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BA Fact Bytes

Contents Business Awareness ............................................................................................................................... 3

Personalities ....................................................................................................................................... 3

Business Appointments - India .................................................................................................. 3

Key Business Positions - India .................................................................................................... 3

International Appointments ...................................................................................................... 4

Key positions held – World Forums ........................................................................................... 5

Business Awards ................................................................................................................................. 7

Global Rankings .................................................................................................................................. 8

Business News .................................................................................................................................. 10

Mergers, Acquisitions, Investments ........................................................................................ 10

New Launches/Initiatives ........................................................................................................ 12

Tie-ups ..................................................................................................................................... 14

Brand Updates ......................................................................................................................... 15

Systems/Apps .......................................................................................................................... 15

General Awareness ............................................................................................................................... 17

Personalities ..................................................................................................................................... 17

Appointments .......................................................................................................................... 17

Non-Business Positions ........................................................................................................... 19

Deaths ...................................................................................................................................... 19

People in News ........................................................................................................................ 20

Book Releases & Authors ................................................................................................................. 22

Sports ................................................................................................................................................ 23

Awards .............................................................................................................................................. 29

Honours ............................................................................................................................................ 38

Government Schemes ...................................................................................................................... 39

Government News ............................................................................................................................ 43

India’s Global Rankings ..................................................................................................................... 50

International News ........................................................................................................................... 52

Important Days ................................................................................................................................. 57

Updates reported from 1 -10 April ....................................................................................................... 62

Government News ............................................................................................................................ 62

Business News .................................................................................................................................. 62

Personalities ..................................................................................................................................... 62

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Awards .............................................................................................................................................. 62

Honours ............................................................................................................................................ 63


Sports ................................................................................................................................................ 63

Updates reported from 11 -18 April ..................................................................................................... 63

Business Appointments – India ........................................................................................................ 63

People in News ................................................................................................................................. 64

Sports ................................................................................................................................................ 64


Awards .............................................................................................................................................. 64

Honours ............................................................................................................................................ 65

Government Schemes ...................................................................................................................... 65

India’s Global Rankings ..................................................................................................................... 65


Updates reported from 18 -24 April ..................................................................................................... 65

Deaths ............................................................................................................................................... 65

People in News ................................................................................................................................. 66

Honours ............................................................................................................................................ 66

Sports ................................................................................................................................................ 66

Business News .................................................................................................................................. 66

Government News ............................................................................................................................ 66



Updates reported from 25 April -10 May ............................................................................................. 67

Appointments – Indian ..................................................................................................................... 67

Deaths ............................................................................................................................................... 67

Awards .............................................................................................................................................. 67

Sports ................................................................................................................................................ 67

Government News ............................................................................................................................ 68


Updates reported from 11- 17 May ..................................................................................................... 68

Deaths ............................................................................................................................................... 68

Sports ................................................................................................................................................ 69

Government News ............................................................................................................................ 69


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Business Awareness Personalities Business Appointments - India

Position Personality President, Microsoft India Anant Maheshwari Head, Nokia India Sanjay Malik MD, Facebook India Umang Bedi CEO, Wipro Abidali Neemuchwala Partner & CEO, KPMG India Sameer Chadha MD, Mondelez India Deepak Iyer COO , ITC Limited Sanjiv Puri Chairman, Max Financial Services Naina Lal Kidwai India Country Manager & MD, PayPal

Anupam Pahuja

CEO, AirAsia India Amar Abrol (Replaced Mittu Chandilya) CEO & MD, MCX Mrugank Paranjape MD, SBI Dinesh Kumar Khara Chairman, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT)

Sushil Chandra (Replaced Rani Singh Nair, who retired on 31 Oct 2016)

Chairman, Press Trust of India Riyadh Mathew Senior VP, Housing.com Dilip Tuli (Former KPMG Director) Chairman, Tata Sons N Chandrasekaran (Replaced Cyrus Mistry) CEO & MD, TCS Rajesh Gopinathan (Replaced N

Chandrasekaran) Chairman, Tata Steel OP Bhatt (Replaced Cyrus Mistry) Chairman, Tata Global Beverages Harish Bhat (Replaced Cyrus Mistry)

Key Business Positions - India

Entity Personality NITI Aayog CEO – Amitabh Kant

Vice Chairman - Arvind Panagariya Chief Economic advisor to the govt Arvind Subramanian Chairman, 7th pay commission Justice A K Mathur Chairman, 14th Finance Commission Y V Reddy Minister of Commerce & Industries Nirmala Seetharaman Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das Cabinet Secretary Pradeep Kumar Sinha SEBI chief Ajay Tyagi (Replaced Upendra Sinha)

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CII chief Dr. Naushad Forbes FICCI chef Pankaj Patel (Replaced Harshavardhan

Neotia) NASSCOM chief President – R. Chandrasekhar

Chairman – C P Gurnani ASSOCHAM chief Sunil Kanoria BSE chief Chairman – Sudhakar Rao Banks & Financial Institutions

Entity Personality SBI Arundhati Bhattacharya (Chairman) ICICI Bank Chanda Kochhar (MD & CEO) HDFC Bank Aditya Puri (MD) Yes Bank Rana Kapoor (MD & CEO) Standard Chartered India Zarin Daruwala (CEO) Exim Bank Yaduvendra Mathur (CMD) International Appointments

Personality Narration Theresa May Replaced David Cameron as the British Prime Minister,

post Britain’s EU exit Pushpa Kamal Dahal (“Prachand”)

Replaced K P Oli as the Prime Minister of Nepal

Tsai Ing-wen First female president of Taiwan Rodrigo Duterte Won 2016 presidential election of Philippines Paul Romer World Bank's new chief economist Kristalina Georgieva CEO of IBRD & IDA - Lending arms of the World Bank

(Replaces Mulyani Indrawati, current MD & COO) Shashank Manohar First independent Chairman of the ICC. He stepped

down in March 2017 Sunil Bharti Mittal 1. Head of International Chamber of Commerce (ICC),

based in Paris, France 2. First Indian to be elected as the Chairman of global

telecom industry board GSMA. He will oversee the strategic direction of the organisation, which represents nearly 800 global mobile operators & 300+ companies in the broader mobile ecosystem

Ken Miyauchi President & COO of SoftBank Group (Replaced Nikesh Arora)

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Borje Ekholm President & CEO of Ericsson (Replaced Hans Vestberg who was ousted earlier)

Navtej Sarna Indian ambassador to the US Anne Hathaway UN Women Global Goodwill Ambassador Ulf Mark Schneider New CEO of Nestle (Worldwide) Toshihiro Suzuki New CEO of Suzuki Motors Donald Trump New President Elect of the US. The Republican

candidate won a fiercely fought electoral competition against the nearest rival Hillary Clinton

Mariano Rajoy Re-elected as Spanish Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni Italian Prime Minister (Replaces Matteo Renzi) Bill English New Zealand Prime Minister (Replaced John Key) Meng Hongwei First Chinese appointed as the Interpol head. He is

currently the deputy public security minister of China France’s Jean-Pierre Lacroix

Appointed as the UN peacekeeping chief (Replaced Herve Ladsous, who served for six years)

Indra Nooyi, PepsiCo chairman

Appointed as the only Indian-American executive in US President's Strategic and Policy Forum

Key positions held – World Forums

Organization (Established in)

HQ Headed by 2016 convention

United Nations (1945)

New York Secretary General – Antonio Guterres

Multiple conventions

UN General Assembly

New York President - Peter Thomson

71st session, New York (Sep 2016)

International Court of Justice (1945)

Netherlands Ronny Abraham ___

World Bank (1945)

Washington D.C

President - Jim Yong Kim

World Bank Group Youth Summit, Washington DC (Nov 2016)

IMF (1945) Washington D.C

MD - Christine Lagarde

Annual Meetings, Washington (Oct 2016)

UNESCO (1945) Paris, France Director-General - Irina Bokova

World Humanitarian Summit, Istanbul (May 2016) – Organized by German Ethics Council, WHO & UNESCO

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UNCTAD (1964) Geneva, Switzerland

Secretary General - Mukhisa Kituyi

14th Summit, Kenya (July 2016)

World Economic Forum (1971)

Geneva, Switzerland

Executive Chairman - Klaus Schwab

Davos, Switzerland (January 2017)

Commonwealth of Nations (1949)

London, UK Secretary General - Patricia Scotland

__

World Intellectual Property Organization (1967)

Geneva, Switzerland

Director-General - Francis Gurry

__

New Development Bank (2015)

Shanghai, China

K V Kamath 8th BRICS Heads of State Summit, Goa (October 2016)

BRICS (2009) Shanghai, China

---- Youth summit, Guwahati (July 2016) First ever BRICS Employment Working Group meeting, Hyderabad (July 2016)

BIMSTEC (1997) Dhaka, Bangladesh

Secretary General - Sumith Nakandala (Sri Lanka)

Goa (October 2016)

WHO (1948) Geneva, Switzerland

Director General - Margaret Chan

11th Global Summit of National Ethics/Bioethics Committees, Berlin (March 2016)

ASEAN Summit (1967)

Jakarta, Indonesia

Secretary General - Le Luong Minh

28th & 29th Summits, Laos (Sept 2016) 11th East Asia summit & 14th ASEAN-India summits happened during same window

UNICEF (1946) New York Exec Director - Anthony (Tony) Lake

UNICEF Student Summit, Washington DC (April 2016)

OPEC (1960) Vienna, Austria

Secretary General - Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo (Nigeria)

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NATO (1949) Brussels Secretary General - Jens Stoltenberg

27th Summit, Poland ( July 2016)

SAARC (1985) Kathmandu Secretary General - Amjad Hussain B. Sial (Pakistan)

19th Summit to be held in Pakistan was indefinitely postponed

NAM (1961) Jakarta Secretary General - Nicolás Maduro

17th NAM summit. Venezuela, Sep 2016

G7/G8 (1976) ---- ---- 42nd Summit, Japan (May 2016)

G20 (1999) Mexico Xi Jinping China (Sept 2016) SCO (2001) Beijing Secretary General

– Rashid Olimov Tashkent, Uzbekistan

International Maritime Organization (1948)

London, UK Secretary General - Ki Tack Lim (South Korea)

India maritime summit - Mumbai

International Labour Organization (1919)

Geneva, Switzerland

Director General – Guy Ryder (UK)

___

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum (1989)

Singapore Executive Director - Alan Bollard

Peru (Nov 2016). Summit theme - “Quality Growth and Human Development”

Business Awards Business Awards Awardees Achievement

Forbes India Leadership Awards

Vijay Shekhar Sharma (Paytm)

Outstanding Start-up

Vinita Gupta & Nilesh Gupta (Lupin)

Entrepreneur for the Year

Yusuf K Hamied (Cipla) Lifetime Achievement Award Kenichi Ayukawa (Maruti Suzuki India)

Best CEO - Multinational Company

Sutirtha Bhattacharya (Coal India)

Best CEO - Public Sector

KBS Anand (Asian Paints) Best CEO - Private Sector

Golden Peacock Awards

Awardees Sector

1. Global Awards for Excellence in

Doha Bank, Qatar Financial Sector Dubai Electricity & Water Government

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corporate governance Authority, UAE Infosys Limited, India IT IRPC Public Company Limited, Thailand

Petroleum

Qualcomm Incorporated, US Telecom Equipment Levi Strauss & Co, US Textile & Apparel

2. Excellence in corporate governance (Indian companies)

Exide Industries Limited Engineering Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited

Financial Sector (NBFC)

The New India Assurance Company Limited

Insurance (General)

Max Life Insurance Company Limited

Insurance (Life)

TCS IT ONGC Oil Lupin Limited Pharma Goodyear India Limited Rubber Steel Authority Of India Limited

Steel

Bharti Airtel Limited Telecom

Other Awards Awardees Details Niryat Shree (Exporters) – 46 awardees

Reliance Industry - Top foreign exchange earner & leading exporter for 50+ years Offered by Federation

of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO)

TCS - Gold Award Niryat Bandhu (Export promotion Councils & Banks) – 6 awardees

SBI – Gold Canara Bank – Silver PNB – Bronze

CNBC’s 15th Asia Business Leader Awards

Achal Agarwal President of Kimberly-Clark Asia Pacific

Global Rankings Forbes’ Rankings

2016 Personality Role (Rank)

World’s most powerful women

Angela Merkel German Chancellor Hilary Clinton Presidential Candidate, the

US

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Janet Yellen Chairman, Federal Reserve Melinda Gates Philanthropist Marry Bara CEO, General Motors Christine Lagarde MD, IMF Sheryl Sandberg Facebook COO Susan Wojcicki CEO, YouTube Meg Whitman CEO, HP Ana Patricia Botín Chairman, Banco Santander

Forbes List of world’s 100 most powerful women – Indian names

Arundhati Bhattacharya

PepsiCo Head (14)

Chanda Kochhar SBI MD (25) Indra Nooyi ICICI MD (40) Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw Biocon Founder (77) Shobhana Bhartia HT Media head (93)

Forbes “Asia 50 Power Businesswomen” list – Top 2 positions

Nita Ambani Director, Reliance Industries Arundhati Bhattacharya Chairman, SBI

Forbes list of 40 of the most powerful people in the financial world

Uday Kotak (The only Indian in the list)

MD & Vice Chairman, Kotak Mahindra Bank

Forbes 2016 India Richest List

Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries Dilip Sanghvi Sun Pharma Azim Premji Wipro Hinduja Brothers The Hinduja Group Pallaonji Mistry Shapoorji Pallonji Group

Forbes 2016 list of the World’s highest paid actresses

Deepika Padukone Ranked No. 10 in the list

Forbes 2016 World’s Most Powerful People

Mr. Vladimir Putin Russian President (1) Mr. Donald Trump US President (2) Mr. Narendra Modi Prime Minister(9)

Companies/Entities Details Fortune 500 list – Indian companies

Indian Oil Corp (161) Reliance Ind. (215) Tata Motors (226) SBI (232)

Bharat Petroleum (358) Hindustan Petroleum (367) Rajesh Exports (423)

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Forbes 6th annual ranking of The World’s Most Innovative Companies

Asian Paints is globally ranked 18th. It is the highest ranked Indian firm

Forbes’ best countries for business

Ranks 1-5 Ranks 6-10 Sweden Denmark New Zealand Netherlands Hong Kong Finland Ireland Norway UK Canada

TIME Magazine Rankings

Person Profile

TIME Magazine’s Person of the Year 2016

Donald Trump The US President

TIME Magazine’s 2016 list of world's most influential people -

Indian entries

Name Category Profile Priyanka Chopra Artist Actress Sunder Pichai Titans Google CEO

Binny & Sachin Bansal

Titans Flipkart co-founders

Raghuram Rajan Leader Ex-RBI Governor

Sania Mirza Icons Tennis player Business News Mergers, Acquisitions, Investments

News Narration Microsoft acquired LinkedIn

Microsoft hopes to jump-start software packages by connecting them with LinkedIn's vast network

Henkel bought Sun Products

Sun Products gives Henkel scale to take on P&G in the highly competitive and shrinking US detergents market, helping to offset heavy discounting by retailers

Snapdeal acquired Insightful Labs

Insightful Labs operates a data analytics provider ‘Targeting Mantra’, to improve personalised shopping experience for customers

Tech Mahindra bought Target Group

Tech M will strengthen presence in the banking and financial services space

Tata Power acquired Welspun Energy’s renewable assets

Agreement to buy company’s 1.1 GW renewable portfolio for Rs 10000 Cr would be the largest solar M&A in the country

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Myntra acquired Jabong Myntra, a Flipkart Group company acquired Jabong from Global Fashion Group (GFG) for $70 million

Titan, Tata Group’s watch and jewellery retailing firm

Bought a majority stake in India’s largest jewellery e-tailer Caratlane.com

Tata Communications sold data centre business

Tatas sold a majority stake in this business to Singapore Technologies Telemedia

Verizon bought Yahoo’s internet biz for $4.83 billion cash deal

The deal adds Yahoo’s consumer services, i.e. search, news, finance, sports, video, email and the Tumblr social network to a portfolio that includes AOL & popular sites like The Huffington Post

Pfizer bought Medivation Medivation, a biotech company that makes an important cancer drug was bought for $14 billion

German giant Bayer bought Monsanto

$66Bn deal will create the world's biggest seeds and pesticides company

Marriott International bought Starwood Hotels and Resorts

The deal worth $13 billion has made Marriott the world’s largest hotel company

Reliance Communication & Aircel merged wireless business

The biggest consolidation deal in India's telecom sector will to create a combined entity with assets worth Rs. 65,000 crore

IDFC acquired Grama Vidiyal microfinance

It is the first time an Indian bank has acquired a microfinance institution & the deal (Estimated at Rs 300 crore) will lead to a 20-fold surge in IDFC Bank's customer base to more than a million

Zee Entertainment sold Ten Sports to Sony Pictures for Rs 2,600 crore

Deal raises SPN's sports profile & puts it on equal footing with 21st Century Fox-owned Star India

Nissan sealed $2.3 Billion Mitsubishi Motors stake Acquisition

Nissan came to the rescue after Mitsubishi Motors’ admissions to improperly measuring fuel economy and manipulating test data

Dish TV & Videocon D2H merged operations to form subscriber base to 27.6 million

Dish TV will own 55% stake & Videocon will have remaining 45% in the combined entity, named ‘Dish TV Videocon Limited’

Reliance Capital sold 49% of FM radio (92.7 Big FM) & 100% television business to Zee Media

Both transactions are valued at Rs 1900 Cr. Reliance’s TV channels (Big Magic, Big Ganga etc) will merge into Zee entertainment

AT&T bought Time Warner for $85.4 Billion

The combined business would pair carrier’s millions of wireless & pay-television

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subscribers with Time Warner’s deep media line-up, that includes networks such as CNN, TNT, HBO channel & Warner Bros. film and TV studio

ZEE bought UAE's oldest radio station ‘Hum 106.2 FM’

Hum is the UAE’s first Hindi and Urdu film and music radio station

Walmart acquired Jet.com for $3 billion

Acquisition will build on & complement existing foundation to serve customers across Walmart app, site and stores

French auto maker Peugeot bought Ambassador Car brand for $12 million

Hindustan Motors, India’s oldest car maker, owned by C K Birla group had stopped production of the Ambassador in 2014 citing debt & lack of demand for the vehicle. The car was muscled out over the years by the entry of more modern vehicles

Idea Cellular & Vodafone merger will create India’s largest Telco, both in revenues and subscribers

Vodafone will hold 45% in the combined entity. Idea promoters will hold a 26%. Aditya Birla Group will have the right to buy 9.5% stake

New Launches/Initiatives

News Narration DCB Bank started first ADHAAR based ATM

A customer can transact using his biometric details instead of PIN

Axis Bank launched India’s first certified green bond at London Stock Exchange

The bond certified by the Climate Bonds Standards Board, raised USD 500 million. It is the first green bond for Axis Bank within USD 5 billion Medium Term Note (MTN) programme

India’s first Centre of Excellence (CoE) on Internet of Things in Bangalore

It is a joint initiative between Department of Electronics & Information Technology (DEITY), Education & Research Network (ERNET) & NASSCOM. It is supported by strategic IT services partners

Reliance Jio launched 4G Announces free voice calls, no roaming charges & Rs 50 per GB, Rs 149 a month for light data users

Ashok Leyland launched ‘Circuit’, India’s first all electric bus

With a seating capacity for 31 passengers, it can travel for 120 km on a single charge

SBI floated Rs 200 Cr worth IT Innovation Start-up Fund

It will consider assistance of up to Rs. 3 crore to a firm registered in India to promote business innovations

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Amazon launched global start-up program ‘Launchpad’ in India

The program will enable Indian start-ups to sell products overseas. Amazon India has tied up with Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP)’s Start Up India and NASSCOM. Launchpad is available in seven regions & features over 400 products from different start ups including 25 Indian start ups

Paytm got RBI approval to launch payments bank

Paytm also announced integration of the UPI as a payments channel to recharge its wallet balance. This means that one could theoretically recharge one’s Paytm Wallet with the BHIM app

WhatsApp launched video calling facility

WhatsApp is lately catching up with a number of rivals, including Facebook’s own Messenger app, for example, as well as Skype, Apple’s FaceTime, Viber, LINE and Google’s recently launched Duo

Airtel launched first payments bank pilot in Rajasthan

It is offering the highest ever savings bank interest rate of 7.25%. Kotak Bank has 20% stake on Airtel Payments Bank

Microsoft launched India’s first Cyber security Engagement Centre at Delhi

Center will foster deeper cyber security collaborations with public & private sector organisations. It will help to build a trusted & secure computing environment, a critical enabler for India’s digital transformation

Google launched two new initiatives ‘My Business Website’ and ‘Digital Unlocked’ for SMBs

Intent is to train & help SMBs to capitalise on the digitisation wave faster • My Business Website – Free websites & web

tools • Digital Unlocked - Digital skills to enable SMBs to

get online and connect to customers Tata Motors launched pick-up vehicle ‘Tata Xenon Yodha’, with Akshay Kumar as brand ambassador

With a competitive price starting at Rs.6 lakhs, the model delivers high power & torque, for varied business requirements, for ease of day-to-day operations. It is available in single & double cab options

The first Digi Dhan mela held in Gurugram

This was first such fair since demonetisation for educating masses on how to use mobile phones or AADHAAR for making payments online

HDFC Bank to launch humanoid robot at reception

The bank showcased human-sized robot ‘Ira’, developed in association with Kochi-based Asimov Robotics

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‘Samsung Pay’, mobile payment wallet will be launched soon

Samsung has partnered with Amex & is exploring opportunities with Visa & MasterCard

IDFC is the first bank to launch biometric based payment system through ‘Aadhaar Pay’ app

The bank aims to onboard between 50,000-75,000 merchants to Aadhaar pay module in the next 2 years with a total target of touching 1,00,000 merchants over the next 3 years

Tie-ups

News Narration Apple, Cisco Collaborate on Technology Integration

Plans will facilitate integration of Cisco's Spark business collaboration service with iPhones to offer enterprise customers a better calling experience over Internet

Google will provide Wi-Fi access to 400 railway stations

Mumbai Central was the first Wi-Fi enabled station in India under ‘Project Nilgiri’

Nasscom & Facebook collaborate to support 500 product Start-ups in India

Flagship programme ‘Product Design Initiative’ aims to build awareness around product design, training on design tools, design lab, awards, design sprints and mentorship

Mahindra joins EP100 campaign to double energy productivity

The world’s largest manufacturer of tractors has committed to doubling energy productivity by 2030

State Bank ties up with IIT Powai MoU will enable in mentoring start-ups in financial sector. SBI now has a Rs 200 crore fund the same

Ola ties up with Bajaj Allianz for motor insurance

Drivers will have access to value added services & add on covers like Depreciation Shield & Engine Protector from Bajaj Allianz

Ola, Yatra join hands for cab booking interface integration

Through this integration, users will be able to book a ride directly through Yatra.com’s app without having Ola application installed on their devices

BSNL & Microsoft India sign MoU to offer telecom & IT solutions

The MoU will help meet demand for IT & cloud services, as well as audio and video needs of BSNL's enterprise customers including government organizations

Oracle India, SBI join hands for digital skills initiative

‘D-Change’ programme will support education & learning, women’s empowerment and rural skills development

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in the country through an initiative called “Digital Kushalta ki Aur.”

Google India, Ministry of Consumer Affairs tie up for ‘Digitally Safe Consumer’ campaign

The campaign will reach out with training materials to over 1,200 consumer organisations & consumer affairs department of every state/UT

Japanese funding agency JICA signs pact for Mumbai-Ahmadabad bullet train project

Estimated to cost about Rs 97,636 crore, 81% funding for project will come as a loan from Japan as per tripartite agreement with Railway Ministry & National High Speed Rail Corporation

Reliance Defence signs warship repair pact with US Navy

The deal for undertaking service, maintenance & repair of Seventh Fleet of US Navy at the Pipavav Shipyard in Gujarat may generate Rs 15,000 crore over 3-5 yrs

Brand Updates

News Narration Mysore Sandal Soap celebrates centenary in 2016

Owned by KSDL, it was established by Sir M Visvesvaraya in 1916

Bharti Airtel M-Commerce services got first ‘payment bank license’

Payment banks will offer differentiated services to small savings accounts, remittance services, low income households, small businesses & other unorganised sector entities

Interbrand released World's Best Global Brands Report 2016

Apple, Google, Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Toyota, IBM, Samsung, Amazon, Mercedes-Benz, GE

Hyundai Motor recalled 7,657 units of Eon for inspection

Eon customers of respective period will be notified in a phased manner for inspection of the clutch cable fouling with battery cable and replace the battery cable if found damaged at no cost to customer

Competition appellate tribunal (Compat) penalised Ford, Nissan, Toyota for unfair trade practices in spare parts

Automakers have been penalised 2% of turnover in the spare parts market. Compat has given directions to create a level playing field in after sales service

Systems/Apps

Name Launching Entity Narration Allo app Google A smart messaging app

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MySpeed app TRAI Measures real time mobile internet speed that customers get

BBPS, Bharat Bill Payment System

NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India)

Mandated by RBI, BBPS will cover repetitive payments for everyday utility services like electricity, water, gas, telephone & DTH

SmartUp app HDFC Bank Dedicated banking solution for start-ups

Vidyut Pravah app Ministry of Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy

The app provides highlights of the power availability in the country on real time basis

TARANG Mobile App, e-Trans & DEEP e-bidding web portals

The initiatives are in line with Digital India initiative & primarily seek to enhance transparency in power sector

‘Sachet’ portal RBI It will be helpful for the regulators in quick follow up of the unlawful money collection activities

“e-pashuhaat” portal Ministry of Union Agriculture & Farmers Welfare

Launched under the scheme National Mission on Bovine Productivity, the portal will be used to connect breeders and farmers regarding availability of bovine germplasm

Grievance Against Misleading Advertisements (GAMA)

Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA)

It intends to address the problem of misleading advertisements

‘Launchpad’ programme for Indian start-ups to sell products in global markets

Amazon For a fee of Rs 5,000 a month, start-ups can access Amazon’s seller support services such as account management, marketing and warehouse management etc

Adhaar based mobile payment application BHIM (Bharat Interface for Money)

National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI)

The app is rebranded version of UPI (Unified Payment Interface) & USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) for simpler digital payments

Mobile app ‘Easypay’ to facilitate cashless payments

ICICI Bank The app offers improved payment convenience using mobile phone through UPI, any credit/debit card

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& Internet banking and ‘Pockets’, digital wallet of ICICI Bank

General Awareness

Personalities Appointments (a) Union Cabinet portfolio Personality

HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar (Replaced Smriti Irani) Sports Minister Vijay Goel (Replaced Sarbananda Sonowal) Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad Information & Broadcasting M Venkaiah Naidu

(b) Chief Ministers

Personality

Jammu & Kashmir

Mehbooba Mufti (First woman CM of the state) post Mr Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s demise

Gujarat Vijay Rupani (BJP) replaced Anandiben Patel Arunachal Pradesh

Pema Khandu (Replaced Nabam Tuki after Supreme court re-instated Congress government in the state) CM Pema Khandu & 32 other legislators of People’s Party of Arunachal (PPA) switched to BJP (Jan 2017) CM Pema Khandu along with two-thirds of party MLAs crossed over to regional People’s Party of Arunachal (PPA)

Assam Sarbananda Sonowal (BJP) - Post assembly elections Tamil Nadu Edappadi K Palaniswami (Replaced O Paneerselvam, who had

taken over as CM post Jayalalithaa’s demise) West Bengal Mamata Banerjee (TMC), re-elected as CM - Post assembly

elections Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan (CPI-M) - Post assembly elections Nagaland Shurhozelie Liezietsu (Post resignation of T.R. Zeliang) Manipur Biren Singh (BJP) post Assembly elections 2017 Goa Manohar Parrikar (BJP) post assembly elections 2017. He

resigned from Union cabinet as the Defence Minister Punjab Capt. Amarinder Singh (Cong) post assembly elections 2017 Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath (BJP) post assembly elections in 2017 Uttarakhand Trivendra Singh Rawat (BJP) post assembly elections in 2017

(c) Governor/ Lieutenant Gov Personality Governor – Pondicherry Kiran Bedi

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Chief Minister – Pondicherry V Narayanasamy Andaman Nicobar islands Jagdish Mukhi Manipur Najma Heptulla Arunachal Pradesh V Shanmuganathan (Replaced Jyoti Prasad

Rajkhowa, who was removed from position post his refusal to step down). Later, Nagaland governor PB Acharya took additional charge of Arunachal Pradesh post resignation of V Shanmuganathan

Delhi Anil Baijal

(d) Government Bodies Personality RBI Governor Urjit Patel (Replaced Raghuram Rajan) RBI Deputy Governor NS Vishwanathan (Replaced Urjit Patel) RBI Deputy Governor Viral Acharya, known for his research in

theoretical & empirical analysis of systemic risks of the financial sector

RBI Deputy Governor Bibhu Prasad Kanungo Principal Adviser for social sector in NITI Aayog

Ratan Watal

Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa (Replaced Ratan Watal) Chairman (Part time), UIDAI J Satyanarayana (Succeeds Nandan Nilekani) CEO, UIDAI Ajay Bhushan Pandey (New position) Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT)

Justice Permod Kohli

CMD, Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL)

Sanjay Gupta, the youngest CMD of KRCL

Chairman, LIC of India V K Sharma (MD & Acting Chairman earlier)

(e) Others Personality Director, FTII Bhupendra Kainthola Chairman, Press Trust of India Riyadh Mathew

(f) Sports Personality Coach of Indian cricket team Anil Kumble Coach of Indian U-19 cricket team Rahul Dravid BCCI President – Vinod Rai (Replaced Anurag

Thakur) CEO – Rahul Johri (New position)

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IPL governing council 2016 Chairman – Rajeev Shukla Non-Business Positions

Government/Defence Personality National Human Rights Commission of India

Justice H.L. Dattu

Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi Chief Information Commissioner

Radha Krishna Mathur

National Security advisor to the Prime Minister

Ajit Doval

Chief, RAW Anil Dhasmana (Following incumbent Rajinder Khanna’s retirement)

Chief, Intelligence Bureau Rajiv Jain (Following incumbent Dineshwar Sharma’s retirement)

Director, CBI Alok Kumar Verma Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen Bipin Rawat (Replaced Dalbir Singh) Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba (Replaced Admiral Robin

Dhowan) Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal B.S. Dhanoa (Replaced Mr Arul

Saha)

Science Related Bodies (Establishment year)

Name

TIFR (1945) Sandip Trivedi BARC (1954) Director - K N Vyas Atomic Energy Commission of India

Chairman – Sekhar Basu

ISRO (1969) A S Kirankumar DRDO (1958) Director General - S Christopher National Green Tribunal (2010) Justice Swatanter Kumar Deaths

Name Narration Muhammad Ali (International Boxer)

Earlier name – Cassius Clay

Hanif Mohammad (Pakistani Cricketer)

First cricketer referred to as “Little Master”

Arnold Palmer (American Golfer) Called ‘The King of Modern Golf’ Neil O'Brien – Known as “Father Former Lok Sabha MP & three-time

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of Indian quizzing” nominated Anglo-Indian MLA in the West Bengal assembly

Mahasweta Devi (Indian writer) Bengali fiction writer and social activist Notable literary works - Hajar Churashir Maa, Rudali, Murti and Aranyer Adhikar

Mohammed Shahid (Hockey Player)

Member of 1980 Olympic Gold Medal winning Indian team, famous for dribbling skills. Winner of Arjuna Award & Padma Shri

Nida Fazli (Urdu/Hindi poet/lyricist)

Padma Shri awardee (2013) for contribution to literature

Satyanand Munjal (Hero Group) One of the co-founders of Hero Group Xerxes Desai (Titan) Founder & first MD, Titan Industries Shimon Peres (Ex-Israeli President)

He had won Nobel Prize for forging a peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians

Sellapan Ramanathan (Ex-Singaporean President)

He was the longest serving President from 1999-2011

M. Balamurali Krishna, Carnatic vocalist

Padma Vibhushan awardee

Fidel Castro (Cuba’s longest serving former president & the leader of Communist revolution)

Fidel Castro ruled Cuba as a one-party state for almost 50 years

J. Jayalalithaa, hugely popular actress-turned-politician

Was the youngest female chief minister of Tamil Nadu & influenced regional politics for several decades

Srinivasa Iyer ‘Cho’ Ramaswamy, the editor, political satirist & actor

Nominated Rajya Sabha member (1999-2005), Founder & Editor of ‘Thuglak’, the Tamil language weekly news magazine

Om Puri, veteran bollywood and stage actor

An alumnus of FTII & National School of Drama, he acted in multiple art & commercial films like Bhavni Bhavai (1980), Sadgati (1981), Ardh Satya (1982), Mirch Masala (1986) and Dharavi (1992)

Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan, renowned sitar player

Recipient of national awards Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan & Sangeet Natak Akademi Award was the last survivor of the 'Sitar Trinity' of India (Others being Pt. Ravi Shankar & Pt. Vilayat Khan)

People in News

Name Narration Irom Sharmila (Manipur), Ended 16 years of hunger strike against Armed

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Political Activist Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 passed by Indian Government, which gives excess powers to the armed forces, which they supposedly misuse against the innocent

Arjun Kumar Thapa, soldier of Gorkha Regiment of Indian Army

Became the first Indian to reach both Mount Everest peak and South pole

Mario Sharapova, Russian tennis player

Was suspended for playing Tennis for two years by International Tennis Federation, since she tested positive for meldonium, a performance enhancer drug banned by World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)

Perumal Murugan, a Tamil author

The Madras high court dismissed all criminal cases filed against the author by caste groups in protest against his controversial 2010 novel ‘Mathorubhagan’

Navjot Sidhu, a politician Resigned from Rajya Sabha as a BJP MP, joined National Congress party

Lionel Messi, the footballer Announced retirement after Argentina’s defeat in Cola America finals, but reversed his decision

First batch of female pilots in IAF

Avani Chaturvedi, Bhawana Kanth & Mohana Singh were inducted in Indian Air Force fighter squadron

Neeraj Chopra, a Javelin thrower

Broke the world record in IAAF World under-20 athletics championship in Poland, got India’s first ever gold in any World athletics championship

Saina Nehwal, the badminton player

Appointed as a member of IOC Athletes’ Commission. The Athletes’ Commission is chaired by Angela Ruggiero and it comprises nine vice presidents and 10 other members

Pawan Chamling, Sikkim CM Won sustainable development award for making Sikkim the first organic farming state in the country

Heena Sidhu, former world number one sport shooter

She pulled out of Asian Air Gun shooting championship in Iran, due to compulsory hijab rule for women athletes. She felt forcing athletes to wear a hijab is against the spirit of a sport

S P Tyagi arrested in Augusta Westland chopper deal case

It is the first time a Former Indian Air Force chief has been arrested by CBI

Supreme Court removes Anurag Thakur as BCCI

SC also issued a show cause notice to Thakur, under charges of perjury and contempt of court,

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President for allegedly lying under oath in his attempt to block implementation of measures proposed by the court-appointed Lodha committee

Sasikala Natarajan sent on four-year jail term, in connection with disproportionate assets case

She was elected as AIADMK General Secretary, post J Jayalalithaa’s demise

Sudip Bandopadhyay, TMC leader arrested in the Rose Valley chit fund scam case

CBI took Sudip in custody with allegations of involvement in dubious funds scam & non-cooperation with investigators. According to CBI, he was arrested on the charge of “criminal conspiracy”

Harmanpreet Kaur is the first India Women's cricketer to be signed by an overseas T20 franchise

Australian franchise ‘Sydney Thunder’ signed her up for 2nd edition of Australian T20 league

Yusuf Pathan set to become first Indian to play in overseas franchise T20

Pathan signed deal with Kowloon Cantons for the 2nd edition of the Hong Kong Twenty20 League after getting NOC from BCCI & Baroda Cricket Association

Ex-CBI director Ranjit Sinha to be probed regarding Coal scam

Supreme Court ordered CBI to probe the allegation of misuse of power by former CBI director Ranjit Sinha in coal block allocation scam

CBI books former chief AP Singh along with Moin Qureshi in a case registered to probe alleged corruption

Moin Akhtar Qureshi, who is also under probe by the IT department and the Enforcement Directorate, is accused of operating as a middleman for several public servants including AP Singh

Book Releases & Authors Author Book

Chetan Bhagat One Indian Girl (Fiction) Margaret Alva Courage & Commitment (Autobiography) Sania Mirza “Ace Against Odds’ is released (Autobiography) Chris Gayle “Six Machine: I Don't Like Cricket ... I Love It”

released (Autobiography) Ashwin Sanghi The Sialkot Saga Vinay Sitapati Half - Lion: How P.V Narasimha Rao

Transformed India Surendra Kumar Modi’s Midas Touch in Foreign Policy Shashi Tharoor An Era of Darkness: The British Empire in India

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Ruskin Bond Death Under the Deodars Arundhati Roy (Ex-Booker prize winner)

The Ministry of Utmost Happiness (Release due in June 2017)

Valmik Thapar Living with tigers Sunita Narain State of India’s Environment 2017 Jerry Pinto A Book of Light: When a Loved One Has a

Different Mind

Sports Rio Summer Olympics 2016 Superlatives First time participants as independent countries - Kosovo & South Sudan First time inclusion of a sport – Golf & Rugby Sevens First South American city to host the Summer Olympics First Indian female IOC member – Nita Ambani Official sponsor of the Indian contingent - Amul Also characterised by: Sustainable medals using recycled material Safety concerns surrounding the Zika virus (Spread by Aedes mosquito) Refugee Olympic Teams (From Syria, Kenya etc) & Independent Olympic Athletes Kuwait) IOC President – Thomas Bach Theme - World Peace And Environment Mascot – Vinicius - Represents Brazilian wildlife, combining aspects of cats, monkeys, and birds Medal standings The USA - 121 medals (46 G, 37 S, 38 B) Great Britain – 67 Medals (27 G, 23 S, 17 B) China – 70 Medals (26 G, 18 S, 26 B)

Key performances Country Achievement Michael Phelps (Swimming), highest number of individual Olympics medals

United States

25+ Olympics medals till date

Usain Bolt (Sprint), the 3*3 record holder

Jamaica Three sprinting gold medals in three consecutive Olympics (100m, 200m, 4*100m relay). Also a World record holder in 100m & 200m

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Elaine Thompson (Sprint), the fastest woman in the world

Jamaica Completed 100m race in 10.71 sec

Rafael Nadal and Marc Lopez (Tennis)

Spain They beat Romania’s Florin Mergea and Horia Tecau

P V Sindhu (Badminton) India The lone Indian silver medallist Sakshi Malik (Wrestling) India The lone Indian bronze medallist Dipa Karmakar (Gymnastics) India First Indian female gymnast to

participate in Olympics & finished at 4th position in Women's Vault Gymnastics

Lalita Babar, the first Indian woman athlete in 32 years to make it to a track final at the Olympics

India Finished 10th in 3,000m steeplechase

India has won total 28 medals at Olympics till date • Field Hockey – 11 • Wrestling – 5 • Shooting – 4 • Athletics, Badminton, Boxing – 2 each • Tennis, Weightlifting – 1 each Para Olympics 2016 Mascot – Tom (Represents Brazilian wild life)

Indian Medallists Achievement Mariyappan Thangavelu Gold medal, Men's high jump Devendra Jhajhariya Gold medal, Javelin (First gold in Athens, 2004) Deepa Malik Silver medal, Shot-put (First Indian woman

medallist) Varun Singh Bhati Bronze medal, men’s high jump 12th South East Federation (SAF) Games Venue Guwahati & Shilong, India Dates 5-16 Feb 2016 Mascot Tikhor the baby Rhino Medal standings India 188 G, 90 S, 30 B, Total Medals – 308

Sri Lanka 25G, 63 S, 98 B, Total Medals – 186 Pakistan – 12 G, 37 S, 57 B, Total Medals - 106

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Individual Sports Football/Futsal Location Highlights

UEFA European Championship 2016

France Portugal beats France (1-0) in the finals in Extra time

Copa America Centenario 2016 (Started in 1916)

The US (A celebration of the centenary)

• Held for the first time outside Latin America

• Chile beats Argentina in the finals & defends the title (4-2 in a penalty shootout)

• Chile Became the fourth nation to win consecutive titles

2016 Premier Futsal season

Goa & Chennai

Mumbai 5s beat Kochi 5s in finals Best player - Chaguinha (Kochi)

71st Santosh Trophy Football Championship

Kerala West Bengal beat Goa 1-0 in finals to clinch 32nd championship title

Boxing Location Winners WBO Asia Pacific Super Middleweight championship

New Delhi Vijender Singh beat Australian Kerry Hope

Tennis Location Winners Australian Open 2017

Melbourne Men’s Singles - Roger Federer beat Rafael Nadal in a 5-set match (Won 18th Grand Slam title) Women’s Singles - Serena Williams beat Venus Williams to win her record 23rd Grand Slam, one short of Margaret Court's long-standing record of 24

130th Wimbledon 2016

London Men’s Singles - Andy Murray (Beats Milos Raonic) Women’s Singles - Serena Williams beats (Beats Angelique Kerber)

115th French Open 2016

Paris Men’s Singles - Novak Djokovic (Beats Andy Murray) Women’s Singles - Garbine Muguruza (Beats Serena Williams) Mixed Doubles - Leander Paes-Martina Hingis (Beats Sania Mirza-Ivan Dodig)

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136th US Open 2016 New York Men’s Singles - Stan Wawrinka (Switzerland) Women’s Singles - Angelique Kerber (Germany)

ATP World Tour 2016 London Andy Murray beats Novak Djokovic to win his first ATP tour & ends 2016 as the World Number one in ranking

Davis Cup 2016 (105th edition)

International Tennis Federation (ITF) member countries

Described as ‘World cup of tennis’, the tournament between national teams in men's tennis was won by Argentina for the first time, after 4 runner-up finishes, defeating Croatia in the final

Golf Location Winners Ladies European Tour

Gurgaon Aditi Ashok became the first Indian woman to win on European Tour title

Kids Golf World Championship

Malaysia Arjun Bhati defeated South Africa's Methu Denish during the three-level final match, scoring 2 extra shots

Squash Location Winners PSA Australian Open Melbourne Dipika Pallikal Karthik beat Mayar Hany

(Egypt) 26th National Squash championship

Mumbai Men’s singles - Saurav Ghosal Women’s singles - Dipika Pallikal Karthik

Under-19 Asian junior individual squash championship

Kuala Lumpur

Velavan Senthilkumar beat Mohammad Al Sarraj of Jordan

Shooting Location Winners International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup

New Delhi Pooja Ghatkar - Bronze medal in 10m air rifle event Ankur Mittal - Silver medal in men’s double trap event Jitu Rai, Heena Sidhu - Gold medal in mixed team 10m rifle event

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Jitu Rai - Gold, Amanpreet - Silver in 50m-pistol

Badminton Location Winners Australian Open Super Series 2016

Sydney Saina Nehwal beats China’s Sun Yu in finals

Canada Open 2016 Calgary, Canada

Men’s singles - B Sai Praneeth Men’s doubles -Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy

China Open Super Series Premier 2016

Fuzhou, China

P V Sindhu beats China’s Sun Yu in finals

Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold 2017

Penang Saina Nehwal beats Thai Pornpawee Chochuwong, the top-seeded London Olympics bronze-medallist

Chess Location Winners Commonwealth Chess championship 2016

Sri Lanka Abhijeet Gupta

World Chess Championship 2016

New York Magnus Carlsen completed the title hat-trick by beating challenger Sergey Karjakin in a tie breaker

National Women Premier Chess Championship 2016

New Delhi International Master Padmini Rout from Odisha reported winning hat-trick since 2014

Kabaddi Pro Kabaddi League 2016 (Season 4)

Multiple locations

Patna Pirates beat Jaipur Pink panthers 37-29

Asian Kabaddi championship 2016

Pakistan Pakistan beats India

3rd Kabaddi world cup 2016

Gujarat India beats Iran to win third Kabaddi world cup title India’s first ever convertible stadium 'The Arena' was set up by TransStadia for this event

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Hockey Location Winners Men’s Hockey Champions Trophy 2016

London Australia beat India after a penalty shoot-out

Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2016

Malaysia Australia beat India in the finals

Asian Men's Hockey Champions Trophy 2016

Malaysia India defeated Pakistan 3–2 in the final to win the trophy for the second time

Asian Women’s Hockey Champions Trophy 2016

Singapore India beat China 2-1 in the finals

India wins Junior Hockey World Cup 2016

Lucknow India won Junior WC after 15 years with 2-1 win over Belgium at Major Dhyan Chand Stadium

Cricket Location Winner ICC T20 World cup India The West Indies beat England by four wickets ICC T20 Women’s World cup

India The West Indies beat Australia by eight wickets to post their first world cup win

IPL (Season 9) 2016 India Sunrisers, Hyderabad won against Royal Challengers, Bangalore

England Vs Pakistan England England posted 444 runs, the highest ever international ODI score by any team

Australia T20 record Sri Lanka Australia posted 263/3 against Sri Lanka Ranji Trophy 2016-17 India Gujarat beat Mumbai to grab maiden title

Formula One Winner German, Brazilian, Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton Singapore, Italian, Chinese, Russian, Australian, Belgian, Bahrain Grand Prix

Nico Rosberg

Upcoming events Location

29th South East Asian Games 2017 Kuala Lumpur 10th World Games 2017 Poland 18th Asian Games 2018 Indonesia 21st FIFA World cup 2018 Russia 46th Copa America 2019 Brazil 12th Cricket World Cup 2019 England & Wales

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37th National Games 2019 Andhra Pradesh Summer Olympics 2020 Tokyo 37th Men's Hockey Champions Trophy 2018 Netherlands 13th South Asian Federation Games 2018 Kathmandu

Awards Movies/Music

International Personality Achievement 59 th Grammy Awards 2017

Adele, the British star Won five awards, including Record, Album & Song of the year

Sandeep Das, Indian table player

"Sing Me Home", an album having contribution from Sandeep won the Best World Music Album

89th Academy awards 2017

‘La La Land’ Received 14 nominations & 6 awards, including – Best Director – Damien Chazelle Best Actress – Emma Stone

‘Moonlight’ Received 6 nominations & won 3 awards, including “Best Movie” award

Casey Affleck Best Actor

69th Cannes’ Film Festival, 2016

British film I, Daniel Blake directed by Ken Loach,

Won Palme d'Or (The highest prize at the Cannes Film Festival)

Honorary Oscars at Governor’s awards, 2016

Jackie Chan One of four industry veterans who received honorary Oscars for their career achievements

47th International Film Festival of India 2016 (Goa)

S P Balasubramanyam Centenary award for his contributions to India cinema for over 50 years

Iranian film “Daughter” , directed by Reza Mirkarimi

Golden Peacock Award

Films in news Narration Achievement The Jungle Book, American fantasy adventure film

American adventure film directed and co-produced by Jon Favreau

Third highest grossing film of 2016 ($965 million) & the highest grossing in India

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Based on Rudyard Kipling's eponymous collective works

Sultan (Hindi) Director - Ali Abbas Zafar Producer - Aditya Chopra (Yash Raj Films)

Second highest grossing Indian film of 2016

Dangal (Hindi) Director – Nitesh Tiwari Producers - Aamir Khan, Kiran Rao, Siddharth Roy Kapur

The highest grossing film of 2016

Visaranai (Tamil) It is based on M. Chandrakumar’s novel ‘Lock Up’

Indian entry into Oscars 2017 (89th Academy Awards) in the Foreign Language Film category

Beauty Pageants Winner Achievement Miss Universe 2017, Philippines

Iris Mittenaere (Miss France)

Crowned Miss Universe 2017

Miss World 2016, Washington

Stephanie Del Valle (Puerto Rico)

Crowned Miss World 2016

Miss India World 2016, Mumbai

Priyadarshini Chatterjee Crowned Miss India World 2016

Mister World 2016, England

Rohit Khandelwal First Indian to win this title

Movie Awards Awardees Achievement 17th IIFA awards 2016, Madrid

Ranveer Singh Best Actor (Bajirao Mastani) Deepika Padukone Best Actress (Piku) Bajrangi Bhaijaan Best Film

BRICS Film Festival 2016, Delhi

Thithi (Kannada film) Best Film. Thithi has been screened in over 12 prestigious international and national film festivals

10th Asia Pacific Screen Awards 2016, Brisbane

Manoj Vajpayee Best Performance by an Actor

48th Dada Saheb Phalke Award for 2016

To be announced Outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian Cinema

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Lata Mangeshkar award 2016

Uttam Singh Lifetime Achievement in Music

62nd Filmfare Awards 2017, Mumbai

Popular category Best Actor (Male) Amir Khan (Dangal) Best Actor (Female) Alia Bhatt (Udta Punjab) Best Film Dangal (Director – Nitesh

Tiwari) Critics Awards

Best Film Neerja Best Actor (Male) Shahid Kapoor (Udta Punjab)

Manoj Vajpayee (Aligarh) Best Actor (Female) Sonam Kapoor (Neerja) Lifetime Achievement Shatrunghna Sinha

64th National Film Awards, 2017

To be Held To be Announced

Kalidas Samman 2016

Prof Raj Bisaria Achievement in theatre

Sports Awards (Inception Yr)

Winner (s) Game

Arjuna Awards (1961) Rajat Chauhan Archery Lalita Babar Athletics

Sourav Kothari Billiards and Snooker Shiva Thapa Boxing Ajinkya Rahane Cricket Subrata Paul Football Rani Hockey Raghunath V.R Hockey Gurpreet Singh Shooting Apurvi Chandela Shooting Soumyajit Ghosh Table Tennis Vinesh Wrestling Amit Kumar Wrestling Sandeep Singh Mann Para-Athletics Virender Singh Wrestling (Deaf)

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna (1991)

P V Sindhu, Sakshi Malik, Dipa Karmakar, Jitu Rai

Significant performance in Rio Olympics 2016

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Dronacharya Award (1985)

Bishweshwar Nandi (A), Raj Kumar Sharma (C), Nagapuri Ramesh (A), Sagar Mal Dhayal (B), Pradeep Kumar (S), Mahabir Singh (W)

Significant mentoring effort in Athletics, Boxing, Cricket, Swimming and Wrestling

Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award

Satti Geetha (Athletics), Sylvanus Dung Dung (Hockey), Rajendra Pralhad Shelke (Rowing)

Best player in Europe by UEFA for 2015/16

Cristiano Ronaldo

UEFA Champions League winner with Real Madrid and a European champion with Portugal

Player of the Year - World Soccer Awards 2016

Cristiano Ronaldo

A winner in 2008, 2013 and 2014, he has matched the achievement of Lionel Messi by claiming the award for a record fourth time

Ballon d’Or award 2016

Cristiano Ronaldo Ronaldo is now one short of his Barcelona rival Lionel Messi’s record tally of five

Olympic order award N. Ramachandran, the President of Indian Olympic Association (IOA)

Outstanding services to the Olympic movement

IAAF World Athlete of the Year award 2016, Monte Carlo ( Monaco)

Jamaica’s Usain Bolt (Sprinter)

3 Gold medals in Rio Olympics, taking his Olympic lifetime tally to 9 gold medals

Ethiopia’s Almaz Ayana (Long distance runner)

10000m Olympic title with world record timing

BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2016

Andy Murray (Won it for record third time)

Won Olympic gold, second Wimbledon title & became tennis' world number one in a remarkable 2016

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Michael Phelps 28 Olympic medals in swimming till date

Ellie Robinson (BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year)

She claimed gold at the Rio Paralympics

ICC Cricketer of the Year’ & Test Cricketer of the Year (2015-16)

R Ashwin, Indian cricketer

Crossed 250 wickets in the least matches (45) till date

C K Naidu lifetime achievement award 2016

Padmakar Shivalkar (Left hand spinner from Mumbai)

Took 589 wickets in 124 first-class games (Including 42 five-wicket hauls & 13 ten-wicket match hauls)

Rajinder Goyal (Left hand spinner from Haryana)

750 first class wickets (Including 637 in Ranji Trophy, more than anyone else in the tournament)

BCCI Lifetime Achievement Award for Women 2016

Shanta Rangaswamy She led India in 12 Test matches and in 16 ODIs

BCCI Polly Umrigar Award 2016

Virat Kohli Third time winner (Earlier 2011-12 & 2014-15)

Times of India Sports Awards 2017

P V Sindhu Sportsperson of the Year Dipa Karmakar Inspiration of the year Junior Men’s Hockey Team

Team of the year

General Awards Awardees Achievement 43rd Tyler Prize for environmental achievement 2016

Sir Partha Dasgupta Recognition for developing economic theory & tools to measure the relationships between human and environmental wellbeing, poverty, population, economic growth and the state of natural resources

World Food prize 2016 (Dubbed Nobel Prize for food and

1. Maria Andrade (Cape Verde)

2. Robert Mwanga (Uganda)

Development and implementation of bio fortification, specifically work in breeding critical vitamins & micronutrients into staple crops

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agriculture) 3. Jan Low (The US) 4. Howarth Bouis (The

US) Ramon Magsaysay awards 2016 Given to Asians achieving excellence in their respective fields

Bezwada Wilson, an Indian activist (For ‘Asserting the inalienable right to a life of human dignity)

One of the founders and National Convenor of the Safai Karmachari Andolan (SKA), an Indian human rights organization that has been campaigning for the eradication of manual scavenging

T M Krishna (Carnatic music vocalist)

For “Social inclusiveness in culture”

Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award 2016

Shubha Mudgal Contribution to Indian classical music & harmony brought through Art

UNESCO World Heritage sites

Old Nalanda University of Bihar Chandigarh's Capitol Complex Sikkim's Khangchendzonga National Park

Three monuments from India have been added to the World Heritage sites (July 2016). Total 35 sites as a result

Inaugural International Prize in Statistics

Sir David Cox Survival Analysis Model Applied in Medicine, Science, and Engineering

International Children’s Peace Prize 2016

Kehkashan Basu (Dubai)

Offered by international children’s rights organisation ‘KidsRights’, for her work to protect the environment

IMO’s Exceptional Bravery Award at Sea

Radhika Menon (First woman to receive this award)

She saved the lives of seven fishermen from sinking fishing boat in the Bay of Bengal

Civilian Gallantry Awards 2017

Awardees Achievement

Ashok Chakra Havildar Hangpan Dada (Posthumous)

Dada, a soldier of Assam regiment was killed May 26, 2016 after he first fought three terrorists in close combat in Naugam sector

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Kirti Chakra Major Rohit Suri Led the team that undertook surgical strike across the LoC

Lance Havildar Prem Bahadur Resmi Magar (Posthumous)

Magar, a 'Ghatak' commando of the unit, was part of the team that thwarted an infiltration bid and shot dead four terrorists

Shaurya Chakra 10 awardees Individual achievements

Literature (Inception year)

Awardees Piece of work

Scholastic Asian Book Award 2016

Aditi Krishnakumar 32,000-word manuscript “Codex: The Lost Treasure of the Indus”

Commonwealth short story prize 2016

Prof. Parashar Kulkarni

First Indian author to win this prize for ‘Cow & Company’

The Man Booker International 2016

Han Kang (S. Korea) The Vegetarian, a novel translated in English by Deborah Smith

The Man Booker Prize 2016

Paul Beatty, the first American author to win this prize

‘The Sellout’, a searing satire on race relations in contemporary America

FT business book award 2016

Sebastian Mallaby ‘The Man Who Knew: The Life and Times of Alan Greenspan’ – A biography

52nd Jnanpith Award 2016 (1962)

Veteran Bengali poet Shankha Ghosh, considered as a leading authority on Rabindranath Tagore

Made a debut titled "Dinguli Raatguli", followed it up with works like "Adim lata-gulmomay", "Babarer prarthana", "Nihito Patalchhaya", "Murkha baro, samajik nay", "Kabir abhipray", "Mukh dheke jay bigyapane" & "Ocampor Rabindranath"

Vyas Samman 2016, conferred in 2017

Surinder Verma (Hindi scholar & writer)

Novel ‘Kaanta Shami Ka Vriksha : Padma Pankhuri Ki Dhar Se ’

Saraswati Samman, 2016

Konkani writer Mahabaleshwar Sail

For his novel Hawthan. Mr. Sail is a bilingual writer with four Marathi dramas & seven Konkani novels to his credit

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Fellows of Nature (FON) South Asia Short Story Award in Nature writing

Meghna Pant For her short story “People of the Sun”. Presented at 2nd Kumaon Literary Festival (October 2016)

Mathrubhumi Literary Award 2016

C Radhakrishnan Contribution to the field of literature

Sahitya Akademi Awards 2016

24 writers won the literary honour

Award winning literature includes eight books of poetry, seven books of short stories, five novels, two on criticism, one of essays and one play

Pulitzer Awards 2016 Journalism Awardees

Public Service Associated Press Breaking News Reporting Los Angeles Times staff National Reporting The Washington Post staff

Letters, Drama, Music Awardees Fiction “The Sympathizer” by Viet Thanh

Nguyen Drama “Hamilton” by Lin-Manuel Miranda History “Custer's Trials: A Life on the Frontier

of a New America” by T.J. Stiles

Journalism Awardee Achievement UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize 2016, Helsinki

Khadija Ismayilova (Azerbaijan)

An outstanding contribution to the promotion of press freedom anywhere in the world

International Press Freedom Award 2016 (Since 1991, from Committee to Protect Journalists, an NGO

Malini Subramaniam

Honoured for her reporting from naxal infested Bastar area & for commitment to free press

Civilian Awards 2017 Awardees Field Padma Shri 75 awardees Multiple fields Padma Bhushan Vishwa Mohan Bhatt Art - Music

Devi Prasad Dwivedi Literature & Education Tehemton Udwadia Medicine

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Ratna Sundar Maharaj Others-Spiritualism Swami Niranjana Nanda Saraswati

Others-Yoga

H.R.H. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn (Foreigner)

Literature & Education

Cho Ramaswamy (Posthumous)

Literature & Education –Journalism

Padma Vibhushan Sharad Pawar Public Affairs Murli Manohar Joshi Public Affairs P.A. Sangma (posthumous) Public Affairs Sunder Lal Patwah (posthumous)

Public Affairs

K.J.Yesudas Art - Music Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev Others - Spiritualism Udipi Ramachandra Rao Science & Engineering

Bharat Ratna ---- Nobel Prizes 2016

Subject Winners Physics 1. Michael Kosterlitz, 2. David J. Thouless, 3. Duncan

M. Haldane – Study of exotic matter Chemistry 1. Jean-Pierre Sauvage, 2. Sir J. Fraser Stoddart, 3.

Bernard L. Feringa - Design & synthesis of molecular machines

Physiology/Medicine Yoshinori Ohsumi (Japan) –Research on cellular process called autophagy

Literature Bob Dylan (American), the first musician to win Nobel prize in literature

Peace Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos - Resolute efforts to bring the country's more than 50-year-long civil war to an end

Economics 1. Bengt Holmström - Professor of Economics & Management at MIT-Sloan School of Management, 2. Oliver Hart (Harvard Univ) - Work on contract theory

Alternative Nobel Prize 2016

Subject Winners The White Helmets The Syrian Civil Defence group provides first aid and

emergency assistance to the victims of Syrian civil war Svetlana Russian human rights defender. Founder & Head of the

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Gannushkina Civic Assistance Committee, that provides free legal support, aid and education to migrants & refugees

Mozn Hassan Egyptian feminist & human rights defender, heads the organization ‘Nazra for Feminist Studies’

Cumhuriyet Turkey’s oldest independent newspaper, for their fearless investigative journalism and commitment to freedom of expression in the face of adverse conditions

Abel Prize 2016

Winner Narration Yves Meyer, the French mathematician

Awarded annually by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters & termed as ‘the mathematician’s Nobel Prize’, Mr. Meyer has been awarded the same for his pivotal role in the development of the mathematical theory of wavelets (small waves or ripples)

Honours Personality Honour

Salman Khan, A R Rahman, Sachin Tendulkar, Abhinav Bindra

Goodwill brand ambassador at Rio Olympics

Abhinav Bindra Flag bearer at Rio Olympics opening ceremony Diya Mirza Swachh Bharat Mission’s youth-based Swachh

Saathi (student internship) programme Kamal Haasan Selected by France for its prestigious Chevalier de

L’Ordre Arts et Lettres Kiran Majumdar-Shaw The CMD of Biocon has been appointed Knight of

the National Order of the French Legion of Honour, the highest civilian award of the French Government for outstanding contribution in diverse fields

Mr. Narendra Modi Amir Amanullah Khan Award, Afghanistan’s highest civilian honour

UR Rao, ISRO Ex-Chairman Hall of Fame Award by International Astronautical Federation for his outstanding contribution to the progress of astronautics

Aishwaryaa R Dhanush UN Women’s Goodwill Ambassador for India P V Sindhu Brand ambassador of CRPF Virat Kohli Brand ambassador Punjab National Bank Saina Nehwal – Appointed as a member of IOC

The Athletes’ Commission is chaired by Angela Ruggiero and it comprises nine vice presidents

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Athletes’ Commission and 10 other members Kunwar Bai ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ mascot (105 yr old lady

sold her goats to build a toilet) Rahul Dravid Brand ambassador for 2017 T20 Blind Cricket

World Cup Bindeshwar Pathak, the Founder of Sulabh International

Brand Ambassador of Swachh Rail Mission

Umesh Sachdev, an Indian entrepreneur

Named by Time magazine in its 2016 list of “10 millennials who are changing the world”

Donald Trump – TIME Magazine’s Person of the Year 2016

The President-elect of the US beat 10 other finalists, including his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton

Priyanka Chopra UNICEF’s Global Goodwill Ambassador Foreign Policy Magazine appearances Sushma Swaraj, the External Affairs minister

Appeared in ‘2016 Global Thinkers’ list for her twitter diplomacy

Anupama and Vineet Nayar (Co-founders of Sampark Foundation)

Listed in ‘the Moguls’ segment for ‘unplugging technology so that kids can learn’

Rizwan Ahmed & Himanshu Suri (Rapper duo)

For producing ‘sharp rhymes denouncing the prejudice that ‘brown’ men and women endure in the West’

Nitesh Kadyan, Nikhil Kaushik, and Anirudh Sharma (Graviky Labs)

Graviky Labs is an Indian firm that uses polluted air to create art supplies

Gursaran Prasad Talwar, an immunologist

For ‘vaccinating against stigma’. The inoculation developed by Gursaran could decrease leprosy rates by 65% over three years

Government Schemes

Name About it Stand Up India (Launched in April 2016 in Noida) Led By Department of Financial Services

• Promoting entrepreneurship among women, SC, ST by enabling them secure easier loans

• Expected to benefit at least 2.5 lakh borrowers within 36 months from launch

AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation)

Providing basic services, including water supply, sewerage, urban transport & building of amenities in cities to improve quality of life

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Led By Ministry of Urban Development

In Budget 2016-17 - • Rs 4090 Cr was allocated for AMRUT • Rs 3,205 Cr was allocated for the development

of 100 smart cities across the country by 2020 • 20 cities selected in 1st round, 13 in 2nd round

HRIDAY (Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana) Led by Ministry of Urban Development

• With a duration of 27 months (completed in March 2017) and an outlay of Rs 500 Crores, the scheme was implemented in 12 cities

• Intent is to preserve & revitalise soul of heritage cities to reflect their unique character by encouraging aesthetically appealing, accessible, informative & secured environment

PMAY (Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana) Led by Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation

• Housing for all by 2022 in three phases. Target groups women, SC, ST, Economically Weaker Sections (EWS)

• Interest subsidy of 6.5% on housing loans availed up to a tenure of 15 years will be provided to EWS/LIG categories

• Central assistance at the rate of Rs.1.5 lakh per house for EWS category will be provided under the Affordable Housing in Partnership

PMUY (Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana) Led by Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas

• Launched in UP, May 2016 • Replacing the unclean cooking fuels mostly

used in the rural India with the clean and more efficient LPG (Tagline – ‘Swachh Indhan, Behtar Jeevan’)

• Targets 5 Crore LPG connections to be distributed to BPL households over 3 yrs

Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna (Crop insurance) Led by Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW)

• Replaces existing National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS) and Modified NAIS (MNIAS)

• Farmers will have to pay a uniform premium of 2% for kharif crops, 1.5%for rabi crops, 5% for annual commercial and horticultural crops

• The remaining share of the premium will continue to be borne equally by the Centre & respective state governments

PMKSY (Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana) Led by Ministry of

• National mission to improve farm productivity and ensure better utilization of the resources in the country

• Rs 500 billion (US$7.4 billion) in a time span of

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Agriculture & Farmers Welfare

five years have been allocated to this scheme

Sagarmala Project Led by Ministry of Shipping

• Transforming existing Ports into modern world class ports

• Integrating port development, the Industrial clusters & hinterland and efficient evacuation systems through road, rail, inland and coastal waterways

Namami Gange - National Mission for Clean Ganga Led by Ministry of water resources

231 projects have been launched under Namami Gange programme. The idea is to maintain minimum ecological flows in the river Ganga with the aim of ensuring water quality and environmentally sustainable development

Skill India Led by Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship

• Aim to train 40 crore Indians in different skills by 2022

• It includes various initiatives like National Skill Development Mission, National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, 2015, Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) and the Skill Loan scheme

PMKVY (Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana) Led by Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship

• Encourage aptitude towards employable skills & increase working efficiency of probable & existing daily wage earners, with monetary awards & providing them quality training

• Average award amount per person has been kept as ₹8,000 (US$120)

• In the initial year, a target to distribute Rs 15 billion (US$220 million) has been laid down

Deen Dayal Upadhyay Grameen Kaushalya Yojna Led by Ministry of Rural Development

• Aims to target youth, under age group of 15–35 years. A corpus of Rs 1,500 crore is aimed at enhancing employability of rural youth

• Under this programme, disbursements would be made through a digital voucher directly into the beneficiary’s bank account as part of the government’s skill development initiative

PMGKY (Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana)

• Unaccounted income attracts almost 50% effective tax

• Person will be compelled to pay 25% of declared amount into PMGKY & the deposit will be blocked for four years

•

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PMYY (Pradhan Mantri Yuva Yojana) for entrepreneurs Led by Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE)

• Scheme will span over 5 years (2016-17 to 2020-21) with a project cost of 500 crores

• It will provide entrepreneurship education and training to over 7 lakh students in 5 years through 3,050 institutes (Include higher learning schools, ITIs, schools and entrepreneurship development centres)

UDAY (Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojna) Led by Ministry of Power

• Financial turnaround and revival package for electricity distribution companies (DISCOMs)

• It aims to improve operational efficiencies, reduce cost of power & interest cost for discoms & enforce financial discipline on them through alignment with state finances

SFURTI (Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries) Led by Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises

• Government plans to set up 800 SFURTI clusters with an investment of Rs 850 crore by March 2017 to boost khadi & village industries

• The Scheme envisages need-based assistance for replacement of production equipment, setting up of common facility centres (CFC), product development, quality improvement, improved marketing, training and capacity building

PRASAD (Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive) Led by Ministry of Tourism

• Religious destinations that have potential to be show-cased as world-class tourism products are identified & infrastructure is developed. In the initial phase, 12 cities have been identified

• Overall development of temple town, new job creation, world-class infrastructure facilities, promotion of local arts, cuisine and handicrafts form part of the approved project

Swadesh Darshan Led by Ministry of Tourism

Theme based tourism circuits (e.g. Religion, culture, ethnicity, niche etc) are identified for infrastructure development across the country

Mission Raftaar Led by Ministry of Railways

Diesel trains replaced with high-speed electric trains. Shatabdi & Rajdhani will ride over two engines (“Push-pull’ technique)

“Surge pricing” in Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Duranto

Differential pricing on the lines of airlines in key trains

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Railways - 92 paise premium on 10 Lac optional insurance through IRCTC booking

Pilot with ICICI Lombard General Insurance, Royal Sundaram General Insurance & Shriram General Insurance

Tri-Netra – Terrain imaging device for diesel drivers to reduce train accidents

The system will be installed on locomotives for enhancing the vision of Locomotive Pilots in inclement weather

Government News Entity Action

India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) under Department of Posts

Union cabinet has approved it with 100% Government of India equity. Rollout will be complete by Sept 2017

Five associate state banks & Mahila Bank merge into SBI

The merger will create a global-sized bank with assets worth over Rs 37 lakh crore

Fund of Funds for Start-ups (FFS) set up at SIDBI

The corpus is in line with ‘Startup India Action Plan’ would be built up over 14th & 15th Finance Commission cycles, subject to scheme progress & funds availability

Government approves 7th Pay commission recommendations

Minimum pay for government employees recommended to be Rs.18000 rupees/Month The maximum pay recommended to be Rs. 225000/Month for Apex Scale & Rs. 250000/Month for Cabinet Secretary

100% FDI into aviation, defence & ecommerce sectors

Foreign airlines can only invest up to 49% in Indian carriers

e-NAM (National Agriculture Market) pilot launched

The Prime Minister launched the e-trading platform pilot & said that the initiative will usher in transparency & benefit the farmers

Government partially abolished 5/20 rule under Civil Aviation Policy

Domestic carriers will no longer have to operate for five years before they can fly abroad, must still deploy 20 aircrafts or 20% of total capacity in India, whichever is higher

IGI Airport is the first carbon neutral Airport in Asia Pacific

It was recognized during Airport Carbon Accreditation certificate presentation ceremony in Montreal, Canada. Also, Terminal 3 achieved the first ever “Platinum” rating from Indian Green Building Council (IGBC)

e-Tourist Visa extended to 161 countries (As on Dec 2016)

Total 9.2 Lac foreign tourists used the facility during Jan-Nov 2016, which is 170% increase over same period in 2015

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India’s first “island district” announced by Assam Govt

Majuli, a 400 square kilometres island in the Brahmaputra River is recognized by Guinness Book as the largest river island in the world

India’s first Green Rail Corridor launched in Tamil Nadu

Manamadurai – Rameswaram stretch of Southern Railway (150 coaches with bio toilets)

Setu Bharatam The programme aims to make all National Highways free of railway level crossings by 2019. 208 Railway Over Bridges (ROB)/Railway Under Bridges (RUB) will be built at the level crossings at a cost of Rs. 20,800 crore as part of the programme

Kudankulam nuclear Power Plant – Tamil Nadu

Russian President Vladimir Putin and CM J Jayalalithaa jointly dedicated the first unit of Power Plant to the nation (August)

World’s largest solar power plant commissioned at Kamuthi, Tamil Nadu

With an installed capacity of 648MW, the plant was set up on an area of 5,000 acres by Adani Group at a total cost of Rs 4,550 crore. Its connected to the grid through a sub-station

Rajasthan - Sewage and waste water policy

First state in the country to approve such policy

Lakshadweep – “24*7 Power for All”

First Union Territory to sign such a document

Best States - Comprehensive Development of Tourism

Madhya Pradesh followed by Gujarat and Karnataka (National Tourism Awards 2016)

2016 BRICS convention on tourism – Madhya Pradesh

The convention began at UNESCO World heritage site Khajuraho to promote intra-regional tourism

Best Indian Destination for Wildlife

Madhya Pradesh Tourism received award from “Lonely Planet” Group

“Mission Bhagiratha” – Telangana – Safe Drinking water

Mr Narendra modi launched it in Medak district of Telangana

Odisha launches 100 “Adarsh Vidyalayas” in 14 backward districts

Students of these model schools would get free education and all facilities like mid-day meal, uniform and textbooks free of cost like other state government-run schools

Odisha – First state to offer Social welfare benefits to transgender community

The move seeks to give the community same benefits as those living below poverty line to improve socio-economic status

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ADB gives $631 million boost to 800 km long Chennai-Vizag industrial corridor

Focus on increasing women’s participation in the industrial workforce, skill training for 25,000 male & female workers, entrepreneurs, and students along with an investor promotion plan is expected to boost businesses along the corridor

Unified Payment Interface (UPI) is operational

Launched by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), UPI will be initially available only on Android mobile operating system. It will be going live with 21 banks in the first phase

CBDT launches e-Nivaran to handle tax payer grievances

The facility for online redressal of grievances related to refunds, ITRs and PAN among others to reduce instances of public harassment when it comes to complaints related to the I-T Department

RBI announces The Scheme for Sustainable Structuring of Stressed Assets (S4A)

S4A will cover projects that have started commercial operations & have an outstanding loan of over Rs 500 crore An Overseeing Committee, set up by the Indian Banks Association (IBA) will independently review processes involved in preparation of the resolution plan

5th International Buddhist conclave at Varanasi & Sarnath

With a view to showcase and project the Buddhist heritage and pilgrim sites, the ministry of tourism organises International Buddhist Conclave

Indosan 2016 (India Sanitation Conference, Delhi) – An annual event under Swachh Bharat mission Ministry of drinking water and sanitation

This will bring together all stakeholders working in sanitation government, NGOs, academicians, researchers, partner agencies, corporate on one platform for a shared vision to make India Open Defecation Free (ODF) India by 2019 by construction of individual, cluster & community toilets

Sindhudurg & Mandi – The cleanest districts in the country

As per Gramin Swachh Survekshan 2016

Telangana inks MoU with ISRO to promote education

This is to improve services of educational channel 'Mana TV'. 6,000 schools in the state will launch digital classes from October 2016

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Haryana wins best horticulture state award

It was awarded by the Indian Council of Food and Agriculture (ICFA) for concerted efforts made by the state to increase the income of the farmers in horticulture

Punjab government launches India’s first amphibious bus

Bus named “Harike Cruise” was imported from Swedish automobile company Scania

India’s first LNG-powered bus launched in Kerala

The project has been a joint effort of Petronet LNG Limited (PLL), IOC & Tata Motors. Post pilot, the bus will be launched for commercial application

Government launches ‘DigiShala’ TV channel to promote digital payments

Union Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) launched it as part of the ‘Digidhan’ campaign to spread awareness about digital transactions

Maharashtra becomes first state to launch cyber police stations in all districts

State government is converting 42 state-of-the-art cybercrime labs into cyber police stations simultaneously. These cyber police stations will also be set up at police commissionerate and Range IG offices

Google India, Ministry of Consumer Affairs tie up for ‘Digitally Safe Consumer’ campaign

The campaign will reach out with training materials to over 1,200 consumer organisations & consumer affairs department of every state/UT

UDAN (‘Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik’) – Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) for Aviation

Viability Gap Funding for route operators to charge Rs 2500 for one hour flights (For 50% seats on new routes to smaller cities) Govt commitment to spend Rs. 4,000 crore to reopen 50 disused airports within four years Maharashtra became the first state to sign up. In the first round, 128 routes connecting 70 big and small airports across the country were selected and all flights will become active within 4-6 months of 2017

Four tier GST structure (5% to 28%) announced by Govt

More than 50% of the items in the Consumer Price Index basket would be exempted under GST & the remainder placed in lowest bracket e.g. Most white goods – 28%, soaps/oil – 18%, processed food – 12%, edible oils/spices – 5%

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Govt demonetized Rs 500 & 1000 denomination notes

In order to curb black money, Indian government replaced older notes of Rs 500 & 1000 with new ones. Also introduced Rs 2000 note, featuring Mangalyaan & Swachh Bharat Abhiyan

Committee constituted to recalibrate all bank ATMs

Headed by S.S.Mundra, one of the RBI Deputy Governors, the committee will ensure that all bank ATMs dispense new denomination notes

Government slaps safeguard duty on certain steel imports

To protect domestic manufacturers from cheap in-bound shipments, India had previously slapped anti-dumping duty on certain cold-rolled flat steel products from four nations, including China & South Korea

NDTV India ordered to go off air for a day. Govt later put this on hold

NDTV took the government to Supreme Court. The ban was widely condemned by journalists & editors with all press councils drawing parallels to the Emergency of 1970s when basic constitutional rights including the freedom of the press were blatantly violated

CRPF deploys women commandos for anti-Naxal operations, for the first time

135 women commandos have been posted in Jharkhand. CRPF is the world’s largest paramilitary force with 228 battalions and over three lakh personnel

Himachal Pradesh becomes 2nd Open Defecation Free (ODF) state after Sikkim

After Sikkim in 2012, HP is 2nd state and Kerala followed as 3rd state

Akodara (Gujarat) - India’s first digital village

Adopted by ICICI foundation, all transactions in the village are carried out through digital modes like net-banking, SMS or debit cards

5th International Tourism Mart – Manipur

The objective is to highlight the tourism potential of the North East region. It brings together the tourism business fraternity and entrepreneurs from the eight North Eastern States and West Bengal

Uttar Pradesh CM inaugurates India’s longest expressway (Agra-Lucknow)

The six-lane Greenfield expressway has a total length of 302-km. It has a design speed of up to 120 kmph

Chandrababu Naidu to head the CM panel to boost digital systems

13-member committee of chief ministers will recommend on how to boost digital payment systems to promote transparency, financial inclusion & prepare a roadmap in this regard

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AP tops list of Indian states in World Bank’s report on ‘India’s State Level Energy Efficiency Implementation Readiness’

AP is followed by Rajasthan, Karnataka, Maharashtra. The index based evaluation is enabled to benchmark readiness of Indian states for energy efficiency implementation & to reveal critical deficits/barriers for the same

India’s first cherry blossom festival was held in Meghalaya

The event will showcase the beauty of the flowers and the State’s cultural traditions

Vardah cyclone destructs certain districts of Tamil Nadu

The cyclonic storm hit Chennai at 140 kmph & claimed a few lives

Centre constituted Insolvency & Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI)

IBBI activity would be to regulate functioning of insolvency professionals, insolvency professional agencies & information utilities under Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016

PM inaugurated first international exchange at GIFT city, Gandhinagar (2017)

India INX (BSE subsidiary) is one of the world’s most advanced technology platforms with a turn-around-time of 4 micro seconds which will operate for 22 hours a day, allowing international investors and NRIs to trade from anywhere across the globe

Maharashtra becomes first state to adopt Fly Ash Utilisation Policy

Fly ash will be used to make bricks, blocks, tiles, wall panels, cement & other construction materials. It will save soil excavation, protect environment by generating wealth from waste

IMF has revised India’s growth rate for FY 2016–17 to 6.6%

Previous estimate of 7.6% was lowered due to the temporary negative consumption shock of demonetisation

Ministry of Power unveiled world’s largest street light programme in South Delhi

Under LED based Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP), 2 lakh street lights will be replaced with LED lights & result in cumulative annual energy savings of 2.65 crore kWh with daily reduction of 22,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases

Government makes Aadhaar mandatory for MGNREGA work

Workers in rural areas enrolled under MGNREGA need to furnish proof of possession of Aadhaar card or undergo enrolment process till March 31, 2017

Gurgaon could be the first city to get ‘caterpillar train’

Haryana will set up pilot corridor for the caterpillar train, a new concept for urban mass-transit solution. An Indian Railway officer won a global award at the MIT in the US in early 2016 for this idea

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First-ever Centre of Excellence for differently-abled sportsmen will be set up in Gandhinagar

The centre is proposed for an estimated budget of over Rs. 50 crores. It will have the world class facilities to train Para athletes for various International Competitions

Foreign Investment Promotion Board is abolished

This was done during 2017 budget to ease the FDI inflow

Gujarat is first cashless state on PDS

The beneficiaries who are eligible for subsidised food grains under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) now need to carry only Aadhaar cards for getting their food grains in Gujarat

INS Viraat decommissioned, after 57 years of active service

The oldest serving Centaur-class aircraft carrier was with the British Navy (27 years) & Indian Navy (30 years)

India’s longest cable bridge in Bharuch, Gujarat inaugurated by the PM

The 1.4-kilometre 'extradosed' cable-stayed bridge is expected to ease traffic woes on the Ahmadabad-Mumbai National Highway, considered to be one of the busiest in India

Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) coordinated Operation Thunder Bird & Operation Save Kurma

The 3-week exercise in January 2017 was part of fight to end poaching of Indian wildlife animals as per scheduled list & turtles

Government signs Financing Agreement with World Bank for ‘Tejaswini’ Project

It is World Bank’s first project in India solely focused on the welfare of adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) aged between 14 and 24 to complete their secondary level education and provide relevant skills for job market

India’s longest road tunnel will be open in J&K soon

The 9.2 km-long twin-tube tunnel is part of a 286-km-long four-lane project on the highway. It is located at an elevation of 1200 meters, will be the first in India to be equipped with world class “integrated tunnel control system” through which ventilation, fire control, signals, communication and electrical systems will be automatically actuated

The first ever ‘Made in India’ train introduced on Mumbai local line

Cost efficient electric control circuitry named ‘Medha’ has been developed in India

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Government launches ‘Mission Fingerling’ to achieve blue revolution

With a planned Rs 52000 lakh expenditure, the mission aims to achieve the target to enhance fisheries production by 1.5 times by 2020-21 under the Blue Revolution

‘Sankalp’ (Skill Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion) programme in Union budget to boost youth employment

Rs 4,000-crore programme is aimed at providing market relevant training to 3.5 crore youth across the country

India’s Global Rankings

Rating/Index Released by India’s Ranking The Yearbook (World’s 10 largest manufacturing countries)

United Nations Industrial Development Organization

6 in 2015 (9 in 2014)

Global Innovation Index 2016

WIPO, Cornell University and INSEAD

66 (81 in 2015) Rank 1 – Switzerland

Ease of Doing Business ranking 2017

World Bank 130 (131 in 2016) Rank 1- New Zealand

Global Gender Gap Index 2016

World Economic Forum 87 (108 in 2015) Rank 1 – Iceland

World Economic Freedom Index 2017

Centre for Civil Society, a public policy think tank along with Canada’s Fraser Institute

143 out of 186 countries Rank 1 - Hong Kong

Travel And Tourism Competitiveness Index

World Economic Forum 52 in 2015 (65 in 2013) (Is a biennial report)

Global Competitiveness Index 2016-17

World Economic Forum 39 (55 in 2015-16) Rank 1 - Switzerland

Human Capital Index 2016

World Economic Forum 105/130 (100/124 in 2015)

Global Talent Competitiveness Index 2017

INSEAD Business School, Adecco Group & Human Capital Leadership Institute of Singapore

92 (89 in 2016) Rank 1 – Switzerland

Corruption Perception Index 2016

Transparency International

79/176 countries (76 in 2016) Rank 1 – Denmark

Human Development Index 2016

United Nations Development Programme

131 (130 in 2015) Rank 1 – Norway

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World Investment Report 2016

United Nations CTAD India ranks 10th in FDI inflows

World Disaster Risk Index 2016

United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS)

77 (78 in 2015)

World Press Freedom Index 2016

Reporters Without Borders (NGO)

133 (136 in 2015) Rank 1 – Finland

Global Peace Index 2016

Institute for Economics and Piece (IEP)

141 (143 in 2015) Rank 1 – Iceland

Global Hunger Index 2016

International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

97/118 countries (80/104 in 2015) Rank 1 – Argentina

Climate Change Performance Index 2017

Germanwatch, an independent German NGO and Climate Action Network, Europe

20 (58 countries accounting for 90% of global CO2 emission)

ICT Development Index (IDI)2016

United Nations International Telecommunication Union

138 (135 in 2015) Rank 1- South Korea

Global Youth Development Index 2016

Commonwealth Secretariat

133 (Newly introduced index) Rank 1- Germany

Global Terrorism Index (GTI 2016) – Countries Most Hit by Terror

Institute for Economics & Peace, a Sydney-based think-tank

7 (India experienced 7% of all terrorist attacks around the world)

World Power Language Index 2016 (PLI)

World Economic Forum Hindi ranked 10th (Top 5 - English, Mandarin, French, Spanish, Arabic)

2017 Inclusive Growth & Development Index

World Economic Forum 60 out of 79 developing nations

Global e-Waste production ranking

Assocham-KPMG joint study

India is fifth largest e-waste producer (100 crore+ mobile phones in circulation, 25 per cent end up in e-waste per annum)

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Global Energy Architecture Performance Index (EAPI) 2017

World Economic Forum & Accenture strategy

87 /127 countries (90 in 2016) Rank 1 – Switzerland

World Happiness Report 2017

UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network

122/155 Rank 1 - Norway

International News

News Narration 13th edition of India-EU Summit 2016

Held in Brussels. The leaders endorsed "EU-India Agenda for Action-2020” setting out a concrete road-map for the EU-India Strategic Partnership for the next five years

Paris agreement on climate change opened for signature

Was opened for signature by UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) in New York from 22nd April 2016 till 21st April 2017

India ratified Paris climate deal (2 October 2016)

India is the world’s fourth-largest carbon emitter accounting for 4.1% of total global emission, is 62nd nation to ratify the agreement

China & the US jointly ratify Paris global climate agreement

At a bilateral summit in Hangzhou. Together, they are responsible for 40% of the world's carbon emissions

World’s first electric road in Sweden

This feature permits the trucks to operate as electric vehicles when on the electrified road and as regular hybrid vehicles at other times

Brexit The Exit of the UK from the European Union

India contributed to UN Trust Fund

India is the first country to contribute to a trust fund set up for victims of sexual exploitation and abuse

Scientists unveiled HoloFlex, world’s first holographic flexible smart phone

The device is capable of rendering 3D images with motion parallax & stereoscopy to multiple simultaneous users without head tracking or glasses

China - The world’s largest bullet train network

China's high-speed railway has completed over 20000 kms of track network in the country, post opening of opening of

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railway linking between Zhengzhou in China’s central Henan Province with Xuzhou in eastern Jiangsu Province

China - The world’s longest and highest glass bridge to visitors

Spanning two cliffs in the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon area, it will stretch 430 meters (1,410 feet) long and 6 meters (20 feet) wide. It stands 300 metre above a canyon in the Tianmenshan National Forest Park

China open the world’s tallest bridge (Distance from ground)

The Beipanjiang Bridge soars 565 metres (1,854 feet) above a river & connects the two mountainous provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou

China launched first Quantum communication satellite

The nation's Quantum Experiments at Space Scale (QUESS) spacecraft is designed to establish 'hack-proof' quantum communications

China rolled out 5G telecom equipment trials across 100 cities

5G networks can theoretically transmit data 20 times faster than current 4G speed, with less than one tenth of the latency

China builds the world’s largest radio telescope

Its nicknamed ‘Tianyan’ or Five-hundred-metre Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST)

World’s longest railway tunnel opened in Switzerland

57km long Gotthard Base Tunnel (GTB) was opened in June 2016

World’s first mangrove museum in Sri Lanka

Mangrove forests can sequester up to five times more carbon than any other kind of forest & provide essential nursery habitat for many fish species that Sri Lankan fishermen depend on

Sri Lanka becomes 2nd malaria free SEA country

WHO certified Sri Lanka, Maldives being the first one

Earthquake in Ecuador A 7.8 magnitude earthquake stroked off the Pacific coast, in Manta, Ecuador

Hiroshima nuclear declaration G-7 foreign ministers signed a declaration towards making a world without nuclear weapons

Chabahar port development India & Iran will develop strategic Chabahar port with up to $500 million investment

11th ASEM summit issues The declaration focuses on fight against

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Ulaanbaatar Declaration (Mongolia)

terrorism and greater connectivity among the Asia and Europe

India joins MTCR India joined Missile Technology Control

Regime, though it failed to join National Security Group

Afghan India Friendship Dam - Salma Dam

Hydroelectric and irrigation dam project located in Afghanistan, was opened in June 2016 at Herat by Mr Narendra Modi & Afghan President Ashraf Ghani

Hague Tribunal verdict over South China Sea

China’s claim to economic rights across large swathes of the South China Sea was rejected

Failed coup in Turkey President Erdogan declared a three-month state of emergency following a botched coup attempt

North Korea conducted nuclear tests

This was second test for the year 2016

Russia and Pakistan – Joint military exercise

Named Druzhba-2016 (Friendship-2016) was held in Pakistan

Ten costliest cities in the world in the descending order (Worldwide Cost of Living Report 2016, Economic Intelligence Unit)

1. Singapore (Most expensive) 2. Zurich 3. Hong Kong 4. Geneva 5. Paris 6. London 7. New York 8. Copenhagen 9. Seoul 10. Los Angeles

Vienna ranks as the world’s best city (Mercer’s Quality of Living index rankings 2017)

In terms of city infrastructure rankings, Singapore has topped the global list Hyderabad (Telangana) has emerged as the best Indian city in terms of quality of living

Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff ousted from office

Brazil’s Senate voted to remove the President from office, finding her guilty of indulging into budget manipulations

World’s first ‘three-parent’ baby born in Mexico

The baby is born to a Jordanian couple, using a controversial technique

Maldives leaves commonwealth The country claimed it was "unfairly and

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unjustly" treated by the global body that was due to consider sanctions, including suspension against the nation after its "lack of progress" on a raft of democratic reforms

Interbrand releases World's Best Global Brands Report 2016

Top 10 brands - Apple, Google, Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Toyota, IBM, Samsung, Amazon, Mercedes-Benz, GE

20 nations sign UN Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC) agreement for International Solar Alliance at COP 22, Morocco

The agreement was signed during 12th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 12). It agreement will become operational after at least 15 countries have ratified it

France – First country to ban plastic cups & plates

A new French law will require all disposable tableware to be made from 50% biologically-sourced materials that can be composted at home by January 2020. That number will rise to 60% by January 2025

Coradia iLint - World’s first zero emission hydrogen train operated in Germany

The train only emits excess steam into the atmosphere, and provides an alternative to the country’s 4,000 diesel cars currently in circulation in Germany

Antarctica’s Ross Sea declared as world’s largest Marine Protected Area

It was declared after landmark international agreement among 24 countries and the EU in Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) meeting in Hobart, Australia

6th Heart of Asia -— Istanbul Process (HoA-IP) Conference, Amritsar 2016

Attended by 14 partner countries & 30+ supporting countries and international organisations. Principal goal of the HoA-IP, launched in November 2011 in Turkey, is to galvanise regional cooperation for peace, security and development in Afghanistan

Magnitude 7.7 earthquake hits Chilean coast

No deaths were reported & damage was minor

South Korean President, Park Geun-hye impeached by the Parliament

He was ousted on the account of corruption and cronyism scandal

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Rio de Janeiro gets UNESCO world heritage status

UNESCO highlighted "extraordinary fusion" of man-made and natural beauty in certifying Rio, nicknamed “the Marvellous City”

Israel suspends co-operation with UNESCO over Jerusalem vote

This is in response to UNESCO resolution erasing Jewish connection to Jerusalem’s holy sites, which will supposedly boost terrorism & deny history

Scientists discover mesentery, a new human organ in digestive system. Takes count of human organs to 79

Mesentery connects intestine to the abdomen. The organ was previously thought to consist of fragmented and disparate structures

The US pulls out of TPP, a mega trade deal of 12 Pacific Rim countries

Trans-Pacific Partnership was one of the major international trade initiatives of Ex-President Barack Obama aimed to set trade rules for the 21st century & bind US allies against growing Chinese economic clout

China becomes the world’s largest producer of solar energy

It overtook Germany after nearly doubling installed photovoltaic capacity in 2016

World’s longest freight train between China & London

To boost export revenues & strengthen connectivity with Europe, the train will traverse over 12,000 kilometres across 18 days, after passing through Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany, Belgium and France to arrive in London

IORA (Indian Ocean Rim Association) 2017 Leaders’ summit at Jakarta

The theme of was ‘Strengthening Maritime Cooperation for a Peaceful, Stable and Prosperous Indian Ocean’. 21 member states issued a strategic vision document known as the Jakarta Concord

Military Exercises

Exercise Narration MALABAR Trilateral Naval Exercise

India, Japan and US navies conduct 2016 MALABAR Exercise near South China Sea

India-Thailand military exercise – Maitree

The two week long exercise included combined training, familiarization with weapons & equipment, analyzing groupings, drills and tactics while operating in counter terrorism environment

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RIMPAC: World’s largest international maritime exercise kicks off

It began in Pacific Ocean at Hawaii, US & will see participation of navies from 26 countries. This year it is the 25th edition of biennial exercise in the series that began in 1971

India-Russia military exercise – Indra

The exercises serve to facilitate cooperation and foster the exchange of relevant experience between the Indian and Russian armed forces

India-Sri Lanka military exercise - Mitra Shakti

Focus is to enhance inter-operability while carrying out Counter Terrorism (CT) & Counter Insurgency (CI) operations under the UN Mandate

India-Bangladesh military exercise – Sampriti

Focus is on Counter-Terrorism Operations in mountainous and jungle terrain under the UN Mandate

India-China military exercise – ‘Hand-in Hand’

Focus on “transnational terrorism” and counter-terrorism operations in “semi-urban scenarios

India-Nepal military exercise – Surya Kiran 2017

Two-week long battalion level joint exercise between armies of both countries focussed on skills required for natural disaster management, counter-insurgency and jungle warfare

India-UK maritime exercise – Konkan

Conducted in two phases at Mumbai & Goa, the exercise will familiarise navies of both countries with each other’s planning processes and further enhance synergy and inter-operability

India-Maldives military exercise – Ekuverin

The exercise aims to conduct military training between armies of both countries with emphasis on amphibious & counter insurgency, counter terrorism operations

India-Oman military exercise - Al-Nagah II 2017

Held in Himachal Pradesh, the program aimed to acquaint both forces with each other’s operating procedures in the backdrop of counter insurgency, counter terrorism environment

Important Days Global Days

Description Date About it World Cancer Day 4 February 2017 Theme – “We can. I can,” to

explore how everyone – together and individually – can do their part to reduce global burden of cancer

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International Mother Language Day

21 February 2017 Theme - “Towards Sustainable Futures through Multilingual Education”

World Wildlife Day 3 March 2017 Theme - "Listen to the young voices ". A sub-theme -"The future of elephants is in our hands”

International Women’s Day

8 March 2017 Theme - “Be Bold for Change”

PI Day

14 March 3,1,4 are significant digits of PI, i.e. 3.14), so 14/03, i.e. 14 March

World Consumer Rights Day

15 March The day is observed to pay solidarity with the international consumer movement and give more attention to promote basic rights of consumers 2017 Theme - ‘Building a Digital World Consumers can Trust’

International Day of Happiness

20 March The International Day of Happiness (“Happiness Day”) was founded by UN adviser Jayme Illien on June 28, 2012 2017 Theme – ‘10 steps to happiness’

World Water Day 22 March The day focuses attention on the importance of fresh water & advocates for the sustainable management of fresh water resources 2017 Theme – ‘Wastewater’

World Meteorological Day

23 March It marks establishment of World Meteorological Organization 2017 Theme - “Understanding Clouds”

World Tuberculosis Day

24 March WHO has placed special focus on uniting efforts to “Leave no one behind” including actions to address stigma, discrimination, marginalization and overcome barriers to access care 2017 Theme - “Unite to End TB”

World Health Day 7 April 2017 Theme –”Depression: Let’s Talk’ World Earth Day 22 April 2017 Theme - “Environmental and

Climate Literacy”

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English Language Day/World Book Day

23 April Birth anniversary of William Shakespeare 2017 Theme - "Towards Sustainable Futures through Multilingual Education”

World Malaria Day 25 April 2017 Theme - "A push for prevention" World Intellectual Property Day

26 April 2017 Theme – “Innovation - Improving Lives”

World Press Freedom Day

3 May 2017 Theme – "Critical Minds for Critical Times: Media’s role in advancing peaceful, just and inclusive societies"

World Information Society Day

17 May Marks foundation of International Telecommunication Union on 17 May 1865

No Tobacco Day 31 May 2017 Theme – "Tobacco – a threat to development"

World Environment Day

5 June 2017 Theme – “Connecting People to Nature – in the city & on the land, from the poles to the equator”

World Oceans Day 8 June 2016 Theme – "Healthy Oceans, Healthy Planet"

World Day Against Child Labour

12 June 2016 Theme – “End child labour in supply chains - It's everyone's business."

International Yoga Day/World Hydrography Day

21 June 21 June - The longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere 2016 Theme: “Connect the Youth”

World Population Day

11 July World's population reached almost five billion people on 11 July 1987 2016 Theme – “Investing in teenage girls”

World Youth Skills Day

15 July 2016 Theme - “Skills Development to Improve Youth Employment”

International Youth Day

12 August 2016 Theme - “The Road to 2030: Eradicating Poverty and Achieving Sustainable Consumption and Production”

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World Humanitarian Day

19 August 2016 Theme - “One Humanity”

International Literacy Day

8 September 2016 Theme (50th Anniversary year) - “Reading the Past, Writing the Future”

International Day of Peace

21 September 2016 Theme - "The Sustainable Development Goals: Building Blocks for Peace"

World Tourism Day 27 September 2016 Theme - "Tourism for All - promoting universal accessibility"

World Teachers Day 5 October 2016 Theme - “Valuing Teachers, Improving their Status”

World Sight Day 13 October 2016 Theme – “Stronger Together” World Student Day 15 October ----- World Statistics Day 20 October 2016 Theme – “Better Data, Better

Lives” United Nations Day 24 October UN Formation Day Universal Children’s Day

21 November 2016 Theme – “Stop Violence Against Children”

World AIDS Day 1 December 2016 Theme - "Hands up for HIV prevention"

World Computer Literacy Day

2 December -----

Human Rights Day 10 December ----- Indian Days

Day Date About it Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD)

9 January 14th PBD was celebrated in Bangalore (7-9 Jan 2017). Portugal PM Antonio Costa will be chief guest (Theme : “Redefining Engagement with the Indian Diaspora”)

Republic Day 26 January Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi was the chief guest at Republic Day 2017 celebrations

National Science Day 28 February Marks discovery of Raman Effect. 2017 theme - "Science and Technology for Specially Abled Persons”

National Maritime Day (India)

5 April On this day in 1919, navigation history was created when SS Loyalty,

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the first ship of The Scindia Steam Navigation Company Ltd., journeyed to the UK

National Civil Services Day

21 April All officers of Central and State Governments are honoured for excellence in public administration by the Prime Minister. The 'Prime Minister Award for Excellence in Public Administration' is presented

National Statistics Day

29 June Birth anniversary of Prof. Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis, an Indian scientist and applied statistician 2016 Theme – “Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare”

National Doctors Day (India)

1 July Birth anniversary of Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy, the legendary physician

National Handloom Day 7 August Smriti Irani, Union Textile Minister presented National Handloom Awards in Varanasi on 2nd National Handloom Day (2016)

National Sports Day 29 August Birth anniversary of Dhyan Chand, the Olympic Gold medallist hockey player by organizing friendly hockey matches in New Delhi

National Hindi Divas 14 September On this day in 1949, the Constituent Assembly of India had adopted Hindi written in Devanagari script as the official language of the Republic of India

Engineer’s Day (India) 15 September Birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna Visvesvaraya. He is known as India's greatest engineer of all times

National Education Day 11 November Birth anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the first education minister of independent India

National Constitution Day, National Milk Day

26 November Birth anniversary of Dr.Verghese Kurien, Father of the White Revolution

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National Mathematics Day

22 December Birth anniversary of the Indian mathematical genius Srinivasa Ramanujan

Updates reported from 1 -10 April

Government News News Narration

IISc ranked India’s top university in 2017 NIRF Survey by HRD ministry

Second edition of NIRF survey was released as part of the India Rankings 2017 for the Educational Institutions

Barmer-Munawab and Pipad Road-Bilara rail routes in Rajasthan as Green Corridors

The Green Corridors ensure zero toilet discharge on rail tracks as part of commitment to clean environment under the ‘Swachh Rail-Swachh Bharat’ initiative. Earlier corridors were Manamadurai– Rameswaram , Okha-Kanalus & Porbandar-Wasjaliya

Business News

News Narration SBI is among Top 50 global banks

Post merger of Mahila bank & five associate banks, SBI’s customer base will reach 37 crores with around 24,000 branches & 59,000 ATMs across the country

RBI Board clears proposal to introduce Rs 200 notes

The process of printing the new Rs 200 notes is likely to begin after June 2017 once the government officially approves the new denomination

Personalities News Narration

Renowned Hindustani classical vocalist Kishori Amonkar passes away

She belonged to Jaipur-Atrauli gharana, was a Padma Vibhushan awardee & enthralled music lovers for almost six decades

India’s youngest woman pilot of MIG-29

At 21, Ayesha Aziz will become the youngest Indian woman pilot to fly Russian MIG-29

Awards News Narration

2017 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize – Dawit Isaak

Dawit, an imprisoned Eritrean-Swedish journalist is bestowed with this prestigious award in recognition of his courage, resistance and commitment to freedom of expression

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44th Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement – Jose Sarukhan

Mexican ecologist Professor José Sarukhán, who built a government department to exclusively track the country's rainforests and protect their biodiversity

64th National Film Awards 2017

Category Awardee Best Actor Akshay Kumar (Rustum) Best Actress Surabhi Lakshmi

(Minnaminungu) Best Director Rajesh Mapuskar

(Ventilator-Marathi film) Best feature film (Swarna Kamal)

Kaasav (Marathi)

Best Hindi Film Neerja Best Film on Social Issues

Pink

Best children’s film

Dhanak (Hindi) by Nagesh Kukunoor

Honours News Narration

The Leading Cricketer in the World 2017 title by Wisden

Men’s award - Virat Kohli (India) Women’s award - Ellyse Perry (Australia)

International News News Narration

German Scientists switch on the 'world's largest artificial sun'

‘Synlight’ is the giant honeycomb-like set-up of 149 spotlights. The device intends to throw light on new ways of making climate-friendly fuels

Sports Sport Narration

India Open Super Series 2017 (Badminton)

P V Sindhu beat Carolina Marin (Spain) in women’s singles final in New Delhi, to reach career best World No.2 ranking

Updates reported from 11 -18 April

Business Appointments – India Government & Industry Forums Personality NASSCOM Chairman – Raman Roy (Replaced C P

Gurnani)

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People in News News Narration

Dalai Lama’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh provokes China

Arunachal Pradesh state has been historically claimed by China as "southern Tibet”. China views Dalai Lama, the Nobel Peace laureate as a dangerous separatist

Sports News Narration

Lewis Hamilton won Chinese F1 Grand Prix 2017 (Shanghai)

Lewis Hamilton took his sixth consecutive pole position at the Chinese Grand Prix, ahead of Sebastian Vettel and teammate Valtteri Bottas

Shuttler B Sai Praneeth clinches maiden Super Series title at Singapore Open 2017

He beat compatriot K Srikanth. Sai had won the Canada Open Grand Prix in 2016 & reached the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold final in 2017


Rishi Kapoor (Actor)

Autobiography titled ‘Khullam Khulla’ released in 2017

Praful Patel (Politician)

His biography titled ‘Udaan’ was launched by President Pranav Mukherjee in April 2017

Awards Pulitzer Awards 2017

Journalism Awardees Public Service New York Daily News and ProPublica Breaking News Reporting

East Bay Times staff

Investigative Reporting Eric Eyre of the Charleston Gazette-Mail Letters, Drama, Music Awardees

Fiction The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

Drama Sweat by Lynn Nottage History Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison

Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy by Heather Ann Thompson

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Malala Yousafzai Declared as the youngest ever ‘UN Messenger of Peace’

Government Schemes Name Narration

Government to launch SAMPADA scheme (Led by Ministry of Food Processing)

Scheme for Agro-Marine Produce Processing & Development of Agro-Processing Clusters (SAMPADA) will integrate current & new schemes aimed at reducing food wastage and doubling farmers’ income by 2022. It will help to create infrastructure for linkage of entire supply chain

India’s Global Rankings Rating/Index Released by India’s Latest Ranking

Travel & Tourism competitiveness Index 2017

World Economic Forum

40/136 in 2017 (52 in 2015) (Is a biennial report) Rank 1 - Spain

International News

Name Narration Lenin Moreno (Ecuador) Won the president election Updates reported from 18 -24 April

Deaths Names Details

Emma Morano, the world’s oldest person passes away (Italy)

Emma was born in 1899 & held the Guinness World Record titles for the oldest living person & the oldest living woman. She was recognized as the last living person born in the 1800s whose age had been independently verified

Internet Pioneer Robert Taylor Passes Away

Rob was instrumental in creating the internet & the modern personal computer. Taylor’s engineering team was also responsible for development of Ethernet and a word processing program, Microsoft Word

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People in News News Narration

Chris Gayle became the first batsman to cross 10000 runs in T-20 form of cricket

The West Indian reached the milestone during IPL 2017 match against Gujarat Lions


Rodrigo Duterte tops TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people poll for 2017

The Philippine president received 5% of “yes” votes in the online poll that started in the last week of March


Tamil Nadu clinched Deodhar Trophy 2016-17

Dinesh Karthik’s century helped Tamil Nadu beat India B team in Visakhapatnam

Business News News Narration

ICICI announced ‘Mera iMobile’ app to promote rural digitisation

The app will allow rural users to access banking services & information on agri services. The app can also be used by non-ICICI Bank customers


TIES - New scheme for developing export linked infrastructure (Led by – Ministry of Commerce and Industry)

Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme (TIES) seeks to bridge the infrastructure gap and provide forward and backward linkages to units engaged in trade activities

IT Department launches Operation Clean Money-II to investigate black money generation

CBDT has detected flow of black money into banks amounting to over Rs 9,334 crore between November 9, 2016 & February 28, 2017

Government launches ‘BHIM-Aadhar pay’ app to enable payments at outlets without using smart phones

One can make payments at outlets using finger print scanner, by authenticating the biometric details of a user with Aadhaar database

India’s largest Floating Solar PV Plant is installed in Kerala

It is seen as a major step in achieving the goal of affordable 24X7 power. The new plant is likely to generate 100 kWP power

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Namita Roy Ghose & Sanjay Chopra

The Wrong Turn : Love & Betrayal in the Time of Netaji


World Bank Report projects 7.2% growth in India’s GDP for 2017-18

It has also predicted that the ‘fiscal, inflation & external conditions’ in the country will remain stable & India’s economic growth will rise gradually to 7.7% in 2019-20

US drops super bomb GBU-43 over an ISIS complex in Afghanistan

Nicknamed as the ‘Mother of All Bombs, it was one of the largest non-nuclear bomb ever used in the battlefield. Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb (MOAB) weighs 9,797 kgs

UN Women launched ‘Women in Politics 2017 map’

India ranked 148th position in representation of women in executive government

Updates reported from 25 April -10 May

Appointments – Indian Government & Industry Forums Personality

Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)

Director-General - Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar (Replaced K. Durga Prasad)


Vinod Khanna, a veteran actor & politician

Veteran actor and politician Vinod Khanna expired at the age of 70

Awards Indian Movies & Others Awardees Achievement

Dada Saheb Phalke Award, 2016

Kasinathuni Viswanath Outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian Cinema

Sports Sport Narration

Asian Squash Championship, 2017

Joshna Chinappa scripted history by becoming the first Indian to clinch the Asian Squash title with a win over compatriot Dipika Pallikal Karthik in the women’s final in Chennai

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik)

1st flight by Alliance Air flew between Delhi to Shimla under UDAN initiative

Maharashtra becomes First State to Use Automated Weather Stations (AWS) for Farmers

Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has inaugurated the state’s first automatic weather station at Dongargaon in Nagpur

India to launch South-Asia satellite GSAT-9 on May 5 via launch vehicle GSLV-F09

Except Pakistan, all SAARC counties became part of the initiative to avail benefits like better communication, weather forecasting, tele-medicine and response to disaster management


Dubai has become the first city in the world to have its own Microsoft-designed font

The font will have typeface both in Latin and Arabic script

Emmanuel Macron becomes the youngest French President

A pro-European former investment banker & an independent candidate defeated Marine Le Pen, his far-right opponent by a large margin

Moon Jae-in is the new South Korean president

The Democratic Party’s candidate won with 41% votes. He replaces the ousted President Park Geun-hye, who was ejected from office in March after a corruption scandal for which she’s awaiting trial

India elected as the president of UN Habitat for the 3rd time

UN-Habitat is an organ of the United Nations to promote sustainable human settlements across the globe

Updates reported from 11- 17 May


Sports psychology expert Bhishmaraj Bam passed away

Former Director General of Police of Maharashtra had provided guidance to sportspersons in several fields

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Bajrang Punia gives India first gold medal at Asian Wrestling Championship 2017

He defeated Lee Seung-chul of Korea 6-2 to win the gold medal in the men’s 65 kg freestyle category


Among a list of 75 busiest railway stations, Vizag & Beas are the cleanest railway stations in A1 & A categories

The third survey was carried out by the Quality Council of India as part of ‘Swachh Railway Campaign’. Bihar's Darbhanga happens to be the dirtiest one


India boycotts China’s OBOR summit in Beijing

This is to protest the construction of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) through PoK, bypassing repeated Indian protests. This can impact geo-politics of the region and this explains India's sensitivity with the project

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