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1. Ace Indian shooter Gurpreet Singh has secured India a fifth quota place in shooting for the
2015 Rio Olympics. He achieved this feat by finishing fourth in the Mens 10 metre Air Pistol
final at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Shooting World Cup held in
Munich, Germany. In the final qualification round Gurpreet scored 154. He became second
Indian to have secured a 2016 Rio berth at the ongoing World Cup. Earlier, in same world cup
Abhinav Bindra, Indias only individual Olympic gold-medallist, had won a quota place with a
sixth place finish in the Mens 10 metre Air Rifle final. Previously, Gagan Narang, Jitu Rai and
Apurvi Chandela have secured an Olympic quota place for 2016 Rio Olympics.

2. Dilawar Singh of Haryana has won Pedal for Kashmir cycling competition, held along the
banks of picturesque Dal Lake in Srinagar. During this cycling, Singh pipped local champion
Mohammad Akbar Khan who came runner up, followed by another local cyclist Mohammad
Adil Teli. While in the under-19 category of the competition for Boys, Mohit Kumar won the
first prize. Wahid Ahmad Ganie was placed second, while Amir Sadiq Gojriin finished third. In
the girls under-19 category, Komal Deshmuk from Maharashtra, beat local girl Bushra Ali to
the first position. State Minister for Public Works Altaf Bukhari gave away the prizes to the
winners. This edition of Pedal for Kashmir cycling competition was organized by Jammu and
Kashmir Armed Police (JKAP). In this event around 2000 cyclists, including those of national
and international repute had participated.

3. Ace Indian archer Deepika Kumari has clinched the bronze medal in the womens individual
Womens Recurve event at Antalya Archery World Cup held in Turkey. To win bronze medal
Deepika outclassed Chang Hye Jin of South Korea in straight sets 6-2 (26-25, 29-26, 26-28,
28-27). She was the only Indian who made it to the last four in the in individual womens
recurve competition as veteran Dola Banerjee, Satbir Kaur and Snehal Divakar all lost in the
first round. In the Antalya 2015 recurve womens event Misun Choi and Bo Bae Ki from South
Korea won gold and silver medal respectively.

4. Kolkatas Mohun Bagan Football Club (FC) has won the I-League title by defeating Bengaluru
Football Club. Mohun Bagan won the title after a 1-1 draw score against Bengaluru FC in their
final game of the 2014-15 season played at the Kanteerva Stadium, Bengaluru. John Johnson
of Bengaluru FC had scored a goal in the 41st minute and later Mohun Bagans Bello Rasaq
scored the equaliser in the 86th minute. With this win, Mohun Bagan FC ended the season
with 39 points at top, while Bengaluru FC finished second on the ladder with 37. It should be
noted that it is the fourth national title for Mohun Bagan FC after having won the last in 2002
when the I-League tournament was named the National Football League (NFL).

5. President Pranab Mukherjee has given his assent to re-promulgation of land ordinance for
third time as per provisions of Article 123 of Indian Constitution. Earlier, Union Cabinet
meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had approved re-promulgation of the
ordinance, which was to expire on 3 June 2015. Currently, The Right to Fair Compensation
and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Bill,
2015 is with the Joint Committee of Parliament chaired by BJP MP S.S. Ahluwalia for detailed
discussion on the provisions of the legislation. Earlier, Lok Sabha had passed the bill,
however in Rajya Sabha it was not able to pass were as government is in minority and
opposition parties including Congress and Left as well as some NDA allies had opposed it.
Article 123 of Constitution It gives legislative power to President. He can issue ordinances
when Parliament is in recess i.e. not in session if there is urgent need to have a law on some
urgent public matter. The promulgated ordinance has similar effect to an act of parliament.
However, every ordinance must be laid and approved by both houses of the parliament within
6 weeks from the reassembling. If not placed and approved by both houses of the parliament
after reassembling it becomes invalid or lapses.

6. Punjab government has announced that year 2015-16 will be will be observed as
development year to give further fillip to the all-round development of the state. It was
announced by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, in Dhuri Assembly segment of the state.
For this state government will make concerted efforts for the overall development of the urban
and rural areas in the state. In this regard, state government will be to provide ultra-modern
civic amenities to the people in urban and rural areas and major schemes will be implemented
in the current fiscal. In urban areas state government will focus to provide the facility of water
supply, sewerage, Sewerage Treatment Plants (STPs), streetlights, roads and parks.
Whereas in rural areas provision of roads, disposal of waste water, potable drinking water and
toilets will be state government thrust areas.

7. Jyoti Prasad Rajkhowa was sworn-in as the 19th Governor of Arunachal Pradesh. Acting
Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court Justice K Sreedhar Rao administered the oath of office as
per provisions of Article 159 of Constitution. President Pranab Mukherjee had appointed him
as Governor on May 12, 2015 after then Governor Lt General (Retired) Nirbhay Sharma was
transferred to Mizoram. Mr. Rajkhowa is a retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer
from 1968 batch. He is the former Chief Secretary of Assam and had retired from service in
2004. During his service he had he served in various remote areas of the Northeast India
including in Mizo Hills during the peak of the Mizo rebellion. He holds M.A degree in
Economics from the prestigious Delhi School of Economics under the aegis of Delhi
University. Mr. Rajkhowa has authored a book, Central Vigilance Mechanism with special
reference to P.S.Es, and also had contributed by writing number of articles to leading
newspapers. Tags: Arunachal Pradesh Governors Persons In News

8. Gatimaan Express is the first semi high-speed train service that will be launched between
Delhi and Agra. The train will run at a maximum speed of 160 kmph and is expected to cover
the 200-km distance between both destinations in about 105 minutes. Features of train It is
equipped with a 5,400 Horse Power (HP) electric locomotive engine and 12 modern coaches.
It also has extra advance features such as automatic fire alarm, emergency braking system
along with the passenger information system and sliding doors inside the coaches. To attain
high speed, railway tracks for this train route have been fenced off at certain places, signaling
system has been upgraded. The fare of this train service will be 25 per cent more normal fare
of Shatabdi express (between Delhi and Agra). The trials of the semi-high speed train already
have been conducted twice between the Agra and Delhi route. But the mandatory clearance
from the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) has been not granted yet. After successful
implementation of this semi high-speed train service between Delhi and Agra, Indian Railways
is seeking to implement it on nine more routes. It includes Kanpur-Delhi, Hyderabad-Chennai,
Goa-Mumbai, Nagpur-Bilaspur, Nagpur-Secunderabad and Chandigarh-Delhi.
9. Advanced version of indigenous Pinaka mark-II rockets were successfully tested on 30 May
2015 in Pokhran field firing ranges in Rajasthan. They were test-fired using a multi-barrel
rocket launcher (MBRL). In the test six rounds were successfully tested which had hit the
target situated 53 kms from the firing point. The MBRL version of Pinaka has high operational
mobility, flexibility and accuracy which is capable of acting as a force multiplier and has been
developed to supplement artillery guns. Facts about Pinaka II rockets The Pinaka II rocket is
also known as the Weapon Area System (WAS). Jointly and indigenously developed by the
Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Indian Army. It has
battery of six launchers which can fire rockets with a range of 40-65 kms. WAS can fire a
salvo of 12 rockets in 44 seconds with 1.2 tonne of high explosives. Can neutralise a target
area of 3.9 square km and supplement existing artillery system at a range beyond 30 km. Can
be fitted with wide range of warheads including blast-cum-pre-fragmented high explosives to
anti-tank mines. It should be noted that Pinaka had undergone several tough tests since 1995
and already has been introduced into the Indian army.

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10. Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee will be conferred with Friends of Bangladesh
Liberation War Award by Bangladesh government. He will be bestowed this award for his
outstanding support for the Bangladeshs independence from Pakistan in 1971 when he was
member of Lok Sabha. Bangladesh Government will hand over this award to Prime Minister
Narendra Modi during his upcoming visit to the country from June 6, 2015. Besides,
Bangladesh Government headed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will also honour the
families of the members of Indian armed forces who had sacrificed their lives for the cause of
Bangladeshs independence. In this regard, a letter alongside a certificate to be signed by the
Bangladesh PM will be sent to the martyrs family members. About Friends of Bangladesh
Liberation War Award Instituted in 2008 by ruling Awami League government. Bestowed upon
individuals and organizations who had extended the most crucial support for Bangladeshs
independence struggle. Former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was the first to be
honoured with award. President Pranab Mukherjee also has received this award in 2013.
11. Former Indian cricketers Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and V V S Laxman have joined
the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCIs) newly-constituted Cricket Advisory
Aommittee. They were nominated by BCCI President Jagmohan Dalmiya with immediate
effect. The advisory committee will guide BCCI in all matters related to the game and the
national team on various progressive steps needed for future challenges on overseas
engagements. It will also provide direction to improve BCCIs talent pathway and take steps to
strengthen domestic cricket to better prepare our players to handle the rigours of International
Cricket Sachin Tendulkar had played 200 Tests and had scored 15921 runs. He also had
played 463 One Day Internationals (ODIs) and had scored 18426 runs apart from a T20
International before retiring in 2013. Sourav Ganguly had played in 113 Tests and 311 ODIs
for India apart from leading the country to the final of 2003 World Cup. V V S Laxman had
played in 134 Tests and 86 ODIs.
12. Researchers from China have successfully developed the first automated teller machine
(ATM) with facial recognition technology. The machine has unique security feature which does
not allow users to withdraw cash unless their face matches their facial ID. The first of its kind
ATM was developed by researchers from Tsinghua University and technology firm Tzekwan.
Key facts The machine has a camera installed in which captures the facial features of the
user and then compares it with photos stored in a database for authentication. Its technology
and software looks at biological features of person and has potential to identify people even if
their facial features have changed. The machine combines high-speed banknote handling,
improved counterfeit-bill recognition and facial recognition. Thus, help to curb ATM-related
crimes. It provides 20% more accurate authenticity in verifying multiple currencies compared
to present conventional ATMs used globally.
13. Hemant Sonawala, one of the pioneer founders of Indias information technology (IT) industry
passed away on 30 May 2015 in Mumbai, Maharashtra. He was 78. As a visionary
industrialist and entrepreneur he had played important role laying the foundations of Indian IT
industry which has grown and subsequently shown meteoric rise in past two decades.
Sonawala was chairman of Hinditron Group which was started in 1966 and engaged in IT,
scientific instrumentation and Tele-communication services. Companys computer division
was started in 1971. He was also the founder of Digital Equipment India which was the first
technology Initial public offering (IPO) company in India. Digital Equipment India later in 1988
became a part of Hewlett-Packard (HP) India. Apart for this, he was also associated with the
Computer Society of India (CSI), Indo-American Chamber of Commerce, Federation of Indian
Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers (IEEE), NASSCOM.
14. Government of Mauritius has designated internationally renowned biodiversity scientist and
biologist Ameenah Gurib-Fakim as their new President. This designation will make her Indian
Ocean island nations first woman and sixth President, a top ceremonial position. Now this
appointment is subject to Mauritian Parliament approval. She will succeed Former president
Kailash Purryag, who had stepped down as the islands figurehead and was appointed in

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2012 by then Labour party government of former premier Navin Ramgoolam. About Ameenah
Gurib-Fakim Ameenah Gurib-Fakim was born in October 17, 1959 in Mauritius. She is the
Managing Director of Centre International de Dveloppement Pharmaceutique (CIDP)
Research & Innovation. Ameenah had authored numerous academic and research papers.
She has received several accolades and honours including Laureate for the LOreal-UNESCO
Women in Science Award for Africa (2007), African Union Award for Women in Science for
the Easter African Region (2009) etc. Mauritius Mauritius is one of the richest and least
corrupt countries in Africa. It is a middle-income country with population around 1.3 million
and per capita GDP of just over US 9,000 dollars. The island nation has strong outsourcing
and financial services sector along with an important tourism industry. Mauritius had gained
independence from Britain in 1968. The President is nominal head of country and had
replaced Britains Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state in 1992.
15. India and Sweden inked six agreements, during the visit of President Pranab Mukherjee to
Sweden, key Arctic Council member. It should be noted that Mr. Pranab Mukherjee is the first
Indian President to visit Sweden. Following agreements were signed MoU on Cooperation in
the field of Sustainable Urban Development- It aims to foster closer and long term cooperation
between both nations in the field of sustainable development and protection of the
environment. MoU on cooperation in the field of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
(MSMEs) It aims at promoting partnership projects, institution and enterprise level
cooperation related to MSMEs. It also seeks development of MSMEs and facilitating
exchange of business mission by initiating technology transfer and sustainable business
alliances. Agreement on Visa Exemption for diplomatic passports- It aims to strengthen the
friendly relations by facilitating the entry of citizens of both nations holding diplomatic
passports. Letter of Intent (LoI) on Collaboration in Polar and Ocean Research- It seeks to
encourage collaboration in the areas of Polar (Antarctic and Arctic) and Ocean Research.
Signatory parties are Earth System Science Organisation (ESSO) of India and the Swedish
Polar Research Secretariat (SPRS) Memorandum of Intent (MoI) between Indian Council of
Medical Research (ICMR) and the Swedish Research Council for Health Working Life and
Welfare (FORTE) for cooperation in the field of ageing research and health. MoI between
Indias Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) and Swedish Medical
Products Agency (MPA) for complimentary cooperation between both nations in the area of
health, electronic submissions, pharmacovigilance, drugs, clinical trials, medical devices and
diagnostic kits etc.
16. Two people have died of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in South Korea making it
countrys first fatalities from the disease. The first victim was a 58-year-old woman who had
contact with the original case, a South Korean who visited the Middle East and second one is
of a 71-year-old man. So far, 25 confirmed cases of MERS virus have detected in South
Korea and around 680 people who might have come into contact with the infected patients,
have been placed in isolation. Facts about Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) MERS
belongs to the family of coronaviruses which includes large family of viruses such as common
cold and Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). It was discovered in 2012 and was
mostly centred in Saudi Arabia. Source: MERS is a betacoronavirus derived from bats.
Camels have shown to have antibodies to MERS, but the exact source of infection in camels
has not been identified. Transmission: It can be transmitted from infected person to others
after close contact via a respiratory route. It spreads in droplets when an infected person
coughs or sneezes. Symptoms: fever, breathing problems, pneumonia and kidney failure.
Treatment: Till date there is no vaccine available to prevent it. However intensive medical care
can help patient to breath.
17. Former Indian Cricket Captain, Ravi Shastri was named interim coach of the Indian cricket
team for the tour of Bangladesh starting from 10 June 2015 which will host one Test and three
One-Day Internationals (ODIs). He was appointed by Board of Control for Cricket in India
(BCCI) President Jagmohan Dalmiya. This appointment is stop-gap arrangement for the short
tour as the BCCI is yet to decide on a full-time coach to replace Duncan Fletcher whose

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tenure had ended in March 2015. Previously, Shastri had served as Team Director during the
tour of Australia and the subsequent World Cup held in February-March 2015. In 2007,
Shastri also had travelled with the Indian team to Bangladesh as cricket manager after Greg
Chappell resigned from the coachs post. Shastri had represented India in 80 Tests and 150
ODIs. He was part Indian cricket team led by Captain Kapil Dev which had lifted first Cricket
World Cup for India in 1983.
18. Meena Hemchandra was appointed as the Executive Director of Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
With this appointment she will be in charge of RBIs department of banking supervision, nonbanking supervision and department of co-operative banking supervision. Prior to this
appointment Meena Hemchandra was in charge of RBIs Department of Supervision.
Previously, she also had worked in RBIs department of external investment and operations
which manages countrys reserves and Foreign Exchange Department. She also had served
as Principal of Reserve Banks College of Agriculture Banking located in Pune. She is a
chartered financial analyst from Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India (ICFAI) and
also holds a post graduate degree in Economics. It should be noted that RBI has 11 Executive
Directors who are in charge of various departments. With this appointment the portfolios of
other Executive Directors remain unchanged.
19. Union Government has launched Khoya Paya web platform for people to directly report, track
and upload information on missing children. It was jointly launched by the Union Minister of
Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi and Union Minister of Communication & IT
Ravi Shankar Prasad in New Delhi. Khoya Paya is joint initiative of the Union Ministry of
Women and Child Development (WCD) and the Department of Electronics and Information
Technology (DeitY). The first-of-its-kind web portal will serve as a platform for people to not
only report a missing child but also track the efforts towards his or her recovery. Khoya Paya
website has three sections My child is missing- where citizens can report missing children. I
have sighted a child- where citizens can report sightings and whereabouts of missing children
without wasting much time. Search a missing child and the found children can also be
reported on it. The reporting to the KhoyaPaya site can be done through text, photographs,
videos and other means of transmitting and uploading information. The website will also
provide links to court orders wherein police have been mandated to register an FIR in the
matter of a child gone missing and treat it as either abduction or trafficking unless it is proved
otherwise in the investigation.
20. President of the Fdration Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Sepp Blatter has
resigned amid a corruption scandal which under investigation in United States. Earlier on 30
May 2015, he was re-elected as the FIFA President for a fifth term by defeating his rival
candidate Prince Ali bins Al Hussein of Jordan. FIFA, world soccers governing body was hit
with worst crisis in its history after U.S. investigation agency FBI had alleged its officials were
involved in widespread financial wrongdoing in past years. Swiss authorities also had stared
their own criminal probe into FIFAs decision of awarding 2018 and 2022 World Cups to
Russia and Qatar, respectively. Blatter, a Swiss football administrator had ruled FIFA since
1998 after he was elected for first time. Prior to his Presidency, Blatter was a public relations
executive representing various organizations and had served as the general secretary of FIFA
since 1981. Tags: FIFA Football Persons In News Sports
21. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has reduced the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment
facility (LAF) by 25 basis points from 7.5 per cent to 7.25 per cent with immediate effect. It
was announced in the second bi-monthly policy of RBI. It says that Cash reserve ratio (CRR)
of scheduled banks has kept unchanged at 4 per cent of net demand and time liabilities
(NDTL). Continuation of providing liquidity under overnight repos at 0.25 per cent of bankwise
NDTL at the LAF repo rate. Liquidity under 14-day term repos as well as longer-term repos of
up to 0.75 per cent of NDTL of the banking system through auctions. Continuation with
overnight/term variable rate repos and reverse repos to smooth liquidity. This the third time
RBI has cut interest rates in 2015. RBI has reduced the rates in order to take advantage of

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subdued inflation and to give more support to an economy. Tags: Banking Business
Economy RBI
22. Bangladesh has granted permission to Indias state-owned insurance group Life insurance
Corporation (LIC) to do business in the country.It was announced by M Shefaq Ahmed,
Chairman of Bangladesh Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA).
LIC will start its operations in Bangladesh as a joint venture (JV) entity to be called LIC
Bangladesh Ltd with a paid up capital of one billion Taka.
In this JV entity LIC will hold half of the amount while the rest would be owed by its
Bangladeshi partners. The capital will be raised from the Bangladeshs capital market and
local entrepreneurs.
Earlier in 2013, Bangladesh IRDA had rejected LICs proposal to operate in the country citing
small capital base.
It should be noted that LIC will be the second foreign insurance company to operate in
Bangladesh after the US-based MetLife-ALICO.
LIC has been in the insurance business for six decades after it was established in 1956. It
was established after Indian Parliament had enacted Life Insurance of India Act, 1956 for
nationalising the private insurance industry in India.
Presently, LIC is worth over 15,000 billion Indian rupees and operates in Nepal, Sri Lanka and
Singapore apart from India.
23. Maharashtra government has approved a new Renewable Energy Policy which aims at
achieving 14,400 MW of installed capacity over a period of five years i.e. till 2020. The
approval decision of new policy worth 4,156.43 crore rupees was taken by state cabinet
meeting chaired by Chief Minister Devendra in Mumbai. The policy aims at achieving installed
capacity of renewable energy of 21,100 MW by 2020 from current installed capacity of 6,700
MW. The target will be achieved through public-private partnerships (PPP) and captive power
projects and rolled out of slew incentives for developers for these renewable power projects.
Key facts from new policy Policy aims at achieving the installed capacity of 7,500 MW solar
energy, 5,000 MW of wind energy, 1,000 MW of bagasse based co-generation by 2020. It also
seeks to achieve installed capacity 400 MW small hydro, 200 MW of industrial waste and 300
MW of agriculture waste-based products by 2020. In order to promote installation of new
renewable projects, the state government has simplified consent norms and reduced the
number of clearances. State government will also provide financial incentives including
electricity duty exemption for ten years apart from various other capital subsidies.
Procurement process for these projects will be done through competitive bidding with an
assurance that consumers will benefit in terms of affordable tariff.
24. Edward Snowden, former US security contractor and electronic surveillance whistleblower
has been awarded a Norwegian prize for freedom of expression (also known as Bjornson
Prize). The award was bestowed upon him by the Norwegian Academy of Literature and
Freedom of Expression for his work protecting privacy and for shining a critical light on US
surveillance of its citizens and others. In 2013, Snowden had uncovered the most extensive

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US global electronic surveillance programmes carried out by National Security Agency (NSA).
Presently, he is leaving his exile in Russia. Earlier, Snowden was awarded Swedens Right
Livelihood Award in 2014 but chose to accept it by video link. He was also nominated for the
Nobel Peace Prize for the second year in a row. About Norwegian prize for freedom of
expression Norwegian prize for freedom of expression is also known as Bjornson Prize
named after a Norwegian Nobel literature laureate. It is given by Norwegian Academy of
Literature and Freedom of Expression which promote understanding of cultures other than our
own and for literary free speech. The award carries cash prize of 100,000 kroner
(approximately US 14950 dollars).
25. India and Belarus signed six agreements to enhance bilateral co-operation. The agreements
were signed in presence of President Pranab Mukherjee during his state visit to Belarus.
President Pranab Mukherjee is on two nations tour viz Sweden and Belarus. The tour had
started from Sweden on 31 May 2015 and later in Belarus on 3 June. The signed agreements
are Roadmap for India-Belarus Cooperation: for strengthening bilateral relations and cooperation in the field of trade, culture and other areas. Protocol to amendment: To amend the
agreement between two countries for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of
Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and on Property (Capital) of September,
1997. MoU on Cooperation in the field of Standardization and Information Support: It was
signed between Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and the State Committee for
Standardization of the Republic of Belarus. MoU for cooperation on Broadcasting: It was
signed between Prasar Bharati (PB) and the National State Television and Radio Company of
the Republic of Belarus (Belteleradiocompany). MoU on Bilateral Cooperation between the
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and the Ministry of Finance of Belarus. MoU
for Manufacturing and Marketing of Light Industry Goods (concern Bellegprom): It was signed
between the Union Ministry of Textiles of India and the Belarusian State.
26. Renowned biochemist Irwin Rose who was awarded 2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for
discovering molecule Ubiquitin passed away. He was 88. He had shared this noble prize with
Aaron Ciechanover and Avram Hershko. Discovery of Ubiquitin Rose, Ciechanover and
Hershko had discovered a molecule called Ubiquitin which destroys or cleans up unwanted
proteins. This discovery had served as the basis for developing new therapies for diseases
such as cervical cancer and cystic fibrosis which are caused by failure of the clean-up
mechanism. The Ubiquitin molecule is also involved in repairing faulty DNA and quality control
of newly made proteins. It should be noted that each human cell contains around100,000
different proteins, which carry out different jobs such as speeding up chemical reactions and
acting as signals etc. About Irwin Rose Rose was born on July 16, 1926 in New York, United
States. He had spent much of his career as a researcher at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in
Philadelphia, US. His Nobel-winning work was done in this cancer centre in late 1970s and
early 1980s.
27. Union Government has launched IAP HealthPhone programme, worlds largest digital mass
education programme to address malnutrition in women and children. It was launched by
Union Minister of Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi in New Delhi. This
programme is initiative of Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) in partnership with Union
Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD). United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF).
Supported by Vodafone India. It should be noted that Bolloywood Actor Aamir Khan is support

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partner and brand ambassador of this programme. Facts about IAP HealthPhone programme
IAP HealthPhone aims to tackle the challenge of malnutrition in mothers and children across
India. It is a public-private partnership (PPP) initiative that seeks to educate over 6 million girls
and women between 13 and 35 years of age and their families on better health and nutrition
practices by 2018 by leveraging penetration of mobile phones in the country. It will promote
and distribute four re-edited videos from the Poshan (nutritional videos) series in 18 Indian
languages, which are jointly produced by Union Ministry WCD and UNICEF. These videos
addressed issues of status of women, care of pregnant women and children, breastfeeding. It
also seeks to spread awareness and importance of balanced diet, health and simple changes
in nutritional care practices to enhance nutritional levels. Vodafone India will encourage the
viewing of the four videos by enabling its customers to view/download them for free. It will
also provide its users with incentive talk time of Rs.10 on viewing the 4 videos. It will also
send around 300 million awareness text messages to its subscribers every year to promote
the viewing of the four videos. Vodafone India will also help for comprehensive
communication campaign to promote the programme across the country via print and social
media. The three-year intensive awareness campaign under IAP HealthPhone programme is
expected to benefit to improve health of around 60 million children born by 2025 in India and
also play important transformative role in Indias fight against malnutrition.
28. India and United States (US) have signed a new strategically important 10-year defence
framework agreement on 3 June 2015. The agreement was signed between Union Defence
Minister Manohar Parrikar and visiting US Defence Secretary Dr. Ashton Carter in New Delhi.
The framework agreement provides avenues for high level strategic discussions between both
nations along with continued exchanges of armed forces and strengthening of defence
capabilities. Apart from signing this agreement both nations also agreed to Expedite
discussions to take forward co-operation on jet engines, aircraft carrier design and
construction and other areas. Pursue co-development and co-production projects that will
offer tangible opportunities for American defence industries to build defence partnership with
the Indian industries under Make in India programme. Continue efforts to enhance bilateral
cooperation in areas of mutual interest such as maritime security and knowledge partnership
in the field of Defence. Jointly develop protective gear for soldiers against biological and
chemical warfare. Develop next generation power source i.e.generators for the battlefield.
29. India has joined the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) on Automatic
Exchange of Financial Account Information (AEOI). The new global standards has wide in
scope and oblige the treaty partners to exchange wide range of financial information from
institutions from their country. In order to implement these standards in India necessary
legislative changes will be made in section 285BA of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Apart from
India 5 other nations including Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, Indonesia and New Zealand
also have joined it. Now the total number of countries agreeing to exchange information
automatically in accordance with MCAA has gone up to 60. Implications When fully
implemented, these standards will enable India to receive information from almost every
country in the world including offshore financial centres. Thus, it will help to prevent
international tax evasion and avoidance. It will be also instrumental in getting information
about assets of Indians held abroad and their beneficial owners. Thus, it will directly help the
Government to curb tax evasion and deal with the menace of black money stashed abroad.

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30. Jaipur Metros Phase-1 was inaugurated by Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje by
flagging off the inaugural train. Phase 1 of Pink Citys Metro covers 9.6 km long route from
Mansarovar to Chandpole with nine metro stations. The phase 1 of Jaipur Metro was
completed in record four-and-a-half-years making it one of the fastest-built rail metros in India
with cost of 2,023 crore rupees. Facts about Jaipur Metros Phase-1 Developed by Jaipur
Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (JMRCL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Rajasthan Government.
Will provide an affordable and reliable public transport system to people and help to spur
economic development of the city. Up to 30 percent of metros operation and maintenance
staff, including train operators and station controllers are women. Stations are equipped with
automatic fare collection system to collect and manage the fare revenue. With this, Jaipur
became the sixth city in India to have metro service. Other five cities are Delhi, Mumbai,
Gurgaon, Bangalore, and Kolkata. It should be noted that, in initial stages for effective
execution of the project the Phase-1 work was divided into two parts viz Phase-1A and
Phase-1B. The phase 1A is from Mansarovar to Chandpole has been started with this
inauguration while work on phase 1B from Chandpole to Badi Chaupad is underway.
31. Indias Machettira Raju Poovamma and Liksy Joseph have won silver medal each in 21st
Asian Athletics Championships held in Wuhan, China. Quarter-miler Poovamma won silver
medal in womens 400m finals event by clocking 53.07 secs. Chinas Yang Huizhen (52.37
sec) won the gold medal and Anastasiya Kudinova (53.41 sec) of Kazakhstan won bronze
medal in this event. While heptathlete Joseph won the silver medal in the 800m race with a
time of 2:13.44. Her teammate and former Asian junior champion Purnima Hembram won
bronze medal in this event. Earlier, G. Lakshmanan had won bronze medal in Mens 5,000
metre race. With this Indias medal tally in 21st Asian Athletics Championships is now is 1
Gold, 2 Silver and 2 Bronze. On the opening day of the Championships, Inderjeet Singh had
won gold in Shot put event.
32. Maharashtra government has invoked stringent provisions of the Maharashtra Control of
Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against ration mafia. With this, state government aims at
weeding out the widespread corruption by taking stringent action against those who tamper
the public distribution system (PDS) mechanism. The first case in this regard was registered
against five persons from Nashik for allegedly being ration mafia and were involved in the
pilferage of food grains meant for PDS. The accused were involved in the infamous Surgana
scam which had misappropriated nearly 3,000 metric tonnes (MT) of foodgrain supplied under
the PDS to the tribal-dominated Surgana region of Nashik.
33. World Bank has approved 250 million US dollars loan for Jhelum and Tawi Flood Recovery
Project in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K). The project will be funded by loan credit from
International Development Association (IDA), a World Banks concessionary with a maturity of
25 years, including a 5 year grace period. About Jhelum and Tawi Flood Recovery Project The
recovery project will play important role in reconstruction of flood-affected public
infrastructure. It includes roads, bridges and public infrastructure. It will also strengthen the
capacity of state government to respond and better manage natural disasters in future. It will
focus on 20 districts of state and help to rebuild damaged public buildings such as schools,
hospitals, higher education buildings, fire stations, selected block and district offices. It also
seeks to strengthen and reinforce existing weak and vulnerable flood control infrastructure.
The investments will primarily include rehabilitation and renovation of storm water pumping

10
stations in several areas. The project will also focus on disaster risk mitigation in state and
strengthen the capacity of government entities in disaster risk management. It will also help in
preparation of a Hydro-Meteorological Resilience Action Plan to enhance preparedness and
achieve resilient recovery. The action plan will focus on river morphology study for some key
rivers impacted by the disaster, extreme weather events and urban vulnerability assessment.
Background In September 2014, continuous unprecedented heavy heavy rainfall had caused
Jhelum, Chenab and Tawi rivers, their tributaries to flow above the danger mark. It had
flooded the catchment areas, particularly low lying ones for more than two weeks in the state
which had severely affected livelihoods and basic infrastructure in the state.
34. Union Government has signed a loan and project agreement with World Bank to provide $400
million to the Tamil Nadu government for its Sustainable Urban Development Project. The
loan agreement, signed by Raj Kumar, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs,
Ministry of Finance and Onno Ruhl, Country director of World Bank (India). Tamil Nadus
sustainable Urban Development Project aims at improving urban services in participating
Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in a financially sustainable manner. It also seeks at piloting
improved urban management practices in selected cities. The project consists of three parts
Investment in urban services including water, municipal solid waste, sewerage, urban
transportation and storm water drainage. Results-based grants for urban governance. Urban
sector technical assistance to strengthen the capacity of ULBs and urban sector officials. The
size of the project is US 600 million dollars, of which 400 million dollars would be financed
through the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
35. Former Director of Intelligence Bureau (DIB) Syed Asif Ibrahim was appointed as Prime
Ministers Special Envoy for Counter Terrorism and Extremism in National Security Council
(NSC) Secretariat. His appointment was confirmed by the Appointments Committee of the
Cabinet (ACC). His rank will be of Secretary to the government for a period of three years or
until further orders, whichever is earlier. Syed Asif Ibrahims role will be to Help Union
government to evolve strategies to deal with radicalisation of youths in India due to rise of the
Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Liaise security challenges with governments of West
Asian countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan. He will directly report to National Security Advisor
(NSA) Ajit K Doval and will carry out work in the National Security Council (NSC) Secretariat
in New Delhi. About Syed Asif Ibrahim Syed Asif Ibrahim was Indian Police Service (IPS)
officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre of 1977 batch. He has served as Director of the Intelligence
Bureau from 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2014 and was the first Muslim to hold this
important position.
36. Indias Sundaram Ravi was inducted into the Elite Panel of International Cricket Council (ICC)
Umpires for year 2015-2016. Decision in this regard was taken by the ICC Umpires Selection
Panel consisting of Chairman Geoff Allardice and others members after annual review and
selection process. Apart from Ravi, New Zealands Chris Gaffaney was also inducted in this
elite panel. Both of them were promoted from the International Panel to the Elite Panel. With
this appointment, Sundaram Ravi became second Indian umpire after S Venkataraghavan to
be inducted into the ICCs elite panel. S Venkataraghavan was inducted in this panel in 2004.
Now, the elite Panel of Umpires for 2015-2016 include Kumar Dharmasena, Aleem Dar, Ian
Gould, Marais Erasmus, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Chris Gaffaney,
Sundaram Ravi, Rod Tucker, Paul Reiffel and Bruce Oxenford. Sundaram Ravi had made his

11
international umpiring debut in Visakhapatnam in December 2011 in an ODI between India
and West Indies. Since then he has umpired in 6 Tests matches, 24 ODIs and 12 T20Is. He
also had umpired in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 held earlier in March 2015 in Australia
and New Zealand.

37. Every year World Environment Day (WED) is observed on 05 June to raise global awareness
to take positive environmental action to protect nature and the planet Earth. The theme for
year 2015 is Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume with Care. The theme highlights
the need to respect the carrying capacity of the planet earth and to manage natural resources
efficiently to ensure prosperity and wellbeing globally. Observing this day is global initiative of
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The host country for the WED 2015 is Italy.
To mark this day Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a tree plantation campaign
across India by planting Kadamb sapling at the lawns of his Race Course Road residence.
About World Environment Day (WED) WED was established by the United Nations General
Assembly in 1972 to mark the opening of United Nations Conference on the Human
Environment 1972 which began in Stockholm. The first World Environment Day was observed
in 1973 and since then it is being held every year with a different themes.

38. Delhi Metro has received its first driver-less train from Republic of South Korea which is
capable of running without a driver. The six-coach train has been manufactured at Changwan
in South Korea and had arrived by sea at the Mundhra port in Gujarat and was brought to
Delhi by road. Facts about driver-less metro train The train is equipped with several advanced
features and will be operational from by the end of 2016. It has undergone significant
technological as well as eco-friendly upgrades. It is more energy efficient as it has improved
design features such as better regeneration of energy during braking, energy efficient sub
systems like LED lighting and air conditioning systems. Many additional features have been
added in this train to increase passenger comfort. This train can accommodate 2280
passengers, which is 240 more than the regular six-coach Metro train because of absence of
cabin for the operator coach. It is designed for a maximum speed of 95 kmph and operational
speed of 85 kmph Such driver-less trains will ply on sections of Phase-III of the Delhi metro
network. They will run on the over 58 km-long Majlish Park-Shiv Vihar and the over 38 kmlong Janakpuri (West)-Botanical Garden corridors of the Phase-III. A total of 20 six-coach
trains will be manufactured in South Korea by the end 2015. While, 61 trains will be
manufactured at the Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) plant located in Bengaluru,
Karnataka.

39. India has lost a poultry case against United States at World Trade Organization (WTO) after
WTOs Dispute Settlement Board (DSB) ruled that Indias ban on import of poultry meat, eggs
and live pigs from US is inconsistent with the international norms. What is this case? India
had banned imports of various agriculture products including poultry meat and eggs from the
US in 2007. These poultry products were banned as a precautionary measure to prevent
outbreaks of Avian Influenza and bird flu fears. In March 2012, US had dragged India to the
WTO for banning these products and had contended Indias import prohibition saying that it
was not based on the relevant international standard or on a scientific risk assessment.
Earlier in October 2014 WTO Appellate Body had ruled in favour of US and clearly mentioned
that Indias ban measures are arbitrarily and unjustifiably discrimination on international trade
and constitutes a disguised restriction on it. India had challenged WTOs this ruling and had

12
appealed to the Dispute Settlement Board (DSB) of the WTO. With this WTO ruling, US which
is one of the worlds largest exporters of chicken meat will be able to export their poultry
products to Indian market without any trade barriers. This will help US farmers and poultry
industry to supply their products to Indian broiler meat consumers which has increased to
3.72 million tonnes in 2014 from 3.45 million tonnes in 2013.

40. Indias second largest software services firm, Infosys has appointed R Seshasayee as nonexecutive chairman. He will replace KV Kamath, who stepped had down to take over as
President of the Shanghai based BRICS New Development Bank. Since 2011, Seshasayee
had served as an independent director of Infosys and was the chairperson of the companys
audit committee. Presently, he is also member of Infosys nominations committee. He is also
non-executive vice chairman of Ashok Leyland and Chairman of IndusInd Bank. R
Seshasayee is a chartered accountant by profession. He had started his career with
Hindustan Lever Limited in 1971. Later in 1976, he joined Ashok Leyland Ltd. and was
promoted as executive director in 1983, deputy managing director in 1993 and was elevated
as managing director of the company in April 1998.

41. Kotak Mahindra Bank and ING Bank have inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for
exploring opportunities arising from cross-border business, investment and trade flows across
various regions, including Europe. It was signed between the two parties and covers an array
of co-operation in various areas such as trade remittances, finance. It also includes services
related to non-resident Indians, corporate relationships, funding to counterparties, fee-based
products, direct banking and digital strategy and cross-border debt capital markets, mergers
and acquisitions. Under the ambit of MoU, ING Bank will give its clients from The Netherlands
and the other 39 countries commercial banking access to Kotaks services in the vast Indian
market. At the same time it will also offer the combined clients in India the opportunities of
INGs international network. It should be noted that Kotak Mahindra and associates are
significant shareholders in Business Standard Private Ltd. ING Bank holds 6.5 per cent stake
in Kotak Mahindra Bank which is Indias fourth largest private sector lender.

42. Indias first of its kind Tier-I Oil Spill Response Centre (OSRC) for Mumbai Port Trust (MBT),
Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) and ONGCs facilities at Nhava and Uran was
inaugurated on 5 June 2015. It was inaugurated by Union Minister of Road Transport &
Highways and Shipping, Nitin Gadkari to tackle pollution and oil spills in and around Mumbai.
Facts about Tier-I Oil Spill Response Centre (OSRC) OSRC is equipped with state-of-the-art
equipment in operational readiness for combating Tier-I oil spill upto 700 tones. The objective
behind setting up this centre is to develop appropriate and effective systems for the detection
and reporting of spillage of oil in order to ensure adequate protection to the marine
environment and public health. This centre will also ensure prompt and appropriate response
technique to control, combat and prevent oil pollution and dispose recovered waste material in
an environmental friendly manner. The OSRC is equipped with skilled and trained personnel
and wireless communication facilities for immediately responding to any oil spill. It will monitor
on 24/7 basis. It also includes various plans like Contingency Plan, Health Safety and
Environment Plan. The facility is funded by Participating Oil Companies (POCs). While, MPT
will take the responsibility for tendering and monitoring of Tier-I OSR facility.

13

43. Doctors from Texas State of United States have done the worlds first partial skull and scalp
transplant from a human donor. This rare medical feat which opens new frontier in transplant
surgery was achieved by team of Doctors from Houston Methodist Hospital and MD Anderson
Cancer Center. The recipient patient was Jim Boysen, a 55-year-old software developer who
had suffered a large head wound from cancer treatment In a 15-hour transplant operation
about a dozen doctors and 40 other health workers were involved. In this operation, Boysen
was given a cap-shaped, 25-by-25 centimeter (10-by-10-inch) skull graft, and a 38-centimeter
(15-inch)-wide scalp graft. This transplanted part extends from patients forehead across the
top of his head and over its crown. It ends 2.5 centimeters above one ear and 5 centimeters
above the other. It should be noted that in 2014 doctors in the Netherlands had replaced most
of a womans skull with a 3-D printed plastic one.

44. Union Government launched nationwide Jal Kranti Abhiyan. It was launched by Union Minister
of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejunivetion Uma Bharti in Jaipur,
Rajasthan. Jal Kranti Abhiyan aims at turning one water scared village in each district of the
country into water surplus village water through a holistic and integrated approach by
adopting conservation and management techniques. Under the nationwide campaign a village
with acute water scarcity on a pilot project will be selected as Jal Gram. In this identified
village a comprehensive integrated development plan will be framed and several water
conservation activities will be launched. Activities proposed under the campaign include rain
water harvesting, recycling of waste water, micro irrigation for using water efficiently and mass
awareness program. Along with it, a cadre of local water professional Jal Mitra will be created
and they will be given training to create mass awareness. As pilot project, activities under this
nation campaign will be run in one water stressed village in each 672 districts in the country.

45. Prominent scientist Ameenah Gurib-Fakim was sworn in as President of Mauritius. With this
she became first woman to become President of Indian Ocean island nation which is a
ceremonial position. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim is an alumnus of the universities of Exeter and
Surrey of United Kingdom. She is also the chair of organic chemistry at Mauritius University.
She is internationally renowned biodiversity scientist and biologist Ameenah Gurib-Fakim as
their new President. She had worked with the World Bank and other international institutions.
She also had served as the Managing Director of Centre International de Dveloppement
Pharmaceutique (CIDP) Research & Innovation. Ameenah had authored numerous academic
and research papers. She has received several accolades and honours including Laureate for
the LOreal-UNESCO Women in Science Award for Africa (2007), African Union Award for
Women in Science for the Easter African Region (2009) etc.

46. India and Bangladesh have signed pact to operationalise the historic Land Boundary
Agreement (LBA) between both nations. It was signed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and
his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina during his maiden visit to Bangladesh. In this
regard, two sides swapped instruments of ratification regarding the LBA. The
operationalisation of LBA paves the way for exchange of 162 enclaves under the control of
either countries as per the 1974 pact. The LBA was passed unanimously by the Parliament
last month. Under the Agreement, 111 border enclaves will be transferred to Bangladesh in
exchange for 51 that will become part of India. The agreement settles land boundary dispute
which dates back to colonial times as India transfers 111 border enclaves to Bangladesh in
exchange for 51 enclaves. It also settles the question of citizenship for over 50,000 people in

14
these enclaves. Apart from this, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a fresh line of
credit of 2 billion dollars to Bangladesh. Both nations also signed 22 agreements, including on
cooperation in maritime safety and agreements to curb human trafficking and fake Indian
currency. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina also
flagged off the Kolkata-Dhaka-Agartala bus service marking a historic moment in the bilateral
relations between the two countries.

47. Adani Power Limited (APL) and Reliance Power Limited of India have signed separate
memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with Bangladesh Power Development Board
(BPDB). These MoUs were signed on the first day of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modis
visit to Bangladesh. The deals were signed to set up 4,600 MW power plants in Bangladesh
worth $5.5 billion. Under the deal, APL will invest 2.5 billion dollars to set up a coal-based
power plant with a capacity of 1,600 MW. While Reliance Power will set up an imported
liquefied natural gas-based power plant with a capacity of 3,000 MW with an investment of 3
billion dollars. The two Indian companies will complete construction of the plants in 13 months
after final agreements are reached. These plants will help Bangladesh to tackle power
shortages that are crimping its economic growth and deterring investment as country
produces 7,000 MW of electricity but demand far exceeds supply, with a daily shortage up to
1,500 MW.

48. Barcelona FC has won 2015 Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions
League trophy for the fifth time. In the summit clash played at the Olympiastadion in Berlin,
Germany they defeated Juventus FC by 3-1 goals. Ivan Rakitic had first scored goal for
Barcelona in the fourth minute and later Luis Surez restores at 68 minute and Neymar
scored the goal in extra time. Earlier, Barcelona FC had won UEFA Champions League trophy
in 1992, 2006, 2009 and 2011, About UEFA Champions League UEFA Champions League
(simply known as the Champions League) is an annual continental club football competition
organised by the UEFA. It is contested by top-division European club and is considered as
one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world. It is also most prestigious club
competition in European football, played by the national league champion and for some
nations of each UEFA national association.

49. India and Netherlands have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the
development of Measles- Rubella Vaccines. The MoU was signed under Make in India
initiative of Union government in the presence of the Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte
during his visit to India. The vaccine will be manufactured by Bharat Immunologicals and
Biologicals Corporation Ltd (BIBCOL) at its plant at Chola, Uttar Pradesh. Translational
Vaccinology (INTRAVACC) a government-based institute of Netherlands will provide technical
support for the development of vaccine. INTRAVACC institute is part of Netherlands Ministry
of Health, Welfare and Sport. It is internationally renowned for vaccine development and has
a long history in technology transfer. BIBCOL is a Central Public Sector Unit (CPSU) under
the Department of Biotechnology of Union Ministry of Science & Technology. It was
established as a PSU in 1989, with the aim to achieve self-sufficiency for the nation with
respect to production and supply of high quality polio vaccine and other biologicals. During
Indias immunisation programme BIBCOL had supplied billions of doses of oral polio vaccine
and had played a major role in making India polio free.

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50. India has slapped anti-dumping duty on imports of certain steel products from three South
Asian countries viz China, Malaysia and South Korea. The anti-dumping duty was imposed by
Union Finance Ministry on the recommendation of Directorate General of Anti-Dumping Duty
(DGAD) to protect domestic producers from below-cost inbound shipments. The duties have
been imposed for five years on imports of certain varieties of steel especially on hot-rolled flat
products of stainless steel used in automobile sectors. Background Earlier, DGAD, under the
Union Ministry of Commerce had conducted investigation on dumping of certain Hot Rolled
Flat Products of Stainless Steel of ASTM Grade 304 with all its variants exported from China,
Korea and Malaysia based upon complaint filed by Jindal Stainless Limited. DGAD in its
investigation probe had concluded that these steel products have been exported to India from
these countries are below its associated normal value resulting in dumping of the product.
What is Anti-Dumping Duty? It is duty imposed by government on imported products which
have prices less than their normal values or domestic price. Usually countries initiate antidumping probes to check if domestic industry has been hurt because of a surge in below-cost
imports. Anti-Dumping Duty is imposed under the multilateral WTO regime and varies from
product to product and from country to country. In India, anti-dumping duty is recommended
by the Union Ministry of Commerce, while the Union Finance Ministry imposes it.

51. Former bureaucrat Dr. Mahesh N. Buch who was widely regarded as the architect of modern
Bhopal, passed away following a brain stroke in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. He was 80. He
was known for his clear views in context of urban planning and environment protection for
betterment of Bhopal and Madhya Pradesh. About Dr. Mahesh N. Buch Dr. Buch was born on
October 5, 1934, in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. He graduated in Economics from the St.
Stephens College of Delhi in 1954. He had joined government service in 1957, and later in
1964, he had passed civil services examination. He was Indian Administrative Service (IAS)
officer from the Gujarat cadre. He has held several import portfolios as bureaucrat in Gujarat
including Education Secretary, Chairman of the Kandla Port Trust, Executive Director of the
Gujarat State Fertilizer Company and the Managing Director of the Gujarat Small Industries
Corporation. Dr. Buch had voluntary retired from the government service after serving as
Gujarats Chief Secretary in 1984. Later he had founded the NGO named National Centre for
Human Settlements and Environment in Bhopal. In 1967-68, he had served as the Parvin
Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson School of the Princeton University. In 2002, he was conferred
the title Doctor of Science (DSc) from the Rajiv Gandhi Technical University. He also had
served as chairman of the Board of Governors ABV Indian Institute of Information
Technology and Management, Gwalior. Awards and Honours Padma Bhushan (2011) for his
services to the nation. UNEP award (1995)- for the implementation of desertification control
program in 1994-95 Aga Khan Award for Architecture (1998).

52. Union Home Ministry has appointed Senior IPS Officer RC Tayal as the new Director General
(DG) of Indias elite counter-terror force National Security Guard (NSG). He succeeds JN
Choudhury who had retired on 31 May 2015. He will have tenure till August 2016. Mr. Tayal is
a 1980-batch Assam-Meghalaya cadre IPS officer. Presently, he is serving as the Special
Director General (DG) in paramilitary CRPF and is heading its formation in Jammu and
Kashmir. He hails from Haryana and earlier had served as an Additional DG in the Sashastra
Seema Bal. About National Security Guard (NSG) Set up in 1984 as a Federal Contingency
Deployment Force to tackle all facets of terrorism in the country. It also nodal agency for
counter-terror and counter-hijack operations and later was tasked to protect high-risk VVIPs.

16
Operates under the oversight of the Ministry of Home Affairs and is headed by the Director
General of the Indian Police Service (IPS). The NSG members are also known as Black Cats
because of the black drill cotton coveralls and balaclavas or helmets they wear. NSGs motto
(Sarvatra Sarvottam Surakhsha); English: Omnipresent Omnipotent
Defence

53. Mens Singles Title Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland won his first French Open Mens single
title of Tennis. In the final match he defeated Novak Djokovic of Serbia by 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4
score. It his first his first French Open title second grand slam title after Australian Open 2014.
This victory also makes him only the second Swiss to win French Open mens single title after
Roger Federer. Womens Singles Title Serena Williams of United States won French Open
womens single title. In the final match she defeated Lucie Safarova of Czechoslovakia by 6-3
6-7 (2) 6-2 score. This was her third French Open title (earlier she had won in 2002, 2013)
and overall 20th Grand Slam title. Mens Doubles Title Ivan Dodig (Croatia) and Marcelo Melo
(Brazil) pair won Mens Doubles Title. In the final match they defeated Bob Bryan and Mike
Bryan pair from US by 67(57), 76(75), 75 score. Womens Doubles Title Bethanie
Mattek-Sands (US) and Lucie afov (Czech Republic) won Womens Doubles Title. In the
match they defeated Casey Dellacqua (Australia) and Yaroslava Shvedova (Kazakhstan) pair
by 36, 64, 62 score. Mixed Doubles Title Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Mike Bryan pair
from United States won Mixed Doubles Title. In the final match they defeated Lucie Hradeck
(Czech Republic) and Marcin Matkowski (Poland) pair by 76(73), 61 score.

54. Legendary Telugu writer Dasaradhi Rangacharya passed away in Hyderabad, Telangana after
a brief illness. He was 87. About Dasaradhi Rangacharya Dasaradhi was on 24 August 1928
in Khammam District erstwhile Hyderabad State now in Telangna. Hyderabad liberation
Struggle: He had actively participated in fight against the Nizams autocratic rule and also took
part in the Telangana Armed Struggle till Hyderabad was liberated in Operation Polo. Work:
He had written number of books highlighting the life and agony of the people at the grass
roots level especially in the then Telangana region. His novels Chillara Devullu (The Lesser
Deities)-1969, Moduga Poolu (Fire Flowers)-1971 are well known for influencing Telugu
people against oppression by the rulers. He also had translated all four Vedas, Ramayana
and Mahabharata into Telugu. His autobiography was Jeevanayanam. Awards: He was
awarded Sahitya Academy award for Chillara Devullu.

55. President Pranab Mukherjee has appointed KV Chowdary new Central Vigilance
Commissioner. He was appointed by President on the recommendation of Select committee
headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and comprising of Union Home Minister Rajnath
Singh as well as Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjuna Kharge. He is 1978-batch
IRS officer of the Income Tax cadre. He also had served as Chairman of the Central Board of
Direct Taxes (CBDT), an apex authority of the Indian Income Tax department. Prior to this
appointment Mr. Chowdary was working as the adviser to the Supreme Court-appointed
Special Investigation Team which is probing black money cases. About Central Vigilance
Commission (CVC) CVC was set up by the Union Government in February 1964 on the
recommendations of the K. Santhanam Committee on Prevention of Corruption. The CVC is
an apex body of Union Government formed to address governmental corruption. It has the
status of statutory autonomous body and free of control from any executive authority as per
the provisions of Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) Act, 2003. The CVC is headed by a

17
Central Vigilance Commissioner and has two Vigilance Commissioners. Appointment: Central
Vigilance Commissioner and has two Vigilance Commissioners are appointed by President on
the recommendations of select committee comprising of Prime Minister as Chairperson,
Union Minister of Home Affairs and Leader of the second largest party in the Lok Sabha or
majority group leader in parliament. Functions: To monitor all vigilance activity under the
Union Government and advise various authorities in Union Government organizations in
planning, executing, reviewing and reforming their vigilance work. Nittoor Srinivasa Rau was
the first Chief Vigilance Commissioner of India.

56. Indian Railways has inked Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi for research and
development work. This MOU is part of Malaviya Chair for Railway Technology, Varanasi. The
MoU was been signed by Railway Board Advisior R K Verma and IIT (BHU)- Director,
Professor Rajeev Sangal in the presence of Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu. The pact
envisages for upgradation of Railway tracks for High speed trains and developing indigenous
raw material for the industry in lines with Make India Programme. Apart from singing MoU it
was also announced to set up Malaviya Chair Committee to supervise research work. The
chair is being named after freedom fighter and Bharat Ratna recipient Madan Mohan Malaviya
who was the founder of Banaras Hindu University (BHU). Union Railway Minister Suresh
Prabhu also dedicated 1500th rail engine Gaurav for public services from Diesel locomotive
works (DLW) at Maduadeeh, Varanasi. Tags: IIT (BHU) Indian Railways Make In India

57. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is a nodal statutory agency
responsible for protecting and promoting public health in India through the regulation and
supervision of food safety. FSSAI was established under the Food Safety and Standards Act,
2006 and operates under aegis of Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. Functions:
FSSAI has been established to lay down science based standards for various food products
in order ensure availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption. It also
regulates the manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import of food products for human
consumption. Structure: It is led by a non-executive Chairperson. The executive head of
FSSAI is the Chief Executive Officer. Headquarters: New Delhi. It also has 8 regional offices
located in Delhi, Guwahati, Mumbai, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Cochin and Chennai It
has 4 referral laboratories and 72 local laboratories located across India.

58. Cyclonic storm Ashobaa in Arabian Sea is the first tropical storm of the pre-monsoon season
in the Indian seas. The cyclonic storm was formed after intensified deep depression (low
pressure zone) was developed over east central Arabian Sea about 590 km west southwest of
Mumbai, 470 km southwest of Veraval (Gujarat) and 960 km east-southeast of Masirah Island
(Oman). After its formation the cyclonic storm has moved northwestwards. The system has
potential to intensify further. But this cyclonic storm will not hit Indian states severely as it has
further moved north-northwesterly direction towards Oman. Northwestern coastal states of
India such as Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat and Karnatakawill only face strong winds along with
showers. Naming The name Ashobaa to this tropical storm was given by Sri Lanka which is
one of eight countries that are naming tropical cyclones in North Indian Ocean region on
rotational basis. The series of naming by countries is Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Myanmar,
Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The last cyclone called Nilofer (2014) was
suggested by Pakistan. Next cyclone formed in future will have name Komen, suggested by
Thailand. Advantages of naming cyclones/ storms: Provide easy communication between

18
forecasters and the general public regarding forecasts and warnings. Since the storms occur
in the same basin at the same time, names can reduce the confusion about what storm is
being described.

59. President Pranab Mukherjee has appointed Vijai Sharma as Chief Information Commissioner.
He will have tenure of for 5 years or till they attain the age of 65, whichever is earlier. Vijai
Sharma is a 1974 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh Cadre. Prior to this appointment he was
serving as information commissioner in Central Information Commission since 2012. He has
rich work experience in Administration & Governance and Law & Policy in Central and State
Governments and United Nations. He also had served as Environment secretary. Background
Vijai Sharmas name for Chief Information Commissioner was finalized on June 1, 2015 by
selection committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and comprising Union minister
Arun Jaitley as well as Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjuna Kharge. About Central
Information Commission The Right To Information (RTI) Act, 2005 provides for
establishment of Central and State information commissioner as a designated statutory
authority to receive and inquire into a complaint from any person. The general
superintendence, direction and management of the affairs of the Commission are
vested in the Chief Information Commissioner, who is assisted by the Information
Commissioners. Under the CIC, the Chief Information Commissioner enjoys complete
financial and administrative powers of a Department of the Government of India except in
matters relating to the creation of posts, re-appropriation and writing-off losses for which it
needs the specific concurrence of the Ministry of Finance. Appointment: The Chief
Information Commissioner and Information Commissioners are appointed by the
President on the recommendation of a selection committee comprising of Prime Minister
as Chairperson, the leader of single largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha and a Union
Cabinet Minister to be nominated by the Prime Minister. Tenure: Chief Information
Commissioner and Information Commissioner hold office for a term of 5 years or till he attains
the age of 65 years. The Chief Information Commissioner is not eligible for reappointment.
Wajahat Habibullah was Indias first Chief Information Commissioner. He was appointed on 26
October 2005.

60. 16th edition of the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) informally known as the
Bollywood Oscars, was held in Malaysia. The award ceremony was held in Putra Indoor
Stadium Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The 2015 IIFA Awards honoured the best films of 2014 and
the ceremony took place from June 05 to 07, 2015. Haider was awarded the most awards
(09). Winners Popular Awards Best Film:Queen. Best Director: Rajkumar Hirani PK. Best
Actor In A Leading Role: Shahid Kapoor Haider as Haider Meer. Best Actress In A Leading
Role: Kangana Ranaut Queen as Rani Mehra. Best Actor In A Supporting Role: Riteish
Deshmukh Ek Villain as Rakesh Mahadkar. Best Actress In A Supporting Role: Tabu
Haider as Ghazala Meer. Male Debutant Star: Tiger Shroff Heropanti as Bablu. Female
Debutant Star: Kriti Sanon Heropanti as Dimpy. Best Performance In A Comic Role: Varun
Dhawan Main Tera Hero as Seenu. Best Performance In A Negative Role: Kay Kay Menon
Haider as Khurram Meer. Best Story: Vikas Bahl, Chaitally Parmar, Parveez Shaikh- Queen.
Special Awards IIFA Award for Outstanding Achievement in International Cinema: Subhash
Ghai. IIFA Award for Entertainer of the Year: Deepika Padukone Musical awards Best Music
Direction: 2 States Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. Best Lyrics: Galliyan from Ek Villain Manoj
Muntashir. Best Male Playback Singer: Ankit Tiwari for Galliyan Ek Villain. Best Female

19
Playback Singer: Kanika Kapoor for Baby Doll Ragini MMS 2. Best Sound Design: Shajith
Koyeri Haider. Best Background Score: Vishal Bhardwaj Haider. Technical awards Best
Action: Parvez Shaikh & Andy Armstrong Bang Bang. Best Special Effects: Reupal Rawal
(Prime Focus) Kick. Best Choreography: Ahmed Khan Kick. Best Cinematography: Binod
Pradhan 2 States. Best Costume Design: Dolly Ahluwalia Haider. Best Dialogue: Abhijat
Joshi & Rajkumar Hirani PK. Best Editing: Anurag Kashyap & Abhijit Kokate Queen. Best
Makeup: Preetisheel Singh & Clover Wootton Haider. Best Production Design: Subrata
Chakraborty & Amit Ray Haider. Best Screenplay: Vikas Bahl, Chaitally Parmar & Parveez
Shaikh Queen. Best Sound Mixing: Debajit Changmai Haider. Best Sound Recording: Eric
Pillai for Galliyan Ek Villain.

61. Mahendra Kumar Sharma was appointed as non-executive chairman of Indias largest private
sector lender Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI) Bank. He will
replace K V Kamath who had resigned from top most in order to join as President of the
Shanghai based New Development Bank established by the BRICS nations. Presently,
Sharma is an independent director of two subsidiaries of ICICI Bank viz ICICI Lombard
General Insurance Company and ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company. Earlier from
2003 to 2011, he also had served as an independent director on the board of ICICI Bank.
Prior to joining ICICI Bank, Sharma was vice-president of Hindustan Unilever (HUL) and was
associated with HUL from 1974 to 2007. He has a strong understanding of legal and
corporate governance matters and had joined HUL in 1974 as a legal manager. Government
Committees: Sharma also had served as a member of the Corporate Law Committee formed
by Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs to redraft the Companies Act. He was also a member of
the Committee on Corporate Governance formed by the Union Government.

62. P L Subramanian has been appointed as Non-Executive Director India Cements Limited (CIL)
with an immediate effect. Subramanian had joined former BCCI President N Srinivasan-led
India Cements in 1986 and had served in various responsibilities. He had retired from service
in May 2015 after serving as Executive Director (Operations) of the company. He also had
served as a Director of Andhra Pradesh Gas Power Corporation Limited, India Cements
Infrastructures Limited, Coromandel Electric Company Limited and Trishul Concrete Products
Limited. About India Cements Limited (CIL) CIL is a cement manufacturing company in India
established in 1946. At present it has eight integrated cement plants and two grinding units
with capacity over 9 million tons per annum. Their plants are spread over Southern India that
caters to major markets in South India Sankarnagar, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu India and
Maharashtra The CILs first plant was set up at Thalaiyuthu in Tamil Nadu in 1949
Headquarters: Sankarnagar in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu. Since 2013, Indian ODI
cricket team captain MS Dhoni is Vice President of the India Cements Limited.

63. Worlds first prosthetic (artificial) leg capable of simulating the feelings of a real limb and
fighting phantom pain was unveiled by researchers in Vienna, Austria. The first of its kind
medical innovation is the result of a two-fold process which is developed by Professor Hubert
Egger at the University of Linz, Austria. This prosthetic leg was fitted on Wolfgang Rangger
who had lost his right leg in 2007. Key facts The new feeling prosthetic leg was rewired to
remaining foot nerve endings from Ranggers stump to healthy tissue in the thigh by
surgeons. Six sensors are fitted to the foot sole of prosthesis which are relayed to a microcontroller and linked to stimulators inside the shaft where the stump sits. These small sensor

20
devices measure the pressure of heel, toe and foot movement and send these signals to the
brain every time Rangger takes a step or applies pressure. The sensors also tell the brain
there is a foot and the wearer has the impression that it rolls off the ground when he walks.
The prosthesis also provides another remarkable function i.e. eradicate the excruciating
phantom pain Mr Rangger had experienced for years following his amputation. This pain
occurs because the brain gets increasingly sensitive as it seeks information about the missing
limb. Earlier in 2010, Austrian scientist he presented a mind-controlled prosthetic arm or
bionic hand which allowed the amputee to feel sensations from their fingers. Tags: Austria
Medical Science And Technology

64. Union Government has given nod for promulgation of Ordinance to amend Negotiable
Instruments Act, 1881. Decision in this regard was Union Cabinet meet chaired by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. The ordinance paves way for filing of cheque bounce
cases in place where the cheque was issued. This move that will benefit around 18 lakh
people involved in such cheque bounce cases. In May 2015, The Negotiable Instruments
(Amendment) Bill, 2015 was passed in Lok Sabha. However the bill was not able pass in
Rajya Sabha where ruling NDA government is in minority. Background In 2014, Supreme
Court had ruled that cases against those having defaulted on their cheque payments only
need be filed in courts under which jurisdiction of the bank account of the accused fell.
However, this ruling was not payee-friendly. So in order to protect of payee Union government
brought amendment bill to by-pass the courts order. About Negotiable Instruments
(Amendment) Bill, 2015 The amendment bill adds provision to specify the territorial jurisdiction
of the courts in cases related to bouncing of cheques which was not present in the parent Act.
It says that cases in this regard need to be filed only in a court in whose jurisdiction the bank
branch of the payee lies. It also adds provision related to more than one case is filed against
the same person before different courts for bouncing of cheques. In this matter, the case will
be transferred to the court that has appropriate jurisdiction. The bill also amends the definition
of cheque. Now it defines it as cheque in the electronic form which is signed in a secure
system with a digital signature or using electronic system and drawn in electronic medium
using any computer resource. About Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 The Act defines bills of
exchange, promissory notes, cheques and creates penalties for issues such as bouncing of
cheques. It also specifies circumstances under which complaints for cheque bouncing can be
filed.

65. Union Cabinet approved an interest-free loan i.e. soft loan to the tune of 6,000 crore rupees to
enable sugar mills pay arrears to farmers. Decision in this regard was taken by Union Cabinet
meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. Apart from this decision
cabinet also approved hike in prices of Ethanol. As per this decision, interest on the loan will
not be charged for a year but the interest will be borne by the Union government from sugar
development fund. The money to be paid as arrears to farmers under this loan will be
directed credited in Jan Dhan accounts of farmers. It should be noted that Sugar mills in India
owe over 21,000 crore rupees to farmers because they were not able to sell sugar stocks
which have remained unsold due to falling prices of raw sugar in domestic and international
markets. Apart from these decisions Union Cabinet also Approved promulgation of negotiable
instruments ordinance which to allow courts hear dispute of bouncing of cheques in the
payees location. Allowed three plants to produce urea out of Naptha in Madras Fertilizers Ltd

21
(Tamil Nadu), Southern Petrochemicals Industries Corporation (Andhra Pradesh) and
Mangalore Chemical and Fertilizers Ltd (Karnataka) respectively.

66. As per recent study published in the Conservation Biology journal, Yellow-breasted buntings
(Emberiza aureola), a songbird are near to extinction. The study has mentioned that
population this bird species which is also known as he rice bird in China has plunged by 90
percent since 1980 and disappearing from Eastern Europe, Japan and parts of Russia. The
main reason mentioned in the study for decline of songbirds is illegal hunting for food and sold
on the black market in China. Earlier in 1997, China had banned China the hunting of the
species following initial population declines but failed to implement to conservation measures
to protect them. Since 2013, Yellow-breasted buntings have been classified by the
International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as an endangered species due to
rapid population decline. The paper compares hunting of this species with the North American
passenger pigeon, which became extinct in 1914 due to industrial-scale hunting. It should be
noted that Yellow-breasted buntings is Eurasian passerine bird that belongs to the bunting
family (Emberizidae). It is migratory bird wintering in south-east Asia, India, and southern
China.

67. Dr. Srivari Chandrasekhar was appointed Director of CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical
Technology (IICT) a premier research institute of Union Government based in Hyderabad,
Telangana. He was named appointed to the top post by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is
ex-officio Chairman of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) functioning under
Union Ministry of Science and Technology. Dr. Chandrasekhar had joined IICT as a Junior
Research Fellow in 1986. He was promoted to the level of Chief Scientist in 2010. Since 2010
he is leading Natural Products Chemistry, one of the largest groups at the IICT. He has made
significant contributions in diverse areas of organic chemistry with a special emphasis total
synthesis of biologically active natural products, on chiral chemistry and pharmaceutical
products. Dr. Chandrasekhar He also has developed technologies for synthesis of latest antitumor and abortive drug mesoprostol, anti-tuberculosis drug bedaquiline and drug for
treatment of schizophrenia asenapine etc. Apart from above contributions, he also has more
than 250 publications with 5,000 citations to his credit.

68. Padmasree Warrior, India-born has stepped down from her post of Chief Technology Officer
(CTO) at global IT giant Cisco. She had resigned after a significant restructuring of top
management of Cisco under incoming CEO Chuck Robbins. Now she will have advisory post
in Cisco till September 2015. She had joined Cisco in 2008 and had served as CTO and
senior vice-president of engineering during her seven years at the company. About
Padmasree Warrior Warrior is an alumnus of the IIT-Delhi and Cornell University. She is one
of Silicon Valleys high-profile female executives and has been homered with numerous
leadership awards. In recently released Forbes Magazines 12th annual list of Worlds 100
most powerful women she was placed at 84th position. She is a member of the Board of
Trustees for Cornell University and serves on the Board of Directors of Gap Inc. She also is
on the Board of Directors for Thorn, formerly known as DNA Foundation.

69. Researchers in Peru have discovered trios of statuettes which belong to some 3,800 years
ago. They were discovered by research team led by archaeologist Ruth Shady. The final
discovery announcement was made by the Peruvian Cultural Ministry in Lima. The mud

22
statuettes were found inside a reed basket in a building at the ancient city of Vichama in
northern Peru. Key Facts These statuettes are believed to be created by the ancient Caral
civilization some 3,800 years ago. They were Probably were used in religious rituals
performed before breaking ground on a new building. Among discovered statuettes, two are of
the figures consisting of a naked man and woman painted in white, black and red. It is
believed that they represent political authorities. The third statue is of women with 28 fingers
and red dots on her white face. It is believed that she represent a priestess. Researchers also
have unearthed two mud figurines of womens faces wrapped in cloth and covered with
yellow, blue and orange feathers. The Caral civilization had emerged some 5,000 years ago
and had lived in Perus Supe Valley. They have left behind impressive architecture including
pyramids and sunken amphitheaters.

70. African countries have signed a historic The Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) that facilitates
creation of Africas largest free-trade zone. This free-trade zone will cover 26 countries in an
area from southernmost tip of African continent i.e. Cape Town (South Africa) to Cairo (Egypt)
in the north. The pact was signed in Egypt will intent to ease the movement of goods across
26 member countries which represent more than half the continents GDP. TFTA pact
combines existing three trade blocs among the African nations viz Southern African
Development Community (SADC). East African Community (EAC). Common Market for
Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). It will remove trade barriers on most goods, making
them cheaper and stimulating $ 1 trillion worth of economic activity across the region of more
than 600 million people. Thus bolster intra-regional trade by creating a wider market that will
increase investment flow and enhance regional infrastructure development. The pact will then
be officially unveiled at the upcoming 25th summit of the African Union in South Africa. After
adopting it will need parliamentary ratification from all member-nations.

71. Union Cabinet meet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the signing of
Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) Motor Vehicle Agreement. The agreement which
is similar to the SAARC Motor Vehicle Agreement (MVA) seeks to regulate the vehicular traffic
of passenger, personal and cargo amongst BBIN countries. The agreement will be signed on
15th June 2015 at the Transport Ministers meeting in Thimpu, Bhutan. Key Facts BBIN
agreement aims to promote safe, environmentally sound and economical efficient road
transport in the sub-region of BBIN. It also seeks to help each member country to create an
institutional mechanism for regional integration. BBIN agreement will benefit member nations
for mutual cross border movement of passenger and goods for overall economic development
of the region. For implementation of this agreement each signatory member will bear its own
costs. Background During the 18th SAARC Summit held in Kathmandu, Nepal SAARC MVA
was not able to signed due to reservations of Pakistan. However, the SAARC declaration at
the 18th Summit had encouraged Member States to initiate regional and sub-regional
measures to enhance connectivity. In line with this declaration, BBIN Motor Vehicle
Agreement was pursued among four SAARC members. Draft of this agreement was finalized
in February 2015 in the meeting of Secretaries of Transport of the BBIN countries which was
organized by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highway (MoRTH).

72. Indias first indigenously-built largest aircraft carrier INS Vikrant was successfully undocked at
Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) in Cochin district of Kerala. The ship will undergo a series of
fitment and trial processes along with series of static and dynamic trials before inducting it into

23
the Indian Navy in end-2018. With successful completion of construction of INS Vikrant India
joins elite group of four nations in the world viz United States, Russia, United Kingdom and
France that are capable of designing and constructing aircraft carriers. The carrier was
officially launched in August 2013 after its first phase of construction was completed. It was
first left its dry dock in December 2011. Facts about INS Vikrant It name Vikrant, means
courageous in Sanskrit or bold in Hindi, The carrier has a length of over 260 metres and
breadth of 60 metres. It weighs around 40,000 tonne. It has two take-off runways and a
landing strip with three arrester wires having short-take off but arrested recovery (STOBAR)
system. On completion it will carry up to 36 fixed-wing jets, including MiG-29 K and
indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas. It will additionally carry ten helicopters such as
Kamov Ka-31s, Westland Sea Kings, or indigenously-built Dhruvs. The basic design of the
carrier is done by Indian Navys Directorate of Naval Design and was developed into detailed
design by the design team of CSL. After induction into Indian Navy its primary role will only be
to defend the naval fleet and will be positioned in the Indian Ocean region where the worlds
commercial and economic interests conflate.

73. China has conducted the fourth successful test of a new Wu-14 hypersonic strike vehicle
which is capable of delivering nuclear weapons. The test was conducted on 7 June 2015 and
the vehicle launched atop a ballistic missile fired from a test facility in western China. The
vehicle has ability to executed extreme maneuvers that may be able to render US anti-missile
defense systems obsolete. This test was the fourth test in past 18 months. Previous tests
were conducted in year 2014 in the months of January, August and December. The Wu-14 is
capable to travel in high altitude in the atmosphere on the edge of space. It can carry nuclear
or conventional warheads. The high-tech vehicle can travel at speeds of up to 10 times the
speed of sound i.e. around 7,680 miles per hour.

74. Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Parkash Singh Badal was conferred the prestigious 14th Sant
Namdev National Award- 2015 by Pune based Sarhad foundation. The award was presented
to him by Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis in the presence of the organisers of the
Sarhad foundation. He was awarded was bestowed upon him for promoting peace, communal
harmony and universal brotherhood. The award comprised of citation, a monetary prize of
101000 rupees and a memento. Parkash Singh Badal is the longest-serving Chief Minister of
Punjab with over 15 years in office. Currently, he is heading Akali Dal-BJP coalition
government. He previously had served as CM for first time in 1970 to 1971. Later for second
time from 1977 to 1980 and for third time from 1997 to 2002. He is generally regarded as the
second most powerful Sikh leader in world after former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. In
2015, he was awarded with Indias second highest civilian award, Padma Vibhushan.

75. Cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the only Indian to find place in the Forbes magazines list
of 100 Worlds Highest-Paid Athletes 2015 He was placed at 23rd on the Forbes list with total
earnings of 31 million dollars including amount from salary at 4 million dollars and
endorsements worth 27 million dollars. This edition of list was again topped by US boxer
Floyd Mayweather for third time. It should be noted that the earnings figures include sum of
salaries, bonuses and prize money paid between June 2014 and June 2015. Top ten Worlds
Highest-Paid Athletes 2015 are Floyd Mayweather (Boxing) from US: $ 300 million. Manny
Pacquiao (Boxing) from Philippines: $ 160 million. Cristiano Ronaldo (Football) from Portugal:
$ 79.6 million. Lionel Messi (Football) from Argentina: $73.8 million. Roger Federer (Tennis)

24
from Switzerland: $67 million. LeBron James (Basketball) from US: $64.8 million. Kevin
Durant (Basketball) from US: $54.1 million. Phil Mickelson (Golf) from US: $50.8 million. Tiger
Woods (Golf) from US: $50.6 million. Kobe Bryant (Basketball) from US: $49.5 million. In this
edition of list only two women athletes made to the list they are Maria Sharapova (Tennis)
from Russia: She was placed at 26th rank with total earnings of $ 31 million. Serena Williams
(Tennis) from US: She was placed at 47th rank with total earnings of $ 6 million. The 100
highest-paid athletes of this edition of list have made 3.2 billion dollars in total in last one year
which is 17 percent more compared to previous year.

76. Legendary English actor, singer and writer Sir Christopher Lee passed away in London,
United Kingdom. He was 93. The veteran actor was famously known as the master of horror
for his famous villainy acting roles in numerous movies such as Dracula, The Wicker Man,
James Bond, Lord of the Rings trilogy etc. About Sir Christopher Lee Christopher Lee was
born in London in 1922 Film career: His on screen acting career began in 1947 after he had
the Rank Organisation where he was trained as an actor. His career spanned more than 7
decades. His famous acting roles include Francisco Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden
Gun (1974), Saruman in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy (20012003), The Hobbit film trilogy
(20122014), Count Dooku Star Wars trilogy (2002 and 2005) and Star Wars: The Clone
Wars (2008). He also is known for his best performance portraying of Pakistans founder
Muhammad Ali Jinnah in the biopic Jinnah (1998). Music career: Lee was also known for his
singing ability. He had recorded various opera and musical pieces between 1986 and 1998.
He also had recorded symphonic metal album Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross in
2010 after he had worked with several metal bands since 2005. Awards and Honours: He was
knighted in 2009 for services to drama and charity and was awarded the Bafta fellowship in
2011 and Spirit of Metal award (2010).

77. Union Government has scrapped customs import duties for drugs and test kits used to treat
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immune deficiency syndrome
(HIV/AIDS). In this regard Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has issued a notice
that will remain in effect till March 2016. This decision will help to cut prices of AIDS drugs
across the country and thus help directly in Governments national program to fight the
disease. It will also make import raw materials that are used to make antiretrovirals under the
national program cheaper. This tax exemption will be applicable to certain first-line and
second-line antiretroviral drugs which are used to treat adults and children. Apart from drugs
certain diagnostic kits and equipment are also exempted from tax. In India more than 2.1
million HIV/AIDS patients are provided with daily antiretrovirals for free from state-run
distribution centres which are operated by National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO).

78. Worlds largest search engine giant Google Inc has launched a new lite mode of Google
search engine for India and Brazil on 2 Generation (2G) network. This lite mode has been
developed by keeping the 2G network speed in mind. Before launching this feature in India,
Google had tested it in Indonesia, where the network speed is similar to India. The new lite
mode of Google search engine loads pages four times faster than the traditional webpages
and consume 80% less data and penetrate 50% faster connection compared to before. This
feature is currently limited to Android smartphones. Around 200 million people in India have
access Internet through their smartphones and a majority of them still prefer 2G network due

25
to affordable tariffs. It should be noted that in 2G network, a consumer gets 10KB/s speed in
good network conditions, while it goes down to 2-3KB/s in poor network coverage.

79. he International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has announced that in past one decade
renewable energy targets have quadruple globally. It was mentioned IRENA Renewable
Energy Target Setting report which was released by IRENA Director-General Adnan Z. Amin
on the side lines of IRENAs 9th Council meeting in Dubai. As per report, 164 countries have
adopted at least one type of renewable energy target compared to 43 countries in 2005. All
nations are adopting renewable energy targets to meet multiple objectives including energy
security, environmental sustainability and socio-economic benefits. Developing and emerging
economies are leading nations to adopt of renewable energy targets, accounting for 131 out
of the 164 countries. The majority of 150 countries have focused committed renewable energy
targets on the electricity sector The numbers of countries setting renewable targets for the
heating and cooling sector have increased to 47 from 2 countries in 2005. Similarly,
renewable transport targets have also has doubled to 59 countries from 27 countries in 2005.
About International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) IRENA is an intergovernmental
organization to promote adoption and sustainable use of renewable energy. It is a global hub
for renewable energy cooperation and information exchange within its member nations.
Founded: in 2009 and its statute entered into force on 8 July 2010. Headquarters: Abu Dhabi.
Two governing structure: IRENA Assembly which takes decisions at macro level and gives
policy guidance. IRENA Council is main governing body and is responsible for implementing
various decisions of assembly. Members: In total it has 140 Members. India is one of the 33
Permanent and founder members of IRENA.

80. The second border haat (rural market) was opened for common people at Kamalasagar in
Sipahijala district of Tripura bordering Brahmanbaria district of Bangladesh. The haat was
jointly inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh
Hasina by video-conferencing from Dhaka on June 6, 2015. This market is set up at the zero
line of the international border with one part on the Indian side and the other in Bangladesh.
Initially it will facilitate bilateral trade of 16 shortlisted locally produced goods. These goods
include agricultural and horticultural crops, spices, minor forest products excluding timber, fish
and dry fish, dairy and poultry products, cottage industry items, wooden furniture, handloom
and handicraft items. People residing within a distance of 5 km from along the border are
entitled to do business at the haat which will take place once in a week initially. No local taxes
would be levied on the goods sold in the haats and currencies of both the countries would
prevail. It is anticipated that the haat will provide basic livelihood opportunities to more than
thousands of marginal income families and small traders along this border areas of both the
countries. First border haat was inaugurated on Srinagar- Purba border area in January 2015
by Union Commerce and Industries Minister Nirmala along with her Bangladeshi counterpart
Tofail ahmed.

81. Reserve Bank of Indian has allowed non-resident Indians (NRIs) to invest in chit fund to
encourage flow of capital into the country. Decision in this regard was taken after RBI had
revised the extant guidelines for subscription to the chit funds in consultation with the
government. Henceforth, NRIs on non-repatriation basis will be allowed to invest in chit fund
without any ceiling. However, the subscription to the chit funds by NRIs will be mandatorily
brought in through normal banking channel, including through an account maintained with a

26
bank in India. The state government may permit any chit fund to accept subscription from
NRIs on non-repatriation basis. It will be permitted by the registrar of chits or an officer
authorized by the state government in accordance with the provisions of the Chit Fund Act,
1982. Earlier in May 2000, RBI had barred NRIs from investing in a company or firms
engaged in the business of chit fund. Apart from this decision, RBI also extended the scheme
allowing airline companies to raise external commercial borrowings (ECB) for working capital
as a permissible end-use under the approval route. Now, the ECB scheme will continue till
March 31, 2016.

82. The World Day Against Child Labour is being observed annually across world on 12 June to
bring awareness against child labour. The theme of this year is No to Child Labour, Yes to
Quality Education. This years World Day Against Child Labour call for: For all children free,
compulsory and quality education till the minimum age for admission to employment and
action to reach those presently in child labour. New efforts to ensure consistent and
effectiveness of national policies on child labour and education. Ensure policies that provide
access to quality education and investment in the teaching profession. Background World Day
Against Child Labour is an initiative of the International Labour Organization (ILO). It was
launched in 2002 to focus attention on the global extent of child labour and to take action and
efforts needed to eliminate it. Since then every year on 12 June, observance of this
governments, workers organizations, employers, civil society as well as millions of people
from around the world come together to highlight the plight of child labourers and what can be
done to help them. According to recent global estimates, around 12 crore children between
the age of 5 and 14 are involved in child labour. Main reasons of child labour are poverty, lack
of decent work for adults and social protection, and failure to ensure schooling of children.

83. Nek Chand Saini, creator of Chandigarhs iconic Rock Garden passed away on 11 June 2015
in Chandigarh. He was 90. He was born in Berian Kalan village in Shakargarh region (now in
Pakistan). He was as a self-taught Indian artist. He had emigrated to India with his family
during the partition in 1947 and had settled in Chandigarh in 1950. In 1951, Nek Chand had
started working as a road inspector of the Chandigarhs Public Works Department (PWD).
During this time Chandigarh was redesigned as a modern utopia by the Swiss/French
architect Le Corbusier and became first planned city in India. Awards: Nek Chand was
awarded the Padma Shri in 1984. About Rock Garden Initally, Nek Chand Saini had built
Chandigarhs iconic Rock Garden secretly from waste and other unused household materials
in a forest near Sukhna Lake which is spread over an area of 40-acres. His secret
environmental marvel was later discovered in 1972 by the municipal authorities. Later he was
provided with a team of labourers and financial support to enable him to continue his work.
The site famously came to be known as the Rock Garden. It was officially recognised in 1976
and became a key tourist attraction of Chandigarh.

84. As per recently published study, camels aged less than four years might be a major source of
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). The study was published in the journal Emerging
Infectious Diseases The research study was undertaken by international team who had
looked for evidence of current or past infection in more than 800 dromedary camels (also
called Arabian camels). In this study researchers have found out that More than 90 per cent of
camels were infected by MERS virus the age of two and virus shedding was more common in
calves than in adults. Changes in animal husbandry may reduce the occurrence of human

27
MERs infections. Dromedary camels that are living in the Middle East have antibodies that
recognised MERS virus protein which is a strong sign of past infection. However the spread of
MERS virus in humans is still unknown but it might spread due direct contact with body fluids
from infected camels. Alternatively, it might have spread by drinking unpasteurised camel milk
and possibly by transfer through the contaminated virus present in the saliva of an infected
calf to their mothers. Facts about Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) MERS belongs
to the family of coronaviruses which includes large family of viruses such as common cold
and Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). It was discovered in 2012 and was mostly
centred in Saudi Arabia. But cases might have occurred before. Source: MERS is a
betacoronavirus derived from bats. Camels have shown to have antibodies to MERS, but the
exact source of infection in camels has not been identified. Transmission: It can be
transmitted from infected person to others after close contact via a respiratory route. It
spreads in droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Symptoms: fever, breathing
problems, pneumonia and kidney failure. Treatment: Till date there is no vaccine available to
prevent it. However intensive medical care can help patient to breath.

85. Former West Indies paceman Sir Wesley Winfield Hall has been inducted into the ICC Cricket
Hall of Fame. He is 80th cricketer to be inducted in the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame and 18th
from West Indies. He is the 4th cricketer to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in
2015 after Betty Wilson, Anil Kumble and Martin Crowe. About Sir Wesley Winfield Hall Sir
Wesley Hall had played in 48 Tests in his one decade career spanning from 1958 to 1969. In
his Test career he had taken 192 wickets which included five wickets in an innings for 9 times
and 10 wickets in a match on one occasion. In 170 first-class matches, Hall had claimed 546
wickets at an average of 26.14. In 1964-65, his 16 wickets were instrumental in guiding the
West Indies to its first series win over Australia. He retired in 1968-69 at the end of the tour of
Australia and New Zealand. After retiring from cricket he entered into politics of tinny
Caribbean island nation He had served in Barbados Senate and also Minister of Tourism in
1987. He also had as a selector and team manager and served as President of West Indies
Cricket Board from 2001 to 2003. In 2012 for services to sport and the community he was
knighted with the Knight Bachelor About ICC Cricket Hall of Fame The ICC Cricket Hall of
Fame recognises the achievements of the legends from the game of cricket. It was launched
in January 2009 by the International Cricket Council (ICC) as part of its centenary
celebrations in association with the Federation of International Cricketers Associations
(FICA).

86. United States (US) government has opened an investigation against two of the biggest Indian
Information Technology (IT) outsourcing companies for possible violations of H1-B visa rules.
The two IT giants are Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Infosys. The investigation is
being carried by US Department of Labour for against both companies for possible violations
of rules for visas for foreign technology workers under contracts they held with an electric
utility Southern California Edison. US Department of Labour investigation move comes after
the power company had recently had laid off more than 500 technology workers from US.
These laid off workers were made to train their replacements who were immigrants on the
temporary work visas brought in by the Indian firms. Prior to this, around 250 employees at
entertainment giant Walt Disney were laid off and replaced with Indians holding H1B visas.

28

87. Dick Costolo has resigned as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Twitter Inc after leading the
company for five years. He will demit the office of CEO on 1 July 2015. Till his replacement is
found Jack Dorsey, Twitter co-founder and Square Incs CEO will take over as the Interim
CEO. Under the technological leadership of Costolo, Twitter had evolved from a startup to a
public company. He was also had pioneered for introducing Twitters famous 140 character
messaging service which had gained cultural prominence and had become a powerful tool for
worldwide celebrities, activists and citizen journalists to propagate their views. Dick Costolo
had joined the company in 2009 as its Chief Operating Officer (CTO) and later in 2010 was
appointed as its CEO. In 2013, he had helped the company to go public and also had
struggled to attract new users to the service. Twitter was founded in 2006. Presently has 302
million active users and has a market value around 25 billion US dollars.

88. As per recently released report by British Petroleum (BP) Energy Company, United States
(US) became the worlds largest oil producer in 2014 surpassing Saudi Arabia. It was reveled
in BP Energy Company report tilled Statistical Review of World Energy. Key facts from Report
Oil production: US had produced 11.6 million barrels of oil per day (bpd) i.e. 15.9% more oil in
2014. While, Saudi Arabia was placed second position as it had produced 11.5 million bpd in
2014. Russia was placed at third position with 10.8 million bpd oil production. Natural gas: US
also has surpassed Russia as the worlds largest producer of natural gas. In 2014, US had
produced 1,250.4 million tons of oil equivalent natural gas. Russia had produced 1,062 million
tons of oil equivalent natural gas in 2014. Consumption side: Primary energy consumption
had slowed markedly with growth of just 0.9% in 2014. It was a lower rate than at any time
since the late 1990s. Growth in consumption of China has slowed to its lowest level since
1998. The main reason for is due to its economy rebalances which are away from energy
intensive sectors. But China had remained the worlds largest growth market for energy in
2014. China had consumed 2972.1 million tons of oil equivalent energy. US had consumed
2298.7 million tons. Japan had consumed 456.1 million tons oil equivalent energy. Russia had
consumed 681.9 million tons oil equivalent energy. Facts related to India: Indias oil production
gad declined by 1.3% at 895,000 bpd, while the consumption had increased by 3% to 3.8
million bpd. India has shown 7.1% rise in energy consumption. It is the fastest consumption
among major economies. It had consumed 637.8 million tons of oil and oil equivalent natural
gas, coal, nuclear energy, hydroelectricity and renewable energy. Refining: India is selfsufficient and fourth largest in refining capacity with 4.3 million bpd. Top three nations are US
(17.79 million bpd), China (14.09 million bpd) and Russia (6.3 million bpd).

89. Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI) has sacked Dr Bimal K
Roy as the Director of Indian Statistical Institute (ISI). He was removed from the office on
charges of indiscipline one-and-a-half months before the end of his term. Roy who is a
renowned cryptologist was appointed Director of ISI in August 2010. In April 2015, he was
conferred with Indias fourth highest civilian honour Padma Shri for his contribution in the
discipline of literature and education. Professor Sanghmitra Bandyopadhayay now will replace
Dr Bimal K Roy as the Director of ISI. With this appointment she has become the first woman
to lead the institute. She is a computer scientist specialized in the field of computational
biology. She had obtained a masters degree in computer science from the IIT Kharagpur and
pursued Ph. D. from ISI. Her research is mainly based in the areas of pattern recognition,
evolutionary computation, bioinformatics and machine learning. In 2010, she was awarded
with Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar Award for her contributions to engineering sciences.

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90. Sangeet Natak Akademi has announced the names of recipients of Sangeet Natak Akademi
fellowships (Akademi Ratna) 2014 and Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards (Akademi Puraskar)
2014. The names of the recipients were finalized in the meeting of General Council of the
Sangeet Natak Akademi which is also known as the National Academy of Music, Dance and
Drama. Akademi Fellowships which carries cash prize of 3 lakh rupees were conferred on R.
Janakiraman- Musicologist. S. Sathyu film-maker. Vijay Kichlu Classical singer Tulsidas
Borkar Musician With this the total strength of Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellows has gone up
to 40. Recipients of Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards (Akademi Puraskar) for the year 2014
are In the field of music For Hindustani vocal: Ashwini Bhide Deshpande Nath Narelkar and
Ustad Iqbal Ahmed Khan. Hindustani instrumental music: Pandit Nayan Ghosh (tabla) and
Ronu Majumdar (flute). Carnatic instrumental music: Neyveli Santhanagopalan (Carnatic
vocal), T.A. Kaliyamurthy (Thavil), Sukanya Ramgopal (Ghatam) and Dwaram Durga Prasad
Rao (violin). In the field of dance Nine persons have been selected in this category. They are
Adayar Janardanan (Bharatanatyam), Amusana Devi (Manipuri), Uma Dogra (Kathak),
Sudhakar Sahoo (Odissi), Vedantam Radhesyam (Kuchipudi). Jagru Mahto (Chhau), Anita
Sharma (Sattriya), Varanasi Vishnu Namboothiri (Kathakali) and Navtej Singh Johar
(contemporary dance). In the field of drama/ theatre Eight theatre persons have been chosen
in this category. They are Asgar Wajahat, Surya Mohan Kulshreshtha, Chidambar Rao
Jambe, Debshankar Haldar, Ramdas Kamath, Amod Bhatt, Manjunath Bhagwat Hostota and
Amardas Manikpuri. In the field of Traditional/tribal music/folk/theatre/dance and puppetry In
this category eight artistes have been selected. They are Puran Shah Koti, KKalamandalam
Ram Mohan, . Kesavasamy, Abdul Rashid Hafiz, Reba Kanta Mohanta, Ramdayal Sharma, K.
Shanathoiba Sharma and Thanga Darlong. About Sangeet Natak Akademi Established: in
1953 Function: Responsible for preservation and promotion of the performing arts of the
country. It also recognizes the contribution of outstanding musicians, dancers and theatre
artists by bestowing them its Fellowships and Awards. Its aim is to create benchmarks in the
practice of the performing arts.

91. Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs V K Singh inaugurated first India-China Yoga
College at Yunnan Minzu University in Kunming, China. This is first Indian government
institution related Indian spiritual art form i.e. Yoga in China inaugurated ahead of the first UN
Yoga Day to be observed on June 21. The Yoga College was established in lines with the
MoU for establishing the Yoga College signed during the Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit
to China in May 2015. This college seeks to provide certification courses in the Indian spiritual
art with them Indian teachers who are going to help in curriculum development and training.
Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) will provide two teachers to the university. Apart
from this, Minister also unveiled the bust of Rabindranath Tagore at the University to mark his
150th birth centenary. It should be noted that Nobel laureate Tagore is most popular Indian
literary personality whose works are widely translated and read in China.

92. Migrant Resource Centre (MRC) was set up in Chennai by the Union Ministry of Overseas
Indian Affairs (MOIA) and Tamil Nadu state government. The MRC will provide migrants and
overseas Indian workers with information, advice, counseling and guidance on all aspects of
overseas employment. It will include legal and regulatory requirements apart from
documentation and policies, procedures, problems faced while working aboard by migrants
and workers. Following are support functions of MRCs Dissemination of information on safe
and legal migration. Dissemination of information regarding status of recruiting agents along

30
with other service providers. Registration and response to complaints and grievances within
the redressal forum of MOIA. To offer counseling support in form of walk in or telephone and
email support. It should be noted that it is the fourth such MRC in India set up by MOIA. The
first MRC was established in 2008 in Kochi, Kerala by MOIA. Later, fully functional MRCs in
Hyderabad (Telengana & Andhra Pradesh), Gurgaon (Haryana) were established.

93. Three day long tourism promotional Ladakh Singhey Khababs Sindhu (also known as Sindhu
Darshan) Festival has begun in Jammu and Kashmirs Ladakh region. It was inaugurated by
Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed to promote the tourism potentials of Ladakh. The
inaugural function of the festival was organised this morning on the bank of the Indus River
near Shey village in Ladakh. In this edition of festival, local traditions and cultures like folks
songs and dances will be presented along with customs, traditional archery and polo games
and local handicrafts. Singhey Khababs Sindhu festival was started in 2001 by Union
government to promote Lakakh as tourists destination in the country. Since then it is
organised annually. It is celebrated to endorse the Indus River (Sindhu River) as a symbol of
the communal harmony and unity of India. It also promotes cultural values and tourism in the
region. The Festival starts with a colourful ceremony on the bank of the Indus River. Since it
establishment it has helped Ladakh region to become most preferred tourists destination and
also as a popular spot for shootings films.

94. Bibek Debroy Committee on the restructuring of Indian Railways has submitted its final report
to the Union Ministry of Railways. The committee has suggested measures for restructuring
the Railway Board and its departments so that policy making is separated from day-to-day
operations. Recommendations of Bibek Debroy committee Establishment of an independent
regulator Railway Regulatory Authority of India (RRAI) with a separate budget and to be
independent of the Ministry. RRAI will decide on tariffs to revamp the cash-strapped railways.
Railway Budget should be phased out with gross budgetary support to Indian Railways. There
is need to improve the internal resource generation and explore varied methods of financing
but also to improve utilisation of available resources. No privatisation of Indian Railway but
allowed participation of private sector in the railway projects. Separation of activities like
running of hospitals, schools, real estate development, catering, manufacturing of
locomotives, coaches and wagons from the core business of running trains. State
governments should be asked to entirely fund the Government Railway Police (GRP).
General Managers should have the freedom to choose between private security guards and
RPF for security on trains. The recommended changes should be implemented only by Union
Railways ministry in the first five years including the resolution of the social cost issue.
Background Union government had constituted the high-level committee in September 2014
to restructure the Railways and suggest ways for resource mobilisation. It was seven-member
panel headed by eminent economist and NITI Aayog member Bibek Debroy. The other 6
members are former cabinet secretary K M Chandrasekhar, Gusharan Das, Ravi Narain,
Partha Mukhopadhyay, Rajendra Kashyap, Ajay Tyagi and Ajay Narayan Jha.

95. World Blood Donor Day is being observed across the world on 14 June to raise the public
awareness about the need for safe blood donation. The theme of this years campaign is
Thank you for saving my life. This years campaign encourages donors all over the world to
donate blood voluntarily and regularly with the slogan Give freely, give often. Blood donation
matters. Objective To spread awareness about the need for safe and secure blood supplies.

31
Provide an opportunity to draw public attention to the importance of blood donation for saving
lives. World Health Organisation (WHO), a nodal agency of UN for international public health
has called for increased regular blood donations from voluntary, unpaid donors in order to
save millions of lives globally each year. It should be noted that World Blood Donor Day is one
of eight official global public health campaigns marked by the WHO. The event was
established in 2004. It was established in order to raise awareness of the need for safe blood
and blood products and to thank blood donors for their voluntary donations.

96. China has launched a freight train service between its northeastern city of Harbin and Europe.
The 9,820-km-long distance rail route will open new trade options for Chinese goods in the
European Market. It was launched by HAO Logistics Co. Ltd which is a joint venture company
that runs the freight service. The train carrying 49 containers of domestic goods such as
electronic products and auto parts worth US 3 million dollars started its journey from Harbin
capital of Heilongjiang province. The freight train will run once a week. Each single trip will
take 15 days and it will transport goods from China, South Korea and Japan as well as goods
from European countries such as Poland, Germany, Spain, France and Italy. This train will
pass through countries like Russia and Poland to reach its final destination in Hamburg,
Germany. Several other Chinese cities like Changsha, Chengdu, Chongqing, Yiwu, Hefei and
Suzhou have launched similar freight train services to Europe.

97. Telangana government has unveiled New Industrial Policy 2015 to boost industrial activity and
employment opportunities in the state. It was unveiled by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar
Rao in Hyderabad. Key facts about Telanganas New Industrial Policy Focuses to give quick,
time-bound and transparent approvals for setting up projects in the state. Establishment of a
single window clearance system and give clearances in 2 weeks for mega projects. Penal
action against officials for delaying the process of applications. Prescribes norms for giving
permissions to Mega project proposals with investments of Rs. 200 crore and above, large
project proposals with investment of Rs 10 crore-Rs 200 crore and small and medium project
proposals. Self-certification system has been framed for industrialists. It will be backed by the
Telangana State Industrial Project Approval and Self Certification System (TS-iPASS). 14
identified core areas for a focused approach are Life Sciences, Information Technology,
Aerospace, Pharma, textiles, minerals automobiles and transportation and logistics. Special
incentives for entrepreneurs belonging to women and SC and STs. Telangana State Industrial
Infrastructure Corporation (TSIIC) will secure statutory clearances for the Industrial Parks. To
develop Industrial Townships to make it easier to get to work.

98. Former Himachal Pradesh governor and ex-union minister Sheila Kaul passed away in New
Delhi. She was 101. She was a sister-in-law of Indias first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru
and Indira Gandhis maternal aunt. About Sheila Kaul Lok Sabha: Kaul was elected as
Member of Parliament to Lok Sabha five times in 1971, 1980 and 1984 (from Lucknow ) and
in 1989, 1991 (from Rae Bareli). Union Minister: She had served as Minister of State (MoS)
for Culture, Education and Social Welfare (Independent Charge) from198084 in Indira
Gandhi Government. It should be noted that during this period she was union Cabinet
Minister. Later she had served as Union Minister for Housing and Urban Development from
1991 to 1995. Governor: She had served as Governor of Himachal Pradesh from 1995 to
1996. Apart from being a politician, she was also an educationist, social worker, social
reformer and an independence activist in British India from Uttar Pradesh.

32

99. Union Government has launched an Indian Nuclear Insurance Pool (INIP) of 1,500 crore
rupees as per the mandatory provision under the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act
(CLND), 2010. It was announced by Minister of State (MoS) in the Department of Atomic
Energy Jitendra Singh in New Delhi. With this launch, INIP became 27th nuclear insurance
pool in the world that manages nuclear liabilities. India also has joined an exclusive list of
countries having nuclear pools. The pool will address third party liability insurance in a bid to
offset financial burden of foreign nuclear suppliers under the CLNDA, 2010. The pool is set up
by General Insurance Corporation (GIC) of India and 11 other non-life insurers. They are New
India, Oriental Insurance, National Insurance and United India Insurance from the public
sector apart from private insurance companies. Why the INIP is formed? A clause in the
CLND Act empowers the operator the Right to Recourse and allows it to sue the suppliers in
case of any accident. This was seen as a major hindrance to the growth of the nuclear
industry. These concerns led to the formation of the nuclear insurance pool. Implications of
INIP To deal with management of cover to both operators and suppliers on behalf of all direct
insurance companies participating in the pool. INIP will offer policies on the nuclear operators
liability insurance policy and a nuclear suppliers special contingency (against right to
recourse) insurance policy. Address third-party liability insurance and later expand into
property and other hot zone i.e. inside reactor areas risk. It should be noted that at present it
only covers cold zones (outside reactor areas). Provide the risk transfer mechanism to the
operators and suppliers to meet their obligations under the CLND Act.

100.

Indias tennis player Rohan Bopanna along with his Romanian partner Florin Mergea

has won the ATPs Stuttgart Open final doubles trophy in Germany. The Indo-Romanian pair
defeated Austrian-Brazilian pair of Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares by score of 5-7, 6-2 and
10-7 to lift the title. It is Bopannas fourth title of 2015. It should be noted that it was BopannaMergea pairs second ATP World Tour team title in this season. Earlier they had won the
Mutua Madrid Open crown in May 2015. They also had finished runners up at the Grand Prix
Hassan II in Casablanca. Rafael Nadal clinches Stuttgart grass-clay Mens single title Ace
Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal has Stuttgart grass-clay Mens single title. In the final
match he defeated Serbias Viktor Troick in straight sets of 7-6, 6-3. It was Rafael Nadals
third Stuttgart Mens single title. With this victory he also became first tennis player to win
titles at the event on both clay and grass surface. Tags: Sports Tennis

101.

Metal and mining giant Vedanta Ltd and its subsidiary oil explorer Cairn India have

announced to merge. The merger will create Indias largest diversified natural resources
company. It will also help Cairn spread its risk from volatile oil business to other metals and
commodities. Decision in this regard was taken by Independent directors of both the
companies owned by billionaire Anil Agarwal. The merger will be in an all share swap deal
which will give the Vedanta Ltd access to Cairn Indias 2.7 billion dollars (Rs 16,867 crore)
cash pile. Vedanta will use this cash lying with Cairn to pay off part of its 77,752 crore rupees
debt For the merger each minority shareholders of Cairn India will receive one equity share of
Vedanta. They will also receive one redeemable preference share of Rs 10 face value with
7.5% annual dividend. Previously Vedanta was known as Sesa Sterlite Ltd. In 2013 it had
consolidated its iron ore mining business by merging Sesa Goa Ltd with Sterlite Industries
(India) Ltd.

33

102.

Supreme Court has cancelled the All India Pre-Medical Test (AIMPT) 2015 and

directed the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to re-conduct the test within one
month. This verdict was given by a SC bench of Justice RK Agarwal and Justice Amitava Roy
on a complaint filed by candidates. In the complaint students had alleged large-scale
irregularities in AIMPT 2015, including leakage of answer keys. Earlier on 8 June 2015, SC
bench had extended the stay on the declaration of results which were to be declared on June
5. The examination was taken by over six lakh students. Large-scale irregularities had come
to the light earlier including leakage of answer keys. The investigators also had informed the
court that the answer keys of 123 questions were transmitted through 75 mobile phones in
states like Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Bihar and Haryana.

103.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows into the services sector grew by over 46 per

cent to 3.25 billion dollars in 2014-15 fiscal. It was revealed by the Department of Industrial
Policy and Promotion (DIPP). The FDI in this sector has increased after government had
taken series of steps to improve ease of doing business and attracting domestic as well as
foreign investments. The services sector includes banking, outsourcing, insurance, Research
& Development (R&D), courier and technology testing. Earlier in 2013-14, FDI in this sector
was worth 2.22 billion dollar. However, the total foreign inflow in 2014-15 in the services
sector was low as compared to 2012-13 when it was 4.83 billion dollars. Apart from services
sector, overall foreign inflows in the country too have rose by 27 per cent to 30.93 billion
dollars during 2014-15 fiscal. In 2013-14, the foreign inflow was 24.29 billion dollars. It should
be noted that services contribute about 60% to Indias GDP. The other sectors where FDI
inflows have recorded growth are telecommunications ($2.89 billion), automobiles ($2.57
billion) and computer software and hardware ($2.20 billion). Increase in foreign investments
will help to improve countrys balance of payments (BoP) situation and strengthen the rupee.

104.

As per recently published Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)

Yearbook 2015, the number of nuclear weapons in the world decreased in 2015. The overall
stockpile of nuclear weapons has declined to 15,850 in early 2015 from 16,350 in early 2014.
Key facts from SIPRI yearbook Main countries possessing nuclear warheads are modernizing
their arsenal. Reason behind the decrease in the number of nuclear warheads is because of
reduction of them from two main nuclear powers United States and Russia. Currently Russia
has 7,500 number of nuclear warheads compared to 8,000 in 2014. While, US had 7,260
nuclear warheads compared to 7,300 in 2014. Till date nine countries possesses
approximately around 15, 850 nuclear weapons. They are United States, Russia, United
Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea. Of these all nuclear
weapons around 1800 weapons are kept in a state of high operational alert.

105.

State owned telecommunications giant Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has

launched free pan India roaming scheme. This scheme will allow companys mobile
customers across the country to receive incoming calls at no additional cost i.e. free of cost. It
will benefit around 7.72 crore of its existing subscriber base as well as new subscribers. BSNL
has announced this scheme with the consent of Union Minister of Communications & IT Ravi
Shankar Prasad who had earlier announced this scheme in order to achieve dream of One
Nation One Number. BSNL is also planning to install 5,000 Base Transceiver Station (BTS)
towers across the country in order to provide better services to its customers. Out of the 5,000

34
towers, 1,250 will be established in Bihar to improve the communications network in the state,
especially in the interior areas.

106.

Union Government has launched Augmented Reality technology based mobile

application named Sakaar to highlight the achievements of the Department of Space. It was
launched by Minister of State (MoS) in the Department of Atomic Energy Dr. Jitendra Singh in
New Delhi. Sakaar application and its multimedia content for Android devices is developed by
Development and Educational Communication Unit (DECU) of ISRO. The application consists
of 3 Dimensional (3D) models of Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), RISAT, indigenous rockets
such as PSLV, GSLV Mk-III etc. It also has videos of INSAT 3D-predicting cyclones, MOM
launch and orbit insertion videos, 360 degree animated view of MOM, GSLV D5/Cryo and
Anaglyph of Mars surface. What is Augmented Reality technology? Augmented Reality (AR)
technology is computer-generated 3D models, animations, videos that augments (or
supplements) the live direct view of a physical, real-world environment. With the help of
devices camera the real time augmentation and information is overlaying takes place which
enhances users current perception. Essentially AR requires three basic elements for its
functioning. They are AR application, AR Markers and Android OS enabled mobile with back
camera.

107.

Indian Railways has named Haridwar Mail as Yoga Express with an immediate effect.

In this regard the train No 19031/19032 Ahmedabad-Haridwar-Ahmedabad famously known

as Haridwar Mail has been christened as Yoga Express. This decision was taken by Indian
Railways before celebration of first International Yoga Day on 21st June which will be
observed as global event. However, the train timings and its composition have not been
changed. Yoga Express run between Ahmedabad (Gujarat) and Haridwar (Uttarakhand) on
daily basis covering 1208 km distance in 26 hours 05 mins. The train has number 19031 from
Ahmedabad to Haridwar and number 19032 in the reverse direction. Its average speed is
below 55 km/hr. The train also has a stopover at Gandhinagar which was added in 2009
Railway Budget.

108.

Domestic e-commerce giant Snapdeal has acquired Gurgaon based mobility

solutions company Letsgomo Labs. With this acquisition Letsgomo team will become part of
Snapdeal. It will help to strengthen Snapdeal position in the m-commerce domain by further
strengthen it mobile technology capabilities. It should be noted that 75% of the orders on
Snapdeal already come via mobile-based transactions. This takeover comes in lines of
Snapdeals acquisitions of Martmobi and Freecharge to further strengthening its mobile
platform. Letsgomo Labs was founded by Manav Kamboj and Vikas Banga. Presently it has
76 members team that work across various mobile technologies including design strategy and
consults in businesses right from building mobile strategies. It also helps in conceptualization
of applications and mobile sites to implementation and hosting.

109.

United Kingdom (UK) celebrated 800 years of signing of Magna Carta on 15 June

2015. The celebrations to observe signing of 8 century year old historic document which had
laid foundation for modern democratic society was led by Queen Elizabeth II. UK Prime
Minister David Cameron was also had joined the queen to mark the celebrations. About
Magna Carta Magna Carta is a Latin word which in English means Great Charter. It is most
important document of England signed on 15 June 1215 at Runnymede alongside the River

35
Thames in the English county of Surrey. It had originated as a peace and truce treaty between
King John and a group of rebellious barons within his kingdom. The document had written
promises between King John and his subjects mentioning that the king will govern England
and deal with its people according to the customs of feudal law. Magna Carta had laid the first
steps towards parliamentary democracy and the principle supremacy of law i.e. no one is
above the law. It also laid the principle of balance of power between the governed and
government. Its influence can be seen in other documents across the world including the UN
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and on US Constitution and Bill of Rights. In case of
India, its influence also can be seen on Part III of constitution which contains fundamental
rights, described as the magna carta of India which has been derived inspiration from Bill of
Rights.

110.

Mogens Lykketoft from Denmark was unanimously elected as President of United

Nations General Assembly (UNGA). He was only the nominee put forward by the Western
Europe and other group (WEOG). Mogens Lykketoft succeeds Ugandas Sam Kutesa who
was President of 69th session of UNGA. He will preside over the 193-member UNGA in its
upcoming 70th session for one-year term. Presently, Lykketoft is President (speaker) of
Denmarks Parliament since 2011. Earlier he had served as Cabinet Minister in Prime Minister
Poul Nyrup Rasmussen led government and had held portfolios such as Finance Minister
(1993 to 2000) and Foreign Minister (2000 to 2001). About UNGA President President of
UNGA presides over the sessions of the General Assembly which is starts begins every year
in September. The President is elected annually on rotational basis between the five
geographic groups namely African, Asian, Eastern European, Latin American and Caribbean
and Western European and other States Interesting fact: Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit was first and
only Indian to serve as President of UNGA in 1953. She was also the first woman President of
UNGA.

111.

Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) have inked a Motor Vehicles Agreement

(MVA) for the regulation of passenger, personnel and cargo vehicular traffic for the economic
benefit of the entire region. On behalf of India, the agreement was signed by Union Minister of
Road Transport & Highways and Shipping, Nitin Gadkari in Thimpu, Bhutan. Key Facts about
BBIN Motor Vehicles Agreement (MVA) BBIN MVA agreement which is similar to the SAARC
Motor Vehicle Agreement (MVA) aims to promote safe, environmentally sound and
economical efficient road transport in the sub-region of BBIN. It also seeks to help each
member country to create an institutional mechanism for regional integration. The agreement
will be supplemented by building and upgrading roads, railways and waterways infrastructure
in this region in order to ensure smooth cross-border flow of goods, services, technology,
capital and people-to-people contact. It will benefit member nations for mutual cross border
movement of passenger and goods for overall economic development of the region. For
implementation of this agreement each signatory member will bear its own costs.

112.

Maharashtra Government has given nod to new Information Technology (IT) and

Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES) policy. Decision in this regard was taken by
State Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in Mumbai. Key
highlights of Maharashtra IT & ITES policy 2015 Aims at making state an IT, animation and
gaming industry hub by attracting 50,000 crore rupees of investment and creating 1 million
jobs in nest five years i.e. by 2020. Promotes a walk-to-work concept by proposing the

36
construction of integrated IT townships along with residential apartments and social
infrastructure such as schools, hospitals, multiplexes, malls and parks etc. Offers 200%
additional floor space index (FSI) over the base FSI for IT parks. This decision will help to
reduce rents of commercial space in the IT parks. Simplification in rules for payment of
premium for getting additional FSI. In this case additional FSI is consumed in Mumbai
Metropolitian Region (MMR) and Pune, the premium will be calculated at a flat 30% of ready
reckoner rates. While in the rest of the state it will be charged at 10% of the ready reckoner
rate. Offers IT industry exemption from payment of stamp duty and electricity duty. It will offer
electricity to the IT sector at the industrial tariff, which is lower than what the commercial
sector pays. Directs municipal corporations to charge property tax at the residential rate and
not at commercial rates. Exempts IT industry from value added tax (VAT) and local taxes such
as entry tax and octroi. Current status of IT industry in Maharashtra Presently, Maharashtra
ranks second in the country for the exports of IT & ITES after Karnataka. Last two IT policies
of state in 2003 and 2009 had played important role to attract investment of 3.24 trillion
rupees and had created 465 private and 37 public IT parks along with 748,000 direct jobs.

113.

Indias greatest contemporary architect Charles Correa passed away in Mumbai

following a brief illness. He was 84. He had played a pivotal role in the creation of architecture
for post-Independence India. He was known for his sensitivity to the needs of the urban poor
and use of traditional methods and materials for construction. About Charles Correa Charles
Correa was born on 1 September 1930 in Secunderabad, Telangana. His famous Works:
Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Museum at the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad (19581963),
Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly in Bhopal (1967), National Crafts Museum, New Delhi
(19751990), Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal (1982), Jawahar Kala Kendra (Jawahar Arts Centre), in
Jaipur, Rajasthan (19861992), British Council, Delhi (198792), McGovern Institute for Brain
Research at MIT, Boston (20002005), City Centre (Salt Lake City) in Kolkata, Champalimaud
Centre for The Unknown in Lisbon, Portugal (20072010). He was Chief Architect for Navi
Mumbai along with Shirish Patel and Pravina Mehta from 197075. He also had served as
first Chairman of the National Commission on Urbanization and was appointed by then Prime
Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1985. He is founder of Mumbais Urban Design Research Institute
(established in 1984) dedicated to protect the environment and improve lives of urban
communities. Awards and Honours: He had been awarded the Padma Shri (1972), Padma
Vibhushan (2006) by Government of India. He was also awarded Royal Gold Medal for
Architecture (1984) by the Royal Institute of British Architects, 7th Aga Khan Award for
Architecture (1998), Praemium Imperiale of Japan.

114.

A comprehensive book in Dogri language on the Dogri literature of 20th century

entitled Beehmi Sadi Da Dogri Da Gadya Sahitya : Ik Jayzaa was released in Jammu and
Kashmir. The book has been written by a noted Dogri language scholar Dr. Vijay Seth. The
book based on extensive research work and incorporates five chapters chronologically
covering the development of essays, literary sketches, travelogue, memoirs, biographic and
autobiographical literature in Dogri. In this book the author has elaborated basic elements of
various forms of Dogri prose and also has incorporated critical analysis of each form of Dogri
prose taken up in the book. About Dogri language Dogri is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in
India and Pakistan. In India, it is chiefly spoken in states like Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal
Pradesh and northern Punjab. It is one of 22 official languages mentioned in the Eighth
Schedule of Constitution. It was inserted in this schedule by 92nd Constitutional amendment

37
Act, 2003 along with Maithili, Santali and Bodo. Dogri speakers are called Dogras and the
Dogri-speaking region is called Duggar.

115.

Sunil Chhetri has become the first Indian footballer to score 50 international goals. He

achieved this feat in his 87th match i.e. during 2018 World Cup qualifying match between
India and Guam. However, India lost this match to Guam by 1-2 goals. It was Indias second
successive defeat in the preliminary joint qualification second round. Earlier India had lost the
heir first match against Oman. Top three Indian goal scorer footballers are Sunil Chhetri: He
had scored 50 goals in 87 matches. At present, he is captain of Indian Football team.
Bhaichung Bhutia: He had scored 42 goals in 107 matches. He is former captain of Indian
Football team. IM Vijayan: He had 40 goals from 79 matches. Sunil Chhetri was born 3
August 1984 in Secunderabad district of Telangana. Currently, he plays as a striker for
Bengaluru FC in the I-League. He had started his professional career in 2002 with Mohun
Bagan FC.

116.

Researchers have created the worlds thinnest light bulb using graphene as filament.

It was created by team of scientist led by Young Duck Kim comprising members from
Columbia University School of Engineering, Seoul National University and Korea Research
Institute of Standards and Science. Features of Bulb The bulb uses graphene, a perfectly
crystalline form of carbon as a filament. The filament is attached to metal electrodes and
suspended the strips above the substrate. After current is passed through filament it heats up
to over 2,500 C and produces exceptionally bright light. Applications: The new type of
thinnest bulb can be used as broadband light emitter. It can also be integrated into chips
which will pave the way towards the realisation of atomically flexible, thin and transparent
displays. It will also help to boost graphene-based on-chip high speed optical
communications.

117.

United States (US) has announced to curb and eliminate majority of partially

hydrogenated oils (PHOs) commonly called trans-fats from the countrys food supply by 2018.
This decision of US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) comes after intensive lobbying by
health advocates and scientists that artificial oils raise the risk of heart diseases by clogging
arteries. In this regard, US FDA has revoked the status of PHOs as a food additive from
current status of safe food product. Henceforth food manufacturers in US will be no longer be
able to use the PHOs in food without prior approval of FDA. Implication The new policy will
help to prevent at least 20,000 coronary heart attacks each year and 7,000 deaths from
coronary heart disease in US. It will also serve as lessons for the regulation on trans-fat use in
foods in developing countries such as India where heart related diseases are on rise.
Background In United States the popularity of trans fats had soared in the 1940s. Since then it
had emerged as a key ingredient in major food products as it was cheap to produce with a
long shelf life. In 2006, the FDA had mandatorily insisted all food manufacturing firms to
include trans fat content information on labels of each product. In November 2013, FDA had
recognised trans fats as a threat to public health. WHO also consider trans fats as toxic for
consumption at certain levels.

118.

Election Commission of India (ECI) has suspended recognition of the PA Sangma-led

National Peoples Party (NPP) which was a recognized state party in Meghalaya. The
recognition of NPP was suspended under para 16A of the Election Symbols (Reservation and

38
Allotment) Order, 1968 after the party failed to file the election expenditure statement incurred
in 2014 Lok Sabha elections. ECI decision in this regard comes in line with Supreme Courts
judgement in the case of Common Cause Vs Union of India and others. In this judgement SC
had made compulsion for all political parties to file their election expenditure statement within
75 days of assembly elections and 90 days of Lok Sabha elections. In case of NPP, they
failed report their election expenses even after ECI had slapped two show cause notices in
this regard. With this, NPP became first party to be suspended under Election Symbols
(Reservation and Allotment) Order 1968, for its failure to follow the lawful directions of the
ECI. About National Peoples Party (NPP) NPP was founded in January 2013 by P A Sangma,
nine-time Member of Parliament from Meghalaya. Election symbol of party was Book. It is a
national-level tribalcentric political party. It had most of its influence concentrated in the state
of Meghalaya. At present NPP has one Lok Sabha member- PA Sangma from Tura
constituency from Meghalaya. It also has 4 members in Rajasthan Legislative assembly and 2
in Meghalaya Legislative assembly.

119.

State owned telecommunications giant Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has

announced to set up 40,000 Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) hot spots across the country. This
project will come in lines with new digital architecture which is part of Union Governments
flagship Digital India Programme. The 40,000 wi-fi hot spots project will be entailed with an
investment of about 6,000 crore rupees. The project is likely to be completed by 2018. It was
announced by Union Minister of Communications & IT Ravi Shankar Prasad after launching
the Wi-Fi facility at Taj Mahal in Agra, Uttar Pradesh. BSNL has installed the Wi-Fi facility at
the premises of Taj Mahal as part of the Union Governments plan to provide free internet
services at major tourist places across country. BSNL has introduced this Wi-fi facility with
support of Quadgen, a Bengaluru-based company. The service will freely available to
everyone including tourist for half-an-hour. After half-an-hour the Wi-fi services will cost 30
rupees an hour.

120.

Tokyo based online recipe network Cookpad has acquired Cucumbertown, a

Bengaluru-based social network for cooks and chefs for an undisclosed amount. After this
acquisition Cucumbertown will remain independent subsidiary under Cookpad. By acquiring
Cucumbertown, Cookpad has entered into Indian market that represents a market and culture
that is rich in culinary heritage. It will also enable acquired company to scale to international
markets and monetize. Earlier in 2014, Cookpad had acquired numerous startups from
various countries including English language app Allthecooks, Dapur Masak in Malay, Mis
Recetas site in Spanish and NetSila from Lebanon. Cucumbertown was funded in October
2012 by Cherian Thomas and Arun Prabhakar. Since then it had grown from a simple recipesharing network to a food blogging platform. Presently, it has its reach to more than 160
countries and has millions of users. The company had raised capital from Silicon Valley,
Helion and Ludlow ventures. The start up company has two offices in the Bay Area and
Bengaluru city in Karnataka.

121.

Kirk Kerkorian billionaire Las Vegas mogul and casino tycoon passed away after a

brief illness. He was 98. Kirk Kerkorian was born on 6 June 1917 as Kerkor Kerkorian in
California, US to Armenian immigrants. Apart from being casino tycoon he was Hollywood
tycoon and had diversified investments in airlines and auto industry. Initially, he had worked as
skilled aviator and had flown dangerous missions of delivering warplanes from Canada to

39
Britain during World War II. Later, he had opened a charter flight business serving gamblers
wanting to get from Los Angeles to Las Vegas more quickly than a 10-hour drive. Kirk
Kerkorian had founded MGM Resorts International and was its largest shareholder till his
date. He had first made his fortune in the 1950s and 1960s in Las Vegas, the desert gambling
capital and had built the worlds biggest hotel in Las Vegas. He also made fortune by investing
in the automobile industry such as Chrysler in 1990s and General Motors and Ford in the
2000s.

122.

Bangladesh Supreme Courts appellate bench upheld the death sentence of war

criminal and Jamaat-e-Islami leader Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mujahid. Decision in this regard
was taken by 4-member bench headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha. The court
has found Mujahid guilty of systematically killing intellectuals in the end of the 1971 Liberation
War of Bangladesh. He is the third Jamaat leader to appeal in appealed in Bangladesh
Supreme Court, but court ruled against them and upheld their death sentences. Two other
Jamaat leaders are Quader Mollah and Kamaruzzaman. They were executed in 2013 and
2015 respectively. Background During the liberation war Mujahid was leader of the infamous
Al-Badr, a militia group that was raised by Pakistan to crush the Bangladeshi independence
struggle movement during the Liberation War. Earlier in 2013, International Crimes Tribunal
(ICT) had sentenced him to death for his war crimes such as genocide, conspiracy in killing
intellectuals, torture and abduction.

123.

Union Government has announced an additional package of 2,437 crore rupees for

reconstruction and rehabilitation of flood-ravaged Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). It was

announced by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in New Delhi. The fund will be used for
relief and rehabilitation work. Around 75,000 kacha and pakka houses will also be rebuilt
under the grant which were damaged in 2014 floods. Background In September 2014,
continuous unprecedented heavy rainfall had caused Jhelum, Chenab and Tawi rivers and
their tributaries to flow above the danger mark. They had flooded the catchment areas,
particularly low lying ones for more than two weeks in the state which had severely affected
livelihoods and had damaged the basic infrastructure in the state. After the floods Union
Government had given 2,602 crore rupees to the state. It included 770 crore rupees from
Prime Minister Relief Fund, 1,602 crore rupees was released under State Disaster Relief
Fund (SDRF) and National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF).

124.

Asia Pacific region has overtaken Europe as the worlds second richest region for the

first time in terms of global wealth management. It was revealed in recently released report by
Boston Consulting Group (BCG), a global management consulting firm. Key highlights of
report Asia Pacific region (excluding Japan) has held around 47 trillion dollars in private
wealth in 2014. The main reason for the growth in wealth in this region was due to increase in
number of new millionaires in China and India. North America region has remained as the
worlds richest region with 51 trillion dollars. Asia Pacific region is going to surpass North
America region in 2016 as worlds richest region with forecasted wealth to reach $57 trillion in
2016 compared to $56 trillion of North America. It is also projected that Asia Pacific region will
hold 34 per cent of global wealth in 2019. Forecasted average growth rate of private wealth is
expected to be around 6 percent per year. It is going to reach $222 trillion in 2019. In 2014 the
private financial wealth globally has grown by nearly 12 percent to $164 trillion. Nearly threequarters i.e. 73 percent or $13 trillion of private wealth growth was achieved through the

40
growth of existing assets. While remainder 27 percent of wealth growth or $5 trillion was
generated by newly created wealth.

125.

Union Cabinet approved increasing Indias solar power capacity target under the

Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) to 1 Lakh Mega Watt (MW) by 2022.
Decision to increase solar power capacity by five times form current capacity was taken by
Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. 1 Lakh Mega
Watt (MW) target principally will comprise of 40,000 MW from Rooftop and 60,000 MW
through Large and Medium Scale Grid Connected Solar Power Projects. After meeting this
ambitious target, India will become one of the largest Green Energy producers in the world by
surpassing several developed countries. Apart from this decision, Cabinet Committee on
Economic Affairs (CCEA) also approved setting up of over 2,000 MW of Grid-Connected Solar
Power Projects on BOOT (build, own, operate, transfer) basis. It will be set up by Solar Power
Developers with Viability Gap Funding under JNNSM with total investments of 12,000 crore
rupees. These projects will help in generation of additional 2000 MW capacity of Gridconnected solar power projects and create employment of about 12,000 people in rural and
urban areas. It will also help to reduce about 3.41 Million Tonnes (MT) of carbon emissions
into the open environment every year.

126.

President Pranab Mukherjee gave his assent to Negotiable Instruments (Amendment)

Ordinance, 2015. The ordinance amends Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881. Earlier in June
2015, Union Cabinet had recommended promulgation of this ordinance to the President. The
ordinance will help to tackle issues related to cheque bounce cases and allow filing of cheque
bounce case at the place where the cheque was presented for clearance and not at the place
of issue. It will benefit around 18 lakh people facing cheque bounce cases across the country.
Background Union government had taken ordinance route after Negotiable Instruments
(Amendment) Bill, 2015 was not able to pass in Rajya Sabha in winter session of Parliament
after it was passed by the Lok Sabha.

127.

Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved

introduction of Bureau of Indian Standards Bill, 2015 in coming session of Parliament. The
new bill seeks to replace the existing Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Act, 1986 with an aim
to bring in more products under the mandatory standard regime and end the inspector raj.
Facts about Bureau of Indian Standards Bill, 2015 Add provision for establishment of statutory
Bureau of Indian standards (BIS) as the National Standards Body of India. The Bureau will
perform its functions through a Governing Council consisting of President and other members.
Standardization regime: Besides articles and processes the goods, services and systems will
be brought under the mandatory standardization regime in order to ensure quality products to
consumers. Mandatory certification regime: Empower government to bring mandatory
certification regime for articles, processes or services which it considers necessary. In this
case certification will be from the point of view of safety, health, security, environment,
prevention of deceptive practices, etc. It will help consumers to receive ISI certified products
and help in prevention of import of sub-standard products. Simplified conformity assessment
schemes: In order to allow ease of doing business, the bill allows multiple types of simplified
assessment schemes. It includes Self Declaration of Conformity (SDOC) against any
standard which will give multiple simplified options to manufacturers. Mandatory hallmarking:
provisions related to compulsory hallmarking of precious metal articles. Strengthening penal

41
provisions: It will help for better and effective compliance of law and enable compounding of
offences for violations. Implications Help to promote a culture of quality of products and
services with a broad objective of consumers welfare through mandatory and voluntary
compliance with Indian standards. Improve enforcement of Indian standards through the
process of product certification and Certificate of Conformity. Promote harmonious
development of the activities of standardization including marking and quality certification of
goods and services. It will widen the scope of conformity assessment and also enhances the
penalties by making offences compoundable.

128.

Manipur State Forest Department has decided to translocate a section of critically

endangered species of Brow Antlered (Sangai) deer with an aim to save it from extinction.
The deer is endemic to Keibul Lamjao National Park (KLNP) will be translocated to Pumlen
Pat which is close existing habitat to Loktak. Pumlen Pat was chosen for translocation as it is
also a floating biomass (phumdi) and comprises of small hillocks which will provide natural
habitat for this deer species. About Sangai deer Sangai Deer (Rucervus eldii) also called the
Dancing Deer is the state animal of Manipur. Once it was found across the Manipur Valley in
abundant now only its remaining natural habitat is found in Keibul Lamjao National Park. It is
listed as an endangered species by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Conservation efforts have helped in reviving the population of the deer to 204 in 2013 from
less than 100 in 2008. About Keibul Lamjao National Park (KLNP) KLNP is a floating biomass
in Manipurs Loktak Lake. It is only floating national park in the world. It is known around the
world for its unique composition which is made up of biomass vegetation (locally called
phumdis) that floats on the surface of the lake. The park which was initially declared as a
Sanctuary in 1966 and later in 1977 it was declared as National Park through a gazette
notification.

129.

Japan has passed a law lower the voting age to 18 years from its current 20 years.

The bill in this regard to revise the public office election law was passed by the upper house
after being approved in the lower chamber. With passing of this law, 2.4 million of its
population from 18 and 19-year-olds age group will extend the franchise in future elections.
This move also has brought Japan in line with other developed countries in terms of voting
age. Last time, Japan had lowered the voting age from 25 to 20 years in 1945 after its
surrender in World War II. Population structure of Japan At present, around a quarter i.e. 26
percent of Japans 127-million population is aged 65 or over indicating population ageing with
negative growth rate. Japan is in last i.e. third stage of demographic transition as a result of
low birth rates and death deaths. The age structure of Japan is an inverted age pyramid
representing large population of elders. Some facts: Presently, 170 nations in the world have
voting age of 18 years. In case of India, the voting age was lowered to 18 years by the
Constitution (Sixty-first Amendment) Act, 1988.

130.

Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has given its approval for inclusion

of Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand under the National Dairy Plan- I (NDP-I).
Decision in this regard was taken CCEA meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in
New Delhi. Apart from this decision CCEA also extended the implementation period to
achieve key outputs NDP-I upto 2018-19. Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh were included in NDPI because it has substantial milch animal population and primarily inhabited by tribal
population. While, Uttarakhand was included under NDP-I considering its potential for

42
implementation of Fodder Development and Village Based Milk Procurement System, Ration
Balancing Programme. The implementation period of NDP-I was extended due late approval
of NDP-I and the time taken in initiating the implementation of sub projects at End
Implementing Agencies (EIAs) level. About National Dairy Plan- I National Dairy Development
Board (NDDB) had approved NDP-I in 14 milk potential through the EIAs. It was formulated
with a total outlay of 2242 crore rupees for a period of 6 years from 2011-12 to 2016-17. At
present NDP I is being implemented in 15 States which account for more than 90 per cent of
the countrys total milk production and 98 per cent of the countrys fodder resources. They
also account for over 87 per cent of the breedable cattle and buffalo population. 15 states are
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Gujarat, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra,
Punjab, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

131.

Punjab state is celebrating the 350th years of foundation of holy city Sri Anandpur

Sahib. The celebrations began after Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal dedicated the 81 feet
high Khanda, installed at Sri Anandpur Sahib to the humanity. The installed Khanda
symbolizes the glorious legacy and rich cultural heritage of this holy city of bliss on its 350th
foundation day. Facts about Sri Anandpur Sahib The holy city Sri Anandpur Sahib was
founded in 1665 by the Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur, ninth Guru of Sikhs. Later in 1699, Khalsa
Panth was created here by the Tenth Guru Sri Guru Gobind Singh. Anandpur Sahib is situated
in a city in Rupnagar district (Ropar) of Punjab and located on the lower spurs of the
Himalayas surrounded with the river Sutlej forming a border on the south west. It is commonly
known as the holy City of Bliss which is one of the most important sacred places for Sikhs. It
is closely linked with their religious traditions and history of Sikhism.

132.

As per recently released Global Peace Index (GPI) for year 2015, India was placed at

143th rank out 162 countries. The report was published by Institute for Economics and Peace
(IEP). Indias rank has remained same compared to previous year global rankings. Key facts
from Global Peace Index 2015 Top 10 peaceful countries: Iceland (1st), Denmark (2nd),
Austria (3rd), New Zealand (4th), Switzerland (5th), Finland (6th), Canada (7th), Japan (8th),
Australia (9th) and Czech Republic (10th). Top 10 least peaceful countries: North Korea
(153rd), Pakistan (154th), Congo (155), Sudan (156), Somalia (157), Central Africa (158th),
South Sudan (159th), Afghanistan (160th), Iraq (161st) and Syria (162nd). Indias neighbours:
Bhutan (18th), Nepal (62nd), Bangladesh (84th), Sri Lanka (114th), Pakistan (154th). In 2014,
the violent events had cost $14.3 trillion from the global economy. It accounted for 13.4% of
global GDP. About 50 million people i.e. 0.75% of the current world population are displaced.
In 2014, deaths from terrorism were reported in 69 countries reported. It was up from 60 in
2013 highlighting the increasing use of terror tactics. In case of India, violence has cost it
$341.7 billion i.e. 4.7% of its GDP in 2014 which is the fourth highest cost in the world.

133.

Advertising Standard Council of India (ASCI) has launched ASCIonline, a mobile

application in a bid to address misleading advertisements. The application will provide

consumers/users platform to report complaint services for misleading advertisements on a
mobile apart from ASCIs online complaint facility. It is Indias first consumer complaint mobile
app. The mobile app is available free of cost on playstore (for android devices) and istore (for
apple devices). Key features of ASCIOnline app Consumer can file or report a complaint by
simply providing advertisement details and objection. Complaints may also include media files
such as image or video or YouTube link of that advertisement. The history of all previously

43
registered complaints can be checked along with the latest status and other details. Status of
the complaints can be simply tracked by providing the tracking code of the complaint. After
change in status of complaint, consumers will receive automatic push notification. About
Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) ASCI is a self-regulatory voluntary nongovernmental organization (NGO) of the advertising industry in India. Aim- To maintain and
enhance the publics confidence in advertising. It was established in 1985 by three main
constituents of advertising industry viz advertisers, advertising agencies and media.

134.

Union Government has launched NOWCAST weather alert system and Crop

Insurance web portal for the benefit of farmers. The new initiatives were launched by Union
Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh at a function held in New Delhi. NOWCAST weather
alert system will provide free SMS service alerts on extreme weather conditions (ex-hailstorm)
to over one crore registered farmers on their mobile phones. The free SMS alerts will be sent
in Hindi, English and regional languages as per farmers request. It will be issued to farmers
whose mobile phones are already registered on the governments mKisan portal. The data for
NOWCAST service will be taken from India Meteorological Departments (IMDs) 146 weather
stations. Apart from these stations, 17 doppler radars of IMD will also provide information in
this SMS service. Under this initiative, the extreme weather data originated from IMD will be
updated on mKisan portal using a web service. Later, from mKisan portal the warnings
regarding extreme weather conditions will be automatically transmitted by SMS to farmers
located at district and block level. Insurance Web-Portal (www.farmer.gov.in/insurance) will be
used to create awareness and encourage farmers to insure their crops by taking advantage of
existing three schemes. They are Modified National Insurance Scheme (MNAIS), National
Agriculture Insurance Scheme (NAIS) and Weather based Crop Insurance Scheme (WBCIS).
Besides these schemes, Coconut Palm Insurance Scheme (CPIS) is also applicable in some
parts of the country.

135.

India has been ranked third in Anti-Doping Rule Violations Report for year 2013

released by World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). As per the report 91 athletes from Indian
have been tested positive for banned substances in year 2013. Of these 91 Indians athletes,
20 were women athletes. Key facts from report Russia was ranked first in this report with
maximum number of doping athletes with 212 testing positive. Turkey was placed at second
position with 155 positive doping athletes cases. France came fourth in this list with 90
positive doping cases. Overall 1953 athletes across the globe had committed anti-doping rule
violations. Out of 1953 athletes, 1687 were actually found guilty for using banned substances
while 266 violated other rules. The comprehensive report had dealt with testing of 207,513
samples which were covered from 115 nationalities and 89 sports events. Sports discipline
wise doping cases: Track and field athletes lead in this report with 280 global cases. In this
case 30 Indian athletes were involved. Weightlifting is second sports event with 19 doping
cases. Wrestling is third sporting event with 9 Anti-Doping Rule violation cases. Other sports
are powerlifters (8), bodybuilding (8), judo (7), boxing (4), aquatics (2), cycling (2), kabaddi
(2). Cricket, football, taekwondo and volleyball reported one case each.

136.

HDFC Bank, Indias second-largest private sector lender has launched a 10-second

paperless instant loan Scheme for its existing customers. The 10-second loan Scheme was
launched as part of HDFC Banks digital banking platform GoDigital. With this, HDFC bank
became first banking institution to completely automate the entire process of loan approval

44
and disbursement. Under this scheme, bank will now disburse personal loans to its customers
in just 10 seconds and a pre-approved loan amount will be available to them 247. The entire
process of availing the loan under this scheme will be completely paperless. In this case, its
customers by using net-banking or mobile banking avail of this loan. Earlier, the bank had
launched PayZapp application to cater to e-commerce space under its digital platform. It
should be noted that, in financial year 2014-15, 63 per cent of HDFC Banks all transactions
were conducted through various digital channels.

137.

Translated Chinese version of Bhagavad Gita, a sacred ancient Indian scripture was

released in China. This is the first a well-known Hindu ancient religious text was published in
China. The book was released by Indian Ambassador to China Ashok K Kantha during an
international yoga conference. It was translated in Chinese by Professor Wang Zhu Cheng
and Ling Hai of Zhejiang University in Shanghai and was published by Sichuan Peoples
Publications. The foreword for the book was written by K Nagaraj Naidu who had served as
the consulate general at the Indian Consulate in Guangzhou city of China. Some of Indias
ancient are well-known in China. It includes ancient Buddhist scriptures which were
introduced to them by celebrated Chinese traveler Huen Tsang after he had visited India in
the 7th century. Earlier in 2014, scholars from India and China published an Encyclopaedia on
the age-old cultural contacts between both countries which had showcased their history to
over 2000 years.

138.

Recently published study in the journal Nature has revealed that Moon is engulfed in

a permanent but lopsided dust cloud made up of tiny dust grains. The study team was led by
Professor Mihaly Horanyi of University of Colorado Boulder physics. Key fact The dust cloud
was discovered by using data from NASAs Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment
Explorer (LADEE). Composition: The cloud is primarily made up of tiny dust grains kicked up
from the Moons surface. These tiny dust grains were result of the impact of high-speed,
interplanetary dust particles. Formation: Such a single dust particle from a comet striking the
Moons surface lofts thousands of smaller dust particles into moons airless environment. This
resulted in formation of lunar cloud which is maintained by regular impacts from such
particles. With annual events like the Geminids meteor shower, the density of dust cloud
increases. It should be noted that the dust on the Moon which is dark and sticky was created
over several billion years ago. It was outcome of interplanetary dust particles incessantly
pounded the rocky lunar surface. Practical Applications of this Study: Knowledge of the dusty
environments in space especially knowing where the dust is and where it is headed in the
solar system may help to mitigate hazards for future human exploration missions including
dust particles damaging spacecraft or harming astronauts. Note: LADEE was launched in
September 2013. It had orbited the Moon for about six months. With the help of a detector on
board LADEE a CU-Boulder was charted from more than 140,000 impacts during the sixmonth mission.

139.

ISRO has announced to provide navigational support to Indian Railways through GPS

Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) system. The navigational support along with
space technology-based tools will be provided to Indian Railways for unmanned level
crossings safety. By using GAGAN software system, a train will get to know the location of
any unmanned level crossing by a warning signal. Once this warning signal is given, the
trains hooter will automatically start when it comes near an unmanned crossing. About GPS

45
Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) GAGAN was jointly developed by the ISRO and
Airports Authority of India (AAI) for the advancement of air navigation. It is an indigenous
navigational guide system developed on the lines of GPS system of the US. Presently,
GAGAN signal is broadcasted through two Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) satellites-GSAT8
and GSAT10. The system was launched in 2011 as a payload with GSAT-8. With this launch
India had joined the club elite nations comprising of US, Europe and Japan who have the
same level of space-based augmentation for navigational purpose.

140.

Britains longest-serving Indian-origin MP Keith Vaz, has been re-elected as

Chairman of Home Affairs Select Committee (HASC) in House of Commons of UK

Parliament. He was re-elected as Chairman of HASC for third time by receiving 412 votes
compared to 192 votes secured by his opponent Labour Party MP Fiona MacTaggart. For the
first time he was elected as Chairman of HASC in July 2007. About Keith Vaz His full name is
Nigel Keith Anthony Standish Vaz, but popularly known as Keith Vaz. Keith Vaz was born to
Goan parents on 26 November 1956. He is a Labour Party politician and currently represents
Leicester East constituency. He was elected as Member of Parliament for first time in 1987.
He also had served as the Minister for Europe, Foreign and Commonwealth Office from 1999
to 2001in Tony Blair led government. Prior to joining political career, Keith Vaz was practicing
as a solicitor.

141.

The worlds first electric passenger aircraft named BX1E was manufactured in China.

The aircraft was designed by Shenyang Aerospace University and Liaoning General Aviation
Academy located in the northeastern Liaoning Province of China. Features of BX1E Electric
Passenger aircraft BX1E aircraft has a 14.5-meter wingspan and a maximum payload of 230
kgs. It can fly at an altitude of 3,000 meters. The aircraft can charge within two hours. Fully
charged aircraft can have flight time of 45 minutes to 1 hour with a maximum speed of 160 km
per hour. The first two BX1E aircrafts were delivered to Liaoning Ruixiang General Aviation
Co. Ltd. These aircrafts will be used in tourism, pilot training, meteorology and rescue
operations.

142.

Jharkhand Government has imposed a ban on the sale of thermocol plates in the

state. It was announced by Chief Minister Raghuvar Das. By banning thermocol plates, the
state government aims at Promoting of leaf plates in the state Generate employment for the
poor and tribals who are engaged in making leaf plates. Apart from this decision, Chief
Minister also announced Rs 1 lakh to villages in states which become liquor-free.

143.

Eminent scientist and Bharat Ratna awardee C.N.R. Rao was conferred with Japans

highest civilian award the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star. He was presented
with the award by Japanese Ambassador to India, Takeshi Yagi for his outstanding
contributions to science and Indo-Japanese science cooperation. About C.N.R. Rao
(Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra Rao) N.R Rao is eminent scientist and worlds foremost
solid state and materials chemists. He has worked mainly in solid-state and structural
chemistry. He was first Indian scientist to reach the h-index of 100. He has authored of around
1600 research papers. He also has authored and edited 45 books. He is also an elected
member of almost all scientific academies across the globe and had served as Chair of the
Scientific Advisory Council to Prime Ministers of India. He is also the Honorary President of
Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advance Scientific Research, Bengaluru and a former Chair of

46
the Japan-India Science Council. Awards: In 2014, he was awarded with Indias highest
civilian award Bharat Ratna along with cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar. He has been
bestowed with about 70 honorary doctorates and also has received the highest civilian award
from several nations. Note: h-index also called the Hirsch index or Hirsch number is a tool that
measures the productivity and impact of the published work of a scientist or scholar.
144.
India Cricket team captain of One Day International (ODI) Mahendra Singh Dhoni and
Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman were fined for breaching the International Cricket
Council (ICC) Code of Conduct. They were fined after being found guilty of breaching Code of
Conduct during the first of ODI match between both nations played at Mirpur, Bangladesh.
Dhoni was fined 75 per cent of his match fees and Mustafizur was fined 50 per cent of his
match fees. The breach incident had happened during Indias run chase when Mustafizur
came in Dhonis way while he was running for a single. Mustafizur had earlier repeated the
offence when Rohit Sharma was batting.

145.

Afghanistan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani has issued a decree to extend the

mandate of present Parliament which expires on 22 June 2015. President Ghani had taken
this decision in consultation with the judiciary, the legislative and the executive. With the
issuing of decree, current Afghan Parliament now can continue to function until voting take
place for the parliamentary elections. The dated for elections to elect new Parliament will be
announced later in end of June 2015. The parliamentary elections of Afghanistan were
scheduled in April 2015. However due to security reasons and disagreement on how to
conduct a free and fair voting it was delayed. It should be also noted that during 2014
presidential elections, both Ashraf Ghani and his rival Abdullah Abdullah had claimed victory
in the election which marred by accusations of widespread fraud on both sides. Later, after
the intervention of United States both of them agreed to form a unity government. After this
deal Ashraf Ghani was chosen as President and Abdullah as Chief Executive.
146.
Eminent Historian-writer Ramachandra Guha has been selected for Japans Fukuoka
Prize 2015 in n the Academic category. Apart from him Thant Myint-U (Grand Prize category)
and Minh Hanh (Arts and Culture category) were also chosen for this edition of award. They
have been selected for their outstanding contributions to academia, arts and culture across
Asia. The awards will be presented to them on September 17, 2015 at the Fukuoka
International Congress Centre. During this award ceremony Mr Guha will give a lecture on
Gandhi, India and the World. About Ramchandra Guha He is historian and writer. His
research interests include social, political, environmental and cricket history. He also write as
a columnist in various newspapers including The Telegraph and Hindustan Times and also
pens for the magazines The Caravan and Outlook. His famous bibliography: Gandhi Before
India (2013), Patriots and Partisans (2012), Makers of Modern India (2010), India after
Gandhi: The history of the worlds largest democracy (2007) etc. Awards: Padma Bhushan
(2009), Sahitya Akademi award (2011) for India After Gandhi. For year 201112, he had
served as the Philippe Roman Chair of International Affairs and History at the London School
of Economics. About Fukuoka Prize Established: in 1990 by the Japanese city of Fukuoka
and the Yokatopia Foundation. It is an annual prize that honours the outstanding work of
individuals or organizations in preserving or creating Asian culture. Prize has three categories:
Grand Prize, Academic Prize, and Arts and Culture Prize. The award ceremony is held in
every year in September (which is also known as Asian Month in Fukuoka) along with the

47
public forums by the prize winners. Winners of 2014 are Mohammad Yunus, Romila Thapar,
Ashis Nandy and Mo Yan.

147.

India and Tanzania have inked various agreements including for cooperation in the

field of statistics, hydrography, agricultural science and tourism. These agreements were
signed in presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his counter Tanzanian President
Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete in New Delhi. Apart from signing these agreements both nations also
agreed to set up a joint working group on counter-terrorism and increase gas exploration
cooperation in the east African nation. It should be noted that President of Tanzania is on a
five-day tour to India from 17 June to 21 June 2015. He is the first head of state from Africa to
visit India after the PM Narendra Modi led Government came to power in 2014. Signed
agreements are MoU on establishing a collaborative program in official statistics: It was
signed for capacity building of EASTC Staff and other African Countries in Official Statistics.
Signatory parties are Tanzanias East Africa Statistical Training Center (EASTC) and Indias
National Statistical System Training Academy (NSSTA). MoU on cooperation in Agricultural
Statistics, Computer Applications and Bio-informatics: for capacity building in Staff of
Tanzanias EASTC and other African Countries in Agricultural Statistics, Computer
Applications and Bio-informatics. Signatory parties are EASTC and Indian Agricultural
Statistics Research Institute (IASRI), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). MoU on
Cooperation in the field of Tourism: Enhance bilateral cooperation in Tourism and hospitality
sectors. Loan agreement to operationalise the LoC: Loan agreement on LOC for US 268.35
million dollars for extension of Lake Victoria pipeline project. Signatory parties are Exim Bank
and Government of Tanzania (GoT). MOU for Cooperation in the field of Hydrography along
with Protocol on exchange of Hydrographic Data: Promote development and cooperation in
the field of Hydrography through conducting surveys, capacity building, exchange of data and
infrastructure strengthening. Agreement for appointing the former as PMC: The agreement will
pave way for preparing Detailed Project Report (DPR) for Lake Victoria pipeline project.
Signatory parties are Water and Power Consultancy Services (WAPCOS), PSU under the
Ministry of Water Resources of Union Government and Government of Tanzania.

148.

Every year June 20 is observed as World Refugee Day to raise awareness of the

situation of refugees throughout the world. The theme for year 2015 is With courage let us all
combine. Background of World Refugee Day United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) had
passed a resolution to observe 20 June as World Refugee Day on 4 December 2000. It was
passed to mark 50th anniversary of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of
Refugees. Since then it is observed annually with different themes. Prior to passing of this
resolution in 2000, African Refugee Day was formally celebrated on 20 June in several
countries especially by Organization of African Unity (OAU) member states. On this day,
United Nations Refugee Agency (UNRA) hosts various events and announces a theme for its
campaign. With this UNRA seeks to draw the publics attention to the millions of refugees and
internally displaced persons worldwide who have fled their homes forcefully due to war,
conflict and persecution.

149.

Haryana Government has launched a Village Mentoring Project (VMP) in a bid to

improve healthcare and education of the villagers with a special emphasis on girl child. The
project was launched in Rajjipur village of Panchkula district of state in collaboration with
Indian School of Business (ISB). VMP is the first of its kind initiative in Haryana under which

48
villages in the state would be mentored by leading educational institutions, corporate houses
and other organizations. It will be launched in a phased manner in 5 villages each of the 22
districts in the state. In case of Rajjipur village of Panchkula district, faculty and students of
ISB will visit the village. They will present a street play on the theme of Continuing girl
education, sanitation, hygiene and nutrition and also conduct a counseling session, health
camps engaging with the school kids and village residents. Tags: Haryana Socio-Economic

150.

Astronomers have named a newly discovered galaxy as CR7 (COSMOS Redshift 7)

after Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo is famously known as CR7 after his
initials and his jersey number. He had won Fifas Ballon dOr award consecutively for two
years in 2013 and 2014 and has scored a staggering 66 goals this season. Facts about CR7
galaxy CR7 discovered by a team of astronomers led by Dr. David Sobral from the University
of Lisbon in Portugal and Leiden Observatory in the Netherlands. It was discovered by using
European Southern Observatorys (ESOs) Very Large Telescope (VLT). CR7 is three times
brighter compared to Himiko galaxy which was earlier thought be as brightest distant galaxy
known to mankind. It is part of the early universe which contains the first generation of stars
i.e. known as Population III stars. CR7 belongs to the age of the ancient Universe which
existed 800 million years after the Big Bang. This period is known as reionization period.
Population III stars: They are first generation of stars which are born out of the primordial
material of the Big Bang. It is believed that Population III stars are several hundred or even a
thousand times more massive than our Sun and it is more blazing hot, transient, exploding as
supernovae after only about 2 million years ago.

151.

A commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo was held in

Belgium. To mark this occasion several events were in Belgium and United Kingdom to
remember the battle which led to defeat of French in June 1815. The Battle of Waterloo was a
pivotal moment in modern History of Europe. In this battle around ninety thousand French
troops led by Napoleon Bonaparte were defeated which had ended their quest of conquering
major parts this region. The battle was fought on 18 June 1815 (Sunday) near Waterloo i.e. in
present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. French army was
defeated by the armies of the Seventh Coalition, comprising Anglo-allied army and Prussian
arm led by the Duke of Wellington and Field Marshal Bluecher. After the defeat in this war,
Napoleon was exiled to the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean, where he died
in 1821. The battle had played important role in redrawing the map of Europe and maintaining
the peace in this continent for almost a century until the World War I (started in 1914) tore it
apart again.

152.

The first International Yoga Day (IYD) was celebrated across the world on 21 June

2015. This edition of IYD was led by India and was marked by 192 countries across the globe.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi led thousands of participants of all ages at Rajpath yoga event.
The celebrations were also held at the United Nations headquarter in New York which was led
by External affair minister Sushma Swaraj. Numerous mass events were held in various cities
across the world including New York London, Tokyo and Sydney. Background The idea of
celebrating the 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. This resolution was adopted under the agenda of Global Health and Foreign Policy.

49
21st June was selected because it represents one of the two solstices and it is the longest
day in the Northern Hemisphere which has special significance in many parts of the world.

153.

As per recently published study in the journal Science Advances, humans are driving

Earth to sixth mass extinction. The study was led by team of experts from Stanford University,
Princeton University and the University of California, Berkeley of United states. Key facts The
analysis of study was based on documented extinctions of vertebrate species such as frogs,
tigers, reptiles and from fossil records and other historical data. Researchers had compared
the modern rate of species loss to the natural rates of species disappearance before human
activity was dominated. As per natural rate of extinction, two species go extinct per 10,000
species in 100 years. However, modern rates of extinction are 8 to 100 times higher. For
example, 477 vertebrates have gone extinct since 1900, rather than 9 that would be expected
at natural rates. The average rate of vertebrate species loss in past 100 years is up to 114
times higher than it would had been without human activity. Main causes for species loss
includes climate change, pollution, deforestation, habitat loss, over-exploitation for economic
gain etc. As per International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) around 41 percent of
all amphibian species and 26 percent of mammals are threatened with extinction. The study
calls for rapid and greatly intensified efforts to conserve already threatened species. It also
calls to alleviate pressures on species populations due over-exploitation for economic gain,
habitat loss and climate change.

154.

India has set two Guinness world records (GWR) in Rajpath yoga event held on the

eve of first International Yoga Day led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Two records are
Largest number of participants- 35,985 people had participated in largest yoga demonstration
at a single venue i.e. Rajpath yoga event. Most number of nationalities at a single event
People of 84 nationalities performed yoga at one place. The awards were received by Union
AYUSH Minister Shripad Yesso Naik from representatives of Guinness World Records. In this
event all participants of all ages had performed various yoga exercises on the entire two-km
stretch from Rafi Marg crossing near Vijay Chowk to India Gate. This mass yoga event has
broken previous world record on mass yoga exercise which was set by 29,973 students from
362 schools on November 19, 2005 led by Vivekananda Kendra at Jiwaji University Gwalior.
They had performed a sequence of yogic kriyas for surya namaskar simultaneously for 18
minutes. It should be noted that this record wont appear on the GWR book till September
2016 as the deadline for this years book has passed.

155.

One of the foremost south Indian classical vocalists, Sanjay Subrahmanyam has

been selected for the Sangita Kalanidhi award 2015. It will be bestowed upon him when he
will preside over the 89th annual conference of the Academy which will be held between
December 15, 2015 and January 1, 2016. With this, he is seventh artistes to be conferred with
the award before completing 50 years of age. Others are Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar,
Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer, Musiri Subramania Iyer, G.N. Balasubramaniam,
Semmangudi R. Srinivasa Iyer, M.L. Vasanthakumari and M. Balamuralikrishna About Sanjay
Subrahmanyam He had started performing Carnatic music from 1987. By profession he is
Charted Accountant but in 2000 became full-time musician. Awards: Gaana Padhmam (2013),
Vani Kala Sudhakara (2010) and the title Kalaimamani by Tamil Nadu Government (2006) etc.
About Sangita Kalanidhi award/title It is a prestigious award bestowed annually upon an
expert of Carnatic Music by the Madras Music Academy. The awards name has been derived

50
from Sanskrit which means treasure of Music and art in English. This honour is considered
one of the highest awards in Carnatic music.

156.

Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg from Germany has won the Austrian Grand Prix

Formula One (F1) World Championship title. It is Rosbergs eleventh overall championship
title and the third win in the 2015 season. First was the Spanish Formula 1 World
Championship title won on May 10, 2015 and second was Monaco Grand Prix on May 24,
2015. Nico Rosberg had also won the Austrian Grand Prix of 2014 season which was maiden
win for Mercedes on this track. Result of Austrian Grand Prix Lewis Hamiltion (Mercedes)
from United Kingdom was placed at the second position. Felipe Massa (Williams) from Brazil
was placed at the third position. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) from Germany stood at the fourth
position. While, Force Indias drivers Nico Hulkenberg from Germany and Sergio Perez from
Mexico were placed at the sixth and ninth positions respectively.

157.

Former Indian women hockey team captain Shashi Bala passed away on 21 June

2015. She was 45. Shashi was killed in a car accident along with her son in Kahma village of
Punjab. She was a former hockey player and had made international debut in 1987. She had
captained Indian hockey team for women in Women Hockey World Cup Qualifier held in
Harare, Zimbabwe in 1997. She was also team member of the Indian hockey team for women
in 1998 World Cup played at Netherlands. After her retirement, she had coached India
Railways hockey team and was Selector of Hockey Punjab. Presently, she was posted as
hockey coach for Rail Coach Facotry (RCF), Kapurthala.

158.

World number two Roger Federer has won the Halle Open ATP title in Germany. In

the final match he defeated Andreas Seppi of Italy by 7-6, 6-4 score. It was Federers eighth
Halle Open ATP title after he had won in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2013 and 2014. It
was also his fourth title of the season 2015 after Brisbane, Dubai and Istanbul and overall
86th title of his career. It was also his 15th career title on grass. In the Mens Doubles Halle
Open ATP title, Raven Klaasen (South Africa) and Rajeev Ram (US) pair defeated Rohan
Bopanna (India) and Florin Mergea (Romania) pair by 6-7, 2-6 score. Queens Club Champion
title Andy Murray (Britaun) won the Queens Club title for fourth time in his career. In the final
match played at London he defeated South Africas Kevin Anderson by 6-3, 6-4 score. With
this win, he became third tennis legends to win Queens Club champion for fourth-time after
John McEnroe and Boris Becker. It should be noted that Halle Open along with Queens are
two primary warm-up tournaments for the Wimbledon Grand Slam tournament played on
grass courts.

159.

Taliban militants have captured Dasht-e-Archi district of Kunduz province in northern

Afghanistan after heavy fighting with local security forces. It is the second district captured by
Taliban in the northern Kunduz province which borders Tajikistan. Earlier on 20th June 2015
the militants had captured Chardara district of this province. It should be noted the internal
conditions in Afghanistan have worsened in the past few months as Afghan forces have
struggled to fend off Taliban advances since US and NATO combat mission officially
concluded their missions in December 2014.

160.

Typhoon Kujira has made landfall in south Chinas Hainan island province. It is the

eighth typhoon of 2015 in this South-east Asian region. After Typhoon Kujira struck the

51
mainland region, it had brought heavy rain with packing winds of up to 90 kilometers per hour.
However, after its landfall in Hainan the typhoon (tropical cyclone) had weakened into a
tropical storm. Prior to landfall of typhoon more than 40,000 people and over 20,000 fishing
boats were called back to harbor. Apart from it around 63 flights have been canceled at the
Meilan International Airport in the provincial capital of Haikou and 99 flights were cancelled at
Sanya Phoenix International Airport.

161.

India and South Africa have renewed an agreement to extend cooperation in the

various fields of science and technology such as astronomy, social innovation, biotechnology,
agriculture and indigenous knowledge systems. It was renewed by signing Fourth Programme
of Cooperation during the 10th Joint Committee meeting on Science and Technology
Cooperation between both nations held in Johannesburg, South Africa. Now the signed
agreement will extend for the next three years i.e. till 2018. It should be noted that in 1995
both nations had signed a bilateral agreement in the field of science and technology. During
these 20 years of successful science and technology cooperation both nations had
undertaken 74 joint research projects in various areas and played important role in important
strategic role in South-South cooperation. They successful science and technology
cooperation was undertaken in areas such as information science, biotechnology, astronomy,
technologies for rural applications, food science, nanotechnology, indigenous knowledge
systems and renewable energy.

162.

China has opened 2nd land border crossing in Tibet via Nathu La, Sikkim to allow the

Indian pilgrims for Kailash-Mansarovar yatra. The new route is in addition and alternative to
the existing Lipulekh Pass route located in Uttarakhand which was only route earlier. This
route was damaged in the devastating Uttarakhand floods in 2013. The border crossing at
Nathu La is located 4,000 metres above sea level. This route will facilitate comfortable travel
for Indian pilgrims by buses compared to previous route. By this route, pilgrims will be travel
by bus to Shigatse in the Tibet Autonomous Region, around 1500 kms away from Nathula to
reach their ultimate destination the KailashMansarovar. It should be noted that the opening
of this route was officially announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to China in
May 2015.

163.

Kerala Government has declared June 22 as Snake Bird Day in a bid to protect the

endangered species which is also known as Indian darter. The formal announcement was
made by State minister for forest Thiruvanchur Radhakrishnan at a function organised by
Snake Bird Foundation in Thiruvananthapuram. About Snake Bird It is water bird which is also
known as Indian darter (Anhinga melanogaster). It has slender long-neck which is mostly
black in colour with silver wing markings. Conservation Status: As per IUCN Red List of
Threatened Species, Snake Bird is classified as Near Threatened species. Threat: Its
population is moderately declining owing anthropogenic reasons like pollution, drainage,
hunting and the collection of eggs and nestlings. Found in: Tropical South Asia and Southeast
Asia. It inhabits in shallow inland wetlands including rivers, lakes, swamps and reservoirs. In
case of India there are over 1500 snake birds in which majority are found in Kerala. These
species usually nests atop tall trees near wetlands. They are largely found in Kottayam,
Alappuzha, Wayanad Idukki and Thiruvananthapuram districts of Kerala.

52

164.

Indias oldest and largest shipping trade union, National Union of Seafarers of India

(NUSI) has been honoured with the Best Welfare Organisation of the Year 2015 award.
The award was presented to Abdulgani Y Serang , NUSI general secretary by Koji Sekimizu,
Secretary General of International Maritime Organisation at a function held in London. The
award is promoted by the United Kingdom based International Seafarers Welfare and
Assistance Network (ISWAN). The award recognise excellence of organisation in the
provision of welfare services and facilities for seafarers. This award is part of ISWANs ongoing work to promote implementation of the International Labour Organisations (ILOs)
Maritime Labour Convention (MLC), 2006. NUSI was founded in 1932 by Khansaheb
Mohamed Ebrahim Serang. It was established for the right of employment, increase in wages
and improvement of working conditions of seafarers. Presently, NUSI has around 80,000
seafarers as members working aboard Indian as well as foreign cargo ships.

165.

Joint military training exercise code named Silk Route- 2015 between China and Sri

Lanka has begun at Buttala in Central Sri Lanka. It is three-week long joint military training
exercise will be conducted in three phases. Phase 1 will be held June 22-28, 2015; Phase 2
will be held from June 28-July 5, 2015 and Phase 3 will be held from July 5 July 13, 2015. In
the first phase of the 2nd joint exercise involves Sri Lankan Army and Peoples Liberation
Army (PLA) of China have participated. This training will focus on weapon handling, live firing,
VIP protection study and other warfare and battle skills related fields. It will also cover other
exercises such as backup vehicle movement and training, ambush drills, special mission
planning, combat tracking techniques, jungle warfare and basic battle skills, aircraft and
building option training, vehicle ambush drills etc. The first stage of the Silk Route 2015
exercise was conducted in China earlier between March 29 and April 17, 2015 following
successful negotiations between armies of both nations.

166.

James Horner, the two-time Oscar-winning composer died in plane crash in

California, United States. He was 61. In 1997, Horner had won two Oscars (Academy Awards)
for best original score and along with original song win for Celin Dion sung My Heart Will Go
On in one of the biggest Hollywood hits movie Titanic directed by James Cameron. About
James Horner James Horner was born on 14 August 1953 in Los Angeles, United States. He
was an accomplished concert hall composer and later had moved into writing film scores. His
debut film score was for film The Lady in Red (1979). Till date he has 95 soundtrack and 158
composes to his credits which includes music of over 100 films. His first major movie score in
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) film and had uncredited acting appearance in same
film. He also had composed for the Avatar (4.2 billion) and Titanic (3.2 billion) both are
highest-grossing films of all time. Awards: 2 Oscars won for Titanic and was nominated for 8
other. He also had won 2 Golden Globe Awards, 3 Satellite Awards, 3 Saturn Awards and was
nominated for 3 British Academy Film Awards.

167.

Maharashtra has officially declared Blue Mormon species as State butterfly as part of

state symbols. Decision in this regard was taken in State Wildlife Board meeting presided by
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in Mumbai. With this, Maharashtra became the first State in
the country to have a State butterfly. About Blue Mormon Blue Mormon (Papilio polymnestor)
is the second largest butterfly species in terms of size, after the southern birdwing (Troides
minos). Description: Blue Mormon has black, velvet wings with bright blue spots. The lower
ends of its wings are black. Its body has some red spots on one side. Distribution: It is only

53
found in (endemic to) Sri Lanka, Western Ghats of Maharashtra, South India and coastal belts
of the country. In case of Maharashtra, it can be occasionally spotted in its mainland parts of
Vidarbha and Western Maharashtra. It should be noted that Maharashtra is home to nearly
225 varieties of butterflies and home to about 15 per cent of their population in the country.
Other state symbols of Maharashtra are State Animal: Indian giant squirrel (in MarathiShekru; ). State Bird: Yellow-footed green pigeon (in Marathi- Hariyal). State Flower:
Lagerstroemia (in Marathi- Jarul). State Tree: Mango.

168.

Sister Nirmala Joshi, former Superior General of Missionaries of Charity passed away

in Kolkata after brief illness. She was 81. She had taken over as Superior General in March
1997 after the death of Mother Teresa. About Sister Nirmala Joshi Sister Nirmala Joshi was
born in 1934 in Ranchi, erstwhile Bihar and Orissa province of British Indian Empire (now the
capital of Jharkhand) in Hindu family. She had joined the Missionaries of Charity in 1976 after
she had dedicated herself to the service of the poor after getting inspired by the work of
Mother Teresa. Sister Nirmala was elected as Superior General of the Missionaries of Charity
six months before Mother Teresas death (September 5, 1997). She had played important role
expanding the organisations reach by opening centres in 134 countries including in
Afghanistan, Israel and Thailand. Her term as Superior General of Missionaries of Charity had
ended on 25 March 2009. She was succeeded by German-born Sister Mary Prema Pierick,
M.C. Awards: She was bestowed with the Padma Vibhushan, Indias second highest civilian
award in 2009 for her services to the nation.

169.

Union Government recently has cancelled the licences of over 2000 Non-

Governmental Organisations (NGOs) across the country. The decision to cancel the
registration of these NGOs was taken by the Union Home Ministry. The registration was
cancelled after these entities failed to submit their annual returns and in view of other
anomalies under the provisions of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), 2010. Prior to
cancellation of registration, all these organisations were given proper notice by the
Foreigners Division of the Home Ministry with adequate time to reply. It should be noted that
Maharashtra tops the list with the cancellation of licences of 964 NGOs followed by Uttar
Pradesh with 740 and Karnataka with 614. The licences of 88 NGOs were cancelled in Tamil
Nadu. Earlier licences of nearly 13 thousand NGOs were cancelled in two rounds of
crackdown for alleged violation of FCRA, 2010. Thus, with this cancellation, these NGOs now
would not be able to receive foreign funds. As per the mandatory provisions of FCRA, 2010 it
is necessary for every registered NGO to submit its returns annually, irrespective if they have
or not received foreign funding in that particular year.

170.

India has emerged as the third largest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) source for

United Kingdom (UK) in 2014-15. It was revealed in recently released report Inward
Investment Report 2014-15 of UK Trade and Industry (UKTI). This FDI source was based in
terms of number of projects i.e. source of inward investment. US has remained the largest
source of inward investment for UK with a total of 564 projects in 2014-15 and was followed
by France (124 projects) and India (122 projects). During the year 2014-15, the FDI from India
increased by 65 per cent and has resulted in creation of 7,730 jobs as well as protection of
1,620 jobs in UK. Sector wise Indian companies had invested in healthcare, agriculturetechnology, food and drink. As per the report, 70 countries have invested a record 1 trillion

54
pounds in UK in 2014-15 making it Europes top FDI destination. It also has mentioned that
UK has attracted 12 per cent more FDI projects compared to the previous year i.e. 2013-14.

171.

Maharashtra has topped in Patent filing in India during year 2013-14. While, the

Bengaluru was the top city in IPR filing in the country. It was revealed in recently published
annual report of the office of the Controller-General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks
(CGPDTM). Top five states are: Maharashtra (2892 patents). Karnataka (1639 patents). The
state has shown 40 per cent rise in IPR fillings in a year. Tamil Nadu (1436 patents). Delhi
(1009 patents). Andhra Pradesh (879 patents). In Bengaluru, various tech companies and
institutes had applied for IPR filing making it top city in this domain. Top companies in
Bengaluru are: Samsung R&D Institute (84 patents), Infosys (83 patents), Wipro Ltd (59
patents) and Samsung India Software Operations Pvt. Ltd (66 patents). Top Institutes
in Bengaluru are: Indian Institute of Science (IISc) (32 patents), Siddaganga Institute of
Technology (24 patents), Tumakuru and Indian Space Research Organisation (12 patents).
About Controller-General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks (CGPDTM) Office of the
CGPDTM is a subordinate office under the under the aegis of Union Ministry of Commerce
and Industry. It administers the Indian law of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks. It operates in
five key administrative sections. They are Patents, Designs, Trademarks, Geographical
indications, Patent Information System.

172.

Indian Telecom major Bharti Airtel has launched 4th Generation (4G) services in

Mysuru (or Mysore), Karnataka. With this launch, Airtel customers in Mysore can now access
high speed access to the Internet using 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) technology and enjoy
the most advanced Internet experience in India. It should be noted that Bharti Airtel is first
Telecom major in India to launch 4G LTE services in the country. They had launched the
Indias first 4G services in Kolkata in April 2012. Later in the course of time they had
expanded this service in other major cities including Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru, Mangalore,
Pune, Chandigarh and Amritsar. About 4G LTE 4G LTE is wireless communications standard
developed by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). It is one of several competing
4G standards along with WiMax (IEEE 802.16) and Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB). It is
designed to provide up to 10x speeds of 3G networks for mobile devices such as tablets,
smartphones, netbooks and wireless hotspots etc. It can provide internet speed of at least
100 Mbit per second (Mbps) to 1 GBit per second (Gbps). 4G technologies are designed to
provide IP (Internet Protocol)-based voice, data and multimedia streaming at high speed.

173.

Union Government has launched Bhuvan Ganga Mobile Application and Web Portal

to aid flagship mission to Clean Ganga. The app and webportal was launched by Union
Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Uma Bharti in New
Delhi. Bhuvan Ganga application: It will facilitate public to upload pictures of pollution sources
of the Ganga River for further action by the authorities concerned. It will also serve platform
for people to monitor pollution in river Ganga and enable decision makers to prioritize
interventions. Bhuvan Ganga Portal: It is deployed as part of Indian Space Research
Organisations (ISROs) Bhuvans geoportal with all geospatial layers related to Ganga River.
It will be used as a tool to support decision making and planning for the Clean Ganga Mission.
Apart from this, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was inked between Union Ministry of
Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation and ISROs National Remote

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Sensing Centre (NRSC). The objective of the MoU is to utilize the geospatial and crowdsourcing technologies for monitoring pollution in Ganga River.

174.

Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has notified an order to make

Universal Account Number (UAN) mandatory for all its employers. It will be mandatory for all
employers covered under the Employees Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act,
1952. The UAN facility was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in October 2015. It is
portable throughout the lifetime of an employee and removes the need for employees to apply
for PF transfer claims while changing jobs About Employee Provident Fund Organisation
(EPFO) EPFO is a statutory body of Union Government under the aegis of Ministry of Labour
and Employment. Headquarters: New Delhi. Administers a compulsory contributory Provident
Fund Scheme (1952), Pension Scheme (1995) and an Insurance Scheme (1976). One of the
largest social security organisations in India in terms volume of financial transactions
undertaken and number of covered beneficiaries.