08 March 2017 Current Affairs

Aishwarya Rai Wins Best Actress for Sarbjit at IFFA Australia

Bollywood Actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has won the best actress award at the International Film Festival and Awards of Australia (IFFAA) fo her movie Sarbjit. Directed by Omung Kumar, Sarbjit was the biopic on Sarbjit Singh was was an Indian Farmer was convicted of terrorism and spying in Pakistan. The film starring Aishwarya and Randeep Hooda showcased his journey inside the jail and his sister’s unending fight to free him.

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International Women’s Day March 8

On March 8, People around the world observed International Women’s Day (IWD). It is a global day celebrating the political, social Economical, cultural and Educational achievements of women. The theme of International Women’s Day (IWD) 2017 campaign is “Be Bold For Change”. IWD was only adopted by the United Nations in 1975, it was marked for the first time in New York in the early 1900’s.

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Hyderabad GMR Airport Declared Best in World For Service

GMR’s Hyderabad International Airport has secured first position in the world in the prestigious Airports Council International (ACI) Airport Service Quality (ASQ) survey in the 5-15 million passengers per annum (MPPA) category of the year 2016. Besides, the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi has been ranked world’s second best airport, its score increased from 4.96 in 2015 to 4.99 in 2016.

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Cuevas Wins Third Straight Brazil Open Title

Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas has won his third straight Brazil Open tennis title by defeating Albert Ramos Vinolas of Spain 6-7 (7-3), 6-4, 6-4 in a rain affected final. The match eventually finished more than 24 hours late after successive rain delays. Cuevas took control immediately after the restart before wrapping up the match. It was Cuevas sixth ATP single title, all of which have been on clay.

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First smart tribal village inaugurated in Jammu & Kashmir

Jammu & Kashmir Minister for food, Civil supplies and Consumer Affairs Ch Zulfikar Ali inaugurated the first tribal model village in “Kotranka” in Jammu & Kashmir’s Rajouri district. Developed under the rural development department, it is the first smart tribal village in Jammu & Kashmir. The village has been introduced with smart classes in the schools, better roads, electricity and water facility.

07 March 2017 Current Affairs

Former Lok Sabha Speaker Rabi Ray Passes Away

Rabi Ray, former Speaker of Lok Sabha, passed away on 6 March 2017 after a prolonged illness in Cuttack. He was 91. Ray was also an eminent socialist Politician, a Gandhian, and also served as a former Union Minister. Under the leadership of Ram Manohar Lohia, Ray founded the Socialist Party in Orissa in 1956.

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Syrian troops with Russian support recaptured historic city of Palmyra

Syrian troops backed by Russian jets recently recaptured the historic city of Palmyra from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Palmyra was first seized by the militant group in May 2015. After capturing the city. UNESCO world heritage site was destroyed systematically. The city was listed in UNESCO’s world heritage site for hosting numerous ancient monuments and temples.

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MP Veerendra Kumar presented Moortidevi Award

Eminent Malayalam Author and Journalist, M.P. Veerendra Kumar was presented the 30th Moortidevi Award by Bharatiya Jnanpith organisation. Kumar was chosen for the prestigious award for his Malayalam Travelogue “Hymavatha Bhoovi” It dwells upon ancient trails of Indian culture, myth, literature, and people strewn in the plains, valleys, and mountains of India.

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Tribal Festival “Bhagoria” begins in Madhya Pradesh

Bhagoria Festival, also known as Bhagoria Haat festival, celebrated by the tribal people of the Indian State Madhya Pradesh began on March 6, 2017 in Jhabua district. The Festival which has been organised at 34 places in the state is celebrated in the month of March before the Holi Festival by the local tribes called Bhils and Bhilalas. The week long festival is organised to select their life partners by Swayamvara.

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PM Modi to Release Special Commemorative Postage Stamp

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release Commemorative Postage Stamp on 100th Anniversary of the Yogoda Satsanga Society of India at a function in New Delhi. Yogoda Satsanga Society in a non-profit religious organization founded by Paramahansa Yogananda in 1917. Yogoda Satsanga Society (YSS) celebrated its 100 years journey on 10th March 2017.

06 March 2017 Current Affairs

World’s oldest serving aircraft carrier INS Viraat retires today

The World’s oldest aircraft carrier in active service, INS Viraat will be decommissioned on 6 March 2017. The iconic carrier will receive a ceremonial send off in Mumbai. Similar to the decommissioning of INS Vikrant, India’s first aircraft carrier in January 1997, INS Viraat send off would be an emotional moment for the novel officers and other personnel who were deployed on the ship.

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Sam Querrey beats Rafael Nadal in Mexico Open Final

Sam Querrey beat a 14-time Grand Slam Champion Rafael Nadal in straight sets to claim the ATP Mexico Open hold on 4th March. The American Clinched the final 6-3, 7-6 to secure the title despite being unseeded and ranked No 40 in the World Querrey 29, beat Nadal for the first time in five meetings between the pair.

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India’s tallest Tricolor Flag hoisted at Attari in Punjab

The tallest National Flag in the country measuring 360 feet was hoisted on 5th March, 2017 at the Attari-Wagah joint check post in Punjab, Earlier. The record was held by the one in Ranchi which is 293 feet high. Noe, it is creased by 67 feet rather than Ranchi’s tricolor flag. The length of the flag cloth was 12 feet.

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Sri Lanka wins Most “Popular Tourism Destination Award”
Sri Lanka has bagged the Most “Popular Tourism Destination Award. The island nation won the prestigious award for the second consecutive year, which is testament to its growing popularity among Chinese travel enthusiasts. China has been Sri Lanka’s second largest source market for tourism since 2014.

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West Bengal Govt grants Official language status to Kurukh

The West Bengal Government granted Official language status to endangered tribal language Kurukh. The official language status was given to the endangered language by the state government in February 2017. However, the announcement was recently made by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

05 March 2017 Current Affairs

Former IFS, MP Syed Shahabuddin dies at 82

Former IFS, MP Syed Shahabuddin dies at the age of 82n on 4th March. Shahabuddin breathed his last at a hospital in Noida. He died following a prolonged illness. Shahabuddin had strongly stood against the destruction of the Babri Masjid during his time. He was also the leader of the Babri Action Committee. Shahabuddin Served three terms from 1979-1996 as an M.P.

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Thomas E Starzl, Pioneering liver surgeon passes away

Dr. Thomas E Starzl, a surgeon who performed the first successful liver transplant in 1967 on a human patient, passed away on 4th March 2017 in Pittsburgh. He was 90. Dr. Starzl death was announced by the University of Pittsburgh. He had been affiliated with the University since 1980. He was an expert on organ transplants. He is often referred to as “the father of modern transplantation’.

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SERB Fellowship Award to Lalji Singh

Lalji Singh, former Director,the center for cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) has been selected for the award of SERB Fellowship. It is given by the science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) which is a statutory body of the Government of India. The Award supports research of scientists who are active and performing even after superannuation.

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Andy Murray won first Dubia Championship title

Andy Murray beats Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 6-2 to win Dubai Tennis Championship. With this he became the first British Man to win the Dubai Championships in 25 years of history. It is Murray’s first tournament win of 2017 and 45th of his career. Which will see him extend his lead over Novak Djokovic at the top of the rankings.

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South Korea and America Begin Annual Military Drill Foat Eagle

The United States and South Korea troops started their large scale military drill named Foal Eagle. The aim of the military exercise is to test their defence readiness against the threat from North Korea. North Korea Conducted its first ballistic missile test of 2017 in February and views the Foal Eagle Exercise 2017 as Preparation for war against it.

Current affairs 17 - March - 2016

1)   Bangladesh Government has appointed Former Secretary of Finance Division Fazle Kabir as the new Governor of Bangladesh Bank, country’s central bank. He will succeeds Atiur Rahman who had resigned after taking moral responsibility over the cyber theft from the central bank’s official account with New York Federal Reserve Bank. Fazle Kabir is an economics graduate from the Chittagong University. He had started his career in 1980 with Bangladesh Railway as an assistant traffic superintendent. In 1983, he had joined the administration. He was appointed finance secretary in 2012. He had also served on the board of state-owned Janata Bank.
2)   The India Aviation 2016, an international exhibition and conference on civil aviation kicked off in Hyderabad, Telangana. It is the fifth edition in the biennial series of this international exhibition and was inaugurated by President Pranab Mukherjee at the Begumpet Airport (also known as Hyderabad Old Airport).
3)   The largest fair on Food and Hospitality Sector in India, AAHAR 2016 has kicked off at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. It is the 31st edition in this series of the fair and was inaugurated by Union Minister for Food Processing Industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal.
4)   India ranked 118th out of 157 countries on the United Nations’ World Happiness Index (WHI) 2016. It was revealed by the fourth World Happiness Report 2016 published by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), a global initiative for the UN.
5)   Eminent Shehnai exponent Ustad Ali Ahmad Hussain Khan passed away following prolonged illness in Kolkatta, West Bengal. He was 77. He was one of the best-known players of the instrument after the legendary Bismillah Khan. He hailed from a family of renowned Shehnai exponents from Benaras.
6)   President Barack Obama has nominated veteran appeals court judge Merrick Garland (63) to be the next US Supreme Court Justice. His nomination comes to vacancy in the US Supreme Court which was created after the death of SC Justice Antonin Scalia. The Supreme Court vacancy follows the death of Antonin Scalia last month. This appointment now has to be ratified by the Senate. Judge Garland is viewed as a centrist and moderate. He is highly regarded by the legal fraternity and lawmakers. India-born Srikanth Srinivasan was also one of the contenders for the nomination. Currently he is serving as US Circuit Judge of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

Current affairs 16 - March - 2016

1)   Union Government has imposed anti-dumping duty of up to 44.7 per cent on import of plastic-processing machines from Chinese Taipei, Malaysia, Philippines and Vietnam for five years. The anti-dumping duty will be levied on imports of all kinds of plastic-processing or injection-moulding machines, also known as injection presses. The move is aimed at protecting the domestic industry from cheap in-bound shipments from these 4 countries.
2)   Haryana’s New Secretariat Building in Chandigarh has become first building in the country to have an early Earthquake Warning and Security system (onsite). The system was installed by New Delhi based Terra Techcom Private Limited and Secretary Electronics GmbH, Germany.
3)   India’s largest private sector lender ICICI Bank has launched new contactless mobile payment solution Touch & Pay based on Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. The payment solution will enable the bank’s credit and debit customers to make in-store contactless payments by waving their smartphones near an NFC-enabled merchant terminal. With this, ICICI Bank becomes first financial institution in the country to leverage the Host Card Emulation technique which creates virtual cards for physical debit or credit cards of the bank.
4)   Rajya Sabha has passed the Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Bill, 2016 without any discussion. The Bill proposes to amend the some provisions of the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925 retrospectively with effect from October, 2003.
5)   Lok Sabha has passed Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2016 to include certain communities in the list of Scheduled Castes (SC) from 4 states. The bill seeks to amend Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 to include certain communities from Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Kerala and West Bengal in the list. It also has provisions for exclusion of certain communities from Odisha and removal of area restriction in respect of certain communities.
6)   The United Nations (UN) has suspended Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova as Goodwill Ambassador of the organisation after she was tested positive on doping allegations. She was suspended by New York based UN Development Programme (UNDP) until the outcome of the investigation into her case is known. However, UNDP has mentioned that they are grateful to Maria Sharapova for her support to their work, especially around the Chernobyl nuclear disaster recovery. Earlier in March 2016, the five times Grand Slam champion and the highest-paid female athlete Maria Sharapova had announced that she tested positive for a drug called meldonium, at the Australian Open earlier in January 2016.

Current affairs 15 - March - 2016

1)   India Inc. became first in the world to formally adopt the United Nations’ (UN) agenda for the world’s sustainable development and 17 goals identified for its implementation. It was formally adopted by the India Inc. at the 11th National Convention on Sustainable Development Goal (NCSDG) organized by the Global Compact Network in Mumbai.
2)   Noted Indian scholar and plant physiologist H Deep Saini (60) has been appointed as the fifth Vice Chancellor of the prestigious University of Canberra, Australia. He will succeed Vice Chancellor Stephen Parker in September 2016 who will step down from the post in July 2016 after over nine years in the service.
3)   Renowned British author and art historian Anita Brookner passed away. She was 87. Brookner had won the Booker in 1984 for her novel Hotel du Lac and was a bestselling author who had written around 25 books.
4)   Renowned American mathematician and Nobel Prize-winning economist Lloyd Stowell Shapley passed away on 12 March 2016. He was 92. He had contributed to the fields of mathematical economics and especially game theory. He was considered one of the fathers of game theory.
5)   An unmanned spacecraft named ExoMars 2016 was successfully launched jointly Europe and Russia to search for biosignatures on Mars (or Martian life) in past or present. The spacecraft was launched on a Proton-M rocket operated by Russia’s Roscosmos from Baikonur, Kazakhstan. ExoMars 2016 is the first of a two-phase of ExoMars (Exobiology on Mars) program.
6)   Union Government has 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). It was announced by Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.
7)   The Union Government has notified maximum sale price (MSP) of Bt cotton seed for the year 2016-17. It was announced by the Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Radha Mohan Singh. In this regard, Union Government has issued notification as per the Cotton Seed Price (Control) Order, 2015 under the Section 3 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955.
8)   Mother Teresa, a Roman Catholic religious sister and missionary will be elevated to Sainthood i.e. will be made a saint of the Roman Catholic Church on September 4, 2016. In this regard, Pope Francis has approved a decree recognising a second miracle attributed to Mother Teresa’s intercession with God.
9)   Myanmar’s Parliament elected Htin Kyaw (69) as the first civilian (non-military) President of the country after 53 years of military rule. He was candidate of National League for Democracy (NLD) party and was elected after securing 360 of the total 652 casted votes. Military-nominated Myint Swe received 213 votes and stood second and was followed by the other NLD candidate, Henry Van Thio at third position who got 79 votes. They will serve as first vice-president and second vice-president of the country.
10)   Every year World Consumer Rights Day (WCRD) is being observed on 15 March for celebration and solidarity within the international consumer movement. Significance of Day: It provides (i) an opportunity to promote the basic rights of all consumers (ii) demand those rights that must be respected and protected and (ii) for those  protesting against the market abuses and social injustices.

Current affairs 14 - March - 2016

1)   The Allahabad High Court celebrated its 150th foundation day on 14th March 2016. President Pranab Mukherjee was the Chief Guest of the celebrations. Chief Justice of India (CJI) TS Thakur and Union Law Minister DV Sadananda Gowda were some of the dignitaries who attended the function. On this occasion, CJI Justice Thakur dedicated digitization centre of Allahabad High court. Reserve bank of India (RBI) also released a 10 rupees coin. Postal department released a postage stamp and a Souvenir of the High court.
2)   Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated three major railway projects in Bihar at an estimated cost of 7000 crore rupees.
3)   China’s Supreme Court has decided to set up its own International Maritime Judicial Centre (IMJC) to handle territorial disputes and protect its sea rights. It was announced by China’s Supreme Court Chief Justice Zhou Qiang at the annual meeting of the national legislature National People’s Congress (NPC). This move will help China to bolster its claims in the disputed South and East China seas and also help it become a maritime power.
4)   Lin Dan from China has won the prestigious 2016 All England Badminton title in the men’s singles category. In the final match played at Birmingham, England he defeated Chinese teammate Tian Houwei by 21-9, 21-10 score. It was his overall sixth All England badminton title and earlier he had won it in 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012.
5)   Services has won the 70th edition of Santosh Trophy Football Championships title 2016 by defeating hosts Maharashtra. In the final match played at SEC Railway Stadium, Nagpur (Maharashtra), the Services defeated host team Maharashtra by 2-1 goal score. For the winning team two goals were score by Tudu in the space of 11 minutes (26th and 37th). For Maharashtra, the single goal was scored by Mohammed Shabaz in the 15th minute.
6)   Indigenously developed nuclear capable surface-to-surface ballistic missile Agni-I was successfully test-fired off the Odisha coast. Test: It was conducted as part of training exercise by the Strategic Forces Command (SFC) of Indian Army. The missile was fired from mobile launcher at launchpad-4 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Abdul Kalam Island (Wheeler Island) off the Odisha coast.
7)   Recently, power generation unit 1 at Kakrapar Atomic Power Station (KAPS) in Gujarat was shut down for indefinitely period after leakage of heavy water. The reactor was shut down as per design provisions after a small leak in the Primary Heat Transport (PHT) System of the plant was detected. The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), operator of KAPS has confirmed that there was no harmful, radioactive leakage and the backup safety mechanisms for emergency situation are working as intended.
8)   Palestinian teacher Hanan Al Hroub from a refugee camp has been awarded prestigious one million dollar 2016 Global Teacher Prize. She was presented with the award at a ceremony held in Dubai for her outstanding contribution to the profession. She beat nine other finalists to bag the award including India’s Robin Chaurasiya, who runs a not-for-profit school in Mumbai for girls from the city’s red light district of Kamatipura.

Current affairs 12 - March - 2016

1)   The Arab League has declared Lebanese movement Hezbollah, a Shia political organisation a terrorist group. The move comes after the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) had adopted the same stance.
2)   Union Power Ministry has announced name UJALA for the LED based Domestic Efficient Lighting Programme (DELP). UJALA is acronym for Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All. The National LED based DELP programme was launched by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 2015 for energy conservation by reducing energy consumption. The target of programme is to replace 77 crore incandescent lamps with LED bulbs. Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) is implementing it and is currently running successfully in over 120 cities across India.
3)   Lieutenant General (Lt Gen) N P S Hira has been appointed as Deputy Chief of Army Staff. He will be now moving to Army Headquarters in New Delhi. Presently he is posted as Chief of Staff of Northern command at Udhampur, Jammu and Kashmir. He was commissioned in the Sikh Light Infantry.
4)   India and United States have launched the Fulbright – Kalam Climate Fellowship enabling Indian research scholars to work with American institutions in the field of climate change. It will sponsor up to 6 Indian PhD students and post-doctoral researchers to work with US institutions for a period up to one year.
5)   Justice Ajit Singh was sworn in as Chief Justice (CJ) of the Gauhati High Court. He was administered the oath of office by Assam Governor P B Acharya as per the provisions of the Article 129 of Constitution. He was appointed by President Pranab Mukherjee as per provisions Article 222 of Constitution after following recommendation of the Supreme Court collegium headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) T.S. Thakur.
6)   India and International Monetary Fund (IMF) have decided to set up South Asia Regional Training and Technical Assistance Centre (SARTTC) in New Delhi. In this regard, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Christine Lagarde, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund (IMF) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
7)   Mahindra & Mahindra Chairman and Managing Director (MD) Anand Mahindra was conferred with Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour) by French Government. He was presented with this award by Francois Richier, Ambassador of France to India in recognition of his outstanding national and international achievements.
8)   Union Government’s premier think-tank NITI Aayog has launched the ‘Women Transforming India’ initiative. The initiative was launched on the eve of International Women’s Day (8th March) in partnership with the United Nations and MyGov.
9)   Kerala Tourism’s campaign titled ‘New Worlds’ has won the prestigious ‘Golden City Gate Award’ at the at the Internationale Tourismus-Börse Berlin (ITB-Berlin) 2016. The multimedia campaign contains three short films directed by reputed Malayalam filmmaker Anwar Rasheed. It has won the silver prize in 2016 Das Golden Stadttor or Golden City Gate, which is dubbed as the Oscar of tourism communication.
10)   India will supply 18 metre-gauge 1350 HP Diesel Electric Locomotives to Myanmar to help the country bolster its railway transportation system. In this regard, RITES (Public Sector Enterprise under Union Ministry of Railways) has signed a contract with Myanmar Railways.
11)   Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has launched an online Clean My Coach service in line with Indian Railways cleanliness drive Swachh Rail Swachh Bharat and Union Government’s flagship Digital India Programme. The online service allows travellers to get their compartments cleaned by sending an SMS or by a designated website or by using an application. The service was announced by the Railway Minister in his 2016-17 Rail Budget speech.

Current affairs 11 - March - 2016

1)   Rest of India has won the Irani Cup Cricket Title 2015-16 by defeating Mumabi in the final match of the cup by four wickets. In the final match played at Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, Rest of India overhauled the record victory target of 480 by making 482 for 6 on the fifth and final day. This successful chase was also the best-ever run-chase in the Irani Cup history. It has bettered Rest of India’s previous 424, chasing target set by Delhi at the Ferozshah Kotla in 1982-83.
2)   The Union Cabinet has given its approval for signing and ratification of the Bay of Bengal Initiative on Multi Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has been designated as the Central Authority under Article 15 of the Convention.
3)   The Union Cabinet has given its approval for the MoU between India and United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Technical Cooperation in Cyber Space and Combating Cyber-Crime. It was singed between both countries in February 2016 to cooperate in combating cybercrime in the wake of the serious security threat posed by it to safety of people.
4)   India has signed the second line of credit (LOC) agreement extending 2 billion dollars in development financing to Bangladesh for undertaking various development projects. This credit line will be provided through Export Import Bank of India (Exim Bank), India’s external lending arm. It is Exim Bank’s biggest ever LOC facility given to another country. The development financing will be used in the infrastructural projects like power sector, road transportation, railways, shipping, information and communication technology (ICT) and social sector projects like health and technical education.
5)   Project Mausam aims to explore the multi-faceted Indian Ocean world for collating archaeological and historical research and not to counter China’s Silk Route strategy. It was announced by Union Minister of State (MoS) for Culture and Tourism (Independent Charge) Dr. Mahesh Sharma in a written reply in Rajya Sabha.
6)   The Union Government has appointed former Supreme Court (SC) judge Justice Balbir Singh Chauhan (66) as Chairman of the 21st Law Commission of India (LCI). Currently he is Chairman of the Cauvery River Water Disputes Tribunal. He was judge of the SC from May 2009 to July 2014. He also had served as Chief Justice of Orissa high court from July 2008 to May 2009. Apart from him, Union Government has appointed former judge of the Gujarat high court Justice Ravi R Tripathi as member of 21st LCI.
7)   The Rajya Sabha has passed the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2015 to protect the interests of consumers and curb the malpractices in the real estate sector. The bill seeks to create a uniform regulatory mechanism across the country and enhance the growth of construction sector. It also ensures to bring transparency and accountability in the real estate sector to access capital and financial markets essential for its long term growth.
8)   Lok Sabha has passed the Aadhaar (Target Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Bill, 2016 by voice vote. It was introduced as Money Bill. The Bill is aimed at giving statutory backing for transferring government subsidies and benefits to targeted people by assigning them Aadhaar numbers i.e. unique identity numbers. With this, government plans to plug leakages in disbursal of subsidies and other services and in ensuring that these reach intended beneficiaries.
9)   Japanese researchers have successfully isolated a bacterium species Ideonella sakaiensis 201-F6 capable of breaking down plastic polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or polyester. Their results were published in the journal Science.
10)   Veteran Egyptian diplomat Ahmed Abul Gheit (73) has been selected as Secretary General of the Arab League. The 22-member league voted unanimously in favour of Aboul Gheit who was only contender for the post at its ministerial meeting held in Cairo, Egypt. He will succeed Nabil El-Araby, Egyptian diplomat whose term ends in July 2016 after he had rejected second five-year term. Abul Gheit is a former ambassador of Egypt to the United Nations. He had served as Egypt’s foreign minister from 2004 to 2011 during the final seven years of Hosni Mubarak’s rule.

Current affairs 10 - March - 2016

1)   The first ever all girls National Cadet Corps (NCC) Mount Everest expedition was flagged off by Union Minister of State (MoS) for Defence Rao Inderjeet Singh in New Delhi. The aim of mountaineering expeditions in NCC is to strengthen the character and instill qualities of courage, discipline, comradeship and leadership in the cadets. The team consisting of ten girl cadets is led by Colonel Gaurav Karki, along with fifteen service personnel. They will reach Nepal on 31st March 2016 and likely to summit the peak between 15 and 25th May, 2016.
2)   India’s largest private sector lender ICICI Bank has rolled out iWork@Home programme for its women employees for up to a year. It was launched by Chanda Kochhar, Managing Director and CEO of ICICI Bank on the occasion of International Women’s Day (8th March).
3)   The legendary music producer George Henry Martin passed away in Wiltshire, England. He was 90. He was popularly known as the fifth Beatle as he had signed the rock band Beatles and became their indispensable mentor and collaborator.
4)   The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bank of Israel (BOI) for exchange of information pertaining to banking supervision. It was signed by Parvathy V Sundaram, Chief General Manager-in-Charge, Department of Banking Supervision on behalf of RBI and Hedva Ber, Supervisor of banks on behalf of BOI. With this RBI has signed 32 such MoUs, 1 Letter for Supervisory Co-operation and 1 Statement of Co-operation (SoC).
5)   Acclaimed Brazil musician Naná Vasconcelos passed away due to lung cancer in the northeastern Brazilian city of Recife. He was 71. He was 8 time Grammy Award-winning Brazilian percussionist known for his wide instrumental range and major role in free spirited jazz and world music of the 1970s and 1980s.
6)   Sabha has passed Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2016 by voice vote to make amendments to the Enemy Property Act, 1968. The bill replaces the Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Ordinance, 2016 promulgated by President Pranab Mukherjee in January 2016.
7)   The Parliament has passed National Waterways Bill, 2015 to clear decks for the conversion of 106 rivers and creeks across India into transport waterways. It was first passed in Lok Sabha in December 2015 i.e. in the winter session and later was passed by Rajya Sabha in March 2016 i.e. in the budget session.
8)   India has signed ‘Raptor MoU’, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on conservation of birds of prey in Africa and Eurasia. With this India becomes 56th county to sign the Raptor MoU under the Convention on Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS). The MoU was singed Ambassador of India to the UAE Shri T.P Seetharam the Convention on Migratory Species Office in Abu Dhabi. Earlier in December 2015, the Union Cabinet in its meeting had approved the proposal of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) to sign ‘Raptor MoU’.
9)   The fourth edition of the India-Indonesia Joint Training Exercise Garuda Shakti has begun at Magelang in Indonesia. The 13 days (till 23 March) bilateral exercise aims at (i) Building and promoting positive relations between the Armies of India and Indonesia. (ii) Enhancing their abilities to undertake joint tactical level operations in a counter insurgency environment under United Nations Charter.
10)   Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully launched India’s sixth navigation Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS) 1F satellite. It was launched by ISRO’s workhorse satellite launch vehicle, PSLV-C32 rocket from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SHAR), Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. It was PLSV’s 34th mission.
11)   The Union Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) for providing free of cost LPG (cooking gas) connections to women from BPL Households. This scheme will be implemented by Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. It will be for the first time ministry will be implementing a welfare scheme.

Current affairs 09 - March - 2016

1)   Karnataka government has launched Mukhyamantri Santwana Harish Yojana to provide free medical treatment to road accident victims for the first 48 hours (2 days) in the nearest government or private hospital. The scheme has been named after Harish Nanjappa who had donated his eyes moments before his death. He had died as no help was provided to him after he was  severely injured in mishap in February 2016 .
2)   The Union Finance Ministry has announced to withdraw its proposal to tax Employee Provident Fund (EPF) withdrawals. It was announced by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the Lok Sabha clarifying NDA government’s stand on the issue. However, government has not changed its plan to tax National Pension Scheme (NPS) withdrawals.
3)   India and Saudi Arabia have expressed keenness to elevate ties between the two countries to strategic level by boosting cooperation in key areas of trade, security and counter terrorism. It was decided after Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj held extensive talks with her Saudi Arabian counterpart Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir in New Delhi who was on a two day-official visit to India.
4)   Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has successfully test-fired several ballistic missiles from silos across the country. These tests were conducted by IRGC to demonstrate the country’s deterrent power and its ability to confront any threat against the state and the sovereignty of the country. With this Iran has breached United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions that compel it to refrain from any work on ballistic missiles for 8 years.
5)   India is going to host BRICS Friendship Cities Conclave in Mumbai (Maharashtra), financial capital of India from April 14 to 16, 2016. It will be attended by the top Urban Policy makers and Planners from BRICS Nations viz. Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Current affairs 08 - March - 2016

1)   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. The MoU was signed at a high level meeting held in Mumbai in which Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis took part.
2)   As per recently released report of International Labour Organization (ILO) titled-Women at Work: Trends 2016, gender equality still remains elusive in the workplace. The report highlights trends in 2016 in 178 countries and it has been found that millions of women worldwide are not getting the same kind of quality, well-paying jobs as men.
3)   Former world number one female tennis player Maria Sharapova (28) from Russia has revealed that she failed a drugs test at the Australian Open. Due to this failure the International Tennis Federation (ITF) has provisionally suspended her till further action from Tennis for violating Anti-Doping Rule. She has been tested positive for meldonium, a substance that has been added in the forbidden list by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) on 1 January 2016. The Russian star tested positive for meldonium, a substance, she has been taking since 2006 for health issues. She had provided the anti-doping sample day after she had lost to Serena Williams (United States) in the Australian Open quarter finals. Currently she is ranked world No. 7 by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).  She has won total 35 singles titles and five Grand Slam titles, two at the French Open and one each at the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and US Open.
4)   National carrier Air India successfully flew the World’s longest all-woman operated and supported flight from the national capital New Delhi to San Francisco (United States). The flight was operated as part of International Women’s Day celebrations and travelled a distance of around 14,500 kilometres in close to 17 hours. The non-stop flight to San Francisco took off on 6th March 2016 from New Delhi.
5)   Indian Railways has formed a new Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to implement the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Bullet Train project. The entity has been named the National High Speed Rail Corporation (NHSRC) Limited.
6)   Germany has decided to partner with India’s smart city programme and will help developing Kochi (Kerala), Bhubaneswar (Odisha) and Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu) as smart cities. It was announced by State Secretary in Germany’s Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety, Gunther Adler in New Delhi at the second meeting of the Indo-German Working Group on Urban Development. These three cities are among the top 20 cities selected by Urban Development Ministry which are to be developed as smart cities.
7)   Every year International Women’s Day is being observed on 8th March across the globe to highlight the achievements of women while calling for greater equality. 2016 theme declared by United Nations: “Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality”. It reflects acceleration of the 2030 Agenda, building momentum for the effective implementation of the new Sustainable Development Goals. The theme also equally focuses on new commitments under UN Women’s Step It Up initiative, and other existing commitments on gender equality, women’s empowerment and women’s human rights. Governments, NGOs and other organisations across the globe observe this day by organising numerous events to mark the economic, political and social achievements of women International Women’s Day was first observed as a popular event after 1977 after the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has proclaimed to observe March 8 as the UN Day for Women’s Rights and World Peace.
8)   Haryana Government has signed 11 Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) involving a total investment of Rs 18,159 crores with different companies. These MoUs were signed in the presence of Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal on the first day of the two-day ‘Happening Haryana Global Investors’ Summit-2016’ held in Gurgaon.
9)   Dr Amrita Patel was conferred prestigious 2016 Mahindra Samriddhi India Agri Lifetime Achievement Award also known as the Krishi Shiromani Samman. The award was bestowed upon her by Union Minister of Agriculture Radha Mohan Singh for her contribution in the field of agriculture and to increase productivity and rural prosperity. Currently she is Chairman of Charutar Arogya Mandal. Earlier she had served as Chairman of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) from 1998 to 2014.
10)   The Union Government has launched an online marketing platform Mahila E-HAAT to facilitate women entrepreneurs to sell their products to buyers. It was launched by Union Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi in New Delhi. The Mahila e-Haat portal can be accessed at  http://mahilaehaat-rmk.gov.in

Current affairs 07 - March - 2016

1)   Prime Minister Narendra Modi has selected Nagepur village in his Varanasi Constituency of Lok Sabha in Uttar Pradesh under the Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY). Earlier in the first phase of SAGY, PM had adopted Jayapur village in Sevapuri Assembly segment of Varanasi in 2014. Nagepur village is mainly dominated by backward castes has been selected under the second phase of the Yojana.  Almost all villagers in this village are either farmers or labourers.
2)   India’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) has been granted preliminary approval to operate Myanmar. SBI was granted operating licence by Myanmar Government along with three other Asian banks. They are Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam, Sun Commercial Bank of Taiwan and Shinhan Bank of South Korea.
3)   Renowned Malayalam actor Kalabhavan Mani passed away at Kochi, Kerala due to liver and kidney failure. He was 45. He had had acted in over 200 films in Malayalam and other South Indian languages including Tamil, and Telugu films.
4)   Researchers have discovered new species of burrowing snake named Melanophidium khairei or Khaire’s Black Shieldtail in Northwestern Ghats. This new snake species was correctly identified after a gap of 144 years as it was earlier wrongly identified as identified as Melanophidium Punctatum or Pied-bellied Shieldtail.
5)   India has won the 2016 Asia Cup T20 trophy for a record sixth time after beating Bangladesh by 8 wickets in the final. In the final match played at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Mirpur Indian team overhauled the chasing target of 121 runs set by Bangladesh by seven balls to spare. Bangladesh by batting first had posted target of 120 runs for five wickets in 15 overs to India. The match was reduced to 15-over-per side after a spell of thundershowers.
6)   Patna Pirates has won the third season of Star Sports Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) by defeating U Mumba. In the final match played at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi, Patna Pirates defeated U Mumba by 31-28 score in the thrilling 40 minute play.
7)   Jalandhar based Capital Local Area Bank (CLAB) Limited became the first financial entity in India to get Small Financial Bank Licence by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). CLAB ltd claims to be largest local bank in the country with total 44 branches in five districts of Punjab. It will begin its operations as a small finance bank from April 13, 2016 and it will focus on the northern region for first five years of operations.
8)  Internet pioneer and e-mail inventor Raymond Tomlinson passed away in Washington, United States. He was 74 years old. Tomlinson invented direct electronic messages between users on different machines on a certain network in 1971
9)   Renowned Dogri poetess and writer Padma Sachdev has been awarded prestigious Krutitava Smagra Samman for the year 2015. She was bestowed with this award for her outstanding contribution in literature and great service to Dogri Language. It was presented to her by West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi. The award has been instituted by Kolkata based Bharatiya’s Bhasha Parishad and carries an amount of one lakh rupees, a shawl and citation.

Current affairs 05 - March - 2016

1)   India’s pioneering film archivist and film scholar Paramesh Krishnan Nair passed away in Pune, Maharashtra. He was 82. He had won the epithet of ‘celluloid man’ for his lifelong dedication towards the acquisition and preservation of cinematic heritage of the country. He was founder and director of Pune based National Film Archive of India (NFAI) in 1964.
2)   The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has promoted Hockey India national-level umpire Nepoleon Singh (30) as the International Outdoor Umpire. Decision to this effect was taken by FIH after seeing his performance in the recently-concluded 12th South Asian Games 2016 held at Guwahati, Assam. Nepoleon started his career as an umpire from Manipur in the 3rd Hockey India Junior Women National Championship 2013 held at Ranchi, Jharkhand. His first major breakthrough as umpire was in the eighth Junior Men Asia Cup, held at Kuantan, Malaysia in 2015.
3)   Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched Setu Bharatam Project to make all national highways free of railway crossings by 2019. This project will be implemented by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
4)   Uttar Pradesh Assembly passed the UP Revenue Code (Amendment) Bill 2016 replacing an ordinance issued by the Governor Ram Naik. The Bill allows Dalits of the state to sell their land to non-Dalits in the state without approval of the administration even if their remaining holding is less than 3.5 acres.
5)   Veteran Film Actor and Director Manoj Kumar has been selected for the prestigious 47th Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2015. He was unanimously selected by a five member jury consisted of Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Salim Khan, Nitin Mukesh and Anup Jalota.
6)   The traditional festival of Chapchar Kut of the Mizos was celebrated across the north-eastern state of Mizoram and also in the Mizo-inhabited areas in the neighbouring states. It is a spring festival celebrated every year in month of March with great fervour and gaiety by Mizos after completion of their Jhum operation (shifting agriculture by clearing jungle by burning and cultivating in remnants of burning). Mizos celebrate this festival by dressing in their traditional attire and dancers danced to the tune of typical music and songs. Popular Mizo dances including Cheraw, Chheihlam, Sarlamkai and Khuallam are performed by various cultural groups. Chapchar Kut Festival is estimated to have started in 1450-1700 A.D. in a village called Suaipui.
7)   The first Raisina-Dialogue 2016, a flagship conference on Geopolitics and Geo-economics began in New Delhi. The three day conference is joint initiative of Union Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and Observer Research Foundation (ORF), an independent think tank based in India.
8)   India has filed a complaint against the United States decision to impose high fees L-1 and H-1B categories of temporary working visas in the World Trade Organisation (WTO). US had imposed fees on certain applicants for L-1 and H-1B categories of non-immigrant temporary working visas into the country,
9)   President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated a National conference on ‘Women Legislators: Building Resurgent India’ in New Delhi The conference intends to hone the skills of legislators to perform their legislative and non-legislative roles with greater effectiveness.

Current affairs 04 - March - 2016

1)   Mrugank Paranjape has been appointed as managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) of Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), country’s largest commodity exchange. This appointment is subjected to approval of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and will be valid for three years. Prior to this appointment he was working with Deutsche Bank as Asia Pacific Head of Trust & Securities Services/Cash Management for Financial Institutions.
2)   The Mumbai under-23 cricket team has won the Col CK Nayudu Trophy for the season 2015-16. With this victory, they will be awarded with a cash prize of 20 lakh rupees. In the final match played at Holkar Stadium, Indore they defeated Madhya Pradesh under-23 cricket team.
3)   The Union Government has decided to wind up of National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council (NMCC) with immediate effect as it has fulfilled the mandate. Decision in this regard was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi after it was observed that NMCC has fulfilled the mandate for which it was constituted.
4)   Veteran playwright and director Ratan Thiyam has been selected for prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award for 2016 at the Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards (META). He will be conferred with this award in recognition for his work for creating a new language in theatre and enriching the art form in various roles as director, writer, composer, designer and choreographer. Currently, Ratan Thiyam is Chairman of National School of Drama.
5)   Union Government, Madhya Pradesh government and the World Bank have signed $300 million credit agreement for Madhya Pradesh Higher Education Quality Improvement Project (MPHEQIP). The credit will be provided by the International Development Association (IDA), World Bank’s concessionary lending arm with a maturity of 25 years, including a five-year grace period.
6)   South Korea’s Parliament has passed the country’s first anti-terror bill that was first proposed 15 years ago in 2001 after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in US. Among total 300 parliamentary seats of the National Assembly, only 156 lawmakers voted in favour of country’s first anti-terrorism legislation.
7)   The world’s most expensive train station opened at the 9/11 site in New York, United States. It has been named World Trade Center Transportation Hub. It is built next to the site of the Twin Towers in New York which were destroyed in the terror attacks in 2001.
8)   The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) unanimously adopted the toughest sanctions ever imposed on North Korea in response to its fourth nuclear test and rocket launch. In this regard, the 15-member council passed a resolution drafted by the United States and backed by China.
9)   Delhi has become the first state (UT) in the country to launch the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine as a public health programme for school children. The vaccination programme will be completed in the current academic year 2015-16 over two phases. In the first year, girls studying in Class VI in government schools will be targeted and in the next year girls between the age of 9 and 13 will be targeted. In the first phase of the vaccination programme, 1 to 1.5 lakh school girls will be targeted and later this initiative will be expanded to the private schools.
10)   Former Lok Sabha Speaker Purno Agitok Sangma passed away after suffering a heart attack in New Delhi. He was 68. Sangma was a 9 time member of Lok Sabha and the Speaker in the 11th Lok Sabha from 1996 to 1998. He had played significant role in the development of the North East.
11)   Ace Indian shooter Jitu Rai has won Gold medal in the 50m Pistol Men final event at the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) World Cup held in Bangkok, Thialand. He won the medal by scoring 191.3 points in the final round and beating two of the strongest members of the Chinese Olympic team, Pang Wei and Wang Zhiwei.
12)   Sunil Sabharwal, an independent Indian-American investor took charge as Alternate Executive Director at International Monetary Fund (IMF). He took the charge after his appointed was confirmed by the US Senate. Earlier he was re-nominated to this key post at IMF by US President Barack Obama.

Current affairs 03 - March - 2016

1)   Parliament has passed the Carriage by Air (Amendment) Bill, 2015 to empower Union government to revise the limits of liability for airlines and compensation as per the Montreal Convention which India accepted in 2009. The bill was first passed by the Lok Sabha in December 2015 and later it was passed by the Rajya in March 2016. Now it will go for the Presidential assent as per Article 111 of Constitution.
2)   India has been ranked at the 90th place in a list of 126 countries on the basis of their ability to deliver secure, affordable and sustainable energy. It was revealed by Global Energy Architecture Performance Index (GEAPI) Report compiled by World Economic Forum (WEF).
3)   The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) has cleared a proposal to purchase two Phalcon Airborne Warning and Control Systems (AWACS), surveillance aircrafts from Israel. Decision to this effect was taken by CCS meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. This defence deal will cost India 7,500 crore rupees as per a tripartite agreement signed with Israel and Russia. Significance of this deal: CCS’s approval comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official visit to Israel later in the 2016. This visit will make him first Indian Prime Minister to visit Israel and it will give major boost to Indo-Israel ties. AWACS: They are advanced radars mounted on an aircraft to give an ability to see deep inside enemy territory and 360 degree coverage to detect incoming aircraft and missiles at long ranges. The Indian Air Force (IAF) already had three such AWACS platforms that comprise of Israeli-made radars mounted on Russian heavy transport planes IL-76. The CCS also approved a proposal for induction of the 4th regiment of supersonic cruise missile Brahmos and 2 more of Pinaka rocket launchers in the India Army.
4)   Former New Zealand cricket captain Martin Crowe passed away in Auckland, New Zealand after a long battle with cancer. He was 53 and was suffering from lymphoma, a cancer of the immune system. Crowe was widely regarded as one of New Zealand’s best ever batsman and had represented the country from the early 1980s until his retirement in 1996.
5)   International Cricket Council (ICC) has suspended South Africa left-arm spinner Aaron Phangiso from bowling in Domestic cricket for suspect bowling action. He was suspended after ICC’s Panel of Human Movement Specialists found that his bowling deliveries exceeded the 15 degrees level of tolerance permitted under ICC regulations. The tests were conducted after he was reported for suspect action in February 2015 by an ICC accredited laboratory at the University of Pretoria’s High-Performance Centre. So far, Phangiso has played 16 one-day internationals (ODIs) and 9 T20s for South Africa.
6)   Eminent poet Dr Bhagwati Lal Vyas has been selected for the 2015 Bihari Puraskar for his anthology of Rajasthani poems ‘Katha Sun Aawe Hai Sabad’ published in 2010. Dr Vyas through his poetry has highlighted the increasing tendencies of commercialization and degradation of human values.

Current affairs 02 - March - 2016

1)   Three British scientists have won a prestigious 2016 Grete Lundbeck European Brain Research Prize (also known as Brain Prize) for giving vital insight how the human brain remembers, learns and navigates. These scientists are Timothy Bliss: He is a visiting worker at the Crick Institute in London. Graham Collingridge: He is professor of neuroscience in anatomy at the University of Bristol. He is also head of the Department of Physiology at the University of Toronto. Richard Morris: He is a professor of neuroscience at the University of Edinburgh
2)   The multinational Military Exercise Force Eighteen conducted by Indian Army has started in at Pune, Maharashtra. In this seven-day military exercise (till March 8, 2016) over 300 participants from 18 ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Plus countries are participating. Participating countries ASEAN countries along with ASEAN Plus nations viz. India, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, China, South Korea, Russia and US . 10 ASEAN countries from South East Asia are Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
3)   The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the investment arm of the World Bank has launched its first Uridashi Masala Bonds (Japanese bonds). These masala bonds were launched 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. JP Morgan is the sole arranger of the bonds and Daisen Hinomaru Securities is its distributor.
4)   Hashim Thaci has been elected as the President of Kosovo by the Parliament of the country in the third round. He will succeed Atifete Jahjaga. In the third round, 81 Members of Parliament (MPs) off total 120 took part and Hashim Thaci secured 71 votes of them, proving required simple majority. With this, Hashim Thaci becomes fourth President of Kosovo after the country had unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in 2008. Prior getting elected as President he was serving as Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the Government led by Isa Mustafa, which had assumed office in December 2014.
5)   Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain took over as the Chief of Staff of the Visakhapatnam headquartered Eastern Naval Command. He succeeds Vice Admiral Bimal Verma who has been transferred as Commander-in-Chief of Andaman & Nicobar Command at Port Blair.
6)   Government of Peru has declared emergency for three weeks after a major oil pipeline burst in the country’s northeast region affecting two rivers Chiriaco and Morona. The pipeline burst has spilled over 3,000 barrels of crude oil into the rivers which are the main source of water and food for several indigenous communities in this region. Declaration of emergency will provide humanitarian help to these affected communities as government has warned communities not to eat fish from the polluted waters of these rivers. The pipeline that spilled the crude oil is owned by Petro Peru, a state-owned oil company and was built more than 30 years ago. It is used to transport between 5000 and 6000 barrels of oil per day.
7)   Rahul Sachdev has won the first All India Open Invitational Snooker Championship 2016 held at Aurangabad in Maharashtra. In the final match, Rahul defeated Pushpender Singh of Indian Railways by 5-3 score. It was his maiden title and is considered as major breakthrough in his career after winning this title. To reach final, Rahul had defeated Laxman Rawat of Indian Railways by 5-1 score whereas Pushpender Singh had defeated Kamal Chawla of Indian Railways by 5-1 score in the semifinals. All India Open Invitational Snooker Championship 2016 was organized by Billiards and Snooker Association of Aurangabad and was not having any relation with Cue Sports India.
8)   Researchers from France have found first evidence that mosquito-borne Zika virus might cause a severe neurological disorder called Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). GBS is a rare condition in which the body’s immune system attacks a part of the nervous system that controls muscle strength leading to muscle weakness in the legs and arms. The syndrome is also be caused by bacterial infections as well as the dengue and chikungunya viruses transmitted by be vector Aedes aegypti mosquitoes (also host for Zika Virus).

Current affairs 01 - March - 2016

1)   Slovenian high-jumper Rozle Prezelj (36) has been elected the new chairman of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Athletes’ Commission. He will replace Namibian Frank Fredericks with immediate effect who reached the end of his term. Britain’s marathon world record-holder Paula Radcliffe was nominated vice-chairwoman of the commission.
2)   The MS Swaminathan Research Foundation has signed a MOU with Bhubaneswar-based Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) to establish a Research Chair. The Chair will be named after MS Swaminathan, father of Indian Green Revolution for promoting knowledge and skill for empowerment for less privileged children in India. This is the first-ever initiative of the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation to establish a Research Chair in any private institute in the country. The Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) is the largest residential institute for the tribals in the world. It provides free of cost accommodation, education, food, health care  from Kindergarten to Post Graduation to more than 25,000 children of whom 12,200 are girls.
3)   Legendary Tamil Comedian Kumarimuthu passed away in Chennai, Tamil Nadu due to some age-related ailments. He was 77. He was known for his comic roles and had starred in nearly 50 films in his career spanning over three-decades. He was best known for his signature laugh. His debut film was Nandu in 1981. Some of his other best films are Sahadevan Mahadevan, Idhu Namma Aalu, Marumagan and Oru Oorla Oru Rajakumari. He was also associated with Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) Party in his brief stint in politics.
4)   The Union Government has constituted a committee to consider Scheduled Tribe status to six Communities of Assam. These six Communities are Koch Rajbongshi, Moran, Matak, Tai Ahom, Chutia and Adivasi (Tea Tribes). It will be headed by Mahesh Kumar Singla, Special Secretary (Internal Security) Ministry of Home Affairs.
5)   The 7th edition of India, Seychelles joint military exercise LAMITYE 2016 concluded in Victoria, Mahe Island, Seychelles. The fourteen day exercise was conducted at Seychelles Defence Academy (SDA), Victoria from February 15 to 28, 2016.
6)   Former Chief Justice of India (CJI) HL Dattu took charge as the Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). With this, he becomes the seventh Chairman of the NHRC, highest government institution protecting human rights of citizens. H L Dattu Born as Handyala Lakshminarayanaswamy Dattu on 3 December 1950 in Chikmagalur in then Mysore State. He had started his legal career in 1975 after enrolling as an advocate in Bangalore and dealt with all types of matters like criminal, civil, tax and Constitutional cases. 1983 onwards he had appeared in various capacities before the Karnataka High Court including as government pleader for sales tax department etc. He was designated as a senior standing counsel for I-T department. Later in 1995, he was elevated as a judge of the Karnataka High Court. In 2007, he was elevated as the Chief Justice of the Chhattisgarh High Court and later was shifted in the same capacity to the Kerala High Court. He was 42nd Chief Justice of India from September 28, 2014 to December 2, 2015. He has several landmark judgments to his credit dealing with protection of Fundamental Rights of citizens and principles of law.

Current affairs 29 - February - 2016

1)   Oscar-winning sound designer Resul Pookutty has won the prestigious American Motion Picture Sound Editors’ (MPSE) Golden Reel Award. He won the best sound for documentary “India’s Daughter” directed by Leslee Udwin. It is based on the Delhi gangrape incident of December 2012. Government has banned public screening airing of the documentary. With this, he becomes the first Asian to win the coveted award from the Motion Picture Sound Editors’ (MPSE) of United States for best sound.
2)   The 88th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) was held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. The Academy Awards (commonly referred as Oscars) were presented in twenty four categories
3)   Micro blogging site Twitter for first time has launched #Positionofstrength campaign in India to empower women to raise voices against any form of discrimination. The campaign seeks spread awareness to bridge the gender equality gap online in India and inspire the of women leaders next generation to have an influential voice in society. It was launched by taking cue from a study showcasing a prevailing male dominance over both online and offline space.
4)   Stan Wawrinka from Switzerland has won the 2016 Dubai ATP Tennis title in the men’s singles category. In the final match played in the United Arab Emirates, he defeated Marcos Baghdatis (Cyprus) by 6-4, 7-6 (15/13) score. It was his ninth straight final and overall 13th title of his career and second of the 2016 season after winning Chennai Open.
5)   Dinesh Sharma has been unanimously elected as the Chairperson of the Governing Council of International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD). He was unanimously elected as the Chairperson of the Governing Council of IFAD for a period of two years in its 39th Session held in Rome, Italy. Currently, he is serving as Additional Secretary of Department of Economic Affairs under the Union Ministry of Finance and is also India’s Governor to the IFAD, Rome.
6)   Filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali and actor Ranveer Singh have been chosen for the prestigious 2016 Pandit Dinanath Mangeshkar Award. The award will be bestowed upon them by Lata Mangeshkar at a function to be held in Pune on 24 April to commemorate Pandit Dinanath Mangeshkar’s death anniversary.
7)   The cycloneprone eastern coast of India will get a new doppler radar to boost the weather forecasting system. It will be commissioned by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) in Gopalpur in Odisha which had faced the severe cyclonic storm Phailin in October 2013. It will be the sixth such radar on the country’s east coast and the other such 5 radars are located in Kolkata, Chennai, Visakhapatnam, Machilipatnam and Paradip. The move to set up additional radar assumes significance as it will help authorities in taking timely action against cyclones prone to the eastern coast and also help better forecast Earlier in November 2015, the IMD had installed a doppler radar in Paradip which is another coastal district in Odisha that was ravaged by a super cyclone in 1999.
8)   President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the first phase Kerala Tourism’s Muziris Heritage Project (MHP) at Trissur in Kerala to reinstate the historical and cultural significance Muziris. The project is Kerala Government’s first green Project and India’s largest heritage conservation project. President also launched the website of the MHP. MHP is supported by the Union Government and seeks to conserve ancient seaport of Muziris and showcase its culture of 3000 years. The project also will play important role in the Spice Route initiative launched by Kerala Tourism with the help of UNESCO to revive state’s historic trade ties with 41 countries of the world.
9)   Union Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences Dr. Harsh Vardhan has released Seismic Microzonation reports for Delhi and Kolkata. These reports highlight vulnerability of specific areas in these megacities and help in minimizing the effects of earthquakes by (i) Proper assessment of Seismic Hazard (ii) Implementation of safe building construction codes (iii) adopting appropriate land-use planning. Seismic Microzonation Report for National Capital Territory (NCT) Delhi was prepared by the Earthquake Risk Evaluation Centre (EREC). It was under the IMD and now has been merged with National Centre for Seismology of the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences. The seismic microzonation project of Kolkata was undertaken by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur in consortium with a few other organizations under the aegis of the Geosciences Division of the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences.
10)   Senior IPS Officer Alok Kumar Verma has taken charge of new Police Commissioner of Delhi on February 29, 2016. He has replaced B. S. Bassi. His appointment was cleared by Union Home Ministry on February 17 and was sent to Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung for issuing the appointment order.