1. The 25th edition of Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2016 has started in Pacific Ocean at Hawaii, United States from June 30, 2016 and will continue till August 4, 2016. In it, 27 countries viz. India, the Philippines, Australia, France, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Tonga, the United Kingdom, etc, are participating. The RIMPAC is the world's largest international maritime warfare exercise, which provides a platform for multilateral operational interactions aimed at increased interoperability and development of common understanding of procedures for maritime security operations.
2. Rodrigo Duterte, Maverick anti-crime candidate, has been sworn-in as the 16th President of the Philippines, after a landslide election victory in May 2016. He succeeded Benigno S. Aquino III and will have a tenure of 6 years.
3. The World Bank Board has approved the $ 201.50 million for Technical Education Quality Improvement Project (TEQIP III) in India. The purpose of the project is to increase quality and equity in participating engineering education institutes and to improve the efficiency of the engineering education system in focus states.The maturity period for the project is 25 years with an additional 5 years grace period.
4. India has been ranked 35th out of 160 countries in the World Bank's 2016 Logistics Performance Index (LPI). India's logistics performance at its key international gateways has improved in the last two years from 54 in 2014 to 35 in 2016, which will not only boost programmes, such as Make in India, but also help in increasing trade. The list is topped by Germany, followed by Luxembourg and Sweden. Logistics organises the movement of goods through a network of activities and services operating at global, regional, and local scale. The LPI is the World Bank's biennial measure of international supply chain efficiency.
5. The book "The mind of the terrorist: the Psychology of terrorism from the IRA to Al-Qaeda" has been authored by Dr. Jerrold M. Post. The book is an exceptionally well-written book that makes a significant contribution to the field of counter-terrorism. It is a comprehensive and informative account of the psychology of terrorists and how their history has shaped their motivations.
6. The Kawal Tiger Reserve (KTR) is located at Jannaram mandal of Adilabad district in Telangana. The reserve covers a core area of 892.23 sq km and a buffer zone of 1,123.21 sq km. It is home to many mammal species such as tiger, leopard, gaur, cheetal, sambar, nilgai, barking deer, chowsingha, sloth bear, etc.
7. Major General Per Gustaf Lodin of Sweden is the newly appointed Chief Military Observer and Head of Mission for the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP). He succeeded Major General Delali Johnson Sakyi of Ghana. Prior to this appointment, he was Director of Procurement and Logistics for the Swedish Armed Forces. The UNMOGIP observes and reports on ceasefire violations along and across the Line of Control (LoC) and the working boundary between the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbors, India and Pakistan, in Jammu and Kashmir and also reports developments that could lead to ceasefire violations.
8. The Kerala Government has banned the manufacture, sale, marketing and advertising of e-cigarettes (or electronic cigarette) in the state, as its use could lead to cancer and heart diseases. With this, Kerala has become the 4th state in India to ban e-cigarette after Punjab, Maharashtra and Karnataka. E-cigarettes are handy devices that emit doses of vaporized nicotine. Nicotine is lethal, addictive and extremely harmful to children if they inhale or ingest it accidentally.
9. The Rapid Rural Police Response System (RRPRS) has been launched by Punjab police to ensure prompt and effective police response in villages to counter any crime or law and order situation in just 20 minutes. Under this response system, any resident from rural area would only have to make a call on police helpline "100" for any kind of assistance from the police force. The new system would be available for 24×7 hours to respond to all kinds of emergencies or 'call-for-help' from the citizens of the State.
10. India's first Commercial Court and Commercial Disputes Resolution Centre has been opened at Raipur, the capital of Chhattisgarh. The complex has ultra-modern facilities like Video-conferencing, E-Court, E-Library, E-Filing and E-Summons. These facilities will help the investors in their commercial dealings.
11. Neerja Bhanot, the senior flight purser on a Pan Am flight, has been conferred with the 2016 Bharat Gaurav Award in London, United Kingdom (UK) for her distinguished services to the nation and outstanding individual achievements. Neerja (22) gave up her life to save passengers during a terrorist hijack of a Pan-Am flight at Karachi international airport in Pakistan on September 5, 1986. The award was instituted by Sanksriti Yuva Sanstha, a Jaipur-headquartered NGO. Akhil and Aneesh Bhanot, brothers of Neerja, received the award at the Westminster Parliament building in London.
12. Sudarshan Sen has been appointed as the new Executive Director of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in place of N S Vishwanathan, who has been elevated as Deputy Governor at the central bank. Sen will look after Department of Banking Regulation, Department of Co-operative Bank Regulation and Department of Non-Banking Regulation. Earlier, he was in-charge of the Department of Banking Regulation. He also served as the Regional Director of Ahmedabad office of the RBI.
13. India will host the 2016 meet of BRICS anti-narcotics heads on July 8, 2016 to discuss issues related to narco-terrorism and money laundering among the BRICS member-nations. The one-day meeting will be hosted by Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the agenda of the high-level meeting is expected to revolve around illicit drug trafficking including diversion of precursors and chemicals, usage of new psychoactive substances, maritime drug trafficking, narco terrorism and drug money laundering. All the BRICS nations (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) will discuss ways to increase cooperation to effectively deal with these issues and keep an effective monitoring on illegal narcotics transport happening between these nations.
14. Gurpreet Singh Sandhu has become the first Indian footballer to play in the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Europa League. He achieved this feat when he plays for the Norwegian club Stabaek FC as the goalie against Connah's Quay FC in a qualifying match in Rhyl, Wales. Previously, he made history by becoming the first Indian player to appear in a top-division European league game for Stabaek in Norwegian Tippiligaen, which is the Norway's national league, in May 2016. The Europa League is a prestigious European club competition, only one rung below the Champions League.
15. The Renuka Wildlife Sanctuary is located in Sirmour district, Himachal Pradesh. The area is well recognized by its religious, aesthetic and cultural value. Renuka is an abode of temples of the mother-and-son duo of Renukaji and Lord Parshuram. It is home to lepopard, samber, spotted deer, barking deer jackal, porcupine, blue jay, black partridge, hill crow, bulbul, geenm pigeons, etc.
16. The Indravati National Park (INP) is located in Bijapur district, Chhattisgarh. It is also home to gaur (Indian bison), nilgai, blackbuck, chausingha (four-horned antelope), sambar, Indian muntjac, Indian spotted chevrotain, wild boar, tigers, leopards, sloth bears, dholes (wild dog), striped hyenas, etc.
17. The world's largest Charkha has been set up by the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Minister Kalraj Mishra at Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in New Delhi.The 4-tones Charkha made from high-quality Burma teak wood is estimated to last for over 50 years. It is 9 feet wide, 17 feet tall and 30 feet long. The Charkha is a symbol of India's glorious heritage and an inspiring reminder of freedom struggle led by Mahatma Gandhi. It represents Swadeshi, self-sufficiency and interdependence because the wheel is at the center of a network of cotton growers, weavers, distributors and users.
18. The 4th edition of Woodpecker Environment and Wildlife Film Festival 2016 will begin at historic Gaiety Theatre in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh from July 7 and will continue till July 9, 2016. In the festival, 45 films, including several national award winning movies and five films from Himachal Pradesh will be screened, which is aimed at highlighting the environmental concerns. The focus of the festival will be critical environment and wildlife conservation issues like climate change, forest conservation, biodiversity and man-animal conflict and success stories will also be showcased in it. The festival is being organized by WWF India in collaboration with CMSR foundation, Delhi with the support of Himachal Pradesh's Department of Language, Art and culture and Department of Forest.
19. Rajasthan has become the first Indian state to introduce minimum wages for part time. As per the notification, it is now mandatory to pay 50 % of the prescribed a day minimum wage to a person who works for less than 4 hours in a day. With this notification, now part time workers come under the Minimum Wages Act 1948.
20. The Dr. Shankar Acharya committee has been constituted by the Union Finance Ministry to examine the feasibility and desirability of having a new financial year. This could lead to changing India's financial year from April-March to January –February or any other 12-month period. As per terms of reference, the 4-member committee will examine the merits and demerits of various dates for commencement of financial year including the existing dates. The panel will take into account the genesis of current financial year, suitability of financial year from point of view of correct estimation of receipts and expenditure of Central and State governments. It will also consider the effect of the different agriculture crop periods, impact on business, taxation systems and procedures, statistics and data collection and convenience of legislatures for transacting budget work. The committee will submit its reports by December 31, 2016.
21. India has been ranked 91st out of 139 countries in the 2016 Networked Readiness Index (NRI). The 2016 NRI index is a key component of the World Economic Forum (WEF)'s Global Information Technology Report 2016. The list is topped by Singapore, followed by Finland, Sweden, Norway and the United States. The index measures countries' success in creating the necessary conditions for a transition to a digitized economy and society.
22. The Union Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Uma Bharti has recently launched the Namami Gange programme for cleaning of river Ganga from Haridwar, Uttarakhand . The simultaneous programmes were also launched for cleaning of Ganga and its tributaries from Gangotri to Howrah at various locations in Uttrakhand, UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Haryana and Delhi. The 231 projects under Namami Gange involve modernization and redevelopment of ghats and crematoriums, development of sewage infrastructure and treatment, afforestation, tree plantation (medicinal plants), pilot drain project, interceptor drain project, trash skimmers and conservation of biodiversity.
23. The World Zoonoses Day is observed on July 6 every year to create awareness on zoonotic diseases, how to prevent them and what actions to take when exposed. The word "zoonoses" was derived from the Greek words zoon (animal) and nosos (ailment). It is all about spread of infectious disease between species, sometimes done by a vector from animals to humans and from humans to other animals. As per the veterinary doctors, there are about 150 known zoonotic diseases and prominent among them are tuberculosis, cat scratch fever, tick paralysis, roundworms, hookworms, scabies and rabies.
24. Dipa Karmakar from Tripura has become the first-ever Indian gymnast to be certified as "World Class Gymnast" by the International Federation of Gymnastics (IFG). The IFG is the governing body of competitive gymnastics and its headquarters is at Lausanne, Switzerland.
25. The UNESCO Kalinga Prize is given to a person(s) who make outstanding contribution to the interpretation of science and technology to the general public. It is in news recently because the Odisha government has decided to double the prize money of UNESCO Kalinga Prize-2017 from $ 20,000 to $40,000. The prize was established in 1951 by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), with a generous grant from Mr Biju Patnaik, the founder-president of the Kalinga Foundation Trust. The biennial award is jointly financed by the Government of India through the Ministry of Science and Technology, Odisha government and Kalinga Foundation Trust.
26. The 2016 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has started at the National Stadium in Warsaw, Poland from July 8. In the 2-day summit, the leaders of the 28 NATO Allies and many partner nations will deliberate and take decisions to increase the alliance's security by strengthening its deterrence and defense and projecting stability beyond its borders. The issues such as continuing support for Afghan forces, defeating Islamic State militants on NATO's southern flank and deterring Russian aggression on the alliance's eastern flank will be discussed.
27. The Pobitora wildlife sanctuary is located at Morigaon district, Assam. It is famous for migratory bird population, one-horned rhinoceros, leopard, wild boar, Barking deer, wild buffalo, etc. It is also home to more than 2000 migratory birds and various reptiles.
28. Abdul Sattar Edhi (92), the well-known Pakistani humanitarian and philanthropist, has recently passed away in Karachi, Pakistan. He was the founder and head of the Edhi Foundation in Pakistan. The Edhi Foundation provides a broad range of free social services, including ambulances, orphanages and support for the elderly and disabled.
29. The book "Ace against Odds" is the autobiography of Sania Mirza, which she penned with her father Imran Mirza. The book chronicles her rise to the top and is peppered with anecdotes where she talks about the difficulties and hardships as well as the joys and triumphs that came her way. The autobiography also contains some memorable encounters of the player on and off the court and the people and relationships that have contributed to her growth as a person and a sportsperson.
30. S K Kohli, the senior bureaucrat, has been appointed as the new Controller General of Defence Accounts (CGDA). The CGDA is mandated to audit, payment and accounting of all charges pertaining to the armed forces, including bills for supplies and services rendered and for construction and repair works, pay and allowances and pensions, among others.
31. Serena Williams has won the 2016 Women's Singles Wimbledon Championship by defeating Angelique Kerber in the final by 7–5, 6–3 in London, United Kingdom. With this win, Williams equaled Steffi Graf's Open Era record of 22 major singles titles.
32. Andy Murray from Great Britain has won the 2016 Men's Singles Wimbledon Championship by defeating Milos Raonic in the final by 6-4, 7-6,7-6 at centre court in London, United Kingdom. With this, he clinched a 2nd Wimbledon title and third Grand Slam crown of his career.
33. The Gangajal delivery scheme has been launched at General Post Master office in Patna, Bihar. The initiative to deliver 'Gangajal', a holy water from the river Ganga, from Indian Postal Services has been launched by Union Minister of Law and Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad and Minister of State for Communications Manoj Sinha. Under the scheme, the pious Gangajal, brought from Gangotri and Rishikesh, would be delivered at the doorsteps of people at nominal prices.
34. The Union Government has recently constituted a high-level committee headed by Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian to tackle the shortage of pulses in India. The committee will consider a reasonable hike in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for pulses and bonus for the farmers to promote pulse cultivation and frame an appropriate policy to promote cultivation of lentils in India. The committee will submit its report within 2- weeks. Beside this, the Government of India (GoI ) has decided to increase the buffer stock of pulses from 8 lakh to 20 lakh tonnes.
35. Sushila Karki has become the first woman Chief Justice of Nepal after taking oath of office and secrecy at a special programme organized at the Presidential Residence, Sheetal Niwas. She will head the judiciary till June 6, 2017. The oath was administered by President Bidya Devi Bhandari. Beside Karki, President Bhandari has also administered oath of office and secrecy to newly appointed Chief Election Commissioner Dr. Ayodhi Prasad Yadav.
36. D Rajkumar has been appointed as the new Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL). He will take over the charge on or after October 1, 2016 after retirement of BPCL's current chief S Varadarajan in September 2016. Currently, he is working as Managing Director of Bharat Petro Resources Ltd, a unit of BPCL focused on exploration and production. Apart from him, Utpal Bora has been appointed as the new Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Oil India Limited (OIL).
37. The President of India Pranab Mukherjee has recently conferred the 51st edition of the Jnanpith Award 2015 to Dr. Raghuveer Chaudhari at a function held at Parliament Library Building, New Delhi. The award consists of a citation plaque, a cash prize of Rs.11 lakh and a bronze replica of Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of knowledge and wisdom.
38. The book "The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable" has been authored by Amitav Ghosh. The book examines human's inability—at the level of literature, history, and politics—to grasp the scale and violence of climate change. The book serves as a great writer's summons to confront the most urgent task of our time.
39. The 11th edition of Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit 2016 will be held at Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia from July 14 to 16, 2016. The theme of the bi-annual Summit is "20 Years of ASEM: Partnership for the Future through Connectivity". The ASEM is a unique platform that serves to bridge the two continents of Asia and Europe for constructive partnership and exchange, under the three key pillars of political dialogue, economic collaboration and socio-cultural exchanges. From India, Vice President Mohammed Hamid Ansari will lead the Indian delegation to the ASEM summit.
40. An independent base of Marine Commandos (MARCOS) "INS Karna" has been commissioned by Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba at Bheemunipatanam Naval Base in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. Captain Varun Singh will be the Commanding Officer of INS Karna. The MARCOS was established in February 1987 at INS Abhimanyu in Mumbai as the Indian Marine Special Force (IMSF). They are known to be very secretive elite soldiers and are capable of operating in all three mediums namely sea, air and land.
41. The world's first Snoopy Museum has opened at Roppongi in Tokyo, Japan. It is organized by Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center and is dedicated to the cartoon beagle.
42. Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi has been appointed as the new Union Minister of Minority Affairs. He succeeded Dr. Najma Heptulla, who recently resigned from the post as she had crossed 75 years.
43. The 2016 Hemis festival will be held at the Hemis Monastery in Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) from July 14, 2016 to celebrate the birthday of Lord Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche), who is believed to be the local savior who banished demons and evil spirits. It is said that he introduced Buddhism in the Himalayan Kingdom as early as the 8th century. The 2-day festival will be unique this year because the famous silk thangka of Guru Rinpoche will be unfurled, which takes place once in every 12 years, as 2016 is the Tibetan Year of the Monkey.
44. Ashok Patnaik, a 1983-batch Gujarat cadre IPS officer, has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) and will hold charge till December 31, 2018. He is the son-in-law of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Currently, Patnaik is posted as Additional Director in the Intelligence Bureau (IB). The NATGRID is an ambitious intelligence network project to strengthen counter-terror capabilities of law enforcement agencies.
45. Theresa May, the leader of the Conservative Party, is the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (UK). She succeeded David Cameron, who resigned after the outcome of the European Union membership referendum. She is the 2nd female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom after Margaret Thatcher.
46. The Republic of Peru has recently declared a Zika health emergency across the northern half of the country after 102 people were infected with the virus. The 90-day health emergency was declared to prevent the spread of the disease, which is principally transmitted by daytime-active mosquitoes. Over 100 cases of Zika have been reported in Peru, more than 30 of the infected are pregnant women. The Zika virus has been linked to abnormally small heads and brain damage in newborns, known as microcephaly, in children born to infected mothers, as well as blindness, deafness, seizures and other congenital defects. In adults, the virus is linked to a form of temporary paralysis known as Guillain-Barre syndrome.
47. The Dampa Tiger Reserve is the largest wildlife sanctuary in Mizoram, which covers an area of approximately 550 km2. It is situated in the western part of Mizoram state, at the international border with Bangladesh about 127 km from Aizawl. It is the natural home of leopards, Indian bison, barking deer, sloth bear, gibbons, langurs, slow loris, rhesus macaque, Indian Python , wild boar and a variety of birds.
48. Harika Dronavalli, an Indian chess grandmaster, has won the 2016 Fide Women's Grand Prix trophy by defeating Russia's Olga Girya in the final in Chendu, China.
49. The book "Furiously Happy: A Funny book about Horrible Things" has been authored by Jenny Lawson. The book explores her lifelong battle with mental illness. This is a book about accepting everything that makes us who we are, beautiful and imperfect, and then using it to find joy in fantastic and outrageous ways. The author is an award-winning humor writer known for her great openness in sharing her struggle with depression and mental illness.
50. The battle exercise "Operation Megh Prahar" has been conducted by Indian Army on the banks of the Yamuna River on July 14, 2016 to test the effectiveness of the ultra modern Tank T-90 & BMP-2 in fighting across opposed river obstacle in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh. This exercise also showcased the importance of incorporating the 3rd dimension in bridging the gap of an obstacle and helping in capture of depth obstacle by a mechanized formation.
51. The World Youth Skills Day (WYSD) is observed every year on July 15 to create awareness about the importance of investing in youth skills development. The 2016 theme is "Skills Development to Improve Youth Employment".
52. Rakesh Kumar Chaturvedi, a 1987 batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre, has been appointed as the new Chairman of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) for a period of 5 years. The post was lying vacant since December 2014.
53. The Tuluni festival is celebrated every year on July 8 by Sumi Naga tribe of Nagaland to mark the end of dry season and the beginning of new fruits. The premier festival is marked by prayers and offerings to Litsaba, the deity of fruitfulness who gives life and protection to the crops. The Tuluni festival symbolizes fraternity, solidarity, sharing and oneness not only among the Sumi community but Nagas as a whole.
54. The Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) has become the first Indian company to issue rupee-denominated bonds "masala bonds" on London Stock Exchange (LSE). The bond will help HDFC to diversify its borrowing profile and access global investors.The Masala bond refers to a bond through which Indian entities can raise money from foreign markets in rupee, and not in foreign currency. By issuing bonds in rupees, an Indian entity is protected against the risk of currency fluctuation, typically associated with borrowing in foreign currency. With this, masala bonds will help in internationalization of the rupee and will expand the Indian bond markets. Though, the bonds are traded on the LSE, not in India.
55. The archaeological site of Nalanda Mahavihara (also known as Nalanda University) in Bihar has been declared as the World Cultural Heritage by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at the 40th session of the World Heritage Committee meeting in Istanbul, Turkey. The Nalanda site consists of the archaeological remains of a monastic and scholastic institution dating from the 3rd century BC to the 13th century AD. Besides the site of India, Zuojiang Huashan Rock Art Cultural Landscape (China), the Persian Qanat (Iran), Nan Madol: Ceremonial Center of Eastern Micronesia (Micronesia), Archaeological Site of Philippi (Greece), Antequera Dolmens Site (Spain), Archaeological Site of Ani (Turkey),Gorham's Cave Complex (Britain) and Stecci — Medieval Tombstones Graveyards (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia) are also included.
56. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has constituted Sudarshan Sen committee to study the regulatory issues relating to financial technology and digital banking in India. The committee will scope the developments in the Fin Tech space relating to technological platforms, major innovations, key players and how markets have adopted these new developments. It will also frame an appropriate regulatory response with an aim to increase Fin Tech and digital banking opportunities and also manage risks and challenges. The committee will submit its report within 6 months.
57. The Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan will be the face of the "city compost campaign" under Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) to encourage citizens to use compost produced from municipal solid waste. He will appeal to all citizens, nursery owners and horticulture agencies to pledge to use only city compost in their gardens, farm houses and public gardens. In addition, he will make an appeal to bulk waste generators like educational institutions and hotels to set up decentralized composite equipment in their respective premises and encourage the citizens to segregate organic waste for further composting.
58. The Lifeline Express (or Jeevan Rekha Express) is the world's first hospital on a train, has celebrated 25 years of service to the poor and underprivileged masses of rural India in Mumbai, Maharashtra on July 16, 2016. It is also known as the Magic Train of India.The train, which is the flagship of Impact India Foundation, in partnership with the Indian Railways, has medically served more than 10 lakh poor in rural India, restoring sight, movement, hearing and correction of cleft lips with dental and neurological treatment and more, completely free of cost. The train has covered 173 projects in 18 states and also covered 2 lakh km distance.
59. The Khangchendzonga National Park is located in Sikkim. It is home to musk deer, snow leopard, Himalayan tahr, etc. It is in news recently because the Capitol Complex of Chandigarh, Khangchendzonga National Park of Sikkim and Nalanda Mahavihara of Bihar are recently listed in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites at the 40th session of the World Heritage Committee meeting in Istanbul, Turkey.This is the first time that any country got 3-sites inscribed in the Word Heritage List at a single session of the committee meeting. A World Heritage Site is a place (such as a building, city, complex, desert, forest, island, lake, monument, or mountain) that is listed by the UNESCO as being of special cultural or physical significance.
60. Vijender Singh, an Indian professional boxer, has won the 2016 WBO Asia Pacific Super Middleweight title after defeating former WBC European champion Kerry Hope in a 10-round bout in New Delhi.
61. Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are the first states in India where Integrated Criminal Justice System (ICJS) will be launched. The system will integrate the courts, police stations, prosecution, forensic science laboratories and jails.
62. The International Criminal Justice Day is observed every year on July 17 to end atrocities and prosecute individuals who perpetuate human rights abuses. This is a day to reflect upon the victims of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes and to celebrate the international community's continued efforts to create a more just and peaceful world.
63. Dipika Pallikal Karthik has won the 73rd edition of women's title for Senior National Squash Championship 2016 by defeating Joshna Chinappa in the final in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Beside this, Saurav Ghosal has created history by winning men's National Squash title for the 11th time by defeating Harinderpal Singh Sandhu in the final in Mumbai.
64. The Nelson Mandela International Day is observed every year on July 18 to recognize the legacy of Nelson Mandela, South Africa's former President, for his tireless struggle against apartheid. The day is a global call to action that celebrates the idea that each individual has the power to transform the world, the ability to make an impact. The 2016 theme is "Take Action, Inspire Change".
65. Guruprasad Mohapatra, a 1986 batch Gujarat cadre IAS officer, has been appointed as the new chairman of Airports Authority of India (AAI). Prior to this appointment, he was posted as the Joint Secretary in Union Ministry of Commerce.
66. Paul Romer, the American economist, will be the new Chief Economist and Senior Vice-President of the World Bank (WB). He will succeed Kaushik Basu, a former Indian government economics adviser, on September 2016. Presently, Romer is a professor at New York University (NYU) and director of NYU's Marron Institute of Urban Management.
67. Malcolm Turnbull, the leader of the Liberal Party, is the newly elected Prime Minister of Australia after the 2016 Australian federal election. The election was the first double dissolution election to all 226 members of the 45th Parliament of Australia since the 1987 election.
68. The book "Who Moved My Interest Rate?: Leading the Reserve Bank of India Through Five Turbulent Years" has been authored by Duvvuri Subbarao. The book is an insider's account of the problems and complexities Subbarao confronted while leading the Reserve Bank of India ( RBI) through the extraordinary economic and political challenges. This is also a compelling chronicle of Subbarao's attempts to demystify the RBI and explain to the public its impact on their everyday lives.
69. Rohit Khandelwal from India has won the prestigious Mr. World 2016 title at a grand ceremony at Southport in England and won a cash prize of $ 50,000. With this, he became the first-ever Indian to win the title. Khandelwal is a popular actor, television personality and model from Hyderabad. Previously, he won the Mr. India 2015 contest.
70. The world's first Zika vaccine test on humans will be conducted by Canadian University to counter the explosively spreading virus. The researchers from Laval University, based in Quebec City, will conduct the test. Till date, vaccines have been tested on mice. Mainly, the Zika virus is transmitted by mosquitoes and there is no existing treatment or vaccine for it.
71. India has been ranked 43rd out of 43 countries in the 2016 Global Retirement Index (GRI). The list is topped by Norway, followed by Switzerland, Iceland, Sweden and Germany. The index is compiled by Natixis Global Asset Management with support from CoreData Research, a U.K.-based financial research firm. The purpose of the index is to provide a global benchmark for retirees and future retirees so that they can evaluate and compare the suitability of various nations, and plan their retirement according to their expectations and needs.
72. The Baisipalli Wildlife Sanctuary is located in Nayagrh, Odisha. It is 168.35 square kilometres and is home to bears, elephants, leopards, Sambar Deer and spotted deer.
73. India has been ranked 110th out of 149 nations in the 2016 Sustainable Development Goal Index. The new index is launched by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and the Bertelsmann to provide a report card for tracking Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) progress and ensuring accountability.The index is topped by Sweden, followed by Denmark and Norway. The index helps countries to identify priorities for early actions and shows that every country faces major challenges in achieving the SDGs.
74. In the 2016 Fortune 500 list of the world's biggest corporations in terms of revenue, 7 Indian companies are listed. These are Indian Oil Corporation (161st), Reliance Industries Ltd (215th), Tata Motors Ltd (226th), State Bank of India (232nd), Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd (358th), Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd (367th), and Rajesh Exports (423rd). The list is topped by Walmart, followed by State Grid and China National Petroleum.
75. The Ghatampur Thermal Power Station (GTPS) is an upcoming coal-based thermal power plant located in Ghatampur in Kanpur district, Uttar Pradesh (UP). Recently, it is in news because the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has given its approval for installation of 1980 MW Ghatampur Thermal Power Project (GTPC) through a Joint Venture Company "Neyveli Uttar Pradesh Power Limited (NUPPL)", which is formed jointly by Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited (NLC) and Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (UPRVUNL).
76. Ajay Bhusan Pandey, a 1984 batch IAS officer of Maharashtra cadre, has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). Prior to this, he was the director general of UIDAI.
77. The Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has recently declared a 3-month state of emergency in the aftermath of coup attempt. As per Article 121 of the Turkish constitution, the state of emergency allows the president and cabinet to bypass parliament when drafting new laws and to restrict or suspend rights and freedoms.
78. Ganesh Singh, the Lok Sabha member of BJP, has been appointed as the new chairperson of the Joint Committee of Parliament (JPC) on land acquisition bill. He succeeded SS Ahluwalia, who became the Minister of the State for Parliamentary Affairs.
79. The Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation has recently constituted a committee to prepare a draft plan on Ganga river. The committee headed by Justice (Retd)Girdhar Malviya will have the responsibility of preparing the draft act that should have provisions to ensure cleanliness and uninterrupted e-flow of Ganga. It will submit its report within 3 months.
80. The Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation has recently constituted Madhav Chitale committee to prepare guidelines for de-silting of the river stretch between Bhimgauda (Uttarakhand) and Farakka (West Bengal). Chitale is a member of the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA). The 4-member committee has been formed to establish difference between de-silting and sand mining and also to establish need for de-silting for (ensuing) ecology and e-flow of the river Ganga. The tenure of the committee will be 3 months.
81. The legendary painter Sayed Haider Raza (94), who popularized globally Indian concepts and iconography and built a towering legacy of modern art, has recently passed away in New Delhi. Raza was an internationally acclaimed painter, whose works are mainly abstracts in oil or acrylic, with a very rich use of color, replete with icons from Indian cosmology as well as its philosophy.
82. India's first green rail corridor " has recently launched by Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu in Tamil Nadu to mark the first discharge free route in railways. It is a 114-km long Rameswaram-Manamadurai stretch in Tamil Nadu which ensures zero toilet discharge on rail tracks.
83. The 2016 International Minjar fair has started in Chamba town, Himachal Pradesh. This 8-day long fair is a symbol of national integration and is organized to thank god and his blessings for a good yield. As per tradition, the idol of Lord Raghuvira is brought in a chariot in procession to the Chogan Maidan and people offer Minjar to Lord Raghuvira. This Minjar is made up of maize and wrapped in red fabric to offer to the deities. In it, hundreds of deities from Chamba district took part in the procession amid cultural songs.
84. India's first-ever Water Metro project "Kochi Water Metro project" has been launched by the Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at Kochi. The purpose of the project is to provide water connectivity to people living between islands in the Kochi agglomeration area and the city. The new boats which will be procured for this project will provide the same transportation experience as the Metro, and will be called 'Water Metros'. The financing for this project is being done by the Indo-German Bilateral Cooperation, under the climate-friendly urban mobility plan. The project will implemented by the Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) and will become operational in 2 years.
85. Avasarala Kanyakumari, the well-known violinist from south India, has been chosen for the prestigious 2016 Sangita Kalanidhi Award of the Madras Music Academy. With this, she became the first female violinist to get the award in the history of the Music Academy. The award will be conferred to her on January 1, 2017 at the Sadras. This honour is considered one of the highest awards in Carnatic music.
86. Sumitra Mahajan, the Lok Sabha Speaker, has set up a Kirit Somaiya committee to probe into live streaming of a video of Parliament House complex by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Bhagwant Mann on his Facebook page. The 9-member committee will do its inquiry into the serious security implications and related aspects arising out of the audio visual recording around the Parliament House complex. The Somaiya committee will also suggest remedial measures so that such episodes will not be repeated in future. The committee will submit its report on August 3, 2016. Till the decision is made on this matter, Bhagwant Mann has been suspended from Lok Sabha.
87. ICICI Bank and Axis Bank have become first Indian banks to join SWIFT's global payments innovation initiative.The purpose of the initiative is to increase cross-border payments by using SWIFT's messaging platform. With the initiative, banks will be able to improve the payment experience by offering same day use of funds, more transparency in fees, tracking from one end to the other and more payment information. The initial phase of the global initiative will focus on business-to-business payments. The new service will enable corporates to receive an enhanced payments service directly from their banks.
88. Sharad Pawar, the former Union Agriculture Minister and NCP chief, will be bestowed with the 2016 Tilak Sanman Puraskar for his contribution to Green Revolution. The award will be presented to Pawar in Pune, Maharashtra on August 1, 2016. The award includes a citation and Rs. 1 Lakh.
89. The Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has constituted 7-member expert committee to explore the other possible alternatives to pellet guns as non-lethal weapons. The committee will be chaired by T V S N Prasad and will submit its report within 2 months.
90. The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has constituted a high-level committee to prepare a road map for restructuring the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). The committee is chaired by Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Arvind Panagariya. Apart from this, Arvind Panagariya committee , which is working on restructuring of Medical Council of India (MCI), has recommended replacing MCI with the National Medical Commission (NMC).
91. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has officially declared Brazil free of measles, after no case of the disease was registered in 2015.
92. Yes Bank Ltd, the private sector lender, has recently got an in-principle approval from Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to sponsor a mutual fund and to setup an Asset Management Company (AMC) and a trustee company in India.
93. Michel Barnier, ex-European Commission vice- president and former French Minister, has been appointed as the chief Brexit negotiator by the European Commission. With this, he has become in charge of leading the Commission Taskforce for the Preparation and Conduct of the Negotiations with the United Kingdom ( UK) under Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU).
94. The International Tiger Day, also known as Global Tiger Day, is observed every year on July 29 to raise worldwide attention to the reservation of tigers.
95. Mahasweta Devi, the well-known author and social activist, has recently passed away in Kolkata, West Bengal. Her writings were focused on the marginalized communities in India and served as the voice of the oppressed. Her famous works include 'Hazaar Chaurasi ki Ma', Aaranyer Adhikar, Agnigarbha, Bashai Tudu and Rudaali.
96. The novel "The Village by the Sea: an Indian family story" has been authored by Anita Desai. It is a short novel for children, which is based on the poverty, hardships and sorrow faced by a small rural community in India.
97. Noted Tabla maestro Pandit Lachu Maharaj (73) has recently passed away in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. He was renowned internationally and his table performance had drawn attention of the connoisseur of performing arts from across India and world.
98. The 2016 joint military exercise "Maitree" has been conducted between India and Thailand at Krabi, Thailand. The purpose of the joint exercise was to increase mutual cooperation and interoperability between the Indian Army and Royal Thailand Army and to improve understanding of each other's tactical drills and actions in counter terrorism operations.
Get study materials for the various recruitment exams.
ReplyDelete