Vikram Birla Kala Shikhar Award for lifetime achievement by governor of Maharashtra C Vidyasagar Rao.
  3274. BCCI president Shanshank Manohar will be new Chairman of International Cricket Council. He will replace former N. Srinivasan.
  3275. Indian Army test-fired surface-to-surface nuclear capable missile Agni-IV with range of 4000 km.
  3276. Nigeria won 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup by defeating Mali. It is the third championship for Nigeria. India will host bi-annual championship in 2017.
  3277. RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan appointed as Vice-Chairman of Bank for International Settlements (BIS) for three years.
  3278. Scientists revealed that Himalayas were born about 47 million years ago when India and Eurasia initially smashed into each other. Research shows that 50 million years ago, India was travelling northwards at speeds of 15 centimetres / year, before it collided into Eurasia crustal Plates causing formation of Himalayan Mountain Range.
  3279. Ajit Prakash Shah appointed as ethics officer (ombudsman) at Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
  3280. Noted Pakistan cricketer Younus Khan retired from ODI cricket.
  3281. Punjabi became third most common language, after English and French in House of Commons of Canada after 20 Punjabi-speaking candidates were elected to the parliament.
  3282. Mana Patel (Female) and Virdhawal Khade (Male) emerged as best swimmers of 69th senior National Aquatic Championships 2015 in Rajkot (Gujarat).
  3283. Internet firm Google will provide Internet connectivity in India by using large balloons under its ‘Project Loon. It uses big balloons floating at height of 20 kilometers above earth surface for transmission of Internet services. Google will initially partner with BSNL for testing this technology by using broadband spectrum in 2.6 Ghz band.
  3284. Former Pakistani Cricketer Inzamam ul Haq has been made Afghanistan Cricket coach for 2 years.
  3285. Navtej Singh Sarna is appointed as Indian High Commissioner to United Kingdom (UK).
  3286. Oxford University Press India appointed V Sivaramakrishnan as managing director, with regional responsibilities including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal.
  3287. Reserve Bank of India imposed Rs 1 crore penalty on Dhanlaxmi Bank for violation of Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti Money Laundering (AML) norms.
  3288. Samia Hassan Suluhu made first first female Vice President of Tanzania.
  3289. Book Rebooting India: Realizing a Billion Aspirations authored by Nandan Nilekani and Viral Shah has been released.
  3290. Ravichandran Ashwin became fastest Indian bowler to reach 150 Test wickets (in 29 Tests).
  3291. Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje launched Agro-Processing and Agri-Marketing Promotion Policy 2015 to promote agro-processing and to reduce post harvest losses.
  3292. Indian culture week called India in Shanghai inaugurated at China Shanghai International Arts Festival (SIAF) in Shanghai.
  3293. Book What Happened to Netaji? authored by former journalist Anuj Dhar has been released.
  3294. Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani launched e-Pathshala, Saaransh and National Programme on School Standards and Evaluation Framework (Shala Siddhi) web portals.
    1. E-Pathshala web portal hosts educational resources for Students, Teachers, Parents. It contains books in English, Hindi and Urdu.
    2. Shaala Siddhi web portal enables schools to evaluate performance in more focused manner. It will help schools to assess themselves and results can be seen by all enabling them to provide feedback.
    3. Saransh allows schools to identify areas of improvement in students, teachers and curriculum to facilitate and implement change.
  3295. Jayant Sinha, Minister of State for Finance will meet Heads of Government banks every 45 days to take stock of various performance parameters and discuss evolving issues.
  3296. India's Indiabulls Housing Finance acquired 40 % stake in OakNorth Bank of U.K. for $100 million.
  3297. UAE-based Emirates NBD bank partnered with State Bank of India to help NRI customers in gulf to carry out remittances more conveniently.
  3298. Beer Maker Anheuser-Busch InBev accquired SABMiller for $107 billion to create a company that makes almost a third of the beer consumed worldwide.
  3299. Supreme Court upheld Kerala Government’s ban on online lotteries.
  3300. A court of Belgium asked Facebook to stop tracking country's Internet users who are not members of Facebook. As per reports, Facebook uses a special cookie called DATR to track all activities of User even when they are not Facebook Members.
  3301. Richard Proud-chaired Independent Commission on Doping in Sports submitted its report to World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in Vienna, Switzerland.
  3302. Board of Control for Cricket in India excluded Barabati stadium in Cuttack (Odisha) from newly declared Test venues after fans recently hurled plastic bottled onto ground forcing match to stop.
  3303. 09 Nov - National Legal Services Day.
  3304. Reserve Bank of India appointed Deepak Singhal as Executive Director.
  3305. US and Nepalese armies launched month-long joint military training Balance Nail 16-01.
  3306. Assam government hiked daily minimum wages of workers in various sectors and sintroduced a new segment of highly-skilled workers who will be eligible for minimum daily wage of 450 rupees. Minimum wage of skilled workers has been hiked from 208 to 350 rupees. Wage of semi-skilled workers is hiked from 150 to 280 rupees while that of unskilled workers from 130 to 240 rupees.
  3307. Rajasthan Government relaxed two-child policy for state government employees by allowing third child from a remarriage.
  3308. New species of Dracula ant of Stigmatomma group of predaceous ants has been discovered in Western Ghats region of Kerala.
  3309. China launched civil communication satellite ChinaSat - 2C from Xichang space center (Sichuan) by launch vehicle Long March 3B rocket as its 216th mission.
  3310. Legatum Prosperity Index 2015 released by Legatum Institute in London. Index offering insight into how prosperity is forming and changing across the world. Norway topped table In terms of overall prosperity for seventh year in a row. Switzerland is second and Denmark as Third. Central African Republic was at bottom among 142 countries. India was ranked 99 overall.
    1. Sub Indices ranks -

      Sub-Index

      India's Rank Top Ranked Nation

      Economy

      61

      Singapore

      Entrepreneurship & Opportunity

      94

      Sweden

      Governance

      53

      Switzerland

      Education

      92

      Australia

      Health

      107

      USA

      Safety & Security

      114

      Hong Kong

      Personal Freedom

      79

      Canada

      Social Capital

      129

      New Zealand
  3311. Allahabad High Court ruled that Child born out of rape will have right over assaulters property.
  3312. Former England Cricketer Tom Graveney passed away.
  3313. Tax Justice Network released Financial Secrecy Index 2015 that ranks nations according to their secrecy and scale of offshore financial activities. Switzerland is most secretive while India at 42nd rank is moderately secretive among 92 countries. Top five secretive are - Switzerland, Hong Kong, USA, Singapore and Cayman. Most Transparent are - Slovenia, Dominica, Finland, Cook Islands and Montserrat.
  3314. Andhra Pradesh Government signed Memorandum of Understanding with World Economic Forum to for support in assessing state's economic competitiveness.
  3315. Actor Anil Kapoor will be chief guest and Shekhar Kapur will be Jury Head at 46th International Film Festival of India to be held in Goa from 20 November 2015.
  3316. Norway reopened its Consulate General in Mumbai after four decades of closure in 1973.
  3317. Bosnia and Serbia held their first joint session since Bosnian War in 1995.
  3318. FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) Rankings 2015.
    1. India Ranked 172nd in total 207 Nations.
    2. Top 10 are -

      Rank

      Team

      Points

      1

      Belgium

      1440

      2

      Germany

      1388

      3

      Argentina

      1383

      4

      Portugal

      1364

      5

      Chile

      1288

      6

      Spain

      1287

      7

      Colombia

      1233

      8

      Brazil

      1208

      9

      England

      1179

      10

      Austria

      1130

  3319. Romania's Prime Minister Victor Ponta resigned.
  3320. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs hiked Minimum Support Prices for Rabi Crops of 2015-16 season to be marketed in 2016-17 on recommendations of Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP). Cabinet also decided to give bonus of 75 rupees / quintal for rabi pulses.

    Commodity

    MSP for 2014-15 season (Rupees per  quintal)

    MSP for 2015-16 season (Rupees per  quintal)

    Increase in MSP (Rupees)

    Wheat

    1450

    1525

    75

    Barley

    1150

    1225

    75

    Gram

    3175

    3425

    250

    Masur (Lentil)

    3075

    3325

    250

    Mustard

    3100

    3350

    250

    Safflower

    3050

    3300

    250

  3321. Election Commission announced results of 2015 Assembly elections of Bihar for 243 assembly seats. Grand Alliance (Mahagathbandhan) of Rashtriya Janata Dal, Janata Dal (United) and Indian National Congress emerged as winner of election. Nitish Kumar will be appointed Chief Minister of Bihar for Fourth Term. Rashtriya Janata Dal won 80 Seats, Janata Dal won 71 Seats and BJP won 53 Seats.
  3322. 10 Nov - World Science Day (World Science Day for Peace and Development). Theme for 2015 is Science for a Sustainable Future.
  3323. Indian - origin barrister in UK, Kalyani Kaul sworn-in as a Circuit Judge in UK for Snaresbrook Crown Court.
  3324. Ukraine Parliament approved amendment to countrys Labour Code prohibiting all forms of discrimination at workplace including discrimination against homosexuals.
  3325. President Pranab Mukherjee approved Haryana Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamvardhan Bill. Key provisions are -
    1. Cow slaughter in Haryana will cause 3 - 10 years imprisonment with fine of 1 lakh rupees.
    2. Attempt to export cows for slaughter will cause 3 - 7 years Imprisonment and fine 30000 - 70000 rupees.
  3326. 12th Asia-Europe Foreign Ministers' Meeting (ASEM FMM12) took place in Luxembourg. Minister of State for External Affairs Vijay Kumar Singh attended on India's Behalf.
  3327. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar commissioned Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) Samarth
  3328. Liberian Abraham M Keita has been given International Childrens Peace Prize 2015 for his fight for justice for child victims of physical or sexual violence.
  3329. A team of Indian scientists led by Sameer Panda from Odisha won NASA award for an innovative technology named Burst Prevention & Puncture Curative (BPPC) technology.
  3330. International Energy Agency released World Energy Outlook 2015.
    1. Tightening oil balance will lead to price around 80 dollars per barrel by 2020.
    2. World energy demand will grow by one-third between 2013 and 2040.
    3. By 2040, China's net oil imports will be five times those of USA, while India's import will exceed those of European Union.
    4. India in the developing Asia region will take over China as largest source of consumption growth.
    5. With India moving to centre stage in global energy, energy demand will increase to 2.5 times due to India’s high economic growth, large population.
    6. Renewables will be leading source of energy in 2040. Renewables-based energy will reach 50% in EU by 2040, 30% in China and Japan, and above 25% in United States and India.
    7. Emissions trajectory implies temperature increase of 2.7 C by 2100.
  3331. 12 Nov - World Pneumonia Day. Theme for 2015 is Every Breath Counts: Stop Pneumonia Now.
  3332. 12 Nov - World Quality Day.
  3333. During recent International Conference ‘Networking the Networks’ in Delhi, India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Myanmar decided to form South Asian Regional Intelligence and Coordination Centre on Transnational Organized Crime (SARICC) for information sharing to enable all Member States to respond Transnational organized crimes.
  3334. Ministry of Railways applied changes in Computerized Passenger Reservation System to enable passengers to buy tickets even after preparation of reservation charts, w.e.f. 12th November, 2015.
    1. Under this, First Reservation chart will be made 4 hours before departure of train.
    2. After preparation of first reservation charts, reservation will again become open and passengers can Book available tickets· If passenger is holding RAC/wait list ticket, it can cancel the ticket up to 30 minutes before scheduled departure.
    3. Second (and final) chart will be made before departure of train. It will ensure full utilization of seats and enhanced earnings.
    4. Thus, Passengers can now book / cancel / modify tickets even after preparation of first reservation chart but only upto 30 minutes before the departure of train.
  3335. Registrar General & Census Commissioner of India released  data  of Census 2011 on Highest Educational Level Attained among population attending educational institutions. Out of literate population who are presently attending any educational institution in the country, below Primary are 32.6% followed by Primary (25.2%), Middle (15.7%), Matric (11.1%), Higher Secondary (8.6%) and Graduate & above (4.5%). During 2001-11, improvement is observed at Middle and above educational levels and decline in lower levels (below-Primary and Primary). It shows advancement in Higher Education during 2001-11.
  3336. Vice President Hamid Ansari visited Indonesia. He cancelled Brunei Visit due to volcanic erruption.
    1. India signed two Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) with Indonesia for co-operation in Energy and Culture.
  3337. India will host a World Indology Conference in collaboration with Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) from November 21 to 23, 2015 in Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. A ‘Distinguished Indologist’ Award will be presented by President Mukherjee to Heinrich Freiherr Von Stietencron from Germany on this occasion.
  3338. India signed Memorandum of Understanding with South Korea for bilateral air service cooperation.
  3339. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar commissioned Boeing P 8 I (Poseidon Eight India) Long Range Maritime Patrol aircraft In Indian Navy at INS Rajali Station, Arakkonam.
  3340. Railways gave contract to France's Alstom for setting up Madhepura electric locomotive project. New factory will supply 800 high horse power (12000 HP) electric locomotive for 11 years. The project will bring FDI investment of 1300 crore, Its cost will be around 19,000 crores.
  3341. Annual Hundred Drums Wangala Festival begun at Asanang in Meghalaya.
  3342. Pakistan and China started ambitious 46 billion US Dollar China- Pakistan economic corridor (CPEC) project as China acquired over 2,000 acres of land in Balochistan to develop strategic Gwadar port of 1.62 Billion USD.
    1. It includes construction of an expressway linking Gwadar port in Pakistan to Xinjiang region in China by highways, airways and railways and pipelines to transport oil and gas.
    2. India objected to ths CPEC as it passes through Pakistan occupied Kashmir. But China defended it saying it is a commercial venture to improve livelihoods of people in Pakistan.
  3343. Central Government relaxed Foreign Direct Investment norms across 15 sectors to boost investment -
    1. Governement raised threshold limit of approval by Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) from 3000 to 5000 crores.
    2. In defence, foreign investment up to 49% is allowed under automatic route from earlier government approved route.
    3. In broadcasting (FM Radio) and News Channels FDI up to 49 % is allowed through FIPB route from earlier 26%.
    4. In Banking, investment up to 74% provided.
  3344. Times Higher Education (THE) Ranking for Engineering & Technology's top 100 Institutes List -
    1. Indian Institute of Science Bangalore ranks 99th in the List.
    2. US institutions Stanford (1st), CalTech (2nd)and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (3rd) are at top three.
  3345. Fortune's top 50 global business leaders -
    1. Indian Origin Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is named 47th and Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga is rankaed at 5th Position.
    2. Nikes Mike Parker topped the list followed by Facebooks Mark Zukerberg.
    3. Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson (3), Apples Tim Cook (4), Google (Alphabet)s Larry Page at 11th position.
  3346. 14 Nov - Birth Anniversary of Jawahar Lal Nehru (First Prime Minister of India). Also depicted as Children's Day in India. 14 Nov is also celebrated as National Metallurgists Day in India.
  3347. President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated 35th India International Trade Fair 2015 in Pragati Maidan in New Delhi. Afghanistan is Partner Country while Bangladesh is Focus Country in IITF 2015.
  3348. Minister of Agriculture of Brazil, Katia Abreu Visited India.
  3349. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar commissioned Seakeeping and Manoeuvring Basin (SMB) and Maareech - Advanced Torpedo Defence System into Indian Navy.
  3350. Shipwright School, an alma-mater for Naval Architects, Shipwright Officers and Sailors commissioned Into Indian Navy and INS Vishwakarma.
  3351. Ministry of Information & Broadcasting nominated Satish Shah and Bhawana Somaaya as members of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) Society.
  3352. India and Bangladesh signed Standard Operating Procedure in New Delhi to operationalize Agreement on Coastal Shipping signed in June 2015.
  3353. Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi and Director General of BSF, D.K. Pathak visited Bangladesh. India and Bangladesh greed to share information on terrorists and insurgent threats.
  3354. Government announced plans to open an exclusive Sports University in Manipur.
  3355. 2015 G-20 summit held in Antalya (Turkey). It was tenth meeting of G-20 heads of government. Next G20 Summits - 2016 (China), 2017 (Germany), 2018 (India). It was attended by all G-20 Members except France.
  3356. Noted actor Saeed Jaffrey passed away.
  3357. Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Radha Mohan Singh laid Foundation Stone of Acharya N.G.Ranga Agricultural University in Andhra Pradesh.
  3358. Prakash Javadekar (Minister of Information and Broadcasting) became first Union Minister to Visit Doyang Lake in Nagaland. He appraised return of Amur Falcons Birds to Nagaland and announced to Develop Doyang Lake as Eco Tourism Spot.
  3359. Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Union Minister of Food Processing Industries laid foundation stone of first Mega Food Park in Telangana state in Nandipet Mandal (District Nizamabad).
  3360. Minister of State for Home Affairs, Kiren Rijiju will be designated as Champion for Disaster Risk Reduction for his efforts in enabling community resilience in Asia-Pacific region. He will be honored by United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction as first regional champion after Sendai Agreement.
  3361. 15 Nov - Statehood day of Jharkhand. State was created on Nov 15, 2000. On thsi occasion, Jharkhand government launched 14 mobile applications and three web portals to ntroduce Mobile Governance.
  3362. Asia Leaders' Meeting for Implementation of Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction in Asia and 2nd ISDR Asia Partnership meeting 2015 held in Delhi.
  3363. Government declared National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN (K)) as a terrorist organization under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
  3364. Piyush Goyal (Minister of Power) announced that India would not need to Import Thermal Coal by 2017.
  3365. Deadly Terrorist Attacks occured in Paris City of France, reportedly carried by ISIS.
  3366. Minister of Human Resource Development Smriti Irani visited UNESCO Headquarters at Paris. She participated in 38th session of UNESCO General Conference.
  3367. Minimum train passenger fare has been hiked from Rs. 5 to Rs 10 in non-suburban services at par with platform ticket. Note that platform ticket was increased to Rs. 10 in April 2015.
  3368. National League for Democracy (NLD) party led by Aung San Suu Kyi won Myanmars landmark election by winning 348 seats.
  3369. During 10th G20 Summit in Turkey - India and Australia signed Nuclear deal for supply of Uranium from Australia to India. India became first country to buy Uranium from Australia without being a signatory to Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Australia has about a 40 % of world’s Uranium resources and annually exports 7,000 tonnes.
  3370. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare launched Affordable Medicines and Reliable Implants for Treatment (AMRIT) pharmacy outlet at AIIMS Delhi. Purpose of this outlet is to reduce expenditure on treatment of cancer and heart diseases by 50 %. It has tied-up with government-owned HLL Lifecare Ltd.
  3371. Nico Rosberg (Germany) won Brazil Formula One Grand Prix .
    1. 2015 Formula One season -
      1. Total 19 Grand Prix Races to be organized across the world in 2015. Calendar is -
        1. Grand Prix Date Winner
          Australia 15 March Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Malaysia 29 March Sebastian Vettel (Germany)
          China 12 April Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Baharain 19 April Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Spain 10 May Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Monaco 24 May Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Canada 7 June Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Austria 21 June Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Britain 5 July Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Hungary 26 July Sebastian Vettel (Germany)
          Belgium 23 August Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Italy 6 September Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Singapore 20 September Sebastian Vettel (Germany)
          Japan 27 September   Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Russia 11 October Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          USA 25 October Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Mexico 1 November Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Brazil 15 November Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Abu Dhabi 29 November
  3372. China Open (badminton) 2015
    1. Women's Singles - Li Xuerui (China) won by defeating India's Saina Nehwal
    2. Men's Singles - Lee Chong Wei (Malaysia) won by defeating Chen Long (China)
    3. Men's Doubles - Kim Sa Rang and Kim Gi-jung (South Korea)
    4. Women's Doubles - Yu Yang and Tang Yuanting (China)
  3373. Syed Akbaruddin appointed as next Permanent Representative of India to United Nations.
  3374. Northeast Indias first hospital for elephants established at Kaziranga National Park in Assam.
  3375. Noted writer of childrens books Kamala Laxman passed away.
  3376. Odisha Government started implementation of National Food Security Act 2013 in 14 (of 30 districts). Under NFSA, beneficiaries are given 5 kg of rice at Rs 3 or 5 kg of wheat at Rs 2 from Public Distribution System. Second phase of NFSA will be implemented in remaining 16 districts from 1st December 2015.
  3377. Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson (age 34) has announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket.
  3378. Indian shuttler Siril Verma has won silver at 2015 BWF World Junior badminton Championships in Lima. He lost to Taipeis Chia Hung Lu Chia in Final.
  3379. Government approved Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) Action Plan for 81 cities in 5 states (Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha and Mizoram) with total cost 5,748 crores. Union Government will provide 2,440 crore rupees while rest will be contributed by states.
  3380. 16 Nov - National Press Day.
  3381. 3rd National Seminar on Social Innovation organized in Pune.
  3382. 16 Nov - International Day for Tolerance.
  3383. ICICI Bank Canada (subsidiary of ICICI Bank) has been authorised by Canadian High Commission to accept GIC (Guaranteed Investment Certificate) for students aspiring to study in Canada.
    1. As per rules, students applying for study permit in canada under Student Partner Programme (SPP), are required to invest in a GIC of 10,000 Canadian dollar with a bank in Canada authorised by government to offer this facility. Now, Canadian Government authorised ICICI bank Canada to accept GIC.
    2. This programme will enable students from India to purchase a GIC from ICICI Bank Canada. The amount of 10,000 Canadian dollar will be paid back to student while studying in Canada in 12 equal installments along with interest amount. Processing fee for applying is Canada Dollar 150.
  3384. Nokia appointed Sandeep Girotra as head of Its India Operations and Amr Karim El-Leithy as head of Middle East and Africa as part of Nokia's Merger with Alcatel-Lucent.
  3385. Healthcare booking platform Practo and taxi-hailing platform Uber partnered to help people reach doctors easily.
  3386. Ministry of Finance constituted Governing Council of National Investment and Infrastructure Fund to be chaired by Finance Minister (Arun Jaitley Currently). NIIF was approved by Union Cabinet with initial corpus of 20000 crore rupees.
  3387. Noted Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Ashok Singhal passed away.
  3388. Zarin Daruwala has been appointed as chief executive officer by Standard Chartered Bank for its India Operations.
  3389. Axis Mutual Fund announced Axis Children's Gift Fund as a goal-based investment option for minors, represented by a guardian. NFO comes with optional lock-in period till child turns 18 years old.
  3390. Andhra Pradesh Government and World Bank have signed $75 million loan deal for Andhra Pradesh Rural Inclusive Growth Project.
  3391. FIFA banned Nepal's football chief Ganesh Thapa for 10 years for corruption.
  3392. 2015 Summit on Migration held in Valletta (Malta) with delegates from Europe and Africa. The summit created an Action Plan to deal with migration issues from Africa to Europe. An EU Emergency Trust Fund of 1.8 billion euros established to address causes of irregular migration.
  3393. Delhi Government appointed panel under Chetan Sanghi recommended suspension of Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) due to severe alleged financial irregularities.
  3394. Prithvi Raj Singh of Jal Bhagirathi Foundation has been elected to Board of Governors of World Water Council (WWC) for 2016-18.
  3395. 17th November - International Day of Students.
  3396. Prime Minister Narendra Modi Visited UK and Turkey -
    1. UK Visit
      1. India and UK signed civil nuclear pact and decided to collaborate in of defence and cyber security besides launching a railway rupee bond in UK.
      2. Deals worth 9 billion pounds signed in India and UK.
      3. India’s first Low Income State Infrastructure Equity Partnership (the Neev Fund) launched by Narendra Modi in UK. It has investment from UK Department of International Development and the State Bank of India.
      4. India and UK agreed on package of collaboration on energy and climate change worth 3.2 billion pounds.
      5. PM Narendra Modi inaugurated Ambedkar memorial bulit by Maharashtra Government in London.
      6. 2017 has been announced as UK-India Year of culture.
      7. PM Nardenra Modi unveiled Basaveshwara Statue in London. 
      8. PM Nardenra Modi addressed Indian Community at Wembley Football Stadium in London.
    2. Turkey Visit
      1. PM Modi attended 2015 G-20 summit chaired by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Antalya (Turkey).
      2. PM Modi attended meet of BRICS leaders on sidelines of G-20 summit.
      3. India and Australia announced completion of procedures for Civil Nuclear Agreement.
  3397. Andhra Pradesh Government decided to waive loans taken by over 25000 weavers amounting over 110 crore rupees.
  3398. Online auto classifieds firm CarTrade.com acquired car-selling portal CarWale.com
  3399. Czech Republic defeated Russia to retain Fed Cup Tennis Title, played in Czech Republic.
  3400. Prasad and Swadesh Darshan schemes of Ministry of Tourism launched with an aim to achieve 1 % share of international tourist arrivals by 2016-17 from present 0.68 %.
    1. PRASAD is meant to augment religious tourism in India. Potential Religious destinations are identified and developed on priority basis. In the initial phase, 12 cities, that are part of HRIDAY scheme, namely Amritsar, Ajmer, Amaravati, Dwaraka, Gaya, Kanchipuram, Kedarnath, Kamakhya, Mathura, Puri, Varanasi and Vellankani have been identified for development.
    2. Swadesh Darshan - Theme Based Tourist Circuit (tourist circuit around specific themes such as religion, culture, ethnicity) are identified and developed.
  3401. Eight Asian countries (China, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Mongolia and India) participated in a meeting held in New Delhi for preparing disaster risk reduction for Asian region.
  3402. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley visited United Arab Emirates.
  3403. Government approved Memorandum of Understanding with Vietnam for cooperation in field of Animal Health.
  3404. Government approved proposal of Department of Health Research in Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to set up of National Resource Facility for Bio-medical Research (NARF) at Genome Valley in Hyderabad under Indian Council for Medical Research. Project cost will be approx Rs. 338 crores and resource center will be functional by 2018-19.
  3405. Government approved Memorandum of Understanding with Germany for Security Co-operation, Promotion of Each other's Languages and carriage of In-flight Security Officers (IFCOs) on board the flight. Government approved German as additional foreign language in Kendriya Vidyalayas.
  3406. Government proposed to extend Currency Swap Arrangement for SAARC Member Countries by two years upto November 14, 2017. Under this facility, RBI offers swaps of varying sizes to each SAARC Member countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) under US$ 2 billion.
  3407. Government approved revised Air Services Agreement with New Zealand.
  3408. Government approved signing Tripartite Agreement among India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA) for IBSA Fund for Alleviation of Poverty and Hunger. IBSA countries contribute US$ 1 million each annually to the Fund.
  3409. Government approved amending Agreement with Kuwait for avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion.
  3410. Government approved disinvestment of 10 % Stake in Coal India Limited. Government's shareholding of 78.65 % in CIL will now become 68.65 %.
  3411. Government announced 3% interest subsidy scheme (called Interest Equalization Scheme) for exporters to boost Exports. It will have financial implication of about Rs 2,700 crores.
  3412. Government approved direct subsidy payment to farmers at rate of Rs 4.50 per quintal for cane they will sell to loss-making sugarcane mills. It will cost Rs 1,147 crore to the Government.
  3413. Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation approved construction of 2,28,204 houses for urban poor under Housing for All Mission in five states - Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Rajasthan. Housing For All Mission aims to build houses for all Urban Poor by 2022.
  3414. National Research Development Corporation signed Memorandum of Agreement with Indian Institute of Technology Madras for commercialisation of technologies/ intellectual properties developed at IITM.
  3415. Afghanistan's Deputy Foreign Minister Hekmat Khalil Karzai visited India.
  3416. Russia launched first satellite for its newest early warning system, EKS or Integrated Space System. Satellite has been named Kosmos 2510 (Tundra 11L).
  3417. Indian Red Cross Society Secretary General SP Agarwal passed away.
  3418. Competition Commission of India imposed penalties on 3 Airlines for concerted action in fixing and revising Fuel Surcharge (FSC) for transporting cargo. Airlines are Jet Airways, InterGlobe Aviation and Spice Jet.
  3419. Delhi will host first International Qawwali Festival 2015 titled Taali Ho in February 2016.
  3420. Intel launched its Ek Kadam Unnati Ki Aur program for rural digitisation in 10 States from Nadimpalle villlage in Telangana.
  3421. Former RAW Director Shankaran Nair passed away.
  3422. Chinas Tianhe-2 supercomputer named as worlds most powerful supercomputer for sixth consecutive year. It is capable of performing calculations with processing speed of 33.86 petaflops per second. Supercomputer Titan of US Department of Energy is second with 17.59 Pflop/s.
  3423. Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) released Internet in India 2015 report.
    1. Indias internet user base will touch 40.2 Crore by December 2015. India will Beat USA ti become second-largest userbase in world after China.
    2. Internet in India took over a decade to move from 1 to 10 crore and 3 years from 10 to 20 crores, it took just a year to move from 30 to 40 crore users.
    3. Overall, 71 percent male and 29 percent female are Internet users in India.
    4. Among Rural areas, User base of mobile internet users is expected will reach 8.7 crore by December 2015 and 11 crore by June 2016.
  3424. World Health Organisation (WHO) launched World Antibiotic Awareness Week with theme Antibiotics: handle with care. Aim is to raise awareness to avoid further emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance.
  3425. 19 Nov - World Toilet Day and International Men's Day.
  3426. 19 Nov - World Philosophy Day (Third Thursday of November).
  3427. Government wil set up National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) in Jhalawar, Rajasthan at cost of Rs 500 crores.
  3428. Government launched Technology Acquisition and Development Fund (TADF) under National Manufacturing Policy 2011 to facilitate acquisition of energy efficient technologies and support manufacturing growth in Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector. Scheme will be implemented through Global Innovation and Technology Alliance (GITA), a joint venture company between CII and Department of Science & Technology.
  3429. Sanjay Jasjit Singh appointed as Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Communication Space and Network Centric Operation).
  3430. Vijay Kelkar Committee on Revisiting & Revitalizing the PPP model of Infrastructure Development submitted its report.
  3431. Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has set up a Toll Free Telephone Number 1-800-180-4343 to answer queries of stakeholders, including consumers, for seamless transition to digitization of Cable TV.
  3432. Global conference on traffic safety in Brazil. Minister of Road Transport & Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari attended on India's Behalf.
  3433. Vijay Keshav Gokhale is appointed as Indias Ambassador to China.
  3434. 19 November - World Toilet Day. 2015 Theme is Sanitation and Nutrition.
  3435. World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) suspended Russias anti-doping agency RUSADA for being non-compliant with anti-doping charter in sports.
  3436. Second World Congress on Disaster Management held in Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh).
  3437. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has been chosen for 2015 Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development. UNHCR is awarded for its Immense contributions in assisting millions of refugees in their rehabilitation and resettlement.
  3438. Tata Steel started first phase of its Kalinganagar steel plant in Odisha as India's largest single-location greenfield project. First phase will produce 3 million tonnes of its total capacity of 6 MT/ annum.
  3439. 50 districts of Uttar Pradesh have been declared drought-hit as they received lesser than 60 % rain during 2015 June to September 2015 (Monsoon period).
  3440. Philips India appointed V Raja as Vice-Chairman and Managing Director.
  3441. Delhi government approved Jan Lokpal Bill 2015 to establish an independent authority for investigating Corruption Acts in government offices.
  3442. Government ratified Articles of Agreement (AoA) of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
    1. Headquarters will be in Beijing (China). China is largest stakeholder with 30.34 % stake.
    2. India will be second-biggest shareholder with 8.4 % ad Russia will have 6.5 % stake.
    3. Total Paid up capital will be 100 Billion USD.
  3443. Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar announced formation of Indian Resource Panel (InRP) on Resource Efficiency. India is first nation to constitute a NRP to promote sustainable development by utilising secondary resources.
  3444. Bangladesh blocked Facebook and messaging service WhatsApp and Viber for security reasons.
  3445. Maharashtra Srishti Pandey won second Indiana All India FIDE Rating Chess tournament organized by Nagpur Taluka Chess Association.
  3446. Institute for Economics and Peace (Sydney, Australia) Global Terrorism Index 2015 of impact of terrorism in 162 countries -
    1. Deaths from terrorism increased 80 % in 2014 to highest level ever with cost 52.9 USD billion.
    2. Most Affected Nations - Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Pakistan and Syria. India is sixth most affected Nation by terrorism in 2014.
    3. Least affected Nations - Japan, Malawi, Togo, Zambia among others.
    4. Over 32000 people killed by terrorism in 2014 as compared to 18000 in 2013. Boko Haram and ISIL making 51 % of all global fatalities.
  3447. 20 November - Universal Children's Day.
  3448. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved Home Ministry's plans for Integrating Criminal Justice System in Crime and Criminals Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) Project to ensure quick data transfer among concerned entities.
  3449. Laurent Fabius, Foreign Minister of France visited India.
  3450. International Grassland Congress organized by Indian Grassland & Fodder Research Institute in New Delhi.
  3451. Government released 3 Books on Rajyogini Dadi Janaki (Head of Brahma Kumaris organization). Books are
    1. Prem aur Shanti ka Marg - authored by Dadi Janaki.
    2. I know How to Live, I know How to Die - authored by Neville Hodgkinson.
    3. Dadi Janaki : A Century of Service - authored by Liz Hodgkinson.
  3452. 46th International Film Festival of India (IFFI 2015) started in Panjim, Goa with screening of internationally - acclaimed UK film The Man Who Knew Infinity. Film has been written and directed by Matthew Brown and produced by Edward Ramback Pressman.
    1. Arun Jaitley (Finance Minister) Released Book 'Legends of Indian Silver Screen' as collections of essays of 23 Dadasahab Phalke awardees between 1992-2014.
  3453. First India International Science Festival will be organized at IIT Delhi from 4 - 8 December 2015 by Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) in collaboration with NGO Vijnana Bharati.
  3454. Minister of Urban Development, M.Venkaiah Naidu announced 3250 crore special assistance for decongestion of roads and development of Delhi.
  3455. Government released assistance of 939 crores for Flood relief operations in Tamilnadu.
  3456. Minister of State for Home Affairs, Kiren Rijiju Inaugurated first "South Asian Annual Disaster Management Exercise" (SAADMEx) – 2015 in Delhi. Eight member nations of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) attended the meet.
  3457. Minister of External Affairs, Sushma Swaraj launched Bharat Ko Janiye online quiz program for Indians across the globe. It is intended to educate them about India's progress in various fields like, Science & Technology etc.
  3458. Minister of State (IC) for Development of North Eastern Region, Jitendra Singh inaugurated an Awareness Workshop on online Pension Sanction and Payment Tracking System - BHAVISHYA. It will introduce transparency and accountability in pension processes and will bring satisfaction to pensioners.
  3459. 21 Nov - World Television Day and World fisheries Day. Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan proposed a new scheme ‘Blue Revolution: Integrated Development and Management of Fisheries with an outlay of Rs. 3000 crore to be undertaken by National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB).
  3460. First World Indology Conference held in Delhi in collaboration with Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR).
  3461. 13th World Robot Olympiad to be organized by National Council of Science Museums (NCSM) and India STEM Foundation in Delhi in November 2016.
  3462. Government extended RuPay Card usage condition to 90 days from current 45 days for a claim under an accident insurance cover (with effect from 25th November 2015).
    1. Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana's objective is of covering all households with at least one bank account and an accident insurance cover of Rs.1 lakh. 
    2. Previously, RuPay Card holder should have carried out at least one successful ATM transaction in last 45 days for claiming the insurance under Accidental Death cover. Now the limit is increased to 90 days.
  3463. India's Pankaj Advani won IBSF World Snooker Championship by defeating Chinas Xingtong. It is 15th World Title for Pankaj. He became first person to win both Billiards and Snooker World Titles in same year.
  3464. India successfully test fired indigenously developed supersonic interceptor missile Advanced Air Defence (AAD), which is capable of destroying any incoming ballistic missile.
  3465. A 13 member committee under former Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswami constituted by Human Resource Development ministry for Sanskrit promotion.
  3466. Indian mens junior hockey team won 8th Junior Asia Hockey Cup by defeating Pakistan by 6-2 goals. It was held in Malaysia.
  3467. Serbia's Novak Djokovic won ATP World Tour Tennis finals for fourth time continuously. He defeated Roger Federer of Switzerland .
  3468. Nuclear-capable surface-to-surface Dhanush ballistic missile test fired from off Puri coast of Odisha with strike range of 350 kms. It can carry payload upto 500 kg.
  3469. Sunil Kanoria has been appointed new president of Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham).
  3470. Securities and Exchange Board of India signed Memorandum of Understanding with Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission during UK Sinha(Chairman of SEBI)'s visit to Bangladesh.
  3471. Japan Launched its First fully commercial satellite Mission by launching Canada's Telstar 12V.
  3472. Janta Dal United (JDU)'s Nitish Kumar sworn in as Chief Minister (CM) of Bihar for fifth term.
  3473. Russia signed agreement with Egypt to build Egypt's first nuclear power plant at Dabaa with capacity 1200 MW.
  3474. Syrian woman journalist Zaina Erhaim won 2015 Reporters without Borders Prize for her defence of press freedom in Syria.
  3475. Asian Development Bank will provide 120 million USD loan for Second Bangladesh-India Grid Inter connectivity project under SASEC Programme(South Asia Sub-regional Economic Co-operation).
  3476. Harshavardhan Neotia elected as President of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
  3477. Uttar Pradesh government's Clean UP, Green UP initiative earned place in Guinness Book of World Records by planting 10 lakh saplings in one day and previous record of 8 lakh 50 thousand trees in a single day.
  3478. India-born Swati Dandekar has been appointed as United States director of Asian Development Bank (ADB).
  3479. French President Francois Hollande will be the Chief Guest at the 67th Republic Day parade of January 26, 2016.
  3480. Mauricio Macri's Republican Proposal Party won Argentinas 2015 Presidential elections.
  3481. Sri Lankan announced to not to allow any country to set up naval base on Sri Lankan territory.
  3482. China is building worlds biggest animal cloning factory in Tianjin to recreate sniffer dogs, racehorses, pets and beef cattle.
  3483. US drugs giant Pfizer agreed to buy Ireland based Allergan for 160 billion USD making it biggest ever deal in history of healthcare sector.
  3484. Indian Railways signed a MoU to set up a Railway Chair on Sustainable Mobility at New Delhi campus of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) University. It would promote research on sustainable mobility, green energy and use of energy efficient technology initiatives by Railways.
  3485. Researchers discovered a new species of tree frog named Ghatixalus magnus in Western Ghats in Kadalar High Ranges of Kerala.
  3486. Government reduced deadline for completion of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) for rural connectivity through all- weather roads from 2022 to 2019. Annual allocation for PMGSY works for 2015-16 is also increased by 5,000 crore rupees (Now Total 15,100 crores).
  3487. Former world long jump champion Anju Bobby George is appointed Chairperson of Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) by Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs.
    1. TOPS is Formulated under National Sports Development Fund (NSDF) for identifying potential medal prospects sportspersons for 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games. Focus is on Boxing, Athletics, Badminton, Archery, Wrestling and Shooting.
  3488. Turkey Shoot Down a Russian Sukhoi 24 Warplane flying over Turkish Claimed Region for Attacking Terrorist Group ISIS. This has escalated tensions between Turkey an Russia. Russia imposed economic sanctions against Turkey over this issue.
  3489. India test fired Indigenously developed nuclear capable Prithvi-II surface-to-surface missile. It is a short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) capable of carrying upto 1,000 kg of warheads in strike range of 350 kms.
  3490. Atonio Costa of Socialist Party is named as Prime Minister of Portugal.
  3491. Delhi Assembly passed Right of Citizen to Time Bound Delivery of Services Amendment Bill, 2015 aimed at providing time bound delivery of Government services.
  3492. Marathi film Katyar Kaljat Ghusali and Bengali film Cinemawala are shortlisted for 2015 UNESCO Fellini Medal. Katyar Kaljat Ghusali is directed by Subodh Bhave and Cinemawala is directed by Kaushik Gangualy.
  3493. Bihar to ban sale of liquor from 1st April 2016. It will make bihar 6th dry state/UT in India.
  3494. Cab operator OlaCabs has appointed Rajiv Bansal as Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
  3495. Second Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Corvette INS Kadmatt Handed over to Indian Navy. It has been built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE).
  3496. Noted Japanese Tamil scholar and historian of South India and South Asia, Noboru Karashima passed away.
  3497. IT Firm Tata Consultancy Services launched new Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Internet of Things (IoT) in collaboration with Intel in Hyderabad.
  3498. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved extension of Indian Development and Economic Assistance Scheme (IDEAS) for 5 years from 2015-16 to 2019-20. During the extended period, about 3771 crore rupees will be utilized for scheme. First extension to this scheme was granted in 2009-2010 for 5 years.
    1. IDEAS promotes India's strategic economic interest abroad by positioning it as an emerging economic power and partner for developing countries.
  3499. 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC) headed by Justice AK Mathur submitted its report -
    1. Recommended 23.55 % hike in pay and allowances of government employees , from 1 January 2016.
    2. Minimum pay will be 18000 rupees / month while maximum is recommended to be 225000 rupees / month for Apex Scale and 250000 per month for Cabinet Secretary level.
    3. Increase in pay will be 16 %, increase in allowances will be 63 % and increase in pension will be 24 %.
    4. The present system of pay bands and grade pay will be replaced by a new pay matrix. Status of employee, determined by grade pay will now be determined by level in pay matrix.
    5. One Rank One Pension proposed for civilian government employees on line of OROP for armed forces.
    6. Military Service Pay for Defence Officers more than doubled to Rs.15,500 from Rs. 6,000 currently. For nursing officers, 10,800 from 4,200 and others.
    7. Abolition of 52 allowances and introduction of a Health Insurance Scheme.
    8. Pay revision will impact 47 lakh serving employee and 52 lakh pensioners of Central Government.
    9. It will cost public exchequer over 1 lakh crore rupees annually.
    10. Implementation of Pay Commission will impact fiscal deficit by 0.65 %, as compared to 0.77 % in case of Sixth Central Pay Commission.
    11. A fitment factor of 2.57 is being proposed to be applied uniformly for all employees.
    12. The rate of annual increment is being retained at 3 percent.
    13. Ceiling of gratuity enhanced from 10 to 20 lakh rupees and ceiling on gratuity raised by 25 % whenever DA rises by 50 %.
    14. Short service commission officers may exit armed forces at any point between 7 - 10 years service.
  3500. Former Tennis Player and Hollywood filmmaker Ashok Amritraj awarded with honorary doctorate of Arts by University of East London.
  3501. 23rd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders Summit held at Manila (Philippines) with theme Building Inclusive Economies, Building a Better World. Peru will chair APEC in 2016 and will host 24th APEC Economic Leaders Meeting in 2016.
  3502. World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Report 2015 -
    1. It ranked 145 nations according to how well they are leveraging their female talent
    2. Global gender gap across health, education, economic opportunity and politics has closed by only 4 % in the past 10 years. So it will take another 118 years to close it completely.
    3. India stood at 108th position in report.
    4. Top 5 - Iceland (1), Norway (2), Finland (3), Sweden (4) and Ireland (5) and and least gender equality is in - Iran (141), Chad (142), Syria (143), Pakistan (144) and Yemen (145).
    5. Among G20, India and Saudi Arabia have lowest rate of labour participation (40 %), USA has highest participation rate of 80 %.
    6. In Economic Participation and Opportunity segment, Indias among lowest (139 th). Labour force participation rate among women was 29.5 % and 83 % among men.
  3503. Walmart India announced an entrepreneur development programme for women to encourage women owned businesses, including softer payment terms for them in first year of empanelment with Walmart (Starting from Andhra Pradesh).
  3504. Airports Authority of India signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with India's Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited (IL&FS) Global Financial Services to spread its wings overseas.
  3505. Rajasthan signed 295 MoUs attracting about 3.3 lakh crore rupees investment during Resurgent Partnership Summit 2015. It aims to provide around 239694 lakh jobs in the state.
  3506. Rajasthan and South Australia signed Sister-State Agreement to boost export and investment opportunities during visit of South Australia Trade and Investment Trade Minister Martin Hamilton-Smith to Rajasthan.
  3507. United Nations Security Council adopted French-sponsored resolution 2249 (2015) calling all nations to take all necessary measures to prevent and suppress terrorist acts of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and other extremist groups.
  3508. President of Sri Lanka Maithripala Sirisena inaugurated Mahatma Gandhi International Centre (MGIC) in Matale (Sri Lanka ).
  3509. Food ordering portal Foodpanda tied up with Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) for order and delivery of food to the passengers.
  3510. Noted labour economist T.S. Papola passed away.
  3511. Michael Keating of United Kingdom is appointed as Special Representative for Somalia and Head of UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM).
  3512. PM Narendra Modi Visits Malaysia and Singapore -
    1. Malaysia -
      1. India and Malaysia signed agreement to strengthen cooperation in defence, including maritime security and disaster response.
      2. Participated in 10th East Asia Summit (EAS) held in Kuala Lumpur with theme Our People, Our Community, Our Vision.
      3. Participated in 13th ASEAN - India Summit. India and leaders of 10 member ASEAN grouping discussed new Plan of Action for 2016-2020.
      4. Participated in 27th ASEAN Summit 2015. ASEAN leaders endorsed ASEAN 2025: Forging Ahead Together to chart path for community building over next 10 years.
        1. Association of Southeast Asian Nations leaders signed declaration for launching ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) similar to European Union (EU)-style regional economic bloc.
        2. AEC will make ASEAN a single market with free flow of goods, capital and skilled labour in the region. Integrate Southeast Asia’s 10 economies with population of 62 Crores and combined gross domestic product of 2.4 trillion USD.
    2. Singapore -
      1. India and Singapore signed 10 co-operation agreements.
      2. Extension of Loan of Artifacts to Asian Civilisations Museum of Singapore Executive Programme on Cooperation in Arts, Heritage, Archives and Library for 2015-2018.
      3. Operationalisation of Agreement on Sharing White Shipping Information between Navies.
      4. Cooperation in Cyber Security, Civil Aviation , Planning, Illicit Trafficking in Narcotic Drugs etc.
  3513. Noted journalist Kuldip Nayar is honoured with 8th Ramnath Goenka Lifetime Achievement Award on for his contribution to journalism.
  3514. Noted Marathi actor Prashant Damle will be honoured by Master Dinanath Mangeshkar Award 2015.
  3515. Rishi Gour is appointed as President of Sodexo India On-site Services.
  3516. Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated e-lala e-commerce portal of Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT). e-lala initiative aims to promote interests of 5.77 crore small businesses in context of rapid expansion of e-commerce in India.
  3517. Tata Sons chairman emeritus Ratan Tata has invested in Crayon Data, a Singapore-based Data startup.
  3518. Karnataka Government launched Tourist Mitra - 175-member friendly force to reinforce smooth and secure experiences for visitors to states tourist spots.
  3519. Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry announced 10 schemes for disabled persons under National Trust for welfare of persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities. Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot announced to increase number of categories of disability from 7 to 19. List of schemes -
    1. DISHA: Early Intervention and School Readiness Scheme
    2. VIKAAS: Day Care Scheme
    3. SAMARTH: Respite Care Scheme
    4. GHARAUNDA: Group Home for Adults Scheme
    5. NIRAMAYA: Health Insurance Scheme
    6. SAHYOGI: Caregiver training scheme
    7. GYAN PRABHA: Educational support Scheme
    8. PRERNA: Marketing Assistance Scheme
    9. SAMBHAV: Aids and Assisted Devices Scheme
    10. BADHTE KADAM: Awareness and Community Interaction Scheme.
  3520. 25 Nov - International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women. United Nations (UN) launched its campaign Orange the World. Campaign will be carried out till December 10 (UN’s Human Rights Day).
  3521. Slovenia's President, Milan Brglez visited India.
  3522. LRSAM (Long Range Surface to Air Missile), jointly developed by Israel Aerospace Industry and DRDO has been successfully tested. It is also called Barak 8 missile in Israel.
  3523. RBI Issued Gold Bonds of subscription value of Rs 246 crore under Sovereign Gold Bonds Scheme.
  3524. India and Japan exchanged Notes for Japans Loan of Rs. 5,536 crore to India for Chennai Metro Rail Project (IV) and Ahmedabad Metro Project.
  3525. India re-elected to Council of International Maritime Organization for 2 years at 29th Assembly of IMO in London.
    1. International Maritime Organization's Headquarters is in London (UK) with Koji Sekimizu as Current Chief.
  3526. Dalbir Singh, Chief of Army Staff visited Sri Lanka.
  3527. Minister of human resource development, Smriti Irani inaugurated MHRD scheme Global Initiative of Academic Network (GIAN) to boost quality of higher education institutes In India at Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar.
  3528. Contract Agreement Signed For Two Rs.40,000 Crores High Horse Power Modern Locomotive Projects (Electric Locomotive Factory At Madhepura And Diesel Locomotive Factory At Marhowra - Bihar). -
    1. Indian Railways tied up with USA-Based Company GE Global Sourcing India Pvt. Limited for Setting Up Diesel Locomotive Factory (DLF) at Marhowra, Saran District, Bihar. Factory will Manufacture Diesel Electric Locomotives of 4500 HP and 6000 HP for Indian Railways. 1000 Locos to be Manufactured in Ten Years with Cost of About Rs.14,656 crores.
    2. Railways gave contract to France's Alstom for setting up Madhepura electric locomotive project. New factory will supply 800 high horse power (12000 HP) electric locomotive for 11 years. The project will bring FDI investment of 1300 crore, Its cost will be around 19,000 crores.
  3529. Reserve Bank of India approved National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to function as Bharat Bill Payment Central Unit (BBPCU) in Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS).
    1. BBPS is an integrated bill payment system which to function as a tiered structure for bill payment system in India to provide convenience to customers.
    2. BBPS will presently include bill payments such as, electricity, water, gas, telephone and Direct-to-Home (DTH).
  3530. P Uday Bhaskar appointed as Chairman of Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission.
  3531. British lawyer Patricia Scotland has been appointed as Secretary General of Commonwealth of Nations. She became first woman to hold this role in 66-year old 53-member Commonwealth.
  3532. RBI approve three applicants to set up and operate Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS) as per Guidelines issued on 3 December 2014 under Payment and Settlement System (PSS) Act 2007. Organisations are -
    1. NSE Strategic Investment Corporation and Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI)
    2. Axis Bank
    3. Mynd Solutions
  3533. India will set up a US$1 billion private equity fund dedicated to renewable energy sector as an effort towards meeting its 175GW of renewable capacity by 2022 targets.
  3534. Government advanced date for implementation of Bharat Stage V and BS VI emission norms for four-wheelers in order to reduce vehicular air pollution from road transport sector. BS V norms will be rolled out from 1st of April, 2019 and BS VI norms from 1st April, 2021.
  3535. 26 Nov - First Indian Constitution Day.
  3536. 26 Nov - Indian National Milk Day. It marks birth anniversary of Father of White Revolution In India - Dr.Verghese Kurien.
  3537. NHAI approves pilot project proposed by Nagpur based National Environmental Engineering Research Institute for developing greenbelts along National highway. Pilot project will be implemented on a 5 km stretch on NH-7 (Varanasi to Kanyakumari) in Nagpur region.
  3538. Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) signed 11 more Unilateral Advance Pricing Agreements with 7 APA with a “rollback” provision.
    1. CBDT has so far signed 25 APAs of which 24 are unilateral APAs and one is a bilateral APA.
    2. Unilateral APAs are agreed between Indian taxpayers and CBDT without involvement of tax authorities of country where the associated enterprise is based.
    3. Bilateral APAs include agreements between tax authorities of the two countries.
    4. APA with rollback provision extends tax certainty for nine financial years as against five years in APAs without rollback.
    5. APAs are meant to settle transfer prices and methods of setting prices of international transactions in advance. Government promotes having large number of APAs to foster tax cooperation and certainty.
  3539. Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) Friendship Motor Car Rally started from Silchar, Assam. It aims at highlighting connectivity and seamless movements of vehicles across borders in these 4 nations through implementation of BBIN Motor Vehicles Agreement (MVA).
  3540. Samsung appointed Dongjin Koh as President of its Smartphone Division.
  3541. Indian Badminton Player P V Sindhu won Macau Open for Third Time. She Defeated Japan’s Minatsu Mitani.
  3542. India's Subroto Som has been appointed head of retail banking of Mashreq, Dubai's third-biggest bank.
  3543. Saudi Arabia allowed women to vote and contest in municipal elections for the first time.
  3544. Three-day Log Mayyazhi Mahotsavam started in Mahe, Puducherry.
  3545. Indian Coast Guard commissioned interceptor boat ICGS C-422.
  3546. Britain won 2015 Davis Cup tennis by defeating Belgium in Belgium.
  3547. International Cricket Council suspended West Indies spinner Sunil Narine from bowling in international cricket due to his bowling action being found illegal.
  3548. Nico Rosberg (Germany) won Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix .
    1. 2015 Formula One season -
      1. Total 19 Grand Prix Races to be organized across the world in 2015. Calendar is -
        1. Grand Prix Date Winner
          Australia 15 March Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Malaysia 29 March Sebastian Vettel (Germany)
          China 12 April Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Baharain 19 April Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Spain 10 May Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Monaco 24 May Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Canada 7 June Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Austria 21 June Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Britain 5 July Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Hungary 26 July Sebastian Vettel (Germany)
          Belgium 23 August Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Italy 6 September Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Singapore 20 September Sebastian Vettel (Germany)
          Japan 27 September   Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Russia 11 October Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          USA 25 October Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Mexico 1 November Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Brazil 15 November Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Abu Dhabi 29 November Nico Rosberg (Germany)
  3549. Chinese Currency renminbi has been included in worlds elite currencies by IMF (International Monetary ). It will pave way for more use of renminbi in International trade and finance. Just four other currencies — the dollar, the euro, the pound and the yen - have this IMF designation.
    1. IMF is Headquarted in Washington (USA) with Christine Lagrade (France) as current Chief.
  3550. Canara Bank tied up with Navodhan Charitable Foundation for timely detection of cancer as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) drive.
  3551. HSBC Holdings will shut its private banking Business in India.
  3552. India's cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni signed his first overseas endorsement deal withb Dubai's event management company Grand Midwest Group for 3 years.
  3553. Nuclear capable surface-to-surface ballistic missile Agni-I (700 KM Range) Tested successfully. It can carry payload upto 1000 KM.
  3554. Birhanu Legese from Ethiopia and Cynthia Limo from Kenya have won 2015 Delhi Half Marathon in mens and womens categories respectively.
  3555. Noted Russian film Director and screenwriter Eldar Ryazanov passed away.
  3556. Anil Kumble resigned as Chief Mentor of Indian Premier League (IPL) team Mumbai Indians.
  3557. President Pranab Mukherjee approved Maharashtra Factories (Amendment) Bill, 2015 to allow women to work in factories in night shifts.
  3558. Government launched inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) injection as part of Universal Immunization Programme (UIP) to fight against polio virus.
  3559. Roch Marc Christian Kabore has been elected as President of Burkina Faso.
  3560. Jharkhand government declared entire state as drought hit in view of less rainfall in 2015 monsoon season and loss of crops.
  3561. Reserve Bank of India kept Monetary Policy Rates unchanged in its fifth bi-monthly monetary policy review.
    1. Repo Rate - 6.75 %
    2. Reverse Repo - 5.75 %
    3. Bank Rate - 7.75 %
    4. Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) Rate - 7.75 %
    5. CRR (Cash Reserve Ratio) - 4 %
    6. SLR (Statutory Liquidity ratio) - 21.5 %
  3562. President Pranab Mukherjee approved Labour Laws (Gujarat Amendment) Bill 2015 that aims to relax labour laws and boost industrialisation and minimise disputes between labourers and employees. It has provisions to ban strikes in public utility services for up to one year from previous six months. It reduces time limit for workers to raise objections to decisions of the industries from 3 to 1 year.
    1. President did not approve Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organised Crime (GCTOC) Bill 2015 and Sikkim Promotion of Local Employment Bill 2008 that proposed 80 % employment in private sector for people carrying Sikkim Subject Certificate.
  3563. China hosted first Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (BRICS) media summit in Beijing for creating an alternative media platform for the 5 emerging economies. 25 media organisations participated in it.
  3564. 24th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting CHOGM 2015 Held in Malta.
    1. India was represented by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.
    2. A new trade finance fund for members of Commonwealth has been announced by governments of four member Nations - India, Malta, Mauritius and Sri Lanka.
      1. The fund will be mainly geared towards small member states lacking in mineral resources and reliant on imports for growth, but are unable to get the necessary trade financing.
      2. International exporters often do not trade with these small nations without letters of credit (LC) issued by local banks. While, international banks are reluctant to confirm letters of credit by these Local banks as they are not considered credit worthy.
      3. The Fund has Initial capital of 20 Million USD and India has contributed US$2.5 Million.
      4. The scheme will act as a guarantor of 20% of total finance exposures faced by international banks dealing with banks in small Commonwealth Nations. Making trade easier for smaller commonwealth Nations.
  3565. ICT Development Index (IDI) Report by UN International Telecommunications Union (ITU) -
    1. India is ranked 131 out of 167 nations in level of information and communication technology access.
    2. Globally, 3.2 billion people are now online ( 43.4 % of worlds population). Mobile-cellular subscriptions have reached 7.1 billion.
    3. South Korea, Denmark and Iceland are top countries.
    4. 81.3 per cent of households in developed world, 34.1 % in the developing and 6.7 % in 48 UN-designated Least Developed Countries (LDCs) have internet access.
    5. India - Ranked 131st. Percentage of households with computer is 13 %, while percentage of households with Internet is 15.33. Percentage of individuals using Internet has grown to 18 %.
  3566. International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Launched Enable Makeathon Program for creating affordable assistive devices for persons with physical disabilities living in rural areas.
  3567. Kerala cabinet approved to set up a NRI Commission and became 2nd state after Punjab to have such a Commission. NRI commission will address all issues of Indian People in foreign countries.
  3568. West Bengal government decided to construct a 55-metre replica of Eiffel Tower in Kolkata, In memory of 13/11 terror attack in France.
  3569. China will build worlds first salt lake data centre in Qinghai. China has over thousand salt lakes in Qinghai and Xinjiang.
  3570. NRI Billionaire Manoj Bhargava revealed prototype of affordable electricity-generating hybrid bicycle called Free Electric. It is priced between 12,000 - 15,000 and can provide up to 24 hours of electricity after 1 hour of peddling.
  3571. The first edition of Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Graduate Employability Rankings has placed IIT Kharagpur and IIT Bombay among top 100 institutes in the world. IIT Kharagpur ranked at 77 and IIT Bombay ranked at 93. Top 3 universities are Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University.
  3572. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of United Statues approved human consumption of a genetically engineered (GE) Salmon.
  3573. USA's Ashton Eaton and Ethiopia's Genzebe Dibaba have been named male and female IAAF World Athletes of 2015.
  3574. Indian-origin South African freedom fighter Ahmed Kathrada has been awarded Freedom of City of Cape Town, becoming sixth recipient of this honour.
  3575. 12th South Asian Games will be held in Guwahati and Shillong from December 10 - 20, 2015.
  3576. World Robot Conference 2015 was held in Beijing, China from 23 - 25 of November 2015.
  3577. Union Territory of Daman and Diu will host worlds longest beach festival starting December 1, 2015. The 75-day festival Festa Di Diu will go on till February 2016.
  3578. West Ham United's Aditi Chauhan became first Indian to be awarded Asian Woman Footballer of Year award in United Kingdom.
  3579. Indian scientist, Yusuf Hamied has been appointed as one of member of the United Nations (UN) high-level panel on health technology innovation and access.
  3580. Worlds second largest diamond ever has been discovered in Botswana. The 1,111-carat diamond measures 2.5 inches by 2.2 inches.
  3581. HDFC will become India's first company to issue masala bonds up to $300m early in 2016.
    1. International Finance Corporation (IFC) (investment arm of World Bank) issued a 1,000 crore bond to fund infrastructure projects in India and named them Masala bonds to give a local flavour. These are rupee-denominated borrowings by Indian entities in overseas markets.
  3582. UN Human Cost of Weather Related Disasters report showed that over between 1995 - 2015, mmost major disasters have been floods, storms, heatwaves, droughts and other weather-related events. Five most hit countries are -United States (472), China (441), India (288), Philippines (274), and Indonesia, (163).
  3583. Indian Actress Shilpa Shetty and Luke Coutinho wrote Book The Great Indian Diet.
  3584. As per report by Brickwork Ratings -
    1. Maharashtra is biggest economy among states in India with 16.87 lakh crore rupees in terms of gross state domestic product. Followed by Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.
    2. Maharashtras GSDP grown by 11.69 per cent in 2014-15. It earns 70 % of its total receipts through taxes.
    3. Manufacturing - Gujarat and Maharashtra accounted for 27.26 per cent and 25.18 per cent of GSDP respectively.
    4. Services - Karnataka leads in growth of services sector in India, largely due to IT/BPO/ KPO sector.
    5. Fastest-growing states : Bihar (17.06%), Madhya Pradesh (16.86%) and Goa (16.43%).
    6. Slowest-growing states: Telangana (5.3%), Punjab (10.16%), Rajasthan (11%).
  3585. Pankaj Saran appointed as India's new ambassador to Russia.
  3586. China launched Yaogan Weixing series satellite called Yaogan-29 (YG-29).
  3587. Indian Harika Dronavalli won FIDE World Online Women Blitz Championship in Rome, Italy.
  3588. UGC (University Grant Commission) proposed to build interactive portal - Bharatvani as largest internet language site in the world with knowledge in all Indian languages.
  3589. Britain's Tyson Fury crowned new world heavy weight champion after winning Vladimir Klitschko of Ukraine who suffered his first defeat since 2004.
  3590. Rajasthan Government signed 295 MoUs attracting about 3.3 lakh crore investment during Resurgent Partnership Summit 2015.
  3591. Direct-to-home (DTH) service provider Dish TV appointed Arun Kumar Kapoor as Chief Executive Officer.
  3592. Hockey India secured partnerships with National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) for Hockey World League (HWL) final, National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) as principal partner and South Eastern Coalfields (SECL) as first official partner for Hockey World League (HWL) to be held in Raipur from 27 November to 6 December 2015.
  3593. Roger Van Gent appointed as strategic coach for Indian mens Hockey team till 2016 Rio Olympics.
  3594. Operation Inherent Resolve - US military operation for intervention against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) got Intennsified after recent ISIS Attack on France, killing hundreds.
  3595. Noted Hindi writer and journalist, Mahip Singh passed away.
  3596. Maharashtra government launched Gopinath Munde Farmers Accident Insurance Scheme 2015-16 to cover accidental death of the farmers. It will benefit 1.37 crore farmers in 10-75 year age group.
  3597. Noted litterateur Surendra Upadhyay passed away. He was former chairman of Rajasthan Brijbhasha Academy.
  3598. Noted Australian football player Joe Marston Passed Away.
  3599. Anil Khanna re-elected as president of Asian Tennis Federation for four year years.
  3600. President Pranab Mukherjee presented APJ Abdul Kalam Ignite Awards 2015 at Indian Institute of Management - Ahmedabad.
  3601. World Meteorological Organization stated that global average surface temperature in 2015 is likely to be 1 Celsius above pre-industrial era, which will be warmest ever recorded.
  3602. Rajya Sabha MP from Nagaland Khekiho Zhimomi passed away.
  3603. Nepal's noted Indian-origin businessman Banwari Lal Mittal passed away. He was Founder of Shree Airlines of Nepal.
  3604. Infosys Science Foundation Awards 2015 -
    1. Winners -
      1. Engineering and Computer Science - Umesh Waghmare (Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore)
      2. Humanities - Jonardon Ganeri (New York University)
      3. Life Sciences - Amit Sharma (International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Delhi)
      4. Mathematical Sciences - Mahan Mj (Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai)
      5. Physical Sciences - G Ravindra Kumar (Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai)
      6. Social Sciences - Srinath Raghavan (Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi)
    2. About
      1. The prize was established in 2009 in six categories by Infosys Science Foundation. Prize consists of 65 lakh rupees Cash and a 22 karat gold medallion and citation.
  3605. Australia won first ever day-night Test match at Adelaide Oval with a pink Kookaburra ball against New Zealand.
  3606. Wipros chairman Azim Premji is ranked 4th amongst worlds top 20 philanthropists with his $8 billion Donations till Date, as per a study by wealth consultancy Wealth-X and Business Insider.
    1. Bill Gates is first with donations of $27 billion, Warren Buffett next with $21.5 billion, and George Soros third with $8 billion donations.
  3607. Indias economic growth accelerated to 7.4% in July- September quarter, overtaking China (6.9%)as worlds fastest growing major economy in manufacturing, mining and services sectors. In First Quarter of 2015-16 (April - June 2015) , GDP grew at 7 %. This growth rate is however less than 8.9 % recorded in July- September quarter of previous year.
  3608. 46th International Film Festival of India (IFFI 2015) concluded in Panjim, Goa. Key Highlights are -
    1. It started with screening of UK film The Man Who Knew Infinity, directed by Matthew Brown.
    2. Closing Film - Argentina's El Clan, directed by Pablo Trapero.
    3. Arun Jaitley (Finance Minister) Released Book 'Legends of Indian Silver Screen' as collections of essays of 23 Dadasahab Phalke awardees between 1992-2014.
    4. UNESCO Fellini Medal for the first time to be awarded in India at IFFI 2015.
    5. Spain was the focus country of IFFI 2015.
    6. International Jury headed by Shekhar Kapur.
    7. Special Retrospective on Actor Shashi Kapoor with screening of his 8 films.
    8. AR Rahman became first music director to be chief guest at closing of IFFI annual film festival.
    9. Best Film (Golden Peacock award) - Colombia's ‘Embrace of The Serpent, Directed by Ciro Guerra. Received cash prize of 40 lakh rupees.
    10. Best Director - Peter Greenway for Netherlands film ‘Eisenstein in Guanajuato.
    11. Best male actor - Vincent Lindon for France's film ‘The Measure of a Man.
    12. Best Female actor - five Female actress for their roles in the Turkey Film ‘Mustang.
    13. Special Jury Award - Julia Vargas for ‘Sealed Cargo.
    14. The ICFT-UNESCO Fellini Award - Kaushik Gangulys Bengali film ‘Cinemawala.
    15. Lifetime Achievement Award to Russian Nikita Mikhalkov.
    16. Centenary Film Personality Award for Music composer Illayaraja.
  3609. 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference started in Paris (France)
    1. It is 21st COP (Conference of Parties) for Planning Climate Change Actions and Combating Global Warming Issues.
    2. About 40,000 delegates from 195 nations are attended the summit. 183 countries submitted action plans to achieve the goal of limiting warming to 2 degree centigrade.
    3. Participating countries decided to double their clean energy research and development funding by 2020.
    4. India and France launched International Solar Alliance (ISA) with an aim to harness solar power as a major step to mitigate carbon gas emissions.
      1. It will bring solar rich 121 tropical countries located between Tropic of Cancer and Capricorn together to tap solar energy.
      2. It will function from the Gurgaon based National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE).
      3. India will give assistance of $30 million for this initiative.
      4. PM Modi stated that India has solar capacity of 4GW and targets 100 GW by 2022. He called for developed countries to mobilise $100 billion annually by 2020 for mitigation and adaptation.
    5. France will invest 6 billion euros in 2016-2020 in Africa for enhancing renewable energy sources and cope with climate deterioration.
  3610. Indian Air Force started its annual exercise Livewire, aim is to validate the full spectrum of IAF capabilities.
  3611. 31 Oct - Birth Anniversary Shri Vallabhbhai Patel. Government declared it as Rashtriya Ekta Diwas.
  3612. World Bank Migration and Development report stated that India is Worlds largest remittance recipient with growth of remittances to India are projected to increase by 2.5 % in 2015, compared to 0.6 % increase in 2014.
  3613. Punjab Government appointed Suresh Arora as Director General of Police (DGP).
  3614. NITI Aayog panel on Innovation headed by Tarun Khanna submitted its report recommending private sector should help fund research and development, including research labs at universities and startups.
  3615. IT Firm HCL acquired PowerObjects, a North American provider of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, for approximately 299 crore rupees.
  3616. Sanjeev Mohanty is appointed as CEO and MD of Jabong.
  3617. Bombay High Court asked National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) to study pollution of River Godavari caused by Shahi Snaan during Kumbh Mela at Nashik.
  3618. European Parliament gave status of whistle-blower and human rights defender to former contractor of NSA Edward Snowden.
  3619. World Health Organization's 20th Global Tuberculosis Report 2015 - (Headquarter in Washington DC)
    1. Global prevalence of TB is reduced by half than what was in 1990. Effective treatment saved 43 million lives between 2000 and 2015 and resulted in fall in TB incidence by total 18%.
    2. India with 23 % of TB cases has the largest number of cases in world and it accounted for 27 % global TB notifications in 2014.
  3620. Subhash Chandra Sati took charge as director-general (Naval Systems and Materials) at DRDO.
  3621. First of six Scorpene class submarines Kalvari (Built by Mazagon Dock) set afloat in Mumbai. It will undergo sea trials before commissioning into Navy in 2016.
  3622. As per survey by World Economic Forum - M K Gandhi and Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi are among most admired personalities globally. List of top 10 People is -
    1. Nelson Mandela
    2. Pope Francis
    3. Elon Musk
    4. M K Gandhi
    5. Bill Gates
    6. Barack Obama
    7. Richard Branson
    8. Steve Jobs
    9. Mohammad Younis
    10. Narendra Modi
  3623. Third India-Africa forum summit held in New Delhi from 26 to 30 October 2015. All 54 African nations participated -
    1. Delhi Declaration 2015 and India-Africa Framework for Strategic Cooperation were adopted.
    2. India announced 10 billion USD credit at concessional rate over 5 years, in addition to about 7.4 billion USD that India has already pledged since 2008.
    3. India granted assistance of 600 million USD, including India-Africa Development Fund of 100 million and an India-Africa Health Fund of 10 million USD.
    4. India will provide 50000 scholarships to African students to avail higher education in India.
  3624. Haryana announced to open a Sanskrit University for Schedule Castes (SCs) at Mundri village, which will be named after Maharishi Valmiki.
  3625. Haryana Government announced to start 215 additional sub-stations of various capacities by 2018 to improve power supply in the state. State government also launched Mhara Gaon - Jagmag Gaon scheme to provide 15 hour uninterrupted power supply in rural areas and will develop a Smart Power Grid in Gurgaon at 7000 crore rupees.
  3626. Emily Kristine Pedersen of Denmark won Hero Women's Indian Open Golf 2015.
  3627. European Union and Balkan region leaders adopted a 17-point plan to cooperate on managing flows of migrants through Balkan Peninsula during a meet on migrants issue in Brussels, Belgium.
  3628. Indian Film Angry Indian Goddesses Directed by Pan Nalin won Peoples Choice Award at 10th Rome Film Festival in Rome, Italy.
  3629. Commission headed by Upamanyu Hazarika submitted report on illegal migrants from Bangladesh into Assam. It reflected that huge number of Migrants from Bangladesh may reduce indigenous population of Assam to a minority by 2047.
  3630. International Cricket Council launched Men’s Team Rankings from Test, ODI and T20I cricket amnd women's Rankings.
    1. South Africa is at top in Test Rankings with 125 Points. India is at 5th Place.
    2. Australia is at top in ODI list with 127 ratings. India is at 2nd Place.
    3. Sri Lanka is at top in T20 with 126 points.  India is at 6th Place.
    4. Women - Australia is at top with 134 Points. India is at 4th Place.
  3631. Indian High Commissioner to UK, Ranjan Mathai honoured Dr MN Nandakumara and Sivasakthi Sivanesan with Lifetime Achievement Award and Sangeet Acharya Ratna Award respectively in London for their contribution to Indian arts and music.
  3632. Russian Space Agencyb Roscosmos announced to launch manned flight to moon and lunar landing in 2029.
  3633. India's Exim Bank will set up development firm Kukuza Project Development Company in Africa to facilitate Indian participation in infrastructure projects across the continent. IL&FS Group, African Development Bank and State Bank of India are also shareholders in KPDC.
  3634. Thomson Reuters report Gold Survey Q3 2015 stated that India is its top position as biggest overall consumer of gold in 3 Quarters of 2015 by consuming 642 tonnes of gold. China is trailing by 63 tonnes.
  3635. Minister of State (IC) for Youth Affairs & Sports, Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated Games Secretariat of 12th South Asian Federation (SAF) Games 2016 to be held at Jawaharlal Nehru Sports Complex in Shillong(Meghalaya) from 6 to 16 February 2016.
  3636. Freedom House released Freedom on the Net 2015 report with theme Privatizing Censorship, Eroding Privacy. Online freedom declined for fifth consecutive year as governments continue to clamp down on dissidents using social media platforms.
    1. India's internet is partly free with score of 40 out of 100. Top 3 countries are Iceland (score-6), Estonia (7) and Canada (16) and Syria (87), Iran (87) and China (88) the freedom is less.
  3637. IT Firm IBM and Telangana Academy for Skill and Knowledge (TASK) signed Memorandum of Understanding for provision of technology platforms and services in cloud computing for academia in Telangana.
  3638. Defence Acquisition Council presided by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar cleared military modernisation proposals worth over 12000 crore rupees.
  3639. Beata Szydło from right-wing Law and Justice party elected as new prime minister of Poland.
  3640. Earthquake of magnitude 7.5 on Richter scale hit Hindukush region of north-eastern Afghanistan and Pakistan.
  3641. Eighth edition of National Seed Congress (NSC) held in Hyderabad to deliberate on advanced seed development technologies and regulatory measures.
  3642. Nepal signed a Memorandum of Understanding with China in to import all kinds of fuel in order to ease fuel crisis.
  3643. Reserve Bank of India granted permission to Indian corporate to issue offshore rupee-denominated bonds outside India. Such bonds will attract withholding tax of 5 % and gains arising in case of appreciation of rupee against foreign currency. Capital gains tax will be exempted in this investment.
  3644. India Born Lord Gulam Kaderbhoy Noon, Known as Britain's Curry King passed away.
  3645. A team of scientists discovered two complex organic molecules Ethyl alcohol and a simple sugar known as glycolaldehyde on comet Lovejoy. These two complex organic molecules are considered as building blocks of life.
  3646. A newly-installed Tsunami Early Warning System Siren was successfully tested in Mumbai by Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS).
  3647. Malaysia Open Women's Tennis 2015 -
    1. Singles - Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark).
    2. Doubles - China's Wang Yafan and Liang Chen.
  3648. Violinist and composer Prabhakar won 2015 Lata Mangeshkar Award for Lifetime Achievement by Maharashtra Government.
  3649. Jayant Prasad is appointed as Director General of Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses.
  3650. China announced Six 100s initiative to help developing countries. Chinese President Xi Jinping said china will make available to developing countries in next five years 100 each of poverty reduction programs, agricultural cooperation projects, trade promotion programs, environment protection programs, hospitals and schools and training centers. China will also set up an Academy of South-South Cooperation and Development, and provide 2 million USD to World Health Organization.
  3651. Madhya Pradesh government has decided to increase quota for women in government jobs from 30 to 33 %. State Cabinet also approved compensation to farmers for repaying 90 thousand rupees on a loan of one lakh rupees.
  3652. Hockey India signed a 3 year Memorandum of Understanding with Sports Authority of India to set hockey as top sport of the country.
  3653. United Nations General Assembly approved Resolution condemning an economic embargo imposed by US on Cuba.
  3654. A per United Nations Asia-Pacific Disaster Report, Asia Pacific is most disaster prone part of the world as it suffered around 1,625 disasters in 2000 - 2014. Disasters affected around 1.4 billion people and 523 billion dollars in economic damage.
  3655. Reserve Bank of India allowed non-resident Indians (NRIs) to subscribe to National Pension System for old age income security.
  3656. China abandoned its three decades-long one-child policy and changed it two-child policy.
  3657. Saudi blogger Raif Badawi has been selected for European Union’s prestigious Sakharov Prize for human rights for 2015. Raif Badawi is author of Free Saudi Liberals website who was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes in Saudi Arabia for insulting Muslim clerics.
  3658. Founder of Sulabh International Bindeshwar Pathak has been selected for New York Global Leaders Dialogue Humanitarian Award for his contribution to improving sanitation.
  3659. John Pombe Magufuli has been elected as President of Tanzania.
  3660. China's first lunar rover - Yutu has set record for longest stay by a rover on lunar surface for almost two years spent on Moon.
  3661. Indian para-athlete Amit Kumar Saroha won silver in men's club throw F51 event in IPC Athletics World Championships in Doha (Qatar).
  3662. Paul Ryan has been elected as 54th speaker of US House of Representatives.
  3663. Government nominated Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das to Central Board of Directors of the Reserve Bank of India.
  3664. Ministry of Civil Aviation released Revised Draft National Civil Aviation Policy aimed. Policy aims to create an eco-system to enable 30 crore domestic ticketing by 2022 and 50 crore by 2027. Similarly, international ticketing to increase to 20 crore by 2027.
  3665. ISRO’s new communication satellite GSAT-15 will be launched on on 10-11-2015 to provide C and Ku band telecommunications and navigation services to India.
  3666. Researchers discovered four new crab species namely Paguristes luculentus, Diogenes canaliculatus, Pagurus spinossior and Afropinnotheres ratnakara in Kerala.
  3667. Public broadcaster Doordarshan rated as most watched Hindi channel in terms of time spent per viewer as per Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC)'s All India viewership data including rural India.
  3668. Railways announced to start country's first-ever double decker Shatabdi Express between Mumbai and Goa.
  3669. National Disaster Response Force partnered with 30 Public Sector Undertakings to tackle several disasters or emergencies.
  3670. Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu flagged off Vigithon marathon organized by Union Bank of India in Mumbai to sensitise people for fight against corruption. 
  3671. Government introduced Sin Tax under proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST) law that will be effective from 1 April 2016. Sin Tax is an excise tax on products like alcohol, tobacco and gambling considered bad for health or society. This is meant to attract higher revenue and also to discourage people from use of such products or services.
  3672. Renowned Hollywood actress Maureen OHara passes away.
  3673. Indian archer Abhishek Verma won silver in Archery World Cup Final men and Deepika Kumari won Silver in Womens Category in Mexico City.
    1. 2015 Archery World Cup is 10th edition of the annual Archery World Cup organised by World Archery Federation.
    2. It consists of 4 preliminary stages (Legs) and Finals to be held in Mexico City. Locations are - First leg in Shanghai (China), second leg in Antalya (Turkey) third in Wroclaw (Poland) and Fourth leg in Medellin (Colombia). Finals were held in Mexico City on 17–18 October, 2015.
    3. South Korea remained is top of Medal Tally in all 4 legs and Finals with 24 Medals, USA second with 19 while Columbia is Third with 6 Medals.
    4. Indian Archers won 7 Medals in 4 Legs and Finals of World Archery World Cup 2015 as follows -
      1. First Leg - Indian team comprising Chinglensana, Abhishek Verma and Rajat Chauhan won Bronze in First Leg in Shanghai (China).
      2. Second Leg - Deepika Kumari won Bronze in Second leg of Archery World Cup 2015 in Antalya (Turkey).
      3. Third Leg - Mixed pair of Deepika Kumari and Mangal Singh Champia won silver in Third Leg of World Archery Championships 2015 in Poland.
      4. Third Leg - Indian archer Abhishek Verma won gold by beating Iranian Esmail Ebadi in Third Leg of World Archery Championships 2015 in Poland.
      5. Fourth Leg - Team comprising Sarvesh Pareek, Sandeep Kumar and Isaiah Rajender Sanam won Bronze in Fourth Leg in Medellin (Columbia).
      6. Finals - Deepika Kumari won Silver in Finals of Archery World Cup 2015 in Mexico City.
      7. Finals - Abhishek Verma won Silver in Finals of Archery World Cup 2015 in Mexico City.
  3674. Lewis Hamilton (UK) won USA Formula One Grand Prix .
    1. 2015 Formula One season -
      1. Total 19 Grand Prix Races to be organized across the world in 2015. Calendar is -
        1. Grand Prix Date Winner
          Australia 15 March Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Malaysia 29 March Sebastian Vettel (Germany)
          China 12 April Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Baharain 19 April Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Spain 10 May Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Monaco 24 May Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Canada 7 June Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Austria 21 June Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Britain 5 July Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Hungary 26 July Sebastian Vettel (Germany)
          Belgium 23 August Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Italy 6 September Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Singapore 20 September Sebastian Vettel (Germany)
          Japan 27 September   Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Russia 11 October Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          USA 25 October Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Mexico 1 November
          Brazil 15 November
          Abu Dhabi 29 November
  3675. Bengali actor Pijush Ganguly passes away.
  3676. Reserve Bank of India allowed Foreign Institutional Investors /Registered Foreign Portfolios Investors to invest up to 74 % of paid up capital of DEN Networks Limited under Portfolio Investment Scheme.
  3677. Jimmy Morales has been elected as Guatemala's president.
  3678. China successfully launched Tianhui-1C mapping satellite by a Long March-2D carrier rocket to boost china's ability to carry out scientific experiments, land resource surveys and disaster relief.
  3679. BlackBerry appoints Narendra Nayak as Managing Director of India operations.
  3680. Yes Bank started its IFSC Banking Unit in GIFT city of Gujarat, aimed to accessing opportunities in international financial markets through large corporate clients requiring foreign currency funding.
  3681. Reserve Bank of India signed memorandum of understanding with Bangladesh Bank for exchange of supervisory information.
  3682. Reliance Industries became first company to sign revised listing agreement with BSE as mandated by SEBI. Earlier, listing agreement was between stock exchange and company and SEBI didn't have regulations on this. SEBI in October gave six-month deadline for all companies to sign the new listing agreement.
  3683. Indian-American farmer Anita Adalja will be recognised as White House Champions of Change for sustainable and climate-smart agriculture by USA.
  3684. South African cricketer Hashim Amla became fastest to score 6000 ODI Runs in 123 Innings. He left Behind India's Virat Kohli, who took 136 innings.
  3685. Jammu and Kashmir will host South Asian Rugby 7S Championship in 2016.
  3686. K Gupta is appointed as Managing Director of State Bank of India.
  3687. Citibank appointed Samiran Chakraborty as Chief Economist for India.
  3688. Tata Trusts and Harvard University South Asia Institute (SAI) announced collaboration for social and economic empowerment in India.
  3689. British bank Barclays appointed James Staley as new CEO.
  3690. Luxembourg ambassador to United Nations, Sylvie Lucas is appointed as Chair of Inter-Governmental Negotiations on UN Security Council reforms.
  3691. World Bank Report - Doing Business 2016: Measuring Regulatory Quality and Efficiency -
    1. Overall Ease of Doing Business Rank -
      1. Singapore is at top, Eritrea is at bottom. India ranked at 130th place (compared to 142nd in 2015). Ludhiana is top in India's Subnational List.
    2. Segment Wise Ranks -
      1. Starting a Business - New Zealand at top, India is at 155th.
      2. Dealing with Construction Permits - Singapore at Top. India is 183rd.
      3. Getting Electricity - South Korea at top. India at 70.
      4. Registering Property - New Zealand at top. India is at 138.
      5. Getting Credit - New Zealand at top.India is at 42.
      6. Protecting Minority Investors - New Zealand at top. India is at 8.
      7. Paying Taxes - Qatar and UAE at top. India is at 157.
      8. Trading Across Borders - 17 other eurozone countries at top. India is at 133.
      9. Enforcing Contracts - Singapore at top. India is at 178.
      10. Resolving Insolvency - Finland at top. India is at 136.
  3692. Book Indian Family Business Mantras, written by Peter Leach and Tatwamasi Dixit has been released.
  3693. Bidhya Devi Bhandari has been elected as President of Nepal (Third overall and First Female).
  3694. Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi President of Egypt visited India.
  3695. Health and Family Welfare Ministry approved Rs. 17 crore for strengthening of trauma care facilities in Government Hospitals in Himachal Pradesh.
  3696. Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation approved Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur's proposal of testing and promoting new construction technologies.
  3697. Najib Shah has been appointed as Chairman of Central Board of Excise and Customs.
  3698. Tribal Affairs Minister Shri Jual Oram announced that Government will set up a National Tribal Advisory Council for effecting monitoring of tribal welfare schemes.
  3699. Government will issue Sovereign Gold Bonds in consultation with Reserve Bank of India on November 26, 2015 through banks and designated post offices. Tenor of Bond will be 8 years with exit option from 5th year. Minimum investment will be 2 grams of gold. Investors will be compensated at fixed rate of 2.75 % per annum payable semi-annually.
  3700. Karambir Singh has been appointed as Deputy Chief of Naval Staff.
  3701. 21st BASIC Ministerial Meeting on Climate Change was held in Beijing (China). Prakash Javadekar (Minister of State (IC) of Environment, Forests and Climate Change) visited on India's Behalf.
  3702. King Mswati III of Swaziland visited India.
  3703. President of National Library of France, Bruno Racine visited India and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to conserve, develop and publicize written heritage.
  3704. Chattisgarh become first state to get governments approval for affordable housing projects in urban areas under Prime Ministers Awas Yojana.
  3705. Namibia's Minister for Mines & Energy, Obeth Kandjoze visited India.
  3706. Amarendra Sinha is appointed as Secretary in ministry of Minority Affairs.
  3707. Indian Air Force Chief Arup Raha Visited Brazil.
  3708. Government increased financial assistance from Rs. 2 to 5 lakh for emergency surgery cases under Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi scheme.
  3709. Indian and Sri Lankan Navies started 4th edition of Sri Lanka-India Exercise (SLINEX) in Sri Lanka.
  3710. Income-tax Department launched e-Sahyog project aimed at reducing compliance cost, especially for small taxpayers by addressing issues in income tax returns in convenient manner through internet.
  3711. Government constituted a Committee under R.V. Easwar (Former delhi high court judge) to suggest measures for simplify provisions of Income Tax Act 1961, to further enhance ease of doing business in India.
  3712. Attorney General of Australia, George Brandis QC visited India.
  3713. 3rd BRICS Ministerial Meeting on Science, Technology and Innovation held at Moscow (Russia. Minister for Science, Technology and Earth Sciences Harsh Vardhan attended on India's Behalf.
  3714. 24 Oct - World Polio Day.
  3715. Yachting Association of India (YAI) Senior National Championship 2015 hosted by Indian Navy Watermanship Training Centre in Mumbai.
  3716. 42nd plenary of Committee on World Food Security approved Framework for Action for Food Security and Nutrition in Protracted Crises (CFS-FFA) in Rome (Italy) to tackle hunger in protracted crises. Framework suggested 11 principles covering 3 broader areas - Address critical manifestations and build resilience, Adapt to specific challenges and Contribute to resolving underlying causes of food insecurity and under nutrition in protracted crises.
    1. Committee on World Food Security (CFS) was set up in 1974 for review and follow-up of food security policies. It reports annually to Economic and Social Council of United Nations (ECOSOC).
  3717. World Health Organization released Global status report on road safety 2015. Report reflects information from 180 countries and indicates that road traffic casualites has gone up to 1.25 million per year.
  3718. 24 Oct - United Nations Day. In 1948, United Nations General Assembly declared 24 October as anniversary of Charter of the United Nations.
  3719. Haryana Government announced New Integrated Licensing Policy 2015 for development of Hyper and High Potential Urban Complexes (HHPUC) through models of Transferable Development Rights that prevent need for government to resort to compulsory acquisition of land.
    1. Builders will sign transferable development rights agreement to use farmers' land for their projects. TDR agreements will ensure that landowners get price from builder for their land. Government will be a custodian of farmers' interests.  TDR certificate will be valid for two years.
    2. Policy will allow builders to set up projects from 100 acres to 25 acres.
    3. Policy provides for global Floor Area Ratio (FAR) between 1.0 to 1.25 for colony size of 25 acres to 50 acres and above 50 acres, respectively. 
    4. Landowners will be freed in selling FAR to any builder in a large planning unit. 
    5. Each farmer will be eligible to sell his TDR certificate equivalent to 1 FAR at market rates.
  3720. Western Digital Corporation accquired SanDisk Corporation for 19 billion USD.
  3721. Hurricane Patricia struck Mexico's Pacific coast with winds upto 165 mph speed.
  3722. Indian-origin Ashok-Alexander Sridharan sworn in as mayor of Bonn in Germany.
  3723. Ratan Tata Invested in Abra, a Silicon Valley bitcoin startup.
  3724. Two mountaineers Arjun Vajpai and Bhupesh Kumar became first to climb 6180 meter unnamed peak in Himachals Spiti Valley and named it as Mount Kalam in honour of former President Abdul Kalam.
  3725. Government released commemorative stamp to mark 50 years of raising of Border Security Force.
  3726. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting reconstituted Central Press Accreditation Committee that issues Press Information Bureau (PIB) cards to journalists. Frank Noronha will be chairman of committee.
  3727. Telangana proposed Rs.405.17 cr plan on enhancing water supply in 11 AMRUT cities during 2015-16.
  3728. Global Maternal Newborn Health Conference 2015 held in Mexico City.
  3729. Former South African Cricketer Jacques Kallis appointed as Head Coach of Kolkata Knight Riders IPL Team.
  3730. Seong-Jin Cho of South Korea won 17th International Frederic Chopin Piano competition in Poland.
  3731. Bulletin of Atomic Scientists (USA) report Pakistan Nuclear Forces, 2015 stated that Pakistan has 110 - 130 nuclear weapons as compared to 90 - 110 in 2011. If such trend continues, it could grow to 220 - 250 warheads by 2025, making Pakistan fifth largest nuclear weapon nation after USA, Russia, China and France.
  3732. Russia announced to permanently station a military unit in Arctic by 2018.
  3733. Government approved changes in Payment of Bonus Act 1965 for Industrial workers. Bonus ceiling has been increased from 3500 to 7000 rupees per month. Wage ceiling for getting bonus is also increased from 10000 to 21000 rupees per month.
  3734. Former Cricketer Anil Kumble is named as brand ambassador of Raipur Rangers Champions Tennis League Team.
  3735. Noted criminologist K Chockalingam won Paul H Appleby Award given by Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA).
  3736. Scientists identified a new species of giant tortoise named Chelonoidis donfaustoi on Galapagos Islands in Ecuador.
  3737. USA designated Brett McGurk as Envoy to US-led coalition fighting ISIS.
  3738. Poland and 3 Baltic states-Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia signed agreement on GIPL (Gas Interconnector Poland - Lithuania) to construct first gas pipeline between Poland and Lithuania and end isolation of Baltic Sea region.
  3739. Indian Golfer Anirban Lahiri won inaugural Hilton Asian Tour Golfer of the Month award.
  3740. Indian Tennis Player Yuki Bhambri entered top-100 worlwide with rank of 99. He is first Indian since 2010 to enter top - 100 club.
  3741. Tyre manufacturer MRF named South African batsman AB de Villiers as its brand ambassador for 3 years.
  3742. E-commerce firm Snapdeal appointed Anup Vikal as Chief Financial Officer.
  3743. Reliance Capital Asset Management took over Goldman Sachs mutual fund business in India for 243 crores
  3744. Bank of Baroda became second bank after HDFC Bank to join Chillr payment platform that enables payments through a mobile application. Customers of banks integrated with Chillr can use application for sending funds. However, customers of any bank can receive funds using Chillr.
  3745. Bollywood Playback Singer Labh Janjua Passed Away.
  3746. Noted Indian marine biologist Syed Zahoor Qasim passed away. He is considered as founder of Polar Biology in India and was part of first Indian expedition to Antarctica in 1981-82.
  3747. Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has been awarded 2015 Confucius Peace Prize by China for his leadership and service to pan-Africanism and African independence.
  3748. Autobiography of Satyanarayan Gangaram Pitroda (Sam Pitroda) Dreaming Big: My Journey to Connect India has been released.
  3749. Alok Rawat became first male person to be appointed as member of National Commission for Women.
  3750. Reserve Bank of India issued Directions to Banks (excluding Regional Rural Banks) on implementation of Gold Monetisation Scheme 2015 that will replace existing Gold Deposit Scheme, 1999. 
    1. Gold Deposit Scheme Guidelines -
      1. Minimum deposit shall be raw gold equivalent to 30 grams of gold of 995 fineness, with no maximum limit for deposit. 
      2. Gold will be accepted at Purity Testing Centres certified by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)
      3. Deposit certificates will be issued by banks in equivalence of 995 fineness of gold.
      4. Principal and interest of deposit under the scheme will be denominated in gold.
      5. Designated banks will accept gold deposits under Short Term (1-3 years), Medium (5-7 years) and Long (12-15 years).
      6. Premature withdrawal will be available subject to a minimum lock-in period and penalty.
      7. Interest on deposits will start from date of conversion of gold deposited into tradable gold bars after refinement or 30 days after receipt of gold at CPTC or Bank. During the period between receipt and interest accounting, gold will be an item in safe custody held by bank.
    2. Utilisation of Gold mobilised under GMS
      1. Banks may sell or lend the gold to MMTC for minting India Gold Coins or to jewellers, or sell it to other designated banks participating in GMS.
    3. Risk Management under GMS
      1. Banks will keep a risk management mechanism to manage risk arising from gold price movements in respect of their net exposure to gold.
      2. Banks may access international exchanges, London Bullion Market Association or use over-the-counter contracts to hedge exposures to bullion prices.
  3751. Samardeep Subandh is appointed as Chief Marketing Officer of e-commerce firm Flipkart.
  3752. First Car-Free Day observed in Delhi on 22 October 2015 to encourage people to use public transport instead of cars.
  3753. Nasser Khan Janjua is appointed as National Security Advisor of Pakistan.
  3754. Japan offered loan of 15 billion dollars (Rs 90,000 crore) at interest rate of less than 1 % for ambitious bullet train project - Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed rail corridor.
  3755. First World Indigenous Games strated in Palmas (Brazil) with around 2000 indigenous athletes belonging to different indigenous ethnic groups from 30 countries.
  3756. Paragliding World Cup begun in Baijnath town in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh with Snow leopard as official mascot.
  3757. Britain signed nuclear deal with China to build United Kingdom’s first nuclear power plant since 1980s. Deal was signed during visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to UK.
  3758. United Nations' Worlds Women 2015 Report -
    1. Mortality rate among Indian girls below five years is higher than boys with ratio 93 / 100 (100 Female Deaths for every 93 Male Deaths). Higher mortality rate among girls is due to preference for sons and Special treatment for boys in terms of parental investment in nutrition.
    2. Labour force - Between 1995 and 2013, womens participation in labour force declined from 72 to 64 % in China and 35 to 27 % in India. India also accounts for 33 % of global child marriages.
    3. Countries with largest surplus of men are China (5.2 crore) and India (4.3 crore).
  3759. 21 Oct - Global Iodine Deficiency Disorders Prevention Day.
  3760. Government approved agreement with Egypt on Maritime Transport.
  3761. Minister of State (IC) for Development of North Eastern, Jitendra Singh launched Mobile Application for Centralized Public Grievances Redress & Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) portal of Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG).
  3762. Government approved signing of Legal Assistance Treaty in Criminal Matters with Maldives. 
  3763. Maharashtra and Gujarat Naval Area has been divided to enhance administrative structure. Satish Namdeo Ghormade will be Flag Officer of Maharashtra and Murlidhar Sadashiv Pawar will be Flag Officer Gujarat Naval Area.
  3764. PM Narendra Modi released book Warriors Remembered On occasion of Police Commemoration Day on 21st October.
  3765. PM Narendra Modi attended Foundation ceremony of Amaravathi as new capital of Andhra Pradesh. He also laid foundation stone of Shri Venkateswara Mobile and Electronics Manufacturing Hub in Tirupati.
  3766. Indo-China Combined Military Training Exercise HAND-IN-HAND 2015 conducted from 12 to 23 October 2015 at Kunming Military Academy, Yunnan, China.
  3767. Ministry of Urban Development  approved first batch of AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation) projects for 89 cities worth Rs.2,786 cr in AP, Gujarat and Rajasthan.
  3768. President Pranab Mukherjee presented Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowships and Awards 2014 -
    1. Sangeet natak Akademi Fellowship has been conferred to S R Janakiraman, M S Sathyu, Vijay Kumar Kichlu and Tulsidas Borkar.
    2. Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards have been given to 36 Artists in Music, Dance, Theatre and Other categories.
  3769. Sekhar Basu took charge as Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission and Secretary in Department of Atomic Energy.
  3770. Representatives from 54 African Countries visited India for 3rd India-Africa Forum Summit to be held Oct 26 - 29, 2015 in Delhi.
  3771. 4th India-Africa Trade Ministers' Meeting held in New Delhi.
  3772. President promulgated two ordinances, one for constitution of commercial courts and another to amend Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996.
  3773. National Policy on Capital Goods Draft Policy 2015 by Department of Heavy Industries -
    1. Government proposed a stable tax and duty structure to promote capital goods sector.
    2. Aims to Increase share of capital goods contribution from 12% to 20% of manufacturing by 2025.
    3. Allowing up to 50% CENVAT credit to manufacturers using such products as raw material for more usage of such goods in manufacturing of finished goods.
    4. Achieve total production of Rs 5 lakh crore by 2025 from current Rs 2.2 lakh crore and Employ about 50 Lakh People by 2050.
  3774. Central Board of Excise and Customs increased limits for making any Tax Evader liable for arrest and prosecution to ensure these powers are not used against small businesses -
    1. Limit in case of tax evasion (Central Excise and Service tax) has been revised to 1 crore from current values of - 25 lakh (Central Excise), 10 lakh (Service Tax and Customs Duty).
    2. In cases of outright smuggling or mis-declaration of baggage- limit regarding value of offending goods have been revised from Rs. 5 lakh to Rs. 20 lakh. Hovewer, No lower limit for arrest and prosecution in cases of smuggling of fake Indian currency, ammunitions and endangered species.
  3775. OCT 20 - International Chefs Day.
  3776. OCT 20 - World Statistics Day. Theme for 2015 is Better Data, Better Lives.
  3777. Justin Trudeau elected as new (23rd) Prime Minister of Canada.
  3778. Jitendra Singh (Minister of State (IC) for Development of North Eastern Region) inaugurated IMS Health Skill Development Center for youth under UDAAN program - aimed at empowering youth of Jammu & Kashmir.
  3779. Home Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated Indian Police Foundation and Indian Police Institute in Delhi aimed at embarking culture of research and evidence-based policing in India.
  3780. Moodys released report on global green bonds issues in 2015 -
    1. In third quarter (Q3) of 2015, global green bond issuance were 7.5 billion USD, which is less than 13.4 Billion USD in Second Quarter (Q2) and more then 6.3 Billion USD in First Quarter (Q1). So far, 27.2 Billion USD Worth of Global Green Bonds have been issued in Three quarters of 2015.
    2. Moody's expects issuance in Q4 will take total to 40 Billion USD in 2015.
  3781. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu announced that Konkan Railway will establish a tunnel technology institute at Goa's Margao town.
  3782. Urvashia Rautela has been named Yamaha Fascino Miss Diva 2015. She is the only person to have won this title Twice. Urvashi will represent India at Miss Universe 2015 pageant to be held on 20-12-2015 in USA.
  3783. Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index report 2015 -
    1. This Seventh edition of MMGPI report measured retirement income systems of 25 Countries under sub-indices of Adequacy, Sustainability and Integrity. Above 80 Score is called A Grade.
    2. Overall Score -
      1. Denmark is rated best retirement system for fourth consecutive year with overall score of 81.7. Netherlands is second with score of 80.5. Denmark and Netherlands are only countries to achieve A grade in history of the index.
      2. India's 40.3 is lowest score in Pension index of 25 countries. India's score fell from 43.5 in 2014 to 40.3 in 2015. South Korean is second lowest with 43.8 and japan in third lowest with 44.1 Score.
    3. Sub Indexes
      1. Australia is ranked at top in adequacy sub index with score of 79.6
      2. Denmark is at top in Sustainability sub index with score 84.7
      3. Finland is at top in Integrity sub index with score 92.4
  3784. North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies nations launched Trident Juncture military exercise at Trapani air force base in Italy with over 36000 troops from more than 30 nations.
  3785. PM Narendra Modi and President Pranab Mukherjee on 06-11-2015 will launch a funding clearance mechanism of Rs 1,000 crores named IMPRINT, to get Indian technical institutions to conduct original research in areas where country is dependent on foreign technology.
  3786. PM Narendra Modi inaugurated IDFC Bank that started operations on 1 October 2015 as an Indian Banking company with headquarters in Mumbai. It is a part of IDFC integrated infrastructure finance company. Rajiv B. Lall is its Managing Director & CEO. IDFC Bank initially has 23 branches and is 91st scheduled commercial bank in India.
  3787. Noted Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag announced his retirement from international cricket.
  3788. Renowned Kannada filmmaker Kikkeri Shamanna Lakshminarayana Swamy passed away.
  3789. Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone signed an agreement with India Pulses and Grains Association to handle import and exports of pulses across its ports in India.
  3790. Reva Khetrapal has been selected as Delhis new Lokayukta.
  3791. Russia and USA signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to avoid deconfliction and mid-air incidents between their air forces over Syrian skies.
  3792. Environment Ministry extended validity of Environment Clearance from 5 to 7 years to provide more time to corporations manipulate actions and activities.
  3793. Karnataka and Gujarat lifted ban on sale of Nestle's Maggi noodles after clean chit by three government-approved laboratories.
  3794. Uttar Pradesh Government announced to give 50000 rupees monthly pension to Yash Bharti awardees. Yash Bharti Samman was started in 1994 for excellence in literature, fine arts, folk, classical music and sports. Award c arries cash prize of 11 lakh rupees.
  3795. Libya rejected United Nations - backed peace deal that proposed a power-sharing arrangement with rival Islamist-led authorities.
  3796. Indian short film An Old Dogs Diary won prestigious Best Short Film Award at 59th London Film Festival 2015 by British Film Institute. The 11-minute film has been directed by Shai Heredia and Shumona Goel.
  3797. Maharashtra government appointed Shreehari Aney as Advocate General.
  3798. Rajasthan government provided 5 % quota to Gujjars, Raibari, Banjara and Gadiya Lohar communities in educational institutes and government jobs.
  3799. Maharashtra Government declared drought like condition in 14708 villages of total 43000 villages (34 %).
  3800. Reserve Bank of India signed Memorandum of Understanding with Central Bank of United Arab Emirates on Supervisory Cooperation and Exchange of Supervisory Information. It was signed during visit of Meena Hemchandra, Executive Director of RBI.
  3801. Federation Internationale de Football Association suspended Kuwait Football Association (KFA) for interference of government officials in running of the sport.
  3802. All India Football Federation appointed former India Football captain Baichung Bhutia as advisor for overall issues of the game and Federation.
  3803. United Nations General Assembly elected Egypt, Japan, Senegal, Ukraine and Uruguay as non-permanent members on Security Council (UNSC) for two-year terms beginning 1 January 2016.
  3804. Federal court in Madison (Wisconsin, USA) ordered Apple to pay 234 million USD to University of Wisconsin for unathorized use of University of Wisconsin's microchip technology into some products.
  3805. Board for Cricket Control in India assigned title sponsorship of Indian Premier League (IPL) to Brazilian mobile company Vivo.
  3806. Health and Family Welfare minsitry modified National Blood Policy 2002 - It allowed transfer of blood from one blood bank to another in case of shortage AND fixed exchange value for surplus plasma available at blood banks at 1600 rupees per litre.
  3807. As per Cross Border Merger & Acquisition Index of Baker & McKenzie, India was among top 10 investors in USA in 2015 with Indian companies investing 1.7 billion USD, Mostly in Health Care.
  3808. Government increased basic customs duty on wheat from 10% to 25% for upto 31.03.2016.
  3809. Tinlianthang Vaiphei is appointed as Chief Justice of Gauhati (Assam) High Court.
  3810. Minister of Railways Suresh Prabhu visited Singapore to participate in Infrastructure Finance Summit 2015 organised by World Bank. Mr. Prabhu proposed for need of discussin ginfrastructure financing during G20 summit where he participated as Prime Minister's Sherpa (Special Representative).
  3811. India Hosted Commonwealth Youth, Junior and Senior Weightlifting Championships in Pune, Maharashtra. 6 Indian players of Railways won medals - Matsa Santoshi, Punam Yadav, Chanu,Shri S. Satish Sivalingam won gold,and S. Mirabai Chanu won silver and Minati Sethi won Bronze.
  3812. Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports constituted ‘All India Council of Sports, headed by V.K. Malhotra. Council will advise on promotion and development of sports and games in the country.
  3813. Serbia's Novak Djokovic won 2015 Shanghai Rolex Masters tennis in mens singles category by defeating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France). South African/Brazilian pair of Raven Klaasen and Marcelo Melo claimed men's Doubles by defeating Italian duo of Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini.
  3814. India's tennis player Saketh Myneni won 2015 Vietnam Open by defeating Australias Jordan Thompson.
  3815. Britain won Sultan of Johor Hockey Cup by defeating Indian junior men's hockey team in Malaysiaa.
  3816. Denmark Open Badminton 2015 -
    1. Men's Singles - Chen Long (China) won by defeating Hong Kong's Wei Nan.
    2. Women's Singles - Chinas Xuerui Li won by defating P V Sindhu of India.
    3. Men's Doubles - Chinese Pair of Fu Haifeng China and Zhang Nan defated South Korean Lee Yong-dae and Yoo Yeon-seong.
    4. Women's Doubles - Chinese Pair of Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang defated South Korean Shin Seung-chan and Jung Kyung-eun.
    5. Mixed Doubles - Chinese Pair of Xu Chen and Ma Jin defated South Korean Ko Sung-hyun and Kim Ha-na.
  3817. Housing.com appointed Mani Rangarajan as Chief Financial Officer.
  3818. Indian IT Firm Infosys acquired USA's Noah Consulting fpr USD 70 Million. Noah is a provider of advanced information management consulting services for oil and gas industry.
  3819. Noted Egyptian writer Gamal al-Ghitani Passed away.
  3820. Book Smita Patil: A Brief Incandescence has been authored by Maithili Rao.
  3821. Powerful Typhoon Koppu (also known as Lando) hit northern Philippines with speed of 240 kph.
  3822. Haryana Government approved Swadhar Greh scheme to assure economic and social security to women in distress.
  3823. 17 October - International Day for Eradication of Poverty. Theme for 2015 is Building a sustainable future: Coming together to end poverty and discrimination.
  3824. Tibetan Prime Minister Lobsang Sangay has been awarded with Presidential Medal by Salisbury University in Maryland, US for promoting peace and understanding.
  3825. Government approved payment of Performance Related Pay (PRP) to executives of Coal India and its subsidiaries.
  3826. Omid Kordestani is appointed as Executive Chairman of Twitter.
  3827. Jharkhand Government and GAIL signed a Gas Cooperation Agreement for creation of Natural Gas and City Gas Distribution infrastructure to assist construction of Urja Ganga Jagdishpur-Haldia Pipeline.
  3828. Telecom Regulatory Authority of Indian (TRAI) made it mandatory for mobile service providers to compensate consumers call drops with effect from 1 January 2016. MSPs will Credit account of consumer by one rupee for every call drop for upto 3 dropped calls in a day.
  3829. Pakistan and Russia signed an agreement for building a 1100-km gas pipeline from Karachi on Arabian Sea to the eastern city of Lahore.
  3830. China and Indonesia signed a 5.5 billion USD deal to build first high-speed railway in Indonesia. China defeated Japan as a bidder for this huge project in indonesia.
  3831. Aditya Birla Group launched online fashion store Abof.com.
  3832. Oct 16 - World Food Day. Theme for 2015 is Social Protection and Agriculture.
  3833. Indian Nobel Peace laureate Kailash Satyarthi has been selected for prestigious 2015 Harvard Humanitarian of Year Award for his work for ending all forms of violence against children..
  3834. India, United States and Japan navies started 2015 Malabar Naval Exercise of eastern coast in Bay of Bengal and India Ocean.
  3835. Real estate developer Tata Housing tied-up with social networking firm Facebook to sell its affordable homes online.
  3836. Dell Acquired Data Storage Firm EMC Corporation for Biggest Ever Tech Deal of 67 billion US dollars.
  3837. Portugal became first European and 17th Overall country to sign Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on establishment of Nalanda University.
  3838. Supreme Court allowed using Aadhaar cards for central and state schemes, including National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana and employee provident fund schemes on voluntary basis.
  3839. Reserve Bank of India formed a single Financial Inclusion Fund (FIF) of 2000 crore rupees by merging Financial Inclusion Fund and Financial Inclusion Technology Fund. FIF will be maintained by NABARD.
  3840. Noted Cricketer Zaheer Khan retired from International Cricket.
  3841. R Chandak has been appointed as Director of Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD), Hyderabad under Department of Biotechnology.
  3842. M.K. Surana is appointed as chairman and managing director of Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd (HPCL).
  3843. Leo Puri is appointed as chairman of Association for Mutual Funds in India.
  3844. Paytm e-commerce platform tied up with Mumbai metro to offer online recharges of Smart Cards.
  3845. Bank of Baroda conferred its Maharaja Sayajirao Bhasha Samman to poet and lyricist Prasoon Joshi.
  3846. China launched its new communication satellite APSTAR-9 by Long March-3B carrier rocket. It will cover some three quarters of global population in Asia, Europe, Africa and Australia to provide TV transmission and transponder, data and satellite communication services.
  3847. Kundhavi Kadiresanwas has been appointed as Assistant Director of United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Regional Representative for Asia and Pacific.
  3848. Australian Government approved Adani Groups Carmichael coal mine and rail project in accordance with environment laws of country.
  3849. Government started Science Express Climate Action Special (SECAS) with theme Climate Change to create awareness about challenges and issues associated with Climate Change.
  3850. Myanmar government signed peace accord with 8 of 15 armed minorities groups especially belonging to Kayin and Chin groups to end decades of civil war.
  3851. Chinese construction equipment maker Sany Group proposed to invest 3 billion USD in building 2 GW of green energy units in India over next 5-6 years.
  3852. Test of India's Nirbhay subsonic cruise missile failed when it lost control after about 12 minutes of flight and fell into the Bay of Bengal.
  3853. Supreme Court rejected National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act and 99th Constitutional Amendment that sought to give politicians and civil society a final say in appointment of judges to the highest courts. With this veredict, Collegium system as it existed before NJAC Act became operative again.
  3854. President Pranab Mukherjee Completed his tour from October 10 to October 15, 2015 to Jordan, Palestine and Israel. He was accompanied by Thaawar Chand Gehlot, Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment
    1. Jordan -
      1. Jordan and India signed agreements for cooperation in counterterrorism, defence, trade and investment and agreed to raising trade exchange to 5 billion USD in 5 years.
      2. India agreed for 100 million USD credit to Jordan.
      3. President Mukherjee inaugurated a street named after M K Gandhi in Amman.
    2. Palestine -
      1. India funded 5 million US dollars grant to Palestine as Budgetary assistance.
      2. Al-Quds University conferred Honorary Doctorate on President Pranab Mukherjee.
    3. Israel -
      1. President Mukjherjee was conferred honorary doctorate by Hebrew University.
      2. India, Israel signed 10 MoUs to enhance cooperation including Amending Protocol for Avoidance of Double Taxation and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion and Cultural Exchange Program.
      3. Pranab Mukherjee became 1st Indian President to address Israeli Parliament Knesset.
  3855. Raptor MOU nations agreed to list 12 Vulture Species in Annex I to tackle African Vulture Crisis.
  3856. Oct 15 - Birth Anniversary of Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, Noted Missile Scientist and 11th president of India.
    1. Environment, forests and climate change ministry launched a 3 year post-doctoral research fellowships for young scientists in name of Dr A P J Abdul Kalam.
    2. Dr Kalams birth place Rameswaram declared as AMRUT town.
  3857. Railway Energy Management Company on behalf of North Central Railway for the first time invited Bids for Procurement of 50 MW Power from Open Market. The New process is expected to reduce Cost Per unit for Railways to 3.69 to 6.7 rs/unit.
  3858. Railwsys introduced Alternate Train Accommodation Scheme (VIKALP) to provide confirmed accommodation to waitlisted passengers from 01-11-2015. In this scheme, wait listed passengers of a train can opt for confirmed accommodation in alternate trains.
  3859. Book Specific Learning Disorder: Indian Scenario has been written by Rajesh Sagar, Raman Deep Pattanayak, Manju Mehta of All India Institute of Medical Sciences New Delhi.
  3860. Door Darshan National to telecast a 10 episode programme Hunnarbaaz to make Public aware about Apprenticeship Training Scheme and its utilities in building skill across youth.
  3861. 4th International Tourism Mart inaugurated in Gangtok, Sikkim.
  3862. Malaysias Minister of Works Haji Fadillah Bin Haji Yusof visited and with proposal to invest US $ 30 billion in urban development and housing projects in India on behalf of Construction Industry Development Board(CIDB) of Malaysia.
  3863. Union Minister of Civil Aviation P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju inaugurated International Civil Helicopters Conclave 2015 in New Delhi.
  3864. First National Tribal Carnival will be held in Delhi from February 12 to 17, 2016.
  3865. India in collaboration with United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UN-ISDR) will host 2nd ISDR Asia Partnership (IAP) meeting in New Delhi on Nov 17-19, 2015.
  3866. A.K. Agarwal, Secretary in Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs visited UAE.
  3867. Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment is organizing White Cane Day on October 15 to sensitize the common man about the challenges being faced by visually challenged people.
  3868. Nepal elected Onsari Gharti Magar as first woman speaker of parliament.
  3869. Government approved MoU between India-Taipei Association (ITA) in Taipei and Taipei Economic and Cultural Center (TECC) in India for cooperation in Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
  3870. Government approved Revised Cost Estimate (RCE) of Rs.2904 crores for Kaladan Multi Modal Transit Transport Project. It was jointly identified by the India and Myanmar to create mode of transport for shipments from eastern and North-Eastern part of India through Myanmar.
  3871. Government approved MoU between Ministry of New and Renewable Energy of India and Mozambique.
  3872. Former Chief of Naval Staff and Governor of Sikkim, Radhakrishna Hariram Tahiliani passed away.
  3873. India's Prestigious Missile Complex in Hyderabad to be renamed as Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Missile Complex. 
  3874. Ministry of Home Affairs introduced Central Victim Compensation Fund of Rs. 200 crores to support victims of various attacks.
  3875. Sweden's Minister of Housing, Urban Development and Information Technology, Mehmet Kaplan Visited India.
  3876. Worlds Best Multinational Workplaces List by Great Place to Work Institute-
    1. Google topped the list as worlds best company to work for third straight year. Software developer SAS Institute and manufacturing firm W L Gore are second and third.
  3877. India ranks third among global startup ecosystems with over 4,200 new-age companies, as per second edition Start up India – Momentous Rise of the Indian Start-Up Ecosystem by Nasscom and Zinnov.
  3878. Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is chosen as ‘Finance Minister of Year, Asia by London-based publication Emerging Markets. The magazine also praised PM Narendra Modi and RBI Governor Raghuram G Rajan for Indias recent economic success.
  3879. China started 1.5 billion USD Zam Hydropower Station in Tibet on Brahmaputra river. It is Considered worlds highest-altitude hydropower station and largest of its kind.
  3880. Reliance Power appointed N Venugopala Rao as Chief Executive Officer.
  3881. Delhi Government launched Bill Banvao, Inaam Pao scheme to encourage people to get proper bills for purchases, with prizes upto 50000 Rs.
  3882. Portugal's Footballer Cristiano Ronaldo received record fourth Golden Boot after topping Europe's goalscoring charts for 2014-15 season by scoring 48 goals in 35 La Liga appearances.
  3883. Jamaican writer Marlon James won 2015 Man Booker Prize for Fiction for his novel A Brief History of Seven Killings. He became first Jamaican author to win the prize.
  3884. Iran approved bill to implement nuclear deal with world powers (P5+1 countries). The accord will protect Irans nuclear program and will lift international economic sanctions against Iran.
  3885. Tamil Nadu government banned Ketoprofen non-steroid drug to save endangered vulture population.
  3886. A sweet banana species with orange pulp - Musa indandamanensis discovered in Andamans.
  3887. Rajasthan became first state to firm up private investments in affordable housing by signing 27 MoUs worth 12478 crore rupees under Housing for All scheme in housing, healthcare and education sectors.
  3888. Indian female bodybuilder Shweta Rathore won silver in 49th Asian Bodybuilding Championship in Uzbekistan. She became first Indian female bodybuilder to win a medal at continental level.
  3889. Etihad Airways and IBM signed deal worth 700 million USD for improving airline’s operations and security for over 10 years.
  3890. Alkesh Sharma is appointed as CEO & MD, Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation.
  3891. Bangladesh's Minister for Science & Technology Yeafesh Osman visited India.
  3892. Ministry of Shipping and Directorate General of Lighthouses and proposed to develop 78 lighthouses in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal and Andaman and Nicobar Islands as tourism centres.
  3893. Indian community in United Kingdom launched 'Modi Express' bus to take travellers on around iconic landmarks ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's maiden visit to UK in November 2015.
  3894. India signed Rs 130 crore deal for 194 microlight aircraft from Slovenian company Pipistrel Aircraft, for use by National Cadet Corps (NCC), Air Force and Navy.
  3895. Telenor India appointed Sharad Mehrotra as new CEO.
  3896. P S Jayakumar took charge as MD and CEO of Bank of Baroda for three years.
  3897. Software services firm Infosys appointed Ranganath D Mavinakere as Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
  3898. Alexander Lukashenko has been reelected as President of Belarus for fifth term.
  3899. Malayalam filmmaker I.V. Sasi has been awarded with J.C. Daniel Award 2014 for his contributions to Malayalam entertainment industry.
  3900. Canberra based art gallery in Australia will return 2,000-year-old Indian-origin sculpture of Gautama Buddha to India.
  3901. President of African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina announced that AfDB would triple its annual climate financing to reach 5 billion dollar a year by 2020.
  3902. Oct 12 - Foundation day of National Human Rights Commision (Established on Oct 12, 1993).
  3903. India won four-match Men's Hockey series against New Zealand by 2-1.
  3904. Jioji Konrote has been elected as new President of Fiji. Previously he was Minister for Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations.
  3905. NASA released report - NASA’s Journey to Mars: Pioneering Next Steps in Space Explorationcontaining plan for establishing deep-space habitation facilities on Mars by 2030.
  3906. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj visited Maldives for 5th India-Maldives Joint Commission meet.
  3907. Punjab National Bank won Beighton Cup hockey 2015 by defeating Indian Oil Corporation.
  3908. Oct 11 - International Day of the Girl Child (IDGC) 2015 theme is The Power of the Adolescent Girl: Vision for 2030.
  3909. India will observe 26 November as Constitution Day (Samvidhan Divas) to spread awareness of Indian Constitution and its architecture Dr B R Ambedkar. On 26 November 1949, Indian constitution was adopted by 389 member Constituent Assembly (CA) and it came into force on 26 January, 1950.
  3910. Annual Meetings of International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank held in Lima (Peru) during October 7 to 11, 2015. Finance Minister Arun Jaitely, RBI Governor Raghuram G Rajan and Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian were part of Indian Delegation.
  3911. Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES), Institute of Rolling Stock Engineers (IRSE) and Indian Railways Service of Mechanical Engineers Association (IRSMEA) organized an international conference on Rail Coach Interiors in New Delhi.
  3912. Khadga Prasad Oli has been elected as new Prime Minister of Nepal after Sushil Koirala Resigned.
  3913. Second meeting of National Executive Council of National Mission for Green India approved Annual Plans of Operations by four States - Mizoram, Manipur, Jharkhand and Kerala for total cost 902 Crore Rupees.
  3914. Gujarat proposed Rs.15,375 cr action plan to ensure basic infrastructure in 31 cities under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) in next five years.
  3915. Nobel Prizes 2015 Winners -
    1. Physiology / Medicine -
      1. William C. Campbell (USA) and Satoshi Omura (Japan) for their discoveries concerning a novel therapy against infections caused by roundworm parasites.
      2. Youyou Tu (China) for her discoveries concerning a novel therapy against Malaria.
    2. Physics -
      1. Takaaki Kajita (Japan) and Arthur B. McDonald (Canada) for discovery of neutrino oscillations, which shows that neutrinos have mass.
    3. Chemistry -
      1. Tomas Lindahl (Sweden), Paul Modrich (USA) and Aziz Sancar (Turkey) for mechanistic studies of DNA repair.
    4. Literature -
      1. Investigative journalist Svetlana Alexievich (Belarus).
    5. Peace -
      1. Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet for contribution to building of pluralistic democracy in Tunisia in wake of Jasmine Revolution of 2011.
    6. Economics -
      1. Angus Deaton (UK) for his analysis of consumption, poverty, and welfare.
  3916. Odisha Government launched Mission Abaas urban housing mission to provide affordable houses to Economically Weaker Sections (EWS).
  3917. Ajay Jayaram of India won 2015 Dutch Open Mens Singles badminton title by defeating Estonias Raul Must.
  3918. China Open Tennis 2015 -
    1. Men's Singles - Novak Djokovic (Serbia) defeated Rafael Nadal (Spain).
    2. Women's Singles - Garbine Muguruza (Spain) defeated Timea Bacsinszky (Switzerland).
    3. Men's Doubles - Vasek Pospisil (Canada ) and Jack Sock (United States) defeated Danel Nestor of Canada and Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France.
    4. Women's Doubles - Martina Hingis (Switzerland) and Sania Mirza (India) defeated china's Hao-Ching Chan and Yung-Jan Chan.
  3919. Noted Tamil actress Gopishantha (Manorama) Passed Away.
  3920. PM Narendra Modi laid foundation stone of fourth terminal of countrys largest container port – Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) in Mumbai.
  3921. YES Bank received RBI approval to set up a mutual fund, asset management company (AMC) and a trustee company.
  3922. China Launched Nanligong-1 satellite developed by students of Nanjing University to be used for Global Maritime Automatic Identification.
  3923. Lewis Hamilton (UK) won Russian Formula One Grand Prix .
    1. 2015 Formula One season -
      1. Total 19 Grand Prix Races to be organized across the world in 2015. Calendar is -
        1. Grand Prix Date Winner
          Australia 15 March Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Malaysia 29 March Sebastian Vettel (Germany)
          China 12 April Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Baharain 19 April Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Spain 10 May Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Monaco 24 May Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Canada 7 June Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Austria 21 June Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Britain 5 July Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Hungary 26 July Sebastian Vettel (Germany)
          Belgium 23 August Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Italy 6 September Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Singapore 20 September Sebastian Vettel (Germany)
          Japan 27 September   Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Russia 11 October Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          USA 25 October
          Mexico 1 November
          Brazil 15 November
          Abu Dhabi 29 November
  3924. Noted Flautist N. Ramani passed away.
  3925. Sekhar Basu has been appointed as Secretary in Department of Atomic Energy and Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission (Nuclear Chief).
  3926. Kerala government launched Operation Valsalya project to trace, rescue and reunite missing children with their family.
  3927. Patanjali Ayurved tied-up with Future Group under which its products will be available at Big Bazaar, KBs and EasyDay outlets.
  3928. Indias first Dolphin Community Reserve will be established in West Bengal to protect endangered mammal - Gangetic river dolphins. reserve would be set up in Hooghly River between Malda and Sundarbans.
  3929. Rajashthan Government annouced Rajasthan Startup Policy- 2015 to help the start-up ecosystem in state by setting up 50 incubators and support around 500 innovative start-ups.
  3930. NASAs New Horizon Spacecraft images revealed blue skies and numerous small exposed regions of water ice on Pluto's Surface.
  3931. Author Nayantara Sehgal returned Sahitya Akademi Award that she had been given in 1986 for her English novel Rich Like Us.
  3932. European Union Launched Operation Sophia as Naval operation against human smugglers and traffickers in Mediterranean Sea.
  3933. India’s Wipro Ltd. and First Book (a non-profit social enterprise) partnered to provide books to children in need across five cities in USA and Canada.
  3934. Government of Andhra Pradesh launched Andhra Pradesh State Enterprise Architecture (e-Pragati) project for transforming the way government services are conceived, delivered and consumed.
  3935. Corporate Affairs Secretary Tapan Ray is appointed to Board of Securities and Exchange Board of India.
  3936. Oct 09 - World Egg Day.
  3937. India's Central Board of Excise and Customs Hosted 11th Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) of Directors General-Commissioners of Customs in Goa on 8th and 9th October, 2015.
  3938. Noted music composer Ravindra Jain passed away.
  3939. India signed Protocol for establishment of Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) with Ecuador for strengthening trade relationships.
  3940. Meeting of G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors held in Peru. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and RBI Governor Raghuram G Rajan Participated on India's Behalf.
  3941. India achieved success in its efforts in pursuading Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS) to push back High Risk Area (HRA) from 78 degrees East longitude to 65 degrees East longitude in Indian Ocean. It will result in savings of 1500 Crore annually for Indias EXIM trade as reduced insurance premium and freight costs.
    1. High Risk Area in Indian Ocean in 2011 was set to 65 degrees east longitude from 78 degrees previously, due to increasing Piracy off coast of Somalia / Gulf of Aden / Horn of Africa. This caused burden of 2000 crore annual on India and infiltrated into India's West coast borders.
    2. India has been constantly pushing on International bodies to push back the HRA mark to 78 degrees East longitude, and now the same has been implemented.
  3942. Sports Minister Sarbanand Sonowal declared assistance of 200 crore to Jammu and Kashmir to boost sporting activities.
  3943. Gurgaon (Haryana) to observe every Tuesday as 'Car-Free Day'. Initiative to be implemented from 22 Sep 2015 onwards (World Car Free Day).
  3944. ICICI Bank became first bank globally to launch service enabling customers to make payments from their smartphones at stores, e-commerce sites etc. without swiping debit card. Service is based on 'mVisa' mobile payment solution from Visa.
  3945. China launched first phase of China International Payment System (CIPS) to boost Yuans global usage and cross-border clearing of its currency from Chinese mainland instead of offshore centres abroad.
  3946. Indian Music composer AR Rahman has been named as Cultural Ambassador of Seychelles.
  3947. Expert Appraisal Committee of Ministry of Environment & Forest allowed to import coal with higher ash content of up to 25 % to help domestic thermal power plants use higher grade coal and bring down cost of generation. Currently only 12 % of coal with ash content is allowed to be imported.
  3948. USA Food and Drug Administration approved Keytruda (pembrolizumab) drug for treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
  3949. British researchers developed ASCmeI.T mobile app to help people with autism (difficulty in communicating and forming relationships).
  3950. USA's Gannett Company acquired newspaper company Journal Media Group for 280 million USA dollars.
  3951. Bombay high court ruled against Income Tax Appellate Tribunal order on 3700 crore rupees as capital gain tax in Vodafone transfer pricing case. ITAT has earlier ordered Vodafone to comply with demand of 3700 crore rupees issued by Income Tax authorities. Tax demand is about sale of call centre business of Vodafone to Hutchison in 2007-2008.
  3952. Tata Power launched LED tube light scheme in Mumbai for providing five lights to each household at 525 rupees per piece against market price of 1325 rupees.
  3953. Music Composer A R Rehman has ben chosen for 2015 Hridaynath Mangeskar Award.
  3954. Finance Ministers of 20 nations vulnerable to climate change launched V20 Group during annual meeting of International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank in Lima (Peru). Group aims to pool resources for fight against global warming and is counterpoint to G20 group of leading emerging economies.
    1. V20 Member Countries are - Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Barbados, Bhutan, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Kiribati, Madagascar, Maldives, Nepal, Philippines, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Vietnam.
  3955. Forbes list of 50 richest families in Asia-

    Rank

    Name

    Net Worth

    Source

    Citizenship

    1

    Lee (Byung-Chull) family

    26.6 billion dollar

    Samsung

    South Korea

    2

    Lee (Shau Kee) family

    24.1 billion dollar

    Henderson Development

    Hong Kong

     

    3

    Ambani family

    21.5 billion dollar

    Reliance Group

    India

    4

    Chearavanont family

    19.9 billion dollar

    Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group

    Thailand

    5

    Kwok family

    19.5 billion dollar

    Sun Hung Kai & Co

    Hong Kong

    6

    Kwek / Quek family

    18.9 billion dollar

    Hong Leong group

    Malaysia

    7

    Premji family

    17 billion dollar

    Wipro

    India

    8

    Tsai (Wan-Tsai) family

    15.1 billion dollar

    Cathay Financial

    Taiwan

    9

    Hinduja family

    15 billion dollar

    Hinduja Group

    United Kingdom

    10

    Mistry family

    14.9 billion dollar

    Shapoorji Pallonji Group

    India

  3956. 8 October - World Sight Day. Theme is Eye care for all.
  3957. Oct 08, 2015 - 83rd Indian Air Force Day. IAF was established on 8 October 1932.
  3958. First BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Migration Ministers Meeting held in Sochi (Russia). Minister of State for Home Affairs, Kiren Rijiju attended on India's Behalf.
  3959. Hoesung Lee of South Korea has been elected Chairman of Inter-governmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC).
  3960. Indian cyclist Deborah Herold won 1 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze medal at 2015 Taiwan Cup. She became first Indian cyclist to win in women's elite section.
  3961. National Green Tribunal directed all commercial vehicles entering Delhi to pay additional environmental compensation charge.
  3962. Government appointed committee under Anil Baijal recommendations for improving monitoring of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) spending to government -
    1. Uniform tax treatment for all CSR activities under Companies Act 2013.
    2. Leniency towards non-compliant companies in first 2 to 3 years.
  3963. Director General of National Cadet Corps, General Aniruddha Chakravarty inaugurated NCC National Games 2015 in Delhi. Game will witness approx 2000 cadets from 17 state directorates.
  3964. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Making the international financial architecture work for development report -
    1. Global growth rate in 2015 is expected to remain 2.5 %. Developed countries will grow at 1.9 %, compared with 1.6 % in 2014. USA's rate of growth will remain 2−2.5 % in 2015.
    2. Indias GDP will grow at 7.5 % in 2015. As pressure on current account deficit is easing due to lowering oil prices in international market. However, Indias export growth slowed down from 8.5 % in 2013 to 3.2 % in 2014 due to global economy slowdown.
  3965. Russia won Womens European Volleyball Championship by defeating Netherlands (Venue - Russia).
  3966. Indian nano biotechnology company Nualgi won Popular Choice Awards at Climate CoLab of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge - UK). Nualgi submitted two proposals to reduce power and fuel consumption for sewage treatment and water reuse built around their nano-scale product called Nualgi for 2015 edition of the contest.
  3967. Book Courage to Act - A Memoir of a Crisis and Its Aftermath has been written by Ben S. Bernanke.
  3968. Book Ruled or Misruled: Story and Destiny of Bihar has been written by Santosh Singh.
  3969. Government approved protocol amending India's Convention and Protocol with Israel and Vietnam for avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion.
  3970. Government approved setting up of 3 new All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AllMS) at Nagpur in Maharashtra, Manglagiri in Andhra Pradesh and Kalyani in West Bengal under Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojna (PMSSY). This involves financial implication of Rs.4949 crore.
  3971. Government approved protocol for cooperation in field of blue economy with Seychelles.
  3972. Government approved construction of a National War Memorial near India Gate (New Delhi) in memory of over 22500 Indian soldiers who have sacrificed their lives for the country post-independence. Cost of project will be around Rs. 500 crores.
  3973. Government approved Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in sports with Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.
  3974. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved implementing World Bank assisted National Watershed Management Project Neeranchal with total cost of $357 million (Rs 2142.30 crore - government share is 50 %) in nine States of Andhra Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Telangana.
  3975. Minister of State for AYUSH (IC) and Health and Family Welfare, Shripad Yesso Naik inaugurated Dr. D. P. Rastogi Central Research Institute for Homeopathy in Noida (Uttar Pradesh).
  3976. State Secretary for Home Affairs of Sweden, Ann Linde visited India.
  3977. Bangladesh Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha Visited India.
  3978. Railway Protection Force has been Presented with Award of Excellence in Human Trafficking for operation smile.
  3979. Government approved formation of Group 'A' service - Indian Skill Development Service of technical cadre of Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSD&E).
  3980. Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) Conference 2016 will be held in New Delhi from 8 January to 10, 2016.
  3981. Sergey Karjakin of Russia won 2015 World Cup Chess Championship in Azerbaijanby defeating Peter Svidler (Russia).
  3982. Utkal Alumina International Limited (unit of Aditya Birla Group) launched Saksham project for welfare of communities living in vicinity of its project area in Odisha.
  3983. Reserve Bank of India relaxed norms of Foreign Portfolio Investors by announcing higher investment limits in government securities to bring additional 1.2 lakh crore rupees by March 2018.
  3984. International Monetary Fund released World Economic Outlook titled Adjusting to Lower Commodity Prices-
    1. Report projects global growth for 2015 at 3.1 %, It is 0.3 % lower than in 2014. In 2016, growth is expected to rise to 3.6 %.
    2. Indias growth is expected to rise from 7.3 % in 2015 to 7.5 % in 2016.
  3985. In first meeting of National Sagarmala Apex Committee, Government announced to spend about 70,000 crore rupees on development of major ports.
    1. Sagarmala project aims for development of ports along 7,500-km-long coastline to increase cargo traffic three-times in next 5 years. It will benefit around 14 % population of India.
  3986. Saudi Arabia's Raif Badawi and British James Fenton have been awarded with 2015 PEN Pinter Prize annual literary award.
  3987. The Clintons' War on Women has been written by Roger Stone and Robert Morrow
  3988. Torpedo Launch and Recovery Vessel ‘INS Astradharini commissioned into Indian Navy.
  3989. Odisha Government launched Amo doli healthcare programme To help patients and pregnant women from inaccessible areas to reach nearest hospital in naxal-affected Rayagada district.
  3990. UCO Bank became worst Performer among public sector banks in 2014-15 with its Gross NPA rising to Total Loans ratio of UCO Bank rising to 8.05 % from 4.47 % in 2014. UCO Bank was followed by Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) and Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) with gross NPA rising to 8.30 % and 6.18 %.
  3991. Telangana Government announced 50 % subsidy on purchase of seeds To reduce input costs for farmers.
  3992. US, Japan and 10 Pacific Rim countries signed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement to lower trade barriers and set standards for a raft of other industries. Countries are - USA, Japan, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
  3993. Department of Commerce (Ministry of Commerce & Industry), Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) and Services Export Promotion Council (SEPC) organized international summit on Medical Value Travel India 2015 to promote healthcare services exports from India.
  3994. Oct 5 - World Habitat Day (First monday of October). On this occasion, World Wide Fund released Hidden Himalayas: Asias Wonderland report. It stated that 211 new species like sneezing monkey, walking fish and jewel-like snake were discovered in Eastern Himalayas region between 2009 and 2014.
  3995. Minister of State for Agriculture, Sanjeev Kumar Balyan launched KISAN [C(K)rop Insurance using Space technology And geoiNformatics] and Hailstorm App to use Space Technology and geoinformatics technology for improvement in yield estimation and better planning for crop insurance programme.
  3996. Minister of State for Agriculture, Mohanbhai Kundariya visited Lithuania.
  3997. Phase-2 of Mission Indradhanush launched in 352 districts To immunise children and pregnant women against seven vaccine preventable diseases.
  3998. Angela Merkel (Chancellor of Germany) Visited India. India and Germany signed 18 MoUs on this occasion
    1. Some Main Agreements are - Joint Declaration of Intent (JDI) on Languages, MoU on Solar Energy, Skill Development, Security Cooperation, Aviation Security, Disaster Management, Higher Education, Joint Declaration on IGSTC (Indo-German Science and Technology Centre (IGSTC), Plant Protection, Railways, Food Safety and manufacturing.
    2. Germany will provide India more than 2 billion euros ($2.25 billion) for developing a clean energy corridor and solar projects.
    3. India and Germany Signed Loan Agreements of 125 Millions Euros for Himachal and Andhra Pradesh Green Energy Corridors’ Projects. 
  3999. World Congress on Towards Intelligent Mobility –Better Use of Space held at Bordeaux (France). Urban Development Minister M.Venkaiah Naidu attended on India's Behalf.
  4000. Minister of State (IC) of Development of North-Eastern Region, Jitendra Singh released book Indias Creative Continuum-Minority Communities in Craft, containing 18 Identified Crafts from various States. Schemes such as USTTAD (Upgrading the Skills and Training in Traditional Arts/ Crafts for Development) have been detailed in it.
  4001. Shashank Manohar has been elected as President of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for second term.
  4002. Ashish Bahuguna, Chairman of the food regulator FSSAI has been given additional charge of its CEO.
  4003. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) established worlds highest terrestrial centre at 17,600 feet above sea level at Changla near Pengong lake in Ladakh.
  4004. Renowned Telugu Cinema Producer Edida Nageswara Rao passed away.
  4005. 2015 MTB Himalaya Bike Race -
    1. Luis Leao Pinto (Portugal) won in Men and Catherine Williamson (UK) won in women's category.
  4006. Governing Centre Right coalition parties led by Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho won Portugals 2015 general elections.
  4007. Renowned Swedish crime writer Henning Mankell passed away.
  4008. Jack Dorsey has been re-appointed as CEO of twitter.
  4009. Islamic State (IS) militants blown up Arch of Triumph in ancient Syrian city of Palmyra.
  4010. As per world bank report, For the first time less than 10 % of worlds population (70 crore people) will be living in extreme poverty by end of 2015, mostly from Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Previously, World Bank had defined extreme poverty as people living on under 1.25 USD a day. Now it has been revised to 1.90 USD a day. Ending extreme poverty by 2030 is among UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
  4011. Tiruchirapalli Municipal Corporation won Skoch Smart Governance Award for Operational Excellence in Waste Transportation using Information Technology.
  4012. Malaysia ordered shut down of country's schools for two days because of health risks by thick haze from Indonesian forest fires.
  4013. Gas Authority of India (GAIL) will take 10 % stake in Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India or TAPI natural gas pipeline project. Aim of TAPi is to transport natural gas from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan into Pakistan and then to India.
  4014. China qualified for 2016 Brazil Olympics by winning International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Asia Championship by defeating Philippines.
  4015. Sarat Kumar Acharya appointed as Chairman and Managing Director of Neyveli Lignite Corporation.
  4016. Coventry City (England) honoured Ratan Tata (chairman Emeritus of Tata sons) with its highest award for his contributions to West Midlands region of central England.
  4017. Forbes India Leadership Awards 2015 -
    1. Outstanding Start-up for Year - Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati of Ola
    2. Nextgen Entrepreneur for Year - Siddhartha Lal of Eicher Motors.
    3. Entrepreneur with Social Impact - Samit Ghosh (Ujjivan Financial Services)
    4. Conscious Capitalist Company - Godrej Consumer Products and AMUL
    5. Best CEO (Multinational Company) - Uday Shankar (Star India)
    6. Best CEO (Public Sector) - Arundhati Bhattacharya (SBI)
    7. Best CEO (Private Sector) - CP Gurnani (Tech Mahindra)
    8. Lifetime Achievement Award for Year - RC Bhargava (Maruti Suzuki)
    9. Entrepreneur for the Year - Uday Kotak (Kotak Mahindra Bank)
  4018. International Cricket Council (ICC) Womens Team Rankings 2015. Top 10 teams are -
    1. Ranking

      Team

      Points

      1

      Australia

      134

      2

      England

      124

      3

      New Zealand

      109

      4

      India

      105

      5

      West Indies

      99

      6

      South Africa

      92

      7

      Pakistan

      81

      8

      Sri Lanka

      74

      9

      Bangladesh

      57

      10

      Ireland

      26      

  4019. Oct 03 - Unification Day of Germany.
  4020. World Health Organisation removed all limitations on eligibility for Antiretroviral Therapy among people living with HIV.
  4021. Uttar Pradesh government announced to implement National Food Security Act 2013 in three phases with 24, 25 and 26 districts covered in respective phases.
  4022. Pakistan proposed 4-point Peace Initiative with India for better relationships during UN General Assembly. Key points are -
    1. Pakistan and India should comply with ceasefire on Line of Control in Kashmir.
    2. Pakistan and India shall should not use force under any circumstances.
    3. Steps need to be taken to demilitarize Kashmir.
    4. Both nations should agree to mutual withdrawal from Siachen Glacier, world's highest battleground.
  4023. Zenia Bhumgara of India was conferred with Merlin Award in Mumbai. The award is prestigious honour in field of magic conferred by International Magicians Association (IMS).
  4024. World Trade Organization (WTO) 2015 Annual Report -
    1. World trade will grow by 2.8 % in 2015 and 3.9 % in 2016.
    2. Seychelles was admitted as 161st Member of WTO in April 2015.
    3. India is involved in 43 trade disputes Between 1995 and 2014.
  4025. Oct 02 - Birth Anniversary of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri.
    1. Birthday of M K Gandhi is marked as -
      1. International Day of Non-Violence by United Nations.
      2. National Anti-Drug Addiction Day.
    2. Gujarat launched a special Khadi Utsav to promote khadi on this occasion.
  4026. India submitted its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change for period between 2015 - 2030 to set India's tone for Conference of Parties-21 to be held in Paris in December 2015 to adopt an environmental new protocol for post-2020 (post Kyoto Protocol) scenario. Key Points are -
    1. India To reduce emissions intensity of its GDP by 33 to 35 % by 2030 from 2005 level.
    2. To achieve 40 % cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel based energy resources by 2030.
    3. Create an additional carbon sink of 2.5 - 3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030.
  4027. PM Narendra Modi inaugurated county's first solar powered district court in Khunti (Jharkhand).
  4028. Asian Development Bank will provide $120Million USD Loan to Bangladesh to finance India-Bangladesh power link project to increase transmission capacity from 500 MW to 1,000 MW to meet sharply rising power demand.
  4029. Global Competitiveness Report 2015 by World Economic Forum (Total 140 Countries) -
    1. India has been placed at 55th position (16 Position up as compared to 71 in 2014) while china is at 28th and Pakistan is 126th.
    2. Switzerland is at top of the list for seventh year in a row.
    3. Top 10 countries - Switzerland, Singapore, USA, Germany, Netherlands, Japan, Hong Kong, Finland, Sweden and UK.
  4030. Government notified Mid-Day Meal (MDM) Rules 2015 under Food Security Act, 2013. New rules are -
    1. Funds available with school may be utilised in case school exhausts funds meant for meal, allowance will be paid to beneficiaries under temporary fund utilization.
    2. Meal will be tested on monthly basis by accredited Labs.
    3. Every child in 6 to 14 years (classes I to VIII) will be provided meal with nutritional standards.
  4031. Maharashtra government will impose ‘drought tax to raise funds to tackle drought like situations.
  4032. United Nations Human Rights Council adopted resolution on Sri Lanka on report submitted by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to continue the monitoring of Sri Lankas progress in implementation of its recommendations.
  4033. As per International Cotton Advisory Committee, India became largest cotton producer in season ending September 30, 2015 by surpassing China. India produced 6.51 million tonnes cotton while china did 6.48 mt.
  4034. Tony de Brum (Marshall Islands), Sheila Watt-Cloutier (Canada), Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera (Uganda) and Gino Strada (Italy) won the 2015 Right Livelihood Award.
    1. Right Livelihood Award was established in 1980 by Swedish-German philatelist Jakob von Uexkull. It honours for efforts in environment and international development with prize money of 3-million-kronor.
  4035. Urban Development Ministry announced to allow generation of electricity and compost from municipal solid waste, on the occasion of first anniversary of Swachh Bharat Mission launched on 2 October 2015.
  4036. Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone inked a Memorandum of Understanding with Larsen & Toubro (L&T) to oversee operations of Kattupalli Port in Tamil Nadu.
  4037. Google officially converted into new parent company Alphabet Inc.
  4038. Nepal turned to United Nations over alleged obstruction of a key border trade point with India which has resulted in shortage of essential goods like fuel and Others.
  4039. Government found residues of pesticides in 12.50 % of the 20,618 samples of vegetables, fruits, milk and other food items collected from various retail and wholesale outlets across the country.
  4040. Oct 01 - World Vegetarian Day.
  4041. Oct 01 - International Day of Older Persons.
  4042. Oct 01 - National Day of China (Proclamation of People's Republic of China in 1949).
  4043. S. Mookerjee has been appointed as Financial Commissioner (FC) (Railways).
  4044. Chief of Naval Staff, RK Dhowan visited Australia.
  4045. India and Indonesia will be conducting inaugral Navy exercise from October 17 - 18, 2015 in Andaman Sea during expanded version of coordinated patrol (CORPAT).
  4046. E-commerce Firm Flipkart appointmed Sriram Venkataraman as chief financial officer (CFO) and Pramod Jain as vice president and head of taxation.
  4047. India will be Chair of G20 Summit in 2018 and New Delhi could host annual G20 summit in 2018.
  4048. Palestinian flag was raised for first time at United Nations headquarters in New York.
  4049. China launched 20th new generation satellite into orbit to support its global navigation and positioning network. A Long March-3B carrier rocket carried the satellite.
  4050. CSIR announced Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology 2015 for 11 scientists. The Prize consists a citation, a plaque and a 5 lakh rupees. Awardees Are - Balasubramanian Gopal, Rajeev Kumar Varshney, D Srinivasa Reddy, Pradyut Ghosh, Jyotiranjan Srichandan Ray, Yogesh Moreshwar Joshi, K Sandeep, Dr Ritabrata Munshi, Vidita Ashok Vaidya, Bedangadas Mohanty, Mandar Madhukar Deshmukh.
  4051. Wuhan Open Women's Tennis 2015 -
    1. Singles - Venus Williams (USA) won by defeating Garbine Muguruza (Spain).
    2. Doubles - Indo-Swiss pair of Sania Mirza-Martina Hingis won by defeating Romania's Irina-Camelia Begu and Monica Niculescu.
  4052. American Golfer Jordan Spieth has been named as PGA Tour's Player of Year.
  4053. Odisha police launched 'e-FIR' system under Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) project. It will enable people to send their complaints to police in all districts through newly launched citizen portal www.citizenportal-op.gov.in.
  4054. Navy's INS Sahyadri Visited Vietnam as part of its operational deployment in South China Sea.
  4055. Anup K Pujari has been appointed as CMD of Steel Authority of India Limited. He is also Secretary in Ministry of Steel and secretary in Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
  4056. Sep 24 - Independence day of Guinea - Bissau. It marks Independence from Portugal in 1973.
  4057. International Cricket Council (ICC) appointed former West Indies cricketer Richie Richardson to Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees. Javagal Srinath is Only Indian on this 7 member panel.
  4058. Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) launched Electro-Magnetic Interference - Electro-Magnetic Compatibility facility and Near Field Test Range (NFTR) at its Ghaziabad Unit.
  4059. NASSCOM (National Association of Software and Services Companies.) report on Contribution of Indias IT Industry to USA economy -
    1. USA is largest market for Indian IT-BPM (Business Process Management) exports.
    2. Indian IT industry supports 411000 jobs in USA w ith investment of 2 billion USD in 2011 - 2013 and paid around 22.5 billion USD in taxes between 2011 - 2015.
    3. Indian IT companies provide support to over 90 % of Fortune 500 firms.
    4. In USA, shortage of skilled talent is expected to continue to grow and will cause shortfall of 445000 professionals by 2022.
  4060. American fantasy drama television series, Game of Thrones won 12 awards at 67th Primetime Emmy Awards including best drama series.
  4061. PV Chandran has been elected as President of Indian Newspaper Society (INS) for 2015-16.
  4062. Haryana government will develop Gurgaon as a smart city with its own resources worth 500 Crores. Gurgaon has not been included into 98 Cities under Central Government's Smart City Mission.
  4063. Institute of Human Development and Delhi Planning Board released report Millennium Development Goals Report for Delhi -
    1. People below poverty line in Delhi was 9.9 % in 2011-12, as compared to 15.7 % in 1993-94
    2. Under-5 mortality rate dropped to 28 in 2012 as compared to 83.1 in 1992. Infant mortality rate is 25 in 2012 against 36 in 1998.
  4064. Asian Development Bank lowered Indias GDP growth projections for 2016 to 7.4 % from 7.8 % projected earlier. Causes for lowering of growth projections are economic slowdown in industrial countries, weak monsoon, and slow paced reform actions.
  4065. Odisha Government will implement 5 sub-schemes of central government for empowerment of transgenders, under Odisha's newly created Department of Social Security and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (SSEPD). Parents of every transgender will get assistance of 1000 rupees.
  4066. United Nations Broadband Commission released State of Broadband Report 2015 -
    1. 57 % (Approx 4 Billion) of Total 7.2 Bllion world Population are still not connected to Internet.
    2. Net is accessible to only 35 % of people in developing countries.
    3. 90 % People in 48 UN-designated Least Developed Countries are still Offline.
    4. South Korea has highest household broadband penetration (98.5 %), Qatar is second (98 %) and Saudi Arabia (94 %) is ranked third.
    5. Iceland has the highest (98.2 %) of individuals using Internet.
    6. 79 countries have over 50 % of population online, up from 77 in 2014.
    7. Lowest Internet access percentage is in sub-Saharan Africa - Guinea (1.7%), Somalia (1.6%), Burundi (1.4%), Timor Leste (1.1%) and Eritrea (1.0).
    8. Indias broadband penetration rank has fallen to 155th from 113th position in 2013. India's overall broadband penetration (mobile and fixed line) ranking improved to 136 from 142 in 2014.
    9. Number of Indians with broadband access on mobile phones has gone up to 5.5 % of population from 3.2 % in 2013.
  4067. John T Chambers has been elected as Chairman of US-India Business Councils (USIBC).
  4068. Google and Tata Trusts launched a scholarship programme to educate Indian students in Android development in collaboration with Udacity. 1000 scholarships will be offered to deserving students by Google and Tata Trusts along with Android Developer Nanodegrees.
  4069. USA's Noted Baseball player Yogi Berra passed away.
  4070. Michel Kafando has been reinstated as president of Burkina Faso after agreement between Regiment of Presidential Security and national army.
  4071. Noted Hindu monk and founder of Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, Swami Dayanand Saraswati passed away.
  4072. United National Development Programme (UNDP) will financially support implementation of Arunachal Vision 2030 of Arunachal Pradesh for carrying out reforms.
  4073. Indian Air Force (IAF) won 2015 Baba Farid Gold Cup hockey title by defeating Army XI.
  4074. Stuti Narain Kacker has been appointed as head of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).
  4075. Abdul Bari Siddiqui has been elected as President of Bihar Cricket Association (BCA).
  4076. 23 Sep - National day of Saudi Arabia.
  4077. 23 Sep - Birth Anniversary of Rashtrakavi Ramdhari Singh Dinkar.
  4078. PM Narendra Modi Visited Ireland. As a Gift, He presented manuscripts pertaining to Irish Officials Thomas Oldham and George Abraham Grierson to Ireland's Prime Minister - Enda Kenny.
  4079. Korea-Andhra Pradesh Friendship Forum organized Korea Caravan 2015 in Vishakhapatnam. Andhra Pradesh government will create a Korea Desk to issue quick clearances to Korean investors.
  4080. Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) approved $2.5 Billion USD (Over 15000 Crores) deal with USA's Boeing for 22 Apache Attack helicopters and 15 Chinook heavy-lift choppers.
  4081. Hindustan Times chairperson Shobhana Bharatia and PepsiCo Chairman Indra Nooyi have been awarded 2015 Global Leadership Award of US-India Business Council (USIBC). Indian-American artist Natvar Bhavsar has been awarded the Artistic Achievement Award.
  4082. Serbain Tennis player Novak Djokovic is at top position in Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) rankings 2015. Switzerland's Roger Federer is second, Britains Andy Murray third while Rafel Nadal of Spain is at seventh position.
  4083. USA's NASA and Brooklyn based Honey Bee are developing worlds first space shot gun to blast asteroids into small and carry them back to earth for examining, as part of the Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM).
  4084. 105 Year Old Japanese Hidekichi Miyazaki created Guinness World Record by completing 100 Metres race in 42.22 seconds. He is also referred to as Golden Bolt.
  4085. Forbes' richest Indians list 2015-
    1. Relianec Group Chairman Mukesh Ambani is richest Indian for ninth consecutive year with net worth of 18.9 billion USD.
    2. Top 10 are - Mukesh Ambani (18.9), Dilip Shanghvi (18) of Sun Pharma, Azim Premji (15.9), Hinduja brothers (15.9), Pallonji Mistry (14.7 ), Shiv Nadar (12.9), Godrej family (11.4), Lakshmi Mittal (11.2), Cyrus Poonawala (7.9) and Kumar Mangalam Birla (7.8).
    3. There are 12 newcomers This Year, Including Flipkarts co-founders Sachin and Binni Bansal and IndiGos co-founder Rakesh Gangwal.
  4086. Rajasthan became fifth state after Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa and Madhya Pradesh to pass Vexation Litigation Prevention Bill 2015 to prevent filing of baseless cases and to check the misuse of law for personal benefits.
  4087. Minister for Health and Family Welfare J P Nadda released 11th National Health Profile (NHP) 2015, which provides comprehensive information related to health sector.
  4088. Rajasthan Assembly has passed two bills to provide reservation in educational institutions and government jobs to economically backward classes (EBC) and special backward classes (SBC). Bills are -
    1. Special Backward Classes Reservation Bill 2015 - 5 % reservation to Banjara/Labana/Baldiya, Gujar , Gadiya/Gadoliya/Lohar, Gadariya/ Gayari and Raika/Rebari/Debasi.
    2. Economically Backward Classes Reservation Bill 2015 - 14 % reservation to unreserved category.
  4089. World Anti-Doping Agency signed agreement with Sports Ministry of China to stop manufacturing of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDS) in China.
  4090. Government approved implementation of Integrated Air Command & Control System (IACCS) project of Indian Air force (IAF) of 8,000-crore rupees to connect 9 Existing IACCS Nodes of IAF
  4091. Arvind Panagariya (vice-chairman of Niti Aayog) has been appointed as sherpa for G20 negotiations, replacing Suresh Prabhu.
  4092. Telecom Company Uninor announced to change its brand identity as Telenor India Pvt. Ltd.
  4093. Keshari Nath Tripathi has been appointed as Governor of Tripura. He is also Governor of West Bengal.
  4094. National Cadet Corps (NCC) entered Limca Book of Records for Largest Yoga performance simultaneously on International Day of Yoga (21 Jun 2015) with 9,50,210 NCC cadets performing Yoga at 1767 venues.
  4095. Environment Minister Prakash Javedkar Visited USA.
  4096. 22 September - World Rhino Day, first announced by WWF-South Africa in 2010.
  4097. Sep 22 - Independence day of Mali. It marks Independence from Mali Federation in 1960.
  4098. Book Building a just world: essays in Honour of Muchkund Dubey’ has been written by Manoranjan Mohanty, Vinod C Khanna and Biswajit Dhar.
  4099. PM Narendra Modi Left for his Visit to USA and Ireland.
  4100. Government approved Joint Declaration of Intent (JDI) with Germany for implementation of Indo-German Partnerships in Higher Education programme.
  4101. Government will set up Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre at Institute for Physically Handicapped (New Delhi), under Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment) as a Society under Societies Registration Act, 1860.
  4102. Ministry of Law & Justice has developed web-based application – Legal Information Management & Briefing System (LIMBS) for managing and monitoring all court cases Online.
  4103. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj during her USA Visit stated that India will organize 9th Regional Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas (RPBD) at Los Angeles, (USA) on 14th and 15th November 2015 with Theme - Indian Diaspora: Defining a New Paradigm in India-US Relationship.
  4104. United Kingdom's Minister for Energy and Climate Change, Amber Rudd visited India.
  4105. Indian Coast Guard commissioned two new ships - ICGS Apoorva and Interceptor Boat C-421.
  4106. Bharat Dynamics Ltd tied up with Electronics Corporation of India to develop missile electronics and weapon support systems for major defence projects.
  4107. Vikram Pawah has been appointed Chief of bike maker Harley Davidson's India Operations.
  4108. Indian Wushu team won 12 medals (1 gold, 4 silver and 7 bronze) at Fifth International Pars Wushu Cup in Tehran (Iran). L. Budhachandra Singh won gold by defeating Masod Ansari of Iran.
  4109. Zayn Khan was has been elected as President of Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI).
  4110. Hindi writer Kamal Kishore Goenka has been presented with 24th Vyaas Samman (2014) for his work 'Premchand ki Kahaniyon ka Kaal Kramanusaar Adhyayan'.
  4111. Odisha's Lalita Prasida Sripada Srisai won Community Impact Award at fifth Google Science Fair in California.
  4112. Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) received SKOCH Award for smart governance for its initiatives on UAN programme and transformation of social security agenda in India.
  4113. Sep 21 - Independence day of Armenia. It marks Independence from Soviet Union in 1991.
  4114. Sep 21 - Independence day of Malta. It marks Independence from UK in 1964.
  4115. Sep 21 - UN International Day of Peace. Theme for 2015 is Partnerships for Peace- Dignity for All.
  4116. Former President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Jagmohan Dalmiya passed away.
  4117. Yanina Wickmayer’ of Belgium won Japan Women's Open Tennis Title by defeating Poland’s Magda Linette.
  4118. Jury under Amol Palekar picked Marathi Film Court directed by Chaitanya Tamhane as India's entry for Best Foreign Language Film at 88th Oscars Awards 2016. Court has also won Best Feature Film award in 62nd National Awards 2015.
  4119. President Pranab Mukherjee presented National Tourism Awards 2013-14 -
    1. Gujarat has been awarded as Best State for Comprehensive Tourism Development and Best Film Promotion Friendly State.
    2. Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh is named as Best Heritage City
    3. Kerala received award for Most Innovative use of Information technology.
    4. Great backwaters of Kerala has been awarded as Best Tourism Film.
    5. Book Gujarats 50 Golden Destinations by Tourism Corporation of Gujarat got award of Best Tourism Promotion Publicity material.
  4120. Renowned Malayalam singer Radhika Thilak passed away.
  4121. Jammu and Kashmir Government banned sale of Ambuja Cements in the state after complaints of malpractices against the company.
  4122. Researchers from Manipal University and Giessen from Germany discovered four new atomic nuclei to be added to nuclei charts. These are - one isotope each of Berkelium and Neptunium and two isotopes of Americium.
  4123. P Sivakumar, Director of CVRDE (Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment), Tamilnadu has been elevated as Distinguished Scientist (Scientist H) by Ministry of Defense. It is highest honour conferred on a scientist in India.
  4124. Alexis Tsipras-led Syriza party won Greece's general elections. It is second election victory for Syriza in nine months after first government falling due to loosing majority in August 2015.
  4125. West Bengal Government declassified 64 secret files on ‘Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, containing over 12,000 pages after being kept under secrecy for 70 years.
  4126. Japan parliament's Upper Chamber passed two security laws to allow its troops to fight overseas for the first time since 1945. The bill was already have been approved by Parliaments lower house earlier.
  4127. Korea Open Badminton Open 2015 -
    1. Men's Singles - Chen Long (China) won by Defeating India's Ajay Jayaram.
    2. Women's Singles - Sung Ji-hyun (South Korea) won by defeating Wang Yihan of China.
  4128. Urdu litterateur Shamim Hanfi has been conferred with inaugural Jnangarima Manad Alankaran award of Bharatiya Jnanpith.
  4129. Week long annual Ladakh Festival begun to extend short tourism season of Ladakh.
  4130. As per recent study by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Zoological Society of London (ZSL), population of marine creatures have declined by 49% since 1970.
  4131. Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel from Germany won 2015 Singapore Grand Prix of Formula One.
    1. 2015 Formula One season -
      1. Total 19 Grand Prix Races to be organized across the world in 2015. Calendar is -
        1. Grand Prix Date Winner
          Australia 15 March Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Malaysia 29 March Sebastian Vettel (Germany)
          China 12 April Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Baharain 19 April Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Spain 10 May Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Monaco 24 May Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Canada 7 June Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Austria 21 June Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Britain 5 July Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Hungary 26 July Sebastian Vettel (Germany)
          Belgium 23 August Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Italy 6 September Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Singapore 20 September Sebastian Vettel (Germany)
          Japan 27 September  
          Russia 11 October
          USA 25 October
          Mexico 1 November
          Brazil 15 November
          Abu Dhabi 29 November
  4132. Government appointed CANBANK Venture Capital Fund Ltd as agency to implement Electronics Development Fund (EDF). EDF will be set up as a 'Fund of Funds' to participate in 'Daughter Funds' which will provide capital to companies developing technologies in electronics and Information Technology (IT).
  4133. Trust Fund for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities signed a Memorandum of Understanding with New India Assurance Company Limited for affordable Swavlamban Health Insurance Scheme for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs).
  4134. Piyush Goyal (Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal and Renewable Energy vistied USA for Confederation of Indian Industry (CII ) - American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) Meet in Washington, D.C.
  4135. Sushma Swaraj, External Affairs Minister visited USA for U.S.-India Business Council Meet and irst India-US Strategic and Commercial Dialogue.
  4136. PM Narendra Modi launched National Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS) in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh to provide 24×7 Power Supply. Central Government will provide 572 crore rupees for the scheme. He also inaugurated biggest Trauma centre of country in Banaras Hindu University.
  4137. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare banned sale of Diclofenac in multidose vial. It will now only be sold in single-dose vial packaging for human use. The ban was imposed on recommendation of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in order to save and protect vultures from extinction.
  4138. Elattuvalapil Sreedharan (Known as Metro Man) has been appointed to United Nations High Level Advisory Group on Sustainable Transport by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon for three years.
  4139. Noted Cricket Marathi commentator Bal Pandit passed away.
  4140. India and Laos signed two Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) on Air services and Projects under Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC) programme during visit of Indian Vice President Hamid Ansari to Laos.
  4141. Tennis Player Sania Mirza and Cricketer Ajinkya Rahane have been conferred with honorary life membership by Cricket Club of India (CCI).
  4142. Election Commission introduced symbol for None of the Above (NOTA) Option for Voters in elections. Symbol for NOTA option has been designed by National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad.
  4143. Sherif Ismail has been appointed as new (53rd) Prime Minister of Egypt.
  4144. China launched its newly-developed smaller version of carrier rocket Long March-6.
  4145. Renowned Malayalam playback singer Radhika Thilak passed away.
  4146. British-American romance novelist Jackie Collins passed away.
  4147. Mariko Kipchumba of Kenya won annual Beijing International Marathon of 42.195-kms.
  4148. Agricultural festival Nuakhai observed across Western Odisha.
  4149. Perumanna Grama Panchayat in Kozhikode district of Kerala become first Panchayat in the State to declare its own water policy in lines with Keralas water policy declared in 2008.
  4150. Madhya Pradesh Government launched M-Shiksha-Mitra mobile app to provide various services and teaching-related work to teachers in a simple way.
  4151. NASA will Launch its Red Dragon Project by 2022, aimed at bringing samples collected by NASA's 2020 Mars rover back to Earth. It will use SpaceX's Dragon capsule.
  4152. Supreme Court stayed implementation of Haryana Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Act, 2015 that mandated minimum qualification for candidates contesting Panchayati elections.
  4153. An Expert Group Under Cyber Security Chief Gulshan Rai suggested to set up centre for checking Cyber crimes under Ministry of Home Affairs with cost 500 crores.
  4154. World Health Organisation (WHO) and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) malaria MDG target report stated that malaria Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target to stop malaria by 2015 has been achieved. India is at third place after Nigeria and Congo in terms of number of cases of malaria.
  4155. Book Two Years Eight Months and Twenty Eight Nights authored by Salman Rushdie has been released.
  4156. 59th General Conference of IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) held in Vienna (Austria). During the Meet, Pakistan announced its plans to generate 40000 MW nuclear energy by 2050 as part of its Nuclear Energy Vision 2050.
  4157. Report of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Investigation on Sri Lanka (OISL) recommended establishment of a hybrid special court by integrating international judges and investigators.
  4158. 8th Global Innovation Index (GII) 2015 released by Cornell University, INSEAD and World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) -
    1. Top 10 Most Innovative countries are (Out of 141 countries in List)
      1. Switzerland
      2. United Kingdom
      3. Sweden
      4. Netherlands
      5. United States of America
      6. Finland
      7. Singapore
      8. Ireland
      9. Luxembourg
      10. Denmark
    2. Although India's ranking slipped to 81 as compared to 76 in 2014, but it remained at top in Central and Southern Asia.
  4159. India and United States (US) created a Joint Challenge Coin to symbolise their partnership in creating a next-generation aircraft carrier for Indian Navy.
  4160. Seventeeth session of United Nations General Assembly opened on 15 September 2015 with Denmark's Mogens Lykketoft as its President.
  4161. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Champions of Earth Awards 2015 -
    1. Leadership on frontline of climate change - Sheikh Hasina (Prime Minister of Bangladesh).
    2. ENTREPRENEURIAL VISION - Paul Polman (Chief Executive Officer of Unilever) and Natura Brasil (Cosmetics Producer and Sustainable Production Pioneer)
    3. SCIENCE AND INNOVATION - National Geographic Society
    4. INSPIRATION AND ACTION - Black Mamba APU Anti-Poaching Unit (Balule Nature Reserve - South Africa)
  4162. September 17 - Birthday of India's 15th (Current) Prime Minister - Narendra Modi.
  4163. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley began his four day visit to Singapore and Hong Kong.
  4164. Government launched Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY) for welfare of people affected by mining activities, using funds generated by District Mineral Foundations (DMFs).
    1. Mines and Minerals (Development & Regulation) Amendment Act 2015 mandated setting up of District Mineral Foundations (DMFs) in all districts affected by mining related operations.
  4165. Reserve Bank of India approved 10 entities to set up small finance banks to provide basic banking services to farmers and MSMEs. Entities are - Au Financiers, Capital Local Area Bank, Disha Microfin Private, Equitas Holdings, ESAF Microfinance and Investments, Janalakshmi Financial Services, RGVN (North East) Microfinance, Suryoday Micro Finance, Ujjivan Financial Services and Utkarsh Micro Finance.
  4166. South American country Chile got hit by Earthquake of 8.3-magnitude.
  4167. India and Cambodia signed two Memoranda of Understanding to boost cooperation in Tourism and another related to projects under Mekong Ganga Cooperation initiative, during Visit of Vice President Hamid Ansari to Cambodia.
  4168. Nepal's Constituent Assembly (Headed by Subash Nemwang) approved new constitution after seven years of efforts, splitting the country into seven federal provinces. It declared Cow as National Animal.
  4169. West Indian Test cricketer Shiv Chanderpaul has been honoured with Icon Award by Indo-Caribbean Alliance alog with Lakshmee Singh, Eric Ulrich and Dave Kadernauth.
  4170. Indian Shot putter Manpreet Kaur qualified for 2016 Rio Olympics as she broke national record during 55th National Open Athletics Championships.
  4171. Indian shooter Mairaj Ahmad Khan clinched Rio Olympics quota place at ongoing ISSF Shotgun World Championships in Italy.
  4172. South Indian Fertilisers will start Kissan Kendra Agri Super Markets across Kerala to provide information on agriculture and make organic fertilisers available along with other Agri. Products.
  4173. India Cements won Moin-ud Dowlah Gold Cup Cricket Tournament 2015 by defeating Hyderabad XI.
  4174. Afghan refugee teacher Aqeela Asifi has been awarded with 2015 Nansen Refugee Award by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
  4175. National Green Tribunal (NGT) banned immersion of idols into River Yamuna made from non bio-degradable materials.
  4176. Actor Nana Patekar established Naam Foundation To aid farmers in overcoming drought conditions.
  4177. World Wealth Report 2015 by Capsgemini and RBC Welath Management -
    1. India has become 11th largest population of millionaires with 2 Lakh High net worth individuals (HNWI), up from 1,5 Lakh HNWIs in 2013.
    2. USA has most millionaires (43.5 Lakh), followed by Japan (24.5 Lakh), Germany (11.4 Lakh) and China (8.9 Lakh).
  4178. Bharat Dynamics Limited test-fired indigenous anti-tank guided missile Amogha-1 with 2.8 km range.
  4179. 2,000-year-old Stupa constructed by emperor Ashoka in Chinas Nangchen has been restored.
  4180. Longest chain of continental volcanoes has been found in Australia, stretching 2000 km along Australia's east coast.
  4181. Delhi Government approved Victim Compensation Scheme enhancing compensation limit to rape victims to 5 lakh rupees and 7 lakh rupees for Acid Atack Victims.
  4182. ISIS militants destroyed 2000 years old Baalshamin temple in Syrian archaeological site of Palmyra.
  4183. Sep 16 - International Day for Preservation of Ozone Layer. UN proclaimed the same in 1994 commemorating date of signing of Montreal Protocol in 1987 on Substances that Deplete Ozone Layer.
    1. Vienna Convention for Protection of Ozone Layer is an International Agreement about protecting ozone layer agreed upon during Vienna Conference of 1985 and enacted in 1988. It has been ratified by 197 UN Members. It does not include bindings for use of CFCs (Chloro Fluoro Carbons) which is main cause of ozone depletion. These are laid out in accompanying Montreal Protocol.
  4184. Government declared NSCN(K) (National Socialist Council of Nagaland) as an unlawful organisation for 5 years under Unlawful Activities (Prevention), Act 1967 due to continued violence by NSCN(K) even after ceasefire signed on 27th April, 2015.
  4185. Sep 16 - Independence Day of Mexico. It marks Declaration of Independence from spain in 1810.
  4186. Government approved Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission (SPMRM) with an outlay of Rs. 5142 crores for development of rural growth clusters with potential for growth in all States.
    1. Clusters will consist of Gram Panchayats with population of 25000 - 50000 in plain areas and a 5000 - 15000 in desert, hilly or tribal areas.
    2. Mission aims to create 300 such Rurban growth clusters over next 3 years. Funding for Rurban Clusters will be through various Government Rural welfare schemes.
    3. SPMRM will provide an additional funding support of upto 30 % of project cost per cluster as Critical Gap Funding (CGF).
  4187. Government approved creation of four posts of Directors for four new National Institutes of Design (NIDs) at Kurukshetra (Haryana), Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), Jorhat (Assam) and Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh).
  4188. Minister of Finance Arun Jaitley launched Headend In The Sky (HITS) digital platform - NXT DIGITAL promoted by Hinduja Group as part of Digital India initiative and Make In India mission. It will provide viewers access to over 500 television channels of their choice - international, national and local besides other e-applications. The initiative will enable thousands of cable operators to transit from analog to digital across 12 Crore homes in India.
  4189. 208th meeting of Central Board of Trustees (EPF) held in Hyderabad under chairmanship of Bandaru Dattatreya (Minister for Labour & Employment & Chairman of CBT, EPF).
    1. Central Board of Trustees enhanced Insurance benefits under Employees Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme for dependants of EPF members from present Rs 3,60,000 to Rs 6,00,000.
    2. EPF Mobile App was launched for benefit of EPF members for activating their UAN (Universal Account Numbers).
  4190. India's Swetha Prabhakaran is among 11 winners of Champions of Change award by USA's White House for Founding Everybody Code Now, a non profit organization to make youth efficient in Coding.
  4191. Indian author Sunjeev Sahota has been short-listed for prestigious Man Booker Prize 2015 for Fiction for his novel The Year of the Runaways about life experience of illegal immigrants from Indian subcontinent in Britain.
  4192. Hungary declared emergency state in its Csongrad and Bacs-Kiskun regions to cope with High number of Syrian and Afghan refugees.
  4193. North Koreas main nuclear facility at Yongbyon complex resumed operations after it was shut down in 2007.
  4194. Indian Actor Anupam Kher received Certificate of Recognition from California legislature for his dedication to helping Kashmiri Hindu community.
  4195. Andhra Pradesh Government will Link Godavari and Krishna Rivers for Benefit of Farmers.
  4196. USA's Pentagon established first-ever country special cell to speed up its defence ties with India. India Rapid Reaction Cell (IRRC) is headed by Keith Webster.
  4197. Olympic Council of Asia announced Chinese Hangzhou city as host of 2022 Asian Games at its General Assembly in Ashgabat (Turkmenistan Capital).
  4198. Madhya Pradesh government formed commission under Aryendra Kumar Saxena to probe into Petlawad explosion incident in Jhabua district.
  4199. Indian Organization Tambul Leaf Plates has been conferred with SEED Special Recognition Award in Nairobi, Kenya on the 10th anniversary of annual SEED Awards. SEED is a global partnership for action on sustainable development and the green economy.
  4200. Sep 15 - International Day of Democracy. Declared by United Nations in 2007. Theme for 2015 is Space for Civil Society.
  4201. Sep 15 - Engineer's Day in India. It marks Birthday of Bharat Ratna Mokshagundam Visvesvarayya.
  4202. Sep 15 - Independece day of Honduras, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua and El Salvador. It Marks Their Independence from Spain in 1821.
  4203. UN General Assembly adopted a negotiating text for long-pending Security Council reforms, setting the stage for talks on India's bid for a permanent seat in UN Secuity Council during UN's 70th General Assembly.
  4204. Ease of doing business in India Report by World Bank and Department of Industry Policy and Promotion -
    1. Gujarat emerged as number 1 state with 71.14% Score.
    2. Andhra Pradesh is second with 70.12%.
    3. Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh are other three in top 5 states.
    4. Arunachal Pradesh is ranked last with 1.23%.
  4205. Indian Vice President Hamid Ansari started his Visit to Cambodia and Laos.
  4206. India's Ashok Sridharan won Germanys Bonn city mayoral election.
  4207. Malcolm Turnbull has been appointed as 29th Prime Minister of Australia replacing Tony Abbott.
  4208. Nepal constituent assembly Rejected A proposal to declare Nepal a Hindu state, will stay secular.
  4209. Fortune's Most Powerful Women in Asia Pacific List
    1. India's Chanda Kochhar (Chief of ICICI Bank) has been ranked at Top with Arundhati Bhattacharya (Chairman of State Bank of India) at second Place. Hindustan Petroleums CMD Nishi Vasudeva is at fifth Place. Axis Banks MD & CEO Shikha Sharma is at ninth.
    2. With 11 names, Chinese women lead the list.
  4210. Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe Visited India.
  4211. India hosted a meeting of Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDCs) on climate change to prepare strategies for negotiation for the UN Climate Change Conferene in Paris (COP 21) to be held later in 2015.
  4212. Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports recognized Indian Kalaripayattu Federation as Regional Sports Federation for promotion and development of Kalarippayattu sport in India. Origin of sport is Kerala state.
  4213. Reserve Bank of India and Nepal Rastra Bank signed an MOU on exchange of supervisory information.
  4214. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been selected for United Nations Champions of Earth award for her leadership and vision in tackling climate change issues in Bangladesh. She will be honored during UN Sustainable Development Summit 2015 in Sep 25-27, 2015.
  4215. SBI Card launched online specific credit card SimplyCLICK in association with seven partners including Amazon India, BookMyShow and Cleartrip.
  4216. World Bank Group's International Finance Corporation launched Suryodaya campaign in Bihar, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh to increase awareness of quality solar lighting products In order to provide safe and high quality solar lights to people with no access to electricity in rural India.
  4217. Mobile commerce firm Paytm introduced cashless payments in educational institutes for fee payments and related purchases.
  4218. FreeCharge partnered with Yes Bank and payment bank licensee Fino PayTech to launch e-Wallet service.
  4219. United Nations General Assembly adopted resolutions initiated by Armenia to proclaim 9 December as International Genocide Commemoration Day and Prevention of this Crime. 9 December marks anniversary of signing of 1948 Genocide Convention.
  4220. USA's We Care Solar won 1 million USD ‘Powering the Future We Want grant by United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) (in collaboration with China Energy Fund Committee (CEFC)) for providing low cost renewable energy and medical device to prevent complications during labour in areas without electricity.
  4221. Ministry of Water Resources created a seven-member committee under Mihir Shah to advise restructuring of Central Water Commission (CWC) and Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) for development of water resources in India.
  4222. Government will provide additional 50 days of work in 2015-16 in drought-hit areas under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme in view of deficit monsoon in various parts. At present, 100 days of work is provided to rural job card holders under MGNREGA.
  4223. QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) World University Rankings of 2015-16 -
    1. Overall, 14 Indian institutes in QS World University rankings. 7 Indian institutes including IISc Bangalore (147th), IIT Delhi (179th), IIT Bombay (202nd), IIT Madras (254th), IIT Kanpur (271st), IIT Kharagpur (286th), IIT Roorkee (391st) are in top 400. Its First time any Indian Institutes are ranked in top 200 in QS Rankings.
    2. IIT Guwahati, University of Delhi, University of Calcutta, Banaras Hindu University, Panjab University, University of Mumbai and University of Pune are in list but beyond top 400.
    3. The Top 10 Universities in world are -
       
      Ranking in 2015/16
      Ranking in 2014/15
      Country
      Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
      1
      1
      US
      Harvard University
      2
      4
      US
      University of Cambridge
      3
      2
      UK
      Stanford University
      3
      7
      US
      California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
      5
      8
      US
      University of Oxford
      6
      5
      UK
      University College London (UCL)
      7
      5
      UK
      Imperial College London
      8
      2
      UK
      ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology)
      9
      12
      Switzerland
      University of Chicago
      10
      11
      US
  4224. 14 September - Hindi Diwas. It marks adoption of Hindi (written in Devanagari script ) on 14 September, 1949 as official language of Republic of India. PFC (Power Finance Corporation) received Rajbhasha Award 2014-15 in category of Rajbhasha Kirti Puruskar” second prize on this occasion.
  4225. Rosh Hashanah observed by Jewish Communities across the world as Jewish New Year.
  4226. Prabhat Kumar Singh is appointed as MD & CEO of Petronet LNG, Indias biggest liquefied natural gas importer.
  4227. Hormusji N Cama is elected as chairman of Press Trust of India (PTI).
  4228. RailTel of Indian Railways and Google partnered under project Nilgiri to provide free Wi-Fi High Speed (1 GBPS) Internet services in 400 railway stations across India by using Googles Fiber technology.
  4229. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) will execute Vijayawada Metro Rail Project in Andhra Pradesh to improve connectivity in Amaravati (proposed capital) and surrounding areas. Initial Phase will be completed at estimated cost of 6769 crore rupees by 2018.
  4230. Tamil Nadu Government announced to set up Tamil Nadu Fibernet Corporation to implement Union Governments Bharatnet scheme at cost of 3000 crore rupees. It will oversee linkage of 12524 villages in the state through optical fibre network for better internet connectivity of Households.
  4231. Largest volcano of Japan, Mount Aso erupted.
  4232. Germany introduced border controls along its Austrian border to check migrant influx from Syria.
  4233. SpiceJet became first airline to make night landing on Veer Savarkar International Airport at Port Blair (Andaman and Nicobar Islands).
  4234. Noted Kathak danseuse Kumkum Dhar has been appointed as Vice Chancellor of Bhatkhande Music Institute deemed university.
  4235. CarDekho.com acquired Zigwheels (auto portal owned by Times Internet).
  4236. Government approved purchasing 10 Heron TP drones from Israel worth 400 million USD to enhance India's cross-border military strike capability.
  4237. Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's People's Action Party (PAP) won Singapore general elections 2015. Mr. Loong will be re-appointed as Singapore's Prime Minister for the Third Time.
  4238. Royal Aeronautical Society London conferred Indian Scientist G Satheesh Reddy (Missile Scientist of DRDO) with prestigious Silver Medal for his contributions in India's highly developed avionics sensors and systems for key strategic programmes and other defence applications.
  4239. US Open Tennis 2015 -
    1. Women's Singles - Flavia Pennetta (Italy) won by defeating Roberta Vinci (Italy).
    2. Men's Singles - Novak Djokovic (Serbia) won by beating Roger Federer (Switzerland).
    3. Mixed Doubles - Martina Hingis (Switzerland) and Leander Paes (India) won by defeating Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sam Querrey of United States
    4. Women's Doubles - Martina Hingis (Switzerland ) and Sania Mirza (India) won by defeating Casey Dellacqua (Australia) and Yaroslava Shvedova (Kazakhstan)
    5. Men's Doubles - Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut of france won by beating Jamie Murray (UK) and John Peers (Australia)
  4240. PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry launched Intellectual Property Rights Facilitation Centre (IPFC) for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh).
  4241. Inaugural Navy exercise between India and Australia AUSINDEX15 started in Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh).
  4242. Bharatiya Janata Party-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) won student union elections of Delhi University by defeating National Students Union of India (NSUI).
  4243. Road transport and highways ministry decided to expand National Highways by 50,000 km in next six months.
  4244. Rakesh Sharma appointed as Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bengaluru-based Canara Bank.
  4245. Jeremy Corbyn elected as leader of Britain's Labour party. He appointed Indian-origin Seema Malhotra and Lisa Nandy Into his shadow cabinet.
  4246. JK Tyre & Industries will accquire Kesoram Industries's Tyre Unit - Cavendish Industries Ltd for Rs. 2,200 crore.
  4247. India's current account deficit came down to to 1.2 % of GDP ($6.2 Billion USD) in April - June of FY 2015-16 Quarter as compared to 1.6 % of GDP ($6.2 Billion USD) in same periood last year.
  4248. Russian astronaut Gennady Padalka returned to Earth after creating record for most time spent in space by spending 879 days over five trips.
  4249. Aditi Ashok won Singha Thailand Amateur Golf Championship.
  4250. Classical dancer Kalamandalam Sathyabhama passed away.
  4251. 12th UWW World Wrestling Championships 2015 (Las Vegas - United States)
    1. Russia Topped with 14 Medals. USA Second wtih 7 Medals while Turkey Third with 6 Medals.
    2. India ranked 24th with One bronze medal in Mens 74 kg Freestyle won by Wrestler Narsingh Pancham Yadav. He also won a place in Indian Squad in 2016 Rio Olympics.
  4252. Book Feminist and Orientalist Perspectives – A Study of Lady Mary Montagus Turkish Embassy Letters has been written by Farha Hiba Parvez.
  4253. Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani launched National Web Portal for promotion of National Apprenticeship Scheme for Graduates, Diploma holders and 10+2 pass-outs vocational certificate holders. Slogan is Sashakt Yuva, Samarth Bharat.
  4254. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi become first Indian political leader to have a mobile app, developed for to digitally connect him with citizens.
  4255. Shashidhar Sinha has been appointed as Chairman of Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC).
  4256. Indian-American Jagdeep Grewal has been appointed as first woman postmaster of Sacramento city in California.
  4257. Renowned water policy expert Ramaswamy R. Iyer passed away.
  4258. Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) will built a new cricket stadium in name of Sachin Tendulkar.
  4259. 4th World Conference of Speakers of Parliament held at UN Headquarters in New York. Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Sumitra Mahajan attend on India's Behalf.
  4260. Fortune's list of 50 most powerful women in business -
    1. General Motors CEO Mary Barra is at top while PepsiCo's CEO Indra Nooyi is Second. Indira is Only Indian Origin Person in the List. IBM CEO Ginni Rometty is third in List.
  4261. Indian - origin Mahesh Ramanujam is appointed as new CEO of US Green Building Council, a non-profit organisation that promotes sustainability in desigining and Operating buildings.
  4262. Kopparapu kavula National Eminence award 2015 will be given to classical flutist Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia.
  4263. Indian Squash player Joshna Chinnappa won NSCI open by beating Habiba Mohmad (Egypt).Mens singles was won by Adrian Waller of England.
  4264. United Nations General Assembly approved Resolution introduced by Iraq on Raising of Flags by Non-Member Observer States like Patestine and Vatican City.
  4265. Experts from Tamil University discovered existence of a flourishing port town in Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu during Sangam era and Middle Chola period. Sangam era relates to third Century Before Common Era to Third Century Common Era while Middle Chola period ranges from 850 to 1250 Common Era.
  4266. Rajasthan became first state to submit State Annual Action Plan under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT). Rajasthan Government has proposed projects worth 1087 crore rupees for approval by Urban Development Ministry during 2015-16.
  4267. Mumbai Dialogue : Towards a TB-Free India was launched by US Ambassador to India Richard Verma along with Actor Amitabh Bachchan and Ratan Tata, (Chairman of Tata Trusts) with aim to engage corporate sector to strengthen Government’s Call to Action for a TB-Free India.
  4268. Cricketer Virat Kohli became co-owner of UAE Royals International Premier Tennis League team. The team will be led by tennis ace Roger Federer.
  4269. India and Indonesia signed a pact for repatriation of each other's wanted prisoners and cooperate in all criminal matters, including gathering evidence.
  4270. Britain's Queen Elizabeth II became longest-reigning Monarch of Britain and longest-reigning female monarch across world after surpassing Queen Victoria who reigned Britain for over 63 years.
  4271. As per World Federation of Exchanges, India's Bombay Stock Exchange has highest number of listed companies in the world (5689 Companies). National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) has 1750 listed companies. Although, Shanghai stock exchange of China (1070 companies) is at top in terms of value of share trading with average 30 trillion USD transactions monthly, while monthly average of transactions at BSE is 100 billion USD. BSE was established in 1855 and is oldest exchange in Asia.
  4272. NTPC will raise up to Rs. 700 crore through tax free secured non-convertible bonds. Government approved NTPC's raising Rs. 1,000 crore through tax free bonds, including Rs. 700 crore through public issue.
  4273. Haryana government completely banned gutka, pan masala and other similar products containing tobacco in the state for one year.
  4274. Tamil Nadu's first Global Investors Summit (TNGIM 2015) began in Chennai seeking investment of over one-lakh crore rupees.
  4275. Tenth World Hindi Conference began in Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) with theme of Hindi Jagat-Vistar and Sambhavnaye.
  4276. India and Pakistan ageeed to Maintain Peace along borders and minimize ceasefire violations during Visit of Umar Farooq Burk, DG of Pakistani Rangers to India.
  4277. Scientists discovered bones of a new ancestral species in human family tree named as Homonaledi in South Africa. The species has been classified in genus Homo to which modern humans belong.
  4278. Jharkhand Government approved formation of an Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in the state with 243 posts.
  4279. Septermber 10 -World Suicide Prevention Day. Theme for 2015 is Preventing Suicide: Reaching Out and Saving Lives.
  4280. US-based renewable energy firm SunEdison signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Tamil Nadu to develop 2 gigawatts (GW) of wind and solar power projects in the state in next five years with investment of 12000 - 14000 crore rupees.
  4281. Government approved 6 % hike in Dearness Allowance to Central Government employees, effective from 1 July 2015. DA will go up to 119 % from 113 %, while benefiting 50 lakh employees and 56 lakh pensioners.
  4282. 2015 Commonwealth Youth Games in Apia (capital of Samoa) -
    1. 1000 Atheletes from 63 Nations Participated in Nine Events.
    2. 25 Indian athletes partipating in eight disciplines.
  4283. Bollywood actor Anupam Kher has been conferred with Honoured Guest of Texas award for his contribution to cinema. He was also conferred with Senate Proclamation award by Texas State Senate. Besides, Houston state declared 7 August as Anupam Kher Day, after success of his show - My intention was not that.
  4284. Forbes Asias list of 40 philanthropists (who seeks welfare of others by donating money for good causes) -
    1. Includes a philanthropist from Nepal for first time - Binod Chaudhary. He is nepal's first billionaire and is rebuilding chains of Schools across Nepal after recent devastating earthquakes.
    2. The list has names of seven Indians - Infosys co-founders Senapathy Gopalakrishnan, Nandan Nilekani, SD Shibulal and NR Narayana Murthy (represented by son Rohan) , Sunny Varkey, Suresh Ramakrishnan and Mahesh Ramakrishnan.
  4285. Child Mortality Report 2015 (by World Health Organisation, United Nations Children's Fund, World Bank Group and Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA))
    1. Child (0-5 years) mortality rates in 2015 have came down to less than half of what they were in 1990. 12.7 million in 1990 to 5.9 million in 2015.
    2. In India, U5MR (Under 5 Mortality rate) declined to 91 in 2000 and 48 in 2015 as compared to 126 in 1990. UN Millennium Development Goal target is of 42.
  4286. Government approved guidelines for spectrum trading between two telecom service providers.
    1. Spectrum trading will now be allowed between two access service providers in 800 MHz/1800 MHz band. Till now, a licensee had the sole authority to use spectrum as it was not tradable.
    2. Spectrum assignment is made for 20 years to a licensee. During this period, some operators are able to acquire subscribers and grow faster as compared to other operators. It results in spectrum lying unutilised with some operators while others face crunch as spectrum is a scare resource.
    3. So, spectrum trading will improve quality of services and will address issue of call drops.
  4287. September 09 - Independence day of Tajikistan. It marks declaration of independence from Soviet Union in 1991.
  4288. India's Narcotics Control Bureau Organized South Asian Sub-Regional Drug Focal Point Meeting and Drug Demand Reduction (DDR) Expert Group Consultation in Delhi.
  4289. World Economic Forum released first Inclusive Growth and Development Report. The report seeks to improve usage of policy incentives and institutional mechanisms to make economic growth more socially inclusive.
  4290. Govrnment approved capital infusion of Rs. 800 Crore in Export Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank) to support future growth of the Bank.
  4291. Government approved National Offshore Wind Energy Policy by making Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) as Nodal Ministry for use of offshore areas within Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE) is authorized as Nodal Agency for development of offshore wind energy in India to carry out allocation of offshore wind energy blocks and allied functions with related agencies.
  4292. Government approved Sovereign Gold Bonds Scheme to reduce demand for physical gold by shifting a part of approx 300 tons of physical bars and coins purchased every year for Investment into gold bonds. As most of gold in India is imported, this scheme will help in maintaining Current Account Deficit in limits.
  4293. Government approved Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) up to 100 % under automatic route in activity of White Label ATM (WLA) Operations.
  4294. Government approved Revamped Gold Monetization Schemes as announced in 2015-16 budget speech - Gold Deposit Scheme (GDS) and Gold Metal Loan (GML) Scheme along with Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme.
    1. Gold Deposit Scheme -
      1. Objectives -
        1. Mobilize gold held by households and institutions in India.
        2. Help jewellery sector by making gold available as loan from banks.
        3. Reduce reliance on import of gold to meet huge domestic demand.
      2. Process -
        1. Customer may approach any of over 350 Purity Testing Centres (PTC) certified by BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) for testing of gold (minimum 30 grams).
        2. If customer allows, PTC will melt the Gold and customer may take the melted Gold home in form of Bars or may keep the Melted pure gold with a bank for monetization.
        3. If the customer wants to keep the gold with the bank, PTC will issue certificate to the customer and Bank will open a Gold Savings Account for the customer.
        4. Gold amount as in PTC's Certificate will then be credited into Customer's Gold Savings Account. Interest rate and Maturity Period (1 - 15 Years) will be decide upon. On maturity, customer will be paid Principal with Interest in form of Gold /Cash.
        5. The bank may keep the gold with itself or may keep it with any of certified Refiners. In both the cases, the customer won't be charged. Minimum Lock in period for gold deposits will be a Year.
        6. Utilization of Gold by Government - The deposited gold will be utilized in medium and long-term deposits, Auctioning, Replenishment of RBIs Gold Reserves and Lending to Jewelers. Government will create a Gold Reserve Fund to keep the difference between current borrowing cost for Government and interest rate paid by Government under the deposits. It will act as a pool for Government to handle losses occuring in the process.
    2. Gold Metal Loan Scheme
      1. Gold Metal Loan Account (denominated in grams of gold) will be opened by banks for jewelers to whom Gold is being provided as loan. Physical gold will be provided to jewellers on sanctioning of Loan. Interest will be received by banks from Jewellers accordingly. Tenure of GML at present is 180 days.
  4295. Government approved Amendment in First Schedule of Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951 to transfer authority to regulate 'potable alcohol' to States as recommended by Law Commission's 158th Report. It will end confusion about jurisdiction of Central and State with respect to Potable Alcohol and Industrial Alcohol.
  4296. Government approved creation of 21st Law Commission of India for 3 years (1 September 2015 - 31 August 2018). Last (20th) LCI was headed by Justice A P Shah and tenure ended on 31 August, 2015.
  4297. Government approved Preferential Treatment to Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in Trade in Services in WTO. India will provide Technical Assistance and capacity building and Waiver of visa fees for LDC applicants applying for Indian Business and Employment visas to win goodwill of LDCs. India's Duty Free Tariff Preference (DFTF) scheme has already done well in helping LDCs for doing Business in India.
  4298. Government launched Niryat Bandhu @ Your Desktop online certificate programme in export import business under Niryat Bandhu Scheme of Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) to train potential exporters for getting into international trade and boost India's exports.
  4299. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar commissioned Indian Navy's INS Vajrakosh naval station near Karwar in Karnataka.
  4300. Indirect Tax Revenue Collections increased to 2,63,089 crore during April-August 2015 from Rs.1,92,677 crore in April-August 2014 (27 % up).
    1. Central Excise collections increased from 60663 crore in April - August 2014 to 102945 crore in April - August 2015 (42 % up).
    2. Service Tax collections increased from 60693 crore in April - August 2014 to 75006 crore in April - August 2015 (20 % up).
    3. Customs collections increased from 70321 crore in April - August 2014 to 85138 crore in April - August 2015 (17.5 % up).
  4301. Director General of Safeguards recommended imposition of 20% safeguard duty on common variety of hot rolled coil steel for a period of 200 days to check losses to domestic steelmakeers due to sudden surge in steel imports in recent years.
  4302. Bangladesh Army Chief, Abu Belal Muhammad Shafiul Huq visited India.
  4303. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu visited Japan.
  4304. Minister for Trade and Investment of United Kingdom, Francis Maude visited India and met India's Minister of State (I/C) for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan.
  4305. Sep 08 - International Literacy Day. National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) launched nationwide e-payment literacy workshop on this occasion.
  4306. President Pranab Mukherjee presented Gandhi Peace Prize 2014 to Indian Space Research Organization.
  4307. Black Mamba Anti-Poaching Unit (APU) of South Africa has been selected for 2015 UNEP Champions of the Earth award in inspiration and action category for comabatting poaching and community led initiatives in protecting wildlife in Balule Private Game Reserve of South Africa.
  4308. Himachal Pradesh Government organised a three-day organic fair and food festival to promote organic farming in the state.
  4309. Maharashtra government decided to abolish Local Body Tax (LBT) on petrol and diesel to end disparity between fuel dealers and other traders.
  4310. Haryana Assembly passed Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2015 to amend the Haryana Panchayati Raj Act, 1994 and fix matriculation as minimum educational qualification for elections to Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs). Haryana became second state after Rajasthan to fix educational and other qualifications for candidates contesting Panchayat elections.
  4311. Yadvendradev V Jhala presented first ever data on India’s leopards. The research estimates leopard population to be around 12000 to 14000 in India. Max Number being in Madhya Pradesh (Over 1800).
  4312. Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley launched e-version of 100 volumes of Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi.
  4313. Indian shooter Apurvi Chandela won silver medal in womens 10m air rifle event of ISSF Rifle and Pistol World Cup Finals in Germany.
    1. 2015 ISSF World Cup is Annual Five stages shooting competition administered by International Shooting Sport Federation.
  4314. Anirban Lahiri became first Indian golfer to qualify for a Presidents Cup and will be part of International Team in 2015 championships to be held at Incheon in South Korea in October 2015.
  4315. Doha Bank tied up with Reliance ADA Group to generate business opportunities in Gulf Cooperation Council nations and India. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman are part of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
  4316. Global Waste Management Outlook by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and International Solid Waste Association (ISWA) estimates around 7 to 10 billion tonnes per annum being generated by urban areas across the globe.
  4317. Brij Raj Sharma has been appointed as Chief Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir.
  4318. Ramesh Chand is appointed as full time member of NITI Aayog.
  4319. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) appointed J Manjula as Director General (DG - Electronics & Communications Systems or ECS). She will be one of seven DG's, heading different clusters within DRDO. She is also first woman Director General of DRDO.
  4320. Vijaya Kamlesh Tahilramani is appointed as Chief Justice of Bombay High Court.
  4321. Competition Commission of India imposed penalty on Kerala Film Exhibitors Federation for indulging in anti-competitive activities.
  4322. Reserve Bank of India cancelled license of Sahara India Financial Corporation Limited (SIFCL) due to several irregularities and ignoring financial rules and regulations.
  4323. India sand Belarus set up a target of USD $ 1 billion by 2018 during Seventh Session of India-Belarus Intergovernmental Commission meet on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation. Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman attended on India's Behalf.
  4324. September 7 - Independence day of Brazil. It Marks declaration of independence from Portugal in 1822.
  4325. September 7 - Independence day of Swaziland. It Marks declaration of independence from United Kingdom in 1968.
  4326. Puducherry Government announced annual State Best Teachers Awards 2015. 20 teachers from four regions of the Union Territory were awarded in different categories on the occasion of Teacher's Day.
  4327. To the Brink and Back: India's 1991 Story has been written by Jairam Ramesh.
  4328. Thailand's Junta appointed reform council recected a controversial new constitution that had a provision of enabling a 23-member panel to take over government during a national crisis. This could delay return of democracy in Thailand projected for April 2017.
  4329. Indian Ambassador to Nepal, Ranjit Rae inaugurated renovated Bala Tripura Sundari Devi Temple at Tripurakot (Nepal) that was constructed with 3.3 Crore Nepali rupees support from India.
  4330. Andhra Pradesh government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) to increase employability of students in the state.
  4331. Government owned Telecom service provider Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) upgraded landline broadband speed to minimum 2Mbps at no additional cost for all broadband customers.
  4332. Sixth Joint Military Training Exercise between India and Maldives Armies called (EXERCISE EKUVRIN – VI) being held at Trivandrum, Kerala.
  4333. Abdullah Bin Khasim Bin Abdullah Al Raisi, Chief of Oman's Navy Visited India.
  4334. Russian Minister of Interior, Vladimir Kolokoltsev visited India.
  4335. PM Narendra Modi inaugurated Badarpur-Faridabad Metro Extension on Violet Line of Delhi Metro.
  4336. China and Pakistan launched Their joint air exercise Shaheen (Eagle)-4 in China.
  4337. Andhra Pradesh government launched e-Pragati as a comprehensive architecture for implementing e-governance and provide e-services to citizens. It is renaming adn advanced version of of AP State Enterprise Architecture (APSEA).
  4338. Government approved One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme for ex-servicemen -
    1. It will provide uniform pension to ex-servicemen of same rank and same length regardless of date of retirement.
    2. Pension will be re-fixed every five years.
    3. Armed forces personnel who retire voluntarily would be not covered.
    4. All arrears will be paid in four half-yearly installments and all widows will be paid arrears in one installment.
    5. Estimated cost for implementation of OROP would be around 10,000 crore rupees.
  4339. Australian Cricketer Shane Watson announced retirement from Test cricket.
  4340. Asian Boxing Championships 2015 in Bangkok (Thailand).
    1. India's Vikas Krishan won Silver while Shiva Thapa, Devendro Singh and Satish Kumar won bronze medals.
  4341. Lewis Hamilton (England) won Italian Grand Prix 2015 -
    1. 2015 Formula One season -
      1. Total 19 Grand Prix Races to be organized across the world in 2015. Calendar is -
        1. Grand Prix Date Winner
          Australia 15 March Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Malaysia 29 March Sebastian Vettel (Germany)
          China 12 April Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Baharain 19 April Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Spain 10 May Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Monaco 24 May Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Canada 7 June Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Austria 21 June Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Britain 5 July Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Hungary 26 July Sebastian Vettel (Germany)
          Belgium 23 August Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Italy 6 September Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Singapore 20 September
          Japan 27 September  
          Russia 11 October
          USA 25 October
          Mexico 1 November
          Brazil 15 November
          Abu Dhabi 29 November
      2. Trick for remembering recent F1 Races Winners so far (Based on data till Italian Grand Prix held on Sep 06, 2015) -
        1. Italy and all countries starting with A, B and C except Austria WON by Lewis Hamilton (England).
        2. Hungary and Malaysian Races have been Won by Sebastian Vettel (Germany) (remember - Sabastian was HUNGRY in MALAYSIA) :)
        3. All other races including Austria have been won by Nico Rosberg (Germany).
  4342. Vinod Dasari is appointed as President of Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).
  4343. Sep 05 - Indian National Teachers' Day. It marks birth date, of second President of India Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (5 September 1888).
    1. PM Narendra Modi released two commemorative coins of 125 rupees and 10 rupees in memory of former President Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.
  4344. PM Narendra Modi announced to develop Bodh Gaya (Bihar) site as spiritual capital for Buddhist world Describing its as land of enlightenment.
  4345. Maharashtra Government will train over 50,000 employees as part of its Key Result Area (KRA) programme to enhance their performance in competence with corporate sector.
  4346. G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors held in Ankara (Turkey). India's Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and RBI Governor Raghuram G Rajan attended on India's Behalf.
    1. G20 and OECD announced new governance principles for listed companies in all member countries to safeguard shareholders interests and promote capital market as a key platform to raise funds. Regulators and policymakers across the world (including SEBI in India) will update their regulations for listed firms in line with the new code.
    2. W20 grouping of women leaders launched in order to push for gender inclusive global economic growth across the globe.
  4347. Chandra Bahadur Dangi from Nepal, Recognised as world's shortest man (at 21.5 inches) by Guinness Book of Records, Passed Away.
  4348. Bollywood Music Composer Aadesh Shrivastava passed Away.
  4349. Levan Aronian of Armenia won Sinquefield Cup International Chess Tournament at St. Louis (USA). Norway's Magnus Carlsen is second while India's Vishwanathan Anand ended up at 9th Place.
  4350. Former Goa CM Dr Wilfred de Souza passes away.
  4351. Maharashtra Government will take ordinance route to amend Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities (MPDA) Act, 1981 to make Illegal sand mining has been made non - bailable offences.
  4352. Punjab Government won highest capacity addition in grid connected solar rooftop power in the country during the financial year 2014-15.
  4353. Ministry of Urban Development plans to develop Smart National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) model to enable seamless travel and shopping in metro areas (called EMV Open Loop Card with stored value).
  4354. Canadas economy fallen into a recession for first time after global financial crisis of 2009. Canada's GDP Growth Rate has been 0.5 % in April - June 2015 while it was 0.8 % in Jan - Mar 2015. Two consecutive negative quarters leads to recession.
  4355. India will launch Indonesia’s second multi-spectral remote sensing satellite LAPAN A2/Orari from Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) on September 27, 2015.
  4356. Indian-American author Jhumpa Lahiri (Nilanjana Sudesana) has been selected for 2014 National Humanities Medal of White House.
  4357. Ratan P Watal is appointed as Finance Secretary after replacing Rajiv Mehrishi.
  4358. Mumbai won Buchi Babu Memorial Trophy by defeating Tamil Nadu Cricket Association Districts (TNCA) XI.
  4359. The Duels of the Himalayan Eagle: The first Indo-Pak Air War (1-22 September 1965) has been written by Bharat Kumar.
  4360. Dinesh Kumar Likhi appointed as CMD of Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited.
  4361. Bihar Government decided to give 2 % reservation in government jobs to grand children of freedom fighters.
  4362. Allahabad High Court ordered Uttar Pradesh government to ensure flag hoisting ceremony of National Flag on Independence Day and Republic Day in all schools in the state and Madrasas.
  4363. NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar mission (NISAR) is a dedicated US and Indian mission for studying hazards and global environmental change.
  4364. Dasho Tshering Dorji, Foreign Secretary of Bhutan visited India for fourth India-Bhutan Development Cooperation Talks.
  4365. Russia dismissed France's proposal for asking United Nations Security Council (UNSC) permanent members to limit the use of veto power at least in cases involving mass atrocities (Torture) that demands action.
  4366. Government launched Indian Wind Resource Atlas at 100 metre level to help Governments in policy making to deal with issues related to tariff fixation, transmission, grade frequency.
  4367. Indian Government will launch global alliance on solar energy to be called as InSPA (International Agency for Solar Policy & Application). It's launch event will be attended by 107 countries located between tropic of cancer and tropic of capricorn. These are also called as sunshine countries as they receive high solar energy round the year.
    1. Indias leadership role in launch of this grouping is coincided with recent revision in target of Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM). Under the mission, India intends to reach production of 1 lakh MW of solar energy (increased from earlier terget of 20000 MW) by 2022 with an investment of 6 lakh crore rupees.
  4368. Llyod's City Risk Index 2015-2025 about expected loss to cities Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from various threats (Natural, Manmade and Emerging) -
    1. Index quantifies losses by using GDP@Risk methodology by taking into account 301 major cities across the globe and 18 major threats for 2015-2025.
    2. 301 cities together will see loss of 4.56 trillion USD out of total 372.56 trillion USD GDP during 2015-25.
    3. Taipei (Taiwan) topped the List with 181 billion USD Loss.
    4. Mumbai is Indian City expected to face maximum risk in India with 47 billion USD, Delhi Second with 44 Billion USD Risk.
  4369. L C Goyal has been appointed as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Indian Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO).
  4370. India won UNESCO prize ‘Award of Excellence 2015 for conservation efforts of Sree Vadakkunnathan Temple in Kerala.
  4371. Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports recognized Yoga as a sports discipline in Priority category. Also, sport of Fencing was upgraded from Others to General based on major past performance at international events.
  4372. South African city of Durban has been selected as host for 2022 Commonwealth Games. Games would be held from 18 to 30 July, 2022(opening on birth date of the late South African President Nelson Mandela).
  4373. NASA and US Agency for International Development (USAID) started SERVIR-Mekong project, to strengthen environmental monitoring in Southeast Asia's Five 5 countries of Mekong River Basin - Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam (called as rice bowl of Asia).
  4374. A K Jha has been appointed as interim Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) of National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC).
  4375. Snapdeal acquired Silicon Valley-based startup Reduce Data, a programmatic display advertising platform.
  4376. National Stock Exahcnge signed a memorandum of understanding with Stock Exchange of Mauritius (SEM) to facilitate co-operation between the two exchanges.
  4377. Swiss Engineering Company ABB appointed Bazmi Husain as global chief technology officer.
  4378. ICICI Lombard General Insurance tied up with Catholic Syrian Bank (CSB) for sale of Insurance products through Over 430 branches of Kerala Based Catholic Syrian Bank.
  4379. Disaster Mitigation conference of member counties of South Asian Association on Regional Cooperation (SAARC) held in New Delhi.
  4380. Reserve Bank of India will issue coins of 5 rupees denomination to commemorate golden jubilee (50th) year of Indo-Pak War 1965.
  4381. Haryana Government won Skoch Order-of-Merit national award for e-Governance and IT initiatives in state. Haryana Government notified 163 e-Governance services to be delivered to citizens at their doorsteps to provide time-bound services.
  4382. Punjab Government established a special MGNREGA cell to coordinate effective implementation of National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in the state.
  4383. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) bought 15 % stake in Russia’s second-largest oil firm Rosneft for about 1.35 billion USD.
  4384. Government cancelled licence of Greenpeace India, a non-profit Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) for mixing foreign and domestic funds and not disclosing the movement of its funds.
  4385. Sep 2 - Independence day of Vietnam - It Marks declaration of independence from France and Japan in 1945.
  4386. Air Marshal SB Deo is appointed as new chief of Western Air Command of Indian Air Force.
  4387. India's National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) will organize South Asian Annual Disaster Management Exercise (SAADMEx-2015) in November 2015.
  4388. West-Central Railway (headquartered in Jabalpur) become first Indian Railway Zone to eliminate all unmanned level crossings.
    1. Indian Railways has total 30,348 level crossings, out of which 11,563 (40 %) are unmanned.
  4389. Chandrika Kumaratunga Bhandaranaike (Former President of Sri Lanka) Visited India.
  4390. Foreign Minister of UAE, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan visited India for 11th meeting of India-UAE Joint Commission For Economic and Technical Cooperation.
  4391. Government decided to close Indian Peoples Natural Calamity Trust (IPNCT) created by former Ruler of Jaipur in 1900 to provide relief to Indian people during natural calamities. The task is currently administered efficienctly by National Disaster Management Authority in Ministry of Home Affairs.
  4392. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley visited Ankara (Turkey) to attend G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meetings on 4th and 5th September 2015. He will also participate in Joint meeting of G-20 Finance and Labour Ministers and First Meeting of Governing Council of BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA).
  4393. Girish Shankar is appointed as Secretary in Department of Official Language of Ministry of Home Affairs.
  4394. Minister of Mines & Steel Shri Narendra Singh Tomar attended Asia Pacific Mining Exhibition (AIMEX) 2015 in sydney (Australia).
  4395. INS Trikand Visited United Kingdom to participate in Annual Indo-UK Navy Execrise Konkan.
  4396. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) declared State Bank of India (SBI) and ICICI Bank as Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs).
  4397. Government released 2,000 crore rupees to Employees Pension Scheme (EPS) (1995) as its contribution for 2015-16. This contribution is in addition to 250 crore rupees contributed by government as grant-in-aid in order to provide minimum pension of 1,000 rupees to pensioners under the scheme.
  4398. Highest mountain of North America - Mt McKinley (USA) has been renamed as Denali.
  4399. Indian-Australian Tejinder Pal Singh has been named as Australian of the Day by Commonwealth Bank for feeding homeless in Darwin for past three years.
  4400. Sep 1 - Independence day of Uzbekistan. It marks declaration of independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
  4401. Book 30 Women in Power has been written by Naina Lal Kidwai (India's Country head of HSBC India).
  4402. Mogens Lykketoft (Denmark) visited India. He is President-elect of 70th Session of United Nations General Assembly.
  4403. Committee headed by A.P. Shah recommended to amend section 115JB of Income-tax Act to clarify the inapplicability of MAT (Minimum Alternate Tax) provisions to FIIs/FPIs for period prior to 01.04.2015.
  4404. Anjuly Chib Duggal is appointed as Secretary in Department of Financial Services of Finance Ministry.
  4405. Hasmukh Adhia is appointed as Revenue Secretary in Ministry of Finance.
  4406. India joined UN-based Better Than Cash Alliance for Digitization of Payments and promote financial inclusion programme Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY). Under PMJDY, in one year, over 18 crore bank accounts were opened with deposits over $3.4 billion.
  4407. Shaktikanta Das is appointed as Secretary in Department of Economic Affairs of Ministry of Finance.
  4408. Pravir Kumar is appointed as Secretary in Inter-State Council Secretariat.
  4409. Government approved 20% hike in honorarium paid to workers of Grih Kalyan Kendra (GKK), a welfare society under Department of Personnel & Training for welfare of central government employees in lower income groups.
  4410. Railways launched Freight Monitoring App ‘Parichaalan’ developed by CRIS to improve operating efficiency through better planning freight operations on real time basis.
  4411. Book Globalisation, Democratization and Distributive Justice has been authored by Mool Chand Sharma.
  4412. Australian Minister of Defence Kevin Andrews Visited India.
  4413. Indias economy grew at 7% in first quarter of 2015-16 (April to June 2015) as compared to 7.5% Growth Rate in Last quarter of 2014-15 (January to March 2015) as measured at market prices. Another measure - Gross value added (GVA) at basic prices showed economic growth accelerated to 7.1% in April-June against 6.1% in January-March 2015.
    1. GDP at market prices is estimated by adding net indirect taxes to GVA at basic prices.
    2. Net indirect taxes is computed by deducting subsidies from gross indirect taxes on products.
  4414. Government approved merger of commodities market regulator Forward Markets Commission (FMC) with SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) with effect from September 28, 2015. Forward Contracts Regulation Act (FCRA) 1952 has been repealed (Cancelled) and Regulation of Commodity Derivatives Market will shift to SEBI under Securities Contracts Regulation Act (SCRA).
  4415. Sep 30 - International Translation Day. Theme for 2015 is Changing Face of Translation and Interpreting.
  4416. Cardiology Society of India report on cardiovascular diseases (those involving heart or blood vessels) -
    1. CVD accounted for around 30 % for all deaths in the country in 2014.
    2. Over 33 % Indians have hypertension, of which 60 % people are even unaware. 25 % people between age group of 31-45 years suffer from undetected hypertension. Widespread ignorance about risk of heart disease indicates need to raise awareness among people.
  4417. Jayant Prasad is appointed as Director General of Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses.
  4418. Book Hungry Bengal. War, Famine, Riots and the End of Empire has been written by Janam Mukherjee.
  4419. 21st meeting of Western Zonal Council held at Panaji (Goa), chaired by Home Minister Rajnath Singh.
  4420. First-ever US-India-Japan Trilateral Ministerial dialogue held in New York. Attended by  Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj.
  4421. Social justice and empowerment minister Thaawar Chand Gehlot launched Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan) that focuses on building accessible government buildings for persons with disabilities).
  4422. 17th All-India Government Whips Conference held in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
  4423. Indian-American Kartik Chandran at Columbia Engineering has been named as a 2015 MacArthur Fellow, along with grant of 625000 USD for working on a novel for world's need for food, clean water and energy.
  4424. London based Financial Times released Foreign Direct Investment data for January - June 2015 -
    1. India in first half of 2015 surpassed China to emerge as most-favoured destination for FDI.
    2. India received 31 billion USD FDI inflows while China is second with 28 billion USD and USA Third with 27 billion USD.
    3. India's FDI Inflows in First Half of 2015, 36 Billion USD are significantly higher than 12 billion USD in first half of 2014. In 2014 India was ranked fifth after China, US, UK and Mexico.
  4425. Praveen Dixit is appointed as Maharashtra's Director General of Police (DGP).
  4426. Maharashtra government declared 2017 as Visit Maharashtra Year to promote tourism.
  4427. Scientists of Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad developed nano-particle-based drug delivery method to fight fungal keratitis.
  4428. NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) provided strong evidence of liquid water flowing on Marsin form of hydrated minerals on slopes. These darkish streaks appear to flow during warm seasons, and then fade in cooler seasons, known as Recurring Slope Lineae (RSL).
  4429. Sep 29 - World Heart Day. Theme for 2015 is Creating heart-healthy environments.
  4430. Joint Army Exercise of India and Sri Lanka - MITRA SHAKTI 2015 began in Pune (Maharashtra).
  4431. Noted Hindi poet Viren Dangwal passed away.
  4432. M.R. Poovamma (Athletics ) and Babita Kumari (Wrestling) have been conferred with Arjuna Award 2015.
  4433. Neelesh Garg is appointed MD & CEO of Tata AIG General Insurance.
  4434. Admiral Sanjay Mahindru is appointed as Flag Officer Submarines.
  4435. First conference on contemporary relevance of Bhagvad Gita held in London(UK).
  4436. World Bank released report Leveraging Urbanisation in South Asia: Managing Spatial Transformation for Prosperity and Livability about diagnostic analysis of urbanization and economic trends in South Asia -
    1. South Asias urban population grew by 13 crore between 2001 and 2011.
    2. Over 13 crore people are living in poor quality housing with lack of basic services.
    3. 800 billion USD should be invested by 2050 in development of infrastructure with need of 20.3 crore housing units.
    4. In India, 13.7 % urban population live below poverty line.Delhis air pollution (PM 2.5 concentration) is thrice to that in Beijing (China), therefore delhi is worlds most air polluted city.
  4437. Nepal enforced an odd-even licence plate system for plying of vehicles on alternate days, in view of shortage of Fuel. With this, drivers are permitted on the roads only on alternate days.
  4438. Neyveli Lignite Corporation set up a 10 MW solar power plant as its first renewable energy project.
  4439. India Based Wipro has been selected as member of global Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) 2015 for the 6th consecutive year among total of 317 companies selected.
  4440. Delhi High Court agreed to hear a PIL that challenges constitutional validity of Article 370 of Constitution of India that deals with the special status of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K).
  4441. Gujarat High Court ruled that Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA) 2006 will also apply to Muslim community.
  4442. Supreme Court directed Arunachal Pradesh Government to grant citizenship to Chakma-Hajong refugees within 3 months, who migrated to India from Bangladesh in 1964-69.
  4443. Sep 28 - Birth Anniversary of Legendary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh.
  4444. Sep 28 - Birth Anniversary of noted Singer Lata Mangeshkar.
  4445. China will establish an assistance fund of $2 billion USD to assist developing countries in implementing UN global sustainable development agenda over the next 15 years.
  4446. Volkswagen surpassed Toyota to become biggest automaker by deliveries in first half of 2015.
  4447. S K Sharma has been appointed as Chairman of Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB).
  4448. Mathematician Jacob Tsimerman from Canada has been chosen for 2015 SASTRA Ramanujan Prize for his research work in field of Number Theory and surrounding topics.
  4449. Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions constituted a committee under B S Baswan to revisit the civil services examination pattern.
  4450. Britain awarded Indo-British van driver Dee Patel with Pride of Britain Award for risking his life to save others.
  4451. As per a statement by Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu, World Bank will provide aid of $30 billion to Railways for completing ongoing infrastructural projects.
  4452. Government appointed Satwat Jagwani, Krati Tiwari, Ankit Fadia and Pranav Mistry as Brand Ambassadors for Digital India Programme.
  4453. Minister of State (IC) for Coal, Power and New and Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal launched Access to Clean Cooking Energy and Electricity - Survey of States (ACCESS) Report by Council on Energy, Environment & Water (CEEW) in collaboration with Columbia University. It highlights that about 30 crore Indians rely on kerosene for lighting, and over 80 crore rely on traditional biomass and need is to focus beyond electrification and LPG connections for more inclusive energy access for all.
  4454. Anup K. Pujari has been appointed as Secretary in Ministry of Steel. He is currently also secretary in Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises .
  4455. Anoop Kumar Srivastava is appointed as Secretary in Inter State Council Secretariat.
  4456. Ameising Luikham is appointed as Secretary in Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region.
  4457. P.K. Malhotra is appointed as Secretary in Legislative Department.
  4458. Sanjay Kumar Srivastava is appointed as Chairman of National Authority for Chemical Weapons.
  4459. Reliance Defence signed Memorandum of Understanding with United Arab Emirates Defence Industries Company (EDIC) to boost partnership between both countries for defence technology development.
  4460. FMC (Forward Markets Commission) has been merged with much bigger capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to create a unified regulatory body. Aim is to streamline regulations and curb wild speculations in commodities market.
  4461. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain won 2015 Japanese Grand Prix of Formula One.
    1. 2015 Formula One season -
      1. Total 19 Grand Prix Races to be organized across the world in 2015. Calendar is -
        1. Grand Prix Date Winner
          Australia 15 March Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Malaysia 29 March Sebastian Vettel (Germany)
          China 12 April Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Baharain 19 April Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Spain 10 May Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Monaco 24 May Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Canada 7 June Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Austria 21 June Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Britain 5 July Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Hungary 26 July Sebastian Vettel (Germany)
          Belgium 23 August Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Italy 6 September Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Singapore 20 September Sebastian Vettel (Germany)
          Japan 27 September   Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Russia 11 October
          USA 25 October
          Mexico 1 November
          Brazil 15 November
          Abu Dhabi 29 November
  4462. Sep 27 - World Tourism Day (Announced by United Nations World Tourism Organization in 1980). Theme for 2015 is One Billion Tourists, One Billion Opportunities. Indian Ministry of Tourism launched new initiatives on World Tourism Day Including -
    1. Medical and Wellness Tourism Board formed with corpus of 2 crores to tap potential in field of medical and wellness tourism.
    2. Tourism Vision Document 2030 released by Experience India Society and prepared by KPMG to look into challenges for tourism sector.
  4463. India signed a loan of US $ 123.51 million with Asian Development Bank (ADB) for Infrastructure Development Investment Program for upgrading tourism in Punjab, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.
  4464. Minister of Railways Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu launched Indian Railway Knowledge Portal developed by National Academy of Indian Railways (Vadodara ) at url www.kportal.indianrailways.gov.in, that has aggregated most of available knowledge about Indian Railways at one location.
  4465. Spanish Minister of State for Defence Pedro Arguelles Salaverria visited India.
  4466. Minister of State for Culture (IC), Tourism (IC) and Civil Aviation, Mahesh Sharma launched NOC Online Application Portal and Processing System (NOAPS) for National Monument Authority (NMA) under Ministry of Culture.
  4467. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar laid foundation stone of Bharat Electronics Limited's Defence Systems Integration Complex in Andhra Pradesh.
  4468. RBI Announced cut of 50 Basis Points in Monetary Policy Rates - Repo Rate, Reverse Repo Rate, Bank Rate and Marginal Standing Facility Rates in 4th Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement 2015-16. New rates are -
    1. Bank Rate - 7.75 %
    2. Repo Rate - 6.75 %
    3. Reverse Repo Rate - 5.75 %
    4. Marginal Standing Facility - 7.75 %
  4469. HRD Minister Smriti Irani Launched National Institutional Ranking Framework ( NIRF) Document and Webportal for enabling ranking of institutions on the basis of a various parameters.
  4470. Minister of Road Transport & Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari launched Green Highways Policy aimed at promoting greening of Highways with public participation. 1% of total project cost of all highways projects will be kept aside for highway plantation,.ammounting to Rs. 1000 crore annual budget. Monitoring will be done by ISRO's Bhuvan and GAGAN satellite systems.
  4471. Abhinav Bindra won gold in 10m Air Rifle event in Asian Air Gun Championships (New Delhi). Gurpreet Singh won silver medal.
  4472. Warship INS Kochi commissioned by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar as second ship of Kolkata-class (Project 15A) Guided Missile Destroyers. It has been constructed by Mazagon Dock, Mumbai.
  4473. India's Pankaj Advani won his 14th World Billiards' Titlle by defeating Australia's Peter Gilchrist.
  4474. 4th International Tourism Mart for North East India will be held at Gangtok (Sikkim) Oct 14-16, 2015.
  4475. Government released commemorative postal stamp on Dr BR Ambedkar.
  4476. England's Cricketer Frank Tyson known as Typhoon passed away.
  4477. Ministry of environment and forests has approved 5,465-crore fertiliser plant in Ramagundam, Telangana called Ramagundam Fertilizers and Chemicals Limited. It is joint venture of National Fertilizers Limited, Engineers India Limited and Fertilizer Corporation of India.
  4478. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Migration Outlook 2015. Highlights -
    1. Immigration flows are rising in most OECD countries with 4.3 million immigrants to OECD in 2014.
    2. USA is at top in number of received immigrants, Germany is second.
    3. 10 % immigrants to OECD countries are chinese is Chinese and 4.4 % are Indians.
    4. About OECD -
      1. OECD is an international economic organisation of 34 countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade. Jose Angel Gurria is current secretary general with Secretariat in Paris (France).
  4479. Martin Winterkorn, CEO of Volkswagen automobiles resigned.
  4480. PM Narendra Modi visited USA -
    1. Attended G-4 Summit in New York City. G - 4 Consists of India, Brazil, Germany and Japan.
    2. Visited Tesla Motors, Met Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
    3. Met IT CEOs in San Jose Including Tim Cook (Apple), Satya Nadella (Microsoft) Sundar Pichai (Google) Shantanu Narayen (Adobe) Paul Jacobs (Qualcomm) and John Chambers (CISCO).
    4. Google announced its plans to deploy Wi-Fi spots at 500 railway stations across India while Microsoft will assist in expanding National Optical Fibre Network to take broadband to 600,000 villages.
    5. Met Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to discuss Digital India Campaign.
    6. Attended Leaders Summit on Peacekeeping at UN headquarters in New York.
  4481. Bengaluru (Karnataka) will host 3-day Northeast Festival from 6th - 8th November 2015.
  4482. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has announced Award for S&T Innovations for Rural Development (CAIRD) - 2014 to Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP - Lucknow).
  4483. Manipur Governor Syed Ahmed passed away.
  4484. V. Shanmuganathan has been appointed as Governor of Manipur upon demise of former governor Syed Ahmed. V. Shanmuganathan is also Governor of Meghalaya.
  4485. ISRO launched ASTROSAT Multi Wavelength Space Observatory along with six foreign customer satellites through PSLV C-30 Launch Vehicle. This was thirtieth consecutive successful launch for PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle ). Seven satellites carried by PSLV-C30 weighed about 1631 kg at lift-off.
  4486. Secretary in Department of Telecommunications and Chairman of Indias Telecom Export Promotion Council - Rakesh Garg Visited Kenya for 1st Indo-Africa ICT Expo in Nairobi.
  4487. German auto maker Volkswagen has appointed Matthias Mueller as its new chief executive officer (CEO), after Martin Winterkorn resigned.
  4488. SEBI provisioned fine of Minimum Rs. 50000 for companies without a woman director on board.
  4489. Shivinder Mohan Singh resigned as executive vice-chairman of Fortis Healthcare.
  4490. 193-Member United Nations General Assembly adopted Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development document as set of new Global Goals (17 Goals and 169 Specific Targets). These will replace Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), that were adopted in September 2000. The implementation of these goals will cost approx 42 - 48 Trillion USD till 2030. The Goals are -
    1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
    2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
    3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
    4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
    5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
    6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
    7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
    8. Sustained and inclusive economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
    9. Resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
    10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
    11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
    12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
    13. Urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts*
    14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
    15. Sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems and halt and reverse land degradation
    16. Peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.
    17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development
  4491. Bajaj Auto launched RE60 quadricycle named Qute at a free-on-board (FoB) cost of 1.35 lakh).
  4492. Facebook announced partnerships with Internet Service Providers in India to launch wi-fi enabled broadband services in rural areas Called Wi-Fi Express,  as part of Facebooks Internet.org platform.
  4493. Guangzhou International Women's Open 2015 -
    1. Singles - Jelena Janković (Serbia) won by defeatin g Czech Republic's Denisa Allertova.
    2. Doubles - Indo-Swiss Pair of Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis won by defeating Xu Shilin and You Xiaodi.
  4494. Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of World Bank, Mulyani Indrawati visited India.
  4495. Government will Provide Special Assistance of Rs. 1000 crore to Andhra Pradesh Including Rs.350 crore for Development of 7 Backward Districts.
  4496. Sourav Ganguly has been appointed as President of Cricket Association of Bengal.
  4497. European Union imposed anti-dumping duty up to 31.2 % on importin Indian sewage and water steel pipes.
  4498. Syndicate Bank, lead bank for Karnataka's Dakshina Kannada District will organize MUDRA credit camp for those setting up micro unit /small business units.
  4499. Home Minister Rajnath Singh released graphic depicting courage and sacrifice of CRPF personnel during battle of Sardar Post, Rann of Kutch in 1965 lndo-Pak War.
    1. On 9 April 1965, at Sardar Post in Rann of Kutch, two companies of CRPF battled full-fledged Pakistani Brigade, causing heavy casualties to Pakistani Army.
  4500. Australia announced package of 70 million USD to tackle rising domestic violence in the country.
  4501. SEBI imposed penalty of 7269.5 crore rupees on property developer PACL Ltd for not registering company's collective investment scheme that collected thousands of crores from small investors.
  4502. Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission notified installation of net metering system of rooftop photo voltaic (PV) solar power units, To promote green power in state.
  4503. Navtej Sarna is appointed as India's High Commissioner to United Kingdom.
  4504. Gautam Bambawale will be India's new High Commissioner to Pakistan, succeeding TCA Raghavan.
  4505. Syed Akbaruddin will be India's new Permanent Representative to United Nations, replacing Asoke Mukerji.
  4506. Vijay Gokhale is appointed as new Ambasador to China.
  4507. Anil Wadhwa will be new Ambassador to Italy.
  4508. Pankaj Saran will be India's new Ambassador to Russia.
  4509. Harsh V Shringla will be India's High Commissioner to Bangladesh.
  4510. Sujan Chinoy will be new Indian Ambassador to Japan.
  4511. Indian film Angry Indian Goddesses won first runner-up at 40th Toronto International Film Festival.
  4512. Sep 2 - World Coconut Day. Theme for 2015 is Coconut for Family Nutrition, Health and Wellness.
  4513. Sep 12 - World First Aid Day.
  4514. Sep 24 - World Maritime Day.
  4515. August 31 - Independence Day of Trinidad and Tobago. It marks independence from United Kingdom in 1962.
  4516. August 31 - Independence Day of Malaysia. It marks independence from United Kingdom in 1957.
  4517. August 31 - Independence Day of Kyrgyzstan. It marks independence from USSR in 1991.
  4518. PM Narendra Modi released digital version of Ramcharitmanas as a set of digital CDs produced by All India Radio.
  4519. Rajiv Mehrishi has been appointed as Union Home Secretary of India replacing L.C.Goyal.
  4520. Sunil Arora has been appointed as Secretary in Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.
  4521. Minister of Steel & Mines, Narendra Singh Tomar Visited Australia to Attend ‘AIMEX- 2015 to Be Held During 1st to 4th September, 2015 at Sydney. AIMEX Stands for - Asia Pacifics International Mining Exhibition.
  4522. K. Vijay Raghavan is appointed as Secretary in Ministry of Earth Sciences.
  4523. Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences Harsh Vardhan launched web enabled project management information system for Department of Biotechnology (DBT) projects at URL http://dbtepromis.nic.in. It will help registration of new investigators, online submission of proposals and Online tracking of projects.
  4524. United States International Trade Commission (USITC) extended the anti-dumping duty on preserved mushrooms from Chile, China, India, and Indonesia for another five years after it found that revoking anti-dumping duty orders would lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury.
  4525. Mountaineer Jot Singh of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) has been honoured with Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award 2014-15.
  4526. Indian Bank launched IndPay mobile app service to enables its customers to operate bank accounts anytime from anywhere.
  4527. Housing ministry identified 305 cities in nine states to build houses for poor in urban areas by 2022 for two crore families in economically weaker section (EWS).
  4528. HDFC Bank slashed its base rate (the minimum rate at which banks lend) by 0.35 % to 9.35 %.
  4529. 15th IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) World Championships in Athletics Beijing (China)
    1. 1933 Atheletes from 206 countries particpiated in 47 Events.
    2. Kenya topped the medal tally for the first time, Followed by Jamaica on second and USA at Third.
    3. Host China was 11th. Russia, the overall winner of 2013 ended at 9th place.
    4. India stayed at 65th place in overall medal tally with no medals won. However, India's Lalita Babar finished eighth in 3000m steeplechase (Obstacle) event and earned one point for India. This one point gave india 65th place in medal tally.
      1. India has won only 2 medals in all 15 Athletics world championships held so far. Both by long jumper Anju Bobby George. One bronze was won by her in 2003 championships in Paris and one gold medal in 2005 championships in Monaco.
    5. Usain Bolt (Jamaica) won 3 golds in 100m and 200m events and as a part of 4*400m relay.
    6. Next (16th) IAAF world Athletics Championships will be held in London in 2017.
    7. Medal Tally Top 10 Countries -
      Country Gold Silver Bronze Total
      Kenya 7 6 3 16
      Jamaica 7 2 3 12
      USA 6 6 6 18
      Great Britain 4 1 2 7
      Ethiopia 3 3 2 8
      Poland 3 1 4 8
      Canada 2 3 3 8
      Germany 2 3 3 8
      Russia 2 1 1 4
      Cuba 2 1 0 3
  4530. Government launched a SAHAJ scheme for online release of new LPG connections.
  4531. Indian wrestlers won Two medals at Cadet Wrestling World Championships at SARAJEVO (Bosnia and Herzegovina). Anil won gold medal in the 50 kg freestyle and Ankush won silver in 38 kg women freestyle.
  4532. August 29 - India's National Sports Day - It marks birthday of Legendary Hockey Player Dhyan Chand who won Olympic gold medals for India in year 1928,1932 and 1936.
  4533. National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) generated its highest single-day electricity generation of over 733 million units through its 18 coal-based, 8 solar and hydro and 7 gas-based power Plants.
  4534. Indian womens hockey team qualified for Rio Olympics 2016 after 36 years as India took the quota place on the basis of its fifth-place finish in womens Hockey World League Semifinals in Belgium.
  4535. Indian Navy Ships - Betwa and Beas Visited Iran while Trikand visited Spain.
  4536. Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting - Rajyavardhan Rathore visited Zimbabwe.
  4537. Law Commission of India (Headed by Ajit Prakash Shah) submitted its Report No. 261 on Need to Regulate Pet Shops and Dog and Aquarium Fish Breeding by stating that pet shops and breeders violate provisions of animal welfare laws with impunity, and it is necessary to regulate their practices.
  4538. Government Launched first lecture award in honour of M.G.K. Menon, renowned Physicist who has contributed to development of science and technology in India. One of his contributions is nurturing the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (Mumbai) that his mentor Homi J. Bhabha founded in 1945.
  4539. South African Cricketer AB de Villiers became fastest batsman to reach 8000 One Day International runs in 182 innings. He broke previous record of Indian Sourav Ganguly who took 200 innings for the same.
  4540. NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Arvind Panagariya launched second version of India Energy Security Scenarios 2047 (IESS 2047) as an open source web based tool aims to explore range of potential future energy scenarios for India.
  4541. Reliance Communications sigend an agreement with USA's Jasper Technologies to offer Internet of Things (IoT) services in India.
    1. IoT is a network of internet connected devices with electronic sensors like cars, power systems and even tooth brushes. Data from IOT Devices will be transmitted to other devices and data processing systems and information generated will be used by companies and individuals to make better decisions. There will be over 100 billion IoT based devices in world by 2025.
  4542. Telangana Government appointed Kandakatla Manohar as Director of Nizams Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) (Hyderabad).
  4543. Air India won Guru Tegh Bahadur Hockey title by defeating Army XI 3-1.
  4544. Thiru Onam (Thiruvonam) festival celebrated acrossKerala, marking birthday of Sri Padmanabham, the presiding deity of Thiruvananthapuram.
  4545. Vassiliki Thanou has been appointed as Greece's First female prime minister. She will lead the country till elections to be held on 20 September.
  4546. NDMC (North Delhi Municipal Corporation) will rename Aurangzeb road in Delhi as APJ Abdul Kalam road.
  4547. Rajiv Mangla has been appointed as Chief Technology Officer of e-Commerce firm Snapdeal.
  4548. Government approved six 6 Special Economic Zones (SEZs) proposals including HCL IT City Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), Loma IT Park in Mumbai (Maharashtra) and North Mumbai International Commodity Township in Thane (Maharashtra). SEZs do about 25 % of the Indias total exports.
  4549. Indian agricultural scientist Modadugu Vijay Gupta has been chosen for inaugural Sunhak Peace Prize for his work in developing sustainable aquaculture as a solution to future food crisis (Blue revolution). He will share this awards with Kiribati's president Anote Tong.
  4550. Government launched e-payment module to make payments into Compensatory Afforestation Management Planning Authority (CAMPA) Funds to make payments for diversion of forest land more transparent. The e-payment module has designated accounts for States in which forest land is to be diverted.
  4551. Footballer Lionel Messi (Argentina) has been voted as UEFA's Best season Player in a Europe-wide poll.
  4552. Maharashtra government bought Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar's house in London where he stayed in 1920s in 3.1 million pounds deal.
  4553. India lost case against USA at World Trade Organisation 's Dispute Settlement Body related to Indias requirement of only domestic solar equipments for its Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission. USA complained against India's JNNSM that favoured to use made in India solar equipments by stating that its is against trade norms as US Companies are looking at JNNSM as a big business potential. Earlier in June 2015, WTO ruled against Indias ban on import of poultry meat, eggs and live pigs from USA.
  4554. President of Seychelles, James Alix Michel visited India.
  4555. Ministry of Civil Aviation and ASSOCHAM organized 8th International Conference on Indian Civil Aviation & Tourism in New Delhi.
  4556. Google developed The Google Cultural Institute as an initiative to make Indias heritage accessible for global audiences and to preserve it digitally for generations to come.
  4557. DRDO has tied up with Patanjali Ayurved for marketing of highly nutritional Seabuckthorn based products created by Defence Institute of High Altitude Research (DIHAR).
  4558. 20th Law Commission of India (Headed by Ajit Prakash Shah) submitted its Reports Number - 258, 259 and 260.
    1. Report Number 258 - It is about Prevention of Bribery of Foreign Public Officials and Officials of Public International Organisations. It proposes to introduce Prevention of Bribery of Foreign Public Officials and Officials of Public International Organisations Bill, 2015 in the Parliament aimed at forming framework for offences against foreign Publis officials.
    2. Report Number 259 - It is about Early Childhood Development and Legal Entitlements. It suggests several constitutional amendments to make sure proper education and care for children under 6 years age.
      1. Article 24A be inserted to Part III of Constitution to make child’s right to basic care and assistance becomes an enforceable right.
      2. Article 21A of Constitution should be amended to extend right to education to children in under-6 age group as well
      3. Article 51 A(k) should be amended so that fundamental duty of parents to provide education is placed on every citizen
      4. Section 11 of Right to Education Act should be made mandatory that enforces Government to make arrangements for providing free pre-school education to children between age of 3 - 6 Years.
    3. Report Number 260 -It is about Analysis of the 2015 Draft Model Indian Bilateral Investment Treaty. It presents views to assist Government of India in achieving a balanced negotiating text that takes into consideration protection of Indian investors investing abroad and also safeguards regulatory powers of India.
  4559. Government granted 800 crores under Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gram Jyoti Yojana to Karnataka for setting up feeder line to provide 24 hours quality power supply to farmers.
  4560. Tennis star Novak Djokovic (Serbia) has been made new goodwill ambassador for United Nations Children's Fund, (UNICEF).
  4561. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) D6 that carried India's latest communication satellite GSAT-6. It is second for the ISRO scientists by using indigenously made cryogenic stage launch of GSLV-D5. ISRO is sixth space agency in world after US, Russia, Japan, China and France to have indigenous cryogenic engine crucial for launching heavier satellites of over two tonnes.
  4562. Government extended tenure of 7th Central Pay Commission headed by Justice Ashok Kumar Mathur for 4 months extension (up to 31 December 2015).
  4563. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Kazakhstan signed an agreement to create world's first internationally-controlled bank of low-enriched uranium to ensure fuel supplies IAEA Member nations and prevent nuclear proliferation.
  4564. Former Crieketer Dilip Vengsarkar has been elected as president of Association of Indian Statisticians and scorers of India.
  4565. Wealth-X report on Top 20 Wealthiest People Under 35 -
    1. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is wealthiest under 35 with personal worth 41.6 billion USD.
    2. Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz is second with net worth of 9.3 billion USD. Huiyan Yang (China) is third with net worth 5.9 billion USD.
    3. 11 of world’s top 20 wealthiest individuals under 35 are from USA, 3 from China and 3 from Switzerland.
    4. Youngest individual on list is Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel (25 years) with net worth 1.9 billion USD.
    5. No Indian is featured on the list.
    6. The top 10 are -

      Rank

      Individual

      Company

      Net Worth

      1

      Mark Zuckerberg

      Facebook Inc

      41.6 billion USD

      2

      Dustin Moskovitz

      Asana

      9.3 billion USD

      3

      Huiyan Yang

      Country Garden Holdings

      5.9 billion USD

      4

      Eduardo Saverin

      99

      5.3 billion USD

      5

      Scott Daniel Duncan

      Enterprise Products Partners

      5.0 billion USD

      6

      Elizabeth A Holmes

      Theranos

      4.5 billion USD

      7

      Nathan Blecharczyk

      AIRBNB

      3 billion USD

      8

      Brian Chesky

      AIRBNB

      3 billion USD

      9

      Joe Gebbia

      AIRBNB

      3 billion USD

      10

      Thomas Persson

      Hennes & Mauritz

      2.7 billion USD

  4566. Kolkata Port Trust has been named as Major Port of Year 2014-15 at the Gateway Awards 2015 for its growth rate in volumes, capacity utilization and customer satisfaction. Kolkata Dock System and Haldia Dock System under Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) together achieved traffic growth of 23 %, while all other major ports together recorded growth of 5.8 %.
  4567. Three Indians - Pradeep Goyal, Vivekanand Kain, and Gankidi Madhusudhan Reddy and Three Indian Origin Persons - Pranesh Aswath, Suveen Mathaudhu and Muthukumarasamy Sadayappan have been named among 29 Fellows of American Society for Metals (ASM) 2015.
  4568. Rajendra Singh (Quoted as Waterman of India) has been conferred with 2015 Stockholm Water Prize for his water restoration efforts to defeat drought and empowering communities of Rajasthan through his organisation Tarun Bharat Sangh (India Youth Association).
  4569. Government Included Sipai, Patni Jamat, Turk Jamat categories in Gujarat and Kahar and Tanwar Singhariya Catergories in Uttarakhand in Central List of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) as per advices from National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC).
  4570. Kosovo and Serbia agreed to implement 2013 Brussels Agreement to normalize relations between both the countries. Key Features of Agreement are -
    1. Serbains in northern Kosovo will enjoy greater rights over issues like local economy and education.
    2. Kosovo will have a separate international dialing code to end inconvenience of Kosovo's mobile phone users of using Monaco or Slovenian international codes.
    3. Two sides will share the Mitrovica Bridge (on Ibar River) that separates Albanian and Serbs in north.
  4571. Bharti Airtel acquired Augere Wireless Broadband to expand its 4G operations to nine circles.
  4572. Minister of Urban development M Venkaiah Naidu announced list of 98 cities selected under smart cities mission.
  4573. August 26 - Independence day of Moldova. It marks declaration of independence from Soviet Union in 1991.
  4574. Make In India Awards for Excellence – 2015 -
    1. Total 46 Companies have been awarded in 46 Categories.
  4575. Lewis Hamilton (England) won Belgian Grand Prix 2015 -
    1. 2015 Formula One season -
      1. Total 19 Grand Prix Races to be organized across the world in 2015. Calendar is -
        1. Grand Prix Date Winner
          Australia 15 March Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Malaysia 29 March Sebastian Vettel (Germany)
          China 12 April Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Baharain 19 April Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Spain 10 May Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Monaco 24 May Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Canada 7 June Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Austria 21 June Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Britain 5 July Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Hungary 26 July Sebastian Vettel (Germany)
          Belgium 23 August Lewis Hamilton (UK)
          Italy 6 September
          Singapore 20 September
          Japan 27 September  
          Russia 11 October
          USA 25 October
          Mexico 1 November
          Brazil 15 November
          Abu Dhabi 29 November
      2. Trick for remembering recent F1 Races Winners so far (Based on data till Belgian Grand Prix held on August 25, 2015) -
        1. All countries starting with A, B and C except Austria WON by Lewis Hamilton (England)
        2. Hungary and Malaysian Races have been Won by Sebastian Vettel (Germany) (remember - Sabastian was HUNGRY in MALAYSIA) :)
        3. All other races including Austria have been won by Nico Rosberg (Germany).
  4576. Andhra Pradesh Government will open call centres for verification and monitoring of claims To increase efficiency of claim settlement process for unorganised workers.
  4577. Sri Lanka appointed former Cricketer Kumar Sangakkara as Sri Lankas ambassador to UK.
  4578. PM Narendra Modi inaugurated birth centenary (100 years) celebrations of Nagaland's freedom fighter Rani Gaidinliu by issuing Commemorative coin of 100 rupees and circulation coin of 5 rupees.
  4579. Rajasthan government launched a Three month Arogya Rajasthan campaign for collection and compilation of health data of rural population in Rajasthan by issuing health cards based on spot diagnoses.
  4580. Russia and China Joint naval exercise called Joint Sea II held in Sea of Japan and off the coast of Russias Primorsky territory.
  4581. Scientists in a study led by CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad identified THSD7A Gene as primarily responsible for obesity (Excessive Body Fat) in Indians.
  4582. Indian-American Vince Chhabria has been appointed as full-time federal judge of California court in USA.
  4583. Chhattisgarh capital Raipur will host 2015 Final of second edition of FIH World Hockey League to be held November - 6 December 2015.
  4584. Rajasthan High Court Banned Santhara - Jain practice of facing death voluntarily at the end of one's life, terming it as a criminal offence under Section 306 of Indian Penal Code (IPC).
  4585. Noted Journalist Pranab Kumar Borah passed away.
  4586. Fortune's First Change the World List of 51 companies making significant progress in major social problems as a part of their business strategies.
    1. UK based Vodafone and Kenya based safaricom are jointly ranked no.1. Joint service of Vodafone and Safaraicom lets people without bank accounts to transfer money by phones. 42 % of Kenyas GDP is transacted through it.
    2. Search engine Google (Alphabet) is econd in List, Toyota automobile is third while retail giant Walmart is at fourth.
    3. In Asia, Bangladesh based Grameen Bank is at 12th position.
  4587. Ancient Urdu Copy of Shri Ramcharitmansa written by Shiv Brat Lal in 1904 found in delhi.
  4588. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India (RGI) released Population by Religious Communities data on Census 2011.
    1. As per the Census 2011, Total Population in 2011 was 121.09 crores.

      Religion

      Population

      Hindu

      96.63 crores (79.8%)

      Muslim

      17.22 crores (14.2%)

      Christian

      2.78 crores (2.3%)

      Sikh

      2.08 crores (1.7%)

      Buddhist

      0.84 crores (0.7%)

      Jain

      0.45 crores (0.4%)

      Other Religions & Persuasions

      0.79 crores (0.7%)

      Religion Not Stated

      0.29 crores (0.2%)

    2. Growth Rate -
      1. Growth rate of population in the decade 2001-2011 was 17.7 %. Break up is Hindus - 16.8 %; Muslims 24.6 % Christians 15.5 %, Sikhs 8.4 %.
      2. Muslim population grew at a faster rate than the Hindu population, but gap between the two growth rates is narrowing fast. The Growth rate difference in 2001 - 2011 was 7.84% (24.6-16.8) while in 1991-2001, the difference in growth rate was 9.6% (29.52 - 19.92).
  4589. Washington-based Center for Global Development (CGD) released report on future of tropical deforestation from 2016-2050.
    1. Study says that if no proper forestration policies are imlemented then by 2050, 14 % (289 million hectares) tropical forests (size equal to India) will be deforested. It will add 169 billion tons of carbon dioxide into atmosphere by 2050, equivalent to running 44000 coal-fired power plants for a year. 
  4590. August 25 - Uruguay's Independence Day. It marks Independence from Brazil in 1825.
  4591. India signed an Agreement with Afghanistan on judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters for service of summons, judicial documents, execution of judgements and arbitral awards.
  4592. Government approved signing an agreement with Oman for mutual legal and judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters.
  4593. Neerja Mathur has been appointed as a Member of Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) for Goa & Union Terrirtories.
  4594. Girish Sahni has been appointed as Director General of Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR).
  4595. Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad released a commemorative Rs. 5 postal stamp on Indian emperor Ashoka.
  4596. Madanlal Laxmandas Tahaliyani is appointed as Lokayukta of Maharashtra.
  4597. Rana Kapoor has been re-appointmented as MD and CEO of Yes bank for 3 years.
  4598. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj visited Egypt. India and egypt signed Memorandum of Co-operation in Tourism and technical Cooperation.
  4599. NITI Aayog decided to set up an experts committee to prepare a model land leasing law to be adopted by states as per their local needs. States agreed that land leasing, updating of land records and land titling would be win-win steps for all affected parties.
  4600. Indias High Commissioner to Singapore- Vijay Singh Thakur received Asian of the Year 2014 award by leading Singapore daily The Straits Times.
  4601. Yasutaro Koide of Japan received Guinness World Records certificate as he is formally recognized as the worlds oldest man alive at 112 years.
  4602. Gujarat became first Indian state to launch Agro-solar policy. Under this, farmers will tap energy from the sun by installing solar power equipments in their fields. This will help farmers earn additional income from power generation companies. Farmers and power generation companies will both gain by such innoative generation of solar energy in agricultural fields.
  4603. UK's Minister of State for International Development Desmond Swayned Visited India.
    1. He called for closer ties with India and announced United Kingdom's funding a capacity building programme for making Kolkata a low carbon city under UK-Kolkata Municipal Corporation joint programme.
    2. He also called for strengthening ties with Other states specially Odisha.
  4604. Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) signed a memorandum of understanding with Gift Special Economic Zone of Gujarat International Finance Tec-City for setting up an electronic platform for trading in different asset classes for international investors.
  4605. Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju announced to implement Sendai framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 at a workshop on Enhancing Private Sector Partnership for Disaster Risk Reduction in New Delhi. Sendai Framework was adopted at World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai, Japan in March 2015.
  4606. War museums inaugerated at military stations of Jaisalmer and Longewala in Rajasthan to showcase bravery of Indian Army.
    1. Battle of Longewala (4–7 December 1971) was one of first engagements in Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. 120 Indian Soldiers defeated over 2000 Pakistani Soldiers alng with destroying over 1000 Tanks, Marking a new milestone in traditional bravery of Indian Army.
  4607. Sports Authority of India launched School Sports Promotion Foundation to tap sporting talent at the school level by reaching out to around 100000 schools. Foundation will organise sports tournaments across country to identify talent and will nurture them accordingly.
  4608. Australias Minister for Education and Training Christopher Pyne Visited India -
    1. He attended Third Annual Australia-India Education Council (AIEC) meeting.
    2. Australia agreed to extend BRIDGE (Building Regional Intercultural Dialogue and Growing Engagement ) school partnerships project to include Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs) in India.
    3. India and Australia signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in education, research and training.
  4609. August 24 - Ukraine's Independence Day. It marks Independence from Soviet Union in 1991.
  4610. Information Technology and Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad launched SEHAT Initiative in collaboratio with Apollo Hospitals to give rural citizens access to information, skills and other services in various sectors through digital technologies. Aim is to empower the vision of Digital India.
  4611. Dronacharya Awards, Dhyan Chand Awards and Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar 2015 -
    1. Dronacharya Awards (Instituted in 1985) (Committee headed by former badminton player Dipankar Bhattacharya)-

      S.No

      NAME OF THE COACH

      DISCIPLINE

      1

      Shri Naval Singh

      Athletics-Para-sports

      2

      Shri Anoop Singh

      Wrestling

      3

      Shri Harbans Singh

      Athletics- Lifetime

      4

      Shri Swatantar Raj Singh

      Boxing- Lifetime

      5

      Shri Nihar Ameen

      Swimming-Lifetime

    2. Dhyan Chand Awards 2015 (Instituted in 2002)  (committee headed by former Indian hockey captain Zafar Iqbal) -

      S. No.

      NAME OF THE SPORTSPERSON

      DISCIPLINE

      1

      Mr. Romeo James

      Hockey

      2

      Mr. Shiv Prakash Mishra

      Tennis

      3

      Mr. T.P.P. Nair

      Volleyball

    3. Rashtriya Khel Protsahana Purushkar 2015 (instituted in 2009)

      Sl. No.

      Category

      Entity recommended for Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Purushkar, 2015

      1.

      Identification and nurturing of budding /young talent

      Directorate General of Military Training

      2.

      Encouragement to sports through Corporate Social Responsibility

      Coal India Limited

      3.

      Employment of sportspersons and sports welfare measures

      Haryana Police

      4.

      Sports for Development

      Sports Coaching Foundation, Hyderabad

  4612. Delhi Jal Board commissioned Delhi's first Hydro-power plant at Chilla area of east Delhi. It can generate upto 20000 KWH of electricity per year.
  4613. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and India's Chennai based MS Swaminathan Research Foundation will work for conservation of coastal resources in Andhra Pradesh to overcome consequences of sea level rise and water inundation.
  4614. Syrian journalist Zaina Erhaim won Peter Mackler Award 2015 for Courageous and Ethical Journalism for her efforts to train citizen reporters in syria - a war-ravaged country.
  4615. Cincinnati Masters Tennis 2015 -
    1. Women's Singles - Serena Williams (USA) won second title after defeating Simona Halep of Romania.
    2. Men's Singles - Roger Federer (Switzerland) won for seventh time by defeating Novak Djokovic of Serbia.
  4616. U Mumba won the second version of Star Sports Pro Kabaddi by defeating Bengaluru Bulls.
  4617. India's 17 year old Aditi Ashok became youngest ever and first Indian winner of Ladies British Amateur golf championship at Leeds (United Kingdom).
  4618. Sri Lankan cricketer Kumar Sangakkara retired from International Cricket.
  4619. Amol Palekar has been appointed as chairman of India’s Oscar jury, which will select India's official entry in best foreign film category of 88th Academy Awards (Oscars).
  4620. As per a recent statement by RBI Governor Raghuram G Rajan - India has about $380 Billion USD foreign exchange reserves to tackle the volatility in the currency market.
  4621. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley inaugerated Bandhan Bank- first commercial bank from Eastern India to get RBI clearance since independence.
    1. Kolkata (West Bengal) Based Bandhan Bank appointed Ashok Kumar Lahiri as Chairman and Chandra Shekhar Ghosh as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. It started banking operations with 501 branches opened across 22 states and 250 ATMs.
  4622. Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Petroleum & Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan visited Nepal.
  4623. Eminent Sanskrit Scholar and Indologist NR Varhadpande passed away.
  4624. Former Jammu University VC Amitabh Mattoo has been appointed Advisor to J&K CM Mufti Sayeed.
  4625. Government issued norms for selection of MDs and CEOs for Public Sector Banks due to resistance arising after recent appointment of two private sector professionals as Chiefs of Canara Bank and Bank of Baroda.
    1. Top post in PSBs would be filled from existing executive directors / deputy managing directors in government banks.
    2. Selection will be done on the basis of Interview of 50 Marks and Annual Performance Appraisal Reports (APARs) of five years of 50 marks.
  4626. Government will sell 10 % stake (24.27 crore shares) in Indian Oil Corporation worth INR 9,500 crore rupees.
  4627. Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangasamy launched Scheme to provide free laptops to students passing 12th from Government Higher Secondary Schools in 2013-14 and 2014-15.
  4628. Bharti Airtel tied-up with Uber Cabs to allowing Uber riders to pay using Airtels mobile wallet service and be able to use free high-speed internet from Uber powered by Airtel 4G.
  4629. To popularize India Handloom brand, Government has created a policy framework to promote e-marketing of handloom products through e-commerce firms.
  4630. Indian Badminton player Saina Nehwal has been ranked No 1 in world, leaving behind Carolina Marin (Spain) by 2,180 points. She also signed a INR 25 Crore Deal with management company IOS Sports & Entertainment.
  4631. Jamaica's Sprinter Usain Bolt won Gold in 100 Metre Race in World Championships in Athletics 2015 in Beijing (China).
  4632. 21 Aug - World Senior Citizen's Day.
  4633. Modern Thought Leaders- Lal Bahadur Shastri Memorial Lectures (1997-2014)’ has been edited by Anil Shastri, (son of Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri).
  4634. Forum for India-Pacific Island Countries (FIPIC)'s second Summit hosted by India in Jaipur (Rajasthan).
    1. Indian PM Narendra Modi announced plans to open a new space research and satellite monitoring station on the Fiji Islands to provide India with an independent satellite tracking capacity. India presently relies on US and Australia for monitoring its satellites over the Pacific.
    2. Second FIPIC summit was attended by leaders of all 14 Pacific Islands countries - Fiji, Cook Islands, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. 
    3. India to establish information technology labs in each Pacific Island country.
  4635. Ranil Wickremesinghe has been appointed as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka for fourth time following his party's victory in parliamentary polls.
  4636. Foundation stone of National Research Centre on Integrated Farming (ICAR-NRCIF) laid out in Pipra Kothi in East Champaran district of Bihar by Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh. This Research Centre will work for welfare of farmers in the region through research in integrated farming system models for diverse agro-ecological conditions like Floods, with emphasis on rice, sugarcane and banana that require more water.
  4637. Ajit Singh has been appointed as Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court.
  4638. Government will modernize Visvesvaraya Iron & Steel Plant (Karnataka) of SAIL by investment of Rs. 1000 crores.
  4639. PM Narendra Modi announced Rs 1.25 lakh crores special economic aid package for Bihar.
  4640. Himachal Pradesh Government launched Rajiv Gandhi Illuminating Scheme for Hill Town Advancement (RISHTA) project for implementation of LED based street lighting in collaboration with EESL. The scheme is also known as Centralized Control and Monitoring System (CCMS) Smart Street Lighting Scheme for Urban Local bodies.
    1. EESL (Energy Efficient Services Limited) is a joint venture by National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL), Power Finance Corporation and Rural Electrification Corporation.
  4641. A secure line (Hotline) of communication launched between Indian PM Narendra Modi and USA President Barack Obama. India became fourth country after Russia, Britain and China with which USA has a hotline.
  4642. Video sharing portal YouTube will set up YouTube Space in Mumbai with Asias renowned film schools Whistling Woods International (WWI). YouTube Space will provide production facility for YouTube video creators and students of WWI where they can learn video production.
  4643. Rajasthan government signed an agreement with Future Consumer Enterprise Ltd to modernise public distribution system (PDS) by providing multi-brand consumer goods at competitive prices to public through fair price shops. The initiative is known as Annapurna Bhandar Yojna.
  4644. Reserve Bank of Indias Committee on Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs) headed by RBI Deputy Governor R Gandhi has recommended conversion of Urban Co-operative Banks with business size of over 20000 crore rupees into regular banks to allow them to grow further for financial inclusion.
  4645. Release of Bollywood movie Phantom has been banned in Pakistan by Lahore High Court.
  4646. Government approved Dadra and Nagar Haveli Value Added Tax (Amendment) Regulation 2005 to help the Union territory generate yearly additional gross revenue and net tax generation of Rs 120 crore and 7 crore respectively.
  4647. Book Making India Awesome authored by Chetan Bhagat has been released. It is his second non-fiction book after What Young India Wants.
  4648. Book Mrs Funnybones: Shes Just Like You and a Lot Like Me has been written by Twinkle Khanna.
  4649. NASA spacecraft LADEE (Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer) confirmed presence of Neon gas in Moon’s atmosphere. 
  4650. August 20 - Birth Anniversay of seventh Prime Minister of India - Rajiv Gandhi, also known as Sadbhavna Divas.
  4651. Government approved agreements with Seychelles for revised Air Services Agreement (ASA) and exchange of taxes related information to curb black money. 
  4652. Government launched Vidya Lakshmi Portal with URL www.vidyalakshmi.co.in on 69th Independence Day to ease up seeking Educational Loans by students. This portal provides Students access to loans related information and apply online for Educational Loans provided by Banks and Government Scholarships.
  4653. Najma Heptulla, Minister for Minority Affairs Launched Online Application Management System (OAMS) for Nai Roshni scheme to bring transparency and quick delivery.
    1. Nai Roshni scheme is meant for Leadership Development of Minority Women to empower them by providing knowledge and for interacting with Government systems, Banks and other institutions.
  4654. Ashwani Lohani has been appointed as Chairman and Managing Director of Air India Limited for 3 Years.
  4655. Sports Ministry approved Financial assistance from NSDF of upto 10 Lakhs to Shiva Keshavan KP (Luge-Winter game) for Training.
  4656. To reduce air pollution, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways will introduce Bharat Stage IV compliant 4 wheelers in India from 1 April 2017 . Only BS IV Compliant Cars to be Sold From October 2015.
  4657. Forbes world's 100 most innovative companies -
    1. Tesla Motors (USA) is at top of the list, followd by Salesforce.com, Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and ARM Holdings.
    2. 3 Indian Companies - Hindustan Unilever (41st), Sun Pharma (71st) and Tata Consultancy Services (64th) are also in the List.
  4658. Noted Historian Babasaheb Purandare has been conferred with Maharashtra Bhushan Award 2015 by Maharashtra Government.
  4659. US military launched large NATO airborne drill Swift Response 15 with around 5,000 soldiers from 11 NATO member countries to increase stability in the european region.
  4660. Bollywood actor Anupam Kher has been named an advocate for United Nations campaign on gender equality.
  4661. Australian Minister for Education and Training Christopher Pyne visited India for Annual Ministerial Dialogue and 3rd Australia-India Education Council meeting. He also announced to appoint Former Australian Cricketer Adam Gilchrist as First Education Ambassador to India to further strengthen education ties with India.
  4662. Karnal Singh has been appointed as Director of Enforcement Directorate.
  4663. Reserve Bank of India approved 11 applicants to set up payments banks - India post, Airtel, Vodafone, Reliance, Aditya Birla Nuvo, Tech Mahindra, Fino Paytech, Cholamandalam, National Securities Depository Ltd and two individual entrepreneurs - Dilip Sahnghvi and Vijay Shekhar Sharma (Founder of Paytm)
    1. Payments banks will offer most of the banking services except loans and credit card products. Customers can deposit money up to Rs 1 lakh, transfer money, make payments and buy products such as insurance and mutual funds.
  4664. Committee under director - National Institute of Nutrition (Hyderabad) recommended banning sale of junk food around schools to check issues related to growing problems of obesity among children due to over junk food comsumption.
  4665. Prasar Bharti signed a memorandum of understanding with Digital Television Russia for cooperation in broadcasting space.
  4666. Bangladesh became first country to receive funds from UN Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC) for its growing solar home systems. 395286 carbon credits worth 3.56 million USD have been issued to two Bangladeshi organisations - Infrastructure Development Company Ltd and Grameen Shakti.
  4667. Bangladesh novelist Zia Haider Rahman won James Tait Black award 2015 for his debut novel In the Light of What We Know at the 2015 Edinburgh international book festival.
  4668. USA State Maryland will co-operate with India's Haryana to explore possibilities of cooperation in bio-technology, life sciences and agriculture and cyber security.
  4669. Government constituted a three member team under Registrar of Newspapers in India (RNI) SM Khan to assess situation over student protest in Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune.
  4670. August 19 - World Humanitarian Day. Theme for 2015 is Inspiring the World's Humanity.
  4671. August 19 - World Photography Day.
  4672. August 19 - Birth Anniversay of Ninth President of India Shanker Dayal Sharma.
  4673. Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh Visited India to attend funeral of Smt. Suvra Mukherjee, wife of President Pranab Mukherjee.
  4674. INS Trikand visited Israel for four day stay and engagements with Israeli Navy.
  4675. Tata Trust will develop 264 villages in Vijayawada Lok Sabha constituency of Andhra Pradesh under Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana(SAGY) initiative. It has been possible due to efforts of MP of Vijayawada Srinivas Kesineni, who approached Ratan Tata seeking his collaboration to develop model villages in his constituency.
  4676. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley launched two funds India Aspiration Fund and Make in India Loan for Enterprises (SMILE) under Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) to carter funding for start-ups in India. India Aspiration Fund has initial corpus of INR 2,000 crores with Life Insurance Corp. of India (LIC) as a co-investor in IAF. Second Fund SIDBI Make in India Loan for Enterprises has Initial corpus of INR 10, 000 crores.
  4677. Life Insurance Corporation of India launched unit linked insurance plan (ULIP) product called as ‘New Endowment Plus that offers provides dual benefits of investment and insurance to the policy Holder. It provides risk cover and investment opportunity in market with option of partial withdrawal.
  4678. Bombay Stock Exchange installed a Suspicious Transaction Reports system (STR) for reporting suspicious trades to check money laundering through stock markets. Reports of STRs will be submitted monthly to governments Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) along with Cash Transaction reports (CTRs).
  4679. Book Kumbh Mela: Mapping the Ephemeral Megacity has been written by Tarun Khanna.
  4680. Britain's Sebastian Coe has been elected as President of International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). India's Adille Sumariwalla has been elected as a member of IAAF.
  4681. Malayalam actor Paravoor Bharathan Passed Away.
  4682. Uttar Pradesh High Court (Allahabad) bench under Justice Sudhir Agarwal directed all government officials and elected representatives to send their children to primary schools under state Board for Secondary Education. Also, Penal provisions are to be laid down for those violating the order.
  4683. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh announced to make Sanskrit as a mandatory subject in all Government schools of the state.
  4684. Aditi Chauhan bacame First Indian footballer to play English league football. She made her debut for womens team of West Ham United affiliated with West Ham United FC.
  4685. State Bank of India launched mulipurpose financial activities management app - SBI Buddy in collaboration with Accenture and Mastercard.
  4686. ICICI Bank launched Smart Vault locker facility with robotic technology. It will enable customers to conveniently access their lockers any time in a secure lounge where locker automatically comes up to the customer.
  4687. Reserve Bank of India suspended licences of seven non-banking finance companies - Religare Finance, Artisans Micro Finance, Eden Trade & Commerce, RCS Parivar Finance, Nott Investments, Dewra Stocks & Securities, Swetasree Finance.
  4688. Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao launched Grama Jyothi prgramme aimed at development of rural areas with investment of 25000 crore rupees.
  4689. Maharashtra government appointed cricketer Sachin Tendulkar as new ambassador for Tiger Conservation Project along with Actor Amitabh Bachchan who was appointed earlier.
  4690. Piraji Kharat is appointed as MD and CEO of IDBI Bank.
  4691. Suvra Mukherjee, President Pranab Mukherjee's wife passed away.
  4692. Delhi government announced City Taxi Scheme for 600 - 749 CC vehicles with Minimum 25 rupees charge for first two kilometres and 10 rupees per kilometer afterwards.
  4693. Kerala government signed an agreement with Adani Group for developing INR 7525 crore Vizhinjam International Deepwater Multipurpose Seaport near Kovalam beach.
  4694. UAE agreed to set up a 75 Billion USD Infrastructure Investment Fund with India for investment in India in railways, ports, roads, airports and energy during Visit of Indian PM Narendra Modi to UAE.
  4695. Bangladesh won South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) under-16 title 2015 (Venue - Bangladesh) by defeating India.
  4696. August 17 - Independence day of Indonesia. It marks Proclamation of Independence from Japan and Netherlands in 1945.
  4697. August 17 - Independence day of Gabon. It marks Independence from France in 1960.
  4698. PM Narendra Modi visited United Arab Emirates.
  4699. Government inaugurated direct flight of Air India Express, between Varanasi and Sharjah (UAE).
  4700. Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha visited Oman and United Arab Emirates (UAE).
  4701. Ajit Kumar Seth has been appointed as chairma of Public Enterprises Selection Board. Gauri Kumar and Anshuman Das have been made as members in PESB.
  4702. Ministry of Home Affairs will establish pan-India National fingerprint database of about 28 Lakh convicts for speedy investigation of crimes across country.
  4703. Worlds largest bicycle manufacturer Hero Cycles acquired majority stake in UK-based Avocet Sports.
  4704. India and Bangladesh signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for cooperation to tackle fake Indian currency notes (FICN) smuggling.
  4705. India's Birla Corporation will acquire French Lafarge Group's Jojobera unit (Jharhkand) and Sonadih (Chattisgarh) for Rs. 5000 crore.
  4706. India's Taj Mahal became first historical monuments in world to have a Twitter account of its own.
  4707. Government appointed PS Jayakumar as Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bank of Baroda.
  4708. Government appointed Rakesh Sharma as MD and CEO of Canara Bank.
  4709. Real estate listing portal Housing.com acquired Bengaluru-based customer relationship management software company HomeBuy360 for 2 million USD (13 Crores).
  4710. Odisha Government approved Fisheries Policy, 2015 aiming to increase production of fish from island, brackishwater and marine resources. Target is to increase fish production to 7.15 lakh tonnes by 2019-20 from 4.13 lakh tonnes annual production currently.
  4711. Maharashtra's Dahi Handi (Govinda) has been accorded with status of Adventure Sport. It will now be played as per rules and a State-level association will be formed for it. It will not be limited to Janmashtami only.
  4712. Assam Assembly passed Witch Hunting (Prohibition, Prevention and Protection) Bill, 2015 to eliminate cases of superstition leading to murder of so-called 'witches'.
  4713. Reserve Bank of India notified Union Budget-2015-16 Interest Subvention Scheme (ISS) -
    1. ISS was proposed to be implemented in 2015-16 for farmers for short-term crop loans up to 3 lakh rupees. After that, Government extended ISS to Banks and NABARD also.
    2. Interest subvention terms for Banks -
      1. RBI notified that interest subvention of 2 % per annum will be made available to public and private banks who lend short term credit at 7 % percent per annum to farmers.
    3. Interest subvention terms for Farmers -
      1. Interest subvention of 3 % will be available to farmers for repaying the loan within the due dates. So farmers paying promptly would get short term crop loans at 4 % during 2015-16.
  4714. Indian Men's Hockey Team won three match series of their European Tour 2-1 against France and Spain. India won one game against each of France and Spain and lost one game against spain.
  4715. India's Deputy National Security Advisor Arvind Gupta visited USA for US - India Cyber Dialogue 2015 to increase global cyber security and promote the digital economy.
  4716. August 15 - South Korea's Independence Day. It marks Liberation from Japanese rule in 1945.
  4717. August 15 - Republic of the Congo's Independence Day. It marks Independence from France in 1960.
  4718. August 15 - 69th Independence day of India. It marks declaration of Independence from British Colonial Rule on Aug 15, 1947.
    1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed Indian Citizens from Red Fort.
    2. PM Narendra Modi announced Start-up India; Stand up India campaign as an initiative to boost entrepreneurship among the youth and create employment in India. PM urged 1.25 lakh bank branches to provide finance to at least one Dalit or Adivasi and at least one woman entrepreneur.
    3. Government will rename Agriculture Ministry as Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Ministry.
    4. Government committed to Set deadline of 1000 days to connect 18,500 villages with electricity.
  4719. Plans for Revival of Public sector banks -
    1. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley launched a seven pronged plan called Indradhanush Mission to revamp public sector banks. Theseinclude appointments, de-stressing PSBs, capitalisation, empowerment, framework of accountability and governance reforms. 
    2. Bank Board Bureau (BBB) will become functional from 2016-17 to replace existing system Appointments Board in which top level appointments in PSBs are made by an appointments committee led by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor. BBB will consist of eminent banking professionals that will Give recommendations for appointment of full-time Directors and non-Executive Chairman of PSBs.
    3. Other planned reforms include Capitalisation of 25,000 crore rupees, Reducing lending pressure on banks, Strengthen asset reconstruction companies, Provide flexibility in hiring of manpower in PSBs.
    4. Next Gyan Sangam (also known as the Bankers Retreat) will be held from 14 to 16 January 2016. Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP) will be initiated for top management.
  4720. Gallantry Awards on 69th Indian National Independence Day (15 August 2015)
    1. Kirti Chakra - Nectar Sanjenbam and Rakesj Kumar
    2. Shaurya Chakra - Munindra Nath Rai, Tanuj Grover, Varun Kumar Singh, Bahadur Chetri, Tanka Kumar Limbu, Milind Mohan Mokashi, Sandeep Singh, Shafi Sheikh, Riyaz Ahmed Lone and Hira Kumar Jha
    3. Sena Medal (Gallantry) - 50 Awardees
  4721. Jordan Spieth has been ranked as No. 1-Ranked Golf Player in World Surpassing Rory McIlroy.
  4722. Huge Explosions occured in Chemical Warehouse in Tianjin Port city of China, Killing over 100 People.
  4723. Cochin International Airport (Kerala) will become first airport in India to run completely on solar power. A 12MWp solar power project set up in the airport will generate 50,000 to 60,000 units of electricity per day.
  4724. Rogers Cup Tennis 2015 -
    1. Men's Singles - Andy Murray (UK) won by Defeating Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
    2. Women's Singles - Belinda Bencic (Switzerland) won by Defeating Simona Halep (Romania)
    3. Men's Doubles - Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan (USA) won by Defeating Daniel Nestor (Canada) and Edouard Roger-Vasselin (France)
    4. Women's Doubles - Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA) and Lucie Safarova (Czech Republic) won by Defeating Caroline Garcia (France) and Katarina Srebotnik (Slovenia)
  4725. Indian archer Abhishek Verma won gold medal by beating Iranian Esmail Ebadi in World Archery Championships (Poland) 2015.
    1. 2015 Archery World Cup is 10th edition of the annual Archery World Cup organised by World Archery Federation.
    2. It consists of 4 preliminary stages (Legs) and Finals to be held in Mexico City. Locations are - First leg in Shanghai (China), second leg in Antalya (Turkey) third in Wroclaw (Poland) and Fourth leg in Medellin (Colombia). Finals will be held in Mexico City on 17–18 October, 2015.
    3. So far, South Korea is at top of Medal Tally with 18 Medals, USA second with 13 while Denmark is Third with 5 Medals.
    4. Indian Archers have so far won 4 Medals in 3 Legs of World Archery World Cup 2015 as follows -
      1. Indian team comprising Chinglensana, Abhishek Verma and Rajat Chauhan won Bronze in First Leg in Shanghai (China).
      2. Deepika Kumari won Bronze in Second leg of Archery World Cup 2015 in Antalya (Turkey).
      3. Mixed pair of Deepika Kumari and Mangal Singh Champia won silver in Third Leg of World Archery Championships 2015 in Poland.
      4. Indian archer Abhishek Verma won gold by beating Iranian Esmail Ebadi in Third Leg of World Archery Championships 2015 in Poland.
  4726. BWF Badminton World Championships 2015 (Jakarta (Indonesia)) -
    1. China Stayed at top of table with 6 Medals, Indonesia is second with 4 Medals.
    2. India's Saina Nehwal won Silver after getting defeated by Carolina Marin (Spain).
  4727. Gujarat Government declared ban on use of plastic in the State on the occasion of unfurling National Flag at 69th Independence Day ceremony.
  4728. Kerala Government declared Kerala as first totally digital state in India. This declaration was made considering the rapid digital progress in Kerala by achieving 100 % mobile connectivity, maximum digital banking, 75 % e-literacy, broadband connectivity upto the Panchayat level, linking bank accounts with Aadhar cards and e-district plans.
  4729. Mustansir Barma (former Director of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai ) has been presented with Gujar Mal Modi Award for his contribution in Science and Technology.
  4730. August 14 - Independence day of Pakistan.
  4731. Indias Strategy for Economic Integration with CLMV Report has been issued by Ministry of Commerce and Industry. It provides views for establishing commercial and economic linkages between India and the Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV) region.
  4732. Jayant Manganlal Patel is appointed as Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court.
  4733. Javad Zarif, Foreign Minister of Iran Visited India.
  4734. India-US Combined Military Training Exercise YUDH ABHYAS 2015 will be held 09 to 23 Sep 2015 in USA.
  4735. Axis Bank launched first Contactless Debit, Credit and Multi-Currency Forex Card in association with VISA payWave. It will enable withdrawal of 15 currencies via Multi-Currency Forex facility.
  4736. Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has allowed banks to tie up with upto insurers from three segments - life, non–life and standalone health. Earlier, Banks were allowed to tie up with max One Insurer.
    1. Bancassurance means Banks as Insurance Agents. It is partnership between banks and insurance companies whereby the insurance company uses the bank sales channel in order to sell insurance products.
  4737. National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) signed two Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) with National Skill Development Fund and National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) for skill development training in eastern states and Bihar. In the MoU with NSDF, NTPC will train 5000 youth and women across 22 locations with special focus on eastern states for two years. In the second MoU, NTPC will train over 25000 candidates in manufacturing across locations in Bihar for five years and cost of 30 crores.
  4738. Odisha Govrnment approved Industrial Policy Resolution (IPR) 2015 for five years with focus on various sectors including infrastructure, automobile, agriculture and IT. The 1500 Crores State Capital Region Improvement of Power System (SCRIPS) scheme and 650.64 km ambitious Biju Expressway were also approved.
  4739. Om Prakash Rawat has been appointed as Election Commissioner.
    1. Election Commission of India has provision of a Chief Election Commissioner and two additional Commissioners.
    2. Currently, Nasim Zaidi is chief election commissioner and Anchal Kumar Jyoti, Om Prakash Rawat are election commissioners.
  4740. Indian Government's Pahal scheme has been acknowledged by Guinness Book of World Records as largest cash transfer program (households) with 13.9 crore LPG consumers joining it. LPG consumers will get cylinders at market price and receive LPG subsidy directly into their bank accounts.
  4741. Memorandum of Understanding has been signed with Slovakia for Technical Cooperation in Railway Sector.
  4742. Coca-Cola India made cricketer Sourav Ganguly as its social ambassador upto 2017.
  4743. Telecom Firm Uninor signed an agreement worth INR 1,200 crores with Chinese firm Huawei for modernising its network across country.
  4744. Government approved 1,500-MW ultra mega solar power park for Andhra Pradesh to be developed in Kadapa district by NTPC. Earlier two solar parks of 1,000 MW each were executed by NTPC at Anantapur and Kurnool districts of Andhra Pradesh.
  4745. Sudhakar Shetty has been elected as President of Gymnastics Federation of India.
  4746. China and Pakistan signed 20 agreements worth 1.6 billion USD to implement ambitious China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.
  4747. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved 300-crore rupees package to save standing kharif agriculture and horticulture crops from weak monsoon.
  4748. Forbes First ever 100 Richest People In Technology List -
    1. Just over 50 tech billionaires are from United States, 33 people are from asia, 8 from Europe. 2 from Middle East and one from Latin America.
    2. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is at top with net worth of 79.6 billion USD. Oracle CEO Ellison is second (50 billion USD. Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos is third ranked at third (47.8 billion USD). Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg is fourth (41.2 billion USD). Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin are 5th - 6th.
    3. Indians in the list -
      1. Azim Premji of Wipro is 13th (17.4 billion USD) and Shiv Nadar of HCL is 14th (14.4 billion USD). Two Indian-origin people Romesh Wadhwani (72rd) and Bharat Desai (83rd) are also in the list.
  4749. August 12 - National Remote Sensing Day. It marks birth anniversary of Vikram Sarabhai, considered as Father of Indian Space Programme.
  4750. Government signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Nepal for construction of a petroleum products pipeline from Raxaul (India) to Amlekhgunj (Nepal) and re-engineering of Amlekhgunj Depot and allied facilities. Aim is to promote cooperation in oil and gas sector and secure long term supply of petroleum products to Nepal to decongest international border at Raxaul.
  4751. Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM - Pune) (under Earth System Science Organization) and World Climate Research Program (Geneva) signed an agreement for setting up an International Climate Variability and Predictability (CLIVAR) Monsoon Project Office (ICMPO).
  4752. Government approved Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with USA to establish Pace Setter Fund as a fund to Promote Energy Access through Clean Energy track of U.S. – India Partnership.
  4753. Government approved soft loan scheme upto 6000 crores for current sugar season to facilitate clearing of cane dues arrears of sugarcane mills.
  4754. USA's Under-Secretary for Commerce Stefan Selig visited India.
  4755. Government filed a class action suit against Nestle India (manufacturer of Maggi noodles), seeking approx Rs 640 crore in damages for alleged unfair trade practices, false labelling and misleading commercials.
  4756. Employees Provident Fund Organisation started Nidhi Aapke Nikat public outreach programme to improve its service delivery.
  4757. Rural Electrification Corporation (Navratna PSU) disbursed 16,070 crores as loan to Telangana State Power Generation Corporation for construction of 4000 MW Yadadri power plant.
  4758. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has been accredited by Green Climate Fund of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as national implementing entity for undertaking climate change related projects in India.
  4759. Facebook awarded Indian App developer firms Samosa and Cardback with 21 million USD under its FbStart initiative. Hyderabad-based Samosa developed an app that offers curated collection of clips from popular movies that users can share while Delhi- based Cardback developed an app that helps cardholders and wallet users maximise their rewards and savings for transaction they make.
  4760. Larsen and Toubro appointed Sanjay Jalona as Managing Director and CEO of its IT Arm - L&T Infotech.
  4761. Indias Pankaj Advani won his 13th world title by winning World 6-Red Snooker Championship. He defeated Chinese Yan Bingtao.
  4762. Delhi Government constituted a Committee headed by SN Agarwal for inquiry into CNG fitness scam of Delhi.
  4763. Uttar Pradesh Government approved amended guidelines for Begum Akhtar Award. The award will annually be awarded to renowned singers of ghazal, dadra, and thumri from state.
  4764. As per data by Election Commission of India, there are 1866 registered political parties in India. Out of these, 56 are recognised as registered national or state parties, while others are unrecognised.
  4765. Actor Amitabh Bachchan became Maharashtra's state ambassador for Save the Tiger campaign.
  4766. August 11 - Independence day of Chad. It Marks Independence from France in 1960.
  4767. Maharashtra government has declared area along Thane Creek as Flamingo Sanctuary. Sanctuary is Maharashtras second Marine sanctuary after Malvan (marine) Wildlife Sanctuary.
  4768. Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) implemented its health insurance scheme to Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur and Andaman & Nicobar Islands union territory.
  4769. Freedom fighter Kayyara Kinhanna Rai passed away.
  4770. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) started commercial production at first indigenous Titanium Sponge Plant at Chavara in Kerala.
  4771. ICICI Bank launched Saral-Rural Housing Loan Scheme for weaker sections of society.
  4772. Kerala State film awards 2014 -
    1. Best actor - Nivin Pauly (Bangalore Days and 1983) and Sudev Nair (My Life Partner)
    2. Best actress - Nasriya Naseem (‘Om Shanthi Hosana and ‘Bangalore Days)
    3. Best Director: Sanalkumar Sasidharan for OraalPokkam
  4773. Social security pact between India and Canada came into force after two years of waiting. As per its provisons - Employees posted by Indian entities in Canada are not required to contribute towards Canadas social security schemes for 5 Years and similarly the Canadian employees posted in India would enjoy the same benefit.
  4774. National Sports Awards 2015 (Selection committee headed by V.K. Bali, former Chief Justice of Kerla High Court ) -
    1. Rajeev Gandhi Khel Ratna Award - Sania Mirza . She became second tennis player to be recommended for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna.
    2. Arjuna Awards - 17 spoertspersons recommended for prestigious Arjuna awards this year.
      1. Jitu Rai - Shooter
      2. Rohit Sharma - Cricketer
      3. Dipa Karmakar - Gymnast
      4. P R Sreejesh - Hockey player
      5. Bajrang - Wrestler
      6. Babita – Wrestler
      7. M R Poovamma - Athlete
      8. K Srikanth - Shuttler
      9. Mandeep Jangra - Boxer
      10. Sandeep Kumar - Archery
      11. Swarn Singh - Rowing
      12. Satish Sivalingam - Weightlifting
      13. Santhoi Devi - Wushu
      14. Sharath Gaekwad - Para-sailing
      15. Manjeet Chhillar - Kabaddi
      16. Abhilasha Mhatre - Kabaddi
      17. Anup Kumar - Rollerskating
  4775. Asian Youth Chess Championships 2015 (Suwon - South Korea) -
    1. India stayed a top with 17 medals (5 Gold, 5 Silver and 7 Bronze) out of total 36 Medals.
    2. Iran was second (7 Medals) and Vietnam was third (4 Medals).
  4776. August 10 - World Bio Fuel Day (Also called Biodiesel Day). It marks powering of first diesel engine on August 10, 1893 in Augsburg, Germany by Rudolf Diesel.
  4777. August 10 - Independence Day of Ecuador. It Marks Proclamation of independence from Spain in 1809.
  4778. August 10 - Birthday of 4th President of India - Varahagiri Venkata Giri.
  4779. China-Based Smartphone maker Xiaomi tied up Taiwan-based Foxconn Group to set up manufacturing unit in Andhra Pradesh under Union Indian Government's Make in India initiative.
  4780. Kochi (Kerala) became first Indian city to be a member of Beijing headquartered World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF) Council and join its league of leading tourism cities across the world. Kochi became member of the council due to its partnerships in culture, sports and tourism.
  4781. Ganga Ram Agarwal from Indian Railway Services of Electrical Engineering (IRSEE) has been appointed as new Secretary of Railway Board.
  4782. Pakistan has became first Asian country to be conferred the Associate Membership by European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN).
  4783. South Sudan became 206th member of International Olympic Committee and will compete in Rio 2016 Olympics.
  4784. 193 member nations of United Nations signed an agreement on outcome document New Sustainable Development Agenda for next 15 years (till 2030). The draft document is called Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The draft agreement outlines 17 non-binding goals with 169 specific targets that comprise different socio-economic issues. These goals will succeed 8 MDGs which was adopted in 2000.
  4785. Aug 9 - Nagasaki Day (Second US Nuclear Bomb Fell on Japan's Nagasaki on Aug 9, 1945).
  4786. August 09 - International Day of World's Indigenous People. Theme for 2015 is Post 2015 Agenda: Ensuring indigenous peoples' health and well-being.
  4787. August 09 - National Day of Singapore. It Marks independence from Malaysia in 1965.
  4788. World Bank approved assistance of USD 308.40 million for National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project-II (NCRMP-II) of India.
  4789. World Bank approved assistance of US$ 104 million as Additional Financing for National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project-I (NCRMP-I) for India.
  4790. Indirect Tax Revenue collections increased from 40,802 crore in July 2014 to 56,739 crore July 2015 (39.1% up).
    1. Central Excise collections increased 13,512 crore in July 2014 to 22,273 crore in July 2015 (64.8 % up).
    2. Service Tax collections increased from 11,871 crore in July 2014 to 15,470 crore in July 2015 (30.3 % up).
    3. Customs collections increased from 15,419 crore in July 2014 to 18,996 crore in July 2015 (23.2 % up).
  4791. Noted Marathi stage actor, singer and producer Bhalchandra Pendharkar Passed Away.
  4792. Hockey player Gurbaj Singh has been suspended for 9 months for indulging in groupism and creating disharmony within the team.
  4793. Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad launched Disha mobile app to promote digital literacy in Bihar. The app will help people learn about computers and Internet through self learning modules.
  4794. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu launched new train services in Northeast after completion of North Lakhimpur-Murkongselek and Balipara- Bhalukpong sections into broad-gauge.
  4795. Swachh Bharat rankings by urban development ministry, based on extent of open defecation and solid waste management practices -
    1. Mysore (Karnataka) is cleanliest among all 476 cities while Bengaluru is cleanest state capital.
    2. Karnataka has four in top 10 cities. West Bengal has also done well with 25 cities in top 100.
    3. Damoh in Madhya Pradesh is worst in terms of cleanliness.
    4. Southv India has done better with 39 southern cities in top 100, followed by East India (27), Western India (15), Northern India (12) and Seven cities from Northeastern states.
  4796. 24th Saraswati Sammaan 2014 has been presented to M. Veerappa Moily for his Kannada work'Sri Ramayana Mahanveshanam.
  4797. Bhutan's Speaker of National Assembly - Jigme Zangpo and Chairperson of National Council of Bhutan - Sonam Kinga visited India.
  4798. Minority Affairs Minister Najma Heptulla launched Nai Manzil scheme in Patna aimed at addressing educational and livelihood needs of minority communities by giving the bridge courses to trainees and getting them Certificates for Class XII and X from distance medium educational system. Skill training in 4 courses - Manufacturing , Engineering, Services and Soft skills shall also be imparted to trainees. The scheme will cover people in between 17 to 35 age group from all minority communities as well as Madrasa students.
  4799. M.K. Iyer has been appointed as Member of Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC).
  4800. Ministry of Road Transport and Highways drafted a new Road Transport & Safety Bill that proposes creation of National Road Safety & Traffic Management Authority (NRSTMA) to look after issues related to vehicle regulation and road safety by utilizing information technology based systems to ensure efficient and safe transport.
  4801. Travel & Tourism Competitive Index 2015 Released by World Economic Forum -
    1. Rank of India has improved significantly to 52nd in 2015 from 65th in 2013.
    2. Spain is at top of List followed by France (Second) and Germany (Third).
  4802. Number of foreign tourist visits to North Eastern States increased from 84820 in 2013 and further to 118552 in 2014 (39.76 %).
  4803. India-Born Sunder Pichai has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Google.
    1. Google's Former CEO Announced to Promote Sunder Pichai as New CEO after Company announced plans to restructure itself as a subsidiary of a New Company - Alphabet. Larry Page will be CEO of Alphabet which will have numerous subsidiary companies Including Google.
  4804. August 07 - First Indian National Handloom Day. It marks launch of Swadeshi Movement on Aug 7, 1905.
  4805. 48th ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Foreign Ministers meet held in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)with theme Our People, Our Community, Our Vision.
    1. Minister of State for External Affairs of India Gen (Retd) VK Singh attended on India's Behalf.
    2. India and Myanmar signed inked an agreement to set up Centre of Excellence in Software Development and Training (CESDT) in Myanmar. Financial support will be through ASEAN-India Cooperation fund and project will be implemented by C-DAC.
  4806. Forest Ministers of southern states decided to set up a Southern Forest Ministers’ Inter-state Coordination Council to be headed by Kerala Forest Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan for first year. Aim is to tackle forest-related problems in the region and ensure ecological, socio-economic and livelihood security.
  4807. SBI Life Insurance launched Smart Humsafar as a unique plan that offers multiple benefits of savings and insurance cover for husband and wife under a single policy.
  4808. FIFA World Rankings August 2015 released -
    1. Argentina remaining No 1 in World, followed by Belgium (second) and Germany (Third).
    2. India with 161 points retained its 156th position in FIFA World rankings.
    3. Biggest upward move by points - Albania (166 points up).
    4. Biggest downward move by points - Germany (185 points down).
    5. Biggest upward move by rank - Jamaica (21 ranks up).
    6. Biggest downward move by points rank - Serbia (23 ranks down).
  4809. India decided to boycott 61st Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference to be held in Islamabad (Pakistan) from 30 September - 8 October 2015.
  4810. Tripura assembly passed a resolution to replace life sentence unto death by requesting Union government to amend the Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
  4811. Tendong Lho Rum Faat (Prayer of the Tendong Mountain), an ancient festival of ethnic Lepcha tribe of Sikkim was celebrated.
  4812. Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) commissioned seventh 500 MW Unit of Vindhyachal Super Thermal Power Station, Stage-V of National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) in Vindhyanagar (Singrauli district of Madhya Pradesh). It is so far highest commissioned capacity by BHEL in a power project.
  4813. Rekha M Menon has been appointed as chairperson of Accenture India.
  4814. Typhoon Soudelor struck east coast of Taiwanese city of Hualien and caused fierce winds with huge rainfall.
  4815. Global satellite GlobalSat for DRR will be named after former Indian President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam who passed away recently. The satellite to be used for earth observation and disaster risk reduction will be renamed as UN Kalam GlobalSat.
    1. The proposal to name the satellite after Dr. Kalam was made by Milind Pimprikar, Chairman of CANEUS (CANada-Europe-US-Asia) at third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction held at Sendai (Japan) in March 2015.
    2. The renaming of GlobalSat after Kalam will be a tribute to his vision - World Space Vision-2050 that entails space fairing nations joining hands to find solutions to mankind’s major problems such as natural disasters, energy and water scarcity and weather prediction.
    3. The proposal will be formally adopted by over 150 countries at UN Session in New York in September 2015.
  4816. Goa Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar received Pacific Area Travel Writers Association (PATWA) Safari India South Asia Travel Award 2015. Pacific Area Travel Writers Association (PATWA) is a professional organization of travel writers. Safari India is a regional tourism magazine covering India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan and South East Asia.
  4817. Global electronic manufacturing giant Foxconn and Maharashtra Government signed an agreement to invest 5 billion USD in Maharashtra over next five years. Foxconn manufactures gadgets for worlds leading electronic brands, including Apple, Huawei, Xiaomi, BlackBerry and Motorola.
  4818. Government launched Suraksha Bandhan initiative to enhance enrolment under social security schemes- Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY), Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) and Atal Pension Yojana (APY). Aim is to create a universal social security system targeted at the poor and under-privileged. Participating Banks and Insurance Companies will work towards local outreach, awareness building and enrolment facilitation. Last date for enrolment under PMSBY and PMJJBY schemes is extended till 30 September 2015.
  4819. Australian cricketer Michael Clarke announced retirement from International Cricket after ongoing Ashes series.
  4820. Ram Nath Kovind has been appointed as 35th Governor of Bihar.
  4821. Acharya Dev Vrat has been appointed as 26th Governor of Himachal Pradesh.
  4822. Indian sociobiologist Raghavendra Gadagkar has been awarded with Germany's highest civilian honour Cross of Order of the Merit for his contribution in behavioural ecology and sociobiology and research corporation between India and Germany.
  4823. Government launched School Nursery Yojana as an initiative to bring students closer to nature by engaging class VI - IX students in nurseries created in schools. 
  4824. August 06 - 70th Hiroshima Day. It marks the day when an American Boeing B-29 Superfortress dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.
  4825. Jharkhand Government empowered Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) to arrest Minister, MLA and senior civil servants without permission in cases of taking bribes.
  4826. Maharashtra government increased retirement age for group 'A' medical officers from 58 to 60 years.
  4827. SHEFROL (SHEet Flow ROot Level) technology based waste water treatment plant set up by Ashraf Bhat in Chinna Kalapet fishing hamlet in Puducherry tested successfuly. The plant uses inexpensive technology to treat wastewater using two aquatic plants, four leaf clover and water hyacinth.
  4828. Uttar Pradesh government renamed Uttar Pradesh Technical University (UPTU) as Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Technical University (APJAKTU).
  4829. Bihar Assembly passed Bihar Public Grievance Redressal Bill, 2015 aimed at empowering people to seek redressal of their grievances by government servants in a time-bound manner.
  4830. Zhanna Nemtsova has been awarded with Poland's Solidarity Prize 2015 for her work for democracy and human rights.
  4831. Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) signed two unilateral Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs) with two Multi-National Companies which includes the first APA with a “rollback” provision.
    1. CBDT has so far signed 14 APAs of which 13 are unilateral APAs and one is a bilateral APA.
    2. Unilateral APAs are agreed between Indian taxpayers and CBDT without involvement of tax authorities of country where the associated enterprise is based.
    3. Bilateral APAs include agreements between tax authorities of the two countries.
    4. APA with rollback provision extends tax certainty for nine financial years as against five years in APAs without rollback.
    5. APAs are meant to settle transfer prices and methods of setting prices of international transactions in advance. Government promotes having large number of APAs to foster tax cooperation and certainty.
  4832. Lok Sabha passed Delhi High Court (Amendment) Bill, 2015 that proposes following changes -
    1. Civil cases up to 2 crore rupees will be heard by 11 district courts in delhi instead of Delhi High Court. Previous limit for District courts was 20 Laks Rupees.
    2. It empowers Chief Justice of Delhi High Court to transfer any pending case to a relevant subordinate court.
  4833. Harwant Singh - a World War-II hero passed away.
    1. He was officer-in-charge of flag hoisting ceremony on the first Independence Day of India in 1947.
    2. Commissioned in 2nd battalion of Sikh Regiment in September 1941, he served in Iraq, Palestine, North Africa, Cyprus and Italy during World War-II for the British Army.
    3. He was awarded with Military Cross (highest award of British Army) in 1944.
  4834. USA's NASA signed contract of 490 million USD with Russia's space agency Roscosmos for carrying US astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).
  4835. Airtel Telecom launched high-speed 4G services across 296 towns across India . In April 2012, Airtel launched its 4G services in Kolkata and then conducted trials in 51 cities. For 4G devices, Airtel has teamed up with handset maker Samsung to develop 4G-enabled handsets in India.
  4836. Indian-American Atul Keshap has been appointed as USA's Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives. He became second Indian-origin diplomat to be posted to the region after Richard Rahul Verma (USA Ambassador to India).
  4837. Rajasthan government signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with several private companies worth Rs 2,452 crore at an investor meet in New Delhi. The Investment will generate over 7000 jobs in the State.
  4838. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi launched major expansion of new Suez Canal. The new waterway is will boost traffic passing through canal by allowing bigger ships to pass smoothly. The expansion project had estimated cost of 8 billion USD.
    1. The expansion is expected to double the ship capacity of the Suez Canal from 49 to 97 ships a day by 2023.
    2. About Suez Canal - Suez Canal was opened in 1869 after ten years of construction. It is an artificial waterway in Egypt that connects Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea. The canal allows traders and ships to navigate between Europe to South Asia without passing through Africa. Egypt earns about 5 billion USD every year through Suez Canal.
  4839. Indo-UK bilateral Air Exercise Indradhanush Completed in UK.
  4840. Maharashtra government announced construction of 800 kilometers of Nagpur-Mumbai six-lane expressway, also called Communication Super-expressway. Cost of the project will be 30000 crore rupees.
  4841. Sri Lanka announced to renovate one Hindu Temple (Rato Machindranath) and one Buddhist temple (Swayambhunath ) in Nepal that were destroyed in recent earthquake at a cost of 34 crore Sri Lankan rupees.
  4842. Tamil Nadu government started a youth award in name of former President APJ Abdul Kalam. The award will have 8 gram gold, 5 laks rupees and a citation. It will be given from 2015 onwards on every Independence Day to a person who works exceptionally in science, humanities and students welfare. Tamilnadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa announced that Dr Kalams birthday on October 15th would be celebrated as the Youth Revival Day.
  4843. Indian Squash Player Joshna Chinappa won womens squash title in Victorian Open in Melbourne (Australia).
  4844. India foiled a British Companys bid to patent use of turmeric, pine bark and tea for treating hair loss to protect its traditional knowledge.
    1. UK based Pangaea Laboratories Limited had filed patent application at European Patent office in February 2011 on a medicinal composition containing turmeric, pine bark and green tea for treating hair loss. Indias Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) filed pre-grant opposition along with prior-art evidences to prove that turmeric, pine bark and green tea, are used as a treatment for hair loss, since long in Indian systems of medicine like Ayurveda and Unani.
  4845. Aadi Perukku festival celebrated in Tamil Nadu by thousands of people including newlywed couples. Aadi Perukku is a Hindu Tamil festival celebrated on the 18th day of the Tamil month of Aadi (mid-July to mid-August) in gratitude to water bodies especially Cauvery River.
  4846. Forbes World's Highest-Paid Actors List 2015 -
    1. The List has names of 34 global actors, topped by Robert Downey Jr. for the third year in a row with earnings of 80 million USD
    2. Jackie Chan is second with 50 million USD earnings, Vin Diesel third (47 million USD).
    3. Indian Actors in List -
      1. Amitabh Bachchan and Salman Khan are seventh in List with earnings of 33.5 Million USD Each.
      2. Akshay Kumar is ninth in list with earnings of 32.5 Million USD.
      3. The Forbes list has 12 newcomers of which five are from India alone.
      4. The Indian actors are second with combined earnings of 140.5 million USD, just after USA.
  4847. Haryana government launched Thari Pension Thare Pass scheme ensure transparency in disbursement of social security pensions.
  4848. Asias biggest telescope - Multi-Application Solar Telescope (MAST) has been inaugurated at Udaipur Solar Observatory (Rajasthan). The project will be monitored by Ahmedabad based Physical Research Laboratory.
  4849. Mathematician Amalendu Krishna has won Ramanujan Prize 2015 for research in algebraic cycles, algebraic K-theory and theory of motives. Ramanujan Prize is named after Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan and recognizes outstanding researchers under 45 years age. First Indian to win it was Sujatha Ramadorai (2006).
  4850. IDFC Bank will start lending operations from October 1, 2015 After demerger of financial undertaking from IDFC Ltd.
  4851. National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) won Esri Special Achievement in GIS Award 2015 for appreciated work in Dairy Geographical Information System. NDDBs Internet-based Dairy Geographical Information System (i-DGIS) application is first of its kind in India for village-level integration of data at such a large scale.
  4852. Ministry of Rural Development launched SAMANVAY web portal to monitor progress of Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) for development of Gram Panchayats. SAMANVAY web portal has approx 1800 Central and State government for Gram Panchayats. This portal will help Members of Parliament to utilise relevant schemes for implementation of SAGY.
  4853. To augment transport infrastructure of the city, Delhi government decided to run trams across areas including Lal Quila, Jama Masjid and Old Delhi Railway Station. Shahjahanad Redevelopment Corporation will be created to carry out infrastructure projects in Old Delhi.
    1. A tram is a rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets (called street running). The lines or networks operated by tramcars are called tramways.
    2. Kolkata tram in Kolkata is only public tram system in the country.
  4854. Filipe Nyusi, President of Mozambique visited India. On this occasion, India and Mozambique signed Memorandum of understanding for cooperation in New and Renewable Energy, maritime security and ocean economy.
  4855. International Labour Organisation (ILO) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) signed MoU to impart training to Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to make them more competitive udner the second phase (Jan 2014 - Dec 2017) of Sustaining Competitive and Responsible Enterprises (SCORE) Global Programme.
    1. SCORE training programme is supported by Norway Agency for Development Cooperation (NADC) and Swiss Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SSEA) and is Presently operational in eight countries.
    2. In case of India, SCORE will help build capacity of industry body FICCI in 3 phases.
  4856. Government approved direct release of wages into the accounts of workers engaged under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). Aim is to streamline flow of funds and to empower state governments to deliver entitlements as perobjectives of the Act.
  4857. Water treatment engineering company Polutech Limited of Murugappa Group signed an agreement with Organo Corp of Japan to setup an industrial water treatment requirement Joint venture company.
  4858. Numerous burial sites belonging to Megalithic period found in a village in Siddipet mandal of Medak district (Telangana).
  4859. Tamil Nadu state  High Court permitted a transgender to participate in physical test for the post of Sub-Inspector.
  4860. As per recent Data, 10.2 % growth registered in Foreign Tourist Arrival in 2014 over 2013 and 2012 years.
  4861. Employees Provident Fund Organisation entered stock markets through exchange-traded funds route with an initial corpus of Rs 5,000 crore, It could possibly go up to Rs 15,000 crore next year.
  4862. Government approved hiving off BSNL's tower assets into a separate company and offered Rs 627.20 crore as compensation to BSNL and MTNL for surrendering CDMA spectrum auctioned in March 2015.
  4863. India’s first Integrated Underwater Harbour Defence and Surveillance System (IUHDSS) commissioned in Kochi, Kerala. It is Designed by Israel Aerospace Industries and is Capable of detecting threats and generating warning for all types of underwater and surface threats to harbour security.
  4864. Government conferred Arjuna Award on Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin. He became 48th cricketer to receive the prestigious Arjuna award.
  4865. Mercedes-Benz has appointed Roland S Folger as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of its India operations.
  4866. HDFC Bank launched Dhanchayat as educational film to raise awareness on risks of borrowing money from unorganised sources. This film has been launched under HDFC Bank's corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative - Swachh Banking.
  4867. HDFC Bank and online marketplace Snapdeal launched co branded e-commerce credit card aimed at getting Snapdeal's customers to make online payments instead of availing the cash on delivery option.
  4868. 2015 World Archery Championships -
    1. Organized in Copenhagen (Denmark). 623 Competitors from 96 nations Participated.
    2. South Korea remaied at the top with 9 Medals. Denmark second with 2 Medals.
    3. India won 2 Silver Medals. One by womens recurve archery team consisting of Laxmirani Majhi, Deepika Kumari, and Rimil Buriuly. Other silver medal was won by Rajat Chauhann the compound category.
  4869. HSBC Indias chairman Naina Lal Kidwai announced to launch green bonds in India for raising funds for investments in environmental projects.
  4870. Operation Muskaan launched as an initiative by railway police to trace missing and destitute children and reunite them with parents.
  4871. Telecom operator Bharti Airtel acquired YTS Solutions mobile payments solutions for an undisclosed price.
  4872. International Olympic Committee (IOC) officially recognised ‘Frisbee as an Olympic sport during 128th IOC Session held in Kuala Lumpur (Malayasia). IOC gave official recognition to World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF). Frisbee is the sport of flying disc which became popular in the 1960s and 70s.
  4873. Dharmendra Pradhan (Minister of State (I/C) for Petroleum & Natural Gas) visited Ashgabat (Capital of Turkmenistan) to attend 22nd Steering Committee meeting of TAPI (Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline) natural gas pipeline project.
  4874. Motoyuki Fujii, Japan's Minister of State for Science & Technology, Education, Culture, and Sports visited India.
  4875. President Pranab Mukherjee Inaugurated International Conference on ‘Inclusive Museums' with Theme Museums as Civic Spaces.
  4876. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change is establishing a Centre for World Natural Heritage Management and Training for the Asia and Pacific Region as a UNESCO Category 2 Centre at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun. It is for the first time that an existing institute has been accorded status of UNESCO Category 2 Centre (C2C) and is also first centre to be established for management and training in natural heritage.
  4877. Minister of Shipping, Road Transport & Highways, Nitin Gadkari visited Egypt.
  4878. Union Minister Mahesh Sharma released film Shesher Kobita as part of 150th birth anniversary celebrations of Rabindranath Tagore.
  4879. Government included 36 more countries under e-Tourist Visa scheme, taking total countries under this scheme up to 113.7 more Indian airports as designated airports for entry on e-Tourist Visa.
  4880.  Scientist Soumya Swaminathan has been appointed as Director General of Indian Council of Medical Research and and Secretary in Department of Health Research.
  4881. Government of India deferred proposed talks between Chief negotiators on India – EU Broadbased Investment and Trade Agreement (EU-BTIA) due to disappointment by action of European Union for imposing ban on sale of around 700 pharma products by Indian Company GVK Biosciences.
  4882. The award money given to Awardee Teachers has been enhanced to Rs. 50,000 from Rs. 25000 Currently.
    1. National Awardas are given every year by President of India on 5th September (Teacher's Day) to upto 378 meritorious school Teachers.
  4883. Iqbal Ahmed Ansari has been appointed as Chief Justice of Patna High Court (Bihar).
  4884. Narendra Kumar Sinha has been appointed as Secretary in Ministry of Tourism.
  4885. Kundan Sinha appointed as a New Member Traffic in Railway Board.
  4886. Bharat Parv, a 13 day celebration of Culture & Cuisine from different Indian states started in Delhi as a part of Independence Day celebrations.
  4887. Special Summer Olympic Games 2015 (Los Angles -USA) -
    1. 6500 Atheletes from 177 Countries Participated in various events in 25 sports.
    2. Indian Athletes won total 173 medals - 47 gold, 54 silver and 72 bronze.
    3. Ranvir Singh Saini became first Indian golfer to win a gold medal in special olympics.
  4888. Government approved setting up of Central Research Institute for Yoga and Naturoapthy (CRIYN) at Nagmangla (Karnataka) and Jhajjar (Haryana).
  4889. Tamil Nadu has most (751) registered Yoga & Naturopathy practitioners in the country, followed by Karnataka (609). There are total 2034 such registered practitioners across India.
  4890. Government has established National Adaptation Fund on Climate Change (NAFCC) of Rs.350 crores for 2015-16 and 2016-17 and estimated requirement of Rs.181.5 crores for 2017-18. Aim is to assist vulnerable States to the effects of climate change in meeting the cost of adaptation. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) is appointed as Implementing Entity for adaptation projects under NAFCC.
  4891. Government signed peace accord with Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) to end insurgency in northeastern state of Nagaland.
  4892. Filipe Nyusi, President of Mozambique (Southeast African Country) visited India.
  4893. State Bank of India Launched Digital Village Campaign and selected 21 villages across country, on State Bank Day (1st July).
  4894. 01 July - National Doctors' Day. It marks birth and death anniversary of Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy, noted Indian Physician.
    1. On this occasion, President Pranab Mukherjee presented BC Roy national awards for 2008, 2009 and 2010 at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
      1. 2010 - Nikhil C. Munshi, O.P. Kalra, Tejinder Singh, Subash Gupta, Amrinder Jit Kanwar, Rajendra Prasad and Glory Alexander.
      2. 2009 - H. Sancheti, Renu Saxena, Atul Kumar, A.K. Kriplani, Kanan A. Yelikar, H.S. Bhanushali, G.V. Rao, Moti Lal Singh, C.N. Purandare and C.V. Hari Narayan.
      3. 2008 - Rajeshwar Dayal, Mammen Chandy, Neelam Mohan, Rohit V. Bhatt, Mohan Kameswaran, Harsha Jauhari, Gopal H. Badlani and Yash Gulati
  4895. BRICS Youth Summit 2016 held in Guwahati (Assam) with Theme Youth as bridge for Intra-BRICS Exchanges.
  4896. Manoj Kumar Unni appointed as Director General Armed Forces Medical Services (DGAFMS).
  4897. Malik Samarawickrama, Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade of Sri Lanka visited India.
  4898. India approved MOU with Mauritius in field of Rural Development and Poverty Alleviation.
  4899. India approved MoU with Mozambique in field of Drug demand reduction and prevention of illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs. Government also approved a long-term contract with Mozambique for import of pulses.
  4900. Government approved National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) for providing apprenticeship training to over 50 lakh youngsters by 209-20, with outlay of 10,000 crore rupees.
    1. It will be implemented by Director General of Training (DGT) under Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE).
    2. Government will provide incentives to employers to engaging apprentices and will share 25% of total stipend payable to an apprentice with employers. Government will bear 50% of the total expenditure incurred on providing basic training to an apprentice.
  4901. India approved MOU with Tanzania in field of Traditional Systems of Medicine and Homeopathy.
  4902. Government approved setting up a Major port at Enayam near Colachel in Tamil Nadu.
  4903. Government approved joint issue of postage stamps between Department of Posts of India and Portugal.
  4904. Home Minister Rajnath Singh released illustrative book of Central Reserve Police Force titled Ayodhya ke Shoorvir. It depicts saga of valour of CRPF in foiling terrorist attack on Ram Janam Bhumi - Babri Masjid Complex On July 05, 2005.
  4905. Government constituted a Committee under Shankar Acharya (former Chief Economic Adviser), to examine desirability and feasibility of having ‘a new financial year.
  4906. India will be Partner Country of INNOPROM 2016 (largest annual international industrial trade fair of Russia). Commerce Minister Smt Nirmala Sitharaman will Lead Indian Delegation Of 110 Companies To Russia.
  4907. An Apparel Training Centre established in Kaduna (Nigeria) under Cotton Technical Assistance Programme (Cotton TAP) for Africa which is being implemented by Department of Commerce, Government of India under 2nd India Africa Forum Summit.
  4908. Jul 02, 2016 - International Co-operative Day. It is held on first saturday of July.
  4909. Punjab Government launched Rapid Rural Police Response System (RRPRS) to ensure prompt and effective police response in 12,000 villages across state.
  4910. Indias first Commercial Court and Commercial Disputes Resolution Centre inaugurated at Raipur (Chhattisgarh).
  4911. First meeting of BRICS Working Group on Energy Saving and Energy Efficiency held in Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh).
  4912. State Bank of India (SBI) signed agreement worth $625 million USD with World Bank to support its grid connected rooftop solar photovoltaic (GRPV) programme, aimed ar geenrating 400 MW solar capacity across country.
  4913. Gurpreet Singh Sandhu became first Indian football player to play in UEFA Europa League, after being named in Norwegian club Stabaek FCs squad for qualifying match against Connahs Quay Nomads FC in Europa League.
  4914. Indian Badminton Player B Sai Praneeth won 2016 Canada Open Grand Prix Badminton title by defeating Lee Hyun II of South Korea. Mens doubles title was won by Indian pair Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy.
  4915. Sudarshan Sen has been appointed as Executive Director of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). He will replace NS Vishwanathan who was elevated as Deputy Governor of RBI.
  4916. Researchers from University of Leuven (KU Leuven) in Belgium have built a super-sensitive electronic nose comprising of chemical sensors metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). The super-sensitive e-nose has ability to detect pesticides and nerve gas in very low concentrations by analyzing their chemical makeup.
  4917. India will host meet of heads of anti-narcotics agencies of BRICS nations in October 2016, to discuss issues related to narco-terrorism and money laundering.
  4918. Jawaharlal Nehru Port (Maharashtra) became first Indian port to implement logistics data bank tagging system of containers, as part of its Ease of Doing Business initiatives.
  4919. M V Dhekane appointed as Director of ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala).
  4920. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) approved extending its New Horizons mission to investigate a mysterious object deep in Kuiper Belt. New Horizons space probe will now investigate a mysterious object known as 2014 MU69 located deep in Kuiper Belt.
  4921. Indian Para swimmer Niranjan Mukundan won 8 medals at IWAS (International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports) U-23 World Games held in Prague (Czech Republic).
  4922. Government approved High Courts (Alteration of Names) Bill 2016 to change names of High Courts based on nomenclature of cities they are located in. It willn facilitate changing names of ‘Madras High Court as Chennai High Court and ‘Bombay High Court as Mumbai High Court respectively.
  4923. Goverment approved Interest Subvention Scheme for farmers for 2016-17, bearing cost of 18276 Crore Rupees. It will help farmers getting short term crop loan payable within one year up to 3 lakhs Rupees at only 4% per annum.
    1. Government will provide interest subvention of 5% per annum to all farmers for short term crop loan up to 1 year for loan upto 3 lakhs rupees for 2016-17. Thus, farmers will have to effectively pay only 4% as interest. In case they fail to repay loan in time they would be eligible for interest subvention of 2% as against 5% available above.
  4924. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton from Great Britain has won the 2016 Austrian Grand Prix.
    1. 2016 Formula One season -
      1. Total 21 Grand Prix Races to be organized across the world in 2016. Calendar is -
        1. Grand Prix Date Winner
          Australia 20 March Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Baharain 3 April Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          China 17 April Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Russia 1 May Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Spain 15 May Max Verstappen (Netherlands)
          Monaco 29 May Lewis Hamilton (Britain)
          Canada 12 June Lewis Hamilton (Britain)
          Europe 19 June Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Austria 3 July Lewis Hamilton (Britain)
          Britain 10 July  
          Hungary 24 July  
          Germany 31 July  
          Belgium 28 August  
          Italy 4 September  
          Singapore 18 September  
          Malaysia 2 October  
          Japan 9 October    
          USA 23 October  
          Mexico 30 October  
          Brazil 13 November  
          Abu Dhabi 27 November  
  4925. Worlds largest Charkha unveiled at Terminal 3 of Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) in New Delhi. This Charkha is made from high-quality Burma teak wood and weighs four-tones and is 9 feet wide, 17 feet tall and 30 feet long.
  4926. State Bank of India (SBI) launched SBI Mingle, a social media banking platform for Facebook and Twitter users. It will allow SBIs customers to access various banking services via these social platforms.
  4927. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) launched MySpeed mobile application for measuring real time mobile Internet speed that consumers get.
  4928. Rajasthan become first state in India to introduce minimum wages for part time workers, bringing part time workers in state under Minimum Wages Act 1948. As per new rule, it is now mandatory for employer to pay 50% of the prescribed a day minimum wage to a person who works for less than four hours in a day. Besides, government also increased minimum wages in all categories of scheduled employments by 104 Rupees / month.
  4929. China inducted its largest indigenously-built transport aircraft named as Y-20.
  4930. Networked Readiness Index (NRI) Report by Geneva-based World Economic Forum (WEF). It measures countries success in creating the necessary conditions for a transition to a digitised economy and society -
    1. Top-5 countries - Singapore (1st) Finland (2nd), Sweden (3rd), Norway (4th), United States (5th).
    2. India was placed at 91st position in the recently released 2016.
  4931. Cabinet Expansion - Transfers and New Appointments
    1. Cabinet Ministers (Changed Portfolios)
      1. Venkaiah Naidu - Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
      2. Ananth Kumar - Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs
      3. Prakash Javdekar - Ministry of Human Resource Development
      4. Ravi Shankar Prasad - Ministry of Law & Justice (along with Ministry of Information Technology)
      5. Narendra Singh Tomar - Ministry of Rural Development Ministry, Minister of Panchayati Raj and Minister of Drinking Water and Sanitation
      6. Smriti Zubin Irani - Ministry of Textiles
      7. D. V. Sadananda Gowda - Minister of Statistics and Programme Implementation
    2. Ministers of State - 19 New Ministers of state were Inlcuded.
      1. Vijay Goel - Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports (Independent Charge)
      2. Piyush Goyal - Ministry of Mines (Independent Charge)
      3. Anil Madhav Dave - Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (Independent Charge)
      4. Santosh Kumar Gangwar - Ministry of Finance
      5. Faggan Singh Kulaste - Ministry of Health & Family Welfare
      6. S. Ahluwalia - Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs
      7. Ramdas Athawale - Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
      8. Rajen Gohain - Ministry of Railways
      9. Jayant Sinha - Ministry of Civil Aviation
      10. Arjun Ram Meghwal - Ministry of Finance and Corporate Affairs
      11. Mahendra Nath Pandey - Ministry of Human Resource Development
      12. Ajay Tamta - Ministry of Textiles
      13. Anupriya Patel - Ministry of Health & Family Welfare
      14. R. Chaudhary - Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Ministry of Law & Justice
  4932. Uma Bharti, Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation launched 231 projects under ‘Clean Ganga project, as part of Namami Gange Campaign of Government.
  4933. Noted music director Om Prakash Sonik passed away.
  4934. South African writer, filmmaker and photographer Lidudumalingani won 17th Caine Prize 2016 (referred as african booker), for his short story Memories We Lost”.
    1. This award was established in 2010 in United Kingdom, in memory of Sir Michael Harris Caine (former Chairman of Booker Group).
  4935. Russia approved a legislation consisting of a package of controversial anti-terror amendments, named as Big Brother law. The nick-name Big Brother law was coined by Edward Snowden (USA intelligence contractor turned privacy activist).
    1. It Boosts surveillance powers for security services and grants them access to any users messages without any judicial oversight.
    2. It maked Mandatory for communication service providers to store users calls, messages, photographs and videos for six months and metadata for 3 years, so that government agencies can access it.
  4936. Astronomers led by University of Arizona sighted a Jovian planet orbiting a triple star system, named as HD 131399Ab. ThIS strange planet was discovered using SPHERE instrument on European Southern Observatorys (ESO) Very Large Telescope in Chile.
  4937. Second anti-drug working group meeting of heads of anti-narcotics agencies of BRICS countries held in New Delhi to discuss issues related to narco-terrorism and money laundering.
  4938. Government launched Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) portal (kvk.icar.gov.in), to provide information and advisory to farmers and facilitate online monitoring of KVK activities.
  4939. Kerala Government has proposed a Fat Tax on fast food items like burgers, pizzas, donuts and pasta etc. served in branded restaurants in a bid to discourage junk food culture. It will be 14.5 % of value of food items.
  4940. Cookbook author and food blogger Nimi Sunilkumar won Gourmand World Cookbook Award 2015-16, for her cookbook 4 oclock Temptations of Kerala”. It was chosen for award in the ‘Best Indian Cuisine Cookbook section.
    1. Gourmand World Cookbook Award is known as Oscar award in field of cookery. This is the only international award in this field.
  4941. Bornean orangutan species has been declared critically endangered by International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). IUCN found that population of Bornean orangutans dropped by nearly two-third since 1970s. It is expected to further decline to 47,000 by 2025 representing population loss of 86%.
  4942. Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi launched a cyber-cell to check online abuse and harassment of women and children on social media platforms. WCD Ministry has advised women and children to send their complaints, if they are being abused or harassed on social media platforms using the hashtag #IamTrolledHelp.
  4943. Captain Radhika Menon (India) became first woman in world to receive Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea from International Maritime Organisation (IMO). She was chosen by 116th session of IMO Council meeting held in London for displaying great courage in leading the difficult rescue operation in the Bay of Bengal in June 2015. She rescued all seven fishermen from fishing boat Durgamma, which was adrift following engine failure.
  4944. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) signed Agreements with IIT-Bombay and Madras to establish a bi-nodal ‘Centre of Propulsion Technology (CoPT) at these two institutions. It aims to achieve synergy between DRDO and IITs for channelising research efforts for developing products and related critical aerospace technologies.
  4945. Pakistani philanthropist, social activist and humanitarian Abdul Sattar Edhi passed away. He was known as Pakistans ‘Father Teresa, and was Pakistans most respected figure for his humanitarian work.
  4946. 2nd unit of India’s largest nuclear power plant, Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu became operational. It now has 2 unit of 1000 MW each. Both units of the Kudankulam plant have been made at a cost of over Rs. 22,000 crore.
    1. Kudankulam Nuclear Plant's Technology is backed by Russia. This atomic reactor will provide electricity to Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala and Karnataka.
    2. India currently operates 21 reactors that can generate 5,780 MW of electricity besides giving India its atomic weapons. India hopes to generate 63,000 MW of nuclear power by 2032.
  4947. National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR) conferred rare and singular species genetic recognition tag to the threatened breed of Kendrapara sheep found in Odisha, under registration number INDIA_SHEEP_1500_KENDRAPADA_14042. It became 42nd sheep breed in India to receive such tag. The genetically rare status will help to boost conservation effort to protect these domesticated threatened sheep.
  4948. Sushila Karki appointed as first woman Chief Justice of Nepal.
  4949. President Pranab Mukherjee conferred 51st Jnanpith Award on renowned Gujarati writer and litterateur Raghuveer Chaudhari.
    1. Jnanpith Award (Pronounced Gyaanpeeth) is Indias highest literary honour. It was instituted in 1961 and is presented annually by Bharatiya Jnanpith trust founded by Sahu Shanti Prasad Jain family that owns Times of India newspaper group.
    2. The award is bestowed upon any Indian citizen who writes in any 22 official languages of India mentioned in VIII Schedule of Constitution of India. It carries cash prize of 11 lakh rupees, a citation plaque and a bronze.
  4950. Sanjay Gupta appointed as chairman and managing director (CMD) of Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL).
  4951. Indias first Centre of Excellence on Internet of Things (CoE– IoT) launched in Bengaluru (Karnataka) jointly set up NASSCOM, Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DEITY) and Education and Research Network (ERNET). It has been created as a catalyst for developing IoT SME/Startup ecosystem of India to scale for industrial and societal needs. The centre has capacity to incubate 40 startups and allows them to build a prototype and test them.
  4952. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare launched Intensified Diarrhoea Control Fortnight (IDCF) to check child diarrhoeal deaths. IDCF drive will be observed from 11th - 23rd July 2016, as a cost -effective intervention to curb risk of spread of diarrhoea that scales up during monsoon season.
  4953. First international film, arts and animal welfare festival Animal-Human-Nature Continuum started in Mumbai (India0. It will highlight relationship among animals, humans and nature.
  4954. Scotland Based oil energy explorer Cairn asked Indian Government to pay nearly $6 billion as compensation for hurting its business through a tax dispute of $1.6 billion raised by India. Cairn then took its case to international arbitration court in The Hague.
    1. Cairn said that taxes sought were related to transactions carried out to reorganise company's structure to prepare for Cairn India Limited's stock market flotation in 2007.
    2. Cairn sold its majority stake in Cairn India to Vedanta Resources in 2011. Cairn said that tax department's investigation, started in January 2014 and stalled sale of its outstanding holding in Indian venture, worth about $700 million.
  4955. Neerja Bhanot conferred with Bharat Gaurav Award in London (UK) by Sanksriti Yuva Sansth, a Jaipur-headquartered NGO.
  4956. India will host world's first Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) 'Super Fight League' from August 26 to October 1, 2016. This league will feature eight teams - DELHI, Uttar Pradesh, Mumbai, Haryana, Bangalore, Punjab, Pune and Goa.
  4957. State Bank of India (SBI) tied up with e-commerce firm Flipkart to offer new pre-approved Equated Monthly Installment(EMI) facility for SBI account holders. Under this, SBI will provide overdraft facility to its customers purchasing goods worth Rs. 5,000 and above on Flipkart for tenor of 6, 9, and 12 months, withPersonal loan interest (14%) applicable for such purchases. Purpose is to provide finance to credit worthy individuals for online purchase, without applying for a personal loan for simple purchases.
  4958. Admiral Sunil Lanba, Chief of Naval Staff commissioned Marine Commandos Unit as ‘INS Karna at Naval Base at Bheemunipatanam near Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh).
  4959. Government approved Bill for change of name of Rajendra Central Agricultural University in Pusa (Bihar) to Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University.
  4960. Government approved Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) with outlay of 12000 crores, to impart skilling to 1 crore people by 2020. PMKVY will impart fresh training to 60 lakh youths and certify skills of 40 lakh persons acquired non-formally under Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL).
  4961. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved disinvestment of 15% equity of National Buildings Construction Corporation Limited (NBCC), out of Government of Indias 90% shareholding. It would bring in 1,706 crores to Government.
  4962. Government appointed A.K. Patnaik as Chief Executive Officer of National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID).
  4963. Mahindra Aerostructures, a subsidiary of Mahindra & Mahindra got a Tier 1 supplier contract to supply airframe parts for Airbuss AS565 MBe Panther helicopter. With this, Mahindra Aerostructures becomes first Indian company to receive a direct manufacturing contract from Airbus as a Tier 1 supplier.
  4964. First direct bus service between Pokhara (Nepal) and New Delhi (India) launched.
  4965. State Bank of India (SBI) signed MoU with Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SINE) at IIT Bombay to promote innovation by start-ups in the financial sector.
  4966. Bangladesh and India signed agreement for construction of a 1,320 megawatt (MW) coal fired power plant near Sundarbans. India's Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) was selected under an open international tender for constructing super thermal plant at Bangladeshs southwestern Rampal near the Sundarbans.
  4967. D Rajkumar appointed as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL).
  4968. July 06 - World Zoonoses Day.
  4969. Supreme Court ordered restoration of former Chief Minister Nabam Tukis Congress government in Arunachal Pradesh.
    1. Supreme Court quashed Governors decision advancing session of the state assembly by a month, stating that it is violative of Constitution.
    2. Now BJP's government in Arunachal Pradesh, headed by Chief Minister Kalikho Pul will step down and make way for then Congress government headed by Nabam Tuki.
    3. It is first time in history that Supreme Court has put back a state government that had been dismissed by Centre under Presidents rule (under Article 356).
    4. Background -
      1. In November 2015, 21 of Congress legislators of total 47 rebelled against CM Nabam Tuki. It reduced Congress government to 26 legislators (minority) in 60-member assembly. Following it, Government imposed Presidents rule under Article 356 of Constitution on January 26, 2016 and Later, Kalikho Pul was sworn in as 9th Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh.
  4970. Government notified UIDAI (Terms and Conditions of Service of Chairperson and Members) Rules 2016 to give legal status to Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). These rules have been framed as per provisions of Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act 2016.
  4971. Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in Hague (Netherlands) rejected Chinas claims to economic rights across large swathes of South China Sea, as part of case brought by Philippines. Ruling came from an arbitration tribunal under United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which China and Philippines have signed.
  4972. Worlds first digital incubator for student start-ups SV.CO” launched in Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala). Students can form teams and apply for admission to the digital incubator. Once selected, they will be guided right from selecting an idea to building a prototype and its launch to early customers within 6 months.
  4973. Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) partnered with Yes Bank under Partial Risk Sharing Facility (PRSF) for financing energy efficiency projects programme sponsored by World Bank. As per agreement, SIDBI will guarantee 75% of loans of up to Rs. 15 crore extended to energy efficiency projects.
  4974. Autobiography of Tennis Player Sania Mirza - Ace against Odds has been released. She wrote it with her father Imran Mirza.
  4975. National E-Vidhan Academy will be set up in Tapovan (Himachal Pradesh), where Himachal Vidhan Sabha is situated in Dharamshala. The academy will train MPs, MLAs and staff of such institutions from different states.
  4976. Sunil Kumar Kohli has been appointed as Controller General of Defence Accounts (CGDA).
  4977. Indian author Dinesh C. Sharma won 2016 Computer History Museum Book Prize for his book The Outsourcer: The Story of Indias IT Revolution”, by Special Interest Group for Computers, Information and Society (SIGCIS ) for History of Technology.
  4978. 7th edition of Mountain Echoes literary festival 2016 will be held in Thimpu (Bhutan) in August 2016. It is an initiative of India-Bhutan Foundation in association with Siyahi, a literary organization.
  4979. Gangajal delivery scheme has been launched by India Post in Patna (Bihar0. Under this scheme, pious Gangajal brought from Gangotri and Rishikesh, would be delivered at doorsteps of people at nominal prices.
  4980. Haryana Government will introduce online filing of Performance Appraisal Report (PAR) through Smart Performance Appraisal Report Recording Online Window (SPARROW) for all its IPS officers, to be recorded online at ips.gov.in.
  4981. Government constituted committee headed by Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian to tackle shortage of pulses in India.
  4982. Amal Dutta, noted former India footballer passed away.
  4983. 7-day long Kharchi Puja festival started at Chaturdas Devta Temple in Old Agartala (Tripura). In this century old festival of Tripura, Puja is offered to head-images of 14 God and Goddesses, that are bought outside only during first week of Shukla Paksha of Ashad of Bengali calendar year.
  4984. Book The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable, authored by Amitav Ghosh has been released.
  4985. Conservative party's Theresa May became Prime Minister of United Kingdom. She succeeded David Cameron, who resigned after Brexit referendum. With this, she became UKs second-ever female Prime Minister after Margaret Thatcher (in office from 1979-1990).
  4986. Government approved revival of 3 fertilizers defunct Fertilizer Units - Barauni (Bihar) unit of Hindustan Fertilizers Corporation Limited (HFCL), (ii) Urea unit of Fertilizer Corporation India Limited (FCIL) at Sindri (Jharkhand) and (iii) Urea unit of FCIL at Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh).
  4987. Peru declared Zika Virus outbreak as a health emergency across northern half of country after 102 people were infected with the virus.
  4988. Government approved Revised Cost Estimate of ongoing 1020 MW Punatsangchhu-II Hydroelectric Project (HEP) in Bhutan, that seeks provide surplus power to India.
  4989. Indian Air Force started operation Sankat Mochan to evacuate Indian citizens stranded in South Sudans capital Juba.
  4990. D K Hota has been appointed as Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) of Bharat Earth Movers Ltd. (BEML).
  4991. Noted sprinter Sameer Mon won gold in 100 meters in 56th National Inter-state Athletics (Hyderabad) by completing in 10.60 seconds.
  4992. PM Narendra Modi radio programme Mann Ki Baat will now also be telecast to Bangladesh, on All India Radio's upcoming Bangla language service channel Akashvani Maitree. Purpose is to strengthen bilateral ties and break stranglehold of Pakistani and Chinese radio channels in Bangladesh.
  4993. Maharashtra government crossed target in its initiative for plantation of about 2 crores trees, aimed at benefittig the environment.
  4994. President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated a smart model village pilot project, to be implemented in five selected villages in Haryana than later on will be spread across country.
  4995. PM Narendra Modi released a book and souvenir on the life of Banda Bahadur on the occasion of 300th Martyrdom Anniversary of Baba Banda Singh Bahadur.
  4996. Canada Open Grand Prix Badminton tournament 2016 -
    1. Men's Singles - B. Sai Praneeth (India)
    2. Women's Singles - Michelle Li (Canada)
    3. Men's Doubles - Manu Attri and B. Sumeeth Reddy (India) - They are also first Indian mens doubles pair to qualify for the Rio Olympic Games.
    4. Women's Doubles - Setyana Mapasa and Gronya Somerville (Australia)
    5. Mixed Doubles - Do Tuan Duc and Pham Nhu Thao (Vietnam)
  4997. South Asian Basketball Association (SABA) Zone Qualifying Round of FIBA Asia Challenge 2016 held in Bangalore (Karnataka).
  4998. Tuluni festival is celebrated every year on July 8 by Sumi Naga tribe of Nagaland to mark end of dry season and the beginning of new fruits.
  4999. Linda Burney become first Indigenous woman elected to House of Representatives (lower house) of Parliament of Australia.
  5000. China completed work on worlds largest radio telescope, to be used to explore space and help in hunt for extraterrestrial life. It is a 500 Metre Aperture Spherical Telescope, size of 30 football fields and has been cut out of a mountain in the south-western province of Guizhou.
  5001. India and Cyprus revised Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA), under which capital gains tax will be levied on the sale of shares of investments made after April 1, 2017.
  5002. Government will provide assistance of 400 crore rupees for developing airports at varioous locations in Uttar Pradesh.
  5003. 13 districts in Madhya Pradesh will be covered under upcoming phase of Government's Mission Indradhanush initiative aimed at full immunization of all children in country.
  5004. Government approved renaming Mhow railway station in Indore district of Madhya Pradesh after BR Ambedkar as he was born there.
  5005. Online pharmacy Company 1mg acquired diagnostic labs aggregator Medd (HolaMed Healthcare Technologies Pvt. Ltd) for an undisclosed amount.
    1. 1mg operates an online marketplace for medicines, besides facilitating medical appointments and diagnostic test bookings.
  5006. Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN) appointed R Baskar Babu as its new President of Board.
  5007. K B Koliwad elected as Speaker of Karnataka Legislative Assembly.
  5008. Noted communist leader and former World Peace Council president Romesh Chandra passed away.
  5009. Olympians Association of India, India's first-ever association for Indian Olympians has been launched. It's official Twitter account - @IndianOlympians, will serve as the platform for real-time updates of Indian contingent at upcoming Rio Olympics.
  5010. Saudi Arabia elected as 39th Associate Member of International Cricket Council’s (ICC) during its meeting in Edinburgh (Capital of Scotland).
  5011. IWAS (International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports) U-23 World Games held in Prague (Czech Republic). India's para-swimmer Niranjan Mukundan won eight medals in these games, including three golds.
  5012. President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated Swami Vivekanand Sabhagar at Kathak Kendra of Sangeet Natak Akademi in New Delhi.
  5013. Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail (ABFRL) acquired global clothing brand Forever 21 in Indian market for around Rs. 175 Crores.
  5014. Government appointed R Thiruppathi Venkatasamy as Accountant General (economic and revenue sector audit) of Tamil Nadu.
  5015. Noted Iranian Film director Abbas Kiarostami Passed Away. His 1997 film "Taste of Cherry" won Palme d'Or at Cannes Film Festival.
  5016. SBI Cards and Payment Services launched a premium credit card 'Elite', as a bundle of several privileges and benefits for high net worth individuals (HNIs). It is launched on Master Card World platform, enabled with NFC (Near Field Communication) technology.
  5017. Travel planning and booking site TripAdvisor appointed Gary Fritz as its President and Chief Growth Officer of Asia-Pacific region. 
  5018. Deepak Singhal appointed as Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh.
  5019. IDFC Mutual Fund appointed Vishal Kapoor as its chief executive officer.
  5020. Telecom tower company Indus Towers appointed Tejinder Kalra as Chief Operating Officer.
  5021. Second phase of Haritha Haram programme of Telangana government launched. It aims to plant 46 crore plants to improve green belt.
  5022. West Bengal Government will set up 3 biotechnology hubs in in Bardhaman, Kalimpong and Medinipur districts, to bring more biotechnology innovations.
  5023. International Monetary Fund announced $5.34 billion program for Iraq to help strengthen its finances, that are hit by crash in oil prices and fight against the Islamic State group.
  5024. Noted music director Om Prakash Sonik passed away.
  5025. Dipa Karmakar became First Indian gymnast to be named a ‘Gymnaste de Classe Mondaile (World class gymnast) by International Gymnastics Federation (FIG).
  5026. Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) gave this years Lifetime Achievement Award to Srinivasan K Swamy (Chairman of R K Swamy Hansa).
  5027. 2-day long NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) Summit 2016 held in Warsaw (Poland). It was 27th summit biannual summit of NATO since its inception in 1949.
  5028. Finance Ministry imposed anti-dumping duty on purified terephthalic acid (PTA) imports from China, Iran, Taiwan, Indonesia and Malaysia.
    1. Anti-dumping duty is a tariff that governments impose on foreign imports that it believes are priced below fair market value.
  5029. Telecom Ministry cleared 3,500-crore 4G spectrum trading deal between service providers Bharti Airtel and Aircel. Under this, Airtel acquired rights to use 4G spectrum of Aircel in 8 telecom circles.
  5030. Aditya Puri, chief executive and managing director (MD) of HDFC Bank has been ranked as best banking CEO in Asia by investor community. 
  5031. Maharashtra police launched four mobile apps for timely intervention into emergency situations - Pratisaad Ask, Police Mitra, Vahanchoritakrar and Railway helpline app.
  5032. Karnataka Region Economic and Trade Organisation (KRETO) and Sanya People Municipal Government (China) signed MoU to foster trade between Sanya City and Karnataka.
  5033. Lafarge-Holcim signed agreement with Nirma to sell its 100% holding in cement maker Lafarge India for value of $1.4 billion.
  5034. Sun Pharma rolled out Gemcitabine InfuSMART in Europe. InfuSMART is a technology in which oncology products are developed in a ready-to-administer (RTA) bag. Sun Pharma become worlds first pharmaceutical company to manufacture and launch a licensed RTA oncology product.
    1. Oncology is study and treatment of tumours.
  5035. K V R Murthy appointed as chairman-cum-managing director of Jute Corporation of India Limited.
  5036. Forbes list of worlds highest paid celebrities -
    1. Bollywood stars Shahrukh Khan and Akshay Kumar were only Indian celebrities in list.
      1. Shahrukh khan is ranked 86th with annual earnings of 33 Million USD.
      2. Akshay Kumar is ranked 94t with 31.5 million USD earnings.
    2. Musician Taylor Swift is at top of list with $170 million USD yearly earnings.
  5037. Noted Canadian - American Historian William H McNeill passed away.
  5038. IDFC Bank acquired Tamil Nadu-headquartered microfinance institution Grama Vidiyal in an all-cash deal.
  5039. Housing Development Finance Corp (HDFC) will be first Indian company to sell masala bonds, a rupee-denominated bond sold to foreign investors and listed on an overseas exchange.
    1. It plans to raise Rs 3,000 crores through sale of such bonds.
    2. These bonds will bear a fixed coupon and will have a incumbency period of 3 years and 1 month.
  5040. Indian-American professor Dr. Kinshuk has been named Dean of University of North Texas College of Information in USA.
  5041. Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and French firm Safran Helicopter Engines will establish a support centre in India for rotorcraft customers.
  5042. According to a survey conducted by Skytrax,
    1. Top 5 best airlines - Emirates (1st), Qatar Airways (2nd), Singapore Airlines (3rd), Cathay Pacific (4th), ANA All Nippon Airways (5th).
  5043. BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange) introduced 'Paperless SIP' (systematic investment plans), to allow mutual fund investors to make transactions through various modes of payments. Additional feature on BSE's mutual fund platform - StAR MF - would allow MF distributors to register SIPs for their clients, who can pay SIP amounts through various modes. New facility will be available only for non-dematerialised transactions and for instalment of amount over 2 lakh.
  5044. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton from Great Britain has won the 2016 British Grand Prix.
    1. 2016 Formula One season -
      1. Total 21 Grand Prix Races to be organized across the world in 2016. Calendar is -
        1. Grand Prix Date Winner
          Australia 20 March Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Baharain 3 April Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          China 17 April Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Russia 1 May Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Spain 15 May Max Verstappen (Netherlands)
          Monaco 29 May Lewis Hamilton (Britain)
          Canada 12 June Lewis Hamilton (Britain)
          Europe 19 June Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Austria 3 July Lewis Hamilton (Britain)
          Britain 10 July Lewis Hamilton (Britain)
          Hungary 24 July  
          Germany 31 July  
          Belgium 28 August  
          Italy 4 September  
          Singapore 18 September  
          Malaysia 2 October  
          Japan 9 October    
          USA 23 October  
          Mexico 30 October  
          Brazil 13 November  
          Abu Dhabi 27 November  
  5045. July 11 - World Population Day. Theme for 2016 is Investing in teenage girls.
  5046. Book Ringside with Vijender, authored by Rudraneil Sengupta has been released.
  5047. Book Who Moved my Interest Rates, authored by former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Duvvuri Subbarao has been released.
  5048. Haryana Government announced to develop an industrial township in state at an expense of 33000 Crore. This industrial township will spread in over 1500 acres of land in Sohna and Manesar areas of Gurgaon. For this, Haryana Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) signed MoU with China Fortune Land Development (CFLD) Company.
  5049. Juno spacecraft of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) successfully entered Jupiters orbit. Junos aim is to understand the origin and evolution of Jupiter. It travelled 2.7 billion kilometres since its launch to reach Jupiter. Juno will have mission life of 20 months from July 2016 to Feb 2018. In its mission life, the spacecraft will circle the Jupiter 37 times before finally making a death plunge in 2018.
  5050. USA Department of Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated top officials of North Korean regime along with Leader Kim Jong-Un for abuses of human rights. This is the first time that USA has sanctioned North Korean leader over human rights abuses.
  5051. Scientists named a newly discovered species of tarantula (a big hairy spider) as Kankuamo Marquezi after the famed Colombian novelist and 1982 Nobel Prize in Literature winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
  5052. Portugal won 2016 UEFA European football championship (Euro Cup 2016) by defeating host France. It was Portugals first UEFA European Championship title.
  5053. 2016 Wimbledon Championships winners (130th edition) -
    1. Mens Singles - Andy Murray (Britain) won by defeating Canadas Milos Raonic. It was his second Wimbledon title after 2013.
    2. Womens Singles - Serena Williams (USA) won by defeating Germanys Angelique Kerber. It is Williams seventh Womens Singles Wimbledon title (2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2015) and overall 22nd Grand Slam title.
    3. Mens Doubles - French pair of Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut defeated French pair Julien Benneteau and Édouard Roger-Vasselin.
    4. Womens Doubles - USA pair of Serena Williams and Venus Williams defeated Tímea Babos (Hungary) and Yaroslava Shvedova (Kazakhstan).
    5. Mixed Doubles - Henri Kontinen (Finland) and Heather Watson (UK) defeated Robert Farah (Colombia) and Anna-Lena Grönefeld (Germany).
  5054. PM Narendra Modi Completed his Visit to 4 African Nations - South africa, Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya
    1. Mozambique
      1. India and Mozambique signed 3 Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) in areas of drug trafficking, pulse trading and sports. These MoUs were signed at Maputo (Mozambique Capital), in presence of Filipe Nyusi, President of Mozambique.
      2. India handed over 30 SUVs to Mozambique. With this, India completed delivery of 4.5 million US dollar grant assistance as part of supporting institutions of Mozambique.
    2. South Africa
      1. India and South Africa signed MoUs in four areas of bilateral co-operation in Tourism, Grass root innovation (Science and Technology), Information and Communication technology (ICT), Arts and Culture.
      2. MoUs were signed in presence of South African President Jacob Juma in Pretoria (South Africa).
    3. Tanzania
      1. India and Tanzania have signed five agreements in Dar-es-Salaam in presence of Tanzanian President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli.
      2. Agreements were for -
        1. Establishment of Vocational Training Centre at Zanzibar
        2. Visa waiver agreement for Diplomatic/Official passport holders
        3. Cooperation in the water resource management and development
        4. Line of Credit (LoC) of US 92 million dollars for rehabilitation and improvement of water supply system in Zanzibar
        5. Joint Action Plan (JAP) between National Small Industries Corporation of India (NSIC) and Small Industries Development Organization Tanzania (SIDO).
    4. Kenya
      1. India and Kenya signed seven agreements in presence of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta in Nairobi
      2. Agreements were -
        1. MoU on Defence Cooperation.
        2. MoU in space Technology partnership.
        3. Revised Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA).
        4. Agreement on exemption of Visa for holders of Diplomatic passports.
        5. MoU on Cooperation in National Housing Policy Development and Management.
        6. MoU on Cooperation in of expertise sharing, standardisation and mutual trade between Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and Bureau of Kenya Standards (BKS).
        7. Line of Credit (LoC) Agreement for US $29.95 million to Kenyan Government for upgradation of Rift Valley Textiles Factory (RIVATEX East Africa Limited).
        8. LoC Agreement for US $15 million (first tranche of $30 million) to Kenya’s IDB Capital Limited for development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Kenya.
        9. Besides, PM Narendra Modi also announced that
          1. India will finance a cancer hospital in Kenya and India will also donate medicines for AIDS patients in Kenya.
          2. India would provide concessional credit of 60 million dollars for power transmission project to Kenya.
  5055. India and Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a $100 million loan agreement to improve water management in Vennar sub-basin of Cauvery delta in Tamil Nadu.
  5056. UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) declared Bihar's ancient site - Ruins of Nalanda Mahavihara, a World Heritage Site. It is 98 km away from Patna and is second UNESCO Heritage Site in Bihar after Mahabodhi temple in Bodh Gaya.
    1. Nalanda Mahavihara was founded by Kumargupta I of the Gupta dynasty in 5th century CE. It was patronized by various rulers including King Harshavardhana of Kannauj (7th century CE) and Pala rulers (8th – 12th century CE) as well as various scholars. About six centuries after Nalandas decline, the site was first discovered and reported by Sir Francis Buchanan.
  5057. Joint Venture Agreement Signed between Railways and Haryana Government for expanding Railways network in Haryana.
  5058. Indias Chess Grand Master Harika Dronavalli won Fide Womens Grand Prix trophy in Chendu (China) by defeating Russias Olga Girya.
  5059. Rakesh Kumar Chaturvedi has been appointed as new Chairman of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).
  5060. Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) successfully conducted proof firing tests of Armament system for 155 mm x 52 calibre New Advanced Towed Artillery Artillery Gun System (ATAGS), deveoped by Pune based Armament Research & Development Establishment (ARDE) nodal laboratory of DRDO.
  5061. 11th Asia-Europe Meeting Summit (ASEM11) or ASEM2016 held in Ulaanbaatar (capital of Mongolia). Theme of the Summit is ‘Partnership for the Future through Connectivity‘ and it is attended by leaders of 51 member countries. It was attended by Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari on India's behalf. He unveiled a stone statue of MK Gandhi at Pethub Monastery in Mongolian capital.
  5062. World Health Organization (WHO) has certified India as Yaws, Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus free country.
  5063. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has set up an inter-regulatory Working Group under RBIs Executive Director Sudarshan Sen, to study regulatory issues relating to Financial Technology (Fintech) and Digital Banking in India.
  5064. 6th Indian Languages Festivals (ILF)- Samanvay 2016 will be held in New Delhi in November 2016 with theme Language as Public Action.
  5065. 2016 Hemis festival held at Hemis Monastery in Ladakh (Jammu and Kashmir ), to celebrate birthday of Lord Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche). He is believed to be local savior who banished demons and evil spirits.
  5066. Gordon Reid (Great Britain) won first-ever Wimbledon wheelchair tennis mens singles title 2016 by defeating Swedens Stefan Olsson.
  5067. Government revised schedule for making payments under Income Declaration Scheme 2016. Now, minimum amount of 25 % of tax is to be paid by 30th November 2016. Further amount of 25 % by 31st of March 2017 and balance amount can be paid by 30th September 2017.
  5068. Special Investigation Team (SIT) on black money recommended ban on cash transactions of above 3 lakh rupees in a day and a separate law to declare such transactions as illegal and punishable.
  5069. West Bengal government has set a target to construct toilets across all villages of the state by March 2019 to enable open defecation free (ODF) rural Bengal.
  5070. Haryana's Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU) signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with non-profit public organization namely Global Village Foundation (GVF) for collaborative studies and research on social and economic public policies. 
  5071. India jumped 11 places to occupy 152nd spot in latest world football rankings issued by FIFA.
  5072. BHEL commissioned a 250 MW unit at Bhavnagar Energy Company (BECL) 2x250 MW thermal power project. It is based on eco-friendly Circulating Fluidised Bed Combustion (CFBC) technology, using low-quality coal (lignite) as primary fuel.
  5073. INS India, base depot ship of Indian Navy at New Delhi celebrated its 75th anniversary.
  5074. 40th sesion of UNESCO's World Heritage Committee (WHC) at Istanbul in Turkey.
    1. Khangchendzonga National Park (KNP) in Sikkim named First Indian world heritage site to qualify in Mixed Category - Both Natural and Cultural.
    2. Archaeological site of Nalanda Mahavihara (Nalanda University) in Bihar.
    3. Capitol Complex in Chandigarh also made it to the list, thus bringing all three nominations this session into the heritage roll of honour.
    4. This is first time that any country got three sites inscribed in the Word Heritage List at a single session of the committee meeting
    5. India now has 35 sites, including 27 cultural properties, seven natural sites and one mixed site, notified as World Heritage Sites.
    6. Other UNESCO world herirage sites declared during same session - Ani (Turkey), Qanat (Iran), Artificial islets of Nan Madol (Micronesia), Stecci Sites (Bosnia, central and western Montenegro, southern Croatia and western Serbia), Ancient Philippi (Spain), Antequera Dolmens (Spain), Gorhams Cave Complex (Britain).
    7. Turkish musician Kudsi Erguner was appointed as the UNESCO Artist for Peace by the Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova.
    8. Besides, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) also listed Swiss-French architect Le Corbusiers works among its World Heritage Sites list.
      1. Le Corbusier's works were added in list in recognition of his contribution in modern architectural movement after World War I. His 17 sites across spread across seven countries France, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, Argentina, Japan and India have been added in the World Heritage Sites list.
  5075. Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL) and US-based Bell Helicopter signed a deal to jointly develop helicopter market in India.
  5076. Government launched Transforming India Website (www.transformingindia.mygov.in), a repository for sharing the impact of various governance initiatives with citizens in real-time. It was launched by Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of Law and Justice and Communication and Information Technology.
  5077. Lifeline Express, worlds first hospital on a train of Indian Railways has completed 25 years of service to underprivileged masses of rural India. Lifeline Express is also known as the Magic Train of India. It was launched on 16 July 1991.
  5078. Madhya Pradesh became first Indian state in to have ‘Happiness Department’ that will work as knowledge resource centre on subject of happiness on the lines of Bhutan.
  5079. Commerce Ministry launched an e-marketplace portal for online purchase of goods and services by various central government ministries and departments, to bring in more transparency and streamlining the government procurement of goods and services. This e-marketplace portal has been developed by the Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals (DGS&D).
  5080. Pema Khandu of Congress Party sworn in as 10th Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh. He became youngest Chief Minister in the country, at just the age of 36 years.
  5081. Uttar Pradesh government signed a MoU with Netherlands to set up a skill development center to help farmers. It would ensure that farmers would get information in food processing and modern techniques for better produce of sugarcane, potato, dairy development and flowers.
  5082. Railway Ministry launched a project to install Solar Panels in all Railway Buildings in order to reduce expenditure on electricity. As part of this, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu laid foundation stone of one Megawatt (MW) solar power plant at Amritsar Railway station in Punjab.
  5083. 73rd Senior National Squash Championship (held in Mumbai (Maharashtra))-
    1. Mens singles - Saurav Ghosal won by defeating Harinderpal Singh Sandhu (he won this title for 11th time).
    2. Women's Singles - Dipika Pallikal Karthik won by defeating Joshna Chinappa.
  5084. USA Space Cmpany SpaceX successfully launched its Dragon Cargo capsule filled with supplies for astronauts aboard International Space Station, using Falcon 9 rocket. After successful take off, Falcon 9 rocket successfully landed back on solid ground.
  5085. Noted playback singer Mubarak Begum passed away.
  5086. Guruprasad Mohapatra appointed as Chairman of Airports Authority of India (AAI).
  5087. Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) signed 7 unilateral Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs) with Indian taxpayers to reduce tax litigation. With this, CBDT has so far entered into 77 APAs (3 bilateral and 74 unilateral APAs)
    1. APA is usually is signed between a taxpayer and central tax authority (in India it is CBDT) on an appropriating transfer pricing methodology for determining value of assets and taxes on intra-group overseas transactions. It seeks to introduce certainty in tax law by reducing compliance costs and make tax regime investment friendly.
    2. In India, Advance Pricing Agreement mechanism was introduced in 2012 as per provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961. APAs seeks to (i) Boost economy and ease of doing business, (ii) Provide alternative path to the investors with rollback provision to reduce litigation (iii) Strengthen Governments mission of fostering a non-adversarial tax regime.
  5088. India’s first e-court (paperless court) opened at High Court of Hyderabad (common high court for states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana).
  5089. Parliament passed Regional Centre for Biotechnology Bill 2016 to provide statutory status to existing Regional Centre for Biotechnology in Faridabad, Haryana. It will provide legislative backing to Regional Centre and also confers upon it status of an institution of national importance.
  5090. Indian Railways launched project to instal Terrain Imaging for Diesel Drivers- Infrared Enhanced Optical and Radar Assisted (Tri-NETRA) system to avoid train accidents. The system will be installed on locomotives for enhancing the vision of Locomotive Pilots in inclement weather.
    1. Device uses infrared and radar technology to collect signals up to a distance of 2-3 km and displays the information (composite video image) on a screen fitted inside the locomotive.
    2. Tri-Netra will alert drivers of any physical obstruction on tracks ahead and thus giving ample time to apply brakes.
    3. It will be very useful during fog, heavy rain and nights, when drivers have to constantly look outside the locomotive to judge condition.
    4. This system consists a high sensitivity infra-red video camera, high-resolution optical video camera and a radar-based terrain mapping system.
  5091. 14th edition of Homeless World Cup 2016 started in Glasgow (Scotland). It is an annual football tournament focusing on advocating a global awareness about homelessness. Slum Soccer also partnered with Tata Trusts and Football Players Association of India (FPAI) for India’s participation in world cup. Slum Soccer organization uses football as a tool for social upliftment of downtrodden and at-risk youth.
  5092. Battle exercise Operation Megh Prahar conducted by Indian Army on banks of Yamuna River to test effectiveness of ultra modern Tank T-90 & BMP-2, in Mathura (Uttar Pradesh).
  5093. Goa government granted scheme for students of local language schools. Under this, aided primary schools having Konkani and Marathi as Medium of Instruction (MoI) will be provided a special grant of Rs.400 per student per month for 10 months in a year.
  5094. Ramayana Masam began in Kerala in Malayalam month Karkidakam”, will end on August 16. The famous Malayalam version of Ramayana titled Adhyatma Ramayanam Kilippattu” written by Thunchath Ezhuthachan is recited in this month.
  5095. Actor Amitabh Bachchan will be face of city compost campaign under Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) to encourage citizens to use compost produced from municipal solid waste.
  5096. Margaret Alva (Politician and Former Governor of Rajasthan), released her autobiography - Courage and Commitment.
  5097. Indias first multi-city marathon The Great India Run started from New Delhi. It will pass through Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and will end at Mumbai on August 6, 2016.
  5098. India has been ranked 3rd on business optimism index for April-June quarter of 2016, as per the latest Grant Thorntons latest International Business Report (IBR). After remaining on top globally for the two preceding quarters, Indias rank has dropped due to delays in key reforms such as Goods and Services Tax (GST), non-resolution of tax disputes, NPA issues in banking.
  5099. Indian professional boxer Vijender Singh won 2016 WBO Asia Pacific Super Middleweight title after defeating former WBC European champion Kerry Hope (Australian).
  5100. Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are first states where Integrated Criminal Justice System (ICJS) will be launched. It will integrate courts, police stations, prosecution, forensic science laboratories and jails.
  5101. Human Resource Development Minsitry organised Gun Gaurav event to felicitate 46 students who achieved high marks in XII exams despite adverse conditions.
  5102. Puducherry government will form ‘Swachh Bal Senas’ to make sure cleanliness across union territory.
  5103. 15 July - World Youth Skills Day. 2016 Theme: “Skills Development to Improve Youth Employment”.
    1. In India, President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated first edition of India Skills Competition on this occasion.
    2. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis launched facility of virtual and digital classrooms across 32 ITIs in state on this occasion.
    3. He also Announced an initiative called 'Skill Sakhis' for women empowerment.
  5104. Reserve Bank of India asked banks to exchange up to 20 pieces of soiled currency notes with a maximum value of Rs. 5,000 free of charge in an effort to improve customer service.
  5105. Over 14 lakh LPG connections have been released to women of BPL families under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) that aims at providing LPG connections to five crore below-poverty-line beneficiaries over next three years.
  5106. Government has so far brought 74 schemes of 17 Ministries and Departments under Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
  5107. Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq became oldest captain to score Test hundred as he scored 110 against England at First test at Lord's.
  5108. Government released Rs 100 crore towards its co-contribution for Atal Pension Yojana (APY) for 2015-16.
    1. APY provides minimum guaranteed pension ranging between Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000 per month for subscribers from age of 60 years.
    2. Under this scheme, individuals who registered before March 31, 2016 will get a co-contribution from government, which will be 50 % of the subscriber contribution up to a maximum of Rs 1,000. The co-contribution will be for 5 years from 2015-16 to 2019-20.
  5109. Indian travel agency Yatra Online has been mergered with Terrapin 3 Acquisition Corp (a Nasdaq-listed special purpose acquisition firm) for $218 million (Rs 1,458 crore).
  5110. Low-cost airline with pink and white themed Air Carnival launched its operations with its maiden flight from Coimbatore to Chennai. The airline will focus on short-haul services with ATR72-500 aircraft.
  5111. Ayurvedic FMCG firm Dabur tied up with Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO's) unit Defense Institute of High Altitude Research (Leh) to promote sustainable cultivation of high-altitude medicinal plants in Ladakh. Both organizations will educate farmers and help enhance livelihood opportunities in the cold desert area.
  5112. Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari visited USA.
  5113. Spinner Yasir Shah ranked number one in ICC Test rankings, becoming first Pakistani bowler to do so since Mushtaq Ahmed in December 1996. He took 10 qickets in macth against England at Lord's.
  5114. Malcolm Turnbull sworn in for another term as Australias prime minister after a narrow election victory.
  5115. World Bank Group appointed Paul Romer (USA) as Chief Economist.
  5116. Navjot Singh Sidhu resigned as a Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament (MP). 
  5117. Tata STRIVE (an initiative of Tata Community Initiatives Trust) launched its first Skill Development Centre (TSSDC) centre in Hyderabad. It will equip youth in State with skills in BPO, banking, financial services, insurance and retail industries to make them employable.
  5118. FMCG Firm Dabur acquired South Africa-based Discaria Trading (PTY) for an undisclosed amount. Discaria Trading is engaged in manufacturing and trading of cosmetics.
  5119. Herbalife International India entered into a two-year partnership with Indian Olympic Association to be official nutrition sponsor of Indian Olympic contingent to Rio De Janeiro Olympics 2016.
  5120. Government allocated Rs 22,915 crore capital to meet capitalization needs of 13 Public Sector Banks (PSBs) in current fiscal, in line with Indradhanush initiative for restoring banking sector health. The maximum capital infusion will be for State Bank of India (SBI) at Rs 7,575 crore and the least for Allahabad Bank at Rs 44 crore. Indian Overseas Bank will be provided second highest - 3101 Crores.
  5121. 17 July - International Criminal Justice Day.
  5122. A new study of Pre-historic megaliths indicate that Meghalayas Khasi tribe has been residing in the state since around 1200 BCE. The study was conducted on the megaliths and tools discovered in Meghalayas Ri-Bhoi district. A megalith is a large stone that forms part of a prehistoric monument.
  5123. Andhra Pradesh government will conduct a 'Smart Pulse Survey' for collecting socio-economic data of 1.48 crore households in the state.
  5124. Zee Learn, education branch of Essel Group, appointed Debshankar Mukhopadhyay as Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
  5125. Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) recommended a green cess of 20-22 percent on diesel vehicles. EPCA is a Supreme court-appointed Green Panel for Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR).
  5126. Javeline thrower Annu Rani beat her national record with a 59.87m throw at 56th National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships in Hyderabad.
  5127. Ministry of Tourism released data on domestic and foreign tourist visits -
    1. Domestic Tourist Visits
      1. Number of Domestic Tourist Visits (DTVs) to States and UTs was 14.32 Crores, up from 12.82 Crore in 2014. Tamil Nadu stayed at top in domestic tourism with 3.3 crore domestic visits.
    2. Foreign Tourist Visits -
      1. India garnered 2.3 crore visits in 2015 as compared to 2.23 crore in 2014.
      2. Tamil Nadu is at top with 46.8 lakh visits. Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh secured second and third place. with 44 lakh visits and 31 lakh visits respectively.
  5128. 18 July - Nelson Mandela International Day (also known as Mandela Day). 2016 Theme is Take Action, Inspire Change.
  5129. Fourth tranche of the Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGB) scheme opened for subscription between July 18 - 22, 2016. SGB It offers an alternative to holding gold in physical form.
    1. Government has fixed 3,119 Rupees per gram as the issue price for the bond in this tranche.
    2. In this tranche, subscriptions can be made between 1 gram to 500 gram per person. Earlier, minimum denomination was 5 gram.
    3. Redemption of SGB bonds by an individual is exempted from capital gains tax.
    4. SGB gives an interest of 2.75 % per annum and is payable every six months on initial investment.
    5. Government uses funds raised through these bonds as part of its market borrowing programme.
  5130. Noted USA Film Director Michael Cimino Passed Away.He is director of Vietnam War classic The Deer Hunter.
  5131. Madhya Pradesh government approved Madhya Pradesh Tax on Entry of Goods in Local Areas Amendment Bill 2016. The Bill seeks to levy 6 percent entry tax on goods brought to local areas for consumption after purchase under e-commerce. The step has taken in wake of losses to the state exchequer due to the online shopping.
  5132. Search Giant Google acquired Moodstocks, a startup based out of Paris that develops machine-learning based image recognition technology for smartphones.
  5133. Government appointed Utpal Bora as chairman of Oil India Ltd.
  5134. Rare Marbled Map butterfly was sighted in Eastern Ghats near PM Kota village of Maredumilli mandal in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh. This is first time that the Marbled Map butterfly species, usually found in the north-east, was sighted in South India.
  5135. Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister of Malaysia visited India.
  5136. A Coup Attempt by Military neutralized in Turkey, aimed at dethroning current president Tayyip Erdogan.
  5137. National Green Tribunal has put ban on over 10 year old diesel vehicles in Delhi.
  5138. Tropical storm Typhoon Nepartak struck Chinas Fujian Province.
  5139. International Cricket Council official Rankings -
    Top 3 teams in ICC Test Rankings

    Rank

    Team

    Matches

    Points

    Rating

    1

    Australia

    32

    3765

    118

    2

    India

    20

    2238

    112

    3

    Pakistan

    20

    2227

    111

    Top 3 teams in ICC ODI Rankings

    Rank

    Team

    Matches

    Points

    Rating

    1

    Australia

    40

    4916

    123

    2

    New Zealand

    41

    4631

    113

    3

    India

    48

    5278

    110

    Top 3 teams in ICC T20 Rankings

    Rank

    Team

    Matches

    Points

    Rating

    1

    New Zealand

    20

    2635

    132

    2

    India

    25

    3212

    128

    3

    West Indies

    18

    2192

    122

  5140. Government approved establishment of new All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh) under Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY), at cost of Rs. 1011 crores.
  5141. Government approved signing Air Services Agreement with Mozambique, To promote air connectivity between two countries.
  5142. Government approved MoU with Tunisia for strengthening cooperation in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and Digital Economy.
  5143. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved installation of Ghatampur Thermal Power Project (GTPC) of 1980 MW capacity through Neyveli Uttar Pradesh Power Limited (joint venture of Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited and Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (UPRVUNL).
  5144. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved construction of a new dry dock within Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) at an estimated cost of Rs.1799 crores to augment shipbuilding / repair capacity of India.
  5145. Ministry of Culture will upgrade Infrastructure for one State Central Library and one District Library in each State / Union Territory as a Model Library under National Mission on Libraries (NML).
  5146. Indian Model Rohit Khandelwal won Mister world 2016 Title at in Southport (England). He became first ever Asian to win this Title.
  5147. A Garden Waste Management Unit (GWMU) inaugurated in Presidents Estate in Delhi, as part of advancing Swachh Bharat Mission. GWMU will process green waste such as fallen leaves, pruned plant material, cut grass and litter into organic compost.
  5148. Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation constituted a committee under Madhav Chitale to prepare guidelines for desiltation of river Ganga from Bhimgauda (Uttarakhand) to Farakka (West Bengal). The committee will also establish difference between desilting and sand mining and will establish need for desilting for ecology and e-flow of Ganga.
  5149. Noted painter S.H. Raza passed away.
  5150. Indian Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and U.S Agency for International Development (USAID) launched second phase of Feed the Future India Triangular Training Programme, bringing specialized agriculture training to 1,500 agricultural professional across Africa and Asia. 
  5151. Malaysian Navy chief Ahmad Kamarulzaman bin Haji Ahmad Badaruddin visited India.
  5152. Social Security between India and Japan shall come into force from 1st October 2016. With this, number of India's operational Social Security Agreements (SSA) will be 16. SSA are concluded by Ministry of External Affairs along with Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO).
  5153. Manipur became First North Eastern State to Join UDAY Scheme, meant for restructuring debt of State's Power Utilities. Manipur's Joinig UDAY will derove net benefit of 263 Crores.
  5154. Scimago Institutions Rankings 2016
    1. India's Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) has been ranked 12th in world among government institutions. CSIR was being ranked 14th for past 3 years. Overall global ranking of CSIR also improved from 110 to 99th position.
    2. Out of 746 institutions, France's National Centre for Scientific Research was ranked first followed by Chinese Academy of Science.
    3. Scimago rankings is a classification of academic and research related institutions, combining 3 different sets of indicators based on research performance, innovation outputs and societal impact measured by their web visibility.
  5155. Supreme Court accepted recommendations of R M Lodha Committee on reforms in BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) -
    1. Barring ministers and civil servants and those above 70 years of age from becoming BCCI members. Max term of members of BCCI will be 3 years.
    2. Parliament to decide whether BCCI should come under the Right to Information Act (RTI).
    3. Disallowing BCCI office-bearer from holding dual posts simultaneously i.e. in a state cricket association and in the BCCI.
  5156. As per Government, Majority of glaciers in India including Gangotri are retreating (melting) at varying rates ranging from 5 to 20 metre per year due to global warming.
  5157. Rajya Sabha passed Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Bill 2016 that seeks to amend Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act 1986. Key facts are -
    1. Prohibition of employment of children below 14 years in all occupations or processes except where child helps his family.
    2. A new category is called - adolescent. They are person between 14 and 18 years of age. Employment of adolescents is prohibited in hazardous occupations.
    3. Government may add or omit any hazardous occupation from list included in Bill.
    4. Punishment for employing any child is increased to imprisonment between 6 months to two years (from earlier 3 months-one year) or fine of 20,000 to 50,000 Rupees (from earlier 10,000 to 20,000 Rupees).
    5. Proposes penalty for employing an adolescent in a hazardous occupation i.e. imprisonment between 6 months and 2 years or a fine of 20,000 to 50,000 Rupees or both.
  5158. Noted Indian hockey player Mohammed Shahid passed away.
  5159. Nigerian journalist Didi Akinyelure won second BBC World News Komla Dumor Award. As part of the award, she will start a three-month placement at the BBC in London in September 2016. It will provide her opportunity to gain skills and experience by attending a course with BBC Academy.
  5160. Researchers from Laval University in Quebec (Canada) will conduct worlds first Zika vaccine test on humans.
  5161. Government approved Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill 2016 to protect them from discrimination. It will lead greater inclusiveness and will make transgender persons productive members of society.
  5162. Government approved introducing amendments to Benami Transactions (Prohibition) (Amendment) Bill 2015, to strengthen Benami Transaction (Prohibition) Act 1988. The Bill seeks to Amend definition of benami transactions to widen scope for legal action, Specify penalties for entering into benami transactions and establish adjudicating authorities and Appellate Tribunal to deal with benami transactions.
  5163. Turkey declared 3-month emergency across nation after a failed military coup to overthrow democratically elected government.
  5164. Election Commission of India (ECI) launched National Electoral Roll Purification (NERP) 2016. 2016 motto of ECI is No voter to be left behind”. NERP 2016 aims to improve health of electoral rolls (ERs) and optimize polling station (PS) location and area.
  5165. Government approved incorporation of Sagarmala Development Company (SDC) to push port-led economic development under Sagarmala project.
    1. SDC will be under Ministry of Shipping and It will provide equity support to the project Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) and funding support to the residual projects under Sagarmala Programme.
  5166. New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) signed MoU with National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (Nagpur) to develop 12 sewage treatment plants (STP).
  5167. Lok Sabha passed National Institute of Technology, Science, Education and Research (Amendment) (NITSER) Bill 2016, that aims to establish a new National Institute of Technology (NIT) in Andhra Pradesh.
  5168. Fortune 500 Companies List 2016 -
    1. Seven Indian companies have made it to Fortune 500 list of the world’s biggest corporations in terms of revenue - Indian Oil Corporation (161st), Reliance Industries (215th), Tata Motors (226th), State Bank of India (232nd), Bharat Petroleum (358th), Hindustan Petroleum (367th) and Rajesh Exports (423rd).
    2. Global top 10 companies - Walmart (1st), State Grid (2nd), China National Petroleum (3rd), Sinopec Group (4th), Royal Dutch Shell (5th), Exxon Mobil (6th), Volkswagen (7th), Toyota Motor (8th), Apple (9th) and BP (10th).
    3. The world’s 500 largest companies generated collectively generated 27.6 trillion dollars in revenues and 1.5 trillion dollars in profits in 2015. Together, 2016 Fortune Global 500 companies employ 6.7 crore people worldwide and are represented by 33 countries.
  5169. PM Narendra Modi and PM of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina jointly inaugurated Petrapole Integrated Check Post (ICP), through video-conference. Petrapole ICP is located in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. Petrapole is the Indian side of Petrapole-Benapole border checkpoint between India and Bangladesh.
  5170. Ajay Bhushan Pandey is appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).
  5171. Facebooks Internet drone named ‘Aquila passed first full-scale test. The flight test was undertaken in Arizona (US) went for 96 minutes. Aquila is solar solar-powered internet drone being designed to beam the Internet service to remote areas of the world. It is developed by Facebooks Connectivity Lab.
  5172. Sustainable Development index (SDI) 2016 -
    1. SDI assesses countries where they stand with regard to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
    2. India has been ranked 110th out of 149 countries.
    3. Top 10 Countries: Sweden (1st), Denmark (2nd), Norway (3rd), Finland (4th), Switzerland (5th), Germany (6th), Austria (7th), Netherlands (8th), Iceland (9th) and United Kingdom (10th).
    4. Bottom 5 Countries: Chad (145th), Niger (146th), Congo (147th), Liberia (148th) and Central African Republic (149th).
    5. India’s neighbours: Pakistan (115th), Myanmar (117th), Bangladesh (118th) and Afghanistan (139th), China (76th).
  5173. Indian test cricket team captain Virat Kohli became first Indian captain to score a double century outside India. He achieved this after scoring 200 runs against West Indies on second day of first Test.
  5174. Ganesh Singh appointed as Chairman of Joint Committee of Parliament (JCP) to examine provisions of Land Acquisition Amendment Bill2015.
  5175. Ministry of Science and Technology launched Solar Power Tree as an innovative way to generate electricity by harnessing maximum solar energy in a limited space. It was launched by Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences Harsh Vardhan in New Delhi. Key Features are -
    1. Solar Power Tree has been developed by CSIR-Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-CMERI).
    2. It can harnesses solar energy for producing electricity with an innovative vertical arrangement of solar cells.
    3. It takes only 4 square feet of land for installing a 5 KW Solar Power tree. But in a conventional horizontal layout for generating 5 KW it requires 400 square feet of land.
    4. It can harness up to 10-15% more power in comparison to a conventional layout on ground.
    5. It has a battery back-up of 2 hours on full load and can give light even after sunset. It is facilitated with water sprinkler at the top for self-cleaning of panels which help to increase the efficiency of solar panels.
  5176. Noted Music Director Bappi Lahiri and Filmmaker Goutam Ghose have been honoured with Mahanayak award by West Bengal Government.
  5177. Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra (18 years age) became first Indian Junior athlete ever to create a World Record in Junior athletics Championship. He achieved this after a throw of record 86.48 metre distance furing Under-20 World Athletics Championships in Bydgoszcz (Poland).
  5178. Kerala Government launched Kochi Water Metro project, first ever Water Metro project in the country. It project aims to provide water connectivity to people living between islands in the Kochi agglomeration area and city.
  5179. Scientists will undertake field trials of 3 new strains of oil-degrading bacteria in Kochi (Kerala). Field trials will be conducted by Malabar Botanical Garden, MBG Institute of Plant Sciences (Kozhikode) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL). Study will pave the way for development of bioremediation agents to clean up petroleum pollutants from the environment.
    1. Oil-degrading bacteria (microorganisms) have enzyme systems to degrade and utilise hydrocarbons as a source of carbon and energy. Based on this concept, scientists from MBGIPS successfully isolated key hydrocarbon-degrading enzyme produced by the bacteria.
    2. New strains isolated by MBGIPS include two species of Burkholderia and one species of Pseudomonas.
    3. Bioremediation is an environment-friendly mechanism that uses microorganisms to degrade environmental pollutants.
  5180. Indian shooter Manavaditya Rathore (son of Athens Olympics silver medallist Rajyawardhan Rathore) won trap bronze medal in Champion of Champions match at Junior World Cup in Porpetto (Italy). Anant Naruka also won a bronze.
  5181. China showcased worlds largest amphibious aircraft - AG 600. Key Features are -
    1. Massive seaplane AG600 is far larger than any other plane built for marine take-off and landing. The aircraft has a maximum take-off weight of 53.5 tonnes. It has maximum range of 4,500 km and is intended for fighting forest fires and performing marine rescues.
    2. It could potentially be used to display Chinas ability to conduct a variety of operations in the disputed South China Sea.
  5182. Renowned violinist Avasarala Kanyakumari selected for prestigious 2016 Sangita Kalanidhi Award. She beccame first female violinist to get this coveted award.
  5183. Indias first Green Rail Corridor inaugurated on 114-km long Rameswaram-Manamadurai stretch in Tamil Nadu. Green Rail Corridor ensures zero toilet discharge on rail tracks as part of its commitment to clean environment under the ‘Swachh Rail-Swachh Bharat initiative.
  5184. Brazilian scientists identified Culex quinquefasciatus mosquito as another type of Zika-transmitting mosquito. It was identified by researchers from the public Brazilian laboratory Fundacion Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz). Upto now, transmission of Zika virus was only known through Aedes aegypti mosquito, that spreads Dengue and Chikungunya. Culex quinquefasciatus is known as domestic mosquito in Brazil.
  5185. India's Wrestling Entry for Rio Olympics, Narsingh Yadav failed dope test after he was tested positive for a banned substance steroid. Besides, Shot Putter Inderjeet Singh also failed dope Test.
  5186. Government rescinded (Ccncelled) earlier decision of Congresss led UPA Government to set up Concurrent Evaluation Office (CEO) for managing Concurrent Evaluation Network (CENET) in Ministry of Rural Development.
  5187. Government approval raising foreign shareholding limit from 5% to 15% in Indian Stock Exchanges for a stock exchange, a depository, a banking company, an insurance company, a commodity derivative exchange. Cabinet also allowed foreign portfolio investors to acquire shares through initial allotment, besides secondary market, in the stock exchanges.
  5188. Government abolished existing "Separate Guidelines for establishing Joint Venture Companies by Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs)", that were notified in February 2012. Guidelines issued by Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) and Ministry of Finance (MoF) that which are applicable to all Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) will now also be applicable for DPSUs to set up JV companies.
  5189. Government approved Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) with Cambodia. The Treaty promotes and protects investments from either country in territory of other country, with objective of increasing bilateral investment flows. 
  5190. Government approved establishment of a new AIIMS at Bhatinda (Punjab), under Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) at a cost of 925 crores. Note that earliewr government had approved a new AIIMS at Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh).
  5191. Government approved amendment in Central Agricultural University Act (CAU) 1992 to include State of Nagaland under jurisdiction of CAU, Imphal. Now, the College of Veterinary Sciences in Nagaland will produce much-needed professional manpower in the fields of animal husbandry, which will facilitate socio-economic growth in region. It will help Nagaland to get the benefit of CAU (Manipur). CAU was established for entire North Eastern Region.
  5192. Government approved revised cost estimate for Rs. 3727.30 crore for National Automotive Testing and R&D Infrastructure Project (NATRIP). NATRIP is an important Initiative by Government for establishment of global test centres in India. This will address R&D requirements of the automotive industry.
  5193. Fourth Home Minister level talks held between India and Bangladesh on oaccasion of Asaduzzaman Khan (Home Minister of Bangladesh) visiting India.
  5194. Ministry of Earth Sciences held its 10th anniversary and Foundation Day. It was established in 2006.
  5195. As per the data under Census 2011, details of Work Participation Rate (WPR) amongst major religious groups are - 

    Major religious groups

    WPR

    Hinduism

    41%

    Islam

    32.6% (Lowest)

    Christianity

    41.9%

    Sikhism

    36.3%

    Buddhist

    43.1%

    Jains

    35.5%

    Other religions and persuasions

    48.5%

    Religion not stated

    31.3%

    All

    39.8%

    The recruitment of minorities in Government, Public Sector Banks, Public Sector Undertakings was 8.57% in 2014-15.
  5196. India contributed 100,000 USD to United Nations Trust Fund in support of victims of sexual exploitation and abuse by peacekeepers. With this India became the first country to make a contribution to the fund and to start UN fund for sex abuse victims. The Trust Fund was established in March 2016 under United Nations Department of Field Support (DFS).
  5197. Finance Ministers from Group of 20 (G-20) economies met in Chinese city of Chengdu.
  5198. Budha Rashmi Mani appointed as Director General (DG) of National Museum.
  5199. Lok Sabha passed Institutes of Technology (Amendment) Bill 2016 for opening six new IITs in Palakkad (Kerala), Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh), Goa, Dharwar (Karnataka), Bhilai (Chhattisgarh) and Jammu (Jammu and Kashmir) and Bringing Indian School of Mines Dhanbad (Jharkhand) within ambit of parent Act.
  5200. e-Commerce Firm Flipkart acquired online fashion portal Jabong through its fashion unit Myntra. Deal is said to be around 450 Crores.
  5201. BRICS Policy Planning Dialogue concluded in Patna (Bihar) with theme Building Responsive, Inclusive and Collective Solutions.
  5202. Solar Impulse 2 become first aircraft to circle globe using solar energy after landing in Abu Dhabi. It travelled 26744 miles since starting from Abu Dhabi in March 2015. Solar Impulse 2 is a Swiss long-range solar-powered aircraft project.
  5203. Ministry of Home Affairs has setup a committee under T V S N Prasad, for exploring other possible alternatives to pellet guns as non-lethal weapons.
  5204. World Health Organisation (WHO) declared Brazil free of measles, after no case of the disease was registered in 2015. Eradication of measles in Brazil is conclusion of work of WHO and Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO).
  5205. Government approved 1600 crore rupees for Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) under skill development initiative Himayat programme. Under it, youths from J&K would be given training in job-intensive vocational courses over next 3 years.
  5206. State Bank of India (SBI) and Brookfield Asset Management set up a joint venture (JV) of RS 7000 Crores to make investments in businesses with stressed assets. SBI will commit approx 5 % of total investment.
  5207. Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague (Netherlands) ruled against Antrix Corporation in case with Devas Corporation over sharing of spectrum on satellites. Case is -
    1. In 2005, Devas Corporation and Antrix Corporation struck a deal which had provided for launch of 2 satellites. These satellites were to establish a hybrid satellite and terrestrial communications network to supply wireless audio-visual, broadband and mobile internet service across India.
    2. But later, Antrix Corporation terminated contract citing changes in Indian policy and that the allocation of S-band Spectrum to companies unconnected with Indias space programme was now regarded as a risk to national security.
    3. Devas moved to PCA, citing Antrix had contended that national security and force majeure issues reasons for termination of deal as contrived excuses”. It also asked damages of 1.6 billion USD from Indian Government under UNCITRAL (United Nations Commission on International Trade Law) Arbitration Rules.
  5208. Joint expeditions by India, USA and Japan discovered large, highly enriched accumulations of natural gas hydrate (an icy form of fuel) in Bay of Bengal (Indian Ocean). This is the first of its kind discovery in the Indian Ocean that has potential to be producible and opens up a new resource to meet energy needs of India.
  5209. Ramon Magsaysay Award 2016 (regarded as Asias Nobel Prize) -
    1. Ramon Magsaysay Award is Asias highest honour and is often regarded as the regions equivalent of the Nobel Prize. It was established in 1957 in memory of Philippines 3rd President Ramon Magsaysay
    2. Total 6 awardees this year for Ramon Magsaysay Award, Including Two Indians.
    3. 2016 Awardees are
      1. Bezwada Wilson (India): He has been recognized for asserting the inalienable right to a life of human dignity. He is the National Convener of Safai Karmachari Andolan (SKA).
      2. Thodur Madabusi Krishna (India): He has been recognized for ensuring social inclusiveness in culture. He is a Carnatic music vocalist.
      3. Conchita Carpio Morales (Philippines): She has been recognized for restoring faith in the rule of law.
      4. Dompet Dhuafa (Indonesia): She has been recognized for expanding the transformative impact of zakat.
      5. Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (Japan): The organisation has been recognized for building a world of genuine solidarity.
      6. Vientiane Rescue (Laos): The organisation has been recognized for volunteering to save lives at risk.
  5210. Government will drop 20 out of 106 districts described as being Maoist-affected. The list is called Red Corridor. Dropping of these districts from list will result in drying of aid given to these districts (approx 30 crore rupees annually). Red corridor expands in 106 districts of 10 states - Bihar, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
  5211. Government cleared changes in Goods and Service Tax (GST) Constitutional Amendment Bill, providing guarantee to compensate states for any revenue loss in the first 5 years of rollout of proposed indirect tax regime, GST. Also, Removal of 1% additional tax on inter-state sales as proposed in the Constitutional Bill. Removal of 1% additional manufacturing levy tax by manufacturing States from GST Bill.
  5212. Himachal Pradesh won 41st All India Electricity Board Kabaddi tournament 2016 by defeating Punjab.
  5213. Tamil Nadu government launched free bus pass scheme for school and college students for 2016-17, aimed to benefit students from poor backgrounds.
  5214. Managing Piety: The Shrine of Data Ganj Bakhsh has been authored by Linus Strothmann.
  5215. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton from Great Britain has won the 2016 Hungarian Grand Prix title of Formula One.
    1. 2016 Formula One season -
      1. Total 21 Grand Prix Races to be organized across the world in 2016. Calendar is -
        1. Grand Prix Date Winner
          Australia 20 March Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Baharain 3 April Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          China 17 April Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Russia 1 May Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Spain 15 May Max Verstappen (Netherlands)
          Monaco 29 May Lewis Hamilton (Britain)
          Canada 12 June Lewis Hamilton (Britain)
          Europe 19 June Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Austria 3 July Lewis Hamilton (Britain)
          Britain 10 July Lewis Hamilton (Britain)
          Hungary 24 July Lewis Hamilton (Britain)
          Germany 31 July  
          Belgium 28 August  
          Italy 4 September  
          Singapore 18 September  
          Malaysia 2 October  
          Japan 9 October    
          USA 23 October  
          Mexico 30 October  
          Brazil 13 November  
          Abu Dhabi 27 November  
  5216. from here
  5217. NITI Aayog signed Statement of Intent (SoI) with Intel India to set up 10 Atal Tinkering Laboratories (ATLs) in India to promote creativity and imagination among young innovators. ATL is a part of Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) and aims to build relevant skill sets among youngsters.
  5218. First Annual Meeting of Board of Governors of the BRICS New Development Bank held at Shanghai (China). Mr Raj Kumar (Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs) represented India.
  5219. Government of Delhi launched online payment system for licensing and registration of Food Business Operators (FBOs).
  5220. Global Retirement Index (GRI) 2016 by Natixis Global Asset Management -
    1. India has been ranked 43rd out of 43 countries in the 2016 .
    2. List is topped by Norway, followed by Switzerland, Iceland, Sweden and Germany.
    3. purpose of this index is to provide a global benchmark for retirees and future retirees so that they can evaluate and compare suitability of various nations, and plan their retirement accordingly.
  5221. SAARC Tourism Summit will be hosted by Aurangabad (Maharashtra) in October 2016, with an aim to tap Foreign Direct Investment ( FDI) under Make in India” and Make in Maharashtra” schemes. Ministry of External Affairs chosen Aurangabad because 2017 will be celebrated as Visit Maharashtra Year” and 2018 will observe 200th anniversary of discovery of world heritage Ajanta caves (Maharashtra).
  5222. Michelle Kakade from Pune became first person to complete Indian Golden Quadrilateral on foot. It took her 193 days, 1 hour & 9 minutes to cover 5968.4 kms of the Golden Quadrilateral that connects the 4- major metros of India.
  5223. Odisha government constituted a judicial commission under Bimal Prasad Das, to study functioning of Sri Jagannath Temple, which has recently witnessed major controversies over mismanagement of rituals.
  5224. Mother Teresa International Film Festival (MTIFF) will start from Kolkata  in August 26 and will travel across world to mark canonisation of Mother Teresa on September 4, 2016.
  5225. Book Sleep Revolution: Transforming Your Life, One Night at a Time has been authored by Arianna Huffington.
  5226. Advay Ramesh from Chennai won Google Community Impact Award from Asia for creating a device that enhances fishermens safety and productivity, named FishErmen Lifeline Terminal (FELT). FELT uses Standard Postservices (SPS) provided by Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) to increase fishermens safety and productivity at sea.
  5227. Indian Hockey Olympian Player Joe Antic passed away.
  5228. Nepal's Prime Minister, Khadga Prasad Oli resigned.
  5229. Cabinet Committee on Security approved 13 new armed police battalions, including one comprising mostly tribals from worst Maoist-hit districts, will be raised by the government to tackle Naxalists. Of the 12 battalions, four will be raised in Chhattisgarh, three each in Jharkhand and Odisha and two in Maharashtra.
  5230. State of Electricity Production in India -
    1. As per Government, Total 169503 MW elecricity will be produced in India this year, which is 2.3 % more than demand of 165253 MW. Although, 30 % power gets wasted in terms of Transmission Loss (22 %) and stealing (8 %).
    2. India is now self sufficient in terms of producing enough power to fulfill its needs. Government has set target of Power to All by 2019 (changed from 2022 earlier).
  5231. Chinas internet regulator has put a ban on major online companies, to stop original news reporting.
  5232. Cleanliness report of Railway stations -
    1. Gujarat has 5 out of top 10 cleanest stations and Bihar has 5 out of top 10 dirtiest stations in India.
    2. 5 cleanest stations - Beas (Punjab), Gandhidham (Gujarat), Vasco Da Gama (Goa), Jamnagar (Gujarat), Kumbakonam (Tamilnadu).
    3. 5 dirtiest stations - Madhubani (Bihar), Ballia (UP), Bhaktiyarpur (Bihar), Raichur (Karnataka), Shahganj (UP).
  5233. Byculla Zoo in Mumbai became firts Indian zoo to have Penguins, after 8 Humboldt penguins bought in from Seoul (South Korea).
  5234. 26 July - Kargil Vijay Diwas, named after success of Operation Vijay. On this day in 1999, India successfully took command of the high outposts which had been lost to Pakistani intruders.
  5235. International Cricket Council (ICC) appointd Steve Elworthy as Managing Director of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, which will be held in England and Wales. 
  5236. International remittance company Western Union appointed Sohini Rajola as Regional Vice President, India and South Asia.
  5237. Federal Bank signed agreement with Reliance Jio Money for one-click payment service. Reliance Jio Money is a wallet application that will be launched soon for mobile devices where Federal Bank will enable a direct payment option for its customers.
  5238. Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) signed agreement with State Bank of India to create plan for promotion of rail ticketing activities, including internet ticketing and unreserved ticketing system.
  5239. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has laid the foundation stone of All India Institute Of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and revival of fertilizer factory which was closed for the last three decades in Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh). 
  5240. Government constituted a committee under Giridhar Malviya, to prepare Draft Bill on Ganga to deal with all issues related to Ganga River.
  5241. Orissa Integrated Power Ltd's 4000 UMPP(ultra mega power project) received First Stage Approval. Area required is 1302 hectares for this Rs 29000 mega power project.
  5242. Kerala Government constituted a State Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (STAGI) on lines of National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI). It will advise State government on policies to be adopted and implemented under National Immunisation Programme.
  5243. Public Sector Bank Corporation Bank launched a new Green PIN facility as an online module for generation of Personal Identification Number (PIN) for credit card holders.
  5244. Online marketplace Snapdeal partnered with e-ticketing platform BookMyShow to extend its offerings. Now, customers can now book tickets for movies on Snapdeal.
  5245. HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company and Shamrao Vithal Co-operative (SVC) Bank held bancassurance partnership to provide a range of non-life insurance offerings to customers of SVC bank.
  5246. Karnataka Bank started a programme called solar light scholarship to provide solar lights in the non-electrified houses of students in rural area, in association with Manipal-based Bharatiya Vikas Trust.
  5247. ICICI Bank organised a coin exchange mela during the 'Rath Yatra' festival at RBI financial literacy camp in Bholanath Vidyapith, Puri(Odisha).
  5248. Andhra Pradesh government laid foundation stone for a Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises technology centre under Technology Centre Systems Programme (TCSP) at Pudi in Visakhapatnam district.
  5249. Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis launched a pilot project of e-complaint system on an experimental basis in Pune. Citizens can now register a police complaint online at any city police station from anywhere. As per current laws, FIRs have to be registered at police station only.
  5250. A motorcycle rally named Ride for Accessibility organized in Delhi with a message to empower Divyangs (differently abled persons).
  5251. National Memorial Foundation Stone Laying Ceremony of former President APJ Abdul Kalam held at Rameswaram (Tamil Nadu), on the occasion of his death anniversary (July 27).
  5252. 2016 Swiss Open Gstaad, a men's tennis tournament has been won by Spainish player Feliciano Lopez. He defeated Robin Haase of Netherlands.
  5253. ITC Limited appointed Sanjiv Puri as Chief Operating Officer.
  5254. Online classifieds platform Quikr acquired Bengaluru-based online recruitment firm Hiree for an undisclosed amount.
  5255. Tata Consultancy Services has been ranked as top employer in Indian IT industry, as per a report by Nasscom. TCS had a total headcount of 3.62 lakh while Infosys and Wipro had 1.97 lakh and 1.73 lakh, respectively.
  5256. ICICI Bank and Axis Bank are first Indian banks to sign up for Swifts global payments innovation initiative. Belgium-based Swift is a global member-owned cooperative and a leading provider of secure financial messaging services. It aims to enhance cross-border payments by using its messaging platform.
  5257. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has put penalty on Bank of Baroda (5 Crore), HDFC Bank (2 Crore), Allahabad Bank(2 Crore), UCO Bank (2 Crore) and Rs 1 crore on Bank of India for violation of anti-money laundering norms.
  5258. Ministry of Tourism sanctioned 25 projects under Swadesh Darshan scheme worth Rs. 2048 Crore.
  5259. Hinduja National Power Corporation Limited (HNPCL) commissioned its 1,040 MW coal fired thermal power project on coast of Bay of Bengal in Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh). Andhra Pradesh is implementing 24X7 Power for All Scheme.” State had initiated the power sector reforms in 1998 and now has a total installed capacity is 15,311 MW. It aims to achieve 29,000 megawatts installed capacity by 2019.
  5260. Rajasthan government will hold Global Rajasthan Agritech Meet (GRAM) in Jaipur from November 9 - 11, aimed at doubling income of farmers by 2022. The event will showcase investment opportunities in agricultural sector in state.
  5261. Karnataka Government has set-up a dedicated start-up cell for speeding up the implementation of initiatives under its start-up policy.
  5262. Elephant Dakshayani in Travancore Devasom Board will enter Guinness World Records as oldest living elephant (86 years age).
  5263. Vodafone M-Pesa, a mobile phone-based money transfer service, has tied up with Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) to enable consumers pay their electricity bills instantly.
  5264. Haryana Government announced to open Yoga centres across all municipal units. 1 yoga centre would be opened in each municipal committee, two within jurisdiction of each municipal council and four in each municipal corporation.
  5265. UN General Assembly approved agreement to make International Organisation for Migration part of UN as a related organisation.
    1. IOM assisted 2 crore migrants in 2015. It is an intergovernmental organisation with more than 9,500 staff and 450 offices worldwide. It was Founded after World War II to resettle refugees from Europe.
  5266. Chinese electronics firm LeEco announced to buy American TV manufacturer Vizio for $2 billion.
  5267. Muttaiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka), Australia's Arthur Morris, Karen Rolton and George Lohmann of England will be included in ICC hall of fame. Muttaiah Muralitharan will be first Sri Lankan to be included in ICC's Hall of Fame.
  5268. BJP MP Anurag Thakur will be commissioned into Territorial Army (TA) as a regular officer. He will be the first serving BJP MP to join Army.
  5269. 28 July - World Nature Conservation Day (WNCD.
  5270. 28 July - World Hepatitis Day. 2016 Theme is Elimination.
  5271. Book Indias Most Powerful Women has been written by Mrs. Prem Ahluwalia.
  5272. Noted Social Activit and Writer Mahasweta Devi passed Away.
  5273. Governmement stated that during 2015-16, energy generated through Wind and Solar sources was 33029.39 MU and 7447.92 MU respectively. During last two years, total capacity of 5735 MW and 4131 MW have been installed for wind and solar energy respectively.
  5274. Aruna Sharma is appointed as Secretary in Ministry of Steel.
  5275. Aruna Sundararajan is appointed as Secretary in Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology.
  5276. Rajeev Kapoor is appointed as Director in Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (Mussoorie).
  5277. Noted agricultural scientist Neelamraju Ganga Prasada Rao passed away. He is famously known as Father of Hybrid Sorghum.
  5278. European Union (EUs) appointed Michel Barnier as its Chief Negotiator for United Kingdoms exit from EU bloc.
  5279. India signed a defence deal with United States worth over $1 billion to purchase four additional Poseidon-8I (P8I) long-range maritime surveillance and anti-submarine warfare aircrafts. It is a follow-up to eight P-81 aircrafts already bought by India in in 2009.
  5280. Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) announced that India Meteorological Department (IMD) will use supercomputer to forecast Indias annual summer monsoon, based on a dynamical monsoon model and will be operational from 2017.
    1. Dynamical Monsoon Model The dynamical monsoon model works by simulating weather on powerful supercomputers and extrapolating it over particular timeframes.
    2. This modern forecasting model is being tested at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune.
    3. Dynamical monsoon model is also called Coupled Forecast System version 2.
  5281. Kolkata's East Bengal football Club announced to give this year's Bharat Gaurav award (Pride of India) to legendary athlete Milkha Singh.
  5282. State Bank of India has launched a payment system at its ATMs which will allow account holders to transfer the money by using mobile phone number as an identifier. It works on instant money transfer (IMT) platform which will enable a payment of up to Rs 10,000 from any SBI bank account and recipient can withdraw funds instantly from an IMT-enabled ATM without using a debit card. IMT is a unique payment system launched by Eempays Payment Systems Pvt Ltd.
  5283. International Transgender Arts Festival, a performing arts festival for transgenders will be organized at National Gallery for Modern Arts in Bengaluru from July 29 - 31, 2016. 
  5284. Odisha government announced 60 lakh rupees cash special incentive for 6 sportswomen of the state who qualified for Rio Olympics. The six sportspersons are - Dutee Chand, Srabani Nanda and four hockey players Deep Grace Ekka, Namita Toppo, Lilima Minz and Sunita Lakra.
  5285. India named Parveen Rana as a replacement for dope-tainted wrestler Narsingh Yadav for Rio Olympics in 74kg freestyle category. Narsingh Yadav has been foundb guilty in a dope test.
  5286. Coca-Cola appointed Sarvita Sethi as the new Vice-President (Finance) for India and South West Asia.
  5287. Kerala Assembly passed Legislative Assembly (Removal of Disqualifications) Amendment Bill 2016, to pave way for VS Achutanandan's appointment as the Administrative Reforms Committee Chairman with Cabinet rank. Bill seeks to add a subsection that says No person shall be disqualified from being member of legislative assembly (MLA) on grounds that it holds the office of profit in term of being Chairman of Administrative Reforms Commission.
  5288. Book The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable authored by Amitav Ghosh has been released.
  5289. 4th Brahmaputra Valley Film Festival held in Guwahati (Assam). This festival pays homage to rich culture of northeast India and is dedicated to film fraternity of region.
  5290. 29 July - International Tiger Day (Global Tiger Day).
  5291. A.K.Mital has been reappointed as Chairman of Railway Board for 2 years.
  5292. Government of Himachal Pradesh, NTPC & NHPC signed MoU for setting up Hydro Engineering College in Bilaspur (Himachal Pradesh), to promote technical education in State.
  5293. 3 books on life of former President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam have been released - Dr Kalam, Prerna ki Udaan (Hindi1), Do You Know Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam (English) and Prerna Nu Zarnu : Dr Abdul Kalam (Gujarati). These books language have been written by Unnat Pandit.
  5294. Exercise Maitree 2016 - Joint Indo - Thailand Military Exercise concluded at Krabi (Thailand).
  5295. Anant Maheshwari has been appointed as president of Microsoft's India operations.
  5296. Parliament passed Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill 2016, aimed at establishment of funds under public accounts of Centre and State levels for compensatory afforestation.
    1. It Establishes National Compensatory Afforestation Fund (NCAF) under Public Account of India, and State Compensatory Afforestation Fund under Public Account of each state. NCAF will get 10% of funds collected and remaining 90% will go to respective State Fund.
    2. Collected funds will be utilised for afforestation, regeneration of forest ecosystem, wild life protection and forest related infrastructure development. Establishes National and State Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authorities to manage the funds.
  5297. Haryana Government launched Pashudhan Bima Yojana, an insurance cover scheme for cattle breeders in state. Insurance cover will be provided at a premium of Rs 100 for cows, buffaloes, bulls, camels and at Rs 25 for sheep, goat and pig for 3 years.
  5298. First meeting of BRICS Employment Working Group (BEWG) held in Hyderabad (Telangana).
  5299. Mohun Bagan Footclub conferred its highest honour Mohun Bagan Ratna on noted Indian Footballer Syed Nayeemuddin.
  5300. Dilip Babasaheb Bhosale appointed as new Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court.
  5301. Strategic Forces Command (SFC) which forms part of National Command Authority (NCA) has been added to Second Schedule of Right to Information Act (RTI) 2005 as a subsection of Section 24 of RTI. Section 24 of RTI exempts security and intelligence establishments from its purview.
  5302. West Bengal selected for All India Coordinated Rice Improvement Project Award 2015. It has been selected by 51st committee from Indira Gandhi Krishi Bikash Kendra for its achievement in four key areas including scientific research for seeds.
  5303. Skydiver Luke Aikins from USA became first person to jump from 25,000 feet (mid-tropospheric altitude) without a parachute and landing safely in a net. He fell safely into 100x100ft net in Simi Valley, southern California after two-minute free fall.
  5304. PM Narendra Modi flagged off Run for Rio event to encourage Indian contingent at 2016 Rio Olympics beginning on August 5, 2016.
  5305. Noted Tabla maestro Pandit Lachu Maharaj passed away.
  5306. Anurag Kashyap's psychological thriller ‘Psycho Raman won Best Asian Genre Film award at 20th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN) 2016 in South Korea. It is called Europe Fantastic Film Festivals Federation (EFFFF) Asian Award.
  5307. Madhya Pradesh won best state award for comprehensive development of tourism, followed by Gujarat and Karnataka, at National Tourism Awards 2014-2015.
    1. Rajasthans Sawai Madhopur railway station received Best Tourist Friendly railway station award.
    2. Mumbais Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport got Best Airport award
    3. Telanganas Warangal won best heritage city award.
    4. Kerala Tourism won six National Tourism awards for 2014-15 in the marketing category for states. It received two more awards, including the one for its Responsible Tourism (RT) initiative in Wayanad.
  5308. International summit on tobacco-control will be hosted by India in Noida on November 2016.
  5309. Book Hashimpura 22 May: The forgotten story of one of Indias biggest custodial killings, authored by Vibhuti Narain Rai has been released. He was posted as Superintendent of Police in Ghaziabad district when Hashimpura massacre took place.
  5310. 30 July - United Nations International Day of Friendship. Note that some nations including India, observe First Sunday of August as friendship day.
  5311. 30 July - World Day against Trafficking in Persons.
  5312. India will host 2016 Kabaddi World Cup to be held in October 2016.
  5313. Iqbal Ahmed Ansari appointed as 39th Chief Justice of Patna High Court.
  5314. Patna Pirates won 4th edition of STAR Sports-ProKabaddi League by defeating Jaipur Pink Panthers. It was second consecutive title of Patna Pirates.
  5315. Railway Ministry flagged off first broad gage train service Tripura Sundari Express from Agartala (Tripura) to Delhi.
  5316. Government constituted District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee (DDCMC) for effective development and coordination of Central Governments programme. It will be known as DISHA and will monitor implementation of 28 schemes and programmes of several Ministries.
  5317. Karnataka government has recently imposed an unconditional ban on the sale and possession of Chinese manja and other non-biodegradable threads used to fly kites.
  5318. Start-up India States Conference organized by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion ( DIPP) in New Delhi, to give momentum to start-up India initiative.
  5319. From September 2016 Onwards, passengers booking tickets through IRCTC website can avail a travel accident cover of Rs 10 Lakh for a premium of Rs 1. Insurance would provide coverage against death, injury and disabilities caused due to accidents.
  5320. As per latest report by WaterAid - ‘Caught Short–How lack of toilets and clean water contribute to malnutrition, India has highest number of children suffering from stunting (less growth) in world. 4.8 crore children in India suffer from stunted growth.
  5321. Book How to Be a Bawse: A Guide to Surviving Conquering Life has been written by Lilly Singh.
  5322. Sharad Pawar has been honored by 2016 Tilak Samman Puraskar for his contribution in Green revolution.
  5323. Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd (MCX) won ‘Best Commodity Exchange award at 2016 Bullion Federation Global Convention organized by the Bullion Federation in Agra, Uttar Pradesh.
  5324. e-commerce firm Amazon launched Prime premium service in India, available to customers in 100 Indian cities. With this, customers can avail 1 -2 day delivery on lakhs of eligible products.
  5325. Government constituted committee to prepare a road map for restructuring University Grants Commission (UGC) and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), under Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Arvind Panagariya. Apart from this, Arvind Panagariya committee working on restructuring of Medical Council of India (MCI), has recommended replacing MCI with National Medical Commission (NMC).
  5326. Yes Bank got approval from Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to sponsor a mutual fund and to setup an Asset Management Company (AMC) and a trustee company in India.
  5327. Book The Sialkot Saga has been authored by Ashwin Sanghi.
  5328. Andhra Pradesh government launched Mission Harita Andhra Pradesh, with theme Green cover for a happy living”.Purpose is to increase green cover in state to 50 % by 2029.
  5329. 11th edition of Navlekhan award 2015 of Bharatiya Jnanpith has been awarded to Amlendu Tiwari and Balram Kawant for their novels ‘Parityakt, ‘Sara Morila,. Om Nagar and Tasneem Khan were awarded for their ‘Nib Ke Chire Se and ‘Yeh Mere Rahnuma respectively.
  5330. World Health Organisation 2015 Non-communicable Diseases (NCD) Global Survey report -
    1. The report highlights need to intensify national action to meet global targets governments have agreed to protect people from heart disease, cancers, diabetes, and lung diseases.
    2. Globally, four NCDs, which are cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases, represent largest cause of death in people aged under 70 years.
  5331. Haryana Government notified "Freight Assistance Scheme" for exporting Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) located anywhere in State. It has given time till September 9 to submit claim application for 2015-16. The decision was taken in view of additional cost borne by MSMEs exporting unit located in state due to large distances from sea ports.
  5332. Japanese payments company OKI installed 600 automatic teller machines with cash recycling abilities for country's largest bank State Bank of India.
  5333. US-based A10 Networks, an application networking and security company acquired Appcito, a provider of Software-As-A-Service (SaaS)-based multi-cloud Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) solutions.
  5334. Intex Technologies appointed actress Madhuri Dixit as its Brand Ambassador.
  5335. American author James Alan McPherson has passed away. He was first black author to receive Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1978.
  5336. German football team captain Bastian Schweinsteiger retired from national team.
  5337. International Weightlifting Federation suspended 8-member Russian team from Rio Olympics due to doping offences.
  5338. Gujarat government appointed Jagdip Narayan Singh as Chief Secretary of State.
  5339. Cochin Chamber of Commerce & Industry (CCCI) launched an Aadhaar based e-Certificate of Origin service. A certificate of origin is a critical document in course of export, which is issued to exporters by to avail duty benefits under Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) or prove from where the goods originated. It speeds up application, issuance process and provide a more secure documentation environment.
  5340. 18-year-old Indian-American girl Sruthi Palaniappan became youngest delegate at Democratic National Convention which nominated Hillary Clinton as the party's presidential candidate.
  5341. Markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) initiated first phase of its new enterprise portal to facilitate accurate and timely circulation of information to internal and external stakeholders. The portal is developed by firm Tech Mahindra, provides a platform to intermediaries to interact in a secure manner with SEBI.
  5342. Government collected over 920 Crores through fourth tranche of Sovereign Gold Bond scheme, highest achieved yet. With issue price fixed at Rs. 3,119 per gram, amount was mobilised through over 1.95 lakh applications representing around 2.95 tonnes of gold.
  5343. Yahoo has developed a new online abuse detecting algorithmm, better than most existing products. It uses machine laerning and carries 90 % accuracy in recognizing unsuitable speeches.
  5344. Bihar government lifted ban on sale and consumption of toddy (palm wine) in state.
  5345. Oracle acquired NetSuite (first cloud company), for 9.3 billion USD.
  5346. Book Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, written by JK Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany has been launched.
  5347. Satish Mathur has been appointed DGP (Director General of Police) of Maharashtra Police.
  5348. Jharkhand government will form a separate cell for Primitive Tribes Group (PTG) in Welfare Department.
  5349. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton from Great Britain has won the 2016 Hungarian Grand Prix title of Formula One.
    1. 2016 Formula One season -
      1. Total 21 Grand Prix Races to be organized across the world in 2016. Calendar is -
        1. Grand Prix Date Winner
          Australia 20 March Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Baharain 3 April Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          China 17 April Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Russia 1 May Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Spain 15 May Max Verstappen (Netherlands)
          Monaco 29 May Lewis Hamilton (Britain)
          Canada 12 June Lewis Hamilton (Britain)
          Europe 19 June Nico Rosberg (Germany)
          Austria 3 July Lewis Hamilton (Britain)
          Britain 10 July Lewis Hamilton (Britain)
          Hungary 24 July Lewis Hamilton (Britain)
          Germany 31 July Lewis Hamilton (Britain)
          Belgium 28 August  
          Italy 4 September  
          Singapore 18 September  
          Malaysia 2 October  
          Japan 9 October    
          USA 23 October  
          Mexico 30 October  
          Brazil 13 November  
          Abu Dhabi 27 November  

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