EveryDayQuiz: Extensive Coverage Of Current Affairs 25/4/2016

International Affairs

Today (25th April) is World Malaria Day.

This day recognizes global efforts to control malaria.

Globally, 3.3 billion people in 106 countries are at risk of malaria.

Important Note :

Wolrd Malaria Day is one of eight official global public health campaigns currently marked by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Remaining days are,

World Health Day,

World Blood Donor Day,

World Immunization Week,

World Tuberculosis Day,

World No Tobacco Day,

World Hepatitis Day and

World AIDS Day.

Theme for World Malaria Day 2016 : End Malaria For Good

Today is World Penguin Day.
United States President Barack Obama today announced that 250 US Special Forces soldiers will be deployed in Syria to help Syrian militia and keep up the "momentum" of the fight against the Islamic State.

Note : This increases US forces in Syria six-fold, to around 300.
According to reports, this can give Syrian fighters more access to US close air support.

Serbian voters today chose incumbentAleksandar Vučić as the country's Prime Minister in a reported endorsement of his pro-European Union policies.
The 11th edition of India-Mongolia joint military training Exercise ‘Nomadic Elephant – 2016’ has commenced at Mongolia.

It seeks to promote military associations between India and Mongolia.

National Affairs

The Government has increased minimum wage for contract workers to ₹10,000 per month, "taking into consideration the Consumer Price Index and Dearness Allowance.
The Lok Sabha passed the Regional Centre for Biotechnology Bill, 2016 to provide statutory status to the existing Regional Centre for Biotechnology in Faridabad, Haryana.

The Bill seeks to provide legislative backing to the Regional Centre and also confers upon it the status of an institution of national importance.

Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu today formally inaugurated the state's new Secretariat at the Velagapudi village in the new capital Amaravati.

The government plans to start operations from Amaravati starting June 15.

The district administration of Kerala's Kozhikode has launched 'Operation Sulaimani', wherein eateries serve meals to people in exchange for free coupons given by the authorities.

The operation fed 9,000 people last year.

Business & Economy

The government is planning to completely ban FDI in the tobacco sector.

Currently, FDI is allowed in technology collaboration, like licensing for trademark and brand name, while being prohibited in the manufacture of cigarettes and tobacco substitutes.
This follows the government's decision to make it mandatory for tobacco products to have 85% pictorial health warnings on the package.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in 2015-16 (April-February period) has reached its highest ever level at $51 billion. I

Note : In 2014-15, the FDI inflows were recorded at $44.29 billion.

Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed the Lok Sabha that India has banned the import of milk and milk products from China after finding them substandard.

Further, some mobile phones, which do not carry the IMEI number, and certain steel products from China were also banned.
Note : India's trade deficit with China for 2015-16 (April-February) stood at $48.68 billion.

The government has approved an interest rate of 8.7% on the Employee Provident Fund (EPF) for 2015-16 from 8.75% in 2014-15.

Earlier, the interest rate on Public Provident Fund was reduced to 8.1% from 8.7% while that on the National Savings Certificate was lowered to 8.1% from 8.5%, both starting April 1, 2016.

Science & Technology

The Department of Health and Family Welfare today introduced a new polio vaccine, Inactivated Poliovirus Vaccine (IPV), in Chandigarh.

It will replace the existing trivalent Oral Polio Vaccine (tOPV) which is being used for over three decades.
This vaccine will be given to the children along with pentavalent vaccine and oral polio drops to reduce incidences of vaccine-derived polio.

Scientists at NASA have proposed to deploy a robotic system, called Icy-moon Cryovolcano Explorer (ICE), to explore Saturn’s Europa and Enceladus moons for alien life.

According to the scientists, the surface-to-subsurface robotic system will land on an icy moon, traverse to an ice volcano, descend into its opening and deploy underwater vehicles to explore a sub-surface ocean for alien life.

NASA, in collaboration with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the US, has successfully flown 22 drones simultaneously in several locations over the span of three hours to test a drone traffic management system. T

he space agency called this the most complex test yet of a drone traffic management system and the first and the largest demonstration of its kind.

New Appointments

Congo’s President Denis Sassou Nguesso has appointed Mouamba Clement as the new Prime Minister of the central African country.
Senior legislator Gopal Roy was today appointed as Lader of Congress Legislative Party in the Tripura assembly.

Awards & Honors

74th Master Dinanath Mangeshkar Awards :

Veteran actor Jeetendra - Lifetime Achievement Award
Filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali - special award for Direction (Bajirao Mastani)
Actor Ranveer Singh - special award for Actor (Bajirao Mastani)
Note : Pandit Ajay Chakravorty and Marathi actor Prashant Damle were among the other awardees.

Self-proclaimed godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Insan, who turned to acting and filmmaking with his films 'MSG: The Messenger' and 'MSG 2', was honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Film Foundation’s Award.

He received the award for the most popular actor, director and writer.
The foundation had also honoured actors Manoj Bajpayee and Priyanka Chopra this year.

Mumbai-born property magnates David and Simon Reuben have topped the annual Britain rich list, 'The Sunday Times Rich List 2016', with a fortune of £13.1 billion (approximately $18.9 billion).

The Hinduja brothers, at £13 billion, occupy the second spot.
Note : Lakshmi Mittal, whose wealth dropped from £27.7 billion in 2008 to £7.12 billion this year, is 11th on the list.

Sports

Mairaj Ahmad Khan has won the Silver medal in the skeet event at the ISSF Shooting World Cup in Rio de Janeiro.

With this win, he has became the first Indian to bag a medal in the event at a World Cup.
Important Points to Note :

Sweden's Marcus Svennson won the gold medal.
Last year, Mairaj also became the first Indian to qualify for the Olympics skeet event.

Leicester City's Riyad Mahrez has been named as the PFA Player of the Year for the 2015/16 season.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics Organising Committee unveiled the new official logos of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games today, after the design of the older logo was accused of plagiarism.

The new Harmonized Chequered Emblem, designed by Asao Tokolo, uses traditional Japanese colours and patterns to represent the intercultural themes of the Olympic Games.
Palagiarism meaning : taking someone else's work or ideas and passing them off as one's own).

Indian rower, Dattu Bhokanal has qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics in the Men's Single Sculls at the 2016 FISA Asian and Oceania Olympic Qualification Regatta at Chung-Ju in South Korea today.
Rafael Nadal has won his 9th Barcelona Open title by beating Kei Nishikori.

IMPORTANT DAYS:

World Malaria Day:

· Today is World Malaria Day.

· The day is observed every year to create awareness among the people about this vector borne disease.

· The six countries in Africa that could be rid of malaria by 2020 are Algeria, Botswana, Cape Verde, Comoros, South Africa and Swaziland.

· The theme for 2016 is “End Malaria For Good”

NATIONAL:

Second part of Budget session begins today:

· The Parliament's two houses met today to resume the second part of the Budget Session.

· The Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan called for two minutes of silence in the memory of victims of the recent Kolkata flyover collapse and last year's Nepal earthquake.

· The Opposition reportedly raised the issue of the suspension of the Uttarakhand government in the session.

Andhra CM Chandrababu Naidu inaugurates Secretariat in new Capital:

· Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu today formally inaugurated the state's new Secretariat at the Velagapudi village in the new capital Amaravati.

· The government plans to start operations from Amaravati starting June 15, CM Naidu said.

· He also announced 30% additional house rent allowance for government employees shifting to Amaravati and promised 5,000 houses for them within a year.

India Pride Project (IPP): An Initiative to bring back India's lost artefacts:

· The term India Pride Project (IPP) , it is an initiative by two NRIs who seek to bring back the lost artefacts to India.

· Through the initiative, they seek to answer that India was looted of more artefacts in the post-colonial era than under the British or Mughals.

· The India Pride Project is a small, but brave attempt to bring this loot back into the places where they belong in India. In simple terms India Pride Project’s mission is to restore the Nation’s pride through restoring its culture.

· Co-founders of IPP:

· Vijay Kumar: Co-founder of IPP, is an art enthusiast himself and is the general manager of a shipping company.

· Anurag Saxena: He is another co-founder, a chartered accountant and Asia-Pacific CEO for the World Education Foundation, UK

PM lays foundation stone for India’s biggest power plant in Jharkhand:

· PM lays foundation stone for India’s biggest power plant in Jharkhand and addresses Panchayati Raj Sammelan that is being celebrated on 24th April of every year.

· Power plant: Patratu Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited

· Joint Venture of National Thermal Power Corporation and Jharkhand Government.

· Total Capacity: 8000MW and Prime Minister lays the foundation for first phase of 4000MW capacity.

UDAY bonds fetch Rs.99,000 crore:

· Eight states have issued bonds worth over Rs.98,959.96 crore under UDAY(Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana)scheme in 2015-16 which was unveiled by Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal & New and Renewable Energy in November 2015.

· Aim of UDAY is to improve operational and financial efficiency of state power distribution companies.

· The special bonds (non-SLR special securities) issued by RBI.

· These securities have been issued by the state governments under the Government Securities Act, 2006

J P Nadda inaugurates first of its kind Central Government CGMP compliant facility in Himachal Pradesh:

· Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare J P Nadda inaugurated the first of its kind Current Good Manufacturing Practise (CGMP) compliant facility for manufacture of DPT and TT vaccine at the Central Research Institute (CRI), Kasauli in Himachal Pradesh.

· He also launched the website of CRI

Army completes amphibious exercise ‘Jal Prahar’:

· Indian military has completed an amphibious exercise ‘Jal Prahar‘ which was began on March 17 in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

· To validate and fine-tune its strategy to take over enemy land via sea

· All three wings of the armed forces Army, Air Force and Navy participated in the participated in the Jal Prahar exercise.

India cancels visa given to Chinese dissident leader Dolkun Isa:

· India has cancelled the visa given to a leading Chinese dissident to participate in a conference in Dharamsala, after China's objection over it.

· The visa given to Dolkun Isa has been cancelled.

· Isa, a leader of World Uyghur Congress, had been invited for the conference being organised by US-based 'Initiatives for China'.

P-Notes investment climbs to Rs 2.23 lakh crore:

· Investments through participatory notes, P-Notes, into the country's capital markets increased to Rs 2.23 lakh crore in March, after having hit an 18-month low in February.

· This also marks the first increase in investments via P-Notes in four months.

· But the percentage of FII investments via P-Notes fell to 10 per cent in March, from 10.7 per cent in February.

· P-Notes are used mostly by overseas high networth individuals, hedge funds, and other foreign institutions to invest in the Indian capital markets through registered foreign portfolio investors.

Kozhikode feeds people for free in Operation Sulaimani:

· According to The Better India, the district administration of Kerala's Kozhikode has launched 'Operation Sulaimani', wherein eateries serve meals to people in exchange for free coupons given by the authorities.

· The operation fed 9,000 people last year.

INTERNATIONAL:

Ecuador government declares eight days of national mourning:

· The Ecuadorian government declared eight days of national mourning as the death toll from the massive earthquake that hit the South American country a week ago has risen to 654.

· President Rafael Correa made the announcement in his weekly TV broadcast.

China issues warning for mountain floods, geological disasters:

· China has issued a warning for mountain floods for the next one day in some parts of the country.

· According to a statement issued by China Meteorological Administration, CMA and the Ministry of Water Resources, the floods are expected to hit the southeastern part of Tibet autonomous region, the eastern part of Guangdong and in particular the western part of Yunnan.

· The state-run Xinhua news agency reported that the weather authorities advised close monitoring and precautions. Heavy rain has been lashing south China since last week.

Import of milk products from China banned:

· Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed the Lok Sabha that India has banned the import of milk and milk products from China after finding them substandard.

· Further, some mobile phones, which do not carry the IMEI number, and certain steel products from China were also banned.

· Notably, India's trade deficit with China for 2015-16 (April-February) stood at $48.68 billion.

Serbia votes for pro-EU PM Aleksandar Vučić:

· Serbian voters on Sunday chose incumbent Aleksandar Vučić as the country's Prime Minister in a reported endorsement of his pro-European Union policies.

· Vučić had pulled the elections ahead by two years to seek a clear mandate for reforms to keep Serbia's EU membership talks on track.

China's share in world exports at 49-yr high:

· China's proportion of global exports rose to 13.8% in 2015 from 12.3% in 2014, the highest share by a country since the US's quota in 1968, data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Employment showed.

· Further, China's imports for the period fell by 14%.

· Meanwhile, China's steel production in March this year was its second-highest ever.

APPOINTMENTS:

Gopal Roy appointed as new Congress Legislative Party (CLP)for Tripura:

· Senior legislator Gopal Roy was today appointed as leader of Congress Legislative Party in the Tripura assembly.

· Roy is a four time MLA from Banamalipur assembly constituency of Agartala.

· Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) President Birajit Sinha said the Speaker has been requested to make suitable arrangements.

· The post fell vacant after resignation of Sudip Roy Barman from the post of CLP leader last month, Mr Sinha said.

BANKING :

Government approves 8.7% interest on Employees Provident Fund for 2015-16:

· The government has approved an interest rate of 8.7% on the Employee Provident Fund (EPF) for 2015-16 from 8.75% in 2014-15, Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya said on Monday.

· Earlier, the interest rate on Public Provident Fund was reduced to 8.1% from 8.7% while that on the National Savings Certificate was lowered to 8.1% from 8.5%, both starting April 1, 2016.

AWARDS AND HONOURS:

Jeetendra, Ranveer win Dinanath Mangeshkar Award:

· Veteran actor Jeetendra, filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali and actor Ranveer Singh were honoured with the 74th Master Dinanath Mangeshkar Awards.

· While Jeetendra received the Lifetime Achievement Award, Bhansali and Ranveer were given special awards for direction and acting for 'Bajirao Mastani'.

· Pandit Ajay Chakravorty and Marathi actor Prashant Damle were among the other awardees.

Street in Switzerland named after Roger Federer:

· A street in Switzerland has been named after tennis star Roger Federer, which the 17-time Grand Slam champion inaugurated himself.

· Notably, the street leads to the national centre for Swiss Tennis at the Tissot Arena sports complex where Federer trained as a junior.

India-born Reuben brothers top UK rich list:

· Mumbai-born property magnates David and Simon Reuben have topped the annual Britain rich list, 'The Sunday Times Rich List 2016', with a fortune of £13.1 billion (approximately $18.9 billion).

· The Hinduja brothers, at £13 billion, occupy the second spot. Notably, Lakshmi Mittal, whose wealth dropped from £27.7 billion in 2008 to £7.12 billion this year, is 11th on the list.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY:

Sebi plans e-registration of market entities:

· Markets regulator Sebi is reportedly planning to introduce an online mechanism for the registration of companies as market intermediaries such as mutual funds, brokerage firms and portfolio managers.

· Currently, such facility is available only for commodity derivative brokers.

· The proposed mechanism will also be reportedly made available for periodic filings of all market intermediaries

Reliance buys Iranian oil after six-year hiatus:

· Reliance Industries Ltd, has bought crude oil from Iran after a 6-year break.

· RIL,which operates the world’s biggest refining complex at Jamnagar in Gujarat, is looking at quickly ramping up purchases to the earlier levels of about 5 million tonnes a year.

· Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) and Essar Oil Ltd are the main buyers of Iranian oil in India.

Tata Trusts signs pact with Odisha for Malaria elimination:

· Tata Trusts has signed a pact with the Odisha government to achieve elimination of Malaria from the state by 2030.

· As per the MoU, Tata Trusts will be taking mass screenings twice a year in 557 villages in five selected blocks including Bissamcuttack and Muniguda blocks of Rayagada district, Lanjigarh, Thuamulrampur blocks of Kalahandi district and Kotgarh block of Kandhamal district in southern Odisha.

· The Centre has committed to eliminate malaria from the country by 2030.

· The vision of the partnership is to reduce malaria deaths by 50 per cent in five years and incidence by 40 per cent.

IMF expects USD 500 billion revenue loss for Mideast oil exporters:

· The International Monetary Fund has said that oil exporting countries in West Asia lost a staggering 390 billion dollars in revenue due to lower oil prices last year.

· The IMF added that these countries should brace for even steeper losses of over 500 billion dollars this year.

· The IMF said economic growth in the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and the United Arab Emirates will slow from 3.3 percent in 2015, to 1.8 per cent this year.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY:

Sahapedia, India’s first open source encyclopedia to the Art and culture is now live:

· Sahapedia is an open source resource on the Arts, Cultures and heritage of India.

· The Meaning of “Saha” in Sanskrit meant as“Together with” that is used to explore the together the richness of our cultural landscapes.

· Knowledge around each subject is complex and has many shapes.

· Brainchild: SudhaGopalakrishnan, who headed India’s National Mission for Manuscripts.

Philips launches smart voice recorder SpeechAir:

· Philips has launched an Android-powered digital voice recorder aimed at legal and medical professionals.

· Called SpeechAir, the smartphone-like recorder features an antimicrobial touchscreen display, a 5 MP camera that can read barcodes, Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity, 1 GB of RAM and is powered by a dual-core Cortex A9 processor.

· It supports real-time encryption and can be remotely administered.

FB launches Hindi transliteration on Android:

· Facebook updated its Android app to add a new Hindi transliteration feature. Users can now type in Hindi using an English keyboard, through a new button on the typing bar, and Facebook will automatically transliterate the Roman script to Devanagari.

· Further, Facebook also provides a visual keyboard with Devanagari characters for users to correct any mistakes.

SPORTS:

London Marathon: Jemima Sumgong & Eliud Kipchoge win elite races:

· Jemima Sumgong recovered from a fall to win the women’s London Marathon as fellow Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge retained the men’s title in the second-fastest time in history.

· Sumgong, 31, banged her head when tripped by Ethiopian Aselefech Mergia as they approached a water station.

· His time has been bettered only by Kenyan Dennis Kimetto, who ran 2:02:57 in 2014 in Berlin, which is acknowledged as a quicker course.

· Marcel Hug of Switzerland won the men’s wheelchair race ahead of Britain’s Paralympic champion David Weir in third, while American Tatyana McFadden won the women’s race for a fourth consecutive year.

· The 36th London Marathon saw an estimated 39,698 runners line up for the 26.2-mile course.

Rower Dattu Bhokanal qualifies for Rio Olympics:

· Indian rower Dattu Bhokanal today qualified for the Rio Olympics after winning a silver in the finals of men's single sculls at the 2016 FISA Asian and Oceania Olympic Qualification Regatta at Chung-ju in South Korea.

· The 25-year-old armyman clocked 7 mins 7.49 seconds in the 2km course to finish second and qualify for the Rio Olympics.

Wrestler Sandeep Tomar (57 kg) books berth for Rio Olympics:

· Wrestler Sandeep Tomar secured an Olympic quota place for India in the men's 57kg freestyle category with a bronze-medal finish on the final day of the 1st World Olympic Qualifying tournament in Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia.

· The 25-year-old Sandeep became the fourth Indian wrestler a after Yogeshwar Dutt (men's 65kg freestyle), Narsingh Yadav (men's 74kg freestyle), and Hardeep Singh (Greco-Roman 98kg) to book a berth for the Rio Games, to be held later this year.

· Sandeep qualified for the Olympics by winning the playoff bout after having clinched the bronze medal.

Mairaj wins India's first skeet medal at a shooting World Cup:

· Indian shooter Mairaj Ahmed Khan has won the silver medal in the Men’s Skeet event of the ISSF Shooting World Cup in Rio De Janerio. Mairaj's feat, gave India its first skeet medal at a World Cup.

· The 40-year-old Indian shooter finished with an overall tally of 14 in the gold medal match, but lost out to Marcus Svensson of Sweden.

· Earlier in the year, he became India's first ever skeet shooter to win an Olympic quota place after finishing at sixth place in last year's ISSF Shotgun World Cup in Italy.

Rafael Nadal wins Barcelona Open to equal clay-court record:

· In Tennis, Rafael Nadal has won the Barcelona Open to equal Guillermo Vilas' decades old record of 49 clay-court titles.

· In the Final last night, world number five and top seed Spaniard defeated two-time defending champion Kei Nishikori of Japan, in straight sets, 6-4, 7-5.

· This was Nadal's 9th Barcelona Open title, and he has now won his first 10 matches of the European clay-court season.

Garcia-Mladenovic defeated Sania-Hingis to win Stuttgart Grand Prix tournament in Germany:

· French pair of Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic won women’s doubles final of the Stuttgart Grand Prix tournament.

· In the final held at Stuttgart in Germany, the French duo defeated the Indo-Swiss pair of top seeded pair of Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis 6-2, 1-6, 6-10.

· On the other hand, the women’s singles title was won by Angelique Kerber of Germany.

· In the final clash, the reigning Australian Open champion Kerber defeated her countrywoman Laura Siegemund 6-4, 6-0.

Russia defeated China to win gold at World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship:

· Russian pair Anastasia Bryzgalova and Alexander Krushelnitskiy claimed the World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship title with a 7-5 victory over China at Karlstad, Sweden.

· China's Wang Rui and Ba Dexin took the silver. The United States, with a 9-7 win over Scotland, secured the bronze medal.

· The combined results of the 2016 and 2017 world mixed doubles events will decide the seven teams who will join host South Korea at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

OBITUARY:

Papa Wemba: Congo music star dies after collapsing on stage:

· The influential Congolese musician Papa Wemba has died aged 66 after collapsing during a concert.

· With a new band, Viva La Musica, Wemba moved to Paris in the 1980s and helped popularize Congolese music beyond Africa. He toured in the 1990s with British rock star Peter Gabriel and appears on his “Secret World Live” album.

:: NATIONAL ::

MEA revoked the passport of Vijay Mallya

The Ministry of External Affairs announced that it had revoked the passport of Vijay Mallya, owner of the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines, starting the process of bringing him back to India.
The MEA revoked the passport of Shri Vijay Mallya onthe facts brought by the Enforcement Directorate and Non-Bailable Warrant under the PMLA Act, 2002, issued by Special Judge, Mumbai.
The move comes days after the MEA said it had started consultations to bring Mr. Mallya to justice.
The ED had begun coordinating with the MEA to bring Mr. Mallya back , especially because of his reluctance to disclose overseas assets.
Within hours of the announcement, news agencies reported that Mr. Mallya’s name featured in the electoral rolls in the United Kingdom. The rolls mention his address as Hertfordshire, where he has been staying since last month.

CJI broke down at the Chief Ministers and Chief Justices conference

Chief Justice of India Tirath Singh Thakur Broke down several times in his half-hour speech addressed directly to Prime Minister who was present at the Annual Chief Ministers and Chief Justices Conference.
He also launched a scathing attack on government inaction, blaming the Centre for stalling appointment of judges to the High Courts and doing nothing to increase the number of courts and judges.
The Chief Justice asked what was the point of ‘Make in India’ and inviting foreign direct investments when investors would worry about timely delivery of justice in case of litigation.
“Therefore, not only in the name of the litigant… the poor litigant languishing in jail but also in the name of the country and progress, I beseech you to realise that it is not enough to criticise the judiciary,” he said
He said there were 434 judicial vacancies in the High Courts as of date, “thanks to” the fact that judicial appointments remained in limbo because of the prolonged litigation over the NJAC.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered an unscheduled speech, immediately after the Chief Justice of India Tirath Singh Thakur’s emotional speech.
Taking on the CJI, the Prime Minister said judges and the government should sit together and work for a more efficient tomorrow rather than dwell on the past and what was said in 1987.
He said the ordinary citizen had full faith in the judiciary and the government would not let his faith in the judges falter.
He blamed the flood of archaic laws that filled up the statute books, faulty or vague drafting of laws and their multiple interpretations by various courts for prolonged litigations.

Water conservation became the focus of PM’s Mann Ki Baat

Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a call for water conservation in villages at a time when parts of the country are reeling under an unprecedented drought.
He said that monsoon would be 106-110 per cent of the normal this year is heartening.
“To fight the drought and ensure water security, the governments will do its work.
But I have also seen people making their own efforts. In several villages, there is awareness about the value of water and in such places there is sensitivity and a will to do something to conserve it,” Mr. Modi said in his address.
“Rain water should be preserved. The water of a village should remain in the village. If we take a resolve to do that, it is possible through a mass campaign.”
The Prime Minister gave his address a feel-good ring when he hailed the one crore families that had voluntarily given up LPG connections so that the poor can get cooking gas.
Faith in people was important, he asserted. At the same time, he wondered whether a train journey could take place without a ticket-checker, on the basis of faith in the people.
Mr. Modi asked people to visit a website ‘Transforming India.’ They would get news about positive achievements there.
Former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam had said that “positive news” alone should be on Page 1. There was a move towards “positive news,” which was the “greatest reason for inspiration to do good work.”
Later addressing a rally in Jharkhand to mark Panchayat Day, the Prime Minister stressed the need to strengthen the panchayats as the development of the country was linked to the development of villages.

:: INTERNATIONAL ::

TTIP and Syria remain the focus of Obama’s visit to Germany

U.S. President Barack Obama arrived on a valedictory visit to Germany to see his “friend” Chancellor Angela Merkel, but their show of unity looked unlikely to silence opposition to their push for a transatlantic trade pact.
Mr. Obama jetted into the northern city of Hanover, where he warned that it would be a “mistake” to send Western troops into Syria and cautioned Britain on reduced global influence should it quit the EU.
While his fifth and final official trip to Europe’s biggest economy is expected to cover global crises, one of the headline goals is to advance negotiations on what could become the world’s biggest free trade agreement.
Both sides say they aim to see the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) finalised, at least in its broad outlines, before Mr. Obama leaves office in January.
However Ms. Merkel’s Economy Minister warned that the deal “will fail” if the United States refuses to make concessions in the protracted talks.
His comments came a day after tens of thousands of people marched against the U.S.-EU free trade deal through the streets of Hanover, where Mr. Obama and Ms. Merkel were to open the world’s largest industrial technology fair.
Before he left for Germany, Mr. Obama told the BBC the United States would continue efforts to broker a transition deal between the Syrian regime and its moderate opponents to end the bloody civil war.
He called for “international pressure” on “all the parties, including Russia and Iran, who, essentially, are propping up Assad”.
In the same interview, Mr. Obama reiterated his warnings about a so-called Brexit, saying Britain would have “less influence globally” if it voted to leave the European Union in June.
Mr. Obama’s visit will wrap up Monday with a keynote speech in which he is expected to frame his vision of transatlantic relations.

Jamaat-e-Islami activist arrested in connection with the professor murder

Police arrested reportedly an activist of Jamaat-e-Islami, in connection with the murder of A.F.M. Rezaul Karim Siddiquee in northern Rajshahi, but rejected the claim of the involvement of the Islamic State (IS) in the killing.
A senior police officer admitted that murder bore similarity to the previous killings of bloggers.
However, he claimed that those behind the murders were local Islamists and purported messages from IS and al-Qaeda were only aimed at confusing the investigators.
Siddiquee, a professor at the English department of Rajshahi University, was hacked to death by two unidentified gunmen on Saturday morning near his home in Rajshahi when he was waiting for a university bus to go to the campus.
The murder case has been handed over to the Detective Branch of Police, to be investigated on “top priority”.
Though monitoring group SITE reports that the IS has claimed responsibility for the murder for the professor’s alleged views on religion, the murdered professor had reportedly never written or spoken anything against religion.
Attacks on teachers with a liberal bent of mind at Rajshahi University, believed to be a den of radical Islamist groups, is nothing new. Prof. A.K.M. Shafiul Haque was killed in 2014, a murder for which al-Qaeda claimed responsibility.
Geology teacher Prof. S. Taher Ahmed was found dead in a septic tank of his house in 2006. His colleague and a Jamaat-backed teacher were among the three were sentenced to death for the murder.
Earlier this month, NazimuddinSamad, an activist, was killed in Dhaka. Earlier, in 2015, four bloggers were murdered, all for their writing and views against religious bigotry.

NPC says they demand federalism not separatism

The Northern Provincial Council (NPC), which has reiterated the position of Tamil parties for a merger of the North and the East, is not for special powers to be provided to the proposed State, according to its chairperson C.V.K. Sivagnanam.
On the significance of the resolution adopted, Mr. Sivagnanam said that “our demand for federalism should not be misconstrued as something in favour of separatism.
Let the Central government share power with all the States or Provinces uniformly.. We expect other Provinces to fall in line with us so that we all can have greater powers.
The Council’s proposals on constitutional reforms were essentially based on the constitutional models of two countries — India and Switzerland.
As in the case of India, there should be States demarcated on the basis of languages.
This was one of the reasons for the proposed merger of the Northern and Eastern provinces as “Muslims in the East are all Tamil speaking people,” Mr. Sivagnanam pointed out.
Taking into account aspirations of hill-country Tamils, the NPC suggested another autonomous body.The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has 30 members in the 38-member body.

:: Business and Economy ::

Labour ministry wants central bank to look for the possibility of workers bank

The Labour Ministry has asked the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to form a panel headed by a former Deputy Governor of the central bank to look into a proposal of creating a Workers' Bank using Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF).
The proposal was mooted by the trade unions about a decade ago and has been discussed by Labour Ministry and Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) for several years now.
In 2004, the Congress-affiliated Indian National Trade Union Congress (Intuc) had first submitted a theme paper to the government on setting up ‘Workers’ Capital Trust’ to improve the earnings of Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) by investing its corpus in various instruments.
The idea was modelled on similar experiences in countries like Canada, Netherland, Switzerland and South Africa where a collective pension fund system invests worker’s savings in equities of domestic and global markets.
As on 31 March 2015, EPFO’s total corpus stood at Rs.6.34 lakh crore.
Various committees set up to review the proposal had suggested that EPFO should concentrate on its core activities and were not in favour of the Workers’ Bank.
However, the idea was revived after the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government took charge in May 2014.

World awaits the fed policy decision

U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers are expected to hold interest rates steady but they might tweak description of the economic outlook to reflect more benign conditions.
Fed raised its policy rates in last decision for the first time in a decade when market volatility finally subsided in the wake of Chinese economy scare.
Similarly early this year markets wobbled on worries about a slowdown in global economic growth and weak U.S. corporate earnings, leading to expectations for further Fed rates rises to be revised down.
Many Fed officials remain spooked by the steep stock market drop earlier this year and by weak first-quarter U.S. economic data.
Concrete signs of higher inflation and growth may be needed before the FOMC, the Fed's policy committee, continues with the projected gradual path toward more normal levels of interest rates.
Though the U.S. economy is generating jobs and consumer prices have risen, providing support for a Fed interest rate rise, weakness in retail sales and international trade, as well as concern about China's economy, are reasons to worry.

1. India’s first online interactive heritage portal Sahapedia launched

i. The Government of India has launched country’s first online interactive heritage portal named Sahapedia in New Delhi.

ii. The web portal is a collaborative knowledge resource on the arts, culture and heritage of India. Sahapedia is a not-for-profit society headed by former TCS chairman S. Ramadorai, who currently helms the National Skill Development Agency.

iii. The major objective of the portal is to inform, educate and act on subjects such as knowledge traditions, visual and material arts, performing arts, literature and languages. Making full use of modern design and technology, ‘Sahapedia’ will enable the user to experience the subcontinent’s culture from ancient times till date in a comprehensive manner.

2. 25th April : World Malaria Day

i. 25th April is observed every year as World Malaria Day (WMD) to create awareness among the people about this vector borne disease.

ii. The theme for 2016 is End Malaria For Good. This year’s theme reflects the vision of a malaria-free world set out in the Global technical strategy for malaria 2016-2030.

iii. The World Health Assembly adopted it in May 2015, the strategy aims to dramatically lower the global malaria burden over the next 15 years. The strategy sets the target of reducing global malaria incidence and mortality rates by at least 90% by 2030.

3. Centre to provide plastic park to Andhra Pradesh

i. Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers Ananta Kumar announced that Andhra Pradesh would be the plastic hub in a short while from now and that the Centre would provide a plastic park to the State with Rs.1000 crore.

ii. The announcement has been made after laying the foundation stone for the Central Institute of Plastic Engineering and Technology (CIPET) at Surampalli village of Gannavaram mandal, near Vijayawada.

iii. He also announced that a plastic waste management center would be set up in Vijayawada and agreed to take up the issue of setting up the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) in Visakhapatnam.

4. Nabard lends Rs 1,000 crore to HSWC for wheat procurement

i. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has sanctioned a loan of Rs 1,000 crore to Haryana State Warehousing Corporation (HSWC) for purchase of wheat during the ongoing rabi marketing season.

ii. The objective of foodgrain procurement by the government agencies is to ensure that farmers get remunerative price for their produce and do not have to resort to distress sale and build buffer stocks.

iii. The state government has authorised five agencies, namely Food and Supplies Department, HAFED, Haryana Agro Industries Corporation, Food Corporation of India and HSWC to procure wheat at minimum support price during the 2016-17 marketing season.

5. Govt Notifies New Rules To Improve SC/ST Act on Ambedkar Jayanti

i. Union Government has notified new rules to improve the Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes Act also known as Preventions of Atrocities Act.

ii. The notification has been issued by the government on the birth anniversary of Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, popularly known as Babasaheb.

iii. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment had notified the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Rules 2016 on 14 April, following which rules have now been framed. Some of the key upgrades in the bill: 1. The provision of completing an investigation and filing a charge sheet in the court within 60 days of the filing of the complaint by a member of SC/ST community. 2. A provision in the revamped bill is delinking the requirement of the medical examination for getting relief amount for non-invasive offenses against the women. 3. The new provisions have increased the existing quantum of relief amount from between Rs. 75,000 and Rs. 7, 50,000 to between Rs. 85,000 and Rs. 8, 25,000, depending on the nature of the offense.

6. Tata Trusts signs pact with Odisha for Malaria elimination

i. Tata Trusts has signed a pact with the Odisha government to achieve elimination of Malaria from the state by 2030.

ii. As per the MoU, Tata Trusts will be taking mass screenings twice a year in 557 villages in five selected blocks including Bissamcuttack and Muniguda blocks of Rayagada district, Lanjigarh, Thuamulrampur blocks of Kalahandi district and Kotgarh block of Kandhamal district in southern Odisha.

iii. The Centre has committed to eliminate malaria from the country by 2030. If the partnership between Odisha government and Trusts can demonstrate reduction in mortality in Odisha, it will bring down overall prevalence of malaria and incidence in the country. The vision of the partnership is to reduce malaria deaths by 50 per cent in five years and incidence by 40 per cent.

7. Cadbury inaugurates largest Asia-Pacific facility in India

i. Cadbury India, part of Mondelez International, today inaugurated its $190 million factory in Sri City SEZ, on the border of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

ii. The plant, which was inaugurated by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, is the company’s largest plant in Asia Pacific.

iii. The plant will start with making Dairy Milk chocolates will have an initial capacity of about 60,000 tonnes a year, which will be increased to 250,000 tonnes by 2020. The facility is spread over 134 acres of leased land; the plant will be developed in four phases and is scheduled for final completion by 2020. The new facility is a multi-category food campus and will create around 1,600 jobs.

8. India banned milk, mobile phones import from China

i. India has banned import of milk and milk products, certain mobile phones and a few other items from China after finding them sub-standard or not following security codes.

ii. Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in Lok Sabha that India banned import of milk and milk products from China as their quality was unacceptable.

iii. Sitharaman said some mobile phones, which do not carry International Mobile Station Equipment Identity number or other security features, and some steel products have also been banned from importing from China. "Complete ban of import from any country is not possible now due to WTO rules even if we have problems diplomatically, territorially or militarily," she said

9. International Solar Alliance Cell and UNDP declared Cooperation for Promoting Solar Energy

i. The Interim Administrative Cell of International Solar Alliance (ISA Cell) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on 22 April 2016 declared their intention to promote solar energy globally.

ii. The declaration was made on the occasion of the side event on International Solar Alliance at the UN Headquarters in New York.

iii. The main aim of this cooperation is the Development of synergies with ongoing UNDP programmes and projects on solar energy in and across ISA member countries and also the creation of complementary linkages with ongoing global and regional efforts in the field of solar energy.

10. Uber partners with Election Commission in Tamilnadu

i. Taxi operator Uber has partnered with Election Commission in Tamil Nadu to spread awareness on voting among the electorate for the May 16 assembly polls.

ii. Uber held discussions with officials on the importance of voting and encouraging people to cast their vote and would collaborate with EC's Systematic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation programme, Uber India said in a statement.

iii. Drivers of Uber cabs would be educating public on the importance of voting and encourage riders to vote on May 16.

11. China, Pakistan ink agreement to launch satellite to monitor CPEC projects

i. China and Pakistan have signed an agreement for the launch of a special satellite to monitor the development of the multi-billion dollars China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects.

ii. Pakistan and China are working closely and wholeheartedly to implement the CPEC projects in the speediest manner. In this regard, both countries have decided for development and launch of the Pakistan Remote Sensing Satellite (PRSS-1) System and launch a satellite in June 2018.

iii. The first phase of multibillion dollars CPEC framework will be completed by 2018. The production of 10,000MW under this important initiative will also help overcome the energy crisis by 2018.

12. Former Finance Minister Clement Mouamba appointed as Prime Minister of Congo

i. Mouamba Clement, the former Congolese Finance Minister, was on 24 April 2016 appointed as the Prime Minister of Congo.

ii. He was appointed to the post by Congo's President Denis Sassou Nguesso.

iii. Clement will be responsible for forming a government in consultation with the president in accordance with the 25 October 2015 constitution. His major task after being appointed as Prime Minister would be to help in creating jobs for the youth, a majority of whom are struggling with under unemployment. This task will be linked with diversifying the country’s economy to achieve the President Denis Sassou Nguesso’s ambition of making Congo an emerging country by 2025.

13. Manoj Bajpayee To Receive Dadasaheb Phalke Award For 'Aligarh'

i. Renowned actor Manoj Bajpayee will be going to receive the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the movie Aligarh.

ii. The actor will receive the award in the best actor category of Critics Choice. The award will be presented on 1st of May, 2016.

iii. The movie 'Aligarh' is a biographical drama directed by Hansal Mehta and the actor Manoj Bajpayee has played a role of Professor 'Ramchandra Siras' in it.

14. Rafael Nadal wins Barcelona Open to equal clay-court record

i. In Tennis, Rafael Nadal has won the Barcelona Open to equal Guillermo Vilas' decades old record of 49 clay-court titles.

ii. In the Final last night, world number five and top seed Spaniard defeated two-time defending champion Kei Nishikori of Japan, in straight sets, 6-4, 7-5.

iii. This was Nadal's 9th Barcelona Open title, and he has now won his first 10 matches of the European clay-court season.

15. India to host 2018 Commonwealth Judo Championships

i. India will host the 2018 Commonwealth Judo Championships in Jaipur.
ii. This was announced by the Judo Federation of India in a press release in New Delhi today.
iii. The Commonwealth Judo Congress had allotted the Championships to India at its meeting held at Port Elizabeth in South Africa on Saturday.

#SSC #IBPS #SBI #RBI #NABARD #NICL #NIACL #CAT #NMAT #everydayquiz

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Extensive Coverage Of Current Affairs 25/4/2016