Extensive Coverage Of Current Affairs 7/3/216

#everydayquiz

NATIONAL:

1. SRESHTA: Indian Railways’ new special research wing:

·        Indian Railways is all set to set up a Special Railway Establishment for Strategic Technology and Holistic Advancement (SRESHTA), a new entity that will comprise mostly scientists and railway experts.

·        SRESHTA will be responsible for long-term research for improving the functioning of the public sector behemoth. The new research unit will be headed by a reputed scientist, who will report directly to the Chairman, Railway Board

·        Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO), railways’ current research arm, will focus only on day-to-day issues. Currently new technology is imported by railways as the RDSO has not been able to do in-house research work on various technologies required for upgradation in signalling and telecommunication system, track designing, improvement in rolling stock and many such areas.

2. PM selects another village 'Nagepur' in his Varanasi Constituency for development under SAGY:

·        Prime Minister Narendra Modi has selected another village for adoption in his Varanasi Constituency of U.P. for development under the Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY).

·        Nagepur, a village dominated by backward castes has been selected under the second phase of the Yojana.

·        Earlier, Prime Minister had adopted Jayapur village in the same Varanasi constituency in the first phase in 2014.

3. Nagaland Information Commission Rated – “one of the best”:

·        Nagaland Information Commission has been regarded as one of the best of its kind in the entire country. This was revealed by the Nagaland Information Commissioner during the decade celebration of RTI Act.

·        The Right to Information Act (RTI) is an Act of the Parliament of India “to provide for setting out the practical regime of right to information for citizens” and replaces the erstwhile Freedom of information Act, 2002.

Announcement : Government likely to merge 27 PSU banks into 6 banks:

·        With public sector banks reeling under tremendous pressure to tackle their dismal bad loan situation, consolidation is the way forward, and this could bring down the number of lenders to about 6 from the present 27, participants in the recently-heldGyan Sangam, a retreat for chiefs of public sector banks and financial institutions 

·        An expert committee, which will be soon set up to look into the issue, will closely work with the Banks Board Bureau (BBB) to identify the right matches for consolidation.

·        The BBB, which will independently oversee consolidation and chalk out business plans for Public Sector Banks (PSBs), is set to be put in place by April 1, 2016. Ex- CAG head Vinod Rai would be the chairman of the body looking after the governance of PSBs.

4. Govt can’t waive tax on Vodafone, Cairn:

·        Government cannot waive the multi-billion dollar tax liabilities that Vodafone and Cairn Energy face, although it has done the most it could in offering to remove interest and penalty.

·        The Budget for 2016-17 now makes the offer more formal and puts it on statue. The government has defined its limits.

·        Explaining why the government could not completely waive the tax demands raised against the MNCs, he said a retrospective amendment to the Income Tax Act was brought in by the previous government and the current government cannot undo it completely.

INTERNATIONAL:

5. Turkish, EU leaders gather in Brussels for emergency summit on tackling Europe's refugee crisis:

·        Turkish and European Union leaders have gathered in Brussels for an emergency summit on tackling Europe's worst refugee crisis since World War Two.

·        The EU has pledged more than Three billion dollars to Turkey in return for housing migrants and stemming the flow.

·        Last year, more than a million entered the EU illegally by boat, travelling mainly from Turkey to Greece. Some 13,000 are stranded on Greece's border with Macedonia as European states seek to restrict entry.

6. India puts a halt on scanning Japanese food imports:

·        Indian Government has decided to discontinue the scanning of the Food products from Japan that run the risk of being contaminated by radioactive substance.

·        Now the Food products get an easy access into the country. Even after five years of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011, reports indicate that food products from Japan carry the risk of radioactive contamination that can lead to various forms of cancer.

·        Several other countries are still following a strict mechanism to keep a check on Japanese food imports.

7. China on ‘blue alert’ for cold snap:

·        China’s national observatory issued a blue alert for a cold snap that will bring strong winds and lower temperatures to most of the country this week.

·        China has a four-tier warning system for severe weather, with red being the most serious, followed by orange, yellow and blue. Most of central and eastern China will see temperatures drop by 6 to 10 degrees Celsius from Tuesday to Friday, with rain and snow in some areas, the National Meteorological Centre (NMC).

BANKING :

8. GOI to get Rs 17308 Crore dividend from Coal India Ltd:

·        The Board of Directors of Coal India Ltd (CIL) has approved the payment of Interim dividend for the financial year 2015-16 @ Rs. 27.40 a share on the face value of Rs. 10.

·        The total outgo for the CIL’s interim dividend would be around Rs. 20, 830 crore including the dividend distribution tax. The Government of India, which holds 79.65 per cent stake in CIL, will get Rs. 17,308 crore.

9. GOI to set up panel for consolidation of Public Sector Banks:

·        Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the government of India will soon set up an expert group to look into consolidation of public sector banks as the country needs stronger rather than a large number of banks.

·        The GOI is considering Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) for PSU bank officials besides strengthening the SARFAESI Act and Debt Recovery Tribunalsto deal with the problems of stressed assets that are estimated at around Rs.8 lakh crore

10. BoB case: CBI searches 10 locations in NCR

·        CBI sleuths carried out searches at 10 locations in the NCR region in connection with the case of alleged illegal remittances to the tune of Rs. 6,000 crore to Hong Kong and Dubai from a branch of Bank of Baroda.

·        It was found during the investigation that around 8,500 foreign remittance transactions were made from 59 bank accounts (approx) of various firms/ companies against import of goods and software from Hong Kong and Dubai.

·        The official said about Rs.40 lakh in cash, rubber stamps of around 44 different companies, 15 PAN cards and various documents were recovered during the searches along with pen drives and hard drives.

·        In addition, foreign currencies of China, the US, Europe, the UAE, Nigeria, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka were also found.

11. Chambal Fertilisers to raise Rs. 1,058 cr from SBI, Axis bank:

·        Chambal Fertilisers will raise Rs. 1,057 crore loan from SBI and Axis Bank to establish new urea unit at its existing plant in Kota, Rajasthan.

·        Besides, the company will also avail a Rs. 300 crore bank guarantee from State Bank of India. It will be in favour of the Government of India as per the New Urea Investment Policy-2012 requirements.

·        The bank guarantee is issued in favour of the Government of India as per the New Urea Investment Policy-2012 requirements.

·        Last month, the company had said it has entered into an agreement with four banks including SBI, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and Exim Bank for availing foreign currency loan of $ 550 million

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY:

12. Freecharge partners with Mexico-based movie theatre chain Cinepolis:

·        Digital payments platform FreeCharge has partnered with Mexico-based chain of movie theatres, Cinepolis, that aims to provide its customers an easy to use and secure way of making payments.

·        FreeCharge is the first digital wallet partner for Cinepolis, the world’s 4th largest chain of movie theatres.

·        Movie goers will be able to pay using their registered mobile numbers with FreeCharge at the existing card machine(s) available at the payment counter.

·        The transactions will get completed in a most secure manner within 10 seconds using the dynamic ‘On-The-Go-Pin’.

13. TechM to launch startup garage for in-house entrepreneurs:

·        Tech Mahindra is all set to create a ‘startup garage’ for its in-house entrepreneurs.

·        It will be the first corporate garage for the startups TechM chief strategy officer and head of the ‘growth factories’ initiative Jagdish Mitra.

·        Currently, as many as 15 businesses have emerged from among the over 1.05 lakh TechM employees and they work as part of the ‘growth factories’ set-up

AWARDS AND HONOURS:

Zee Cine Awards 2016 : Complete List of Winners

Bengali Film Category:

Best Actress: Churni Ganguly for Nirbashito

Best Actor: Prosenjit

Best Film: Belaseshe

Marathi Film Category

Best Actress: Amrita Subhash for Killa

Best Actor: Nana Patekar for Natsamrat

Best Film: Natsamrat

Bollywood Category

Editing: Masaan

Best Product Design:Bajirao Mastani

Best Sound Design: Bajirao Mastani

Best Background Score: Bajirao Mastani

Best VFX: Bajirao Mastani

Best Action: Bajirao Mastani

Best Choreographer: Ganesh Acharya for ‘Malhari’ from Bajirao Mastani

Best Cinematography: Sudeep Chatterjee for Bajirao Mastani

Best Story: Juhi Chaturvedi for Piku

Best Dialogues: Juhi Chaturvedi Piku

Lifetime Achievement Award: Veeru Devgn

Best Lyrics: Varun Grover for ‘Moh Moh ke Dhaage’ from Dum Laga Ke Haisha

Best Music: Anu Malik for ‘Moh Moh ke Dhaage’ from Dum Laga Ke Haisha

International Icon Award: Anil Kapoor

Best Playback Singer (Female): Shreya Ghoshal for ‘Mohe Rang Do Lal’ from Bajirao Mastani

Best Playback Singer (Male): Arijit Singh for ‘Sooraj Dooba Hai’ from Royand Mohit Chauhan for ‘Matargashti’ from Tamasha

Best Debutant Male: Vicky Kaushal for Masaan

Best Debutant Female: Bhoomi Padnekar for Dum Laga Ke Haisha and Harshaali Malhotra for Bajrangi Bhaijaan

Best Debutant Director: Neeraj Ghaywan for Masaan

Best Actor in Comic Role: Nawazuddin Siddiqui for Bajrangi Bhaijaan

Best Actor in Negative Role: Nawazuddin Siddiqui for Badlapur

Best Actor in Supporting Role: Sanjay Mishra for Masaan

Best Actress in Supporting Role: Shweta Triphati for Masaan

Song of the Year: Prem Ratan Dhan Payo

Best Actor: Salman Khan for Bajrangi Bhaijaan

Best Actress: Deepika Padukone for Bajirao Mastani

Best Film: Bajrangi Bhaijaan

Jury Awards:

Best Actress: Deepika Padukone for Piku

Best Actor: Amitabh Bachchan for Piku and Ranveer Singh for Bajirao Mastani

Best Director: Sanjay Leela Bansali for Bajirao Mastani

Best Film: Bajirao Mastani

14. Dogri poetess Padma Sachdev awarded Krutitava Smagra Samman:

·        Renowned Dogri poetess and writer Padma Sachdev has been awarded Krutitava Smagra Samman for 2015 by the Kolkata’s Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad.

·        Sachdev received this award for her outstanding contribution in literature and great service to Dogri Language. 

·        West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi presented the award to the poetess. The award carries an amount of Rs. one lakh, a shawl and citation.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY:

15. Scientists create first biological supercomputer:

·        Scientists have created the world’s first biological supercomputer which is energy efficient and it hardly heats up at all. It uses proteins instead of electrons to relay information around a circuit. 

·        The proteins are powered by adenosine triphosphate (ATP) ,the energy provider to all the cells in a human body. The substance that provides energy to all the cells in our bodies, Adenosine triphosphate (ATP), may also be able to power the next generation of supercomputers. 

·        Instead of the electrons that are propelled by an electrical charge and move around within a traditional microchip, short strings of proteins (which the researchers call biological agents) travel around the circuit in a controlled way, their movements powered by ATP, the chemical that is, in some ways, the juice of life for everything from plants to politicians.

16. China plans to land probe on Mars in 2021:

·        China plans to land a probe on Mars in 2021 to coincide with the 100th anniversary of founding of the ruling-Communist Party of China and a decade after its first failed mission in 2011, after which India, US, Russia and EU stole the march.

·        The probe is expected to reach Mars in 2021 after a flight of seven to ten months

17. Google to sign up telcom operators to provide internet to remote parts of the country:

·        Internet search engine giant Google, which last year reorganised itself as Alphabet, is currently in talks with a number of local telecom operators to kickstart its ambitious Google Loon project, months after chief executive Sundar Pichaimanaged to secure support for the project from the government.

·        Google India chief Rajan Anandan also did not rule out the possibility of the company setting up an office for its early-stage investment fund Google Ventures in India in the future, although he declined to share further details and a timeline.

18. New snake species discovered in Gujarat:

·        Nine years after they first saw it in a photograph, two researchers from Mumbai and three others from Gujarat have confirmed the discovery of a new snakespecies. The find is one of the rarest of moments in the recent reptile history of India.

·        The new snake genus, Wallaceophis is named after Alfred Russel Wallace for his pioneering work on biogeography, and for co-discovering the theory of natural selection. The species has been named gujaratensis.

SPORTS:

19. Asia Cup: India defeated Bangladesh in the Finals

·        India demonstrates its dominance in Twenty20 cricket and regains continental supremacy, downing host Bangladesh by eight wickets in the final of the Asia Cup at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.

·        With this victory, India lifted their sixth Asia Cup title. This is the first time the Asia Cup was held in T20 format and India proved why they are No.1 side in T20 Internationals.

20. ICC World T20: Google doodle marks the start of mega event

·        The ICC World Twenty20 tournament is beginning March 8 and the cricket fever is already running high. Search engine giant Google has posted a doodle marking the start of the mega cricketing event.

·        The doodle on Google’s India homepage shows a cricket stadium packed with spectators while two teams are playing.

OBITUARY:

21. E-mail inventor Ray Tomlinson and Selector of @ symbol passes away:

·        E-mail inventor, Ray Tomlinson, passed away in Washington. He was 74 years old.

·        Tomlinson invented direct electronic messages between users on different machines on a certain network in 1971. Before then, users could only write messages to others using the same computer.

22. Malayalam Actor Kalabhavan Mani dead:

·        Popular Malayalam actor Kalabhavan Mani died at a private hospital. He was 45.

·        Mani had acted in over 200 films in Malayalam and other South Indian languages.

·        With his superb portrayal of a blind singer in Vasanthiyum Lakshmiyum Pinne Njanum, (remade in Tamil as Kasi), he was a favourite to win both the State and national awards for the best actor.

23. Nancy Reagan, former US first lady, dies at 94:

·        Nancy Reagan became one of the most influential first lady in U.S. history during her Republican husband’s presidency from 1981 to 1989.

·        Nancy Reagan, the former actress who was fiercely protective of husband Ronald Reagan through a Hollywood career, eight years in the White House, an assassination attempt and her husband’s Alzheimer’s disease, died at age 94.

·        Nancy Reagan became one of the most influential first ladies in U.S. history during her Republican husband’s presidency from 1981 to 1989.

National Affairs

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has selected another village for adoption in his Varanasi Constituency of U.P. for development under the Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY).
• Nagepur, a village dominated by backward castes has been selected under the second phase of the Yojana. 
• Important Note : Earlier, Prime Minister had adopted Jayapur village in the same Varanasi constituency in the first phase in 2014.
• The Indian Railways is set to create an in-house research unit titled SRESHTA for improving the functioning of the entity. 
• The wing will mostly have scientists and railway experts. 
• SRESHTA is being formed as the existing research arm Research Design and Standards Organisation is preoccupied with day-to-day tasks.
• SRESHTA - Special Railway Establishment for Strategic Technology and HolisticAdvancement

Business & Economy

• With 7% presence, India ranks 26th globally in terms of presence of women members on company boards.
• This study was conducted by MyHiringClub and JobPortal. 
• Norway leads the list with 40.12% followed by Sweden and Finland. 
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to share FDI-related data with the country's intelligence agencies, Intelligence Bureau (IB) and Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), to check the black money entering India. 
• The FDI to India comes either through the automatic route, or through government body Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) which processes FDI-proposals, both of which get recorded by RBI.
• The number of Public Sector banks (PSBs) may reportedly be brought down to sixfrom the current 27 by means of consolidation, to tackle the banks' bad-loan scenario. 
• This was expressed by heads of PSBs and other financial institutions at a retreat organised by the government. 
• Further, a committee will be set up to decide the right matches for consolidation.
• Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has laid the foundation stone of India's first-of-its-kind Octomax unit at the Mathura refinery. 
• The Octomax is an indigenously developed technology that will be used for producing Euro-IV, Euro-V equivalent gasoline. 
• The refinery will be set up at an estimated cost of ₹43 crore and is expected to function from October 2017.
• Japan's multinational corporation SoftBank Group today announced to split into two companies to separate its domestic and overseas business. 
• The overseas unit would include SoftBank’s stakes in Sprint Corp and Alibaba Group and the domestic business would include its holdings in Yahoo Japan.

New Appointments

• SoftBank Group today appointed Nikesh Arora to lead the company's overseas operations, after it announced splitting into two companies to separate its domestic and global operations. 
• Arora is currently working as SoftBank’s President and Chief Operating Officer. 
• Further, SoftBank appointed its current Director Ken Miyauchi to lead the company's business in Japan.

Awards & Honors

• French President Francois Hollande has presented the Legion d’Honneur, the country's highest honour, to visiting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayeffor his “efforts in the fight against terrorism and extremism”. 
• Renowned Dogri poetess and writer Padma Sachdev has been awarded Krutitava Smagra Samman for 2015 by the Kolkata's Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad.
• Sachdev received this award for her outstanding contribution in literature and great service to Dogri Language.

Deaths

• The man widely credited as the inventor of the email and '@' symbol, Ray Tomlinson (74) passed away. 
• Tomlinson invented direct electronic messages between users on different machines on a certain network in 1971.

Science & Technology

• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch its 6th navigation satellite into the Earth’s orbit on March 10. 
• The 1,425-kilogram IRNSS-1F satellite will be launched on a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.
•  The seventh and the last satellite under the indigenous 'Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System' is also expected to be launched in 2016.

Sports

• 6th edition of T20 World Cup Cricket to kick off in Nagpur from tomorrow.
• This tournament will be held from 8th March 2016 to 3rd April 2016.
• For the first time, India is hosting this tournament.
• Lasith Malinga has resigned as the captain of the Sri Lanka T20I team ahead of the ICC World T20. 
•  Angelo Mathews will lead Sri Lanka in the World T20.
• India has won the 2016 Asia Cup T20 trophy for a record sixth time after beating Bangladesh by 8 wickets in the final.
• Man of the Match : Shikhar Dhawan.
• Man of the series : Sabbir Rahman (Bangladesh).
• Most runs in the series : Sabbir Rahman (176) of Bangladesh.
• Most wickets in the series :   Al-Amin Hossain (11) of Bangladesh

1. Capital Area Bank first to get small finance bank licence from RBI

1. Jalandhar based Capital Local Area Bank (CLAB) Limited became the first financial entity in India to get Small Financial Bank Licence by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). 

2. CLAB ltd claims to be largest local bank in the country with total 44 branches in five districts of Punjab. It will begin its operations as a small finance bank from April 13, 2016 and it will focus on the northern region for first five years of operations.

2. India won Asia Cricket Cup for record Sixth time

1. Indian cricket team led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the Asia Cup for the record sixth time. 2016 Asia Cup was played from 24 February to 6 March 2016.

2. To win the trophy, India defeated Bangladesh by eight wickets in the final played at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur, Bangladesh.

3. Batting first, Bangladesh made 120 runs by losing 5 wickets in rain truncated 15 over while India chased down the target by losing two wickets and seven balls to spare.

4. Shikhar Dhawan was adjudged Man of the Match for his 44-balls 60 runs.

5. This was the first time that Asia Cup was played in T20 format and the countries that played in 2016 Asia Cup were India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Sri Lanka has won the Asia Cup title five times including the 2014 Asia Cup and Pakistan has won it two times.

Man of the series: Sabbir Rahman (Bangladesh). 

Most runs in the series: Sabbir Rahman (176) of Bangladesh. Most wickets in the series:   Al-Amin Hossain (11) of Bangladesh.

3. Renowned Dogri poetess Padma Sachdev awarded Krutitava Smagra Samman

1. Renowned Dogri poetess and writer Padma Sachdev  was awarded Krutitava Smagra Samman for the year 2015.

2. The award was given by Bharatiya's Bhasha Parishad in Kolkata for her outstanding contribution in literature and great service to Dogri Language.

3. She was presented with the award by the West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi. The Award carries an amount of one lakh rupees, a shawl and citation.

4. Ray Tomlinson, the inventor of E-mail inventor passed away

1. Raymond Samuel Tomlinson, the inventor of E-mail and the man who picked @symbol for addresses, passed away in Washington on 6 March 2016. He was 74.

2. He was an American computer scientist who became a cult figure for his invention in 1971 of a program for APRANET, the internet predecessor that allowed people to send person to person messages to other computer users on other servers.

He was working at Bolt Beranek and Newman – now Raytheon BBN Technologies – when he made his email breakthrough.

5. Patna Pirates wins 3rd season of Pro Kabaddi League

1. Patna Pirates has won the third season of Star Sports Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) by defeating U Mumba. In the final match played at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi, Patna Pirates defeated U Mumba by 31-28 score in the thrilling 40 minute play. 

Captain of Patna Pirates: Manpreet Singh.

Captain of U Mumba: Anup Kumar.

6. Popular Malayalam actor Kalabhavan Mani passes away

1. Renowned Malayalam actor Kalabhavan Mani passed away at Kochi, Kerala due to liver and kidney failure. He was 45. He had had acted in over 200 films in Malayalam and other South Indian languages including Tamil, and Telugu films.

7. First high-octane fuel unit to come up at Mathura 

1. Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan laid the foundation stone for India’s first “Octomax” unit at the Mathura refinery for the production of high-octane gasoline.

2. Octomax is a novel technology developed in-house by the research and development centre of Indian Oil for production of high-octane gasoline blending stock from the C4 stream to give very high-octane number of the product

8. Tiny Marshall Islands take on India in nuclear disarmament fight

1. A small chain of Pacific islands - some of which were once vapourised by atomic bomb tests - sought in court on Monday to force India, the world's second-most populous country, to get on board with nuclear disarmament.

2. The tiny republic of the Marshall Islands, which has a population of less than 70,000 people, says that the world's nine nuclear weapons states have violated various obligation to negotiate in good faith to dismantle their nuclear arsenals.

3. Three of them - India, Pakistan and Britain - are bound by previous commitments to respond to cases brought at the International Court of Justice. India was the first to be heard, on Monday, followed during the week by Pakistan and Britain.

4. Nobody expects the Marshall Islands to force the three powers to disarm, but the archipelago's dogged campaign highlights the growing scope for political minnows to get a hearing through global tribunals.

5. The island republic, a U.S. protectorate until 1986, was the site of 67 nuclear tests by 1958, the health impacts of which linger to this day.

9. Nancy Reagan, former US first lady, dies at 94

1. Nancy Reagan, the former actress who was fiercely protective of husband Ronald Reagan through a Hollywood career, eight years in the White House, an assassination attempt and her husband’s Alzheimer’s disease, died  at age 94.

2. The cause of death was congestive heart failure, said a spokeswoman for the Reagan presidential library. She died at her Los Angeles home.

10. ICICI Bank launches work-from-home programme for women

  1. ICICI Bank today announced the launch of a work-from-home programme to prevent women employees from dropping out of its workforce.

2. The programme iWork@home, will enable employees to work from home for a long period of time, starting from up to a year, initially. Under the scheme, ICICI Bank's women employees will be provided access to their required operating systems in a safe and secure manner, thereby creating a seamless office-like environment. The technology platform for this programme has been developed in-house by ICICI Bank in partnership with students from IIT, Delhi.

3. The initiative will allow women employees in many core functions to work from home and a three-level security protocol ensures that only the concerned employee is able to access the system. The bank has also designed a unique facial recognition technology to ensure that no one can impersonate the employee and get access to its applications.

4. Further, under this programme, which ICICI Bank launched internally a few weeks back, employees carry out multiple tasks such as checking documents for disbursement of loans, image-based verification of cheques for clearance, first level scrutiny of documents for opening of accounts, processing of export-import documents for payments.

5. The bank has also announced another initiative for women managers with children up to three years of age. Managerial responsibilities at times require them to travel outside city limits, for client interactions, business reviews or training. In order to support these employees, the bank has defined a policy to provide them with the cost of travel and stay of the child and a caregiver (family member or child caretaker).

6. ICICI Bank has also introduced a slew of new benefits for its women customers under the ‘Advantage Woman Savings Account’. These include unlimited free ATM usage at all banks, cash-back subject to a maximum of ₹750 per month on usage of the debit card at departmental stores, or for the purpose of dining, entertainment and utilities.

1) India won the 2016 Asia Cup title after defeating hosts Bangladesh by 8 wickets in the finals played at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur on 6 March 2016. This was 6th Asia Cup title for India. Which Bangladeshi player was declared ‘Player of the Series’? – Sabbir Rahman

Explanation: Sabbir Rahman, who was the highest run-scorer of the tournament with 176 runs, was declared ‘Player of the Series’. Shikhar Dhawan was declared ‘Man of the Match’ of the final.

– India displayed another meticulous and precise performance to romp home by 8 wickets while replying to Bangladesh’s score of 120 for 5 in 15 overs in a rain-curtailed final.

– ‘Man of the Match’ Shikhar Dhawan played the lead with a chanceless 60 (44b, 9×4, 1×6) while Virat Kohli (41 not out) supported him ably in a 94-run stand for the second wicket. Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni produced late fireworks, scoring 20 off just six balls (two sixes and a four), to ensure India’s sixth Asia Cup title.

– This was the 6th Asia Cup title for India and is now the most successful team in this tournament by overtaking Sri Lanka’s 5 title wins.

– The 2016 Asia Cup was a Twenty20 International (T20I) cricket tournament  and was held in Bangladesh from 24 February to 6 March 2016. It was the 13th edition of the Asia Cup, the fifth to be held in Bangladesh, and the first to be played using the T20I format.

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2) Which team won the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) title for 2016 by winning the final on 5 March 2016? – Patna Pirates

Explanation: Patna Pirates won their maiden Pro Kabaddi League title on 5 March 2016 when it defeated defending champions U Mumba (Mumbai) by 31-28 in the high octane final played at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium (New Delhi).

– Patna Pirates started the game in an incredible fashion by taking a huge lead in the first half. U Mumba made a stunning comeback in the game but could not overtake Pirates in the closing minutes. For Pirates Sandeep Narwal gave a sterling performance to give his team the first PKL title.

– Rohit Kumar of Patna Pirates was awarded Best Raider and Mohit Chillar of U Mumba the Best Defender of the Match.

– Earlier, Puneri Paltan finished in third position after defeating Bengal Warriors (Kolkata) by 31-27.

– PKL is a professional Kabaddi league in India, based on the format of the Indian Premier League T20 cricket tournament. The inaugural season of PKL was held in 2014 and was won by Jaipur Pink Panthers. Second season (2015) was claimed by U Mumba.

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3) What is the name of the Iranian billionaire tycoon who was sentenced to death for corruption charges as announced by the Govt. on Iran on 6 March 2016? – Babak Zanjani

Explanation: 41-year old Billionaire tycoon Babak Zanjani was sentenced to death for corruption after a long trial in which he was accused of fraudulently pocketing $2.8 billion.

– His sentence was declared in at a weekly press conference by Iranian Govt’s judiciary spokesman Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Ejeie on 6 March.

– He became notorious during the era of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as he found ways to channel hard currency from oil sales to Iran despite financial sanctions imposed on the country’s banks as punishment for its nuclear programme.

– Zanjani, who can appeal against the death sentence, has denied any wrongdoing. He insisted that the only reason the money had not been paid to the oil ministry was that sanctions had prevented a planned transfer from taking place.

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4) Popular south Indian actor Kalabhavan Mani passed away on 6 March 2016 after battling with liver disease. He was primarily associated with films in which South Indian language? – Malayalam

Explanation: Kalabhavan Mani had acted in more than 200 films, majority being Malayalam. He also featured in numerous Tamil and Telugu films.

– With his superb portrayal of a blind singer in Malayalam film ‘Vasanthiyum Lakshmiyum Pinne Njanum’ (remade in Tamil as Kasi), he won both National Award and Kerala State Film Award in 1999.

– Of late he was more seen in Tamil films. He was also an accomplished singer and was known for rendering haunting folk songs. He was 45 and his real name was Mani Raman (Kalabhavan Mani being his stage name).

…………………………………………….

5) Which entity is poised to become the first corporate entity in India to create a ‘startup garage’ for its in-house entrepreneurs, as disclosed in media reports on 6 March 2016? – Tech Mahindra

Explanation: Tech Mahindra, the IT entity of the Mahindra Group, will become the first corporate entity in India to have startup incubator (‘startup garage’) for its in-house entrepreneurs. Majority of the entrepreneurs will be company’s own employees.

– Currently, as many as 15 businesses have emerged from among the over 1.05 lakh Tech Mahindra employees and they work as part of the ‘growth factories’ set-up.

– All the businesses that are getting incubated will be physically housed together in the garage and doing so will give them independence to operate. Mentoring the businesses will also be easier if they are housed together. Tech Mahindra’s ‘startup garage’ will be established at Pune.

:: National ::

Terror alerts across the country

• Gujarat and the national capital were on high alert with several teams of National Security Guard commandos on standby in the wake of intelligence inputs suggesting that a group of 8 to 10 terrorists may have sneaked into India from Pakistan.
• The alert came on the eve of Shivratri festival on Monday.
• National Security Adviser Ajit Doval told the Gujarat police top brass about the input on a team of 10 terrorists sneaking into the State to carry out terror strikes.
• Senior officials in the State claimed that Pakistan’s National Security Adviser Naseer Khan Janjua informed his Indian counterpart about the group of fidayeen from the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e Muhammed on a major mission in the State.
• Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel told the media in Delhi that the authorities had taken all measures, so there was no need to worry.
• Meanwhile, all public functions to celebrate Shivratri at the historical Somnath temple have been cancelled.
• Police have also heightened security at another historical pilgrimage centre, Dwarka, and Bhavnath in Junagadh where a huge fair is organised on Shivratri.
• The national capital went into alert mode on Sunday, after some inputs suggested that the terrorists could have moved from Gujarat to Delhi.

Rotavirus vaccine will be launched through the national immunisation programme

• The Indian Council of Medical Research will be launching the rotavirus vaccine through the national immunisation programme by the month-end.
• The vaccine will be initially provided to all children in Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Odisha and Himachal and later expanded across the country.
• ICMR would soon be undertaking the first phase of trial of malaria vaccine.
• The challenges in India were different from the West and hence the Western ideas could not be copied here.
• We need to step up treatment options for malaria, tuberculosis, kala azar – diseases that the West did not have to worry about.
• The University awarded six honorary doctorate degrees on eminent professionals in the field of engineering, science, medicine, social science and theology.

Modi says go beyond women development to women led development

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressed the importance of women-led development and said a nation was always empowered by its women.
• Mr. Modi, addressing the valedictory session of the National Conference of Women Legislators in the Central Hall of Parliament here, said: “We must think beyond “women development,” and move towards “women-led development.”
• “A country is always empowered by its women. It is she who in different roles — as a mother, a sister and a wife — nurtures citizens and these empowered citizens then play a role in building up an empowered society and country,” said Mr. Modi.
• Mr. Modi said that multi-tasking, which is considered to be a very important element of modern-day management, comes naturally to women.
• Women representatives from both Houses of Parliament, State Legislative Assemblies and Councils are attending the two-day.
• Mr. Modi urged the women legislators to engage with their constituents using technology.

:: Science and Tech ::

Evidence of element, curium, related to solar system formation found

• Scientists from University of Chicago have discovered evidence of a rare element named curium that was present during the formation of the solar system.
• The team found evidence of curium in an unusual ceramic inclusion they called “Curious Marie”, taken from a carbonaceous meteorite.
• “Curious Marie” and curium are both named after Marie Curie whose pioneering work laid the foundation of the theory of radioactivity.
• This finding ends a 35-year-old debate on the possible presence of curium in the early solar system and plays a crucial role in reassessing models of stellar evolution and synthesis of elements in stars.
• Curium became incorporated into the inclusion when it condensed from the gaseous cloud that formed the sun early in the history of the solar system.
• On Earth, curium exists only when manufactured in laboratories or as a by-product of nuclear explosions.
• Thanks to this sample, the research team was able to calculate the amount of curium present in the early solar system and to compare it to the amount of other heavy radioactive elements such as iodine-129 and plutonium-244.
• Scientists find evidence of curium in a ceramic inclusion taken from a meteorite

Indian Institute of Science have developed a eco-friendly lamp

• Barely half a litre of water and two spoons of salt is the recipe for light.
• In a country where electricity is yet to reach millions and where dim kerosene lamps overlook the life of many in villages, researchers from Indian Institute of Science (IISc.) have developed an eco-friendly lamp that runs entirely on salt water.
• The salt water-run battery is as powerful as four AA batteries, and can power an LED lamp for 1,500 hours (or a little more than two months) at a stretch.
• The concept is one that most are familiar with in high school chemistry. Electricity can be produced when two electrodes (one that can readily give away its electrons, and another to accept them as easily) are dipped in an electrolyte.
• Salt water or seawater, which is nearly free, has to be replaced every 100 hours or so; while, after nearly 1,500 hours of use, the magnesium electrode has to be changed.
• Currently, each electrode costs Rs. 50. It is this kind of conversion of simple technology, using renewable resources, that the fledgling company and the IISc.

:: International ::

Presidential nomination race still open

• The Republican Party establishment’s efforts to stop real estate developer Donald Trump from winning the party’s presidential nomination appears to have an unintended consequence, if at all.
• All anti-Trump voters in the party are now gravitating towards Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who won two of the four States that voted in the nomination race.
• On the Democratic side, front runner Hillary Clinton won only one of the three States that voted but picked up more delegates than Senator Bernie Sanders.
• Mr. Sanders said after the results that his campaign would continue all the way up to the party national convention.
• Nomination is secured by winning a majority among the delegates at the respective national conventions of parties.
• After Saturday, with 27.89 per cent of the total delegates allocated on the Democratic side, Ms. Clinton’s lead appeared unassailable.
• With 37.37 delegates allocated on the Republican side, the contest remains scattered but Mr. Trump’s advantage is apparent.
• He has 378 delegates, still a long distance away from the halfway mark of 1,297 needed to secure the nomination. Mr Cruz has won 295 so far.

1.26 million People seek EU asylum in past year

• The number of people applying for asylum in the European Union (EU) more than doubled in 2015, reaching a record 1.26 million, according to the EU statistics agency.
• Syrians accounted for almost a third of the total, with 362,775 people seeking shelter in Europe, followed by Afghans and Iraqis, Eurostat said.
• The data came as Brussels stepped up warnings to member states to take urgent action to resolve the refugee crisis by agreeing on plans to redistribute asylum seekers around Europe.
• The European Commission also called on countries to lift all internal border controls by November, while stepping up protection of Europe’s external frontiers.
• Since September, eight countries have reintroduced border checks, aimed at preventing large numbers of refugees and migrants entering their countries.
• The latest Brussels plan is based on the assumption that Turkey will take decisive steps to reduce the number of people making the perilous crossing across the Aegean Sea.
• EU leaders are meeting the Turkish Prime Minister, at an emergency summit in Brussels, where they hope to get a promise of decisive action to reduce numbers, especially targeted at people who do not qualify for EU asylum.

:: Business and Economy ::

Country heading more towards a cashless economy

• E-payments and mobile wallets are getting more popular among the youth in the country.
• As these are gaining wider acceptance, a major concern of our financial regulator too is getting addressed — the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has started working towards making India a cashless economy and to bring in accountability and transparency in each financial transaction.
• Last week, the Union Cabinet cleared the implementation of a few short and long term measures to promote digital and card-based payments to curb cash use in the system.
• Some of the measures include withdrawal of surcharge, service charge or convenience fee on card and other digital transactions. With this, digital payment, which is already gaining traction, is expected to gain momentum.
• Foreseeing this big opportunity, a bunch of youngsters has kick-started a movement by launching mobile wallets and is slowly changing the way Indians transact.
• A mobile wallet app is a virtual wallet where a registered customer can pre-load a certain amount of money with any service provider, which can be used for various bill payments and recharges.
• The major reason for this is the smart phone that enables internet penetration in to rural parts of India. Increasing government support is another catalyst.
• According to a recent report from TechSci Research titled ‘India Mobile Wallet Market Opportunities and Forecast, 2020’, the mobile wallet market in India is projected to reach $6.6 billion by 2020.
• In April last, e-commerce major Snapdeal had made one of the biggest acquisitions in the Indian e-commerce industry by buying wallet player Freecharge for about $400 million.
• As the wallets allow a user to load cash from a very small amount to a maximum of Rs 10,000, the risk associated with the loss of money through transaction is minimal. Apart from this, the wallet companies provide high security standards for customers while transacting.
• Recently, the RBI had issued certain guidelines that allow the users to increase their limit to Rs 1,00,000 based on a certain KYC verification.
• The mobile wallet user base in India has even surpassed the total number of credit cards issued in the country.
• The RBI data shows that till November 2015, around 22 million credit cards have been issued by 55 banks, while a rough estimate shows there are more than 100 million wallet users in India.
• In a bid to garner market share, almost all players are offering cash back and discounts, which can be used for another transaction. Some players even provide offline way of wallet balance top up.
• Mobikwik has its 'Cash Pickup' service in select cities that will facilitate cash to be directly added to MobiKwik wallet. There are different types of E-wallets:
• OPEN WALLETS: The ones that allow you to buy good and services, withdraw cash at ATMs or banks and transfer funds; these services can only be jointly launched with a bank. Apart from the usual merchant payments, it also allows you to send money to any mobile number bank account. M-Pesa by Vodafone is an example.
• SEMI-OPEN WALLETS: You can't withdraw cash or get it back. In this scenario, a customer has to spend what he loads. Airtel Money is a semi-open wallet, which allows you to transact with merchants having contract with Airtel.
• CLOSED WALLETS: Quite popular with e-commerce companies, where a certain amount of money is locked with the merchant in case of a cancellation or return of the order, or gift cards.
• SEMI-CLOSED WALLETS: These do not permit cash withdrawals or redemption, but allow you to buy goods and services from listed merchants and perform financial services at listed locations. Paytm is an example.

The Committee appointed to suggest changes in the Companies Act submitted its report

• The Committee appointed by the Government of India to suggest changes in the Companies Act, 2013 and Rules made there under, in the interests of various stakeholders, has submitted its report.
• The Committee has suggested that Section 4 (1)(c) of the Companies Act, 2013 should be amended to allow companies to have a generic object clause to engage in any lawful activity or business as per the law for the time being in force.
• This proposal is based on Section 31 of the Companies Act, 2006 of the U.K. To supplant this English Law on to the Indian sub soil without regard to the ground realities of Indian business is highly misleading.
• The Committee has suggested that the present prohibition against more than two layers of subsidiaries for investments should be done away with.
• While the Committee recognises that numerous layers of subsidiaries are created to hide the source of funds so as to siphon off money, the Committee has sought to omit this provision in the Companies Act, 2013 in order not to impede the efficacy of corporate structuring.
• When it comes to independent directors, Section 149 of the Companies Act, 2013 says that an independent director cannot have any pecuniary relationship with the company in which he is appointed as an independent director or with its satellites during the last two financial years or in the current year.
• A similar provision in SEBI Regulations for listed companies says that an independent director should not have material pecuniary relationship with a company or with its satellites in the last two financial years or in the current year.
• The definition of a managing director under the Companies Act, 2013 is almost identical with the definition under the Companies Act, 1956.
• However, unlike under the Companies Act, 1956, under the Companies Act, 2013, the proviso saying that the managing director should be allowed to exercise his powers subject to the superintendence control and direction of the Board of directors, has been omitted.
• When it comes to the National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA), the following views of the Committee are quite appropriate:
• As suggested by the Committee, the provisions relating to the constitution of the National Company Law Tribunal and the National Law Appellate Tribunal should be amended to conform to the Supreme Court of India’s order of May, 2015. Otherwise, such a tribunal may become a still born baby.
• Law is as good as it is administered. The Companies Act, 2013 is a modern law for a rising India. It is important that the administrators of such a law have a mindset keeping with the spirit of such a law.

:: Sports ::

India beat Bangladesh in Asia cup final

• India demonstrated its dominance in Twenty20 cricket and regained continental supremacy, downing host Bangladesh by eight wickets in the final of the Asia Cup at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
• Bangladesh found its total of 120, after having been asked to bat, too meagre to challenge the efficiency of the Indians who completed the run chase with seven balls to spare.
• The match was reduced to a 15-over affair after a thundershower delayed the start by two hours.
• Shikhar Dhawan played the lead with a chanceless 60 (44b, 9x4, 1x6) while Virat Kohli (41 not out) supported him ably in a 94-run stand for the second wicket.
• Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni produced late fireworks, scoring 20 off just six balls (two sixes and a four), to ensure India’s sixth Asia Cup title. This was the 10th win in 11 matches for India — an encouraging statistic ahead of the ICC World T20.

1. Gyan Sangam: 3rd Phase of Bank Reforms to Focus on Bad Loan

i. With mounting bad loans, the second edition of the Finance Ministry’s brain storming session with public sector banks focused on management of non-performing assets and consolidation in the sector.

ii. The two-day Gyan Sangam — an annual retreat of chiefs of public sector financial institutions, officials from the Finance Ministry and the Reserve Bank of India — recently held on March 4 and 5 in Gurgaon. 

iii. The last year retreat was held for the first time in pune.

iv. The agenda would include- Restructuring and mergers and acquisitions of banks, NPA management and recovery, Technology, digital and financial inclusion, Credit growth, and Risk management.

v. “This retreat has been held to take forward the government’s commitment to reforms in the banking and financial sector. The growth and change in the financial sector ought to be in tune with the development in the real sector,” said the Finance Ministry.

2. Oil Minister Lays Foundation Stone Of Octomax Unit At Mathura (UP)

i. Dharmendra Pradhan, the Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gases laid the foundation stone of Country's 1st its of kind Octomax unit at Mathura refinery. 

ii. It will help in the production of high octane gasoline.

iii. Octomax, a "novel technology" developed in-house by Research and Development Center of Indian Oil, involves conversion of cracked C4 streams to high-octane gasoline blending stock for production of Euro-IV/V equivalent gasoline. 

iv. The cost of this project will be around 43 crore and is expected to be completed by October 2017. The capacity of the refinery plant will be of 55 KTA but it will increase later. 

v. The unit on Octomax technology has been conceptualized and designed based on indigenous efforts. According to Mr. Pradhan "Mathura refinery will play major role in meeting government's target of introducing BS-VI standardizing  petrol and diesel by 2020." 

3. 27 Government Banks May Be Merged Into Just 6

i. Finance Minister of India  Mr. Arun Jaitley has indicated that the Government may merge 27 public sector banks into just six. 

ii. Because PSB is working under pressure to tackle their dismal bad loan scenario and consolidation is the way forward to handle this situation. This has been said in the recently held Gyan Sangam in Gurgaon. 

iii. The time frame for the mergers will ensure there are no disruptions, the sources said. Because the banks are already short-staffed so downsizing would not be required. 

iv. Apart from that an official from Ministry stated that an expert committee will be soon to setup to look into the issue and the committee will also work closely with the Banks Board Bureau (BBB) to identify the right matches for consolidation. 

v. From April 1, 2016 the BBB will independently oversee consolidation and chalk out business plans for public sector banks. Since it is not feasible to bring down the government’s share in state-owned banks below 51%, consolidation to create strong banks is the only survival option. The finance ministry is also looking to merge the newly-launched Bharatiya Mahila Bank with the other PSBs.

4. Myanmar grants operating licenses to four more Asian banks including SBI

i. Myanmar has granted operating licenses to four Asian banks, bringing to 13 the number of foreign banks allowed to conduct business in the previously isolated country.

ii. Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam, State Bank of India, Taiwan's Sun Commercial Bank and South Korea's Shinhan Bank, these are the four bank were granted preliminary licenses, Myanmar's Foreign Bank Licensing Committee. 

iii. The decision is just the second time Myanmar has granted licenses for foreign banks to open since a semi-civilian government took over in 2011.

iv. The approval gives the banks 12 months to demonstrate they can fulfill business plans laid out in their.

v. Myanmar (formerly Burma), is a Southeast Asian nation of more than 100 ethnic groups.

5. Amrita Patel Gets Mahindra Lifetime Achievement Award

i. Dr Amrita Patel has been conferred with the Mahindra Samriddi India Agri Lifetime Achievement Aear-Krishi Shiromani Samman in New Delhi. Dr Patel is a former Chairman of National Dairy Development Board (NDDB). She served as its chief from 1998 to 2014. 

ii. The award has been conferred by Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh.

iii. Dr. Patel played a vita role in the implementation of Operation Flood, the largest development programme in the world. 

iv. The operation flood programme helped to promote, finance and deliver a variety of supporting services to a national cooperative dairy structure that transformed the lives of millions of marginalized and small farmers and milk producers.

v. The award is given for her purposeful contribution that made a difference in the field of agriculture to increase productivity and rural prosperity. 

6. Country's First Small Finance Bank To Start Ops On April 13

i. Jalandhar-based Capital Local Area Bank has become the first entity to receive the Reserve Bank of India‘s licence to start operations as a small finance bank.

ii. In september 2015 Reserve Bank of India granted in-principle licences to 10 applicants to set up small finance banks, including Capital Local Area Bank. 

iii. The small finance bank will undertake basic banking activities of acceptance of deposits and lending to unserved and underserved sections including small business units, marginal farmers and unorganised sector entities.

iv. AS per Sarvjit Singh Samra, managing director of Capital Local Area Bank plans to start its small finance bank operations on April 13. 

7. Amazon Is India's Most Trusted Online Shopping Brand

i. Amazon World's largest e-retailer is India's most trusted online shopping brand followed homegrown Snapdeal and Flipkart.

ii. Ebay, Myntra, Yepme, Jabong, Naaptol, Shopclues and Askmebazaar Other firms to figure in the top 10 trusted online shopping brands.

iii. The survey was conducted among 2,500 respondents, aged 21-50, across 16 cities and its findings have been compiled in the Brand Trust Report, India Study 2016. iv. The report is issued annually by TRA (formerly Trust Research Advisory).

v. According to  TRA Chief Executive Officer N Chandramouli Amazon is India's most trusted online shopping brand with 36 per cent of the trust pie. Together, these three brands make up for 76 per cent of online shopping trust pie.

8. Tata Housing ties up with SBI for Women's Day offer

i. Real estate developer Tata Housing has partnered with the country's largest lender, State Bank of India, on the occasion of the International Women's Day.

ii. Tata Housing will allow its women customers to pay only 20 per cent of the agreement value while the balance can be paid on taking possession of the property, a company statement said here today.

iii. On its part, SBI will be offering home loans to its women customers at a special interest rate of 9.5 per cent per annum under the SBI Her Ghar scheme as part of the International Women's Day, which will be celebrated between March 8 and March 13, it said.

iv. Moreover, the SBI has waived processing fees on the home loan under the scheme, it added.

9. Investors' summit Begins in Gurgaon 

i. The first two-day 'Happening Haryana Global Investors Summit 2016' has kicked off in Gurgaon, which has see participation from 12 countries.

ii. Besides several Union Ministers, a number of leading entrepreneurs and MNCs have taken part.

iii. The summit comes close on the heels of the Jat quota agitation in Haryana, in which 30 people were killed and property worth crores of rupees was destroyed.

iv. The participating countries are Czech-Republic, Japan, Mauritius, New Zealand, China, Korea, Malawi, Peru, Poland, Spain, the United Kingdom and Tunisia.

v. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is the chief guest at the inaugural session while Khattar has delivered the keynote address.

10. Uttar Pradesh Assembly Passed the UP Revenue Code (Amendment) Bill 2016

i. Uttar Pradesh Assembly passed the UP Revenue Code (Amendment) Bill 2016 replacing an ordinance issued by the Governor Ram Naik. 

ii. The Bill allows Dalits of the state to sell their land to non-Dalits in the state without approval of the administration even if their remaining holding is less than 3.5 acres.

iii. This bill also seeks to bring changes existing revenue laws dating to the British era by further speeding up disposal of litigations over land ownership in rural areas. 

iv. It also provision that allows land owners lease out their land for share-cropping purpose without the fear of losing it after 12 years.

11. Email Inventor Ray Tomlinson Dies At 74

i. Ray Tomlinson, the inventor of email has passed away. He was 74. He died of an apparent heart attack. 

ii. His invention included the ground-breaking use of the @ symbol in email addresses, which is now standard.

iii. The US computer programmer came up with the idea of electronic messages that could be sent from one network to another in 1971. Before Ray Tomlinson invention direct electronic messages users could only write messages to others using the same computer. 

iv. He was the first to use the @ symbol in this way, to distinguish a user from its host.

v. His work was recognized by his peers in 2012, when he was inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame.

12. Renowned Singer And Actor Kalabhavan Mani Passed Away

i. Renowned Malayalam actor and folk singer Kalabhavan Mani passed away in Kochi on Sunday. He was 45. 

ii. He had been hospitalized for liver ailment. Mr. Mani had bagged national special jury award in 2000 for his performance in Malayalam film Vasanthiyum Lakshmiyum Pinne Njaanum.

iii. The actor cum singer was from an economically backward family at Chalakkudy in Thrissur district. He has started his career as mimicry artiste at Kalabhavan in Kochi and then did comedy roles in Malayalam films. He was known for inimitable mannerisms as comedy artiste.

iv. Mani had acted in over 200 films in Malayalam and other South Indian languages. 

v. He has 1st acted in the Malayalam Film Industry in 1993 however first noticed in the film "Sallapam" in 1996 and after that, through his characteristic laugh and dialogue delivery style, never had to look back and went on to act in Tamil and Telugu films.

13. American Actress Nancy Reagan died At 94

i. Nancy Davis Reagan was an American actress and the wife of the 40th President of the United States,  Ronald Reagan. She died At 94 

ii. She was born in New York City, After her parents separated, she lived in Maryland with an aunt and uncle for some years She was the First Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989. 

iii. Nancy Reagan, one of the most high-profile and influential first ladies of the 20th century, Nancy was born in New York City. 

iv. Reagan died at her home in Los Angeles of congestive heart failure, according to her spokeswoman, Joanne Drake of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

14. Patna Pirates Beat U Mumba 31-28 to Win 3rd Season Of Pro Kabaddi League

i. Season 3 of Star Sports Pro Kabaddi, ended on a high note with power packed action between U Mumba and Patna Pirates. 

ii. Stamping their authority and continuing their dream winning streak, Patna Pirates beat the dominant U Mumba to emerge as Champions of Pro Kabaddi Season 3.

iii. The score closed at 31-28 in favour of Patna Pirates after a thrilling 40 minute play of perhaps the best kabaddi of the season, followed by Manpreet Singh, captain of Patna Pirates holding up the golden trophy amidst spectacular scenes of celebration.

15. Asia Cup 2016 Concludes In Bangladesh & India Won Its 6th Asia Cup Title

i. India beat Bangladesh by 8 wickets in the final to win their Asia Cup title. With this victory, India lifted their sixth Asia Cup title. 

ii. This is the first time the Asia Cup was held in T20 format and India proved that why they are No.1 side in T20 Internationals.

iii. India finish their unbeaten run in the Asia Cup with a strong performance in the final. Bangladesh fought hard in phases but a victory with six balls to spare and eight wickets in hand is a pretty emphatic one in the end. 

iv. The 2016 Asia Cup was a Twenty20 International (T20I) cricket tournament that was held in Bangladesh from 24 February to 6 March 2016. 

v. It was the 13th edition of the Asia Cup, the fifth to be held in Bangladesh. 

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