Extensive Coverage Of Current Affairs 17/4/2016

International Affairs

• Today (17th April) is World Hemophilia Day.
• This day aims at raising awareness about haemophilia and other inherited bleeding disorders.  
• Haemophilia  - a ​rare ​blood ​disease in which ​blood ​continues to ​flow after a ​cut or other ​injury because one of the ​substances which ​causes it to ​clot does not ​work ​correctly.
• Theme of 2016 : Treatment for all is the vision of all
• French President Francois Hollande has announced €100 million in aid forLebanon over the next three years as it currently hosts over a million Syrian refugees. 
• On the first leg of her Two Nation - Three Day visit, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj reached Iran.
• She and her Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif held delegation level talks to review bilateral relations. 
• The focus of the talk was to increase Indian investment in energy, ports, and connectivity in Iran. 
• Note : India has already lined up a $20 billion investment in Iran's oil and gas and petrochemical and fertiliser sectors.
• India has decided to allow People belonging to minority communities of Pakistan, staying in India on a Long Term Visa,  to buy property, open bank accounts and get PAN and Aadhaar cards.
• Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar is on his first official visit to China. 
• During the visit, Mr Parrikar will hold talks with the country's top political and defence leaders.

National Affairs

• The Haryana government has announced anincrease in the medical and dearness allowances granted to state government employees.
• This move would put an additional cost of ₹315.34 crore annually on the state exchequer. 
• Note : The medical allowance granted to employees would be increased by 10%, and the dearness allowance by 6%.
• Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has launched free Wi-Fi service at Bhubaneswar railway station.
• The station became the second station to be covered under the free Wi-Fi project, after Mumbai Central in January this year.
• Note : Under the Digital India initiative, Google and RailTel have collaborated to make Wi-Fi network available across 100 stations to deliver high-speed Internet to 10 million Indians a day by the end of this year.
• The Indian Army conducted major battle exercise named as ‘Shatrujeet’ in the Thar Desert of Rajasthan near to the border with Pakistan. 
• The sole purpose of the exercise was to evaluate the capability of the Indian Army and fine tune its proactive war strategy to respond swiftly to any threat to nation’s security. 

Business & Economy

• According to data by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into India increased by 37% to $39.32 billion during 2015. 
• Note : Computer hardware and software sector attracted the highest FDI, followed by services, trading business, automobile industry and chemicals. 
• Singapore emerged as the biggest FDI source, followed by Mauritius, US, Netherlands and Japan.

Awards & Honors

• The Mumbai Press Club has selected T N Ninan, Chairman and Editorial Director of Business Standard, for this year's 'RedInk Award for Lifetime Achievement in Journalism'.

Science & Technology

• Researchers at the University of Science and Technology of China have unveiled 'Jia Jia', a new humanoid robot that can speak, show micro-expressions and move eyes and body. 
• Programmed to recognise both human and machine interactions, the robot has autonomous navigation and offers services based on cloud technology. 
• NASA today successfully installed the first ever expandable structure, Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, on the International Space Station (ISS). 
• In May, it would be expanded to 10.5 feet in diameter and 13 feet in length, nearly five times its compressed size. 
• With the project, NASA aims at studying concepts for habitats that can keep astronauts healthy in space.

New Appointments

• Gujarat government has appointed senior IPS officer Geeta Johri as the Director General of Police (DGP) of the state.  
• With this she became the first female DGP of Gujarat. 

Sports

• Mercedes AMG Petronas driver Nico Rosberg won the Chinese Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit today.
• Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq resigned as the head coach of the Afghanistan national cricket team.
• He is set to become Chief Selector of the Pakistan cricket team. 
• Sri Lanka's veteran left-arm spinner Rangana Herath has decided to retire from limited-overs cricket. 
• In a career that spanned 12 years, Herath played 88 limited-over international matches and picked up 92 wickets. 
• Rafael Nadal clinched his 9th Monte Carlo Masters title after defeating 29-year-old Frenchman Gaël Monfils in what was Nadal's 100th ATP World Tour final. 
• Indian artistic gymnast Dipa Karmakar has created history by becoming the first Indian woman gymnast to qualify for Olympics. 
• She achieved this feat after her strong performance at the final qualifying which helped her to book 2016 Rio Olympics Games berth to be held in August 2016. 
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NATIONAL:

Government to allow Pakistan Hindus to buy property, open bank accounts:

·        People belonging to minority communities of Pakistan, staying in India on a Long Term Visa, will soon be allowed to buy property, open bank accounts and get PAN and Aadhaar cards.

·        Issue of driving licence, PAN and Aadhaar cards, permission to take up self-employment or for doing business which is considered safe from security point of view, dispensing with the requirement of personal appearance before the Foreigners Registration Officer for registration are a few other facilities being planned.

Manohar Parrikar arrives in Shanghai on first visit to China:

·        Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar reached Shanghai last night on his first official visit to China. During the visit, Mr Parrikar will hold talks with the country's top political and defence leaders.

·        The Defence Minister's visit comes amid concerns in India about China's move to block its bid to have Jaish-e-Mohammad Chief Masood Azhar designated as a terrorist by the United Nations in the aftermath of the terror attack on the Pathankot air base in January this year.

India, Iran hold delegation-level talks:

·        External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj held delegation level talks with her Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif on host of issues to strengthen the bilateral relations.

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

·        Mrs Swaraj will also call on Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.

Government to increase minimum wages to 10k per month for contract labourers:

·        Union Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya said, the government has decided to bring out an executive order to increase minimum wages to 10,000 rupees per month for contract labourers across the country.

·        The Union Minister further said, six regional conferences will be held next month to review labour laws in the country.

Suresh Prabhu to launch free Wi-Fi service at Bhubaneswar railway station today:

·        Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu will launch free Wi-Fi service at Bhubaneswar railway station.

·        The station will be the second station to be covered under the free Wi-Fi project, after Mumbai Central in January this year.

·        Under the Digital India initiative, Google and RailTel have collaborated to make Wi-Fi network available across 100 stations to deliver high-speed Internet to 10 million Indians a day by the end of this year.

Delhi witnesses hottest day of season yesterday:

·        Delhi witnessed the hottest day of the season yesterday, with the mercury soaring up to 44 degrees Celsius.

·        According to the MeT Department, the maximum temperature was 6 degrees above normal, while the minimum settled at 24.6 degrees, three notches above normal.

Indian Railways use drones to assess project:

·        In a first, Indian Railways has used drones for inspecting the progress of a rail project and other under-construction schemes would now reportedly be assessed by such devices.

·        It further decided that drones will be used to assess the ground situation after train accidents. Preparation of status report became easier and faster through drones, added an official.

Maharashtra got highest new project announcements: Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE):

·        Maharashtra saw the highest worth of new projects announced in the quarter ended March at 96,889 crore, according to economic think-tank Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE).

·        Overall, projects worth 3.18 lakh crore were announced compared to 1.28 lakh crore in the previous quarter.

·        Notably, Maharashtra accounted for 30% of the projects followed by Andhra Pradesh (20%).

Department of Personnel and Training decides against scrapping Pensions Act 1871:

·        The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has decided against scrapping the Pensions Act, 1871 which exempts pension from being attached by a court or confiscated.

·        Earlier, the DoPT had asked the Law Ministry to include the 145-year-old law in the repealing bill so that it can be removed. Currently, the bill is pending in the Rajya Sabha.

Government to Launch ‘Twitter Seva’ for Startups on April 21:

·        On April 21, Government will be launching a ‘Twitter Seva’ , Union Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the launch of new service during an interaction with over 70 startup firms here at a co-working place.

Indian Army Conducts Battle Exercise ‘Shatrujeet’ In Rajasthan:

·        Mathura-based Strike 1 corps is conducting a major exercise ‘Shatrujeet’ in the deserts of Rajasthan to evaluate the capability of the Army to strike deep into enemy territory in an integrated air-land battle environment.

INTERNATIONAL:

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan sign Letter of Intent:

·        Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Department of Bacteriology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) of Japan signed a Letter of Intent on the sidelines of the meeting of the Health Ministers from WHO South East Asia Region and Western Pacific Region countries at Tokyo, in the presence of JP Nadda, Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare.

·        Union Health Minister stated that this will further help in deepening the relations between the two in research and development in scientific areas, particularly public health.

7.8-magnitude earthquake hits Ecuador, at least 77 killed:

·        Death toll has risen to 77 in the powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Ecuador.

·        Vice President Jorge Glas has confirmed the death toll. He said, it was the worst seismic movement they have faced in decades. He said, a state of emergency was declared in the six worst-hit provinces.

·        President Rafael Correa, on a visit to the Vatican, sent a message of support on Twitter.

Cuban President proposes age limit for leaders:

·        Cuba's President Raul Castro, 84, proposed that leaders of the country's Communist Party should retire at 70, in an attempt to bring youth to the party's leadership.

·        He suggested that people continue working for the party after retirement and spend more time with their grandchildren. Castro also reiterated that he will step down as Cuba's president in 2018.

Netherlands asks Nitish to preserve Collectorate:

·        The Netherlands has urged Bihar CM Nitish Kumar not to demolish the Patna Collectorate, which is one of the last remnants of Dutch history, and to list the centuries-old structures under the state archaeology department.

·        The Bihar government’s decision to dismantle and replace the building with a modern complex also received objections from members of civil society and many others.

France President Francois Hollande promises €100 million to Lebanon:

·        French President Francois Hollande on Saturday announced €100 million in aid for Lebanon over the next three years as it currently hosts over a million Syrian refugees.

·        He also announced “immediate aid to strengthen Lebanon’s military capacity”, at a joint press conference with Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam.

Pope Francis takes 12 Muslim refugees to Vatican:

·        Pope Francis on Saturday took 12 Syrian Muslim refugees, who were facing deportation from Greece, back with him to the Vatican, where they will be granted refuge.

World's 1st legal Pastafarian wedding concludes:

·        The first legally recognised Pastafarian wedding on Saturday concluded in Akaroa, New Zealand.

·        According to the tradition, the wedding took place in the name of 'Flying Spaghetti Monster', by the couple slurping a spaghetti noodle until they kissed and exchanged wedding rings made from spaghetti.

·        The wedding, held on a pirate boat, was officiated by a pirate.

APPOINTMENTS:

GoDaddy's CTO Elissa Murphy resigns to join Google:

·        Elissa Murphy, the Chief Technology Officer and Executive Vice President of web hosting company GoDaddy has reportedly resigned from her post to join Google.

·        The resignation will be effective from May 17 this year.

·        After Murphy's exit, her position will be taken over by Arne Josefsberg, GoDaddy’s Chief Information and Infrastructure Officer

AWARDS AND HONOURS:

T N Ninan gets Mumbai Press Club’s lifetime achievement award:

·        Awarded by The Mumbai Press Club – ‘RedInk Award for Lifetime Achievement in Journalism’

·        Achiever: T N Ninan, Chairman and Editorial Director of Business Standard

·        The award will be presented to Ninan by the Governor of Maharashtra C Vidyasagar Rao

New York Mayor declares April 14 as ‘Bindeshwar Pathak Day’:

·        New York City declared this year’s April 14 as ‘Bindeshwar Pathak Day’ in recognition” of the contributions made by the Indian social activist and ‘Sulabh International’ founder for improving the lives of people engaged in the “most dehumanising situation”.

·        New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio honoured Pathak for his outstanding work to improve health and hygiene and “moving the world forward“.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY:

17 major oil producing countries to meet in Doha :

·        In Qatar, at least 17 major oil producing countries, both from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-cartel producers, are due to meet in Doha.

·        They will discuss freezing production at January levels to offset the glut in global oil and steady oil prices that have declined to a third of their peak level between 2014 and last year.

Tata Steel launches internal carpooling platform:

·        Steel major Tata Steel has rolled out a secure carpooling platform for its employees, thus becoming one of the first companies in the manufacturing sector to do so.

·        The company has partnered Bengaluru-based startup PoolCircle for the initiative. The move will enable Tata Steel employees across the country to pool rides with their colleagues, the company said.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY:

FB testing News Feed with multiple news sections:

·        Facebook is testing a revamp of its News Feed where it features multiple news sections like World & US, Sports, Food, Music and Animals & Pets.

·        The sections appear at the bottom of the screen and are accessible by tapping or swiping left or right. Users can also edit the categories they’d like to see in the new mobile layout.

China unveils new humanoid robot 'Jia Jia':

·        Researchers at the University of Science and Technology of China have unveiled 'Jia Jia', a new humanoid robot that can speak, show micro-expressions and move eyes and body.

·        Programmed to recognise both human and machine interactions, the robot has autonomous navigation and offers services based on cloud technology. It took three years for the researchers to complete the robot.

Hubble telescope captures dwarf galaxy Leo A:

·        NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has captured an image of a dwarf galaxy called Leo A, that is situated about 2.5 million light-years away from the Earth.

·        Its few million stars are sparsely distributed, enabling scientists to see some distant galaxies in the background. It is a member of the Local Group of galaxies that also includes our Milky Way galaxy.

Machine turns organic waste to compost in 24 hrs:

·        Mumbai-based Excel Industries has developed 'Bioneer', a machine that claims to convert organic waste into compost in 24 hours.

·        Available in four sizes, the machine with lowest capacity processes 100 kg of waste per day whereas the highest capacity machine processes 400 kg of waste a day.

·        It is suitable for use in housing societies, corporations, kitchens and temple complexes.

Engineers create tech to double Wi-Fi speed:

·        An Indian-origin engineer-led team in the US has developed a circuit that can double the speed of Wi-Fi.

·        The circuit is based on 'full-duplex radio integrated circuits', meaning it can simultaneously transmit and receive signals using the same frequency, thereby doubling the capacity.

·        Until now, receivers and transmitters either worked at different times or simultaneously at different frequencies.

Google Hangouts lets users send video on Android:

·        Google is rolling out an update to its Hangouts app on Android that allows users to record and share video attachments.

·        However, the said videos can only be a minute long. The feature, that has been on iOS for about a month now, comes after three years of the app being launched on Android devices.

Apple makes unique iPad Pro for charity auction:

·        Apple has designed a unique 12.9-inch iPad Pro for a charity auction at London’s Design Museum on April 28.

·        The one-off iPad Pro features a yellow aluminum shell, and comes along a Smart Cover in French leather and an Apple Pencil with a leather-bound case.

·        Auction partner Phillips anticipates that the limited-edition product will sell for between $14,200 and $21,300.

SPORTS:

Inzamam-ul-Haq resigns as Afghanistan coach:

·        Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq resigned as the head coach of the Afghanistan national cricket team, with reports suggesting he is set to become Chief Selector of the Pakistan cricket team.

·        Afghanistan Cricket Board chief, Shafiq Stanikzai, said that they had received Inzamam's resignation and that Pakistan Cricket Board chief, Shaharyar Khan, asked him to release Inzamam.

India finish 2nd in Sultan Azlan Shah Cup:

·        India finished as runners-up in the 25th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup as they lost 0-4 against Australia in the final match in Malaysia.

·        After a goalless first quarter, Australia took the lead through Thomas Craig. Later, Craig added one and Matthew Gohdes added two goals to help Australia win a record ninth Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.

Monte Carlo Masters: Andy Murray defeated in three sets by Rafael Nadal

·        In Monte Carlo Masters Tennis, fifth seed Rafael Nadal defeated world number two Andy Murray to reach the Final for the first time since 2013.

·        In the Final, Nadal will meet 13th seed Frenchman Gael Monfils. In the other semi-final, Monfils defeated higher placed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6-1, 6-3.

Paddlers Sharath Kamal, Mouma Das qualify for Rio Olympics:

·        Indian Table Tennis players Achanta Sharath Kamal and Mouma Das have booked places in forthcoming Rio Olympics.

·        Both the paddlers won their respective final rounds in Stage-2 of the Asia Olympic Qualification tournament at Hong Kong yesterday.

·        Earlier, Soumyajit Ghosh and Manika Batra had qualified for the Rio Games to be held in August.

·        It will be for the first time India will be represented by a full four-member squad in Table Tennis Singles events at the Olympics.

IPL: Gujarat Lions defeated Mumbai Indians by 3 wickets in a thriller:

·        Aaron Finch scored his 3rd successive half-century of IPL season-9 as Gujarat Lions defeated holders Mumbai Indians by 3 wickets in a thriller at Wankhede Stadium last night.

·        Earlier in another match, Kolkata Knight Riders beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 8 wickets at Hyderabad.

Rosberg takes pole at Chinese GP; Hamilton last:

·        Mercedes' Nico Rosberg took pole at the 2016 Chinese Grand Prix, ahead of Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo at second and Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen at third.

·        Two-time defending champion, Lewis Hamilton was unable to set a time after experiencing a power unit problem, meaning he will start the race in the last position after having begun the previous two on pole.

1. Indian Army conducts Shatrujeet battle exercise in Rajasthan
1. The Indian Army conducted major battle exercise named as ‘Shatrujeet’ in the Thar Desert of Rajasthan near to the border with Pakistan. The sole purpose of the exercise was to evaluate the capability of the Indian Army and fine tune its proactive war strategy to respond swiftly to any threat to nation’s security.
2. The 2016 Shatrujeet battle exercise was steered by the Mathura based 1 Corps, one of the three principle strike corps of the Indian Army. It aimed to evaluate the capability of the Indian Army to strike deep into enemy territory in an integrated air-land battle environment.

2. Jharkhand Government launches Bhimrao Ambedkar Awas Yojana for widows
1. Jharkhand Government has launched Bhimrao Ambedkar Awas Yojana for widows to create equality and harmony in society, ensuring all round development enshrined in the Constitution. It was launched by Chief Minister Raghubar Das on the occasion of 125th birth anniversary of Dr. B R Ambedkar.
2. The scheme (Yojana) aims at building 11000 units (houses) for widows in 2016-17 financial year with the budgetary allocation of 80 crore rupees. Under it, beneficiaries would get an amount of 75000 rupees to build a house in hilly terrains districts and 70000 rupees in plains area.

3. Supercomputer Param Kanchenjunga unveiled at NIT Sikkim
1. Supercomputer Param Kanchenjunga was unveiled at the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Sikkim. It has been named after Kangchenjunga mountain (8,586 m), the third highest mountain in the world which lies partly in Nepal and partly in Sikkim.
2. It was formally unveiled by Sikkim Governor Shrinvas Patil at the NIT Sikkim campus at Ravangla in South Sikkim District. It is said that it most powerful and fastest supercomputer among all the 31 NITs and Sikkim NIT has secured a rare distinction of having such a supercomputer.

4. Google, RailTel launched free WiFi service at Bhubaneswar Railway station
1. Google in collaboration with RailTel, the telecom arm of the Indian Railways, rolled out free Wi-Fi service at Bhubaneswar railway station .
2. With this, Bhubaneswar railway station became the second station to be covered under the Google-RailTel Wi-Fi project. Free Wi-Fi by Google-RailTel took off at Mumbai Central in January 2016.
3. This facility will enable passengers to stream high definition videos while waiting for their respective trains at the railway station.
4. Besides Bhubaneswar, trials are going on at about 10 more stations which include Jaipur, Patna, Ranchi, Ernakulum, Allahabad, Lucknow and Guwahati. Wi-Fi services will be available on these stations in a short time.

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