Extensive Coverage Of Current Affairs 16/4/2016

NATIONAL:

Sushma Swaraj on 4-day visit to Iran, Moscow from today:

·         External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will embark on a four day visit to Iran and Moscow today.

·         Mrs Swaraj's Iran visit is aimed to step up engagement in a range of areas including oil and trade as the strategically important Persian Gulf nation is now ready to resume business as usual after lifting of sanctions under a historic nuclear deal.

·         Iran is an important country for India for its energy security as well as to get access to oil and gas-rich Central Asian nations.

·         From Iran, Mrs Swaraj will leave for a two-day trip to Moscow to attend the annual Foreign Ministers' meeting of Russia, India and China.

Jharkhand Government launched Bhimrao Ambedkar Awas Yojana for widows:

·         Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das launched the Bhimrao Ambedkar Awas Yojana for widows.

·         Its objective of the scheme is to create equality and harmony in society, ensuring all round development.

·         Salient Features of the Yojana:

·         The programme is with a budget allocation of 80 crore rupees and a target of 11000 units (houses) for widows was set in 2016-17 financial year.

·         An amount of 75000 rupees would be granted to build a house in districts in hilly terrains and 70000 rupees in plains and the amount would be distributed among the beneficiaries in three installments in their bank accounts.

·         The widows would also get pension.

Union Government notified SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Rules, 2016:

·         Union Government notified the Scheduled Castes (SC) and the Scheduled Tribes (ST) (Prevention of Atrocities (PoA)) Amendment Rules, 2016.

·         The amendments are done in the principal rules of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Rules, 1995.

 Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences inks MoU with Centre’s PSU:

·         Bhubaneswar based Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) and Educational Consultants India Limited, a central PSU, jointly signed a MoU to work in areas of education and human resource development.

·         The MoU signed by PrashantRoutray, CEO, on behalf of KISS and Diptiman Das, CMD& director of EdCIL.

·         Both the sides will engage for academic collaborations and exchanges. EdCIL will provide financial support for organizing research projects and conferences.

·         EDCIL offered books worth over Rs 5 lakhs to around 9000 tribal students from class I to class V of KISS on the occasion.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) allocates 500 crore to upgrade labs:

·         The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has allocated 500 crore towards modernisation of 82 state government-owned laboratories over the next 2-3 years, FSSAI Chief Executive PK Agarwal said.

·         Further, FSSAI is also planning to partner with private firms to upgrade the infrastructure of its Ghaziabad laboratory and give them responsibility for its operations and management.

Maritime summit sees investments worth 82.9k crore:

·         Investments worth 82,905 crore were witnessed and 114 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) were signed during the Maritime India Summit.

·         The MoUs and business agreements were signed by major ports, state maritime boards, and public sector units.

·         Among the major agreements were the establishment of a Greenfield Port in Maharashtra and the development of inland waterways in Andhra Pradesh.

One in 7 biz women in India from Tamil Nadu:

·         Tamil Nadu has the maximum number of woman entrepreneurs in the country, says the latest economic census.

·         The state is home to 10.9 lakh (13.5%) women entrepreneurs, most of whom operate their enterprises with their own funds or with donations from NGOs and other sources.

·         Kerala comes next with 11.3% of the country’s women entrepreneurs.

Poorest district gets first govt Degree College:

·         India’s poorest district, Odisha’s Nabarangpur — the focus of a year-long assignment by The Indian Express — will get its first government degree college.

·         The Government Model Degree College, being built at a cost of Rs 8.87 crore, will offer arts, commerce and science streams to students from in and around Nabarangpur.

PM Narendra Modi to lay foundation stone for India’s biggest power plant:

·         Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone for a power plant of Patratu Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (PVUNL), a joint venture company of National Thermal Power Corporation and Jharkhand government, on April 24.

·         The PM will be laying the foundation stone for a 4000MW unit, the first phase of the 8000MW project.

·         Jharkhand government had in 2014 handed over assets of the Patratu Thermal Power Station to the joint venture company for setting up the 8000MW capacity plant, which was stated to be India’s biggest.

Annual 45-day fishing ban in TN:

·         The 45-day annual ban on deep sea fishing along Tamil Nadu’s East coast will come into force, a Fisheries department official.

·         About 10,000 mechanised boats would not go for fishing during the ban, aimed at facilitating breeding of fish and conservation of fish stock in marine ecology, Assistant Director of Fisheries Gopinath said.

Urban India’s fertility rate lower than France’s:

·         Since 2010, the total fertility rate (the average number of births that a woman gives) in urban areas has dropped below the population replacement rate.

·         India needs two births per woman to replace the population that is dying; right now this is lower than some of the most advanced economies.

Government suspends Mallya’s passport on Enforcement Directorate’s (ED)’s request:

·         The External Affairs Ministry suspended liquor baron Vijay Mallya’s diplomatic passport on the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) request.

·         The ED had written to the Ministry on April 13, after Mallya failed to appear before the agency thrice in connection with its money laundering probe into the 900 crore IDBI bank loan fraud case.

Paswan urges Nagaland Govt to implement Food Security Act:

·         Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public distribution, Ram Vilas Paswan has asked Nagaland government to implement the Food Security Act, FSA, for the benefit of the people.

·         Nagaland is the only state where the act is yet to be implemented.

·         The Minister said, if FSA is implemented, about 80 per cent population living in the rural areas will get wheat at the rate of 2 rupees per Kg and rice at 3 rupees per Kg.

·         Chief Minister TR Zeliang assured that the food security act will be implemented in the state at the earliest.

Panagarh airbase renamed after former IAF chief Arjan Singh:

·         Panagarh Air Force Base of West Bengal was renamed as Air Force Station Arjan Singh.

·         This can be termed as a rare honour to the nation’s oldest soldier Marshal of Air Force Arjan Singh.

·         Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh, 97, had led the Indian Air Force (IAF) in the 1965 India-Pakistan war.

·         The decision of rechristening the Air Force Station was announced by the Chief of Air Staff Arup Raha at a function in New Delhi to mark 97th birthday of the Marshal Arjan Singh.

INTERNATIONAL:

Trump's firm to build office tower in Gurgaon:

·         US Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump-led The Trump Organization  announced a tie-up with India's real estate private equity firm IREO to develop an office tower in Gurgaon.

·         The project, costing 1,000 crore, would be The Trump Organization’s first commercial project in India and the third overall, after two residential projects in Pune and Mumbai.

Russian jets simulate attack passes in Baltic:

·         Two Russian warplanes with no visible weaponry flew simulated attack passes near a U.S. guided missile destroyer in the Baltic Sea, a U.S. official said, describing it as one of the most aggressive interactions in recent memory.

·         The repeated flights by the Sukhoi SU-24 warplanes, which also flew near the ship a day earlier, were so close they created wake in the water, with 11 passes.

G20 seeks crackdown on tax havens, shell firms:

·         Acting in the wake of the "Panama Papers" leak, the G20 economies, including India, sought a crackdown on tax havens, shell companies and terror financing by increasing financial transparency and sharing of key information.

·         An official statement in this regard was released after the meeting of the finance ministers and central bank governors of G20 countries in Washington.

India's growth may not be felt past South Asia: IMF

·         India's economic growth is unlikely to be felt beyond South Asia as the country's "actual economic ties with South East Asia and China are more limited", Markus Rodlauer, Deputy Director, Asia and Pacific Department, IMF said.

·         Meanwhile, China's economic slowdown can have adverse although very heterogeneous spillovers in the region, C Rhee, Director, Asia and Pacific Department, IMF, added.

Death toll in earthquake in southern Japanese city of Kumamoto rises to 20:

·         Death toll in the late lastnight's earthquake in the southern Japanese city of Kumamoto has risen to 20.

·         Media reports say, more than 1,000 were also injured in the 7.3 magnitude powerful earthquake that hit the Kyushu region a day after an earlier tremor killed nine people.

·         Japan's only operating nuclear power plant is also in Kyushu.

Iran seeks access to its $100 billion held abroad:

·         Iran has sought access to the US financial system, using which the country can use its $100 billion stuck abroad due to sanctions.

·         US banks are not allowed to do business with Iran and restrict the Islamic Republic to non-dollar transactions.

·         This comes three months after Iran agreed to curb its nuclear programme in return for lifting sanctions.

US jury slaps $940 million fine on 2 Tata Group firms:

·         A US jury has slapped two Tata Group companies – Tata Consultancy Services and Tata America International Corp – with a $940 million fine in a trade secret lawsuit filed against them.

·         US-based software firm Epic Systems, in a lawsuit filed in 2014, had accused the firms of "stealing the trade secrets, confidential information, documents and data" belonging to Epic.

European Parliament cleared joint system for sharing air passenger data to fight terror:

·         The European Parliament approved a joint system for Police and Justice Officials to access airline passenger data on all flights to and from the EU. The measure was passed by 461 votes to 179 against.

·         The creation of the new system will enable security agencies to systematically store the data of airline passengers travelling to, from and within the EU.

·         The creation of a European passenger name records (PNR) system gained momentum following 2015 Paris terrorist attacks. The March 22 attacks in Brussels added further urgency.

APPOINTMENTS:

Ukraine appoints Groysman new Prime Minister:

·         Ukraine’s parliament has appointed Volodymyr Groysman as the country’s new prime Minister.

·         He was voted in by MPs 257 to 50 as the 16th Prime Minister of Ukraine.

·         Groysman will succeed Yatsenyuk, after serving as his deputy during the latter’s first government, in the aftermath of the toppling of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych in 2014.

PP Pandey handed over additional charge of Gujarat DGP:

·         In Gujarat, senior IPS officer PP Pandey has been given additional charge of Director General of Police.

·         Presently he is posted as the Director General of Police in state Anti Corruption Bureau.

·         DGP PC Thakur has been transferred to Union Home Ministry as Director General of Civil Defence and Home Guards.

·         Mr Pandey is senior most IPS officer after DGP PC Thakur.

AWARDS AND HONOURS:

Indian government ranks Ministers on their Twitter performance:

·         Union government has ranked its ministers on the basis of how quickly and efficiently they respond to people’s requests on Twitter.

·         The Foreign Minister of India Sushma Swaraj has topped these rankings.

·         The Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu placed on 2nd position on this list. He has been very actively troubleshooting any problems the passengers tweet to him. He responds promptly to any emergencies reported to him through Twitter.

3 Indians on Forbes Global Game Changers list:

·         Three Indian businessmen have been named in the Forbes inaugural list of Global Game Changers.

·         Co-founder of low-cost IndiGo airlines Rahul Bhatia, Founder of the Serum Institute of India Cyrus Poonawalla and Founder of GEMS Education Sunny Varkey featured on the list.

·         Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Alibaba CEO Jack Ma were also named in the 30 business leaders list.

Delhi among top 50 future-ready cities of world:

·         According to a report by Dell, Delhi has been recognised as one of the top 50 future-ready cities of the world that are embracing technology for growth.

·         Delhi ranked 44th on the list, which was otherwise topped by San Jose, followed by San Francisco and Singapore. These high-growth cities were evaluated on the parameters of human capital, infrastructure and commerce.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY:

Air Pegasus investing Rs 100 crore to expand operations:

·         Low-cost career Air Pegasus would invest Rs 100 crore in 2016-17 to expand operations and connect more cities across south India.

·         The investment will be in addition to Rs 100 crore we have invested to launch our operations in the first year with three ATR aircraft, connecting five intra and inter-state cities.

·         Pegasus managing director Shyson Thomas

·         The city-based feeder airline firm will begin a thrice weekly service from Bengaluru to Puducherry on April 25, daily to Panaji (Goa) from April 27 and soon to Kochi (Kerala) and Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh).

No service tax on payments for spectrum purchased before April 1:

·         The government has clarified that telecom companies won’t have to pay service tax on payments for spectrum purchased before April 1.

·         The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has said payment, whether in full upfront or in instalments for assignment of the right to use such spectrum, has been exempted from service tax.

BRICS moves to establish bank institute, rating agency:

·         BRICS countries discussed the efficacy of “establishing” a bank institute and a rating agency of their own following the New Development Bank (NDB) becoming fully operational.

·         BRICS finance ministers and central bank governors met here on the sidelines of the Annual Spring meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, for a discussion chaired by finance minister Arun Jaitley.

·         BRICS comprises five emerging economies – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa

Apple partners WWF to launch 'Apps for Earth':

·         In a push for environment, Apple has collaborated with WWF for a 10-day campaign to launch ‘Apps for Earth’ on its App Store.

·         The section features 27 exclusive apps, including Angry Birds 2 and Line, that are designed around the idea of conservation of forests, oceans, and wildlife. All proceeds from the app purchases will go to WWF.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY:

Scientists create world's strongest material:

·         In a first, researchers in Austria have synthesized Carbyne, a material 40 times stronger than diamond and twice as strong as the strongest known material 'graphene'.

·         Carbyne, an electrically neutral carbon atom with three non-bonded electrons, has high reactivity that leads to its immediate destruction. To make it stable, scientists used double-walled nanotubes by rolling two layers of graphene.

Amazon’s most expensive Kindle, Oasis, launches in India:

·         Amazon has launched its latest Kindle e-reader Oasis in India.

·         The all-new Kindle, priced at Rs 23,999 for the Wi-Fi model and Rs 27,999 for the Wi-Fi-plus 3G model, is available on the company’s India website.

·         It is the company’s eighth device in the series, with a charger that is built into its cover. Amazon claims Kindle Oasis is its thinnest and lightest-ever model.

·         Kindle Oasis weighs 130gram and is 3.4mm at its thinnest point.

·         It has a 6-inch 300 dpi display with 4GB of storage.

Micromax opens manufacturing facility in Hyderabad:

·         Mobile phone manufacturer Micromax opened its new manufacturing facility which will have the capacity to manufacture 1 million mobile phones per month.

·         Spread over 19 acres, this is the second manufacturing plant of Bhagati Products Ltd in India.

Google launches free WiFi at 9 railway stations:

·         After Mumbai Central, Google has launched its free high-speed public WiFi service at nine more Indian railway stations including Pune, Bhubaneshwar, Bhopal, Ranchi, Raipur, Vijayawada, Kacheguda (Hyderabad), Ernakulam (Kochi) and Visakhapatnam.

·         Google claims that the WiFi is fast enough to allow streaming of HD videos.

·         Further, the company aims to expand the service to 100 stations by year end.

 HTC to soon launch 4G smartphone HTC 10 in India:

·         Premium smartphone maker HTC will launch 4G smartphone HTC 10 in India soon.

·         The 5.2 inch HTC 10 has Qualcomm Snapdragon processor with computing speed of up to 2.2 Ghz.

·         It has 32GB internal memory and supports external storage of up to 2 terabyte or about 2,000GB.

SPORTS:

India thrash Malaysia 6-1 in Sultan Azlan Shah:

·         In the last match of the 2016 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup group stages, India defeated Malaysia 6-1 at Ipoh, Malaysia.

·         Nikkin Thimmaiah, Harjeet Singh, Ramandeep Singh (2), Danish Mujtaba, and Talwinder Singh scored the goals for India while Shahril Saabah scored a consolation goal for Malaysia.

·         India will face top-ranked side, Australia, in Saturday's final.

Pune IPL team opts for Vizag as alternate venue:

·         IPL governing council has confirmed that Rising Pune Supergiants have opted for Visakhapatnam as their preferred alternate venue following the Bombay High Court's verdict to move the games after April 30 out of drought-hit Maharashtra.

·         Mumbai Indians have sought time till Sunday to decide on their new home ground.

·         Meanwhile, it has been decided that Bengaluru will host the finals.

Delhi Daredevils beat Kings XI Punjab by 8 wkts:

·         Delhi Daredevils registered their first victory of the 2016 Indian Premier League (IPL) after defeating the Kings XI Punjab by eight wickets at Feroz Shah Kotla on Friday.

·         Man-of-the-match, Amit Mishra finished with bowling figures of 4/11 to restrict Punjab to 111/9. In reply, Quinton de Kock's 59*(42) helped Delhi to reach the target in 12.3 overs.

World Anti-Doping Agency revoked accreditation of Moscow Antidoping Center:

·         World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) revoked the accreditation of the Moscow Antidoping Center of Russia.

·         The decision was taken by Executive Committee of WADA following a thorough review of the status of the Laboratory by an independent WADA appointed Disciplinary Panel.

OBITUARY:

Punjab lokpal Justice J.S. Sekhon passes away:

·         Punjab lokpal and former Punjab and Haryana High Court Judge, Justice Jai Singh Sekhon passed away.

·         Sekhon, elder brother of Punjab cabinet minister Janmeja Singh Sekhon, had been fighting cancer for more than a year.

·         He started his career as a lawyer at the Ferozepur district and sessions court and before being elevated as high court judge, he worked as district and sessions judge in several courts of the state.

Malian photographer Malick Sidibe dies aged 80:

·         Award-winning Malian photographer, Malick Sidibe, has died at the age of 80.

·         Sidibe, who died on Thursday, is known for his black and white studio portraits that captured the lives of young Malians in the 1960s and 1970s.

·         Critics say, his photos of Mali's post-colonial period helped people see the West African nation in a new light.

·         In 2007, he became the first African winner of the Golden Lion for lifetime achievement at the Venice Biennale.

1. Susmita Pande appointed as chairperson of National Monument Authority
1.Union Government appointed Susmita Pande as the new chairperson of the National Monument Authority (NMA). She is professor a professor at Ujjain's Vikram University.
2. She would succeed Himanshu Prabha Ray, the professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University whose term ended in September 2015. The position was lying vacant for five months after his demission from office.
3. At the time of appointment, she was the head of the School of Studies in Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology in Vikram University of Madhya Pradesh.

2. Jharkhand Government launched Bhimrao Ambedkar Awas Yojana for widows
1. Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das launched the Bhimrao Ambedkar Awas Yojana for widows.
2. Its objective of the scheme is to create equality and harmony in society, ensuring all round development.
About the Bhimrao Ambedkar Awas Yojana
1.The programme is with a budget allocation of 80 crore rupees and a target of 11000 units (houses) for widows was set in 2016-17 financial year.
2.An amount of 75000 rupees would be granted to build a house in districts in hilly terrains and 70000 rupees in plains and the amount would be distributed among the beneficiaries in three installments in their bank accounts.
3.The widows would also get pension.

3. Panagarh airbase renamed after former IAF chief Arjan Singh 
1.Panagarh Air Force Base of West Bengal was renamed as Air Force Station Arjan Singh . This can be termed as a rare honour to the nation’s oldest soldier Marshal of Air Force Arjan Singh.
2. Air Officer Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Air Command, Air Marshal C Harikumar unveiled the rechristening plaque at a ceremony held at the Panagarh Air Base.
3. He announced that the crucial Air Force Base in the eastern theatre will now be called Air Force Station Arjan Singh.
4. Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh, 97, had led the Indian Air Force (IAF) in the 1965 India-Pakistan war.
5. The decision of rechristening the Air Force Station was announced by the Chief of Air Staff Arup Raha at a function in New Delhi to mark 97th birthday of the Marshal Arjan Singh.

4.PM Narendra Modi launched National Agriculture Market
1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the pilot of e-NAM, the e-trading platform for the National Agriculture Market, for the farmers. It was launched on 125th birth anniversary of Baba Saheb Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar.
2. The initiative will usher in transparency which will greatly benefit the farmers. In the initial stage 21 mandis in 8 states have been linked to e-NAM and by September 2016 two hundred mandis will be included and by March 2018 five hundred eighty five mandis. With this, the farmers can sell or buy the agricultural products online using this portal.
Features of the Project
1.This project will operate through an online portal which is being linked to the mandis of the States.
2. Its software will be provided to all the willing states without cost.
3. The farmers will be provided farmer helpline services 24X7 for obtaining information related to this portal.
4. A knowledgeable person will be deployed for one year in every sharing mandi to facilitate the smooth functioning of the portal.
5. Under this Project, Union Government is providing a grant of 30 lakh rupees to the proposed agriculture mandis of the states.

5. Govt to launch ‘Twitter Seva’ for startups on April 21
1. As part of its steps to support budding entrepreneurs, the government on April 21 will launch a new service, Twitter Seva, to address various queries of startups in a timebound manner.
2.“On April 21, will be launching a ‘Twitter Seva’ Any startup which wants to access government irrespective of any department, they can (put their queries).
3. “The process is on. This is a place where you can virtually contact us, tell us your issues. We have a team that will divert the things or issues to the particular ministry and then come back to you and try to reply in 24 hrs,”.
4. The interaction was aimed at giving a thrust to budding entrepreneurs.

Start-ups which participated in the open chat include Velmenni Lifi, Fitternity, Glance, DeliveryTrack, FoodTalk, Chakar, BabyBug Step and Marketing Masala.

6.69th Himachal Day Being Celebrated In The State
1. Himachal Pradesh is celebrating 69th Himachal Day. On the occasion, a state­level function would be held at Ghumarvin town in Bilaspur district where Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh will unfurl the national flag.
2. Similarly, the ministers of state council would preside over functions in all the district headquarters.
3. After independence, the Chief Commissioner's Province of Himachal Pradesh came into existence on 15 April 1948, with the merger of 28 petty princely states.
4. AIR correspondent reports that security has been beefed up throughout in the state.
5. Himachal became a part C state on 26 January 1950 with the implementation of the Constitution of India and the Lt. Governor was appointed.

International Affairs

• External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today left for a two-nation three-day visit to Iran and Russia.
• Her  Iran visit is aimed to step up engagement in a range of areas including oiland trade as the strategically important Persian Gulf nation is now ready to resume business as usual after lifting of sanctions under a historic nuclear deal.
• Note : Iran is an important country for India for its energy security as well as to get access to oil and gas-rich Central Asian nations.
• From Iran, She will leave for a two-day trip to Moscow to attend the annual Foreign Ministers' meeting of Russia, India and China.

National Affairs

• Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das launched the "Bhimrao Ambedkar Awas Yojana" for widows.
  
• Objective of this Scheme : To create equality and harmony in society, ensuring all round development.
• Important Points to Note about This Scheme :
• The programme is with a budget allocation of 80 crore rupees and a target of 11000 units (houses) for widows was set in 2016-17 financial year.
• Under this scheme, an amount of 75000 rupees would be granted to build a house in districts in hilly terrains and 70000 rupees in plains and the amount would be distributed among the beneficiaries in three installments in their bank accounts.
• The widows would also get pension.

Awards & Honors

• New York City declared this year's April 14 as 'Bindeshwar Pathak Day' in recognition of the contributions made by the 'Sulabh International' founder. 
• Note : His organisation engages nearly 50,000 people, has constructed nearly 1.3 million household toilets, and 54 million government toilets.
• The Indian Air Force has renamed West Bengal's Panagarh airbase as 'Air Force Station Arjan Singh' after the former IAF chief. 
• Note : Singh, having the rank of 'Marshal of the IAF', is the IAF's only ‘five-star’ rank officer.

Science & Technology

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone for a power plant ofPatratu Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (PVUNL), a joint venture company of National Thermal Power Corporation and Jharkhand government, on April 24.
• The PM will be laying the foundation stone for a 4000MW unit, the first phase of the 8000MW project.

Deaths

• Award-winning Malian photographer, Malick Sidibe (80) passed away.
• He is famous for his black and white studio portraits that captured the lives of young Malians in the 1960s and 1970s.
• Note : In the year 2007, he became the first African winner of the Golden Lion for lifetime achievement at the Venice Biennale.
• Punjab lokpal and former Punjab and Haryana High Court Judge, Justice Jai Singh Sekhon passed away.

Business & Economy

• According to App Store analytics firm App Annie, China has surpassed Japan to take the number two position in iOS revenues in Q1 2016, up from the third place in January. 
• China is already the leader in terms of iOS downloads since 2015, influenced by the adoption of Apple's larger-screened devices. 
• Note : The list is topped by the United States.

New Appointments

• Ukraine’s parliament has appointed Volodymyr Groysman as the country’s newPrime Minister.

Sports

• Indian professional table tennis player Achanta Sharath Kamal from Tamil Nadu qualified for the Rio Olympics 2016 after beating Iran's Noshad Alamiyan 4-3 in the Asian Olympic qualification event today. 
• Note : The 33-year-old 2004 Arjuna award recipient has won Men's Singles gold at the 2006 Commonwealth Games and Men's Doubles gold at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

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