1. Dr. R Seetharaman, Group CEO of Doha Bank, has been honoured with the 2016 Green Economy Visionary at the 2016 Union of Arab Banks (UAB) International Banking Summit, Rome. He has been awarded for his contribution in environment-friendly activities and for promoting green economy for nearly two decades.
2. The world's longest and deepest rail tunnel has been opened in Switzerland. The 57 km (35-mile) twin-bore Gotthard Base Tunnel (GBT) will provide a high-speed rail link under the Swiss Alps between Northern and Southern Europe. The tunnel has overtaken Japan's 53.9 km Seikan rail tunnel as the longest rail tunnel in the world. The full service will begin in December 2016. The tunnel has taken 17 years to build at a cost of 12.2 billion Swiss francs (£8.4 billion)
3. China has successfully launched "Ziyuan III 02", a new civilian high-resolution mapping satellite from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre in Shanxi province. Ziyuan III 02 will be used in land resource surveys, natural disaster prevention, agricultural development, water resources management and urban planning, among other tasks. It is the second satellite in the remote-sensing mapping system which China plans to build by 2030. Along with Ziyuan satellite, the two NewSat satellites from Uruguay were also successfully launched.
4. The Hindi Journalism Day (or Hindi Patrakarita Diwas ) is celebrated every year on May 30 in India to mark the beginning to journalism in Hindi language. On this date, in 1826, the first Hindi-language newspaper of India "Udant Martand" was published from Calcutta by Pt. Jugal Kishore Shukla. Though, due to financial problems, the newspaper couldn't publish for long. In 2016, the Hindi Journalism has completed its 190 years in India.
5. India has been ranked 41 out of 61 countries in the IMD's world competitiveness rankings 2016. The survey has been conducted by the Switzerland-based International Institute for Management and Development (IMD)'s World Competitiveness Center (WCC). Hong Kong has topped the list, followed by Switzerland, the US, Singapore, Sweden, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway and Canada. The IMD measures how well countries manage all their resources and competencies to facilitate long-term value creation. The overall ranking is based on an analysis of over 340 criteria derived from four principal factors—economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency and infrastructure.
6. Salma dam is located in Afghanistan. It has been built with India's assistance.
7. India has been ranked 4th out of 167 countries in the 2016 Global Slavery Index. The list is topped by North Korea, followed by Uzbekistan, Cambodia, India and Qatar.
8. The World Milk Day is observed every year on June 1 to recognize the importance of milk as a global food. The day is established by the Food and Agriculture Organization ( FAO) to provide an opportunity to bring attention to activities that are connected with the milk industry.
9. The Government of India (GoI) has recently constituted Prabhat Kumar committee to draft national policy for the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). The committee will submit its report within 4 months.
10. The book "Iron Fist, Velvet Glove" has been authored by Mahesh Nair. The book is a photo journey that provides an insight into the lives of soldiers of the Indian Army. It is an attempt to capture the dichotomy of the army life through the eyes of a photographer who travelled these areas.
11. Rahul Johri, the former media professional has taken charge as the first-ever Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The move is in line with the Supreme Court-appointed Justice RM Lodha committee's list of recommendations. Prior to this appointment, Johri was the Asia Pacific's executive vice- president and general manager for South Asia with Discovery Networks.
12. The Copa America cup for 2016 is being hosted by United States. Argentina has hosted it for the maximum number of time (9 times).
13. Muhammad Ali was an American professional boxer, he is considered as the greatest heavyweight in the history of the sport. He died on June 3, 2016. His original name was Cassius Marcellus Clay. He remains the only three-time lineal heavyweight champion; he won the title in 1964, 1974, and 1978. Between February 25, 1964, and September 19, 1964, Ali reigned as theundisputed heavyweight champion. He is the only boxer to be named The Ring magazine Fighter of the Year six times. He was ranked as the greatest athlete of the 20th century by Sports Illustrated and the Sports Personality of the Century by the BBC. ESPN Sports Century ranked him the 3rd greatest athlete of the 20th century. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he was involved in several historic boxing matches. Notable among these were the first Liston fight; the "Fight of the Century", "Super Fight II" and the "Thrilla in Manila" versus his rival Joe Frazier; and "The Rumble in the Jungle" versus George Foreman.
14. Navin Agarwal, a 1986 batch IPS officer of Jammu and Kashmir cadre, has been appointed as the Director General (DG)/ Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA). The NADA is the national organization responsible for promoting, coordinating, and monitoring the doping control program in sports in all its forms in India.
15. Dilip Balwant Vengsarkar, the former India captain, has been conferred with the 2016 Lifetime Achievement CEAT Cricket Rating award.
16. The Kanger Ghati National Park is located in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh. The park is well known for its biodiversity with picturesque landscape, magnificent waterfalls and subterranean geomorphologic limestone caves. It is home for the Bastar hill myna (the state bird of Chhattisgarh), Chital, barking deer, panther, etc.
17. India has been ranked 70th out of 163 countries in the 2015 Good Country index. The list is topped by Sweden, followed by Denmark, the Netherlands, the UK, Germany, Finland, Canada, France, Austria and New Zealand. The report ranked a total of 163 countries taking 35 different UN and World Bank indices into account, including global contributions to science, culture, peace and security, climate change and health and equality. The biannual index was founded by Simon Anholt, a British government adviser whose aim is to find ways of encouraging countries to collaborate and co-operate a lot more, and compete a bit less.
18. Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who is currently ranked world No.1 in men's singles category. He defeated World number one Britain's Andy Murray to win his first French Open title and complete the career Grand Slam.
19. The Haryana government has recently launched Asia's first 'Gyps Vulture Reintroduction Programme' at Jatayu Conservation Breeding Centre, Pinjore.
20. India has recently joined the Hague Code of Conduct (HCOC), a global initiative to prevent ballistic missile proliferation. With this, India has become the 138th country in the world to subscribe to an international code of conduct against the proliferation of ballistic missiles. The HCoC is a voluntary, legally non-binding international confidence building and transparency measure that seeks to prevent the proliferation of ballistic missiles that are capable of delivering weapons of mass destruction.
21. A cheerful white tiger cub "Soohorang" has been named as the official mascot for South Korea's 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. Traditionally, tigers represent the shape of the Korean peninsula and especially the white tiger is considered a sacred guardian animal. The mascot's white colour represents snow and ice of winter sports. It also symbolizes the close link between the Olympic Winter Games and the natural environment. The name "Soohorang" is a combination of several meanings in the Korean language. "Sooho" is the Korean word for "protection" meaning that it protects the athletes, spectators and all participants of the Olympic Games. "Rang" comes from the middle letter of "ho-rang-i" which means "tiger" and also from the last letter of "Jeongseon Arirang", a traditional folk music of Gangwon Province, where the host city is located.
22. "Bandabi", an Asiatic black bear, has been named as the mascot for the South Korea's 2018 Pyeongchang Paralympic Winter Games. Bandabi was picked as the Paralympic mascot because bears to Koreans represent strong will and courage, and also because the Asian black bear is the symbolic animal of the Gangwon Province, the region that governs Pyeongchang. In the name "Bandabi", "banda" comes from "bandal" meaning "half-moon", indicating the white crescent on the chest of the Asiatic Black Bear, and "bi" has the meaning of celebrating the Games.
23. Dia Mirza has been recently named as ambassador for Swachh Bharat Mission's youth-based wing 'Swachh Saathi'.
24. Garbine Muguruza, a Spanish professional tennis player, has won the 2016 French open Women's Singles tournament by defeating the defending champion Serena Williams in the final by 7-5, 6-4.
25. The World Environment Day is observed every year on June 5 to raise global awareness to take positive environmental action to protect nature and the planet Earth. The 2016 theme is "Zero tolerance for the illegal trade in wildlife". This year United Nations (UN) has called a worldwide campaign "Go Wild for Life" to take a strong action to curb the illegal trade of wildlife i.e. threatening the biodiversity of the planet Earth. This year, Angola is the host country, which has created strong commitments to combat wildlife crime by shutting down its domestic ivory trade and is taking action to stop smuggling over its borders.
26. The Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi has been conferred with the Afghanistan's highest civilian honour "Amir Amanullah Khan Award". Mr Modi is the first Indian and is among a handful of foreign leaders to receive the award. Beside this, Narendra Modi has also inaugurated the Afghan-India Friendship Dam, earlier known as Salma Dam, which was rebuilt with India's aid.
27. The book "India vs Pakistan : Why Can't we just be friend?" has been penned by Husain Haqqani, Pakistan's ex-envoy to United States. The book on India-Pakistan relations, recounts the visit by ISI chief Gen. Shuja Pasha to Washington on December 24-25, 2008, where he made the startling admission. As per the book, General Pasha had admitted (shortly after the Mumbai attacks in 2008) that planners of the 26/11 attacks were our people but it wasn't our operation.
28. The 2016 FIH Junior Men's Hockey World Cup will be hosted by Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. The World Cup will be held from December 8 to 18, 2016 and would be the first international hockey competition to be hosted in Lucknow. The countries that will participate in the Junior World Cup include hosts India, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Egypt, England, Pakistan, Germany, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa and Spain.
29. Himachal Pradesh has become the India's first state to have a State Data Centre (SDC). The SDC is designed using green data centre concept, as it minimizes power requirement by maximizing power utilization efficiency. It will offer 101 people-oriented services online through an integrated data base. The SDC would help the departments to roll out more government- to-citizen-services and people can avail them from anywhere and anytime.
30. Sudarsan Pattnaik, the famous Indian sand artist, has won gold medal in People's Choice Prize at 2016 world championship festival of sand sculpting Russe in Bulgaria for his sand sculpture – "Drugs kill Sports". The sand sculpture is an awareness creating sculpture, which has highlighted the issue of drugs in the sporting field.
31. The world's first 3D-printed aircraft 'Thor' has been officially launched by Airbus, a European aerospace company, at the International Aerospace Exhibition held in Schoenefeld, Germany. The Thor stands for 'Test of High-tech Objectives in Reality'. In Thor, the only parts that are not printed from a substance called polyamide are the electrical elements. It is a windowless drone that weighs just 21 kg and is only 13 feet long. It is lighter, faster and cheaper.
32. Thailand has become the first Asian country to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis, it is declared by the World Health Organization (WHO). According to WHO's global guidelines, mother-to-child transmission of HIV is considered to be effectively eliminated when the rate of transmission falls below 2 %. The Elimination of transmission is defined as a reduction of transmission to such a low level that it no longer constitutes a public health problem. In 2015, Cuba was the world's first country to receive WHO validation for eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
33. Odisha has become the first Indian state to give transgender people social welfare benefits such as pension, housing and food grains. The members of the transgender community will be given Below Poverty Line (BPL) cards that will allow them to access benefits under various government welfare programmes. This includes schemes that provide free housing, 100 days of paid work annually, pensions and loans to start up their own businesses. They would also be entitled 5 kg of food grains every month under India's National Food Security Act.
34. Guwahati, the Assam state capital, has become the India's first city to have its own City Animal "Gangetic river dolphin". The Kamrup Metropolitan district administration has declared the Gangetic river dolphin (locally known as 'Sihu') as the mascot of the city to protect it from extinction.
35. The Union Government has recently launched a campaign 'Swachh Yug' to make all the villages along the banks of Ganga Open Defecation Free (ODF). It is a collaborative effort of Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, in partnership with Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation. There are 5,169 villages located along the banks of Ganga falling under 1,651 Gram Panchayats ( GPs) in 52 districts of five states – UP, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal from where the holy river flows through. The youth agencies under the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs viz. Bharat Scouts and Guides, Nehru Yuva Kendras and National Service Scheme will be deployed for the campaign. These organizations will be called upon to provide a large number of local youth volunteers to support a behavior change campaign in the 52 districts under the Swachh Bharat Mission.
36. India has been ranked 141st out of 163 countries in the 2016 Global Peace Index (GPI), compiled by global think tank Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP). The list is topped by Iceland, followed by Denmark and Austria. The GPI 2016 ranks 163 independent states and territories according to their level of peacefulness.
37. N Ramachandran, the president of Indian Olympic Association (IOA), has been honoured with the prestigious Olympic Order by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for his outstanding services to the Olympic movement.
38. PM2.5 and ground level Ozone are held responsible for the maximum number of premature mortalities in India. PM2.5 causes respiratory irritation or breathing difficulties or Asthma, and sometimes may prove fatal.
39. T Haque was the chairman of Commission for Agriculture Costs and Prices, and now has been appointed the head of the newly created land policy cell in the NITI Aayog. T Haque was among the prime mover behind the Model Land Leasing Act.
40. The 10-day long military training exercise, Anakonda 2016 (AN16) has started in Poland from June 7, 2016. It is the most important and the largest training exercise of the Polish Armed Forces in 2016. The purpose of Anakonda–16 is to check the abilities of NATO to defend the territory of the eastern flank of North Atlantic Alliance. It involves 31,000 soldiers from 19 NATO countries and five partner countries, including approximately 12,000 Polish troops.
41. The book "The Gene: An Intimate History" has been authored by Siddhartha Mukherjee, who is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the book "The Emperor of All Maladies". The book is a magnificent history of the gene and a response to the defining question of the future: What becomes of being human when we learn to read and write our own genetic information?. In other words, it is a magnificent synthesis of the science of life, and forces all to confront the essence of that science as well as the ethical and philosophical challenges to our conception of what constitutes being human.
42. The 2016 Malabar trilateral naval exercise has started in Japan. The harbor phase of the exercise would be held at Sasebo from June 10 to June 13 and the sea phase in the Pacific Ocean from June 14 to June 17. The exercise is in line with India's 'Act East' policy. In it, the naval ships of United States, India and Japan will participate to advance multi-national maritime relationships and mutual security issues. The exercise will support maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region and benefit the global maritime community.
43. Karnataka's Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had made the announcement to abolish the tax on agricultural income while presenting the State Budget for 2016-17. This in turn will provide relief to many tea and coffee companies besides thousands of individual coffee growers. Plantation companies had to pay a 35 per cent tax on their net income.
44. Sikkim has become the first Indian state to launch open government data website to promote transparency. The data portal 'Sikkim.data.gov.in' and Open Government Data Platform (Sikkim) has been launched by Sikkim Government. On the open government data portal, the data produced or commissioned by the government or government controlled entities can be freely used, reused and redistributed by anyone.
45. Saina Nehwal, an Indian badminton player, has won the 2016 Australian Open Super Series Women's singles Badminton tournament by defeating Sun Yu in the final by 11-21, 21-14, 21-19 at Sydney, Australia.
46. Akhil Sharma, an Indian born-American author, has won the prestigious 2016 International Dublin Literary Award for his novel "Family Life". The novel is the autobiography of the author, which mirrors the author's own experience of emigrating from India to America as a child. The prize of €100,000 is awarded to the author of the winning book. Though, if the winning book is in English translation, €75,000 is awarded to the author and €25,000 to the translator.
47. According to the Forbes' 2016 list of world's 100 highest-paid athletes, soccer icon Cristiano Ronaldo, with earnings of $88 million, has topped the list, followed by Lionel Messi, LeBron James, Roger Federer, Kevin Durant and Novak Djokovic.The 100 top-earning athletes belong to 23 countries and compete in 10 sports.
48. India has surpassed Japan to become the world's third-largest oil consumer. USA retains the First position.
49. Norway has become the first country in the world to ban deforestation. The ban is a part of the government's procurement policy and includes eliminating the use of any product that contributes to deforestation as well as a request that the government exercise due care for the protection of biodiversity in its investments. Beside this, the Scandinavian country is also in the process of restricting the sales of gas-powered cars by 2025.
50. G Kalyanakrishnan is the newly appointed Chief Executive of Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC). He succeeded N Saibaba. Prior to this assignment, Kalyanakrishnan was the Deputy Chief Executive of NFC. The NFC is a major industrial unit of India's Department of Atomic Energy, for the supply of nuclear fuel bundles and reactor core components. It has its headquarters at Hyderabad.
51. Leander Paes, an Indian professional tennis player, will become the only tennis player in the world and the first Indian to make a 7th appearance at the Olympics. It will be his record 7th Olympics at 2016 Rio Olympics. Beside this, he is the only Indian to win an individual medal at Olympics. He won the bronze medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
52. The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has recently elected Israel to chair its Legal Committee, also known as the sixth Committee, for the first time in the world body's 71-year history. The Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon has won the chairmanship of the UN's legal affairs committee with 109 votes from the 193 member states. The legal Committee overseas UN activities related to international laws. The UN's five other standing committees oversee the areas of disarmament, economic and financial issues, human rights, decolonization and the UN budget.
53. Recently, the United States has successfully launched its secret spy satellite "NROL-37" to space by the United Launch Alliance's (ULA) Delta IV Heavy rocket, the world's most powerful rocket, at Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) is responsible for designing, building and operating the United States' fleet of spy satellites.
54. Yuzvendra Chahal is the only player to represent India in chess and cricket. His name is listed in World Chess Federation's official site. Beside this, he is playing for Indian national cricket team, which is touring Zimbabwe to play 3-ODIs and 3-Twenty20 Internationals(T20Is). In it, India clinched ODI series against Zimbabwe with 8 wickets win in 2nd ODI at Harare and the man of the match was awarded to Yuzvendra Chahal, who was the most successful bowler, with 3- wickets for 25 runs.
55. The Deepor Beel Wildlife Sanctuary (DBWS) is located at Kamrup district in Guwahati, Assam. It is home to Wild Asian elephants, leopard, jungle cat and the protected barking deer, Chinese porcupine, Spot-billed pelican, sambar, etc.
56. Peter Thomson, Fiji's ambassador to the United Nations, has been elected as the new President of the 71st session of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 71). He will replace current General Assembly President Mogens Lykketoft and will begin his tenure in September 2016 at the commencement of the UNGA 71. With this, Thomson will become the first representative of the Small Islands and Developing States (SIDS) group to hold the position. Thomson will oversee the process of searching for a new U.N. secretary-general to replace Ban Ki-moon of South Korea, who will finish his second five-year term in the post at the end of 2016.
57. Margaret Atwood, Canadian poet and environmental campaigner, has been awarded the prestigious 2016 Pen Pinter Prize for her work championing environmental causes. She will receive award at a public British Library event on October 13, 2016. The Prize is awarded annually to British, Irish or Commonwealth writer to define the real truth of our lives and our societies.
58. Sunil Bharti Mittal, the chief executive of Bharti Group, has been elected as the new Chairman of International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Sao Paolo, Brazil. Mittal succeeded Terry McGraw, Chairman Emeritus of S&P Global, who becomes ICC's Honorary Chairman. With this, Mittal has become the 3rd Indian business leader to hold this position in ICC's near 100 years history. The ICC is the world's largest business organization which represents private-sector views to national governments and intergovernmental bodies around the world. It advocates for free trade and the market economy, working through a network of national committees and direct members in over 130 countries. The headquarters of ICC is at Paris, France.
59. Raghu Karnad, a journalist and contributing editor at The Wire, has won the 2016 Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar (English) for his debut non-fiction epic "Farthest Field: An Indian Story of the Second World War", which tells the story of war through the lives and deaths of a single family. He is among the list of young award-winners across 24 languages recognized by the Sahitya Akademi for 2016 Yuva Puraskar. The winners will receive a plaque and a cash reward of Rs. 50,000.
60. India's first three women fighter pilots – Avani Chaturvedi of Madhya Pradesh, Mohana Singh of Rajasthan and Bhawana Kanth of Bihar, has been commissioned into the Indian Air Force (IAF) by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar at the Air Force Academy in Dundigal, Hyderabad. The trio will go to Bidar in Karnataka for their stage-III training for a year on Hawk advanced jet trainers, before they get to fly supersonic warplanes like Sukhoi and Tejas.
61. The Parliamentary committee under the chairmanship of E.M. Sudarsana Natchiappan has been constituted to review Model code of conduct (MCC) for election polls and will also suggest ways to check distribution of cash and freebies ahead of the polls. The MCC are the guidelines issued by the Election Commission of India (ECI)for conduct of political parties and candidates during elections mainly with respect to speeches, polling day, polling booths, election manifestos, processions and general conduct.
62. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has set up a Suresh Mathur committee to study the scope of title insurance in the Indian market. The committee will submit its report within two months. The title insurance is a cover that protects the owner of a property from disputes or frauds of land titles.
63. The Expert Committee headed by Anand Desai, which was constituted to examine the Specific Relief Act 1963, has recently submitted its report to Union Law and Justice Minister DV Sadananda Gowda. The committee has recommended that the courts' intervention in public works should be minimal, specific performance of contracts be made the rule and damages or compensation be the exception and a separate class of contracts for public utility contracts should be created.
64. The Government of India (GoI) has banned use of potassium bromate as a food additive in the preparation of bread and other food items as per the recommendations given by the Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). The recommendations were based on a study conducted by the Center for Science and Environment (CSE). According to CSE, potassium bromate is a category 2B carcinogen (cancer-causing agent), which typically increases dough strength, leads to higher rising and uniform finish to baked products and on the other hand, potassium iodate has harmful effects on the thyroid and may trigger disorders of the gland, which is used as a flour treatment agent. As per the study, 84 % of 38 commonly available brands of pre-packaged breads, including pav and buns, tested positive for potassium bromate and potassium iodate. These two food additives are banned in many countries and listed as hazardous for public health. In case of potassium iodate, it has been referred to a scientific panel. And after study, the decision will be taken.
65. The Maharashtra Government has recently granted minority status to Jews in the state, as per the provisions of the Maharashtra State Minorities Commission Act, 2004. With this Maharashtra has become 2nd state (after West Bengal) to grant minority status to the Jewish community in India. As per the 2001 census, there are 4,650 Jews in the country of whom 2,466 are in Maharashtra. After being officially recognized as a minority community, the Jews would enjoy several privileges like other minority communities. It would become easier for them to register their marriages. They would also be able to set up their own educational institutes and practice and promote their culture.
66. India has been ranked 10th in the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows in the world , as per the latest 2016 World Investment Report by the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The list is topped by United States followed by Hong kong, China, Ireland, Netherlands, Switzerland, Singapore, Brazil and Canada.
67. Arvind Subramanian, an Indian economist, is the current Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) to the Government of India (GoI). He is the author of two books "India's Turn: Understanding the Economic Transformation" and "Eclipse: Living in the Shadow of China's Economic Dominance". The CEA is the ex-officio cadre controlling authority of the Indian Economic Service (IES). The CEA is under the direct charge of the Minister of Finance.
68. The computer called "Sunway TaihuLight" has been developed by the National Research Centre of Parallel Computer Engineering and Technology (NRCPC) and is built in China.
69. The first annual meeting of the Board of Governors' of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will be held in Beijing, China on June 25-26, 2016. From India, the Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley will attend the meeting.
70. Anil Kumble, former Indian captain and leg-spinner, has been appointed as the new coach of the Indian Cricket Team for one-year tenure. His tenure will begin from the upcoming West Indies's tour which starts on July 9, 2016. With this, Kumble has become the first Indian to be appointed as the head coach of the national team since Kapil Dev in 1999-2000.
71. The International Olympic Day is observed every year on June 23 to promote participation in sport across the globe regardless of age, gender or athletic ability.
72. The Vice President of India M Hamid Ansari has inaugurated "The International Conference on Social Statistics in India" in Patna, Bihar. The conference has been organised by Asian Development Research of India.
73. Zubaida Bai, an Indian social entrepreneur, has been named among the ten '2016 Global Compact SDG Pioneers', an initiative launched by UN to search for "entrepreneurs" who can play a pivotal role. Zubaida is the founder of 'ayzh', a for-profit social venture providing health and livelihood solutions to impoverished women worldwide. The UN Chief Ban Ki-moon has announced the 10 pioneers at the 2016 UN Global Compact (UNGC) Leaders Summit in New York, United States. The UNGC is the world's largest corporate sustainability initiative that supports companies to do business responsibly by aligning their strategies and operations with ten principles of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption; and to take strategic actions to advance broader societal goals, such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with an emphasis on collaboration and innovation.
74. Dutee Chand, an Indian professional sprinter, has recently qualified for 2016 Rio Olympics in the women's 100 metre event at the 26th International Meeting G.Kosanov Memorial in Almaty, Kazakhstan. With this, she became the first Indian woman to qualify for the event since qualification started for the event.
75. The Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) is a scientific institution based in India for expanding research in meteorology of the tropics in general with special reference to monsoon meteorology of India. Its' headquarters is at Pune, Maharashtra. It is in news recently because it is working with the U.S. National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to develop high resolution seasonal and long-term climate forecasts to prepare for the monsoons. Beside this, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and United States' space agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are also working together to develop a synthetic aperture radar satellite to observe and measure ecosystem disturbances, ice-sheet collapses and natural hazards. The data gathered from this mission will help build climate resilience and potentially save lives.
76. The Padma Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park (PNHZP) is located in Darjeeling, West Bengal. It is the largest high altitude zoo in India and specializes in breeding animals adapted to alpine conditions and has successful captive breeding programs for the snow leopard, the critically endangered Himalayan wolf and the red panda. Recently, it is news because the snow leopard named Makalu from Dudley Zoological Gardens (DZG) in Britain has been brought to Darjeeling zoo for a global conservation breeding programme. The DZG will financially support Makalu for the next five years.
77. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $500 million loan to construct a bridge across the Ganga River in Bihar. The project is expected to complete by December 2020. Once built, the 9.8 km road bridge in Bihar will be India's longest river bridge and will provide vital transport link between the northern and southern parts of the state and neighboring Nepal.
78. Shashi Kant Sharma, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India ( CAG), has been conferred with the honorary professorship by the Nanjing Audit University (NAU), China. It is the only university which is recognized by the Institute of Internal Auditors.
79. India has become the 35th member of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) in June 2016. The MTCR membership will enable India to buy high-end missile technology and also enhance its joint ventures with Russia. The purpose of the MTCR is to restrict the proliferation of missiles, complete rocket systems, unmanned air vehicles and related technology for those systems capable of carrying a 500 kg payload for at least 300 kms, as well as systems intended for the delivery of Weapons ofMass Destruction (WMD).
80. Argentina The Argentina women's team has won the 2016 Women's Hockey Champions trophy for a record 7th time after defeating the Netherlands by 2–1 in the final at the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre in London, United Kingdom.
81. Sujoy Bose Sujoy Bose has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) Ltd. The NIIF has been established with the aim to attract investment from both domestic and international sources for infrastructure development in commercially viable projects. It has been incorporated as a company under the Companies Act, 2013, duly authorized to act as investment manager of National Investment and Infrastructure Fund.
82. The Keibul Lamjao National Park is a national park in the Bishnupur district, Manipur. It is the only floating park in the world and an integral part of Loktak Lake. Recently, it is in news because Manipur's brow antlered deer 'Sangai' has been included in the Centre-sponsored endangered species recovery programme. The other animals included in the list are the Great Indian bustard, Gangetic dolphin and dugong (medium-sized marine mammal). The Sangai deer is found only at the Keibul Lamjao National Park and is the only species from the North East to be included in the list. It is listed as "endangered" in IUCN Red List and Schedule I of the Indian Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
83. N S Vishwanathan has been appointed as the new Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). He will succeed HR Khan, who will superannuate on July 3, 2016. Presently, Vishwanathan is the Executive Director at the central bank.
84. India's largest food products marketing organization Amul has become the official sponsor of Indian contingent to the 2016 Rio Olympics. The purpose of Amul is to engage with youth and leverage the connection between the energy of milk and sports. The company will launch a series of advertising campaigns for milk and various dairy products to promote this association. Amul has embarked upon an "Eat Milk with Every Meal" campaign to highlight the importance of milk and dairy products like cheese, yogurt, butter, ghee, paneer, etc.
85. The National Statistics Day is celebrated every year in India on June 29 to mark the birth anniversary of late Professor Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis, the Father of Indian Statistics, in recognition of his valuable contribution in the fields of statistics and economic planning. The purpose of this day is to create public awareness, especially among the younger generation about the role and importance of statistics in socio-economic planning and policy formulation. The 2016 theme is "Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare".
86. India has been ranked 105th out of 130 nations in the 2016 Global Human Capital Index, which is recently released by the World Economic Forum (WEF). The 2016 index measures countries' ability to nurture, develop and deploy talent for economic growth. The report presents an analysis by focusing on a number of key issues that can support better design of education policy and future workforce planning. The list is topped by Finland, followed by Norway, Switzerland, Japan, Sweden and New Zealand.
87. The tennis grand slam tournaments start in January in Australia and run through until September in the USA. Here are the tournament details for 2016.
Australia Open
Dates: 18-31 January 2016
Venue: Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia
| 2016 | Australian Open | Novak Djokovic (Serbian) | Andy Murray(England) |
| 2016 | Australian Open | Angelique Kerber (German) | Serena Williams (USA) |
Names of main courts: Rod Laver Arena, Hisense Arena, Margaret Court Arena
French Open
Dates: 22 May to 5 June 2016
Venue: Roland Garros, Paris, France
| 2016 | French Open | Andy Murray(England) |
| 2016 | French Open | Garbiñe Muguruza (Spanish) | Serena Williams (USA) |
Names of Main Courts: Court Philippe Chatrier, Court Suzanne Lenglen
Wimbledon
Dates: 27 June to 10 July 2016
Venue: The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Wimbledon, London, UK
| 2016 | Wimbledon | Andy Murray (England) | Milos Raonic (Canada) |
| 2016 | Wimbledon | Serena Williams(USA) | Angelique Kerber (German) |
Names of Main Courts: Centre Court, No 1 Court, No 2 Court
US Open
Dates: 29 August to 11 September 2016
Venue: Flushing Meadow, New York, USA
Names of Main Courts: Arthur Ashe Stadium, Louis Armstrong Stadium Grand Slam Gal
The US Open and Australian Open use hard courts, the French Open is played on clay, and Wimbledon is played on grass.
